Category: Contemporary fiction

Into the Author Spotlight with Haley Walsh and her Skyler Foxe Mysteries! (book tour

Foxe Tail cover

Foxe Hunt 2 coverOut Foxed 3Foxe Fire cover 4

Who’s sitting in the Author Spotlight today?  Haley Walsh, author of the Skyler Foxe Mystery Series.  Haley is here today to talk about her latest release and the inspiration behind Skyler Fox.  This M/M romantic mystery series follows the teaching and unwitting sleuthing career of Skyler Foxe, high school English teacher!

 

Haley Walsh is giving away one eBook copy of Desert Foxe (Skyker Foxe Mystery Series 5).  To enter to win, leave a comment with an address where you can be reached in the body of the email.  Do you have a favorite sleuth?  Tell us about it and be entered to win.  Contest ends 11/22/2014.

 

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The Story Behind the Skyler Foxe Mystery Series
By Haley Walsh

There’s a story behind every story. What inspired the books? What, if any of it, is from your own life? But the story behind my latest Skyler Foxe Mystery was more than that. It happened quite a few years ago, in fact. Long ago and far away.

It’s strange to have been pals (and have dated) gay guys all one’s adult life and yet not know about m/m romance until recently. Sometimes you walk around with blind spots. But when I did discover it, it sort of became something sitting in the back of my mind. After all, I was working on a career as a novelist. I didn’t have time for this. I was writing serious books! Of course, about that time, I had veered my writing toward the fun genre of murder and mayhem: mysteries! But these were still fairly serious being historical mysteries, something dense with prose and heady research. In fact, research took up a lot of my time besides the day job, but I did finally get that publishing contract from a big New York publisher. No, it’s not all that glamorous and money is not tumbling into my hands, but let’s just say it is slightly prestigious and ego-boosting.

And yet, here at the back of my mind was this other story just squirming around taking up my daydreaming time. Since I was in mystery mode now it began being shaped as a mystery, and since I love writing characters with depth, it started to be populated with all kinds of interesting people with detailed backstories. For my day job, I had been working with kids and teens for six years, and with the teens there was so much drama from the least little thing. My writer’s eye took note, memorizing details like the toss of a head, the scrunch of a nose, someone wearing their sunglasses at the back of their head, the slouching, the strutting, the posturing, the slang! Yes, an idea was definitely forming.

I like stories to have all sorts of things going on. And especially in a mystery, it isn’t necessarily the puzzle that is the most important thing in the book. The characters and their lives and loves can become the main thrust and the mystery can come along and screw it all up. Making my detective an amateur sleuth and putting him in a high school setting as a teacher added just the right amount of angst, red herrings, and plot galore to keep a series going for a good long time.

I do use my own past experiences with teens, my own sense of humor, some of the characterizations of gay men I have known. These books are supposed to be funny, light-hearted romantic mysteries but they also deal with some serious themes and issues, including homophobia, murder, and the sexual orientation of teens. It’s fluff but deep fluff. Fluff noir.

And then I got the idea from watching the television show, Veronica Mars, that one could have a mystery solved in each episode but still have an on-going story arc stretch throughout the season. And I got it in my head to do that with the first three books of this series, making it like a mini-series pilot. Each book will have its own puzzle, its own murder to solve, but there will be something going on in the background, something strange and dangerous to keep the characters on edge for three books until the final denouement in book three.

And so we started with FOXE TAIL. Skyler Foxe is a young, fun-loving player, a brand new high school English teacher in a bible belt sort of region inFoxe Tail cover southern California. He loves teaching, loves his school kids, has an unnatural obsession with Motown music, and loves going out dancing with his friends, who are all former hook-ups—what are affectionately known as the Skyler Fuck Club or SFC—and just wants nothing more than partying on weekends and getting down to English Lit during the week. Of course—this being a mystery—he also falls into murder.

In the first book, FOXE TAIL, Skyler finds a dead body outside a dance club and discovers it’s the son of his high school principal.

Foxe Hunt 2 coverAnd in FOXE HUNT, Skyler meets up again with former hook-ups and friends, Jeff and Evan, just kicked out of the Army for don’t ask don’t tell. Evan came home wounded and very depressed and winds up dead. The police call it suicide but Skyler discovers it’s murder. Meanwhile, through all this, something fishy is going on behind the scenes at the high school. A math teacher, hinting at her own fears and suspicions, is pushed down the stairs and ends up in a coma. And the gorgeous new assistant football coach, Keith Fletcher, is acting suspiciously himself, and seems to know more than he should.

In book three, OUT-FOXED, while chaperoning a high school dance Skyler has just been dragged out of the closet by the hunky assistant football coach—a man he thought he knew. But when Sky discovers Keith has been keeping a big secret, he breaks it off, leaving both of them lonely and confused. With troubles mounting from the press, angry parents, confused students, Skyler’s own mom, andOut Foxed 3 a murdered teacher, what’s a boy to do but discover—once and for all–who’s behind all the dirty doings at James Polk High? A novella followed, volume 3 ½ called FOXE DEN: A Holiday Collection. It has no mystery at all, but what I call “DVD extras.” We see Skyler and his Foxe Den 3.5main squeeze Keith through the holiday season with some hot action as well as navigating the scary territory of a first time relationship.

Book four, FOXE FIRE, is a standalone though it does continue the story arc of Skyler and his boyfriend Keith while Skyler is trying to stop an arsonist and a murderer, worrying that it might be one of his students. And in the latest release, DESERT FOXE, Skyler and his cadre of friends goes to the White Party in Palm Springs for some fun, frivolity, and luscious men but wind up getting involved in murder and more when the FBI asks Skyler to do the unthinkable.Foxe Fire cover 4

There are more books in the future with Skyler tackling some of the knottier issues of LGBT life and, of course, solving murders.

DesertFoxe_WDDesert Foxe by Haley Walsh
Published by MLR Press

Genre: M/M mystery/humor
Is it Part of a Series: It is number 5 in the series, which is also available for review
Publication Date: Nov 7
Length of book: 230 pages
Formats: Print and ebook: mobi, pdf, Kindle
Website: http://SkylerFoxeMysteries.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skylerfoxe.mysteries

Sales Links:   MLR Press   All Romance Ebooks (ARe)
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You can find out more about Haley Walsh’s series at her website  or friend her on Facebook /skylerfoxe.mysteries

Author Bio:

Haley Walsh tried acting, but decided the actor’s life was not for her. Instead, she became a successful graphic designer in Los Angeles, her hometown. After fifteen years of burning money in the ’80s and early ’90s, she retired from the graphics industry and turned her interests toward writing. She became a freelance newspaper reporter, wrote articles for quirky magazines, published award-winning short stories, and now writes an acclaimed gay mystery series, the Skyler Foxe Mysteries. She’s lived all her life in southern California, sampling wines and chomping chocolate. Yeah, it’s a living.

You can contact Haley Walsh at:

Website
Goodreads Author Page

A MelanieM Review: Cold Day in Hell (In From the Cold #5) (Pulp Friction 2014 #18) by Lee Brazil

Rating:  5 stars out of 5

 You’ve got to kiss a lot of frogs… 

Cold Day In Hell coverCannon Malloy has been through hell and back, from the horrific events in Atlanta to the loss of his career as a surgeon in that aftermath.  But moving to Arizona has changed him.  Mountain Shadows campground has given Cannon not only a new family of friends, but a man he has come to love like no other, Finn Lorensson.   But recently Finn has been acting remote and secretive.  Just when Cannon is ready for the final commitment for them both.

Finn Lorensson is in trouble.  His big heart and concern for Cannon allowed him to make some poor judgements that have put himself and his relationship in danger.  But what is he to do?  All he wants is a future with Cannon but now that seems to be in jeopardy.  One thing Finn realizes is that it will be a cold day in hell when he lets the man he loves walk away.  Now if only he had a solution for their problems…

Here we are, Cold Day in Hell – Story 5 (or 18 depending upon how you are counting), and the stakes have never been higher for  both of  our remarkable main characters.  It has taken two series, with more heartache and pain than any character should go through,  to get Cannon Malloy to this point in his life.  Lee Brazil has taken us on a journey that saw the reader disliking Cannon because of his treatment of Chance (PF2013) of Chance’s Are, then slowly bring about this character’s evolution. Cannon has grown from  a self centered story irritant to a complex man finally coming out of the closet and into his personality.  It has been a rough and tumble sort of metamorphosis that involved a psychotic killer, a Dom, a lot of regret and finally a move to Flagstaff, AZ.   And every painful step forward that this complex, intelligent man has taken moved the reader closer to him as an individual and a part of the Cannon/Finn coupledom,

If you had told me I would end up loving Cannon Mallow after my initial impressions, well, let’s just say my disbelief would have been huge! But Lee Brazil has skillfully made this progression of feelings towards Cannon resolve itself into one of compassion for and understanding of  a man in transition at a later point in his life.  We now “get” Cannon, his issues and the road he had to travel to become the man that Finn Lorensson loves today.  And that was partially made possible by the marvelous character of Finn Lorensson himself.  What a noble (overly so), self sacrificing (yes too much), hugely brilliant Viking of a man!  Brazil has constructed a man you want to jump because of his brain and body, and then smack upside the head because of his actions.  Is  Finn believable?  Absolutely, which makes it both hilariouis and frustrating when the actions run counter to those the readers want to happen.  And sometimes that behavior turns the  story dark and scary.

Pulling the pieces of  their various pasts back into the picture and their relationship is a large element of this story.  Cannon’s children, Finn’s past actions…it all needs to come out and coalesce  for Cannon and Finn to have a future together.  How Lee Brazil does that is both the charm and the terror of this story.  What a dichotomy!  Cannon’s grown children need to see the man their father has become and the life he has made for himself in Arizona.  Finn needs to resolve the mounting problems  he created, out of the best intentions of course, that now threaten everything he loves and has worked for.  Family and threat to family, loving relationships balanced by those that were never meant to happen. And while we (and our heartstrings) are zigging and zagging along the many plot twists Brazil has in store for us, the siren song of Cannon and Finn’s love has never been stronger.  It is that ocean swell that carries us and the men along to that final story and, hopefully, their HEA.

Yes, one more group story to go.  Just one.  One to tie up all the loose ends (and there are many).  Bring all the lovers, their famlies together for a resolution we can cheer for because we have so much invested in these characters and their stories.   So look forward to December and in the meantime, if you are already along on this journey, get prepared by reading Cold Day in Hell by Lee Brazil.  It’s a heartgrabber, just like the men it revolves around.  If you are new to the series,  back, back, I say!  Go to the beginning and start there with this series and all the rest.  Don’t miss out on a story, not one.

Cold Day in Hell takes it’s place among the top stories/series of the year for Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words.  See you back here in December for the finale!   Happy Reading.

Cover art by Laura Harner.  These covers are wonderful.  The artist does a great job branding the series with the logo and the model works for the character.

Sales Links:    All Romance eBooks    amazon   Cold Day in Hell

Book Details:

ebook, 51 pages
Published October 1st 2014 by Lime Time Press (first published September 30th 2014)
ISBN13LBRZL0201441
edition languageEnglish
seriesPulp Friction 2014 #18, In From

 

About Pulp Friction 2014
Laura Harner ~ Lee Brazil ~ Havan Fellows ~ T.A. Webb
The Pulp Friction 2014 Collection. Four authors. Four Series. Twenty books. One fiery finale. Spend a year with an eclectic group of strangers brought together through circumstances, as they are tested by life, and emerge as more than friends.
The strongest bonds are forged by fire, cooled in air, smoothed by water, grounded in earth.

Although each series can stand alone, we believe reading the books in the order they are released will increase your enjoyment.  The Pulp Friction 2014 series in the order they were written and should be read to understand the characters, events and plot:

Round One:
Firestorm (Fighting Fire: 1)by Laura Harner
Cold Snap (In From the Cold: 1) by Lee Brazil
Blown Away (Whispering Winds: 1) by Havan Fellows
Higher Ground (Earthquake: 1) by TA Webb

Round Two:
Controlled Burn (Fighting Fire #2) by Laura Harner
Cold Comfort (In From the Cold #2) by Lee Brazil
Blown Kisses (Whispering Winds #2) by Havan Fellows
Moving Earth (Earthquake #2) by TA Webb

Round Three:
Backburn (Fighting Fire #3) by Laura Harner
Cold Feet (In From the Cold #3) by Lee Brazil
Blown Hard (Whispering Winds #3) by Havan Fellows
Tremors (Earthquake #3) by T.A. Webb

Round Four:
Flare-up (Fighting Fire #4) by Laura Harner
Out In The Cold (In From the Cold #4) by Lee Brazil
Blown Chance (Whispering Winds #4) by Havan Fellows
Aftershocks (Earthquake #4) by T.A. Webb

Round Five: 
Radiant Burn (Fighting Fire #5) by Laura Harner
Cold Day in Hell (In From the Cold #5) by Lee Brazil
Final Blow (Whispering Winds #5) by Havan Fellows
Terra Firma (Earthquake #5) by T.A. Webb

Sixth Book Series Finale Written by all the Authors coming in December.

Side Stories or Interludes:

Taking Chances by Lee Brazil (a In From the Cold story)
Wicked Winds (Whispering Winds 3.5) by Havan Fellows – bonus book, Whispering Winds
Frankie’s Knight (Elemental Connections: IV) (Earthquake #3.5)
Kismet & Cartwheels – bonus book, Fighting Fire

A MelanieM Review: The Best Corpse for the Job by Charlie Cochrane

Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

Best Corpse for the Job cover

Tea and sympathy have never been so deadly.

The private school of Lindenshaw St Crispin’ has long lost the luster it once had.  Once a sought after place of high education, it has now sild slowly into the ranks of lesser schools and its dwindling enrollment reflects that.  But the governors want a return to its glorious days and to do that they need to hire a new Head Master or Head Teacher as the title is now called.  Among those chosen for the selection panel is schoolteacher Adam Matthews.  All Adam wants is to chose the best person for the children and go home to his quiet life at the end of the day.  But when one of the applicants is found strangled in the school, everyone looks to be a suspect, even Adam himself.

Inspector Robin Bright isn’t thrilled to be back at St. Crispin’s. the scene of the crime and his old alma mater.  The school and its grounds,  as well some of the old staff that still remember him, bring back old painful memories Robin would rather stay forgotten.  The one bright spot is one that he shouldn’t be thinking about? That would be the handsome and kind schoolteacher, Adam Matthews.

 

All the secrets of Lindenshaw St. Crispin’s start to surface as another body is discovered.  As the stakes get higher and the murderer becomes more desperate, Adam and Robin have to decide who they can trust and rely on, even deciding if that includes each other.  The complications rise up and the race is on to find the killer before Adam and even Robin himself are targeted.

If you look up the definition of Cosy Mystery in the dictionary, it includes this statement ”

“Cozies are mystery novels typically set in English country houses, villages, or other benign environments. Cozies feature very little violence, aside for the murder, and few gory details. The term arose from the relatively genteel settings, the common use of amateur sleuths as protagonists, and the fact that all loose ends are tied up and the villain caught and punished by the novel’s conclusion.”

To that I will add, the Cozy Mystery is a popular trope found in all forms of media, from Agatha Christie, the grande dame of Cozies to Murder, She Wrote.  It has a timeless appeal with its small town settings and the intimacy found between all the various townspeople… victims, murderers, suspects alike.  It lacks the brutality and rawness of other mysteries, concerning itself with the amateur sleuth and their ability to reason.  Small wonder that Charlie Cochrane, that marvelous author of stories composed of civilities, history, and relationships has written a cozy to delight us all.

The Best Corpse for the Job brings us into the small English village of Stanebridge and a school in decline.  Lindenshaw St. Crispin’s is a school mired in its past.  And its teachers, well, most of them, realize that to survive it needs a new Headteacher (formerly known as Headmaster) and direction to pull it into the present.  A panel is chosen to decide who is the best candidate for the job and then hire that person.  So deceptively simple a decision and yet so fraught full of politics, personality clashes, and ambition that you know it will go wrong right from the start.  And it does, deliciously so.

Cochrane brings us into the civilized halls and playing  fields of this most austere establishment, letting us feel our way through the aged paneled hallways, noting the deep history of the school while subtly highlighting the wear, tear, and worn nature that its lowered status has caused.  Through Cochrane’s descriptions one doesn’t have to had stepped foot in such a school to feel the atmosphere of stress, age, and years of children of all ages trooping in and out have wrought upon St. Crispin’s.  It’s all marvelously there, a perfect setting for murder most foul.

Adam Matthews, a kind and caring teacher who prefers to keep his homosexuality quiet from some of the more bigoted members of the staff, is such an attractive main character.   His geniality, his concern for his students and the future of the school make him immediately likable.  We get his concerns and we adore the way in which he appreciates his life, from the school to his small house, complete with enormous Newfoundland called Campbell.  He’s the perfect amateur Cozy sleuth and he acquits himself handsomely here from start to finish.

More complex, definitely more brooding, Inspector Robin Bright has a painful history that is deeply rooted in the very school that is the scene of the crime.  And this crime has brought up all the old hurtful memories and issues that Robin thought he had put in the past.  Again, Cochrane makes us feel the bitterness and anger Robin has carried with him all these years and it’s a stark contrast to Adam and the type of teacher he represents. Robin too is someone the reader will care about greatly.

And at the heart of this story is the crime and murderer who remains hidden for most of the story.  It’s a twisty little mystery, one that the reader will enjoy puzzling out along with Robin and Adam, as the scares, clues, and suspense ratchets up the stakes for all.  Is there a heart thumper or two?  Why, yes, there is and it makes the ending all the more enjoyable.

I hope that there are further mysteries ahead for Robin and Adam, they make quite the team.  And Charlie Cochrane’s ability to bring the gentility, intimacy, and sometimes deadly village goings on to life makes her a Cozy Mystery author to write home about.   Consider The Best Corpse for the Job, and its author, Charlie Cochrane both among Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words highly recommended reads.

Cover Artist: L.C. Chase.  I have to admit to being disappointed in the cover.  Too modern for a Cozy, it missed so many opportunities to highlight the story and the mystery it involves.  It looks more like a modern office than ancient private school.

Sales Links:  Riptide Press (available for pre order)   All Romance eBooks   Amazon – all links to follow

Book Details:

ebook, 298 pages
Expected publication: November 24th 2014 by Riptide Publishing
original titleThe Best Corpse for the Job
ISBN139781626491571
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://riptidepublishing.com/title

Let’s Go Back to Bluewater Bay with Starstruck by L. A. Witt (book tour and contest)

Welcome to Bluewater Bay!BWBlogo_Web

This quiet little logging town on Washington state’s Olympic Peninsula has been stagnating for decades, on the verge of ghost town status. Until a television crew moves in to film Wolf’s Landing, a soon-to-be cult hit based on the wildly successful shifter novels penned by local author Hunter Easton.

Wolf’s Landing’s success spawns everything from merchandise to movie talks, and Bluewater Bay explodes into a mecca for fans and tourists alike. The locals still aren’t quite sure what to make of all this—the town is rejuvenated, but at what cost? And the Hollywood-based production crew is out of their element in this small, mossy seaside locale. Needless to say, sparks fly.

This collaborative story world is brought to you by ten award-winning, best-selling LGBTQ romance authors:  L.A. Witt,  L.B. Gregg,  Z.A. Maxfield,  Aleksandr Voinov,  Heidi Belleau,  Rachel Haimowitz,  Anne Tenino,  Amy Lane,  SE Jakes, and  G.B. Gordon. Each contemporary novel stands alone, but all are built around the town and the people of Bluewater Bay and the Wolf’s Landing media empire.

Join L.A. Witt and L.B. Gregg for the Welcome to Bluewater Bay Tour, and check out Starstruck and There’s Something About Ari to meet the cast, crew, and locals!BWB_150x300

About Starstruck

Starstruck_150pixels4pwHollywood is full of dirty secrets, but Carter refuses to be Levi’s.

Retired action star Levi Pritchard has made a quiet life for himself in the sleepy logging town of Bluewater Bay, Washington. But then Hollywood comes to film the wildly popular television series Wolf’s Landing, and Bluewater Bay isn’t so sleepy anymore. His retirement doesn’t stick, either, because he’s offered a part on the show—exactly the kind of complex role he’d always wanted, one that would prove him more than a glorified stuntman. The only catch? He has to stay in the closet—no matter how attractive he finds his co-star.

Carter Samuels is the critically-acclaimed male lead on Wolf’s Landing. And now, the man who inspired him to take up acting—and made him realize he’s gay—is joining the cast, and sparks fly between them instantly. But Carter is out and proud and determined to stay true to himself.

Remaining just friends is the only thing to do, as both the studio and Levi’s disapproving, dysfunctional family keep reminding them. Except their friendship deepens by the day, tempting them with what they can’t have but both desperately need.

About L.A. Witt.

L.A. Witt is an author of gay erotic romances, and has been recently exiled from Okinawa, Japan, to Omaha, Nebraska. She resides there with her husband, a telekinetic goldfish, and two incredibly spoiled cats. It’s unclear if the exile was the result of the mostly classified “Aquarium Incident,” or if she’s actually being hidden, for her protection, from the Polynesian Mafia and her arch nemesis, erotic romance author Lauren Gallagher.

Should you encounter Lauren, don’t tell her L.A. is in Omaha. This bio will self-destruct in 17 seconds.

Connect with L.A.:

Contest:  Every comment on this blog tour enters you in a drawing for a choice of two eBooks off my backlist (excluding Starstruck) and a $10 Riptide Publishing store credit. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on November 9th, and winners will be announced on November 10th. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

A MelanieM Review: Sleigh Ride (Minnesota Christmas #2) by Heidi Cullinan

Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

Sleigh Ride coverArthur Anderson is just plain unhappy.  His roommate, best friend with benefits, Paul, has decided to move out, leaving  Arthur’s house cold and lonely.  Paul wanted more from Arthur after years of living together and casual sex (at least that’s how Arthur looked at it).  The town’s mill has closed, albeit temporarily, leaving Arthur without a job and his mother wants Arthur to act as Santa and ride a sleigh for a benefit for the town’s library.  And to top it all off,  his mother wants to fix him up with the librarian who so clearly despises Arthur.  No, Arthur is not a happy man at all.

Shy, lonely, and cut off from the community he serves as the town librarian, Gabriel Higgins isn’t happy either, unless he is seated among children at storytime or busy with all things books.  When  Arthur is mentioned by Arthur’s mother (and member of the library board) as the benefit Santa, Gabe doesn’t want him, either—as a Santa, as a boyfriend, as anyone at all. But when Arthur’s efforts to wiggle out of the fundraiser lead to getting to know the man behind the storytime idol, he can’t help but be charmed.

One things leads to another and soon the men find themselves happy and  sort of involved.  But a small town is full of pitfalls as well as positives.  Can Arthur and Gabe surmount all obstacles, including the ones they raise themselves, to find a  sleigh ride to HEA?

This story absolutely threw me.  I started off unsure about the characters, the town, and the unlikeliest of romances but before I knew it, Heidi Cullinan had pulled me into her world of quixotic characters, small town life and a burgeoning love affair between two such dissimilar men and kept me happily there for hours.  I ended up loving this story completely and for so many different reasons.

Talk about your odd pairing! That would be short, bearish, red-headed Arthur Anderson, a gruff, handyman with certain needs, and the tall, slightly built, curly haired librarian, Gabriel Higgins. Gabe is eloquent, shy, and literary in his conversation.  He too has hidden needs that will surprise all.  Even their backgrounds couldn’t be any more different from each other. Arthur’s family is a delight.  Gabe’s? Not so much. Arthur is actually hard to like at the beginning, He comes across as rude, boorish, and intractable.  Not someone who endears himself to the reader immediately.  No, Arthur has to slowly reveal the elements to his personality and the facets that he shows only to those he trusts before the reader starts to first like, and then finally fall deeply in love with him. Gabriel’s true self is hidden under a shell of protection Gabe has erected, so its hard to see at first that he has an inner fire and strength that comes out at the library where he feels safe and secure.

The scenes with the children and the stories at the library as well as the  feeling of the library as a small town hub are conveyed  realistically here.  The authenticity of the setting and the references to childhood stories and graphic novels made this story so believable that I felt I had been there before.  Cullinan is able to show the many facets of a librarian’s profession that few see past the person reshelving the books or stamping them out as you leave.  It’s a lovely reveal and it makes Gabe’s character so much more interesting, giving him a depth that plays off nicely against the alienation Arthur feels from his past experience with books and reading.

And that pull of opposites is one of the major charms of this story, it’s the joy of watching the men slowly move towards each other and a future together.  Loved that, truly I did.  Mingled with scenes and relationships of those around them, they are  pushed and pulled, tugged and marched towards each other until something gives.

Another highlight here is the relationship between Arthur and his nephew, Thomas, a sensitive child who loves a babydoll named Soupy.  Aspects of their relationship, including Gabe’s part in making Thomas feel understood and accepted had me in tears.  A book titled William’s Doll, a mesmerized group of children and some childhood companions combine to deliver a powerful message and turn what a mother perceived as an embarrassment into riches.  Heartwarming, totally heartwarming.  It also shows the ability and power of the written word (or pictures as the case might be) to change a situation as well as perspective.  It was an enchanting scene that has continued to stay with me.

Cullinan has packed this story full of such dramatic and moving moments.  In addition we have the exploration of two compatible if kinky sexual needs, desires that both men have trouble revealing. That difficult part of Arthur and Gabriel’s relationship  is handled with the same sensitivity and thoroughness of other elements in this story while  not discounting how sexy and hot it is.

So much joy and discovery, so much love and acceptance.  I adored this story and all its well defined and all too human characters.  It had been a while since I read Let It Snow, the first Minnesota Christmas story.  It was only until I was halfway through Sleigh Ride that I realized I knew Marcus and Frankie already. I don’t think its necessary to read that story before this one.  Just consider it a perk and pick it up later.  You will enjoy watching Marcus and Frankie get together, while bringing back memories of this story all over again.  You really can’t go wrong with either story.  So get them both!

I love Heidi Cullinan, her stories  always so full of heart and understanding.  Sleigh Ride contains all the wonderful Heidi Cullinan trademarks with a great plot and a small town you just might want to put on your next itinerary.  Consider this one of Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words highly recommended reads.

Cover artist: L.C. Chase.  Love that cover, just as heartwarming and wonderful as the characters and story within.

Sales Links:    Samhain Publishing        All Romance eBook (ARe)     amazon    Sleigh Ride

Book Details:

ebook
Expected publication: November 11th 2014 by Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://www.heidicullinan.com/sleigh-ride
seriesMinnesota Christmas #2

Minnesota Christmas series:

Let It Snow (Minnesota Christmas #1)
Sleigh Ride (Minnesota Christmas #2)

Barb, a Zany Old Lady, Review: Starstruck (Bluewater Bay #1) by L.A. Witt

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Starstruck coverI’ve been “starstruck” by an amazing storyteller named L.A. Witt. The author put together the best and longest slow burn- ust story I’ve ever read, and when the two MCs did finally come together, they exploded in a supernova!

Levi Pritchard, aging (late 30’s), former Hollywood superstar, is known best for his role as Chad Eastwick—an action hero role he despised because it completely stifled his creativity and smothered his acting ability. He also despised the whole Hollywood scene, especially the press vultures who refused to let him live his own life—a gay man deeply closeted who only wanted to be allowed to love his partner Dylan, but instead had to deny him to the world, bringing about their eventual breakup. He’s also the victim of two alcoholic parents who, though now in recovery, are still critical of his life and would never accept him as gay so he can’t find the courage to out himself and force the expected estrangement. In short, Levi is a deeply closeted, frustrated man who is running away from the career he loves and running to the family he hates, rather than being true to himself. When he’s offered a chance for a small role in Wolf’s Landing, the successful show that’s been filming in his town, Bluewater Bay, he’s considering it for two reasons. The first is that his good friend, Anna Maxwell, is the highly esteemed director and the second is Carter Samuels, a young actor who caught Levi’s eye when he first came on the Hollywood scene a few years before.

Carter Samuels is thrilled when he learns that Levi Pritchard, his idol and the man on whom he’s had a secret crush for years, is going to be joining the cast of Wolf’s Landing. In fact, Levi is the reason Carter became an actor. He first fell in love with Levi and Levi’s talent when he was exposed to several indie films in which Levi starred in his early career. Even once he was typecast as Chad Eastwick, Carter saw through the constraints that role placed on Levi to the talent hidden below the surface. Now, to have a chance to work with him, whether it’s for this first “walk on” role, or whether the role becomes ongoing, Carter has all he can do to contain himself.

When the two meet, there’s a definite sexual chemistry, though neither wants to acknowledge it. A chance private encounter brings them together in a kiss that neither can ignore. They do acknowledge that the kiss happened and that it was good, but they make a conscious decision to avoid the entrapments of a relationship. They’ve found that they have a lot in common, including a love of obscure indie films, and want to focus on their friendship because they each accept that Levi is firmly in the closet and not interested in coming out.  Spoiler alert: Continue reading “Barb, a Zany Old Lady, Review: Starstruck (Bluewater Bay #1) by L.A. Witt” →

Visit into the Romantic World of Iyana Jenna’s Love’s Home (tour and contest)

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Book Name: Love’s Home
Author Name: Iyana Jenna

Author Bio:

Iyana writes M/M short stories and novellas. Her works have been published by Evernight Publishing, JMS Books, Books to Go Now, Torquere Press, Bitten Press, Leap of Faith Publishing, Breathless Press, and Alfie Dog Fiction.

Iyana lives in Jakarta, a city famous for its traffic jams, a lot of cars and motorcycles, and people selling stuff on the roads. You can spend two hours on the road going to a place you can reach in half an hour in a normal situation. Thanks to the traffic jams, though, Iyana can come up with a lot of stories, mostly shorties, as she prefers to spend the time during her trips writing into her cell phone rather than sleeping.

Another thing Iyana loves is kitties. Right now she has three of them. Their names are Cil, Horus, and Betsy, and one kitten. When she doesn’t write, she plays with them, or they would play with her when she writes.

Author Contacts:

Loves_Home_400-ProofPublisher: JMS Books
Cover Artist: Written Ink Designs | http://written-ink.com

Sales Links: Amazon US   
Amazon UK   JMS Books

Love’s Home Blurb:

Sometimes you need a break, to get away somewhere, but in the end you always return to a place you call home. The saying goes, “Home is where the heart is.” It doesn’t matter if it’s big or small, pretty or shabby, what matters is it’s your Love’s Home.

This collection features five of Iyana Jenna’s best-selling gay contemporary romance stories. A homeless PA finds a home in an actor’s life. An abduction almost steals a man from his loving boyfriend. A love triangle nearly ruins everything. A sex slave is rescued by an unlikely savior. A young man discovers a new home after he loses everything.

Contains the stories:
• A Home for Jesse
• A Single Black Rose
• Misunderstandings
• Will and Pleasure
• Ya Like That?

Categories:

Love’s Home Excerpt:

A Home for Jesse

This ain’t so bad. Jesse pats his laden backpack. He stretches himself on the bench and lowers his head onto the bag, grimacing at the bumps pressing against his head and neck. Awesome. He is going to have major cricks and headaches come morning. That is if he’s not suffering from early signs of pneumonia.

Jesse shifts and grunts and finally gives up. He sits up, takes off his jacket, and spreads it over his front before he lies down again. Moving a bit again to find the most comfortable position, he thinks, Fuck, now my shorts are stuck in the crack of my ass. Jesse reaches down and pulls them free — ah, that’s better.

He takes a deep breath. So he’s a bum now, is he? His ma would be heartbroken if she knew. She could blame him for being such a hard head and insisting on having his own way. Jesse stares blankly at the leaves swaying on treetops, at the shadows of the swings dancing in the dark, at the stars blinking mockingly down at him. At least the fact that they are up there means that the sky is cloudless and Jesse doesn’t need to worry about the possibility of rain tonight. Getting soaked when the only place he has to sleep is this park would be a pain in the ass, not to mention hazardous to his health. Jesse also hopes no cops will come patrolling tonight.

Weary to the bone, Jesse curls both hands under the side of his face and gives in to slumber.

 

Pages: 268 pages

LHBadgeTour Dates: October 30th

Tour Stops:
Parker Williams, Rainbow Gold Reviews. BFD Book Blog, Queer Town Abbey,  Inked Rainbow Reads,  Full Moon Dreaming,  Multitasking Mommas,  Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews,  Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words,  MM Good Book Reviews,  Lee Brazil,  Cate Ashwood,  Havan Fellows,  Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings,  Love Bytes, 3 Chicks After Dark.The Hat Party.Velvet Panic

Contest: Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: One print copy of Love’s Home. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Use the Rafflecopter link provided for the entry form and for all additional contest details.

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A MelanieM Review: Red Dirt Heart 3 by N. R. Walker

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Red Dirt Heart3Life for Charlie Sutton has never been better.  With Travis by his side now on a permanent visa, Charlie feels that there is nothing he can’t do.  Run his multi-million dollars station,  finish his degree and even become a member of the local ranch board.  But things change quickly and before Charlie knows it he is dealing with Ma’s failing health, issues among his staff and  Travis’ latest rescue, a wombat baby named Nuggat!

Still, Charlie knows that with Travis’ love and support, he can manage anything.  But then Charlie’s calm and stability is shattered in two heartbreaking moments.  A revelation from Charlie’s past makes him question everything he knows about his life.  And Travis receives bad news from home.  News that makes him leave for the States.  A pivotal moment in the life of Charlie Sutton has arrived and how he deals with it  will either throw everything he has gained away or give him finally the future he has always wanted.

Red Dirt Heart 3 continues and deepens the story of the Sutton Station and its owner, Charley Sutton, as he adjusts to all the foundation shaking changes that have occurred in his life.  From the solitary son of an embittered, albeit successful rancher on the largest station in the Northern Territory, Charlie’s life dramatically changed with the arrival of Travis, the international exchange agronomist, who arrived to research and experience first hand life on the Australian desert. With the harsh conditions and by develop strategies that would work both in Texas where Travis came from and in arid stressful conditions of the Sutton Station, Travis hoped to make an impact but never envisioned that his heart would be stolen by the land and Charlie Sutton.

What a lovely, complicated character we have in Charlie Sutton. By making it his voice that we hear as the story unfolds, his ruminations, confused thoughts and feelings about every aspect of his life and the farm makes him our intimate companion, one who we become heavily invested in.  Add to that the impeccable created of Travis Craig and we have a team to root for and love.  Travis is a charming and layered a character as you will meet, clearly Charlie’s equal in complexity while maintaining an open heart and outlook that Charlie needs in his life.   Walker slowly reels us into their romance over the first 2 stories as neither man anticipated falling deeply in love, especially the quiet, and closeted Charlie.  Loving Travis has meant that Charlie has had to take a hard look at his father’s bigoted legacy which had become an ingrained part of Charlie’s inner voice, one that made Charlie think he would never be good enough to take his father’s place and have someone to love and love him back.  Between a mother who deserted them both and a stringent, harsh father, Charlie’s life became one of self isolation and work.  Then Travis arrived and everything changed…almost.  What made the first stories so deep and real was the growth that had to happen inside Charlie.  All the ground swells of emotions, arguments, and hard self introspection that Charlie had to go through was not only believable but we were in his head as each new decision and change happened and sometimes fought against.

N. R. Walker has the ability to bring the Sutton Station to life as we read.  It becomes lively, loud, and intimate the deeper we delve into the story and these characters lives.   And while Charlie loves and needs to have Travis there with him at home, Charlie’s inner voices have only quoted but not gone away.  That strong, judgmental voice of his father’s is still, unconsciously or not,  impacting Charlie’s outlook still. He fears what the other ranchers/farmers will think if they find out charlie is gay and in love with another man.  Will he be ostracized our outcast by his peer, his father’s peers and the businesses the Sutoon station depends on?  I love that N. R. Walker’s  capacity to make all these frustrating aspects of self acceptance and character growth work superbly within her story.  It makes her characters so human and relatable.

Am I obsessed with this series and group of characters?  Why yes, I am.  Each new book brings about a deepened saga, full of heart, red dirt, and the enormous capacity of people when hit with life shaking revelations, bullying, new life changing relationships, love, and even loss, who then continue on to make something better out of their lives, for themselves and the others they care for.  This is a series I have already found myself returning to again, rereading the stories in preparation for the next.

If you have not made the acquaintance of this remarkable author and series, run, don’t walk, to the nearest computer and grab up Red Dirt Heart 1, then proceed briskly to Red Dirt Heart 2, and then here at Red Dirt Heart 3.  There will be a Red Dirt Heart 4 and possibly 5.  I love the simplicity in naming the series, it has certainly made it easy for me to remember the title of each book!  I also have several interviews with N. R. Walker, about her writing and this series.  You can find them here and here.

At the end of the year Red Dirt Heart and N. R. Walker will be at the top of Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Best of 2014 lists.  Don’t wait until then to start your journey into the harsh, beautiful land of Australia’s Northern Territory and the men who live and love there!  Happy Reading.

Cover art by Sara York, who does a lovely job branding the series but still giving each book a distinct look.

Sales Links:     All Romance eBooks       amazon     Red Dirt Heart 3

Book Details:

Please note: This book is set in Australia, using Australian English and lingo.

ebook, 287 pages
Published October 17th 2014
edition languageEnglish
seriesRed Dirt #3