A Mika Review: Run With the Moon by Bailey Bradford

Rating: 3 star out of 5 stars

Two species that have always kept themselves separated are about to collide and create a new world.

Two species that have always kept themselves separated are about to collide and create a new world.   Humanity almost managed to do itself in. Ravaged by wars and plagues, the human population on earth has been bordering on extinction, although pockets of people have been forging on over the past few hundred years. It’s a hard life, and one Aaron Olsen fears he doesn’t fit into. As a son of a village leader, there are pressures on him he can’t manage, and things he keeps hidden, desires he doesn’t know how to express that keep him up many nights as he worries over them.

Valen is an alpha, born with the crescent moon mark on his chest. It means he’ll have to leave the pack he was born and raised in. It is the way of the wolf, and the only way to prevent it is to fight his father. Valen has no intention of doing such a dishonorable thing. He leaves as he’s supposed to, only to find himself the victim of thievery. When he hunts down the party responsible for stealing his belongings, Valen finds himself attracted to the human Aaron Olsen.   Now, if they can only survive their own pride and insecurities, and an attack that threatens everything they love, they just might have a chance at happiness in Valen’s Pack.

I’m on the fence about this story. I can say the one person who made me finish it was Rivvie. I liked his energy, positivity and just him in the story. It was suppose to be a futuristic setting shifter story, and I didn’t get it. If anything I felt like this could be almost a caveman story. Valen in the beginning seemed overwhelmed, sweet, and humble.

When the story starts progressing alone we get this caveman instead. I didn’t follow. It was simple things he did or said. His actions with Aaron were definitely caveman style it seemed. I’m not saying it was bad, but it was really. I liked that Aaron’s family were respectful to him, even though in his mind something else was happening. I do feel like it was holes in the story about the epidemics, and the shifter’s staying away from humans. I didn’t believe that village with both humans and shifters allowed some humans to come and destroy them. If this was the future, you are telling me they don’t know anything about a Molotov cocktail used as an accelerant.. I didn’t find that believable at all. My only other issue is that I wanted to see some sort of future for Aaron & Valen. What happened when both tribes intertwine? I would have loved the epilogue to be about them as mates. It fail short in that part.

Cover Artist by Posh Gosh, I’m a little on the fence about the cover too. I thought it was nice cover don’t really know if it goes with the story in my mind. I don’t see this guy as Valen. To me Valen, was this big guy almost caveman like because that’s how he is portrayed in the story.

Sales Links: Totally Bound

Book Details:

ebook, 144 pages
Expected publication: February 6th 2015 by Totally Bound
ISBN139781784303945
edition languageEnglish

A MelanieM Review: Fighting Instinct (L’Ange #2) by Mary Calmes

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

L’Ange’s head of security Arman de Soto is a shifter, a secret he has kept well, even from his employers who are shifters themselves. Also a closely guarded fact is the type of Arman’s shifter. Only a few know what Arman is hiding, but one of those is the château’s overseer, Linus Hobbes. Linus has long been the object of Arman’s interest and the subject of Arman’s intense pursuit over the years they have known each other. Despite Arman’s reputation as a loner, the only thing he needs to complete his life is Linus. But Linus is a mass of secrets and pain himself.

Linus has lived alone for more than seven years, sheltered at L’Ange under an assumed name and hiding a past of pain and abuse. Linus is also dealing with his terrifying attraction to the most dangerous man he’s ever met. Arman knows Linus should be afraid of the predator stalking him, but Linus is still drawn to him like a moth to a flame, no matter how much he tries to deny his instincts. I

Once of Arman’ passions is hunting down and killing every member of a pack of werewolves. His staff is aware of Arman’s pastime but no one other than Arman knows the reason why. Then the remaining wolves arrive at L’Ange looking for vengeance and all the long held secrets are revealed. The pain of Linus’ past arrives with the wolves. Danger and the threat of death is everywhere and only the strong or the loved will survive.

Fighting Instinct is the second in Mary Calmes’ L’Ange series and its just as terrific as the first installment, Old Loyalty, New Love (L’Ange #1). The first story sets out the location, the Chateau L’Ange, a refuge and home to an assortment of shifters, especially the jackal shifters and pack that own the estate. I loved that group of characters and believe me, that was quite a group to meet all at once. Now with Fighting Instinct, Mary Calmes is narrowing down her focus to the enigmatic head of security Arman de Soto and L’Ange’s overseer, Linus Hobbes. Although secondary characters, both made quite an impact in the first story because their personas were so strongly etched into the readers minds. So I was thrilled to see the second story center on them.

One of the mysteries that has floated about Arman is who and what he is. That he is a shifter is not even a given until later, and some of the first paragraphs seem to help camouflage the true nature of his existence. But as the story evolves, all the clues start adding up and if you are a fan of the wildlife specials or National Geographic, then you might figure it out for yourself. I loved this element and thought Mary Calmes did a wonderful job of folding in the natural history for her shifters. Arman is dangerous, certainly lethal and steadfast in his love of Linus.

Oh, Linus. Linus is going to surprise everyone, including Arman. With Linus, the author combines natural history, and celtic lore to arrive at an astonishing and unforgettable character. Calmes’ twist with Linus was something I never expected and I just loved it! Linus is one of those heartworthy and angst driven characters this author does so well that he is certain to be a reader’s favorite. Plus his is a character that evolves and strengthens throughout the story, especially given his traumatic past.

Arman and Linus certainly form a strong heart at the core of Fighting Instinct with their love and relationship. But there are other shifters to meet with their own stories to follow. Remember, Chateau L’Ange is a shifter refuge, so don’t be surprised to meet a lion (although his identity is hidden at first as well), more wolves, a bear or two and much more. And I adored them all.

Mary Calmes is writing the final story in her cat shifter series, Change of Heart, something I hated to hear as I love Jin and Logan and all the rest. But now I have a new series to love, new characters to take to heart, and new stories to eagerly await.

If you haven’t read this series yet, go to the first story, Old Loyalty, New Love. It lays down the author’s universe and main cast of characters and then rush onto this one. If you love shifters and romance, this is certainly the series for you. I can’t wait to see what Calmes has in store for all of us next. I highly recommend both stories and all the characters. I think you will too.

Cover Artist: Anne Cain. Not quite a fan of this cover but I suppose that adding in factors from the story might qualify as spoilers so I think the artist was tied as to what elements to incorporate. Still, it could be the cover of any book not this one.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press eBook & Paperback All Romance (ARe) Amazon Buy it here

Book Details:

ebook, 224 pages
Published December 8th 2014 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN139781632165916
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5769
seriesL’Ange #2

Books In the L’Ange series:

Old Loyalty, New Love (L’Ange #1)
Fighting Instinct (L’Ange #2)

Down Under Author Showcase: Ellen Cross

Meet Ellen Cross!

Ellen Cross is the author of Delta Blues and other books listed below.

To get to know Ellen Cross a little better, the author agreed to an interview. Look for the interview below and the Down Under Scavenger Hunt word found somewhere within.

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I love the underdog in a fight. Always have, always will. My books reflect that love, and you will always find someone who thinks they are either unworthy, or undeserving of love in my stories. I soon prove them wrong.

I live in a little beachside slice of paradise on the north-eastern coast of NSW, Australia, and along with my passion of writing is my passion for my family. I have five boys, a hubby, and a completely loopy dog. With all these males under one roof—apart from our dog who is the only other female in the house—writing gives me a chance to channel all that daily frustration into something I love doing. Instead of shaking my head for the hundredth time when someone forgets to pick up their dirty socks or neglects to replace the empty toilet roll (a long lasting argument in my household hehe) I pour it all out into my books.

Contacts/Follow at :

Twitter https://twitter.com/Ellen__Cross
Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/ellencrossbooks/
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/Ellen_Cross
Website http://ellen-cross.webs.com/
Blog http://ellencross.blogspot.com.au/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/EllenCrossAuthor
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Books:

Last Chances – MF contemporary romance
Holly’s Healing – MFM contemporary romance
Cupid’s Revenge – MM paranormal romance
Wolf Sanctuary – MM paranormal romance
Paws, Claws, and their Triple-F – MMM paranormal romance

Preternatural Rescue Center series:
Delta Blues(Preternatural Rescue Centre #1) – MM paranormal romance at eXtasy Press

In a World where the Alpha are the law, Beta the order, and Omega the knowledge…the Delta have become the oppressed.

The night of Samhain is fast approaching, and for that one night a year, Gray and the last remaining Dire Wolves—amongst others—are entrusted with the protection of the veil between worlds, while it’s at its thinnest. Add in the threat of a new drug on the market, and they’ll have to work twice as hard to keep everyone safe. The last thing he needs is a sexy little Delta to save.

As a lowly Delta, Red Wolf shifter Ryan has never known peace. Cast away and unwanted, he is quickly taken captive and trained as a dancer at The Howling, a strip club in the worst part of Praeter. Hungry, abused, and kept in a drug-induced fog, his life is nothing. He is nothing but the orders and twisted demands of his captor. All that changes when he catches the scent of a wolf in the crowd.

Long ebony hair, eyes that can’t decide if they’re green or blue as they follow him on stage. Unable to stop himself, Ryan does the one thing guaranteed to earn him punishment. He touches the other wolf. Peace. For those few brief moments, the hunger, the pain, the torment…all gone. The price to feel that respite again, though, could very well be his life.

Cole in his Stocking (Preternatural Rescue Centre, #2) – MM paranormal romance at eXtasy Press

It doesn’t matter if he’s been naughty or nice all year. Adam’s stocking is still getting stuffed full of Cole, this Christmas.

The coming of age for any vampire is cause for celebration, a time when they first taste blood. For Cole, however, his twenty-fifth birthday brings a terrible choice from his father—either he takes the life of another to prove his worth, or he forfeits his own life. Cole chooses the only way his heart will allow, and pays the price with both his fangs and the rapidly mounting blood starvation that will slowly end his life, now that his body needs to feed, but cannot. He escapes, bleeding, barefoot, and wearing nothing more than a simple cotton sleep-shirt. With his father’s sentinels in pursuit, Cole soon finds himself half-frozen and unable to run anymore. The last thing he expects when he crawls into a dumpster to hide away for the last few hours of his life is to be rescued by a temperamental black cat and…aww hell…his cherished one, Adam. How is Cole meant to blood-bond to the wolf hybrid when his time is fast running out, and he has no fangs to even try? He quickly learns his cherished is far more than he appears, though, and Adam’s friends at the Delta Rehabilitation Centre have even higher friends, with a score to settle with his father, of their own. It’s just a shame he won’t be around long enough to witness their payback.

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Contests and Giveaways:

1. Today’s Giveaway (thank you, Ellen Cross) is an eBook copy of Copy of Delta Blues. Enter using this Rafflecopter link here. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

2. Down Under Scavenger Hunt – find the Hunt “word or phrase” in bold green . Collect all the words from each author and submit the list in writing no later than midnight on February 1st. Make sure you include an email address where you can be reached. Prizes will be given to 5 people selected, from 1st place to 5th! Happy Hunting.

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When did you start writing?

I have always been writing it seems, ever since I could. Having much older brothers, there wasn’t much to do to occupy my spare time while growing up on our family’s farm, so I wrote, or read.

• Were you a reader as a child?

Very much so. I would save all my birthday and pocket money to buy books, instead of sweets. By the age of seven there was very little I could not read by myself.

• What books as a child has the most impact on you?

I adored Enyd Blyton’s books. The tales of the Faraway Tree and My Pennywhistle were among my fictional childhood companions.

• Did that impression carry over into adulthood when you started writing?

In a way. I have always loved the fantastic, finding anything realistic too boring to hold my interest. Even as an adult, I cannot sit through a true story. I would much rather live my life with my head in the clouds 🙂

• Where do you draw inspiration from?

Anything. It could be a song lyric, a picture, or even just a feeling that sparks a rush of inspiration, and I have learned to quickly write everything about that rush down, before time and real life demands make the details fade away. My phone has so many notes for scene ideas it has become my invaluable writing companion.

• Favorite genres to write in and why?

I simply adore paranormal gay romance. It is what I read, so it is only natural that it is what I also write. Why write about stuffy businessmen and their boring days, when vampires, wolves, warlocks and elementals are begging to have their stories heard?

• Title or characters or plot? Which comes first?

Plot, or more specifically, a scene will come to me first. The characters work themselves into that scene, and gradually the whole book will unfold. The title is the last thing I come up with.

• Do you have a favorite character that you have written?

I have no favourites. I adore them all. They are all as individual as their race/breed, and for that, I cannot favour one over another, as they all have their quirks, their habits, and personalities.

• Favorite quote (doesn’t matter the source)?

“If it doesn’t kill you, it only makes you stronger”.

• Favorite book/story you have read as an adult:

The New Species series by Laurann Dohner. I absolutely love her series.

• Do you have a certain regimen that you follow as a writer?

No. I try to write at least an hour a day, but with five boys and a husband I am a carer for, that is not always possible. In fact, I usually find myself getting very little sleep in the week leading up to a deadline hehe.

• What inspired you to write your first book?

I had read one too many books from Amazon that were filled with so many editing mistakes it was obvious they hadn’t even had a basic spell check performed on them, and as with many other authors, I thought that if they could publish a book this poorly, I could do better.

• Do you have a specific writing style?

I tend to fly by the seat of my pants when I write. I might know a basic structure of the plot, but even I don’t know the details until they are on the page.

• What’s the hardest part of writing your books?

Arguing with my muse when I need to write for a deadline, and he is nowhere in sight hehe

• If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your first book?

I would. I think most authors who have written a few would look back, knowing what they do now, and know of a few changes they would make.

• If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor or has the biggest influence on you?

I have a few MM writers who have influenced me, as they were my starting points in reading gay romance, and gave me the courage to take the step into writing it myself. RJ.Scott’s Christmas Throwaway was the very first MM book I read, and after her, I found Amber Kell, Stephani Hecht, Jackie Nacht, and Lynn Hagen.

• What book are you reading now?

Actually, I haven’t had time to read for a little while now, with deadlines, but the book I am reading between writing is the print galley of the first half of my own Preternatural Rescue Centre series.

• How do you think books written from authors in Australia or New Zealand differ in style, language, and culture?

We seem to get straight to the point over English or American writers. Our more laid back language shines through. There are times when I am reminded by my editor that a saying or word I have used won’t be recognised the way it was written to be, and I need to make changes. When I find myself reading a book by an Australian author, I can usually tell without being told what their nationality is.

• What is your favorite AUS/NZ stories and favourite Australian/New Zealand movies?

I still have memories of snuggling into the front bench seat of my cousin’s car while watching The Man from Snowy River, at the drive-in movies theatre. I think for that memory, as it was my only experience with the drive-in’s before they closed, it will always be my favourite.

• If you were a tour guide, what would you like a visitor to see and what impression would you want them to take away with them when they leave?

I would like them to see the extremes Australia has to offer, from the snow-topped mountains, crystal blue waters of the barrier reef, to the blistering red heart, and tropical paradise of the north-eastern top end. Australia has it all.

• What are your current projects?

I am currently working on the final instalment of the Preternatural Rescue Centre. It has been an eleven book long series, taken over a year, and is now ending. It has been a wonderful year bringing all the guardians and their stories to life.

• What’s your favorite spot to visit in your own country?And what makes it so special to you?

The most special place is home. I haven’t travelled much, but home is where my family is, and that makes it the most special place in the world to me.

• What’s next up for you?

After I finish this book, I have a Valentine’s Day book to finish, before I take a few weeks to relax and enjoy a break, before bringing out my folder of ideas and lightening it a little.

• Are you going to any events that we can see you at?

I will be attending the ARRA2015 conference in Canberra in March.

Down Under Showcase Day 29: Meet Ellen Cross, AUZ and NZ Facts of the Day

Down Under Author Showcase Day 29

Welcome, Ellen Cross

Only a few days left and a couple more authors to welcome! Today our featured writer is author Ellen Cross from north eastern Australia. I don’t know where she finds the time to write…why? Check out her bio along with her books and lovely giveaway! Ellen Cross’ contest ends February 6 instead of the 31st to give more people time to enter.

Now on to our facts of the day.

Australia Fact of the Day – The Wave Rock of Hyden!

‘Wave Rock of Hyden’ is a natural rock formation resembles a tall breaking Ocean wave which is 46 ft in height and around 360 ft long. It lies about 3 kilometers east of the small town of Hyden and 296 km (184 mi) east-southeast of Perth, Western Australia. It is a part of 395 acre natural reserve of Hyden Wildlife Park.

About Wave Rock of Hyden…

It consists of 2.63 billion year old Biotite K feldspar.

Wave Rock of Hyden is a perfect example of ‘Flared Slope’,
Wave rock of Hyden has become a tourist spot with over 140,000 visitors per year.

What is Flared slope?

Flared slopes like Wave Rock are particularly well developed in granitic landforms of south-western and southern Australia.

Do you know where our own US rock formation called The Wave is located?

New Zealand Facts of the Day!

Split Apple Rock of The Tasman Bay!

Split Apple Rock is a geological rock formation in The Tasman Bay off the northern coast of the South Island of New Zealand.

Made of granite, it is in the shape of an apple which has been cut in half. It is a popular tourist attraction in the waters of the Tasman Sea approximately 50 metres off the coast between Kaiteriteri and Marahau.

The rock sits in shallow water at low tide and is accessible by wading. It is also a point of interest for the many tourist boats and pleasure craft which operate along the shores of the Abel Tasman National Park.

The cleft to produce two sides of the ‘apple’ was a natural occurrence. It is unknown when this happened and therefore the cleaving of the rock has attracted mythological explanations

A Sammy Review: Dirty Dining by EM Lynley

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5:

“Because who we are when we’re not together doesn’t define who we are when we are together. We don’t have ideas and expectations. We are just ourselves. At least I have been.”

Life as a PhD student is anything but a piece of cake for Jeremy Linden. Research is time consuming, and let’s face it, life in California is expensive. He can’t help but be curious when he’s approached with an offer to serve at a special dinner club. The catch? With each course, you lose an article of clothing… and maybe get something more, depending on the menu that night.

He’s not expecting to meet anyone like Brice Martin, or Mr. Green as he comes to know him. He’s shy and respectful, unlike some of the other gentlemen at the club who use their boys freely and like objects. What starts out as an innocent exchange becomes much more when they move their relationship beyond the club’s walls and into the real world… a world that has a lot of surprises and twists, such as Brice’s company funding PharmaTek, the group that oversees Jeremy’s important research.

His brain might be responding to oxytocin, but his body and heart told Jeremy he was falling in love. It felt wonderful, like flying. Jeremy had never experienced anything quite like this headiness before. But the higher Brice took him, the harder he would crash.

I’d never read anything by Lynley before, but when I read the summary, I just knew I had to take a chance and try it. It sounds erotic and delicious and, boy is it.

There were so many layers to the interaction between Brice and Jeremy. I appreciated how their relationship wasn’t an automatic thing. Their first time together was curious and promising, and grew from there (with bumps, of course). I’ve been reading a lot of stories lately where the love is pretty instant, and it’s not been working in my favor, but this wasn’t that at all.

There were also a great line of side characters who really had some strong and memorable personalities, such as Kit, a fellow worker at the club who is as flamboyant as he is sexual.

And speaking of which, the sex – it was incredibly, ridiculously steamy. The chemistry (pun semi-intended) was off the wall with Brice and Jeremy.

This isn’t a terribly hard read, and it was easy enough to devour in one day, and I can really say that I thoroughly enjoyed it, and certainly wouldn’t mind more stories surrounding the Dining Club. I have a feeling I’d devour them just as fast.

My only quibble with the whole thing? I wanted more. Greedy, yes, but this left me wanting another page, another chapter even, in the best way possible. Satisfied, but still wanting another bite.

The cover art by Paul Richmond is certainly sexy, and I do appreciate the simplicity of it. Where it goes wrong for me is in the choice of text. The font for Dirty is fine, but the bulky, ugly choice for Dining made me a bit unhappy. A nice cover, but it needed a bit more thought put into the font/typography.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press All Romance (ARe) Amazon Buy It here

Book Details:

ebook, 230 pages
Expected publication: January 19th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press
original titleDirty Dining
ISBN139781632166265
edition languageEnglish
settingSan Francisco, CA
Berkeley, California (United States)

Down Under Showcase Author: Cecil Wilde

Meet Cecil Wilde!

Cecil Wilde is the author of No Straight Boys, The Wish Auger and other listed below.

To get to know Cecil Wilde a little better, the author agreed to an interview. Look for the interview below and the Down Under Scavenger Hunt word found somewhere within.

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍

Cecil Wilde resides in Australia, accompanied by a cat who takes up most of the bed, a family of possums in the roof space, and more spiders than they’re entirely comfortable with. They write altogether cuter queer romance than their image as a grumpy cynic might suggest.

Website: http://www.cecilwilde.com
Blog: http://www.cecilwilde.com
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/queerlyobscure
Tumblr: http://www.queerlyobscure.tumblr.com/
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/CecilWildeAuthor
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/Cecil_Wilde

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Out now:

No Straight Boys (Liquid Silver Books):

Blurb: Not dating straight boys is a pretty good strategy for long-term relationships if you’re a gay man, but what happens when one particular straight boy turns out to be the man of your dreams?

Cute, funny, and sometimes borderline philosophical, No Straight Boys is about what happens when perfection isn’t what you think it is, and love is best found via late-night text message.

The Wish Augur (Less Than Three Press)

[this is not actually out RIGHT now but it will be by January]:

Blurb: Gabriel Juarez has only one wish for Christmas, uttered moments before midnight on Christmas Eve: a hug. He wakes up the next morning to find his wish being haphazardly granted in the form of an insecure elf called Felix, who works as a wish augur and couldn’t bring himself to let Gabe’s wish go unfulfilled.

First Guy Kiss from Missed Connections Anthology from Less Than Three Press

Blurb: A fleeting glance across a crowded space. Trains passing by in the night. Paths that once split unexpectedly cross again. Old friends reunited. Sometimes rediscovering a person and having new feelings can be just as intense as an initial spark. Less Than Three Press presents an anthology of stories about people who get a second chance to connect…

Genre(s):

No Straight Boys, First Guy Kiss and Defying Convention are contemporary

The Wish Augur is fantasy with a contemporary setting (and an elf!)

Perfect Match is contemporary BDSM

Tea and Werewolves (Torquere Books):

Blurb: As soon as Connor walks into Sev’s tea shop, Sev knows there’s something different about him. It could be his charming smile, his obvious intelligence, or the way he howls at the moon when it’s full. Either way, sparks start flying straight away.

Sev and Connor both know there’s more to their relationship than simple mutual attraction, and the question of taking the next step is foremost in their minds even as they tumble into bed together for the first time. Will they work things out, or will the suddenness of it all get the better of them?

Coming Soon:

Defying Convention (Less Than Three Press) [28th January]:

Blurb: Danny and AJ have been online friends for years, and secretly in love with each other. When the opportunity to attend a comics convention comes up, they decide to go and share a room. But friendship online does not always translate to friendship offline, and both are anxious about how the meeting will go, and the friendship change, when faced with challenges easily avoided behind the safety of computer screens…

Perfect Match – Playmates #1 (Liquid Silver Books) [23rd February]

Genre(s):

No Straight Boys and Defying Convention are contemporary
The Wish Augur is fantasy with a contemporary setting (and an elf!)
Perfect Match is contemporary BDSM

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Contests and Giveaways:

1. Today’s Giveaway (thank you, Cecil Wilde) is an eBook copy the reader’s choice of Cecil Wilde’s backlist. Enter using this Rafflecopter link here. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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2. Down Under Scavenger Hunt – find the Hunt “word or phrase” in bold green . Collect all the words from each author and submit the list in writing no later than midnight on February 1st. Make sure you include an email address where you can be reached. Prizes will be given to 5 people selected, from 1st place to 5th! Happy Hunting.

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Q When did you start writing?

Other than the usual writing for school–which I enjoyed, but never really did more of than I had to–I started writing for something other than grades when I discovered fandom, in my last few years of high school. After that it was sort of a slippery slope which I did describe recently to a friend as my accidental descent into a writing career.

Q. Were you a reader as a child?

Yep! To the point where school librarians would encourage me to go outside for once. As a kid, I never met a book I didn’t want to read. I’ve always been enchanted by stories of all kinds.

Q. Title or characters or plot? Which comes first?

Characters. Almost without fail, characters come first. The ones who are most compelling or whose circumstances as they occur to me have the best potential for a decent plot tend to be the ones who get written into books. Titles are lucky to come at all. I’m terrible at titles.

Q. Do you have a favorite character that you have written?

Don’t get me wrong, I genuinely love all my characters (even the seemingly unpleasant ones), but right now I have to say that AJ, of Defying Convention, is my favourite. They’re a quiet kind of person, but warm and full of sunshine and giggles and pink hair. Danny, the other MC in that book, is about as in love with them as I am.

Q. My first impression of AUS/NZ was from stories and novels like Colleen McCullough’s The Thorn Birds or Nevil Shute’s A Town Like Alice as well as from movies like The Man from Snowy River, The Dish, Rabbit Proof Fence, Strictly Ballroom, and yes, Crocodile Dundee! There are so many out there. What is your favorite AUS/NZ stories and favorite Australian/New Zealand movies?

I love Crocodile Dundee! It was a favourite of mine as a kid (call that a knife? This is a knife!) I don’t think I could talk about great Australian tales without mentioning Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Muriel’s Wedding, or The Castle. Films like The Wog Boy are great for illustrating stuff about Australian culture that doesn’t really get talked about outside of Oz, and indie stuff like Better Than Sex can actually be really great (if you can lay hands on a copy of that I highly recommend it as an alternative romance).

In terms of books, I don’t think you can go past Paul Jennings’s entire body of work, which is bizarre and wonderful and what Australian literature looks like to me. Also worth a read (though feel free to skip the film) is The Monkey’s Mask, which is a mystery novel in verse that takes place in the Blue Mountains and surrounds, and has lesbians (which, obviously, is a huge draw). Speaking of verse, Judith Wright is a wonderful poet, and her narrative poems about Australia truly capture the spirit of the land as I know it. The rest of her work is also powerful stuff (I will never get Double Image out of my head).

If you want something more lighthearted that really captures the spirit of small town Australia, Seachange is a great soap opera-style drama. As an added bonus, you might even get to see David Wenham in his budgie smugglers!

I could talk about Australian literature and film all day, but I’ll stop there.

Q. What’s your favorite spot to visit in your own country? And what makes it so special to you?

I’ll never get tired of going into Melbourne. I don’t live far away–about an hour by train–but it really is a phenomenal city. As they say in the song, I’ve been to cities that never close down, and they’re lovely, but nothing’s ever compared to Melbourne for me. Not London, not Singapore, not Los Angeles, not even Belfast, which I think of as my other home. Melbourne’s beautiful. I discover something new every time I make the trip in. I could write an entire book on everything I love about Melbourne. (And if anyone wants to experience that, I fully recommend Long Macchiatos and Monsters, by Alison Evans, as a beautiful love song to Melbourne with a gorgeous romance to boot).

Down Under Day 28: Welcome, Cecil Wilde, and AUS/NZ Facts of the Day!

Down Under Author Showcase Day 28

Welcome, Cecil Wilde!

Our Down Under Author Showcase is almost over, but not our discoveries of wonderful new authors (at least to this review group). Cecil Wilde is our featured author today and our review of Defying Convention follows Cecil’s author page. It’s one of our highly recommended reads so be sure to make its acquaintance today, along with Cecil’s other stories and novels. As always, don’t forget to enter Cecil’s giveaway and locate the Scavenger Hunt word of the day!

Australia Fact of the Day!

Since Cecil makes a mention of spiders (hmm, where does that happen?), let’s take a closer look at one common spider in Australia!

There are 1500 species of Australian spiders and the average person swallows three spiders a year. The most infamous spiders mentioned in Australian literature, including a few of the stories by our Down Under Authors (can you name which ones?) are: Redback Spider, and Sydney Funnel-web Spider.

Redback Spiders (Latrodectus hasselti) are very common in Australia. They are even kind of popular: one Australian beer is named after them.

Redbacks can be found everywhere in Australia, especially in the densely populated urban areas. They thrive in the warmer regions. Look for them on verandas, in sheds, in storage yards, on industrial sites and inside houses. They also hide in hollow logs, wood or junk piles etc.

Small insects make up the bulk diet of Redback Spiders, but they sometimes kill and eat much bigger prey, even small lizards if they get tangled up in the sticky web. They also steal wrapped up food items from each other’s webs if they can.

How dangerous is the Redback Spider?

Redbacks are responsible for the vast majority of serious spider bites in Australia. However, they are not considered dangerous. Only the bite of a female Redback Spider is toxic (the males are too small to bite anyway).

To get bitten you have to actually stick your hand into the web of a spider, they rarely leave their nest. The fangs of the Redback Spider are tiny. Even if you do manage to get bitten the bite is likely ineffective. In addition the Redback Spider venom is a very slow acting toxin, and most people don’t show any reaction to it (except it itches like crazy).

Possible symptoms in those who do react are pain (can become severe), localised sweating at the bite site, and later on more sweating, muscle weakness, nausea and vomiting. A simple ice pack is the best first aid. In most cases it’s all that’s required as very few people actually develop these symptoms (about 6% of those bitten, to be precise).

Honest, if you go and see a doctor here and tell them a Redback spider bit you, they’ll probably just tell you to go home and put ice on it. The Redback Spider is related to the venomous Black Widow Spider commonly found here in the US and looks very similar.

The only difference is the red back, or rather the very distinctive red dorsal stripe (instead of the hour glass) that you can see in the picture.

Cultural Impact outside of Arachnophobia? Per Wikipedia (I know, I know) Slim Newton drew popular attention to redbacks with his song “The Redback on the Toilet Seat”, which won the Golden Guitar at the first Country Music Awards of Australia in 1973. A sculpture of an impossibly large redback (I personally like The Big Poo better), one of Australia’s big things, was built in 1996 at Eight Mile Plains, Queensland. The Angels 1991 album Red Back Fever takes its name from the spider. Matilda Bay Brewing Company produces a wheat beer called Redback,with the distinctive red stripe as the logo. The redback appears in the name and emblem of the South Australia cricket team. The Airborne Redback, an Australian ultralight trike, was also named after the spider. Redback Boots is an Australian workboot manufacturing company, which uses the spider in its name and logo

New Zealand Fact of the Day!

Let’s keep going with arachnids and the New Zealand spider Hollywood made famous! That would be the Avondale Spider, ok it’s sort of an immigrant from Australia. The large harmless spider found around the Avondale area of Auckland is an Australian huntsman spider. This spider found its way to New Zealand in the early 1920s, with the first specimen found in 1924. It probably came in imported wood used for railway sleepers. (What the heck is a railway sleeper?) It has not spread very far from Avondale, so it has received the popular name of Avondale Spider. In South Australia this species is quite common, and people encourage them to live in their houses to keep the pest insect population down.

In 1989/90, 374 Avondale spiders were sent to Hollywood to star in the Steven Spielberg movie Arachnophobia. This spider is harmless to humans, but it looks fearsome and therefore suited its movie role as a “killer spider”. The film made use of 374 live Avondale spiders, from New Zealand, which were picked for their large size, unusually social lifestyle, and yes, are essentially harmless to actors, uh humans. They were guided around the set by the use of heat and cold, but the large “general” and “queen” were articulated models. Look it’s Bob (that’s what they called the largest mechanical spider in the movie)!

The first reaction of most people on finding Avondale spiders is usually horror. The spiders move very fast when disturbed (as do people when frightened!). Mature spiders with legs outstretched can measure up to 200 mm across (8”).

The mature males are frequent visitors inside houses in the months January to March when they are looking for a female to mate with. Females are capable of laying up to 200 green eggs in an oval-shaped, white papery-looking egg sac about 25 mm long (1”) by 12 mm wide (1/2”). Females guard their egg sac, and after 4-6 weeks open this up to enable the spiderlings to hatch. They will look after the spiderlings for a few more months until they disperse. Spiderlings will feed communally if the prey is too big for them to manage on their own.

Avondale spiders live in colonies with their extended family and friends; no other spider in New Zealand has this lifestyle.

Focusing In On: Memories of Forgotten Love by Cheryl Headford

Memories of Forgotten Love by Cheryl Headford
Publisher: Featherweight Press

Memories of Forgotten Love…

After waking from a coma, Noah discovers that memories are tricky things and sometimes blissful ignorance isn’t such a bad thing.   Noah wakes from a coma with no memory of who he is. As his memories return they become stranger and more sinister at every turn. He begins to suspect the accident in which he was injured wasn’t an accident at all, and refuses to accept what everyone is saying that he threw himself off his balcony in a suicide attempt. It just doesn’t feel like something he would do. Struggling to come to terms with the shocking story he gradually uncovers, he’s helped by his friends. Yet, his best friend, Luke is acting strangely, leaving Noah to wonder just what exactly he isn’t telling him.

Buy links: Amazon US Amazon UK Featherweight Press

Meet Cheryl Headford

Cheryl was born into a poor mining family in the South Wales Valleys. Until she was 16, the toilet was at the bottom of the garden and the bath hung on the wall. Her refrigerator was a stone slab in the pantry and there was a black lead fireplace in the kitchen. They look lovely in a museum but aren’t so much fun to clean.

Cheryl has always been a storyteller. As a child, she’d make up stories for her nieces, nephews and cousin and they’d explore the imaginary worlds she created, in play.

Later in life, Cheryl became the storyteller for a re-enactment group who travelled widely, giving a taste of life in the Iron Age. As well as having an opportunity to run around hitting people with a sword, she had an opportunity to tell stories of all kinds, sometimes of her own making, to all kinds of people. The criticism was sometimes harsh, especially from the children, but the reward enormous.

It was here she began to appreciate the power of stories and the primal need to hear them. In ancient times, the wandering bard was the only source of news, and the storyteller the heart of the village, keeping the lore and the magic alive. Although much of the magic has been lost, the stories still provide a link to the part of us that still wants to believe that it’s still there, somewhere.

In present times, Cheryl lives in a terraced house in the valleys with her son, dog, hamster and two cats. Her daughter has deserted her for the big city, but they’re still close. She’s never been happier since she was made redundant and is able to devote herself entirely to her twin loves of writing and art

Contact/Follow Chery at:

Blog: http://cherylheadford.blogspot.co.uk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SevenPointStar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Nephylim.author
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7376318.Cheryl_Headford

More About Memories of Forgotten Love…

Excerpt:

I didn’t go back to my room. I went outside into the garden. I needed space. I needed time to think alone. I headed for my favourite place, a wooden bench under a rose arbour near a stone koi pond. I walked along a shady path between clipped hedges and turned the corner into my special place. There was someone there. My first reaction was extreme annoyance. This was MY place and I needed it. How dare someone be here? However, as I drew closer, I recognised the pale hair, brushing the surface of the pool as its owner leaned over to trail his fingers in the water.

Luke clearly didn’t hear me approach as he didn’t stir, and I was able to get right up close without him noticing. This gave me a chance to examine him closely. He was tall, although not quite as tall as me, and slender, although by no means skinny. His hair was too long, almost reaching his shoulders, and fell in unruly waves. He was wearing black jeans and a black shirt. He always wore black, as if trying to magnify the effect of his hair. I smiled. That was Luke, a man of contrasts.

The first time we’d met—well no, not the first time but the first time in this part of my life—I’d been skinnier than him; weak, wasted away. But since then I’d filled out a lot. I worked so very hard and my muscles were toned again. I was strong. I still walked with a pronounced limp and I still had a degree of weakness in my left hand and arm…and I still had to think carefully about what I wanted to say or I stammered and got things confused, but on the whole I was bigger and stronger than he was and he appeared…frail, slumped, dejected, defeated.

I experienced something almost maternal as I stood and looked down at him. He hadn’t been near me for ages. Why was he hiding out here? I felt an almost irresistible urge to touch him, to stroke his hair, to take him in my arms but that, of course, would have been wholly inappropriate. We had become close again, but not that close. He wouldn’t have appreciated it, I was sure of that.

While I was watching him, he sensed my presence and his head jerked up. He didn’t smile in greeting as he usually did, he just stared at me. He had been crying. His eyes went wide and they shone like pale sapphires set in a fine piece of jewellery. He seemed stunned. Of course, I had no way of knowing then what he saw in that moment. I sat down on the low stone wall over which he was leaning to trail a hand in the water. For a moment, my own shock and anger were forgotten.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” He blinked and turned his face away, clearly embarrassed.

“Bollocks.”

We were both silent for a time. I watched Luke and Luke stared fixedly into the water. When had this wall grown up between us? “You haven’t been to see me for ages.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I needed time to think.”

“Think? Think about what?”

“About all the things you want from me—need from me—that I can’t give.”

“That sounds ominous. I don’t want anything from you, only truth and honesty.”

“And those are some of the things I can’t give you.”

“Are you sure?”

“I knew this would happen. That’s why I haven’t come. I couldn’t face you knowing you would be like this. You were always the same. You could never just let things lie.”

“I’m not going to apologise for that.”

“I wouldn’t ask you to. It’s one of the best things about you.”

The awkward silence fell again, and I didn’t know how to break it. I found that I was picking at the stone with a fingernail.

“Luke…what kind of person am I?”

He didn’t look up, just carried on staring at the water, making little circles with his finger.

“What?”

“Let’s face it…you’ve known me longer than I have. What kind of person am I?”

“I don’t know. I know what kind of person you were.”

“Then, what kind of person was I?”

“You were strong, stubborn, opinionated sometimes. You were gentle, and kind, and wise.

You were patient with a clumsy, impulsive, insensitive friend. You were a good man, a great friend, a…You were… amazing.”

“Was I a coward? Was I a quitter? Was I…was I…?”

He glanced up quickly. “No, no, you were never that. Never a coward. You were…you are the bravest person I know.”

“Then why…?” I found it hard to say because I found it so hard to accept, to believe. “Was I the kind of person who would jump off a balcony to kill myself?”

His eyes went wide, such colour as there was draining from his face. He seemed shocked,
scared. He licked his lips and swallowed hard. “How did you…?”

“New shrink. He didn’t know I didn’t know.”
“Oh.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Yeah, right. How was I going to bring up that subject? Oh by the way, Noah, did you know, did you realise that right after we had the worst row we’d ever had, right after I stormed off vowing never to see you again, you jumped out of your window and tried to kill yourself? Strangely enough, the opening never arose.”

Genre: Young Adult, Gay Romance, Mystery
Length: Novella (135 pages)

Contest: The prizes are 2 5$ Amazon Gift Cards, 1 ecopy of Memories of Forgotten Love, and 1 ecopy of A Face in the Window. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.
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A Sammy Review: Black John (Johnnies #4) by Amy Lane

Rating 4.5 stars out of 5

This was sex—it was primal sweaty and glorious. So much of John’s life he’d spent cooped up, dressing like his mom needed him to, being good so his dad didn’t smack him because God forbid the cop’s kid get in trouble. But you weren’t pretty in sex, you just were: you were lightning and thunder and detonations and fireworks. And those things weren’t pretty, but they sure were worth being.

Life has never been all sunshine and rainbows for John Carey. He grew up with an abusive father who became a cop just to be able to exert his force and get away with it. Then he fell in love with someone who didn’t have the capacity to love him back, and it took a huge piece of him. After being disowned by his family and wrecked by his lovers addiction, even a move across the country couldn’t keep his demons at bay. Now, fresh out of rehab, he has to go back to a place he once called home and clean up the mess that his one-time lover made.

There he meets Galen Henderson, the kind of man a recovering addict needs to avoid at all costs. After a horrible accident that took everything from Galen, he’s become dependent on pain medication – medication that’s all too easily accessible for John.

But despite himself, he can’t stay away. But now he’s got something else to consider. Can he clean up a mess, his own heart, and Galen too? Or is that maybe just too much?

Nobody had it all together. John had hated himself for not being enough for Tory, but he’d missed the point. The point was nobody was enough all the time. That was what being partners was about. One person got to spaz the fuck out, and the other person got to hold the other guy’s hand, and then they switched places.

From the beginning of the series, I have loved Johnnies and all the great, dynamic characters Amy Lane brings to the table. I wasn’t expecting to get a story on John, but he was painted in such a way that left Amy with a lot of room to let him grow and blossom. She did that, but not the easy way. First, she let him wither and decay, and then she put him back together, piece by piece.

This story had a personal undertone for me. As someone who has dealt with the addiction of a loved one, and also the ruin left by that addiction, it gave me a different perspective, one that evoked some strong emotions out of me. I struggled so much because John loved Tory so much. He was a saint to John – could do no wrong, but every time I took a step back and looked at exactly what Tory did, I was left angry and sad. You see, addicts aren’t all the same. Some use and self destruct, but others use, self destruct, and then try to pull everyone down with them. The latter was Tory. If he was going down, and he was, he wanted to make sure every person who ever loved him fell right along with him. That made me angry. Seeing what he did to John, even when John couldn’t see it, was just so difficult.

“You weren’t… weren’t… mechanical, I guess is the word, when we were together.”John smiled at him, feeling wise for maybe the first time in forever. “No. It was lovely. And I don’t know. It’s… it’s the difference between painting rain and standing in it, I guess. When you paint it, you’re breaking it down to color, composition, emotional impact. But when you’re standing in it, it’s all about…”

“Dancing in the rain,” Galen said, dropping his voice intimately.

“Yeah. Dancing in the rain.”

So the story really isn’t simply about John falling in love with Galen or vice versa. It’s much more than that. We have that, yes, but we also have a lot of recovery that goes on through the pages. John needs to find himself again, or maybe even for the first time. In a world where he’s become so dependent on drugs to be his crutch, he needs to struggle along without those things.

One problem I had at the beginning was that I didn’t feel the actual love connection between the two. Yes, I felt attraction, but one minute it was recognizing that attraction and the next it was them wanting something real. I felt like I missed an important piece. The rest of the story helped to fill in that gap, but I’m still a bit confused about if I maybe somehow looked over a page or misread a paragraph wherein this progression happened.

Still, I grew to really enjoy their relationship. At times they were so toxic to each other, but then there was something else there too. It was as if they were both clinging onto each other for safety, both trying not to drown. It was anything but the advice you get on a plane – put on your own oxygen mask before helping others. These two had no masks. That was probably part of what made it so appealing, was the very real struggle and the complete unreasonableness of being human. Our choices are often flawed, made without full consideration of all the factors that go into an equation. That is displayed here, over and over again.

They worked hard for their happy ending, and part of me feels that the ending just wasn’t enough. I wanted a bit more – a true epilogue, if you will. I wanted to feel that their hard work had amounted to something more than just one moment.

Black John is a really lovely book, filled with all of our favorite characters and some new ones too. It’s a great addition to the series, but it also left me hoping for additional stories. I’d love to see Brant and Zion’s story, as well as Reg and Bobby’s. So what do you say, Ms. Lane? I’m up for it if you are!

The cover art by Reese Dante is nice and simple. It fits well with the previous covers, forming a cohesive framework for the series. I would say though that it doesn’t really feel special. Yes, the guy in front has red hair, but beyond that, it doesn’t feel unique to the story. The guy in the back, who I’m thinking may be Galen, has no scars – scars that are important to his life story. It’s nice, but not special.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press eBook & Paperback All Romance (ARe) Amazon Buy it here (other links coming)

Book Details:

ebook, 280 pages
Expected publication: January 26th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press
original titleBlack John
ISBN139781632165534
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://www.greenshill.com/
series Johnnies #4

The Johnnies series include:

Super Sock Man (Granby Knitting, #2)
Chase in Shadow (Johnnies, #1)
Dex in Blue (Johnnies, #2)
Ethan in Gold (Johnnies, #3)
Black John (Johnnies, #4)

Down Under Author Barry Lowe

Meet Barry Lowe!

Barry Lowe is the author of so many books (with memorable titles) that we couldn’t list them all. For the full list, see Barry Lowe’s Goodreads page. Among his many titles are gems like these: Homo for the Holidays, Guys and Trolls (Guys and Trolls #1), My Dad’s a Vampire, Love with a Side Order of Pelicans, The Bear’s Guide to Depilatory Wax , and so many more that I want to continue listing them all! To get to know Barry Lowe a little better, we have an interview with Barry at the end. Look for that below and the Down Under Scavenger Hunt word found somewhere within.

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Barry Lowe writes about love and sex so he won’t forget how to do it. When he’s not out doing field research, he’s writing about love’s wonderful variations for a series of smut eBooks, novels and anthologies for Lydian Press. He lives in Sydney with Walter, his partner of 42 years.

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Contact/Follow Barry Lowe at:

Website http://www.barrylowe.info
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/barry.lowe.3591
Goodreads Author Page

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I began writing weekly short stories (around 5000 words for loveyoudivine which were collected into anthologies eventually). Now I write longer stories at a slower pace. Amongst the longer works or collections are The Gravy Train; Butt Boys; Your Boyfriend is Hot; How Much is That Doggie in the Window?; Bear Skin; Rough & Ready; Busting Billy’s Butt; Cock-Eyed Optimists; OMG! Not Another Gay Erotica Anthology?

✍Barry Lowe’s Books (just some, mind you):

How Much is That Doggie In The Window – Lydian Press

How can anyone resist those eyes?

Leon has a way with animals as well as a way to use them to help ease the suffering of those with long-term illness or injury. He’s loved by patients and nurses alike until, that is, he’s asked to drop in on reclusive old codger, Ralph Esseltine, who has a reputation of reducing health workers to tears. Instead of tears, Esseltine goads the placid Leon to anger by kicking the frisky puppy Leon has brought along as therapy. Expecting the worst, Leon submits his resignation only to discover that Esseltine has requested he visit again. What sort of revenge does the old recluse have in mind? And what of Esseltine’s estranged grandson and his obnoxious boyfriend who turn up to count the family silver?

Your Boyfriend Is Hot: Gay Cuckold Erotica – Cleis Press

Is it cheating if it excites your boyfriend?

In this collection of gay cuckold erotica you’ll meet men who are complicit in their own ‘betrayal’ and those to whom it is a wake-up call. Whatever your taste you’ll find a story here, from a man at a college reunion who watches as his boyfriend cuckolds him with the bully from his former frat house; a young toy boy whose sexual favors are part of a takeover bid for his lover’s company, a callous actor who will hawk his virginal ass to his boyfriend’s employer for a chance at the big time, a young man who resorts to tarot in order to experience a threesome, a world famous television chef who enjoys watching his lover put out for fans, and a boyfriend who loves to secretly watch the humiliation of his lover at the hands of his friends and enemies alike.

Your Boyfriend is Hot: Gay Cuckold Erotica includes: From Here to Fraternity, Stripping His Assets, Indecent Exposure, Middle Man for Madame Blavatsky, A Cook’s Tour, and Topping the Pizza Delivery Boy (originally titled Christmas on the Rocks) – all previously published as individual eBooks by loveyoudivine Alterotica. Middle Man for Madame Blavatsky was first published in Middle Men: Gay Erotic Threesomes, edited by Shane Allison.

The Death of Peter Pan – Lydian Press

To fall in love, really in love, would be an awfully big adventure. Renowned Scottish playwright, James Matthew Barrie, lies abed, unable to sleep, dreading the anniversary of one of the most tragic moments of his life. Lulled by the persuasive power of the syringe, he falls into a fitful sleep as the events play out in his mind. It’s Armistice Night in London and Michael Llewelyn Davies, one of Barrie’s adopted sons and one of the models for Peter Pan, celebrates with friends when he runs into the mysterious Rupert Buxton. They meet again in Paris, and later at Barrie’s retreat on the Scottish island of Eilean Shona where the relationship between the two men becomes passionate. Will their love survive the censure of 1920s England, and will it destroy James Barrie’s reputation? Love sometimes has tragic consequences. Based on a true story.

The Bi-Word – Lydian Press

Three tales of men who’ve played both sides of the blanket until they fall in love.

THE GROOM CLOSET
Richard Flanagan receives an invitation to his estranged daughter’s wedding while he still pines for his dead lover. He hopes that when he gets back to his old home town, he can reignite a passion with one of his old college jock mates—if they’re still amenable.

SUMMER AT RAINBOW COVE
Ty Cody is one of the hottest straight studs in town, and no one knows that more than his girlfriend, Tina. She also knows he has a wandering eye. When her father decides that she spend the ten-week summer break with the family in Europe—no boyfriends allowed—she hatches a scheme that will stop Ty from playing around while she’s away. She gets him a job at a gay resort.

LOVE WITH A SIDE ORDER OF PELICANS
Single dad, Travis Black, takes his young daughter, Penny, to see the feeding of the pelicans, where they are befriended by town vet, Spike Donovan. While it’s love at first sight between Penny and the pelicans, it’s Travis who feels a strange attraction to the Pelican Whisperer.

Be sure to check out all of Barry Lowe’s stories and books, especially for the titles which will leave you smiling!

Genre(s): M/M Romance; M/M Menage; Historical, detective, horror, sci-fi, shapeshifter. If there’s a genre I’ll probably plunder it somewhere along the line.

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Contests and Giveaways:

1. Today’s Giveaway (thank you, Barry Lowe) is the winner’s choice of two eBooks from Barry Lowe’s list at Lydian Press. Enter using this Rafflecopter link here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

2. Down Under Scavenger Hunt – find the Hunt “word or phrase” in bold green .

Collect all the words from each author and submit the list in writing no later than midnight on February 1st. Make sure you include an email address where you can be reached. Prizes will be given to 5 people selected, from 1st place to 5th! Happy Hunting.

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Welcome, Barry Lowe…

When did you start writing?

In primary school around age 11. I began a serial about a young masked figure called The Count who solved mysteries. I used to read a chapter a day to my classmates with the teacher’s permission. I can’t remember how long it lasted. In high school, a mate and I produced a myriad roneoed magazines usually devoted to horror stories. It’s no wonder I went into advertising, journalism and magazine production as an adult.

Were you a reader as a child?

Voracious, beginning with Enid Blyton. The Noddy books before moving on the the Secret Seven series and the Faraway Tree series. We were given a free school magazine with fictions stories for comprehension and read-aloud skills in primary school (I loved being called on to read to the class). My grandmother introduced me to pulp westerns, and in high school, my English teacher, Mrs. Patterson, demanded an wide interest in reading material. She was also the school librarian and I remember reading a book of Asian short stories she had on the shelves. Unusual for 1963.

What books as a child has the most impact on you?

Just about anything by Enid Blyton except, surprisingly, the Famous Five books. John Wyndham, especially The Day of the Triffids. Lots of pulp horror and science fiction anthologies. I think TV had a bigger influence back then: Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Thriller with Boris Karloff, The Twilight Zone, One Step Beyond. Oh, and anything where a man took his shirt off. My parents could never understand why, on a Sunday evening when I was doing my homework, I’d rush out to watch the opening credits for Cheyenne and then go straight back to my homework. It was because hunky Clint Walker was shone with his shirt off. Plus Gordon Scott’s Tarzan movies.

Did that impression carry over into adulthood when you started writing?

The early influences have had minimal impact on my work. After I left school I was too busy exploring gay life in the late 1960s/early 1970s to write. When I went back to writing as an adult, it was as a playwright. For twenty years I was a moderately successful stage writer, productions throughout Australia as well as Italy, England and the U.S.

Where do you draw inspiration from?

Anything sets me off. An expression, something on television, a piece of music, a photograph, a memory.

Favorite genres to write in and why?

I don’t have a favorite. I’ll try anything once. What I write is not great literature. I’m a yarnspinner, take it or leave it.

Title or characters or plot? Which comes first?

All the above, plus a photograph, a news report, a magazine article. Just about anything sets my mind going. Sometimes I wish I could switch it off, but that will happen soon enough.

Do you have a favorite character that you have written?

My all-time favorite character creation is Tofu who is a tiny dinosaur who travels with my partner and I all over the world. He’s appeared in one short story, The Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Love on Tofu. I’m also very proud of my play, The Death of Peter Pan, which Lydian Press has published.

Favorite quote (doesn’t matter the source)?

One of the banes of Facebook is the constant barrage of self-help quotes of such staggering banality that if I never hear another quote again, I’ll be grateful. Even Shakespeare gets dragged into the circus with gems such as ‘To Thine own self be true.’ It might have been fresh back when he penned the words but I really don’t need to be bombarded with variations on a theme every day. Curmudgeonly rant over.

Favorite book/story you have read as an adult

There are certain authors whose works I will buy rather than favorite books: Arnaldur Indridason from Iceland (one of my favorite countries in the world, along with Malta where my partner and I hope to be Civil Unioned in 2016); Christopher Fowler’s Bryant and May series; quite a few Romance authors.

Do you have a certain regimen that you follow as a writer?

Yep. I get out of bed.

What inspired you to write your first book?

Compulsion. Since I was a young boy I have had the need, the compulsion, to write. I suspect they’ll have to unglue my fingers from my keyboard when I die.

Do you have a specific writing style?

I’m very good at parody so I can imitate just about anyone’s style but I guess I also have a unique voice but that would be up to my readers to describe.

What’s the hardest part of writing your books?

Rewrites and editing.

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your first book?

There’s nothing distinctive about my first fiction book. In fact, my first published print book was a biography of 1950s blond bombshell, Mamie Van Doren, called Atomic Blonde. In fiction, I’ve written too many to worry. You can always improve on what you first wrote, nothing is ever perfect, so I prefer just to leave it alone and move on. I would correct grammar and spelling mistakes if I could.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor or has the biggest influence on you?

None really, that I can think of.

What book are you reading now?

I’m re-reading E.M. Forster’s Maurice, and a whole pile of m/m romance fiction. Just completed Tim Federle’s wonderful duet of books Better Nate than Ever, and Five, Six, Seven, Nate.

How do you think books written from authors in Australia or New Zealand differ in style, language, and culture?

You could write a thesis on that question. Briefly, it’s the tyranny of distance from the rest of the world, particularly the Western World which influenced us greatly until comparatively recently. Now we’re more Asian focused. For Australians, too, there’s the vastness of the continent with the major centres of population clinging precariously to the coast line. I find Australians tend to be more relaxed than their European and American counterparts. I think it has to do with the weather. Although a certain conservatism and racism is leaching into the local psyche.

What are your current projects? What’s next up for you?

Rewriting the final chapters of my Australian historical novel, The Major and The Miners because it was too rushed when it was first released about five years ago. I need to make it more truthful psychologically. I’m also extending the first m/m romance novella I wrote, The Min Min Lights, another Aussie historical which could certainly stand quite a few extra chapters. Then there’s a Steampunk novel, The Extraordinary Victorian Clockwork Derriere; a fantasy, Guys & Trolls, and lots of shorter romance and menage erotica for Lydian Press.

Many thanks for the opportunity to introduce myself to a new audience, it’s appreciated.

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Meet Ellen Cross!

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Down Under Author Showcase Day 29

Welcome, Ellen Cross

Australia Fact of the Day – The Wave Rock of Hyden!

New Zealand Facts of the Day!

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Meet Cecil Wilde!

Contests and Giveaways:

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Down Under Author Showcase Day 28

Australia Fact of the Day!

New Zealand Fact of the Day!

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Meet Cheryl Headford

More About Memories of Forgotten Love…

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Meet Barry Lowe!

✍Barry Lowe’s Books (just some, mind you):

Contests and Giveaways:

Welcome, Barry Lowe…

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