A Barb the Zany Old Lady Release Day Review: A Few Good Fish (Fish Out of Water #3) by Amy Lane

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Please tell me this isn’t the last book in this series! Amy Lane had not done an action adventure thriller before this series, but she certainly knocked it out of the ballpark when she matched up a wealthy, handsome, gay, high-powered defense attorney, Ellery Cramer, with the bisexual office PI, Jackson Rivers, who grew up virtually on the streets.

In this third installment, the committed couple planned to take a bit of time to allow Jackson to recover from their last encounter with the powerful rogue soldier, Colonel Lacey, who is apparently selecting certain soldiers to be brainwashed into being killing machines—assassins for hire. Unfortunately, quite by accident, a case falls into Ellery’s lap that is connected, and the two are off on an adventure again in an effort to clear a young nanny’s name in a hit-and-run investigation.

They didn’t know, however, that their every move was being monitored by Lacey and his cohorts through bugs placed in their phones, their vehicles, and in their home—including their bedroom, where the two allow their secrets and their desires free reign. Deciding to get this guy once and for all, they head toward San Diego, his base of operations, after securing their loved ones in safe houses with extra protection.

As unlikely as it might seem, they renew an acquaintance and end up working closely with Ace and Sonny from Racing for the Sun, a story I read quite a long time ago. Now that the author has tied the characters and the circumstances surrounding their meeting and eventual relationship together, I have to go back and read that one again. I need more of those two. And as an aside, I need more of their lodger, Lee Burton, and his new love interest, Ernie (yes—Ernie and Burt!). Both men are instrumental in the plot to get “the bad guys” in this story but their journey to happiness is just beginning so more, more, more, please.

This story has everything I love—super villains, kidnapping, injury, hospital vigils, strong characters, revisits with former MCs, romance, hot sex, supportive family and friends, surprises, explosions, and more. What’s not to like? And by the way, I do believe Lucy-Satan is my new all-time favorite secondary character. That’s Jackson’s pet name for Ellery’s mother. A strong personality, highly intelligent, a force of nature, intuitive, and able to present as a concerned and loving mother one moment and a stubborn attorney and businesswoman in the next. Seriously, it’s really nice to see multiple female characters important to the story who are strong and supportive, instead of nasty and twisted.

There were so many characters in this cast who deserve attention and kudos but not enough space on this page so I’ll just say that this story deserves attention not only for the high caliber of the adventure, but also of the characters—main, secondary, and pets.

Very highly recommended.

Cover Artist: Reese Dante. Love these covers, brands the series with something that at first glance seems whimsical and then perilous with the fish trapped in the water bottle. Perfect.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 290 pages
Expected publication: August 28th 2018 by Dreamspinner Press
Original TitleA Few Good Fish
ISBN139781640808164
Edition LanguageEnglish

Series Fish Out of Water:

A Lucy Release Day Review: Q*pid by Xavier Mayne

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

I had a difficult time trying to decide how to review this because I loved some of it and I didn’t love some of it. Let’s see if I can come up with a coherent explanation. Veera, a very intelligent woman, has come up with a new way of artificial intelligence. She has designed a system, dubbed Archer, that will look past the typical “get to know you questions” of online dating and really look at you to find your perfect match. This means allowing Archer access to everything you do online (a security nightmare no matter what they say and it made my skin crawl) to see what you actually are interested in, not what you say you are. I did have to laugh when we see the chosen people clicking like on puppies and babies and kittens just to make a “cute” presence online known. Tut, tut, boys, Archer is smarter than that.

So we have Fox, the only one of his friends still unattached, who has a standard email rejection letter for women he dates who don’t make the number criteria in the spreadsheet he has, which is the most bizarre thing. “Numbers of attempts to pay the dinner check, and height of heels in inches, and number of visible piercings, and done.” He’s rejected women he likes this way and so is still alone. So the novelty of the Q*Pid trial appeals to him.

Then we have Drew, a quiet, shy, adorable grad student who has an unlikely bestie in Mrs. Schwartzmann but seems to attract the strangest of women. On seeing his coffee table, his last date “As soon as she stepped into my apartment and saw it, she kind of freaked out. She said something about how cheap coffee tables are a product of third-world sweat shops and she leapt on top of it and started stomping on it.” This did not stop him from sleeping with her but relationship wise, it’s a no. Drew also signs up for the Q*Pid trial, hoping to meet someone a little less chaotic.

When the app goes live, it begins pairing people up. Both Fox and Drew are astonished to find out Archer has matched them. Has to be a mistake, neither one has ever been attracted to men before. Veera is nervous but she’s also sort of ticked because Ross, one of the team members, is a total naysayer. He questions why anyone would voluntarily give them access to everything online (I also questioned the same thing) and he is 100% positive this will not only fail but bring lawsuits as well. The day it goes live, he studies his phone, “Just checking to see whether the first violation of privacy suits has been filed yet.”

Secondary characters, Fox’s friend Chad and particularly Mrs Schwartzmann are likeable and loyal. Mrs. Schwartzmann, with her saving food and water for doomsday, made me smile. She is supportive of Drew and he of her, it was a sweet relationship. “Entirely without warning, Drew heard her voice in his head, “I cannot be anything other than what I am.” This is when Drew decides to be completely honest about his profile (and the fact that he watches porn). This actually took a lot of courage because as soon as he decides to watch porn, the laptop camera comes on. Seems kinky. He is matched with someone who seems perfect and it is to Mrs Schwartzmann he admits, “She was exactly what I thought I wanted, and yet she turned out to be not at all what I wanted.” And here we go. I’ll just say, Mrs. Schwartzmann’s response made me want to hug her.

Chad is Fox’s best friend and he’s there for him, trying to make Fox see what is in front of him. I felt bad for Fox at one point, as he is talking about the group that used to go to the diner together and slowly dwindled down to just him as people paired off. “I hate to be the one to break it to you, but we didn’t stop hanging out every night. We stopped hanging out.” Chad, though, is supportive, funny, ridiculous and ridiculously in love with his wife. Both Chad and Mrs Schwartzmann were winners for me.

Back to Fox and Drew. Despite the shock of being paired with a man, they end up meeting and hit it off so well they decide being friends is exactly what they need. They are both lonely, Fox with all his money and Drew with all his academics. They are also both caught being real in front of their laptop cameras, meaning Archer sees. “Why can’t I find the right person and fall in love?” made me want to hug Drew. They are worlds apart financially. Fox lives in a penthouse and drives a BMW, Drew is a grad student. “My people eat ramen twenty-nine times out of thirty.”

We get to see the building of a true friendship with Drew and Fox, as they get to know each other, swim in the river of denial and yet keep coming back to each other for hanging out, cause obviously these are not dates.

I wanted to know what happened with Miyoko, as this was a big thing for Fox and it really wasn’t addressed. I wanted to hug Drew for really putting himself out there more than once, even when Fox was being an idiot. When Fox is so in denial and just keeps looking for that “perfect woman”, Drew is a little broken hearted but he’s open to the fact that what he thought about himself may not be complete. When Fox is matched with his “perfect woman”, a score in the high 90s, (Drew and Fox have a 99.5 compatibility rating), he is appalled to realize that it wasn’t at all what he wanted. He was bored, he was twitchy and he felt like he was sitting with his sister. Luckily, she agreed. Sometimes what we think we want isn’t what we need.

I liked this book immensely. The writing was strong, although there were a few times I had to look up an unfamiliar word. I appreciated that finding out you are not as clear on your sexuality as you always thought you were wasn’t a simple thing to deal with. Did I want to slap Fox with his response to Drew at one point? You bet, I was SO pissed at him. Naked wrestling took care of Fox’s idea that Drew was female. I loved that scene.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a slow burn, sort of “what are we doing” type of story with likeable secondary characters and MC that, especially in the case of Drew, you are really pulling for.

Cover Artist: Adrian Nicholas. Its ok. Obviously a hard concept to get across and this is a cute cover, bright and eye catching.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 310 pages
Expected publication: August 28th 2018 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN139781640802292
Edition LanguageEnglish

Book Blast for The Pearl by Geoffrey Knight (excerpt)

The Pearl

Geoffrey Knight

Gay Romance

Release Date: 01.25.17

ThePearl_cvr

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2ogiFtO

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2P7Nf4u

BLURB

The Top End of Australia—a tropical paradise filled with beauty. Wonder. Danger.

For two young boys growing up in the Northern Territory—half-Aboriginal Jarrah “Jad” Yindi and his best friend Luke Lawson—the remote beaches and aqua waters of the Top End are a playground of adventure. And as two best friends become young men, true love washes over them like the sea upon the sand.

But life is full of challenges and change, and if Jad is to discover who he really is, he must piece together his ancestral past, his dream-filled present and his uncertain future to become the man he was always destined to be.

Through water and fire; through love and loss; through the days of youth to the stories of the world’s oldest living culture, journey across the heart of Australia to discover what’s in the heart of one young man.

The Pearl TEaser 1

EXCERPT

The moon set and the last hour before dawn was the hardest. I could barely see where I was going. More than once my boots slid on a rock and I hit the ground, bruising my side, my back, my thigh.

Slowly the black of night turned to the blue of a new day.

Slowly the stars disappeared and the pink of dawn filled the sky.

And then, with a sigh of relief, I saw the sun break on the far horizon and rise in a wavy ball.

I felt the instant blast of heat.

Then I looked around, and in the light of day I felt so incredibly alone. And so far away from everything I knew and loved.

I was in Arnhem Land.

Vast and roadless.

A sparse landscape of rocks and canyons, scrubby bushland and red sand, most of it untouched by humankind for millions upon millions of years.

And here we were.

Me and Billy Shakespear in our rijis and nothing else.

I squinted into the sun. Billy was still fifty metres ahead of me, his barefoot step certain and unceasing.

My step was more erratic, desperate to keep up. I stumbled on another rock. I felt the bite of the sun on my brown skin which had lightened noticeably from my time in Sydney. My time away from the beaches and waters—my childhood playground—of the tropical north.

“Billy, wait up.” I breathed it at first, unsure of whether or not I really wanted to announce it.

Then my left foot slid forward on a loose rock and I fell backward on my arse so hard it made me grunt in pain.

That’s when I saw what had been sleeping under the rock.

That’s when I screamed out, “Billy!”

Growing up in the Northern Territory, I knew enough about snakes to know an Inland Taipan when I saw one. I’d seen charts. I’d studied it at school. And now I was staring at the world’s deadliest snake as it came swirling angrily through the red sand toward me, heading straight for the clumsy bastard that had tipped over its rock, slithering between my sprawled legs. And me, wearing nothing but that stupid riji to protect me?

“Billy!” I tried to squirm backward, elbowing my way frantically through the sand. The snake was faster than me, relentless in its pursuit. “Billy!!”

The old Aborigine was still fifty metres away when I heard him shout, “Stop! Stay still!”

In the heat of the desert sun, against my natural tendency to run from confrontation—especially one this deadly—I froze.

The second I stopping scrambling, the snake stopped chasing.

Its body was still curled, ready to spring, ready to attack at any second.

And all the while I lay there panting in terror, propped on my elbows, legs spread with the killer snake between my knees, staring at me, its tongue flicking in and out, tasting my fear. Or rather, reading the threat. This much I knew, we learned it in school. Along with the fact that a single bite from an Inland Taipan can kill a hundred adult humans. But hell, when there’s one of them twenty centimetres from your balls, it doesn’t matter what your teachers taught you. You just want that snake gone.

My legs trembled.

That’s when the pearl shell of my riji quivered and picked up the sun.

The rainbow shimmer caught the eyes of the snake.

The Taipan raised its head, not aggressively, but hypnotically.

Its eyes seemed caught in the glint of the pearl shell. Mesmerised.

So much so that it didn’t notice the head of Billy’s spear nudge gently into the sand beneath its curved body.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Geoffrey Knight is the author of more than 30 gay fiction novels, novellas and short stories, ranging in genre from gay adventure, gay romance, gay suspense and gay comedies. He is the recipient of two Rainbow Awards including Best Mystery Winner and Best Overall Gay Fiction Runner-up. His work has been featured in several anthologies including Best Gay Erotica 2013, and he appeared as Guest of Honor at the inaugural Rainbow Con in Florida, 2014.

Geoffrey has worked in advertising, politics and journalism, but nothing is as fun as telling stories. He lives with his partner, their baby daughter, two dogs and two cats in a rambling old house in North Queensland, Australia, where the paint is fraying and life is good.

Amazon Author Page

Twitter

Facebook

Release Blitz and Giveaway for Spark (North Star Trilogy #1) by Posy Roberts

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Length: 91,000 words approx.

Cover Design: Olive Us Designs

North Star Trilogy Pre-Order

Fusion (Book #2) – Amazon US | Amazon UK

Flare (Book #3) – Amazon US | Amazon UK

Blurb

A love story with a seventeen-year intermission.

Hugo Thorson fell in love when he was sixteen. He’s maybe been in love since, but probably not. He’s been too busy directing plays to devote much time to men who can’t accept all of him. No one ever made him feel like his first love did.

Kevin Magnus married a woman and has two children, but the marriage wasn’t happy. In the shadow of divorce, he’s striving to be a better father, but he’s still a work in progress.

When Hugo and Kevin bump into each other at the lake, memories of their last kiss incite a new first kiss. Visions of the life they always wanted are vivid, but so much stands in the way of their dreams. Hugo is out and proud but no one knows Kevin’s bisexual. If Kevin comes out, he risks losing custody of his kids. If he doesn’t walk hand in hand with Hugo, he risks losing the love of his life.

The curtain may never rise on their second act.

June 26 – BooksLaidBareBoys, Mainely Stories, Kimmer’s Erotic Book Banter, June 28 – Cupcakes & Bookshelves, June 30 – Katie’s Book Corner Reviews, Dog-Eared Daydreams, July 2 – Diverse Reader, July 4 – Bayou Book Junkie, MM Good Book Reviews, Xtreme Delusions, July 6 – Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Lillian Francis, Making It Happen, Gay Media Reviews, Mikku-chan

Author Bio

Posy Roberts started reading romance when she was young, sneaking peeks at adult books long before she should’ve. Textbooks eventually replaced the novels, and for years she existed without reading for fun. When she finally picked up a romance two decades later, it was like slipping on a soft hoodie . . . that didn’t quite fit like it used to. She wanted something more.

She wanted to read about men falling in love with each other. She wanted to explore beyond the happily ever after and see characters navigate the unpredictability of life. So Posy sat down at her keyboard to write the books she wanted to read.

Her stories have been USA Today’s Happily Ever After Must-Reads and Rainbow Award finalists. When she’s not writing, she’s spending time with her family and friends and doing anything possible to get out of grocery shopping and cooking.

Follow Posy on BookBub | Subscribe to Posy’s Newsletter | Join Posy’s Reader Group | Website

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Hosted By Signal Boost Promotions

A Lila Audiobook Review: Stand by Your Manny (The Mannies #3) by Amy Lane and Peter B. Brooke (narrator)

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Learning to trust and falling in love.Sammy Lowell has his hands full juggling his music, college, some pesky health problems, and making the uncles who raised him proud. He needs help fulfilling his after-school duties with his siblings. Nobody can be in two places at once—not even Sammy!

An injury puts Cooper Hoskins in a tough spot—if he can’t work, the foster sister he’s raising can’t eat. But years in the foster system have left Cooper short on trust, and opening up to accept help isn’t easy.

Luckily, family intervenes—Cooper needs a job so he can care for Felicity, and Sammy needs someone who can see past his illness to the wonderful things he has planned for his life. Each heals the damaged places in the other’s heart. But falling in love is a big responsibility for young men deep in family already. Can the two of them get past their fear of the immediate future to see forever with each other?

Stand by Your Manny brings another chapter to a series that stands aside from others due to the timespan between installments. It is necessary to read, at least, book one in this series to have a better understanding of the characters. It’s refreshing to see a young character turn into an intelligent young man between stories.

This is a story of discovering, not only of love but of what a family constitutes. Due to Cooper’s and Sammy’s age, it’s easy to think about this book as a YA story. We get to see how hard they worked to accept help without losing their independence. They become a team without realizing it, and shortly after, start a relationship based on honesty and innocence.

I enjoyed the UST in the story. It turns into part of the characters and their slow discoveries. The enjoyment of their new found relationship and their love for their families it’s an integral part of their path. We get to experience a range of emotions that felt real, not only for the characters but for the readers.

Getting to see the previous couples is an added bonus. They played a special part on Sammy’s and Cooper’s relationship and it’s exciting to see how much they have grown and learned about each other. I really love how Channing and Tino dealt with a growing Sammy. It was adorkable.

It was disappointing that John Solo was not the narrator of this story. He did an excellent job bringing the previous two books together. In this volume, we get Peter B. Brooke as the narrator. He adds that young tone to Sammy and Cooper without jeopardizing the previous characters we love.

The cover by Bree Archer follows the pattern of the series as well as the collection, giving us a peak of Sammy and his music room.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner | iTunes | Audible

Audiobook Details:

Narrator: Peter B. Brooke
Length: 6 hours 01 minutes
Published: July 17, 2018 (Audio Edition) by Dreamspinner Press
ASIN: B07FMF4BG4
Edition Language: English

Series: The Mannies
Book #1: The Virgin Manny
Book #2: Manny Get Your Guy
Book #3: Stand by your Manny

Series Review Tour and Giveaway for Shadow Unit Series by Jamie Lynn Miller

Shadow Unit Series

Book #1 – Broken Soldier Amazon US | Amazon UK

Book #2 – Rogue Solder Amazon US | Amazon UK

Book #3 – Hunted Soldier Amazon US | Amazon UK

Book #4 – Dying Soldier Payhip

Series Blurb

Meet Sergeant Connor Finley and Sergeant Shawn Weller – elite covert ops soldiers with Shadow Unit – a joint UK/US anti-terrorism task force.

Connor and Shawn’s harrowing missions take them across the globe from London to Kuala Lumpur to India to Pakistan to Bangladesh and Sierra Leone. Fighting to stem the flow of ever-increasing terror attacks and to protect innocent civilian lives, they battle arms dealers, drug smugglers, biological weapon threats, and a madman hell-bent on revenge, facing death at every turn. Their private lives are fraught with struggles as well, both Connor and Shawn battling personal demons from their past that threaten their future.

Amidst a backdrop of guns, bloodshed and violence, Connor and Shawn’s love and dedication for one another never wavers, standing resolutely side by side, drawing strength from each other to continue their never-ending fight.

August 27 – Making It Happen, Jim’s Reading Room, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, August 29 – MM Good Book Reviews, September 5 – Drops Of Ink, Amy’s MM Romance Reviews, Mirrigold: Mutterings & Musings, Book Review By Virginia Lee, We Three Queens

Author Bio

Jamie Lynn Miller has been writing fiction since childhood and decided to take the plunge and go pro in 2008, finding to her amazement that people truly enjoyed her love stories. She’s a romantic at heart, and her tales reflect the desire we all have to find “the one,” persevering through trials and heartache for that happy ending.

Jamie has a degree in fine arts and has spent the last twenty years working as a graphic designer, though she’d much rather be writing. She was born in Chicago and still lives there today with her husband and their two furry, four-footed children, er… cats.

If she’s not brainstorming story ideas, you can find Jamie at a sci-fi convention, in front of a furnace doing glass blowing, or on a mat twisted into a yoga pose.

Email: jamielynnmiller@live.com
Blog: http://www.jamielynnm.wordpress.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jamielynn.miller.3

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Hosted By Signal Boost Promotions

Release Blitz and Giveaway – Burning Fall (Hot Seasons #1) by EJ Smyth

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Length: 31,443 words.

Cover: EJ Smyth

Blurb

Opposites attract, but can they ever work together?

Damien is an ambitious young lawyer. After moving to Germany, he doesn’t expect to feel quite so out of his element. Apart from hating his job, a rumor spreads that he is a homophobe.

To redeem himself, he is put in charge of the firm’s signature event Burning Fall. He has no choice but to hire Yannik, a gorgeous yet unconventional event manager.

But from their first disastrous meeting, everything possible goes wrong.

Can the two men find a way to work together, or will Damien’s career, Yannik’s future, and the most important client event of the year go down in flames?

Find out in this steamy and fun short novel, the first book in Frankfurt Hot Seasons.

Author Bio

Hi there! My name is EJ Smyth, I live in Frankfurt, Germany and I’m passionate about romance. Not luffy-duffy romance, but stories with other elements mixed in. Paranormal romance, romantic thrillers, gay romance, if it’s got two difficult characters finding each other, I’m on board!

I write at my living room table, usually covered with folded laundry because I couldn’t be bothered to tidy before sitting down. And my kids are teenagers, so not much help there either <eye roll>. I do love having them around and I’ve gotten used to writing with a background noise of Grand Theft Auto and teenage histrionics. Maybe that’s why I prefer writing action scenes over descriptive settings! Except for the 18+ scenes which I have to write in a separate room, because, well, embarrassing…

I’m currently working on a series of short stories Keith is Awesome about a young man exploring his sexuality. Not something I’ve ever written before but the research alone was quite a bit of fun Check out my Pinterest account to see my inspiration. I love to talk to my readers, online and offline, so please feel free to drop me a line!

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Hosted By Signal Boost Promotions

What Does the School Year Bring for LGBTQIA Youth? The Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Another End of the Month Approaches!

What Possibilities Does the School Year Bring for LGBTQIA Youth

I see the end of August approaching and the first of September arriving on Saturday and usually it heralds the start of the change over. The beach season is ending in a last huge Labor Day weekend bonanza flood of cars across the bridge here. I’ve heard the geese flocks honking at night as they start to group together in enormous masses in the marshes near the Bay prior to migration. And the Virginia Creeper is just starting to show a tinge of color on the turn.

For children and teachers? It’s the beginning of the school year for many with all that entails. New possibilities, new starts, new friends, and unfortunately, far too often if you are a LGBTQIA youth, uncertainty, rejection, and fear. Sometimes, it’s all about the community, the school, the support, and even the family the children find that surrounds them.

I just read a story in the news yesterday about a young child and their family out west moving for yet another time because the trans elementary school child’s experience became a nightmare. Not only from the kids but especially from the other school parents who called that child a monster and worse. Who does that to a child? Who cuts that deep? Lucky for this one they had the incredible support of a family willing to pick up and keep moving to find the right environment for their family and kid. How many don’t? The odds are not in their favor.

I think of all the books that I’ve read where the characters have been maimed by their backgrounds, their childhoods, and then I think about these news stories and how much they mesh. Those novels cut to the heart but these media stories? Especially the ones that end so very horrifically? Well, those are the wounds that somehow never really heal once you’ve read or heard about them. As they shouldn’t. That’s why we have an Ali Forney Shelter , A Matthew Shepard Foundation,

and of course The Trevor Project for suicide prevention.

How it makes me want to cry knowing how badly the last is still needed. All of them are so in need in this political climate. So going into the start of school, here are some other links LGBTQIA school kids and their families might need…just in case you know anyone who would benefit or wish to donate…or anything….

**National Organizations*:**

Family Acceptance Project

PLFAG

Family Equality Council

Lyric.org

Covenant House

True Colors Fund

No H8 Campaign

Stand Up for Kids

National Safe Place

Organizations by State:

Lost-n-Found Youth – Atlanta, GA

Free2Be – Alabama

Stand Up For Kids –Atlanta, GA

Chris Kids –Atlanta, GA

Just Us – Atlanta, GA

Safe Schools Coalition – GA

Triad House – NJ

Essex County RAIN Foundation – NJ

Life Ties – Ewing, NJ

The Q Spot – Ocean Grove, NJ

Time Out Youth Center – Charlotte NC

The Ali Forney Center – NYC

Reciprocity Foundation – NYC

Hetrick Martin Institute – NYC

New Alternatives – NYC

Peter Cicchino Youth Project – NYC

Gay & Lesbian Youth Services of Western NY – Buffalo, NY

Pride for Youth – Long Island, NY

ALSO Out Youth Sarasota, FL

Zebra Youth, Orlando, FL

JASMYN, Jacksonville, FL

Pridelines – South Florida

Rainbows End – Spectrum San Anselmo, CA

Hillcrest Youth Center – San
Diego, CA

Hatch Youth – Houston, TX

Out Youth – Dallas, TX

Youth First Texas – Dallas, TX

Fiesta Youth – San Antonio, TX

Thrive – San Antonio, TX

Out Youth – Austin, TX

Ruth Ellis Center – Detroit, MI

Ozone House – Ann Arbor, MI

Pathfinders – Milwaukee, WI

SMYAL – Washington DC

Safe Spaces – Washington DC

The DC Center – Washington, DC

Time OUT Youth – Charlotte, NC

Home O’ Hope – Denver, CO

BAGLY– Boston, MA

The Waltham House – Boston, MA

Camp Lightbulb – Provincetown, MA

WAGLY – Wellesley Hills, MA

Lifeworks – Los Angeles, CA

Joshua House – Inland Empire, CA

Youth Care – Seattle, WA

The Q Center – Bremerton, WA

The YEAH! program – Berkley, CA

Castro Youth Housing Initiative, San Francisco, CA

The Billy DeFrank Center, San Jose, CA

Avenues for Youth – Minneapolis, MN

Attic Youth Center – Philadelphia, PA

LGBT Homeless – Chicago, IL

Project Fierce – Chicago, IL

Center on Halsted – Chicago, IL

Lucie’s PLace – Little Rock, AR

So no, this wasn’t where I thought this Sunday’s post was heading, but one, than two, than three news threads on my iPhone this week combined with the backgrounds of some main characters of some of the stories I was reading and the sights of school buses practicing their runs…and a post was born.

We will talk more about what a literary month September is next week. Until then, have a great week, read many books, and see if you can catch a rainbow or two. And maybe push a wish of hope and good wishes to all those LGBTQIA youth heading back to school this coming week.

This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Sunday, August 26:

Another End of the Month Approaches!
This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
Release Blitz G.R. Lyons’ Heavens Aground
Promo Post – Drifting Sands (The Warfield Mysteries #1) – CJ Baty
An Alisa Review: Down to Earth (Directions #2) by Jena Wade

Monday, August 27:

Release Blitz Ruby Moone – Promises
Release Blitz – EJ Smyth – Burning Fall
Series Review Tour Shadow Unit Series – Jamie Lynn Miller
An Alisa Review: Hybrid Reset (A Darker Hollow #3) by Shannon West and TS McKinney
A Free Dreamer Review: Incubus Honeymoon by August Li
A VVivacious Review: For a Glance (The Serpent’s Throne Trilogy, #1) by Dan Ackerman
A Lila Audiobook Review: Stand by Your Manny (The Mannies #3) by Amy Lane and Peter B. Brooke (narrator)

Tuesday, August 28:

DSP Promo Wells/Williams
Release Blitz – Spark by Posy Roberts
The Pearl by Geoffrey Knight – Book Blast
An Ali Release Day Review: The Englor Affair (The Sci-Regency Series #2) by J.L. Langley
A Stella Release Day Review: No Way Out by Julie Lynn Hayes
A Lucy Release Day Review: Q*pid by Xavier Mayne
A Barb the Zany Old Lady Release Day Review: A Few Good Fish (Fish Out of Water #3) by Amy Lane

Wednesday, August 29:

Release Blitz – For You I Fall (Angels and Misfits #1) by T.N. Nova and Colette Davison
Release Blitz Out in the Deep by Lane Hayes
Release Blitz – Top & Tails – Clare London
DSP Promo JL Merrow
A MelanieM Review: Irresistible by Andrew J Peters
An Ali Review: Gray’s Shadow (Kings of Hell MC #4) by K.A. Merikan
An Alisa Review: Back to You (Directions #3) by Jena Wade

Thursday, August 30:

Promo Amy Lane
DSP Publications Promo Don Travis on The Lovely Pines
Release Blitz – RJ Scott – Second Chance Ranch
An Alisa Review: Meik & Sebastian – Obsessed 2 by Quin Perin
A Lucy Review: Boyfriend Or Bust by Claire Castle
A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review:Something About Us (Saint and Lucky #2) by Riley Hart
A VVivacious Audiobook Review: Robby Riverton: Mail Order Bride by Eli Easton and Matthew Shaw (Narrator)

Friday, August 31:

Blog Tour (Interview) He is Mine by Mel Gough
Book Blitz – Indra Vaughn – Patchwork Paradise
DSP Promo Julie Lynn Hayes on No Way
A MelanieM Release Day Review: Denying Fate (A Series of Fates) by C.C. Dado
A Free Dreamer Review: Dawn (Expedition 63 #3) by T.A. Creech
A Barb the Zany Old Lady Audiobook Review: Patience (Forbes Mates #2) by Grace R. Duncan and Chistopher Boucher (Narrator)

Saturday, September 1:

Release Blitz – Summit by Louise Lyons
Release Blitz – Safe Place – Jay Northcote
A Stella Review: Patchwork Paradise by Indra Vaughn
A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Out in the Deep (Out in College #1) by Lane Hayes

*Thank you, author Brandon Shire for providing this terrific list. Find more information on the link provided.

An Alisa Review: Down to Earth (Directions #2) by Jena Wade

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Everett Surlin longed for the day that his Fated mate finally recognized him. It’d been eight years since he’d first met Matt Jenkins, he’d never imagined it take this long for his mate to realize their connection.

Matt Jenkins had done his best to put his past behind him. The abuse he’d endured as a child stayed locked away inside him, never to be shared with anyone. He’d assumed that as a result of his upbringing, he was broken and he would never have a mate. That didn’t stop him from desiring Everett and wishing that they could be together.

When tragedy strikes, Matt stays at Everett’s side, which just might be the push he needs to discover what had been there all along and a future he never dreamed would be possible.

I enjoyed seeing Matt and Everett build their relationship. Everett has tried to give Matt the space to hopefully realize what they are to each other but with every passing day it gets harder and harder. While Everett helps Matt when he is put out of his home, Matt helps him when he loses someone important.

There was a chunk of the book where these two were not together and were pretty much distant “friends” since Everett is so gruff but I could see how he was trying to protect himself if Matt never realized who they were to each other. Truthfully, I don’t think Matt even realized it until he claimed Everett and then there was explaining to do but they quickly meld their lives together. I thought this story had bit more depth than the last in the series and they had multiple conflicts to resolve they did it together.

The cover art by Silver Heart Design Studio is nice and follows the style from the previous book

Sales Links: Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 127 pages

Published: June 23, 2018

Edition Language: English

Series: Directions #2

Release Tour – Drifting Sands (The Warfield Mysteries #1) by CJ Baty

Amazon US | Amazon UK
Available for the first time in Kindle Unlimited

Length: 211 Pages

Blurb

As he approaches his fortieth birthday, Justin Warfield feels alone, drifting like the sand that blows along the beach near his family’s hotel. He has done exactly as his father wanted. Married the right girl and carried on the family tradition of running the Warfield Hotel. On paper things seem perfect, but happiness hasn’t been a part of his life for a very long time.

Marcus Drummond once spent a summer with his best friend Peter at the Warfield Hotel and fell hard for Peter’s much older brother. Five years later he’s back, and this time he hopes that Justin will see him as more than his kid brother’s friend.

Sparks fly when the two meet again, but there are a few things standing in their way. The closet that Justin has himself buried in and someone on a killing spree, dumping bodies on the Warfield beach . . . victims that indicate Justin may be involved in some way.

Author Bio

C. J. Baty lives in southwest Ohio. Her heart, however, lives in the mountains of Tennessee where she hopes to retire some day. The mountains have always provided her with inspiration and a soothing balm to the stresses of everyday life.

The dream of writing her own stories started in high school but was left on the back burner of life until her son introduced her to fan fiction and encouraged her to give it a try. She found that her passion for telling a story was still there and writing them down to share with others was much more thrilling than she had ever expected.

She has a loving and supportive family who don’t mind fixing their own meals when she is in the middle of a story, and a network of friends who have encouraged and cheered her on in her quest of being an author.

One thing she has learned from life and she is often heard to say is: “You are never too old to follow your dream!”

Facebook
Twitter
Website

Hosted By Signal Boost Promotions

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Giveaway

Share this:

Giveaway

Share this:

Another End of the Month Approaches!

What Possibilities Does the School Year Bring for LGBTQIA Youth

National Organizations*:

Organizations by State:

This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Sunday, August 26:

Monday, August 27:

Tuesday, August 28:

Wednesday, August 29:

Thursday, August 30:

Friday, August 31:

Saturday, September 1:

Share this:

Share this:

Amazon US | Amazon UK Available for the first time in Kindle Unlimited

Share this:

**National Organizations*:**

Amazon US | Amazon UK
Available for the first time in Kindle Unlimited