In the Book Spotlight: The Covenant (Covenant Series #1) by M. LeAnne Phoenix

The Covenant (Covenant Series #1) by M. LeAnne Phoenix
Release Date: January 15, 2016
Goodreads Link: http://www.goodreads.com/mleannephoenix
Publisher: CoolDudes Publishing
Cover Artist: Kellie Dennis

Today I’m happy to be interviewing M. LeAnne Phoenix author of The Covenant. Hi LeAnne, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about your current book and your writing process.

Tell us something no one else knows about your characters.

They came from a short story I wrote in college.

Have you ever written something that made you cry?

Yes. In Covenant, actually.

Have you ever co-written with someone before?

Yes… it did not end well. I’m probably going to be a bit skittish about doing it ever again.

What is the most difficult part of writing for you?

Getting time to write with my current RL job.

Name your four most important food groups.

Coffee. Cheesecake. Dr. Pepper. Monster Rehab.

Blurb

When love is forbidden, who can you trust?

Seventeen year old David has been best friends with Jonathan for as long as he can remember, but the day he sees the pastor’s daughter press a soft kiss to Jonathan’s cheek everything changes. Overcome by jealousy, his explosive reaction reveals a deeper connection that sends their relationship spiraling down into dangerous territory.

When their clandestine love is discovered, they have nowhere to turn for help. The brutal circumstances of their parting test David and Jonathan’s covenant to each other in unimaginable ways. Forced to face their fears, it is in their darkest moments that the two young men discover that the courage, hope, and strength they need to to fight for their love, has been the foundation of their covenant all along.

Pages or Words: 280 pages, 71,000 words
Categories: Gay fiction, M/M Romance, New Adult, Poetry, Romance

Excerpt:

David opened his locker to get out his Biology, History, and Music History books and shoved them into his backpack, swallowing hard against the lump in his throat. Jonathan’s comforting hand lit on David’s side as he came to lean on the locker to the right of David’s own, holding up in one paint-besmeared hand, a small piece of black cardboard. On it, David saw symbols, ones he thought might be Greek. Remembering the foreign exchange student from Thessaloniki shared Jonathan’s sixth period art class, he smiled and turned to his boyfriend as he took the proffered gift.
“What does it say?” David couldn’t help but smile at the joy lighting Jonathan’s eyes. “This has to be something that Kallias helped you make—”
“You aren’t wrong,” Jonathan interjected. “That is Greek writing and Kallias even taught me how to say it.”
“Enlighten me, please!” David rasped, focusing wholly on Jonathan’s gift. “Say it and then tell me what it means.”
“If I say it right, it’s agape menomou—”
David furrowed his brow, repeating, “A guppy man oh moo?”
Jonathan slid down the locker in a giggle. “Noooo! I must have said it wrong because your face… oh my gosh, your face!”
Blushing and biting his lower lip, David sank down to his haunches in front of Jonathan. “Then say it again, slower, and tell me what it means!”
Jonathan looked around, and seeing no-one in their locker bank, leaned up to whisper the Greek in his ear, the sounds slower… thicker. “Agape menomou means O love of my heart.”

Buy the book:

CoolDudes is: http://www.cooldudespublishing.com/the-covenant/
Gumroad: https://gumroad.com/l/foVw
ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thecovenant-1937665-149.html

Meet the Author:

M. LeAnne Phoenix would tell you that the worst time of her life was the two years that she attempted to take off from writing. If you asked her to explain exactly why she did such a thing, you would most likely get the mad attempt to arch an eyebrow like her dad and then a shake of the head as she told you it was unlucky to speak of such things. Suffice it to say, it will never happen again!

Born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas in the mid-1970’s, Ms. Phoenix was young and wild (and even free!) during the crazy wondrous decade known as the 1980’s and the even crazier but now grungy decade of the 1990’s. Music is second only to the muses that live and breathe to fill her mind with beautiful men, and music always helps them to tell their stories. She is never without her iPod or her computer no matter where she goes, although, she does like to hike and take pictures of the sky and the moon, and even the occasional shot of the sun through the branches of a tree.

An avid cat lover, Ms. Phoenix has been owned by many throughout her life, though her current owner is one Lily-Rose, who really would like for her to step away from the keyboard and pay her some attention! After all, hasn’t she earned it?

Where to find the author:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mleannephoenix
Twitter: @MLPhoenix
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mleannephoenix/
Website: http://www.mleannephoenix.com

Tour Dates & Stops:
15-Jan: Prism Book Alliance, KathyMac Reviews, Velvet Panic, Mikky’s World of Books, It’s Raining Men, Carly’s Book Reviews
18-Jan: Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Kimi-Chan, Nephy Hart
19-Jan: Bayou Book Junkie, Unquietly Me
20-Jan: Louise Lyons, Books A to Z, Michael Mandrake, My Fiction Nook
21-Jan: Iyana Jenna, Hearts on Fire
22-Jan: Havan Fellows, Happily Ever Chapter
25-Jan: MM Good Book Reviews, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews
26-Jan: Inked Rainbow Reads, Dawn’s Reading Nook, A.M. Leibowitz
27-Jan: Jessie G. Books, BFD Book Blog
28-Jan: Love Bytes, Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings, Alpha Book Club

Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: A signed print copy of ‘The Covenant’. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prize provided by the author and Pride Promotions.

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Love a Romance Story? First Comes Marriage by Shira Anthony is Just the Thing (excerpt and giveaway)

Gonna Marry Me A Billionaire:

First Comes Marriage by Shira Anthony

Buylinks: Dreamspinner: Amazon: All Romance: Barnes & Noble

Thank you Melanie and Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words for hosting the First Comes Marriage book tour! For those readers who may not already know, First Comes Marriage is the second book in the brand new Dreamspun Desires line of gay category romances from Dreamspinner Press. Be sure to read to the bottom of the post for an excerpt from the book, as well as the Rafflecopter giveaway. You could win a dozen red roses for your sweetheart or yourself!

The Dreamspun Desires line takes its inspiration from the classic romances and features well-loved romance tropes. You’d recognize these setups from the old Harlequin style books: forced marriages, enemies to lovers, mistaken identity, and the one I used in First Comes Marriage, the marriage of convenience.

There’s one other classic trope in First Comes Marriage, however, and it’s one romance readers will immediately recognize…. Poor character falls for rich character, and vice-versa. It’s a trope rooted in dreams of living in enormous mansions, traveling all over the world and in style, and being able to buy whatever we want, whenever we want.

I had a ton of fun creating my billionaire playboy, Jesse Donovan, one of the two main characters in First Comes Marriage. On the surface, Jesse is a confident businessman who runs his family’s boat building business. We’re talking big boats. Very big boats, including commercial shipping vessels. Under the surface, Jesse is slightly geeky and very sweet. But he doesn’t show that side to just anyone.

Enter my poor boy, Chris Valentine, a struggling novelist who works as a barista at a coffee shop in New York City. Chris is very different from Jesse. He’s a bit of a nonconformist and he isn’t overly impressed with money. Chris immediately likes Jesse when they meet, but he doesn’t jump at Jesse’s million dollar offer to enter into a fake marriage with him.

Creating the universe Jesse lives in was a lot of fun. Jesse’s family’s mansion is in Connecticut, built on a bluff overlooking the ocean. I modeled it on a gorgeous Connecticut mansion with a storied history. Tudor, with lots of personality, Windmere, as the Donovan family named the estate is a beautiful place. Flowering trees and bushes grace the sprawling grounds. There are formal and informal gardens. There’s a stable for horses, a small beach, a tree-house of sorts that any adult would be happy to live in, a coach house and cottages, and even a family cemetery.

Inside, the house is classic, with several wings in which the inhabitants and staff live. There’s a magnificent conservatory with high glass ceilings and huge plants, there are libraries filled with books, including a collection of expensive old books.

Against this backdrop, Chris is a bit overwhelmed. But that’s the point: his view of Jesse’s idyllic life is the jumping off point for their relationship. Chris soon discovers, however, that although Jesse might not be the “poor little rich kid,” he’s down to earth and has experienced his share of pain and loss over the years.

The classic category romance is all about escaping from reality. What better way to escape than to spend a few hours immersed in a world few of us will ever experience? I’ll leave you with an excerpt from First Comes Marriage which will give you a sense of the strange new world Chris walks into when he comes to live at Windmere. I hope you enjoy it! –Shira

Blurb:

Their marriage was supposed to be all business….

When struggling novelist Chris Valentine meets Jesse Donovan, he’s interested in a book contract, or possibly a date. The last thing Chris expects is a marriage proposal from New York City’s most eligible bachelor!

Jesse’s in a pinch. To keep control of his company, he has to marry. So he has valid reasons for offering Chris this business deal: in exchange for living in a gorgeous mansion for a year, playing the doting husband, Chris gets all the writing time he wants and walks away with a million-dollar payoff. Surely Chris can handle that. He can handle living with the most handsome and endearing man he’s ever met, a man he immediately knows he wants in the worst way and can’t have. Or can he?

~~~~

Excerpt from Chapter Seven

The setup: Jesse needs to marry because his grandfather’s will says he will lose control of the family business to his stepgrandmother, Wenda, if he doesn’t marry within a year of his grandfather’s death. Jesse and Chris have just tied the knot in Manhattan and are headed to Connecticut to Jesse’s estate, Windmere.

The limo turned off the main road a moment later, and they waited as a large gate swung open to admit them. A high brick wall surrounded the property, obscuring the house.

Huge oaks dotted the grounds, and the long drive wound through thickets of flowering bushes and lush green vegetation. Underneath the immense trees, daffodils and tulips poked through the dirt. A winding creek made its way across the property and disappeared into a forest of evergreens and bushes. Jesse opened the windows, and the bright scent of freshly cut grass wafted in.

“This is Windmere,” Jesse said, his expression one of true pride. “We have a few minutes before we get to the house, so I guess we’d better go through a few things.”

“Sure.”

“If Wenda’s here,” Jesse said, “we’ll need to keep up the act.”

“Okay. You’re the director,” Chris quipped. “What’s the scene?”

“Just be yourself. The only backstory you need to know is that we met at one of your readings a few months ago.”

“And you? Mr. Bachelor of the Century?”

“Yes, well, that one’s a bit trickier,” Jesse agreed. “I just figured out that I’m bisexual.”

“You… what? I mean, I thought—”

“I’ll tell her that,” Jesse quickly interposed.

“Ah, okay,” Chris said, relieved. Because if he knew Jesse might actually be interested in something more than playacting, it would make things even more complicated. “Got it. And?”

“And that’s it. It’s none of her business who I marry.”

Chris was about to point out that, in a sense, it was Wenda’s business, but at that moment the limo rolled past the dense trees to reveal the house. Only “house” wasn’t exactly the word for it.

A sprawling Tudor-style mansion with steeply pitched roofs, dark half timbers and white stone beneath the eaves, mullioned windows of every shape imaginable, and high chimneys, with a herringboned brick façade on the lower floors, Windmere was both imposing and beautiful. Chris stepped from the limo and stared at the building while the rustling leaves from the huge weeping willow that overhung the driveway made a sound much like the brush of a hand over a stringed instrument. The faint scent of the ocean wafted on the breeze.

“It’s amazing,” Chris said at last.

~~~~

All about Shira

Shira Anthony is a complete sucker for a happily-ever-after, and rarely reads or writes a story without one. Never a fan of instalove, Shira likes to write stories about real men with real issues making real relationships work.

In her last incarnation, Shira was a professional opera singer, performing roles in such operas as “Tosca,” “Pagliacci,” and “La Traviata,” among others. Her Blue Notes Series is loosely based upon her own experiences as a professional musician.

Shira is married with two children and two insane dogs and when she’s not writing, she is usually in a courtroom trying to make the world safer for children. When she’s not working, she can be found aboard a 36’ catamaran at the Carolina coast with her favorite sexy captain at the wheel. She’s given up TV for evenings spent with her laptop, and she never goes anywhere without a pile of unread M/M romance on her Kindle.

Interested in hearing Shira sing? Here’s a link to a live performance of Shira singing an aria from Puccini’s “Tosca”: http://www.shiraanthony.com/wp-conten…

You can subscribe to Shira’s monthly newsletter for updates, free fiction, and subscriber-only contests here: http://www.shiraanthony.com/newsletter/

~~~~

Where you can find Shira

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shira.anthony
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4641776.Shira_Anthony
Twitter: @WriterShira
Website: http://www.shiraanthony.com
E-mail: shiraanthony@hotmail.com

~~~~

Giveaway:

First Comes Marriage is all above love and romance, and Shira’s grand prize is a dozen red roses for your sweetheart (or whoever you think deserves it!). First prize is a $10 Dreamspinner Gift Certificate. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

~~~~

Blog Tour Information

Loss, Distinctive Voices and Characters. This Week At Scattered Thoughts And Rogue Words

Loss, Distinctive Voices and Characters

This past week saw the passing of two wonderful men who left deep emotional impact on those who heard their music or watched their films, (although arguably not to the same extent) to also to those in their professions, musician/actor David Bowie and actor Alan Rickman. For over forty years, David Bowie, singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, painter and actor, continued to press the boundaries of what he thought he could and music could be. But always it was his unique voice and passion behind the lyrics and music that helped make his songs the playlist for our lives, generations past, present, and future, whether it was as Major Tom, the Thin White Duke or Ziggy Stardust or something reimagined one more.. Only a few notes and we knew who was singing.

Alan Rickman’s voice was just as unigue. Oh, that voice. And that glare. I loved him as Professor Snape, but that wasn’t the first time I saw him or fell in love. It could have been Alan Rickman as Galaxy Quest’s Sir Alexander Dane ” By Grabthar’s hammer, by the suns of Worvan, you shall be avenged.” Sniff. Or as the wonderful villain, Hans Gruber, in the original Die Hard with Bruce Willis, Jamie the ghost in Truly, Madly Deeply …yes, that’s probably the start. But it continued with Steve Spurrier in Bottle Shock, Col. Brandon in Sense and Sensibility and so many more. His last project? A student’s voiceover for a Save the Children and Refugee Council joint charity appeal in what is thought to be one of his last ever pieces of work.

Why bring these men up on a book blog? A couple of reasons. One, David Bowie and his music has been a constant thread in my life and I couldn’t let his death go without comment. Although Alan Rickman doesn’t hold the same iconic place in my life as David Bowie does, I hold in him huge esteem.

When I read books, the conversations and the dialogs, I hear the voices in my head so clearly. Writers like B.A. Tortuga and Neil S. Plakcy especially have the ability to make those wonderful local confabulations sing with the rhythm and flavor of the cultures of the people the words are flowing from. Now with audiobooks, I have to make the transition from the voices in my head (no wisecracks) to the voices the narrators are putting forth, often beautifully. Do they replace a unique voice? No, but offer another interpretation in their place.

Both men were wonderful at interpreting and creating, whether it was classical music or literature or something modern or wildly new and different. Ever listen to David Bowie and Bing Crosby? He was equally relaxed singing with him or with Freddie Mercury or on stage in New York City. Alan Rickman has credits as a director, writer, and producer as well as actor. But both men, its that voice, and the grace with which they moved through life will pull at my memory. For Alan Rickman, sometimes I would read a book, and his voice would sneak into a character…with a shiver or two as a result. I would be reading and snippets of David Bowie’s Cat People (Putting Out the Fire) or some other refrain would run through my mind -yes shifters). Music, voices and books are forever intertwined for me.

David Bowie and Alan Rickman are gone. How grateful I am that their voices will live on in music, and in film. Do you have a favorite David Bowie song or album? How about Alan Rickman? By Grabthar’s hammer! Let us know!

This Tortoise Could Save a Life – Ft. Alan Rickman

This Week At Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Sunday, January 17:

Loss, Distinctive Voices and Characters. This Week At Scattered Thoughts And Rogue Words

Monday, January 18:

Covenant by M. Leanne Phoenix tour and contest
In our Science Fiction Spotlight: Shannon West ‘Mate of the Tyger Prince (excerpt and giveaway)
A MelanieM Review: Mate of the Tyger Prince by Shannon West
A Stella Review:Of Gods and Monsters: Menoetius (Of Gods and Monsters #1) by Wulf Francu Godgluck
A BJ Review: Just a Bit Confused by Alessandra Hazard

Tuesday, January 19:

Jude Sierra ‘What It Takes’ virtual tour and contest
Coffee Sip and Book Break with Morticia Knight ‘Searching For Shelter (excerpt and contest)
Can A Ghost Find Love? Check out Rock N Soul by Lauren Sattersby (giveaway)
An Ali Review: Happy Birthday by B.D. Roca‏
A PaulB review: Setting His Owl A-Twitter by Charlie Richards

Wednesday, January 20:

Cover reveal for Dev Bentham’s ‘Whistle Blower’‏ (excerpt and giveaway)
A MelanieM Review: End Street Detectives Vol ! by Amber Kell and RJ Scott
A Stella Review: THE UGLIEST SWEATER by Gillian St. Kevern
An Ali Review: Double Indemnity (The Stonebridge Mysteries, #1) by Maggie Kavanagh
A Paul B review: Crash by April Kelley

Thursday, January 21:

A Paul B Review: Passion’s Storm by AJ Marcus
A BJ Audio Review: Long Time Gone by S.E. Jakes
A F.D. Review: Coyote’s Creed by Vaughn R. Demont
A Ali Review: Inner Sanctum (The Stonebridge Mysteries, #2) by Maggie Kavanagh
A Stella Review: Of Gods and Monsters: Hades (Of Gods and Monsters #2)by Wulf Francu Godgluck

Friday, January 22:

Christopher Stone ‘Going and Coming: The Minnow St. James Metaphysical Adventures’ Keep Me In Mind Tour and contest
Of Gods And Monsters: Hades book blast by Wulf Francu Godgluck (giveaway)
Rory Ni Coileain ‘Mantled In Mist’ book blast and contest
An Ali Review: Blind Spot (The Stonebridge Mysteries #3) by Maggie Kavanagh
A MelanieM Review: Lovers Leap by J.L. Merrow

Saturday, January 23:

All That Is Solid Melts Into Air by Christopher Koehler (excerpt and giveaway)
A Mika Review: Thorns and Fangs (Thorns and Fangs #1) by Gillian St. Kevern

Best of 2015: A MelanieM Review: The Shearing Gun by Renae Kaye

Rating 5 stars out of 5

Henry “Hank” Woods has always known he was gay but coming out as a teenager saw Hank thrown off his family’s farm and estranged from his father. But Hank persevered, and now at the age of twenty-five, Hank owns his own farm in Australia’s rural southwest. Raising his own flock of sheep and growing crops often isn’t enough so Hank supplements his income from the property with seasonal shearing. Over the years Hank’s talent has earned him the title of “shearing gun”—an ace shearer able to shear large numbers of sheep in a single day, a title that brings a higher fee and an increased number of jobs. And Hank won’t risk any of his hard earned gains or trust that the large sheep bosses will hire a “gay” shearer, so Hank remains firmly in the closet.

Enter Dr. Elliot Stockton-Montgomery, a city-born and educated transplant to the country. Elliot’s reasons for choosing to practice in the small close-knit community of Dumbleyung in Western Australia are many. Primarily, Elliot is paying off this college debt by agreeing to work in a rural area needing doctors until his loans are paid off. But he soon figures out that being an out gay in this somewhat conservative area is not a wise decision, although he isn’t sure how successful he is at hiding his sexuality. Especially when he comes in contact with Hank Woods.

When a football injury brings Hank to Elliot’s attention, an inappropriate sexual glance, a stuttered apology, and a rejected doctor’s prescription of rest afterward kickstarts their friendship. A friendship that slowly turns into something more. But Elliot is truly a brilliant surgeon and the offers pour in daily from the large cities and hospitals looking to lure him away. And Hank? He’s still in the closet. And in Elliot’s mind and heart, a closeted existence and hidden relationship is not a place he wants to be.

So many hard decisions to make and obstacles to overcome to HEA. Will the chance for love and a lasting relationship be enough to bring Hank out of the closet and keep Elliot happy in a small rural town? Both are about to find out the answer in The Shearing Gun.

The Shearing Gun by Renae Kaye is one of those heartwarming, enduring stories I will go back to read over and over again. For many reasons this story captured my heart and imagination and has refused to let them go long after I finished this story. It is both a comfort read suitable for cold nights and comfy airchairs as well as a heartwarming romance that never gets old. I think when I look back on 2014, Renae Kaye will be in the top five of those authors whose stories I loved and list of new authors discovered.

Australia is a country I have always wanted to visit and the profession of sheep shearer, a prime element here, has always fascinated me. I have watched sheep shearing contests here at Maryland’s Sheep & Wool Festival where shearing guns from around the world compete for prizes. But The Shearing Gun made these men and women and their profession come alive in a way that merely watching them on a stage never did. Kaye’s descriptions of a day’s shearing, the “zone” the shearers get into where the cuts are precision made, the fleece slides cleanly off, and animals switched swiftly in and out, all to raucus tunes and the smell of lanolin and sweat. Well, the visceral impact of those descriptions and scenes upon the reader is enormous. I swear I could feel the swelter of the tents and buildings filled full of animals and people, a cacophony of sounds, and smells, and the heat that goes on and on. And the people involved, each with their own role to play in getting huge flocks of sheep sheared in a short amount of time, what variety in sex, age, and training. It’s amazing. The exhilaration and pride of the quick clean shear, the rush and enthusiasm of the moment, it just flies off the page to our delight and wonder.

Everything here is on a large scale, from the enormous herds brought in to shear, the high volume of food consumed (and described in rich detail), right down to the quality of fleeces and sheep per hour a shearing gun can cut. All these elements fill this story full of rich layers giving it a depth and dimension that makes every part of The Shearing Gun sing with life and love. This story is a vivid journey, both for the reader and for two men on the path to happiness and a forever relationship.

How I fell in love with the characters I met in The Shearing Gun. And not just the main characters of Hank Woods and Dr. Elliot Stockton-Montgomery, no, its also Middy, Big D, Little D, Old Doc Larsen and Gloria, and all the rest of the inhabitants of Dumbleyung. And yes, there is a Dumbleyung, which I discovered to my joy. Dumbleyung,( population 605 as of 2011) and the Shire of Dumbleyung, well, just the names alone have a magnetism all their own, just as Elliot discovers early on. Dumbleyung is as much a main character of this story as all the others. Do I want to go there? Yes, most emphatically so.

But before I fell in love with the townsfolk and Dumbleyung, first I met and loved Hank and Elliot. The story is told from Hank’s pov and Renae Kaye imbues this character with a unique voice and regional perspective. We never forget that the land and his farm are a deep part of who Hank is. His love and knowledge of both are almost on a cellular level and the author is able to relay this to the reader by bringing us into Hank’s mind and heart. We are there when he arrives in the clinic expecting to see Old Doc Larson and meets city doc and transplant Elliot instead. What follows is amusing, telling, and so authentically perfect that I have to include a small excerpt below:

“My apologies,” he said with a smile. “I didn’t realize I hadn’t introduced myself. I’m Doctor Elliot Stockton-Montgomery. How do you do?”

In my mind I winced at his pretentious name and pretentious words and wondered if it hurt having that plank permanently stuck up his arse. “Shit, Doc. I’m here at the clinic on a bloody Sunday; how the hell do you think I’m doing?”

That earned me another twitch of his mouth. “Yes… well.” He cleared his throat. “So tell me what you’ve done to yourself and we’ll see about fixing you up.”

“Meself?” I snorted. “You think I’d do this to me-self? Nah, it was them bloody mongrels from Corrigin. They can’t kick a footy straight, so they hit you hard to try ’n’ knock you out so’s you don’t know which is the arse end of your dog. Them wallies jumped on me in the second quarter. Three of them. It was fucking Big D MacDonald who took me for a flyer, and then his brother and cousin used me like a trampoline. Hard. The wankers. I showed them, though. Got me a fifty-meter and thumped that red turkey through. Then three more times that quarter and once in the third before Coach yanked me because I dropped a sitter when I didn’t use me sore arm.”

The Doc blinked a couple of times through my explanation, but to his credit he didn’t drop his eyes. “Let me get this straight,” he asked. “You were playing football against a team from Corrigin, whose skills were poor, so they tried to make up for it by rough play. One player threw you to the ground and two others sat on you. You received a penalty and a shot at scoring. You scored a goal, then four more before, until about forty minutes after your initial injury, the coach of your team made you stop playing because you didn’t catch the ball cleanly?”

I frowned at him. “Yeah. Isn’t that what I just said?”

Yes, there are AUS terms and profanities galore, luckily, there is also an Australian glossary provided by the author. I ended up using it to my endless amusement. The humor as well as Elliot’s “fish out of water” situation is highlighted by the dialog the streams out of Hank’s mouth even as he’s bleeding all over the floor. But Elliot’s education is just beginning. After rejecting (obviously) Elliot’s prescribed 8 weeks of rest, Elliot ends up at Hank’s farm and ends of spending the day working alongside him. Last excerpt (I could quote this story all day):

He climbed into the middle of the bench seat without prompting and regarded me with a puzzled look. “Then why the fencing lesson today unless you wanted to prove that I wasn’t as smart as I thought I was?”

I turned the key and pressed in the clutch, waiting for him to put me in first gear before answering. “It wasn’t about proving you were smart or not. It was more about teaching you what we do as farmers. So when you get a guy in who requires stitching up because he tried to do a two-man job by himself, you won’t make him feel like a child for his stupidity. Because he knows it was wrong, but if he didn’t do that job right then, it could’ve meant losing a year’s worth of crop because the cattle got in the paddock. Farming’s a harsh business. We don’t have the luxury of waiting around until someone pops by to help us. We work our guts out. And that bull that just broke the leg of the guy in your clinic? He may be angry with the animal, but that bull is worth the money, because selling him next year will pay the mortgage for two months. And the guy who caught pneumonia because he worked twenty hours a day in the rain to get his crop in? Well, it was either that or walk away from the land his family has farmed for over a century.”

I stopped at the gate and jumped out to open it. He was waiting for me when I climbed back in. “Do you think I made you feel stupid?”

I was through the gate and back out to close it again before I answered him. “You didn’t make me feel stupid, but you didn’t listen to what I said. There’s no way that any man in this district could simply rest for eight weeks. So you need to be aware of that and change your medical advice. So why don’t you tell me not to lift with my arm, watch not to bang it, and that I’m going to need help over the next eight weeks? Give me painkillers because you know I’m going to need them, and tell me that I’ll be right to go back to full duties by the end of August. Can you see the difference, Doc?”

He looked thoughtful and nodded.

A friendship has begun and we are only on page 26. But the heart and soul of Hank is right there, for Elliot and the reader to see and fall in love with. The more we get to know Elliot, his character and heart opens up before us much the same way. Trust me when I say these two men are characters you will find almost impossible to let go of at the end of the story. I still haven’t and I expect that I won’t anytime soon.

The author also addresses the very real challenges a gay or bisexual man will face in such a small homogeneous community, and the various responses one would expect…the bad, the good and the indifferent. This aspect of the story feels as real and complex as all the other elements that make The Shearing Gun one of the best of the year.

Run, don’t walk to the computer and pick this story up. It’s not only one of Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words highly recommended reads but will be at the top of my favorite books of the year. Happy Reading!

Cover artist Paul Richmond. It works perfectly for the cast and plot of this story. Alive, a little rough and always colorful.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press eBook & Paperback All Romance (ARe) amazon The Shearing Gun

Book Details:

ebook, 214 pages
Published September 19th 2014 by Dreamspinner Press (first published September 18th 2014)
ISBN139781632160461
edition languageEnglish

A Sammy Review: Behind Closed Doors (Browerton University #1.5) by A.J. Truman

Rating: 3.25 stars out of 5

At Browerton University, a lot can happen behind closed doors.

Two frat brothers can reveal their true feelings. An honor student’s dark past can come to light. Ten hours in a car can turn strangers into lovers. And a coach can teach his star quarterback a very valuable lesson.

Catch up with some familiar Browerton students and meet new ones. Four stories. Four doors. Endless possibilities.

Door Number One: The Whitmore Room (Out in the Open prequel)
Door Number Two: Is There a Porn Star in my Class?
Door Number Three: Road Trip Cone of Silence
Door Number Four: Coach’s Revenge

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS is a collection of gay new adult romance stories filled with humor, heart, and hot guys. The book is intended for audiences 18+ as it contains explicit sex and language. Approx. 30,000 words.

Behind Closed Doors is comprised of four short stories that give a quick glance at life at Browerton University. The first story, The Whitmore Room, is a prequel to the first book in this series and tells of Greg’s first gay encounter with his fraternity big. The second story, Is there a Porn Star in My Class?, has Blake on the quest to figure out if his classmate is the stunning porn star Austin Kelly or just a regular guy. Next is Road Trip Cone of Silence. When Henry sees an ad with someone looking for another person to drive to Chicago with over break, he takes the chance to get away from everything, including his closeted potentially ex-boyfriend. But his driving mate Nolan is not quite what he expected. And rounding out the stories is Coach’s Revenge. When the QB of the football starts to harass a fellow player who just came out, the coach takes it into his hands to teach the QB a lesson.

Porn stars did not go to college in the middle of Pennsylvania. They lived in Los Angeles or Miami, where it was warm, where they didn’t need their brains. Blake wished his life was this exciting. It wasn’t. Porn stars did not go to Browerton University and take art history classes on Wednesday afternoons. They didn’t study the David. They were the David.

The stories in this book all have one thing going for them. They’re quick, often hot, little reads. You can fly through them in an afternoon and still have plenty of time left to do chores without any guilt that you put a book first (…speaking from experience.)

Unfortunately, they suffer from what I call “short story syndrome.” For the most part, they lack depth and don’t necessarily grab the readers attention. The second story in particular had this issue for me. It moved very quickly and the end felt like a freight train coming out of left field. The relationship and characters unfortunately lacked development for me.

The first story is one that I was conflicted about. It was great to see Greg again, but reading about him with another guy was a bit off putting for me. It is a prequel, which is important to note, but I felt like I understood enough about what happened in this situation from the first book to not necessarily need this. I also felt like when it came to the actual sex scene between them, it was over in literally the blink of an eye. I suppose that if you’re going to go there, you should probably actually go there the whole way.

The story I preferred the most was Road Trip Cone of Silence – though the title confused me. I kept thinking the author typo’d code and made it cone. This one had a little bit of trauma and a lot a bit of hot. Like the others, it happened to fast, but it was a cute story.

As for Coach’s Revenge, I’m very conflicted. It was steaming, but it was also very heavily dub-con. I don’t mind dub-con at all, but this one just didn’t quite sit right with me and I wasn’t really expecting it to go there.

In general, the author still shows some good story-telling skills, but I think that maybe they are more suited for long stories than short ones.

The breakdown of story ratings:

The Whitmore Room: 3 stars
Is there a Porn Star in My Class?: 3 stars
Road Trip Cone of Silence: 3.5 stars
Coach’s Revenge: 3.5 stars

The cover art by James at GoOnWrite.com is nice and simple, but it doesn’t really apply to any of these stories specifically. So as far as a generic cover, it’s nice, but not original.

Sales Links: Goodreads | All Romance (ARe) | Amazon | Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook
Published June 30th 2015 (first published June 29th 2015)
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesBrowerton University #1.5

A MelanieM Review: Life is a Stevie Wonder Song by V.L. Locey

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Authors know that their muse is a fickle creature. Best-selling spy novelist Stephen Ramsey has been in a hate-hate relationship with his inspiration for months. When Stephen’s publisher lays a legal ultimatum upon him, with a rapidly approaching deadline, he knows he must do something to kick-start his creativity or face the unemployment line. His daughter comes up with a possible answer: a summer camp for the creative soul. With nothing to lose, Stephen packs up his laptop, phonograph and beloved record albums and heads from Greenwich Village to the Catskill Mountains.

There, among a horde of college students attending for extra credits, is Declan Pomeroy, a photographer of fey creatures who is twenty-two years younger than Stephen. The woods are a magical place, and he quickly finds himself falling under the spell of the free-spirited photographer. Confusion wars with desire inside Stephen as he succumbs to the feelings welling up inside. But, sadly, summer camp always has to end. Can a man who has just found himself really leave the person that makes his heart sing?

Nothing makes me happier then to discover a new (to me) author and a wonderful story. V.L. Locey’s Life is a Stevie Wonder Song did both. Locey’s did so many things right in this story from the wonderful locations to the absolutely marvelous characterizations. But the thing that stood out the most, almost immediately? That her novelist Stephen Ramsey thought and spoke like a literate man. I almost swooned over his words and thoughts, thinking, “Yes, I do believe this is a man of letters.”

I fell in love with Stephen Ramsey over and over again just through his thoughts and ability (V.L. Locey’s) to use the language. He describes Declan as a “coquette” and its perfect. Another time as Declan is pulling him along through the woods, Stephen thinks “For being so slender, he was a strong little tugboat.” And that says it all so beautifully.

Then there is Declan Pomeroy, photographer of fey creatures. Declan has the strength of a willow. He bends, moves with all the etherial nature one would expect, yet the strength is there as well, deep rooted and firm. I love Declan, he is surprising and magical. Both men are layered and believable, and I committed my feelings to both upon meeting them.

More interesting was the author’s handling not only of their age difference but of the author’s gradual awakening and acceptance to the fact that he is either bisexual or pansexual (I’m actually all for abandoning the GFY appellation). I think it was done with a wonderful realism and recognition how they would deal with it in their relationship. Very well done. Better yet was Stephen’s dawning realization that he was attracted to Declan, the idea that he might be gay/bisexual, and what that meant for himself, his past marriages/relationships/daughter/ and his future. Ah, denial. That’s a phase many of us would recognize. I love those scenes.

And here comes my only outright deplorable element in the story. I can’t decide if the author did it on purpose and if so it really is outside of the character she had created but she has Stephen wondering if he is a “f####t”, a word I find so hateful that I refuse to use it here. Up to this and after, this man is a liberal New Yorker, a man of letters, who uses the language as if he was born with a dictionary in his mouth. Then this? No, I think this was used to shock by the author and was a huge misstep. It was one of the reasons this story was just shy of a 5 star rating and that the ending seemed a little rushed. I wanted so much more of their story.

Looking back, I find it hard to believe that this gem of a story is only 87 pages. So much love and exploration of the human heart is to be found here. Looking for a author to love and a story to take to heart? Grab up Life is a Stevie Wonder Song by V.L. Locey and prepare to fall in love. I highly recommend it.

Cover artist Kris Norris has 1/3 of a good cover. Stephen Ramsey is spot on, but the fey, slim Declan? No where in sight or the wood that is so much a part of this story.

Sales Links: Torquere Press | All Romance (ARe) | Amazon | Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook, 87 pages
Published December 30th 2015 by Torquere Press
Edition LanguageEnglish

The Sexy Men of London are Back in Cross to Bare (Men of London Book 5) by Susan MacNicols

Blog Tour

Title: Cross to Bare

Series: Men of London

Author: Susan Mac Nicol

Publishing Company: Boroughs Publishing Group

Release Date: November 10, 2015

Tough in business but romantic at heart, fashion designer Lenny James isn’t hiding his masculinity behind his super successful female alter ego, but a vulnerability that only handsome financier Brook Hunter will be man enough to reveal…and worship.

TWO OF A KIND

It’s amazing what a little mascara and lipstick, a blonde wig, false boobs, and top-notch female fashion can hide. Not that Lenny James is hiding his masculinity. He uses his normal voice when he’s Laverne, and he’s not particularly camp as a man. His reasons for creating his alter ego are locked deep in his past. He is who he is: tough in business, and a romantic at heart. What he’s hiding is vulnerability. He wants a man to accept both sides of him.

Gorgeous, commanding, and dark as sin, Brook Hunter meets Lenny and knows nothing about Laverne until fate pushes her into his path. Cross-dressing is as far from Brook’s reality as fashion is from his world of diplomacy and high finance. Understanding and truth take time, and trust doesn’t come easy. But Brook is about to show Lenny that there are no sides to true love, just the place where they meet in the middle.

Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27240124-cross-to-bare

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Brook smiled. “The chemistry is still there, though. No doubt about that.” His brows furrowed. “And if I remember from our last window encounter, you promised to return the favour,” he murmured as he reached out and removed the glass from Lenny’s hands. He put the whisky down on the table by the window then dipped his finger in the cool liquid. Brook’s finger came up, and he slid it across Lenny’s bottom lip, slowly. He thought he was going to shoot in his pants with the eroticism of that gesture. The whisky flavour burned into his lips and he slid his tongue out and sucked the finger caressing his mouth. Brook’s eyes widened in lust, the pupils expanding. His lips parted and Lenny wanted to thrust his tongue and his cock inside the hot, wet heat of that mouth.

“Let’s get this over with, shall we, because obviously neither of us can wait,” Brook whispered, as his tongue slid into Lenny’s ear. His hands slid under the red jacket, tugging the shirt from his trousers, and then caressing the heated skin beneath. “Otherwise we’ll not enjoy my wonderful Chicken Cacciatore that I slaved over all day. Let’s fuck first, talk later.”

Lenny agreed wholeheartedly. With a low moan, he mashed his mouth against Brook’s and took possession of it. Familiar and wanton in return, Brook’s questing tongue slid into Lenny’s mouth. The slippery sensation of that deliciously heated organ, currently on a quest to drive him crazy, took him back to those passion fuelled days when he and Brook had been together. The feel of strong fingers against Lenny’s skin and the heat of that body pressed against his – it was if they’d never been apart. Lenny wasn’t one for insta-love but insta-lust he could definitely understand.

“I’d forgotten how damn good you taste and feel,” Brook gasped as his hands fumbled with buttons, opening Lenny’s trousers. He cried out as Brook’s hand slid inside his silk boxers and slid fingers down his hardened and wet cock. “This – this is what I want, you inside me.”

That phrase made Lenny thrust his cock harder into the tight confines of Brook’s hand.

“You keep saying that and I won’t have anything to fuck you with because you’ll make me come,” he managed to get out. “Turn around, face the glass.” He didn’t wait for Brook to obey, simply spun him round hard and slammed him against the cold, silken wall. “You’d better hope this is one way glass, because otherwise your neighbours are going to see you being royally skewered this time.” Lenny kicked off his trousers and underwear, giving a sigh of relief as his cock sprung free.

Susan Mac Nicol is a self-confessed bookaholic, an avid watcher of videos of sexy pole dancing men, geek and nerd and in love with her Smartphone. She is never happier than when sitting scribbling down words and making two men fall in love.

In an ideal world, Susan Mac Nicol would be Queen of England and banish all the bad people to the Never Never Lands of Wherever -Who Cares. As that’s never going to happen, she contents herself with writing her HEA stories and pretending, that just for a little while, good things happen to good people.

Sue is a member of Romance Writers of America and Romantic Novelists Association in the UK. She lives in the quaint village of Bocking in Essex, set in the countryside and not far from the sea should she get the yen to eat crab or oysters on the Cromer Pier.

Social Media:

website: www.susanmacnicol.com
blog: susanmacnicol.wordpress.com
facebook: www.facebook.com/susiemax77
twitter: www.twitter.com/SusanMacNicol7
linkedin: http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/susanmacnicol/48/a44/602

Read all the Men of London

The Story Behind the Story of Sedonia Guillone’s ‘Acts of Passion’ (guest blog,excerpt and giveaway)

BT_Banner

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is thrilled to have Sedonia Guillone here today to talk about her latest novel, Acts of Passion. I’m a long time fan of this author and am so happy to welcome her here.

Behind the Book – The story behind the story by Sedonia Guillone

Hi everyone! Thank you so much for your support. I am soooo happy to be re-releasing Acts of Passion, new and shiny with a previously deleted scene added back in. Years ago when I was first going through editing, my editor at the time had slashed an entire scene that I felt was very important to the development of Michael Di Santo’s character. I’m not sure why I let myself be talked into getting rid of something that was so important, but I did and always regretted it. Readers of Acts of Passion felt that something was missing right in that spot. Every time I read a review to that effect, it was a “head-desk” moment. I couldn’t wait for the time to come when I would get a chance to put that scene back in.

For those of you who may have read His Beautiful Samurai (Ai Press), you will have met Michael Di Santo, sort of. When Detective Toshi Genjin, the main character from His Beautiful Samurai was in college, he spent four years in the States at Berkley. He met Michael there, then a grad student, and the two of them became lovers. Toshi and Michael were each other’s first love. Both men had been very closeted and shy, but their relationship was the first real, passionate experience either of them had and left its mark on both of them, even though things didn’t work out. Michael still calls Toshi from time and once in a while, advises Toshi on a case, which happens in His Beautiful Samurai. Of course, Michael needed to have his own story told, and his own HEA. That led to Acts of Passion and the sexy homicide detective, Jack Cade. 

I won’t spoil the fun and go into more detail about which scene was deleted. It’s not a high action scene or one full of edge-of-your-seat suspense, BUT it is crucial to Michael’s unraveling the knots in his own heart and soul, a process that will allow him to have the satisfying, deeper romance that his soul craves. Without that understanding, he cannot move forward. I think so many of us can relate to that! Leaving it out was just not a good call. Thank goodness, life allows so many second chances,

The deeper take away from this for me? Don’t second guess what’s in your heart. Don’t let someone talk you out of doing something that may be real for you because of their own issues or lack of understanding. I know now that while I will take into consideration the feedback an editor or someone else may give me, I need to weigh it against what’s in my heart and make sure that I’m being told something truly helpful. I hope that makes sense! Thank you for joining me on this tour. Your support means so much.

Warmly, Sedonia

AboutTheBook

TITLE: Acts of Passion

AUTHOR: Sedonia Guillone

COVER ARTIST: Louca Matheo

LENGTH: 186 Pages

GENRE: LGBT; Gay Romance; Mystery and Detective; Romantic Suspense

RELEASE DATE: January 15, 2016

BLURB: When a man is found in his apartment, appearing to have committed hara kiri with a samurai sword, Boston Homicide Detective Jack Cade suspects more is going on than what it appears. The department’s criminal profiler has left and a new guy is taking his place. At first, Cade is skeptical of Dr. Michael Di Santo. Di Santo seems so absent-minded and too neurotic to be effective. But he is brilliant and hot and Cade finds himself falling hard and fast, both in lust and in love. The attraction is mutual, although Michael’s past demons haunt him, keeping him from getting too close. Together, they begin to unravel Michael’s emotional knots even as they close in on a killer, another brilliant, wily person whose sights are now set on Michael.

Excerpt

Studying the front area of the building, he wandered down the flower box lined stone walk of the apartment building and turned to face it. Crime lab workers and patrol officers moved around on either side of the yellow crime tape, keeping the building cordoned off until Jack gave instructions to clear out and retain only the apartment as the crime scene.

Jack stepped aside to let someone go past him and bump! Smacked into something.

He turned. “Excuse me, I’m—” Or rather, he’d bumped into someone.

The man was adjusting the glasses Jack had apparently knocked off his face. “You’re in a crime scene,” Jack said.

“Yes, I know.” Almond-shaped brown eyes seemed to study Jack from behind round lenses. He looked Asian, yet sort of…not Asian at the same time. His dark brown hair was styled in a conventional way, parted on the side in short layers. The crumpled navy suit he wore, complete with diagonally striped tie against a light blue dress shirt made him appear as if his mother had dressed him for a spelling bee at school even though he was probably about Jack’s age. Forty.

Jack blinked. He was taking absolutely too long to find out who this man was. Then light dawned. Of course. “Dr. Di Santo?”

“Detective Cade?”

“That’s me. Hope I didn’t break your glasses.”

Di Santo touched them on each side as if to check. “No, they’re fine.”

Jack watched the man’s hands as he gingerly adjusted the frames. Nicely shaped fingers. Clean, trimmed nails. “Sorry I bumped you that way.”

“No problem.” Di Santo cleared his throat. “I hope I can be of help to you.”

Jack started. “Me too. This way.” He led Di Santo into the building and up to the apartment. “As I told you on the phone, I’m not so sure this was a suicide.” He let Di Santo precede him into the apartment and followed him, observing the way the slim man took in the surroundings on his way over to the victim.

Jack explained his suspicions and then let the man work. For what seemed a long time, Di Santo wandered about then stood in the center of the room, his gaze on the coffee table. His hand disappeared into his jacket pocket and pulled something out, which he popped into his mouth.

Jack watched him. Watched the man’s cheek bulge on the side while he sucked on whatever it was in his mouth, his gaze intent on the coffee table and victim. He then approached Jack and Jack heard the click of hard candy against the guy’s teeth. Finally Di Santo turned and knelt by the body.

Jack saw the professor’s eyes widen, especially on the hilt of the knife. “What is it?”

Di Santo seemed to ignore his question, staring at the knife. “Were his hands on the hilt of the knife or over his face when you found him?”

“Over his face.”

“Okay. Please open the robe so I can see the wound,” he said to Murphy.

Murphy did as he asked and Di Santo gazed for what seemed five straight minutes at the vicious cross-shaped cut in the centre of the wound.

“Jumonji giri,” he said, nearly in a whisper.

“What?” Jack looked between the knife wound and Di Santo.

The hot-yet-nerdy man was still staring down, seeming to ignore him. The candy in his mouth clicked several times against his teeth.

“Dr. Di Santo?”

Michael Di Santo looked up, his eyes seemingly far away yet intent at the same time. “What kind of movies did this man watch?”

BuyLinks

Amazon

Amazon UK

AuthorBio

Award-winning, multi-published author of erotic romance, Sedonia Guillone spends her days writing deliciously naughty romances—when she’s not cuddling with the man she loves or watching kung fu and samurai films and eating chocolate.

Sedonia welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at http://www.sedoniaguillone.com.

:: Website :: Blog :: Facebook :: Twitter :: Google+ ::

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Winner’s Prize: Print copy of Acts of Passion

Runner Up’s Prize: 3 Sedonia Guillone e-books of your choice

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TourSchedule

January 15: Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words :: Frosty’s Book Corner

January 16: Elisa – My reviews and Ramblings :: The Purple Rose Tea House

January 17: Wicked Faeries Tales & Reviews :: Louise Lyons

January 18: Divine Magazine :: Love Bytes Reviews

January 19: Jessie G Books :: Drops of Ink

January 20: A Celebration of Books :: Diverse Reader

January 21: RJ Scott :: MM Good Book Reviews

January 22: Kathy Mac Reviews :: Gay Media Reviews

January 23: Bayou Book Junkie :: Alpha Book Club

January 24: Man2ManTastic :: Shey’s Book Cave

A Mika Review: A Serious Thing (Will & Patrick #1.5) by Annabelle Jacobs

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Patrick has a plan, and he’ll go to great lengths to see it through.

After three weeks apart due to work and school commitments, he and Will are finally getting to spend some time together. Patrick is staying with Will over the Christmas holidays, and he intends to tell him how he feels on Christmas Day. It’s going to be perfect.

But of course, Patrick’s plans don’t always go smoothly….

Hello, Annabelle Jacobs? Where is the rest of my story at? Why did I feel it ended 83 percent into the story? I really enjoy these two together. Hopefully A.J makes it up to us with a full length novel some time soon. I really like the Christmas spirit between these two. You can see the love that they have for each other. I really love that both of them wanted to say those 3 magic words to each other. It was adorable how they kept stopping each other. Ben!!!! I really like Ben, I kinda hope we get a guy to stump Ben and turns him completely out. His character is amazing, so freaking supportive. All in all this was a good little piece of heaven between Will & Patrick. They had an amazing first Christmas as a couple, and I think we’ll see more of them.

Cover Art by Anna Sikorska: LOL, I can’t remember which guy this is suppose to be, but nice eye candy!

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | All Romance (ARe) | Amazon | Buy It Here
Book Details:

ebook, 36 pages
Published December 18th 2015 by Dreamspinner Press
Original TitleA Serious Thing
ISBN 1634768159 (ISBN13: 9781634768153)
Edition LanguageEnglish

SeriesWill & Patrick

A Casual Thing (Will & Patrick, #1)
A Serious Thing (Will & Patrick, #1.5)

Coffee Sip and Book Break with ‘Compromised’ by Bailey Queen (guest post, excerpt and contest)

Compromised by Bailey Queen
Release Date: January 11, 2016

Purchase Links:
NineStar Press | Goodreads

Hi there!

I am delighted to be guest blogging on Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words. It’s such an honor and a joy! Thank you for having me!

My name is Bailey Queen, and I am a new author to the MM Romance universe. I’ve written before, under a different pen name, and my current catalogue has a smattering of romance and erotica titles, some MF and some MM. MM Romance is my favorite genre, and I am loving life writing in this universe right now and getting to spend time with so many great people!

I was asked, “Where did you get your inspiration for these characters? How did you come up with this story?” Great questions! You see, I take a dartboard, and I tack some names up, some plot points, etc., and then I take a blindfold… Just kidding.

I actually like to build my stories wholly from my characters. I started with Ben. Ben is very near and dear to me. I know many Ben’s in my life, men who have left parts of themselves and their souls behind somewhere, thanks to conflict, war, or agonizing pain. They’ve cut something of themselves out, trying to never feel that loss, that emptiness, ever again.

For Ben, eight years of service in the military during the height of the Iraq War, including rough and brutal combat tours, have weighed heavily on him. On top of that, Ben had his heart ripped out, and the compounding effect of the loss and pain brought Ben to a complete halt. His heart and his soul froze, and he refused to feel anything, anything at all, ever again. He moved on with his professional career, entering the FBI, but his soulless approach to life dragged down everything he touched.

He’s tired, tired of trudging forward and tired of persevering. Ben guards himself with rigid barriers and harsh silence.

And then there’s Tanner. I created Tanner by listening to people’s desires. We hear, all the time, people wishing and dreaming for a different life. For something more exciting, more adventurous. Occasionally, some of us do have that kind of life, filled with adventure and intrigue. At the core of our lives, though, we always want the same thing—someone to share that life with.

Tanner is a man who, on the face of it, seemed to have everything. A dazzling career, a jet set lifestyle, a long string of lovers. Tanner was a former flight attendant, and he spent much of his life living in exotic locations and exploring the globe, and spending his nights with different men as often as he pleased. On the surface, Tanner’s life seemed be a dream. Wouldn’t we all want that? Adventure, travel, lust, and great sex?

There’s a hole in Tanner’s world, too, though. He’s missing the heart of his life, and while jet setting and exotic lovers are fun and fascinating, Tanner wants more. He wants the apple pie life. The morning after, and everything else. Bedhead and a shared closet. He wants a partner. When tragedy befalls his family, Tanner moves home and tries to set up a new life for himself, going back to his roots as a rancher in small town Pennsylvania.

He’s confident, but quietly so, comfortable in his skin in a way that we often wish we were. He’s lived, and he knows what he wants.

Ben—frozen in place and too rigid and hurt to move forward from the pain in his life—crashes into Tanner — a man who wants to find his partner and his equal—one night, with devastating consequences. What could *possibly* go wrong when these two men collide?

That one meeting—a single, stolen night—could have been the end of their story, but darkness from Tanner’s past rears its head, and Ben is called back to Tanner’s small town for the murder investigation. As the bodies begin to pile up, Ben and Tanner circle each other warily, both men wanting—and needing—something from the other. Both men are torn in half—Tanner by his past coming back to haunt him, and Ben by the force of the investigation, and his role as a lead FBI agent. Could the man he, almost inexplicably, is falling for be the murderer they seek?

What I hope worked for you in this story is the sizzling sexual tension, the cautious circling of the two men as they negotiate both each other and their own souls, and watching as they work together for a future where Ben and Tanner might be able to find space for each other inside their hearts and souls. I loved writing this story and sharing Ben and Tanner with you.

Thank you for having me!

~ Bailey Queen

Book Blurb

Murder in the country.

A one-night stand that refuses to end.

Ghosts from the past that return to haunt.

Special Agent Ben Diggs can’t stand what has become of his life, so much so that he hits the road one night, maybe to crash his bike, maybe to drive off into the night and never be heard from again. But he meets Tanner Bagley, a rancher from rural Pennsylvania in a hick dive bar, and sparks fly. For the first time since everything went to hell, he feels alive again.

Ben runs from his emotions as a rule, and he flees in the middle of the night, trudging back to his dreary life in Baltimore and his failing job as a FBI agent. But then his team is assigned to investigate a murder in that same backwater township in Pennsylvania where he met Tanner, and it’s a different set of sparks that fly when faces Tanner again.

As the bodies start to pile up, tensions flare, and Ben is stuck between teammates that question his every move and a devastatingly handsome rancher whose heart he bruised. The lies keep piling up, and Ben is forced to stake his career – and his very life – on the trembling hopes of his wounded heart.

Deep in the countryside, someone is hunting gay men in Middle Creek, Pennsylvania… Gay men all with ties to Special Agent Diggs’ one-night-stand…

Tags: Erotic Romance, Gay, M/M

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Pairing: M/M
Length: Novel

Excerpt

Outside Gettysburg, on the highway halfway between the battlefield and nowhere, the tiny ranching township of Middle Creek boasted a one-stop diner and dive bar on its outskirts. Complete with an after-hours tack shop for all of your midnight ridin’ and ranchin’ needs, it was a neon oasis in an ocean of farmland. There was a mechanical bull in the back, and peanut shells and hay littered the split-wood floor. Wagon wheels and deer heads hung on the walls, as did Christmas lights. A rickety old karaoke machine belted tunes that were out of style the day they came out, decades ago. In one corner, a stage made up of leftover pallets bungee-corded together hosted the local talent—fiddlers, guitar strummers, and banjo killers—every Thursday evening.
On Fridays, it was “Prime Rib and Shrimp Special” night, and the diner was packed from four in the afternoon until eight in the evening. Afterward, only the drunks and the loners stayed, downing beers at the worn mahogany bar as bad Elvis covers droned amid twinkling Christmas lights and the buzzing glow of beer signs. Ben had been there once before, on another night when he just had to ride, to get away from everyone and everything. He hadn’t gotten drunk that night, but he’d been close. It was a modern miracle he’d made it home, and he’d stayed off the booze for a whole month after.
Tonight, he was going to get ripped. Look out, liver. Suit up, kidneys. Snorting, Ben tossed his keys into his helmet and cracked his neck. His eyes caught on his reflection in his mirrored visor. Messy dark hair, scruff that could only just be called a five o’clock shadow. Chapped lips turned down. And his eyes—God, when had he gotten so damn old? So damn worn down? His gray eyes were dead and dull, and he even bored himself. He spun his helmet around, banishing his reflection, and climbed off his bike. His jeans sighed, loosening around his balls and his thighs, and he unzipped his dark leather riding jacket as he strode into the bar.
Four other drunks tonight, two at the bar and two trading stories over mugs of beer at a back corner. They were old, at least one hundred and eighty four, and they had to be sharing memories of their time in the War of 1812. Were there Diggs dying in that war too? His pops had drilled him about their proud history, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember which illustrious ancestor had sacrificed in that war.
Ben slid onto a barstool at the very end of the bar—a signal for leave me the fuck alone—and propped his helmet up so he couldn’t see himself. He clasped his hands together, leaning against the mahogany, and waited.
After a good fuck long of a while, the bartender stopped drying his glasses and wandered over. His gaze lingered on the helmet and then slid over to Ben’s raised eyebrows. He stopped just outside the edge of Ben’s “don’t fuck with me” bubble.
“What’ll it be?” Bored, the old man waited for Ben’s order with a sour twist to his lips.
“Yuengling. And keep them coming.”
The bartender nodded and wandered off, filling a pint glass with Ben’s beer before sliding it back down the bar to him. Ben flipped his credit card out to open the tab and cracked his neck again, rolling his head from side to side.
Three beers in, and more bad Elvis covers, the bells over the diner’s door jangled, announcing a newcomer to the fray. Ben shot a glance over his slumped shoulder.
Blond hair caught his eyes. He sat up straighter and tried to get a better look, all the while trying to appear like he wasn’t interested at all.
He had blond hair, cut short and trimmed neatly, and a long-sleeved, plaid flannel shirt stretched over a firm, muscled body. As he moved toward the bar, Ben noticed tight, faded, button fly jeans cupped a firm ass and hugged down tight legs—legs meant for gripping and riding, for wrapping around thick, powerful mounts and holding on. In scuffed work boots, he stopped before the bar and hooked one onto the leg of a barstool as he leaned forward, resting against the bar top.
Slowly, Ben’s gaze wandered up the newcomer’s body, and he came face-to-face with the man’s raised eyebrow and quiet smirk. “Hi,” the blond said, never dropping that damned smirk. “That your bike outside?” He jutted his chin toward Ben.
“Huh?” Ben frowned. He sat back, and his elbow jostled his helmet. Oh, right. His helmet. Dead giveaway and all, just like he was being. He straightened, tried for nonchalance. “Yeah. Just stopped in for a few.” He nodded to his beer and shut his damn mouth before he got into more trouble.
“You’re not from around here.” It wasn’t a question. Blondie pulled out the barstool next to Ben and plopped down, still smiling. His chocolate eyes laughed at Ben as he stuck out his hand. “M’name’s Tanner.”
Ben stared and then slowly took it. He shook once, but pulled back when he felt Tanner’s thumb stroke down the back his hand. “Ben.” He turned back to his beer.

Author Bio

Bailey Queen is the pseudo name of a romance and erotica author. It’s my secret identity in the publishing world online. 🙂
Bailey Queen is a romance author who has been writing fiction since 2001. She’s recently started writing under this pseudo-name and is having a great time doing so! She writes adventure, mystery, thriller, sci-fi, and fantasy, all with a LGBTQA angle. She likes to challenge conventions and provide readers with interesting characters and storylines. Bailey has lived around the world, and she loves to put places she’s lived/traveled into her stories!
You can find Bailey Queen on Amazon, Goodreads, or Facebook.

Giveaway

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The Covenant (Covenant Series #1) by M. LeAnne Phoenix Release Date: January 15, 2016 Goodreads Link: http://www.goodreads.com/mleannephoenix Publisher: CoolDudes Publishing Cover Artist: Kellie Dennis

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Gonna Marry Me A Billionaire:

First Comes Marriage by Shira Anthony

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Loss, Distinctive Voices and Characters

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Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is thrilled to have Sedonia Guillone here today to talk about her latest novel, Acts of Passion. I’m a long time fan of this author and am so happy to welcome her here.

Behind the Book – The story behind the story by Sedonia Guillone

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Compromised by Bailey Queen Release Date: January 11, 2016

Purchase Links: NineStar Press | Goodreads

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The Covenant (Covenant Series #1) by M. LeAnne Phoenix
Release Date: January 15, 2016
Goodreads Link: http://www.goodreads.com/mleannephoenix
Publisher: CoolDudes Publishing
Cover Artist: Kellie Dennis

Compromised by Bailey Queen
Release Date: January 11, 2016

Purchase Links:
NineStar Press | Goodreads