Category: m/m holiday stories

A Holiday Offering for You: Brina Brady’s ‘For Me’ book blast and giveaway

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For Me ( Rent Me #4) by Brina Brady
 Release Date: November 29, 2015

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Brina Brady
Cover Artist: Sid Love

Blurb

The entire Dubrovsky family heads to snowy Russia for a family Christmas. Brennen fears Dmitri’s homophobic father’s rejection. Dmitri believes when they present their daughter, that all will be forgiven, but steps into a mess upon arriving with his husband. Instead of greeting Dmitri and Brennen with hugs and kisses, Grandma Dubrovsky whisks baby Dominika away, leaving them alone with Dmitri’s angry father. Can they stay if it means abiding by his rules?

This is a story of love, forgiveness, and miracles during the holiday season. Dmitri and Brennen overcome issues which have been troubling their relationship, each growing and learning how to best be what the other needs. There are many surprises during the holiday season for all of them.

This is best if read after Make Me (Book 3 in the Rent Me series.) If you read it as a standalone, you will surely wish you had read the first three books.

 

Pages or Words: 29,600 words
 Categories: BDSM, Contemporary, Erotica, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Romance

Excerpt

Adrik was deep in conversation with Valerik when they approached the porch. Their conversation terminated when Dmitri and Brennen arrived. Mischa was right behind them.

“Why is he here? He’s not a Dubrovsky. He’s your wife, so he needs to be baking in the kitchen.” Valerik spit on the snow.

Brennen lowered his eyes for a moment and when he’d had just about enough, he spoke in Russian to be sure the old man heard and understood. “That is the last cheap fucking insult you get. One more insult from you and I’ll personally take Dominika home. You’ll never see our daughter again.”

“That was uncalled for,” Dmitri shouted at Valerik. “I stand with Brennen on this. You insult my husband one more time, then you’ll never see any of us.”

“That goes for me, too. I won’t allow you to treat Brennen like this. We love him and he is part of us. You need to apologize,” Mischa said.

“I agree. Brennen has been part of the Dubrovsky family since he was a child. Keep your homophobic attitude out of Christmas. We’re here to celebrate as a family. None of us will visit you ever again if you continue this abuse,” Adrik said.

Buy the book:

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Meet the author:

I am from Huntington Beach, Ca. I taught various subjects at a Continuation High School in Los Angeles, California for 27 years. I obtained a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in history, Secondary Social Science Credential and a Master’s Degree in Secondary Reading and Secondary Education from California State University, Long Beach. I also enrolled in some creative writing classes at UCLA. I am currently taking classes from Romance Writers of America.

Where to find the author:

 


Tour Dates & Stops:

Parker Williams, Dawn’s Reading Nook, BFD Book Blog, Cheekypee Reads and Reviews, Bayou Book Junkie, Foxylutely Book Reviews, Inked Rainbow Reads, Happily Ever Chapter, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Charley Descoteaux, Jessie G. Books, The Hat Party, Velvet Panic, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Cheekypee Reads and Reviews, Mikky’s World of Books, Book Lovers 4Ever, Up All Night, Read All Day, Alpha Book Club, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Kirsty Loves Books, Divine Magazine, MM Good Book Reviews

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Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of ‘For Me’ by Brina Brady’.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Link and prize provided by the author and Pride Promotions.

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A MelanieM Review: Red Dirt Christmas (Red Dirt, #3.5) by N.R. Walker

Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

ReddirtheartChristmas1500Travis had been here at Sutton Station for just over a year. We were technically engaged, not that we’d told anyone. He was happy just knowin’ I’d said yes, and I had some head-clearin’ stuff to work through. Knowing I was good enough for Trav was one thing, but knowing if I was good enough to be a husband and father was somethin’ else entirely.

Life at Sutton Station had never been better. Business was strong, Trudy and Bacon’s little baby, Gracie, was a few weeks old now and as cute as a button, Ma’s health was good, and my relationship with Laura and Sam was in a pretty good place. And Travis? Well, life with him was still all kinds of perfect.

But, to Travis’s dismay, Christmas at the Station was just another day. Another day of getting up before the sun, feeding animals, fixin’ what needed fixin’, and checking water troughs all while tryin’ to keep out of the blistering heat.

And this year weren’t much different. Only that it was Travis’s first Sutton Station Christmas. The fact we didn’t go all out with decorations and celebrations baffled him, and if I was bein’ truthful, it disappointed him too.

Which was why I had to make it a special kind of Christmas…

When I first starting reading the Red Dirt Heart series by N.R. Walker, it didn’t take long before I was deeply and permanently in love with every part of Sutton Station, the men, the way of life, even the wildlife from the deadly to the adorable (see one particular wombat).  And at book four, I felt so much a part of their lives that it was painful to see it end, albeit happily and with satisfaction.

So imagine my surprise and delight when I heard that N.R. Walker had returned to red dirt country and the Sutton Station to bring us Red Dirt Christmas.  Yes, I was overjoyed.  Charlie and Travis were coming back for Christmas.  Was it the Christmas present I hoped for?

Well, if it wasn’t it was close.  Red Dirt Christmas takes place before the fourth book, so quite a few events haven’t occurred.  But in many respects we get the best of the story threads.  Charlie’s mother and brother are here. along with Ma and George, Trudy, Bacon and little Gracie and a certain wombat I never get enough of.  Charlie and Travis, one of my favorite couples, are as close as ever  even as Travis is fighting a case of the Christmas blues and homesickness.  It seems that Charlie and Sutton Station don’t really celebrate Christmas and Travis is missing the way his family decorates with all the American trimmings.

To say any more would tempt me to head into spoiler territory.  But what follows is tender, full of laughter and family, and of course, love.  N. R. Walker doesn’t forget to leave out the dangers of living in such a extreme climate and geographical location.  There is an encounter with one of the area’s venomous wildlife as well as one more element to be aware of during their “winter” season, one so costly it was a little scary there for a while for a main character.  All these threads flowing  beautifully through a story I never wanted to end.

Red Dirt Christmas is full of  scenes real, vivid and heartfelt, the people inside were back to feeling like old friends revisited, even when Charlie and Travis where feeling frisky and hot,  it was sexy, warm and loving.  I hope we can talk N.R. Walker back  into these short stories, small glimpses into the Sutton Station from time to time so we can check in on everyone.  There’s Australia Day, Roundup,  Give A Wombat a Hug day…I don’t care.  Any excuse will do.  N.R. Walker, are you listening?  This was wonderful, now can we please have some more?

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Red Dirt Heart series, what a treat is in store for you.  I have listed them all at the bottom.  I highly recommend them all as must reads for readers of M/M romance.  Like the red dirt of the Northern Territory, this Station and this couple will get into your heart and never let go.

Happy Reading.

A Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Must Read Series any time of the year:

Red Dirt Heart Series:

Sales Links: |All Romance eBooks | Smashwords |  Amazon | Buy It Here

Travel Back Down Under for N.R. Walker’s Red Dirt Christmas (special excerpt)

ReddirtheartChristmas1500

Red Dirt Christmas by N.R. Walker
Publication date: 11 December 2015

Buy links: Amazon |All Romance eBooks | Smashwords

Blurb

Travis had been here for just over a year. We were technically engaged, not that we’d told anyone. He was happy just knowin’ I’d said yes, and I had some head-clearin’ stuff to work through. Knowing I was good enough for Trav was one thing, but knowing if I was good enough to be a husband and father was somethin’ else entirely.

Life at Sutton Station had never been better. Business was strong, Trudy and Bacon’s little baby, Gracie, was a few weeks old now and as cute as a button, Ma’s health was good, and my relationship with Laura and Sam was in a pretty good place. And Travis? Well, life with him was still all kinds of perfect.

But, to Travis’s dismay, Christmas at the Station was just another day. Another day of getting up before the sun, feeding animals, fixin’ what needed fixin’, and checking water troughs all while tryin’ to keep out of the blistering heat.

And this year weren’t much different. Only that it was Travis’s first Sutton Station Christmas. The fact we didn’t go all out with decorations and celebrations baffled him, and if I was bein’ truthful, it disappointed him too.

Which was why I had to make it a special kind of Christmas…

N.R. Walker’s Bio:

N.R. Walker is an Australian author, who loves her genre of gay romance.

She loves writing and spends far too much time doing it, but wouldn’t have it any other way.

She is many things; a mother, a wife, a sister, a writer. She has pretty, pretty boys who live in her head, who don’t let her sleep at night unless she gives them life with words.

She likes it when they do dirty, dirty things…but likes it even more when they fall in love.

She used to think having people in her head talking to her was weird, until one day she happened across other writers who told her it was normal.

She’s been writing ever since…

N.R. Walker’s Internet Links:

Email: nrwalker2103@gmail.com |Facebook timeline |Facebook Page

Twitter: @NR_Walker

Unique Excerpt for NR Walker’s ‘Red Dirt Christmas’

I undid his jeans and pulled them down his thighs. It was always a pretty clear indication on Travis’s well-bein’ when there were no sex jokes, especially when I was kneelin’ in front of him trying to get his jeans off. I ran the shower with the cold only, which was lukewarm at best. The thing about livin’ in the desert and livin’ off rainwater was that the rain-tanks sat on the baking ground like everything else.

“Remind me when you’re feelin’ better about looking into puttin’ tanks underground,” I mumbled, helping him into the already-too-small shower.

“Huh?” He looked confused.

“Later,” I told him. “Just put your head under the water. Do you feel sore or itchy anywhere?”

He took a second to answer. “Nope. I didn’t get bitten by anything, Charlie. I just feel sick. And hot. Really hot.”

“You have heatstroke, Trav,” I reminded him. “It can cook your brain if you’re not careful.”

He leaned forward and rested his forehead on his arms on the shower wall, and I stood outside the shower but quickly ran the soap over his back and shoulders. I figured cleanin’ off the dust before he got into bed would be a good idea. The red dust swirled around his feet and I scrubbed down his legs as well.

“Well, I ain’t near dead enough to know that I like your hands on me in the shower,” he mumbled.

I snorted out a laugh. “You must be feeling a bit better.” Then I asked, “How much water have you drank today?”

He seemed to think for a while. “Dunno. A bit. Two water bottles, I think.”

“Open your mouth, drink the water,” I instructed. “Small mouthfuls.”

He did that for a while and then I shut the water off and towelled him down before tying it around his waist. “Come on, into bed.”

“I feel a bit better.”

“Don’t argue with me on this, Trav. Into bed. Please.”

He hardly argued. With no more than a miserable pout, he took himself, slow and steady, to our room and sat on the bed. I switched on the ceiling fan and made him lie down, and Ma came in with a pedestal fan and the bag of ice, and when he was sufficiently fussed over, he closed his eyes and dozed. I sat beside him, movin’ the ice pack around and wipin’ him down with a wet cloth.

There weren’t nothin’ worse than watching the person you love bein’ so sick.

“Remember when I busted my knee?” he asked. His eyes were still closed. “You sat there like that.”

“I thought you were asleep.”

“Just resting.”

Christmas backgrounds. Christmas decor on the white wooden background.

A Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Must Read Series any time of the year:

Red Dirt Heart Series:

Red dirt Heart CoverRed Dirt Heart 2Red Dirt Heart3Red Dirt Heart 4 cover

A Stella Review: Midwinter Night’s Dream (Unwrapping Hank #2) by Eli Easton

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Midwinter Night's DreamMicah is the hippest, most chill guy on campus. But when he gets the hottest kiss of his life from a cute guy during a game of ‘spin the bottle’, Micah’s cool turns into a puddle of anxious goo. Sure, Micah’s always been a little bi-curious, but he never thought he’d pursue a guy, much less a guy who doesn’t seem to be interested in getting caught. 

Leo is passionate about two things: gay rights activism and acting. He stays focused and in control, and he never, ever, dates straight guys. When a chance spin of a bottle at a party has him locking lips with Micah Springfield, president of the Delts, dread-headed, serial-dating, straight Micah, Leo is determined to forget about it, no matter how incendiary the sparks or how gorgeous Micah may be. 

Leo has bigger problems. His senior project is directing Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream just before the Christmas break. When his venue cancels at the last minute, Micah offers the use of his parent’s barn in rural Pennsylvania. Leo’s play may be saved, but what about his heart? Between Micah’s sweet lips, his family’s welcoming arms, and a devious bulldog who is determined to play Puck, Leo may find himself falling under the spell of Christmas magic

I’m a fan of Eli Easton but her Unwrapping Hank series isn’t a winner to me, especially in this second installment called Midwinter Night’s Dream. The title and the amazing cover soon caught my attention, but then it wasn’t what I become to expect from this author. It was a nice reading, light and funny, well written, unfortunately it was nothing more. I found some parts boring too and it didn’t keep me glued to my Kindle at all.

The bigger issue is the fact that I don’t like more than my MCs’ POVs and in this story there are too many of them, Helen’s one, Yas’, Micah’s and Sloane’s, plus the two main ones. It was confusing and dispersive, and it made no sense to me cause I wasn’t interested in the other people’s life. I wanted to know about Leo and Micah. I was almost halfway through the story when I realized I had no clue about the MCs’ lives. I knew nothing about them apart from Leo  passion for the theater. And the fault can be ascribed to this choice of show more than our couple life. It was a bad choice cause Leo and Micah had not the space they deserved, the different POVs took away too much from their story. At the end it felt to me uncompleted.

I’m not saying it isn’t a good book, it simply didn’t work for me and I surely not going to reread it.

The cover art by Reese Dante is amazing. The model is gorgeous and the golden details are fabolous. Well done.

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

BOOK DETAILS

Published November 25th 2015 by Pinkerton Road

Kindle Edition, 121 pages

ASIN B0176UHYKK

Edition Language English

Unwrapping Hank series

Unwrapping Hank #1

Midwinter Night’s Dream #2

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AMAZON http://www.amazon.com/Midwinter-Nights-Dream-Eli-Easton-ebook/dp/B0176UHYKK

A Nutty Christmas Anthology: ‘Maddy Christmas’ by Harper Jewel, S.A. Garcia, Meg Bawden, Chris McHart (excerpt/contest)

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Book Name: Maddy Christmas Anthology
Author Names: Harper Jewel, S.A. Garcia, Meg Bawden, Chris McHart
 Release Date: December 14, 2015

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Rawmance Publishing
Cover Artist: Meg Bawden

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Blurb(s)

Santa’s Naughty Elf by Harper Jewel

Playing Santa in the local department store should be an easy way to make a few extra bucks, shouldn’t it? That’s what Brock Daniels, a victim or corporate downsizing, thought when he took the job at Larson’s. Once he finds out a handsome ginger—his one weakness—will be playing Santa’s elf, easy becomes complicated, even if it’s an enjoyable snag.

When Paul Martens discovers who’ll be playing Santa to his elf, déjà vu of an unforgettable night that took place almost two years ago comes crashing down on him.

The attraction between Brock and Paul grows to fevered levels while a runaway teen pulls at both men’s heartstrings. Will they be able to put aside their ardent attraction and channel some holiday magic in order to grant everyone’s Christmas wish, or will their stockings be filled with nothing but coal?

Paint Your Balls by Chris McHart

The lives of the heavenly beings that have a one-day-a-year job can become a bit dull. But when Santa’s reindeer fall ill on Christmas Eve, his life becomes anything but, so he reluctantly turns to the Easter Bunny for help.

Bunny harbors a long-time, secret crush on Santa and decides to take advantage of the request for help by offering an exchange. He wants Santa in his bed. Little does he know, Santa has discreetly lusted after him, but the man in red decides to teach the attractive Bunny a lesson he won’t soon forget.

Who will make the next move, and how will both men play the game? Will they be naughty or nice? In the end, could both men finally get what they desire?

Catching Santa Claus in the Act by Meg Bawden:

It’s Christmas Eve and Rowan Wayne has the task of babysitting his nieces. While he’d rather be out partying and having a one night stand with a sexy footballer, his nieces have always come first.

The last thing he expects is a thief entering his brother’s house in the middle of the night. Except the thief claims that he isn’t robbing the house, rather delivering the presents because he’s Santa Claus. Rowan thinks the reasoning is absurd, until he discovers this Santa Claus is the sexy guy from college, Christian Kringle.

Finding it hard to fight his attraction to the handsome Santa, Rowan isn’t sure what to believe. What will he do when he finds out Christian is equally attracted to him?

The Duke of Dickdom’s Desert Sojourn by S.A. Garcia:

Porn star Jason Rapier, aka “The Duke of Dickdom,” is suffering a dreadful day. Romantic rejection, deer assault, and career chaos are topped by his Porsche dying in the desert on Christmas Eve. Happily a special present guaranteed to inject the ho-ho-ho back into Jason’s holiday season is a mere service station away.

 

Pages or Words: 43,000 words
 Categories: BDSM, Contemporary, Fiction, M/M Romance, Romance

 

Excerpts:

The Duke of Dickdom’s Desert Sojourn by S.A. Garcia:

Jason gazed out the window watching the snowflakes drift on the strengthening breeze. He snuggled down deeper against the expensive mattress and male warmth. A quiet after-sex cuddle felt perfect. Sweaty on-set sex never involved cuddles unless a sensitive writer included the concept in the script.

A sensitive porn writer was a rare beast.

Xavier’s muscular body radiated heat against Jason’s right side. Mmmm. His fuck buddy’s raspy breathing sounded close to sleep again. After Jason arrived at Xavier’s last night, they ate a quick sushi dinner, hopped into bed, and fucked each other on and off, supplementing sex with naps. This morning a snooze appealed to him. Still watching the snow through half-shut lashes, he nuzzled against Xavier.

A vicious thud filled the air. A large black bird—Jason couldn’t tell a raven from a vulture—swirled away from its slam against the picture window. The ebony shape contrasted against the snowflakes. A few feathers stuck to the wet glass.

Xavier jerked awake, staring at Jason with crossed-eyed irritation. “Wafuckwas that?”

“Some huge black bird bashed into the window. How freaky.”

“Weird. It must have misjudged because of the snow. Too many stupid turkey vultures around here. Geesh, I’m tired. You wore me out, bitch.”

Paint Your Balls by Chris McHart:

“Please, you have to help me! I can’t do all the work alone. It’s not my fault the reindeer have such bad colds. They’ve always played in the snow, how was I supposed to know they were freezing? I’ve had them for years, and they were never sick.”

Bunny listened to Santa’s pleas, not really concerned. It wasn’t his problem the man had sick reindeer. Bunny would need to do his job again in a few months, and he’d have to do the work all alone. He also managed to look after his chickens without them getting sick.

It was stressful enough to deliver presents and Easter eggs to all the kids around the world once a year. He’d be nuts if he’d do it twice, especially when one of these events simply wasn’t his responsibility.

Besides, Santa usually ignored him, not even giving him the time of the day. But now that the man in seductive red velvet needed him, he suddenly showed up. Why should he help him? He didn’t see a reason. It was simple as that.

“Please, I’ll do anything,” Santa tried again as he paced nervously back and forth on the cloud they stood on. They were outside in the sun, close to the reindeer stables and next to the room belonging to one of the Archangels.

Buy the book:

Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon AU

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Meet the authors:

Meg Bawden: Meg Bawden was born and raised in North Queensland, Australia. She’s loved stories since before she can remember and has always enjoyed creating characters of her own, even if it did begin with drawing faces on toilet rolls and giving them names. Writing has always been a passion of hers and she’s loved the M/M genre since 2004, the first book she read being Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez.

Writing M/M since 2007, Meg has never had the confidence to attempt publishing her own stories, but in 2015, she decided that it was all about to change thanks to the amazing friends she’s made in the M/M genre and their support and encouragement. So watch out, world, Meg Bawden is coming out to have some fun!

You can find Meg Bawden:

 

S.A. Garcia: Thirty-nine years ago, I started writing gay male romance. My writing remained a secret lest my friends thought me a freak. Writing about men inserting tab A into slot B didn’t seem the norm for a suburban female teenager. Reading Gordon Merrick, John Rechy, and Larry Kramer helped me fill in the informational gaps. No wonder I read those books in my bedroom.

As the years progressed, this lesbian still wrote gay male romance, although the stories moved from lurking in notebooks to hiding on the computer. I wrote fantasies, contemporaries, bodice rippers—I chugged along following Diva Faboo, my drunken, ornery muse.

Five published novels, assorted novellas, and spicy short stories have turned my life into a fun quandary of too many stories hindered by my slow typing skills. I accept the challenge and blunder onward into more trauma, drama, and humor. Once I train my wicked men to stop ruining my plots— face it, that will never happen. They refuse to listen!

You can find S.A. Garcia:

Chris McHart: Chris McHart lives in Germany, with her husband, slave, Dom, partner in crime, and muse (all in one person, not even she’s that kinky!). She loves her husband, men in kilts and Scotch Whisky. Her idea of a perfect evening is to curl up with her laptop and write (the other options are not suitable to post in public).

Visit her blog or friend her on Facebook, where you can join her author group.

You can find Chris McHart:

 

Harper Jewel: Harper Jewel lives in northeast New Jersey with her husband and 18-year-old daughter. She has three cats, enjoys reading, and taking trips to Walt Disney World. With her outgoing personality and vivid imagination, she is able to create characters and plots that are believable as well as memorable.

Although she began writing male/female romance/erotica, she has finally found her niche in Gay Romance. She thoroughly enjoys her male characters as they speak to her quite loudly while proving love is love. Being the first M/M author accepted at Lush Publishing is an honor she’s very proud of.

In addition to her writing, she uses her college education and background in English and Language Arts to work as an independent editor. She’s also expanded her skills to include formatting for Smashwords Premium Catalog, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Amazon, & All Romance Ebooks.

In September 2015, she created Slippery Fingers Press & Publishing Services and plans to use the company name for self-publishing as well as her editing and formatting jobs.

To find out more about Harper Jewel, visit her website at www.harperjewel.com.

Where to find the author:

Harper Jewel:

 

RC

 


Tour Dates & Stops:

Parker Williams, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, A.M. Leibowitz, Bayou Book Junkie, Havan Fellows, BFD Book Blog, Book Lovers 4Ever, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, My Fiction Nook, Happily Ever Chapter, Jessie G. Books, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, EE Montgomery, Divine Magazine, Bonkers About Books, It’s Raining Men, MM Good Book Reviews, Cheekypee Reads and Reviews, Inked Rainbow Reads, The Hat Party,

Velvet Panic, Molly Lolly, Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings

Final

Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: $10 ARe Gift Card.   Must be  18 years of age or older to enter.  Link and prize provided by the author and Pride Promotions.

 

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