Category: 5 star Rating

Review: With Pride (Princes of the Blood #2) by Megan Derr

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

With PrideKristof never expected to have to take his brother’s place as betrothed to one of the King’s Princes of the Blood.  But when his older sister became ill, then the eldest son moved forward to take her place, leaving the youngest Kristoff to become the Duke of Stehlmore, and the only one left to marry a notorious Prince of the Blood.  All Kristof wanted was to continue his role as a Paladin and keep the borders of his mother’s kingdom safe but fate clearly has other ideas.

On the journey to Guldbrandsen. Kristoff and his company are attacked by goblins.  Overwhelmed, they are saved by the appearance of two Princes of the Blood.  Kristoff had never met a Prince of the Blood before and now he had two to thank for his rescue. But the two Princes could not be more different in appearance and demeanor.  One is courteous, handsome and tall.  And the other?  Well he is small enough to remind Kristoff of a piskie.  He is also arrogant, insulting, and rude.  And Kristoff can’t wait to be rid of him once they reach the castle.

Unfortunately, upon reaching castle grounds and his meeting with the King, Kristoff finds that the Prince he is to marry is none other than that tiny abomination that rescued him from the goblins.  Kristoff is unprepared for his new life at Guldbrandsen or for all the magical beings and demons that walk the hallways.  As a Paladin, he is overly sensitive to the presence of demons, but the pain he feels in the hallways of the castle or even standing next to his fiance is almost more than he can bear.

Then a demon plot is discovered that  could destroy not only Guldbrandsen but his mother’s kingdom of Stehlmore too. Every warrior, Prince and Paladin is need to find the culprit and save the lands. Kristoff is determined to honor the contract and not to shame his heritage or mother by his cowardly fear of the Princes, especially now that he is needed for the fight. But the pain and stress is increasing daily.  What is a Paladin to do?

I loved the first novel in the series, Of Last Resort.  That story launched us into a dark and tortured world still trying to recover from a centuries old war that shattered kingdoms and loosed all types of evil upon the lands.  Now such magical beings as giants, werewolves, trolls, goblins, necromancers, wraiths, and many other unworldly beings are assisting the humans to search out and  destroy the evil remnants of that war still looking to overthrow human rule. Of Last Resort  introduced us to the Princes of the Blood. Human but with the right amount of demon blood running in their veins through intermarriage, the few found that met the requirements were tested, and if successful were forever changed into Princes of the Blood, supernatural beings that feed on blood and helped protect the King and his realm. It was a powerful tale told mostly from the point of view of Raffe’ who became a Prince of the Blood and his lover Algrin.  Once at the end, the reader just needed to know more.  More about all the characters Megan Derr introduced us to in her story but also more of the ongoing quests to search out and destroy all the leftover demons and evil forces that still remain.

Now ordinarily we might expect the second story in the series to pick up where the first left off, but Megan Derr has something far different in mind for this series. The second story, With Pride, takes place prior to the events in Of Last Resort.  In the first story, Raffe’ meets Algrin, a Dragon, and his mated ,deeply in love friends, Hakon and Kristoff, a totally unlikely couple.   Hakon, a tiny, blond Prince of the Blood, couldn’t have looked any less a bloodthirsty demon if he had tried.  And Kristoff, his besotted husband?  A tall imposing Paladin that glowed with holy fervor!  How did such an improbable pair come about?  With Pride marvelously answers that question as it takes us back to their first disastrous meeting.

One of the first things that charmed me about this story is the change in perspective with regard to the Princes of the Blood.  Raffe’ looked forward to becoming a Prince in lieu of his brother who disappeared prior to the testing. For Raffe, being a Prince meant a release from a life and future he never wanted.  To be a Prince of the Blood if, big if, you passed the test, was the ultimate goal for Raffe, one he never felt he was good enough for.   Definitely not the case for Hakon and Kristoff, a pair of reluctant and bitter participants from the beginning.

Kristoff, again the first point of view here, loves his family, home, and ruling mother.  Kristoff is content with his role as a Paladin as well as that of a lessor son within his ruling family.  He is so happy with his status quo that he knows nothing of his older brother’s future role as fiance to a Prince of the Blood, only that they are somewhat monstrous and drink blood to live.  And as he  fights demons and monsters as a Paladin, his ignorance about  the Princes is not something he is curious to inspect further.  Until a sister’s illness means a shuffle in the expected futures of himself and his siblings.  Now he is the one to marry a Prince and he fears it like nothing else in his life.  Only his honor and that of his family keeps him from fleeing back to his kingdom.   Kristoff is full of complexities, including his belief that he is a coward and  is in constant pain due to an allergy to demons he is not aware of.

And then there is Hakon, your second pov.   Your and Kristoff’s first perception of him is that of a fierce yet supremely offensive mite.  He’s white blond, delicate, and super tiny.  Not one to inspire confidence on first contact.  Yet his overwhelmingly obnoxious demeanor more than makes up for a lack of height.  Like a noxious unassuming weed, there is much more to Hakon than is apparent.  To go into Hakon’s background is to spoil some of the best elements of this story but I will say that like Kristoff, Hakon too was an unwilling participant in this marriage as well as in the choice to be a Prince of the Blood.  By the time the book is halfway through, your opinion of Hakon and his of Kristoff will have done a complete changeover.  Yes, he’s not thrilled about Kristoff being his fiance either.  Misperceptions and misunderstandings abound throughout to our horror and delight.

A story rich in texture and with an almost encyclopedic wealth of details is a hallmark of a Megan Derr fantasy novel.  With Pride is another magical addition to the great fantasy reads that has come from this author.  Inside the pages we meet characters who must dig deep to find the best of themselves in order to triumph over overwhelming odds and almost certain destruction.  There is an abundance of pain, deaths of innocents, and treachery.  And to accompany that all, there will be glorious adventures, powerful battles, a dragon or two, dark magic, and of course, a troubled and tortured path to true love.

Ah, the romance.  Well, to be truthful there isn’t as much of it as I would have loved.  It takes some time for each character to overcome their assumptions and misperceptions about each other.  That’s a great thing because those are some toweringly poor judgements each one of them has made of each other.  And when they finally do get together it ends a little quickly without delivering a little more of a satisfying look at the future of Kristoff and Hakon.

Or least that’s what I thought at first.  Then I realized we already had that.  We just didn’t realize it at the time.  It’s in the first story Of Last Resort!  And that realization sent me running back to that novel and a fully married Hakon and Kristoff.  And its that little detail that made this story and it’s ending all the more gratifying.

Now I have two stories to reread while I am waiting for the author to release the third book in the series, In Despair (Princes of the Blood #3).  At the heart of this story is Prince Telmé Guldbrandsen and  Korin: descendant of the Reach of the House, heir to the High Priest of the Temple of the Sacred Three. In Despair works the series backward even further to the time where Prince Telme’ and Korin detest each other even while being betrothed since birth.  I can’t wait!  After the scenes of them  lovingly together and hauntingly apart in the first two tales, I am left deliciously in suspense as to their beginnings and romance.  It should be quite a tale!

All three books can be read in any order but it is quirky and totally amazing to watch the couples, romances and events move backward.  This and the first story are must reads for me.  If you are a lover of fantasy and m/m romance, they will be a must read for you too.  Consider With Pride one of Scattered Thoughts highly recommended stories and on our Best of 2014 lists.

Stories in the Princes of the Blood series are:

Of Last Resort (Princes of the Blood #1)
With Pride (Princes of the Blood #2)
In Despair (Princes of the Blood #3) expected release July 2014

Cover art by Aisha Akeju.  It really references a major plot of the story.  Dark and lovely.

Book Details:

ebook, LT3 Link
Expected publication: April 16th 2014 by Less Than Three Press LLC
original titleWith Pride
ISBN139781620043202
edition languageEnglish
seriesPrinces of Blood

Covers of the Books in the Series include:

In Despair coverWith PrideOf Last Resort cover

 

Review: Message of Love by Jim Provenzano

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Message of Love coverFebruary 1980. Philadelphia, PA.  Reid Conniff and Everett Forrester are enrolled at Temple University and have started to adjust to life as college students and life away from home.  But further challenges have to be faced by these two young men.  In addition to being out and gay, Everett Forester is still learning how to live  with his disability.  Going to class, navigating around campus in a pre Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) world presents Everett with some huge hurdles to overcome, including those of intimacy with his lover, Reid.

But Everett’s demanding mother has other plans for her son and they don’t include Everett graduating from Temple University.  After much pressure from his mother, Everett gives in and transfers to the University of Pennsylvania.  Now Everett and Reid must juggle school work and the daily struggle to be together as they attend different schools and a variety of commitments.  The solution? An apartment in the city that is perfect for them both and a landlady more friend than landlord.

As the 1980’s progress, Reid and Everett face many events and issues that will test their love and commitment to each other.  The rise of a strange disease that seems to target gay men, student protests, and the further exploration of their sexuality.  But it’s a mysterious Polaroid of Everett taken shortly before they met that may bring the most danger to Everett and Reid’s life together.  Who took the provocative photos of Everett? That answer will forever change Everett and Reid’s life together.

Message of Love opens June 1983 as Reid and Everett are attending a benefit dinner for handicapped kids in Pittsburgh.  The affair for a local non profit was organized by Everett’s mother who has moved to Pittsburgh to be closer to her son.  We get a glimpse into their present day relationship and a few remembrances of the past before we flashback to February 1980 the starting time for the majority of Message of Love.

There are so many  great elements of Message of Love, the first being the time period of the story.  The 80’s are well represented here and the in-depth research done by Jim Provenzano shows.  The story is full of 80’s cultural notations, from the ever present video stores and Sony Walkman’s to the Rocky Mountain Horror Picture Show where audience participation is starting to spread out from NYC where it started.  We get Spandau Ballet’s “True”, The Spinner’s “Working My Way Back to You” and of course The Pretenders’ “Message of Love”.  Provenzano gets the feel of the times just right. Reid and Everett’s homosexuality is somewhat more accepted by their peers and families and the protests of the 60’s and 70’s has for the most part changed from anti war demonstrations to anti-nuclear protests after the accident at Three Mile Island in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania in 1979.  Such notable events are mentioned throughout the narrative helping to further establish the time frame and setting.

Of utmost importance to Reid and Everett’s story is Everett’s disability as it impacts every aspect of their life together.  Lumbar fracture, partial paralysis.  Four life changing words.  And it is here that Provenzano does some of his best work.  Starting in Every Time I Think of You and continuing into Message of Love, the reader is pulled first hand into Everett’s hard won adjustment to his disability, his mental and emotional state directly after his accident as viewed by Reid.  Reid not only sees the struggles that Everett goes through but also Reid’s adjustment of his long term goals in order to help support his lover in every way possible.  One of the things I loved about the first story is that they still acted like the 17 year olds dealing with all the uncertainty and pain that happens for Everett to accept his disability and go forward and for Reid to accept the change in Everett.

Now at college and away from home for the first time (the exception being Everett’s rehabilitation), they start to experience all the new freedoms and personal growth that change brings.  For Everett, it is the everyday challenge of getting around campus, dorm life, and transportation.  Reid and Everett both mention the relative ease of traveling around Temple University because of its wide sidewalks and flat ground.  Also because Temple had a Students with Disabilities Dorm.

Both stories take place prior to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 which “prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, transportation, public accommodation, communications, and governmental activities”.  So we watch as Everett has to work hard to get around such hurdles as a lack of ramps, too many stairs and other hardships for the disabled made easier by the handicapped accessibility we see today.  Then we get a deeper, more uncomfortable look into Everett’s daily life as Reid watches people overlook Everett and talk only to Reid when they are together.  We see the cloak of invisibility that seems to fall over people in wheelchairs as those more able to navigate pass them by without notice or equal treatment.  Or Reid’s frustration as he acknowledges that some of the people/students regard Reid as some sort of “guide dog” for Everett instead of seeing him as Everett’s boyfriend.

Provenzano describes with great sensitivity the impact of Everett’s disability on their relationship, from living arrangements to their ability to have sex.  There are moments in their relationship that just ring with authenticity where Reid is prone to be overprotective and as a result Everett needs to reinforce his own need for independence and assistance on his own terms.  That’s an honest relationship, warts and all. We see them argue and listen to their internal insecurities.  We also get a factual look at sex and the sex act between Everett and Reid.  For some readers, this aspect of the story might be more raw and factual then is wanted.  Because, honestly, the author realistically lays out the physical limitations and logistics for both Reid and the reader as to what Everett can feel, his life with catheters, and what ablutions are required in order for them to have sexual relations. Sometimes frustrations and miscommunication ensue. Spontaneity is out, planning is in. And that includes defecation.  Too much information?  Perhaps.  But it conveys to the reader exactly what Everett’s life is like and makes it and Everett real.

Jim Provenzano includes positive elements as well in Everett’s adjustment to life with a disability. It’s the joys of relating to children like Everett from the summer camp for special needs children where Everett and Reid act as counselors to the rough and tumble sports team that Everett plays on.  Bringing all these extra layers and facts into Reid and Everett’s life together helps to connect the reader intimately to their romance and growing commitment to each other.

Message of Love chillingly brings in the beginnings of the AIDS epidemic and the beginnings of public awareness.  Its introduction in the story is subtle but grows steadily throughout until it will have a major impact on the main characters and those around them. First a small mention in the newspaper, then an article that their landlady brings to Reid’s attention, and our knowledge of the times and the disease just ramps up our anxiety and concerns for characters we have come to love through two stories.And always at the center is the love and romance between Reid and Everett, painstaking in its growth and so satisfying in its depth of feeling and commitment that we never once question their love for each other.  I fell in love with these two young men in Every Time I Think of You and that love affair continues here in Message of Love.

The narrative moved at a slower rate than in the previous novel which is to be expected as it lacks the dramatic impact of Everett’s accident.  The details of the reality of Everett’s daily regimen and physical bodily functions sometimes slowed the tale’s momentum down to a much more leisurely pace than most readers might want.  Perhaps if you looked at it as less a total romance and more of a journey of two young men coming of age and growing together into adulthood and a loving commitment, then the richness of its details and the complexities of its characters will make this a story to remember.

If you are new to Reid and Everett’s story, then begin with Every Time I Think of You.  If you are familiar with that novel, then Message of Love is a story not to be missed.  No matter, this is a wonderfully satisfying and uplifting novel, certainly one of Scattered Thoughts Best of 2014.

 

Every Time I Think of You by Jim Provenzano
Message of You (sequel) by Jim Provenzano

Cover Art; Getty Images. Used with permission. Cover Design: Kurt Thomas

Book Details:

Paperback, first, 372 pages
Published March 15th 2014 by Myrmidude Press
ISBN 0615669247 (ISBN13: 9780615669243)
edition languageEnglish

In the Author Spotlight: Jim Provenzano

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spotlight on booksMessage of Love cover

ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords is happy to host Jim Provenzano today, talking about his latest release, Message of Love, the sequel to the Lambda Literary Award winning, Every Time I Think of You.

Giveaway:  Jim has brought with him a Kindle ebook copy of Every Time I Think of You to give away today along with a copy of Message of Love to a 2nd winner.  To enter to win, leave a comment below as well as your email address so you can be contacted. We would also appreciate it if you left your Amazon email address in the body of the comment to make it easier to send the book to you as it is a Kindle edition.  Contest closes 4/19. Thanks.

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Getting It Right, the Second Time Around

by Jim Provenzano

When I started writing my fourth novel Every Time I Think of You, the first few chapters came to me in a dream in January 2011. I’d already had a few other novels nearly completed, but the story of Reid and Everett basically took over my life.Every Time I Think Of You

After finishing it in early December of that year, I agreed with the almost unanimous suggestion of friends who had read early drafts, and cut an epilogue where Reid and Everett are living ‘happily ever after’ as college roommates in Philadelphia. I realized that the last chapter was actually a draft treatment for a sequel. What happens after the rush of romance concludes with the blossoming of love? Well, a lot happens.

In the sequel, Message of Love, Reid and Everett attend separate universities in Philadelphia. While Everett’s studies focus on politics and world affairs, Reid remains devoted to his Forestry studies. And while the symbolic aspect of the City of Brotherly Love offers new adventures for them, the urban environs tests their relationship, and in particular, Reid’s once heartfelt passion for nature.

I prepared for my new novel, Message of Love, with funds generated from a small yet successful 2012 Kickstarter project. The week before attending the Lambda Literary Awards in New York City, where Every Time I Think of You won the Lammy for Gay Romance, I spent a week in Philadelphia. Combining my journalism experience with a bit of adventurous tourism, I researched the campuses, the city and Fairmont Park, where most scenes are set.

I also spent several days in the archives at both Temple University, the University of Pennsylvania, and at the Philadelphia Public Library, where I scanned issues of the Philadelphia Gay News, converting page after page into saved PDFs. I even found a house where the fictional version of an apartment would become their home.

Numerous personal interviews with current and former Philadelphia and Greensburg residents, and graduates of Penn and Temple, led to an insightful perspective on the novel’s setting. Sometimes a single detail or correction would lead to an entire chapter revision. But what surprised me were how often real-life events aligned with the story I had already outlined.

I spent months researching the disability issues relating to Everett’s experience, both from the perspective of a paraplegic and someone who loves him. Personal interviews with wheelchair users led to new insights into their daily lives.

As a former professional dancer, one of the most inspirational aspects came from other dancers. Like my first novel, PINS, about high school wrestlers, I took my own physical experience as a sort of muscle memory. By watching and talking with a wonderfully talented dancer and a choreographer from the Oakland, California AXIS Dance Company, I was able to feel and visualize the practicality and athleticism of a young active paraplegic.

But with a specific time frame, thirty years ago, I didn’t have the advantage of relying on contemporary aspects of disability. I bought several books from that era, specific to the limitations of the early 1980s, before the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed, and before most sidewalks and buildings were made accessible.

As with Every Time I Think of You, the story is written from Reid’s point of view and his attempts to comprehend and understand Everett’s challenges. Despite being a pair of romance novels, I worked within the popular genre while crafting a decidedly new approach. I also read many gay and straight romance books with disabled characters. Some of them were touching and sweet. Some were uninformed and misguided.

But at the same time, while I endeavored to ‘get it right’ about such a relationship, I kept asking myself, ‘Is this a Romance?’ Reid and Everett are already boyfriends. The quest of finding love has been achieved. Their new challenge is to sustain their love through some separation. Veering from the standard romance, they live together for most of the story.

With the advantage of having already established the love between Reid and Everett, I faced new challenges with an historic time and urban setting, placed against the encroaching threat of a plague.

Many contemporary romances quickly dispense with AIDS and other difficult issues, and that’s fine. That is the decision of other authors, to make a fun, sexy escapist story. But having set this sequel after the ‘halcyon’ days of the late 1970s, when being gay wasn’t a big problem in some communities, the sequel would have to deal with realities of the era in which I came of age; infidelity, identity, and the growing, then unnamed, epidemic.

A major symbol, a small evergreen tree, served as an actual gift in Every Time I Think of You. For Message of Love, a single ivy leaf, used on the book’s cover, becomes a significant gift of apology in a crucial moment when Everett and Reid’s relationship is at its most fragile. Yet Everett’s life as a paraplegic is not a mere metaphor, but a realistic aspect of his life that’s given a thorough focus.

In the first book, the two young men’s time together is sporadic and passionate. In the sequel, their extended time together offers a new perspective on moving beyond the initial rush of first love, and growing toward a stronger form based on trust.

This four-year ‘distraction’ has led to creating two of the most endearing characters I’ve created. I really grew to love these guys, and I hope readers will, too.
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Author Bio:

Jim Provenzano is the author of the novels PINS, Monkey Suits, Cyclizen, the 2012 Lambda Literary Award-winning Every Time I Think of You, its sequel Message of Love, and the stage adaptation of PINS.

A journalist in LGBT media for two decades, and the guest curator of Sporting Life, the world’s first gay athletics exhibit, he also wrote the syndicated Sports Complex column for ten years. Currently the Assistant Arts Editor at the Bay Area Reporter, he also edits its weekly BARtab nightlife section.

For more information on Jim Provenzano’s books, visit

Watch the book trailer, which features a performance of Dudley Saunders singing “Message of Love,” the title song (by The Pretenders), and enjoy the companion video playlists for Message of Love, Every Time I Think of You and PINS on Jim Provenzano’s YouTube channel:

 

 

 

 

 

March 2014 – Summary of Reviews and Best Covers

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books headers blk and white

March 2014 Review Summary

*Key:march1
S series
C contemporary
F-fantasy
SF-science fiction
PN-paranormal
SP-supernatural
H-historical
HR-horror
N-Nonfiction
YA-young adult

Rating Scale: 1 to 5, 5 stars is outstanding

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5 Star Rating:

Blown Away (Whispering Winds #1) by Havan Fellows (PF2014) C

4 to 4.75 Star Rating:

Ball & Chain (Cut & Run #8) by Abigail Roux, (4.5) C, S
Come To Me by Megan Derr (4), F, S
Convergence by Talya Andor (4 stars) SP
Every Inch of the Way (The Professor’s Rule #4) by Heidi Belleau and Amelia C. Gormley (4.5) C, S
Firestorm (Fighting Fire #1) by Laura Harner (4.5)PF2014, C
Free Falling (Extreme Escapes, LLD) by S.E. Jakes (4.75) C, S
Higher Ground (Earthquake #1) by T.A. Webb (4.75) PF2014, C
Know Not Why by Hannah Johnson (4.5) C
Song of the Spring Moon Waning by E.E. Ottoman (4.75) F,H
The Oracle’s Hatchling (The Oracle #2) by Mell Eight (4), F, S
To the Very Last Inch (The Professor’s Rule #5) by Heidi Belleau and Amelia C. Gormley (4.5) C,S
3 to 3.75 Star Rating:

Angel’s Hero (Angel #1) by Liz Borino (3.25) C, S
Artist’s Touch (Guild #1) by Kerry Adrienne (3.75 stars) C, S
King of Dublin by Lisa Henry and Heidi Belleau (3.75) SF
Riding Tall (The Fall #2) by Kate Sherwood (3.75)
The Oracle’s Flame (The Oracle #1) by Mell Eight (3.75) F, S

2 to 2.75 Star Rating:

Hunter by Blood by Robin White (2.75) SN

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Best Covers of March 2014

???????????????????????????????????????FreeFalling_500x750Song of the Spring Moon Waning coverTo The Very Last InchBlown Away cover

Higher Ground coverCold SnapFirestorm by Laura Harner

 

 

 

 

 

 

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  • Ball & Chain, cover art by LC Chase
  • Free Falling, cover art by Croco Designs
  • Song of the Spring Moon Waning, artist Aisha Akeju
  • Know Not Why, artist unknown
  • To the Very Last Inch, cover artist LC Chase
  • Blown Away standing in for all the Pulp Friction 2014 covers by Laura Harner

 

 

Review: Every Time I Think of You by Jim Provenzano

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

 

“In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect.
Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful.”
– Alice Walker

Every Time I Think Of YouIt’s winter, 1978 in the small town of Greensburg,Pennsylvania and for teenager Reid Coniff everything is about to change.  The woods are calling him out into the night and snow.  Not exactly to admire nature, although Reid does that too.  But the thin walls of his house make it almost impossible for a teenage boy to find sexual release and these woods are a perfect place for privacy.  Or so Reid thinks.  Because after a short hike, Reid comes across another boy with the exact same purpose on the mind.

Everett Forrester, scion of the Forrester family who founded their town, has come to the woods around Forrestville, a wealthy community, that separates the rich from the rest of the citizens of Greensburg, to escape his family and have a moment of sexual self pleasure.  With divorced parents, home now consists mostly of a controlling mother, a housekeeper who is more friend and ally than servant, and a beloved sister who lives in Pittsburgh far outside the sphere of his family and their wealth.  Everett is not prepared for the tall, lanky boy that finds him almost naked in the woods, in the middle of masturbing.  But one sloppy wet kiss later, both boys find release and a new destiny together.

What follows that remarkable meeting is a relationship that grows and deepens over time.  It didn’t matter that townie Reid attended the local public high school or that wealthy Everett attended a prestigious prep school just outside Forrestville, the next months found them constantly together.  Trips to visit Everett’s sister Holly is Pittsburgh served as a way to be alone, exploring their newly discovered passion for each other and sex.  They share their hopes, their dreams and their problems and their relationship deepens even as they hid who and what they were to each other.

High school is still such a difficult time made more so by a first love and being in the closet. Everett and Reid have not only to deal with hiding their relationship but the fact that they come from two very different backgrounds and two diverging views of their future. Most couples have only a few obstacles to overcome, but Everett and Reid face the most daunting obstacle of all when an accident on the playing field changes their lives forever.

Every Time I Think of You  by Jim Provenzano is a true revelation. I have read many coming of age stories.  And I have also read just as many coming out stories but none of them have the depth, texture and power of Every Time I Think of You.   Winner of the Lambda Literary Award in 2012, this is storytelling at its most intimate and perceptive.

The journey of Reid and Everett will make you hark back to your own adolescence, it will make you laugh and cringe in acknowledgement of the trials and tribulations of high school and the throes of a first love. This elegant and moving tale will pull forth all feelings possible when we remember what it felt like to be young and in love for the first time. In the telling, the author and his characters ask for our understanding and get it by the descriptions and in the remembrances of being young. For the very bravery of youth itself in its outlook and optimism and the pain that experience and time often inflicts.  Even now I want to reach for that book again and start at page 1 as Reid embarks on his journey once more into the woods where he will meet Everett and his future.

The characters Provenzano created for his story are remarkable for their complexity and authenticity as children of the 70’s. With all the references we would expect from the late 70’s Jim Provenzano frames out his setting and time period and puts the reader into the mind and heart of Reid Coniff, a teenager of the threshold of an explosion of self discovery in 1978.  Our narrator is a product of a loving family in a small town in Pennsylvania. Reid is that extraordinary voice that strikes a recognizable note in all readers. He is introspective with a passion for plants and nature in general.  He knows what he wants to do with his life and has the support he needs from his parents.  But that one night in the forest changes everything for him.  Here is a small excerpt just as Reid ventures into the woods in chapter one:

Entering the edge of the small woods, I felt warmer and secure. I’d rarely encountered other people in that small expanse of trees and its charming creek, which is why I’d long considered it my own private refuge.

A thick blanket of snow lay at my feet, sleeves of it bending the limbs of shrubs. Bluish whites contrasted the dark limbs of the evergreen branches above.

Further in, the snow under the tall evergreens was softer, quieting my footsteps as I encountered something unexpected; a pair of grey sweatpants and a green parka hanging on a tree limb.

Then I saw him.

The following scene beautifully delivers the urgency of youth, and the first fumblings at sex. It’s delivers the realistic joy of the first sexual discovery with another person and the shyness that comes after their first kiss and sexual release.  It’s that moment where Reid thinks for the first time “Where the hell have you been all these years?”

And then you remember that these boys are only seventeen with their life spread out before them, and that thought becomes one of wonder but also of the pain because we realize how much of life is still before them.

And you are not even out of the first chapter.

Everett Forrester’s voice feels so true to that age and time period.  It’s full of bravado and charm and yet it hides so much feeling and insecurities that you find yourself falling in love with him as much as Reid.  The combination of these two young men, so full of life and the awkwardness of youth, is both captivating and painful.  We watch them venturing out of their self described roles and into a journey of personal growth, love, and sexual discovery.  A time when all their futures are full of the impossible and where they will always be together.

And from our remembered perspectives, their jubilant bravado and youthful innocence is received with the understanding and compassion of age, letting us relate to and empathize with these young men on their journey together with all its attending highs and lows.

Provenzano doesn’t shy away from the warts and issues of the times and of being a teenager during that era, homophobia included.  Nor does he gloss over the brutal facts of the impact that a debilitating accident has on these boys,their families and their budding romantic relationship. Everett’s accident is one that almost singularly destroys Everett and Reid’s relationship as well as Everett’s dreams for his future.  It is one that can happen on any playing field across America, this time it just happened to Everett.  That doesn’t make it any easier to accept for Everett, Reid or their families.  Or for the reader for that matter.

The story ends in the winter of 1979.  Less than a year has passed but somehow it feels as though I have walked miles and lived years with these boys. This amazing narrative, at times honest, tender, and raw, has left me so well acquainted with their characters, that to see the end actually hurt.  And that’s after 266 pages.  Reid is now at Temple University in Philadelphia.  And Everett? Well, that joy of discovery awaits you within these pages.

And it doesn’t end here.  The sequel, Message of Love, continues Reid and Everett journey into adulthood and their possible future together. But first there is Every Time I Think of You, an evocative and immensely powerful “coming-of-age”  tale so compelling in its truth that you won’t want to put it down.  The strong adolescent voice that is Reid Coniff, wise ,uncertain, tentative and brave.  It is the voice of a 17 year old…so full of everything it means to be 17. It is real, painfully so at times. Reid will entice  you back to his story and that of the young man he loves with all his heart.  And Everett with the burdens and struggles to come will hold fast to your heart, never to let go.

This is one of ScatteredThoughts Best of 2014.  Go, get it now and start your journey along with Reid and Everett into their future.  Trust me, this story is one that will always stay with you, heart deep and full of love.

Cover Art; Getty Images. Used with permission. Cover Design: Kurt Thomas.  Cover is simple and elegant and references a major element in their story.

Every Time I Think of You
Message of Love (sequel)

 Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 266 pages
Published November 26th 2011 by CreateSpace/Myrmidude Press
ASINB006EVNCJK
edition languageEnglish
literary awardsLambda Literary Award 2012

Buy Links: Amazon  also at Barnes & Noble (nook)

Contest Winner Announcements and the Week Ahead in Reviews, Author Spotlights and Contests

 

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Winners of the Book Tour Contests and Author Spotlights

 

Every Inch of the Way coverFreeFalling_500x750Angel's Hero cover

To The Very Last Inch

 

 

 

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  • Winners of The Professor’s Rule Tours (Every Inch of the Way and To the Very Last Inch) by Heidi Belleau and Amelia C. Gormley. Winners are Sonja and Flutterfli. Congratulations to you both. And my thanks to Heidi Belleau for Amelia C. Gormley for stopping by on their tour and bringing the contest with them.
  • Winners of SE Jakes Free Falling Book Tour Contest are: Kathleen Power,Robbie Bauldree, and Kassandra Appel.  They won  SIGNED copies of SE Jakes’s Hell or High Water series: Catch a Ghost and Long Time Gone.   Congratulations to all three!
  • Winner of Kerry Adrienne’s novel, Beautiful One, is Ashley E. Congratulations to Ashley E and my thanks to everyone who stopped by and left comments.

 

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Now for the Week Ahead: Short and sweet this week!  Mell Eight is a new author for me.  I have already reviewed The Oracle’s Flame, the first in her new series.  This week I start off my reviews with the second story, The Oracle’s Hatchling which will  lead into Mell Eight’s Author Spotlight on Wednesday.  Thursday  I am reviewing When All the World Sleeps by Lisa Henry and J.A. Rock.  I really wasn’t sure what I was going to feel about this story and it just amazed me with its intensity, and commanding characters.  Dark and a must read.  Friday is the second in Liz Boreno’s Angel series, Angel’s Truth. And finally, SJ Frost is here to finish out the week by talking about her new vampire series and book, Vampire Prince.

And its April.  Will the snow finally stop and the cherry blossoms start to bloom?  Who knows?  We can only hope….

This Week’s Schedule:

  •  Monday, March 31:        The Oracle’s Hatchling by Mell Eight
  • Tuesday, April 1:             Vampire Prince by SJ Frost
  • Wed., April 2:                   Author Spotlight & Contest: Mell Eight
  • Thursday, April 3:          When All the World Sleeps by Lisa Henry and J.A. Rock
  • Friday, April 4:                Angel’s Truth by Liz Boreno
  • Sat., April 5:                    Author Spotlight & Contest: SJ Frost

 

Ty & Zane Are Back in Ball & Chain! Visit with Abigail Roux (Inside Info and Amazing Contest)

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Welcome to the Ball & Chain virtual tour! If you’re following along, you’ll be able to win yourself some goodies that might just save your life! I’ve got five Survival Kits in a Sardine Can, perfect for traveling and hiking or taking with you to remote island weddings where people might be dying. And I’ve got five sets of trading cards with original artwork and character work-ups for the less adventurous readers!Ty & Zane Survivial Kit

Contest: Every comment on this blog tour enters you in a drawing to win one of five Survival Kits in a Sardine Can or one of five sets of trading cards with original artwork. Entries close at midnight, Eastern Time, on April 1 , and winners will be announced on April 3rd. Contest is valid worldwide.

 

STRW: Abigail Roux was kind enough to answer some of the questions I have been dying to ask her since I found Ty and Zane in the Cut & Run series and about her latest novel, Ball & Chain (Cut & Run #8). Let’s get started….

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STRW:  I know you (Abigail) always do extensive research on the locations for your stories.  Ball & Chain is set in Scotland.  Where you able to travel there?

Abigail Roux:
I was! I went to the UK and Ireland last summer and spent almost three weeks traveling with two friends. I post about my research travels on a Tumblr I made specifically so people could follow along. You can find it at abitravels.tumblr.com. It follows my adventures, and the adventures of Nelson the om nom, who goes everywhere with me. I like to share those adventures with readers; it makes the process even more hands on.

STRW: • What was your inspiration for setting the story in Scotland?

Abigail:
Originally the book was supposed to be set in the Caribbean. After a little research, though, I realized it would never work for my purposes. So I did a Google search for isolated wedding locations, and the name that caught my eye first was a place called Knoydart. We actually traveled there to scout it out. It wound up not being right for the book either, but I was able to see enough of Scotland, which is absolutely breathtaking, to create an amalgam of the things I needed. So the book takes place on a fake island, but everything about it is as authentic as I could make it.

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STRW: • What was the biggest challenge to writing this penultimate story to the Cut & Run series?

Abigail:
Oh gosh. It’s so stressful. I want these last two books to be worthy, and I want them to be memorable and perfect and I want readers to end the series on a high note. And that’s going to be so very hard to do. It keeps me awake at night. But when I got into this book and started writing, all that slipped away and it was just about the story and the characters again. So the biggest challenge is compartmentalizing it to keep me from freaking out!

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STRW:• So many people have fallen in love with Nick and Kelly; did you find it hard to balance out the readers’ devotion to Ty and Zane with our need to see more of Nick and Kelly when putting them in the same story?  Especially this story that we have been waiting for-the reunion of Ty and Zane?

Abigail Roux:
I didn’t find it hard, no, because Nick always had a huge role in this book. He’s actually the driving force behind a lot of the tension and drama. Adding Kelly to him was no trouble at all because Kelly is an easy character. He doesn’t make waves, basically, because he just rolls with it. I don’t think they take away from Ty and Zane, and they certainly don’t subtract from Ty and Zane’s romance or their tale. I know some readers have been worried about Ty and Zane sharing page time, but at this stage they have to or the books would be all about them hiding under the covers refusing to answer their phone.

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STRW:• Do you think you will be able to let go of Ty and Zane at book 9, or will the series continue?

Abigail Roux:
The series will definitely end at book 9, whether I like it or not. That’s always been the plan, and there’s no reason to change it now. I will miss them terribly, because at this point they’re both a part of me. But I have surprises for readers coming in the Sidewinder Series. No one will have to say goodbye to Ty and Zane until I kill them off!

STRW:• Is there a Ty and Zane wedding to look forward to?

Abigail Roux:
Well, someone does get married in Ball & Chain . . .

STRW: Now that’s just evil…
• Both characters have undergone so much growth over the series.  It has been wrenching to read about at times, joyful at others. Is there one special scene that is your favorite with the men?

Abigail Roux:
My favorite scene between Ty and Zane will always be in Divide & Conquer when they dance in Ty’s living room. It wasn’t planned as we were writing; it was just something Ty did almost without my permission. It made it feel very authentic, even to me, and I love the quiet romance of it.

STRW:• Ty and Zane are definitely an A List couple.  People are mad for them.  Why do you think they have such staying power for readers?

Abigail Roux:
I wish I knew so I could bottle it! I think both men are so flawed, people can relate to them easily, but they also do things most of us don’t’ allow ourselves. Zane is hard on himself and he lets his past and fears dictate his actions, and that’s something a lot of people do and can sympathize with. They root for him to pull past that. Ty is impulsive and fun and frankly kind of crazy, and that’s a luxury a lot of people aren’t allowed in life. Ty and Zane offer us a combination of pieces of ourselves we recognize, and pieces we wish we had. I think people have latched onto them because they see a bit of themselves in one or both characters.

You can contact Abigail Roux at:

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???????????????????????????????????????Ball & Chain (Cut & Run #8): Home from their unexpected deployment, the former members of Marine Force Recon team Sidewinder rejoin their loved ones and try to pick up the pieces of the lives they were forced to leave behind. Ty Grady comes home to Zane Garrett, only to find that everything around him has changed—even the men he went to war with. He barely has time to adjust before his brother, Deuce, asks Ty to be his best man. But that isn’t all Deuce asks Ty to do, and Ty must call for backup to deal with the business issues of Deuce’s future father-in-law.

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Nick O’Flaherty and Kelly Abbott join Ty and Zane at the wedding on an island in Scotland, thinking they’re there to assuage Deuce’s paranoia. But when bodies start dropping and boats start sinking, the four men get more involved with the festivities than they’d ever planned to.

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With the clock ticking and the killer just as stuck on the isolated island as they are, Ty and Zane must navigate a veritable minefield of family, friends, and foes to stop the whole island from being destroyed.

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You can pre-order Ball & Chain from Riptide and get it two days early!

Contest:  Abigail Roux is giving away five Survival Kits in a Sardine Can, perfect for traveling and hiking or taking with youTy & Zane Survivial Kit to remote island weddings where people might be dying. And I’ve got five sets of trading cards with original artwork and character work-ups.Leave a comment to be entered into the drawing. . Entries close at midnight, Eastern Time, on April 1 , and winners will be announced on April 3rd. Contest is valid worldwide.

Review: Free Falling (Extreme Escapes, Ltd.) by S.E. Jakes

Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

Sometimes falling in love is the most dangerous thing of all…

FreeFalling_500x750Expert thief Blue first met Mick, a mercenary and a hitter, when the millionaire they were working for sent them out to “retrieve” a priceless statue and ship it out of the country.  Blue was adamant about working solo, Mick was just as adamant that he was coming along as ordered.  The argument only ended after a bet was made and agreed upon.  A bet Blue lost.  But Mick never showed up, leaving Blue hanging  and alone in the hotel room that had been part of the bet.  Blue was angry, humiliated, and more than a little frustrated at the way the evening turned out.  Blue swore that Mick wouldn’t get a second chance.  And then a year later he sees him again.

A year later finds Blue in Bogota.  The job Blue is on should be quick and easy, its also one he has been paid for.  But things start to go wrong almost immediately.  Blue spots Mick in a meeting in a bar, catching not only Mick’s eye but that of the dangerous drug dealer Mick is working with.  It takes finesse and quick thinking by Mick to get Blue away from the criminal and a deadly situation that was getting out of control.  Recovering, Mick and Blue realize that they care for each other.  But their jobs and personalities make going forward impossible.

Then Mick disappears on a job and its up to Blue to save him.  Suddenly nothing is impossible if only he can save Mick first.

Blue and Mick first appeared on my radar during the Hell or High Water series.  SE Jakes gave us tantalizing glimpses of this duo throughout those stories as Blue popped in to visit Prophet only to be followed by Mick still chasing after him.  A few sentences of dialog, a quick scene that telegraphed the deep love and affection these men felt for each other, and then, poof, they were gone.  Blue would jump out the window with Mick close behind him.  And the reader was left wondering who were these crazy men and what was their backstory?

In Free Falling, we finally get some answers, but only some.  Blue is an unrepentant thief.  He enjoys his work and is one of the top “procurement” people in the world.  He is never going to change, a fact that has acted as a bulwark against any lasting relationships except one. But what happened to make Blue this way?  SE Jakes has created an almost heartbreaking answer to that question.  From Blue’s memories and several phone calls he gets while on the run, the reader gathers the pieces to the puzzle that is Blue.  From his dysfunctional family background to his raison d’être, all are clues which help us better understand Blue. It also makes his need for stealing understandable and almost honorable, almost.  Blue is a complicated man, surprisingly full of insecurities and yet still so confident in his abilities and intelligence.  And he meets his match in Mick.

Ah, Mick.  A massive mountain of a man.  A killer, a soldier, full of unwavering loyalties. And yet….still capable of friendship and love.  His complexities are a perfect match for the compulsions and intricacies that is Blue.  I haven’t read all of the Extreme Escapes Ltd. stories, so I don’t know if his backstory is already out there.  But again, SE Jakes gives us enough to cobble together an understanding of this man and the forces that drive him.

These men need a plot as intense, dangerous and wild as they are and they get it in Free Falling, a perfect metaphor for their lives.  Someone is manufacturing a drug that whips a person into a long lasting sexual frenzy, one that compels them to want more and more sex.  It’s the ultimate blackmail tool and perfect for creating sexual slaves.  And EE and Mick are out to stop its manufacture and distribution.

Free Falling is such great high wire fun! The action is fast-paced and explosive.  The sex scenes intense and incendiary.  And the pathos when it comes, well, it’s heartbreaking.  No idling, no slow speed to this narrative,  it’s just revved up and roaring down the road!

So buckle up, grab this story up and prepare for one wild ride.  You are going to love it.

Cover Art by Croco Designs, http://www.crocodesigns.com.  Can that cover get any hotter?  I  don’t think so.  Love it.

Book Details:

ebook, First Edition, 150 pages
Published December 5th 2012 by SEJ (http://sejakes.com)
original title Free Falling
edition language English
Books in the Extreme Escapes Ltd universe are:
  • Hell or High Water Series: Catch a Ghost, Long Time Gone, Daylight Again (coming soon), If I Ever (coming soon)
  • Dirty Deeds Series (EE, Ltd.): Dirty Deeds, Dirty Lies (coming soon), Dirty Love (coming soon)
  • Men of Honor Series: Bound by Honor, Bound by Law, Ties That Bind, Bound by Danger, Bound for Keeps (EE, Ltd.), Bound to Break

Go Free Falling with S.E. Jakes! Guest Spotlight and Book Contest.

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Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have SE Jakes visiting today to talk about Free Falling, a story in the marvelously addicting Extreme Escapes universe series.FreeFalling_150x300

S.E. Jakes:
Thanks so much for having me here today, so I can shout about the fact that Free Falling’s getting a re-release with Riptide! I’m so excited about this, you have no idea. For me, this is the book that started the Hell or High Water series (see below for more on that).

Free Falling originally came out in December of 2012—it was the first book I self-published, and I worked with Sarah Frantz as my editor (and she’s now my Riptide editor as well) and the entire experience was simply awesome.

This would also be the second book Prophet inserted himself into (the first was Bound For Keeps). It was then I realized that the man needed his own series or else he would show up in every single book I wrote. But for Free Falling, it certainly cemented the bond between Blue and Prophet. I’ve brought Blue and Mick back in Long Time Gone (Hell or High Water 2) and yes, I’m totally planning a Free Falling sequel, which would happen sometime post Dirty Love (Dirty Deeds 3). Because I can’t get enough of Blue, my favorite thief, and Mick, the man who’ll chase him every single time.

The great thing about moving this book to Riptide is that now all my EE Ltd. books are in one place AND Free Falling will now be available everywhere in eFormat AND in print!!! The cover looks gorgeous in person.

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Contest:
Every comment on this blog tour enters you in a drawing to win one of three SIGNED copies of Hell or High Water series: Catch a Ghost and Long Time Gone. Entries close at midnight, Eastern Time, on March 24th, and winners will be announced on March 25th.  Contest is valid worldwide.

About Free Falling:

Sometimes falling in love is the most dangerous thing of all.
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FreeFalling_500x750Blue is a thief who lives for adrenaline and danger. And when he meets Mick, a mercenary, he’s hit with a buzz of attraction like the rush of a high-rise job without a safety rope. But after making plans to get together, Mick leaves him hanging, and Blue vows never again.
A year later, Mick watches helplessly as Blue stumbles into the middle of one of Mick’s jobs. Risking his cover and their lives, Mick saves Blue and cares for him as he recuperates, but neither man has any idea how to handle the intimacy this forces them into.
Once Blue is safe, Mick redoubles his efforts to take down the drug lord responsible—and disappears. Blue goes after him, determined to return the favor and rescue the man he loves, no matter the cost.
This is a revised second edition of the originally self-published title. No substantive changes have been made to the story.
About SE Jakes:
SE Jakes writes m/m romance. She believes in happy endings and fighting for what you want in both fiction and real life.
She lives in New York with her family, and most days, she can be found happily writing (in bed). No really…

Connect with SE Jakes: