Category: M/M Paranormal Fiction

Scary Review Redux: Vampirism and You (Guidebook #01) by Missouri Dalton (A MelanieM Review)

Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

Vampirism and You #2Louis’ whole life was planned right to a bite on the neck at his seventeenth birthday. The British native has a whole lot of changes coming his way. There’s the cravings, the urges, the relocation to rural USA…it’s a lot for a teenager to handle. Throw in the possibility that he might not be as straight as he always thought and it’s a tangled mess as Louis tries to navigate his new life as a vampire.

Things aren’t going to be easy though, and his foster-vampire Duncan is determined to make Louis a fine upstanding example of vampirism—or else. Louis has his handbook though to explain well, some things. But not everything.

When a new vampire shows up in town, Louis thinks he’s finally found someone to confide in, except Eli has his own agenda and Louis is about to find out that being a vampire means more than drinking blood and causing mayhem—there are also dirty politics, dark secrets, and a whole lot of reading assignments.

Louis Von Graves has had an unusual childhood. His family name is Krekowski but his parents named him Louis Von Graves. It’s almost as though they knew what would happen to him. You see, Louis’ family are indentured servants to vampires, specifically, The Countess and have been for more generations than can be remembered. When he was younger, Louis’ name was picked out of a hat filled with the names of children from all the servants. Why? So that the chosen one would be turned on his 17th birthday and become a vampire, a child of the Countess. It doesn’t matter what the child wants, its wham, bite, death, and you’re a vampire.

So here he is, 17 and a new vampire. He has been taken away from his family and friends in England and given over to a foster sire who will teach him how to be a vampire and all the rules and regulations that go along with it. But no one told him he would have to go to America, and no one told him he would have to go to school. With a bunch of american high school kids no less. So what is a sullen, pouting, teenager to do when his world has been turned upside down, he has powers he doesn’t know what to do with and a overwhelming desire to drink his classmates blood? Why be given a guidebook of course.

But the book, Vampirism and You (A Beginner’s Guide to the Change) that his foster-vampire sire Duncan gives him can’t prepare him for everything. A new vampire appears at the house he shares with Duncan and while Eli appears to be friendly, Duncan hates him and tells Louis to stay away from Eli at all costs. And while Louis wants to eat the girls around him, he doesn’t want to date them. Does that make him a gay vampire? Louis isn’t sure what the answer is but increasingly all the questions about his sexuality seem to have Duncan as their focus.

But soon Louis learns that life is not all vampire fun and games. There is great intrigue, and evil court politics to contend with. Plus Louis is having nightmares that keep getting more vivid all the time and the answers seem to lie in his past. Louis must contend with unexpected evil, horny cheerleaders, and the possibility he just might be gay all at the same time. Hopefully the guidebook can help him, now only if he could remember to read his homework!

I have found a new addiction and it’s not one book or even two. It’s a new series from Missouri Dalton and Torquere Press’s YA Press, Prizm Books. The Guidebooks series revolves around a group of supernatural guidebooks, each a part of a series for a group of supernatural practitioners and/or supernatural beings. Whether it be necromancers or vampires or something more, each book is delivered or given to a teenager as they come of age (whether it is being turned or coming into their powers). The first book in the series, Vampirism and You (A Beginner’s Guide to the Change) is given to one Louis Van Graves shortly after he is turned on his 17th birthday.

What a spectacular idea for a series! And with Missouri Dalton, an author I have come to throughly enjoy, as it’s creator, the series has really taken flight into the realm of classic storytelling. Louis Van Graves is that typical teenager at 17 years of age who has been made to do something he never wanted to do. Of course, we aren’t talking woodshop here. Louis has been made into a vampire through no true choice of his own. Not only was his name picked out of a hat but he also was promised something huge by the Countess if he agreed to be turned. In exchange for his mortal life, the Countess agrees to let his sister live a normal life and his family leave her employ to become “normal” once more after centuries as indentured servants. But that meant that Louis had to become the sacrificial lamb for his sister and family, something none of them even tried to stop. So Louis’ feelings here are more than the normal sullen, pouting teenager. In Dalton’s hands, we have a young intelligent man, separated forever from his family, forced by love to become something he never wanted and removed to the American Midwest, a foreign place in everyway, including culture no matter that we both speak “English”. Louis is profoundly hurt, not that he would ever let on and he is trying to figure out what it all means. Just as any teenager is trying to do but in extreme circumstances. The character of Louis manages to come across as not only a believable teenager going through the appropriate stages of emotional growth but also as a realistic young vampire trying to figure out his newly dead and supposedly long lasting status. Such a dichotomy, to walk the halls of high school, navigating the social cliques of that age but having to walk hallways full of newly categorized food.

Louis has to contend with not only relocation and new status as a vampire but a foster sire as well. Duncan (another marvelous character) has taken control of Louis as the Countess is not “terribly maternally”. This is Louis’ first introduction to Duncan his foster sire. Louis has been shipped off in a coffin, wearing clothes more suitable to a 18th pirate than a teenage boy:

Then again — the hearse went over a particularly large pothole, knocking my head into the lid of the coffin. It didn’t budge so much as a centimeter, seeing how I was locked in. Apparently her ladyship thought I might try to make a run for it. How right she was. The hearse quite suddenly rumbled to a stop. I heard the doors open and close. And then my coffin was being lifted and carried. An odd sensation I’ll admit.

There was the sound of doors — sliding doors, sucking sounding, like at the market. Footsteps echoed outside the coffin, not wood floors, tile probably.

They didn’t take me to a morgue did they?

Another ten minutes of jostling and my coffin was set down — not far down, probably on a raised surface. There was a jingle of keys and click of one turning in a lock before the lid was pushed open. I rolled over and sat up, and was met with the speculative look of a man much better dressed than myself. His dark hair was slicked back neatly, and his striped blue button-down shirt was tucked into pressed black slacks.

“Hello, Captain,” he said, blue eyes hiding laughter rather unsuccessfully.

“Bite me.”

“I may take you up on that.” Without a word, he slid his arms under my legs and armpits and lifted me out of the coffin, setting me down on my feet.

“Bloody hell!” I glared, “I didn’t ask for help.”

“Uh huh.” He picked up a clipboard from a table next to my coffin, which itself was on a metal table in the gray-tiled room with gray walls and flickering overhead 6 lights. There were three other tables, two of which held open coffins.

“I see you’ve come to us from Countess Von Graves.”

“Yes.” So the Von Graves name came from her ladyship — it’s still ridiculous.

“She’s marked you as a flight risk — well, first things first, a change of clothes.” He jerked his thumb at the door. “Follow me.” Not having any other choice, I followed. The next room was carpeted, narrow, and long. A table ran along the length of the left side of the room, mirrors covered the right-hand wall — not that I could see myself in them anymore — and there was a door at the very end. The table had a myriad of things. Boxes filled with odds and ends, files, clothes, and a couple of coolers. He grabbed jeans and a plain black T-shirt from the table and tossed them to me. Of course it was black. Never mind that I looked much better in other colors. “Put these on.” He turned around, I suppose to give me privacy, and I stripped down as quickly as I could and redressed in the fresh clothes. Much better.

“All done.”

He turned to me and grinned. “Good.” Walking farther into the room, he dug through the clutter on the table to retrieve a small metal vial and a bracelet that had an obvious setting for the tiny vial at the front. He stepped back to me. “Now, the Countess marked your file, but I prefer to just ask. Are you a flight risk?”

“No,” I snapped.

“So yes then.” He nodded. “You get a tracking device.” He held up the vial and bracelet. The bracelet he snapped around my wrist before I could blink. Then, he bit down on his lip, drawing blood, and dripped one drop into the vial, closed it, and slid it onto the bracelet with a click.

And with that, Louis’ education begins.

I love how beautifully Dalton incorporates the typical teenage feelings and moods into a 17 year old newly formed vampire with it’s own newly acquired needs. Louis has not just regular teenage hormones to contend with but the hyped up sexuality of a vampire. Quite overwhelming to someone who has never dated. Louis must traverse not only the pitfalls and crevasses of an american high school but those of vampire society, each with its own dangers.

Missouri Dalton never loses track of the age of her main character or of her core audience no matter how dire the circumstances of Louis’ life or unlife becomes. Louis’ has a singular voice, so typically teenage but full of personality. He is alternately sarcastic and hopeful, wry and hurt, little sparks of youthful arrogance appearing when you least expect to do along with equal amounts of hidden humility. So engaging, that you become involved in Louis’ plight immediately as the true precarious nature of his status becomes known. And that leads us into the darker sections of this novel.

Yes, there are plenty of funny situations here but there are also just as many dire ones as well as the book continues, these are vampires after all. There are references to some horrific events, none of which are described or actually referred to in terms that I think might be warranted. There is a “blood rape” where one is bitten against their wishes. That is described but not in overly vivid terms. Dalton doesn’t need them in order for us to see and feel the horror of the event. And there is more, also either in the past or not described. But they do occur.

This is also a book about a teenager finding out not only he is gay and coming to terms with his sexuality. But it’s also about being a sexual person. OK, think of teenagers and their hormones and then multiply that. And Louis’ has to come to grips with all of that and more. It’s funny, it’s painful and at one point horrific. And at alls times, it also feels very real. There are no explicit sexual scenes here, just the wants and emotions associated with sexuality. Louis’ emotions are those we can easily understand with dealing with growing up and becoming a sexual being. It’s confusing, confounding, and can overwhelm our senses. Plus with Louis there is something more going on. The vampires or at least a contingent of them are dark, evil beings and have been so for centuries. And they want Louis. Not a good thing, trust me.

Missouri Dalton has also populated this book and her series with one memorable being after another, each a fully fleshed out (for the most part) character with real feelings and emotions backing up their actions. Her settings too ring with authenticity from high school plays and social dynamics to the Courts of Vampire Society that feel as real as the high school gymnasium. Not a hint of a jumbled narrative to be seen here.

My only issue is a slight one and that would be the ending. A few loose ends still frayed and lagging in the wind. They are tied up neatly in the beginning of Necromancy and You (Guidebooks #02) but still those bits here keep this from a perfect 5 star rating. This is a YA story but definitely geared towards the older crowd. I am thinking 15 to Adult, nothing younger. There are some very dark issues here that have to be addressed, not just youthful hormones. I can’t say anything further because I won’t spoil this book. But if you have a sensitive child, read the story for yourself first before giving it to them. Always a good idea at any rate.

I have to admit I read Necromancy and You first, and then came back to pick this one up. How do they fare? Well, I found this story to be a little darker but both are just outstanding and I will be recommending this series as one of the Best of 2013 and 2015. it holds up that well. Whether you are 15 or 50 and older, this story and this series is for you. Memorable characters, thrilling narrative, great dialog…really it has it all. Start at the beginning and work your way through. What a marvelous journey it is going to be.

Book/Series Covers by LC Chase. Each cover is the cover of the Guidebook given to the teenager in the story. This a great idea and the covers work perfectly in every way.

Sales Links: Torquere Books |  Amazon | Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook, 199 pages
Published January 29th 2013 by Prizm Books
ISBN1610404297 (ISBN13: 9781610404297)
edition language English
url
series Guidebook #01

Halloween Book Spotlight Special: Devil’s Jawbone by BJ Sheppard (excerpt and contest)

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Devil’s Jawbone by BJ Sheppard
Release Date: October 31, 2015

Goodreads Link
Publisher: BJ Sheppard
Cover Artist: BJ Sheppard

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Blurb

As night descends on the town of Devil’s Jawbone, no one is safe. The veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest, and the darkest side of human nature is boiling to the surface. The supernatural and the natural are colliding, and in this sleepy town, the bump in the night is taking human form. Innocence will be lost; the villain will become the victor; spirits will rise and Satan himself will come to town.

In an eerie collection of short speculative fiction, author BJ Sheppard will grab your imagination, bringing new life to the classic campfire tales synonymous with the scariest of occasions. Halloween will never be the same again.

 

Pages or Words: Approximately 50,000 words
 Categories: Gay fiction, Horror

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Excerpt

Janine Richards had been the first to see the body, arriving an hour early to train for that Friday’s track meet. Through the indigo rays of morning, she had expected peace and quiet but instead had been gifted with the body of the football team’s quarterback hanging from the centre bar of the goal post. The police had arrived after her frantic call and all the yellow tape in the world couldn’t stop the student body from stopping to share in the horror, the grief that had blanketed DJ High.

Riley fought his way through the crowd and stopped only when Logan’s body, still hanging one hour after its discovery, swung lazily on a gentle autumn breeze. His stomach lurched and his eyes prickled, yet he couldn’t peel them away.

What, only one day previously, had been a generally happy, albeit momentarily pissed, Logan Greenway was now reduced to a bloating blue-black sac of meat swaying from the goal that Riley himself had scored over several times at practice the night before. The soccer net around his neck had bitten bloodily into his neck, which was pitched at an awkward angle and coated with what looked like thick black paint under the gentle rays of morning sun. Riley fought the urge to run, closed his throat against the violent clench in his stomach that had only occurred before when he was sick, and turned from the body that was once his teammate.

Logan had not been suicidal, that much was the truth. He had been distracted, pissed at Coach for his harsh behavior, but Logan Greenway had been the boy who had it all. Nothing about his life had held a suggestion that things weren’t going exactly the way he wanted.

Riley thought to his own home life, to the secret of his father’s sudden departure that lingered on the tip of his tongue ready to be spilled. Everyone has a secret, he thought, playing nervously with the straps of his rucksack. But what was Logan’s?

It didn’t matter anymore. Logan Greenway was dead. And school was out for the day.

 

Buy the book: Smashwords | Amazon UK| AmazonUS | AmazonCA |AmazonAU

Meet the Author

My name is BJ Sheppard and all at once I found myself an author. Such a strange sensation to actually feel you deserve the thing you had aspired to for many years. After all, all it took was computer access and an inner world that reads like a Sheryl Crow song to pound the keys and translate my crazy ideas onto the page. I feel like I could have business cards printed. Maybe wear a black roll neck and perch my glasses on the tip of my nose. I could drink whisky and smoke a cigar and do all those really stereotypical things I imagine all writers do. Perhaps I could get laid a little more? This is not the end. Nor the beginning. Hell, it isn’t even about me. My boys write themselves; I really don’t have that much say in the matter. As long as my characters need a voice, I have two chubby typing fingers and a need to please— watch this space: there is more to come.

Where to find the author:

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Tour Dates & Stops: October 31, 2015

Parker Williams, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, The Hat Party, SA McAuley, KathyMac Reviews, BFD Book Blog, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Wake Up Your Wild Side, Bayou Book Junkie, Inked Rainbow Reads, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Charley Descoteaux, Louise Lyons, Cheekypee Reads and Reviews, MM Good Book Reviews, Mikky’s World of Books, Velvet Panic, Molly Lolly

 

Final

Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: eBook of ‘Devil’s Jawbone’ by BJ Sheppard.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.

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Scary Review Redux: Lily By Xavier Axelson (A MelanieM Review)

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Being a single Dad is hard enough but when Pryor loses his daughter Lily in an unthinkable event he thinks he has experienced the ultimate horror but it’s when Lily returns he realizes his nightmare has only just begun…

LilyWhen Pryor’s daughter Lily is taken by a wolf, Pryor is convinced she has turned into the creature he sees lurking in his woods. He swears she promises to return to him. But is it his despair and desperation making him see things or is there something more lurking in the shadows of the forest?

When he meets Ned, a silversmith who helps him with a plan to bring his daughter back into his life, he begins to live again. But can his newfound love help ease the horror that may be waiting? What if the ultimate horror isn’t when Lily was taken but it’s when Lily returns and he realizes his nightmare has only just begun…Its Father’s Day and two men are waiting for a little girl to appear.  They are waiting for Lily.    Lily, his beloved little girl, had been lost a year ago, dragged off into the woods by a wolf.  In the time since, Pryor, consumed with his loss, has retreated to his cabin, his days numbed by his grief. Only the love and support of  Ned, his partner, and a plan to reclaim his daughter has kept him sane.  And now the time has come to see if she will return to him, if only for a day.

What a marvelous short story Lily is.  Lyrical in language and strong in its empathy for a parent’s pain, it has a singular voice in Pryor, Lily’s father.  To Pryor ” still believe being Lily’s father is the most important thing in this world.”  And you feel that hole in his life so acutely as she described just before she is ripped from him, her hair all “wild and white – blonde”.  Pryor’s voice and his descriptions provide a wealth of clues and information about his past.  He hears voices, whether is the derogatory words of his dead mother, or whispers from the woods.    He described his lover’s beard as his “summer fur”, and stares into the moonlight woods searching for signs of his daughter.   All three characters here are beautifully realized, one heartbroken, one steady and one filled with wildness and innocence.  I love how we are fed bits of information until we can finally spin together the fibers that make up the tapestry that is this family and its tragedy.

There is such a distinctive style to this story, as the mundane are juxtaposed with the magical.  Like silk against the skin, this story glides over into your memory.  I loved this and hope you will feel the same.

New cover, much better than the original.  Adds a little more shiver to the tone with the new font and love the white wolf. Although I am never a fan of a division so severe in the design, the red line here, especially when it bisects the title.  That’s a minus.

 

Sales Links:  Amazon | Buy It Here

Books Details:

ebook, 54 pages, every page a must read
Published May 2014 by Seventh Window Publications (first published January 13th 2012)
ISBN139780989606035
edition languageEnglish

A Paul B Review: Paws, Preening and a Pumpkin Patch (Wolves of Stone Ridge #31) by Charlie Richards

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Paws, Preening and a Pumpkin Patch coverHessian (Hess) Roshburg, a Kodiak bear shifter, has come to the Stone Ridge wolf pack territory to meet with a former military acquaintance.  It seems the pack has gotten itself mixed up with some vampire, gargoyles and the CIA.  He also has information about the shifter council that he believes that the pack alpha Declan McIntire should know about.

Gilbert, a raven shifter, and his flock have recently settled in the territory of the Stone Ridge wolf pack after being held captive in Russian for several years.  The wolves helped liberate them from the captors and offered them sanctuary until they have readjusted to real life.  Things like clothes and how to use a telephone is lost on members of his flock who were taken captive at an early age.  To help in their transition Gilbert and his flock decide to go out dancing at a local club that is frequented by the local shifters.

At the bar, Gilbert watches members of his flock flirt hopelessly at the bar staff and other bar patrons.  While headed to the bar to retrieve drinks for his friends, he runs into a big bear of a man.  Gilbert realizes that not only is this man a shifter, but also his mate.  Gilbert tells Hess that Fate must be mistaken since they are total opposites and that now was not exactly a good time to find his mate as his flock needs him.  Hess must convince his mate that he can have both if he wants.  However, will the information that Hess has retrieved for his friend put a premature stop to this mating before it even begins?

This thirty-first book in the Stone Ridge series introduces two new characters in the series.  We have met Gilbert in passing while he was held captive in Russia but know nothing about him.  His reluctance to mate with Hess is understandable.  First he is the de facto beta to this flock of birds that have been held captive for up to forty years for some of them.  Next, he feels that Hess has betrayed them because government agents are after Hess because of the information that he stole.  The character of Hess was somewhat confusing to me.  He left his clan at 27 because he was stronger than the alpha but is still roaming about as a loner.  And he speaks to others in somewhat youngish manner.  He calls a cougar shifter “kitty” and his mate “pretty slender.”  It just seemed out of place for someone who is as strong as Hess is supposed to be.  But I still enjoyed the book despite this.

The cover art by Angela Waters once again delivers.  It shows Gilbert in the foreground in his human form with Hess in his bear form wandering around a pumpkin patch in the background.  The cover perfectly fits the book.

Sales Links:  Extasy Books | Goodreads | Amazon | 

Buy It Here

Book details

ebook, 102 pages
Published October 15th 2015 by Extasy Books
ISBN139781487405496
edition languageEnglish
seriesWolves of Stone Ridge #31

Series:  Wolves of Stone Ridge

Get Into the Halloween Spirit with VL Locey ‘An Erie Halloween’ (excerpt and giveaway)

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An Erie Halloween (Lake Erie Shifters #1) by V.L. Locey
 Release Date: October 20, 2013

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Torquere Press

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Blurb

Templeton Reed has been hiding his inner polecat since he was a child. Keeping his animal secreted is hard for a shifter, especially when one is living in a secret community of mystical beings. It`s the wolf shifters that cause Templeton the most trouble with their darned sensitive noses.

Templeton has a run-in with the Lake Erie pack and their alpha, Mikel Lupei, at the Office for Transmogrification Registration (OTTER). Templeton has a desk job checking registration papers and dealing with wolf shifters is not part of his job description. After that upsetting meeting the meek and mild office worker suddenly finds himself in the center of not only civil unrest among the shifter community, but a violent plan for a coup aimed at rousting Mikel.

Templeton and Mikel, a skilled tracker of rogue shifters, are soon not only fighting for their lives, they`re also fighting the rigidly archaic rules of their kind, as well as the person responsible for trying to take over Mikel`s pack from the inside. Can this magical odd couple turn a passionate attraction into a full-fledged love affair?

 

Pages or Words: 65 pages
 Categories: M/M Romance, Paranormal

Excerpt

As I walked, I rolled odd change around inside my coat pockets. The streets were busy as last minute shoppers ran to get their candy and costumes for the big night tomorrow. Head down and mind running a mile a minute, I never saw the brick wall disguised as a man I ran into. Face into the wind, I never smelled him either. The amber eyes and brindle hair were all that stopped me from either screaming or shifting. Mikel pulled me into a small bookstore. I went along because I really had no choice, but once inside the quaint bookery, I jerked my arm from his grasp. Several patrons glanced at us. Mikel muscled me into a row holding non-fiction and historical. He grabbed a book and opened it, his sharp gaze flitting between me and a fascinating how-to grow-your-own-beets book.

“Is there a reason you abducted me from the street?” I asked, moving back slightly when his big body pressed closer to allow a woman to pass behind him. His proximity was beyond distressing. It was arousing. Now that he had me cornered, there was no getting away from the heady scent that he exuded: Part sin, part warm fur, part earthy pine, wholly distracting.

“I`ve been trying to contact you for days. Why didn`t you return my calls?” he whispered, keeping his big chest plastered to my left arm. My spine was firmly against a bookshelf.

“There are several reasons,” I replied trying to sound snooty but sounding meagerly twitterpated. “One is that our classes don`t mix. . .”

“That`s a paltry reason, Templeton,” Mikel said gruffly, snapping his beet book closed.

“Well, it may be for you, but when one`s boss tells one to keep his distance and – hey!” I grabbed for my glasses when he plucked them off the bridge of my nose. Folding my arms over my pea coat, I glowered at the oaf. There would be no leaping up and down. Those days ended when I left high school. The touch of his fingers on my chin brought out an age-old response. I jerked back hard. The bookcase behind me wobbled dangerously. Mikel dropped his book to steady the shelving unit. My heart was trying to explode through my chest like an alien baby. The lycan inhaled several times then gave me a dark look.

“Calm yourself, Templeton, your odor is growing stronger.”

“Sorry, it`s just this is all too – too much,” I gasped, working to calm myself before the tingling at the base of my spine began. The bells over the front door tinkled melodiously. Soft conversation bounced off the spines of books. Mikel tipped my head back and kissed me. Right there in the middle of the non-fiction. His lips were soft. Sinfully soft. It took my lashes a moment after his mouth left mine to flutter upward. Squinting skyward, I tried to read his face but it was a blur. My glasses were placed back onto my face, albeit crookedly, and then I could see the glow of golden eyes. Oh my . .

Buy the book: Torquere Books

SAVE 50% by using this code: eriehalloween at checkout.

 

Meet the Author

V.L. Locey loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.) She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, two dogs, two cats, a flock of assorted domestic fowl, and three Jersey steers.

When not writing spicy romances, she enjoys spending her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in hand. She can also be found online on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and GoodReads.

 

Where to find the author:

 


BannerTemplateTour Dates & Stops: October 30 & 31, 2015

October 30, 2015

SiK Reviews, The Hat Party, Havan Fellows, Bayou Book Junkie, Happily Ever Chapter, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Jessie G. Books, 3 Chicks After Dark, Inked Rainbow Reads, Charley Descoteaux, MM Good Book Reviews, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, BFD Book Blog, Sassygirl Books, Cathy Brockman Romances, Cheekypee Reads and Reviews, Mikky’s World of Books, Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My

31-Oct

Molly Lolly, Parker Williams

Final

Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of ‘An Erie Halloween’ by V.L. Locey.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.

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Get All Types of Supernatural Fun with Katey Hawthorne and Jenna Rose’s Kanaan & Tilney: The Case of the Arms Dealers (authors interview and giveaway)

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Kanaan & Tilney: The Case of the Arms Dealers
by  Jenna Rose and Katey Hawthorne

Published by Loose id LLC
Cover artist: Dar Albert

Buy it at Loose id LLC | Amazon | All Romance (ARe)

blog tour

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have Katey Hawthorne and Jenna Rose stopping by today to talk  about their new novel, Kanaan & Tilney: The Case of the Arms Dealers.  We decided to switch things up and asked them to interview each other for a change.  Hmmmm, can the unexpected be far  behind?

~ Katey Hawthorne and Jenna Rose Interview Each Other~

Hello, hello, and welcome to our Release Week blog tour for Kanaan & Tilney: The Case of the Arms Dealers. Thanks for having us, STaRW crew.  We’re Jenna Rose and Katey Hawthorne, and we’re here to interview each other. Let’s see where this goes…

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Katey: So, Jenna. We had the characters of Lowell Kanaan and John Tilney already, you and I, but do you remember the moment when we were inspired to actually write a book together about them?

Jenna: I do! We were close to done writing them and realized how much we were going to miss them. Then you suggested to keep them going and turn their adventures into a book. It kinda exploded from there.

Katey: Yyyeah ‘exploded’ is a good word for it. I remember we were talking about them just investigating stuff, since that was Lowell’s thing all along. I think we were watching Supernatural soon after, too. Not that it’s at all like Supernatural, just that there are, uh, supernatural small-s elements. It’s a lot more… I can’t think of a good TV show comparison…

Jenna: Haha, neither can I, really. I guess it takes inspiration from everywhere, but I do remember us watching Supernatural at the time. And probably complaining about the lack of lbtqia+ and poc characters…

Katey: As we are wont to do, yes.

Jenna: What about Lowell and John made you feel they’d translate well into a book?

Katey: They’re so different. Like, on the surface, they have nothing in common, but at the same time their main interests fit together like puzzle pieces. Lowell solving mysteries to help people, John writing mysteries that require skills of observation and organization.

Jenna: I could never get over how well they hit it off. Like, right from the start.

Katey: Right? Lowell is all survival instinct, too, and John has like, none.

Jenna: And Lowell is so not a people person, whereas John is. They balance each other out.

Katey: Also true. So in that way they supply each other’s weaknesses, and that’s a really good thing to have in a couple you’re writing. Just the opportunity to show them making each other stronger and better people–which all my favorite couples do.

Jenna: Mine too! As you already know very well.

Katey: Do I ever, darling! Okay so John was sort of initially my creation, but by the end of the novel you knew him and how to write him as well as I did, certainly. What’s your favorite thing about being in the driver’s seat with him, when it’s your turn?

Jenna: That’s a good question! The tone of the writing. I love my grouchy Lowell, but John is much more, uh, colorful? and it is a lot of fun. It means getting to write so many crazy and clever things.

Katey: Colorful, that’s a word he’d like, too! Putting it, uh, nicely.

Jenna: I love that weirdo, okay.

As someone who is demisexual, it was great having my hand in helping develop a demisexual character too. I want to see more ace-spectrum characters out there.

Katey: Yeah that was really important to me, too, and I was so pleased you were into it, with John. That’s one of my favorite things about the book in general.

Jenna: Mine too. I was really happy when you mentioned you were considering writing John as demi. Representation for ace people is hard to find. I know I, for one, went a very long time not even knowing asexuality was a thing. So, it’s important to me to, I dunno, put characters out there that someone might be able to relate to, I guess.

But, enough about me! What about writing Lowell was your favorite?

Katey: I am glad you asked that! What I love about Lowell is that his actions show more than his words say, always. So writing him is a lot of fun in that way. He’s pretty clammed up, but also his every little move or thought says volumes.

Jenna: And is just one more thing about them that is so different! Lowell is more show than tell, and John, who wears his heart on his brightly-colored sleeve, is the other way around. It works really well for them.

Katey: Also true. That stuff really does make it so much fun when writing–and even more when writing back and forth with  you. Then there’s always a slight element of surprise, even though we know where the scene is going in general.

Jenna: That’s one of my favorite things about co-writing. As is, characters tend to surprise you when you’re writing on your own, but throw another person in the mix and the results are even better. You end up with dialogue or perspective you may never would have otherwise.

Katey: Totally. It’s more of an adventure that way.

Okay so my last question: We’ve got Necromorphs, Terrans, Elementalists, Beasts, and Psychogenics, in terms of powers. John is an Elementalist, in particular, he’s pyrokinetic. Lowell is a Beast, a wolf-shifter. But what’s your actual favorite kind of power in the praeternatural community Kanaan & Tilney inhabit?

Jenna: That’s a tough one. They all have cool aspects to them, but I’d probably have to say Beast. Being able to turn into something like a wolf is awesome. Or maybe a Terran? My least favorite, or, rather, the one I’d never want to have, is Psychogenic. I sooo want nothing to do with telepathy or mind-control or talking to ghosts.

What about you?

Katey: Yeah as much as I’d love to be able to throw fire or rocks or whatever like an Elementalist, I have way too much of a temper to be trusted with that, sorry to say. I’d probably go Terran. I like the idea of being sort of interlinked with nature in a more explicit way than humanity is even now, you know? Also I am apparently a big old hippie on the inside… the vegetarianism was a giveaway, maybe…

Jenna: That’s what I like about Terrans too.

So, last question from me! What’s something in the Kanaan & Tilney world that we haven’t written about yet that you would like to?

Katey: Oh man, that’s good. This now officially a plotting session! Now I think of it, I’d like to deal with how the non-praeternaturals explain away a lot of the things that go on. Like, we kinda go into Cryptids being their explanation for shifted Beast sightings. Having a non-praeternatural perspective could be entertaining. What do you think?

Jenna: That’d be awesome! I’d love to see more of how the two worlds collide, or for a human to become of a world they had no idea existed. It would be fun to see how much is because humans just convince themselves of something, and how much is because praeternaturals actively cover things up too.

Katey: Yeah it’s a thing we’re kind of skirting, waiting for it to become plot relevant so we can delve in, really. We should totally find an excuse to go there.

Jenna: I agree. And I’m sure we’ll find one. We always do. Haha!

Katey: Just like we always find a way to make puns relevant.

Jenna: It’s true. Any excuse, really.

Thanks, Jenna and Katey, that was spectacular.  Now for more about Kanaan & Tilney: The Case of the Arms Dealers, and don’t forget to enter the giveaway at the end of the post.

–Blurb–

JR_KW_kanaan and tilney_coverinJohn Tilney–praeternatural pyrokinetic and mystery author–has noticed the bottom dropping out of the market for his usual gothic fare, so he goes to Lowell Kanaan, PI, for a crash course in noir. Lowell, the cranky wolf-shifter detective, isn’t sure why he agrees to let John shadow him–though it might have something to do with John’s weirdly endearing honesty… and pretty lips. John thinks he’s found the perfect detective novel hero in Lowell, but it isn’t long before he realizes he doesn’t want Lowell for his book, but for himself.

As they become entangled in a supernatural whodunnit involving the Zombie Mafia, black market body parts, and shady insurance deals, their partnership grows closer–and hotter. But when it comes down to the wire, Lowell’s wolfy protective side threatens to drive John around the bend, or at least out of the office. Good thing John’s as much sunshine as he is fire; hopefully it’s enough to help them catch a murderer before they end up in literal pieces, too.

 

Author Bios

 Jenna Rose is an avid reader and writer, particularly when it comes to science-fiction and fantasy.  Currently, she works as a receptionist, but her real love is writing. In her free time, she likes to read comic books, play video games, and waste time on the internet. She currently lives in Massachusetts with her dog, Harley.
Katey Hawthorne is a reader and writer of superpowered romance, even though the only degree she holds is in the history of art. (Or, possibly, because the only degree she holds is in the history of art.) Originally from the Appalachian foothills of West Virginia, she currently lives in Ohio. In her spare time she enjoys comic books, B-movies, loud music, Epiphones, and Bushmills.

Both authors can be contacted at:

Katey Hawthorne:

Website: http://www.kateyhawthorne.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hawthornetaylor
Tumblr: http://hawthornetaylor.tumblr.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katey.hawthorne.33

Jenna Rose:

Website:http://www.jennarosewrites.com/
Tumblr:http://jennarosewrites.tumblr.com/

Giveaway

Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by the authors.  Good luck everyone!

GIVEAWAY: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MzEwNTUzNWQxNzFmNmFhYmFmNTkxNGFhNTJjNjlkOjI=/?

A Paul B Review: The Lost Otter (Patching Up #1) by Caitlin Ricci and A.J. Marcus

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

The Lost Otter coverBrody has not seen Aeden for since he walked away from their relationship six years ago.  What will his return mean to the both of them?  And what is Aeden’s fascination with the otter he has rescued?

Brody is a veterinarian on a small island off the Washington coast.  One day he finds a wounded otter on the front step of his clinic.  Having patched up the otter of his broken bones and finding not much else wrong with it, he puts the animal in a cage.  Having done so, Brody hears a voice from his past telling him to move away from the cage.  It was his former lover Aeden.

Aeden left Brody over six years ago not saying a word to him.  Having left to deal with the passing of his father, Aeden left both men heartbroken.  Now he was back at Brody’s clinic to rescue an otter which is not what he appears to be.  As Brody and Aeden talk, Brody swears he hears a voice saying “Tell him” to Aeden.  It appears that Aeden is actually an otter shifter and the otter in the cage is his wayward brother who is once again in trouble.  After the otter shifts into Aeden’s brother Phillip, Phillip explains that he has run afoul with a clan of bear shifters and they are coming after him.  The three men must get away from the clinic before the shifters find them.  Now that Brody knows Aeden’s secret, will he rekindle the romance between them or once again be heartbroken when Aeden has to leave with his brother?

This is the first book in the authors’ new Patching Up series.  This book was a decent paranormal read but it did not seem to hit all the buttons for me.  Aeden had to leave at the death of his father but it did not seem clear to me that he was made the alpha of the group.  It also seems to turn most ideas of mates on end.  If Aeden and Brody are meant to be together, wouldn’t Aeden have told Brody about mates and shifters before he had to leave to attend to his family?  I also had problems with Brody just walking away from his vet clinic if he is not Aeden’s mate in the normal paranormal sense.  Hopefully these points will be expanded upon as the series continues.

The cover art by Carmen Waters is well done.  The top half shows Brody in his vet coat holding a cat in his arms.  The bottom half has an otter standing on a bank getting ready to dive into the water.  It is a perfect representation of the book.

Sales Links:  Extasy Books |  Amazon | Buy It Here

Book Details

Ebook, 40 pages
Published:  October 15, 2015 by Extasy Books
Edition Language:  English
ISBN:  978-1-4874-0526-7
Series:  Patching Up

A MelanieM Review: Winter Oranges by Marie Sexton

Rating:  5 stars out of 5    ★★★★★

Winter Oranges coverJason Walker is a child star turned teen heartthrob turned reluctant B-movie regular who’s sick of his failing career. So he gives up Hollywood for northern Idaho, far away from the press, the drama of LA, and the best friend he’s secretly been in love with for years.

There’s only one problem with his new life: a strange young man only he can see is haunting his guesthouse. Except Benjamin Ward isn’t a ghost. He’s a man caught out of time, trapped since the Civil War in a magical prison where he can only watch the lives of those around him. He’s also sweet, funny, and cute as hell, with an affinity for cheesy ’80s TV shows. And he’s thrilled to finally have someone to talk to.

But Jason quickly discovers that spending all his time with a man nobody else can see or hear isn’t without its problems—especially when the tabloids find him again and make him front-page news. The local sheriff thinks he’s on drugs, and his best friend thinks he’s crazy. But Jason knows he hasn’t lost his mind. Too bad he can’t say the same thing about his heart.

Ever looked at a cover, read a blurb and just known, known that the book had a story you just needed to read?  Winter Oranges by Marie Sexton did that for me.  I’ve long held a fascination with snow globes, especially the idea that the people and things  inside them were alive, existing in a world we could only look at.  Add to that the elements of love and a man trapped out of time and I was hooked. Plus it was Marie Sexton writing the story!

Marie Sexton’s character of Jason comes across as believably real and lost,  his old career dying or maybe its Jason who tired of dealing with being a Hollywood actor and the problems that comes with it.  We feel his weariness, his loss, and his uncertainty now that he’s fled to the backwoods and this peculiar house.  Because quite frankly we are wondering if he made the right choice too.  As charming as Sexton makes the house seem on first appearances, she also manages to bring a air of eeriness and oddity with it as well.

With those elements flowing through the narrative from the beginning, when Jason’s actor friend with benefits, Dylan, makes his appearances into the scene, its acts as a jarring, albeit lively,  interruption into Jason’s new isolated life.  Just as I suspect Sexton meant it to be.  At first we welcome Dylan short visits into Jason’s new life, and then slowly everything changes when Ben and the globe enters the story.

Such a magical element.  A snow globe. All those possibilities of what could lie inside.  Here they contain a young man, trapped outside of  time, the reason why I will let the story explain for itself.  The romance that develops between Ben and Jason is so real, so heartfelt and fragile that each moment they are together in the story is one you  treasure as much as they do.

How does it end?  With stunning danger, heartbreak, tears and laughter.  And love, so much love.  I adored this story.  Winter Oranges by Marie Sexton is its own delightful treasure.  One to be taken out, reread for its magic and romance, and love against all odds relationship.  Perfect for the holidays no matter what holiday that would be.  I highly recommend this story and this author.

———————–

Twenty percent of the proceeds from this title will be donated to the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) National Help Center. Love for the Holidays: A Charity Bundle Benefiting the GLBT National Help Center – See more at:  Riptide Publishing

Cover design by L. C. Chase  is  perfect, just perfect for this story.  I loved it because it drew me in and made me need to see what  was inside.

Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing  preorder  Other links to follow closer to  release  date

Book Details:

ebook, 325 pages
Expected publication: November 30th 2015 by Riptide Publishing
original title Winter Oranges
ISBN13 9781626493575
edition language English

Scary Review Redux: A MelanieM Review of The Mingled Destinies of Crocodiles and Men (Valley Books) by Eric Arvin

Rating: 5 stars out of 5    ★★★★★

Mingled Destinies of Crocodiles and Men coverWinifred Walterhouse lived in the mansion on the top of Black Hill.  She was aware of the secrets the river and the valley held.   She knew of the river sprites, and of the forest passions, small beings becoming fewer and fewer in number.  She had helped hold off the outdwellers, those who would steal the valley’s magic and destroy the old ways.  But now she is dying, unable to take care of herself let alone a young girl of a certain stubborn temperament.

When her parents died, little Calpurnia Covington was sent to live with her eccentric aunt in the mysterious River Valley. And by her arrival changed everything.  With her aunt, Winifred Walterhouse, dying and confined to her room, Calpurnia is free to roam throughout the estate and nearby woods.  Missing the outside world, Calpurnia is frightened by the beings and things she sees in the Valley and resolutely turns her back on the magic all around her, thus setting her path away from the light and those coming after her.

Minerva True is a mystic who lives deep in the Valley, aware of the magic and light all around her.  She is also aware of The Prophecy and the coming darkness.  Although Minerva tries to warn the river valley’s inhabitants, she is ignored and the darkness is allowed to grow and thrive.  In the future, it will be the mingled destinies of Minerva, the young hero Leith, his lover Aubrey, and the mute boy, Deverell that will tilt the fate of the valley and perhaps the world towards the light or darkness.  Who will succeed and who will fail in the ultimate of all battles?

The Mingled Destinies of Crocodiles and Men by Eric Arvin has to be one of the most memorable and complex books that I have read recently.  It is an extraordinary and sometimes confounding mixture of gothic horror, Grimm’s fairy tale, and dark fantasy.  Arvin pulls from a number of sources, from elementals and the Industrial Revolution to the Bible and uses them to help him create a lost river valley where magic still exists along side the human and the mundane.  Inside the valley, power flows through the woods and into the river. Here river dwellers and passions live but no longer flourish.  The Outsiders and Industry test the borders  and darkness has come to claim the valley and its souls for its own.

With this novel and the books to follow, Eric Arvin conceived his version of the eternal war between good and evil, the battle between the light and the darkness.  This story has a language so lyrical that it will remind you of sonnets and characters so beautifully defined and textured that their loss will haunt you for days.  Arvin’s story feels so old and timeless that the aroma of old leather bindings and yellowed pages of text will commingle in your mind along with the title, an effortless interface of ideas both ancient, fantastical and still somehow quite new.  All of which makes The Mingled Destinies of Crocodiles and Men a book of emotional heft and extraordinary value.

In keeping with the epic scope of his story,  Arvin’s novel encompasses a rather large time span that starts from Calpurnia’s arrival in the valley as a young girl through her marriage and birth of her child and further still as that child, Leith, grows up and becomes a featured player in this timeless spiritual war between good and evil. Circling around Calpurnia is a convoluted and intertwining group of relationships that will include beings of power to Leith, her son.   Arvin has created a large and incredible cast for his story and series, including Azriel, a angel and the fundamental Mother True.  These characters live and breath and love with an realness that will grab you.  Some love with a lightness of being and others, well,  others are weighed down with such a darkness of spirit that it seeps right off the page.  Some of Arvin’s creations just exude such a presence of evil that they carry a stench of corruption that threatens to flow off the page.  And with any tale of good and evil, there are so many losses that will cut to the heart as the story and the fight progress.

Its that unrelenting parade of death as the story proceeds with its inexorable march towards that final battle between good and evil that might turn away readers looking for a warm tale of love and romance.  This is a true fantasy, horror story.  An epic tale that must, by its very nature, come with the deaths of characters the reader has come to love. I think it is those character deaths here will cause not only consternation but pain as the losses add up.  Not only because we didn’t see these deaths coming but because we had come to care for these people in the short amount of time we knew them, a required ingredient of great characters.   It is this aspect of the story that most readers will shy away from, especially those looking for a strictly m/m romance.  This is not that book.   Yes, there is a m/m romance, but there is also heterosexual love, familial love and so much more.  This story has great heart to go along with great loss.

One of the real revelations here is Arvin’s ability to reveal a true contamination of the soul, a slow defilement of character so extraordinary that you almost weep for the promise of the child that was thrown away, seduced by her own needs and a greater evil.  The author’s prose and descriptions delivering both a story of great emotional impact but also of spiritual warnings that go unheeded to the sorrow of all involved.   The Mingled Destinies of Crocodiles and Men is easily one of Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Best of 2013.  Consider this tale highly recommended and a must read for all.

Cover photography by Amy Morrison.  This book needs an extraordinary cover to measure up to the greatness of the story within and it gets it with this great cover by Amy Morrison.  Also one of the best covers of 2013.

Sales Links:   Wilde City Press |  Amazon | Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook, 286 pages
Published April 24th 2013 by Wilde City Press
ISBN13 9781925031065
edition language English
series Valley

Want that Shiver of Dread to Go with your Romance? Dead Ringer by Heidi Belleau and Sam Schooler is Here ( contest)

DeadRinger_600x900

Dead Ringer by Heidi Belleau and Sam Schooler
Published by Riptide Publishing
Cover Art by  Dion Marc, Marisha Dudek

Buy It at Riptide Publishing here

Hi, and welcome to the DEAD RINGER release tour! We’re Heidi Belleau and Sam Schooler. Thanks to our generous blog hosts, and thanks to you for hanging out with us! Be sure to check out our full list of tour stops so you can see the rest of our extras and snag yourself more chances to win our giveaway!

Blurb

Brandon Ringer has a dead man’s face. His grandfather, silver-screen heartthrob James Ringer, died tragically at twenty-one, and Brandon looks exactly like him. But that’s where the resemblance ends. Brandon is unknown, unemployed, and up to his ears in bills after inheriting his grandparents’ Hollywood mansion. He refuses to sell it—it’s his last connection to his grandmother—so to raise the cash he needs, he joins a celebrity look-alike escort agency.

Percy Charles is chronically ill, isolated, and lonely. His only company is his meddlesome caregiver and his collection of James Ringer memorabilia. When he finds “Jim Ringer” on Hollywood Doubles’ website, he books an appointment, hoping to meet someone who shares his passion for his idol.

Brandon? Not that person.

But despite their differences, they connect, and Percy’s fanboy love for James shows Brandon a side of his grandfather he never knew. Soon they want time together off the clock, but Percy is losing his battle for independence, and Brandon feels trapped in James’s long shadow. Their struggle to love each other is the stuff of classic Hollywood. Too bad Brandon knows how those stories end.

About Heidi

Heidi Belleau was born and raised in small town New Brunswick, Canada. She now lives in the rugged oil-patch frontier of Northern BC with her husband, an Irish ex-pat whose long work hours in the trades leave her plenty of quiet time to write.

She has a degree in history from Simon Fraser University with a concentration in British and Irish studies; much of her work centred on popular culture, oral folklore, and sexuality, but she was known to perplex her professors with unironic papers on the historical roots of modern romance novel tropes. (Ask her about Highlanders!)

When not writing, you might catch her trying to explain British television to her newborn daughter or standing in line at the local coffee shop, waiting on her caramel macchiato.

Connect with Heidi:

About Sam

Sam Schooler is queer and nonbinary, and she grew up surrounded by corn, churches, and cliché “Hell Is Real” signs. After twelve years of Catholic school in southwestern Ohio, she applied to the most liberal university she could find and wound up with a degree in journalism. Now, she writes trope-subverting new adult books about people of all genders and orientations—and all the ways they can love each other. Sam lives with her wife and their two cats in Regina, Saskatchewan.

You can find her backlist and details about upcoming projects at “http://samschooler.weebly.com/” .

If you’re feeling daring, follow her on Twitter as “https://twitter.com/samschoolering”  or on Tumblr as “http://meetcute-s.tumblr.com/“ to get the full immersive experience.

DeadRinger_TourBanner

Giveaway

Feeling lucky? Leave a comment with your email on this or any of our other DEAD RINGER tour posts for a chance to win one of our two grand prizes. Each winner will receive a $15 gift card to Riptide Publishing, plus get their choice of either a poster-sized print of DEAD RINGER’s gorgeous cover photo by Marisha Dudek, or a postcard set featuring the eye-catching ephemera of James Ringer’s filmography, designed by Vivian Ng. Contest is not restricted to US entries.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.