Category: Contemporary fiction

Virtual Book Tour: A Kate Paddington Interview on her book, “Platonic” and Writing (contest)

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 Kate Paddington is here today to climb into ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWord’s author armchair for an interview.  I am happy to have Kate here today to talk about her latest release, her thoughts on writing and inspiration. Plus Kate has brought along a contest to celebrate Platonic’s release.

Contest: Kate will be awarding a $25 Barnes & Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $25 Barnes & Noble GC and a print edition of Bleeding Heart (US ONLY) to a randomly drawn host. A free download of an Interlude Press eBook title or an author/book swag pack (US ONLY) will be awarded to one randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter at each stop during the tour.

My interview with Kate Paddington on writing, Platonic and inspiration:

STRW:  What was the inspiration behind Platonic?

Kate P: It started as an idea I had for fan fiction. The relationship between two characters in a TV show hadn’t developed the way I wanted it to – their relationship on screen eventually devolved into a cheating storyline and a break up. I was frustrated and wanted to write a love story where high school sweethearts broke up, then grew up and really figured themselves out, and then came back together to try again as adults. Ultimately I wanted a happy ending love story for two flawed, young individuals and to do that with the original characters I came up with, I had to have them apart for almost a decade.

STRW:   How much research do you do for a story?

Kate P: It is more a story of imagination and storytelling than research and fortunately, the settings were very familiar to me. I know the two main settings, London and New York, as I’ve lived in the former while working at Imperial College and have accumulated several months in the latter. The world of academia and study is familiar as well, although I had to spend quite a while figuring out the US college and legal systems.

STRW:   Which do you choose?  Hero or Antihero?

Kate P:  Antihero, I think, though I am grimacing at the idea. I don’t write the kind of conflicts that need heroes, no epic struggles or evils. I tend to be more interested in character stories about normal people so it’s hard to imagine any of them as heroes. They’re just people, good and bad, and I’ll admit my favorite character in the book probably is more bad than good and that’s why I chose antihero, but I don’t really see my characters or my experiences in the hero/antihero sphere.

STRW:   What genres inspire you?

Kate P:  I read a lot of young adult and fantasy/adventure, which seems strange now that I’m writing erotic romance. They’re the genres I grew up with and I’m more comfortable taking ideas from there, turns of phrase or character traits, and working them into my own stuff than I am being inspired by other peoples’ romance fiction—I never want to accidently take someone else’s work and write my own too close up against it!

STRW:    What is the hardest part of the writing process for you?

Kate P:  Finding time, definitely just the finding of time. And I envy anyone who has a problem that isn’t temporal. In the last six months I’ve completed this novel and moved through all the editing processes, I’ve spent two months in the US, some of which was for science conferences. I’ve written up my PhD as well as three or four scientific papers. No one at my day job suspects I’m juggling more than just the usual academic/PhD workload. So right now, I don’t have enough time to write as much fiction as I want. I look forward to the day when I might discover what else I will struggle with!

STRW:    Write what you know or does that even matter?

Kate P:   I think it should be something more like ‘Don’t write what you don’t want to figure out’. I think that’s less limiting and less obviously fallible. I don’t know what a Stanford law degree entails, or fashion design, or gay sex, or how to cook as well as Mark, or the kind of romance my characters experience. That might not be my world, but I’ve put in the time to figure it out. I research where I need to. Direct experience isn’t the only way of learning, and I think limiting authors to what they know can limit literature. But I think what you are writing you need to be interested in and keen to learn about. Otherwise what’s the point?

STRW:   Have you always written M/M?

Kate P:  I actually only started writing m/m about three years ago. Before that I wrote hetrosexual erotica and before that I wrote het romance. Most of this was in fan fiction form, based off of relationships (or relationships I wanted to see) in TV shows and they just happened to all be between a man and a woman (or a male alien and female alien that one time…). In my mind, romance is romance and I can write both without much bother. There are things that make writing or reading two men together better than a straight couple but then there are things I like about writing straight couples, too.

Thanks so much for the chance to chat today! I am very excited to have people reading my novel and happy to talk about it as much as anyone will listen!

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Cover_Platonic “Platonic” BLURB:

Mark Savoy and Daniel O’Shea were high school sweethearts who had planned their forevers together. But when Mark goes to college in California rather than following Daniel to New York, he embarks on a decade-long search for independence, sexual confidence and love.

When Mark lands a job in New York and crosses Daniel’s path, they slowly rebuild their fractured friendship through texts and emails. If they finally agree to see each other, will they be able to keep it platonic? Or will the spark of a long-lost love reignite just as Daniel accepts a job overseas?

Platonic is a story of trials, growth, and knowing how to learn lessons from the past to build a future.
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Platonic Excerpt:

“Why did you ask me?” Daniel asks, genuinely curious.

“That’s unfair. I’ve been asking you all night why you came.”

Daniel holds his gaze. “You know that night in the bar, when I ran into you?” Mark tilts his head—he remembers. “You asked me to email you and your eyes were wide and pleading and there was no way I was going to be able to say no to you. I remember wondering if you used the same face on juries, to get your way in court. I guess what I’m saying is that I still don’t know how to say no to you. I still don’t know how anyone does.”

Time stops around them, stutters and then kicks back in when their eyes slip away from each other. Neither one of them knows what this is or what to do with it. Neither of them walked into this dinner tonight thinking “seduction” or “relationship” or “date” or anything like that. They were far too busy not thinking it.

“Did you want to say no?” Mark asks.

“Of course not. I wanted to come. Of course I did, Mark.” And then somehow they’re touching. Without giving it any conscious thought, Daniel has reached across the space between them and caught one of Mark’s hands in his.

The realization that they are touching comes slowly to Mark; his nerves feel sluggish, his brain has trouble processing the simplicity of the touch, just skin on skin, not intimate or unwelcome or leading to anything. But Daniel is touching him—and not briefly, not fleetingly, he’s holding on—and suddenly it all rushes back through Mark and he never, ever wants to let go.

Not ever. This is it. Daniel is it. He always was.

“You broke my heart.”

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VBT_Platonic_CoverBannerAUTHOR Bio and Links:

Kate Paddington wrote her first work of fan fiction at age 12. Today, at age 26, she has degrees in philosophy and chemistry, and is currently completing a PhD in biophysics. A native of Australia, she has published numerous academic papers as part of her research. Platonic is her first novel.

You can contact/follow Kate Paddington at the following links:

Buy link:  Interlude Press

 Contest Details:  Kate will be awarding a $25 Barnes & Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $25 Barnes & Noble GC and a print edition of Bleeding Heart (US ONLY) to a randomly drawn host. A free download of an Interlude Press eBook title or an author/book swag pack (US ONLY) will be awarded to one randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter at each stop during the tour.

 

Visit the Rafflecopter link here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rocking Out with Morticia Knight on her Rockin’ the Alternative Totally Bound Book Tour (contest)

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What’s his Passion? Imprint Launch Contest:  To celebrate the launch of What’s his Passion? Totally Bound Publishing is giving away a bundle of great prizes. Enter for your chance to win here.   Open internationally, must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

 

Rockin’ Thai Food and Rockin’ the Alternative by Morticia Knight

Back in my not-so-glorious glory days as a Hollywood musician — my favorite all-time hangout was Toi on Sunset. They also use the tag, ‘Rockin’ Thai Food’ — it’s in the name of their website. Their original location is just down the street from the Guitar Center, which is next to the Sunset Grill made famous by the Don Henley song. It is one of the coolest places I’ve ever been to.

If you even sort of like Thai food, you’ll pass out at how amazing their cuisine is. I can taste the cashew nut tofu and Tom Kha Kai right now. *adds to list of things to do while visiting L.A. in the fall* From what I remember, it was a couple of brothers that started the place, and one was a hardcore rock memorabilia collector. The entire place is covered with it and the atmosphere is amazing. I tried to buy a Melanie concert poster off the owner, but he was having none of it. I think he would purposely hide when he saw me.

The seating is eclectic — you can sit on the floor around a low glass table on a raised podium. Or there’s the window seat with a large wood table that is a giant chessboard. There are wood chess pieces and you can play while eating your food. There used to be 1950’s hair dryer salon chairs, but I no longer see them in recent photos. There are small T.V.’s mounted around the restaurant that’s split into two sections. When I went there, loops of films such as Plan 9 From Outer Space and Purple Rain would play continuously on a loop. Loud rock ‘n’ roll from classic to grunge would play constantly. The lighting was always low with lava lamps and other weird retro lamps providing some illumination.

I spent more nights there than I can count. It’s open until four in the morning, seven days a week. You can buy beer or sake until midnight. It attracts a huge musician clientele who show up after a show. When I went, it was normal to have a more difficult time getting seated after ten at night, than prior to that. There were plenty of times when I would arrive at one in the morning and have to stand out on the sidewalk for thirty minutes before a table was available. But that was okay – it was a great opportunity to socialize with other like-minded people. Sometimes bands would quiz each other on their latest musical exploits. “You guys ever play the Whisky?” “Totally. We’ve headlined on a Friday night before.” “Dude. Cool.”

When Aubrey whisks Bryan away from the restaurant where they were supposed to discuss Bryan writing Aubrey’s memoirs, Aubrey suggests they pick up some Thai food at Toi to take back to his home studio. I had an additional two paragraphs in that section that described the restaurant much as I just did for y’all. It was edited out later due to a word count overage. It wasn’t necessary to the story, so it was a logical thing to cut, but in my mind I could picture Aubrey going there a lot with the guys from the band. They might stop in after a long day in the studio or at a rehearsal hall down the street.
To celebrate the launch of What’s his Passion? Totally Bound Publishing are giving away a bundle of great prizes. Enter for your chance to win here!

 

Blurb for Rockin’ the Alternative:

WHP_Morticia Knight_Social Media_finalThe chance of a lifetime and the touch of a rock god are offered to music journalist Bryan Gallagher on the same day. Embracing one is easy, but resisting the other is harder than he’d anticipated—especially since Bryan has never been with a man.

It could be his dream assignment. Aubrey King, the legendary god of alternative rock music, has requested to meet with journalist and writer Bryan about penning the star’s memoir. Aubrey and his dark, angsty songs are the reason Bryan was inspired to become a leading rock journalist. His obsession for his career has alienated the women in his life, but Bryan doesn’t care. What really matters to him is the music.

Aubrey King has been out of the music scene for almost ten years—ever since his alternative rock band, Falling in Stereo, broke up. Questions about his sexual preferences have always surrounded him, and now that he’s ready to make a solo comeback, he wants to tell his story, his way. He’s followed journalist Bryan Gallagher’s career for a while and believes that Bryan’s obvious passion for music mirrors his own. He loves his writing style, but is also enraptured by the boyishly handsome writer.

Brian finds pushing his fanboy nervousness aside is difficult when Aubrey finally stands before him. He’s amazed at how little Aubrey has changed—his intense gaze, his unique style and his still youthful looks epitomise the star he’s always been. But Aubrey’s vulnerability when he sings and shares the deeply personal lyrics of a new song triggers something in Bryan that he never knew was there. The need to give himself to Aubrey, to let the rock god do to him what he’s never before desired a man to do.

Buy Rockin’ the Alternative here.

Author Bio:

Erotic Romance author Morticia Knight enjoys a good saucy tale, with MM and MMF pairings. Since she loves several genres, you may find your heroes in a contemporary, historical, paranormal or sci-fi setting. One of her passions is bringing people’s fantasies to life on the page, because life is too short for even one boring moment. Her stories are volcanic in heat, deep in emotion, and sprinkled with doses of humor.

When not indulging in her passion for books, she loves the outdoors, film and music. The Pacific Northwest is the ideal spot to enjoy both hiking and beachcombing. Once upon a time she was the singer in an indie rock band that toured the West Coast and charted on U.S. college radio. She currently resides on the northern coast of Oregon, where the constant rain and fog remind her of visits to her family in England and Scotland when she was a child.
She is currently working on a new historical MM series, as well as a steampunk horror and sci-fi ménage.

Author  Page at Totally Bound.

On Tour with Meredith Allard and That You Were There Book Tour (contest)

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Meredith Allard has stopped by on her That You Are Here book tour to answer some questions and talk about her book.  In addition she has a contest for you all to enter and a couple of prizes to give away.  One grand prize winner for a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card will be chosen at the end of the tour. And the runner up will receive a ebook of That You Are Here!  Use this Rafflecopter link to enter and for additional  contest details!  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

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An Interview with Meredith Allard on Inspiration and her latest release, That You Are Here!

 STRW:   What was your inspiration for the story?

Meredith Allard:  I was visiting my cousin in Portland, Oregon when the announcement of the Supreme Court decision overturning DOMA was made. The idea for That You Are Here occurred to me shortly afterward in some random daydream. On the outside, I don’t have much in common with Andrew and Mark since I am most definitely not a gay man. I’m not even a gay woman for that matter, but I believe that people who are in love should be able to get married, and suddenly I saw the characters from the story, Andrew Whittaker and Mark Bryce, so strongly, like they were standing in front of me. I had the idea for the story from beginning to end in a matter of days. I could see Andrew and Mark’s love for each other, and I could see how they struggled. I wrote the first draft as the challenge for National Novel Writing Month. I had 62,000 words written in 30 days, which is super fast for me.

STRW:  Do you work on one project at a time or many?

Meredith Allard:  Just one. My limited brain capacity tops out at one story at a time.

STRW:  Hero or Antihero? Who would you chose and why?

Meredith Allard:  I’ve always preferred the hero. I like to see people rise above their baser nature to become their best selves. I like characters who make brave choices to do the right thing.

STRW:  People say write what you know. Do you think that is right or even important?

Meredith Allard:  This is a really interesting question because “write what you know” can be interpreted in different ways. On the one hand, I never write what I know in the sense that my stories are fiction and the characters and the plot are creations from my imagination. Yet there are aspects of myself in every character, so then I’m using what I know to create someone who is otherwise fictional. On the surface in That You Are Here, I’m not writing about what I know because I’m not a gay man. Yet I know what it’s like to have to learn to feel comfortable in my own skin. Whenever I write I’m trying to find the universal aspect of the story that anyone can relate to, so in a sense it’s something everyone knows. Everyone has to learn how to feel comfortable in their own skin in one way or another. I also don’t think there are any hard and fast rules when it comes to writing, and writers can write about whatever they want. If it’s something they don’t know, then they can use their imagination to fill in the gaps.

STRW:  What is the first book you read that really meant something to you?

Meredith Allard:  This is going back to when I was eight years old, but Charlotte’s Web is the first book I can remember reading that showed me the power of a well written story. I was so touched by Charlotte and Wilbur’s story, and after that I wanted to read every book I could get my hands on.

STRW:  What do you find sexy in a man?

Meredith Allard:  A sense of humor is first and foremost. It’s great if he’s smart, and it certainly doesn’t hurt if he’s cute.

STRW:  What’s next up for you?

Meredith Allard:  I just got back from London where I was researching for my next novel, an historical story set in Victorian London that’s inspired by Downton Abbey.

STRW:  Thanks, Meredith, for stopping by and taking a moment to sit in our  author interview armchair.  That was wonderful!  Here is some That You Are Here details, including where to get your copy:

 

THAT YOU ARE HERE
by Meredith Allard

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Cover_That You Are HereBLURB:

On the outside, handsome, successful attorney Andrew Whittaker has everything in life. On the inside, he has everything too, only he doesn’t know it. He hides the love of his life, Mark Bryce, from his family and everyone else where he lives in Portland, Oregon. Soon the weight of the secret becomes too much for Andrew. After wrestling with himself and his place in the world, he must decide how he’s going to live—with or without Mark.

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EXCERPT:

Andrew’s cell phone buzzed in his pocket. He put his lunch bag on the counter, nodding at the message from Lisa Bloom, his secretary. He scanned his e-mails and grimaced at the phone. “I have to go.” He left at a sprint through the kitchen door to his silver Mercedes in the attached one-car garage. He didn’t even like the car, but that’s what the senior partners at his firm drove, so that’s what he drove too. Andrew opened the garage door, got into the driver’s seat, slid the key into the ignition, started the car, and jumped at the knock on his window. He shrugged sheepishly, opened the window, and took his lunch bag.

“Sorry,” he said. “I’m a little distracted today.”

“Today?” A sigh. “That car is such a gas guzzler. You need a hybrid. This is Portland. You’re supposed to be green.”

“Kermit the Frog green?”

“Any kind of green you want to be.”

Andrew looked at the person watching him with such open-hearted love in those soft gold-brown eyes.

“Mark?” Andrew said.

“Yes, Andrew.”

“Thank you.”

Mark Bryce leaned his head through the open window and kissed Andrew’s cheek. “Anything for you, beautiful boy.”

When Andrew stopped at the red light on Bancroft Street he felt his phone vibrate. He pulled his phone from his pocket, saw the screen and cringed, peering at the nearby drivers as though they were reporting his every move to some great eye in the sky. The text was from Mark.

Stop looking at your phone!

 

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Author_PhotoAUTHOR Bio and Links:

Meredith Allard is the author of The Loving Husband Trilogy, That You Are Here, Victory Garden, Woman of Stones, and My Brother’s Battle (Copperfield Press). She received her B.A. and M.A. degrees in English from California State University, Northridge. Her short fiction and articles have appeared in journals such as The Paumanok Review, The Maxwell Digest, Wild Mind, Muse Apprentice Guild, Writer’s Weekly, Moondance, CarbLite, and ViewsHound. She has taught writing to students aged ten to sixty, and she has taught creative writing and writing historical fiction seminars at Learning Tree University, UNLV, and the Las Vegas Writers Conference. She lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Website – http://www.meredithallard.com/
Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/copperfield101
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/authormeredithallard

Buy at Amazon   link

Review: Unexpected Rescue (Unexpected #1) by Silvia Violet

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Unexpected Rescue coverEx Navy Seal Jackson is trying to recuperate from a mission gone terribly wrong.  Jackson’s injury from that mission has cost him his career as a SEAL and left him with a strong case of PSTD, and a leg that barely works.   It also left him the only person  who knows that it was a setup.  That the very man who was guiding them to their destination was also the person who betrayed them and now hunts Jackson to eliminate the last eyewitness to the crime.  The problem is that no one believes him, not even his buddies.  They think its all in his head.  Until the killer makes a very big mistake.

Addison “Addy” O’Flanagan was the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time.  A wilderness guide on his anniversary trip with his boyfriend when that trip went bad and the boyfriend left.  A kayak and the ocean seemed like a good idea.  Until it wasn’t when the men hunting Jackson make a case of mistaken identy with Addison as the target.

When Jackson sees a kayaker hanging off his boat in the ocean off his beachfront vacation home, he comes to the kayaker’s rescue despite Jackson’s own injuries. The kayaker’s been shot and  Jackson knows that means his enemy is near. But how to keep Addison and himself safe until he can get help and backup? The answer is what is has always been, another Navy SEAL.

An high action quick paced tale, Unexpected Rescue, is the first in the Unexpected series from Silvia Violet.  The first story is focused on former Navy Seal Jackson and his romance with Addison “Addy” O’Flanagan.  The action starts from the first  scene where we are dumped into the memories of Jackson as he recuperates at a rental beach house on the coast of North Carolina.  From a disastrous mission in Columbia that cost  Jackson and his team most of their members and Jackson his career as a Navy SEAL, to the present day at the beach, the story is told from Jackson’s point of view.

From the moment Jackson sees a kayaker in trouble in the seas in front of his balcony, Silvia Violet whips the action up to high speed.  The author is terrific at letting the readers into the action from a race into the ocean and then the fight to get Addy back to safety and shore to the appearance of the villains of the story and series.  There is very little “downtime” for either the characters or the readers here.  We go from one frantic suspense-filled scene to another in almost record time.  We have fights, guns ablazin’, and bad guys lurking around every corner.  And I liked that about this story.  Action packed?  Heck yeah!

What i thought it was missing was a little more quiet moments or perhaps just a little more background on Addison that would let me feel that the romance that is kindled between Addison and Jackson had a solid foundation on anything other than physical attraction (not that’s there’s anything wrong with that) or close proximation.   As it was it felt a little rushed.  Sexy? Yes but it felt like a case of “instalove”.  A little longer length to the story and I think that would have been taken care of.

Maybe we will see more of them in the next book in the series, Unexpected Trust.  In that story, one of the characters here, former Navy SEAL and now Special Agent, Hugh “Sport” Cranford, gets his own version of action and  HEA.

If you like action,and a fast paced love affair, then Unexpected Rescue just might be the thing for you.  It’s short, lively, and fun.

Cover art by Meredith Russell.  Love that model.  Works perfectly for this story.

Buy Links:                                                           All Romance eBooks (ARe)                              Amazon                 Unexpected Rescue

Book Details:

ebook, 95 pages
Published November 4th 2013 by Silvia Violet Books (first published November 3rd 2013)
ISBN139781310825422
edition languageEnglish
url http://silviaviolet.com/
series Unexpected #1

Books in the Unexpected series to date are:

Unexpected Rescue (Unexpected #1)
Unexpected Trust (Unexpected #2)

Book Blast: Silvia Violet’s Unexpected Trust Book Tour/Contest

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Book Name: Unexpected Trust
Author Name: Silvia Violet

We are a quick stop on Silvia Violet’s Unexpected Trust book tour.  To help promote the release of Unexpected Trust, Silvia Violet and Pride Promotions are giving away a Rafflecopter Prize of a $20 ARe Gift Card,  To enter to win, visit the Rafflecopter link  provided.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

 

Author Bio:

Silvia Violet writes erotic romance in a variety of genres including paranormal, contemporary, sci fi, and historical. She can be found haunting coffee shops looking for the darkest, strongest cup of coffee she can find. Once equipped with the needed fuel, she can happily sit for hours pounding away at her laptop. Silvia typically leaves home disguised as a suburban stay-at-home-mom, and other coffee shop patrons tend to ask her hilarious questions like “Do you write children’s books?” She loves watching the looks on their faces when they learn what she’s actually up to. When not writing, Silvia enjoys baking sinfully delicious treats, exploring new styles of cooking, and reading to her incorrigible offspring.

Author Links:

Cover Artist:
Publisher: Self-Published
Unexpected Trust (Unexpected Book 2) by Silvia Violet

Unexpected Trust

Author Bio

Silvia Violet writes erotic romance in a variety of genres including paranormal, contemporary, sci fi, and historical. She can be found haunting coffee shops looking for the darkest, strongest cup of coffee she can find. Once equipped with the needed fuel, she can happily sit for hours pounding away at her laptop. Silvia typically leaves home disguised as a suburban stay-at-home-mom, and other coffee shop patrons tend to ask her hilarious questions like “Do you write children’s books?” She loves watching the looks on their faces when they learn what she’s actually up to. When not writing, Silvia enjoys baking sinfully delicious treats, exploring new styles of cooking, and reading to her incorrigible offspring.

Unexpected Trust coverBlurb:

Special Agent Hugh Cranford, better known as Sport, is conducting an off-the-record investigation. He’s after Danny O’Sullivan, a spy rumored to have assisted in the ambush of Sport’s former SEAL team. Danny claims he and Sport are on the same side, and the real traitor is the man Sport is working for. But Danny is a master manipulator. He’s also the most seductive man Sport has ever met. Sport can’t help being attracted to him, but that doesn’t mean he’s willing to trust him.

In his quest to bring down a few highly-placed traitors in the US government, Danny O’Sullivan has been keeping tabs on Sport. When Sport comes looking for him, Danny decides to bring Sport in on his secret mission and into his bed. Sport may not trust Danny, but he wants him. As the two men risk their lives to complete Danny’s mission, they discover neither is as strong as they like to pretend.

Buy Links:    Smashwords      Amazon     ARe      Barnes and Noble

 

 

Tour Dates: 7/28 – 8/1
UT BadgeTour Stops:

7/28: Prism Book Alliance, Because Two Men Are Better Than One, MM Good Book Reviews
7/29: My Fiction Nook, Amanda C. Stone, Parker Williams
7/30: The Novel Approach, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Emotion in Motion
7/31: The Blogger Girls, Smoocher’s Voice,
8/1: The Hat Party, Love Bytes, Velvet Panic
Rafflecopter Code:
Rafflecopter Prize: $20 ARe Gift Card

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Before you read Unexpected Trust, make sure you know where it all began: Check out Book 1 in the Unexpected series, Unexpected Rescue.

 

 

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Excerpt:

He closed the box and reached for another. Then he heard the whoosh of a door opening. No footsteps followed. Someone was trying to be silent. O’Sullivan? A security guard? It might be nothing more than a routine check, but his instincts told him he was about to be discovered. He flattened himself again the wall next to the shelves.

Several seconds of silence. The hall door opened and closed again. Sport started to put his gun away.

Suddenly, the office door swung open and Danny was there, aiming a Glock at his chest. Fuck. He hadn’t heard a thing.

Why hadn’t he waited to come back here? Based on what he’d seen of the security, he could have gotten in easily after hours. He could hear his instructor at Quantico berating him for his impatience. Mr. Invincible. Mr. I’m-Better-Than-Any-Fucking-Spook. Look where that got you.

“Hello there,” O’Sullivan said. “Waiting for me?”

The Irish lilt went straight to Sport’s cock. Damn the man. “Just leaving actually,” Sport said, pushing away from the wall.

Danny shook his head. “Not yet. Get rid of your gun and then we’re going to get to know each other better.”

Continue reading “Book Blast: Silvia Violet’s Unexpected Trust Book Tour/Contest” →

Home the Hard Way by Z.A. Maxfield Book Tour and Contest

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Z.A. Maxfield has stopped by today on her Home The Hard Way Book Tour.  She’s brought a contest to help celebrate its release that you won’t want to miss out on!  Welcome, Z.A.!

 

Hello and thanks to Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words for letting me be here today!

I’m Z.A. Maxfield, coming at you from lovely sunny southern California where I’m blogging about my latest release,  Home The Hard Way.

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I’m doing a giveaway and there are a couple different ways to win! At each tour stop, one lucky winner will get to choose any book from my backlist, so if you’re new to Z.A. Maxfield, this is a great way to find out if you want to dive in! At the end of the tour, I’ll be giving away a Riptide gift certificate, so you’re going to want to follow along the whole blog tour  for your best chance at a prize!

HomeTheHardWay_500x750Here’s the blurb for Home the Hard Way:

Dare Buckley has come home—or at least, he’s come back to Palladian, the small town he left as a teenager. After a major lapse in judgment forced him to resign from the Seattle PD, Palladian is the only place that’ll hire him. There’s one benefit to hitting rock bottom, though: the chance to investigate the mystery of his father’s suicide.

Dare also gets to reacquaint himself with Finn Fowler, whose childhood hero worship ended in uncomfortable silence when Dare moved away. But Finn isn’t the same little kid Dare once protected. He’s grown into an attractive, enigmatic stranger who neither wants nor needs what Dare has to offer.

In fact, Dare soon realizes that Finn’s keeping secrets—his own and the town’s. And he doesn’t seem to care that Dare needs answers. The atmosphere in Palladian, like its namesake river, appears placid, but dark currents churn underneath. When danger closes in, Dare must pit his ingenuity against his heart, and find his way home the hard way.

Read more about Home The Hard Way here!
Contest:  There’s two ways to win today! Comment below for a chance to win an ebook from my backlist AND you can also…

Enter the Giveaway!  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author – Z. A. Maxfield started writing in 2007 on a dare from her children and never looked back. Pathologically disorganized, and perennially optimistic, she writes as much as she can, reads as much as she dares, and enjoys her time with family and friends. Three things reverberate throughout all her stories: Unconditional love, redemption, and the belief that miracles happen when we least expect them.

If anyone asks her how a wife and mother of four can find time for a writing career, she’ll answer, “It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you give up housework.”

Readers can visit ZAM at her

August is Here and the Week’s Schedule at ScatteredThoughts!

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Upcoming Reviews

HomeTheHardWay_500x750Unexpected Trust coverLoving LukiHard as Stone Final

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Where did the summer go?  August is arriving this week so thoughts of Fall is trailing in its wake.   I have seen ads for Back to School already, and even (hides my eyes) a few for Christmas.  Really, people?  Christmas?  Sigh.  I am still working on my gardens and the work progresses with the weather.   Like the tides, the work and I flow in and then out.  Cool weather?  Then I can work outside and still breath.  Hot and humid? The typical Washington,  oh right we are surrounded by water and were built on a swamp, DC summer?  Well, that sees me inside, knitting,reading, writing, and grateful for air-conditioning.

Surprisingly, this summer has been pretty good, better than good, so far.  Yesterday barely made it into 80 degrees.  It was lovely and appreciated by all here, including the terriers.  Today humid and 90’s.  Tomorrow more of the same and then down again.  A rollercoaster approach that I will take over weeks of constant 90 degree heat or higher.

It’s also been a wonderful summer so far for books.  New authors, old favorites,  and a new perspective on authors whose new stories I have really liked.  The Pulp Friction 2014 series, Elemental Connections, is off the charts in terms of great plots and even better characters.  I have been reading lots of  books with Fae in the plots, and guess what?  All terrific!  Angel Martinez’ Semper Fae?  Unbelievable!   Rory Ni Coiliean’s SoulShares has me hooked too! On the contemporary side, Lou Sylvre’s Vasquez and James?  Love, love, love them.   Shira Anthony has a new Blue Notes story coming out, Dissonance!   I have two in line from TJ Klune waiting to be read.  I will need more boxes of tissues for those I am sure.  What a happy reader I am these days!

♦If you have noticed, I have started to display current and future book tours to the right hand side of the page.  You can click on those and it will take you to the  entry forms associated with those tours!  Also I have joined the ranks of the Amazon,All Romance Affiliates and Totally Bound Affiliates, so if you buy it through the links at the bottom of each post, it will help support ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords and my efforts to continue to upgrade this website.

♦Now, one last thing.  I have been thinking about this for some time and have decided that I need to add another reviewer to help me cover more books coming out and the review requests I am receiving.  I have a standard format and requirements.  If you are interested, contact me at melaniem54@msn.com and we can talk!

Now on to the week ahead at ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords:

Monday, July 28:

  • Review: Hard as Stone by Rory Ni Coileain

Tuesday, July 29:

  • Riptide’s and Z.A. Maxfield’s Home the Hard Way Book Tour/Contest
  • Book Blast:  Jennifer Cie’s Down the Other Street Book Tour/Contest
  • Review:  Home the Hard Way by Z.A. Maxfield

Wednesday, July 30:

  • Book Blast Book Tour:  Silvia Violet’s Unexpected Trust
  • Review:  Unexpected Trust by Silvia Violet

Thursday, July 31:

  • Virtual Book Tour: That You Are Here by Meredith Allard
  • July Summary of Reviews and Best Covers of the Month

Friday, August 1:

  • Review:  Hero by Heidi Cullinan
  • Review: Gale Force by Rory Ni Coileain

Saturday, August 2:

  • Ink and Flowers by J.K. Pendragon (removed)
  • The Choosing by Annabelle Jacobs

 

Now stay cool, everyone.  Hope you are enjoying your weekend.  Here’s a summer cocktail to try out!

Cucumber Lemonade Mocktail. A111206 Food & Wine March 2012Cucumber Lemonade Mocktail (no alcohol)

Ingredients:
1 paper-thin, lengthwise slice of European cucumber, for garnish
Ice
1/4 teaspoon finely chopped dill, plus 1 dill sprig, for garnish
1 tablespoon agave syrup
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 cup fresh cucumber juice (see Note)
1/4 cup chilled club soda

Directions:

Press the cucumber slice against the inside of a chilled highball glass and add ice. In a cocktail shaker, muddle the chopped dill, agave syrup, lemon and lime juices and 1 tablespoon of water until the syrup is dissolved. Add ice, then add the cucumber juice and shake well. Strain into the prepared glass and stir in the club soda. Garnish with the dill sprig.
NOTES Cucumber juice is available at juice counters. You can also make it by pureeing peeled cucumber chunks in a blender and then straining the puree through a fine sieve. One large cucumber yields about 3/4 cup of strained juice.

Review: Flare-up (Fighting Fire #4) by Laura Harner (Pulp Friction 2014 Series)

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Flare-Up cover by Laura HarnerFollowing his recent meltdown during a fire on Mountain Shadows and the increasing frequency of his nightmares, Scott McGregor is unsure of everything…his home, his future, and his relationship with Robby Hammond.  Scott is buried under the guilt he feels about the accident that caused his disability and another’s injury.   And now that he knows about Robby’s children and previous marriage, he wonders how he will fit into the new family dynamics, if at all.

Rob Hammond has gone to bring his children home from his mother-in-law’s house where they have been staying.  He wants to introduce them to Scott and their new home on Mountain Shadows.  He loves Scott and hopes that with his children in their home, it will send a message about how serious Rob is about their relationship and their future together.

But a new danger to Mountain Shadows campground grows bolder and soon events start to escalate out of control.  When the fires flare up around them, can Rob and Scott keep each other and Rob’s family safe from harm?

With Flare-up, Laura Harner starts the journey towards the end of the series and the resolution to the Elemental Connections series finale.  Events are on a collision course as more acts of vandalism and arson increase and the personal  problems of Scott McGregor soar.

Laura Harner brings Rob’s adorable family into the picture at the beginning of the story.  His children are endearing and it shows yet another element in Robby’s personality, that of a loving father and family man.  We are given a few more hints of Rob and Scott’s background and a temporary reprieve from the suspense and dangers present at the Mountain Shadows campground these days.  I just love this segment and wanted it to go on much longer.  So will you.

Scott’s inability to deal with his disability and departure from the profession of firefighter is given forward movement out of the present stasis here.  The author uses a wonderfully realistic method to shock Scott into looking at his current abilities and future in a pragmatic and raw way.  I thought this was a necessary and authentic moment for the reader and Scott.  It brought some of the dangers of being a wildfire firefighter into play and the vivid descriptions of the heat, smoke and agility needed to handle the equipment and quickness of the fires brought such a hazard and tragedy to life.

This is not a story or series you can get comfortable in.  As soon as you settle in to a certain mind frame, Laura Harner is just as quick to jerk you out of it with some new aspect of her plot or new revelation about the problems and events occurring on Mountain Shadows campground and this couples relationship.  It’s all about building up to some gargantuan disclosure and overwhelming event that will happen in the last stories. Laura Harner is  an expert at building an atmosphere of suspense and anticipation needed to sustain the necessary momentum.  And with Flare-up both the title and the plot start us running towards the fire.

I loved this.  It makes me want to go back and reread all the stories that preceeded it.  I want to savor the buildup and the events that Laura Harner is using as the ingredients for her series finale.  This is a highly recommended story and series.  Put it on your must read lists now.  But make sure you start at the beginning.  That’s absolutely necessary in order to understand, enjoy, and yes, savor, the full intensity and layers to this plot.  Book No. 5 here I come!!!!!

Cover art by Laura Harner. Love the covers, love the branding for the series.

Buy Links:                    All Romance eBooks (ARe)                               Amazon                                Flare-up

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 72 pages
Published July 14th 2014 by Hot Corner Press
ASINB00LTED5H6
edition languageEnglish

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: to be released

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
charactersFinn Lorensso

Side Stories or Interludes:

Taking Chances by Lee Brazil (a In From the Cold story)