Category: M/M Paranormal Fiction

Coffee Sip and Book Break with P.D. Singer ‘Otter Chaos’ (excerpt and giveaway)

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Otter Chaos by P.D. Singer
Release Date: October 9, 2015

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Rocky Ridge Books
Cover Artist: Dar Albert, Wicked Smart Designs

Buy the book: Amazon | Amazon Kindle |All Romance eBooks | Smashwords | Rocky Ridge Books

Apple i Tunes | Kobo

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Blurb

Otter Chaos (includes Tail Slide)

Lon Ewing snowboarded in and turned economist Corey Levigne’s life upside down, introducing him to a world he didn’t know existed. Corey’s still adjusting to a boyfriend who shifts into an otter and raids the koi pond—and now Lon says Corey’s department chair is a werewolf?

Wolves at the university, wolves in the bank—across Lon’s desk sits Professor Melvin Vadas and his hench-wolves, demanding a construction loan for the pack’s new lodge in the mountains. There’s just one little problem: the proposed building site is home to a breeding population of rare fish.

What do wolves care for stupid human rules, an otter who’d barely make a good snack, or one pesky human determined to protect the environment? Once they’re snout to snout with Corey and Lon there’s more than silverscale dace on the Endangered Species list.

Includes Tail Slide (the short that kicked off otter madness)

Fresh powder snow and running water in the Colorado back country call Lon like the moon calls the wolves. Belly-sliding to a good time on the weekends makes up for a workweek at a desk, and meeting Corey adds a whole new level of fun to snowboarding.

It’s easy to slip away for time alone in the woods without raising suspicion, but how’s Lon to entertain himself when bad snow and a worse spill force them off the mountain too early?

Never give an otter a box of Cheerios.

 

Pages or Words: 84500 (11000 Tail Slide, 73500 Otter Chaos) 276 pages total
Categories: M/M Romance, Paranormal

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Excerpt


Threading his way between the tables to reach the group, Corey intended to set the glass down on the small table in their center without interrupting the flow. Maybe he didn’t really need to steady himself on Lon’s shoulder, but it was a good excuse to touch his boyfriend, get a little squeeze and a promise for later in at the same time. “Bet you need to wet your whistle.”

Lon jerked up hard enough to jostle Corey’s arm. Brown liquid slopped over the rim of the glass. At least it missed Lon’s instrument, but what—?

“No. Sorry. But no.” Lon twisted under the strap of his guitar. “We need to leave. Now.”

“Wha—?” Corey all but dropped the glass. “Why?”

“Now. Please.” Lon was up and sidling toward his guitar case.

Corey followed. What else could he do? The man who’d been gleefully leading fiddles and mandolins had cased his instrument and bolted out the side door. Lon barely waited on the porch of the old house turned brewpub, dashing to the passenger side of the RAV4 before Corey was quite outside in the chill spring night.

“Go, go, go,” Lon begged. “Quick.”

“Okay.” Corey tucked his long legs under the steering wheel and peeled out of the parking lot. “Want to explain the sudden need to be elsewhere?”

Lon’s knuckles practically glowed with their whiteness—if the armrest of the passenger seat breathed, Lon would have choked the life out of it three blocks back. “I smelled wolf.”

That again. “I did see Melvin come into the pub.” Corey aimed the truck toward south Boulder, because Lon had that trembly look where his dark brown hair and beard seemed to puff out bigger. Absolutely no reason to stress him, and every reason to take him home and pet him into exhausted, sweaty peace.

“Can you get a job at Harvard or Stanford or somewhere far, far away from CU?” Lon whimpered. “Or decide you don’t like me anymore?”

“No and no.” Corey gave his lover a stern look on the turn into the driveway. “I’m headed for tenure here and I love you. I don’t want to change either one of those things.” He pulled Lon across the console to plant a kiss in short, sleek, hair. “Let’s go look at the koi one last time, and then last one into bed is a rotten egg.”

“Rotten egg! Ick!” But Lon was diverted enough to scamper to the back yard, not too fast to be caught.

 

 

RC

 

Meet the author:

P.D. Singer lives in Colorado with her slightly bemused husband, two rowdy teenage boys, and thirty pounds of cats. She’s a big believer in research, first-hand if possible, so the reader can be quite certain PD has skied down a mountain face-first, been stepped on by rodeo horses, acquired a potato burn or two, and will never, ever, write a novel that includes sky-diving.

When not writing, playing her fiddle, or skiing, she can be found with a book in hand.

 

Where to find the author:


Tour Dates & Stops:

Parker Williams, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Bayou Book Junkie, Inked Rainbow Reads, Full Moon Dreaming, Jessie G. Books, Rainbow Gold Reviews, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, My Fiction Nook,

The Hat Party, The Jena Wade, Molly Lolly, Carly’s Book Reviews, Havan Fellows, Open Skye Book Reviews, Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My, BFD Book Blog, V’s Reads, Mikky’s World of Books, MM Good Book Reviews, Divine Magazine, Dawn’s Reading Nook, Two Chicks Obsessed With Books and Eye Candy, SA McAuley, Posy Roberts, Nephy Hart, Three Books Over The Rainbow, Multitasking Mommas, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews

Final

Giveaway

Rafflecopter Prize: 1 signed print book, or  1 ebook (mobi, epub or pdf), otter ornament (offer as separate prizes please).  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.  Please see disclaimer.

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WillPride

Its Riptide Publishing’s 4th Anniversary Celebration Blog Tour! (Andrea Speed guest blog and giveaway)

Riptide Publishing’s
4th Anniversary Celebration!

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Thank you for joining Riptide on our 4th Anniversary blog tour! We are excited to bring you new guest posts from our authors and a behind the scenes insights from Riptide. The full tour schedule can be found at here . Don’t miss the limited time discounts and Free Books for a Year giveaway at the end of this post!

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Please welcome Andrea Speed to the tour.

To me, horror and comedy have always been attached at the hip. Now I know that position might be anathema to many, but think about it. If you break it down into its component parts, many horror stories are ridiculous. Clowns with machetes? Dead people who eat live people? Undead bloodsuckers who wear capes and flounce around like party boys who ran out of molly? This stuff’s hilarious, people.

Not to say that it can’t be horrific too, because it can be. It can be two things at once. Ridiculous and scary, bloody and silly. I have many real world examples of this. From the granddaddy of them all, Evil Dead 2 (I honestly believe Bruce Campbell’s fight with his own hand belongs in a spot in the cinema hall of fame, if such a thing exists), to the great granddaddy Young Frankenstein, to the more contemporary examples of What We Do In The Shadows to any of the comedy episodes of Supernatural (which, to their credit, are usually pretty funny, especially if Ben Edlund writes it). Humor and horror belong together like chocolate and more chocolate. And it would make the Walking Dead a thousand times more watchable if they just included a goofy moment or two somewhere – anywhere, in any episode.

You’d think this would be a given, but it simply isn’t, and as a fan of “serious” horror, it baffles me. Yeah, I like a good “straight” scare as much as the next person, but if we can’t laugh at ourselves and the clichés and conventions of the genre, then what’s the point? You can’t take yourself so seriously. Life is pretty absurd, once you think about it, and I feel everything needs to acknowledge that if we want to get up and move on.

Which brings me to Josh of the Damned. If you asked me to describe the most hellish job in existence, it wouldn’t be mortuary worker, or garbage man, or even sewer worker. It would always be service industry, because, let’s face it, most people are pretty terrible. You could be a good person but having an off day, and you end up inadvertently taking it out on a stranger you doubt you’ll see again, which is often this hapless worker bee, be they a barista, a fast food cashier, or a store clerk. There is so much naturalistic horror to be found in this setting I don’t know why all horror stories don’t start or end there.

It’s not subtle commentary to say that Josh’s monster clients are often nicer than his human clients, because they are. Oh sure, occasionally they threaten to kill him or ear hentai him, but even Josh understands this isn’t as bad as it could be. He’s an undereducated, underpaid everyman who finds himself the lynchpin in a battle between worlds he can barely comprehend, and has no hope of understanding. It doesn’t stop him, though, which is the mark of a true hero. You go do something, even if you have no idea what’s going on in the bigger picture. You just try and deal with the mess here and now.

I’ve written more conventional types of heroes (including one who still sees the humor in the whole bloody mess of everything – his name rhymes with phone), but I feel like Josh could always stand shoulder to shoulder with them. Yes, he’s a night clerk, and he doesn’t always understand what’s going on or what he’s supposed to do about it. But he goes into work every night and he tries, which is a feat of heroism all by itself.


So next time you’re in a business, and see a weary clerk/cashier/barista, thank them, or just give them a big tip. We all fight monsters. Some are just more literal than others.

About Josh of the Damned

Josh Caplan is your average late-night convenience store clerk, but the Quik-Mart where he works is nothing like normal with that hell vortex in the parking lot. Waiting on zombies, demons, and other things that go bump in the night might scare some, but they’re actually more polite than the stoners, and Josh welcomes the break in the monotony—especially when he acquires himself a sexy new boyfriend with a deadly secret.

Will Josh survive this retail nightmare? It’s a Big Gulp of a chance, but between the hazard pay and the hottie with a sweet tooth for Josh’s candy, it’s a chance he’s willing to take.

About Andrea Speed

Andrea Speed was born looking for trouble in some hot month without an R in it. While succeeding in finding Trouble, she has also been found by its twin brother, Clean Up, and is now on the run, wanted for the murder of a mop and a really cute, innocent bucket that was only one day away from retirement. (I was framed, I tell you – framed!)

In her spare time, she arms lemurs in preparation for the upcoming war against the Mole Men. Viva la revolution!

Connect with Andrea:

[Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Note:  Andrea Speed’s  Joshua of the Damned series is on our October Scary Tales Recommendations and their covers are always on our Best of Lists.]

Anniversary Sale

The Josh of the Damned series is being sold in a special discounted bundle by Riptide this week only. Check out the sale on this series and other bundles at http://www.riptidepublishing.com/anniversary-sale

Giveaway

To celebrate our anniversary, Riptide Publishing is giving away free books for a year! Your first comment at each blog stop on the Anniversary Tour will count as an entry and give you a chance to win this great prize. Giveaway ends at midnight, October 31, 2015, and is not restricted to US entries.  You must leave your email address in the body of the comment so you can be contacted if chosen.  You must also be 18 years of age or older to enter.

Rafflecopter code:http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/c1ee22d91

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A Free Dreamer Review: Strength To Let Go (Tales of the Werewolf Tribes #1) by Alina Popescu

Rating: 2 stars out of 5

Strength to Let Go coverAfter being abandoned by his mates, Shiki Kirishima, beta of the Dragons of the Fang werewolf tribe, returns to his home in Tokyo.

Crippled by grief, Shiki decides to end it all by going into the territory of the Siberian Killers tribe and challenging them to a battle to the death.

His death.

Ganzorig, beta of the Siberian Killers, however, sees the potentially disastrous consequences of having Shiki die in battle.

Instead, he saves him.

Having suffered loss himself, Ganz takes it upon himself to help Shiki deal with his pain.

Blake, Shiki’s best friend since childhood, is as determined to show him there is life after a wolf’s ultimate loss.

Could there also be something ‘more’ for them after friendship?  I was looking forward to this so very much. Shifters in Tokyo? Abandoned by his mates? That sounded like it could be truly amazing. Sadly, it truly wasn’t.

I had a lot of issues with this book. First of all: Shiki. I did not like him the least bit. He was whiny, annoying and stupid. Yes, he was dumped by his mates, which simply doesn’t happen in werewolf culture. Yes, I know that hurts. But he has two toddlers that need looking after. And what does Shiki do? Well, the sensible thing of course. NOT. Instead of taking care of his children and slowly patching up his life, he leaves his children in the care of his brother and his mates and goes off to kill himself.

Of course since he’s Japanese, he can’t just hang himself or something equally simple. No, he’s determined to go down like a true samurai. Never mind that it’s the 21st century. He’s still determined to kill innocent werewolves who never hurt him, only to make his death “honourable”. But then Ganz swoops in to save the day. Of course he’s not angry at Shiki for killing men from his tribe. Instead, he takes it upon himself to make sure Shiki stays alive. So of course Shiki is pissed. But it’s okay, they become best friends and fuck buddies after a while. Because while Shiki is apparently still crushed and suicidal, his libido works perfectly fine.

Oh yeah, and then the best friend shows up. Shiki’s been hiding from the world for two months and keeps hiding with said best friend for several more months. All this time, he doesn’t once call his children. Or talk about them. Or somehow maybe miss them. No, he’s busy throwing himself a pity party and generally making an ass of himself.

Then there was the non-existent world building. We learn that there are several werewolf tribes all over the world. There’s Fae too, and they have their own world. And of course we have humans as well. I still don’t know if humans know about those supernatural beings or not, whether the werewolves suppress the humans or vice versa, and I’m still wondering if there are other beings as well. If you can’t be bothered to do any world building, then don’t write fantasy! And it’s no excuse that this is a romance novel, first and foremost. I need at least some very basic world building to be able to enjoy a fantasy setting. And the author didn’t do any of that. . It was maddening.

One of the reasons why I wanted to read this book so badly was the setting. I love reading about Japan. But the setting was utterly generic. It was mentioned that it’s set in Tokyo, but it didn’t feel like it. It might as well have been set in an unnamed city in America. Aside from his ridiculous notions about an honourable suicide, Shiki wasn’t very Japanese either. He constantly makes reference along the lines of “feeling like a stuffed Thanksgiving turkey”. Celebrating Thanksgiving with a turkey is such a very North-American thing, it was very jarring to hear it from a Japanese. And it’s not like Shiki grew up in the USA either.

The plot was sadly lacking as well. Nothing much happens, other than Shiki whining and Shiki fucking. There are no details, no explanations, for anything. We never learn why Shiki’s mates left him and their children. We never learn who killed Shiki’s parents. We never learn why Blake was sent to Japan to learn how to fight. We never learn where Shiki grew up and why he was separated from his siblings.

The sex scenes were nice enough the first few times. Then they got kind of boring and repetitive and finally they became annoying. The sex was never hot. Actually, it sounded rather painful. With descriptions like “my now reddened and sensitive head”, it sounded like Shiki should have that looked at by a doctor. All those swollen, red, sensitive cocks eventually made me roll my eyes.

And let’s not even talk about how Shiki kept coming up with ridiculous pet names like “Blakey” and how everybody loved him and forgave him and pitied him.

To sum it up, I really didn’t like this book. I hated Shiki, the setting was generic, there was no world building and the sex was badly written. Add to that a few too many typos and you have yourself one very annoyed and disappointed reader. Not going to continue this series and will stay far, far away from this author in the future.

Cover art by Jay’s Covers by Design. The cover is very pretty. It shows Shiki forlornly staring off into nothingness. The colours match beautifully and the Japanese character looks great too.

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

Book Details: 

eBook,Published June 24th 2015 by Wayward Ink Publishing
original title Strength To Let Go
ASIN B010EJQU8C
edition language English
series Tales of the Werewolf Tribes #1

 

Cover Reveal for Dream God (S-Gods #2) by J. Johanis (cover reveal and giveaway)

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Dream God (S-Gods #2) by J. Johanis
Release Date: November 30, 2015

Goodreads Link
Publisher: J. Johanis
Cover Artist: Indigo Forest Design

Sales Links: Amazon

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Blurb

For the first time in three years, Aya is finally free, but with his freedom comes the pain of all he’s lost. Seeing Akad and Marduk together makes him realize how badly he has messed up. By betraying Marduk, he ruined his chance with the one god he desires more than anything.

Aya needs time to heal and put his world back together, but the trial against the Order looms over him. As the trial begins, Akad, Marduk, and Aya are ensnared in a web of jealousy, backstabbing, and cut-throat politics. Were they crazy to think they could stand up to the Order? If the gods of the Order can still rip their lives apart, their chances of receiving justice may be next to impossible. But if they fail to bring the Order down, Aya may never be free from their grasp.

Content Advisory: M/M sex, polyamory, & dub-con.
Categories: Erotica, Fantasy, Gay Fiction, Ménage/Poly, Paranormal

About the Author

J. Johanis writes dark m/m erotic fantasy, and enjoys plots that are historical or myth-based.

Where to find the author:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000258007847
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/authorjjohanis?ref=hl
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JennaJohanis
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jennajohanis/
Website: http://jjohanis.com/
Google: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+JJohanis/posts:
Blog: http://sirensreckoning.blogspot.com/

 


Tour Dates & Stops:
Parker Williams, The Novel Approach, Havan Fellows, Happily Ever Chapter, Divine Magazine, Multitasking Mommas, Emotion in Motion, Love Bytes, TTC Books and More, My Fiction Nook, Rainbow Gold Reviews, Inked Rainbow Reads, BFD Book Blog, The Jena Wade, Bayou Book Junkie, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Molly Lolly, Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My, Amanda C. Stone, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Books A to Z, Nephy Hart, Dawn’s Reading Nook

Final

Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of book one in the series.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.
Rafflecopter Code:
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WillPride

More First Lines of Novels, Our M/M Fiction First Line Quiz and This Week At Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

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More First Lines of Novels,  Plus Our First Line M/M  Novels Quiz!

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People tend to disagree over what are the most favorite/best loved lines in literature, especially when compiling lists.  When scanning over a number of the Top Ten, the same lines and books appear over and over, but after that? It can get lively.

Sometimes the lists can surprise you, baffle you and delight you.  Here are some of the first lines I found on lists that dismayed, baffled and delighted the heck out of me, and yes, that one huge thing is one sentence.  Read it and weep for whatever emotion takes you and consider if they did their job…made you want to read the book.

What line dismayed me?   This first line found on multiple lists, which I still find dismal. Up to me, this book would have remained unread, even by that year’s standards.

“I was born in the Year 1632, in the City of York, of a good Family, tho’ not of that Country, my Father being a Foreigner of Bremen, who settled first at Hull; He got a good Estate by Merchandise, and leaving off his Trade, lived afterward at York, from whence he had married my Mother, whose Relations were named Robinson, a very good Family in that Country, and from whom I was called Robinson Kreutznaer; but by the usual Corruption of Words in England, we are now called, nay we call our selves, and write our Name Crusoe, and so my Companions always call’d me.” Robinson Crusoe (1719), Daniel Defoe

What baffled me? This one sentence, yes, one line opener.

“Once upon a time two or three weeks ago, a rather stubborn and determined middle-aged man decided to record for posterity, exactly as it happened, word by word and step by step, the story of another man for indeed what is great in man is that he is a bridge and not a goal, a somewhat paranoiac fellow unmarried, unattached, and quite irresponsible, who had decided to lock himself in a room a furnished room with a private bath, cooking facilities, a bed, a table, and at least one chair, in New York City, for a year 365 days to be precise, to write the story of another person—a shy young man about of 19 years old—who, after the war the Second World War, had come to America the land of opportunities from France under the sponsorship of his uncle—a journalist, fluent in five languages—who himself had come to America from Europe Poland it seems, though this was not clearly established sometime during the war after a series of rather gruesome adventures, and who, at the end of the war, wrote to the father his cousin by marriage of the young man whom he considered as a nephew, curious to know if he the father and his family had survived the German occupation, and indeed was deeply saddened to learn, in a letter from the young man—a long and touching letter written in English, not by the young man, however, who did not know a damn word of English, but by a good friend of his who had studied English in school—that his parents both his father and mother and his two sisters one older and the other younger than he had been deported they were Jewish to a German concentration camp Auschwitz probably and never returned, no doubt having been exterminated deliberately X * X * X * X, and that, therefore, the young man who was now an orphan, a displaced person, who, during the war, had managed to escape deportation by working very hard on a farm in Southern France, would be happy and grateful to be given the opportunity to come to America that great country he had heard so much about and yet knew so little about to start a new life, possibly go to school, learn a trade, and become a good, loyal citizen.”  — Raymond Federman, Double or Nothing, 1971

What delighted me? That I found these opening lines on a couple of lists.

“Where’s Papa going with that axe?” said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast. (E.B. White,Charlotte’s Web)

“When the car stopped rolling, Parker kicked out the windshield and crawled through onto the wrinkled hood, Glock first.” –Donald E. Westlake writing as Richard Stark, Backflash

The drought had lasted now for ten million years, and the reign of the terrible lizards had long since ended. –Arthur C. Clarke, 2001: A Space Odyssey

“Nobody ever walked across the bridge, not on a night like this.” –Mickey Spillane, One Lonely Night.

This little hunt so entertained me that I decided to compile a list of my own, with help from the rest of the reviewers here at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words.

We started to look for the first lines from some very popular M/M Romance/Fiction stories and we came up with what is sure to be the first of at least 3  Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words M/M Romance First Line Quizzes!

Look for the answers in next week’s Sunday’s post . How many, if any,do you think you will recognize?

 Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words M/M Romance First Line Quiz

In what m/m romance fiction books do these first lines appear?

  1.  “This is the way my world ends.”
  2. “Once upon a time…that’s how the old stories always begin.”
  3. “It was pouring when I walked outside to use the pay phone.”
  4. “He was on his third beer of the evening when he thought he heard a noise in the backyard.”
  5. “His elegantly decorated hospital room looked regal and stately, much like the man lying in the bed in the center of the room.”
  6. “I don’t disagree with you Mother, Clarissa is a very beautiful woman. “
  7. “I wish to buy a boy,” the stranger said.”
  8. “I would say that I never let harm come to him, but in this world harm comes to us all. “
  9. “At eight in the evening on a Friday, Roosevelt High School was dark and abandoned.”
  10. “The whole thing started because of Lizzy’s Jeep.”
  11. “Dad, I’m gay.”
  12. “This is not a coming-out story.”
  13. “He wore the navy suit because it was her favorite, the light blue shirt because when he looked down at his cuff, the slender line of color made him remember her eyes.”
  14. “The smell of cheap motel rooms was comforting to him, like his oldest, rattiest T-shirt.”

 

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This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

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Sunday, October 4:

  • More First Lines of Novels, Our M/M Fiction First Line Quiz and This Week At Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Monday, October 5:

  • Cover reveal for J. Johanis ‘Dream Gods’ (cover reveal and contest)
  • EE Montgomery ‘Just The Way You Are’ Keep Me In Mind Tour and Giveaway
  • Coffee Sip and Book Break:  Small Wonders by Courtney Lux (excerpt and giveaway)
  • A Stella Review: Blueberry Boys by Vanessa North
  • A Mika Review: Signs of Life by Melanie Hansen

Tuesday, October 6:

  • Book Spotlight: Dragon’s Eye by Lexi Ander (excerpt and giveaway)
  • Author Spotlight Special: Sloan Johnson  “Triple Play”-rescheduled for Oct 2oth
  • Coffee Sip and Book Break:  Roping Him In by Jena Wade (excerpt and giveaway)
  • A Free Dreamer Review: Strength To Let Go by Alina Popescu
  • A Barb, A Zany Old Lady Audio Review: Pura Vida by Sara Alva ~ Audiobook narrated by Joseph Northton

Wednesday, October 7:

  • Kate Pearce’s Tribute Series Returns with the Retribution Tour and Contest
  • Valerie Brundage ‘Another Creature’ book blast and contest
  • Coffee Sip and Book Break with Missy Welsh – Take Your Pick (excerpt and giveaway)
  • A Stella Review: Base Instinct by Larissa Ione
  • A PaulB review: Shades of Power by Beany Sparks

Thursday, October 8:

  • Grein Murray ‘Keeping Joshua’ book blast and giveaway
  • In the Book Spotlight: Purpose by Andrew Q Gordon (excerpt and contest)
  • A Jeri Review: Let The Wrong Light In by Avon Gale
  • A Free Dreamer Review: First Contact by Alex Gabriel
  • A Mika Review: Redeeming Hope by Shell Taylor

Friday, October 9:

  • Riptide Publishing’s 4th Anniversary Celebration Tour and Contest
  • Coffee Sip and Book Break with P.D. Singer ‘Otter Chaos’ (excerpt and giveaway)
  • A BJ Review: Winter: Haunted Heart #1 by Josh Lanyon
  • A Free Dreamer Review: To Catch A Threeve by Alexis Duran
  • A MelanieM Review: Where the Grass is Greener (Seeds of Tyrone #2) by Debbie McGowan and Raine O’Tierney

YA Saturday, October 10:

  • An Aurora YA Review: Mad About the Hatter by Dakota Chase

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Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Has the Answers You Want Next Sunday!

In the Meantime, grab up those old favorites, check out those first lines!  Can’t find the ones above? Ok, how about the ones you don’t need but find that are pretty cool? While you’re at it, write those down and submit them here to us at melaniem54@msn.com to use for our next quizzes.  You’ll never know when a  prize will pop up and you will have a least one line in the “know”.

A.F. Henley’s Taking Us Into the Wild & Supernatural with Wolf, WY (guest post, excerpt, and giveaway)

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Wolf, WY (Wolf #1)
by A.F. Henley

Publisher:  Less Than Three Press
Sales Link:  Less Than Three Press

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We are happy to have author A. F. Henley here today to talk about her latest novel, Wolf, WY, the first in a new series.  Welcome, A. F.!  Tell us a little about Wolf, WY or anything you want to tell us. 

 

 

The hardest thing (for me) about writing blog tour posts is the first few paragraphs of interaction. Should one be endearing? Excited? Analytical? I’ve tried a lot of different things along the way, but I’ve found that my favourite way of managing blog posts is to sit back in my chair and imagine the reader doing the same beside me. What would they ask me about the novel? What would I tell them back? I’ve often found the best thing I can do when discussing my novels is to turn the question back on the asker… What did you think?

Not really a fair question to spring on you guys, though is it? Considering the book doesn’t release for a couple of weeks, you would hardly be in a position to ask clear questions about the novel. So what I’ve decided to do with these posts is give you a sneak peek into the world and the characters that live between Wolf, WY’s beautiful cover. In exchange for your time, I’d like to offer you a chance to win a bunch of great prizes: a signed copy of Wolf, WY, a $20 LT3 gift certificate, and a cool Wind & Fire paw print bangle that will show the world just what you think of our furry four-legged friends. Be sure to read through to the end to find out how to participate.

But enough of me, let’s get to the point. In my last post I introduced you to Wolf, Wyoming as seen through the main character’s eyes using a “tiny teaser” directly from the book. Wolf isn’t the only community in the novel, however. Sheridan is a larger town approximately eighteen miles east of Wolf. For any of you that might have lived in a teeny-tiny community, think of it as the place where you’d head out to do your major grocery run or pick up gifts. Or, as Randy would think of it, the place you’ll head to when the folks are coming for a visit and cream of mushroom soup for dinner just won’t cut it…

So here’s a little sample of Sheridan, WY. Hope you enjoy your visit:

Tiny Teaser: Introducing – Sheridan, WY

There was a box of wine from the liquor store in his trunk, a bag of DVDs from the adjoining video/audio store (purchased, not rented, because not even God could guarantee when he’d make in back to the city), and sixty bucks’ worth of groceries from the Safeway. If nothing else he could eat, drink, and get lost in movies if—when—the weather flared back up.

The city was a mess of slush and snow piles. Elevated trucks with treads as deep as canyons grumbled by, their drivers staring down at Randy like he was driving something as foolish as a Corvette and not a bona fide 4×4 pickup. Brightly bundled kids made all manners of snow critters in postage-stamp-sized front yards while their parents shoveled their driveways clear. Snowmobiles tore up and down the side streets, whipping across the larger streets with a hope and a prayer when the way seemed clear of traffic and law enforcement. The entire city seemed to have become a land of winter worship. It was oddly uplifting, like stumbling across Santa’s workshop, except that it was well after Christmas and all the little elves had been allowed out to play. When Randy pulled into the parking lot of a diner, looked across the street, and saw two people vigorously scrubbing and hosing their snowmobiles at the Sudsy Bath Auto Wash, all he could do was shake his head over the coolness of it.

Wolf, WY Excerpt
© AF Henley, 2015

Blurb

Wolf, WY

There’s nothing like a fresh start, and for Randy, still nursing wounds left by a cheating ex and harboring a deep mistrust for all things corporate, Wolf, Wyoming seems like the perfect place to start over. Secluded, quiet, and self-sufficient, Wolf is bound to not only inspire, but to bring Randy the peace he needs. The view’s not bad, either.

Vaughn O’Connell and his family are Randy’s only neighbors for miles, and while Randy knows it’s somewhat unlikely that a man with three kids is gay, it doesn’t hurt to look. When a misunderstanding brings Randy face to face with both Vaughn and his eighteen year old son, Lyle, Randy’s not sure what to feel about either of them.

But things are not what they appear in Wolf, and the closer Randy gets, the stranger the O’Connell family seems…

Word Count: 70,000
Genre: Gay, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy
Notes: Wolf, WY contains some explicit content
Book 1 in the Wolf series

Wolf, WY BT Giveaway

The Giveaway

On behalf of the tour, please join the giveaway by taking part in the Rafflecopter below. The prize consists of a ‘Wind & Fire’ paw print charm bangle (a portion of the sales from this “Charms For Charity Bangle” goes directly to Guiding Eyes For The Blind), a $20 Gift Certificate to the Less Than Three Press book market (free books!), and a signed, print copy of Wolf, WY. For all the tiny-whiny terms and conditions, please check out the t’s and c’s posted on the Rafflecopter.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Link and prizes provided by the author and Less Than Three Press.

** Please note that this giveaway is being offered tour-wide and there will be one winner awarded for the entire event.

ENTER RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY HERE:

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A great big thanks to Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words for having me today… without sites like this these giveaways and promo opps would not be possible. I can never express my gratitude enough. And a huge thanks to you as well, my friends, for reading and joining me. Best of luck with the giveaway and I hope you enjoyed the post!

Until next time,

AF Henley ❤

AF Henley_Avatar cropped

About the Author

Henley was born with a full-blown passion for run-on sentences, a zealous indulgence in all words descriptive, and the endearing tendency to overuse punctuation. Since the early years Henley has been an enthusiastic writer, from the first few I-love-my-dog stories to the current leap into erotica. A self-professed Google genius, Henley lives for the hours spent digging through the Internet for ‘research purposes’ which, more often than not, lead seven thousand miles away from first intentions but bring Henley to new discoveries and ideas that, once seeded, tend to flourish.

Henley has been proudly publishing with Less Than Three Press since 2012, and has been writing like mad ever since—an indentured servant to the belief that romance and true love can mend the most broken soul. Even when presented in prose.

For more information please stop by for a visit at http://www.afhenley.com.

A Wynter Review: Kaminishi (Bittersweet Dreams) by Jan Suzukawa

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Kaminishi coverCollege student Michael Holden wakes up in an impossible reality: mid-nineteenth century Japan, face to face with Shinjaro Kaminishi, a living, breathing samurai warlord Michael has seen in a dream. Imprisoned by the warlord and interrogated about the future, Michael has no idea if what he’s experiencing is real… and then he finds himself back in present-day America.

Shinjaro’s commanding presence and smoldering sexuality draw Michael again and again to the past, where dangerous information is revealed and Shinjaro’s life is threatened. Through the mists of time and in the reality of modern Japan, Michael searches for the truth—and for the man who now owns his heart—Shinjaro Kaminishi.

It is a rare thing, coming across stories that blended the East and the West, even more so when stories take place in the past during a time period where such things weren’t ever heard of. So when I came across Kaminishi and its blurb, I was fascinated. Modern day America crossing with Samurai Japan. Two worlds with ideals as far apart from one another as it could be. I was interested in how the author handled the historical elements in her story and the conflict that was sure to come about.

The story had a great start. The premise was familiar – time travel. Suzukawa did a good job describing the mannerisms of her characters in such a way that I could hear the characters’ voices differently for each one, and I found myself liking our two MCs – Michael Holden and Shinjirō Kaminishi from the get-go. After chapter five, however, the journey started feeling long despite the history being enlightening. I think it was great that the author included as much of her research into her novel as she did and tried to show through Michael just how much of a culture-and-time-period-shock any one of us would experience if we were to find ourselves in Michael’s shoes. However, one of the hardest things about writing history or working within it was preventing it from becoming as dry as a history textbook. This wasn’t quite there, but it ventured pretty close in some parts.

This story made me think of the setting in The Last Samurai (movie edition), and straight from the introduction of Shinjirō, I read his character with the voice of Ken Watanabe, which just sent all manners of thrills for me through the intimate parts, I might add. The differences lie in that The Last Samurai takes place during the Meiji Period whereas this novel takes place during the Edo Period (with 20 years between them during which the Bakumatsu took place for about 15 of those years).

As I mentioned before, the story did drag through some parts, but it was also easy to follow and guess where the author was taking it. The context of the story, if one understood the history and how the way of the samurai operated, prevented this story from having a Happily-Ever-After (HEA) or a Happily-For-Now (HFN) ending. At least, that was my expectations as I read along.

I hadn’t realized that this novel came with 2 books, silly me. There wasn’t a table of contents, and the author never actually used any version of “the end” to tell where the story may have ended. So when I came upon the last page of Book 1, I thought the story was over, and that “final” chapter left me intrigued. I read there was supposed to be a sequel to this novel, and I figured Jan Suzukawa was going to write the journey of our characters finding each other in that book with the hope that there may be a happy ending there.

It made me think “Book 2” of the novel was an excerpt for the next novel. So when I realized there were a few more chapters to the story, I finished reading it and walked away with the feeling of disappointment. Book 2 stripped that sense of intrigue and build up I finally got at the final chapter of Book 1. It covered too much all at once, but it did give the men a happy ending of sorts.

I feel that Book 2 had the potential to be its own novel, and a very good one at that.

Some will love the story. Others will not. Whichever is the case, I think the story is worth reading. Despite some shortfalls, it managed to keep my attention though many parts. I do feel it necessary to inform readers that there are dark parts to this story involving suicide and beheading as per the custom of a time period, as well as an event that involved rape.

Give it a chance. Pick it up. It’s a stand alone if you don’t like it and choose not to continue.

The cover art was illustrated by Anne Cain (annecain.art@gmail.com). I think the simplicity in it and drawing it to resemble Japanese manga/Japanese art actually caught my attention faster than a more modern approach.

Personally, I think having a reference to how the characters looks like right there on the cover makes the book even more intriguing from the start. A samurai in the background paired with a modern looking man.

It seems to beg the question, “What’s their story?”

Sales Links:  DSP Publications | Amazon | Buy It Here

Book Details:

  • Author: Jan Suzukawa
  • Length: paperback, 270 pages
  • Language: English
  • Series: Bittersweet Dreams
  • Published: 1st edition published by Dreamspinner Press, 2011; 2nd edition September 2015
  • ISBN-13: 9781615818501
  • Digital ISBN: 978-1-63476-111-6
  • ISBN: 1615818502

In the Paranormal Spotlight: Annabelle Jacobs’ The Altered 3 (excerpt and giveaway)

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The Altered 3 by Annabelle Jacobs
Release Date: October 1, 2015

Goodreads Link 
Publisher: Annabelle Jacobs
Cover Artist: Natasha Snow

Sales Links:  Amazon | Amazon UK | All Romance (ARe) | Smashwords

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Blurb

Matt is a single shifter living in a house full of couples. It’s not that he begrudges his friends their happiness—especially after everything they’ve been through—but he wants someone for himself. He wants a mate. Living out in the Cornish countryside there seems little chance of him finding one.

Thomas’s life has recently been changed for ever. Newly altered, he finds himself in danger as his mother, a prominent politician, works to put a stop to the mistreatment of altereds and bring those responsible to justice.

To keep him safe, Thomas is sent to Cornwall where Matt and his friends offer him refuge until he can return to his home in London. Despite the circumstances surrounding his arrival, Thomas and Matt bond in a way neither of them were expecting. They struggle to come to terms with what this might mean for their future once the threat is eliminated.
Pages or Words: 58,000 words (approximate)

Categories: Alternate universe, Fantasy, Fiction, M/M Romance, Paranormal

Excerpt

“Daniel?” He strained to hear anything but the whole farmhouse seemed quiet. His senses were a little overwhelmed after being effectively dampened for the last three hours, but after thirty seconds or so he could hear the tread of footsteps outside and a car approaching the farmhouse.
Jordan’s black Volkswagen T5 pulled up onto the gravel drive at the same time as Matt opened the kitchen door. Daniel walked over to meet him as he got out of the van, holding his phone out for Jordan to see. Whatever was on there had Jordan tensing up immediately.
“What’s wrong?” Matt called out, making Daniel jump, but Jordan didn’t even flinch already fully aware of his presence. He walked over to them, and looked pointedly at Daniel.
Daniel motioned for Jordan to give him his phone back and handed it straight over to Matt. “I got an email from Shaw.”
It took Matt a good few seconds to recognise the name. And when he did, his chest tightened at the memories it invoked. It wasn’t that anyone had forgotten what happened at the facility, but it wasn’t exactly a popular topic of conversation either. Shaw, along with Ash and a Dr Adams, had been injected with the serum by Chambers and had ended up a partial altered. Whatever he had to say, Matt doubted it would be anything good.
The email was short and to the point. Shaw hadn’t bothered with pleasantries, and Matt felt oddly pleased by that. They weren’t friends, and he was glad no one pretended otherwise. He read it again to make sure he hadn’t missed anything and handed the phone back to Daniel.
“So.” Matt glanced up at the sky, knowing their peaceful existence was about to change. But he asked the question anyway. “Are we going to take them?”

RC

Meet the Author

Annabelle Jacobs lives in the South West of England with her husband, three rowdy children, and two cats.
An avid reader of fantasy herself for many years, Annabelle now spends her days writing her own stories. They’re usually either fantasy or paranormal fiction, because she loves building worlds filled with magical creatures, and creating stories full of action and adventure. Her characters may have a tough time of it—fighting enemies and adversity—but they always find love in the end.

Where to find the author:

Twitter – https://twitter.com/AJacobs_fiction
Website – www.annabellejacobs.com
Email – ajacobsfiction@gmail.com
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/ajacobsfiction
Facebook Author page

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Tour Dates & Stops:

Parker Williams, Havan Fellows, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Jessie G. Books, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Carly’s Book Reviews, Happily Ever Chapter, Bike Book Reviews, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, MM Good Book Reviews, BFD Book Blog, 3 Chicks After Dark, The Jena Wade, Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My, Molly Lolly, The Jena Wade, Inked Rainbow Reads, Dawn’s Reading Nook, Wake Up Your Wild Side, Three Books Over The Rainbow, Iyana Jenna, The Fuzzy, Fluffy World of Chris T. Kat, Divine Magazine, Mikky’s World of Books, Sinfully Addicted to All Male Romance, Rainbow Gold Reviews

Final

Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: Book from Annabelle’s backlist and $10 Amazon gift card.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.
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A MelanieM Review: Flax’s Pursuit (AURA Series #2) by Angel Martinez and Bellora Quinn

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Flax's Pursuit coverA murderer haunts the city, turning the unwary to stone. Between hunting this evil and corralling new arrivals, Flax struggles to guard both his life and his heart.

Quinn and Valerian have come through the trials of facing an undead lich queen and the perils of falling in love. Now they work to restore AURA to its previous strength and efficiency while navigating their new life with each other. Fortunately, they’re not in this alone.

Kai Hiltas has taken over as the head of the research department at AURA and has become everyone’s favourite workaholic, everyone except his lover Tenzin, who has had enough of his late nights and broken promises. As Kai tries to salvage his relationship, he finds a teacher for Quinn, who also happens to be one of Valerian’s new officers, Flax Wolfheart, a sexy elf with trouble written all over him.

Flax has motives beyond simply teaching Quinn to control his magic. He’s trying to recover from his own losses and failures, but he has a plan. The two newest elvish crossovers, Ash and Sage, are sizzling hot and might even like him. With them as backup as he tracks a deadly stone mage and figures out how to teach Quinn, Flax sees his chance to impress Val and snag a place by his captain’s side. On the hunt for both danger and redemption, Flax’s pursuit leads him ultimately down trails he never expected.

Angel Martinez and Bellora Quinn’s AURA series continue’s its marvelous saga with Flax’s Pursuit.  The world has been made unstable by a magical explosion, causing tears in the fabrics of the universe to heartbreaking effect.  Beings are snatched from their worlds without notice, torn from their worlds, loved ones, family and all things familiar, and sent tumbling into the human one often with the worst repercussions you could imagine.  A mermaid falls through a tear in the fabric, appears over the Mojave desert, despairs and commits suicide, all without ever knowing why.  For others, the death is slower, achieved through addiction or other means of self destruction when the idea of never being able to return home becomes unbearable.

Martinez and Quinn bring not only this new world in a constant state of flux to vivid life but makes it carry with it the aroma of misery, shock, and depression that surrounds those who are unable to adjust to their new circumstances.  Magic has returned everywhere and people now aren’t quite sure how that is going to affect the things or beings around them. I love that these authors have a whole world and any number of mythologies to pull from when gathering ingredients for these stories.  You never know what type of being or universe the authors will pull from when the next “event” occurs to bring another creature into the human world.  It creates a level of  suspense that rolls over from moment to moment throughout the story, a anticipatory narrative note that helps to make each tale sing with surprise, delight and sometimes sorrow.

Val and Quinn return from the first story.  In fact, its Quinn’s wild powers and a need for control that bring Flax into the picture.  Quinn needs a teacher and Kai Hiltas has determined that the elf Flax is the one to teach him, willing or not, mostly not.  Flax is one of those who has not adjusted well to life within human laws or society, nor does he find human Quinn particularly suitable for the majestic Val.  Flax reeks of unhappiness and arrogance, never a good combination but the authors also make us taste the bitterness of life as he sees it.  The stench of the air pollution, or the smell from the garbage in the alleys, all an anathema to a woods elf who remember the purity of the life he can never  return to.

Then two  more elves fall into the city, taken from their lives and world mid battle. The manner in which these two will complicate everyone’s lives is lively, layered, semi-sweet, and ultimately satisfying.  At one point it looked as though the authors were taking it (the m/m/m relationship) in one direction, but didn’t.  But it was the way the story line flowed in that direction, the reasons and emotions behind  the plot twists that swirled, eddied and then moved on, and felt so natural doing so, was just one more narrative gift from Martinez and Quinn.  It was right in very aspect of the story and relationships.  Yes, this is a m/m/m but there are cultural reasons behind it.  It feels natural and in many respects, healing.  And so damn sexy.

Another moving aspect of  this story?  The murders and the culprits behind them.  For every evil, there is an explanation and accompanying pain, a blackness you can watch grey out with understanding by the end of the storyline.  That happens here.  That’s really another of the facets about this story that I love, one that the authors both bring to the story and series.  A sense of depth, an openness of attitude towards all sorts of beings…drows…yetis…trolls…there is something good in every being if you look for it. I wonder what or who  will fall to earth next?

There is a secondary love story between Kai and his yeti lover, in fact there are all manner of relationships or would-be relationships going on here at AURA headquarters.  I can’t wait to see who is up next.  This is one amazing series.  It has heroes of every variety, it has quests both small and large,  personal and for all beings involved.  It has first loves, established partnerships teetering, and lost loves mourned.  It really has it all.  Grab them up and get started today.  This is a series you won’t want to miss.

Cover artist Posh Gosh does a nice job with adding the ears and with the characters, especially as one is so young in age.

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

Book Details:

ebook
Published June 16th 2015 by Totally Bound Publishing
ISBN139781784306229
edition language English
url https://www.totallybound.com/flaxs-pursuit
series AURA Series #2

AURA Series

AURA, the Agency of Unnatural Resettlement and Assimilation: it’s a weird job, but somebody’s got to do it.
A magical catastrophe tears the fabric of reality, causing unpredictable holes between worlds through which anything might fall—elves, centaurs, trolls, yeti. The brave officers and employees of AURA struggle daily to help the lost and injured, and contain the irretrievably violent while their research staff scramble to find a way to reverse the effect.
Anything can and does pop through into the human world, sometimes with disastrous and deadly results. It’s a race against time to see if the AURA mages can repair reality and stop the inter-dimensional flood before something crosses over that proves strong enough to destroy the world.

Quinn’s Gambit (AURA, #1)
Flax’s Pursuit (Aura #2)