Category: Book Giveaways

In The Spotlight: Keira Andrews and A Way Home (Gay Amish Romance #3) (interview and contest)

Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000038_00067]A Way Home (Gay Amish Romance #3) by Keira Andrews

The end of the Trilogy

STRW In The Spotlight Header

Here at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words, we fell in love with Keira Andrews from the moment we picked up A Forbidden Rumspringa, the first in her Gay Amish Romance trilogy.  And now with A Way Home, the trilogy is over but not our romance with this author and her stories.  We invited her here today to talk about the inspiration behind her stories and what’s next in line for Keira Andrews.

Our Interview with Keira Andrews on A Way Home and her Gay Amish Romance Trilogy

1. Did you know this was going to be a trilogy from the start?

Yes. Well, initially it was going to be a novella, but I soon realized Isaac and David had a LOT more to say. Once I started writing, it quickly became a planned trilogy.

2. Why the Amish as a main story element?

It started out as a chuckle with an m/m blogger who mentioned that she got a lot of hits for “sexy Amish men.” It started my mind working, and I took out a book on the Amish from the library. It’s a fascinating culture so different from mine, and I thought readers might find it interesting as well. I’m also a huge fan of forbidden love.

3. I found the scenes within the Amish community so effective and real, how much research did you do in order to accomplish that?

Thank you! I read a lot and also connected with some former Amish. Their stories and recollections were incredibly helpful.

4. Coming out is hard enough, to do so in such a closed and restrictive community must be shockingly difficult. You got that across in the stories. Was there a key to finding your way inside such characters and moments in their lives?

I think it was just to put myself in their shoes as firmly as I could. Leave all my prejudices and experiences behind, and imagine that world and their experiences as authentically as possible.

5. Parts of these stories just broke my heart and others made it soar, do you find yourself as emotionally affected when writing the scenes?

Totally. If I make myself cry, I know it’s an effective scene!

6. What is the first word that enters your mind when thinking about this series?

Gratitude. I’m so grateful to readers for embracing Isaac and David and loving them as much as I do.

7. What is next for Keira Andrews?

My next book, Kick at the Darkness, is coming in May. It’s a contemporary romance about a college student and the TA he hates (who is also a secret werewolf) being stuck together on the run as they try to survive the zombie apocalypse. So it’s just a little different from the Amish series! A lot more blood and adventure, and fewer barn raisings. I like to challenge myself in a variety of genres, and this one was really fun. But I do have an idea for a fourth book about Isaac and David that would take place down the road, so I’ll be working on that as well.

STRW Author BookSynopsis

More About A Way Home:

Will returning to their Amish roots renew their faith in each other?Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000038_00067]

Isaac and David never thought they’d go back to the Amish world. But when Isaac’s younger brother is stricken with cancer, they don’t hesitate to return. Their relationship is on the rocks after insecurity and fear drove a wedge between them in San Francisco, and David is determined to make things right. Yet if they thought navigating “English” life was confusing, being back in Zebulon is even more complicated.

Their families are desperate to bring them back into the fold, and pressure from the community builds. Isaac and David yearn for a future together, but each day it becomes harder to hide the truth about who they really are. They’re caught between two worlds, and if they’re not careful it could tear them further apart.

Can Isaac and David make their way back to each other—and find a place to call home?

This is the final chapter in a trilogy of forbidden Amish love.

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

Book Details: ebook, 240 pages
Expected publication: April 8th 2015 by KA Books
ISBN139780993859892
edition languageEnglish

The rest of the Trilogy:

Forbidden Rumspringa cover

A Forbidden Rumspringa (Gay Amish Romance #1)

When two young Amish men find love, will they risk losing everything?

In a world where every detail of life—down to the width of a hat brim—is dictated by God and the all-powerful rules of the community, two men dare to imagine a different way. At 18, Isaac Byler knows little outside the strict Amish settlement of Zebulon, Minnesota, where there is no rumspringa for exploration beyond the boundaries of their insular world. Isaac knows he’ll have to officially join the church and find a wife before too long, but he yearns for something else—something he can’t name.

Dark tragedy has left carpenter David Lantz alone to support his mother and sisters, and he can’t put off joining the church any longer. But when he takes on Isaac as an apprentice, their attraction grows amid the sweat and sawdust. David shares his sinful secrets, and he and Isaac struggle to reconcile their shocking desires with their commitment to faith, family and community.

Now that they’ve found each other, are they willing to lose it all?

Note: Contains explicit sexual situations and graphic language. This is not an inspirational/Christian romance.

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

A Clean Break (Gay Amish Romance #2)
They’ve escaped to the outside world—but can they really be free?A Clean Break cover

David and Isaac have found happiness in each other’s arms. In faraway San Francisco, Isaac’s brother Aaron helps them explore confusing “English” life and move beyond the looming shadow of their Amish roots. For the first time, David and Isaac can be openly gay, yet they struggle to reconcile their sexuality with their faith. At least they don’t have to hide their relationship, which should make everything easier. Right?

But while Isaac thrives at school and makes new friends, David wrestles to come to terms with the reality of the outside world. Haunted by guilt at leaving his mother and sisters behind in Zebulon, he’s overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of the city as he works to get his carpentry business off the ground.

While David and Isaac finally sleep side by side each night, fear and insecurity could drive them miles apart.

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

 

STRW Author Bio and Contacts

 

About the Author:Keira Andrews pic

After writing for years yet never really finding the right inspiration, Keira discovered her voice in gay romance, which has become a passion. She writes contemporary, historical, paranormal and fantasy fiction, and—although she loves delicious angst along the way—Keira firmly believes in happy endings. For as Oscar Wilde once said, “The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what fiction means.”

You can find Keira Andrews at http://www.keiraandrews.com/

 

STRW Spotlight Contest Header

To celebrate the end of the Gay Amish Trilogy and the release of A Way Home, Keira Andrews is giving away a copy of A Forbidden Rumspringa, the wonderful novel that started it all.  Please leave a comment below as well as an email address where you can be reached, that’s part of the entry process.

To enter to win, you must be 18 years of age or older.  Use the link provided to enter and for all additional contest details.

Contest ends midnight, April 30th, EDT.

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In the Spotlight: Falling (Fall or Break #1) by Barbara Elsborg (author interview and contest)

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Falling (Fall or Break #1) by Barbara Elsborg
Samhain Publishing

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Author Barbara Elsborg is here today to talk about her book, Falling, and the Fall or Break series.  Check out our interview below and the book details  that follow.

Contest: Enter to win a eBook from Barbara Elsborg’s library.  Leave a comment below, along with an email address where you can be contacted.  And also click on the Rafflecopter link below as well.  Contest ends midnight, April 21st (2 weeks from today):
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

An Interview with Barbara Elsborg on “Falling”….

1. What prompted you to write Falling?

I hate the idea of someone being put in prison for something they didn’t do. I hate the idea of someone being accused of something they didn’t do! It made me think how awful it must be to be in prison and be constantly encouraged to admit your guilt and how hard it must be to stand against that pressure. It used to be the case that if you didn’t admit your guilt you spent more of your sentence behind bars. That’s not really true now BUT since a parole board has to agree to your early release, if you haven’t accepted your guilt it can be a reason to deny you the chance of life outside on license. I had to do a lot of research to check I had my facts right!

2. Where do you draw your inspiration?

Everywhere. Things I’m told, things I read or see. An addiction to Google! Another inspiration for Falling was when a friend told me of a young man she knew who was a teacher in Scotland – accused of abuse by a pupil. He was innocent. The accusation was withdrawn but the damage was done and he left teaching. I think in these days of political correctness, you have to be so careful what you say and do and in a way, it’s a shame. We need a better balance.

3. Falling is the first in the Fall or Break series. Will you continue with the couple in Falling or will each subsequent book feature a different set of MCs?

The next book Breaking – features Conrad – a minor character out of Falling. It’s a stand alone book but it does help to know who Conrad used to be with. Malachi and Harper have a little part in Breaking – out in July. I prefer writing books that tell the story of one couple, and end it rather than let it run to several books.

4. Or will the series chart the progression of the relationship?

So no – LOL – the series will be about different MCs!

5. Were you a prolific reader as a child?

Huge reader. I used to be trouble with the local library because I took books back to change them for new ones before they’d filed the cards for the ones I’d taken out. (that dates me!) I read very fast. 80 pages in 30 minutes of a paperback – often even quicker. I also read up to 3 books at the same time – not actually at the same time but I have 3 by the side of the bed now, all part read, plus the one on my Kindle. I read according to mood! I’m not always in the mood for romance. I like suspense and thrillers.

6. If so, what book or author made a impact on you as a child reader?

That’s really hard. I think I might pick the Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton. I loved the idea of another land up a tree!I was scared of heights though so I never climbed trees.

7. And has that impact continued into adulthood, as a reader and writer?

No. Enid Blyton was of her time. Some stories like the Magic Faraway Tree can be read now, but the others are dated. I didn’t have a favourite author. I just read anything. Once I was in my teens I was addicted to James Bond books. Then I branched out to the classics. There aren’t many genres I won’t try. The one I have the most difficulties with is hard core sci fi. It’s too technical for me.

8. Who do you consider your influences as an author today?

Impossible to say. I’ve read so much and loved so much- Adele Parks, Jennifer Crusie, Fiona Walker, Freya North – but I love thriller and suspense writers like Mark Billingham, Tom Wood, Karin Slaughter, Harlan Coben, Mo Hayder – so many. I also love regency romances – Eloisa James, Mary Balogh, Julia Quinn… too many to mention. I think any good author that you read has to have some influence if only to encourage you to write better.

9. What drives you to write? And have you always written?

What drives me? The love of telling a story, the need for a happy ending, a belief in love, an interest in what makes people tick. I have always written. I started with fan fiction as a teenager for TV shows and wrote my first novel in my early twenties. I found writing was a way to escape a not very happy time at school. I could dive into my own world, make myself the heroine and give myself a HEA.

10. What’s next for Barbara Elsborg?
I have an MM called The Demon You Know out in April. An MMF called Talking Trouble out in May. Breaking out in July and I’ve just finished writing an MM tentatively called Give Yourself Away. It’s going to be a year of many releases!! But on a personal note, I’m going to be at RT in Dallas if anyone would like to meet me!

STRW Author BookSynopsis

About Falling…

Falling is easy. Landing without breaking your heart? Impossible.

Harper is no longer behind bars, but it doesn’t feel like it. Ten years serving time for a crime he didn’t commit have left him shut down, numb, and a frozen wreck over the simplest of choices.

He’s acutely aware of the dark-haired young man checking him out in the supermarket, but he’s too deep in panic mode to even meet the guy’s gaze. Afraid the slightest move will trigger a fall that will never stop.

Fresh off a long-term relationship with a controlling man, Malachi is stuck living with relatives who think he’s a waste of oxygen. The tall guy in the long, gray coat is the first bright spot he’s glimpsed in a long time…though the man’s unblinking stare at a bottle of shower gel is a touch alarming.

Hard experience tells both of them to turn away before lust turns to hopeless attraction, and inevitably to disaster. But once their sparks connect, the arc of electricity is too strong to deny. Even if the cost is too much to bear.

Warning: Contains an ex-con with disaster written all over him, a boy toy who’s trouble with a capital T, a damp old British house, compulsive meddling, and enough hot sex to cure the severe case of nervous babbling.  Read an excerpt here at Samhain.

Sales Links:  Samhain Publishing           Amazon       Buy It Here

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 282 pages
Published March 24th 2015 by Samhain Publishing
original titleFalling,ASINB00Q33IKYG
edition languageEnglish
url http://www.barbaraelsborg.com/book/falling/
seriesFall or Break #1

STRW Author Bio and Contacts

About Barbara Elsborg:

Barbara Elsborg lives in West Yorkshire in the north of England. She always wanted to be a spy, but having confessed to everyone without them even resorting to torture, she decided it was not for her. Vulcanology scorched her feet. A morbid fear of sharks put paid to marine biology. So instead, she spent several years successfully selling cyanide.

After dragging up two rotten, ungrateful children and frustrating her sexy, devoted, wonderful husband (who can now stop twisting her arm) she finally has time to conduct an affair with an electrifying plugged-in male, her laptop.

Her books feature quirky heroines and bad boys, and she hopes they are as much fun to read as they are to write.

Contact/follow Barbara at her blog/website:  http://www.barbaraelsborg.com/

It’s Cover Reveal Time for K. Vale’s Crossed Hearts (contest)

:Young man

Cover Reveal for  Crossed Hearts (Hearts and Scars #1) by K. Vale
Release Date: April 27, 2015
Goodreads Link

K.Vale is back with her latest story, Crossed Hearts, the first in her Hearts and Scars series.  Be sure to check out the  blurb and excerpt along with entering the contest at the end of the post.

Young man

STRW Author BookSynopsis

About Crossed Hearts…

Kory Vansant doesn’t deserve to be alive.

As time sucks him dry of energy, sapping the final ounces of strength from his congenitally enlarged heart, he’s forced to end his career as Kory Kent, porn star. Staring down death, he questions his life choices and prays for a miracle. For another chance at life, he vows to change who he is at his core.

His prayers are answered. A perfect heart now beats in his chest, but it comes at a heavy price. The donor is an innocent young man cut down far too prematurely.

And Kory’s blemished history is nowhere near an ideal match.

As his debts skyrocket, Kory can’t help but think his resolve to walk the high road is being tested. After he meets the adorable Will Squire at the gravesite they both visit, he’s doubly damned because there’s no way he can keep up his end of the bargain. What happens when a man breaks a deal with a higher power?

Will often prefers the company of the dead to that of the living. Following a bad breakup, he pours himself into his two jobs—funeral director at his uncle’s mortuary and part-time paramedic. He’s drawn ever closer to Kory, as if fate sticks her fickle hand in and pushes them together like two unlikely puzzle pieces. But sometimes history can’t be buried, and maybe divine intervention isn’t always right. Will discovers everyone is imperfect, no matter how pretty the outer package, and opening one’s heart is never easy, but can be oh so worth the pain.

Pages or Words: 70,000 words

Categories: Contemporary, Fiction, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Romance

STRW Spotlight Book Excerpt

The man scratched the scrub on his chin. “Heart recipient,” he said finally. “I’m Kory—umm…Kory Vansant.” Holding out his hand, he took another step. Will’s fingers were swallowed in warm skin and bone.

“Will Squire.” Again, he couldn’t tear his gaze from the tease of scar tissue jutting from the crotch of Kory’s shirt collar. The urge to reach out and trace a finger over the pink relief of healed tissue was strong. Just like I touched Brandon’s incision. The stark difference between the two—one wound marking the end of a life and the other a salvation—was surreal. Will was nothing but an outsider looking in on a miracle, but somehow he felt he’d come around full circle.

“Want me to get naked so you can see the whole thing?”

Will closed his eyes for a moment and then looked up, his face flaming with a mix of embarrassment and immediate, fierce arousal. “I’m sorry. Totally rude.”

Kory smiled good-naturedly. “No worries. It’s a way to reclaim who I am, or was. Or some crap. I’m not just my medical status, like they keep saying at my support group.”

“No. Of course you’re not.”

He laughed loud and deep, and the warmth in Will’s face drifted down his body. “I’ve adopted it as my little icebreaker whenever people stare,” Kory said
.
“Well, ice broken.” Will gulped. Hell, ice melted into a rolling boil.

KV960x350

Publisher: Kimber Vale
Cover Artist: Dana Priebe

Sales Links:

STRW Author Bio and Contacts

K. Vale writes erotic romance of all stripes, from hot hetero to mouthwatering manlove. Find her MF work published under Kimber Vale. Come for the sex. Stay for the story. Stalk Kimber on Facebook and Twitter @KimberVale, and check her site for updates, new releases, and freebies at http://www.authorkimbervale.com.

Where to find the author:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kimber.vale
Facebook Author Page
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KimberVale
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/kimbervale/

STRW Spotlight Contest Header

Contest: Enter to win a copy of Crossed Hearts by adding it to your Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf. Kimber will pick a winner on release day. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.

Follow the link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25150920-crossed-hearts?from_search=true

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Tour Dates & Stops: April 6, 2015

Parker Williams

Inked Rainbow Reads

Divine Magazine

Molly Lolly

BFD Book Blog

Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents

Charley Descoteaux

Carly’s Book Reviews

Cate Ashwood

TTC Books and More

Bike Book Reviews

Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

Bayou Book Junkie

Love Bytes

My Fiction Nook

Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews

Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings

MM Good Book Reviews

Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves

Rainbow Gold Reviews

 

In The Book Spotlight: Room 1024 by Racheline Maltese & Erin McRae

SMroom10241400

Room 1024 by  Racheline Maltese & Erin McRae
Release Date: April 8, 2015

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Publisher: Torquere Press
Cover Artist: BSClay

RoomRC

Sales Links: Torquere Books

STRW Author BookSynopsis

When Cameron takes his submissive boyfriend Noah to a gay men’s leather convention in San Francisco, Cam expects to spend the week exploring their relationship and experimenting with non-monogamy. What he doesn’t expect is to run into his own former dom, Lou, in an embarrassingly public reunion.

While Noah is enthusiastic about the opportunity to play with the former international leather title-holder, Cam is more wary. He and Lou have unfinished business. A four-way encounter with Lou and his sub Stephen could be great fun—or it could show Noah that Cameron can never quite be the dom he wants and needs.

As Cameron and Noah work through the uncertainties in their relationship, Noah is offered everything he ever wanted, in a completely different way than he ever expected, leading all four men to discover that sometimes the only way forward is to revisit the past.

Pages or Words: 13,000 words

Categories: BDSM, Contemporary, Erotica, Fiction, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Menage/Poly, Romance

STRW Spotlight Book Excerpt

Between dinner and dessert—which is clearly going to be all about dessert wine because Lou loves a ritual, whether of a meal or of a certain sort of sex—Lou walks his fingers across the table toward Noah, stops just short of touching him, and says, “So what do you like?”

Lou glances at Cameron to make sure it’s all right he’s asked, only after the fact, and Cameron gives a little nod. Among other things, he’s curious how Noah, who agitated for this trip and is constantly saying he wants them to be more a part of the community, will take the reality of it.

Noah glances around and blushes slightly at the impending necessity of mentioning spanking and flogging and CBT in public. Cameron finds it completely endearing. It also reveals, while Lou smirks over them all, just what it takes to turn Stephen into a chatterbox: comparing notes.

Eventually, Lou runs a finger around the rim of his wine glass and says, “Well then, we should all play together tomorrow.”
Sales Links:

STRW Author Bio and Contacts

 

Authors Racheline Maltese and Erin McRae

Erin McRae and Racheline Maltese are authors of the gay romance series Love in Los Angeles, set in the film and television industry—Starling (September 10, 2014), Doves (January 21, 2015), and Phoenix (June 10, 2015)—all from Torquere Press. Their gay romance novella Midsummer (Love’s Labour 1), about a summerstock Shakespeare company, is from Dreamspinner Press (May 2015). They also  have a story in Best Gay Romance 2015 from Cleis Press and edited by Felice Picano. Racheline is a NYC-based performer and storyteller; Erin is a writer and blogger based in Washington, D.C. They write stories and scripts about the intersection of private lives, fame, and desire. You can find them on the web at http://www.Avian30.com.

Where to find the authors:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Erin.and.Racheline
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/Erin.and.Racheline
Erin’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/erincmcrae

Racheline’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/racheline_m
Other: Joint Blog: http://Avian30.com
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23129325-room-1024

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Tour Dates & Stops: April 3, 2015

Parker Williams, MM Good Book Reviews, Love Bytes, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Inked Rainbow Reads, 3 Chicks After Dark, Molly Lolly, BFD Book Blog, LeAnn’s Book Reviews, Wake Up Your Wild Side, Charley Descoteaux, My Fiction Nook, Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings, Rainbow Gold Reviews, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Cate Ashwood, Amanda C. Stone, It’s Raining Men, Michael Mandrake, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews

 

STRW Spotlight Contest Header

 

Contest: Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of ‘Room 1024’. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and Prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.

Rafflecopter Code:
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Is It The End for Ty and Zane? Find out With Crash & Burn by Abigail Roux (Cut & Run Series Finale Tour and Contest)


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Its Time To Say Goodbye to Ty and Zane!  Crash & Burn is the Cut & Run series finale by Abigail Roux.  It’s a book we’ve all been equally anticipating and dreading.  Abigail Roux and Riptide Publishing is giving us all a chance to wave farewell to this couple we’ve come to love so much.  Follow along at each stop of the tour so you don’t miss out on the special farewell goings on!

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words will say our goodbyes next week with our reviews and thoughts on Ty, Zane and the Cut & Run series.  Meanwhile, here’s Abigail Roux on the tour, the series, and the special prizes she has in store:

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 Ty's Go Bag giveaway

Hello and thank you for joining me as I bid a fond farewell to Ty and Zane on the Crash & Burn virtual tour! For the next five days, join me on my virtual stops to help me say goodbye to the Cut & Run series with cut scenes, playlists, behind the scenes looks at the process of writing this last book, and a peek at the original plan for the series and the twists and turns it took on its journey to the end.

Did I mention the prizes? I have incredible prizes for two winners; a go-bag put together by one B. Tyler Grady. Each bag has over $370 worth of goodies in it. For more detail on the contents, you can click the link at the end of this post! Every comment on this blog tour enters you in a drawing to win one of these bags. Entries close at midnight, Eastern Time, on April 4, and winners will be announced on  Monday, April 6th. Contest is valid worldwide.

About Crash & Burn (Cut & Run #9):

It’s been five years since Special Agents Ty Grady and Zane Garrett first worked together to solve the Tri-State murders, and time has been both harsh and kind. Engaged now, they face the challenge of planning a deeply uncertain future together. Zane is at the pinnacle of his career with one last mystery to solve, while Ty is at sea in a world where he’s no longer the tip of a spear.

There’s just one more hurdle in the way of their happy ever after: a traitor from their inner circle who threatens to burn their world to the ground.

Squeezed between the Vega cartel, an unknown mole, and too many alphabet agencies to count, Ty and Zane must gather all their strength and resources to beat the longest odds they’ve ever faced. To make it out alive, they’ll need help from every friend they’ve got. Even the friends who might betray their trust.

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About Abigail Roux

Abigail Roux was born and raised in North Carolina. A past volleyball star who specializes in sarcasm and painful historical accuracy, she currently spends her time coaching high school volleyball and investigating the mysteries of single motherhood. Any spare time is spent living and dying with every Atlanta Braves and Carolina Panthers game of the year.

Abigail has a daughter, Little Roux, who is the light of her life, a boxer, four rescued cats who play an ongoing live-action variation of Call of Duty throughout the house, a certifiable extended family down the road, and a cast of thousands in her head.

If you care to follow me more closely, you can find me on Twitter,  Facebook, and Tumblr.

Follow this link to find detailed info on the go-bag prizes, but make sure you comment here to enter! You must be 18 years of age to enter. Prizes provided by Abigail Roux and Ty and Zane!

http://abiroux.tumblr.com/post/114770668923/the-book-nein-blog-tour-prizes-tys-go-bag-when

A Brick & Mortar tote bag courtesyof Ty and ZaneBootlace Handcuff KeyUtility ToolSample Ty and Zane tins

Some of the items in Ty’s Go Bag….

Thanks for stopping by! You can follow the entire tour by going to Riptide Publishing Cut & Run Tour page.

Spy UmbrellaRawleigh salveGot Your 6

In the Book Spotlight: The Island Keepers by Kristopher Quentin

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The Island Keepers by Kristopher Quentin
Release Date: January 4, 2015

SM THE ISLAND KEEPERS FRONT COVER

Publisher: Cool Dudes Publishing
Cover Artist: Louis C. Harris with photography of lighthouse supplied by author
Sales Links:  Cool Dudes Publishing

STRW Author BookSynopsis

They could hardly have been less alike.

David is striking, tanned, smooth, charismatic, blond with an ice melting smile,
and possesses an unmistakable gift as a fiction writer, even at twenty-one.
Wyatt looks as plain as paper, short by comparison, white as a ghost, graceless,
a celebrated oil painter. He is single and he is out. David, raised a strict
evangelical fundamentalist, is embarrassed by his own virginity. Both men
are sent to Puffin Island and, within days of their arrival a young woman washes
ashore, frozen and unresponsive after her kayak crashes against the rocks.

David and Wyatt save her life. Days later, Wyatt is charged with rape. While
the authorities investigate, the woman’s nineteen year old identical twin
brothers paddle their way to Puffin to teach Wyatt a lesson. Their goal, to
avenge their sister.

The bond between David and Wyatt increases during island duty, and his heart
struggles with the imbedded childhood dogma and lethally homophobic
parents, propelling him to bond with Wyatt, but, when the inthinkable happens,
Wyatt is once more left alone. Wyatt has no option but to move on because
there is a lot at stake and he turns to the unlikeliest of characters to fill the
void, a person who will teach him an important lesson; that love is all about
choice. By making a decision, Wyatt must sacrifice a need that had been
created by his past with David.

Pages or Words: 108,000 words

IKRC

Categories: Gay fiction, M/M Romance, New Adult, Romance

STRW Spotlight Book Excerpt

“Wyatt?”

“Yes?”

“ I need to ask you a point blank question.”

“You can always ask, David. You know that.”

“I…I want to…I want know if…fuck this is so hard. Just a sec. I need to breathe.”

I waited a few moments, listening to him breathe deeply.

‘Okay, I’m ready. You still there?”

“Still here. What’s bothering you David?”

“I…I’ve never done this before so please forgive me for botching it up.”

“Talk to me, David.”

“Okay. Okay.” He whispered, and then taking a deep breath, said, “I want to know if you love me. I mean, are you in love with me?”

* * *

Knock me over with a feather.

I’d been staring out the window watching a couple of kittens chasing each other up and down a pair of maples in our yard.
Somehow, I suddenly identified with the chaser.

“I’ll answer that if you promise to answer the same question. Deal?”

I heard a gulp in my ear piece. “Perfect. I’ll answer it first since I asked it,” he said. “You need to know that I love you. I am in love with you. And I’m fucking miserable not having you by my side. I’m even more forlorn knowing you’re dating someone else.” He paused and took a deep breath. “Okay? There, I said it.”

“Do you feel better?”

“That depends on your answer.”

STRW Author Bio and Contacts

About the author:

Kristopher Quentin has been writing for decades. He is a businessman
and broadcast journalist by trade, a man up at 3:45 every weekday
morning for a stint on the news desk; a little earlier on weekends to
write fiction in his man cave. An upstate New Yorker by birth, he now
lives in the most rural area of far northern Maine, USA, on 54-acres
of land: wooded, lawns, driveways, and a few buildings including his
four thousand square foot home which he calls the white house; because
it is. His property is home to moose, deer, rabbits, raccoons,
porcupines, fox, weasels, black bears, and one Bard owl.
He loves reading gay romances among other forms of fiction;
non-fiction; and memoirs most of which he considers to be fictional.
Travelling, dining out, boat riding are among his passions; that and
flying his own single engine airplane when he was younger.

Where to find the author:

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Tour Dates & Stops: April 2, 2015

Parker Williams, Cate Ashwood, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Inked Rainbow Reads, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Molly Lolly, BFD Book Blog, It’s Raining Men, Michael Mandrake, Andrew Q. Gordon, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Bayou Book Junkie, Divine Magazine, MM Good Book Reviews, Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings, Hearts on Fire, Elin Gregory

In the Spotlight: Whispers of Home by April Kelley (author interview and contest)

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Whispers of Home by April Kelley

whispers of home

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words has April Kelley here today to talk about her latest release, Whispers of Home.  Check out our interview below as well as the excerpt and contest to enter.

Our April Kelley Q & A…

Q. Where did the inspiration for this book and series come from?

He’s going to kill me for this, but I’m telling it anyway. So my best friend was dating this cowboy type of guy. The cowboy was a really smooth talker and very handsome. He talked the pants right off my friend, literally. The cowboy dumped my friend and we hated him after that, but he was still hot enough to inspire me to write Travis. Plus, I had to give my friend a happy ending.

The series was inspired by a character in the book, Jackson. I wanted to give him a story too. His story will be one of the last ones I write.

Q.  What is the series to be called and how many books are planned?

The series is called Pickleville, named after the town. I’m planning 9 books in the series, although I may do an extra Halloween story maybe.

Q.  Will they focus on the same couple in each book or a new  couple/book?

Each book is focused on a new couple although Jaron and Travis visit us in each book.

Q.  Why Pickleville as the name for the town?  Is it real?

Some of this goes back the inspiration for the story, so bare with me here. I’m a little weird and probably make sense to very few people with my logic. Naming the town Pickleville is a prime example of this. So first, I had a dream about a girl and boy who were on a date at the movies. They were maybe sixteen years old and were clearly in love with each other. It was really dark by the time the boy walked the girl home. He kissed her good-night and started for home. On his way home a group of older boys in a car stopped him, dragging him in the car. They took him to an out of the way dirty road and beat him to death.

Needless to say it was a very sad, terrifying dream that stuck with me for a while.

So what does all this have to do with how I got the town where Jaron and Travis live?

About this same time my best friend was dating the cowboy type guy I mentioned earlier. And I mention that he was the inspiration for Travis. Jaron’s character came to me and I began to write. A little into the first few chapters I had to come up with a name for this town, except the name for the town had to be unique because initially Jaron hated being there and couldn’t wait to leave.

Then I remembered the dream and thought maybe the boy that died felt a lot like Jaron did about his town. Neither fit it very well. I wanted something completely ridiculous sounding as a punishment for the group of older boys that hurt the geeky kid.
And that was my weird, twisted logic for naming the town Pickleville.

As for whether Pickleville is real or not well, there may be a town called Pickleville somewhere in this world, although I don’t know for sure. The town in this series is a complete a figment of my imagination.

Q.  It sounds as though Whispers of Home is not strictly a romance but has hints of suspense and a murder mystery as well. Had you planned in those elements from the start?

My main goal for this story was just to tell the romance between Travis and Jaron. The mystery and suspense part, are just minor parts of the story and were something that just sort of came as I wrote.

Q.  Do you like to read in the genres you write in?

I’ve been reading the M/M romance genre for many years now, long before I actually started writing in the genre. I think reading in the genre you write in is essential for the growth of any writer including myself.

Q.  Do you work on one book at a time or several?

I’m usually a one at a time kind of girl.

Q.  What’s next for April Kelly?

After wrapping up Pickleville? I’m working on a new series now called Lakehouse Security. The inspiration for this series is my own little part of the world here next to Lake Michigan. This one has more action and mystery in it which is a challenge for me.

STRW Author Bio and Contacts

Author April Kelley:

Born and raised in Southwest Michigan, April lives with her husband and two kids. She has been an avid reader for several years. Writing her first story at the age of ten, the characters in her head still won’t stop telling their stories. If April isn’t reading or writing she can be found outside playing with a farm full of animals or taking a long walk in the woods.

Where to find the author:
If you wish to contact her please email mailto:authoraprilkelley@gmail.com.
You can also find her on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/april.ott.12?fref=ts

 

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Publisher: eXtasy Books
Cover Artist: Carmen Waters

Sales Links:   eXtasy Books     Amazon

STRW Author BookSynopsis

All Jaron McAllister wanted to do was get out of the small town where he grew up. After being bullied all his life for being gay, that’s exactly what he does. He loses all contact with everyone in the town of Pickleville, including his emotionally distant mother and the only true friend he ever had.

When his best friend and mother of the child they share, get murdered he knows he must ask for help in the one place he thought he would never go back to. Coming back home isn’t easy and finding himself attracted to the town man-slut spells disaster. Travis Heath isn’t at all what his reputation suggests though.
Categories: Contemporary, Erotica, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance

STRW Spotlight Book Excerpt

Jaron looked through the window of the diner from across the street. His mother’s hands gripped a mug, probably full of coffee. Jaron thought he was meeting Brian but apparently Brian had other plans. Brian always did think he knew best, the bastard. Jaron was fully aware his oldest friend had set this up, probably getting in touch with Gloria McAllister right after Jaron had called the first time, telling her when Jaron would be here. Brian had never understood that the relationship Jaron and Gloria had wasn’t like the relationship Brian had with his own father.

Looking at his mom through the glass was like watching a movie of her. He had never felt the connection with his mom that he thought he should, even as a small child. Maybe that had been his fault. That he wasn’t quite what she wanted in a son and therefore kept just enough distance to make it seem like miles. Which was why he was confused she had come instead of Brian.
When he was eighteen years old he had thought he left because of a burning desire to fit in somewhere, because he certainly hadn’t fit in very well in Pickleville. He needed that connection to another human being, that knowing he was so important to another human being they just couldn’t live without him. Ironically, it was a five year old boy he felt unconditionally connected too. Now that he knew the unconditional love a parent felt for their child, he wondered at his mother’s parental instincts.

He stood on the sidewalk in front of what used to be a place called the Hobbyist’s Dream but was now an Asian market. He noticed the place was empty when he had arrived but his back was turned now, his complete attention on the woman in the window. He thought the Asian place probably wouldn’t have lasted long back in the day. Who knows now? The diner was the only one in town, or was until they put in a McDonald’s by the highway. Jaron hadn’t realized that things in this town could change until the bus passed by the fast food restaurant. Somehow he expected everything to be the same, as if time would stand still just because he didn’t feel any different now that he was here.

Standing here, he felt that maybe he left to put the physical miles between himself and the only parent he had ever known. He had never fit in with her either.

He felt a tug on his hand and looked down at sweet blue eyes. This small boy was as dependent on the next few minutes and the woman in the window as he was. “I’m thirsty,”

Bobby said, around the thumb in his mouth.

“Me too. Let’s go.” Jaron stepped off the curb and onto the street, gripping onto Bobby’s hand just a little tighter, pausing for a car, and then continuing until he came within inches of his mother, the glass the only barrier now. She looked directly at him, showing more emotion in those few seconds than he had ever seen from her during his entire childhood. He looked away and walked through the door of the restaurant.

Pages or Words: 44,597 words

STRW Spotlight Contest Header

Contest: Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of ‘Whispers of Home’. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Rafflecopter link and prizes provided by Pride Promotions.

Rafflecopter Code:
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Tour Dates & Stops:

17-Mar

Decadent Delights

17-Mar

The Novel Approach

24-Mar

Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves

31-Mar

Love Bytes

Hearts on Fire

Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

7-Apr

MM Good Book Reviews

Prism Book Alliance

14-Apr

My Fiction Nook

Because Two Men Are Better Than One

Bayou Book Junkie

21-Apr

Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews

28-Apr

Divine Magazine

BFD Book Blog

5-May

Parker Williams

Bike Book Reviews

New Authors, New Books, Sequels, and This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

person reading stacks of books

 New Authors, New Books and More For The TBR Pile!

How I love it when the reviewers here bring new authors and books to my attention and yours.  Stella brought us the Neon White series by Wulf Francu Godgluck, as well as other authors.  Now BJ is reading and loving the stories of Lia Black (several of which will be reviewed this week) as well as James Lear’s  The Hardest Thing.  PaulB loves the paranormal genre and has a whole slew of new authors he’s reading, book stackincluding Andrew J. Parker’s Werecat series.  Barb loves audio books, contemporary romance, perhaps with a little kink as well as all things foodie while Mika reaches out for new authors with each new book request.  Sammy’s books range far and wide as you will have noticed by her book reviews.  Did you read Sammy’s review of The Song of the Lonesome Cowboy by Lynn Kelling last week? And Aurora, our YA reviewer? Aurora just finished a YA series by James Erich which will be running every Saturday this month and the next!  Do we have the books for you, in every possible genre?  Why, yes we do!

Now for Something New: Also you’ll occasionally notice a One Book – 2  Review posting, a sort of Double Dipping on our part.  We are a diverse group so it’s not unusual for one reviewer to love something about a story that another reviewer doesn’t see or visa versa.   This week, Yes by Brad Boney gets double the attention, double the reviews.  The week after next, BA Tortuga’s Ever The Same is in the 2 review spotlight.  Will Mika and I agree to disagree?  Stay tuned! lol  Still trying out names as to what to call this new feature.  If you have any ideas, please let us know.

In the Familiar, Wonderful and Excited to See Them Back Category!  What else am I excited about?  The Pulp Friction gang’s New Orleans series (did you catch my review of The Devil’s Bedpost?) and the fact that Catherine A Noon and Rachel Wilder have finally written a sequel, Emerald Keep, to their story Emerald Fire, which I loved. That’s been 3 years coming.

Old Favorite Series and New Stories! And finally what else has me over the moon?  A.J. Thomas’ has 2 stories out in his Least Likely Partnership series, which I adore.  That would be Holding Out for a Fairy Tale and The Intersection of Purgatory and Paradise.  If you  are reading, AJ, more I want more!!!!  Chris Owen and Tory Temple has a new book out (a combined Bareback and Firefighters), well…now I’m into April and getting ahead of myself.  And yes, loads more coming including the last in Abigail Roux’ Cut & Run series…stay with us and chime in with the books you are most looking forward to reading!

Now here is our schedule this week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words:

The Interseciton of Purgatory and Paradise coverTaken coverThe Fifth Son coverPerfect Day cover

Sunday, March 29:

  • New Authors, New Books, Sequels, and This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Monday, March 30:

  • A Stella Review: He’s Just Knot That Into You by Nico Jaye
  • Paul B Review: Werecat: The Rearing by Andrew J. Peters
  • A MelanieM Review: Stokes & Ford (Storming Love: Blizzard #6) by Jackie Nacht
  • A BJ Review: Wedding Favors by Josh Lanyon

Tuesday, March 31:

  • In the Book Spotlight: Whispers of Home by April Kelley (contest)
  • A Stella Review: The Fifth Son by Blaine D. Arden
  • A Paul B Review: For a Dragon’s Redemption (Highland Dragons #5) by Charlie Richards
  • A Melanie M Review: Death by Dragon by Madeleine Ribbon

Wednesday, April 1:

  • A Catherine Noon and Rachel Wilder ‘Emerald Keep’ book blast and contest
  • A MelanieM Review: Emerald Keep by A Catherine and Rachel Wilder Moved closer to release date
  • Double Dipping Reviews:  Mika and Stella Review: Yes by Brad Boney.
  • A BJ Review: Perfect Day by Josh Lanyon

Thursday, April 2:

  • The Island Keepers by Kristopher Quentin tour and contest
  • A Paul B Review: A Rose for Paul’s Protector by Charlie Richards
  • A MelanieM Review: Holding Out for a Fairy Tale (Least Likely Partnership #2) by A.J. Thomas
  • A BJ Review: The Hardest Thing: A Dan Stagg Mystery by James Lear

Friday, April 3:

  • In the Book Spotlight: Room 1024 by Racheline Maltese and Erin McRae (contest)
  • Crash & Burn, Cut and Run # 9 by Abigail Roux – Series Finale Book Tour and contest
  • A Sammy Review: Taken (Taken #1) by J. C. Owens
  • A MelanieM Review: The Intersection of Purgatory and Paradise by AJ Thomas

Saturday, April 4- YA Saturday is Back!:

  • An Aurora YA Review: Fire (Dreams of Fire and Gods #2) by James Erich

 

Death by Dragon coverHe's Just Knot That Into You coveremeraldkeep1400Werecat the Rearing cover