Category: 5 star Rating

A MelanieM Review: Shadows and Ash (Pulp Friction 2014 Finale) by Laura Harner , Lee Brazil , Havan Fellows , T.A. Webb

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Shadows and Ash book coverNestled in the forest surrounding Flagstaff, Arizona, Mountain Shadows offers residents and guests a home and refuge. A year ago, the isolated retreat, with its log cabins and stone lodge, could boast a convalescing new owner, one employee, two long-term tenants, and an uncertain future. As others joined the rag-tag collection and made the hideaway their home, tentative beginnings morphed into friendships…and finally into a family of sorts.

Over this past year, the perfect place for hiding became a sanctuary for healing, as one-by-one the residents discovered that learning to live in the light with a family you choose is better than shrouding yourself in loneliness. But just as everyone seems to settle into a new normal, shadows from the past drag one of their members back into the darkness and the fallout threatens their carefully constructed new beginnings.

Now, the family they’ve created there must band together to protect each other from someone determined to destroy the lives they’ve worked so hard to reclaim.

Pulp Friction 2014. Four authors. Twenty-four books. One fiery finale.

The time has come once more to say  goodbye to another fantastic Pulp Friction Series and to say these authors did it with flare, heat and hot sexy men goes without question. I’m always amazed at how four authors are able to mesh eight (sometimes nine) characters, four couples stories, and still maintain a balanced whole in terms of plot and characterizations.  Yet, for the second year, the Pulp Friction gang has done it again.  Pulp Friction 2014 was the Elemental Connections year.  It had Laura Harner’s Fighting Fire, Lee Brazil’s In From the Cold, Havan Fellow’s Whispering Winds and T. A. Webb’s Earthquake series, with a wonderful conglomeration of characters, romances, and heartbreaking suspense.  And it all took place on top of a mountain outside of Flagstaff, Arizona.

Even now its hard to say which characters I love the most, they are so varied and had so many different paths to HEA this series.   Certainly Rowen Smith with his long black hair, deep connection to the woods around him and dark past,is close to the top.  He just resonated with me as did his eventual lover, Mick Rutger, who went from the human equivalent of a Golden Retriever to something older, wiser, and more substantial.  How I loved them both (thank you, Havan Fellows).

But I can no more say that then Charlie Turner and Amos Greene pop into mind (thank you, Tom Webb).  Their journey towards happiness contained stark terror, abject pain, and astonishing revelations.  Webb kept me in tears and in the dark for long periods of time during the slow roll out of his Earthquake stories.    You never knew if monster or angel would be around the  corner for these two along with  Charlie’s brother Damon (loved him too).   Sometimes the heartbreak comes from the last person you would expect, another theme that runs through all the stories here.

Brazil’s Professor of Literature Finn Lorensson and Dr. Cannon Malloy (originally from FR2013, thank you, Lee Brazil) were sometimes the hardest personalities for me to get a grasp on.  Finn, a gorgeous hulk of a man had a deep need to rescue others, even at the cost to himself and his relationships.  Cannon?  To say he started off self absorbed, fearful and more than a little damaged by the events in Atlanta would be like calling coal black.  It goes without saying that Finn was smitten immediately, but Cannon?  Not so much.  During much of the series their tentative relationship acted more like Dr. Doolittle’s pushmi-pullyu. They were joined together but never quite going (or facing) the same direction.  I loved that Cannon finally learned to embrace his sexuality (with a little eyeliner and flare) and accept Finn with all that entailed.

Finally there is Laura Harner’s former firefighter  Scott McGregor reuniting with his college lover,Robby Hammond, at Scott’s hospital bed.  A wildfire that ends Scott’s career and costs the life of most of his team is also what brings Scott’s only love back to him.  Harner made us believe in their tortured past so the reader easily invests in these damaged men and any potential hope for a future together.  So much trauma involved here, Scott’s PTSD, his injuries and loss of career, survivor’s guilt and yes, more secrets from his and Robby’s past pushing hard to come out.  Plus its Scott’s Mountain Shadows Campground that acts as the heart and location for all these stories to unfold.  I came to love Mountain Shadows just as much as its residents did.  If there was a heart and center of all the couples it was Scott and Robby. They are the beginning of a new family and I loved them dearly (thank you, Laura Harner).

The penultimate stories in each series came with a certain amount of personal (or physical) explosions and exposition leading up to this.  A mystery of who was behind all the arson and attacks happening at the campgrounds had to be solved, along with more than a few personal demons still to be put to rest, including Scott being blamed for the fires himself.  How did it all turn out?  Splendidly!

It’s hard seeing this group of stories come to an end.  I wasn’t ready.  But all the characters pull their dramatic weight in the last story. Each author gives their couple the right amount of “time on stage” to tie up loose ends and push them forward.  I did wish that one little aspect, a total villain dies in a manner that didn’t feel as solid as the other revelations that surfaced here.  That was the only bit of weakness that I could see.  Everything else felt believable, rational, and happily fulfilling for all.

Am I going to go into details?  No, absolutely not.  Even the smallest of facts can lead to large spoilers, so don’t go looking for them here.  Instead if you are new to the Pulp Friction gang, what joys await you.  You have not one but two years of interconnected series to catch up on.  The first took place in Atlanta GA, the second (Elemental Connections) in Flagstaff, AZ, and the third?  This years Pulp Friction 2015 is a group of supernatural tales taking place in New Orleans in Harner and Webb’s  Altered States universe.  What’s that, you say?  Well stay tuned as next week, all the Pulp Friction gang will be here to talk finale, Altered States, and the new stories starting to arrive.

For those of you who have been gobbling up these stories as quickly as they come out, you will love this series finale!  It’s hot, suspenseful, a little scary and wonderfully over the top…of the mountain, that is.  I loved it and think you will too.  Grab it up and get prepared for the supernatural goings on in New Orleans.  I’m through the first story already and it’s a doozy!

Cover art by Laura Harner is perfect. It still brands the series with the logo and the coloring and graphics are perfect for the series finale and title.

Sales Links:      All Romance (ARe)          Amazon            Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook
Published January 14th 2015 by Hot Corner Press
ISBN139781937252977
edition languageEnglish

About Pulp Friction 2014 – All stories are reviewed here at STRW.

Pulp Friction 2014 Authors: Laura Harner ~ Lee Brazil ~ Havan Fellows ~ T.A. Webb
The Pulp Friction 2014 Collection. Four authors. Four Series. Twenty books. One fiery finale. Spend a year with an eclectic group of strangers brought together through circumstances, as they are tested by life, and emerge as more than friends.
The strongest bonds are forged by fire, cooled in air, smoothed by water, grounded in earth.

Although each series can stand alone, we believe reading the books in the order they are released will increase your enjoyment. The Pulp Friction 2014 series in the order they were written and should be read to understand the characters, events and plot:

Round One:
Firestorm (Fighting Fire: 1)by Laura Harner
Cold Snap (In From the Cold: 1) by Lee Brazil
Blown Away (Whispering Winds: 1) by Havan Fellows
Higher Ground (Earthquake: 1) by TA Webb

Round Two:
Controlled Burn (Fighting Fire #2) by Laura Harner
Cold Comfort (In From the Cold #2) by Lee Brazil
Blown Kisses (Whispering Winds #2) by Havan Fellows
Moving Earth (Earthquake #2) by TA Webb

Round Three:
Backburn (Fighting Fire #3) by Laura Harner
Cold Feet (In From the Cold #3) by Lee Brazil
Blown Hard (Whispering Winds #3) by Havan Fellows
Tremors (Earthquake #3) by T.A. Webb

Round Four:
Flare-up (Fighting Fire #4) by Laura Harner
Out In The Cold (In From the Cold #4) by Lee Brazil
Blown Chance (Whispering Winds #4) by Havan Fellows
Aftershocks (Earthquake #4) by T.A. Webb

Round Five:
Radiant Burn (Fighting Fire #5) by Laura Harner
Cold Day in Hell (In From the Cold #5) by Lee Brazil
Final Blow (Whispering Winds #5) by Havan Fellows
Terra Firma (Earthquake #5) by T.A. Webb

Sixth Book Series Finale Written by all the Authors coming in December.
Shadows and Ash (Pulp Friction 2014 Finale)

Side Stories or Interludes:

Taking Chances by Lee Brazil (a In From the Cold story)
Wicked Winds (Whispering Winds 3.5) by Havan Fellows – bonus book, Whispering Winds
Frankie’s Knight (Elemental Connections: IV) (Earthquake #3.5)
Kismet & Cartwheels – bonus book, Fighting Fire

A Stella Review: Neon White E3 (A Tooth Claw and Horns Chronicle #3) by Wulf Francu Godgluck

Rating: 4,75 stars out of 5.

(Note:I subtracted 0,25 from the full 5 stars cause in the book there is an het sex scene too detailed for my taste)

Neon White 3 coverThis is going to be a bloody shit day.
The Alpha is missing, for one thing. Raven’s partner Jessy is still struggling to deal with his death. Finding out that his body is missing from the morgue is a big enough shock, so what happens next is going to be unbelievable…
Especially for Raven

This review contain spoilers on the Episode 2, so if you still haven’t read the previous books and don’t want spoilers, please don’t read this review. Still, you can go straight and buy this series, you don’t regret it.

In Episode 2 we left Raven and Bla’Gar at the Winter Ball, finally hoping for a future together. Bla’Gar tells our sweet Enforcer that he fell in love with him since the first time they met. Raven is still recovering from the incident with the hound in his parents’ home, an incident maybe not so casual, that left him probably destined to a desk job.

Raven and Bla’Gar parted ways because the demon is called by his pack. Once alone, Raven is assaulted and bitten by a vampire. Jessy, Rave’s partner, is the one to find him after the vampire’s attack. Jess is convinced that the responsible of Rave’s death is Bla’Gar, so she goes to him, but he has no idea his lover is dead and he can’t believe it, he needs proves. When Jess takes the demon to the morgue where Rave’s body is, they will find no one.
Where is Raven? He was murdered so he’s dead, right?

Everything we knew about the characters we learned to love changes again in this new chapter.This new episode was simply fantastic. Apart from the main story with Rave and Bla’Gar as MCs, we have two more stories that will catch your attention and will make you hungry for more.

More or less the first part is focused on Bla’Gar dealing with the kidnapping of Seth, the Alpha of the lycan pack, who just mated with Lucas. We learn more about the lycan pack and his dynamics, and most of all we’ll learn more about Seth’s life, which I suspect (and I hope) will be really important in the next book.

Another part shows us the new relationship between Jess and his mysterious boyfriend James. I say mysterious cause of course you can’t expect him to be human.

As I already said in the other reviews, being so short, I didn’t think to read a series with so well developed second characters, but I was wrong. Especially in this new instalment I learnt a lot about them and I met some new characters.
Loved it! All the way through the story the details are so perfect and brilliant and every new word was full of tension.

Highly recommended!

Cover art by Wulf Francu Godgluck. The covers of the three episodes are pretty much the same with just some little details that fit that episode completely. You’ll understand and realize it if you’ll decide to read the series. Well done Wulf!

Sales Links:   All Romance (ARe)     Smashwords    Amazon Buy It Here

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 62 pages
Published January 11th 2015
ASINB00S5BM3OW
edition languageEnglish
seriesA Tooth Claw an

A Stella Review: Neon White E2 (A Tooth Claw and Horns Chronicle #2) by Wulf Francu Godgluck

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Neon White 2 coverRaven White is finding it very difficult to forget Chetlér – the demon has had a profound effect on him. But the daily grind goes on, bringing with it a new partner, an invitation to the Winter Ball, and an attempt on Raven’s life.
No one attending the Ball could have foreseen how it would end – in blood and death.

Warning: contain spoilers of the episode 1

I love this series so much. As I already said in the review of the Episode 1 it’s not my usually genre, so I really have no idea how I fell in love with it and the author too. I love the concept Wulf created. This time too I found myself captured from the story and I couldn’t put it down for a minute.

In the Episode 1 we left Raven and Chetlér first in some hot position (LOL), and just when I was thinking I could have some romance, Bla’Gar screwed it all and sent my poor Raven away. We finally can see the demon hidden inside of him and something else (I can’t say more, just think bigger, people!). We learn more about Bla’Glar’s past and it isn’t a beautiful one, in some parts was really hard to know what he went through.

Raven has a lot to deal with. First of all, a new partner, the sweet Pyro Jessy. I liked her at first reading. She seemed strong and loyal. She’s just one of some new characters we’ll meet in this new episode and for a short like this one is amazing.
Furthermore, Raven is still trying to understand what’s behind his parents death and in one of his rare visit at his old home, he will meet a not so friendly hellhounds.

As in all my favorite romances, tragedy will bring Raven and Bla’Gar together, but just for a little bit, some hot kisses and then… damn cliffhanger! Did I tell you how much I hate cliffhangers? Well in this series every episode ends with one, so if you can, take all the three episodes, you’ll avoid to scream at the tablet. I was so sure my stupid tablet had stolen at least one more chapter and when I realized it was really the end, I wanted to scream to the author… “Where is the next one? You can’t end this story in this way, Wulf!!!”

Highly recommended!

Cover Art by Wulf Francu Godgluck. The covers of the three episodes are pretty much the same with just some little details that fit that episode completely. You’ll understand and realize it if you’ll decide to read the series. Well done Wulf!

Sales Links:   All Romance (ARe)    Amazon     Buy it Here

Book Details:

ebook
Published October 31st 2014 (first published October 29th 2014)
ISBN139781311047151
edition languageEnglish
seriesA Tooth Claw and Horns Chronicle #

A Mika Review: Jackdaw by K.J. Charles

Rating: 5 star out of 5 stars

If you stop running, you fall.

 Jackdaw coverJonah Pastern is a magician, a liar, a windwalker, a professional thief…and for six months, he was the love of police constable Ben Spenser’s life. Until his betrayal left Ben jailed, ruined, alone, and looking for revenge.

 Ben is determined to make Jonah pay. But he can’t seem to forget what they once shared, and Jonah refuses to let him. Soon Ben is entangled in Jonah’s chaotic existence all over again, and they’re running together—from the police, the justiciary, and some dangerous people with a lethal grudge against them.

 Threatened on all sides by betrayals, secrets, and the laws of the land, can they find a way to live and love before the past catches up with them?

This story is set in the world of the Charm of Magpies series.

Warning: Contains a policeman who should know better, a thief who may never learn, Victorian morals, heated encounters, and a very annoyed Stephen Day.

She is on top of her game. K.J. Charles has managed to produce another 5 star read out of herself. I applaud her, because this series & the world-building are so entertaining. I went into this story with a little anxiousness because it wasn’t Day & Crane. I am so happy I didn’t let that stop me. One thing the Magpie Series wasn’t was hurt/comfort. This was hurt/comfort to the extreme and I freaking enjoyed it from beginning to end. I read this in one sitting, and found myself laughing while crying because of her characters. 

Jonah, oh you poor baby. I really enjoyed in him the previous book and his description of the events that landed him where he was today was brilliantly written. He was so sure in this book, arrogant kind of cocky. This book he was super vulnerable and I couldn’t help but to want to save him.

Then there was sweet by the law Ben. Oh goodness I was a sucker from his first word. That first scene reuniting Ben & Jonah had me in tears. Their emotions were super strong and you saw the hurt, and betrayal Ben was talking about, but we also got glimpse of the Love Jonah had for him. 

Of course we had to have Day & Crane, plus the Merrick’s made an appearance and they didn’t disappoint. Crane does it for me, he’s like 17th century Christian Grey with a little bit more sanity and sexiness. I really enjoyed this journey of redemption, forgiveness, love, and endearment between the two guys. I wish K.J. could spend her time writing about these core group of people, I would literally read everything she has produced on the.

Cover Art by Lou Harper.  This cover was beautifully done. As usual the covers to the series are so beautifully printed. I’ve always enjoyed them. Both guys were nicely represented.

Sales Links: Samhain Publishing    All Romance (ARe)       Amazon        Buy It here

Book Details:

ebook, 239 pages
Expected publication: February 17th 2015 by Samhain Publishing
ISBN 161922576X (ISBN13: 9781619225763)

A MelanieM Review: Conscious Decisions of the Heart (More Heat Than the Sun #2)

Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

 Ben Rider and Nikolas Mikkelsen learn that danger comes in all shapes and sizes and often in places you least expect it.

Conscious Decisions of the Heart civIn order to appease an ex friend and covert op whose been hunting Nikolas and Ben, Nikolas heads back to Russia and his past on an errand of mercy, leaving an uncertain Ben  behind with Radulf.  Left at loose ends and missing  Nikolas terribly, Ben lights out on his own, this time to Denmark to learn Nikolas’s language and visit some of the places where Nikolas grew up. Soon Ben settles in, making friends in the small town and become prolific (or so he thinks) in Danish.  Alone and certain that Nikolas is in danger in Russia, Ben doesn’t see the enemy that is much closer to home to the peril of them all.

And when the danger explodes, it leaves them all, including Nikolas, permanently scarred and forever changed.

What an amazing series!  With Conscious Decisions of the Heart, John Wiltshire manages to give his readers a frightening mystery, a suspenseful drama, a heartbreaking romance and an exploration of the island of Aeroe, in Denmark (an excellent reason to google what is said to be one of the most beautiful spots in Denmark), all these things rolled into one gripping tale of love, passion, and suspense.

That cover alone is a clue this is not a story for the faint of heart.  Picking up after Love is a Stranger, both Ben and Nikolas find themselves in uncertain times, their previous lives in shambles and, for the first time, trying to be honest with each other about their feelings and new relationship.  But with these two complicated men who have secrets the way other men have tee times, the past is never completely out of the picture.  It will cause Nikolas to travel to Russia on their behalf so he and Ben may feel safe as well as to find some measure of closure in a relationship from his past.

Wiltshire does such an excellent job with these characters.  Already beautifully fleshed out and believable, he continues to build layers upon layers into each of their personalities and histories, peeling away some traits to reveal others lying just underneath, a pattern that continues with each man’s history and background.  Just when you think you might have some idea of how a character will behave or where he comes from, Wiltshire demolishes that bit of certainty with an astonishing new fact or shocking denouement!

And no, I absolutely won’t go into any of that here.  Sacrilege, indeed.

Conscious Decisions of the Heart feels like a magician’s act, full of sleight of hand tricks that lull you into thinking you know where the dangers are to be found and that you have a handle on the plot, all while the feature illusion has been forming and explodes with a ferocity you didn’t foresee (and neither do the characters).    And there is more than one.  It takes your breathe away.  And every aspect of this story is so well written and plotted, it just works! I loved all the action and adventure and, yes, shear terror, that the author brings to this story.  And some will break your heart.  Really, John Wiltshire, how could you do that to….sigh.

But what is equally astonishing is that while all the major elements are in flux, Ben and Nikolas become steadier, more committed to each other and their relationship. You watch the progress, the small and large steps, and your commitment to these men and their story just gets deeper. How I love this series.

I would have given this book a 5 star rating (it deserves it) but it definitely can’t be read on its own.  Part of the power (and Wiltshire’s puzzle in the making) comes from reading all parts in the order they were written.  Each book continues to build on the  previous story and without some of the back knowledge, balancing and understanding all these pieces and personalities becomes problematic.    So, if new to the series, run, lope, gallop, whatever, back to Love is a Stranger, then move onto to this story.  I am one step ahead and more books (and reviews) will be coming!  Join me along the way!

This is seriously addictive stuff here, and one of my highly recommended reads!

Cover Art by Deana Jamroz is terrifying, stark, and absolutely perfect for this story.  Be Warned, then continue on!

Sales Links:  MLR Press LLC     All Romance (ARe)        Amazon   Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook
Published July 3rd 2014 by MLR Press
ISBN 1020140265
edition languageEnglish
url http://www.mlrbooks.com
seriesMore Heat Than the Sun #2

More Heat Than the Sun Series Books in the Order they were written and should be read:

Love is a Stranger (More Heat Than the Sun #1)
Conscious Decisions of the Heart (More Heat Than the Sun #2)
The Bridge of Silver Wings (More Heat Than the Sun, #3)
This Other Country (More Heat Than the Sun, #4)
The Bruise Black Sky (More Heat Than the Sun, #5) coming soon

A Closer Look at Alex Beecroft and Trowchester Blues (contest)

magnifying glass and focus

Trowchester Blues cover

 Trowchester Blues by Alex Beecroft

Here today is Alex Beecroft talking about Trowchester Blues, the first in a new series and one of Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words’ highly recommended reads.  Here Alex is talking a little bit about why England as a setting…

I’ve answered so many questions and written so many blog posts about this book that I’ve got to admit I’m running out of things to say, so I’m going to start plundering the questions people have asked me already.

In an early interview, I think with Riptide for their featured author spot, I was asked “Why do you choose to set your books in England?” I gave a short answer there, but I’ve got more to say, so I’m going to flesh it out a bit here.

The first factor, of course, is the simple requirement to “Write what you know.” When I write historicals or fantasies, that part isn’t really important. I imagine things hard, or I do as much research as I can, and – and this is the crucial thing – nobody else knows any better. So I can write whatever I like and nobody can say ‘pah, what do you know?’

But in contemporary life, if I wanted to write a story set in the USA, there would be thousands of people who knew that setting better than me. I’d be working from research and imagination, they’d be working from a knowledge that had settled into them over a lifetime. How could I, a stranger, ever draw a portrait of a location that was anything but a shallow veneer compared to the reality experienced by someone who actually lives there, someone who knows what the nights smell like, and how the dust on the pavements (sidewalks) squeaks under the shoe.

Much better to choose a setting that I know that intimately, so that when my editor says “You’ve said he left his sledgehammer ‘in’ the porch. Don’t you mean ‘on’ the porch?” I can reply “No. The kind of thing you call a porch we call a verandah. “This is a porch in the UK.”

If I set a novel in the UK then suddenly I am the one who has a lifetime’s experience with the mores, assumptions and unstated expectations that rule the characters’ lives. As Oscar Wilde says, Britain and America are two great nations separated by a common language, but we’re also separated by different assumptions and cultures. Fifty Shades of Grey, from what I’ve heard, is written by a Brit who doesn’t really understand how the culture in the US works, and it shows. (Her characters wear dressing gowns instead of robes, and make cups of tea for visiting workmen, which is de rigueur over here but I hear is not done in the US.)

Plus, I know what the evening sunlight looks like on the Peaks, and I’ve experienced the intimidating unassailable politeness of your average policeman, and I have tasted the food, and attempted to hold my own in the relentless banter of your average pub, and I know whereof I speak.

All of that aside, why not set a story in the UK? It’s not the done thing to say so – patriotism is considered a bit suspicious in Britain, a bit vulgar and worrisome, as if it’s a sign that you’re also a closet UKIP member – but I kind of like my country. Admittedly, I don’t know any better, because I’ve never lived anywhere else. But although I hated London, as soon as I moved out into the countryside I felt like I’d come home.

Do you watch Miss Marple? With the gossipy neighbours in their beautiful, twee little villages. Murder, surrounded by dahlias? Those twee little villages actually do exist still. The churches and the ancient monuments, the landscape covered in ruins and history, the summer fetes in which the local vicar has to award a prize for the grower of the best marrow? It’s all true. And having plunged myself into that lifestyle eagerly and discovered the joys of the yearly agricultural shows, harvest festival, Plough Monday and the pagan weirdness of things like the “Straw Bear Festival”, I wanted to celebrate the charming eccentricity and the continued survival of that way of life.Straw Bear Festival

Variety is the spice of life, after all. And despite our reputation for the blandest food on the surface of the earth, you can’t go into a UK curry house and not realize that we also love our spice. There’s a lot to be explored in a country where the accent and the culture can change completely within five miles. Who better to explore it than someone who’s lived it all of their lives?

About Trowchester Blues:

Michael May is losing it. Long ago, he joined the Metropolitan Police to escape his father’s tyranny and protect people like himself. Now his father is dead, and he’s been fired for punching a suspect. Afraid of his own rage, he returns to Trowchester—and to his childhood home, with all its old fears and memories. When he meets a charming, bohemian bookshop owner who seems to like him, he clings tight.

Fintan Hulme is an honest man now. Five years ago, he retired from his work as a high class London fence and opened a bookshop. Then an old client brings him a stolen book too precious to turn away, and suddenly he’s dealing with arson and kidnapping, to say nothing of all the lies he has to tell his friends. Falling in love with an ex-cop with anger management issues is the last thing he should be doing.

Finn thinks Michael is incredibly sexy. Michael knows Finn is the only thing that still makes him smile. But in a relationship where cops and robbers are natural enemies, that might not be enough to save them.

– See more here at Riptide Publishing.  And you can follow the tour here.

About Alex Beecroft…

Alex Beecroft is an English author best known for historical fiction, notably Age of Sail, featuring gay characters and romantic storylines. Her novels and shorter works include paranormal, fantasy, and contemporary fiction.

Beecroft won Linden Bay Romance’s (now Samhain Publishing) Starlight Writing Competition in 2007 with her first novel, Captain’s Surrender, making it her first published book. On the subject of writing gay romance, Beecroft has appeared in the Charleston City Paper, LA Weekly, the New Haven Advocate, the Baltimore City Paper, and The Other Paper. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association of the UK and an occasional reviewer for the blog Speak Its Name, which highlights historical gay fiction.

Alex was born in Northern Ireland during the Troubles and grew up in the wild countryside of the English Peak District. She lives with her husband and two children in a little village near Cambridge and tries to avoid being mistaken for a tourist.

Alex is only intermittently present in the real world. She has led a Saxon shield wall into battle, toiled as a Georgian kitchen maid, and recently taken up an 800-year-old form of English folk dance, but she still hasn’t learned to operate a mobile phone.

She is represented by Louise Fury of the L. Perkins Literary Agency.

Connect with Alex:
Website: alexbeecroft.com
Blog: alexbeecroft.com/blog
Facebook: facebook.com/AlexBeecroftAuthor
Twitter: @Alex_Beecroft
Goodreads: goodreads.com/Alex_Beecroft

Giveaway

Every comment on this blog tour enters you in a drawing for an e-book from Alex Beecroft’s backlist (excepting Trowchester Blues). Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on February 15. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries.

TrowchesterBlues_TourBanner

A Stella Review: Neon White E1 (A Tooth Claw and Horns Chronicle #1) by Wulf Francu Godgluck

 Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Neon White 1 coverIt’s been a weird day for Detective Raven White, which is really saying something, as he is the only detective dealing with Paranormal and supernatural cases in Quebec. First there was the stranger in the coffee shop who sucked Raven’s finger and then licked him. Then there was the missing person’s report.
 Which is how Raven finds himself paying a visit to Freshán Chetlér, with no clue as to what awaits him…
Raven’s life is about to undertake a monumental shift.

I discovered this author reading Of Gods and Monsters: Menoetius ( a free, over 200 pages story, here’s the download link if anyone is interested.

The A Tooth Claw and Horns Chronicle series is really different from what I’m used to read but I liked it so much.

Episode 1 is just 22 pages, 22 amazing pages. It’s not like all these fluffy paranormal stories I like. It’s dark, mysterious and it kept me on the edge till the end (a super hot end!). I honestly have no idea how Wulf could put so much in so few pages. He created a world so interesting I’m hungry for more.

I can’t tell you much about the plot, being so short I would inadvertently add in some spoilers.

What I can talk about is the writing. I found it perfect, as if every word was weighted and put in that spot to give it the right importance and worth. The writing flows on the pages beautifully.

I liked the characters so much. They are very detailed, Raven with his sneezes and Bla’Gar with his possessiveness and all his fears. The chemistry between them is strong and really hot.

I can suggest you to buy Episode 1 and 2 together cause after reading the first one, you’ll need the second so badly you can’t wait to push the one-click button !

COVER ARTIST by Wulf Francu Godluck. Yep he can draw too! The covers of the three episodes are pretty much the same with just some little details that fit that episode completely. You’ll understand and realize it if you’ll decide to read the series. Well done Wulf!

Sales LInks:   All Romance eBooks (ARe)         Amazon   Buy It Here

BOOK DETAILS
Published August 21st 2014 by Smashwords
ebook, 22 pages
ISBN13 9781310312298
Edition language English

Books in the A Tooth Claw and Horns Chronicle series

Neon White E1
Neon White E2 All Romance (ARe) Amazon Buy It Here
Neon White E3 All Romance (ARe) Amazon Buy It Here

 

Page and McGuinness Are Back in The Merchant of Death by Lisa Henry and J.A. Rock! (contest)

 

Our Focus is On…

magnifying+glass+crime+scene+police

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Page and McGuinness,  two of our favorites are back in another Playing the Fool novel!  For details about the story, Lisa Henry (one of our Down Under authors) and J. A. Rock are here to fill you  in.  It’s also a Barb the Zany Old Lady Highly Recommended Reads.  Find her review here!  Now onto The Merchant of Death!

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Hi! We’re Lisa Henry and J.A. Rock, the authors of THE MERCHANT OF DEATH. We’re touring the web taking about our influences, our processes, anything we can think about actually, and even giving you guys a sneak peak or two! And what would a blog tour be without a contest? Check out the details at the bottom of the post to see what you can win!

Today’s post is all about merchandising!

One of the most fun things about Henry Page is that he is constantly coming up with crazy ideas. Or are they genius ideas? One of his ideas in THE MERCHANT OF DEATH is to create a TV and/or movie franchise based on himself and Ryan “Mac” McGuinness. It would be kind of an Odd Couple cop buddy bromance rom com crime caper. A lot like their lives, actually.

Henry’s not just relying on his “Mac and Cheese” script to pay for his private island in the Bahamas though. No, Henry’s a realist. He knows that it’s all going to come from merchandising. And while it might just start with the basics like lunchboxes and Pez dispensers, the sky’s the limit with merchandising. You can also go pretty damn low.

Yes, as low as Edward Cullen on your underpants. Actually, the scariest thing about these is probably that they sold really, really well.
You know what I really find difficult though? Sometimes when I’m baking and have to take hot things out of the oven, there’s no way to do it while at the same time expressing my love of the post-punk movement of the late 1970s. Until now:

But the ultimate in merchandising has to be these Royal Wedding condoms. One can only assume they were not authorised by the palace.
So really, there’s no crazy merchandising idea that Henry can possibly come up with that would be any more bizarre than anything that already exists in the real world.

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About THE MERCHANT OF DEATH:

All’s fair in love and war.

There’s something rotten in the state of Indiana. When con man Henry Page takes it upon himself to investigate the death of an elderly patient at a care facility, he does so in true Shakespearean tradition: dressed as a girl.

FBI Agent Ryan “Mac” McGuinness has more to worry about than Henry’s latest crazy idea. Someone is trying to send him a message—via a corpse with a couple of bullets in it. He needs to figure out who’s trying to set him up before he gets arrested, and he really doesn’t have time for Henry’s shenanigans. Then again, he’d probably be able to focus better if Henry didn’t look so damn distracting in a babydoll dress and a wig.

But when Mac discovers that Henry has been keeping a secret that connects the cases, he has to find a way to live on the right side of the law when he just might be in love with the wrong sort of man.

You can check out THE MERCHANT OF DEATH at Riptide.
The Giveaway: Thanks for following our tour! To celebrate our release, we’re giving away an awesome prize – an ebook copy of a novel of your choice from either of our back catalogs. We’re also giving away a $20 Riptide gift voucher, and Mac’s favorite coffee mug. What? It’s not like he’s supposed to be drinking coffee.

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post with a way for us to contact you, be it your email, your twitter, or a link to your facebook or goodreads account. Please put your email in the body of the comment, not just in email section of the comment form, because we won’t be able to see it otherwise! On February 12, 2015, we’ll draw a winner from all eligible comments! Be sure to follow the whole tour, because the more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win the prize!