Its Super Bowl Sunday,Top 10 Greatest Ancient Athletes and This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

ancient games

Its Super Bowl Sunday and the Top 10 Greatest Ancient Athletes

Its Super Bowl Sunday,  more than that, its Super Bowl 50 so all the celebrations, commercials have been kicked up a notch.  I have to admit, I love the commercials. The Budweiser Clydesdales always  slay me whether the commercials are in a funny vein or outright reaching for the heart.  Horses, dogs…check and done.  Helen Mirren on drunk drivers this  year?  Priceless as they say.  Other than the commercials, none of my teams made it so my heart’s not in it…exactly.  But millions of other peoples are. People are talking teams and favorite athletes. Who is faster, stronger, better and who will win.

And its always been this way.

Doesn’t matter if its hockey and the Ovetchkin or Sidney Crosby rivalry (Caps and Ovetchkin all the way) or the current Super Bowl teams and their quarterbacks, Carolina Panthers Cam Newton or the Denver Broncos Peyton Manning, their pros and cons, their physiques and ages, everything will be discussed ad infinitum.

But that’s nothing new.  From the ancient Olympic games to the the favorite gladiators of the Coliseum, athletes have been written about and fawned over.  Here is the top 10 list of ancient athletes (thank you, Theodoros II of Listverse (http://listverse.com/2013/04/14/10-greatest-ancient-athletes/).  Don’t they cry out for a book about them? :

Orsippus10. Orsippus of Megara was an ancient Greek athlete who won the stadium race of the fifteenth Ancient Olympic Games in 720 B.C. He became the crowd’s favorite, and he was thought to be a great pioneer for being most likely the first ever athlete to run naked. Pausanias, who very often reported on the ancient Olympics like a modern-day sports journalist, states: “My own opinion is that at Olympia he [Orsippus] intentionally let the girdle slip off him, realizing that a naked man can run more easily than one girt.”  It also got him many pots with that scene pictured-the Instagram of that day.

9.Varazdat
VarazdatVarazdat was an athlete from Armenia who won the Olympic boxing tournament during the 291st Olympic Games. We are aware of Varazdat’s victory from a memorandum kept in the Olympic museum in Olympia. The first historiography about Varazdat was written by Movses Chorenatsy in his Armenian History.In ancient Armenian royal and aristocratic families, the physical education of youngsters had a disciplined and orderly character. They were taught swimming, boxing, wrestling, weightlifting, and military exercises. Varazdat, with the benefit of this rigorous training, went on to be the winner of various boxing competitions held in Greece. He later achieved his greatest triumph, when he became the Olympic champion at the Olympics of 385.

8 Cynisca of Sparta
Although men were originally the only ones allowed to compete in the Olympic Games, this soon changed. Several women took partCynisca of Sparta 2 in the ancient Games, and even won competitions. The most famous of these was Cynisca of Sparta, the first woman to win at the Games. By her success, she paved the way for many other women, and helped usher in a new era in the ancient sporting world.Cynisca’s and her male team were successful in the four-horse chariot racing, winning in 396 B.C. and again in 392 B.C. Cynisca was the most distinguished female athlete of the ancient world, and many historians use her as a symbol of the social rise of women, and the beginning of the movement to give them equal rights and opportunities.

7 Polydamas
We don’t know much about the Olympic victor Polydamas of Skotoussa. His background, family life, and even the details of his Olympic triumph remain shrouded in mystery. Aside from the fact that Polydamas’ statue was remarkably tall and strong, we havePolydamus no other information on his appearance.Like many athletes of his time, Polydamas was just as well-known for his non-athletic exploits as he was for his prowess in the Olympic games. Ancient authors tend to compare his feats to those of the legendary Greek hero Herakles. Polydamas once killed a lion with his bare hands on Mount Olympus, in a quest to imitate the labors of Herakles, who famously slew the Nemean lion. For similar reasons, Polydamas once managed to single-handedly bring a fast-moving chariot to a halt.These exploits soon reached the ears of the Persians. Their king, Darius, sent for Polydamas. After he was received by the Persian king, the athlete challenged three Persian “Immortals” to fight him, and managed to defeat them all in a single fight.In the end, however, Polydamas’ strength could not prevent his demise. One summer, Polydamas and his friends were resting in a cave when the roof began to crumble down upon them. Believing that his immense strength could prevent the cave-in, Polydamas held his hands up to the roof, trying to support it as the rocks crashed down around him. His friends fled the cave and reached safety, but the great wrestler was killed.

6.Onomastos of Smyrna
Onomastos of Smyrna was the first ever Olympic victor in boxing, at the twenty-third Olympiad in 688 B.C., when this sport was Onomastos of Smymaadded. According to ancient historians, Onomastos was not only the first Olympic boxing champion, but wrote the rules of Ancient Greek boxing as well. Onomastos also holds a record which remains remarkable even today. After hundreds of ancient and modern Olympiads, he’s still the boxer with the most Olympic boxing titles, with four victories to his name. Laslzo Papp, the world’s greatest amateur boxer of the twentieth century, came close to Onomastos’ record—but he stopped at three Olympic victories before becoming a professional boxer.

5.Melankomas
The famously handsome boxer Melankomas was from Caria, a region in modern-day Turkey. In an effort to prove his courage, Melakomas of CariaMelankomas chose to compete in athletics, since this was the most honorable and most strenuous path open to him. Amazingly enough, Melankomas was undefeated throughout his career—yet he never once hit, or was hit by, an opponent.His boxing style involved defending himself from the blows of the other boxer, and never attempting to strike the other man. Invariably, the opponent would grow frustrated and lose his composure. This unique style won Melankomas much admiration for his strength and endurance. He could apparently last through the whole day—even at the height of summer—and he would refuse to strike his opponents, even though he knew that by doing so he would quickly end the match and secure an easy victory for himself. In this manner he won the Olympic boxing tournament at the 207th Olympic games.

4. Chionis of Sparta
Ancient-Sports-Stars Chionis of Sparta was an athlete who caused much debate regarding his athletic achievements, with the most notable of these being his long-jumping records. Records suggest that in the Olympics of 656 B.C., Chionis jumped a record of seven meters and five centimeters. This feat would have won him the long jump title at the 1896 Olympic Games, and would have placed him among the top eight at a further ten modern Olympics, up to and including the 1952 Games of Helsinki. As well as his amazing achievements in long jump, Chionis was also renowned as a triple jumper—capable of reaching up to 15.85 meters.But the most remarkable fact about this man is that none of his jumps were enhanced by modern-day drugs or training equipment; his records were truly honest and honorable.

3.Diagoras of Rhodes
Diagoras of Rhodes might not be the greatest of ancient athletes, but his family is without doubt the greatest sporting family of theDiagoras of Rhodes Ancient world. Diagoras won the boxing event in the Games of 464 B.C. He was also a four-time winner in the Isthmian Games, and a two-time winner in the games at Nemea. His sons and grandsons also became boxing and pankration champions. During the eighty-third Olympiad, his sons Damagetos and Akousilaos, after they became champions, lifted their father Diagoras on their shoulders to share their victory with him. Legend says that during Diagoras’ triumphant ovation on the shoulders of his sons, a spectator shouted: “Die, Diagoras, for Olympus you will not ascend”—the meaning being that he had reached the highest honor possible for a man and athlete.

2. Theagenes of Thasos
Theagenes was one of the first celebrities of the ancient sporting world. He became famous throughout the world at the tender age of nine. It seems that the boy was walking home from school one day when he noticed a bronze statue of a god in the marketplace oftheagenes22Thasos, Greece. For some reason, Theagenes tore the statue from its base and took it home. This act outraged the citizens, who perceived it as blasphemy against the gods, and they debated whether or not they should execute the child for his deed. One elder, however, wisely suggested that they should have the boy return the statue to its proper place. Theagenes did this—and his life would never be the same again.He went on to become one of the greatest athletes of all time. He was a successful boxer, pankratiast, and runner. He won the Olympic boxing tournament in the seventy-fifth Olympiad of 480 B.C., and in the next Olympics he won the title in the Pankration. In addition to his two Olympic victories, Theagenes won numerous honors in other sports and other games. Altogether he was said to have won over 1,400 contests in many different kinds of sport. His incredible achievements made him a living myth—to the extent that many people even believed that Heracles was his father.If we were to compare Theagenes with a modern boxing hero, such as Harry Greb (the boxer with most official victories (261) in professional boxing’s history) it would seem that Theagenes outnumbers him by nearly 1,250 victories.

1.Milo of Croton
Most historians agree that Milo remains to this day the greatest wrestler and fighter (from any combat sport) the world has ever known. Milo of Croton became an Olympic champion several times during his nearly thirty-year career. His size and physique wereMilo intimidating, and his strength and technique perfect—and many people accordingly believed that he was the son of Zeus. He was said to eat more than eight kilograms of meat every day. Some say that he even once carried an adult bull on his shoulders, all the way to the Olympic stadium, where he slaughtered and devoured it. Yet Milo was not merely a hulking wrestler; he was also a musician and a poet, as well as a student of the mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras.The greatest wrestler of the twentieth century, Alexander Karelin, was often called the modern-day Milo of Croton—but he himself acknowledged that he would not stand a good chance against the real Milo.

All of the ancient athletes above bring to mind the long line of warriors I’ve read about in stories I’ve loved and the sportsmen I’ve watched through the years and am still cheering on today.  Whether your sport is rugby, soccer, football, or  something totally different, think about the sports champions of the past as you cheer on the ones of the present.  Have a great Sunday and Happy Reading.

Now for

This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Sunday, February 7:

  • Its Super Bowl Sunday,Top 10 Greatest Ancient Athletes and This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Monday, February 8:

  • Cover Reveal for Forbes Mates #2 book, Patience. by Grace R. Duncan
  • Until September by Chris Scully – Riptide Tour and Contest
  • A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Dom on the Side by Kate Aaron
  • A MelanieM Review: Dragon Deception by Mell Eight
  • An Ali Review: The Boys of Summer by Sarah Madison

Tuesday. February 9:

  • In the Spotlight: Victoria Sue’s The Promise (excerpt and giveaway)
  • Dreamspinner Tour: Dormant Heart by Lane Swift (guest blog, excerpt)
  • An Ali Review: Whistle Blower by Dev Bentham
  • A Stella Review: Until September by Chris Scully
  • An Jeri Review: Tackling the Tight End by Tara Lain

Wednesday, February 10:

  • Patricia Logan ‘The Brat’ Tour and Giveaway
  • Dreamspinner Author Tour: Project Ordell by Susanna Hays (author guest blog)
  • A Jeri Review: The Imperfection of Swans by Brandan Witt
  • A Lila Review: Forced Impressions by Piper Doone
  • A PaulB Review: Golden Son by Jeff Erno

Thursday, February 11:

  • Dreamspinner Author Tour: Some Assembly by Lex Chase and Bru Baker (author guest blog)
  • A BJ Review: Dancer of Death by Jordan L. Hawk
  • An Ali Review: Second Hand (Tucker Springs #2) by Heidi Cullinan and Marie Sexton, Iggy Toma (Narrator)
  • A MelanieM Review: Strength of the Sun by SA McAuley
  • A Paul B Audiobook Review:  Lightning Struck Heart by TJ Klune (audio)

Friday, February 12:

  • Dreamspinner Author Tour: Foxes by Suki Fleet (guest post)
  • Dreamspinner Author Tour: Max MacGowan (Taking the Long Way)
  • LE Franks ‘Six Days to Valentine’ book blast and giveaway
  • A Ali Audiobook Review: Healing Hunter’s Heart by Charlie Cochet
  • A Stella Review:Naked Prince and Other Fairy Tales by Joe Cosentino

Saturday, February 13:

  • Dreamspinner Author Tour: Table for One by Ava Hayden (guest blog)
  • A Free Dreamer Review: Foxes by Suki Fleet

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Ali Review: Keys (City of Keys #1) by Amber Kell and narrator Derrick McClain (audiobook)

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
KeysAUDMy name is Octavius Septimus Stalk, but my friends call me Oss. I live in the City of Keys, a town of gears, keys, locks, and wonder. Our forefathers banished magic long ago, bolted the doors and locked everything up tight to keep people out and the town’s secrets in. Four Lock Lords control what information is left, and everyone else is left struggling to survive.

Despite what Thorne, my naïve lover, thinks, I was an orphan, but not a victim. When I walked the streets at the age of twelve, I learned fast where to steal the best food, how to use my daggers, and where to hide my would-be attackers’ bodies. No one suspected me of such violence. No one knew then or now that I have magic inside me.

Now, power hungry men intend to release the magic for their own benefit—at the expense of the rest of the city. We will stop them, even if Thorne must battle his own kin, even if I must reveal my hidden talents and the role I seem destined to play.
 
I really loved the world this author created.  It’s a fantasy world where all locks are controlled by the Key Lords and key keepers.  As a result they control the entire city and it has created a dramatic separation between the rich and the poor.  Oss and Thorne are on opposite sides of this divide yet still love each other.  The imagery was well done and I could envision the shop owners waiting every morning for a key keeper to arrive to unlock their business.  The two main characters were enjoyable and I liked both of them.  I also really liked that they were an established couple when the story begins.  There was also a host of side characters that were interesting and the set up for the next two books was good.  My only real complaint is there are many parts, especially at the beginning, where the prose is very purple.  It is ridiculously flowery and overly descriptive.  I wasn’t sure at first if I was going to like the book because of that but I ended up liking the world enough to over look it.  I will definitely be reading the next book in the series.
 
I did this on audio and I enjoyed the narrator a lot.  I thought he did a good job on all the voices and I will probably do the next one on audio also.
 
Cover by Anne CainI like the cover a lot.  It’s simple, yet it captures the mood and feel of the story.  

Sales Links:  Dreamspinner Press | iTunes | Audible | Amazon

Book Details:

Narrator Derrick McClain
Length 6 hours and 48 minutes
Categories: Audiobooks,Amber Kell, City of Keys by Amber Kell
Book Type Audiobook
Other Formats :eBook,Paperback

Love Fantasy? Check out J. Scott Coatsworth’s ‘The Autumn Lands’, a new MM Romance/sci fi/fantasy (excerpt)

TheAutumnLands-Scott

The Autumn Lands by J. Scott Coatsworth
Publisher: Mischief Corner Books
Cover Artist: Freddy MacKay

Release Date: 1/27/16
Goodreads Link

Blurb

Jerrith is running. Kissed by an elf, he can’t remain in his hometown of Althos any more. Not that he wanted to stay.

Caspian still hasn’t figured out why he kissed Jerrith, but he’s running too. Since he was exiled from the Autumn Lands, his past has been hazy, and his future uncertain.

But when a stray memory brings things into focus, the two decide to run toward something together. What they uncover will change how they see the world, and themselves, forever.

Excerpt

Jerrith Ladner ran down Dyer’s Alley in Althos, winded but not daring to stop. He swung left down Chaplain’s Lane where the lanterns cast a crazy patchwork of light across cobbles, uneven enough to give even the Night Guard pause. His lungs hurt, but he didn’t slow down and didn’t dare glance back.

The occasional passerby stared at him as he flashed past, but he ignored them. Several times he stumbled and fell, and blood dripped down his bare leg from a skinned knee. The outskirts of town were silent, with almost everyone already indoors for the night.

His recent past was a blur, with snatches of it flitting by in his head like birds, flapping and confusing him with their unsteady rhythm:

The kiss.

The unexpected shock of it.

The glimpse of the Autumn Lands through the Nevris man’s golden eyes.

At last, exhausted, Jerrith ducked behind a low wall that ran along the fields just outside of town and looked back.

It was quiet. There was nothing but blackness crisscrossed by lamplight at even intervals.

Almost sobbing, he sat down with his back to the wall and curled up into himself, scarcely noticing the pain that traced the lines of his rib cage or even the bright line of red on his leg.

Ever so slowly, his heavy breathing eased and his jumbled mind began to sort things out.

He had been walking to the Smithy in the early morning when the Nevris caravan had passed him by, six wagons of merchandise from the Autumn Lands covered with heavy tarps, crossing through town on its way to the stables on the far side of the village. A stranger had drawn his attention—an outrider for the caravan.

Tall and slender where Jerrith was stocky and muscled, he was a young man, more or less Jerrith’s own age. His blond hair had been pulled back behind his pointed ears, the mark of the Nevris. He moved with a quiet and restrained grace.

His eyes were wide and golden, and they’d met his as Jerrith crossed the town square on the way to ‘prentice to the blacksmith. The man’s gaze had filled Jerrith with something hot and impulsive, a sense of anticipation. Something that he had no name for.

Then he’d been gone.

Jerrith had spent the long, dizzying hours of work in the Smithy, hammering out heated metal into a new plowshare for Farmer Angus, the hot breath of the bellows tempered only by the cool springtime air from outside. Trying to forget those eyes.

The heat of the oven only served to fuel the heat he felt inside, until he thought he might explode.

Sent home at last well after nightfall, he’d heard a whispered voice from the dark alleyway between the Alchemist’s shop and the Rutting Crow. Jerrith had looked around to see if anyone was watching, then slipped into the alley, his heart beating faster and the bulge in his pants stiffening.

The man had kissed him hard and rough, and he’d returned the kiss passionately as the Nevris man pulled him close.

Buy Links

Mischief Corner Books (info only) | Amazon  | KoboBookstrand | ARe | iBooks

j-scott-coatsworth

Author Bio

Scott has been writing since elementary school, when he and won a University of Arizona writing contest in 4th grade for his first sci fi story (with illustrations!). He finished his first novel in his mid twenties, but after seeing it rejected by ten publishers, he gave up on writing for a while.

Over the ensuing years, he came back to it periodically, but it never stuck. Then one day, he was complaining to Mark, his husband, early last year about how he had been derailed yet again by the death of a family member, and Mark said to him “the only one stopping you from writing is you.”

Since then, Scott has gone back to writing in a big way, finishing more than a dozen short stories – some new, some that he had started years before – and seeing his first sale. He’s embarking on a new trilogy, and also runs the Queer Sci Fi (http://www.queerscifi.com) site, a support group for writers of gay sci fi, fantasy, and supernatural fiction.

Enter the World of Fantasy with Meraki P. Lhyne’s ‘Anchored In Stone (excerpt and giveaway)

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Anchored In Stone (Chronicles of an Earned #1) by Meraki P. Lyhne
Release Date: November 1st, 2015

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Extasy Books
Cover Artist: Carmen Waters

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Meraki P. Lyhne author of Anchored in Stone.  Hi Meraki, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

Trivial stuff, sure. I’m a Danish woman at 36. I’m a mom, a wife, a coffeeholic. I’m a black smith by trade, but I switched out the hammer and anvil for a keyboard to make the constant run of a character stop. It didn’t work out as well as planned because that just made room for more. When I moved into MM I made up this Pseudonym. That’s what the P. stands for. I’ve been published in Denmark and a publisher there once told me that readers can relate two genres pr. Author name. MM is so far from what I’ve written so far, so I made up Meraki to write MM.

  • Give us an interesting fun fact or a few about your book or series:

Edward Watcher is inspired by my art teacher at school, and some of the scenes are inspired by that class. It’s the only time I’ve ever done that, but that teacher was phenomenal, and he deserved the honor.

  • How did you come up with the title of your book or series?

The title is something from the book. Either an object or a pivotal factor. The series title is because it’s a chronicles. The Earned are the demigods in this world, and even though Alex is the main character, then they’re closely connected. But Kaleb is the center, but not always the one focused upon as he evolves along with Alex. Hard to explain, because it has something to do with how the Earned function.

  • Have you ever given one of your characters the personality of someone you know?

Not a personality. The closest I’ve come was as described under the first question. Characters do what they like anyway. God isn’t the only one laughing when man plans—characters laugh too, when authors plan. I’m sure of it!

  • What do you think makes a good story?

I’ve always been partial to the character development. I love action, too, but I think other than that, then the author’s ability to pace a story is just as important. Pacing the evolving world and character’s development is key.

  • What does your family think of your writing?

My hubby supports me. He’s my Atlas—he carries the real world on his shoulders while I make up new ones. He hasn’t read a whole lot of it, but he’s a hard working man. That I write MM is just something he smiles about. He does intend on reading them when the rebuild of the house is done.

My brothers and twin sister are supportive as well, and my parents are proud, too, but they don’t read my books because of one, a bad eyesight, and two, she’s not thrilled by the first series which was quite violent. Her opinions on homosexuality means she’ll definitely never read this series.Anchored in Stone dogs

I’ve had three dogs, two of which are alive and warming my feet under the desk. I have two cats, and two birds, too, so it’s a lively house. My first dog was an English Mastiff, and I’d really love a dog like that again! Right now I have Formel 1 yellow Labradors. It’s not always a good thing to have dogs as office pets. I mean, trying to keep focused when they rip off a stinker under the desk…I’ve had to vacate the premises for safety a few times in the middle of a scene.

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Blurb

The easiest heist in Alex Rhoden’s career is also the most dangerous of all.

As a child, Alex Rhoden’s talent as a thief was recognized by a rich art collector. He has since then been schooled and trained to become one of the best art thieves in the world. While on the easiest heist of his career he finds himself running with the artefact in his possession, followed by an unknown adversary. But they are not the only ones interested in the artefact—so is an ancient race of demigods called Earned. Cornered and out of options, Alex has to make a difficult decision that will turn his life upside down no matter what he chooses.

The young demigod, Kaleb, is reborn into servitude, but he is a freak amongst his own kind—the forbidden unity between an Earned and a witch. Other than finding himself, learning to control his powers, and balance high school as a senior, Kaleb must earn the trust of his pack and family. But Alex is in danger and the young demigod struggles to keep up.

 

Pages or Words: 373 pages, 106,985 words
Categories: Contemporary, Erotica, M/M Romance, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy

Excerpt

Alex made his way down the corridors, watching out for the guard. This one he found leafing through a magazine with his feet up and his back turned to the staircase. Alex stopped, breathed in deeply, and let it out slowly, reminding himself that a fat guard’s dumb luck was what caught his cat burglar mentor. No matter how carefully one builds a card house, a gust of wind can bring it all down.

So Alex took his time and focused all his expertise on getting past this guard as if he were from the agency itself. Finally in the basement, he made his way to the crate, pushed it open, and sought out the stone first. He found it and put it in a bag, which he in turn put in his thigh pocket, before stuffing another bag with whatever his pricey education had told him was worth the most on the black market.

Happy with his find, he turned, but something seemed to have a hold on the pocket with the stone in. He turned and found himself face to face with a big, mean-looking ghost. He gasped and clasped his left hand over his mouth to catch the scream he couldn’t stop, and clutched the stone with his right.

And then he ran. He didn’t even care if the guard saw him. He made it past the guard, who was nowhere in sight, and exited through the service entrance.

Alex didn’t stop until his body threatened to vomit out his heart. He stopped and by sheer exhaustion, his body chose to empty his stomach anyway. He took the stone out and stared at it. It felt almost as if fine electricity danced between it and where it touched his skin.

“What the hell did you have me steal, Mr. Henry?”

Buy the book:  Amazon | eXtasy

 

Meet the Author:

Meraki P. Lyhne is a Danish author with a love for the paranormal and space opera. She has been writing space opera since 2007, but paranormal erotic romance is a newer love. Closing the door to her writing-den, she delves into elaborate stories and research ancient religions, mythologies, and arts of the world to be inspired, so she can create new creatures of the paranormal.

Where to find the author:


BannerTemplateTour Dates & Stops:

11-Jan: The Hat Party, MM Good Book Reviews, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents

18-Jan: Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Molly Lolly, Happily Ever Chapter

25-Jan: Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings, Wake Up Your Wild Side, Love Bytes

1-Feb: Book Lovers 4Ever, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

8-Feb: A.M. Leibowitz, Cheekypee Reads and Reviews, BFD Book Blog

15-Feb: Boys on the Brink Reviews, Inked Rainbow Reads, Alpha Book Club

22-Feb: Prism Book Alliance, Divine Magazine, Bayou Book Junkie

29-Feb: Multitasking Mommas, Velvet Panic, Havan Fellows

Final

Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: PDF copy of ‘Anchored in Stone’ by Meraki P. Lhyne. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.
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WillPride

Its February, Where’s the Respect? This Week At Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

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Its February, Where’s the Respect?

 

So its February and I thought I would look around for suitable quotes to herald in the second month of the Gregorian calendar.  Oh, what a bag of woe and complaints I found.

Let’s start with this.

“February is a suitable month for dying.  Everything around is dead, the trees black and frozen so that the appearance of green shoots two months hence seems preposterous, the ground hard and cold, the snow dirty, the winter hateful, hanging on too long.”
–  Anna Quindlen, One True Thin

How cheery!  Death, dead, black, dying….yep.  Eeyore has nothing on Anna Quindlen.  There are many more in that vein but I’m going to pass those by. I might have thought that about a couple of days ago but now?  I’m thaaaat much closer to March but more on that later.  Now how about this one, it totally cracks me up.

“Loud are the thunder drums in the tents of the mountains.
Oh, long, long
Have we eaten chia seeds
and dried deer’s flesh of the summer killing.
We are tired of our huts
and the smoky smell of our clothing.
We are sick with the desire for the sun
And the grass on the mountain.”
–  Paiute Late Winter Song

I can hear it now.  “Damn it I’m tired of deer jerky, you smell of bear fat, the hut stinks.  If I have to eat one more damn seed, I’m gone to puke.  Fat  Groundhog Who Runs Like Rock is looking pretty good to me right now. I want Spring!”   That’s really what that says.  See?  Not so different from the way many of us are feeling now.

Some see it as a mere stepping stone that must be passed over to get to March such as the next quote:

“February is merely as long as is needed to pass the time until March.”
–  Dr. J. R. Stockton

And so many that remark on the fact that while its our shortest month, it feels like forever, such as these:

“Even though February was the shortest month of the year, sometimes it seemed like the longest.”

― J.D. Robb

and almost word for word

“Even though February was the shortest month of the year, sometimes it seemed like the longest.”

― Lorraine Snelling

“February – the month of love..?!!
No wonder the shortest one in the calendar.”
― Dinesh Kumar Biran

That last, yep. Valentine’s Day. And the ones that like February?  Dreadful, at least not to my taste, such as this one:

“Wan February with weeping cheer,
Whose cold hand guides the youngling year
Down misty roads of mire and rime,
Before thy pale and fitful face
The shrill wind shifts the clouds apace
Through skies the morning scarce may climb.
Thine eyes are thick with heavy tears,
But lit with hopes that light the year’s.”
–  Algernon Charles Swinburne, A Year’s Carols: February

I much prefer the brevity of Robert Byrne’s short winter perspective.

“Winter is nature’s way of saying, “Up yours.”” 
–  Robert Byrne

I prefer to look at February as a time of transition, neither winter nor spring.  We have time to plan ahead and still enjoy the season we are currently in or  complain about it if that’s where the time takes you (see me last week when I was snowed in).  Its Black History month which has never been more needed given current race relations, Valentine’s Day which many have a love/hate relationship with, the Super Bowl, Groundhog Day and for a little piece of history, the Supreme Court of the United States met for the first time on February 1, 1790. Plus Abraham Lincoln was born this month. There’s a lot going on in February and still it gets no respect.

So how about a little, hell yeah, happy to see, you, February.  Plan a little, snuggle a little, write and read a little, enjoy it while its here. March is coming, so is Spring, Enjoy the sight of the Snow Junco below the feeders and the Winter Wren warbling merrily away before they leave. I will enjoy my February and plan some changes and read many more books.  I’ll leave you with one more poem (still that Paiute one remains my favorite):

February

February knows his fortune well,
Even in the bitterness of dawn
Breaking in the coldest hour of hell,
Revealing but the worst that must be borne.
Underneath the ice the passions sleep
Ablaze with all the beauty of their burning,
Rendering a richness that will keep
Yet warm within the cavern of his yearning.

© Nicholas Gordon

Now for this week’s schedule at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

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This Week At Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Sunday, January 31:

  • Its February, where’s the respect? This Week At Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
  • Louise Lyons ‘Favorite Toy’ book blast and giveaway

Monday, February 1:

  • Book blast and giveaway for Catherine Lievens ‘Benoit’s Christmas Surprise’
  • Coffee Sip and Book Break with Meraki P. Lhyne’s ‘Anchored In Stone (excerpt and giveaway)
  • Second to None by Felice Stevens Blog Tour and  Contest
  • An Ali Audiobook Review: Another Way (Another Way #1) by Anna Martin and Narrator Brad Langer
  • A Lila Review: Romanus by Mary Calmes

Tuesday, February 2:

  • Its Release Time for J. Scott Coatsworth’s ‘The Autumn Lands’, a new MM Romance/sci fi/fantasy (excerpt)
  • In the Contemporary Book Spotlight: Lane Hayes ‘A Kind of Truth’ (excerpt and giveaway)
  • The Sub Club Continues with Pain Slut by  J.A. Rock (giveaway)
  • A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Pain Slut (The Subs Club, #2) by JA Rock
  • A Stella Review: Out! by JL Merrow

Wednesday, February 3:

  • Dusk Peterson ‘The Shining Ones’ Book Blast and Giveaway
  • Heidi Cullinan’s Clockwork Heart Blog Tour and Giveaway
  • A Lila Review: Clockwork Heart by Heidi Cullinan
  • A BJ Review: Stealing Innocents by Cari Waites
  • A PaulB Review: The President’s Husband by Michael Murphy (release day)

Thursday, February 4:

  • In the Spotlight: Alysia Constantine’s ‘Sweet’ (excerpt and giveaway)
  • A Paul B Review: Dangerous Territory by Cari Z
  • A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Dangerous Territory by Cari Z
  • A BJ Review: Mocker of Ravens by Jordan Hawk
  • A MelanieM Review:  Dirty Heart (Cole McGinnis #6) by Rhys Ford
  • A VVivacious Review: Save of the Game by Avon Gale

Friday, February 5:

  • Whistle Blower by Dev Bentham: Book blast and contest
  •  Dreamspinner Tour: Catch a Tiger by the Tail by Charlie Cochet (Guest Post and Tour)
  • A Stella Review: Out of the Past by Sean Michael
  • A Jeri Review: Catch a Tiger by the Tail by Charlie Cochet
  • A F.D. Review: Line and Orbit by Sunny Moraine and Lisa Soem
  • An Ali Review: Keys by Amber Kell (audiobook)

Saturday, February 6:

  • Dreamspinner Press Tour: My Man Walter by J.S. Cook (guest post and giveaway)
  • A MelanieM Review: The Case of the Purple Pearl (End Street Detective Agency #5) by Amber Kell and R.J. Scott

 

Its Release Day for Jaye McKenna’s ‘Wildfire Psi’, the latest in the Guardians of the Pattern series (excerpt and giveaway)

Wildfire Psi

Wildfire Psi (Guardians of the Pattern, #4) by Jaye McKenna
Published by Mythe Weaver Press
Cover Artist Chinchbug
Goodreads Link

Buy Links

 

Wildfire Psi Blurb

Things are finally going well for Luka Valdari. He’s found a home and family at the Institute for Psionic Research, and he has a job he loves. When a training mission takes him back to the streets of downside Riga, he’s got plenty of reason to be uneasy, and when a psionic cry for help leads him to a nightmare from his past, Luka’s ready to bolt.

Things are not going so well for Damon Korsov. He’s got voices in his head, a hole in his memory, and strange dreams that may or may not be glimpses of his past. The one man who might hold the key to Damon’s past is the one man he can never ask. Because somehow, Luka knows Damon, and it’s clear to Damon that Luka hates him.

Unwilling to expose anyone else to the danger Damon represents, Luka volunteers to train him. He wants to hate Damon, but instead finds himself fascinated. Before they get a chance to sort things out between them, the two men are thrown into the middle of a terrifying plot that puts every human life in the galaxy at risk. Can Luka and Damon confront both of their pasts and work together to prevent disaster? Or will all the human worlds burn in the flames of wildfire psi?

Wildfire Psi

Wildfire Psi Excerpt

Luka focused on the large vid-screen opposite the couch he and Kyn were sitting on. From the kitchen, he could hear Damon banging things around; he’d volunteered to finish the supper dishes while Luka and Kyn started their challenge game, but a few minutes ago, the delicious smell of baking cookies had filled the air. It was making Luka’s stomach growl, even though he’d only finished dinner a short time ago.

“Come on, move it,” Kyn said as he waited for Luka’s character to catch up to his. “Those goblins are right on your skinny ass.”

“I’m going as fast as I can,” Luka grumbled. “You’re playing a damn elf. Your base movement’s a hell of a lot higher than mine.”

“Base movement, my ass.” He heard the grin in Kyn’s voice, but dared not tear his eyes from the screen to return it. “You could move just as fast if you weren’t carrying so much shit. We’re going to lose this thing because you have to keep stopping to pick up every shiny piece of crap you come across.”

“If I didn’t, we’d be totally out of healing potions by now,” Luka said. “See if I share when those goblin archers turn your ass into a pincushion.”

“If they do, it’ll be your fault for slowing me down. Who the hell needs five flaming swords?”

“Hey, those suckers are worth a thousand gold each.”

“Not if you’re dead,” Kyn muttered.

“Um… Kyn? Luka? I made cookies. If… if you want some.”

Luka glanced up to see Damon standing by the couch, a plate piled high with cookies in his hand.

“Thanks, Damon.” Kyn shot Luka an unreadable look as he paused the game.

Damon handed him the plate and turned back to the kitchen. Kyn offered it to Luka first. It was piled high with chocolate chip cookies, and they were still warm, the chocolate all melted and gooey, just the way Luka liked them. He couldn’t resist. He took one and bit into it, closing his eyes in bliss as the rich, sweet flavor of the chocolate rolled over his tongue.

“Oh, God… these are fantastic…”

“Here, I got you some milk, too.”

Luka opened his eyes to see Damon standing before him again, offering him a glass of cold milk. How the hell had he known to do that? “Um… thanks, man.” He accepted the glass and took a drink, trying not to think about why Damon had chosen to spend the last half hour making Luka’s favorite food in the entire world.

“Nice job, Damon,” Kyn said around a mouthful. “Anyone would think you’d done this before.”

Damon flushed scarlet. “I… had a little help. I went to visit Carla in the kitchen yesterday after my session with Jaana. She was in the middle of making a batch when I got there, and she let me help, and gave me some pointers.”

“Well, since you did all the work baking them,” Kyn said, “I’ll volunteer for cleanup duty. Have a seat. Maybe get Luka to show you how to play Goblin Alliance.”

A week ago, Luka would have been annoyed at Kyn for trying to push them together. Now, he just handed Damon the controller Kyn had been using. Damon accepted it gingerly and sat down, making sure to keep some space between them.

“Don’t think this gets you out of the challenge,” Luka told Kyn as he walked away. He grabbed another cookie and said to Damon, “We’ll start a new game. You ever play before?”

“No.” Damon examined the controller, frowning. “Grandfather didn’t allow games on his entertainment system. He said they were a waste of time.”

“Oh, man, seriously? You’ve never played anything? You are in for a treat. The VR version’s a hell of a lot better, but Cam won’t put a VR system out here. Says he can’t justify the expense just for me and Kyn. There’s one back on campus, though.”

Damon watched intently as Luka started a new game. “First you gotta build your character,” Luka told him. “After that, it’s easier to show you than tell you, so we’ll go through the tutorial game. That covers pretty much everything you need to know.”

“Including which shiny things to pick up?” Damon asked with a sly grin.

Luka couldn’t help but return the grin. “Nah, that’s entirely a matter of intelligence,” he said loud enough for Kyn to hear. “The smart player picks up as much of the good stuff as he can carry. That way he doesn’t run out of healing potions in the middle of battle.”

“That’s assuming he’s not too loaded down to reach the battle before it’s over,” Kyn shot back.

Damon laughed.

“Hey, I always get there in plenty of time to loot the dead,” Luka told him. “That’s called strategy, Kyn. You’ll notice it ain’t me that has to be healed every five minutes.”

He took another cookie.

“You really like the cookies?” Damon asked. “You’re not just saying that?”

“Every bit as good as Carla’s,” Luka said. “And that’s a compliment coming from me.” He glanced up and found Damon’s pale grey eyes fixed on him. For one frozen moment, Luka felt almost as if he were drowning. He couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t look away.

Damon looked away first, cheeks flushing as he lowered his eyes to stare at the game controller in his hand. “So, um… what do I do?”

Relieved to have something else to focus on, Luka dove into an explanation of the various character classes, and they were soon playing the first of the tutorials and taking frequent cookie breaks.

Damon’s enthusiasm for the game was contagious, and he caught on quickly. It felt like only minutes had passed before Kyn was saying goodnight and heading up to bed. Knowing how easily sound traveled between the cabin’s floors, Luka shut the game down, promising Damon they could continue tomorrow.

Upstairs, in his own room, he burrowed under the covers and tried to think of something other than Damon’s smiles of delight as he began to understand how the game was played. Tried not to think about how his eyes had sparkled with excitement as he’d fought his first battle and emerged victorious.

In the middle of the night, Luka woke from a dream in which Damon looked at him with eyes on fire, and took him in his arms and stroked him to heaven and back. Blood pounded in his ears and filled his cock. His body was slick with sweat and he wanted with a fierceness he’d never felt before.

He fumbled in the drawer of his nightstand for the little bottle of lube he kept for occasions like this. A few drops in his palm, and he slipped his hand into his shorts and stroked himself.

It felt so damn good he had to bite his lip to keep from crying out. He ran his palm down his cock, slicking himself up, then closed his fingers and thrust up into his hand with a low groan.

Heat and need built until his whole body burned. He bucked his hips, thrusting harder and faster into his closed fist. When he came, it was Damon’s face he saw against the darkness of closed eyes, and Damon’s name he cried into his pillow.

About the Author

Jaye McKenna icon

Jaye McKenna was born a Brit and was dragged, kicking and screaming, across the Pond at an age when such vehement protest was doomed to be misinterpreted as a “paddy”. She grew up near a sumac forest in Minnesota and spent most of her teen years torturing her parents with her electric guitar and her dark poetry. She was punk before it was cool and a grown-up long before she was ready. Jaye writes fantasy and science fiction stories about hot guys who have the hots for each other. She enjoys making them work darn hard for their happy endings, which might explain why she never gets invited to their parties.

You can contact Jaye McKenna at     Goodreads| Twitter| Website

Giveaway

Leythe Blade

Enter to win a eBook copy of Leythe Blade by Jaye McKenna.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Use the Rafflecopter code below to enter.

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Love Fairytales Adultstyle? Check out ‘The Naked Prince and Other Tales From Fairyland’ by Joe Cosentino (guest post and giveaway)

The Naked Prince cover

The Naked Prince and Other Tales From Fairyland by Joe Cosentino

published by Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Paul Richmond

Sales Link:  Dreamspinner Press

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have Joe Cosentino back to talk about his latest novel,  THE NAKED PRINCE AND OTHER TALES FROM FAIRYLAND.  Welcome, Joe, would you care to share some of the inspiration behind this collection of stories with our readers?

Thanks, Melanie, I have always been entranced by fairytales, the beautiful stories of peasants becoming princes and princesses and finding true love. I wanted to live in those palaces, meet the charming princes, and bring financial equality to those kingdoms. As I read and reread my favorite fairytales, I was saddened to see no openly gay characters in any of my favorite stories. I asked myself, ‘Why couldn’t a peasant boy fall in love with a prince? Wouldn’t a tired, hungry, homeless blond boy seek refuge in a house with three bears? What was Pinocchio’s growing appendage trying to tell him?  Did Jack enjoy his time with the Giant more than he let on? Could the Snow Queen be a handsome, frigid prince?’ So I wrote the four romantic, humorous, and adventurous stories in my new novella releasing from Dreamspinner Press on January 27. Attached is the ARC and press flyer with all the information. I hope you will twinkle your fairy dust and review them. Big hugs from fairyland!

                                ~Joe Cosentino

The Naked Prince cover

About The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland

Cinder, a poor and beautiful young man who designs clothing, makeup, and hair for his stepmother and stepsisters, offers his clothing and slippers to a naked stranger in the woods who turns out to be none other than Prince Charming. Follow Cinder and Prince Charming in this twist on the classic “Cinderella” tale, as they discover their inner strengths and find their very own happily ever after. Enjoy “The Naked Prince” and three other reimagined Tales from Fairyland, each with a unique spin on stories we all know and love, including “The Golden Rule,” where eighteen-year-old Gideon Golden, after being thrown out of his home in Fairyland by his homophobic parents, breaks into the cottage of three burly men on Bear Mountain, “Whatever Happened To…?,” in which friction ensues between a celebrity with a growing appendage and the reporter who has a thing for giants, and “Ice Cold,” where young Gaelen must save his love Kieran after a handsome but evil prince freezes Kieran’s heart and bewitches him into being the prince’s slave.

About the Author

Amazon Bestselling author Joe Cosentino wrote An Infatuation, A Shooting Star, A Home for the Holidays, The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland (Dreamspinner Press), Drama Queen the first Nicky and Noah mystery (Lethe Press), Drama Muscle the second Nicky and Noah mystery (Lethe Press), Paper Doll the first Jana Lane mystery (Whiskey Creek Press), and The Nutcracker and the Mouse King (Eldridge Plays and Musicals). He has appeared in principal acting roles in film, television, and theatre, opposite stars such as Bruce Willis, Rosie O’Donnell, Nathan Lane, Holland Taylor, Charles Keating, and Jason Robards. His one-act plays, Infatuation and Neighbor, were performed in New York City. He wrote The Perils of Pauline educational film (Prentice Hall Publishers). Joe is currently Head of the Department/Professor at a college in upstate New York, and is happily married. His upcoming releases are Cozzi Cove: Bouncing Back, Cozzi Cove: Moving Forward(Nine Star Press) and Porcelain Doll the second Jana Lane mystery (Wild Rose Press releasing March 15).

 You can contact/follow Joe Cosentino at:

 

Fantasy Romance, gay fiction,
ASIN: ISBN-13: 978-1-63476-758-3
Pages or WC: 30,000 words

Giveaway

To celebrate the release of The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland, Joe Cosentino is giving away one ebook from his backlist to a Rafflecopter winner, winner’s choice of book excluding The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

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Its Greek Gods and Rock n Roll with ‘The Backup’ by Erica Kudisch (guest post and giveaway)

TheBackup_600x900

The Backup by Erica Kudisch
Published by Riptide Publishing
Cover Artist Jay Aheer

Read An Excerpt/Buy It Here

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have Erica Kudisch here today to talk about her latest novel, The Backup, along with the music and a touch of mythology.  Welcome, Erica.

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍

Hi all! Erica Kudisch here, promoting my debut novel THE BACKUP, queer urban fantasy with a side of myth and music. Thanks so much for keeping up with the blog tour! Be sure to swing by the other stops for awesome multimedia content and a $50 prize package giveaway!

Nik’s Latest Album: LAST AGAINST THE PRECIPICE

CD Cover_FINALCD Back Cover_FINAL

Nicole Peterson of Inappropriately Adorable has graciously supplied the cover art for Nik’s new release!

******************************

About The Backup

I’m supposed to be better than this. I’m supposed to have a tenure-track job teaching music history to undergrads, writing papers about Bach, and proving to kids like me that you can work your way out of Harlem. I’m not supposed to be following a rock star around the country, fetching his mail, making sure his groupies are of age.

I’m definitely not supposed to be sleeping with said rock star, who claims to be the Greek God Dionysus. At first I thought it was a load of crap. Nik’s fans might think his music captures their hearts—and souls—but I knew better. Until one of Nik’s orgiastic concerts gets out of hand and I don’t know which is worse: that he might be a god after all, or that he has a body count.

Nik doesn’t care what I want or what I should be. He wants to tear down the world I’ve built, warping all I am, until his music is all that’s left of me. I can’t let him do that. I shouldn’t believe in him. I’ve seen what happens to the people who believe in him.

But I can’t get his song out of my head.

About Erica Kudisch

Erica Kudisch lives, writes, sings, and often trips over things in New York City. When not in pursuit of about five different creative vocations, none of which pay her nearly enough, you can usually find her pontificating about dead gay video games, shopping for thigh-high socks, and making her beleaguered characters wait forty thousand words before they get in the sack.

In addition to publishing novellas and short stories as fantastika-focused alter-ego Kaye Chazan (What Aelister Found Here and The Ashkenazi Candidate, both available at Candlemark & Gleam) Erica is responsible for the BDSM musical Dogboy & Justine, and serves as creative director and co-founder of Treble Entendre Productions.

She also has issues with authority. And curses too fucking much.

Connect with Erica:

TheBackup_TourBanner

The Giveaway

To celebrate the release of The Backup, Erica is giving away iTunes and Riptide credit totaling $50! Your first comment at each stop on this tour enters you in the drawing. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on January 30, 2016. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. Entries. Follow the tour for more opportunities to enter the giveaway! Don’t forget to leave your email or method of contact so Riptide can reach you if you win!

Snowmeggedon, Storm of the Century Part Deux and This Week At Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

blizzard 2016b

Capital 2016 snow

 

Sooooooo, its been snowing here in the MD DC VA area since Friday afternoon and doing a superb job of it.  We are at 2.5 ft of snow here and climbing with snow expected to continue to fall through to midnight.  Now I know you New Yorkers, Bostonians, Alaskans, Minnesotans, etc., are laughing and snorting and making sarcastic comments but hey, we don’t get this amount of snow.  You all don’t do our high heat and humidity, we don’t do your freaking high amounts of snow and low temperatures.  And yes, we don’t handle it well.

You may not see me until  Spring.  My dogs are not happy as you can imagine.    At the backdoor, Kirby takes a flying leap towards the fence as the neighbors have decided to snowboard down their slope and ends up up to his chin in snow (and he’s not a small dog).  Oh the wounded look on his face.  I can’t even keep up with the feeders close to the doors either.

So its reading, writing, staring at the window and  listening to the meteorologists tell me what I already know.  We have a ton of snow on the ground and more falling.

What books are your fall back comfort reads?  On days ( or its looking like weeks like this)  what books do you curl up with that make you feel all warm and fuzzy, or  just plain pull into that world so you can forget whatever is going on outside in real time?  Let me know, turns out I have plenty of time to check them out…

Oh, I almost forgot…see?  Snowbrain!  We have a new reviewer here.  I’m so excited to introduce VVivacious to you all.  Here is her bio.  Please give her a warm welcome.  Her reviews will appear shortly.

VVivacious’ Bio:-

 
“I am a 21 year old girl studying in college and if there is one thing you should know about me it is that I love reading and I love sleeping, a fact that everyone around me can attest to.
 
As such I can’t attribute my love of reading to either of my parents, even though my father does read a lot, it was never something that was actively encouraged in me but I am almost glad it wasn’t because if I am this bad without any encouragement then God forbid what I would have become with a little bit of encouragement.
 
I remember vaguely that the first book I read was about a ragpicker – it was an older children’s book and it opened a whole new world for me, the door to which was pushed wide open with the influx of the Harry Potter series in my life. And just like that once I started I never stopped.
 
Romance is a bit of a later discovery for me but the whole assurance of a happy ending thing had me hooked on and on this whole wave of discovering romance and erotica. I came across Armed & Dangerous which was my first ever MM romance and I can’t think of anyone better than Ty & Zane to have ushered me into this world.
 
The only problem now that I have read so many MM romances is that, I find it hard to read anything else…”
 

Now on to this week’s schedule.

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This Week At Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Sunday, January 24:

  • Snowmeggedon, Storm of the Century Part Deux and This Week At Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
  • Cover Reveal for Wolf by Rory Ni Coileain (Dreamspinner)

Monday, January 25:

  • Release Day Blitz – Will & Patrick Fight Their Feelings‏ (excerpt and giveaway)
  • Greek Gods and Rock n Roll with The Backup by Erica Kudisch (giveaway)
  • From Friendship to Love with Chase Potter’s The Music of the Spheres (guest post and giveaway)
  • A MelanieM Review: The Music of the Spheres by Chase Potter
  • A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Horsefeathers by Caitlin Ricci

Tuesday, January 26:

  • Christian Baines “Puppet Boy” Guest Blog/Giveaway and Its Australia Day!
  • In the Spotlight:  Nic Starr’s Rustic Melody (guest blog and giveaway)
  • A BJ Review: Tracefinder: Contact by Kaje Harper
  • A Stella Review: Haven’s Creed by Parker Williams
  • A MelanieM Review: The Case of the Purple Pearl (End Street Detective Agency #5) by Amber Kell and R.J. Scott

Wednesday, January 27:

  • Dusk Peterson ‘The Shining Ones’ Book Blast and giveaway
  • The Naked Prince and Other Tales From Fairyland by Joe Cosentino (guest blog and giveaway)
  • Pride Publishing Vegas Sin Tour and  Contest
  • A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Cherry Bomb by Samantha Kane
  • A BJ Audio Review: Daylight Again by S.E. Jakes, Narrator Adam North

Thursday, January 28:

  • Posy Roberts ‘Farm Fresh’ Part 1 (excerpt and giveaway)
  • Second to None by Felice Stevens Release Day Tour and contest
  • In Our Book Spotlight: “Connection” by Brigham Vaughn (guest post and giveaway)
  • A BJ Audio Review: Not Fade Away by S.E. Jakes, Narrator Adam North
  • A Free Dreamer Review: Kanaan & Tilney: The Case of the Arms Dealers by Katey Hawthorne & J. Rose

Friday, January 29:

  • Posy Roberts ‘Farm Fresh’ Part2 (excerpt and giveaway)
  • Its Release Day for Jaye McKenna’s Wildfire Psi (excerpt and giveaway)
  • Avon Gale ‘Save of the Game’ virtual tour and contest
  • A BJ Review: Wildfire Psi by Jaye McKenna
  • A Stella Review: Farm Fresh by Posy Roberts

Saturday, January 30:

A MelanieM Review: Danny’s Dragon by Sedonia Guillone

 

 

 

 

Its Back to the Wonderful Urban Fantasy Series SoulShares with Rory Ni Coileain’s ‘Mantled In Mist’ (excerpt and giveaway)

Mantled in Mist Final

Mantled In Mist (SoulShares #6) by Rory Ni Coileain
Release Date: January 20, 2016

Goodreads Link:
Publisher: Riverdale Avenue Books
Cover Artist: Insatiable Designs

Blurb

Fiachra Dubhdara is a Fae living a stolen life, in a stolen body, and the newest detective on the D.C. Vice squad. Peri Katsura is the newest and hottest masseur at Lochlann Doran’s Big Boy Massage, inexplicably drawn to the gorgeous cop assigned to bust him. And the owner of Fiachra’s body has a plan to get it back – a plan that may cost Fiachra his SoulShare.

 

Pages or Words: 79,547 words
Series should be read in order
Categories: Erotica, Fantasy, Romance, Urban Fantasy

Excerpt

The human’s laughter was completely unFae.

And it made everything perfect.

But then it faded. “Let me turn around.” Peri’s gaze dropped.

“Why do you —”

“Please.” He slid his legs off Fiachra’s shoulders, easing up onto his elbows. “Don’t treat me like something I’m not.”

Fiachra’s eyes narrowed. “Am I not allowed to treat you like a male whose smile I would give my left nut to see just because money changed hands?”

Peri stared.

“We agreed I’m not renting you, right? So I’ll do everything I can to make you pass out from pleasure if I fucking well feel like it.” Fiachra could feel his face flushing. Where is all of this coming from? Fae didn’t act like this. Didn’t feel like this.

Then he remembered Conall, looking at Josh. Cuinn and Rian, both of them Fae to the core, every breath either one took all wrapped up in the other.

Peri’s my SoulShare. Or I’m insane. And I don’t think I’m insane.

Buy the book:

Amazon | All Romance eBooks  | Riverdale Avenue Books

Meet the Author

Rory Ni Coileain has been writing almost as long as she’s been reading, and reading almost as long as she’s been talking. She majored in creative writing in college, back when Respectable Colleges didn’t offer such a major, so she designed it herself—being careful to ensure that she never had to take a class before nine in the morning or take a Hemingway survey course.

She graduated Phi Beta Kappa at the age of nineteen, sent off her first short story to an anthology being assembled by an author she idolized, received the kind of rejection letter that fuels decades of therapy, and found other things to do for the next thirty years or so, including nightclub singing, working as a volunteer lawyer for Gay Men’s Health Crisis, and studying ballet in New York City, until her stories grabbed her by the shirt collar and announced they were back.

Now she’s a legal editor, a soprano in her church choir and the St. Mark’s Cathedral Choral Society (unless they’re singing Mozart, because she’s decided that Mozart didn’t like second sopranos very much), the mother of a teenaged son and budding film-maker, and amanuensis to a host of Fae, Gille Dubh, and shapeshifters who are all anxious to tell their stories, and some of whom aren’t very good at waiting their turns.

Where to find the author:

 


Tour Dates & Stops: January 22, 2016

Parker Williams, Open Skye Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Dawn’s Reading Nook, A.M. Leibowitz, BFD Book Blog, MM Good Book Reviews, Bayou Book Junkie, Jessie G. Books, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Happily Ever Chapter, Multitasking Mommas, Charley Descoteaux, Divine Magazine, Molly Lolly, Mikky’s World of Books, Alpha Book Club, Velvet Panic

Final

Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of the first book of the series.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Link and prize provided by the author and Pride Promotions.

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