Blog Tour for The Ties that Bind by S. Davidson (excerpt and giveaway)

Title: The Ties that Bind
Author: S. Davidson
Genre: M/M Fiction
Release Date: June 1, 2017
Cover Art: Rue Volley
Editor: CSL Editing Service
Publisher: Encompass Ink Publishing

Flashback 1990’s – Rollerblades, bungee jumping, the laptop, cellular phones the size of bricks, and AIDS – the gay men’s cancer

This is a story about love, friendship, and family. It is a story about growing up, about trying to change the past and the realization that no matter how fast, or how far we run, that The Ties That Bind us as children, many times come back to haunt us as adults.
We become part of the life of a young counselor, Morgan, who specializes working with homeless, male hustlers. He seems like an angel from heaven to many. He cares deeply for every one of his boys and would literally die to save them from harm. He deprives himself of life’s basic needs in order to reach just one more, but why?Morgan has his own agenda to work out, his own demons to exorcise. While avoiding his own past, he meets a particular young man, Greg, who is able to see through this well-crafted, public image. Greg sees Morgan’s pain and denial. It is in this discovery, this role reversal that Greg, a life-long hustler begins to heal himself. He helps Morgan come to terms with his own violent past. Greg becomes his strength, the knife to cut the rope and release the guilt Morgan has denied for years. Just as they both begin to heal, Greg discovers the truth.

The Ties That Bind can sometimes be very restricting but many times we find that The Ties That Bind can also provide our strength.

The Ties That Bind are necessary for the sustenance of life.


A badly warped, archaic recording came on of some disco group of the forgotten past. Slowly, the black shield lifted in front of the room, revealing an oiled up young man, ready to dance. The boy was grinding and gyrating his hips with the best of them when the shade reached the top and he saw who was on the other side.

 

“Hey, Morgan,” he said, stopping his dance.
“Hi, Zack. You’re looking pretty good,” he said.
“I’m sorry.” He began dancing again.
“Stop.” Morgan laughed, thinking it funny that this boy would actually think Morgan was a customer. “I didn’t come for the show. I came to see how you were doing. You disappeared on me.” Morgan popped another quarter in the slot.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Julio glared at Greg. Greg was gritting his teeth, hoping Tomi wouldn’t notice the grip on his upper arm. He knew she would kill Julio.

 

“You do give lunch breaks, don’t you?” Tomi taunted.

 

“Only when he’s the lunch.”

 


Shelly always had a goal to get a book in print. Well, that goal has been met. Another coming June 1, 2017, and one more still in the works. Always finding writing to be a way to escape into another world, M/M fiction is her passion and causing her beautiful boys a bit of agony is just what she does. None of her characters are flawless and most are pretty damn messed up! But they always persist, always try to be the best men they can be and hopefully find a kindred spirit along the way.

Shelly is a mother, grandmother, and has a Bachelor’s in Social Services. Come on over to her Facebook page for current and upcoming release info. While she doesn’t post about what she’s having for dinner or what movie she’s watching, she will give you info on her writing when there is news to share. Just remember, no matter who you are or what beliefs you practice, love is love and we all deserve to love.

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An Alisa Review: The Running Fields by Sydney Presley

Rating:  3 stars out of 5

 

Fate brings them together in the end…

 

Ansgar wakes to find himself outside—somewhere he’s never been before. He’s scared out of his wits and wonders whether The Scientist is conducting another experiment. Is Ansgar naked, leaning against a large building so The Scientist can monitor his reactions? Ansgar doesn’t know, but what he does know is that the black wolf staring at him from the darkness isn’t something he expected to see.

 

The black wolf is Ben, and he didn’t expect to see a naked bloke on a cold night, sitting on his bare arse beside the old abandoned bread factory a mile or so away from town. Ben had only come out for a run, yet there he was, facing a man who clearly didn’t belong in these parts.

 

After taking Ansgar to his home, Ben discovers more about the big man—where he’s been, what he’s endured, and a few other things to boot. Things no one should have to go through. Ben’s determined to help heal Ansgar, to teach him the ways of not only the shifter world but the human one, too. Except there’s a human they need to be wary of, a man who calls himself The Scientist, and protecting Ansgar from him is Ben’s main priority.

 

The past holds a slew of secrets, ones that come tumbling out of hiding at an alarming rate. Ben and Ansgar need to face each one head on—although at times they’re overwhelming and relentless in their attack. The two men dream of living a life without fear in it one day, but unfortunately, dealing with the horrors from Ansgar’s old life have to come first.

 

I’m not quite sure what I thought about this story.  It kept my attention and I wanted to see what happened but it felt disjointed and not fully resolved by the end.  Ansgar is scared when he wakes up in an unknown place outside and even more confused when Ben shifts in front of him, he didn’t know anyone other than him could do that.

 

Ben can’t believe that the man he found in the running fields is his mate but he will accept this gift no matter what.  There was a lot that happened in a short period of time but I had some trouble understanding the characters actions, sometimes so accepting and other times just wanting to forget what happened.  It left me scratching my head.

 

We see the story from both Ansgar and Ben’s points of view and can see what some of their concerns and feelings are.  Ansgar has essentially been held captive his whole life and when he is suddenly free he is happy but doesn’t know what to do, he only knows bits and pieces of things he has been taught throughout the years.  Ben wants to protect his mate but isn’t sure what to do, with all that Ansgar has been through he doesn’t want to make anything worse.  I felt, even though he was with Ben all the time, than Ansgar was kinda left on his own to adapt and they both just mated without really talking.  Ansgar seemed to know somethings quickly or without being told but they were so random I would just get confused.

 

Cover art is very nice and catches your eye.

 

Sales Links: Pride Publishing | Amazon

 

Book Details:

ebook, 113 pages

Published: June 6, 2017 by Pride Publishing

ISBN: 9781786515759

Edition Language: English

A Jeri Release Day Review: Off Stage: Beyond the Footlights (Off Stage: Set Three) by Jaime Samms

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

We met Kilmer briefly in a previous book in this series. His best friend Vance is a country music star who came out publicly for alternative rocker Lenny. Vance and Lenny have a fairly new, but healthy and consensual D/s relationship. Something Kilmer wants. But Kilmer is in a very toxic D/s relationship with Jacko, but he doesn’t see it. Until Jacko pushes his limits just a bit too far.

I really enjoyed that this book showed a couple of different sides to D/s relationships. From really bad ones to really good ones. And how what works for one couple doesn’t necessarily work for another. There is quite a bit of BDSM books out there that don’t necessarily portray the lifestyle accurately.

And while this was obviously not a psychology book, we really get into the mindset of both a Dominant and a submissive. What makes them crave either role and why it fits them so well. Jacko wanted a submissive that Kilmer tried to be, but ultimately couldn’t. Just as Kilmer needed a Dominant but Jacko just couldn’t fill that role.

Slowly but surely, another musician, Tanner, shows Kilmer what it can and should be like to live with that kind of relationship.  Tanner takes the time to nurture this broken man, to show him his worth. But his best friend Vance also pushes him to repair his house to exorcise the memories of Jacko, and to pick up the bass guitar again to lose himself in music.

Kilmer has to learn to love himself, let go of what could have been with Jacko, to accept that his best friend won’t abandon him, and to trust Tanner. Quite a lot for one guy.

We even got a little bit of closure with Lenny and his band from the previous books, which was nice to read.  There was a good mix of on and off page sex so it wasn’t overwhelming as it can be. While this was a long-ish book and I think it could have been edited down quite a bit, it is still a good read.

Cover art by Aaron Anderson is gorgeous and works for the story.

Sales Links:  Dreamspinner Press | Amazon 

 Book Details:

Kindle Edition
Expected publication: June 12th 2017 by Dreamspinner Press
ASINB071J1Y5WS
SeriesOff Stage #3

Selina Kray on the Historical Background for ‘Stoker & Bash: The Fangs of Scavo’ (author guest blog and giveaway)

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host Selina Kray on her Stoker & Bash: The Fangs of Scavo tour. Welcome, Selina!

Hi, romance lovers! I’m Selina Kray, and this is the latest stop on the Stoker & Bash blog tour. A huge thank you to the lovely people at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words for hosting me today. I thought I’d talk a little bit about some of the historical details in Stoker & Bash: The Fangs of Scavo, in which burlesque isn’t really burlesque.

Say the word “burlesque” nowadays, and your mind conjures images of Dita von Teese in a giant champagne glass; sparkly, barely there outfits capped by a giant feather boa; or the camp-tastic film with Cher and Christina Aguilera. Erotic dance as reclaimed by fierce feminists unafraid of expressing their sexuality.

But back in the Victorian era, burlesque titillated both your body and your mind. It started as a way for working class audiences to poke some fun at the classics of theatre, opera, and ballet. The plays of Shakespeare, for instance, would be:

“…adapted into a broad comic play, usually a musical play, usually risqué in style, mocking the theatrical and musical conventions and styles of the original work, and often quoting or pastiching text or music from the original work.” (source: Wikipedia: Victorian Burlesque)

The actors would sing or speak in rhyming couplets, rife with bad puns, and the action of these parodies would often be set to the popular music of the time. Gender-swapping some of the characters was the norm. One of the most popular burlesque performers, Nellie Farren, starred as The Gaiety Theatre’s “principal boy” for over 20 years.

Eventually, theatres combined burlesques with more standard music hall fare, such as singers, comics, skits, dramatic monologues, and dances, into evening-long extravaganzas. The idea was not only to mock the haughty airs and impenetrable verses of classic plays and operas, but to dull some of the sharp-edged plot points of the tragedies. With names like The Bohemian G-yurl & the Unapproachable Pole and Cinder Ellen Up Too Late, you get the sense that audiences and performers alike had a wild, bawdy good time.

In Stoker & Bash: The Fangs of Scavo, one of my characters is a burlesque performer at The Gaiety Theatre, which specialized in burlesque for 30 years. While I did research what parody was playing in that theatre in October 1873—only to be disappointed when I found out it was based on an opera—I decided to make up my own.

A performance of Robbing Hood and his Mercenary Men sets the stage for one of the most important encounters between the novel’s two leads, Tim and Hiero, and is the background for a lot of the action. So in addition to transporting you back to the Victorian era, Stoker & Bash: The Fangs of Scavo will also take you to the punny wilds of “Sure Would” Forest.

 
Length: 100,000 words
 
 
Blurb
 

At Scotland Yard, DI Timothy Stoker is no better than a ghost. A master of arcane documents and niggling details who, unlike his celebrity-chasing colleagues, prefers hard work to headlines. But an invisible man is needed to unmask the city’s newest amateur detective, Hieronymus Bash. A bon vivant long on flash and style but short on personal history, Bash just may be a Cheapside rogue in Savile Row finery.


When the four fangs of the Demon Cats of Scavo—trophies that protect the hunters who killed the two vicious beasts—disappear one by one, Stoker’s forced to team with the very man he was sent to investigate to maintain his cover. He finds himself thrust into a world of wailing mediums, spiritualist societies, man-eating lions, and a consulting detective with more ambition than sense. Will this case be the end of his career, or the start of an unexpected liaison? Or will the mysterious forces at play be the death of them both?


And just who is Hieronymus Bash?

 

 

Author Bio
 

Selina Kray is the nom de plume of an author and English editor. Professionally she has covered all the artsy-fartsy bases, having worked in a bookstore, at a cinema, in children’s television, and in television distribution, up to her latest incarnation as a subtitle editor and grammar nerd (though she may have always been a grammar nerd). A self-proclaimed geek and pop culture junkie who sometimes manages to pry herself away from the review sites and gossip blogs to write fiction of her own, she is a voracious consumer of art with both a capital and lowercase A.


Selina’s aim is to write genre-spanning romances with intricate plots, complex characters, and lots of heart. Whether she has achieved this goal is for you, gentle readers, to decide. At present she is hard at work on future novels at home in Montreal, Quebec, with her wee corgi serving as both foot warmer and in-house critic.


If you’re interested in receiving Selina’s newsletter and being the first to know when new books are released, plus getting sneak peeks at upcoming novels, please sign up at her website: www.selinakray.net

 

 

Giveaway

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Cover Reveal Blitz: Fast Balls (Balls To the Walls Series, #5) by Tara Lain (cover reveal and excerpt)

FAST Balls, book #5 in the 
BALLS TO THE WALLS series 
got a gorgeous new cover! 
Fast Balls
(Balls To the Walls Series, #5)
by Tara Lain
 
Blurb
Can two men with skewed self-images see their true reflections in each other’s eyes?
Jerry Wallender—firefighter, surfer, and occasional nude model—knows he’s no rocket scientist. So why does he keep choosing intellectual guys who make him feel dumber? He worked his buns off to overcome his reading disability and pass the firefighter’s test, and he loves everything about the job. Well, except for Mick Cassidy, the big, blond, hunky homophobe who harasses Jerry for being gay. But Jerry is smart enough to realize it’s not hate driving Mick, but the pain of a very unhappy upbringing.
Mick Cassidy, Firefighter Assist and Search Team, fights fires, but he can’t fight his attraction to the kindest, most generous—and sexiest—guy he’s ever met. Does that make him gay? If it does, he just might get himself killed by his gay-hating preacher father—and take Jerry down with him.
This is a re-release
Re-Release Date: 
July 12, 2017
Available for pre-order
Excerpt
 “My mom says fire
is scary. I had bad dreams.”
Jerry smiled and leaned forward on the folding chair
toward the kids sitting on the big rug in front of him. Mick sat beside him on
another chair, looking like someone had thrown him into a swamp full of
alligators. He’d said something about kids making him nervous on the drive
over, and he hadn’t been kidding.
Jerry nodded. “Your mom is right. Fire can be real scary.
But remember, it’s good too. How else would you get hot dogs and s’mores?”
All the kids laughed and echoed him. “Yeah, s’mores.”
“Now you guys did really good yesterday when you exited
your building.”
“What’s exited?”
Jerry smiled at the little girl with cocoa skin. “It
means when you marched out the door just like in your fire drill.”
“Ohhh.”
“And because of that, Firefighter Cassidy and I have been
authorized, uh, I mean we’ve been told, we can give each one of you an Honorary
Firefighters Badge.”
“Yayyy.”
“Wow!”
“Can I have two?”
Jerry laughed. “But first, tell me all the stuff you know
about how to handle fire.”
The kids stared at him.
For the first time, Mick moved. He leaned forward and
said real soft, “Matches.”
One little boy nodded authoritatively. “Ohhh, yeah. Never
play with matches.”
“Don’t touch matches.”
Jerry looked at Mick and gave him a wink.
The guy looked down at his hands. Jeez, he’s weird.
He looked back at the kids. “And what else can you tell
me about fire?”
The children all looked right at Mick. His ears turned
pink, but he got into the game. “Fireworks,” he whispered.
One little black-haired boy rolled back on the carpet. “Fireworks
are great!”
Jerry laughed. “Right, but where do they belong?”
Once again, all eyes turned to Mick. He held up his hand
beside his mouth. “In the city fireworks display.”
One redheaded boy threw his hand in the air. “Ciddy
firewooks!”
Jerry nodded. “Right! Never, ever pick up fireworks or
buy them at the store. They can hurt you, and they’re not allowed in Laguna
Beach. You know where that is, right?”
Heads nodded.
“Okay, good. Now Firefighter Cassidy and I will hand out
your badges. Remember, fire is good most of the time, but you have to use it
right. Never play with it—and do your fire drills regularly. Ready for your
badges?
“Yes!”
“Yayyyyy!”
He took the plastic badges from a box and handed some to
Mick. As the kids flocked around him, the big guy smiled and looked kind of
happy.
A little Hispanic girl grabbed Jerry around the legs.
“Thank you, Fireman.”
He knelt down. “Thank you. What’s your name?”
“Antonia.”
“You enjoy your new badge, okay? Show it to your mommy
and daddy.”
“I only have a daddy.”
Jerry’s breath caught. “Well, I’ll bet you love him very
much.”
She nodded. “Yes. He makes me sandwiches, and we’re in it
together.”
Jeez, should he laugh or cry?
“Do you have a little girl, Fireman?”
He smoothed her inky hair. “No, but I wouldn’t mind
having a little girl just like you someday.”
“I hope you find her.”
Heat pressed behind his eyes. “Oh, I hope so too.” No crying, man. He hugged Antonia’s tiny
frame. “Thank you for letting us come to your class today.”
Big wide eyes. She nodded. “Thank you for coming.”
He smiled. When he looked up, Mick was staring at him.

 

The Balls to the Wall Series
Volley Balls
Bk #1
Available at
 
      
Fire Balls 
Bk #2
Available to purchase
      
Beach Balls
Bk #3
Available to purchase
         

 

About the Author

Tara Lain writes the Beautiful Boys of Romance in LGBT erotic romance novels that star her unique, charismatic heroes. Her first novel was published in January of 2011 and she’s now somewhere around book 32. Her best-selling novels have garnered awards for Best Series, Best Contemporary Romance, Best Paranormal Romance, Best Ménage, Best LGBT Romance, Best Gay Characters, and Tara has been named Best Writer of the Year in the LRC Awards. In her other job, Tara owns an advertising and public relations firm. She often does workshops on both author promotion and writing craft.  She lives with her soul-mate husband and her soul-mate dog near the sea in California where she sets a lot of her books.  Passionate about diversity, justice, and new experiences, Tara says on her tombstone it will say “Yes”!
You can find Tara at Lain

 

 

               

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Pride Month Continues! Its Pride Weekend Here in the Nation’s Capitol! This Week At Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words!

Pride Month Continues! Its Pride Weekend Here in the Nation’s Capitol!

Pride Weekend actually kicked off on Thursday with a splendid Rooftop event continuing on to the Pride Parade today (Saturday when I write the blog) and then the Pride Festival on Sunday.  Each year Capitol Pride Weekend gets bigger and better!  The schedule of events keeps growing as does the crowds who come to enjoy the entertainment and each other.  There’s parades, music, festivals, dances, rooftop events and so much more. The diversity of the people flocking to the Pride events, smiling, laughing, the support and yes, pride that shines is amazing!

Never been here for Pride Weekend?  Want to see what’s offered?  It’s not too late for Sunday’s event or to plan for next year.  I’ve got some photos from the Capitol Pride Alliance site for you to look at, for more visit their site or FB page.

 

 

Here are a couple of links to the Capitol Pride Alliance page for this weekend’s events and for their main page (they can always use the year around support):

Celebration 2017 – Capital Pride Alliance

Capital Pride Alliance: Home

I feel that since our presidential election, we are living in an age where ugliness and intolerance is promoted from our highest office and that’s not acceptable.  So Pride events, Pride Month and our support becomes even more important.  My little flags from GRL? Outside and in my planters and Uber will get a workout this weekend.  I hope to see some of you there if you live locally!
Also we started our Pride Giveaway last week!  Don’t forget to enter!  Here it is again for those who missed it the first time.

Pride Month Giveaway #1 – Coming Out Stories

Pride Month Celebration continues, Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is having a Coming Out Giveaway.  Enter to win a $10 gift certificate from Dreamspinner Press by naming your favorite coming out story!  Author and title please.  A winner will be chosen at random on Saturday, June 17th (that’s 2 weeks). You need to leave your email address where you can be reached if chosen.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Sunday, June 11:

  • An Alisa Audiobook Review: Just Drive (Anchor Point #1) by L.A. Witt and Nick J. Russo (Narrator)
  • Pride Month Continues! Its Pride Weekend Here in the Nation’s Capitol!
  • This Week At Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Monday, June 12:

  • Cover Reveal Blitz: Fast Balls by Tara Lain
  • Blog Tour: Sex in C Major by Matthew Metzger
  • Blog tour for  Stoker & Bash: The Fangs of Scavo by Selina Kray
  • A Jeri Release Day Review:  Off Stage: Beyond the Footlights (Off Stage: Set Three) by Jaime Samms
  • A MelanieM Release Day Review:  An Island in the Stars by Susan Laine
  • An Ali Audiobook Review: Power Bottom? by Rowan McAllister and Nick J. Russo (Narrator)
  • An Alisa Review: The Running Fields by Sydney Presley

Tuesday, June 13:

  • Blog Tour The Ties that Bind by S. Davidson
  • DSP GUEST POST Andrew Grey on Setting the Hook
  • A Julia Review: The Sidhe (The Heart of All Worlds #1) by Charlotte Ashe
  • A MelanieM Review: Crossing Jordan by Shannon West
  • A Stella Pre-Release Review: The Palisade (Lavender Shores #1) by Rosalind Abel
  • An Ali Review: Aftercare by Tanya Chris

Wednesday, June 14:

  • Blog Tour for Detour by Sid Love
  • HARMONY INK GUEST POST Liv Olteano on Thirteen Mercies, Three Kills
  • Review Tour – Summer Heat by Jay Northcote
  • A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Summer Heat by Jay Northcote
  • A MelanieM Release Day Review: Ride Along (States of Love) by Meghan Maslow
  • A MelanieM Review: The Lure of Port Stephen by Sydney Blackburn
  • An Alisa Audiobook Review: Until You (At First Sight #3) by T.J. Klune and Michael Lesley (Narrator)

Thursday, June 15:

  • DSP GUEST POST BA Tortuga on What the Cat Dragged In
  • Release Blitz  for RJ Scott’s Kingdom Series vol 1
  • Release Blitz for Clare London’s Romancing The Ugly Duckling
  • Review Tour for Romancing The Ugly Duckling by Clare London
  • A MelanieM Release Day Review: Romancing the Ugly Duckling (Romancing the… #2) by Clare London
  • A Kai Review: Boys Don’t Cry by J.K. Hogan
  • An Alisa Audiobook Review: Two Cowboys and a Baby (Dreamspun Desires #30) by B.A. Tortuga and Dorian Bane (Narrator)

Friday, June 16:

  • Book Tour for Accepting The Fall by Meg Harding
  • In the Spotlight: Back to You by Chris Scully (Riptide Publishing Tour and Giveaway)
  • Blog Tour and Giveaway for Will to Live by M. Christine
  • An Alisa Release Day Review: What the Cat Dragged In (Series: Sanctuary: Book Two) by BA Tortuga
  • A MelanieM Review: Accepting The Fall by Meg Harding
  • An Alisa Review: Darien’s Omega (Dire Pack Reborn #4) by Stephani Hecht
  • A Julia Review: Love Plus One (Stephanie Spicer Erotic Touch Romance Book 4) by Gemma Stone

Saturday, June 17:

A MelanieM Pre-Release Review:Dragon Home (Supernatural Consultant #5.2) by Mell Eight

Free on Amazon for the Next 5 Days: Angel’s Feather by Alina Popescu

Angel’s Feather (Flyer Chronicles #1) by Alina Popescu

About Angel’s Feather…

How far would you go for the one you love? How much of yourself would you sacrifice?

Trapped on a decaying Earth and cut off from the rest of the Universe, humans are no longer allowed to leave their planet. Break this one law and you die: a penalty enforced by flyers, aliens who look like angels of long-lost religions. Michael, the flyers’ leader, is the Punisher who carries out every public execution.

Adam, a young human with near-perfect memory, is committed to rebuilding Earth and a true believer in the flyers’ dominion. While Adam’s support for flyers isn’t a secret, his deep love for Michael is. Not even Michael knows, for his kind never take human lovers, and to Adam, they are too far above him to reach.

In his broken and unwelcoming world, Adam’s love can only lead to pain, loss, and disaster. Yet there is no force in the huge expanse of stars and galaxies that can stop Adam from following Michael to the end of existence. Not even Adam’s own beliefs.

Gay science fiction novella Angel’s Feather by Alina Popescu is #free for 5 days on all Amazon sites. Download your copy of the first book in the Flyer Chronicles series between June 9th and June 13th!

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y6BWX9V

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06Y6BWX9V

Amazon DE: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B06Y6BWX9V

Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B06Y6BWX9V

#gay #romance #scifi #sciencefiction #freebooks #gaybooks #scifibooks

How far would you go for the one you love? How much of yourself would you sacrifice?

Trapped on a decaying Earth and cut off from the rest of the Universe, humans are no longer allowed to leave their planet. Break this one law and you die: a penalty enforced by flyers, aliens who look like angels of long-lost religions. Michael, the flyers’ leader, is the Punisher who carries out every public execution.

Adam, a young human with near-perfect memory, is committed to rebuilding Earth and a true believer in the flyers’ dominion. While Adam’s support for flyers isn’t a secret, his deep love for Michael is. Not even Michael knows, for his kind never take human lovers, and to Adam, they are too far above him to reach.

In his broken and unwelcoming world, Adam’s love can only lead to pain, loss, and disaster. Yet there is no force in the huge expanse of stars and galaxies that can stop Adam from following Michael to the end of existence. Not even Adam’s own beliefs.

A MelanieM Review: Stuff (The Bristol Collection #2) by Josephine Myles

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

When Mr. Glad Rags meets Mr. Riches, the result is flaming fun.

Tobias “Mas” Maslin doesn’t need much. A place of his own, weekends of clubbing, a rich boyfriend for love and support. Too bad his latest sugar daddy candidate turns out to be married with kids. Mas wants to be special, not someone’s dirty little secret.

When he loses his job and his flat on the same day, his worlds starts unraveling…until he stumbles across a vintage clothing shop. Now to convince the reclusive, eccentric owner he’s in dire need of a salesman.

Perry Cavendish-Fiennes set up Cabbages and Kinks solely to annoy his controlling father. Truth be told, he’d rather spend every spare moment on his true passion, art. When Mas comes flaming into his life talking nineteen to the dozen, he finds himself offering him a job and a place to live.

He should have listened to his instincts. The shop is already financially on the brink, and Mas’s flirting makes him feel things he’s never felt for a man. Yet Mas seems convinced they can make a go of it—in the shop, and together.

Warning: Contains an eccentric, bumbling Englishman, a gobby drama queen, fantastic retro clothing, scary fairies, exes springing out of the woodwork, and a well-aimed glass of bubbly. Written in brilliantly British English.

Stuff, the second in The Bristol Collection series, is a wonderful delightful romance from Josephine Myles.  I think the world of the first story Junk.  There Myles delved into the life of hoarder Jasper Richardson and the man who helped him clear the clutter from his life and house,Lewis Miller.  That was an intense story that covered a lot of emotional territory for Jasper and the reader, especially those unfamiliar with the mental illness of hoarding.  Myles did a spectacular job and delivered a sympathetic portrait of a man desperately in trouble that he needs professional help.  Jasper’s illness and recovery was necessarily the primary focus of that story.  It had to be and it worked.  Here romance, quirky wonderful romance is front and center!

It’s all about the stuff!  And Perry Cavendish-Fiennes has lots of it.  A store called Cabbages and Kinks that Mas (Tobias “Mas” Maslin) accidentally hastens into one awful day.  Mas is a oddly charming character we meet first off in Junk as a hookup turned friend to Jasper.  It’s odd but for all his flamboyance and non stop talking, there is something weirdly fragile about Mas.  Myles has given us someone who’s quirkiness and “living in the now” bravado is a shield we see through to the man we want to hold underneath.  It takes a while for Perry to see that, but come around he does.  Mas is great but Perry?  Totally a match for Mas.

Perry an owner of a vintage store he’s not sure he even wants to run, full of ‘stuff’, Perry is one off kilter surprise after another.  After that random encounter with Mas that becomes more,  we’re side by side with Mas as the layers peel away from Perry, doors are opened from the living quarters above the shop revealing new dimensions into the man who owns all the stuff and the shop itself.  Entranced?  Yes, Mas was and so was I.

This is not an easy  romance as both men have difficult pasts that come back to throw obstacles in the way of their love and happiness. Mas has made some really awful, or challenging choices in his past, including his ex.  Neither will let him go easily.  Perry too has things waiting to destroy his movement forward, including his own inexperience with relationships itself.  The wonder and joy is watching the men work they way to each other time and again, through each missed step, each action or nonaction taken from fear or lack of communication, only to eventually find that their need for each other is greater than anything else.  Myles makes us believe in them and their love for each other.

I also liked getting caught up again with Jasper and Lewis, a lovely touch that I hope continues in the next story. Yes, there’s another book to be had and I’m on my way there to Scrap (The Bristol Collection, #3).  I can hardly wait.  I love, love this series!   Josephine Myles is a wonderful writer.  Her stories are charming, her writing flows smoothly, effortlessly around characters you love spending time with, who settle themselves into your heart for a good long stay.  I absolutely recommend not only this story but the one that precedes it.  Next up Scrap!

Cover art by Lou Harper is just as charming as all the other in the series and just as effective as branding them as a group.

Sales Links  Amazon US | Amazon UK

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 433 pages
Published June 8th 2017 (first published May 27th 2014)

Release Blitz for Stuff (The Bristol Collection #2) Josephine Myles (excerpt and giveaway)

 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK
 
Length: 93,000 words
 
 
Blurb
 

When Mr. Glad Rags meets Mr. Riches, the result is flaming fun.

Tobias “Mas” Maslin doesn’t need much. A place of his own, weekends spent clubbing, and a rich boyfriend for love and security. Pity his latest sugar daddy turns out to be married with kids. Mas wants to be special, not someone’s dirty little secret.

When he loses his job and his flat on the same day, Mas’s world starts unravelling… until he stumbles across a down-at-heel vintage clothes shop. Now he just needs to convince the delightfully shy owner he’s in need of a new salesman.

Perry Cavendish-Fiennes set up Cabbages and Kinks solely to annoy his controlling father. He’d much rather spend every spare moment on his true passion, art. That is until Mas comes flaming into his life, talking nineteen to the dozen and turning his world upside down.

Against his better judgment Perry offers Mas a job and a place to live, but it turns out he should have listened to his instincts. The shop is already financially on the brink, and Mas’s flirting makes him feel things he’s never felt for a man. Yet Mas seems convinced they can make a go of it—in the shop, and together. That is, until Mas’s past starts to catch up with him…

Warning: Contains an eccentric bumbling Englishman, a gobby drama queen, fantastic retro clothing, scary fairies, exes springing out of the woodwork, and a well-aimed glass of bubbly. Written in brilliantly British English.

Excerpt

The curtain swished back behind the young man with the angelic face, and Perry let his body sag with relief. What the blazes had been going on there? The chap clearly wanted something more than the trousers, but figuring out what was beyond Perry’s limited people skills. Perhaps he’d been sent by Perry’s father to check up on him.

But no, that was just paranoia talking, wasn’t it? His father wouldn’t stoop to underhand dealings like that. In fact, his father would probably come himself so he could deliver a lecture. If he even cared enough to check up on what Perry was doing with his life.

“There a mirror in here anywhere?” a voice called from the other room, rousing Perry from visions of his father lecturing him about wasting his potential and shirking his responsibilities. The customer. Right. Concentrate on him, who most definitively wasn’t anything more than a casual browser, because there was no way his father would employ someone in such cheap clothing.

“A mirror?”

The man poked his head around the curtain, surprising Perry into taking a step backwards. “A big shiny reflective thing. Most clothes shops have them to let people see how things fit. I mean, I can tell they’re comfy and they look good from this angle, but it’s next to impossible to get a good view of my arse. Believe me, I’ve tried.”

Perry couldn’t stop himself taking a quick peek at the rear in question. He was no expert on men’s posteriors. He was no expert on women’s either, but he had an inkling that the rear in question would probably fit most people’s definition of attractive. The burgundy wool pulled tight over rounded buttocks. Too tight, actually. There were pull lines running across and spoiling the overall look. “They don’t fit quite right. At the back. You’d need more fabric there.”

“Are you saying my bum looks big in this?” The young man batted his long eyelashes at Perry and thrust his rear end even farther out. He’d split a seam if he wasn’t careful.

“It does look a little too large. But not in a bad way,” Perry rushed to add.

“Don’t worry, I’m not offended. I’m just flattered you noticed.”

Perry hesitated before replying. Were they flirting? He’d never flirted with a man before—not knowingly, anyway—but it felt a little like the awkward conversations he’d had with women he was trying to pick up in the past. Back in the days before he’d decided to ditch that whole confusing part of the proceedings and go straight to a professional instead. “I noticed,” he ended up mumbling. “Maybe we could find you something else that fits better.”

“Nah, you’re all right. I shouldn’t really be buying anything right now anyway. Just lost my job, didn’t I?”

“Dreadfully sorry to hear that.”

Now the man was grinning at him with quite the widest, toothiest smile Perry had ever seen. “You’re a posh one, aren’t you? What are you doing hanging out in a dump like this?”

It didn’t feel like an insult, coming from someone with an expression of what felt like genuine interest. And while he knew he should probably take offence, Perry had to face it, the shop was a dump. In the end, he just stuck his hand out. “Peregrine Cavendish-Fiennes at your service. And I own this dump. Well, the business side of it. Not the premises, unfortunately, and at this rate, I’m never likely to. I live upstairs.” Now he was babbling, while the man with the pretty smile and the well-formed rear was holding his hand and stroking his thumb across the back of his hand. Definitely not a platonic handshake, and it sent a strange kind of shiver all the way up Perry’s arm and down his spine, ending up somewhere in his groin.

“Nice to meetcha, Peregrine.” The name came out tentatively, as if he was testing it on the way. “Is that like the falcon?”

“It’s a family name. My paternal great-grandfather’s. But please call me Perry. Everyone does.”

“Perry. I like it. I’m Mas. And that’s short for Tobias Maslin, so I guess that’s kind of a family name too. Not that I ever knew my dad’s surname. Some Greek waiter called Cassius, according to Mum.”

“You’re Greek?” Perhaps that explained the colouring. Mas’s bone structure was too dainty to look classically Greek, but he had a golden bloom to his skin, and the thickest dark eyelashes Perry had ever seen.

“Possibly half-Greek. Or Mum might be lying. Or he might have been lying and was really from Chigwell. There’s no real way of knowing, is there? Not without a time-machine, and I ain’t got one of those stashed away at home anywhere.” Mas seemed perfectly cheerful about his status as a bastard of indeterminate ethnicity, but then again, not everyone had been brought up in a family that could trace their ancestry back to beyond the Norman invasion. Not everyone had a family coat of arms either. Perry wished he could swap places with the hoi polloi. Life must be much simpler without the weight of all that history dragging you down.

“So, Perry, mind if I ask you a favour?” Mas began, and to his horror Perry watched him start to unbutton the trousers. “What?” Mas glanced down at his hands, then back up at Perry. Amusement glinted in his eyes. “Oh, not that kind of a favour. No need to panic. Not that I’d turn you down if you offered or anything, but I wouldn’t ask. Well, that’s bullshit. If we were in a club, I might. You’ve got a lush set of lips on you. Bet they’d feel amazing.”

Perry clapped his hand over his mouth.

Author Bio


English through and through, Josephine Myles is addicted to tea and busy cultivating a reputation for eccentricity. She writes gay erotica and romance, but finds the erotica keeps cuddling up to the romance, and the romance keeps corrupting the erotica. Jo blames her rebellious muse but he never listens to her anyway, no matter how much she threatens him with a big stick. Sheís beginning to suspect he enjoys it.


Joís novel Stuff won the 2014 Rainbow Award for Best Bisexual Romance, and her novella Merry Gentlemen won the 2014 Rainbow Award for Best Gay Romantic Comedy. She loves to be busy, and is currently having fun trying to work out how she is going to fit in her love of writing, dressmaking and attending cabaret shows in fabulous clothing around the demands of a preteen with special needs and an incessantly curious toddler.


Website and blog: josephinemyles.com/
Facebook: facebook.com/josephine.myles.author
Twitter: @JosephineMyles
Newsletter: eepurl.com/hrQ4s

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Release Blitz for Summer Heat by Jay Northcote

 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK


Cover: Garrett Leigh @ Black Jazz Design


Length: 47,000 words approx.


Blurb

A summer fling is an ideal cure for a broken heart. But when it’s with your best friend, things get complicated.

When Adam is dumped by his boyfriend, a week away at a beach resort seems like a great opportunity to get over his ex. Sun, sea, and no-strings sex will be just the boost he needs to move on with his life.

Adam’s best friend, Finn, agrees to accompany him at short notice. Finn’s had a crush on Adam for years, but is determined to put his feelings aside and be the perfect wingman in Adam’s time of crisis.

A spontaneous threesome with another guy forces Adam and Finn to confront their attraction to each other. Having a holiday fling together wasn’t part of the plan, and as their trip heats up, they soon realise that one night of fun won’t be enough for either of them.

The passion might be scorching, but their hearts and friendship are on the line. If their romance is going to survive the flight home, they have to be honest about what they want.

 

Author Bio

Jay lives just outside Bristol in the West of England. He comes from a family of writers, but always used to believe that the gene for fiction writing had passed him by. He spent years only ever writing emails, articles, or website content.

One day, Jay decided to try and write a short story—just to see if he could—and found it rather addictive. He hasn’t stopped writing since.

Jay writes contemporary romance about men who fall in love with other men. He has five books published by Dreamspinner Press, and also self-publishes under the imprint Jaybird Press. Many of his books are now available as audiobooks.

Jay is transgender and was formerly known as she/her.

www.jaynorthcote.com
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