Blog Tour for The Enchanter’s Flame (The Ellwood Chronicles #1) by Michele Notaro (excerpt and giveaway)

 The Enchanter's Flame Tour Banner

The Enchanter’s Flame

The Ellwood Chronicles I

Michele Notaro

Gay Fiction/Paranormal Romance

Release Date: 08.18.18

 The Enchanters Flame Amazon Cover

 

Mybook.to/EnchantersFlame

 

BLURB

Strange things are happening all around Brinnswick. Things that remind me of a piece of my past I’d rather forget. Girls are being killed, drained of blood, and left with strange markings on their bodies. When I finally connect the cases together, a specialist is called in—though, what he’s a specialist of is beyond me

When the chief assigns him as my new partner for the case, I can’t help but groan on the inside. Why of all people would I be assigned to Ailin Ellwood? The man is a disaster waiting to happen and a jerk to boot. A sexy jerk, but a jerk nonetheless.

What will Sebastian think when he discovers Ailin’s specialty? Will he make a run for it or will he stick around and discover a world of magic hidden beneath the city’s surface?

***The Enchanter’s Flame is the first book in the Ellwood Chronicles. It’s a paranormal romance that contains explicit material and is intended for mature adults 18 and over.***

 

 Enchanters Flame Teaser 1

Enchanters Flame Teaser 2

EXCERPT

I needed to pee, so I set the cat on the floor and went to take care of business. The thought of jumping in the shower while Ailin was out crossed my mind, so I pulled the shower curtain back, but yelled out in surprise. Holy shit! There was a fucking snake in the tub! “What the fuck?” I ran out of the bathroom and scooped up Seraphina so she wouldn’t go investigate the bathroom and wind up hurt, then I ran straight for the phone to call the front desk to take care of it. I had no idea what kind of snake it was or how it’d gotten in there or whether or not it was venomous or whatever. But I didn’t want to take the chance of trying to grab it myself. If it was venomous, I could end up in the hospital.

I picked up the phone and dialed the front desk, but just as the girl picked up on the other line, Ailin slammed the door open and boomed, “What’s wrong?”

I blinked at him as a huge rush of wind came in through the door, blowing the loose side of his hair. I lowered the phone a little and answered, “There’s a snake in the tub.”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “Who are you calling?”

He looked… terrifying. It was like the wind coming through the door was playing off his emotions. I knew that wasn’t really happening, but he looked as stormy as the weather behind him. “I-I was calling the front desk to come get it.”

“Hang up the phone, Seb.”

“Wh-what? Why?”

“I’ll take care of the snake. They’ll probably just kill it. I can grab him and release him outside.”

I stared at him for several seconds before hanging up the phone. I could see how serious he was, and I knew he was right, that the front desk girl would likely just kill the animal. It seemed like Ailin’s love for animals knew no bounds.

He glanced at me, then noticed the cat in my arms, and his gaze softened a little. “You saved Sera.”

“Of-of course I did. I didn’t want her to get hurt.”

Some of the wind died down. “Thank you.”

He headed straight into the bathroom, so I got up and followed him, holding the kitten tight to my chest. I stood in the doorway to watch him. He made a few sounds, like hissing, and I swear the snake hissed back, then Ailin spoke under his breath, but I couldn’t understand what he was saying.

“How are you going to get—”

I cut myself off when Ailin reached a hand into the tub, and a second later, the snake was slithering up his arm. I took a step backward and stared in disgust. What the fuck is he doing? That thing is going to bite him! Ailin stood and the snake wrapped around his arm, then around the back of his neck.

“Ailin, it’s going to bite you,” I whisper-yelled.

Ailin shot me a cocky smirk. “It’s nice to see that you care, Sebastian, but I guarantee he won’t hurt me.”

“How can you possibly say that?”

He shrugged and I frowned as the movement caused the snake to shift so its head was near Ailin’s throat. “He’s just lost.”

I blinked at him. “Okay, well, go… throw him in the parking lot or something.”

Ailin frowned at me. “I’m going to help him find his home. I think he comes from the same woods we’re heading to, anyway.”

“That thing is not coming in my car!”

Ailin huffed. “You and the car rules again! How can I possibly keep up when you keep adding more and more rules?”

I closed my eyes and my nostrils flared in irritation. “I’m not changing the rules. I told you before I didn’t want a cat in my car, so it’s the same rule… it applies to all animals.” Sera hissed a little at me, and I mumbled down to her, “You don’t count. I like you.” Okay, so I guess Ailin isn’t the only one that talks to her.

“But you changed your mind and let her in. Why would it be any different with George?”

“Did you seriously just name that snake ‘George’?”

“No, that was his name already.”

I had no words for that. “You… you’re not bringing George into my car!”

“Then I guess I’m walking to the crime scene.” He clenched his jaw, then shouldered past me out of the bathroom as I tried to scramble away from the snake. “And you think I’m the mean one.”

Michele Notaro Logo

Michele is married to an awesome husband that puts up with her and all the characters in her head–and there are many. They live together in Baltimore, Maryland with their two young boys and two crazy dogs. She grew up dancing and swimming and taught dance–ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, & modern–for ten years before her kids came along. Now she stays home to write about the sexy men in her head and does PTA everything–as long as coffee is involved. Two other tattooed moms run the PTA with her, and though she wants to rip her hair out from it, she still loves it.

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/author.notaro/

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A MelanieM Review: In Vino Veritas by Sydney Blackburn

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

 

Anthony Beretta inherited the family winery at the tender age of twenty-four. It’s a struggle to keep it up, but he loves it and is determined to make it work even if it kills him. That is, if a motorcyclist doesn’t kill him first. He initially judges the man, attractive as he may be, on the basis of his appearance and apparently limited vocabulary. He soon discovers he’s wrong, but by then Oscar Kennett has already judged Anthony on his appearance.

Oscar thinks Tony Beretta is uptight and snobbish, and Tony’s speech for the charity they’re working on together reinforces that, even when he finds out Tony did it just to push his buttons. His adorable curls and sexy glasses might not be enough to change his mind, but maybe there’s more to Tony than meets the eye.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story of love found among the wines and  vines.  It was not only a terrific contemporary romance but a great way to connect with an author I hadn’t read in a while, Sydney Blackburn.

Somehow, I manage to lose track of authors and I never figure out why.  Maybe its the flood of stories I get, the titles and series I keep up with. But for whatever reason, some I forget to check up on so I’m thrilled when I read books like In Vino Veritas by Sydney Blackburn and, after finishing the story) to go romping back to Sydney’s backlist to see what I have missed!

In Vino Veritas (In Wine Truth), two men collide literally and make instant snap judgements about each other based on their clothing of the moment and their conversation and language.  Initial impressions couldn’t be further from the truth but it takes wine, a winery, and a celebration to  bring the men together.

I loved both men, their personalities and the chemistry between them did it for me.  The backdrop and foundation of the witery is absolutely  perfect for a romance and the character of Tony Beretta (and his mother).  It’s necessary in order to get into his framework of overworked, obsessive, passionate man in love with his  vines, the art of wine making and the land.  We need to see Tony in his element and we do.  So eventually does Oscar.

I wish we could have had more of Oscar’s background and seen him settled at work but the focus here is Tony and his winery as well as their romance.

I loved so many elements here that I could see a sequel. I enjoyed this couple and the location that much.

If you love contemporary romance, don’t miss out on In Vino Veritas by Sydney Blackburn.  It’s one I definitely recommend!

Cover art:  Natasha Snow.  I love this cover.  Its perfection from the colors to the composition.  It caught my eye immediately.

Sales Links:  NineStar Press  |  Amazon

Book Details:

ebook
Published August 13th 2018 by NineStar Press
ISBN139781949340426
Edition LanguageEnglish

A Stella Review: Flare (North Star #3) by Posy Roberts

RATING 5 out of 5 stars

A love story and a family worth fighting for. 

Hugo and Kevin strive to put their lives back together after tragedy, doing everything in their power to create a stable life. Hugo’s acting career is back on track, and Kevin hires a nanny to help with the kids as they discover their new normal. But when Erin’s parents seek full custody of Brooke and Finn, that stability is shattered.

With Hugo working in LA or New York, the distance from his new family gets to him. At home, the nanny’s hands-on approach leaves Hugo feeling pushed out, so he leaves his beloved apartment and eclectic neighborhood behind to move in with Kevin.

Hugo has a hard time fitting in with the suburbanites with Kevin’s passive-aggressive “friends” making Hugo feel anything but welcome. As the custody case heads to mediation, Brooke is bullied about having two dads, and Hugo realizes his mere presence might be doing more harm than good.

Hugo must decide to stay and fight for his family or leave and let them live in peace.

This is how every author should write. This is how every romance should be, real, true, filled with feelings and emotions so powerful I was often left breathless. And this is how every series should be, with amazing characters, starting from the main ones until the supportive (and not) second ones. Each single character struggling with the real life issues, like all of us do. Illnesses, love, school, work, friendhip, family, being adult or growing up, first love and second chances at love. You can find all of these in Flare and in the North Star trilogy.

Flare is the perfect conclusion for an already perfect series, I’m so sad to let the characters go on with their lives. They made me cry more than once, they made me laugh and dream. I fought for and with Kevin and Hugo for their big family. I loved them dearly.

I am with no doubt addicted to this series, I will share it everywhere and recommend it to everyone. There was no little detail I didn’t enjoy and the writing was so sublime it was a huge pleasure to read these novels. I already was a fan of Posy Roberts but right now I’m feeling more like a stalker, I can’t wait for her to release more stories to fall in love with.

The cover art by Olive Us Designs is well done, it follows the style of the series and I like its darkness.

SALE LINKS  Amazon

BOOK DETAILS

Kindle Edition, 2 edition, 382 pages

Published August 28th 2018 by Labyrinth Bound Press (first published January 12th 2014)

ASIN B07DMQPKJV

Edition Language English

A MelanieM Release Day Review: Raising the Bar (States of Love) by Leigh Dillon

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

 

Destin Bellingham has inherited a problem. Thanks to his late playboy father, Destin faces putting a For Sale sign on his family’s historic horse farm. Getting his talented stallion, Black Sambuca, into the Grand Prix show ring would put Bellmeade back on the map—if only someone could make “Sam” behave like a show horse.

Disgraced top rider Tonio Benedetto has his own problems, but he can work magic with difficult jumpers, so Destin hires him despite his bad-boy reputation. The street-smart, openly gay loudmouth from Miami and the closeted, buttoned-down son of Old Dominion Virginia make a rocky pairing, but time is running out to save Bellmeade from bankruptcy.

Opposites attract, sparks of tension grow into flames of passion. But if Tonio fails to tame Sam, will true love become a lost cause too?

I really enjoyed this latest romance from the States of Love line at Dreamspinner Press.  Raising the Bar (States of Love) by Leigh Dillon hits a number of chords with me, starting with the state (Virginia) and horses, a long time love.  I’ve been around shows and show barns here in the East all my life so the world she writes about is vert familiar.  I have the horses and being in Maryland?  I know the scenery she’s talking about (and the towns) in Virginia like old friends.

The author did a great job with both.

They serve as a backdrop for the romance between Destin Bellingham, breeder and farm owner, and rider Tonio Benedetto.  I liked both the characters. Also had my issues with the instant love relationship between them.  I don’t always have that if the author can make a great argument for it and has a basis or chemistry between the characters.  I’m just not sure that I got that entirely here in this story.

The relationship between Tonio and the Sambuco Black?  I believed in that 100 percent!  That rocked!  Dillon had that relationship down pat.  That man and horse got each other and the reader knew it.  What a great character Sam was! Boy, have I known a horse or two like him in my time.  Not with his talent but his attitude and smarts.  Makes you both want to kill them and laugh your ass off.

The one between Destin and Tonio?  Needed some work even though they were jumping into bed, and love and total commitment.  Didn’t quite believe it in one month’s time.

Had the book and the relationship stretched over a longer length?  Absolutely because the ground work (as you do with any horse) had been laid.  And the epilogue, which took place in the Spring showed the growth that I wished we could have  been present to watch.

The only other thing?  If you are going to have a element in a story, like Destin and the Maserati, then close it out.  Don’t leave that aspect of the story open.  Even a line to finish that thread off is preferable than to leave it hanging.

I think Raising the Bar (States of Love) by Leigh Dillon has so much going for it.  A dynamic relationship between man and horse, a passionate one between two men, and a bright future.  At 91 pages, that was a lot to enjoy.  The States of Love line from Dreamspinners Press is a real hit and this story is another reason why.

Cover Artist: Brooke Albrecht.  What a perfect cover for this story.  That’s Tonio and Sam to a T  going over the jump, and Destin too. Love it.

Sales Links:  Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 91 pages
Published September 7th 2018 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN13 9781640807365
Edition Language English
setting Virginia (United States) 

In the Spotlight: Polished (Polished #1) by Alyssa Turner

MMF Menage full of real emotion and characters you’ll know.

Read it and get lost in their story…Listen and find yourself in the center of it!

Start with Book One, Polished.

It seemed like they had everything, but they didn’t have Jack.

Without question Spencer Hartley burns hot for his girlfriend, Rory, but his other desires are hidden down deep. He might blow things up for a living and climb mountains for kicks, but the scariest thing in his life is the truth about his sexuality.

Jack Rothman works hard and plays dirty. After long, demanding days in his family’s engineering firm, he indulges in the pleasures of silk restraints and fine wine. Lots of hot meaningless sex helps him forget that he’s suffocating, with no one to give him a reason to breathe.

When a catastrophic accident traps Spencer in a flooded subway tunnel with Jack, they need each other to survive. But something strong stirs down there in the darkness, and it’s more than their desperation to live. There’s a spark between them that’s impossible to ignore.

Rory Campbell would love to give Spencer the one thing he doesn’t have, the freedom to explore his secret desires. But how does that fit into her picture-perfect relationship? When Jack invites the couple to his sprawling Hamptons beach house, Rory realizes that she has secret desires of her own—the kind only Jack’s Dominant hand across her bare bottom can satisfy..

**SAMPLE Polished in Duet Audio: http://bit.ly/PolishedAudioPreview
**LISTEN to Polishedhttp://bit.ly/PolishedAudiobook
**READ Polishedhttps://amzn.to/2MmIRxN

About the Author:

Alyssa Turner‘s books address a woman’s desire to really have it all–including the things she’s not supposed to want. Her stories often deal with challenging circumstances and are explicit and emotional, because erotic romance should leave you with lingering images and a thoughtful smile. She knows her way around a menage romance and doesn’t spare the tough stuff along the way. If you want to make a few new friends, get to know the characters in her books. She hopes their triumphs and struggles will stick with you.

Links:

Mailing List: http://alyssaturnerwrites.com/p/loading.html

Website: http://alyssaturnerwrites.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/imagine.alyssa

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/alyssaturner

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/AlyssaTurner

Twitter: https://twitter.com/alyturn

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/alyturn/

Amazon: http://amazon.com/author/alyssaturner

You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/user/0alyssaturner0

In the Spotlight: Private Charter by N.R. Walker

 

 

 

Private Charter by N.R. Walker

Published August 24th 2018

Sales Links:  Amazon

 

M/M Contemporary Romance, 252 pages

 

About Private Charter….

Stuart Jenner’s job is high stress, high stakes, and everything he’s strived for. So why, when the apex of his career is within reach, does he stumble? At his doctor’s insistence, he books a privately chartered yacht to sail around the Whitsundays for two weeks of sun, surf, and sex. When his friend-with-benefits bails on him at the last minute, Stuart decides to go alone.

Foster Knight left the rat race behind six years ago, bought a yacht, and now calls the Great Barrier Reef his home. Sailing tourists around tropical waters is all in a day’s work, and he’s never been happier. When his next client arrives alone, the two-week charter will be the most private job he’s ever had.

Foster can see how stressed and exhausted Stuart is, and he promises him extensive rest and relaxation. Stuart slowly realises his original plan for two weeks of sun, surf, and sex might not be lost yet. Confined to a yacht, isolated by aqua-coloured oceans and the sweltering sun, Stuart and Foster are about to find out just how hot the tropics can get

About the Author

Author also writes as A. Voyeur

N.R. Walker is an Australian author, who loves her genre of gay romance. She loves writing and spends far too much time doing it, but wouldn’t have it any other way.

She is many things; a mother, a wife, a sister, a writer. She has pretty, pretty boys who she gives them life with words.

She likes it when they do dirty, dirty things…but likes it even more when they fall in love. She used to think having people in her head talking to her was weird, until one day she happened across other writers who told her it was normal.

She’s been writing ever since…

Website
Twitter

https://www.facebook.com/N.R.WalkerAu…

A MelanieM Review: Private Charter by N.R. Walker

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Stuart Jenner’s job is high stress, high stakes, and everything he’s strived for. So why, when the apex of his career is within reach, does he stumble? At his doctor’s insistence, he books a privately chartered yacht to sail around the Whitsundays for two weeks of sun, surf, and sex. When his friend-with-benefits bails on him at the last minute, Stuart decides to go alone.

Foster Knight left the rat race behind six years ago, bought a yacht, and now calls the Great Barrier Reef his home. Sailing tourists around tropical waters is all in a day’s work, and he’s never been happier. When his next client arrives alone, the two-week charter will be the most private job he’s ever had.

Foster can see how stressed and exhausted Stuart is, and he promises him extensive rest and relaxation. Stuart slowly realises his original plan for two weeks of sun, surf, and sex might not be lost yet. Confined to a yacht, isolated by aqua-coloured oceans and the sweltering sun, Stuart and Foster are about to find out just how hot the tropics can get.

I hate to admit how many times I’ve reread this story already, especially that ending!   Something about Private Charter by N.R. Walker has just gotten under my skin.  When I need something happy to think about before closing my eyes, I reach for my Kindle and that fabulously moving ending that I know now by heart.  True, I believe I can recite it!

If you had asked me if I would have had that reaction from reading that blurb, I probably would have said no, not even with N.R. Walker as the author.  The timeline seems too short and the plot a little light. I should have known better.  This is N.R. Walker after all, one of my favorite author’s and this story is so much more than it seems.

Stuart isn’t just stressed out and exhausted.  He is at a crossroads in his life and a particular set of circumstances have led him to a sailing yacht and man who might be the only one to understand his dilemma and situation.   Against a gorgeous background of sailing and the ocean, Walker brings us two men oddly not that different from each other.  The characters of Foster Knight, owner and Captain of the White Knight and Stuart Jenner, corporate financier, are carefully crafted and so well layered that I was into both men immediately.  I was pulled onto their lives as they sailed the Whitsundays, exploring each other, letting Stuart experience the f freedom of being himself and revelling in it.

We did as well.  The chemistry that builds with them is amazing.  We feel the power and beauty of being under sail, the awe of the sea, and the joy it brings them both.  Plus the terrible pull of the deadline that the end of the voyage has on them both.

I was so caught up in every part of this story that I didn’t realize how quickly it was flying by.  When that incredible ending came (not the epilogue mind you, love that) but the ending that made my heart swell …well I wasn’t ready to let go of these men.  I wanted a movie, another book, anything!!!

Yep, hooked but good.

So I settle for rereading it.  Over and over.

Yes, I absolutely recommend this to all lovers of contemporary romance.  It’s turned out to be one of my favorites.    See if it will be one of yours.

Cover art is sexy, hot, but doesn’t really make me think of Stuart.

Sales Links:  Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 1st edition, 244 pages
Published August 22nd 2018
ASINB07GSKKVTT
Edition LanguageEnglish

A Lucy Review: Stumbling in the Dark by Deja Black

Rating: 3 stars  out of 5

In this novella, 94 pages on my iPad, we have Jake, a 12-year-old boy who has been abused by his stepfather and his mother.  While on a camping trip Jake runs away,  knowing that to stay would be tantamount to worsening abuse.  His stepfather sounds like a pedophile and has been watching Jake a little too much, between all the verbal and physical abuse.  “He’d had to struggle to move out of Brad’s spidery touches when they were just a little too much to the left of weird as he gripped Jake and yanked him close…” Jake is lucky enough to run to the circus, where a lovely circus couple, Colleen and Leonardo, realize the abuse and take him in as their own.   They become the mom and dad Jake should have had. I loved that immediately, when Jake’s biological mother and stepfather come looking for him, Colleen asks if Jake’s family had come.  “No, amore mio. Not his family.  A woman and a man.”   He knows right away there’s something not right.

Fast forward ten years and Jake is now 22 and a knife thrower in the circus.  He has been in love with Blaine, the lion tamer, since he was young but Blaine has never shown any interest in him.  We are told this has happened but we don’t see it, we don’t see their history. Jake says Blaine treats him like a child but again, we aren’t shown that.  Since Blaine doesn’t want Jake, Jake tries to soothe himself by sleeping around.

What I loved were Jake’s parents, especially Colleen.  She is the catalyst for Blaine getting his head out of his butt.  “Now, we can continue this conversation, or you can intercede before he’s found another vapid fool to dip his cock in.”  She pulls no punches and she wants her boy happy.

There were things that just didn’t work for me.  Blaine not bothering to even attempt to mention the shifter aspect until after he’s done something permanent, the whole dream aspect, and the fact that Blaine says “I wondered what to do because I couldn’t envision leaving you…” yet that was exactly what he had planned to do, so that was confusing.

All in all, it was probably just too short to make the story rich.  I needed more backstory of the Pride, to be shown more instead of just told, and even more of Jake’s biological parents. They just drop out of the picture. I wish the book had been longer with more detail, I would have connected with it more.

The cover art, a headless very muscled torso, must be a stock cover because I just read another book, Lush Lunches, with the exact same cover.

Sales LInks:  Extasy Books  | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 34 pages
Published June 14th 2018 by Extasy Books
ISBN139781487419325
Edition LanguageEnglish

C.C. Dado on HEA and their new release Denying Fate (guest post, excerpt, and giveaway)

Denying Fate (A Series of Fates #1) by C.C. Dado
Dreamspinner Press

Cover Art: Brooke Albrecht

Sales Links:  Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have C.C. Dado here today on tour for their story Denying Fate. Welcome, C.C.

Thank you for having me on your blog.
I added an excerpt but this question you had made me laugh:
Do you like HFN or HEA? And why?
I am HEA all the way. I read a book once where the love interest died in a car accident at the end and I’m still mad about it. That was like 9 years ago. 🙂
Denying Fate Blurb:
 A Series of Fates: Book One
 

Fate is a funny thing. Some try to cut its threads, while others wrap themselves in it like a blanket.

Young wolf shifter Max is cocky and crass. Unlike others his age, he has yet to discover a talent that will serve his pack. Since childhood, he’s been convinced the pack alpha is his mate, but Alpha Christian cannot envision unfiltered and directionless Max taking the place of his elegant mother at the head of the pack. As Max begins to build a life with his best friend, he also begins to see that maybe what he thought was inevitable was all in his head, and it’s time to move on.

Or are they both denying fate?

Excerpt:
The drive to the lodge was quiet. Max occasionally caught Christian’s eye in the rearview mirror, the moment made more intimate by the darkened forest surrounding them, as long as he could ignore his best friend currently falling asleep next to him.
As much as Max loved Seth, he kind of wanted to push him out of the moving vehicle, just so he could be alone with his mate. But since that wasn’t going to happen, he took the time to study him instead. He’d always thought of him as “Christian,” even though his official title was Alpha Christian.
His alpha, his mate… God, he was beautiful and strong. The best leader their pack had ever had, even surpassing his father in Max’s eyes. His only flaw was the fact that he wouldn’t acknowledge Max as his mate—it was a pretty big flaw, as far as mate flaws went, for sure. Max wasn’t certain why Christian denied him, but he knew that was his mate in front of him, his wolf knew that was their mate. Max would not give up on him, even if his best friend didn’t believe it would happen.
They were getting closer to the lodge. The gravel road jarred Seth’s head around onto Max’s shoulder. The vast pack land encompassed two hundred mountainous acres, which included the small town of Easter Valley. History had taught them how important their need for privacy was. Today their pack was over eighty shifters strong and growing, but it hadn’t always been that way. Their pack members were hunted in the sixteenth century for their ability to shift from man to beast. What was left of the pack had fled, seeking a safe haven, and eventually they created their own, a secured commune, and along with it, the small town of Easter Valley. The town was built outside the gates of the commune, allowing them to be a part of the human world while giving them the space they needed to be pack.
Max sighed as they reached the lodge that sat along a ridge overlooking the town. Christian shut off the truck and hopped out. The Hummer was so high that it put the alpha face-to-face with Max when he opened the side door. Max didn’t move. The look on Christian’s face was one he hadn’t seen often—regret, a smell rarely mixed with his scent.
“Does it hurt?” Christian asked, brushing the back of his fingers along Max’s bruised cheek.
“A little,” Max said, glad Seth had fallen asleep, because he knew the smell of arousal was rolling off him like heat waves in the hot desert sun. And Seth was always the first one to pop his cherry of hope when it came to Christian ever claiming him.
About the Author
A little about me:
I write about painfully awkward, usually embarrassing, romance because long confident gazes followed by sexy dancing NEVER happens to me. I am a native of the Pacific Northwest, and will probably never leave. I’m like a hypochondriac sundae, with claustrophobic sprinkles, and a big cherry of anxiety on top, so I don’t travel much. I read to relax my mind, so I love getting lost in someone else’s story, even if it is only for a little while.
Twitter: @C_C_Dado
Giveaway
The author is generously giving away an eBook copy of their story Denying Fate to one lucky reader.  Leave a comment below and your email address if chosen.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

BA Tortuga on 5 Top Things to Do with the Uncles from ‘Two of a Kind’ (new release tour and guest post)

Two of a Kind by B.A. Tortuga
Dreamspinner Press

Cover Artist: Alexandria Corza

Sales Links:  Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have BA Tortuga here today with a special post direct from Uncles Ap and Daddy. from Two of a Kind.  Welcome, BA.

5 Top Things to Do with Uncle Ap and Uncle Daddy

Hey y’all! I’m BA Tortuga, resident redneck and lover of all things redneck.

Trey and Ap are two cowboys trying to raise their sister and brother’s five kids.

Really, isn’t that enough of a hook all on its own?

*grins*

The kids call their uncles Uncle Daddy and Uncle Ap. Trey “Uncle Daddy” is holding down the fort while Uncle Ap rides the rodeo circuit, to keep everyone afloat. They each wanted to tell y’all their favorite things to with their uncles.

Cole: I like to work on cars with Uncle Daddy, but I do like to rope with Uncle Daddy.

Bella: I like riding my barrel horse, April, with Uncle Ap and I like feeding April with Uncle Daddy.

Amelia:I like making cookies with Uncle Ap, and dancing with Uncle Daddy.

Bella: Uncle Daddy don’t dance!

Amelia: He does! Don’t you argue with me.

Braden: Can I pick just video games with both and shut the girls up?

Courtney: I like to play Shoot the Ladder.

Cole: I think that’s Chutes and Ladders, baby sister.

Courtney: Oh.

Bella: I like Shoot the Ladder better.

Amelia: Wanna play?

Courtney: Uh-huh.

😉

Much love, y’all,

BA

***

Two of a Kind blurb

Once upon a time, Trey Williamson and Ap McIntosh had quite the whirlwind romance—but that was before family tragedy left them the guardians of five kids. Their lives have changed quite a bit over the last six years, but Ap is still on the rodeo circuit, doing what he does best in an attempt to feed all those extra mouths.

That leaves Trey back on the ranch, isolated and overworked as the kids’ sole caregiver. Something has to give, and when Ap comes home, they’re reminded how hot they burned once upon a time. But is it a love that can withstand wrangling over time, money, and the future? They have to decide what kind of family they want to be… and whether what they share can stand the test of time.

Available at Dreamspinner Press: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/two-of-a-kind-by-ba-tortuga-9841-b

About the Author

Texan to the bone and an unrepentant Daddy’s Girl, BA Tortuga spends her days with her basset hounds and her beloved wife, texting her sisters, and eating Mexican food. When she’s not doing that, she’s writing. She spends her days off watching rodeo, knitting and surfing Pinterest in the name of research. BA’s personal saviors include her wife, Julia Talbot and coffee. Lots of coffee. Really good coffee.

Having written everything from fist-fighting rednecks to hard-core cowboys to werewolves, BA does her damnedest to tell the stories of her heart, which was raised in Northeast Texas, but has heard the call of the  high desert and lives in the Sandias. With books ranging from hard-hitting GLBT romance, to fiery menages, to the most traditional of love stories, BA refuses to be pigeon-holed by anyone but the voices in her head.

You can find BA at:

Website: http:www.batortuga.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/batortuga

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/batortuga

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/batortuga/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/batortuga

Blogger: http://batortuga.blogspot.com/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/batortuga/

Tumblr: http://batortuga.tumblr.com/