Release Blitz – Secret Santa by Jay Northcote

 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK
 
Length: 38,000 words approx.
 
Cover Design: Garrett Leigh @ Black Jazz Design
 
Blurb
 

Keeping secrets is never a good way to start a relationship

Theo hardly has time to date. Between work and caring for his four-year-old son there aren’t many hours left over. He’s lonely though, so he joins a hook-up app and starts chatting to a guy called Luke. Luke seems friendly and they arrange to meet. Theo doesn’t mention that he has a child. It’s early days and he’s worried about putting Luke off before they get to know each other.

Luke is currently working as Santa at the local shopping mall. He figures Theo never has to know. Christmas will be over soon and Luke will move on to a new, less embarrassing job. He’s surprised when Theo and a little boy visit Santa one afternoon. Theo doesn’t recognise Luke, and Luke realises he’s not the only one with a secret.

Despite misgivings on both sides, they start dating, and the chemistry is amazing. But as Christmas approaches their secrets pile up like colourful packages under the tree. If they’re not careful, they’ll lose the best gift of all—each other.

Author Bio

Jay lives just outside Bristol in the West of England. He comes from a family of writers, but always used to believe that the gene for fiction writing had passed him by. He spent years only ever writing emails, articles, or website content.

One day, Jay decided to try and write a short story—just to see if he could—and found it rather addictive. He hasn’t stopped writing since.

Jay writes contemporary romance about men who fall in love with other men. He has five books published by Dreamspinner Press, and also self-publishes under the imprint Jaybird Press. Many of his books are now available as audiobooks.

Jay is transgender and was formerly known as she/her.

Website: https://jaynorthcote.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jay_Northcote
Facebook profile: https://www.facebook.com/dellamere
Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/jaynorthcotefiction
Newsletter: http://tinyurl.com/JN-readers
Jayís books: http://author.to/JayNorthcote

 
 
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Release Blitz – Make The Yuletide Gay Anthology (Various Authors)

 

Download for FREE! 
 
KOBO | Smashwords | iTunes | Smashwords |(Amazon to be updated) 
 

Sleigh bells ring—are you listening?


It’s that time of year again, and we have the perfect way to get you in the mood: A free anthology! Five holiday stories that are guaranteed to warm your heart, heat up your cold nights, and most importantly: Make your yuletide gay.

A Christmas Party to Remember by Nicky Spencer

Last Christmas, Cory and Wes made a connection that left them both thanking Santa. But when Cory doesn’t show up for their first date, Wes swears he won’t make that mistake again. This year, can Santa’s magic find a way to bring them back together?

Let’s Not Go Crazy by Stephen Hoppa

The holidays are stressful enough without Ethan’s boyfriend Nate trying to kill him with Christmas cheer. But Nate’s found a whole new way to torture Ethan when he reveals that he wants kids. Will their conflicting desires tear their relationship apart,or will they find a way to ring in the new year stronger than ever?

Captain Jack and the Snack Attack by Addison Albright

Two men determined to win the same treasure at a charity silent auction, a wayward kitten, grumbling tummies, and a dilemma: what’s the correct gift-giving etiquette for a first date that’s mere days before Christmas, and what could possibly go awry with this merry combination?

The Christmas Day Date by Nell Iris

One rainbow Christmas tree in harm’s way and an afternoon spent eating far too many cookies, equals two men with changed holiday plans. But how does that translate into a date?

The Year of the Monkey by Amy Tasukada

The last thing Aoi wants to do for New Year’s is spend it with his boyfriend’s parents. They were far from thrilled when their son came out. Can Aoi warm their hearts making traditional mochi or will they end up in an even stickier situation?

Author Bios
 

Addison Albright is a writer living in the middle of the USA. Her stories are gay (sometimes erotic) romance in contemporary settings. Addison loves spending time with her family, reading, popcorn, boating, french fries, “open window weather,” cats, math, and anything chocolate. She loves to read pretty much anything and everything, anytime and anywhere.

 

Web/Blog https://authoraddisonalbright.com
Twitter https://twitter.com/addisonalbright
Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/AddisonAlbright
Facebook Profile https://www.facebook.com/addison.albright.profile
Newsletter Signup https://groups.io/g/AddisonAlbright

Stephen Hoppa is an author of gay romance who sometimes doubts his own existence. He writes sexy stories about boys kissing and more, because he thinks sex and love are magic. He writes flawed, broken characters who go beyond shades of grey into completely technicoloured morality, because rainbows are the sh*t. (He also writes gratuitous smut…)

You can subscribe to his mailing list follow new releases and freebies!

Amy Tasukada lives in North Texas with a calico cat called O’Hara. As an only child her day dreams kept her entertained, and at age ten she started to put them to paper. Since then her love of writing hasn’t cease. She can be found drinking hot tea and filming Japanese street fashion hauls on her Youtube channel.

 

Want more of Aoi and Sato every month? Subscribe to Amy Tasukada’s email and get a free short story of this adorable couple. Sign up today at www.amytasukada.com

Read more by Amy: https://www.amytasukada.com/books/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/amytasukadaofficial
Twitter: https://twitter.com/amytasukada
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/amytasukada
Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/53376722-amy-tasukada

Nicky Spencer is a romance writer of all pairings. Nicky is a firm believer that love conquers all– that’s why her favorite theme is forbidden love. If two (or three!) people shouldn’t be together, Nicky will find a way to get them there. When you love someone, nothing else matters.

Nicky lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with no husband, no kids and a part-time dog. She loves to read, write, listen to podcasts, watch baseball and waste time on the internet. She is firmly anti- oxford comma

Web: https://nickyspencer.com/

Twitter: @authornicky
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicky.spencer.14224

Nell Iris is a romantic at heart who believes everyone deserves a happy ending, believes passionately in equality for all regardless of race, gender or sexuality, and wants to make the world a better, less hateful, place.

Nell is a 40-something bisexual Swedish living in Malaysia, where she spends her days writing, surfing the Internet, enjoying the heat, and eating good food.

Nell Iris writes gay romance, prefers sweet over angsty, and loves to write diverse and different characters.

Webpage/blog: http://www.nelliris.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/nellirisauthor
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nellirisauthor/
Facebook profile: www.facebook.com/nell.iris.12

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Release Blitz for Hunter by HJ Perry (excerpt)

NEW RELEASE

Title: Hunter
Author: HJ Perry
Publisher: LoveLight Press
Length: approx. 45k
Genre/s: erotic gay romance, fantasy
Release Date: November 23, 2017
Buy Links:
Blurb:

Some are born as prey.

Small-town orphan Pip is stuck in a rut. Life just turns in circles. He can’t even escape his old school bullies, it seems… Until a hunk of a guy with magic fingers steps in and saves him.

Others are born to hunt.

The stranger who seduces Pip is an immortal god, sworn to him for all of Pip’s lives. God in the forest and between the sheets, Hunter will have his prize. Again and again.

Destiny lies with Hunter.

After experiencing his first kiss, Pip discovers their fates are bound together for all eternity. Hunter has access to a world of magic and wonder, and the changes in Pip’s life are almost too much to take. Now he’s faced with an impossible choice…

Hunter is a hot and steamy gay fantasy with a guaranteed Happy Ever After and no cheating.

It is book one in the new Elsewhere series featuring powerful men who are not of this world.

 

Excerpt:

Chapter Four

A warm fire crackled close to Pip’s head, and he woke with a start. He rolled back as his eyes focused. A fire burned in a carefully dug pit in the center of the room. Hearthstones surrounded it. Pip lay on what appeared to be a bed, much larger than any back home. A framework of wood, the center piled high with soft fur pelts, the bed dominated the room. Next to him, a dozing wolf-dog lifted its head lazily, looked at him with amber eyes, then dropped its head back onto the furs. A second lay curled at the end of the bed and didn’t wake when Pip stirred.

What the hell was going on?

The animal at Pip’s side rolled over, exposing his belly and pressing up against him. Pip decided they must be dogs, and exceptionally well-trained ones at that, as he recalled their behavior when they’d found him bound to a tree. He ran his hands through the animal’s coarse, thick fur. Its tongue lolled from the side of his mouth, and it panted happily as Pip scratched his stomach.

Wherever this place was, it wasn’t home. Nothing like.

A pelt hung over the entrance to the room in place of a door, and the walls were a rustic makeshift combination of exposed logs and a type of plaster. The room contained very little furniture, apart from the bed. A rickety shelf held some used copper cookware and a few ancient-looking dishes. It was as if this were a temporary camp with no evidence of commodities, no overhead lighting, no electricity, no… no nothing.

Despite how very strange and basic it appeared, it felt warm and cozy, with a homey familiar scent about it.

Pip settled back onto the bed and nestled against the wolf-like dog, finding strange comfort in being so close to such a strong animal.

“Where did the rest of you go?” Pip asked as he stroked its belly. “There were so many of you before.”

“They came with me.” The voice from the doorway made Pip’s heart skip a beat.

He lifted his head. The man who rescued him came through the doorway carrying a bag over his shoulder, his antlers gone and skin free of anything that resembled bark. Free of anything at all, actually.

He stood near the fire pit completely naked.

The rest of the dogs trailed in after him; some of them climbed into bed with Pip, others settled across the room, creating a comfortable-looking pile of warm animal fur. The temperature in the room rose by many degrees, quickly. It must’ve surely been from the warmth of all those bodies.

Not only was the man naked, but gorgeous, too. Pip pulled one of the fur pelts over his lap, hoping to conceal his reaction to the man’s presence.

 

 RELEASE BLITZ SCHEDULE

About the Author

HJ Perry is a 49 years old mother of three school aged children. They live by the English seaside and from her hometown she can see France. Helen loves reading. If it were possible, she’d do nothing else. She reads science fiction, fantasy, young adult, all types of LGBT fiction, and, of course, gay romance. Aside from reading she likes walking and watching films, most often science fiction or thrillers.

HJP has written many books about men falling in love in England where, for the most part, LGBT people are treated with the same respect as anyone else. Having worked in the construction industry for years in real life, she has written many fictional characters working in similar macho, male dominated environments.

Despite reading American books and watching American shows, writing American characters has been a huge challenge for her. With a lot of help, Rescued from Paradise is her first novel featuring Americans and set in the US.

Social Media Links

Blog/Website
Facebook Author Page

 

A Jeri Release Day Review: Tried & True (THIRDS #10) by Charlie Cochet

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Book 10, Tried and True wraps up the THIRDS series. While I am sad, because I LOVE THESE BOOKS, Charlie Cochet is continuing on with a spin off series based on TIN. So it isn’t goodbye, just see you soon.

If that paragraph doesn’t make any sense to you, go read these books. Seriously. “I don’t like paranormal” “I don’t read shifters”. As a friend and I call it- it’s the Rule of THIRDS. You have to throw out all preconceived notions because this series is so worth it.

Ok, on to book 10…..

It’s the big event we’ve all been waiting for. Dex and Sloan get married! We have waited a long time for this. Our guys have been through a lot. And they are going to go through more. They are moving on from Destructive Delta at THIRDS and becoming TIN agents. But there are still a lot of secrets, a ot of unknowns. And it all comes to a head in this story.

Everyone we have met is involved in this story.  And yet it doesn’t seem overstuffed with characters. We have gotten to know them all and they are all represented well.

But before the wedding they have to go through a kidnapping, and attempted kidnapping, several assassination attempts and yes, another kidnapping. But in the end, all of the loose ends are tied up. We know everything.  Finding out who (and why) Dex’s parents were killed all of those years ago leading up to all of the events in the past 10 books is satisfying. The big reveal could have been so many people. Someone we knew really well, someone brought in just for this. But, as always, no spoilers from me.

This book (and series, really) made me laugh out loud, cry, gasp, cringe and swoon.  Charlie Cochet told the story of an unbelievable world in a completely believable way. I never felt like I was reading “paranormal”. I just felt like I was reading a really awesome story with lots of sex, romance, action and intrigue.

Farwell Destructive Delta. I will miss you. But I look forward to TIN. Have some Gummy Bears on me.

Cover art by L.C. Chase is terrific and in keeping with the characters.

Sales Links:  Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 254 pages
Expected publication: November 24th 2017 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN139781640801165
Edition LanguageEnglish
Series THIRDS #10
CharactersSloane Brodie, Dexter “Dex” Justice Daley
settingNew York City, New York (United States)

An Ali Review: Watch Point by Cecilia Tan

Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
Eric Sakai-Johnson joined the Navy SEALs to protect his country and the people he loves. After discharge, he finds himself relegated to protecting big pharma billionaire Aiden Milford from assassination attempts and kidnapping. Until Aiden reneges on a promise, fires Eric, and lets Eric’s mother die with millions of dollars in medical debt.

Now Eric is the kidnapper. Snatching Aiden’s twenty-two-year-old son, Chase, for a multi-million-dollar ransom is the only way to get justice. It’s time for Aiden to learn what it’s like when someone you love is at the mercy of forces beyond your control. Eric has it all planned out. The one thing he didn’t plan for is the intense erotic spark between him and Chase.

Chase has been chafing under his father’s autocratic control. A gay hookup app has been his only ticket to rebellion—to clandestine moments of freedom, excitement, and danger. Now it’s his ticket to a deep connection and amazing sex with his “captor.” On the rocky island where they’re sequestered, Chase finds Eric to be everything he wants in a man: quiet, strong, capable, and honorable . . . until he finds out he’s been captured for real.
This was just over the top and I only finished it because it was an arc book.  The plot is in in the blurb.  Pretty much that’s the entire plot but with a bazillion sex scenes thrown in.  Nothing either of the MC’s did made sense to me.  The plot did not make sense to me.  Their actions made no sense to me (ie you’re a highly trained Navy Seal & your idea of torture is to beat someone with a sock with a bar of soap in it?)  Their attraction to each other made no sense to me.  Just nothing did.
There were way too many sex scenes.  The majority of the book was a one sex scene or another.  Maybe this was supposed to be erotica but it didn’t feel like it.  It felt like it was supposed to be a regular book.  Just one with way too many sex scenes that over shadowed the plot.
This was a new author for me and I was hoping for a new author/series to immerse myself in.  Unfortunately this was not for me and I won’t be trying this author in future.
 
The cover was done Natasha Snow and I think it’s a great cover.  It’s what caught my eye and made me want to try this book.
Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing | Amazon
Book Details:
ebook, 177 pages
Published November 6th 2017 by Riptide Publishing (first published November 2017)
ISBN139781626496705
Edition LanguageEnglish

An Alisa Review: My Forever, My Always (Men of Crooked Bend #1) by Taylor Rylan

Rating:  4 stars out of 5

 

Growing up on a ranch in the middle of nowhere Wyoming did not provide Simon Redfeather with a whole lot of opportunities to explore his sexuality. From a young age he’d known he was interested in men but wondered if he’d ever find someone to settle down with. Though he wanted to stretch his wings, he knew the ranch was his life and he’d inevitably follow his heart back home. Would he be able to find love with someone that could give as good as they get and love the land as much as he did?

 

Sean Welsh considered himself lucky that he’d grown up with two dads because coming out had been a breeze. Never wanting to trade in on the privilege of their last name, Sean and his identical twin wanted to forge their own path and open their own architectural firm in Jackson, Wyoming. He never expected Simon Redfeather, one of his new clients, to be a gorgeous, sexy, honest to god cowboy. With Simon pushing all his hot buttons, he finds himself wishing he wasn’t the shy twin and yearns to be daring, like his older brother.

 

The attraction is instant but are Simon and Sean willing to risk everything in order to find their other half?

 

This was a sweet story and while it kept my attention seemed to drag at times.  Simon falls in lust with Sean when they first meet but bides his time by beginning a friendship with him.  Sean is shy and his biggest fear is his actions hurting his business with his actions but after getting to know Simon he knows the risk may be worth it.

 

I loved Simon’s patience with Sean and his ability to adapt to pretty much anything that went on.  However, at times, he seem just too perfect; never getting annoyed or upset with anything that went wrong.  Sean doesn’t really voice his feelings very often but if often grateful to Simon’s perceptiveness and how much he wants to take care of him.  There were quite a few times that I felt the book dragged on a bit but it would often change pretty quickly just a few mundane things that I didn’t feel helped the story any.  I look forward to reading about Sean’s brother as we saw some of his story in this book.

 

The cover art by Jay Aheer is beautiful and absolutely perfect for this story.

 

Sales Link: Amazon

 

Book Details:

ebook, 279 pages

Published: June 15, 2017 by Taylor Ryan

Edition Language: English

Series: Men of Crooked Bend #1

Sean Michael on His Characters In his latest release Unlikely Hero by Sean Michael (author guest blog)

Unlikely Hero by Sean Michael
Dreamspinner Press

Cover Art: L.C. Chase

Available for Purchase at Dreamspinner Press | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo 

✒︎

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host Sean Michael on his tour for Unlikely Hero.  Welcome, Sean.

♦︎

Thank you very much to Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words for hosting me today.

A lot of my books are first times for the characters – their first meeting, their first kiss, falling in love with each other, etc. Unlikely Hero is different in that the characters were together in the past.

Eric and Brock split up because they wanted very different things out of their lives. Eric wanted children, Brock wanted to keep on with his high-powered life – business dinners and outings, Christmas in the Bahamas, etc. So they parted ways nine years before the events in Unlikely Hero.

Because of the nature of their split, there were no lingering hard feelings over things said or anything like that, and it wasn’t like they’d fallen out of love, they simply couldn’t figure out how to make their two visions of the future work together. And both men felt very strongly about the wanting kids/not wanting kids thing.

It was fun to explore how these two men, who were so very different nine years ago, and are still on the surface very different, react when they’re brought back together again. Nine years of being without each other, and without a significant other, leaves a lot of possibilities open when they reconnect.

I really enjoyed writing the story the characters brought me and I hope you enjoy it too!

Sean Michael

smut fixes everything

Blurb

When his three-year-old daughter is kidnapped, Eric Wilson doesn’t have many options, and time is running out. With nowhere else to turn, he reaches out to his ex, influential businessman Brock Vencenza, whose money and contacts might be able to save Josie.

Brock never got over Eric’s loss, and he’s more than willing to help when Eric needs him most. Together with law enforcement and private security, they embark on a twisting investigation to find the little girl—and who wants to hurt her and destroy both men in the process. Under the circumstances, confessing he still has feelings for Eric would be inappropriate, but Brock can’t deny what’s in his heart. He doesn’t know if their love can be rekindled or if he can even protect Eric and Josie. But one thing is certain: Brock’s determined to be the hero in reality that he is in Eric’s eyes.

About the Author

Best-selling author Sean Michael is a maple leaf–loving Canadian who spends hours hiding out in used book stores. With far more ideas than time, Sean keeps several documents open at all times. From romance to fantasy, paranormal and sci-fi, Sean is limited only by the need for sleep—and the periodic Beaver Tail.

Sean fantasizes about one day retiring on a secluded island populated entirely by horseshoe crabs after inventing a brain-to-computer dictation system. Until then, Sean will continue to write the old-fashioned way.

Sean Michael on the web:

WEBSITE: http://www.seanmichaelwrites.com

BLOG: http://seanmichaelwrites.blogspot.ca

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/SeanMichaelWrites/

TWITTER: seanmichael09

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/seanmichaelpics/

Release Blitz Tour for Jackie Keswick’s Undercover Star (giveaway)

 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK
 
Length: 41,000 words
 
Cover Design: Emma Griffin
 
Blurb
 

It sounds like the stupidest idea in the history of stupid ideas. Detective Inspector Josh Ingram wants to find a deadly medieval locket and through it, a murderer. So why does his boss decide to team him up with Matisse Vervein, a pop idol many consider just a pretty face… and expect the two of them to hunt down an art thief?

Marissa Godwin, Matisse’s no-nonsense manager, isn’t stupid. Neither is her brother-in-law, Detective Superintendent Tim Montgomery. Each is looking out for a lonely man on the verge of quitting what he does best, and both believe that their charges would make a great team.

The attraction sizzling between Josh and Matisse is hard to miss, but there’s plenty of resentment, too. Focussed on pushing Josh and Matisse towards each other, Marissa and Tim haven’t imagined the kind of trouble a music star and a detective can find when they ditch their prejudices and accept that the attraction between them is mutual. Or how far each is prepared to go to prove it to the other.

A feel-good, action adventure romance set in England and Scotland, featuring a reluctant pop star who’s not out, a detective trying his hand at being a bodyguard, plenty of adventure, and a happy ending.


Author Bio

Jackie Keswick was born behind the Iron Curtain with itchy feet, a bent for rocks and a recurring dream of stepping off a bus in the middle of nowhere to go home. She’s worked in a hospital and as the only girl with 52 men on an oil rig, spent a winter in Moscow and a summer in Iceland and finally settled in the country of her dreams with her dream team: a husband, a cat, a tandem, a hammer and a laptop.

Jackie loves stories about unexpected reunions and second chances, and men who don’t follow the rules when those rules are stupid. She has a thing for green eyes, blogs about English history and food, and is a great believer in making up soundtracks for everything, including her characters and the cat.

And she still hasn’t found the place where the bus stops.

For questions and comments, not restricted to green eyes, bus stops or recipes for traditional English food, you can find Jackie Keswick in all the usual places:



Website
Twitter
FB
Newsletter

Giveaway

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It’s Riptide Publishing’s 2017 Holiday Charity Collection ~ Came Upon a Midnight Clear by Katie Porter ( Tour/Giveaway)

Came Upon a Midnight Clear by Katie Porter
Riptide Publishing
Cover art by Natasha Snow

Read an Excerpt/Buy It here

About Came Upon a Midnight Clear

 

Up-and-coming film producer Kyle Wakefield lives in the closet rather than risk the wrath of his influential, conservative parents. The only time he took a chance on love was a tempestuous teenage affair with Nathan Carnes. But when Nathan proved himself hell-bent on self-destruction and wound up in prison, Kyle closed off his heart.

 

Almost a decade later, Kyle’s production partner hires Nathan’s stunt company, Second Chances, to work on a big-budget action film in London. Nate is floored by his explosive reunion with Kyle. But he sure as hell isn’t surprised that Kyle still treats their mutual needs—and Nate—like dirty little secrets.

 

As the London holiday season casts its dazzling spell, the two men find themselves falling in love again. Kyle is one breathless kiss away from declaring himself to Nate—and to the world—but they cannot ignore secrets borne of youthful mistakes. To protect their bright new future, Kyle and Nathan will need all their passion and trust . . . and a little Christmas magic.

 

Publisher’s note: This is a lightly edited reprint of a previously published novel.

 

Available now from Riptide Publishing!

About the 2017 Holiday Charity Collection

 

20% of all proceeds from this title will be donated to the Russian LGBT Network.

 

Each year, Riptide Publishing releases a holiday collection in support of an LGBTQ charity. Twenty percent of the proceeds from this year’s collection will be donated to the Russian LGBT Network.

 

The Russian LGBT network was founded in April 2006. It is an interregional, non-governmental human rights organization that promotes equal rights and respect for human dignity, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity. They unite and develop regional initiatives, advocacy groups (at both national and international levels), and provide social and legal services.

 

To learn more about this charity or to donate directly, please visit their website: https://lgbtnet.org/en.

 

This collection would not be possible without the talent and generosity of its authors, who have brought us the following holiday stories:

 

 

Pre-ordering this collection will allow you to download each story two days prior to its official release date, as well as save 20% off the list price of the individual books.

 

About Katie Porter

 

Katie Porter is the co-writing team of Lorelie Brown and Carrie Lofty, friends and critique partners of six years. Both are multi-published in several romance genres. Carrie has an MA in history, while Lorelie is a US Army veteran.

 

Generally a high-strung masochist, Carrie loves weight training but she has no fear of gross things like dissecting formaldehyde sharks. Her two girls are not appreciative.

 

Lorelie, a laid-back sadist, would rather grin maniacally when Carrie works out. Her three boys love how she screams like a little girl around spiders.

 

Connect with Lorelie and Carrie:

Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Came Upon a Midnight Clear, one lucky winner will receive a $10 Riptide credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on November 25, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

A Caryn Review: Safety Protocols for Human Holidays by Angel Martinez

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Highly recommended as the cutest, funniest bit of holiday fluff I’ve read in a long time!

This sci-fi story is set on an interspecies ship traveling in the distant universe.  For the most part, there is only one of any individual species on the ship.  There is only one human, Jen, and the captain is concerned that she is broken, because she is not “behaving within previously observed species parameters”.  The captain is concerned about the safety and well-being of everyone on the crew, and so he assigns Security Officer Raskli, a Growlan, to investigate the change, to see if she can identify the problem, and fix it.  Why was Raskli chosen for this task?  Because the ship’s doctor said “you are both members of lactating placental species”.  Ha!

Raskli’s investigation into humans, and Jen in particular, is laugh out loud funny.  One of her first observations:

[Humans] ate everything.  It was a wonder than any other life on the planet had survived.

When she thought she had sufficient background, Raskli decided that she should become “friends” – a somewhat unusual concept to ritualistic Growlans – with Jen, and looking for a friendship ritual, followed the interspecies manual instructions for “dating”:

The initiator of the date will sometimes bring a small offering to the domicile of the acceptor.  Angiosperm blooms or boxes of sugar-and-cocoa-bean globs appear to be traditional for one-on-one dates, while offerings of substantial, meal-oriented food or fermented drink are more common for group dates.

This was the most adorable little meet-cute you can imagine.  Raskli’s heart was in the right place despite her awkwardness, so Jen accepted her friending request and the two proceeded to get to know and like each other despite the huge cultural differences.  Since the story is told from Raskli’s point of view, we get the outsiders perspective of humans and their quirks, and the author did a fabulous job of making fun of all the crazy things we do.

When Raskli was able to identify that the holiday season was exacerbating Jen’s feelings of homesickness and loneliness, she decided to put on a ship-wide celebration, and started researching.  In addition to our Western standards like Christmas, Hannukah, and Kwanzaa, she also found references to solstice, yule, saturnalia, rohatsu, and others, and decided to just use them all.  In addition to the “traditional large sacrificial plant” that was “large, possibly radially symmetric, sloping limbs with many sharp spikes.  Looks fierce”, there were “shining spheres” and “glitter snakes”.  I was having so much fun reading how the decorations that have become so commonplace to us might be described by an alien who has never seen anything like them before!

The romance between Raskli and Jen was perfectly sweet.  No other word to describe it!  The story was just the right length, the various alien crew members all existed in almost perfect harmony, and at the end of the story I just couldn’t stop smiling.  I’m going to keep this around to re-read when I need a little happiness!  Brava, Angel Martinez!

Cover art by Freddy MacKay was exactly how I pictured Jen, sitting in front of a window that looked to be straight out of Star Trek:  The Next Generation.  Very appropriate!

Sales Links: Mischief Corner Books | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, First
Expected publication: December 9th 2017 by Mischief Corner Books, LLC
Edition LanguageEnglish