Category: Book Tours and Contests

Down Under Day 7: Author Michelle Rae, AUS and NZ Facts and Contest Info

 

 

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Today’s Down Under Author is Michelle Rae.  Check out Michelle Rae’s books, bio, and giveaway.  And don’t forget to find the Scavenger Hunt word of the Day.

Have you been to New Zealand or Australia?  We are looking for stories, pictures and memories to post for the rest of this month!

 

 

kiwi and NZ countryDown Under Interesting Facts:AUS flag over country

 

Australia Facts of the Day:

Two facts actually because I couldn’t decide (much like Sydney and Melbourne) which to post:

1.)  Canberra was selected as the capital because Sydney and Melbourne could not stop arguing which city should be the capital of Australia.  

CanberraCanberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of 381,488, it is Australia’s largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory, 280 km south-west of Sydney…

Population: 381,488 (2013)
Area: 314.36 sq miles (814.20 km²)

 

 

2.) Australians refer to English people as Pome (Pomes plural?), which is actually the acronym for Prisoners of Mother England.

 

New Zealand Interesting Fact of the Day:

Where Have All The Sheep Gone?baby sheep

From the early 1980s, when NZ was home to over 70 million sheep, the population has declined to around 31 million (2013 data). This means the oft-quoted statistic, that NZ has 20 sheep for each human, is wrong! Nowadays it’s only about 7 to 1. This decline hasn’t stopped NZ from cornering 50% of all international trade in sheepmeat.

Unlike the human population, the majority of New Zealand’s sheep are based on the South Island, where there are more than 20 sheep for every human! The decline in the number of sheep has been caused by increasing dairy cattle numbers.

Cover Reveal for Jess Buffett “Always Been You” (book tour and Contest)

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Book Name: Always Been You
Book one of a series
Release Date
Goodreads Link
Author Name: Jess Buffett

Author Bio:

Jess Buffett was born and raised in New South Wales, Australia. She is a mum of two, married to her high school sweetheart. 

Jess is a hopeless romantic who is a huge fan of M/M and M/F romance with a happy ending—anything with hunky men in all their glory, whether they be Shifters, Vampires, Cowboys, or the boy next door. 

A caffeine addict who shamefully can’t make a decent cup of coffee to save her life, Jess believes in soul mates, happily ever afters, and in love at first sight, but that sometimes people need a second or a third for the brain to catch up.

Where you can find Jess:

Website:  

Twitter
Facebook Author Page
Friend on Facebook

Publisher: Reckless Lovers PressAlwaysBeenYouSM
Cover Artist: Jess Buffett

Sales Links: Keep an eye on her website – http://jessbuffett.wordpress.com for details

Blurb:

After recovering from a shooting that took the lives of his best friends, Seth Hall returns to his hometown for the first time in eleven years with his two children in tow. Intent on setting up a happy, stable life for them, he vows not to allow his past to intervene with their future. That is until Jared, the boy who had broken his heart all those years ago, returns to his life a full grown man who knows exactly what he wants…Seth.

Jared Stewart thought he had lost his only chance to be with Seth after a series of misunderstandings and mistakes. When Seth finally comes home and back into Jared’s life, Jared vows to do anything it takes to keep him there. However, while Jared and Seth grow closer, they discover that not everyone is so happy for them.

Will they be finally able to make a life for themselves together? Or will they be torn apart again, by people they thought they could trust?

Categories: Contemporary, M/M Romance

Excerpt:

Seth was practically screaming in the other man’s face by this point. He couldn’t believe the guys nerve. Out the corner of his eye Sal made an appearance, but hesitated in the doorway, obviously unsure as to whether or not he should interrupt.

Lightning fast, Jared grabbed his wrist, using it to pull a struggling Seth closer until they were flat up against each other. He leaned in close to Seth, whispering into his ear. “Let’s get a few things straight. I have never felt sorry for you. I did not choose a school far away from you until you told me to. Everything we discussed stayed between us, and I would never have freaked over kissing you. And I’ll be damned if I let you run away from me again.”

Seth’s eyes widened at the same time Jared crushed their lips together, searing him right down to his toes. Jared’s arms became steel bands, and they held him tight. Dear god! He did not see this coming.

Pages or Words: 60,000 words


Tour Dates: January 7th, 2015

Tour Stops: Parker Williams, The Hat Party, Molly Lolly, BFD Book Blog, Inked Rainbow Reads, Bayou Book Junkie, Hearts on Fire, Carly’s Book Reviews, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Cate Ashwood, Love Bytes, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Kristy’s Brain Food, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Sinfully Sexy, Iyana Jenna, Elin Gregory, Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings, MM Good Book Reviews, Andrew Q. Gordon, Velvet Panic, 3 Chicks After Dark

Wake Up Your Wild Side, Lee Brazil, Queer Town Abbey, Foxylutely Book Reviews

Contest: Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of ‘Always Been You’ and a $10 Gift Card

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On Tour with L.M. Somerton’s Investigating Love Series (book tour and contest)

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Book Name: Investigating Love (series)
Individual titles are: Rasputin’s Kiss, Evil’s Embrace, Tarot’s Touch
Author Name: L M Somerton

Author Bio:

L M lives in a small village in the English countryside, surrounded by rolling hills, cows and sheep. She started writing to fill time between jobs and is now firmly and unashamedly addicted.

She loves the English weather, especially the rain, and adores a thunderstorm. She loves good food, warm company and a crackling fire. She’s fascinated by the psychology of relationships, especially between men, and her stories contain some subtle (and not so subtle) leanings towards BDSM.

Publisher: Totally Bound
Cover Artist: Emmy Ellis

Sales Links:    Totally Bound            Amazon

 Individual Book Blurbs:

SERIES:

Being thrown together in extreme circumstances is not the best foundation for a relationship. Alex and Conor must juggle the demands of their jobs as police detectives with their personal lives. With Alex as demanding in the bedroom as he is at work, will Conor be able to accept that submission is not weakness. Finding out will be the most important investigation of their lives.

Rasputin’s Kiss:rasputinskiss_800

What if the last thing you felt was the kiss of a knife?

Rasputin’s kiss is lethal. He’s a ghost—killing and disappearing into the night. With few leads and four bodies on his conscience, Detective Inspector Alex Courtney and his team are running on empty and it’s only a matter of time before Rasputin strikes again.

When Alex recruits a young detective to play the part of his boyfriend and provide a tempting target for a killer, he knows he is taking a huge risk. He doesn’t expect Conor Trethuan to be a perfect potential submissive. When their mutual attraction becomes more, Alex has to face the conflict between his possessive instincts and the need to push his young lover into danger.

Investigating their feelings has to come second to investigating the case. There’s no time to decide if what they feel for each other is real. With Rasputin closing in, they may not live to find out.

Evil’s Embrace:evilsembrace_320

Never underestimate the power of obsession.

After the trauma of the Rasputin case, Detective Inspector Alex Courtney and his boyfriend, Detective Constable Conor Trethuan, are in desperate need of a holiday.

The peace and tranquillity of Cornwall can’t eradicate Conor’s nightmares, though, and the unbearable prospect of losing Alex drives him to confess feelings that he isn’t sure are reciprocated. Alex responds in the best way he knows how—by issuing orders and claiming Conor’s body as well as his heart.

Prematurely recalled to work, they are thrown into a dangerous trafficking case focused on a leather bar with a hardcore reputation, Spikes. Conor is sent in undercover, not knowing that he is only a decoy. When Alex learns that the motivation behind his team’s involvement in the case might not be as straightforward as it seems, he realises that his actions might jeopardise not just their relationship, but Conor’s life, too. A shadowy figure from Conor’s past is about to step into the light.

Tarot’s Touch:tarotstouch_800

Can truth be found in the cards?

DI Alex Courtney and his lover, DC Conor Trethuan are under enormous pressure as their team investigates an arson case and a murder.

It soon becomes apparent that the two cases are linked and the race is on to find a vicious killer. A tarot card is left with the first victim and the detectives are left to interpret the clues it provides. When Conor receives a note from the killer making reference to another card, the whole team is shaken. Their worst fears are realized when a second body is discovered, along with another tarot card.

Conor suspects he has been followed, then a hit and run leaves him injured. Alex wants nothing more than to wrap his lover up in cotton wool and protect him from the world. But is Conor the killer’s target or just a pawn in a much more sinister game? As the clues come together it seems that the motive for murder might be revenge.

Exclusive Excerpt:

They walked in companionable silence to a small Italian restaurant just around the corner from the station and sat at a table next to the window. The whole place was a cliché, with red and white checked tablecloths, candles in old Chianti bottles coated with solidified drips of wax and laminated menus that had seen better days. The atmosphere was warm and friendly, though, and the whole place smelt of herbs and spices.

A short, rotund man bustled over and greeted Alex like a long-lost member of his family. After effusive introductions that seemed to include most of the staff and half the customers in the restaurant, fresh bread with aromatic olive oil was left to tide them over while their food was prepared. Alex ordered for both of them, watching Conor as he did. The overt act of dominance made Conor smile wryly. He wondered if Alex had expected him to be annoyed. A brief look of satisfaction crossed Alex’s face and that gave Conor his answer. Conor dipped a piece of warm bread in oil and held it to his mouth, allowing the slick liquid to spread across his lips. He took a bite then slowly ran his tongue over his lower lip, chasing a stray drop of oil. Alex’s eyes widened and a hint of colour bloomed on his cheeks. Conor smiled innocently.

I think I have a wolf in sheep’s clothing here, Alex thought to himself. Well, an enthusiastic pup anyway. He could imagine smearing that oil in all kinds of interesting places. It was a delight to watch Conor eat. He twirled his linguine expertly, complimented the chef politely and smiled shyly at the waitress who couldn’t take her eyes off him. He didn’t encourage her any more, though, and Alex was secretly pleased about that. He bristled at the sight of other people casting flirtatious looks at Conor. Unfortunately that seemed to happen when anyone noticed him. Conor drew admiring glances from every woman in the place, and jealous ones from the men they were with. Alex wanted to growl at them, make it clear that Conor was not available, and maybe put a paper bag over Conor’s head so that everyone would stop lusting after him.
Categories: Contemporary, M/M Romance, BDSM, Mystery, Crime Drama

Excerpt: 

Tour Dates/Stops:

Tour Dates/Stops:
January 2
The Hat Party
BFD Book Blog

January 5
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
Carly’s Book Reviews

January 6
Cathy Brockman Romances
Full Moon Dreaming

January 7
MM Good Book Reviews
Fallen Angel Reviews

January 8
Three Chicks After Dark
Molly Lolly

January 9
Cate Ashwood
Love Bytes

January 12
Parker Williams
Prism Book Alliance

January 13
Velvet Panic
Rebecca Cohen Writes

January 14
Amanda C. Stone
Queer Town Abbey

January 15
Crystal’s Many Reviewers

Contest:  Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: Full set of ‘Investigating Love’ e-books
Use the link below to enter the contest, Must be 18 years of age or older to enter and win.

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Down Under Day 5: N. J. Nielsen, AUS/NZ Fun Facts and Contest Info

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Welcome to Day 5 of STRW Down Under Author Showcase.  Our Featured Author today is N. J. Nielsen, a prolific author of multiple series and stand alone romances.  Make sure you visit her page, check out her bio and books. And don’t forget to enter her giveaway contest and search out the Scavenger Hunt word of the Day.

Australian Fun of the Day:

Uluru (Ayers Rock):
Uluru is one of the largest rocks in the world as well as one of Australia’s best known natural formations is located in Central Australia.  It is also a place of great spiritual signifigance to the aboriginal peoples of Australia and visitors have have to abide by new regulations to protect the site.

ayers rock

 

New Zealand Fact of the Day:

2 National Anthems:New Zealand is one of only three countries that have two official (and of equal standing) national Anthems. The first is God Save the Queen (the English National Anthem) and the other is God Defend New Zealand. The other two countries with two anthems are Denmark and Canada which both have a Royal Anthem and a State anthem

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 Don’t forget to visit our Down Under Author Showcase Page for all the authors participating and their scheduled dates.  And be sure to enter Bottom Drawer Publications contest found there as well.

Down Under Showcase – Day 3 Fun Facts, Contest Details, and author Anne Barwell

 

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Here we are at Day 3 and our Down Under author today is Anne Barwell.

Make sure you visit her page to learn all about her and her books.  Enter her giveaway and don’t forget to hunt for the Scavenger word or phrase somewhere in the post and enter Bottom Drawer Publication’s contest here.

Australia Fun Fact:

Didgeridoo (also known as a didjeridu):man playing didgeridoo
The didjeridu is a musical instrument designed by Aboriginal Australians. It is traditionally made from a branch of hollow tree. A didjeridu is played by blowing into one. Didjeridoo is Australia official musical instrument.

 

 

 

New Zealand Fun Fact:

Hector's DolphinThe Hector’s Dolphin, the world’s smallest marine dolphin, which grows to a maximum length of 1.5 metres, is found nowhere else in the world but in New Zealand waters.

On Tour with Lisa Henry and J.A. Rock and The Two Gentlemen of Altona (Book Tour and Contest)

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Hi! We’re Lisa Henry and J.A. Rock, the authors of THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF ALTONA. We’re touring the web taking about our influences, our processes, anything we can think about actually, and even giving you guys a sneak peak or two! And what would a blog tour be without a contest? Check out the details at the bottom of the post to see what you can win!

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About THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF ALTONA:

Mischief, thou art afoot.

Special Agent Ryan “Mac” McGuinness is having a rough week. Not only is he on a new diet, but he’s also been tasked with keeping Henry Page—the world’s most irritating witness—alive. Which is tough when Mac’s a breath away from killing the Shakespeare-quoting, ethically-challenged, egg-obsessed Henry himself. Unless killing isn’t really what Mac wants to do to him.

Con man Henry Page prefers to keep his distance from the law . . . though he wouldn’t mind getting a little closer to uptight, handsome Agent McGuinness. As the sole witness to a mob hit, Henry’s a valuable asset to the FBI. But he’s got his own agenda, and it doesn’t involve testifying.

When evidence surfaces of a mole in the FBI office, Mac and Henry are forced to go into hiding. Holed up in a fishing cabin, they’re surprised to discover that their feelings run more than skin deep. But as the mob closes in, Henry has to make his escape. And Mac has to decide how far he’s willing to go to keep Henry by his side.

THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF ALTONA is the first in our PLAYING THE FOOL trilogy. Book 2, THE MERCHANT OF DEATH, will be available on February 2. Book 3, TEMPEST, will be released March 9.

You can preorder the series, and check out excerpts, at Riptide.

About Lisa:

Lisa likes to tell stories, mostly with hot guys and happily ever afters.

Lisa lives in tropical North Queensland, Australia. She doesn’t know why, because she hates the heat, but she suspects she’s too lazy to move. She spends half her time slaving away as a government minion, and the other half plotting her escape.

She attended university at sixteen, not because she was a child prodigy or anything, but because of a mix-up between international school systems early in life. She studied History and English, neither of them very thoroughly.

She shares her house a log-suffering partner, too many cats, a dog, a green tree frog that swims in the toilet, and as many possums as can break in every night. This is not how she imagined life as a grown-up.

Connect with Lisa:

Blog: http://www.lisahenryonline.blogspot.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lisahenryonline

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/LisaHenry

About J.A.:

J.A. Rock has worked as a dog groomer, knife seller, haunted house zombie, standardized patient, cashier, census taker, state fair quilt hanger, and, for one less-than-magical evening, a server—and would much rather be writing about those jobs than doing them. A lover of m/m BDSM romance, J.A. lives mostly in West Virginia, and always with a beloved dog, Professor Anne.

Website: http://www.jarockauthor.com
Blog: http://jarockauthor.blogspot.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jarockauthor
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ja.rock.39

Giveaway:

Thanks for following our tour! To celebrate our release, we’re giving away an awesome prize – an ebook copy of a novel of your choice from either of our back catalogs. We’re also giving away a $20 Riptide gift voucher, and the contents of Henry Page’s bag during his arrest in THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF ALTONA: that’s some Shakespeare and a bunch of Henry’s favorite candy!

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post with a way for us to contact you, be it your email, your twitter, or a link to your facebook or goodreads account. Please put your email in the body of the comment, not just in email section of the comment form, because we won’t be able to see it otherwise! On January 9, we’ll draw a winner from all eligible comments! Be sure to follow the whole tour, because the more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win the prize!