Category: Book Giveaways

Enter the Addictive World of the Scorpions! On Tour with Aleksandr Voinov’s A Taste of Poison

ATasteForPoison_TourBanner

♢♢♢♢♢♢♢♢♢♢♢♢♢♢

One of my favorite series from Aleksandr Voinov is the addicting and dangerous universe of the Memory of Scorpions series , an ancient mercenary band of brothers (and sister) with a history as rich as the kings they work for.  Now comes the latest installment, and hopefully not the last, A Taste of Poison (Scorpions #3) by Aleksandr Voinov.   You can follow Aleksandr Voinov on tour with all the dates here.  For now, let’s focus in on Aleksandr Voinov on his Scorpions:

 

“Good versus Good”

Hi, I’m Aleksandr Voinov, and I’m happy to talk about my newest release. Thank you for the invitation!

I recently stumbled over this quote from Leo Tolstoy:

“The best stories don’t come from “good vs. bad” but “good vs. good.”

It struck home for me, because while some writing courses tell you that you need a “villain” (in m/m, it’s the “evil ex”), and the more villainous the villain, the more tension we get. I think it’s bollocks, to use a lovely British term. Even if we have an almost cartoonish level of over-simplification, in, say, Star Wars (I love Star Wars), the much more interesting evil guy is Darth Vader. (Palpatine is more “cartoon evil”) Why? Because he used to be “good” and Luke believes passionately that Darth Vader, his father, can be redeemed. And it’s amazing, because that levels the playing field – while Luke is still in training, Darth Vader is seen as “just evil”. Once Luke comes into his power, he gets almost literally hamstrung (arm-strung?) by the revelation that Darth Vader is his father, and the decision to get him back to the good side. It’s very difficult fighting a duel against somebody you want to save/redeem, especially when that somebody seems absolutely set on destroying or breaking you.

What a conflict.

So often we do have the villain with the redeeming feature (“He only wants to bring peace to the galaxy”). But studying real-life evil, I’m usually struck by how some of the evillest men ever fully accepted they were doing “bad things”, but they usually did it not out of lust for destruction, but because they were looking for a higher good. The evil they did was seen as a “price worth paying”. In short, they were twisted idealists. Some stated that the “work” (read: atrocities) wasn’t pleasant, but they sacrificed themselves, their sanity, their peace, their souls, to do it. And that’s really disturbing. “Personal sacrifice” is actually a virtue.

I have zero doubt that Adrastes in the Memory of Scorpions series considers himself the “good guy”, and Kendras is being bothersome, dishonest, disloyal, and also in league with mutinous soldiers. Apart from the obvious jealousy with regards to Kendras and Graukar, Adrastes is driven by the need/desire to rebuild the empire, to end internal wars, to be strong against outside invaders, and to have peace and prosperity. And if he has to kill, torture and wage war for that noble end – well, he’s good at it, and there would be much worse people to do it. Less competent, less decisive, less thorough. He truly believes he’s doing the right thing. And we’ve seen him as the charismatic, self-sacrificing leader who looks after his men. Regardless of what he does later, we know he’s not “evil”. He’s very possibly not “good”, he’s just human. Like they all are. We buy more into Kendras’s version of the story because we never hear the story of the other characters, but chances are, if we did, we’d buy their version and consider Kendras “evil” or “wrong”.

And that’s really where I’m coming from. I can’t do sparkly shiny heroes versus dark and twisted evil guys, because I don’t believe that’s how it happens in real life. I can have characters cross the line (arguably, once Adrastes begins assassinating political enemies and using his father’s intimidation tactics, that’s where he crosses the line), but even in fantasy, which is full of dark gods and demons and tyrants and whatnot, I just don’t believe in that model of the world.

For me, pitting idealists with strong values against each other is far more fun, so I can root for all of them. It keeps me engaged and happy as an author, and I hope it has the same effect on readers.

 Title: A Taste of Poison (Memory of Scorpions #3) by Aleksandr VoinovATasteForPoison_200x300
Publisher:  Riptide Publishing
Cover Artist:  Reese Dante
Page Count:  260 pages

 

A Taste of Poison Blurb:

ATasteForPoison_200x300Even a king gets stung when he reaches for a scorpion.

After barely surviving an assassination attempt, King Adrastes is a changed man—one who mistrusts even his allies and friends. He readies his empire for war against an enigmatic enemy, the Elder of Vededrin, but not everyone approves. While courtiers dare only to whisper dissent, an outrider called Death foments rebellion in the mountains, aided by a prophecy that promises he’ll stop the Black King.

Kendras—former lover to Adrastes and leader of the Scorpions—is sent with his elite mercenary force to bring Death to justice. But when Kendras learns who’s hiding behind the mask, he must choose between his lover Graukar, newly-appointed general to the king—and King Adrastes himself.

With no man to call master, the Scorpions could flee the danger and intrigue. But Kendras cannot abandon the man he once loved—or the man he’s growing to love—without first uncovering the real threat to the Empire.

– See more at: http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/a-taste-for-poison#sthash.n5Pu5nYZ.dpuf

A Taste of Poison Excerpt

(read more at A Taste of Poison Excerpt page at Riptide Publishing)

Chapter 1

“Officer, Lady Nhala wishes to see you.”

Kendras had barely sunk into the hot bathwater to wash the sweat and dirt off when Runner stepped into the room. He groaned and ducked his head underwater, scraping over his scalp with both hands, then emerged again, blowing out a breath.

“How urgent?”

“She looked like it was a pressing matter.” Runner walked over to the stool next to the bath and picked up a linen towel, unfolded it, and offered it to Kendras. Her ironic expression forbade any comment that she wasn’t a bath slave and he could dry himself. Kendras crumpled his washcloth into a ball and ran it over his chest, belly, armpits, and groin. No leisurely soak to loosen up his tired muscles, then. Duty was calling. He tossed the cloth into the water and stood.

She enveloped him in the towel, and he reached for a corner of it to dry his face and head before he stepped out of the bathtub. “Get me my boots and leathers.”

“At once, Officer.” She turned and walked off.

Kendras rubbed his skin dry and was almost finished before Runner returned. He tossed the towel over the rim of the tub and began to dress. “Let her in.”

He was just pulling on his boots when Nhala appeared in the doorway. He felt her gaze linger for a moment on his bare chest, then she straightened almost as if standing at attention. “Officer.”

“My lady.” He closed the top of his leathers and began tightening the straps and laces. “I’m at your service.”

She stepped further into the room and glanced over her shoulder back into the barracks, checking for witnesses, no doubt. “We are all called to war council. Immediately.”

Kendras bit down on a groan. After a long, hot day on the training yard, and before any food, standing for hours in his heavy plate armor while generals bickered over the best strategy to achieve a victory wasn’t a prospect he relished. He much preferred when the plan was set and the only issue left was when to act. “Who’s issued the call?”

“The king.”

“The king’s—”

More dead than alive. Maybe dead.

 

– See more at Riptide Publishing’s A Taste of Poison page.

Memory of Scorpions stories in the order they were written and should be read:

Scorpion (Memory of Scorpions, #1)
Lying with Scorpions (Memory of Scorpions, #2)
A Taste for Poison (Memory of Scorpions, #3)

Lying with Scorpions coverScorpion coverATasteForPoison_200x300

 

Is There a “Wicked Defense” in Your Future? On Tour with Talia Carmichael!

TaliaCarmichael_WickedDefense_BlogTour_WebBanner_final

Welcome, Talia Carmichael!  Talia is here talking about her inspiration, her writing, and her latest release, Wicked Defense! Check out Talia Carmichael’s latest release, Wicked Defense (Bonds of Justice #4)!

 

Living It by Talia Carmichael

When I write a book I get emotionally invested in what happens. I basically live it and doing so takes a lot out of me, as I experience what my characters do. When I write I become very intimate with my characters. I know every intimate little secret. The good, in between, bad and those that brings them to their knees. They wreck you and make you drop. The memories of things that shape a character into being who they are. That guides what they do and react to each situation. Not every moment of a characters life makes it to a page, if it did it would be an unending book. 🙂 But to write my characters and make their reactions genuine they have to become real people to me. I’m a voyeur living in their lives and I don’t just get to live the good stuff. I get to live those awful things.

In Wicked Defense (Bonds of Justice, #4) my latest release, my main characters have to deal with someone trying to kill their partner. Spencer is a policeTaliaCarmichael_WickedDefense_BlogTour_600x315_final detective and he knows he has a job to do but he is personally invested in Craig. That makes it more overwhelming for him—emotionally, spiritually and physically. Through the book I already knew what eventually what was coming. The big reveal of why Craig is being hunted and the repercussions of that. I ached for Craig knowing it was coming and what would happen. When it happened I raged with him and wept. With Craig and Spencer as they had to handle what happened. I lived it with them and it was a rollercoaster of emotions.

Wicked Defense (Bonds of Justice, #4) isn’t angst filled because I’m not very good at it. My book was emotional to me because I knew everything my characters experienced before it happened in the book. How it affected them both and where it would lead. As I read through my book, I was going through all the same emotions as my characters. Each time I read my book it has the same impact on me.

Now Wicked Defense (Bonds of Justice, #4) is out. My characters are out in the world for others to experience like I did as I wrote them. You will take the adventure with them and go along with them as they work toward their happy ever after. Enjoy taking their journey to happy ever with them and you too will be living it.

Blurb for Wicked Defense

wickeddefense_US_800This is book four in the Bonds of Justice series.

When life brings you something unexpected, it creates the most interesting adventure…

Spencer West never would have come to an art show if not for one of his best friends. The pieces he sees are powerful and when a man strikes up a conversation asking his opinion, he gives it. Craig Scott—the artist—has been watching him all night. Spencer’s curiosity is piqued by this laid-back man who evokes such strong emotions in his art and just by being in his presence. Their conversation makes Spencer even more intrigued and he promises to get to know Craig better. Yet the circumstance of their next meeting makes Spencer realise he already cares too much. Someone wants Craig dead. Now invested in Craig emotionally and professionally, Spencer sees there is so much more beneath the surface of who Craig is. If only he can convince Craig to lie low… From what he has seen of the man, he isn’t one to listen.

Craig Scott spots the most intriguing man who seems out of place, and after their conversation, Craig knows he wants to see more of the sexy, brawny man. Nothing will get in his way—not some pesky attempt on his life or everyone wanting to protect him. He wants to make Spencer his—body, heart and soul. Spencer wants seduction and Craig is more than willing to tempt all the senses. As for the danger he is in, Craig will not hide from it but will meet it head on and kick the shit out of it.

Spencer has his hands full trying to protect Craig—who makes him feel all sorts of things—and he will use a wicked defense to keep him safe.

Reader Advisory: This book is best read in sequence as part of a series.

Like the sound of Wicked Defense? Buy it here!

Totally Bound Logo

Talia Carmichael Bio

Talia Carmichael is a romantic who believes that family; no matter if it is by blood or those you choose as family, is integral to who you are. She is an author who writes sexy stories in a variety of genres. She believes in creating stories that encompass all that falling in love or lust entails, from the highs of that first blush of attraction to the lows of not knowing if you can make your coming together as a couple work, and then finally to the acceptance of the reality of making a life together. It’s all about the journey.

Among her books you’ll find contemporary, futuristic, fantasy, and paranormal settings with M/M themes that will have a happily-ever-after. Her books are passionate, intense, and real… to fill the craving.

TaliaCarmichael_WickedDefense_BlogTour_BlogDates_finalCheck out more about Talia at :

 

In The Spotlight: Varian Krylov and Bad Things (interview and contest)

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍

BadThingsBanner300x250

 

There are bad boys and then there are the predators.  Here to tell us the difference is Varian Krylov and the release Bad Things.

Book Name: Bad Things
Goodreads  Book Link:
Author Name: Varian Krylov

Author Bio:

Growing up near Los Angeles, I spent much of my time frolicking in the Pacific Ocean and penning angst-twisted poetry. Now I’m living in sunny Spain writing pathos-riddled fiction.
I’ve always loved the music and substance of words, always loved writing in well-worn notebooks by hand, tapping at the keys of the computer, and, of course, conjuring up stories.

And from my earliest memories, I’ve always been fascinated—maybe obsessed?—with sex and sexuality.
In my writing, sex is the medium, the expression, and the tool of discovery for my characters’ insecurities, the needs that drive them, the comfort they can’t live without, the joy and relish of life that makes each of them intense, strange, and alluring.

Author Contact:

variansfiction@yahoo.com
https://www.facebook.com/varian.krylov
http://variankrylov.blogspot.com.es/
Twitter: @VarianKrylov

BADTHINGS-a-jayscoverdesignsSmallTitle:  Bad Things by Varian Krylov
Publisher: Smashwords
Cover Artist: Photographer: Ekaterina Zakharova; Cover design: Jay Aheer

Sales Links:  Smashwords    Amazon

Bad Things Blurb:

Xavier makes a lot of people nervous. The rest, he flat-out scares. More than his hulking, tattooed body, it’s his predator’s gaze that makes people feel vulnerable, as if he had the power to read their thoughts and see their soul. For his lovers, it’s Xavier’s ravenous appetite for all things carnal—for the taste of flesh under his tongue and the feel of a trembling body under his control, for whispered pleas and muffled cries—that makes him dangerous.

But recently, driven by a festering rage against the men who attacked his sister a decade ago, Xavier has developed a taste for a different kind of hunt and conquest: stalking men who do truly bad things and punishing the predators he sniffs out. The problem with vigilante justice, though, is sometimes the man in your trap is innocent.

Carson suspects he’s playing a risky game with dangerous men. But the lies are convincing, especially when they’re slipped to him among hundred dollar bills. He never guessed how big and dark the secret hidden under all the lies and money could be. And he has no idea he’s not the predator, but the prey, until it’s too late.

And you can’t beg for mercy when there’s a gag in your mouth.

But when Carson escapes from Xavier’s trap, he’s forced to accept that Xavier is far from his most dangerous enemy. Xavier may even hold the key to overcoming the painful past that has kept Carson prisoner for almost two decades.

Book Categories: BDSM, Romance, Contemporary, Crime Fiction, M/M Romance, Erotica, Menage/Poly, Thriller, Fiction

 Bad Things Excerpt:

When Xavier moved in, Carson struggled against the restraints. “Fucking . . . Come on. This shit’s not funny anymore.” Pleading gaze upturned from under his dark lashes.

Xavier laughed. “What’s that look?”

“Come on, Xavier. I know I fucked up. Of course you’re mad. But . . . come on. We’re . . . ”

“What are we, Carson?”

“I thought we were . . . ”

“Did you think we were friends?” Xavier laughed. “Did you think that you sleeping on my couch and cooking me a couple meals makes us friends?”

He breathed in the smell of him. Nervous sweat rising over the scent of soap. He caressed his cheek.

Carson went dead still, then tried to mold his frightened expression into sternness. “You could go to jail for this.”

Carson’s whining was getting on his nerves. Xavier lifted the lid on the chest of dark brown leather and took out the ball gag. Too funny, that perplexed expression on Carson’s face, then horrified incredulity as he figured it out. Sitting on his thighs, gazing into those shimmering blue pools of terror, Xavier got it on him before he could complain much more.

Xavier grinned. “You’re not the first guy I’ve had cuffed to this post. And that gag in your mouth isn’t the only toy in my box of treasures. But it is one of my favorites, because it means I don’t have to listen to a bunch of whining and begging. I mean, I love whining and begging. I get hard for whining and begging. But only for the first few minutes. Then it gets incredibly fucking tedious.

“But the thing I really love about the gag is, it’s so much easier to get to know someone when they’re being quiet. Just watching their face. Looking into their eyes. Without a bunch of blah, blah, lies, blah, blah rationalization to muddy the truth.”


Tour Dates/Stops:

9/22: Rainbow Gold Reviews
BadThingsBadge9/23: Velvet Panic, Multitasking Mommas
9/24: Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings
9/25: Cathy Brockman Romances
9/26: Michael Mandrake
9/29: My Fiction Nook
9/30: Amanda C. Stone
10/1: It’s Raining Men
10/2: Romance the Night
10/3: Queer Town Abbey
10/6: Decadent Delights
10/7: Wake Up Your Wild Side
10/8: MM Good Book Reviews
10/9: The Novel Approach
10/10: Parker Williams, Iyana Jenna
10/13: Nephylim, The Blogger Girls
10/14: Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words
10/15: Love Bytes
10/16: Inked Rainbow Reads
10/17: Prism Book Alliance, Dawn’s Reading Nook

Rafflecopter Code: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rafflecopter Prize: Ebook copy of ‘Bad Things’ by Varian Krylov

On Tour with Susan Mac Nicol and Love You Senseless (Men of London: Book 1) Release (contest)

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍

Banner300x250

 

Susan MacNicol is on tour today with her release, Love You Senseless (Men of London:Book 1).  Check out the blurb and excerpt and don’t forget to enter the contest provided below!

 

Book Name: Love You Senseless (Men of London: Book 1)
Author Name: Susan Mac Nicol

Author Bio:

Susan Mac Nicol was born in Leeds, Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom. At the age of eight, her family moved to Johannesburg, South Africa where she stayed for nearly thirty years before arriving back in the UK in December 2000. Currently, She lives in the rural village of Bocking, in Essex, with her family
.
Sue is a PAN (Published Author’s Network) member of Romance Writers of America and a member of the Romantic Novelists Association in the UK. Also, she is a member of a rather unique writing group, called the Talliston Writer’s Circle, which in itself has a story all of its own to tell. She has written nine novels, two novellas and a screenplay since February 2012 and clearly believes in keeping herself busy. She has found herself wanting to stay in the sub-genre that is M/M Romance so more can definitely be expected.

Her plan is to keep writing as long as her muse sits upon her shoulder. Her dream is to make enough money to give up the day job and get that big old house in the English countryside overlooking a river, where she can write all day and continue to indulge her passion for telling stories.

Author Contact:

MoL_Love You Senseless_coverPublisher: Boroughs Publishing Group
Cover Artist: Boroughs Publishing Group

Sales Links: www.BoroughsPublishingGroup.com  Smashwords   All Romance eBook

         Amazon UK    Amazon US

A Taste of Forever Blurb:

London’s saucy up-and-coming chef, Eddie Tripp has just the right recipe to drive tragedy from the mind of Gideon Kent—and leave him senseless with desire.

From Soho to Norwich, there’s no escaping love.

An award-winning chef with his own restaurant and an inexhaustible passion, Gideon Kent once had everything. Then came tragedy. It stole more than Gideon’s home. He hasn’t cooked since.

Until Eddie Tripp. Fun-loving and vivacious, the Norfolk redhead’s a real up-and-comer in Gideon’s kitchen—and other places. Slim where Gideon’s broad, easy-going where Gideon is growly, he and Gideon seem polar opposites, and yet Eddie conjures flavors that would tempt anyone with a taste for perfection. The sauce of love is already simmering, and this pair is about to dine on the most delicious dish they’ve ever prepared. Because Eddie’s been Gideon’s missing ingredient all along.

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

Excerpt:

Eddie kissed back, wanting nothing more than this moment, this man in his body and his lips on his. Somewhere a bell rang and for a minute Eddie thought it might be the sound of his own passion translated to tinkling sleigh bells and fireworks like in the cartoon movies when two people kissed. He smiled at that thought then as the bell got more insistent and irritating, he turned to Gideon only to find he was no longer there. Eddie scowled and reached across to where the annoying bell sound was….

He woke from his dream upright, sweating, sticky with come and tangled in musty smelling sheets that had seen their fair share of jack off action lately and needed washing. His hand rested on his mobile phone as it trilled incessantly with his Big Ben alarm. He blinked owlishly for a minute, wondering where he was, then as the dream faded, he fell back in a loose heap with a sense of loss.

Words: 85,000

BadgeTour Dates: October 13th, 2014

Tour Stops:

Parker Williams, Love Bytes, Rainbow Gold Reviews, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves, , Cate Ashwood, BFD Book Blog, My Fiction Nook, Velvet Panic, Wicked Faeries Reviews, 3 Chicks After Dark, Multitasking Mommas, MM Good Book Reviews, Fallen Angel Reviews, Michael Mandrake, It’s Raining Men

Contest: Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: A copy of Double Alchemy and Double Alchemy: Climax. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Use the Rafflecopter link provided below to enter and for all additional contest details.

Rafflecopter Code:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Go Behind Closed Doors with Andrew Q. Gordon and his release, A Closed Door (book tour and contest)

ACDBanner300x250

Andrew Q. Gordon is here today with his latest release, A Closed Door.  Be sure to read the blurb and  excerpt today and don’t forget to enter the contest for a $10 Amazon gift card.  Link provided below at the end of the post!

Book Name: A Closed Door
Author Name: Andrew Q. Gordon

Author Bio:

Andrew Q. Gordon wrote his first story back when yellow legal pads, ball point pens were common and a Smith Corona correctable typewriter was considered high tech. Adapting with technology, he now takes his MacBook somewhere quiet when he wants to write. He currently lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his partner of eighteen years, their young daughter and dog.  In addition to dodging some very self-important D.C. ‘insiders’, Andrew uses his commute to catch up on his reading. When not working or writing, he enjoys soccer, high fantasy, baseball and seeing how much coffee he can drink in a day and not get the shakes.

Author Contact:

Twitter: @andrewqgordon
https://www.facebook.com/andrewqugordon

A Closed Door CoverTitle: A Closed Door by Andrew Q. Gordon
Publisher: Wayward Ink Publishing
Cover Artist: Lily Velden and Jay Aheer
Sales Links:   Wayward Ink Publishing  Amazon US  Amazon UK  Amazon Australia  Amazon DE  Amazon CAN

A Closed Door Blurb:

Outted at thirteen, Orin Merritt left home after high school hoping to escape the hell his life had become. Ten years later when a tornado destroys his childhood home and kills his parents, Orin finds himself in an entirely new nightmare. One he can’t run away from.

Blaming himself for failing the two people who always loved and supported him, he returns home and confronts his past in the person of his one-time best friend, Thomas Kennett.  Thomas not only rejected him when Orin came out, he led the group that tormented Orin into leaving.

As he struggles to deal with his grief, Orin also labors to fulfill the pledge he made to his parents before their death.  In the process, Orin learns that sometimes when you go away to find yourself, you leave the answers you’re looking for behind.

A Closed Door Excerpt:

“Orin, I won’t.” Thomas stood a bit straighter and his eyes lost the sad, pleading shine. “I won’t hurt you again.”

“You can’t promise that. Things happen.” Orin watched as his words dragged Thomas back from the brink of hope.

“If you truly believe that, then there’s nothing I can do. You have to believe there’s a chance or else I can’t prove it.”

“That’s not what I’m telling you.” He locked his gaze on Thomas’s. “If I say yes, I’ll have to take down the walls I surrounded my heart with to keep it safe. Once it’s gone, I won’t be able bring it back if I get hurt. Not now.

“So what I’m saying is, think about what you’re asking me to risk. If you really love me, ask yourself if are you willing to risk what will happen to me if you can’t keep your promise.”

He knew how unfair he’d been, but self-preservation had been a skill he’d honed over the past fifteen years. He needed Thomas to know just how serious the repercussion could be for his actions.

“Orin, I . . . I . . . how . . .?” Their faces were inches apart, and Thomas moved in for another kiss.

This felt different than the first—less urgent, but no less intense. Orin trembled at the leap he was about to take. When they stepped back, Thomas rubbed his thumb across Orin’s cheek.

“I do love you, Orin. More than I can say. So much, that I’m not willing to risk what will happen if I fail you again. I don’t have that right.”

Thomas’s lips quivered and the tears welled at the bottom of his eyes. He kissed Orin’s forehead gently.

“Good-bye, Orin. Please be happy.” Without looking back, Thomas walked to the front door, opened it, and walked away.

ACDBadgeTemplateTour Dates: October 10, 2014

Tour Stops: Parker Williams, Love Bytes, Inked Rainbow Reads, The Hat Party, Cate Ashwood, Rainbow Gold Reviews, Prism Book Alliance, Full Moon Dreaming, Wake Up Your Wild Side, Multitasking Mommas, Regular Guys, Hot Romance, Nephylim, Louise Lyons, Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings, MM Good Book Reviews, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Fallen Angel Reviews, 3 Chicks After Dark, Jade Crystal, Amanda C. Stone, Foxylutely Book Reviews, Iyana Jenna, Because Two Men Are Better Than One, Smoocher’s Voice, Michael Mandrake, Rebecca Cohen Writes, BFD Book Blog

Contest: Rafflecopter Prize: $10 Amazon Gift Card. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Use the Rafflecopter link provided to enter and for all additional contest details.

Rafflecopter Code:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

In Our Author Spotlight: RJ Scott and her latest release, Last Marine Standing (guest blog & contest)

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍

blogtour

 

spotlight on booksLast Marine Standing cover

In Our Author Spotlight:

 RJ Scott on Heroes,

Schedules and the

Last Marine Standing!

 RJ Scott is here today to talk about her latest book, Last Marine Standing.  She brought along an excerpt to read and a contest to enter! Now for a closer look at Last Marine Standing…

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍

The second in my Heroes series, Last Marine Standing, was released yesterday. I think this is about my 68th book (think of the celebration for book 69!). I sayLast Marine Standing cover I think this is book 68, because there have been some shenanigans in the past with publishers, and I’ve also pulled a couple of my stories. Anyway I digress.

Yesterday my book came out, tomorrow I fly to GRL (or the day after depending when this is posted!). I had someone say to me the other day that they thought I didn’t get nervous when I have a new book out, because hey, I’m on book 68 (is). Someone else mentioned that at last year’s GRL I looked confident, if at times quiet. I should imagine the quiet times were when I had wine and a quiet corner, ROFL.

I can address all of this. Every single release I get nervous about. Every one. I worry people will hate, I worry people will laugh, I worry that I should have given up a long time ago. Will the book sell? Will it get into the 100 Gay on Amazon, will it go top 50, top 10. And even if it gets there will it stay there? So yeah, worrier = RJ Scott.

Then GRL. I can quite happily ‘do’ confident. I can stand up in front of people, although I can’t be held responsible for what comes out of my mouth. I can make jokes (at Amber’s expense), I can laugh, I can talk coherently for a while. Doesn’t mean that inside I’m not bricking it (English term = terrified). So yeah, terrified = RJ Scott.

But, I wouldn’t swap these experiences where I am dragged out of my comfort zone. I love being a writer and all that this entails.

I’ll love meeting every one of you at GRL, even if I am crap at putting names to faces, and I’ll love to talk.

By the time you read this I’ll be over my release day nerves. I’ll be in my happy place with wine and packing and excitement. Just the one day mind you, then I’ll be inconsolably nervous about GRL… it never stops.

How do you relax when you get stressed? Are you like me with a glass of wine?

Last Marine Standing

Book two in the Heroes series. Book 1 – A Reason To Stay

For all buy links when they become available click here:

http://rjscottauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/SEALHeroes2.html

Author Bio

RJ Scott has been writing since age six, when she was made to stay in at lunchtime for an infraction involving cookies. She was told to write a story and two sides of paper about a trapped princess later, a lover of writing was born.

As an avid reader herself, she can be found reading anything from thrillers to sci-fi to horror. However, her first real true love will always be the world of romance where she takes cowboys, bodyguards, firemen and billionaires (to name a few) and writes dramatic and romantic stories of love and passion between these men.

With over sixty titles to her name and counting, she is the author of the award winning book, The Christmas Throwaway. She is also known for the Texas series charting the lives of Riley and Jack, and the Sanctuary series following the work of the Sanctuary Foundation and the people it protects.

Her goal is to write stories with a heart of romance, a troubled road to reach happiness, and most importantly, that hint of a happily ever after.

Author Contacts:

 

Last Marine Standing

Last Marine Standing Blurb:

Last Marine Standing cover

 

When the people you trusted turn on you, when you are the last one standing, should you take your secrets to the grave? Or make the murderers pay?

Former Marine Recon, Mackenzie ‘Mac’ Jackson has secrets. The things he did for his country, the things he saw, must never be spoken about. Until that is, his team is targeted.

A shift in political alliances means one particular mission undertaken by Mac and his Fire Team needs to be wiped from the history books. Starting with the team itself.

Forest Ranger, Samuel Larson III wants to find the Marines who saved his life. He just wants to say thank you. What he can’t know is that he’s walking into a firestorm of betrayal and murder.

When Samuel arrives at Mac’s place he throws Mac’s plans for hiding out of the window. Abruptly Mac has to protect a man that threatens his heart, only this time he can’t be sure he will succeed in keeping Sam alive.

When the people you trusted turn on you, when you are the last one standing, should you take your secrets to the grave? Or make the murderers pay?

 

 Last Marine Standing Excerpt

Bear put his hand on his hip and sashayed a little, which looked ridiculous.

Mac shoved him. “I will kill you.”

Bear squared his shoulders and smirked. “You could try.”

Mac weighed the pros and cons. Bear certainly lived up to his nickname—broad, strong, straining the damn fatigues—but Mac knew his teammate’s weaknesses. He estimated he could take him in about five minutes, but he’d probably get a few broken bones in the process. He relaxed his stance, ready to go toe to toe with Bear, but Spider put a hand between the two men.

“The kid’s crying,” Spider pointed out helpfully.

Mac shot his friend a shocked look. Did Spider really think the best thing for the poor kid in the bed was to have some idiot go in and tell him everything would be okay? “That doesn’t mean he needs one of us to talk to him,” he asserted.

Bear crossed his arms over his impossibly broad chest. “You saw what they did, heard what he said. One of us should say something. Threaten to go kill someone or something.”

“We already killed everyone who hurt him,” Spider said evenly. “No one left to shoot.”

 

Word count: TBC but around 54,0000
Cover Art: Meredith Russell
Editor: Erika Orrick
Copyright: RJ Scott

Book two in the Heroes series.

A Reason To Stay Heroes 1 coverLast Marine Standing coverBook 1 – A Reason To Stay

 OUT NOW  For all buy links click here:
Giveaway prize:  $10 Amazon/Are gift card, and prizes of free e-books, must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  For all the contest details and entry form please use the Rafflecopter link provided below:

Rafflecopter code below…

a Rafflecopter giveaway

OR direct link is:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/f922301b27/