Ava Hayden on Romance, eBooks, and her release ‘The Valentine’s Day Resolution’ (author’s guest blog)

The Valentine’s Day Resolution by Ava Hayden
Dreamspinner Press
Cover art: Alexandria Corza

Available for Purchase at

Dreamspinner | Amazon  | Kobo  | Apple itunes  

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have Ava Hayden here today talking about her latest release,The Valentine’s Day Resolution, one of our highly recommended novels.  Welcome, Ava!

✒︎

Thanks to Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words for hosting me and my latest novella, The Valentine’s Day Resolution. I’m excited to be here today!

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

As a teen and into adulthood, I read everything I could get my hands on by Victoria Holt (Jean Plaidy, Philippa Carr, etc.), Barbara Michaels (Elizabeth Peters), Gillian Bradshaw, Anne Rivers Siddons, Georgette Heyer, Catherine Cookson (Catherine Marchant), and, later, Judith Merkle Riley and Alice Borchardt, among others. Some of these authors’ works aren’t categorized as “romance” per se, but I don’t care if Amazon calls a title historical fiction or women’s fiction or literary fiction if there’s an HEA.

These days, I read lots of MM and LGBTQ+ romance, also authors like Patricia Briggs and Ilona Andrews and Jennifer Ashley for paranormal romance.

♦︎How do you feel about the ebook format and where do you see it going?

I love ebooks. That doesn’t mean that I don’t still love physical books, like the beautiful annotated Harvard Press editions of Jane Austen’s works (http://www.hup.harvard.edu/features/austen/) I’ve been collecting slowly but surely. Rows of hardbacks on my shelves make me happy.

On the other hand, I don’t want to cart heavy books around on trips. Enter the ereader. I even buy a few titles in both ebook and physical format, one to read when I’m on vacation or out and about and the other to read at home. Other aspects of ebooks that I appreciate:

  • Instant gratification—is there anything better than being at home in the middle of a snowstorm and buying something you really, desperately want to read RIGHT THEN without leaving the comfort of your snuggly blanket and snacks and hot tea?
  • Access—I still love used book stores, but does anyone else remember slogging through store after store, hoping to find that elusive title in a series that was out of print and impossible to buy new? Yes, I’m a completist, and life before the internet meant I had a mental list I carried to every used bookstore, yard sale, or flea market where old books could be found.
  • Binging—no, not on chocolate—on series. I didn’t find Andrea Speed’s Infected series until the last one was published. Did I buy them all and devour them as fast as humanly possible, emerging only for food and hydrating beverages? Did I point at takeout flyers when my hungry spouse asked if there were plans for dinner? …ummm, maybe?
  • And perhaps the most important reason I love ebooks is that so many good stories and novellas are published and available in ebook format only—if not for ebooks, I’d be missing out on some of my favorite authors and stories.

Where ebooks are going—it’s hard to predict the future. I hope more older works are made available in ebook format at a reasonable price. I suspect ebook formats will continue to improve and offer more features, likewise ereaders.

♦︎Do you have a favorite among your own stories?  And why?

His Fallow Heart because it was my first romance sale and it’s about older men finding love. (And there’s a farm and a snowy owl and a dog and summer hail and a town named Eagle Tree.)

♦︎What’s next for you as an author?

I’ve got a Dreamspinner Press World of Love title coming out October 25 called Highballer, about tree planters pounding on the block in the wild Alberta bush. 

Blurb

Huxley carries invisible scars from a near-fatal car accident. He sleepwalks through a job at his father’s company, marking time until he can quit and pursue his own dreams. Everything changes the moment he makes eye contact with a stranger while riding to work. It’s as if he’s been shaken out of his stupor, and Huxley vows to find the man.

Thanks to a thieving ex-lover, Paul’s florist shop is on the brink of closing down. He needs to milk Valentine’s Day for all it’s worth—and the irony that a day dedicated to love might help undo the damage of a failed relationship is not lost on him.

When Huxley finds Paul at his shop, both men feel an instant attraction. Before long, they’re falling hard, but Huxley holds back. If Paul knew all the baggage he’s carrying, he might run.

Paul’s gut tells him Huxley is hiding something. Huxley looks like a keeper, but Paul can’t go through another disastrous romance.

When Valentine’s Day arrives, will they have anything to celebrate?

About the Author

Alexandria Corza’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandriacorza/

Ava Hayden lives and writes in Alberta, Canada. When not writing, she loves reading yaoi manga and gay romance, baking, seeing plays, hearing live music, and hiking (even though she once came face to face with two grizzlies on a trail). Most of the time her life isn’t that exciting, and that’s fine by her.

RELEASE BLITZ for Weekend Getaway (Daniel and Ryan #2) by Tamryn Eradani (excerpt and giveaway)

Title:  Weekend Getaway
Series: Daniel and Ryan, Book 7
Author: Tamryn Eradani
Publisher:  NineStar Press
Release Date: 8/7/17
Heat Level: 5 – Erotica
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 17700
Genre: Contemporary, Contemporary,BDSM,businessmen,established couple,vacation

Add to Goodreads

Synopsis

Daniel wants to test his control in a more public setting than he and Ryan have used before. It takes some negotiation, takes some planning, but they make it work.

Excerpt

Weekend Getaway

Tamryn Eradani © 2017

All Rights Reserved

 

Chapter One

 

Daniel’s on his back, legs splayed wide, Ryan kneeling between them with a wicked smile playing across his lips. Ryan’s sleeves are rolled up to his elbows—they’re going to be horribly wrinkled when they’re done with this—but Daniel can’t gather the breath to complain.

 

Ryan’s had him on edge for what feels like forever, skimming his fingertips over Daniel’s hole in a dirty tease. Every once in a while, Ryan will drag his knuckles down the length of Daniel’s cock like he’s afraid Daniel’s erection will flag without constant attention.

 

Just having Ryan in the room with him is enough to keep Daniel hard at this point. Daniel wishes he knew what Ryan wants. Does he want Daniel to break down and beg? Is he testing to see how long Daniel can go without being tempted to touch himself? Does he want Daniel to try so he can slap Daniel’s hands away?

 

Maybe Ryan’s winding Daniel up so he can deny him. They don’t do it often; Ryan doesn’t get how Daniel can like it so much, and Daniel doesn’t want to spoil himself, but sometimes Ryan will spend hours teasing Daniel so he can tell him no and see if Daniel listens.

 

Daniel always listens.

 

His cock throbs at the thought, and he bites down on his bottom lip to keep from asking. It’s not his place to ask. He can’t help the want in his eyes, can’t help the way they plead with Ryan as they meet his gaze. He’d consider it a weakness, except Ryan likes drawing reactions from Daniel’s body. He knows Daniel doesn’t like being vocal, so he gauges his interest in other ways—how he moves into a touch, how his body trembles when he has to work at holding still. How his eyes beg when he wants something particularly badly.

 

Ryan smiles, fond, and wraps his fist around Daniel’s cock until just the head is poking out. Daniel’s breath comes in short pants and stutters out completely when Ryan bends his head to press a kiss to the tip.

 

It takes every ounce of Daniel’s self-control to keep from coming. His hands are fisted in his sheets, as if holding on to the fabric means he’ll hold on to the fraying edges of his control.

 

“I want to suck you,” Ryan says, breath ghosting over Daniel’s cock, “but that would be cruel given what my plans are for you.” Ryan slides off the bed before he holds a hand out to Daniel.

 

It takes a moment for Daniel to unclench his hands, to ease up on the death grip he has on the sheets, but when he does, he puts his hand in Ryan’s and lets the other man help him stand up. He doesn’t know what they’re doing next, and excitement buzzes beside worry as he watches Ryan for his next cue. Lately, he’s been giving more and more control over to Ryan; not just in scenes but in the planning of scenes.

 

Having a…partner, someone he scenes with regularly and talks to outside of sex, means that they know each other well enough to start reading each other’s moods and wants. Daniel has a pretty comprehensive list of things that Ryan likes and knows his hard nos, but now he can tell whether a work week is going to make Ryan want to put Daniel on his knees when he gets home and just have Daniel warm his cock until he’s unwound enough to fuck him or whether fucking Daniel hard and a little bit messy is exactly what he needs.

 

And Ryan’s picked up this uncanny ability to practically read Daniel’s mind.

 

“Time to get dressed,” Ryan says, and Daniel’s eyes are drawn to where his clothes are sitting in a sloppy pile on the floor. This is what happens when Ryan gets him undressed. “Complaint duly noted.” Ryan puts Daniel’s clothes on the bed so Daniel won’t have to bend down for them and then he backs off, letting Daniel know that he’s on his own for this.

 

Daniel’s slow as he steps through the leg holes of his briefs, even slower as he drags the fabric up his legs. His eyes flutter shut as the soft material touches his overly sensitive skin. His body works against him now; desperate for relief, every nerve ending is on high alert, waiting for just enough stimulus to tip him over the edge.

 

He’s careful as he pulls the rest of his clothes on, and it’s a struggle to go slow enough he doesn’t overwhelm himself but not so slow that getting dressed becomes a tease of its own. Pulling up the zipper on his jeans is the worst; pressure and a little bit of pain, as it presses his erection into place, but as soon as he pops the button through the waistband, he feels settled. He feels contained, like he can do this.

 

Whatever this is.

 

He lifts his gaze to Ryan, unable to help his smile when he sees the pride in Ryan’s eyes. He did that. He put that look on Ryan’s face.

 

“Absolutely incredible,” Ryan murmurs, stepping forward so he can cup Daniel’s face in his hands. “I wonder how far this composure goes.” Ryan taps his fingers against Daniel’s skin. “I wonder what you would look like walking down the street like this.”

 

Dread washes through Daniel, sharp and cold, and it effectively kills the erection Ryan’s worked so hard to keep up. Some of his panic must show on his face, because Ryan goes from teasing to concerned in seconds.

 

“Not good?” Ryan asks, easing Daniel down so he’s sitting on the bed.

 

“Not good,” Daniel agrees. Because what if they’re walking down the street and run into Tracy? Or what if they pop by the grocery store and their boss is there? He can’t. Not when his control is this fragile. Ryan likes the fragility of it, and he might punish Daniel if it breaks, but he won’t mock him. Won’t think worse of him for it.

 

If anyone else…

 

No.

 

“Okay,” Ryan says. “Okay, that’s a no go.”

 

“Sorry,” Daniel says.

 

“Nothing to be sorry for,” Ryan assures him. He crouches between Daniel’s legs so Daniel doesn’t have to crane his neck to look up at him.

 

Daniel knows he doesn’t have anything to be sorry for. He doesn’t even know why he apologized in the first place. They both have hard limits, both have soft limits, and sometimes they stumble on them accidentally. It doesn’t mean either of them has done something wrong. Daniel still feels off-balance, the scene cut off before it finished.

 

“What do you want?” Ryan asks. “I can run a bath, we can get back into bed, whatever you want.”

 

“What was the original plan?” Daniel asks. Maybe finishing the scene will be enough to reorient himself. Unless Ryan’s plan was to go out for a walk, to parade Daniel through the streets to—

 

“Hey,” Ryan says, voice sharp enough to pull Daniel out of his thoughts but not enough to startle him. “I wouldn’t spring that on you. I was going to bring you into the living room, have you blow me with the TV on, tell you to imagine the voices you heard were people in the room, watching you, admiring you. But it sounds like it’s something you don’t want.”

 

He doesn’t. He’s too raw right now. He doesn’t know what he does want, though.

 

“All right,” Ryan says. “We’ll get your clothes off, cuddle for a bit. Maybe I’ll get my mouth on you after all.”

 

Daniel doesn’t want to be coddled. He got pulled out of their scene, out of his headspace, but he doesn’t want to be treated like he’s going to fall apart any moment. He feels even more ridiculous getting this worked up over getting a blow job, but—

 

“You’re frowning again,” Ryan says, dragging his thumb across the crease between Daniel’s eyebrows as if he can rub it out.

 

“I’m not fragile,” Daniel says. He likes it when Ryan wears his control down until it’s thin enough he doesn’t know whether or not it’ll snap. But it’s a different kind of fragile than this. Daniel doesn’t like Ryan’s being hesitant with him.

 

“You want to earn it?” Ryan asks. “You think I’m giving something to you too easy?”

 

Daniel nods.

 

“In that case, I’m going to blow you, and you’re not going to be able to come until you’re so desperate you’re crying,” Ryan says. “That better?”

 

Daniel nods again, mouth dry.

 

“Words,” Ryan says. “Is that what you want?”

 

“Yes,” Daniel says. “Please.”

 

Ryan’s lips turn up into a smile, too sharp to be friendly. “I love it when you ask for things you know are going to hurt.” He gives Daniel’s shoulders a push, and Daniel tips backward onto the bed.

 

NineStar Press | Amazon | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Meet the Author

Tamryn studied English and Creative Writing in school but has been writing since she could first hold a pencil. Recently, she’s turned her focus towards writing erotica. She enjoys writing stories where sex comes first, then feelings, because doing things out of order can be fun.

Tamryn has spent the past few months writing the Daniel and Ryan series with a lovely view of mountains out her window, and she’s now searching for a new mountain range to serve as her backdrop as she begins her next project.

 

Giveaway

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Of Recs Lists, Summer Reading and This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Of Recs Lists and Summer Reading

August is here and people are off on vacation or thinking off where to head off to for their summer getaways before the fall arrives.  And that means, packing books to take with you.  Whether it’s stacking your eReaders full of the latest in new arrivals or old favorites, or stashing away those treasured hardbound or paperbacks in your luggage or knapsacks, it’s time to look over lists and make some choices.  That’s what all these wonderful recs have been leading up to…books you haven’t read yet, might have overlooked, or just plain want to read again during your vacation (note to self, start rereading Megan Derr’s Lost Gods series again asap)!  I hope we can keep adding to these lists all year long.  Plus more lists to rec to come!

I still have books to rec rattling around my brain in both categories so don’t be surprised to see these lists popping back up. Ugh, I need to be more organized here and add as I read.  Like that’s going to happen….

However, we had so many wonderful lists and books rec’d to us that we are choosing a reader in each category to receive a gift card. Here are our randomly chosen winners from each category:

Winner of the Gift Card is:

  • Historical:  moondrawn (if moondrawn does not contact us within 5 days a new winner will be chosen)
  • Science Fiction:  H.B.

🎉 Will each winner please write to Stella at scatteredthoughtsandroguewords@gmail.com and she will handle giving your your gift card.  Thanks!🎉

Part II – Soldiers/Warriors ~ Historical and Science Fiction Recommendations

There are so many wonderful stories that involve the past and the future with warriors and soldiers.  Let’s start our next series of lists.  Whether the author is Charlie Cochrane or Aleksandr Voinov, their stories will have you under their spells of soldiers past and future.

Science Fiction – Readers Recs

Angel’s Feather (Flyer Chronicles 1) by Alina Popescu
Mate of the Tyger Prince series by Shannon West
THIRDS series by Charlie Cochet
The Interscission Project series by Arshad Ahsanuddin
Body Option by Talya Andor

Song of the Navigator by Astrid Amara (Science Fiction)
Memory of Scorpions series by Aleksandr Voinov (Science Fiction)
The Borders War (5 books) by S.A. McAuley (Science Fiction)
Astrid Amara’s Policy of Lies series (A Policy of Lies & Trustworthy)
Strength of the Pack (The Tameness of the Wolf #1) by Kendall McKenna
The Sci-Regency series by JL Langley
The Hellgate series by Mel Keegan
Chaos Station series by Jenn Burke & Kelly Jensen
Dark Space series by Lisa Henry.

Historical/Other 

Lost In Time by A.L. Lester
The Pompeiian Horse by Gabbo De La Parra
The Lion of Palmyra by Julia von Rist
Semper Fi by Keira Andrews
Unnatural by Joanna Chambers
A Minor Inconvenience by Sarah Granger
On Wings of Song by Anne Barwell
Into Deep Waters by Kaje Harper
The Prince He Loved by Michael Barnette
Promises Made Under Fire 
by Charlie Cochrane (historical)/
Lovers in Arms by Osiris Brackhaus
Royal Navy series by Lee Rowan
Captain’s Surrender by Alex Beecroft
The Devil Lancer by Astrid Amara (historicalfantasy)

KJ Charles’s new Green Men series (Spectred Isle) historical paranormal
All Lessons Learned (Cambridge Fellows, #8) by Charlie Cochrane (devastating, but series must be read in order)
Lessons for Survivors (Cambridge Fellows, #9) by Charlie Cochrane (same note as above)
Seven Summer Nights by Harper Fox
The Soldier’s Scandal by Cat Sebastian.
Think of England by KJ Charles
The Auspicious Troubles of Chance by Charlie Cochet
Pirates of the Narrow Seas by M. Kei
Purgatory by Jeff Mann
Pat Barker’s Regeneration trilogy
The Lonely War by Alan Chin.

Fantasy Fiction Recommendation Time – Recs Part III

Fantasy Fiction Rec Time!  I have to admit fantasy fiction is one of my favorite types of fiction to read.  It takes me away to other worlds, introduced me to Fae, trolls, dwarfs, dragons! I’ve set sail across oceans and climbed mountains with so many authors and never has my thirst for this genre been quenched.

Some of my favorites?

The Lost Gods (5 books) by Megan Derr  5 stars every single one.
Endangered Fae Series (4 books, 2 stories) by Angel Martinez
No Ocean Too Deep by Leona Carver

Hidden Gem (3 books) by Lissa Kasey
So that’s just a beginning of some of mine just “off the cuff” as they say.  What are yours?

Fantasy Fiction Rec Giveaway

Send in your recs  for your favorite fantasy book/ or series!  Don’t forget to add your email address where we can reach you if chosen to receive our gift certificate of $10.

Purple Reader starts off our recs with this from last week’s rec list (I stuck it here, because it seemed to fit):
Readers Recs:
Again, gift certificates to a reader chosen at random who left a comment along with their email address where they can be reached if chosen.
Contest ends at midnight on 8/26.  That’s two weeks to get your recommendations in!  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.
Now onto this week and our tours/giveaways and reviews!

This Week At Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

 

Sunday, August 6:

  • Of Recs Lists and Summer Reading
  • This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Monday, August 7:

  • DSP GUEST POST Ava Hayden on The Valentine’s Day Resolution
  • Release and Review Tour: The Rhubarb Patch by Deanna Wadsworth
  • RELEASE BLITZ and Giveaway: Weekend Getaway by Tamryn Eradani
  • A MelanieM Review: The Rhubarb Patch by Deanna Wadsworth
  • A Stella Release Day Review: Permanent Ink (Art & Soul #1) by Avon Gale and Piper Vaughn
  • An Alisa Review: Nothing in Common, Except … by Edward Kendrick

Tuesday, August 8:

  • INTERLUDE PRESS TOUR Absolutely Almost Perfect by Lissa Reed
  • RIPTIDE TOUR & Giveaway: Making It by Christine d’Abo
  • Antisocial by Heidi Cullinan Release Day Blog Tour
  • A MelanieM Review: Love on the Boil (Love On # 5) by Neil Plakcy
  • A MelanieM Review: Antisocial by Heidi Cullinan
  • An Alisa Release Day Review: The Storm Lords by Ravon Silvius

Wednesday,  August 9:

  • Blog Post – Patricia Logan – Thunder & Lightning
  • DSP GUEST POST Ari McKay on Out of the Ashes
  • REVIEW TOUR Roaring Waters (The Warfield Hotel Mysteries #3) by CJ Baty
  • An Alisa Review: Roaring Waters (The Warfield Hotel Mysteries #3) by CJ Baty
  • A MelanieM Release Day Review: Wheat Kings and Pretty Things by C.S. Wiley
  • An Ali Audiobook Review: Setting the Hook (Love’s Charter #1) by Andrew Grey and Greg Tremblay (Narrator)
  • A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Get a Grip (Bluewater Bay #19) by L.A. Witt

Thursday, August 10:

  • Release Blitz – KA Merikan – My Dark Knight (Kings Of Hell MC #2)
  • RIPTIDE TOUR and Giveaway: Permanent Ink by Avon Gale and Piper Vaughn
  • HARMONY INK GUEST POST Jo Ramsey
  • A Jeri Review: Controlled Burn by Erin McLellan
  • A Lila Review: Elemental Hope (Warlocks #2) by L.M. Somerton
  • A MelanieM Review: House of Cards (Porthkennack #4) by Garrett Leigh
  • An Alisa Review: Needing Seth by Shawn Lane

Friday, August 11:

  • Felice Stevens Audio Tour and Review for After the Fire
  • BLOG TOUR Chasing Ghosts by M.K. Hardy
  • BLOG TOUR Dali by E.M. Hamill
  • Review Tour – KC Wells’ Satin (A Material World #2)
  • A Caryn Release Day Review: The Long and Winding Road (Bear, Otter, and the Kid #4) by T.J. Klune
  • A Ali Audiobook Review:  After the Fire by Felice Stevens
  • A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Satin (A Material World #2) by KC Wells

Saturday, August 12:

  • Release Blitz – Nell Iris – Cinnamon Eyes
  • A MelanieM Review: The Heart of the Lost Star by Megan Derr

A MelanieM Review: Christopher Wild by Kathe Koja

Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

“All they that love not tobacco and boys are fools.”

Poet, spy, atheist, smoker, badass: Christopher Marlowe loved whom he pleased, said what he thought, wrote plays that turned London upside down (and blazed the trail that Shakespeare followed)—and was killed at 29, in what the government rushed to call a drunken tavern brawl.

But can a voice so passionate ever die?

Kathe Koja’s literary love affair with Christopher Marlowe takes her fiction across genres and in a whole new direction.

​Go wild.

Christopher Wild by Kathe Koja is a book whose writing exemplifies the phrase “too clever by half”.   Divided into sections, the first part of the tale is Christopher Marlowe’s plague ridden England, where he’s an agent during Elizabethan times, writing his plays and spouting off his views about religion. Oh and having copious amounts of dangerous sex, especially with his boy, Rufus.  All told from Marlowe’s perspective in his Elizabethan English language, dense verbiage and all.  If you are a word aficionado and a lover of Marlowe or English major, then this section and story is written with you in mind.  His poetry, his beginnings, a mystery play supposedly written at the behalf of the Secret Service and his death.  It’s all here…in excruciatingly slow, dense language.  As I read, I swear I despaired of ever getting past a certain percentage.

Part of my issue with this is that I connected more with poor Rufus than I did with Marlowe.  And yes, I’m a fan of Shakespeare.  Not that it should have anything to do with it.  It was that nothing served to connect me emotionally to Marlowe the character.  I could look at the writing intellectually and think, ‘clever, very cleverly done’ and admire the narrative style.  Yet all the while bemoaning the fact that I had to drudge through the rest of the story like so much sludge.

The language only changes moderately when Christopher lands in the future. The prose flows in much the same style, however, letting one admire the phrasing, yet still removing the reader from any emotional connections to the storyline. And again, it was so slow going that I  thought I was never, ever going to finish.  Felt like double the length.   War and Peace felt moderately short compared to this at points.

I think with Christopher Wild, it will depend on what you expect out of this story.  If you as a reader are looking for drama and emotional connections, as I was, this is definitely not the story for you.  If on the other hand, you love history, consider this an imaginative exercise in what might have happened to Christopher Marlowe and his literary works and can appreciate over 300 pages done in this style of writing, well, then, this is certainly the story for you.

I don’t know.  I’ll put this away and perhaps, try to tackle it some other time.  But for now I’m onto other lands and escapades!

Cover art is nice.

Sales Link:  Amazon

Book Details:

Hardcover, eBook, 310 pages
Published 2017 by Roadswell Editions
ISBN139781938263293
Edition LanguageEnglish

Release Blitz for Amy Aislin’s As Big As The Sky (excerpt and giveaway)

 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK 
 
Length: 37,000 words
 
Publisher: MLR Press
 
Blurb
 

Sam wants nothing to do with his irresponsible, sarcastic neighbor…or does he?
Sam McAuley is having a rough start to the summer: Not only is he being sued, but the new guy running the animal rehabilitation center next door has no idea what he’s doing and his runaway chickens constantly end up in Sam’s pristine yard.

Everything is temporary for Bo Novak. For as long as he can remember, it’s been one town to the next, one school to the next, one job to the next. Even his current job—running his sister’s animal rehab center while she’s away on a four-month leave—is temporary. And he does know what he’s doing, thank you very much. Sure, things don’t always run smoothly, but the stick-in-the-mud next door could be a little nicer about it.

One overheard conversation, an olive branch, and a baseball game might show these guys that being at odds isn’t really what they want, and that what they want might just be each other.


Excerpt

Argh! Bo kicked his closed front door. That…that man. Every five frickin’ minutes he was up in Bo’s face about something.

I’m trying to work, Bo. Can you get the dogs to stop barking? Why is the goat making weird noises?

How did your chicken get into my yard?

What’s that smell?

Fix your side of the fence.

Bo had fixed his side of the fence, damn it, so it wasn’t his fault the chicken was still getting into Sam’s yard. If anything, it was Sam’s side that needed to be fixed. But did Sam give him a chance to say his piece? Nooooo. Mr. I’m So Cool With My Muscles And Tallness And Swanky Haircut wouldn’t get off his pedestal long enough for Bo to defend himself.

Not that Bo was envious of those muscles or that tallness or that swanky haircut that was on the redder side of strawberry blond. He was perfectly fine with his own five foot seven height and his messy ‘do. Tallness was overrated anyway. And he had his own muscles. Arm muscles, anyway. The little pudge on his belly left a lot to be desired.

Stupid cookies.

But whatever. Arm muscles were all he needed to catch a guy’s attention at the clubs and bars. By the time the guy realized Bo wasn’t so muscly all over, they were already in each other’s pants and that little detail no longer mattered.

Bring on the cookies.

Shaking his head at himself, he headed out back to the shed and grabbed a thicker pair of gloves and some chicken feed. He inspected his side of the fence—just in case he was mistaken. Which he wasn’t, thank you very much. Grunting in satisfaction, he left his backyard via the gate and cut through the path in the hedges between his and Sam’s front yards. After unlatching the gate to Sam’s backyard, he followed the sounds of clucking chicken to a wildflower garden along the back fence. Along with some kind of leafy tree and a couple of shrubs, there were bursts of yellow, purple, and pink flowers in the garden that Bo couldn’t name to save his life.

Of course it was that chicken. The brown one with the lone white feather along its back. The instigator of the group. The one that riled up the other chickens and always seemed to find a way out of the chicken coop. The one who’d pecked Bo’s hands raw the first time Bo tried to pick him up. That’s where his new extra-thick gloves came in.

He slipped them on then scattered some chicken feed. Bait the chicken and then grab it from behind, the YouTube tutorial he’d watched a couple weeks ago had said. Bo had become somewhat of a chicken corralling expert in the past couple of weeks. A skill he never thought he’d need and didn’t know how to add to his resume without sounding like a smart-ass.

The chicken went after the food just like always. Bo gave it a minute to eat most of it, then quietly snuck up behind it, cupped his hands around its sides, and lifted.

The angry squawk the chicken let out pierced Bo’s eardrums and its legs worked as if trying to walk on air. Bo held on tighter as the bird struggled in his grip. He made tracks for the gate, where Sam was oh-so-helpfully holding it open. The sight of him standing there all tall and perfect jolted Bo and had him fumbling the chicken. A wing got loose and flapped in Bo’s face.

Bo thought he heard a chuckle, but when he looked at Sam around the feathers in his face, the man was as stony as ever. Was that a hint of laughter in Sam’s eyes? No. The man didn’t know how to laugh. Drawing his shoulders back, head high, Bo stalked past him and—

“Don’t forget to fix your fence,” Sam said.

Before Bo even had a chance to reply, the gate slammed at his back.

Author Bio


Amy started writing on a rainy day in fourth grade when her class was forced to stay inside for recess. Tales of adventures with her classmates quickly morphed into tales of adventures with the characters in her head. Based in the suburbs of Toronto, Amy is a marketer at a large environmental non-profit in Toronto by day, and a writer by night. Book enthusiast, animal lover and (very) amateur photographer, Amy’s interests are many and varied, including travelling, astronomy, ecology, and baking.

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Amy loves connecting with readers! You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Twitter or sign up for her infrequent newsletter at www.amyaislin.com/signup

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An Ali Review: Spectred Isle (Green Men #1) by K.J. Charles

 Rating: 4 out 5 stars
 Archaeologist Saul Lazenby has been all but unemployable since his disgrace during the War. Now he scrapes a living working for a rich eccentric who believes in magic. Saul knows it’s a lot of nonsense…except that he begins to find himself in increasingly strange and frightening situations. And at every turn he runs into the sardonic, mysterious Randolph Glyde.

Randolph is the last of an ancient line of arcanists, commanding deep secrets and extraordinary powers as he struggles to fulfil his family duties in a war-torn world. He knows there’s something odd going on with the haunted-looking man who keeps turning up in all the wrong places. The only question for Randolph is whether Saul is victim or villain.

Saul hasn’t trusted anyone in a long time. But as the supernatural threat grows, along with the desire between them, he’ll need to believe in evasive, enraging, devastatingly attractive Randolph. Because he may be the only man who can save Saul’s life—or his soul.
This was a spooky tale that drew me in from beginning.  This is set in the same world as the Simon Feximal stories and takes place a bit down the road time wise. Randolph is good friends with Simon and Robert’s adopted son Sam who is now grown up.  The time period is the 1920’s and the author does a very good job with the world building and setting up the imagery of what’s going on in this society.  The end of the first world war has recently happened and the country is going through numerous changes.  In addition there has been a supernatural war that occurred alongside the world war.  All of the characters have suffered loss in one way or the other as a result.
I enjoyed both Saul and Randolph as main characters.  I found their banter very entertaining.  They exasperate each other during their first few meetings but soon they can not fight the attraction they feel towards each other.  This author always does a good job with the hurt/comfort trope and this story was another example.  Saul has a lot of emotional pain and really no one he can turn to in his life.  This relationship with Randall not only gives him love, but it gives him a group of people who accept him and offer him friendship.  It was a touching thing to watch unfold.
There’s a lot going on in this and there are multiple legends and paranormal creatures that are introduced.  Some of the things I had heard of before and others I had not.  I’m not sure if that is because the author made them up or if it is because I am from the US and may not know the UK legends.  Either way they were entertaining and I can not wait to see what happens with this new band of friends and their quest to keep the city safe from paranormal activity.
Cover by Lexiconic Design:  I really like the cover and I think it perfectly fits the time period of the story and sets the atmosphere of what’s to come in the story.

Sales Links

Book Details:

ebook, 271 pages
Expected publication: August 3rd 2017 by KJC Books
ISBN139780995799073
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesGreen Men #1

An Alisa Review: One Heart, One Destiny by Pelaam

Rating:  4 stars out of 5

 

Dillon is an omega, which makes him the general whipping boy for the pack, as well as under Brendan, his Alpha brother’s dominion.

 

The last thing he expects is to visit a fae club, but even less expected is to find himself drawn to Drake; a sassy sprite.

 

Letting Drake think he’s a pack alpha, Dillon enjoys the sprite’s company, and soon realizes he’s falling for Drake. But as omega, Dillon can’t take a mate without his Alpha’s permission.

 

Knowing Brendan wouldn’t approve, Dillon keeps their relationship secret, only to find Brendan has already discovered the truth. And is far from pleased.

 

A prisoner in his brother’s home, Dillon knows he won’t see Drake again.

 

But Drake has other ideas.

 

This is such a wonderful story.  Dillon has finally found someone who loves him but he is afraid that if he tells Drake the whole truth that he won’t want him.  What he doesn’t realize is their connection runs much deeper and Drake already knows the truth and is much more than a simple sprite.

 

This story is told from Dillon’s point of view and I couldn’t help but feel his heartbreak over how he is treated in his pack but also when he is forced away from Drake.  I loved how from the very beginning Drake would do anything to make Dillon feel good and cherished while also going slowly at building their relationship.  Dillon is rewarded with a man who is willing to stand up for him to his alpha so he can live a happy life.  Seeing these two together was very heartwarming and I loved their connections to each other.

 

The cover art by Melody Pond is very nice and work great for this story.

 

Sales Links: MLR Press | Amazon | B&N

 

Book Details:

ebook, 78 pages

Published: July 6, 2017 by MLR Press

Edition Language: English

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Release Day Review: Red Fish, Dead Fish (Fish Out of Water#2) by Amy Lane

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Amy Lane exceeded all my expectations with this series. She’s known for sweet romance and is also the queen of angst. Her humor is fantastic and she’s one of the best storytellers ever. But until this series, she’s not done the action, suspense, and chilling drama that she’s done here. This story, like the first one in the series, was highly complex, horror-filled at times, riveting, emotional (of course!), painfully difficult to read at times, and provided readers with a highly driven team of MCs who literally race against the clock to find and stop a crazed serial killer who happens to be a former cop and has gotten his hands on a fellow female officer.

The main characters are interesting and perfect for each other—the slender-built, introverted attorney (Ellery) who might appear stand-offish or snobby at first meeting to those who don’t know him. But he has a reputation for being highly skilled at defending the underdog, and that was proven in the first book when he successfully helped the firm’s sexy, bad-boy investigator (Jackson) get his brother-of-the-heart out of a murder conviction by finding not only the real criminal but uncovering a ring of murders who rape and torture their victims before killing them. And the worst? They’re cops.  That Ellery and Jackson found each other and love each other—though that’s yet to be expressed as of the end of book one—is only icing on the cake.


As with book one, I was totally absorbed in the mystery within the first chapters and completely on board for the romance between Ellery and Jackson.  Jackson is as prickly as his mean, snarling cat, Billy-Bob, but Ellery manages to tame them both.  In the course of continually pulling Jackson out of scrapes with death and in between trips to the hospital for various injuries he suffers in the line of duty, Ellery learns that the latest victim is Jackson’s mother—the woman who gave birth to him, though she never nurtured him enough for him to consider her his beloved mom.  That honor goes to his best friend’s mother who literally pulled him from the hell that was his childhood and saved his life. 

Nevertheless, the action is intense and each time there’s a lull or a new lead comes up, a new facet to the mystery appears, and the guys are off and running again. Well, Jackson is off and running and Ellery is attempting to get him back—all in one piece, please. 

The fast-paced final chapters and the heartbreaking and heartwarming events and character interactions, including dialogue between Jackson and Ellery’s mom who Jackson refers to as Lucy-Satan, are priceless.  Add to that the intrigue that Owens didn’t just pop out as a manic serial killer—he had to have been groomed to the role—and who better to look at than Captain Karl Lacey, the military man who came all the way from Nevada to interview with Ellery, only to turn around and go back without imparting any news.  It seems it was more of an exploratory mission of What do you know? than anything else and sets the scene for book three, which will hopefully come out within the next year.  Oh and by the way, I finally realized why the names Ace Atchinson and Sonny Daye seemed familiar.  Ms. Lane threw these two characters from Race for the Sun out early in this story as either red herrings or key characters in the mystery that will continue to unfold in book three. Can’t wait.

The author also provided four short stories – vignettes of action that takes place between books one and two; stories that originally appeared on her blog.  This is a nice bonus read for those who love her work and this series specifically. 

If you like action-packed, suspense-filled dramas from a master storyteller, don’t hesitate to pick up this book.  It’s much better to read book one first, however, so put the series on your TBR.  It’s definitely one of my top picks of 2017.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The attention-getting cover art by Reese Dante features a gold fish in a glass and a knife dripping with blood, both appropriate to the story. It’s also bright and colorful and similar to the cover of  book one.  Tagline: There’s blood in the water and death in the air.

Sales Links:  Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 330 pages
Expected publication: August 4th 2017 by Dreamspinner Press
Original TitleRed Fish, Dead Fish
ISBN139781635337648
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesFish Out of Water #2

Blog Tour for When Heaven Strikes by F.E Feeley Jr (excerpt, book trailer and giveaway)

Book Title: When Heaven Strikes

Author: F. E. Feeley Jr.

Cover Artist: Goonwrite.com

Genre/s: Contemporary Romance, gay literature

Length: Words: 60,400/No. of Pages: 298

Goodreads

Blurb  

Can love survive heaven’s wrath?

Artist Ted Armstrong lives a solitary and eccentric life. The survivor of child abuse disguised as religion, Ted has cut himself off from the world.

Then Ted meets Anderson Taylor, and it’s like being struck by lightning.

Anderson is a cardiac surgeon whose passion for his work has consumed him. He fears he’ll never find a partner—until he sets eyes on Ted. It’s happening fast, but both men know what they feel is right.

Confronted with an angry preacher, a scandal, and an act of God that threatens to destroy everything, their relationship will face its first true test.

Excerpt:

 
“He was scared.
“Grandma, what’s wrong?”
“Thunderstorm, baby. Hang on,” she said to him, and then to his mother, whom he just spotted to their left, “Where’s the car?”
“At the front of the lot. We were one of the first ones here this morning,” Ann said as she worked to keep up in her flip-flops.
On the water, he saw his yellow bucket floating bottom down. It was spinning hypnotically, but it was when Anderson looked skyward he found himself becoming terrified. Above the lake, the sky had turned a sickly green. The clouds directly above it and moving in closer were swirling in a tight formation with what looked like a big black eye staring down at them.
“Grandma! What’s that?” Anderson exclaimed pointing skyward. She stopped and turned to look.”
“Oh, my God,” she breathed, mostly to herself. Anderson felt panic begin to set it.
Someone shouted close to them, “Jesus Christ! It’s a tornado!”

Book Trailer

Buy Links:

Amazon US  |   Amazon UK

Paperback

Meet the Author

F.E.Feeley Jr is a poet and the author of six published works – four full length novels, two short stories featured in anthologies, and a good deal of poetry.

Married to the love of his life, John, he came to the writing world about four years ago where he fell in love, again, with the written word.

Visit F.E. Feeley Jr.’s Blog

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When Heaven Strikes Tour Schedule 3

July 23rd: Foxylutely Books, Millsy Loves Books

July 24th: My Fiction Nook, Lily G. Blunt, Gay Book Reviews, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents

July 27th: Drops of Ink

August 2nd: Stories That Make You Smile, Because Two Men Are Better Than One

August 4th: Hoards Jumble, Hearts on Fire, Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

August 7th: The Way She Reads, Louise Lyons, Bayou Book Junkie

August 9th: Gay Media Reviews, Lily’s Reviews, Diverse Reader

August 12th: The Novel Approach Reviews

August 14th: Love Bytes Reviews

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Gay Book Promotions

 

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TJ Nichols on Plotting and Planning and their latest release Olivier (Order of the Black Knights #7) (guest post)

Olivier (Order of the Black Knights #7) by T.J. Nichols
Dreamspinner Press

Cover Artist: Paul Richmond

Buy links:   Dreamspinner Press |  Kobo | iTunes | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have T.J. Nichols here today to talk about the latest in the Order of the Black Knights series, Olivier and share some insight into the author’s writing process.  Welcome, T.J.!

✒︎

Plotting and planning by T.J. Nichols

I like to get to know my characters and have an idea about where my story is going before I start writing. Because Olivier is part of a series written by several authors there were also some basic rules that I had to follow, such as including the prologue (about the Knight’s last life and how he died) and also the detail about how Olivier became a Black Knight.

Aside from those couple of things the world was my own to create. It is less fantasy than my other works, but I love a cursed hero and the lure of including past lives was too great for me to pass up the opportunity.

The first thing I did was work out why Olivier signed on with the wizard. Who did he want revenge on and why? Then I needed to show an echo of that in the prologue and have him confront that issue once again in the actual story. After all those lives of killing and seeking revenge without understanding why, he has to eventually learn the lesson.

With one character established I then had to work out who it was that Olivier had been killing over and over again through the centuries. What had this guy done in the past and who was he now? While he hadn’t signed on with the wizard he’d been dragged into the curse.

I knew when I started that I didn’t want the breaking of the curse to become part of the Happily Ever After. It had to be another complication that only makes things worse for Olivier and Cody.

Somehow as I was writing it all got rather tangled and I had to go back to my reliable method of fixing a plot: make a list of every scene with a one sentence summary and a note about whose point of view it’s in. This method has saved many a story as I can see quickly when someone is taking over, or when scenes are missing, or need deleted. What I usually find is that when things get messy I’ve jumped ahead and missed scenes or I’ve taken a wild wrong turn and I need to rewrite one scene to put it back on track. Writing this list also helps me remember what the story is about and to keep true to that instead of trying to make it something else.

With this story one of my problems was working out how to deal with Cody’s father. I couldn’t let him walk away, but I also knew that he was too slippery for the police. Once I’d worked out what to do with him the ending came together—though not as I’d originally planned.

Olivier

Order of the Black Knights

Olivier Merlo works for a dangerous man. He does what he’s told without asking questions because he needs to protect his sister and niece. When someone gives his boss trouble, Olivier does what he does best. It’s a routine hit—until the victim’s brother starts poking around.

Cody Anders left his family behind a decade ago—along with their wealth and influence—to live on his own terms. Still, he knows his twin didn’t die of a drug overdose, and he’ll do anything to find the truth. What he uncovers is a conspiracy that will topple his family and leave him staring down the barrel of a gun.

Olivier must decide if he’s going to obey orders or free himself from the curse that has guided his hand for centuries. Cody, who challenges Olivier’s notion that no one can love him, holds the key to breaking his chains. But when the truth finally comes out, it might be more than Cody can accept.

About the Author

TJ Nichols is an avid runner and martial arts enthusiast who first started writing as child. Many years later while working as a civil designer, TJ decided to pick up a pen and start writing again. Having grown up reading thrillers and fantasy novels, it’s no surprise that mixing danger and magic comes so easily, writing urban fantasy allows TJ to bring magic to the every day. TJ enjoys writing novellas and novels and has a series, Studies in Demonology, coming out with DSP Publications.

With two cats acting as supervisors, TJ has gone from designing roads to building worlds and wouldn’t have it any other way. After traveling all over the world and Australia, TJ now lives in Perth, Western Australia.

Website: www.tjnichols-author.blogspot.com

Twitter: @TobyJNichols

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TJNichols.author

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