A MelanieM Review:Overtime (Scoring Chances #3.5) by Avon Gale

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

This short story (approximately 4000 words) takes place after the events of Power Play and before Empty Net. It features Spartanburg Spitfires’ goalie Isaac Drake — as well as a few other familiar faces — and is available as a bonus for Avon’s newsletter subscribers.

You can access the story in three different formats here: http://www.instafreebie.com/free/2jdBs

And! Check out a bonus audio version, also free, here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/kn5rwgj93cg…

 

Overtime is a short story that bridges Power Play and Empty Net.  It’s an important one because it features Isaac Drake, the Spitfires goalie.  He’s been an important character in this series, especially in his almost father/son dynamic that has evolved with his  coach, Misha Samarin.  Their stories and backgrounds so similar despite the differences in countries.  And the readers have been able to watch his character grow and his personality strengthen under Misha’s tutelage and support.

Here, we get another important step in the Spitfires overal team definition as it evolved towards its goal as a champion team and Isaac’s barriers that they have faced and may face again.  It also shows, yet again, another facet to their GM Belsy.

I am so addicted to this series and characters.  I just can’t get enough.  Well written, explosive ..on and off the ice ..by an author who knows the game and loves the men who plays it.

May this series never end.

Cover art: Aaron Anderson. Perfection.  Brands the series, works for the story.  Just outstanding.

Sales Links: Free

Book Details:

ebook, 13 pages
Published July 2016
Edition Language English
Series Scoring Chances #3.5

Scoring Chances Series

Breakaway

Save of the Game

Power Play

Overtime

Empty Net

Coach’s Challenge

A Vivacious Review: Royal Captive (Mate of the Tyger Prince #8) by Shannon West

Rating: 3 Stars out of 5

Larz has been kidnapped and sold as a slave to King Janos of the Herkos Empire on the planet Laltana. Fearing that his position might give undue power to King Janos if he decides to use him as a bargaining chip in his fight against the Axis Empire, Larz has to live out his life as a slave turned soldier in the Herkos Empire.

Meanwhile, Janos is fully aware that Bastion is actually Prince Larz of Tygeria but has no idea what to do to with him. He can’t ever forget what the Tygerians did to him but he can’t see himself perpetuating the same crimes the Tygerians did. So, Janos decides to stick him in a place where Larz will be out of his sight and more importantly, out of his mind.

But, when Herkos’ war with Athelon places them in close quarters both Larz and Janos will have to figure out what to do with the attraction between them.

This book was almost a disappointment especially if you compare it with the other books in this series. Weirdly enough, it seemed like this book was written just to deliver on a deadline, though now that I have checked I realise that this book is 230 pages. I am really surprised to find that out this book is that long because it felt really short like about a hundred pages. Wow! That is one thing I will have to give Shannon West she has me so engrossed in this series and this family that I really can’t stop reading.

I love Davos and Blake’s family. These characters are now so real to me that you don’t even need to define them for me you can just mention them by name and I know what they are like. I am very invested in this series to the point that the author can get away with passably okay books but even though I know I will read the next book in this series despite not being wowed by this one, I really want good stories for these characters who I’m already in love with.

So, what went wrong in this book? Well, for one Davos, Blake, Mikos, Ryan, Mikol and even Renard stole the show completely. This might be a problem with this series because there are already so many characters that you love that they steal the show with just a single dialogue, and thus, I as a reader find it hard to get invested in a new character like Janos in this story. Though I feel the author does a good job of giving the love story in focus the time to breathe separately from the family, especially Blake.

Secondly, Larz and Janos are just not that developed. They are developed as characters and when they shared their first kiss, I was excited for these two but the author doesn’t have them meet up again till quite a while after that. The second time they meet after sharing kisses with each other, is in a very tense situation and sorry but I am with Annie Porter from Speed in this one, tense situations don’t make for lasting relationships. I wouldn’t have a problem with this if not for the fact that this situation is the entire breadth of their relationship as featured in this book. We never really get to see Larz and Janos in another situation and the ending really screwed these two over. Larz at the end just finds that Janos knew who he was all along and we never get to see Larz and Janos sort out this problem between themselves, the book ends before they get a single private moment again which left me feeling very shortchanged.

Also, this book doesn’t leave Larz and Janos on solid ground at all. Not only have they not talked about how Janos’ knew Larz’s true identity all this time we also don’t see Larz having to deal with the consequences of making decisions for Janos. The decision that is made for Laltana by Davos makes a lot of sense from Davos’ and Mikos’ perspective but Janos ends up losing his entire kingdom without any say in the matter which considering that he is Larz’s nobyo he should have had. Even if it was protesting and rallying for remaining a king even though I feel not being a king actually works in Janos’s favour but still, he should have had the liberty to make decisions even bad ones. So, yeah I am not happy with where we left Larz and Janos or how we leave them.

Now let’s talk about the third thing that has me outraged. Where is Nicarr? I can’t imagine that the author decided to have a book featuring overbearing omak, Blake at his most overbearing and Larz without one single scene featuring Nicarr. Like, this is not a movie it doesn’t cost you anything to have Nicarr show up so, where was he? This fact was actually so jarring because Nicarr and Larz have been very close since the beginning of this series and added to the fact that Nicarr can no longer claim the title of being Blake’s baby, I was shocked that Nicarr was not up there stealing the show with the rest of his family. Like seriously, where is Nicarr I really, really want to know, which in hindsight is probably a calculated move by the author to have us so curious to find out about Nicarr that we will definitely pick up the next book which fingers crossed will be Nicarr’s story because I really want an answer.

So, initially I was talking about how Blake & Davos and Mikos & Ryan totally stole the show in this book and they totally did but these are also the best scenes in the book. I liked that Blake called out Davis on all the bullshit he spewed at the end of “Inconvenient Mate” and I am glad to see these two work it out.

Mikos, in a totally unexpected move, stole the show. I feel like this was one of the better resolutions to the baby question. In recent times in popular media we have had a lot of individuals who are couples but are on opposite sides of the baby question and there have been a lot of solutions offered but I think I liked how Mikos and Ryan went about finding their own solution and I like the answer they came to. Also, Renard talking back to Blake and finding out that Blake truly believes no one will ever be good enough for his children was so golden.

Overall, this wasn’t the best instalment in the series but it makes for an exciting read.

Cover Art by E. Keith. I really liked the cover for this book.

Sales Link:  Amazon

Book Details:

ebook
Published August 1st 2019 by Painted Hearts Publishing LLC
Edition Language English
Series Mate of the Tyger Prince #8

An Alisa Audio Review: In Safe Hands (Heroes and Babies #1) by Victoria Sue and Michael Pauley (Narrator)

Rating:  3 stars out of 5

Former helicopter pilot Maverick Delgardo’s injuries ended his Air Force career, leaving him bitter and one drink away from becoming an alcoholic. When his sister asks for his help on a private protection case to babysit a disgraced pop star, Mav reluctantly agrees.

Deacon Daniels, onetime lead singer and idol to his teenage fans, saw his career and reputation ruined when a reporter’s exposé led to a devastating scandal. Without money or a job, a heartbroken Deacon has lost custody of his baby niece. And just when he thinks his life can’t get any worse, a stalker’s threatening messages escalate to murder.

Mav only agreed to one meeting, but his protective instincts kick in, along with an attraction to Deacon. When the body count increases, however, Mav is unsure he is up to the task of protecting Deacon from a killer. But it is too late for Mav to step away, now that he’s lost his heart, and he must find the strength to reassure Deacon and his niece that they are in safe hands no matter the cost.

This story just pulled me in right away and I enjoyed it so much.  Mav has pretty much been living in the bottom of a bottle for a while, not really getting on with life when he has to fill in for his sister to speak with a possible client.  Deacon is in a bad spot and he knows something is happening and it becomes even more apparent just after Mav agrees to help him.

Mav just feels so broken and I loved that Deacon was the catalyst to get him living again, though I’ll have to say that how quickly he gave up alcohol and how easily he resisted the minimal temptation he had was a little unrealistic.  Deacon is such a sweetheart and seeing him with his niece just proves that and Molly is absolutely adorable.  I loved how they both wanted what was best for the other and supported each other in their own ways, it wasn’t just Mav looking after Deacon but Deacon also saw Mav for who he is and gave him the courage he needed to take his next steps.

Michael Pauley did a great job narrating this story.  I think he captured these characters and their emotions wonderfully.  I had no trouble keeping track of the story, which I seem to be having trouble with on audiobooks lately.

I like the cover art by Tiferet Design and think it works well for the story.

Sales Links:  Audible | Amazon 

Audiobook Details:

Audiobook, 7hrs 31mins
Published: June 27, 2019 by Dreamspinner Press
Edition Language: English

Series: Heroes and Babies #1

Kristina Meister on Aesthetics and Morality and her new release Love Under Glasse by Kristina Meister

Love Under Glasse by Kristina Meister

Riptide Publishing
Published August 26th 2019
Cover Art: LC Chase

Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing | Amazon

 

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have  Kristina Meister here today talking about appearances and her new release Love Under Glasse.  Welcome, Kristina>

     ✒︎

One of my least favorite fairy tale conceits is the idea that aesthetics match morality—only the pretty can be good. I wanted to go a step farther with Love Under Glasse and take on the idea that only those who buy into the culture, in this case Christianity, can be good. There’s a concept pervasive to many organized religions—because otherwise they wouldn’t be organized—that “everyone else is wrong”. It’s a situation of absolutes, right?—if they’re correct about how everything works, then obviously everyone else has to be wrong.

For members of the LGBTQIA community, religion can be tricky. Not many embrace us, and some are downright hostile. It can be impossible to feel the pull of any spiritual teachings and a great deal of shame comes from a sense of conflict with the beliefs of everyone around us. Unlike the classic story of Snow White, in which the step mother becomes so fixated on her appearance that she is willing to have her daughter’s heart cut out, Love Under Glasse features a mother so concerned with the appearance of “deviance” that she is willing to essentially deny her child her heart and her independence.

When I told some of my beta readers about my plan to set up the plot with the main character discovering her mother was about to send her to a conversion therapy camp, a few of them were skeptical. Their argument was that those places seem too fanciful, and to people who either aren’t from conservative Christian backgrounds, or who aren’t members of the LGBTQIA community, that’s understandable, but they are unfortunately very real. The American Psychiatric Association rejects the notion that sexuality and gender need to be corrected based on assumptions of morality, and that subjecting patients to practices that are questionable is unethical, but that doesn’t stop many charitable organizations from selling just such “treatment”. There’s teams of researchers from private universities who argue that the therapy should exist in case a patient feels their sexuality is in conflict with their ethics. There are even states in which it is protected and not just legal. It’s in fact, quite a threat, and even if one isn’t part of a conservative Christian background, it’s disheartening to know that so many others feel pressured and ashamed. Even if only a few are affected, it’s a concern to all of us.

I also wanted to play with the concept of transformation, something very common to fairy tales: the princess has to kiss a frog to turn him into a prince, a magic spell must be broken to allow the hero to revert to original form, or a curse turns someone into a monster. Conversion Therapy can easily be seen, as either a curse or a magical fix, depending upon perspective, and this combined with its recent presence in the media, made it a very worthwhile plot device.

 

 

About Love Under Glasse

This runaway might want to get caught.

El Glasse’s mother controls her life. What she does, who she dates, even what she’s allowed to say. El only has two ways of holding onto her freedom. One is her popular anonymous blog, hidden from Mama Glasse. The other is what she so often blogs about: her feelings for Riley, the girl who works at the ice cream parlor. Riley is fierce, free, and rides a killer motorcycle, and El cannot help but love her. But Mama Glasse can never find out about her sexuality—unless El is willing to rebel. 

When El runs away, Riley feels responsible. She knows what it’s like to be alone, and she can’t deny her deep desire to learn El’s story. In a move she might end up regretting, she makes a devil’s bargain with Mama Glasse to hunt El down.

Riley isn’t trying to bring her home though, because she knows an evil spell when she sees one—a spell of fear and shame El is finally starting to break. This huntress might lose her own heart, but it’s a risk she’s willing to take. 

Available now from Riptide Publishing!

About Kristina Meister

Kristina Meister is an author of fiction that blurs genre. There’s usually some myth, some mayhem, and some monsters. While Kristina’s unique voice and creative swearing give life to dialogue, her obsession with folklore and pop culture make for humor and complexity.

She and her mad-scientist husband live in California with their poodles Khan and Lana, and their daughter Kira Stormageddon, where they hoard Nerf toys, books, and swords—in case of zombie apocalypse.

2018 Foreword INDIES Gold Winner – LGBT

Connect with Kristina:

 

 


Giveaway

To celebrate this release, Kristina is giving away a custom ordered biker-style patch that represents El and Riley, as well as a signed copy of her award-winning novel Cinderella Boy! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on August 31, 2019. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following along, and don’t forget to leave your contact info! 

Release Blitz and Giveaway for Code Name: Liberty by Marshall Thornton

 

 
Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal LinkExclusive to Amazon and Available to Borrow with Kindle Unlimited
 
Length: 290 pages
 
Blurb
 

In the summer of 1980, the news is full of the upcoming election and the hostage crisis in Iran but Patrick Henry Burke is not paying any attention. He’s met a Persian prince and his head is full of romance. All of that changes though when a sexy CIA agent, Gary Walker, approaches him and asks that he spy on the prince and his father. They’re attempting to prevent the hostages from being released to guarantee Carter won’t win the presidency in hopes that the Reagan administration will be grateful enough to assist the prince’s father in becoming the new Shah of Iran. As Patrick gathers information about an impending illegal weapons deal, he struggles to understand who might be lying to him and who might be telling the truth.

 
Author Bio
 

Marshall Thornton writes two popular mystery series, the Boystown Mysteries and the Pinx Video Mysteries. He has won the Lambda Award for Gay Mystery three times. His romantic comedy, Femme was also a 2016 Lambda finalist for Best Gay Romance. Other books include My Favorite Uncle, The Ghost Slept Over and Masc, the sequel to Femme. He is a member of Mystery Writers of America.


 

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A MelanieM Review :Escape (Rebellion #1) by Annabelle Jacobs

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

This isn’t the life Cole dreamt of, but what choice does he have?

With his twenty-third birthday behind him, Cole Moreton now faces the shifter compatibility test which will decide his future. Testing positive means joining a pack and eventually taking the bite. Unfortunately, with enviable skills in self-defence and hand-to-hand combat, the kind of packs interested in him aren’t any he’d want to join.

Logan has been a member of the McKillen pack for most of his life. Pack is family and loyalty is everything, but when the shifter government turns out to be no better than the oppressive humans before them, he questions everything.

Right from their first meeting, Logan knows that a life with the McKillan pack isn’t right for Cole, but with his alpha taking a keen interest in Cole’s skills, Logan’s hands are tied. Mutual attraction builds between them, but acting on it is futile—helping Cole will put their lives at risk and an end to any future they could’ve had.

What an unexpected turn from Annabelle Jacobs! A grab you by the seat of your  pants, white knuckle, hair raising ride of a shifter story but just not in keeping with the wonderful were universe the author had previously created for her Regents Park Pack series.  That was a much more benign universe, shared with multiple species that had learned to coexist together.

Not here. Not in Escape (Rebellion #1) by Annabelle Jacobs. No, right from the Prologue, we are offered a bleak dystopian picture of species at war. At first we get a glimpse of the human treatment of weres under a human government, the type to trigger a war and rebellion.   Then only to see the wolfshifers replaced it with exactly the same or worse structure,  giving and regarding humans much the same as they themselves had been treated.  Only wolf/were pack structure and culture make their domination all the worse, especially given their power and healing abilities.

The world building is simply superb. From immediately setting the tone and resentment and initially putting the reader on the wolves side, we are then flipped over and see where the results of that scene carried that man into history and the impact its still having on society and both species around him.  It’s an unrelentingly grim atmosphere, the moments of levity (mostly around a pet cat) few in the beginning and gone completely thereafter.

I will tell you now if you are looking for fun and lightheartedness in your story, this novel is not for you.  And while it is a love story, at the moment it’s definitely not  even a romance. It’s a race for survival.

What Jacobs introduces along with her vulnerable, easy to connect to character of Cole Moreton, is a increasing feeling of dread and suspense.  He feels it and  we absorb it.  The  characters around him voice it as the date of the mandatory “testing” arrives.  A Shifter draft as it were that no one escapes from unless you have the wrong stuff.  Which Cole definitely does not.  As the author let us learn Cole, love him and his family, she binds him further with narrative cords of chilling suspense about his future with a pack that the more we learn about the more it scares us…and him.

The one caught between?  Logan, a shifter from the McKillen Pack that seems to rule London, wants Cole badly for themselves and has set Logan up at his recruiter, the one to tell Cole he can’t say no to the Pack.

And Logan has just as many facets to him as you could hope for and is almost in as ugly a position as Cole.  Or maybe a worse one.  Because the attraction  sparks between them, one that either way can never happen.  Especially as Logan knows what will happen to Cole once he is inside his pack.

And our own insides clench tighter.  The suspense and tension ratchets higher, and oh, is the writing incredible.

There is no resolution here in this story.  When it ends, if anything, the future for them all looks to be bleeker, grittier and uncertain.  Their goals set higher. Cole and Logan know how they feel about each other but will they be together?

It’s hard to tell how the author will frame out this series.  Will this couple be the main couple in each story?  It’s looking like that has to be the path forward because the stakes are so high, but there are others here so deserving of their stories too. And mates.

And the journey to a new rebellion.  Will it be long or short?  Can I take the suspense which is already killing me now? lol

Did I have fun reading this novel? No.  Did I love reading this story?  Absolutely.  I was caught up in the world, the characters, their flight for survival , and their cause immediately.  The writing is spectacular, the characters layers, and I honestly don’t have a clue where Jacobs is going with this but I am going to follow each step of the way.

If you love shifters, suspense, and what will be an incredible love story, this is the book and I suspect the series for you.

Cover art: Natasha Snow. What a powerful cover.  That is Logan in every way.

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal LinkExclusive to Amazon and Available to Borrow with Kindle Unlimited

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 319 pages
Published August 20th 2019
ASINB07WGYRNDH
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesRebellion #1

A Lucy Review : Temporary Insanity (Temporary #2) by H.L. Day

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Sleeping with the enemy never felt so good.
When Paul Davenport comes face to face with the man he caught in bed with his boyfriend years before, it’s hate at first sight. Well, second sight. Indy should be apologizing, not flirting. Except the gorgeous barman is completely oblivious to their paths ever having crossed before. 

Despite his feelings, Paul’s powerless to resist the full-on charm offensive that follows. It’s fine though. It’s just sex. No emotions. No getting to know each other. Just a bout of temporary insanity that’s sure to run its course once the simmering passion starts to wear off.

Only what if it’s not? Indy’s nothing like the man Paul expected him to be from his past actions. What if they’re perfect for each other and Paul’s just too stubborn to see it? Forging a relationship with him would require an emotional U-turn Paul might not be capable of making.

There’s a thin line between love and hate, and Paul’s about to discover just how thin it really is. He can’t possibly be falling for the man that ruined his life. Can he?

What could be more awkward than accidentally running into the guy who cheated with your boyfriend and ruined your relationship?  How about if said guy has no idea who you are?  I was cringing for Paul when he walked up to the bar and realized why the guy looked familiar.  Except, of course, the last time he saw the man he was riding Paul’s ex-boyfriend.  Awkward.

Paul waits for “…guilt, followed by a string of abject apologies.”   Except Indy likes the look of Paul and flirts but doesn’t remember him, other than a “You know, it’s weird, sometimes I think you look slightly familiar. Have we met before?”  I could sympathize with Paul – it was a life-changing event and Indy doesn’t even remember.  “Just over three years ago, I came home to find you in bed with my boyfriend.  His name is Stephen, in case it happens to you a lot and you can’t remember which one it was.  So that’s probably why I seem so familiar.”   While Indy gives a “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry”, I was super irritated that he was pretty blasé about it.  “…three years is a long time. Can’t we put it behind us and move on?”

I very nearly gave this book three stars because I couldn’t figure out why Indy kept pursuing Paul in the wake of their past and Paul’s rudeness to him.  Glutton for punishment?  “Because you don’t like me and you can’t forgive me for making a stupid mistake years ago.”   I had to step back, though, and consider that Indy was not the guilty party in that affair.  The ex was. 

With the advice of Paul’s new friend, Gabrielle, he goes on a hunt for hate sex with Indy.  Which, I should say, he’s really bad at.  Especially since there are times when he does wonder if Indy and Stephen did the things he and Indy were doing.  “So how did I compare to my ex?”   Indy isn’t having it though, “Can’t we forget about it: Or at least find some way to move past it? We’re good together.”

We get a lot of denial on Paul’s part.  It is sex only, no feelings, he doesn’t like Indy, his tattoos, his attitude, nothing.  Umm, hmmm.   “I didn’t want to see him that way though. That was the path to madness, to feelings I couldn’t entertain.” 

There is a secondary plot woven here regarding Paul’s friend, Dom, and the boss of the company, Tristan.  They have a book, completely focusing on them, Temporary Situation which I haven’t read.  I don’t think you need to in order to enjoy this book, as it appears both stories are happening at the same time.  I will now go back and read Temporary Situation.

It was entertaining to me how he was giving advice to Dom and considering him stubborn for his treatment of Tristan and he was so blind to his own situation. Indy gives so many opportunities for Paul to admit they have more than sex but he is twice as stubborn as Dom. Even when Indy gives up, he gives Paul a chance to make it right.  Paul, of course, flubs it entirely and makes everything so much worse.

The side characters, Gabrielle, Paul’s virgin friend Russell, Dom, Tristan and Paul’s family play important roles here and are fully fleshed out characters.  Paul’s issues with his family seem real and so frustrating. Being forced to attend lavish parties, attending holidays where he really isn’t wanted and doesn’t want to be there, having the whole family not listen or understand what he wants.  It added to the story and to understanding Paul.  Getting to know more about Indy’s past  added depth to his character.  And the elephants?  Just made everything better.

The book sets up the next one in the series, obviously going to focus on Russell, shy, virginal Russell.  “You’re never going to believe what he’s been up to and who with.”  Teaser successful, because I want to know what he’s been up to and who with!  I thoroughly enjoyed the humor in this book and the writing really worked for me.

The cover, showing Indy with his tattoos set against the city backdrop, is pretty close to showing how I visualized him. 

Sales Link:  Amazon

Book Details:

book
Expected publication: August 29th 2019
Edition Language English
Series Temporary #2

A Lila Review: Soul on Fire by Tal Bauer

Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

A deadly virus burns through the jungle, leaving nothing but corpses in its wake. Everyone flees from the outbreak—except for the terrorists intent on weaponizing the catastrophe.

Lieutenant Elliot Davis, US Navy SEAL, is sent to rescue CIA officers from their clandestine base in Goma, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and evacuate them out of the country. What they’ve uncovered sends Elliot back to the Congo, trying to prevent an attack that could spark a global pandemic.

Dr. Ikolo Ngondu runs a refugee hospital caught between the advancing rebels intent on slaughtering everyone in their path and Elliot’s mission to find and capture their leader. In the chaos of a surprise attack, Elliot’s target slips away, and the only way to find him is to plunge into the Congo’s dark, dangerous, and fevered forest with Ikolo as his guide.

Together they track a burning shadow through Africa’s broken heart, and Elliot struggles to reconcile the world he finds with the life he’s lived as a black man in the West. He looks to Ikolo for answers and finds a man with a core so bright and fierce he scorches Elliot’s soul.

Even as they race against time, Elliot and Ikolo have no idea what’s been set in motion with their mission: a dark secret lies at the center, one that leaves billions of lives hovering between life and death.

And through it all, a question burns inside Elliot, one that only Ikolo may hold the answer to.

Soul On Fire is more than an MM Romance.  It’s a piece of fiction that crosses the edge into non-fiction. The characters could be any two men searching for the meaning of selflessness in many forgotten parts of the world. The essence of the story can take place anywhere from Africa, Latin America to the Middle East.

As always, Tal Bauer delivers a complex story. Full of descriptions, some not too pretty, but very realistic; mix with a touch of unbelievable events and fantasy tidbits. The combination creates an interesting read.

There’s romance present but isn’t the main focus. Elliott’s self-discovery, the world around them, and Ikolo’s strength take priority. The love between them becomes organic and a consequence of their actions, not something that consumed them. Their souls are one by the end, only after their slice of world is placed back to rights.

The only drawback for me were the extensive descriptions, necessary as they were. I wanted it to move faster in some areas as slower in others. The resolution came out swiftly and from a separate source. I simply needed something else. In the end, the balance may work for other readers.

The cover by Ampersand Book Designs goes well with other covers by this author. It has a sense of belonging to the story even when it’s a bit generic. It’s central to the book’s main premise.

Sale Links: Kindle Unlimited

Book Details:
ebook, 280 pages
ASIN: B07VLWSNNM
Published: July 27, 2019, by Tal Bauer
Edition Language: English

Belinda McBride on Writing, HFN, and her new release An Uncommon Whore (An Uncommon Whore #1) 

An Uncommon Whore (An Uncommon Whore #1) by Belinda McBride

Dreamspinner Press
Published August 27th 2019

Cover Artist: Aaron Anderson

Buy Link:  Dreamspinner Press |  Amazon |  Barnes and Noble:

 

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host Belinda McBride here today on tour with her new release An Uncommon Whore. Welcome, Belinda, and thank yo for agreeing to answer our author questions.

✒︎

 

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Interview  with Belinda McBride

  • How much of yourself goes into a character? 

I don’t think a writer can avoid inserting themselves into a character to some point. I mean, we all bring our own feelings, experiences and expectations when we read or write. But I think for me, I write characters I’d like to know…or who I’d like to be.  I guess there’s some projection going on there. I wish I were as steadfast as Griffin Hawke or as accepting as Lefi Drahan, or as uninhibited as Belle Oakley.

  • Does research play a role into choosing which genre you write?  Do you enjoy research or prefer making up your worlds and cultures?

I wind up doing a LOT of research regardless of genre. I am constantly Googling obscure poets or gods or trying to figure out what sort of trees could possibly survive on a specific planet. But it wasn’t until I tried my hand at a Civil War era novel that featured a hero that was half Muscogee and visits London in 1871 that I knew I was in over my head! LOL!

  • Do you like HFN or HEA? And why?

Since I write romance, I’m committed to a HEA…eventually. LOL! Helios and Griffin from An Uncommon Whore get a HFN in their books. They’ll get their HEA eventually.

  • Do you read romances, as a teenager and as an adult?

Yes, I stumbled across my first romance when I was in Jr. High. It was Devil’s Cub by Georgette Heyer and set a high standard for my love of romance. I love historical romance and I particularly love an unapologetic anti-hero. The romances of the ‘70s and

‘80s were really not to my taste and I set them aside for a long while. I plunged back into romance when I picked up a Christine Feehan paranormal romance and started devouring the genre like I’d been starved!

  • How do you choose your covers?  (curious on my part)

I don’t always get to choose them, since most of my work is with publishers. But I had a lot of input into the new Uncommon Whore cover. I wanted it romantic but reflecting the fact that it’s science fiction. And I wanted it to jump out at the viewer, both from thumbnail size and paperback size. I think we succeeded with this one!

  • What’s next for you as an author?

I’m continuing on the re-release of the Uncommon Universe books and trying to prepare some of my older material to be re-released. For new material, I have a paranormal m/m/f that’s almost ready to go, and an Mpreg (!!) in development for next year. I have several WiPs that are really overdue for some attention as well. And of course, I’ll have another Helios and Griffin book out eventually.

  •  What traits do you find the most interesting in someone? Do you write them into your characters?

Flaws and weaknesses fascinate me. Addictions, self-destructive tendencies, emotional damage and so on. I’ve met people who’ve battled demons and prevailed. Some of my characters have terrible weaknesses. Helios tends to be indolent and vain. Griffin is jealous and overprotective. Afton (the Bacchi) is puritanical and judgmental. Dierdre Dayspring is depressed. Caius is an addict of a different sort. These are all building blocks to develop character and conflict.

  •  Have you ever put a story away, thinking it just didn’t work?  Then years/months/whatever later inspiration struck and you loved it?  Is there a title we would recognize if that happened?

The Bacchi comes to mind. I set that aside for about 3 years. In fact, when I returned to it, I had to re-write what I’d started because my writing had evolved during that time! When I Fall went through several false starts as well. 

  •  Have you ever had an issue in RL and worked it through by writing it out in a story?  Maybe how you thought you’d feel in a situation?

Well, my readers will recognize that addiction and human trafficking are recurring topics in several of my books. Addiction is a nasty feature in my family—both on my mother and my father’s side of the family. When I wrote The Bacchi and Prince of Faith, a loved one was battling opioid addition. Human trafficking…a friend of mine vanished into forced labor. We’d track him down and make contact and the people who had him would move him. He’s a legal immigrant and a skilled chef, and in the end, he was high profile enough that they couldn’t keep him because his loyal “fans” followed him from restaurant to restaurant. But it took years and did a lot of damage.

  •  What’s the wildest scene you’ve imagined and did it make it into a story?

Yeah…sex while falling from the sky. I did write it. In fact, I should put it up as a freebie…LOL!

  •    With so much going on in the world today, do you write to explain?  To get away? To move past? To widen our knowledge? Why do you write?

The general chaos of the world cripples my writing, and I had to learn to wean myself from TV and social media. I think some real-life seeps into my writing but I try to avoid inserting contemporary events. Or if they’re included, there’s goodness. In An Uncommon Whore, the refugees of a planet-wide destruction are rescued by alien people they didn’t even know existed. And as the story continues, the Vash and the Somian and others continue to ally with them, helping them recover. Maybe I’m modeling how I believe. people should be in real life.

 

Blurb:

An Uncommon Whore Story

Pasha is a slave, whoring for travelers at the most treacherous bar on Warlan. The day Pasha spots the dangerous pirate in the bar, he knows he mustn’t let the stranger slip away, no matter what he must do to draw his attention. 

Captain Griffin Hawke spent the better part of a decade searching for his lost king, only to find Helios Dayspring crouched between his legs, swathed in the robes and shackles of a whore. Though he is appalled by the downfall of his king, Grif falls for the sensual creature who has taken his place. After a brutal invasion stripped his people of nearly everything, they desperately need Helios to lead them. But returning him to throne means smuggling him off the planet, disabling the chip that keeps him submissive and forgetful. They will face old enemies, traitors, and greedy opportunists who’d like to strip their new planet of its wealth. 

It might mean Grif losing his lover… and they’ve both lost too much already.

Second Edition
First Edition published by Loose Id LLC, January 2010.

About the Author:

Belinda is an award-winning, top selling author of erotic romance, speculative fiction and LGBTQ romance. She lives in far Northern California with her family and a pack of Siberian Huskies and a few rogue Salukis

A graduate of CSU Chico, she managed to attend the notorious party school without once getting drunk, arrested or appearing in a “Girls Gone Wild” video. Her main focus of study was classical and archival history, cultural anthropology and 

theatre arts.

After several years in the workforce. Belinda purchased a laptop computer and from there, never stopped writing.

Social Media

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Belinda-McBride-49209583129/

Website: www.belindambride.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/belinda.mcbride/

Review Tour for Escape (Rebellion #1) by Annabelle Jacobs

 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal LinkExclusive to Amazon and Available to Borrow with Kindle Unlimited
 
Length: 74,000 words approx.
 
Cover Design: Natasha Snow
 
Blurb
 

This isn’t the life Cole dreamt of, but what choice does he have?


With his twenty-third birthday behind him, Cole Moreton now faces the shifter compatibility test which will decide his future. Testing positive means joining a pack and eventually taking the bite. Unfortunately, with enviable skills in self-defence and hand-to-hand combat, the kind of packs interested in him aren’t any he’d want to join.


Logan has been a member of the McKillan pack for most of his life. Pack is family and loyalty is everything, but when the shifter government turns out to be no better than the oppressive humans before them, he questions everything.


Right from their first meeting, Logan knows that a life with the McKillan pack isn’t right for Cole, but with his alpha taking a keen interest in Cole’s skills, Logan’s hands are tied. Mutual attraction builds between them, but acting on it is futile—helping Cole will put their lives at risk and an end to any future they could’ve had.

Read Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 5 stars Review Here

 

Annabelle Jacobs lives in the South West of England with three rowdy children, and two cats. An avid reader of fantasy herself for many years, Annabelle now spends her days writing her own stories. They’re usually either fantasy or paranormal fiction, because she loves building worlds filled with magical creatures, and creating stories full of action and adventure. Her characters may have a tough time of it—fighting enemies and adversity—but they always find love in the end.


Twitter – https://twitter.com/AJacobs_fiction
Website – www.annabellejacobs.com
Email – ajacobsfiction@gmail.com
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/ajacobsfiction

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