jana_denardo: (Default)
Of Printers and Presents
Asta Idonea
NineStar Press
20 November 2017
MM/Contemporary
Heat Rating: 1



A Secret Santa drawing offers more than a simple gift exchange for two office workers.

Colleagues Ford and Vaughan have long admired each other from afar, but Vaughan's shyness and Ford's emotional hang-ups have meant that neither has made a move. That all changes when they draw each other's name in the office Secret Santa.


NineStar Press: here
Amazon US: here
Amazon UK: here
Kobo: here
Tablo Excerpt: here
YouTube Excerpt: here
Soundcloud Excerpt: here


Old Acquaintance
Asta Idonea
NineStar Press
11 December 2017
MM/Contemporary
Heat Rating: 1


Will there be fireworks when two former acquaintances reconnect on New Year's Eve?

Damon is getting over a bad breakup. Ioan is painfully shy. Neither expects to enjoy the New Year's Eve party to which their mutual friend, Katie, has dragged them. However, their unexpected reunion may make them change their minds by the time midnight strikes.


NineStar Press: here
Amazon US: here
Amazon UK: here
Kobo: here

Tablo Excerpt: here
You Tube Excerpt: here
Soundcloud Excerpt: here


About the Author
Asta Idonea (aka Nicki J Markus) was born in England but now lives in Adelaide, South Australia. She has loved both reading and writing from a young age and is also a keen linguist, having studied several foreign languages.
Asta launched her writing career in 2011 and divides her efforts not only between MM and mainstream works but also between traditional and indie publishing. Her works span the genres, from paranormal to historical and from contemporary to fantasy. It just depends what story and which characters spring into her mind!
As a day job, Asta works as a freelance editor and proofreader, and in her spare time she enjoys music, theatre, cinema, photography, and sketching. She also loves history, folklore and mythology, pen-palling, and travel, all of which have provided plenty of inspiration for her writing.


Blog: http://www.nickijmarkus.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NickiJMarkus
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NickiJMarkus
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nickijmarkus/
Pinterest: https://au.pinterest.com/nickijmarkus/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+NickiJMarkusAstaIdonea
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4567057.Nicki_J_Markus
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolamarkus
Amazon Author US: http://www.amazon.com/Asta-Idonea/e/B00RMGGVYO
Amazon Author UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asta-Idonea/e/B00RMGGVYO
jana_denardo: (shirtless Spock)
Say hi to Carolyn everyone. I'm happy to have someone on my blog who loves SF as much as I do!

 photo Hill-BTS-cover-for-guestblog_zpsidpfk22a.jpeg

Raise your hand if you love science fiction and romance. Did you “ship” or “slash” Star Trek before shipping or slashing was a thing? Did you swoon over Mal’s tight pants in Firefly and wish that he and Inara would just profess their love already? Do you root for Miles Vorkosigan and his space-faring mercenaries, for the Liadens and their beloved ships, for the Jagernauts of the Ruby Dynasty, for the humans and aliens who live and love amongst the stars in novels by Elizabeth Moon, Tanya Huff, Susan Krinard, Linnea Sinclair, Wen Spencer, C.J. Cherryh, Ann Aguirre, S.L.Viehl, Karin Lowachee, and more?

If so, you love romantic science fiction as much as I do—in particular, the subgenre known as romantic space opera. The classic rocket ship, standing tall and proud, might have seemed the sole property of men during the golden age of science fiction, and romance might have been considered too melodramatic a topic by authors interested solely in nuts and bolts. But those days are long past. Romance has taken hold of the rocket and launched love into space alongside logic. (Ah, Spock, making logic so fascinating, so swoon-worthy.)

If rockets were once the province of men, then the genre was ripe for romance. Consider the romances you’ve read that aren’t science fiction. Who are the heroes? Cowboys and ranchers, dukes and princes, bodyguards and sheriffs, doctors, bosses, and men in kilts. Certainly the astronaut in his shining silver ship belongs in that list of Alpha males (as well as in the list of equally attractive Beta techno-geeks). Romance successfully colonized science fiction and space opera, chartering new territory and turning gender roles on their head: in the futures depicted in M/F romantic science fiction today, the heroine might just as easily be the ship’s pilot, or the war-hardened mercenary, or the talented mechanic, the hero might just as easily be the abducted beauty, or the talented cook.

I fell in love with the blending of romance and science fiction many years ago, when I read Anne McCaffrey’s Restoree. In that intersection of science fiction and romance, I found hope: hope that humanity will survive, expand, explore, learn, love—that we will evolve and will continue the great journey of life beyond the bounds of this Earth; hope that love will conquer pain, death, isolation, the small and great indignities of life—that it will elevate us beyond selfish solitude.

That same hope sparked my most recent novel, Beneath the Skin, a M/F science fiction romance, which was published recently by Venus Ascending.

Buy Beneath the Skin here

BOOK BLURB:

In a dystopian future, a healer and a shapechanger join forces against a ruthless alliance of powerful families.

Aleta Graham is a healer and empath, abilities that make her a useful pawn for the Dagarro family, who have addicted her to the drug known as Sand in order to keep her submissive. But Aleta is determined to overcome the influence of the drug, and make a desperate bid for freedom — even knowing that the penalty for disloyalty to the family is death.

Riven is a shapechanger, a computer genius, a spy sent by the government to destroy the power of the Dagarro. By taking on multiple identities he becomes at once Aleta's dearest friend and most feared enemy. But in growing closer to Aleta, Riven imperils her, himself, and his mission.


EXCERPT (850 WORDS):


BENEATH THE SKIN
by Carolyn Hill





Chapter One

The drug was wearing off. Aleta Graham’s head ached and her hands shook as she leaned against a pair of diamond-studded urns embedded in the ballroom’s wall. She fought the drug’s deadening effect and focused on one clear fact: she must escape, now, while they were all preoccupied with Joanna’s wedding.

Aleta peered out from behind the enormous porcelain vase that shielded her from the wedding guests. Joanna was waltzing across the low-friction floor in the arms of her groom. Above the dance floor, the orchestra wheeled in the air, bows sawing across strings, drums booming, cymbals chiming. The music rattled Aleta’s nerves.

She craned her aching neck and stared up, past the orchestra, her burning gaze following the inwardly sloping walls of the ballroom. Each wall was formed of gold and platinum bricks, covered with precious containers of various sizes and shapes: fine art and irreplaceable antiquities, all useless now, set permanently in the metal, an extravagant display of the Dagarro Family’s wealth. Five stories above, beyond a clear ceiling, lay the airless moon’s surface and the void of space.

Withdrawal sank talons deep into Aleta’s chest. She gasped and bent double. Dear God, she wanted . . .

Escape, she must focus on that. She wanted to escape. While Joanna smiled in the arms of her beloved under the watchful eyes of Dagarro Family security, Aleta trembled and struggled not to scream. She straightened her spine, took one step, then another, and slipped out from behind the urn into the shadows between two marble sarcophagi.

The music changed, and guests poured onto the dance floor in a rainbow of glittersilk gowns and light-washed haute couture. Aleta slid deeper into the shadows, until she could no longer see the security guards. Her wrist itched—a maddening, distracting, incessant itch. She scratched furtively beneath her formal glove. The itch grew worse. She yanked the glove off. Her arm spasmed, and the glove slipped to the floor.

Something moved behind her in the darkest shadows: a man’s figure. Melting? Changing?

Aleta blinked, trying to shake off the hallucination.

Softly, gently, the glove was placed back in her hand.

The fingers of the man who had returned the glove clamped over her velvet sleeve, pushing the fabric up her arm. Looming above her, he studied the fading blue spiderweb of lines that streaked her pale wrist.

She trembled again, this time in fear.

Dark on dark he was, dressed all in light-swallowing black silk except for a glowstone earring whose incandescence stained half his jaw a bloody red. The angles of his face were as sharp as the glint in his obsidian eyes.

Darcavon.

He lifted his gaze and met her own. One sculpted black brow rose.

Aleta squared her chin.

Carefully, without touching her skin, he ran a forefinger above the drug’s lingering blue trace at her wrist. “A web not of your own making,” he stated. One heartbeat, two, then Darcavon dropped her arm.

“Trituros wants you,” he said, and stepped past her. As he strode toward the dance floor, light from the cascading candleplants glinted off his tightly bound black hair.

Aleta stood, stunned. Darcavon had seen that she was fighting the drug the family used to enslave her, yet he hadn’t called the guards.

It made no sense. The Darcavon she had always so carefully avoided was a perfect creature of the Family Dagarro, as ruthless as Trituros Dagarro himself, advancing in the household ranks with the cold inexorability of a glacier, intent—so rumor had it—on becoming seneschal.

Her hands shook. He must be setting her up for some later, unguessable purpose of his own.

Pulling the glove securely over her hand and wrist, Aleta peeked around the end of the sarcophagus. The closest guard was looking in her direction. Linked to the family’s security net, the guard knew that Trituros wanted her and that she should leave the ballroom and head toward the patriarch’s office.

She cursed silently to herself and stepped out from behind the sarcophagus. The mouths of the vases buried beneath the clear floor gaped up at her in silent warning. She must be careful—very very careful—or Trituros would know that the drug was wearing off.

#
The man who would be seneschal turned and watched Aleta walk toward the arched doorway. Had she seen him change shape? After long years of planning and preparation, had he ruined everything because he had needed a few brief moments to be himself?

He noticed the slight hesitation in the empath’s step as she neared the door guard, and he noted the squaring of her shoulders as she continued past.

The pad of his finger tingled where it had almost caressed her flesh. She had skin as white and cool as purest marble, and eyes as green as ancient jade, lit from within by a fire he’d not seen before in her glance. The family and its drug were banking that fire, enslaving her to their own ends.

But he had ends of his own.

And he would be seneschal, no matter the cost.
#






BIO :
Born and raised in the heart of Silicon Valley, I developed an abiding sense of wonder and a fondness for heroic geeks.

By the age of eleven, I was reading all the science fiction I could lay my hands on at the local library, and, because they were shelved together, I was also reading all the fantasy books. Genre-straddling works by Andre Norton gave me the impression that everything I was reading belonged on one wonderful spectrum of imagination and possibility. Andrew Lang’s fairy books (in all their colorful editions) left me with the equally strong impression that Beauty and the Beast is the yummiest folktale ever.

I entered university a chemistry major intending to become an astronaut who would rocket into a brave new future, and I left (or, rather, never left) with a doctoral degree in rhetoric, a dissertation on James G. Frazer’s twelve-volume encyclopedia of magic, science, and religion, and a job teaching writing at the University of California, Berkeley.

And now I write my own science fictional variants of Beauty and the Beast, exploring the romance of the alien, the metaphorical beast in every man, even in the handiest of techno-geeks.

When I’m not writing, teaching, or reading, I’m quilting, playing board games, or hurling heavy objects into the air above my head. Or I’m sitting on the couch, eating almond M&Ms and daydreaming about life amongst the stars.

Where to Find Carolyn on the Web

website


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jana_denardo: (kept tears)
Label-back-red

The release date for Safe House, Buchanan House: Book Four, is coming soon! To celebrate, Dreamspinner has created a bundle sale—Pre-order Safe House and get Tiny House (Buchanan House: Book Three) for $0.99! The sale runs September 12 until release day—September 19!

This is a true series so to get the most out of it I recommend to read the books in order. With that in mind I’ve stocked a Rafflecopter with two chances to win the first book in the series, Buchanan House. Visit any stop on my tour between September 12th and October 1st to enter!

 

SafeHouseFS_v1Safe House (Buchanan House: Book Four) by Charley Descoteaux

It’s never too late for a new beginning…

Kyle Shimoda is an asshole magnet, has been for as long as he can remember. At forty-seven, he doesn’t see much chance for improving his luck in love. His friends who run Buchanan House, a gay retreat on the central Oregon coast, know he wants to find “someone nice” to settle down with, and they set him up with Officer Brandon Smith. Kyle has a turbulent history with law enforcement, but he can’t deny his attraction to the buff cop.

Brandon has been a police officer in Lincoln City almost since the day he graduated from high school over thirty years ago. He’s cultivated the facade of a serious, disciplined law enforcement officer, but beneath his overdeveloped chest beats the soft heart of a drama queen. A cancer scare shifts Bran’s focus from finding a serious relationship to having as much sex as he can—putting his goals squarely at odds with Kyle’s. If he can’t find the courage to be honest about his feelings for Kyle, the happiness they’ve both been searching for could slip through their fingers.

 

Read Chapter One at the Dreamspinner store to meet Kyle. Meet Brandon in the excerpt below.


 

Chapter Two

Brandon barely paid attention as he drove between the cemetery and the apartment he shared with two roommates. He’d hoped to find a voice mail from the doctor after the funeral, but no such luck. He did find one saying the new guy, Dylan, had called in sick, and Brandon was expected at work within the hour. He would have been happier to stay at the cemetery and talk with Paulie a little longer. And Kyle. Bran had met Kyle before, but they hadn’t spoken. He had noticed then how handsome Kyle was, and he was even more striking with his hair longer, framing his high cheekbones and full, sensuous mouth. His silky black hair looked so touchable.

This isn’t getting me to work any faster.

At least work will be a distraction.

He hurried home and changed into his uniform. His quick spot check in the bathroom mirror turned into a lingering appraisal. Brandon ran an open hand over his chest, not to smooth the impeccable fabric of his uniform shirt, but to reassure himself that nothing had changed. He grimaced at his reflection, thinking a little less gray and a little more brown in his hair might be a nice change.

Brandon shivered as he recalled the MRI he’d endured three days prior, which had revealed a suspicious lump in his chest. Forty-seven minutes in a tiny tube while the machine hummed and took pictures of his breast and lymph tissue. Just thinking about the way it had felt to lie there made him shiver—it was worse than the needle biopsy he’d had the following day. With every inhale his shoulders had brushed the walls of the tube on both sides, and less than halfway through he’d had to talk himself out of fleeing. He wasn’t a tall man—something that had bothered him throughout his life—but until that day he had taken pride in his body, in the bulk he’d cultivated without sacrificing speed or agility.

During that forty-seven minutes, he would have been happy to trade his broad shoulders for a smaller frame.

Since I’m making empty wishes, I might as well make one for a better-looking face. A face that could attract a handsome young guy like Kyle instead of scaring him half to death.

Bran’s stomach roiled at his own thoughts, and he resolved to not even think the word death again until—unless—he had to. He was tempted to forgo shaving the sandy brown stubble from his face but fell back on the habit, hoping for the comfort a routine could provide, and reached for his electric razor.

Everything seemed to be happening so fast. Less than a week ago he’d gone in for his yearly physical, and now he was waiting for the call that would tell him whether he needed to make another appointment for that week or next year. In the interim he’d been squeezed into a tube and had a biopsy. And relived the worst time in his life over and over, the time when he’d learned about his father’s diagnosis.

SafeHouse_headerbanner

Pre-0rder Safe House at the Dreamspinner store and get Tiny House for $0.99! Sept. 12-19: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/safe-house-by-charley-descoteaux-7536-b

 

Enter Sept 12 - Oct 1!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Three winners! Prizes: One signed paperback of Safe House (US Only); one ebook copy of book one of the series, Buchanan House; one backlist book (any ebook except Safe House)


 

BIO

Charley Descoteaux has always heard voices. She was relieved to learn they were fictional characters, and started writing when they insisted daydreaming just wasn’t good enough. In exchange, they’ve agreed to let her sleep once in a while. Charley grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area during a drought, and found her true home in the soggy Pacific Northwest. She has survived earthquakes, tornadoes, and floods, but couldn’t make it through one day without stories.

 

Rattle Charley’s cages:

Blog: http://cdescoteauxwrites.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/charley.descoteaux.3
Dreamspinner Author Page: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=879
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CharleyDescote
Goodreads: http://tinyurl.com/aqe7g7r
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/charleydescote/

 

Series: Buchanan House
Book Number: 4
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: September 19, 2016
Pages: 200
Cover Artist: L.C. Chase

 

 
jana_denardo: (kept tears)
The Haunting of Angus Macgregor Tour banner

Synopsis


Angus Macgregor has endured a lot in life. Mother passing when he was a small child, he also nursed an ill father to his last breath. But when he loses his one remaining relative, an uncle he’s never met, his existence is turned on its head forever. Bequeathed Clan Gregor Castle in the Scottish Highlands, Angus leaves Australia behind to take on the family business. It’s there he finds more waiting for him than he ever dreamed possible.


Daniel Ramsey is a man with secrets, none more dangerous than the fact that he can see what others can’t. When he meets one particularly handsome Australian, the attraction is immediate. Hesitant to let down his guard, his hand is forced when a former guest of the castle comes calling and attempts to stake a claim on the very man Daniel wants.


Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31539099-the-haunting-of-angus-macgregor


the haunting of angus  macgregor cover ebook

Excerpt
“Welcome home, Master Macgregor. The name’s Madeline Ramsey, manager o’ this fine establishment.”

Angus was greeted by a short, plump, middle-aged woman with kind brown eyes and hair the colour of fire. As she shook his hand, she regarded Angus with an openness he hadn’t anticipated. Given the circumstances which surrounded his presence at Clan Gregor Castle, he’d half expected to be treated as an interloper.

“Nice to meet you, Madeline.” Pain surged in the back of his throat, but he managed to swallow it down. The only reason he was there was because he’d lost people near and dear to him. He’d have given anything for the situation to be different.

Angus dragged his suitcase behind him and set it down in the middle of the large foyer, taking in his surroundings while he fought a looming yawn. The flight halfway around the world had been long and uncomfortable, but the excitement of inheriting an actual Scottish castle had kept him more than wide awake.

Certain the second his head hit the pillow he wouldn’t surface for several long hours, perhaps days, the plan was to enjoy every moment he could before jetlag took hold. Angus Macgregor had never ventured this far from his family home in eastern Sydney before. Since discovering his uncle, William Macgregor III, had passed the week previous, his mundane existence had become an absolute whirlwind.

“Please, call me Maddie.”

“Only if you call me Angus.” He winked at Maddie, and she giggled in a light, lilting manner.


Buy Links


Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KJZHDJG/

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01KJZHDJG/

Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B01KJZHDJG/

Amazon DE: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B01KJZHDJG/


Giveaway


Prizes: $5 Amazon Gift Card; 1 e-copy of Just Like Pulling Teeth; 1 e-copy of Heart of Glass.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the author


J. HARRIS is a mother, wife, an introvert and author. Her family is her life, her soul, and the very reason she gets out of bed every day. Coming a close second is her writing.


She discovered a passion for putting pen to paper in her later years, jotting down poems in birthday cards for family members.


It was then a spark was lit, and ever since, she hasn’t been unable to switch off the urge to share her stories.


L.J. Harris discovered that as much as experiencing pain, loss and betrayal can be devastating, capturing the feelings of anguish and loss that some of her characters have had to endure without firsthand knowledge would have proved difficult.


L.J. has been previously published and has shared several online stories and looks forward to continuing to share her work.


L. J. Harris can be found at:


Website: http://theworldofljharris.blogspot.com.au

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LJHarrisAuthor?ref=hl

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LJHarrisAuthor

Tumblr: http://www.tumblr.com/blog/heartofdarkess

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/L.J.-Harris/e/B009XVTC06/

jana_denardo: (kept tears)

Surfacing Tour Banner

Title: Surfacing

Author: A.L. Bates

Series: The Ariel Series, Book Two

Genre: Gay Romance, Science Fiction

Length: Novella


Publisher: Wayward Ink Publishing


Synopsis


A few weeks following the events that concluded DEEP, Book One: The Ariel Series, Captain Joel Riley is struggling to adjust to his new relationship with his medic, Sean, and when a face from Sean’s past sets out to destroy Joel and his ship, Joel faces an impossible decision: Sean or Ariel.


Sensing Joel’s dilemma, Sean makes the decision to leave. He does so knowing he must confront his past and the abuse he suffered. Subjected to the same trauma again, this time at the hands of his brother, he uses the strength Joel taught him to take his future into his own hands.


For Joel, life without Sean proves unbearable and he comes to the realization that he needs more than just his ship. He sets out to bring Sean back… whatever the cost.


Surfacing Cover


Buy Links


Don’t miss the limited time discounted prices on all retailer sites!


WIP: http://www.waywardinkpublishing.com/product/surfacing-by-a-l-bates/

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-surfacing-2085746-148.html

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Surfacing-Ariel-Book-L-Bates-ebook/dp/B01JJX2A6U/

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Surfacing-Ariel-Book-L-Bates-ebook/dp/B01JJX2A6U/

Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/Surfacing-Ariel-Book-L-Bates-ebook/dp/B01JJX2A6U/

Amazon DE: https://www.amazon.de/Surfacing-Ariel-Book-L-Bates-ebook/dp/B01JJX2A6U/


Book Trailer



Giveaway


Prize: $5 WIP Gift Card


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Start reading the series with book one!


Deep


Deep AL BatesFleeing from a troubled past that left him feeling tarnished and used, Sean finds work as a medic aboard the deep sea mining ship Ariel, on a distant planet.


Under the leader ship of the infuriating, yet charismatic, Captain Joel Riley, Sean settles into his simple, but dangerous, new life. It’s a life he soon comes to love; albeit one in which he conceals his sexuality and avoids intimacy.


But Sean’s new world is turned on its head when an old face threatens to expose him for the man he used to be.


With Joel’s help, will Sean learn to come to terms with his past and become a man he can be proud of?



Excerpt
JOEL SAT IN a cell with six other inmates. He knew two of the boys from the docking yard; they were sporting bruises on their knuckles and faces. It was a common sight. After months underwater, guys often felt the need to let off too much steam their first night on the town.

Joel himself had been thrown into the drunk tank enough times in his younger days. Only back then he’d been picked up mid-fight, not the morning after.

Across the cell from him two hookers rested against each other, both looking bored with the scenery already. The prettier of the two gave him a smile, and because his mother didn’t raise him to be rude, he smiled back.

“What you in for, sweetheart?” she asked.

“Being too darn pretty,” he said. “What about you?”

“Theft. But we’re innocent, honey.”

“It didn’t cross my mind that you weren’t.”

The main door opened, shedding light into the pit. Joel knew Sheriff Harris from years ago when they’d served on the same ship. The sheriff was a couple of years older than Joel and a leg injury had set him permanently on dry land. The lawman stood in front of the cell, tipping his head to the men he’d arrested. They were thugs, but they were miners, and the sheriff always had respect for men of the sea.

“You want to come with me, Riley?”

“Why? For knocking that bilge-rat around?”

“You might want to do this somewhere private,” Harris said.

Joel could see a shadow lurking by the doorway; the wiry frame of a man keen to press charges.

“We’re looking for a Dr. Sean Leystone. You know him?”

The men around Joel were drunk, but they were listening. He was a man of the sea, one of them. But Joel had already committed to his statement. There was no backing out now.

“Aye, I reckon I do.”

“You mind telling me in what capacity you know him?”

Joel paused, looking toward the hookers opposite. “As I told the Board, I picked him up last night.”

“You picked him up?”

Joel gestured toward the women. “I guess you already had these lovely girls in custody by then.”

The women cackled.


Buy Links


WIP: http://www.waywardinkpublishing.com/product/deep-by-al-bates/

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Deep-L-Bates-ebook/dp/B01AOB6VW0/

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Deep-L-Bates-ebook/dp/B01AOB6VW0/

Amazon AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/Deep-L-Bates-ebook/dp/B01AOB6VW0/

Amazon DE: http://www.amazon.de/Deep-L-Bates-ebook/dp/B01AOB6VW0/

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-deep-1969763-177.html


About the author


A.L. BATES has a keen interest in Sci-fi and adventure novels and enjoys writing stories with strong characters in imaginative backgrounds. Although an avid writer, Deep is the first published novella by A.L. Bates.


A.L. Bates can be found on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoralbates

jana_denardo: (kept tears)
Say hi to Jessica Skye Davies who's here talking about her latest. I got to read an earlier draft of this and it was a lot of fun (and hey I CAN relate to Ben. I DID grow up in rural SW Pennsylvania and my grandma's place is one of those 100 year old farm homes). So here's Jessica.

 photo TownManCountryManFS_zpstk5kzqwq.jpg

One of those things writers get asked a lot is, “Where do you get your ideas from?” (Or, if you’re like some of us, you more often hear “Where do you find these hot cover models?!” You’ll have to ask the cover artists!) My usual answer to the first one is something along the line of, “From the ether.” I make these stories and characters up out of whole cloth, really. My settings tend to be either fictitious or far-away places like London and Australia.

The setting of Town Man, Country Man, though, is different. This time, I wrote local, and it was Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania that gave me the idea for TMCM. The idea came about after taking a drive up to Grove City one afternoon for a picnic at Moraine State Park. I got to thinking on the way back about those lone houses that one occasionally sees on a hillside above the highways around here. They usually look like a big, old farmhouse with a great view of the surrounding countryside. Quite picturesque.

But I wondered what it’s like living there, kind of cut-off from everything. That idea gave birth to Ben, the country man who lives in such a place. Though a little further removed from the highway, he still has that big house, set off by itself, where he can see the world in its comings and goings but not really have the world observe him in return – not at eye level, at any rate.

 photo Mellon Park_zps8dzprfbn.jpg

Clearly, Ben needed a counterpart, though. That got me thinking toward the opposite end of the spectrum – the town man sort. That’s something I relate to much more, being in the middle of everything, in walking distance of whatever you want, whenever you want it, people-watching accompanied by the vague understanding that someone is probably also making assumptions about you based on your shoes, hair-do, and presence (or lack) of yoga-mat, miniature dog, and/or venti iced green tea. Being a lot more comfortable with that sort of belvedere, Josh became the narrator, wondering, much as I did, how people actually get on living ‘way up there’.

That’s not to say Josh is representative of your dear author. I’m probably more the Dante type.

From there, the story took off, almost on its own. Spending time in many of TMCM’s settings allowed me to give Josh and Ben’s personalities and motivations geographical roots as well as psychological ones. Of course, sometimes it’s easy to forget that not everyone is as familiar as a place as you are. Sometimes you gloss over details or include references that others will miss, running the risk of confusing the reader. Personally, I like a style that doesn’t explain everything but gives enough context clues for me to get the gist, but then, I like a story that makes me want to go to Google to find out more for myself.

Those missing details are one of the reasons beta readers are so incredibly valuable, they will see the omissions you take as read. That lends itself to reconnecting a little more closely to those places and settings, experiencing them more mindfully, appreciating the facets that make a place so singular. For me, it was the ubiquitous scents of spring, the way the sidewalk slabs are nearly unnavigable in some of the nicest areas of town because they’ve been pushed up by very persistent tree roots (the very same trees that drop big, squishy, old-cheese scented bombs in the autumn), the fact that nobody dares to dance at clubs before 11pm, the combinations of pop radio and football fight songs in the marketing Strip District streets that are as contrasting as the empanadas and tamales on one block and the pizzelles and cannolis on the next.

One thing I love about reading things set in places I know well (like Pittsburgh) is recognizing all those little details. That grin and nod of identification that you get automatically. I loved that about Felicia Watson’s Where the Allegheny Meets the Monongahela (I mean, the title alone was a bit of a giveaway!) and I loved it again in Jana’s own Kept Tears. There are probably more ‘Burgh stories out there that I’m not at all aware of - please don’t hesitate to clue me in!

There’s always that line about “write what you know,” but the more writing I do, the more I find that for me it’s more a case of knowing what I write. And that often means coming to know the things I knew in the first place all over again.

 photo Walnut_zpsq4freivw.jpg

Blurb Town Man, Country Man
“Town man” Josh Douglass meets “country man” Ben Bauer at a mutual friend’s wedding, and passion kindles immediately. As urbanite wedding planner Josh and closeted contractor Ben spend more time together, they develop a deep, comfortable romance despite the fifty miles between their homes—and despite the drastic differences in their lifestyles. But as they grow closer, it becomes apparent that Josh and Ben have been enjoying the first flush of love without giving much thought to longer-term logistics. 

 A crisis leads Josh to ask himself serious questions about how his relationship with Ben can realistically work. But just as Josh is feeling ready to talk about the next step with Ben, a misunderstanding threatens to put an end to their love affair. Compromise is the key to any relationship, but it isn’t always easy to balance careers, friendships, and family expectations. Josh and Ben just need to see that bringing together the best of both their worlds is well worth the sacrifices they’ll have to make to remain in each other’s lives.

Buy Links Dreamspinner


Jessica Skye Davies
Author Page
Blog
jana_denardo: (kept tears)
Five Things I Learned Writing Acceptance

First off, of course, I want to thank Jana for giving me space today! It’s very much appreciated! Welcome back to the Acceptance blog tour! I learn something--or several somethings--every time I write a new story. I thought I’d share some of what I learned with this one.

1. It’s okay to not write everyday.

There are a billion pieces of writing advice out there. Every single one will say it’s absolute, that you should never ever do this and always do that. One of the most common is that you have to write every day. I call shenanigans on that. The fact is, sometimes, you just can’t, for a plethora of reasons. I have health problems and there are days I can’t put two creative words together (hell, there are days I can’t put two coherent words together!). If you try to force yourself to write on a story when you’re feeling bad, have a lot of stress (unless writing is a de-stressor), or whatever, all you’re going to do is have to go back the next day and undo a mess. It’s okay to leave the story sit. This applies if it’s not going the way you need it to or you’re stuck on something. Oftentimes, letting it sit will help.

2. Your readers are not in your head.

I have a tendency to put together a huge amount of head canon about my characters, their lives, their futures, and more. The problem with this is that… I know a whole hell of a lot about my characters that may never see the light of day—or the page. I got called out by my beta readers more than a few times over details I referred to but never actually put in the story. Because those details were in my head, I knew them, but the readers—beta or otherwise—don’t. That said, the more you know about your characters and where they come from, the better. Just remember your readers won’t unless know this unless you tell them.

3. Don’t be afraid to write what you want.

I first learned this one when I was writing Patience, then again with Acceptance. One of the things one of my beta readers commented on is that this story isn’t as much romance as the others. Forbes Mates as a whole isn’t traditional romance. There isn’t a lot of the “meet, fall in love, overcome obstacle, then say I love you, end” in these stories. I didn’t want that. I wanted to write something that wasn’t about the “falling in love part.” Don’t be afraid to focus on whatever kind of story you want to write. Because if it’s not what you want to write… that’ll come through in the story and it won’t be nearly as good as it could be.

4. Scenes that are hard for my character to go through are doubly hard for me to write.

So, my husband, Mr. Grace, tells me he loves when I write action. He says I do it well. Action scares the ever-loving crap out of me (though not as much as SciFi). Because it’s got to have the right pace, the right wording, the right everything to give the feel you want it to. This becomes doubly hard when your character is struggling through the scene.

There is one roughly half way through the book that I have fought myself over every time I’ve gone through it. Quincy is forced to interrogate someone to find out who is behind his attacks. My (not entirely) sweet jaguar is an information broker and artist. He doesn’t have the stomach for something like this, but he knows it’s necessary. He—and the others with him—use humor to try to defuse the situation. That’s the only thing that got me through it.

If that was hard, the aftermath about did me in. I still cry every time. Every. Single. Time. I read this. My very headstrong, aloof, self-sufficient character ends up needing his mate to deal with all that happened. He ends up crying (in the shower, so later he can pretend he didn’t), struggling with his religious beliefs and even with what his own mate thinks.

In the end, I think it’s a good thing if those types of scenes are hard to write. It means your emotions will come through in the story, making it richer and deeper. Just… have a few tissues ready while you do.

5. Write the story that needs to be written.

This is a hard thing to learn and I have to relearn it with every single story. I start to worry about whether people will like it, if there’s enough angst or action or sex. I start questioning every scene, POV, everything. In the end, if I let the story tell me what belongs, it comes out so much better and I am less of a mess when it’s over. It sounds a little weird, but the best thing is just get out of its way, seriously.

Thank you again to Jana for the space today! I really appreciate it. Be sure to follow the full tour for lots more bits about the story, some great exclusive excerpts, and lots of opportunities to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway!

acceptance--blog-tour
Follow the tour here: http://www.grace-duncan.com/acceptance-blog-tour


Blurb:


AcceptanceFS_halfsizeDr. Miles Grant acknowledges that his destined mate could be either gender even though his bisexuality cost him his family and his pack. Luckily he found the Forbes Pack, who happily accept him just as he is. What he never counted on was finding his mate in Pittsburgh or for his mate to be another species entirely—a cat!

Quincy Archer isn’t just any jaguar shifter. He is the heir to the leadership of his pride. Destined mates are nothing but legend to the nearly extinct and generally solitary jaguars, and Quincy certainly never expected to find one for himself, much less a male… or a wolf.

However, finding each other and coming to terms with their species is the least of their worries. Quincy is expected to select a proper female mate, father a cub, and take his place as heir to the pride. Except Quincy refuses, having no interest in women or leadership and knowing he isn’t right for it. But his father will stop at nothing—not even attempting to kill Miles—to get his way. Quincy and Miles must overcome many obstacles to stay together as the destined mates they’re meant to be.

Dreamspinner Press - eBook & Paperback
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/acceptance/id1126559228?mt=11
Amz: https://www.amazon.com/Acceptance-Forbes-Mates-Book-3-ebook/dp/B01H8325Q8
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/acceptance-grace-r-duncan/1123943161?ean=9781634774055
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/acceptance-19
ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-acceptance-2060133-341.html

 

About Grace


grace_nohateGrace Duncan grew up with a wild imagination. She told stories from an early age – many of which got her into trouble. Eventually, she learned to channel that imagination into less troublesome areas, including fanfiction, which is what has led her to writing male/male erotica.

A gypsy in her own right, Grace has lived all over the United States. She has currently set up camp in East Texas with her husband and children – both the human and furry kind.

As one of those rare creatures who loves research, Grace can get lost for hours on the internet, reading up on any number of strange and different topics. She can also be found writing fanfiction, reading fantasy, crime, suspense, romance and other erotica or even dabbling in art.


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Find Grace here:
Website Facebook Twitter Youtube Goodreads
jana_denardo: (kept tears)

Royal Surrender Banner


Title: Royal Surrender

Author: Perci T. Brooks

Genre: Gay Romance, Urban Fantasy

Length: Novella

Publisher: Wayward Ink Publishing


Synopsis


Prince Amory longs to find his true love.


Néstor Awada wants to be a servant no longer.


Both yearn to find the man with whom they could fall in love.


Each doubts their dream will come true.


When word reaches Amory that his father is mistreating a new servant, he goes to save him.


Prince and servant try to fight their growing feelings for each other to no avail.


But is their love strong enough to breach the chasm forced on them by society?



Excerpt:ROYAL SURRENDER

Amory rubbed his eyes, leaning back in his chair. He wasn’t sure of the time, but knew it was late. Covyll had come to check on him and brought him dinner. Amory had asked after Néstor and how he was doing. The young man had eaten dinner and was lying in bed reading, Covyll reported. Amory was thinking he should get to bed as well.

“You okay, Amory?”

“I thought you went to bed, Covyll.”

His advisor sat on the desk. “You know my day doesn’t end until you are in bed.”

He leaned forward until their lips were an inch apart. “Or later, if you want me to help you with anything.” He bent closer and licked Amory’s lips.

“Not tonight, Covyll.”

Covyll sat back. “You have already developed a crush on him, haven’t you?”

“On whom?” It was a weak protest, and Amory knew it.

“Néstor, and I can see why. He’s lovely. Vulnerable, yet there is a spark in him. He could easily captivate a man.”

“He said my father watched. What type of sick fool watches a man forcing himself on another? I’m appalled at that, Covyll. I want to take Néstor out of here and live on my estate.”

Covyll stood and paced. “Let me ask you this. If Néstor were to develop feelings for you as well, to the point where he confessed his love to you, and if he asked you to renounce your royal status, would you do it?”

Amory arched a brow. “Putting the cart before the horse, aren’t you?”

Buy Links


WIP: http://www.waywardinkpublishing.com/product/royal-surrender-perci-t-brooks/

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HAZPQXS/

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01HAZPQXS/

Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B01HAZPQXS/

Amazon DE: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B01HAZPQXS/

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-royalsurrender-2061217-158.html


Royal Surrender Book Cover


Book trailer



Giveaway


Prize: $2.99 WIP Gift Card


a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the author


PERCI T. BROOKS is the author of Yaoi (m/m) and Yuri (f/f). She’s been writing since the age of ten and started off writing just little stories. As she got older, she was able to create her own characters and plots. She loves to write. Becoming an author has always been her dream.


Perci enjoys reading, writing, poetry, anime, manga, Japanese music, cats, cows, Japanese history, Japanese movies. She is a total cat lover and loves to inspire others.


Miss Brooks lives to inspire others. She was born with medical problems, is hearing impaired and has disabilities and thought she would never become an author.


PERCI T. BROOKS can be found at:


Website: http://percitbrooks.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PerciTBrooks/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DuchessDemon

Tumblr: http://writerprincessperci.tumblr.com/

jana_denardo: (kept tears)

Lima and Tangerine Blog Tour Banner


Title: Lime and Tangerine

Author: Kevin Caucher

Genre: Gay Romance, Science Fiction

Length: Novella

Publisher: Wayward Ink Publishing


Synopsis


The post-apocalyptic world has changed. Colors have changed.


The skies are now red, and the seas fandango pink.


There are those who’ve acquired skills as “squinters”. By narrowing their eyes, they can see people in different colors—colors by which they can define their mood.


Senlin was born a squinter. A child of the foster system, the lack of love  has left him with casual views on sex.


When Sicong recruits him into SQX, a squinter organization, Senlin wants nothing more than to jump his bones, but Sicong’s detachment makes Senlin believe his feelings aren’t reciprocated.


Senlin and Sicong’s relationship begins to grow as they undertake missions together.


That is, until an enemy of SQX turns his attention upon them.


Lime and Tangerine Cover


Buy Links


Don’t miss the WIP and ARe Mother’s Day Sale – 40% off from May 6th to May 9; or the Science  Fiction Sale – 30-40% off on all book retailer sites!


WIP: http://www.waywardinkpublishing.com/product/lime-and-tangerine-by-kevin-caucher/

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EB1AHI8/

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01EB1AHI8/

Amazon AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B01EB1AHI8/

Amazon DE: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B01EB1AHI8/

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-limeandtangerine-2024618-145.html


Book Trailer



Giveaway


Prizes: Two $2.99 WIP Gift Cards


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Lime And Tangerine 3d cover


About the author


Growing up in China, KEVIN CAUCHER never thought he’d grow up loving to write; never did he expect himself ending up in Australia either. He is now happily partnered in NSW Illawarra area and writing.


Kevin’s writing is mainly influenced by his growing up as a gay Chinese; he also sometimes pops out totally random stories that has nothing to do with his growing up.


Besides his passion for writing, Kevin has also opened a cafe in December 2015. “There, the cliché of authors writing in a cafe.”


KEVIN CAUCHER can be found at:


Website: kevincaucher.wordpress.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kevincaucher1

jana_denardo: (kept tears)

Nature of the Beast Tour Banner


Title: Nature of the Beast

Author:  Aimee Brissay

Series: Tangled Bonds, Book One

Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, MMF, Shifters

Length: Long Novella

Publisher: Wayward Ink Publishing


Synopsis


After sorceress Alexandra tries to kill her insane father, her fae uncle expels her from the Otherworld in an attempt to keep her safe. Living among humans, she keeps her connection with the supernatural by working for vampires and werewolves.


When she stumbles upon a hurt werewolf pup her efforts to heal him inadvertently break the bonds tying the young lycan to the pack, making her his new alpha.


This is the least of Alexandra’s worries though, for back in the Otherworld her father has not forgotten her. He dispatches an assassin to kill her. But just who is this mysterious foe, and what will their arrival mean not only to Alexandra but to the delicate balance of the world?


Nature of the Beast is the first book in the Tangled Bonds series.


NatureOTheBeast_600x956



Excerpt “I’m not lying.”

Nicolae stared at me, his entire soul on his face for me to see. Judging by the sureness of Sean’s tone, I would have expected the kid to show his deference to my friend, not to me, but perhaps he felt my power placed me higher than Sean. Or perhaps he found it easier to relate to me, seeing as I was the only woman in the room.

I could feel that he was indeed telling the truth. Or his version of it. While he resumed his eating, I reached out with my senses and soared into the aetheric.
“What are you afraid of?”

He jerked, glancing up, before he resumed staring at the table. “I don’t have to tell you anything.”

The kid had found his spine. Too bad I couldn’t let him keep it.“I see. Let me rephrase.”

Nicolae looked even more uncomfortable.

“You are right, you don’t. But you are in my house and I will not jeopardize my friends’ safety.”

“I’m not dangerous.”

“That’s a lie.”

The aura surrounding the werewolf changed, taking on the reddish hue of anger. His hands fisted on the table, the knuckles whitening under the pressure he exerted. “I don’t lie.”

“You just did.”

The rhythm of his breath changed, coming out in pants through clenched teeth. The energy around him took on a furious shade of crimson. Reading the cues, Sean stepped back, taking Chris with him.

“Easy there.”


Buy Links


Don’t miss the March Sale! All Wayward Ink Titles titles are 35% off on the WIP website and 30% off on AllRomance, and 30% off on Amazon.


WIP: http://www.waywardinkpublishing.com/product/nature-of-the-beast-by-aimee-brissay/

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CJ4RVYW/

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01CJ4RVYW/

Amazon AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B01CJ4RVYW/

Amazon DE: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B01CJ4RVYW/

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-natureofthebeast-1993709-145.html


Book trailer



Giveaway


Prize: $4.99 WIP Gift Card


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Nature-of-the-beast-3D-render


About the author


aimee-brissayBorn in Romania, land of the Iele and Vlad the Impaler, AIMEE BRISSAY has spent all her life surrounded by books. She has ridden side by side with d’Artagnan and The Three Musketeers to retrieve the Queen’s diamonds, set sail on the Erasmus in search of the Japans, fell in love with Rhett Butler and roamed the Wild West along Old Shatterhand. She has walked on the footsteps of the Olympian Gods and searched for Zalmoxis’ sanctuary in the Carpathians. In her mind, she’s never been the damsel in distress but rather the knight in shiny armor fighting for a cause.


With a background like this, turning to writing was no surprise.


Aimee discovered erotica early on in life and has never looked back. Now she can write anywhere, even in a crowded room or a busy subway station, but she loves solitude.


When she’s not at her evil day job, she can be found writing or playing with her cat. She welcomes messages from readers and promises to answer all of them as soon as possible.


Aimee Brissay can be found at:


Website: http://aimeebrissay.blogspot.ro/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006586754683

Twitter: https://twitter.com/aimeebrissay

jana_denardo: (kept tears)
 photo FSOS_Cover_zps4doceplw.jpg

First Swallow of Spring
Asta Idonea
16 March 2016
Torquere Press
Short Story/MM

The first swallow of spring draws Seanán back to the fae circle each year. There he dances with the handsome fae lord, Iorweth. He knows the rules he must follow if he wishes to be free to leave at the end of the night; however, Iorweth is growing ever more inventive in his attempts to trick Seanán into breaking them.

Audio Excerpt

Torquere Press Pre-Order Link


Excerpt
“Seanán will be dancing with none but me.” The words were softly spoken, yet the tone brooked no argument, and at this utterance, the others scurried away and a new figure stepped into view.

A wave of contentment flooded through Seanán. “Iorweth.” He accepted Iorweth’s proffered hand, and Iorweth pulled him to his feet as if he weighed nothing. He gazed up at the regal figure. “I have missed you.”

“And I you. Shall we dance?”

Iorweth swept Seanán into his arms and they spun toward the edge of the clearing. The others made room for them and they joined the chain, circling the stone in a dance of pure delight. The music came from no discernible source, but it filled the air, bright and bell-like, and between its magical refrains, the fae laughed, clapped, and cavorted in the moonlight.

Seanán followed Iorweth’s lead. The rest of the world melted away as he lost himself in the fae lord’s glimmering, emerald eyes. This was the time of year he felt most alive. In the long months between these meetings he survived on memories and dreams. They kept him going, but nothing compared to being here in Iorweth’s arms. The press of his hand on Seanán’s back—that was the brilliant reality. The rest of his life was colorless.

Iorweth pulled him closer until their bodies met. Warmth spread through Seanán and he sighed and rested his head against Iorweth’s chest. Surely they had danced for long enough. Surely Iorweth would soon take him to the stone. Yet, on and on they danced. They twirled and dipped and swayed, never breaking from the circle. Seanán should have felt dizzy. At the very least he should have grown weary. But when he was with Iorweth, he always had boundless energy. So long as their hands touched, Seanán believed he could go on dancing without pause, forever.

Author Bio & Links
Asta Idonea (aka Nicki J Markus) was born in England, but now lives in Adelaide, South Australia. She has loved both reading and writing from a young age and is also a keen linguist, having studied several foreign languages.


Asta launched her writing career in 2011 and divides her efforts not only between MM and mainstream works but also between traditional and indie publishing. Her works span the genres, from paranormal to historical and from contemporary to fantasy. It just depends what story and which characters spring into her mind!


As a day job, Asta works as a freelance editor and proofreader, and in her spare time she enjoys music, theatre, cinema, photography, and sketching. She also loves history, folklore and mythology, pen-palling, and travel; all of which have provided plenty of inspiration for her writing.

Blog: http://www.nickijmarkus.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NickiJMarkus
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NickiJMarkus
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4567057.Nicki_J_Markus
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolamarkus
Amazon Author US: http://www.amazon.com/Asta-Idonea/e/B00RMGGVYO
Amazon Author UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asta-Idonea/e/B00RMGGVYO
jana_denardo: (kept tears)
 photo devouringred510_zpsfdzdmofq.jpg


Devouring Red
Asta Idonea
24 February 2016
Torquere Press
Short Story/MM

Straying from the path on the way to his grandmother's house, Redd is pursued by a vicious, hungry wolf. Help arrives in the form of a mysterious stranger, but will Redd wish he'd taken his chances with the wolf when he comes to learn there is more than one way a handsome young man can be devoured?
Audio Excerpt

Excerpt
Redd crashed through the forest as fast at the trees would let him. The space between their trunks appeared to be shrinking. Were they closing in on him? He put on a burst of speed. Branches stretched toward him, grasping at his clothing with jagged wooden fingers. Twigs and dead leaves cracked and crunched beneath his feet, and his crimson cloak billowed out behind him, flapping in the breeze and brushing over the foliage.

Then one of the trees got lucky. Its slender limb caught on the hem of Redd’s cape and sent him tumbling to the ground. The shock of the fall was enough to snap him out of his panic, and he lay there until his short, sharp breaths steadied to slow and deep inhalations. Once calm, he pushed up onto his elbows and assessed his surroundings.

The woods encircled him, dense and dark. He knew it was still daytime because here and there the sun’s rays penetrated the thick foliage, creating glistening puddles of light that made the reddening leaves shimmer. However, there was a faint bluish tinge to the illumination that told Redd dusk was not far off. The thought of being forced to spend the night in the forest sent a new shudder of fear through him and he scrambled to his feet.

Why had he done it? His whole life he’d been warned about straying from the path and he’d never been tempted to disobey before now. But then he’d never had any incentive until today. His grandmother was sick. Dying. No one had said the word aloud, but Redd had seen it in their faces when they spoke of her illness. Getting weaker, they muttered. Growing frail. Others spoke of the long years she’d enjoyed as if that somehow made up for the inevitable loss. For Redd, there could be no positive to numb the pain.

Author Bio & Links
Asta Idonea (aka Nicki J Markus) was born in England, but now lives in Adelaide, South Australia. She has loved both reading and writing from a young age and is also a keen linguist, having studied several foreign languages.


Asta launched her writing career in 2011 and divides her efforts not only between MM and mainstream works but also between traditional and indie publishing. Her works span the genres, from paranormal to historical and from contemporary to fantasy. It just depends what story and which characters spring into her mind!


As a day job, Asta works as a freelance editor and proofreader, and in her spare time she enjoys music, theatre, cinema, photography, and sketching. She also loves history, folklore and mythology, pen-palling, and travel; all of which have provided plenty of inspiration for her writing.

Blog: http://www.nickijmarkus.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NickiJMarkus
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NickiJMarkus
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4567057.Nicki_J_Markus
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolamarkus
Amazon Author US: http://www.amazon.com/Asta-Idonea/e/B00RMGGVYO
Amazon Author UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asta-Idonea/e/B00RMGGVYO
jana_denardo: (kept tears)
Hi Everyone. Say hi to Jo who's here with The Way You Look Tonight. Sounds really interesting!

The Way You Look Tonight Banner

Title: The Way You Look Tonight

Author: Jo Tannah

Genre:  Gay Romance, Contemporary, May-December Romance

Series: Standards Series, Book Two

Length: Novella

Publisher: Wayward Ink Publishing


Synopsis


As a member of a wealthy and influential family, Jaime “Jamie” Abello had his life mapped out. Being shipped off to LA with an insurance scam linked to his name was not part of his plan.


It had seemed so simple: pass the Philippines Medical Board Exam;practice in the family-owned and -controlled hospital; join the Board by age forty; and find a partner with whom he could settle down and be himself.


Instead, his father supplies him with a surfeit of money and dangerous secrets and sends him to a strange country.


The Pediatric Residency Program Jamie applies for brings him face to face with untouchable Program Director, Miles Kwon, whom Jamie soon finds to be a man of integrity and vision.


When tragedy strikes, Jamie finds himself falling deeper into depression. Unexpectedly, it’s Miles who helps him work through his pain.


Will Jamie ever experience a life with a loving partner, or will his father’s secrets cause him to lose everything he’s gained?

The Way You Look Tonight Cover



Excerpt: Excerpt
My heart flutters in my chest. I really should tell it to stop reacting to this man’s voice. I feel my cheeks burn when I meet his eyes. He studies my face, and, feeling suddenly self-conscious, I have to look away. The stirring of desire deep in my belly makes me lose focus. I turn and lead him to one of the four porch chairs arranged around a glass-topped wicker coffee table where I had been sitting when he drove up.

“Please, sit down. Would you like something? Water, tea, decaf? I’m having beer.” Playing host is safe. I try to act normally, but my knees feel weak as he moves closer.

“Nothing for me, thank you. How are you doing, Jamie? And, please, call me Miles,” he says, sitting on the cushioned rattan chair next to mine.

“As well as I could be, I guess.” I shrug, still unsure of my own feelings. “I’m still trying to process that my father’s been gone for six months and I had absolutely no idea. I mean, in this day and age, I should have realized that the last time I spoke to him was on my birthday. Don’t they say that when you lose someone you start missing something?”

Miles looks at me, curious. “I’ve heard of the saying, but what do you mean exactly?”

“I’ve heard it said that when you lose someone and you don’t know, you feel an inexplicable heartache.”

Miles appears to mull it over. “Why are you asking me?”

I look down at my feet, not wanting to meet his all-knowing gaze. “I didn’t feel any of that. It’s been six months since he died, and I was so wrapped up in my work....” I can’t continue.

“What are you feeling right now?”

I can’t answer straightaway. My heart is in my throat, and feelings of guilt are pushing their way through my chest. Miles allows me the quiet, but after a while, I know I have to be truthful. “Guilty.”


Buy Links


Don’t miss the Valentine’s Day Sale (February 11-22) 50% off on WIP’s website and 40% off on ARe!


WIP: http://www.waywardinkpublishing.com/product/the-way-you-look-tonight-by-jo-tannah/

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BDTO4U8/

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01BDTO4U8/

Amazon AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B01BDTO4U8/

Amazon DE: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B01BDTO4U8/

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thewayyoulooktonight-1974943-149.html


Video Trailer



Giveaway


Prizes: $4.99 WIP Gift Card and ebook copy of What A Difference A Day Makes by Jo Tannah


a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Way You Look Tonight 3Drender


About the author


JO TANNAH is a wife, mother, and blogger by day, writer by night. It can be difficult to say the least but it is a challenge that keeps her on her toes.


She grew up listening to folktales her father and nannies spun to either entertain the children or send home a message. These narratives stayed with Jo until she finally decided to write them down in a journal way back when she kept one. Years later, going through junk led to finding a long forgotten box and nestled within it was the journal. Reading over the stories of romance, science fiction, and horror that she had taken time to put to paper all those years before brought to light the realization that they were tales she’d never come across in her readings.


The tales Jo write are fictional but all of them are based on what she grew up with and still dreams about. That they have an M/M twist is simply for her pleasure. And she hopes, yours as well.


Jo Tannah can be found at:


Website: http://www.jotannah.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jotannahauthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jotannah

jana_denardo: (kept tears)

Callum's Fate Tour Banner


Title: Callum’s Fate

Author: Dianne Hartsock

Genre: Fantasy, Gay Romance, Erotic Romance

Length: Novella

Publisher: Wayward Ink Publishing


Synopsis


In 1780, Scotland, following a harsh year of drought, Callum Mackenzie is forced from his father’s farm in the hopes of finding work.


But as fate would have it, Callum is lured onto the moors by the will-o-the-wisp. Lost in the dark, he falls into enchantment, encountering faeries and nymphs, until he stumbles into the arms of a licentious Barrow-Wight who lays claim to his soul.


Hearing his silent pleas, Donal sends Liam the gruagach (faery) to rescue Callum and bring him to his farm, a place of refuge from the Fae.


Callum is happy working on Donal’s farm, slowly falling in love with the beautiful, silver-haired gruagach.


Yet there’s something wrong in the nearby forest….


Despite Donal’s warnings, Callum is lured into the forest and becomes tangled in its magic, easy prey for the Barrow-Wight.


Will Liam be able to strike a deal with the Barrow-Wight to save Callum’s life, or has Callum found his last resting place instead?


Callum's Fate Dianne Hartsock Cover




Excerpt Stepping inside the dark barn, Callum let the heavy door swing shut behind him. At once, the warmth and well-known scent of the milk cows surrounded him and he smiled a little. Maybe there was an empty pen he could curl up in. He took a cautious step forward and brushed into something—a form darker than the night.

“Sweet Lord!” he shouted in alarm and clutched the bundle of clothing to his pounding chest as the thing skittered away.

His gaze darted skyward at a low chuckle and warmth spread through his body as a familiar voice called down to him. “Don’t mind the bodachan. He likes to tease. Lyle! Give us some light, there’s a dear.”

Callum listened to low mutters and curses as the dark thing moved across the floor. There was a scrape and the smell of oil, and he blinked as a lantern went on in a far corner of the barn. He stared in surprise at the wizened little man who planted fists on hips and glared at him with sharp green eyes.

A shiver traveled through Callum and he sighed. This was indeed a night of magic. He should have expected the bodachan, the little faery who helped around the farmyard. Searching his tired thoughts, Callum wondered if he had anything to appease the brownie. He remembered the crust of bread he’d kept aside for his breakfast and set the clothing at his feet. Removing the morsel from a handkerchief, he walked to a nearby stall and set it on a railing with a bow to the little man. “I didn’t mean to intrude. I only beg shelter for the night.”

There was a soft laugh from above and he reluctantly raised his eyes, gasping at the blue gaze that pierced straight to his heart.

“Come up here,” Liam commanded, his voice a rough caress Callum felt along his spine

Buy Links links


Don’t miss the Valentine’s Day Sale (February 11-17) 50% off on WIP’s website and 40% off on ARe!


WIP: http://www.waywardinkpublishing.com/product/callums-fate-by-dianne-hartsock/

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Callums-Fate-Dianne-Hartsock-ebook/dp/B01B383YP0/

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Callums-Fate-Dianne-Hartsock-ebook/dp/B01B383YP0/

Amazon AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/Callums-Fate-Dianne-Hartsock-ebook/dp/B01B383YP0/

Amazon DE: http://www.amazon.de/Callums-Fate-Dianne-Hartsock-ebook/dp/B01B383YP0/

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-callum039sfate-1973471-143.html


Giveaway


Prizes: $5 ARe Gift Card & $2.99 WIP Gift Card


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Callum's Fate 3D Cover


Video Trailer



About the author


DIANNE HARTSOCK is the author of m/m erotic romance, both contemporary and fantasy, the psychological thriller, and anything else that comes to mind. Oh, and a floral designer. If she can’t be writing, at least she has the chance to create through the rich colors and textures of flowers and foliage to bring a smile to someone’s face.


Currently, Dianne lives in the Willamette Valley of Oregon with her incredibly patient husband, who puts up with the endless hours she spends hunched over the keyboard letting her characters play.


Social links


Website: https://diannehartsock.wordpress.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/diannehartsock

Twitter: https://twitter.com/diannehartsock

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/diannehartsock/

jana_denardo: (kept tears)
Welcome A.L. Bates to my blog with the SF novella Deep (huzzah for some Sci-Fi)

Deep Tour Banner


Title: Deep

Author: A.L. Bates

Genre: Science Fiction, Gay Romance, Gay SciFi

Length: Long Novella

Publisher: Wayward Ink Publishing


Synopsis


Fleeing from a troubled past that left him feeling tarnished and used, Sean finds work as a medic aboard the deep sea mining ship Ariel, on a distant planet.


Under the leader ship of the infuriating, yet charismatic, Captain Joel Riley, Sean settles into his simple, but dangerous, new life. It’s a life he soon comes to love; albeit one in which he conceals his sexuality and avoids intimacy.


But Sean’s new world is turned on its head when an old face threatens to expose him for the man he used to be.


With Joel’s help, will Sean learn to come to terms with his past and become a man he can be proud of?


Deep AL Bates


Buy Links


Don’t miss the Valentine’s Day Sale (February 11-17) 50% off on WIP’s website and 40% off on ARe!


WIP: http://www.waywardinkpublishing.com/product/deep-by-al-bates/

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Deep-L-Bates-ebook/dp/B01AOB6VW0/

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Deep-L-Bates-ebook/dp/B01AOB6VW0/

Amazon AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/Deep-L-Bates-ebook/dp/B01AOB6VW0/

Amazon DE: http://www.amazon.de/Deep-L-Bates-ebook/dp/B01AOB6VW0/

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-deep-1969763-177.html


Book Trailer



Giveaway


Prizes: $10 WIP Gift Card + $4.99 WIP Gift Card

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Deep Cover


About the author


A.L. BATES has a keen interest in Sci-fi and adventure novels and enjoys writing stories with strong characters in imaginative backgrounds. Although an avid writer, Deep is the first published novella by A.L. Bates.


A.L. Bates can be found on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoralbates




And if you'd like to know how I felt about Deep here you go. Hint: I enjoyed it!
My review of Deep. )
jana_denardo: (kept tears)

Br0th3rly blog tour


Title: Br0th3rly

Author: Alina Popescu

Series: Famous on the Internet, Book One

Genre: Gay Romance, Contemporary, M/M Romance

Length: Novella

Publisher: Wayward Ink Publishing


Start your journey through the new techie/geeky gay romance series by Alina Popescu—Famous on the Internet—with the first book, Br0th3rly.


Synopsis


Fighting his relentless love for Trevor, the guy he was raised to consider his brother, has been Tristan’s mission in life.


To distance himself from Trevor, even after discovering they weren’t really related, he left for college at sixteen. Moving into the city, building a new life, and running an anonymous blog about what he considers sick, twisted feelings might make Tristan famous on the Internet, but it isn’t enough to get over his obsession. Every time he goes home, a quick glance at Trevor brings it all flooding back.


Br0th3rly 3D Cover


When commitment-phobe Trevor announces he’s got a serious boyfriend during one of Tristan’s rare visits home, the adoring kid brother will be forced to run once again. This time, however, Trevor doesn’t stand back and watch him leave.


Instead, he follows him, making it nigh on impossible for Tristan to keep his love a secret for much longer.


Book Trailer


Buy Links


Don’t miss the ARe 25% off sale till January 23rd, WIP’s Unzipping 2016 Sale – 35% off all list titles till January 24th, or the huge Australia Day Sale–January 25 to January 27—50% off all titles on WIP’s website and 35% off on Are!


WIP: http://www.waywardinkpublishing.com/product/br0th3rly-by-alina-popescu/

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B019VK3VFA/

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B019VK3VFA/

Amazon DE: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B019VK3VFA/

Amazon AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B019VK3VFA/

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-br0th3rly-1959019-149.html

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/br0th3rly-alina-popescu/1123179425


Br0th3rly Cover


Giveaway


1x$10 WIP Gift Card

2×1 Backlist Title from WIP – anthologies and individual releases included


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 she has always been drawn to sci-fi, fantasy, and the supernatural realm. Born and raised in Romania, she finds her inspiration in books of all genres, in movies, and the occasional manga comic book. She is a proud geek who needs her fast Internet and gadgets more than she needs air.


Social Links


Site & Blog: http://alina-popescu.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/authoralinapopescu

Twitter: http://twitter.com/alina_popescu

Instagram: http://instagram.com/alinapopescuwriter

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/alina-popescu

Google+:  https://www.google.com/+AlinaPopescu

Amazon:  http://amazon.com/author/alinapopescu

jana_denardo: (kept tears)
 photo ShapeofHoneyTheLG_zpsv8vvxgkg.jpg


Hi all. Welcome Ki Brightly to these pages. It took me a little while to get this rolling because the last two months have been very nasty ones in my personal life (My apologies for dragging my heels, Ki). Anyhow, Ki's here with The Shape of Honey and the characters have answered a few questions for us. And the answers are a lot of fun.



 photo TwitterBoozeandBees_zpsjgg34xy4.jpg



1. Is the Lake Effect snow happy fun playtime in your wolf forms or do you hibernate in your cozy house?

Yulian:

“Depends on the wolf. I’m all for being out of doors unless the temperature is subzero, but Rolly…”

Rolly:

“Some of us are sane. No, thank you. I’d rather curl up in front of the fire in our living room with Yulian. Snow is cold on the old paws.”

Yulian:

“I can see the appeal in your plan.” *throat clearing*

2. Rolly, what was your first thought about being out on the farm? Besides, Yulian, what have you learned to love best about being in the country?

Rolly:

*laughter* “My very first thought? The very, very first one? OH FUCK NO. But, at the time I hadn’t been shifting regularly, and I didn’t exactly want to be leaving the city. Now? I think I love our beach most. I love being out there, unless it’s cold and disgusting outside.” *laughs* “I …I also love the silence. Especially at night when the stars are out. It’s never really quiet: there’s the surf, animals, other members of our pack sometimes…but, it’s …uh…primal and stuff. When I first got to the farm all that stillness in the woods rubbed me the wrong way, mostly because being in my own head wasn’t always pleasant. Now that I’m happy with my mate? It’s cool.”

3. Yulian, while age means a little less to your long-lived kind, is it challenging to keep up with someone like Rolly, who’s barely more than a puppy?

Rolly:

“Hey!”

Yulian:

*chuckles* Sometimes. Not the way you perhaps mean…not physically, but …forgive me honig wolf…he thinks about the world differently than I do. He grew up with technology I’ve never tried very hard to figure out, and I feel fumbling sometimes alongside him.

Rolly:
“I’ve offered to teach you to use my computer more than once…”

Yulian:

“That you have. He’s also surrounded by family, and I had to learn to negotiate them as well as him. It’s been a learning process for everyone.”

Rolly:

*snorts* Especially Ava.

Yulian:

“My rules keep us safe.”

Rolly:

“Yeah, yeah…”

Yulian:

“At any rate, it is not his age that has been challenging, so much as the differences that would exist between any two people. It’s been a privilege learning about him.”

Rolly:

“You’re gonna make me blush over here.”


4. Rolly, have you gotten into Yulian’s mead and Yulian, have you tried brewing other types of alcohol?

Rolly:

“I’ve done the best I can to learn about it. I like it, I mean, it tastes good right?”

Yulian:
“Of course it does!”

Rolly:

“I love your mead.”

Yulian:

“Thank you. The fall flavors are Rolly’s favorite, but I brewed a small batch of blueberry vanilla for him over the winter.”

Rolly:

“How do you know the fall ones are my favorite?”

Yulian:

“You always choose them to serve to others.”

Rolly:

“Oh…I guess I do.”

Yulian:

“I have made my own wine, of course, and I’ve tried my hand at microbrewed beers, but I have a small set up in one of my buildings near my house dedicated to mead production only. Perhaps one day I’ll spend the capital to expand into something else product wise, but I don’t believe in fixing something that isn’t broken. For now, Howling Wolf Farm is mead proud.”

5. Yulian, what is about pack life that turned you off?

Rolly:

“Other than Dean being a dick?”

Yulian:

“Honig wolf.”

Rolly:

“Sorry.”

Yulian:

“It’s very violent in the United States—pack life. More of a power struggle. At home…in Europe the packs were much smaller. Family packs. Here the packs are divided by region, much like the nation was when it was first settled, and much larger. That has made my people vicious and less caring of life. Europe wasn’t all roses, there were still feuds and wolves still died. My parents died in such skirmishes…but in between…there were parties. Anyone travelling through our territory was welcomed warmly as the family they were. All wolves were brothers during peace. Youngsters were traded between packs until they found mates…it was a happier time for me. I hope to rebuild that warmth in my pack.”

Rolly:

“I love you.”

Yulian:

“I love you too.”


6. Yulian, what did you see in Rolly that made you decide you wanted to give him a chance?

Yulian:

“He had the balls to live his life. In spite of the back. My love is not a fighter, and he didn’t allow the pack to beat viciousness into him.”

Rolly:

“Are you calling me a pu—”

Yulian:

“Behave yourself.”

Rolly:

“Fine. Are you saying you liked me because I was weak?”

Yulian:

“If you must know, I liked the looks of you and thought I would have my way with you when I got you alone.”

Rolly:

“You’re full of it.”

Yulian:

“Am I?”

7. Rolly, what's it like being away from the city you know?

Yulian:

“His questions seem easier than mine.”

Rolly:

*laughs* It’s been okay. Ripley’s not very big, so it’s not like I can get lost. The locals aren’t always my favorite, but Ripley has a coffee shop. If you can get in there when either Thomas or Stevie isn’t there that is. If either one of them is at the shop good luck getting Mark to wait on you.”

Yulian:

“Coffee? Coffee is all that comforts you?”

Rolly:

“There are other perks.”

8. Between the two of you, which realized he was attracted to the other first?

Yulian:

“I’ve wanted him for…a very long while.”

Rolly:

“The first night?”

Yulian:

“Longer.”

Rolly:

“You’re creepy. You know that?”

Yulian:

*laughs*

9. Can you each describe what might be the perfect day for you? And how about the perfect date?


Rolly:

“Oh, I’ll go first. Perfect day. Me and Yulian. Beach. Food. Done. Also best date.”

Yulian:

“I would add on the day of the full moon, but otherwise I agree. Rolly and the moon on the same day is the perfect combination of sensual delights.”

Rolly:

“God. Can you not do that?”

Yulian:

“What?”

Rolly:

“Nothing. I’m just…yeah, the moon is good too. Everything’s better with you and the moon.”


 photo FacebookTEaserfortheshapeofhoney_zpsrya8b0mr.jpg


Blurb - Yulian Volkov is an entrepreneur and lone werewolf who hates the city. At a pack meeting, he learns the only member he’s attracted to is being expelled for crimes unspecified. Yulian strikes a deal with the pack leader to allow Rolly Witten to live on his farm and work in his Meadery. Although enjoying handsome Rolly’s company, Yulian must tread carefully, since Rolly doesn’t trust him and the pack doesn’t acknowledge homosexuality exists. Meanwhile, Yulian stealthily courts Rolly by teaching him the value of his wolf side.

Rolly, who’s known he was gay since he was a teen, has accepted a life of solitude—and a life of crime. He has no desire to relocate. Yet Yulian’s trust in his ability to do honest work builds his confidence. As life is settling well for them, Rolly learns a friend from his old pack had a crush on him, and he’s torn between returning his friend’s feelings or pursuing the budding relationship with Yulian. But that’s not their worst problem. Assassins are trying to take out both wolves, and they need to figure out who wants them dead or all the trust and happiness they’re building together won’t matter.


Excerpt )
jana_denardo: (kept tears)
Have a little something different for this Solstice day. Check out Wayward Ink Press's latest anthology Men in Uniform. I don't have a story in this one but there are plenty of great authors who do. Check it out! (including the giveaway under the cut!)

MIU_Alt_Banner


Title: Men in Uniform

Authors: Eric Gober, CJ Baty, Alina Popescu, Kassandra Lea, Asta Idonea, Eddy LeFey, Lily Velden, Jim Dunaway, Carol Pedroso, Jo Tannah

Genre:  Gay Romance, Military, Contemporary, Fantasy, Mystery, Science Fiction

Publisher: Wayward Ink Publshing


Synopsis


Like your boys in blue keeping the… peace?


Hot firemen dealing with… heat?


Naval Officers getting in way too… deep?


Perhaps you have a ‘thing’ for marines…


Or do you prefer your Men In Uniform to belong in the future?


Another galaxy?


Another time?


Wherever your love of a uniform leads you, MEN IN UNIFORM has something for you.


Men In Uniform Cover


Buy Links


Don’t miss WIP’s Christmas Sale – 30% off all titles till December 24th!


WIP: http://www.waywardinkpublishing.com/product/men-in-uniform-a-wayward-ink-publishing-anthology/

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-meninuniformawaywardinkpublishinganthology-1939285-166.html

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Men-Uniform-Wayward-Publishing-Anthology-ebook/dp/B018VB6HJW/

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Men-Uniform-Wayward-Publishing-Anthology-ebook/dp/B018VB6HJW/

Amazon AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/Men-Uniform-Wayward-Publishing-Anthology-ebook/dp/B018VB6HJW/

Amazon DE: http://www.amazon.de/Men-Uniform-Wayward-Publishing-Anthology-ebook/dp/B018VB6HJW/


Book Trailer


<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/-rYD36JzhgM” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>




Stories Included )


Excerpt: Under the cut for the sexiness )
jana_denardo: (kept tears)
Hi everyone. Welcome Vicktor who's here to tell us about his newest book!

 photo Badge_zpsshhyjrj8.jpg

Author Name: Vicktor Alexander

Book Name: The Servant Duchess of Whitcomb
Series: The Scandalous Whispers of the Remmington Realm

Release Date: November 27, 2015
Blurb:


Orley Garrick is known throughout Angland not only as the man with two dukedoms but also as the hero who survived a brutal kidnapping at the hands of Nafoleon’s army, never once betraying the secrets of His Majesty. Still haunted by his memories, Orley pushes his crippled body to dangerous limits, all in an attempt to run from the demons of his past.

Until he meets Chester Boland, a maid in his friend’s household. Orley is besieged by desire for this gorgeous male woman, and by a connection he cannot ignore. But there are those within the Remmington Realm who take issue with the Duke’s choice—especially given Chester’s Tafrican lineage.

Having stared death in the face and won, Orley proposes they steal away and elope. However, before they can begin their new life, they uncover dangerous secrets that go deeper than they could ever imagine—involving those they trust the most.

Orley and Chester must discover exactly how deep these secrets run before their enemies make sure Chester is removed from Orley’s arms… forever.

Pages or Words: 304 pages

Categories: Alternate Universe, Fantasy, Gay Fiction, Historical, M/M Romance, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, *Trans, Interracial, Military

Excerpt:

THE SHARP retort of gunfire exploded around Orley Garrick, Duke of Whitcomb, and he ducked, trying to avoid the debris and the bodies of fallen soldiers around him as he surged forward. The smoke from the countless rifles burned his eyes as he desperately looked for the person who had caught his eye. He heard the cries of the dying calling out to him as he rode his horse farther into the thick of battle. Using his sword, he cut down an enemy soldier who raced toward him, mouth open as he let out a battle cry. Orley closed his eyes against the spray of blood across his face and blocked out the sound of the man’s death gurgle as he fell to the ground beneath his own horse.

Orley raced on toward the figure in white who didn’t belong on the battlefield. He called out a warning, telling the woman to be careful, because there was no way a man would be on a battlefield wearing a long, flowing white chemise, free of dust and bloodstain, appearing almost angelic among the crowd of soldiers. The woman didn’t stop. Instead she walked straight toward the commander of the enemy soldiers, and fear filled Orley. He wasn’t sure why; he didn’t know the woman, and yet he could not let anything happen to her.

At that moment, the woman turned to look at him, and Orley gasped when he realized the woman in front of him was not female as he’d suspected but male. Why in the world was a lady on the battlefield?

“You should not be here!” he yelled, trying to warn the male, but just as he got close enough to lift the woman onto the back of his horse, an enemy soldier plunged his sword through the woman’s back and out through his chest. Orley watched helplessly as the woman’s eyes widened moments before he collapsed to the ground, and a grief unlike aught he’d ever experienced ripped through him.

He was not sure how he knew, but the dying woman belonged to him, and someone had just taken him away.

Tossing his head back, Orley let out an anguished shout at the heavens.


ORLEY WOKE, panting and sweating, in the home of his friend, Heathcliff.

Holy. Shit. That one had been very different from his other nightmares. He rubbed his face with his hand and groaned as pain raced through his leg—the one that would never be the same. All because of war, a battle. All because of….

Orley shook his head. No, he wasn’t going to think about that.

Someone knocked lightly on the door, and Orley winced as he realized his plan to come to his room and take a quick nap after his taxing journey out of Tlondon had turned into a deep sleep and a brand-new nightmare.

God, he hated sleeping.

“Enter,” he called out as he sat up and swung his legs off the bed he was borrowing while visiting Heathcliff and Lucien for their country-house party. The door opened, and Orley turned to address the person standing there. He stopped short, almost swallowing his tongue as he took in the vision of the most beautiful creature to have ever been born.

Orley had been privileged to see many beautiful people in his life. Male and female, he was a lover of aesthetically pleasing images and didn’t discriminate. However, all of them paled in comparison to the lovely light-brown-skinned woman in front of him. Orley’s stomach clenched, his groin tightening as he inhaled sharply. The lovely scent of jasmine wafted up to his nostrils, and his eyes slid closed as he relished in the delightful fragrance emanating from the male who had just entered his room.

“Forgive me, Your Grace. I was sent to bring you a light repast and perhaps something to wash up with? His Grace the Duke of Pompinshire thought that perhaps you would like to freshen up before joining the rest of the guests downstairs.” The woman’s voice was soft and lyrical, with a slight lilt to it, and Orley wondered if perhaps he sang. He would have no problem lounging around on the settee listening to him sing or even just talk. Of course, as he took in the male’s appearance, he felt the desire to do much more than just listen to him.

“Your Grace? Are you ill?” the servant asked, and Orley swallowed, shaking his head.

“N-no. I’m fine. Just a bit out of sorts, I’m afraid. I appear to have overslept during my nap, and now I am feeling quite peckish,” he lied.

The woman nodded, his hazel eyes lighting with relief. Orley wondered at that. Was his well-being really of great concern, or was it just because the maid had been sent to look after Orley?

Orley allowed his gaze to rove over the young male’s form again, taking in every detail intently. He would like to have something to conjure up in his mind’s eye later on that evening when he put his hand to his already burgeoning erection.

Wearing the female black dress with a white apron, which was the maid’s uniform that was standard in most homes of the gentry, the young woman had honey blond hair that was currently pulled back in a very luscious chignon at the nape of his neck, and Orley could only imagine how long and thick it was. An image rose to his brain of that hair hanging down over his face as the young woman slid up and down his cock, and he pressed a hand to the sheets covering his waist. The young male’s skin was almond colored, and all Orley wanted to do was spend hours licking every inch of his body. He was not overly tall, only a few inches taller than Lucien, Heath’s husband, but still much shorter than Orley. And where Orley was all hard, thick muscles, the male maid before him was slender, though still with a lovely, toned body.

His slim-fingered hands held a covered silver tray, and Orley gestured him forward with a beckoning wave.

“Well, far be it from me to refuse such generosity from His Grace. You can just place it there on the nightstand,” he directed, watching the sway of the servant’s hips beneath the skirt of his maid’s gown as he walked toward the cherrywood nightstand. Orley shoved his fingers through his blond locks, messing up his hair and throwing his queue into disarray. He was unnerved as the vestiges of the nightmare faded from his mind, wreaking havoc with the lovely, distracting image of Heathcliff’s maid, whose form even now was causing a pleasurable ache in his balls.

“Is there anything else that I can do for you, Your Grace?” the maid asked, his voice hushed, eyes downcast, and a slight tinge of red to his light brown skin.

Orley prided himself on being a man of honor, integrity, and character. As a matter of fact, his grandfather, Charles Edrick Garrick I, the former Duke of Whitcomb, had more than once given him lessons and lectures on the way a gentleman was to behave. Anyone can strut around and use his physical strength to try and prove his brawn. But it takes honor, patience, gentleness, character, integrity, fortitude, knowing when to fight, knowing when to walk away, knowing when to love, how to love, and when to let go, and most importantly, knowing when to use your physical strength and when to be humble, that makes you a man.

Orley had always believed those words from his grandfather, had in fact lived by those words for his entire life. He’d only strayed from them when he’d served in His Majesty’s military and on those rare occasions when he’d allowed Blaine, Heathcliff, and Quincy to talk him into traveling down into the Lower East End to partake of the wares of the light-skirts. And while his grandfather’s words usually guided him, right now he was seriously considering doing something illicit.

He couldn’t believe the images that were passing through his mind. Flashes. Quick, as if they were memories like his time spent on the battlefield rather than the salacious, hopeful yearnings of a desirous, dry, fruitless attraction. However, the longer he spent in the company of the object of his mind’s current musings, the more it seemed his “dry, fruitless attraction” was soaked in hope and possibility. And perhaps it was for that reason that rationality and his grandfather’s words of character, honor, and integrity grew softer and softer until they were suddenly silent. All he could concentrate on was how lovely Heathcliff’s maid was. How round the male woman’s derriere was. How slim his shoulders were. How graceful his neck was.

How full his lips were, and how much Orley desperately wanted to kiss them.

“I think I would really like to know your name,” he heard himself saying.

The maid’s eyes widened, and he gasped softly. “Me, Your Grace?”

Orley chuckled. “Of course you. There is no one else in the room but you and I, and I assure you that I already know my own name. Unless it has changed in the time I have been asleep. It hasn’t, has it?”

The maid giggled and covered his mouth, shaking his head. Orley found himself even more enchanted. When was the last time he’d heard someone allow themselves to be so free that they just giggled? His life was constantly surrounded by danger, drama, gossip, backstabbers, and intrigue. He had a very small group of people he could trust, and they didn’t often have the time to smile, much less giggle. Being around someone who could giggle was a relief. It was like a bright ray of sunshine. Orley absolutely had to have the maid’s name.

“No, Your Grace. Your name hasn’t changed.” The maid glanced away for a moment, as if embarrassed, and then looked back. “My name is Chester.” He executed a flawless curtsy, and Orley rose from the bed and bowed low, smiling at Chester’s gasp. He knew Chester was surprised that a member of the gentry, and a duke no less, would bow to him, but he would soon learn that Orley was unlike every other duke out there.

“It is an honor to meet you, Chester. I am extremely happy to be in your presence and very happy that you will be serving me, and now….” Orley stepped close to Chester, looking down into the young woman’s hazel brown eyes. His heart was pounding, and his leg, for the first time in years, was not throbbing in pain—perhaps that was because only one thing on his body could be throbbing at a time, and his cock already had that covered. “I would very much like to kiss you.”

“Y-you would?” Chester stammered.

Orley nodded, lifting his hand to brush his fingers against the side of Chester’s cheek.

“Is that okay, Chester? I find you to be the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my entire life, and I would really like to kiss you. May I?”

“You’re asking me?” Chester looked confused. “I was told that men of your standing didn’t ask, that you just take.”

Orley shook his head, saddened by what Chester thought of men of the ton, but he knew Chester’s assumptions came as a result of dealing with “men” of a certain ilk. He would be speaking with Heathcliff about those matters later that week, but at that moment, all of his energy and attention was focused on Chester.

“Of course I am asking you. You always have a choice. Not just with me, but with every single man in the world. You do not have to do anything you don’t want to do. At least, that is the way it should be in a perfect world. So if you don’t want to kiss me, we don’t have to.” Orley would be disappointed, he would be haunted for days, perhaps a fortnight, by the fullness of Chester’s mouth, but eventually he would get over it.

Chester nibbled on his bottom lip and then grinned. “I would love for you to kiss me, Your Grace.”

Orley wanted to let out a loud yell of triumph, but he held back and lowered his lips to Chester’s full, pillow-soft mouth. He was fully expecting the surge of lust that spread through his limbs. Maybe he was even expecting the tingle that spread through his fingers and toes. However, the lightheaded feeling that drowned him in peace and yet simultaneous excitement, and the way his heart sped up, were completely unexpected. He growled and pulled Chester to him, as close as he could possibly get the woman. He felt a bit like a ravenous beast, wanting to devour Chester whole.

He lifted his lips to take a breath, opened his eyes, and gazed down into Chester’s dazed ones. Chester smiled slowly up at him. Orley grinned back, rubbing his hand up and down Chester’s back and already preparing for the next round of kissing.

So he was surprised when he went to lower his head for another kiss and was met with nothing but air and the sound of his bedroom door closing.

Buy the book:
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Meet the author:
Vicktor “Vic” Alexander wrote his first story at the age of ten and hasn’t stopped writing since. He loves reading about anything and everything and is a proud member of the little known U.N. group (Undercover Nerds) because while he lives, eats, breathes, and sleeps sports, he also breathes history and science fiction and grew up a Trekkie. But don’t ask him about Dungeons & Dragons, because he has no idea how to play that game. When it comes to writing he loves everything from paranormal to contemporary to fantasy to BDSM to historical and is known not only for being the Epilogue King but also for writing stories that cross lines and boundaries that he doesn’t know are there. Vic is a proud father of two daughters one of whom watches over him from Heaven with his deceased partner Christopher. Vic is a proud trans* and gay man, and when he is not writing, he is hanging out with his friends, or being distracted by videos of John Barrowman, Scott Hoying, and Shemar Moore. Vicktor has published numerous bestselling novels and has a WIP list that makes him exhausted just thinking about. He knows that he will be still be writing about hot men falling in love with each other, long after he is living in an assisted living facility, flirting with the hot, male nurses.

Where to find the author:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/VicktorAlexanderB
Facebook Author Page: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorVicktorAlexander
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/VVeeB
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/vicktora/
Other: https://www.instagram.com/vicktoralexander/
Other: http://www.vicktoralexander.tumblr.com
Other: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VicktorAlexander
Other: http://www.vicktoralexander.com
Other: http://www.authorvicktoralexander.com

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27422380-the-servant-duchess-of-whitcomb
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Anne Cain

Tour Dates & Stops:
27-Nov: Havan Fellows, Louise Lyons, Prism Book Alliance
30-Nov: Onwards, Upwards, House Millar
1-Dec: Jessie G. Books, Divine Magazine
2-Dec: Tempeste O'Riley
3-Dec: MM Good Book Reviews, Fantastical Worlds, Fiery Love
4-Dec: Mikky's World of Books, Brightly Books
6-Dec: Love Bytes
7-Dec: Inked Rainbow Reads, BFD Book Blog
8-Dec: A.M. Leibowitz, Antonia Aquilante
9-Dec: Grace R. Duncan's Blog
10-Dec: Bending The Bookshelf, Book Lovers 4Ever


Rafflecopter Prize: E-book copy of book, $50 Amazon Gift Card, Scandalous Whispers Swag Pack
Rafflecopter Code:
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jana_denardo: (kept tears)
Hi Everyone. I have Kim Fielding back on my blog with a rather exciting anthology whose sales benefit Doctors Without Borders. I think this is a fantastic thing Kim's doing so here's hoping some of you out there will support this effort (and feel free to link this post up with your friends too!). Remember books make great holiday gifts!


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The Sacrifice and Other Stories
by Kim Fielding


A sickly man seeks recovery in a seaside cottage.

A temple slave tends a man due to be sacrificed.

A soldier releases a genie.

In seven fantasy short stories and novellas, men find passion with other men in the most unexpected places, and even the gravest circumstances may open the door to hope and love.

This anthology includes two brand-new short stories. In “The Sacrifice,” Rylo is a temple slave tasked with comforting a man who is scheduled to be killed in the morning. In “Chasing Away Cold,” Daku builds an ice sculpture of the god Jarli in order to ensure the end of winter. The collection also includes three novellas and two additional short stories, gathered for the first time in a single volume. “Treasure” introduces Jules, a young man who travels to the quirky seaside town of Urchin Cove to regain his health—and finds an unexpected treasure washed up on the beach. Xolani, a soldier in “Three Wishes,” picks up a small glass bottle and unleashes a surprise. Another soldier, Volos in “Guarded,” will risk everything to save Prince Berhanu. In the sequel, “Mato’s Tale,” an unassuming innkeeper gets a chance for adventure. And in “The Downs,” Enitan is unjustly banished and comes to discover that the demons he must face aren’t the ones he expected.

Join Kim Fielding on journeys through imagined worlds where magic is commonplace and romance lies just around the next bend. All royalties from the sale of this book will be donated to Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontiers.

***

Available now for preorder from Amazon. Releases November 27.

here

***

Kim Fielding is the bestselling author of numerous m/m romance novels, novellas, and short stories. Like Kim herself, her work is eclectic, spanning genres such as contemporary, fantasy, paranormal, and historical. Her stories are set in alternate worlds, in 15th century Bosnia, in modern-day Oregon. Her heroes are hipster architect werewolves, housekeepers, maimed giants, and conflicted graduate students. They’re usually flawed, they often encounter terrible obstacles, but they always find love.

After having migrated back and forth across the western two-thirds of the United States, Kim calls the boring part of California home. She lives there with her husband, her two daughters, and her day job as a university professor, but escapes as often as possible via car, train, plane, or boat. This may explain why her characters often seem to be in transit as well. She dreams of traveling and writing full-time.

You can find Kim
On her blog: blog
On Facebook: facebook
On Twitter: @KFieldingWrites
Or via email: kim@KFieldingWrites.com

***

For more on Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontiers or to donate directly to them: here

***

Excerpt (from “Chasing Away Cold”):

She knelt, scooped a handful of snow, and stood to hold it before her. “This is nothing special—simply water that has frozen and melted and frozen again. But sometimes something very important may come from nothing at all. It depends on the heart of the maker.” She dropped the snow and pressed her hand against Daku’s chest. “The contents of a heart can change everything.”

Although he didn’t understand, he nodded. Then he gave her the cup and turned to complete the ice man.

He took particular care over the face: a narrow chin and broad cheekbones, far-set eyes with a slight downward tilt at the outside, a strong nose, and lips stretched in a wide smile. The ice man’s hair was straight, falling well below his shoulders.

“You’ve made him beautiful,” Yalamay said. Daku couldn’t say whether she’d gone and returned or had been standing there the entire time.

“He is beautiful. I only… I only tried to show that.”

Yalamay nodded as if this made perfect sense. “I knew you were the right one for this.”

Aside from Daku’s mother, people rarely praised him, and Yalamay was always sparing with her commendations. Daku should have preened under her rare words. But he was too preoccupied with what he had created. The ice man looked so real, so joyful. And in a few short hours he would be destroyed.

Daku swallowed with difficulty, but he managed a small smile when Yalamay patted his back. “Thank you for letting me do this,” he said.

“I won’t always be here, my boy. And none in the tribe but you could make Jarli so well.”

“Don’t go!” Daku cried, as if she could somehow stop death.

She chuckled. “I am pleased to be appreciated. But Daku, everything changes eventually. Winter becomes spring becomes summer becomes autumn becomes winter. Youngsters grow old and babies are born. Even hard stone is worn away”—she gestured at the rock on which the ice man stood—“but new plants grow.” She gestured toward the forest. “Someday this world will see changes that are so far beyond the tribe’s dreaming. But a few things remain unaltered. Do you know what those things are?”

“The gods?”

Her laughter startled a nearby crow from its branch. “Oh no, my boy. Gods and goddesses change too. More slowly than humans, perhaps, but no less inevitably. But the world contains magics even more powerful than gods, and the strength of those magics never changes. What are they?”

At first his mind was as blank as a fresh layer of snow. But Yalamay looked at him expectantly, and Daku remembered the conversation he’d had with his mother earlier in the day. “Love and courage.”

“Very good! There are others too, but I think those are an excellent start.”

***

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