A MelanieM Review: Man and Tree by Wayne Mansfield

Rating: 2.75 stars out of 5

Nathaniel, a horse-riding traveler in eighteenth century Europe, emerges from a vast forest to see a field of golden wheat. At the centre of the field is a large tree and, at its base, a man. Strangely, the man appears to be talking to the tree.

At the village inn, Nathaniel asks the barman about the man and tree. The barman refuses to tell him anything, so Nathaniel decides to visit the man himself. The following morning he rides back to the field, where he notices the man is still there, talking to the tree.

He introduces himself to the man, whose name is Adam. When questioned about why he sits beside the tree, talking to it, Adam reveals a story so amazing, it borders on being unbelievable. Nathaniel, too, has a similar tale, the conclusion of which is just as bizarre and shocking as Adam’s.

Man and Tree is a short, and quite frankly bizarre little tale about two couples who had the misfortune to run a foul of a witch. I think had the author tried for more of a fantasy feel, instead of locating the story in 18th century Europe and going for an adult fairy tale, Man and Tale might have come off a little better on the whole. As it is, its hard to explain the complete lack any awareness of the laws and societal awareness of homosexuality of those times. Its completely ignored or made little reference to. Surprising when both couples meet and jump enthusiastically into sex and relationships. Then things go spectacularly wrong for all four of them.

I like the imagery the author provides when that happens. Nice, very nice indeed. But Mansfield leaves other holes in his narrative. Some things makes sense, others, not so much, especially when it comes to said witch. Tell us more about that witch and her background. And that ending? Wrapped up way too easily and without the requisite answers to some of the questions the author himself raised about the village and the villagers.

All in all? Man and Tree had some nice elements to it but more aspects to it that raised questions in my mind. It sort of felt like an outline to a larger story than a completed short tale.

Cover art is ok but doesn’t really speak to any of the elements in the story.

Sales Links

JMS Books LLC

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 47 pages
Published September 10th 2016 by JMS Books LLC
ASINB01L8DXWMA
Edition LanguageEnglish

An Alisa Audiobook Review: Kieran: The Atherton Pack 4 By Toni Griffin and Nick Flint (Narrator)

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

“You need to go to Atherton,” they said. Easy for them. The higher-ups at headquarters don’t have their whole world on the line. When Detective Damon Kelly’s bosses send him across the state on a “simple” cyber fraud case, he never thinks he’d meet his mate, then risk losing Kieran by doing his job. No matter what other possible angles Damon works, his partner Grant Davis is sure Kieran’s best friend Corey’s their guy, and Grant is bent on bringing him in.

After the birth of their Alpha’s son, the Atherton Pack needs another beta. Kieran Baxter couldn’t be happier to accept. What Kieran doesn’t expect is for all hell to break loose his first week on the job. Clashing with his mate at every turn, and fighting a human cop who wants to arrest Corey for hacking a government database, wasn’t part of the plan either.

As more evidence piles up, a bigger, scarier picture comes into focus that could threaten not only the Atherton Pack, but everything the world knows.

This was another great addition to the Atherton Pack series. Damon is thrown for a loop when he meets his mate while investigating his mate’s best friend while also trying to guide his work partner away from the obvious suspect. Kieran is excited to meet his mate, but doesn’t know how to reconcile his friendship with his mate’s job. A lot of other things went on than just Damon and Kieran’s relationship and I can’t wait to see how all the changes in the world of shifters will affect the future books.

Damon is determined to do the right thing with his job, while also leading them away from the truth in order to keep the pack safe. When he is forced to take drastic measures to keep his mate and other shifters safe he hopes it will all work out. Throughout this story I could feel how conflicted Damon was with his job and mate knowing what he had to do, but he was determined to have a relationship with Kieran despite everything. Kieran has a lot of trouble accepting the situation he has been put in and knows he has to look at things from all sides to get the whole story. These two went about the opposite of the others and jumped into sex and then have to learn to make everything work after the fact.

Nick Flint did a wonderful job again narrating this story. I was able to understand the characters through the voices and emotions he portrayed. We saw a lot more characters points of view in this story and he easily kept them each unique so there wasn’t any mix up what was going on.

Cover art is wonderful and follows the pattern for the series.

Sales Links: Audible | Amazon | iTunes

Audiobook Details:

Audiobook, 7 hrs 27 min
Published: January 6, 2017 (ebook, published October 19, 2016) by Mischief Corner Books
Edition Language: English

Series: The Atherton Pack #4

Matthew Lang on Writing, Characters and his release ‘Better with Bacon’ by Matthew Lang (author interview)

Better with Bacon by Matthew Lang
Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: L.C. Chase

Available for Purchase at

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have Matthew Lang here today to talk about his latest story, Better with Bacon. Welcome, Matthew!

✒︎

~Our Interview with Matthew Lang~

How much of yourself goes into a character?

It varies depending on the character. Some of them are closer than others – and some need to be further away from my own self because of necessity. In Better with Bacon, I think David got some of my drive and more than a few of my flaws. Patrick got my love of cooking and food, a number of my insecurities, and my penchant for not wearing clothes. When you ask authors about characters and plot you’ll find some who say they say they just write what the characters naturally do and they don’t have much control over their personalities. I’m not like that. I do often feel like I’m recording what real people naturally choose to do, rather than forcing them to do anything particular, but I’m also willing to go back and tweak some character traits, or change the environment the characters are in so that they naturally choose to go in a direction I need them to for the narrative I’m writing. As such I think I might have more control over some of my characters than other writers seem to.

Do you feel there’s a tight line between Mary Sue or should I say Gary Stu and using your own experiences to create a character?

No. If I’m using my personal experiences I’m either adding details to scenes – the physicality of George as an example is based on a real person I’ve met playing pool in a bar as an example – or I’m using it to set up tensions between my characters that I know come from a real place. I don’t have a need to give my characters idealised experiences that I didn’t get a achieve. They’re not there to rewrite my story, they’re here to tell their own story. I just have to go and live mine separately.

Does research play a role into choosing which genre you write? Do you enjoy research or prefer making up your worlds and cultures?

Well, I like writing about places I know. One of my friends calls my writing ‘a love letter to Melbourne’ because much of my work is set in my home town, and sometimes locals who read my work will go ‘oh, I think I’ve been there’. At the same time, I like writing fantasy stories, even if I haven’t published one yet. When it comes to speculative fiction, I tend to prefer fantasy over science fiction because magicbabble is much easier to write than technobabble as far as I’m concerned.

Have you ever had to put an ‘in progress’ story aside because of the emotional ties with it? You were hurting with the characters or didn’t know how to proceed?

No. Not for emotional reasons. I’ve had to shelve stories because of giant plot holes I’m not sure how to fill in. I’ve shelved by Golem urban fantasy story because it’s missing one of the three acts it needs to work, and I haven’t quite worked out how to fill out act 2, but that’s not emotional. I think I need to tweak my story world there instead.

Do you like HFN or HEA? And why?

I’m very much a Happily-for-now guy, even if what I write can read as a Happily Ever After. I think it’s because if you go for Ever After, it’s hard to write for those characters again. You can’t give them genuine relationship tension if you’ve already given them a Happily Ever After without essentially reneging on the Happily Ever After.

I also have a strong belief that life goes on, and an ideal romance is only ideal for the period of limerence we glorify in western culture, and I think we have acknowledge that for our own mental health. Or growing up watching Into the Woods on a regular basis has warped my mind. There’s always an after, and the after is always the interesting part.

[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNmRE7gsKco]

Do you read romances, as a teenager and as an adult?

I favour queer stories with romantic elements. I like stories where there’s something going on besides gay men having relationship issues. There’s a struggle most men my age and older have gone through – and that’s a desire to be more than our sexuality. I always wanted to be the guy who’s a great writer. The guy who runs awesome events. The guy who can sing and makes home made ice cream. I want those to be as important parts of my identity as the fact that I’m gay. And some, not all, but some gay romances not only reduce their heroes to their sexuality, but then impose heteronormative gender roles and expectations on a relationship between two men. And one of the reasons I think gay men sometimes reject those stories is because we’ve had to spend a lot of our lives fighting against that discrimination and objectification. So as much as I like a romantic plot line, I like it when it’s not the only plot line, if that makes sense.

And as a teenager, I wanted the smut and sex. Seriously, I think most gay men who read have sifted through the Nifty Archive at some point in their adolescence.

Who do you think is your major influence as a writer? Now and growing up?

Sir Terry Pratchett. He convinced me that you can both entertain and inform at the same time and he had an amazing way of twisting words into meanings that were there all along, but you just never saw them coming.

How do you choose your covers?

By what works. I find cover art requests very difficult to put together because I’m a word guy. I think in words and narrative. I don’t necessarily think in imagery. So I usually will say “I think I want something like this because I’m going for this sort of feel – but if you think up something awesome please throw it my way,” and more than once I’ve ended up going with a cover dreamed up by the artist that’s completely off brief. Better with Bacon is one of them actually.

What’s next for you as an author?

I need to finish my golem story, as I think it’ll be the start of a series that’s going to be a lot of fun and will hopefully let me explore a lot of different mythologies and monster stories. I also expect it’ll be long enough to get into print as well as ebook format. I’m also looking to experiment with interactive fiction, so as a gamer I’d like to run a group of story driven gamers through a narrative roleplaying campaign and see what they do – I think gaming with other people is an amazing way to stretch your narrative muscles because what you’re essentially doing is cooperative storytelling with a framework of rules around how to further the story and some random elements of chance throwing up plot difficulties for you. If I do that it’ll be youtubed, so if anyone wants to watch the experiments you can follow me at https://www.youtube.com/user/mattlangwrites.

I’m also writing a free read web serial on my website based off an online game where I pretended to be an alien lounge singer, as I wanted to see if I could write a narrative where I didn’t control everything, and so far I think it’s progressing well. One of my friends has also asked me to write a gay dating sim with them, so that’s also a thing I’d like to tackle at some point.

I also think that Better with Bacon will eventually spawn a fully fledged novel as a sequel. There’s a few things that I know are going to happen to the guys in that wonderful after, but I need to let them rest for a bit to find out just how tough the challenges coming their way are going to be.

About Better with Bacon

When Patrick’s long-term girlfriend Li Ling dumps him just as he’s working up the nerve to propose, he ends up drunk on David’s couch—and later in David’s bed. Although initially reluctant to pursue anything beyond a one-time drunken tryst, David throws caution to the wind during an intimate dinner, where the two men also discuss Patrick’s dream of entering the food industry. Just as the friends-turned-lovers are settling into their new romance, Li Ling calls Patrick—she’s pregnant.

Convinced the announcement spells the end of their love affair and a return to their platonic friendship, David flees to Sydney to escape his heartbreak. But upon his return to Melbourne, David discovers the situation hasn’t gone the way he’d expected. There might still be a chance for David and Patrick’s dreams to come true if they can forgive each other’s mistakes and move forward.

About the Author

Matthew Lang writes behind a desk, in the park, on the tram and sometimes backstage at amateur theatre productions. He has been known to sing and dance in public, analyse the plots of movies and TV shows, and is a confessed Masterchef addict. Over the years he has dabbled in marketing, advertising, event management and the sale of light fittings, but his first love is and has always been that of the written word and is rarely too far from a good book. He likes his men hot and spunky, his mysteries fantastical, his fantasies real and his vampires to combust when exposed to sunlight. Other than that he’s pretty normal. One day we may even take him out of the straight jacket.

web: www.matthew-lang.com
twitter: @mattlangwrites
facebook: Matthew Lang on Facebook

Release blitz: AFTER THE FIRE by Felice Stevens (excerpt and giveaway)

Now Available at Kindle Unlimited!
After The Fire by Felice Stevens

About the Book

A single bullet destroyed the dreams of Dr. Jordan Peterson. With his lover dead, Jordan descends into an endless spiral of self-destruction that nearly costs him his friends, his career, and his life. When Jordan finds himself working closely with the aloof Lucas Conover, the investment banker’s mysterious past and unexpected kindness shocks him back into a life and emotions he’d thought lost forever.

The betrayal by the foster brother he’d worshiped taught Lucas Conover never to trust or believe in anyone. Living a solitary life couldn’t free him of the nightmare of his former life; it reinforced his belief that he would never fall in love. When the death of one of his clients forces him to work closely with Dr. Jordan Peterson, he meets a person whose suffering exceeds his own. Though Jordan rejects his effort to help, something within Luke pushes him discover more about the first man to ever get under his skin.

As Luke lets down his guard and Jordan lets go of his pain, desire takes control. Each man must come to terms with past struggles if they are to create a future together. And learning to trust in themselves and love again after tragedy and a lifetime of pain may be the only thing that saves them in the end.

Giveaway

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Excerpt

“It’s only been nine months. God almighty, did you expect me to forget him already?” Horrified, Jordan swept his hand across the table, sending the empty bottles and food containers crashing to the floor. “Keith and I were together for almost four years. You haven’t even been with Ash a year; could you forget him so easily? Stop pressuring me to move on with my life. It’s over for me. There will never be anyone else.”

“So you plan on drinking yourself into an early grave, losing your job and quite possibly your friends along the way?” Drew placed a hand on his arm. “I don’t think Keith would expect you to mourn him forever.”

“I didn’t expect to have to mourn him at all. He was supposed to be here, with me.” The tears, always threatening below the surface, spilled over, coursing hot and fierce down his cheeks. It seemed he hadn’t stopped crying since Keith had been murdered. “I can’t get past it. No matter what I do, he’s always there with me, and I can’t let him go.” All the fight and anger left him deflated like a balloon several days after a party. An ineffable weariness stole through him, and he laid his head on his arms on top of the table. “Go home, you two. Leave me alone.”

Without a word, Ash found the broom and dustpan and began to clean up the broken glass while Drew remained seated next to Jordan at the table.

“Look, I understand what you’re feeling. But destroying yourself isn’t going to bring him back. We know you miss him.”

“You don’t understand.” Jordan shook off Drew’s attempt to comfort him. “I’m beginning to forget him. Not only his voice but also the way his arms held me. The way the sound of his breathing calmed me so I could fall asleep every night.” His breath caught in his throat, and a shudder racked his body.

Jordan couldn’t reveal the worst—that he could no longer recall the press of Keith’s lips on his or the sweet sweep of Keith’s tongue in his mouth. The warmth and smoothness of Keith’s skin, once as familiar as Jordan’s own, had begun fading to a cold and distant memory. Sometimes he’d sit in bed late at night and play his voicemail messages simply to hear Keith’s voice. How fucking disloyal a love was he? It had only been nine months, yet Keith’s touch, something he’d longed for every day of his life and sworn he’d never forget, had slipped away like fog in the summer wind. Gentle and swift, leaving no trace behind that it had ever existed.

About the Author

I have always been a romantic at heart. I believe that while life is tough, there is always a happy ending around the corner, My characters have to work for it, however. Like life in NYC, nothing comes easy and that includes love, but getting there is oh so fun and oh so sexy.

I live in New York City with my husband and two children. My day begins with a lot of caffeine and ends with a glass (or two of red wine). I practice law but daydream of a time when I can sit by a beach somewhere and write beautiful stories of men falling in love. Although there are bound to be a few bumps along the way, a Happily Ever After is always guaranteed.

Amazon Page / Facebook / Newsletter / Twitter

In Our Spotlight: Fallen Angel (The Angel of 13th Street Book 2) by Eden Winters (excerpt and giveaway)

Title: Fallen Angel

Series: The Angel of 13th Street 2

Author: Eden Winters

Publisher: Rocky Ridge Books

Release Date: 2/27/17

Heat Level: 3 – Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 63,000 words

Genre: Romance, Age difference, urban, rent boys, redemption, second chances

Add to Goodreads

Synopsis

Who can save the rescuer of lost souls?

For ten years ex-rent boy Noah Everett has fought the good fight, offering second chances to those still in the life. Now he’s cracking under the stress. What began as a two-man mission is now going corporate, meaning rules, regulations and inexperienced volunteers needing guidance in a field Noah makes up as he goes along. Who can he turn to when his mentor’s strength is all but gone and his lover is leaving for college—possibly for good?

Four years at State with a full ride scholarship will launch Jeremy Kincaid’s future, but his present includes Noah, Doc, and the closest he’s ever had to a family. And a meth addict who’s become Jeremy’s own personal mission.

An attack sends Noah spinning out of control. Jeremy has to find the way to reach Noah before the man he knows and loves disappears forever.

Excerpt

Noah slammed a case of beer down in the cooler and fished his ringing cell phone out of his pocket. Nobody called his personal phone at this time of day without good reason. “Noah Everett.”

“Noah? Hey, man. It’s Chip.”

Noah emerged from the cooler, passed through the bar and mouthed, “I’ll be back,” to Mary behind the bar. He stepped out the back door of The Twelfth Street Bar and Grill and plunked down onto a dry spot on the stoop. The rain had finally stopped, raising the humidity to sweltering levels. If this call didn’t need privacy he’d have stayed in the cooler.

“Have you thought any more about what we discussed?” Given the phone call, the caller probably had. Trouble was, thinking alone didn’t seem to be getting them anywhere.

The casual, “Yeah,” didn’t bode well.

“And?” Fuck.

A long silence followed. “Well, my… my boyfriend isn’t a bad man. I mean, he treats me good and stuff, it’s just that I don’t like… I don’t like—”

“You don’t like him pimping you out to other men,” Noah finished for Chip.

Inside his bar, sixty-seven notches decorated a doorframe, signifying sixty-seven rent boys who’d left prostitution behind and started over someplace else.

Had Doc Cook carved a notch somewhere when he’d pulled Noah from the gutter, dusted him off, and pointed him in the right direction?

What the hell made Chip stay with the user? Noah should’ve notched him in at sixty-eight by now. Instead Chip sat on a fence, dreaming of a better life and fooling himself into believing he could have it here.

An exasperated huff sounded in Noah’s ear. “Yeah. Things were cool until he started arranging dates for me.”

Arranging dates? Noah ran his fingers through his short hair and blew out a breath. Motherfucking pimps. More like pimples on the ass of mankind.

Chip continued trying to talk himself out of seeing reason. “I dunno, maybe he’ll stop. I mean, I know he loves me.”

Loves me? Chip had strange ideas of love. He loves me, and we’re only doing this until we have enough money to go away and have it be just us. Noah had said those same words to himself once.

But “us” never happened.

Empty promises had sustained him through sleazy meetings that had started with come-ons and a handful of cash and ended with Noah grateful when johns did him in a hotel room so he could scrub himself raw after they left.

And some johns had scared the fuck out of him.

Chip would be a hot commodity in certain markets. Cute, in an innocent, boy-next-door kind of way, easily influenced, with an inborn willingness to please, and, worse yet, gullible, much as Noah had been many years ago. Chip might as well hang a sign around his neck: “Use me!” No way would the boyfriend give up such a low maintenance source of cash.

Noah began pacing behind the building, boots crunching against gravel. Every kid who called forced him to relive his own past, his own fuck ups.

Damn it all to hell! Had the kid known so little love in his life that he’d cling to a sick illusion?

“Do you actually believe he’ll stop?” Noah kept because I sure as hell don’t to himself.

More silence, a sigh, and then a rare scrap of reality from Chip. “No.”

Noah forced his voice calm when he really wanted to jump through the phone and fix the dumb kid’s life before it was too late. “From what you’ve told me, your parents are out of the question, but how about your grandparents? Or older brother?” Those were Noah’s first choices: stick Chip on a bus and let others with a personal interest manage putting his life back together. Second choice? Put him on a bus to a safe house; let those better qualified handle the details.

This time, no uncertainly colored the adamant, “No! Definitely not! I can’t go home.” More quietly Chip added, “But I’m not sure how long I can stay here, either. He… he talked to a friend of his yesterday.” Even through a telephone connection, Noah envisioned a shudder. “I don’t wanna be in videos.”

Oh shit. Videos. Noah slammed his hand against the wall. No!

“Charge extra for pictures, Noah,” Stevie had said. Noah’s pimp didn’t want to miss a buck, and every time Noah flexed and stretched, it was an easy extra that went straight into the pimp’s pocket.

Bad enough how Noah had made his living without adding hard evidence. It was only a matter of time before Stevie sent him to a studio.

Noah couldn’t go back in time and save his eighteen-year-old self, but he could save Chip. If only the guy would listen.

Purchase

Rocky Ridge Books | Amazon

Meet the Author

You will know Eden Winters by her distinctive white plumage and exuberant cry of “Hey, y’all!” in a Southern US drawl so thick it renders even the simplest of words unrecognizable. Watch out, she hugs!

Driven by insatiable curiosity, she possibly holds the world’s record for curriculum changes to the point that she’s never quite earned a degree but is a force to be reckoned with at Trivial Pursuit.

She’s trudged down hallways with police detectives, learned to disarm knife-wielding bad guys, and witnessed the correct way to blow doors off buildings. Her e-mail contains various snippets of forensic wisdom, such as “What would a dead body left in a Mexican drug tunnel look like after six months?” In the process of her adventures she has written fourteen m/m romance novels, has won several Rainbow Awards, was a Lambda Awards Finalist, and lives in terror of authorities showing up at her door to question her Internet searches.

When not putting characters in dangerous situations she’s a mild-mannered business executive, mother, grandmother, vegetarian, and PFLAG activist.

Her natural habitats are airports, coffee shops, and on the backs of motorcycles.

Website | Facebook | Twitter
Goodreads | eMail |Rocky Ridge Books

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A Barb the Zany Old Lady Audiobook Review: Open Road by M.J. O’Shea and Robbie D (Narrator)

Rating: 1 star for the audiobook and 4.5 stars for the e-book—overall 4 stars

I was asked to review the audiobook edition of this story, but I have to say up front that I had to DNF it within the first hour. I couldn’t stand the voices the narrator was using. They were so over-the-top flamboyant and campy that I felt they were insulting to my friends who are gay. They fed a stereotype that I oppose using. So, the narration didn’t deserve more than one star.

That being said, I’ve enjoyed MJ O’Shea’s work in the past, and the premise of this story was intriguing so I went to the e-book copy I had previously purchased and was unread in my “TBR library,” and I’m so glad I did because this story was a wonderful love story between two men who’ve been friends all their lives, and slowly but surely, become lovers over the course of their “road trip” together.

On his thirtieth birthday, Angus is dumped by his lover of ten years, and it sets him off on a bender that becomes so bad he loses both his job and his apartment. It isn’t until he finally checks on him that his BFF, Reece, takes matters into his own hands. Feeling guilty because he should have realized silence from Angus signaled something was very wrong, Reece not only makes plans to move Angus in with him, he also makes the arrangements to take Angus away for a few days.

The thin, wan ghostly appearance of his BFF is shocking enough, but add to that the fact that the usually bright and bubbly Angus isn’t even speaking, and Reece knows he’ll need all the patience in the world to help the man he secretly loves back to his former state. Reece would do anything for Angus, and this story shows just how much he does. It also reveals the journey Angus has to make to come back from the depths of despair. Deciding to extend their initial trip from Oregon to California by a few more days, the two men head to Vegas. Another extension takes them to New Orleans, and so it goes as they make their way across country.

Angus is living on his savings from his former job, but Reece is a book editor and is financing most of the trip as well as working remotely on his laptop once in a while. And this is the only quirk I had with the story. I’m an editor, and to be honest, in my experience, editors don’t earn enough to make it across the state—never mind the country! LOL

Regardless, the story is so wonderful that I can be kind and overlook that little issue. These men are so endearing—Reece so strong and supportive and Angus so sweet and adorable. It’s a match made in heaven—or by a romance author. If you are interested in friends-to-lovers romances, or simply enjoy a sweet MM romance, by all means, pick this up. Just make sure you do it in e-book, not audio.
~~~~~
The cover art by L.C. Chase depicts a road fading into the distance with a muscular man in sleeveless T-shirt staring off toward the end. Very appropriate for this story.

Sales Links

eBook & Audiobook Details:

ebook, 200 pages
Published July 25th 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
Original TitleOpen Road
ISBN 1634773160 (ISBN13: 9781634773164)
Edition LanguageEnglish

Audiobook
Published January 11th 2017 by Dreamspinner Press (first published July 25th 2016)
Original TitleOpen Road
ASINB01N9PWGM

URL

An Alisa Review: Dating Ryan Alback by J.E. Birk

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Ryan Alback has almost everything he’s ever wanted: a successful acting career, a dog who adores him, great family and friends, and a life outside the closet. The only thing missing is a boyfriend—but Ryan’s been burned by Hollywood relationships before, and he’s not eager to try one again.

Jason Santos has almost everything he’s ever wanted: a fulfilling career teaching middle school, a house in a city he loves, and parents who support him in every way. Too bad he can’t seem to forget the ex-boyfriend who rejected his marriage proposal.

When a talk show host launches a dating contest to find Ryan a boyfriend and Jason accidentally wins, neither of them expect anything to come from it. Yet somewhere between a disastrous massage and a mud sinkhole, they both start to wonder if this date could be more than just a public relations stunt. But before they can move into the future, they’ll both have to learn to let go of the past.

I enjoyed this story quite a bit. Ryan was hurt by a previous lover and since hasn’t looked for love again and spends his life with a few friends and his dog. Jason has spent the last year trying to get a nonprofit off the ground and ignoring his personal life.

Both of these characters have others who want them happy and look out for them. How putting someone in a national dating contest without their permission can be a good idea I don’t understand. I will admit that it is very unlikely that Ryan and Jason would have met otherwise but that someone thought this was the way to do it is beyond me.

We get to see both of these characters’ thoughts and feelings through their own points of view. Ryan is so scared of trusting anyone and letting someone in he lives alone with only his dog for company most of the time. Seeing him hurt himself by pushing others away is quite sad, he has to learn to that not everyone wants to use him. Jason pretty much hides behind his job and nonprofit to avoid getting hurt again in his personal life. I hated seeing him be hurt when Ryanmakes assumptions based on past experience. Both of them have to learn to trust, but it takes both of them making mistakes before it can happen.

Cover art by LC Chase is adorable and we get a nice visual of the characters.

Sales Links: Riptide Publishing | Amazon | B&N

Book Details:

ebook, 250 pages

Published: February 20, 2017 by Riptide Publishing

ISBN: 9781626495364

Edition Language: English

Need a New Romance in Your Life? Check out Rushing Love (States of Love) by Meg Bawden (author interview, guest post and giveaway)

Rushing Love (States of Love) by Meg Bawden
Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Brooke Albrecht

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon | B&N

✒︎

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have Meg Bawden here today talking about her latest release in the States of Love series from Dreamspinner Press, Rushing Love. Welcome, Meg!

✒︎

Hello, hello! My name is Meg Bawden and I’m on Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words to celebrate the release of my new book, Rushing Love, which comes out today! Woot!

Rushing Love is a M/M romance story set in South Dakota, USA. I wrote it for the States of Love line from Dreamspinner Press and I can’t wait for its release. I had so much fun writing it and I can’t wait to share it with you. Please allow me to share the blurb with you:

After a devastating break-up with the man he thought he’d spend his life with, Flynn Webb takes a holiday to a South Dakota dude ranch. It’s something completely different from anything he’s done before, and it helps that it’s as far away from his ex as possible. Trapped in his own depressive thoughts, Flynn is surprised to meet Grayson Harland. Not only is Grayson a sexy cowboy—one fifteen years younger—but he’s the most charming man Flynn has ever met.

Flynn doesn’t have much experience with being seduced, and he has even less with guys like Grayson taking an interest in him—and Grayson is definitely interested. What begins as a fling while visiting iconic South Dakota sights soon develops the potential for much more. But Flynn is afraid that falling in love again so soon—and with a man so much younger—will lead only to another catastrophic heartbreak. Luckily for them both, Grayson isn’t giving up without a fight.

If you’re interested you can find the story here:

https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/rushing-love-by-meg-bawden-8176-b

https://www.amazon.com/Rushing-Love-States-Book-ebook/dp/B01N17O3X6

To celebrate the release, I’m going to be answer some interview questions! 😀

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Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Interview Questions

How much of yourself goes into a character?

I think each character has a part of the author within them. Whether it be an actual trait, the way they speak, the way they dress, or even a personality trait that the author wishes they had. For me, I’d love to be as confident as Grayson. While I am not, I made him that way because it’s something I don’t have and would love to. Whereas, my character Flynn, has my shyness and my lack of confidence. While I don’t share a similar history to Flynn, I did give him these traits because I wanted them to be a result from his past. I think all characters, like humans in real life, are who they are because of what they’ve been through to get to that point in their life.

Do you feel there’s a tight line between Mary Sue or should I say Gary Stu and using your own experiences to create a character?

I definitely think there is a fine line between a Gary Stu and a character that’s real. It’s very difficult, as a writer, when you create a character because it is only natural to want everything to be perfect for them. When I write, I’m dreaming of a world where everything works out just fine. I’m dreaming of a world that I would love to be a part of. And because these characters are an extension of me, I’d love them to be perfect and happy. But let’s be honest, everyone wants perfection, right? You want to be that right weight or have perfect skin or beautiful hair. You want to be charitable, but rich, and very intelligent.

As an author, we have to remember that if we want readers to relate to our characters, they can’t be perfect. Perfect is boring. Readers want to see a happy-ever-after for characters that are like them. So, I give my boys and girls a quirk to make them not perfect. For Flynn, he’s shy and has a lack of confidence. He has type 1 diabetes and he’s a bit awkward at times. He’s always must thoroughly think about things before he does it and he hates that about himself.

And for Grayson, while he’s handsome and muscular, with the looks of a perfect specimen, he’s not perfect either. He has no filter and that annoys himself sometimes. He says things without thinking, the opposite of Flynn. He doesn’t watch TV (*Gasp* No TV? What kind of human being is he??? How can he and Flynn Netflix and chill??) and doesn’t understand some references that Flynn mentions.

So yes, they both have negatives and these realistic traits come from understanding people around you. As I began to write this story, these characters told me their negatives. They shared what they hated about themselves and I revelled in it. Putting certain aspects about a character into the story makes it more interesting. And I had fun with them! 🙂

Does research play a role into choosing which genre you write? Do you enjoy research or prefer making up your worlds and cultures?

Yes and No. I write in many different genres and I usually like writing science fiction or paranormal because I can make up worlds and I already know a lot about the beings that are in that world. However, I do occasionally stick with contemporary, wherein depending on where the story is set, I do have to do some research. For Rushing Love, I definitely did research. I’ve never been to South Dakota, so I used friends’ knowledge, as well as watched youtube videos and researched on google.

Do you like HFN or HEA? And why?

I prefer a happy ever after, mostly because I’m a big old romantic and I like knowing that they spend the rest of their lives together. I’ve had plenty of good relationship role models in my life, from my nan and pop, to my mum and dad, and all I ever see in my stories is the love that lasts a lifetime.

How do you feel about the ebook format and where do you see it going?

I think there are positives and negatives to eBook format. While it’s inexpensive, thus allowing readers to buy and store more books, it also enables pirates to steal and share an author’s work. As it is, authors don’t get very much money and these pirates threaten their livelihood. But saying that, pirates would probably have never bought the book in paperback anyway. I think paperback still has buyers though, because there is something magical about holding a book in your hands, especially one of your favourites. So I believe eBooks and paperbacks can co-exist.

How do you choose your covers? (curious on my part)

As a cover artist myself, I usually have an idea of what I want in my head. But at the same time, I don’t want to impede on an artist’s work, so I usually give the cover designer general pictures that I’m interested in, like characters and locations, and I let them run with their creative flow. And quite often, they’re right on the money. 🙂

Do you have a favorite among your own stories? And why?

I think it’s hard for me to choose a favourite. I don’t have very many published works yet and I think they are all a favourite to me. Each story is a part of the author, so each one is special to them. And there is always something I wished I could change after the story is published. Lol. But they are perfect the way they are because that is what you wrote—what you wanted to say.

What’s next for you as an author?

So many things! Lol. I have so many works I want to finish, but at the moment, my priority is my Zombieville #2. I’m having enough zombie dreams to encourage me to finish it. I want to finish the series by the end of this year. As well as that, I’m working on a M/F story that I’m also hoping to finish soon, as well as plenty of others. As for attending events, I will be at Riveting Reads, which is held in Brisbane, Australia in October 😀

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About the Author

If you’d like to follow me and find out more about upcoming releases, you can find me here:

FB: https://www.facebook.com/authormegbawden/

Twitter: @megbawden

MEG BAWDEN was born and raised in North Queensland, Australia. She’s loved stories since before she can remember and has always enjoyed creating characters of her own, even if it did begin with drawing faces on toilet rolls and giving them names. Writing has always been a passion of hers and she’s loved the M/M genre since 2004, the first book she read being Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez.

Writing M/M since 2007, Meg has never had the confidence to attempt publishing her own stories, but in 2015, she decided that it was all about to change thanks to the amazing friends she’s made in the M/M genre and their support and encouragement. So watch out world, Meg Bawden is coming out to have some fun!

Giveaway

Are you interested in winning some signed paperbacks from me? Then now is your chance:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

In the Spotlight: Dating Ryan Alback by J.E. Birk (RIPTIDE BLOG TOUR and giveaway)

Dating Ryan Alback by J.E. Birk
Riptide Publishing
Cover art by L.C. Chase

Read an Excerpt/Buy it here at Riptide Publishing

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Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host J.E. Bird today. Welcome, J.E.!

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Greetings! I’m J.E. Birk, and right now I’m traversing the internets to discuss my new romantic comedy, DATING RYAN ALBACK. Follow along to learn more about an insecure movie star, a klutzy teacher, and the neurotic dog who loves them. Leave comments for a chance to win a $10 Riptide giftcard and copy of any book from my backlist!

About Dating Ryan Alback

Now available from Riptide Publishing. http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/dating-ryan-alback

About J.E. Birk

J.E. Birk has been telling stories since she could talk and writing them since she was introduced to the alphabet. She hails from Colorado, where you can usually find her skiing, training for a 5K she won’t end up running, or watching people run into each other on football fields and in hockey rinks. You can follow her ramblings on Twitter by looking for @jebirkwrites. She’s also been known to ramble on Facebook as J Elisabeth Birk.

Connect with J.E. Birk:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/jebirk
Twitter: @jebirkwrites

Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Dating Ryan Alback, one lucky winner will receive a $10 Riptide Publishing credit and their choice of ebook from J.E.’s backlist! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on February 25, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

Join Us for the Release Day Blitz for Justin’s Season by S. M. Sawyer (excerpt)

Title: Justin’s Season

Author: S. M. Sawyer

Publisher: Ninestar Press

Release Date: August 6, 2016 (print), February 29, 2016 (e-book)

Heat Level: 3 – Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 101,300 words

Genre: New Adult, historical fiction, redemption, destiny, acceptance, sports, coming out, interconnected, small town, flashback, AIDS

Add to Goodreads

Synopsis

The year is 1988, and Justin Davis, a former nationally recruited football prep star, awakens from twelve years of masking his shame with drugs and alcohol to find he has been returned to his former self through what can only be described as a miracle.
Triggered by the confirmation of his closely guarded sexual orientation, his fall from grace of over a decade before sets the stage for his redemption. The fulfillment of his destiny is prompted by Providence and the serendipitous deeds of those who are a part of his new life, as their intertwined lives are likewise impacted. Though his rapid evolvement and acceptance of his homosexuality is countered by setbacks, Justin perseveres and eventually triumphs as fate, he believes, has led him back to the sports arena to recapture past glories.
In a stunning finale, however, he learns his destiny is not what he had envisioned. His calling has been thrust upon him by circumstances beyond his control. Can Justin embrace it and become the man he was always meant to be?

Excerpt

A sliver of light from the early morning sun came through an exposed slit of the basement window blind, creeping its way against the wall until it came to rest upon Justin’s eyes. He lay sleeping in a jumbled mass of musty blankets on an old steel-framed bed. After a few moments of the sun’s focused rays beckoning him to awaken, he flinched and turned his head away, and then rolled onto his left side toward a dark corner in a vain attempt to deny the day’s arrival.

For Justin, it had been another long night, and the reminder of a new day came with a reluctant anticipation akin to that of a prisoner serving a life sentence without a chance for parole. He lay there motionless, holding the sheets close to his chin as he gazed upon an iconic black-and-white poster of James Dean. The actor walked down a puddled street with a cigarette between his lips, hands in his coat pockets, and his collar turned up to keep the cold and drizzle at bay. Marching down the Boulevard of Broken Dreams and into immortality.

Though it had been hanging on the wall for fifteen years, Justin, enjoying a rare and lucid moment of circumspection, studied the poster in silence as if he were looking at it for the first time. You did it right, Mr. Dean, he thought. You died early…frozen in time. Leaving everyone wanting more. Never having to answer for life’s failings.

The unwelcome light from the sun continued to fill the room, exposing the remnants of Justin’s life before the troubles. Dusty citations, press clippings, photographs, scholarship offer letters, and trophies from his high school years. Collected over a decade before, they now served as the remaining threads that connected to past glories.

This is what happens, isn’t it? You peak early and get a little cocky that you’re in control, and instead of leaving on top, you live long enough to mutate into some bad apple that people use to warn their kids. “Don’t get too full of yourself or you’ll turn out like Justin Davis.” That’s right…I’m not remembered for what I was and what I should have been. It’s easier for voyeurs to whisper among themselves about the broken, washed-up, slow-motion train wreck I’ve become—how I let my charmed life slip away.

Justin sat up and swung his legs over as if getting out of bed, but stayed sitting there to give his head time to clear from another all-night bender and to gain a semblance of balance before stepping onto the cold cement floor. His still imposing six-foot-four-inch body, an inch taller than in his high school days, was out of shape and bloated. It served as a metaphor for everything else his life had become, contrary to the Greek god physique he’d had when he was seemingly in total charge of his life and circumstances.

His blond hair was long and greasy, and his face contorted by the miseries of daily self-flagellation through alcohol, drugs, and slovenly habits. His tongue felt thick and dry, and his eyes appeared as if seared on an iron skillet. He did his best to gather whatever strength remained to get up and to live what had become his own recurring Groundhog Day. He wanted water to quench his alcohol-induced thirst and to be bathed by a sympathetic and nonjudgmental geisha, washing away impurities and regret. But again he thought of sleep and of beckoning the dreams to reacquaint him with his previous life. He eased his head onto the pillow with hopes that sleep would allow him to wander back to his senior year in high school—to a time when he was admired by all and treated as the town’s favorite son.

Justin Davis was the class hero and the most likely to succeed. He had excelled at everything—sports, scholastics, popularity—and as the top quarterback recruit in the nation he received offers from scores of college football powerhouses representing the Big Ten and other major conferences. Why then, he continually asked himself, had he let his guard down—putting everything on the line and seeking confirmation from strangers?

Throughout his life he had felt that guardian angels were with him, but they’d abandoned him when he needed them most, so they could steward over someone more deserving…someone who wouldn’t risk all for a taste of what he had been brought up to consider the forbidden fruit. He couldn’t explain it, but life’s confusions made him feel that he no longer fit the role his angels had paved for him. That maybe he’d had a hand in sabotaging it before it went too far; a secret he kept hidden from himself and others with the aid of any mind-numbing substance he could get his hands on.

With his room in the basement of his brother’s home now bathed in full light, Justin drifted back to sleep, and from his sleep he could hear the marching band and cheers from the packed stadium as he led his team, charging onto the field through the gauntlet of cheerleaders. In reliving the moment, he managed a slight smile as his dreams took him back twelve years to the fall of 1976 and the sound of the PA system announcing the starting teams for the state of Ohio’s high school football championship game.

And as the dreams continued and the light of the sun streamed through the basement’s walk-out French door and remaining windows, Justin subconsciously felt a strange and unique sensation upon his dormant soul. The feeling of his angels returning to envelop his body like fresh snow on a blemished landscape—lovingly transforming his unkempt and damaged being. They had come to caress and heal his body and spirit, and renew his faith to trust what lay ahead.

Purchase

Ninestar Press | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes

Meet the Author

S. M. Sawyer is a retired military officer. He has also served as a defense contractor and as President for a nationally accredited charity whose mission is to recognize exceptional maritime rescues and assist voluntary search and rescue organizations worldwide. He lives in Virginia with his wife, Natalie. They have five grown children. Justin’s Season is his debut literary effort.

Find S.M. on Facebook or send him an eMail

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Better with Bacon by Matthew Lang Dreamspinner Press Cover Artist: L.C. Chase

Available for Purchase at

~Our Interview with Matthew Lang~

About Better with Bacon

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Now Available at Kindle Unlimited! After The Fire by Felice Stevens

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Rocky Ridge Books | Amazon

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Rushing Love (States of Love) by Meg Bawden Dreamspinner Press Cover Artist: Brooke Albrecht

About the Author

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Dating Ryan Alback by J.E. Birk Riptide Publishing Cover art by L.C. Chase

Giveaway

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Synopsis

Excerpt

Purchase

Ninestar Press | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes

Meet the Author

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Better with Bacon by Matthew Lang
Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: L.C. Chase

Now Available at Kindle Unlimited!
After The Fire by Felice Stevens

Website | Facebook | Twitter
Goodreads | eMail |Rocky Ridge Books

Rushing Love (States of Love) by Meg Bawden
Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Brooke Albrecht

Dating Ryan Alback by J.E. Birk
Riptide Publishing
Cover art by L.C. Chase