Category: M/M Romance

Audio Release Blitz and Giveaway for Road Of No Return (Sex and Mayhem series) by K.A. Merikan and Wyatt Baker (Narrator)

 

Buy Links: Audible US | Audible UK | Amazon US | Amazon UK
 
Length: 11hrs 30mins
 
Narrated by: Wyatt Baker
 
Cover Design: Natasha Snow
 
Blurb
 

Don’t talk to strangers.


Zak: Tattoo artist. Independent. Doesn’t do relationships.


Stitch: Outlaw biker. Deep in the closet. Doesn’t share his property.


On the day of Stitch’s divorce, lust personified enters the biker bar he’s celebrating at. Tattooed all over, pierced, confident, and hot as hellfire, Zak is the bone Stitch has waited for life to throw him. All Stitch wants is a sniff, a taste, a lick. What follows instead is gluttony of the most carnal sort, and nothing will ever be the same. Forced to hide his new love affair from the whole world, Stitch juggles family, club life, and crime, but it’s only a matter of time until it becomes too hard.


Zak moves to Lake Valley in search of peace and quiet, but when he puts his hand into the jaws of a Hound of Valhalla, life gets all but simple. In order to be with Stitch, Zak’s biker wet dream, he has to crawl right back into the closet. As heated as the relationship is, the secrets, the hiding, the violence, jealousy, and conservative attitudes in the town rub Zak in all the wrong ways. When pretending he doesn’t know what his man does becomes impossible, Zak needs to decide if life with an outlaw biker is really what he wants.


As club life and the love affair collide, all that’s left in Zak and Stitch’s life is mayhem.


Warning: Contains adult content – a gritty storyline, explicit language, violence, and torture

K. A. Merikan is the pen name for Kat and Agnes Merikan, a team of writers, who are taken for sisters with surprising regularity. Kat’s the mean sergeant and survival specialist of the duo, never hesitating to kick Agnes’s ass when she’s slacking off. Her memory works like an easy-access catalogue, which allows her to keep up with both book details and social media. Also works as the emergency GPS. Agnes is the Merikan nitpicker, usually found busy with formatting and research. Her attention tends to be scattered, and despite pushing thirty, she needs to apply makeup to buy alcohol. Self-proclaimed queen of the roads.


They love the weird and wonderful, stepping out of the box, and bending stereotypes both in life and books. When you pick up a Merikan book, there’s one thing you can be sure of – it will be full of surprises.


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A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review : See the Light by Kate McMurray

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

I really enjoyed this story.  Kate McMurray has a way of creating characters that are memorable—not because they are perfect, but because they are flawed. 

In this instance, Jeremy and his best friend, Max, grew up in New Jersey and took advantage of their proximity to Broadway to indulge in their favorite activity—going to musicals. Actually, Max’s favorite activity was watching Jeremy enjoy the shows.  His beautiful face would light up and he’d become entranced with the action, while Max enjoyed the side benefit of his best friend’s pleasure. And Jeremy could sing and dance so added to his good looks, they both knew he’d be Broadway bound as soon as they were done with school.  And Max? Max honed his art talent, and when it appeared he could apply his talent with a brush to makeup as well as paint, he began to uses his face, and then others in school play productions (including Jeremy’s) as his canvas.

They’re now in their late twenties, Jeremy’s boyfriend has dumped him and kicked him out of his apartment, and so he comes knocking on Max’s door looking for a place to stay.  And even though Max took his own apartment years ago because he loved Jeremy with all his heart, and he knows it’s a bad idea to be so close to him without revealing his secret, he gives in and Jeremy moves to his couch. For a while…until he ends up in Max’s bed.  And Max wants him there. He finally tells Jeremy just how much he loves him, but then doubts himself and worries that if Jeremy can’t return his love, they’ll lose what they have as best friends.  And that would kill Max.  So just as Jeremy lands the lead role on a new Broadway show—his chance of a lifetime—and Max gets the contract to do the makeup for that same show and another huge production, Max asks for a cooling off period and sends them both into chaos.

And that’s when the angst kicked in.  For me, it was too much angst for too long.  Yes, we learn that Max suffers from depression and has lower self-esteem than seems warranted by what we learn of him, but the period of separation and anxiety and self-induced angst that then carried over to Jeremy at a time when he should have been on top of the world made me start to really dislike Max. And that’s too bad because he was a well-developed character.  Perhaps that was the point the author wanted to make. Those who suffer from depression sometimes scuttle their own boat. I’ve seen it in my family.  He should have been (blank) and he should have done (blank). Shoulda, coulda, woulda.  But he nearly tanked them. 

What saved the day is this young man, who knows now that he’s in love with his best friend, has been for a while though didn’t realize it until recently, who’s now at the pinnacle of his career because he kept trying, and dreaming, and hoping, and working toward his goal.  And when he stops to think about it, he realizes he can’t give up on Max.  He takes all his positive energy and focuses on the show and on being there when Max finally comes down from his anxiety ladder and sees the light.  Pun intended. 

So I loved the beginning, didn’t care for the level of tummy-turning angst in the middle, but from Chapter Twenty to the end, I couldn’t put the book down.   I was there at the premiere, sitting in the front row as Jeremy stood alone in the spotlight and belted out the first notes to the song. This is most definitely a love story and if you’ve ever gone to a Broadway play or sang out loud with Streisand or Minelli, this book is for you. 

Cover art is light and bright and eye catching.

Sales Links:  Carina Press | Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition
Expected publication: January 28th 2019 by Carina Press
ASIN B07GB9Q512
Edition Language English

Release Blitz – – Acts Of Service by Jessie Pinkham (excerpt and giveaway)

 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | JMS Books
 
Length: 22,000 words approx.
 
Publisher: JMS Books
 
Blurb
 

Tom can’t catch a break when it comes to his love life. He’s not good with romance, as his exes told him in uncharitable terms, and he’s starting to wonder if there’s something wrong with him. So when he finds himself attracted to his temporary roommate, he’s afraid of being called inadequate all over again.


Alex has serious anxiety which make his life a challenge and his dating prospects slim to nonexistent. He assumes Tom isn’t interested in him because men never are. It’s a pleasant surprise to start a friends with benefits relationship, so Alex goes out on a limb in an attempt to impress Tom. When it backfires spectacularly, he thinks all hope is lost.


Both men are held back by past rejections. Will a minor crisis bring them together … or tear them apart?


Excerpt


This is undoubtedly the stupidest thing I’ve ever done to impress a guy.


“Go ahead, start it up,” said Tom.


Alex took a deep breath and turned the key. Tom’s truck roared to life. No such luck as a fortuitously-timed engine malfunction. Though he shouldn’t think such things, as Tom was only being nice and wishing expensive repairs on him was hardly fair.


He looked around trepidatiously. The parking lot really was almost deserted, with only a few vehicles parked and those much closer to the doors. He wondered what role those people played in the postal service that required them to work on Sundays, then realized the line of thought was just a mental delay.


“You’re not going to cause any damage,” said Tom. If he was impatient, it didn’t come across in his voice.


“Your brakes are in good order, right?”


“Yes. The truck just passed inspection last month with no problems at all.”


It was a valiant attempt to make Alex feel better, and he appreciated the intent even though it failed.


The brake pedal went down smoothly under his foot. Such a small little piece of metal, and it could be a matter of life or death. Did people who worked at brake factories realize how much trust was being placed in them every single day?


Once he had that all-important device pressed firmly against the floor, he reached for the gear shift. The first notch down put the truck in neutral, the second in drive.


“Now ease up on the brake,” Tom said, remarkably cavalier about putting his safety, not to mention his vehicle, in the hands of a man who couldn’t drive.


Nothing happened when he lightened his touch on the brake as instructed. Maybe it was a sign. Alex had never believed in such things, but he was willing to consider the possibility.


“Wow, you had it stomped all the way down, huh? Okay, let it go. Take your time so you’re comfortable.”


As if that will ever happen.


“How about less terrified? I believe in setting realistic goals.”


“Sure. Whatever works. Just remember, there’s nobody around us, so you can’t do much damage.”


“I could drive into a light pole,” countered Alex, not because he was trying to be ornery, but suddenly concerned about damaging Tom’s truck. Those poles were stuck into cement, a material not known for being kind to vehicles.


“I’m not worried.”


Well, that made one of them. Alex eased up on the brake a bit more, but nothing happened aside from a vague sense of power waiting to be unleashed, though that could have been his imagination.


“Good,” said Tom. “Now give it some gas.”


If I crash into a light pole, he can’t say I didn’t warn him.


Of course he knew the truck was an inanimate object and thus had no feelings. All the same, it seemed as though the massive beast was eager to move, and it lurched forward when he pressed on the gas pedal just the slightest bit. He wasted no time in going back to the nice, safe brake.


“Not bad. Try again, and let it go a little more.”


Alex tried to ignore the churning in his stomach and nervous sweat rolling down the back of his neck, and he depressed the gas pedal again.


This time, the truck moved a good six feet forward before he threw down the brake. The parking lot was beginning to spin around him, something which hadn’t happened in years, and suddenly the truck’s ventilation system seemed entirely insufficient.


“That was good,” said Tom. “A little jerky on the brake, but with practice …”


He was still talking, but Alex didn’t hear a word because he was trying to get his traitorous body to obey him for once. It wasn’t working.


Five years since he’d last had a panic attack, half a decade, and he recognized the oncoming storm as though it had been five days. His heart raced, he struggled to breath, and if he’d eaten recently he’d probably be on the verge of throwing up. Most of all, the whole world raged around him, out of his control while he couldn’t even manage his own physiological response to stress.


Never mind driving, at this point he’d have happily settled for not breaking down in front of Tom, but he knew it was too late for that. Once a panic attack started, there was no cutting it off.


So much for making a good impression.

Some kids have imaginary friends. Not content with that, I dreamed up an imaginary village, and I never stopped, though these days my stories feature a lot more hot men.



I love a rich fictional universe as much as a happy ending, and I have a tendency to get so lost in worlds of my own creation that I have to rush out at the door the last minute in a panic, desperately hoping I don’t hit too many red lights.


Other ways to describe me: avid reader; chocoholic; historian; sci-fi geek; proud New Englander; koala lover; travel enthusiast.


Author Links:


Website: https://www.jessiepinkham.net/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JessiePinkhambooks/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16835564.Jessie_Pinkham

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A Jeri Review: Shane and Trey (Enemies to Lovers #1) by Anyta Sunday

Rating: 2.5  stars out of 5

Sorry, this was just a weak story. Boy falls for his sister’s boyfriend. I’ve read that, it’s a decent trope. Sister’s boyfriend turns out to be gay. Ok, I’ll go with it. They are paired up as roommates in college and almost immediately fall into a relationship. Blah.
First, the book started out with Shane and his twin sister June being best friends who would do anything for each other. Guess what, even though they broke up, he shouldn’t have hooked up with her ex.
Second, June is upset but “understands”? Nope.
After they got together, it just turned so sappy. There was a whole spin off story with one of Shane’s friends and his boyfriend and then his father. Trey has some big family secret (although, pretty easy to suss out), and they are “away” at college in dorm rooms but are only 30 minutes from home?
. They were so cutesy. And they seemed to know exactly what to do with each other even though neither had any experience. Where was the awkward? It was all just kind of a mess for me
Book Details:
Kindle Edition, 232 pages
Published January 2nd 2014 (first published January 2nd 2012)
Original Title Shane and Trey
ASIN B0070FDJPG
Edition Language English
Series Enemies to Lovers #1

A Stella Review: Living on the Inside by Londra Laine

RATING 3,5 out of 5 stars

Micah Grayson lives in his baby mama’s guesthouse. It’s unconventional and awkward, but he’s happy for a chance to reconnect with his teenage son. He doesn’t have time for other distractions—no matter how sexy, independent, and compassionate that distraction might be. Besides, he’s not good enough for more than a fling—no one would ever take him home to meet their parents.

Adrien Darling has book smarts, but no street savvy—at least that’s what his family says. And after a heart-breaking betrayal by the man meant to love and protect him, Adrien believes them. But then a gorgeous guy with a defeated look in his eyes walks into Adrien’s coffee shop and makes him want to take a chance.

After years of living on the outside as two misfits looking in, both men are afraid to reach for more. But in each other’s arms, Micah and Adrien find out what it’s like to live on the inside. As their tender bond grows and blossoms, old insecurities bubble to the surface. Will their commitment crumble under the pressure? Or will the two find the strength to fight for each other.

***Please be aware that this book contains a flashback of and several references to domestic abuse that may be triggering to some readers.***

This is the first book I read by Londra Laine. I have to say I particularly liked the writing style, I found it really easy to read, quick, no once I had to come back and reread a sentence. For my still WIP English, this fluency was a huge bonus.

I appreciated  the MCs took their time to know each otehr, they became friends first, although the strong attraction, Adrien and Micah waited to act on it. Cause their pasts were too bulky to be easily ignored. But the connection between them was real and clear, it was in their eyes, words and touches from the first time they met. I felt their feelings and I saw the hurts in their souls.

I loved all the secondary characters, they were well defined as the MCs, each of them was neat and passionate. Especially their families were supportive and protective, caring and hospitable.

The only reason why I didn’t give the book an higher rating was due to the last part, I think it could have been avoided and something more special and different could have been created. It was really too boring and already seen to break the MCs relationship in nothing. 

Still Living on the Inside was a lovely surprise and I will definitely read more by this author.

The cover art by Resplendent Media is very well done and most of all fitting, I like it a lot.

Sales Links:   Amazon

BOOK DETAILS

Kindle Edition, 1st edition

Expected publication: January 29th 2019 by Independent

ASIN B07MJ3V2Y8

Edition Language English

An Alisa Review: Gargoyle’s Embrace (Polar Nights #3) by Siryn Sueng

Rating:  3 stars out of 5

The mysteries that are building in the deep snows of Tromsø seem to never end—including how Auren knows a certain incubus, and perhaps the reason why the fae have come so far north…

 

As the owner of a high-profile exotics bar for the supernatural, Krystalf is used to attention. Being the son of wealthy and powerful parents and a formidable second-tier mage himself, Krystalf is also used to being the target of petty humans looking for a healthy ransom. Luckily, his life in Tromsø, Norway is usually quite peaceful.

Then…the fae arrived. After a brutal attack, Krystalf is left shaken as he witnesses for the first time how powerful they are. And at how helpless he truly is against them.

For the devilishly-handsome Auren, a gargoyle from Cara, Egypt, finding his mate was the last thing on his mind.  He’s been painstakingly hunting the host of fae who attacked his home. That hunt leads him straight to the arms—and heart—of the mysterious mage, Krystalf. Yet, more questions than answers arise once Auren sets foot in Tromsø.  Questions regarding how Auren knows a certain incubus—and perhaps the reason why the fae have come so far north…

This is still an interesting world though I continue to have trouble understanding how mating works.  Krystalf is lucky that Auren had been tracking the fae that attacked him.

I am having trouble remembering parts of the last books but I don’t think it affected my understanding of this book but as I said before I am still having trouble understanding how the mating really works.  The main focus of this book was the fae and they brought in the others from the previous books.  It is extremely hard to connect with the characters because they all seem to keep everything to themselves unless it’s necessary to divulge it.

The cover art is great and follows the style for the series.

Sales Links: Amazon | B&N

Book Details:

ebook, 75 pages

Published: November 20, 2018 by Deep Desires Press

Edition Language: English

Series: Polar Nights #3

Blog Tour for A World Apart(Loving Again #1) by Mel Gough (excerpt)

LOVING AGAIN SERIES BLOG TOUR

January 25, 2019 – A World Apart

February 22, 2019 – A New Life

March 22, 2019 – A Broken Promise

NEW RELEASE

Book Title: A World Apart (Loving Again Series, Book 1)

Author: Mel Gough

Publisher: Self-published

Cover Artist: Black Jazz Design

Genre/s: Contemporary romance

Heat Rating: 4 flames

Length: 51 000 words/197 pages

Release Date: January 25, 2019

The first book in a series of three, but can be read as standalone.

Add on Goodreads

Blurb

Ben’s life appears perfect. He has a career to shine in and a beautiful family. But his marriage has broken down, and being a small-town cop is turning into a dead-end job.

Hot-headed troublemaker Donnie is used to being side-eyed by the fuzz. Getting dragged into the station for a crime he didn’t commit is no big surprise – but a cop who gives a damn sure is.

Ben has no clue how much a second encounter with the secretive redneck will shake up his life. Donnie’s sullen vulnerability arouses a passion Ben hasn’t felt for a long time. Soon, nothing matters but helping Donnie fight his demons. Can they carve a new life together out of the ashes?

Buy Links

Universal Amazon Link

Amazon US 

Amazon UK 

Excerpt 

From Chapter One

“WHAT HAVE WE got, Lou?” Ben asked the gray-haired desk clerk at Corinth Police Department. He glanced at a handcuffed man who sat on a nearby bench, staring down at the scuffed linoleum floor. The man’s dark hair was disheveled, falling low over his forehead and brushing his long eyelashes as his eyes flicked up at Ben. He looked to be in his mid-twenties. One knee jiggled with nerves, and his jaw worked as if he was biting the inside of his mouth over and over. His dark blue eyes were mistrustful, almost pained.

“That guy was driving the vehicle involved in the hit-and-run yesterday,” Lou said. “Browne and O’Donnell brought him in. They’re with the captain.”

Just that moment, the door to the inner sanctum of the station opened, and Jason Browne strode out of Captain Buckley’s office. The sleeves of his uniform were rolled up as usual, to show off his muscular, tanned arms.

“How was court, brother?” Jason sounded cheerful, but his gray eyes were cold. In Ben’s partner and best friend since high school, that was never a good combination. Ben gave Jason a long look, then shrugged.

“As expected.” He didn’t want to think about the peculiar effect Mr. Abbott’s words had had on him, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to discuss it in front of a suspect, or Lou.

“You missed all the excitement.” Jason gestured toward the handcuffed man, who had his gazed directed at the floor again. “Saunders here knows some pretty colorful language, and he was none too happy to accompany us, neither.”

“Hence the handcuffs?” Ben asked, his tone dry.

Jason nodded, smirking.

“Wasn’t me that hit that kid,” Saunders muttered, his dark voice shaking with suppressed anger. “Told y’all I wasn’t in town.”

Jason sighed, folding his arms across his chest with exaggerated impatience. “And I told you this: We got witnesses placing you at the scene, smart-ass. It’s your word against theirs. Who’re we gonna believe, some deadbeat, or the boy’s mother?”

Ben frowned at his partner. They had been in the radio car on their usual route the day before when the call about a hit-and-run near Corinth High had come over dispatch. O’Donnell and Myers, the department’s other two sergeants, had been closest and responded to the call. Last night, back at the station, O’Donnell had told them that the boy had a broken leg from being flung off his bike, but that he would undoubtedly survive. There really was no need for Jason to be so aggressive about the issue.

Saunders sat up straight on the bench, glaring at Jason. “It wasn’t me! Why’re you not listening?” His eyes were wide with fury.

Ben, knowing Jason’s thought processes and impulses almost as well as his own, stepped in his partner’s way. Gaze fixed on his friend, he said loud enough for Lou and any bystanders to hear, “Why don’t you and I take Mr. Saunders through to the interrogation room for a statement?” He put special emphasis on the last words, hoping Jason would get his meaning: Anything other than a polite request for an official statement from the suspect would be out of order at this point.

Taking Jason’s reluctant jerk of the head as assent, Ben turned around, intending to escort Saunders to the interrogation room. But as soon as his back was turned, Jason stepped nimbly around him and grabbed the man hard by the upper arm.

Saunders flinched, but Jason’s grip on him was like a vise. Saunders’s eyes met Ben’s, and there was pure animal fear in them, as well as something Ben couldn’t quite place. Anguish, perhaps?

He stepped up close behind Jason. “If you dislocate his shoulder there’ll be an awful lot of paperwork to fill in for both of us, brother.” Ben kept his voice quiet and even, but Jason knew him well enough to detect the steely undertone. After a moment, Jason huffed, then let go of Saunders and took a step back. There were finger-shaped marks on Saunders’s bicep, just below the rolled-up sleeve.

Now Ben stepped forward, and Saunders looked at him. His breath still came fast, but the fear began to fade from the indigo blue eyes.

Ben motioned at Saunders to stand, then pointed down the corridor. “Would you come this way, please?”

Good cop, bad cop. Ben hated playing this game, but Jason had left him no choice. Saunders got up. He was no taller than Ben, who just about scraped five foot nine. Jason towered over them both, still glowering. Saunders gave him a quick, disgusted look, then preceded Ben down the dreary-gray hallway, handcuffed arms held stiffly behind him. His narrow back was tense, the shoulders hunched.

At the door to the interrogation room, Ben let Jason draw ahead. He followed the two men inside and closed the door. Jason approached Saunders, who had backed up against the one-way mirror.

“Turn around,” Jason growled.

Saunders ignored him and stared straight at the bottle-green linoleum floor. Ben spoke before Jason could get angry again. “Sir, the sergeant will move the handcuffs to the front so you can sit down more comfortably.” The eyes that met Ben’s were still full of mistrust, but after a moment, they softened and Saunders turned around.

“Sit,” Jason said when he had shackled Saunders’s arms again in the front. Saunders flopped into the single chair on one side of the square floor-bolted table. Ben and Jason took the two chairs opposite.

Leaning forward, Ben waited until he had the suspect’s attention. “Do you mind if we record this conversation?”

“You’re arresting me?” The narrow blue eyes were suspicious again, but Saunders sounded more wary than belligerent. And he ignored Jason, his gaze never wavering from Ben.

“No, we’re not,” Ben said in an even tone. “But having a record of what we talk about will aid your cause.”

Saunders chewed this over, trying to decide whether Ben told the truth. Eventually he gave a small shrug.

“Sir,” Ben said. “Please state for the protocol: Do you mind if we record this conversation?” Forcing the police procedural on this man was distressing. The tension vibrating off him made Ben wince. Saunders gave him a pained look.

“Go ahead.”

Jason pressed the digital recorder button on the small panel in the tabletop to his right. But it was Ben who spoke again. When they interrogated a suspect together, Ben usually started off the interview. His milder, calmer demeanor tended to relax the atmosphere better than Jason’s hot temper. For now, Jason seemed to have gotten all his anger out by playing scary cop in front of Lou and sat back in his chair without interrupting.

“Statement protocol, September twenty-second, eleven forty-five a.m. Officers present: Sergeant Ben Griers and Sergeant Jason Browne.” Ben nodded at the suspect. “Please state your full name for the record, sir.”

“Donnie Saunders.” The man’s voice was quiet, and he sounded tired.

Ben waited for Saunders to look at him again, and nodded his thanks. Then he glanced at Jason, eyebrows raised, reminding his partner with his most level stare to act appropriately. “Officer Browne will now ask you a few questions.”

“All right,” Jason said. Ben took this as the opening of the interview and an affirmation that he would stay calm. “Mr. Saunders, your pickup truck was seen driving away after hitting Dennis Mallory on his bike while he was riding home after school yesterday afternoon at about three thirty p.m.”

“I told y’all three times now, it wasn’t me. Why is it that you can’t hear me?” Saunders’s voice had risen again in volume, but there was a strange quiver in it, too. He leaned back in his chair as far as he could, regarding Jason from eyes narrowed in anger.

Before Jason, who looked ready to explode again, could respond, Ben said, “Let’s rephrase the question: Sir, where were you yesterday at three thirty p.m.?”

Saunders didn’t immediately reply. His eyes darted around the room, never meeting Ben’s, and still ignoring Jason. Then they settled on the shackled, tightly folded hands in his lap. Is he trying to come up with a lie?

At last, Saunders said, “Was in Atlanta. Had an appointment at the DFCS.” His voice was very quiet, and he didn’t look up. It didn’t sound like a lie, but a truth the man was reluctant to share.

Ben decided not to press for details. It was none of his business why the guy had been summoned to the Division of Family and Children Services. As long as he could determine that Saunders had been forty miles away from the scene of the hit-and-run, he had done his job.

“I need to know who you were there to see,” Ben said just as quietly, and wasn’t surprised when his gaze was met with one of suspicion again. He added in explanation, “A phone call to the person you had the appointment with will clear you.”

Saunders gave a small jerk of the head in understanding. “Stacy Miller.”

“Thank you.” Ben looked at Jason, considering his options. Could he leave these two alone for a few minutes? His partner’s steel gaze never wavered from Saunders, and Ben could feel Jason’s tension. But if he told Jason to make the phone call, would he try very hard to get at the truth? No, Ben would have to call the DFCS himself. He’d just had to be quick.

“Jason, stay with Mr. Saunders. I’m going to call Ms. Miller.”

Not waiting for Jason’s acknowledgment, or asking permission from Saunders to make the call on his behalf, Ben got up and left the room. He went back to the front desk. “Lou, find me the number for Atlanta DFCS.”

The desk clerk looked grumpy for a moment but then started hacking away at his keyboard without a word. Finally he picked up the phone, dialed a number, and held the receiver out to Ben.

“DFCS switchboard,” a tinny voice announced in Ben’s ear. “How can I help?”

“Stacy Miller, please,” Ben said, ignoring Lou, who tried hard to look like he wasn’t listening in.

“Hold the line.”

Ben half turned away while he listened to the annoying phone queue music. After a few moments, there was a click and a crisp voice said, “Medicaid assessment team. How can I help you?”

About the Author

Mel was born in Germany, where she spent the first twenty-six years of her life (with a one-year stint in Los Angeles). She has always been fascinated by cultures and human interaction, and got a Masters in Social Anthropology. After finishing university she moved to London, where she has now lived for ten years.

If you were to ask her parents what Mel enjoyed the most since the age of six, they would undoubtedly say “Reading!” She would take fifteen books on a three-week beach holiday, and then read all her mom’s books once she’d devoured her own midway through week two.

Back home in her mom’s attic there’s a box full of journals with stories Mel wrote when she was in her early teens. None of the stories are finished, or any good. She has told herself bedtime stories as far back as she can remember.

In her day job, Mel works as PA and office manager. No other city is quite like London, and Mel loves her city. The hustle and bustle still amaze and thrill her even after all these years. When not reading, writing or going to the theater, Mel spends her time with her long-time boyfriend, discussing science or poking fun at each other.

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