In Our Supernatural Spotlight: Uncaged (Shifter Uprising #1) by Lisa Oliver and T.J. Oliver (author interview, excerpt & giveaway)

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Uncaged (Shifter Uprising #1) by Lisa Oliver and T.J. Oliver
Release Date: July, 2015

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Oliver Group Publications
Cover Artist: Lisa Oliver

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Buy the book: Amazon |AllRomance (ARe) | Smashwords

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Thomas Oliver, co-author of Uncaged, Shifter’s Uprising series book one.  (Written with Lisa Oliver, author of the Cloverleah Pack and Bound and Bonded series).

Hi Thomas, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

Hi there, thank you for having me here today.  This book, Uncaged, is my first book, although I think it’s my Mom’s seventeenth or something.  I had the idea for the Shifter’s Uprising series for a while, but I wasn’t sure how to go about writing it, and that is where Lisa Oliver came in.  In Uncaged you have Carlin and Lucas, both fighters, both having committed crimes against shifter law and both living at the Souterrain which is run by a force called the Elite. Carlin and Lucas are mates and want to be together, but Lucas wants his freedom too.  When Carlin tries to fight for that freedom, Martin, the ruler of the Elite, decides Carlin’s death would be a better idea instead. Both Carlin and Lucas have to fight for their right to be together and to be free.

  • Was there a basis for you story? A previous experience or something else?

I don’t think there was any defining moment for me, but it is like you see the little things that happen every day, on the news and on social media, and you think WTF?  But these things happen and yet people don’t seem to do anything about corruption, politicians taking away rights or discrimination and that is where the ideas for this series came from – that realization.

  • What skills do you think a writer needs?

An open mind, some serious typing skills, a vision to work with and an awful lot of patience.

  • What for you is the perfect book hero?

This might sound strange, but someone like Harry Potter appeals to me.  He’s humble, modest, has overcome a lot of crap in his life, and its like him against the world – yet he still keeps fighting and he still comes out on top. I like that.

  • Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

I have trouble getting my words onto paper, and this is where Mom (Lisa Oliver) was a huge help.  I have the ideas, and I know how I want scenes to go, but getting those thoughts onto paper was a new thing for me, and the book wouldn’t have been finished if I had tried to do this on my own.

  • Tell us about your favorite childhood book.

Hairy Maclary – actually that is one of the few books from my childhood I can remember – he didn’t do a lot, but the stories always flowed really well.

RC

Blurb

Carlin is an Alpha Wolf Fighter, one of only three in the top spots at the Souterrain – an underground fighting club, run by the Elite to punish shifters who have gone outside of the laws. He’s happy enough, only has to fight exhibition matches, has his own apartment space, food and sex on tap – yep, life it good. So when Martin offers him the chance to fight for his freedom, Carlin turns it down. It’s no fun being a lone wolf and Carlin is quite happy where he is.

Then Lucas catches his eye. A handsome man, a stunning fighter, moving up through the ranks fast. Lucas might not have the killer attitude that most men at the Souterrain have, but he’s got the moves. Carlin has no problems insisting the man is bought to his apartment – sex is never a bad idea. But when he catches Lucas’s scent and realizes the man is his fated mate, suddenly getting him to bed is the least of his problems. Lucas wants to be free, and for the first time in a long time, so does Carlin.

Unfortunately there is more to Lucas than meets the eye. Martin certainly has no intention of letting them go, and if he has to have Carlin killed to keep Lucas at the Souterrain, then the man has no problems with that either. Suddenly the deal Carlin makes with Martin goes horribly wrong, and Carlin and Lucas realize that the price for freedom might be Carlin’s life, and even then Lucas will not be free.

Warnings: M/M sex, HEA, some violence (they are in a fight club after all). A growly Alpha who lets his emotions get the best of him, and a hybrid shifter with a wicked imagination.

Pages or Words: 44,000
Categories: Erotica, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Paranormal

Excerpt

Carlin knew he was behaving like an idiot pacing up and down the floor of his small apartment, but he couldn’t stop. How long did it take for one man to have a shower for fucks sake? He’d ordered food for the both of them. Having been a fighter for more than five years, Carlin knew that Lucas would be hungry – hopefully for food and sex. But if the bloody man didn’t get his skates on then Carlin would eat alone and get straight to dessert when Lucas arrived.

About to call Brian and find out where his errant fuck had gone, Carlin caught the sound of people outside of his door. He threw himself on the couch and picked up a book. He didn’t want Lucas thinking he was waiting for him or anything.

Brian came in, Lucas a few steps behind him.

“Alpha Fighter Carlin. This is Lucas, ranked fifth after today.”

Carlin was surprised. He’d heard the man had moved swiftly up the ranks, but he didn’t realize that Lucas was so close to a shot for an Alpha ranking. In theory, one more fight and he might have to fight Lucas in the ring. For a moment Carlin was tempted to send the man away. He did have some conscience, even after so many years of being a fighting machine. He didn’t want to have to kill someone who had been in his bed.

But then Lucas stepped past Brian, and Carlin was caught in angry eyes. Silver eyes. Something tugged at Carlin’s brain – the eye color had some significance, didn’t it? But then Lucas’s scent hit Carlin’s nose and any rational thought fell straight out of his brain.

“Leave, Brian,” Carlin said, standing up and not breaking his stare with Lucas. He knew his body radiated the power he was famous for, and guessed he might look intimidating, as he heard Brian whisper to Lucas as he scurried out of the door, “I told you not to stare at an Alpha. You’re dead meat pup.”

“Better dead than a fuck toy,” Lucas snarled – his comment for Brian, but those silver eyes stayed fixed on Carlin.

“I agree,” Carlin said, his voice dropping as he got closer. Before Lucas could react, he reached his hand around, grabbing Lucas by the nape and pushing the man’s face into his throat. Whatever Lucas was going to say was muffled by Carlin’s skin, although the man was kicking, punching and doing everything he could to get free.

“Sniff, damn you,” Carlin said urgently. “Fucking sniff, and then I’ll let you go.”

Carlin felt Lucas quieten, although his body still stayed rigid in Carlin’s grasp. Lucas’s deep inhale was the only sound in the room. Carlin knew the moment Lucas had worked out what Carlin was trying to say.

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Meet the Authors

Lisa Oliver had been writing non-fiction books for years when visions of half dressed, buff men started invading her dreams. Unable to resist the lure of her stories, Lisa decided to switch to fiction books, and now stories about her men clamor to get out from under her fingertips.
When Lisa is not writing, she is usually reading with a cup of tea always at hand. Her grown children and grandchildren sometimes try and pry her away from the computer and have found that the best way to do it, is to promise her chocolate. Lisa will do anything for chocolate.
Lisa loves to hear from her readers and other writers. You can friend her on Facebook here, or email her directly at yoursintuitively@gmail.com.

Thomas Oliver doesn’t have a lot of time for writing itself although he can talk about his ideas for hours. A construction worker by day, he has a wicked imagination and it was from sharing some of his ideas with Lisa, that the idea for this series was born.
When not working, Thomas is like any other young man. He loves to spend time with friends, his girlfriend and working on his car. His dream is to do up a project car – something mean, with attitude and plenty of power under the hood.
Anyone wanting to contact Thomas can do so through Facebook.

Where to find the author:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lisaoliverauthor
Facebook Author Page:
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/wisecrone333
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lisaoliver79/
My Blog: http://www.supernaturalsmut.com

Final

Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: three ebook copies of the book to giveaway (pdf, mobi or epub). Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by the authors and Pride Promotions.

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Tour Dates & Stops:
21-Sep – BFD Book Blog, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Amanda C. Stone
22-Sep – Just Love Romance, Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves, MM Good Book Reviews
23-Sep – Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My, Happily Ever Chapter
24-Sep – Divine Magazine, Molly Lolly
25-Sep – Open Skye Book Reviews, Jessie G. Books
28-Sep – Mikky’s World of Books, It’s Raining Men, Bayou Book Junkie
29-Sep – Michael Mandrake, The Blogger Girls
30-Sep – Inked Rainbow Reads
1-Oct – Love Bytes, Rainbow Gold Reviews, Bike Book Reviews
2-Oct – Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews

Coffee Sip & Book Break with Shades of Power (Arcane Magic #1) by Beany Sparks (excerpt and giveaway)

Shades of Power

Shades of Power (Arcane Magic #1) by Beany Sparks
Release Date: September 21, 2015

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Rainbow Ninja Press
Cover Artist: Beany Sparks

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Buy the book:  Smashwords

Blurb

An explosion sends Ethan running…straight into the arms of his mate.

Ethan White is a witch whose days are spent in his apothecary with his familiar, Beema. While making potions for the townsfolk keeps him busy, nothing exciting ever happens—until one day when a surprise visitor walks in and his world crumbles around him. Suddenly Ethan and his familiar are on the run, heading for the Fae to seek sanctuary.

Grayson is an alpha wolf. His two best friends are his betas, but there’s one thing missing—a pack. It’s for that very reason that the three of them were volunteered by the council to act as representatives. Their mission? Try to convince the Fae Queen to get the Fae involved in a battle with the Midnight Coven, the witches suspected of using the dark arts. However, the mission takes a back seat when Grayson meets his mate for the first time.
With revelations and lies around every corner and a battle looming, they have to be ready to fight if they want to have a life together.

When a prophecy about the Shades of Power comes to light, both sides want the power for the battle against the other. The question is—who will unite them first?

Pages or Words: 36,444 words
Categories: Fantasy, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Paranormal

Excerpt

“What are you doing here?” he asked, feeling proud his voice remained level.
“My, my, is that any way to speak to a customer, Ethan?”
“You are not a customer, nor will you be a customer. Tell me what you want and then get the hell out of my shop.”
Ethan had a second to regret his rudeness when she narrowed her eyes at him, but reminding himself that nothing good could come of her visit had him standing there with his head held high.
“I would watch how you speak to me, Ethan, since we both know who the stronger witch is.”
“Well, if you are the stronger witch, then there’s absolutely no reason why you would be in my shop. Make sure the door doesn’t hit you on the way out.”
Ethan watched as her eyes narrowed even further, to the point where he wasn’t sure she could even see him. All the while he waited for her reaction—or rather, the explosion that was likely coming.
Suddenly she blinked and then smiled, which was far scarier than anything Ethan could remember seeing before.
“You’re right, Ethan, I am the stronger witch, and as such, I have better things to do than waste my time making potions. So here I am, ready to purchase the potions I need and help my dear little brother make some money so that he can survive in this big, bad world we live in.”
Ethan almost sighed, wanting to forget about being related to the monster in front of him. No one had believed him when he had accused her of being evil. While everyone else had seen her as a gifted child, Ethan had seen the dark side of her early on. Deep down he’d known that she would turn to the dark arts, but everyone he’d told thought he’d just said that to get attention, even their parents. When they’d died, it had left a huge hole in his heart, but he’d finally been able to escape his sister by using some of his inheritance money to move towns and buy his cabin. Although, he couldn’t really call it escaping when on her way out one day she’d told him to pack his things and be gone when she returned. For the first time in his life, he’d obeyed her.
Snapping back to the present, Ethan tried to focus, knowing that if he didn’t, things could go badly.
“What do you want, Des?” he asked.
She frowned at him for a moment before speaking. “Actually, it’s Ravyn now, Ravyn Darkh. Maybe you’ve heard of me?”
Oh shit!

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Meet the Author

Beany lives in Western Australia. She first started reading romance novels in 2008, but it wasn’t until January 2010 when her Kindle got delivered that the world of erotic romance opened its doors to her, and she hasn’t looked back.

With suggestions and support from friends, her muse—“affectionately” known as PITA—was finally able to break free, and in January 2014 her first story was written. Since she can’t put PITA back in his box, Beany has decided to give in and team up with him. Together they’ve made plans to write both MF and MM stories.

She can be reached at beany.sparks@gmail.com
Or visit her at http://www.beanysparks.com

Where to find the author:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beany.sparks
Twitter: @BeanySparks

Tour Dates & Stops:

Parker Williams, MM Good Book Reviews, Happily Ever Chapter, Bayou Book Junkie, BFD Book Blog, Dawn’s Reading Nook, Mikky’s World of Books, The Jena Wade, Havan Fellows, My Fiction Nook, Divine Magazine, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, For the Love of Bookends, The Hat Party, Molly Lolly, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves, Inked Rainbow Reads, Because Two Men Are Better Than One, Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My, Carly’s Book Reviews, Ogitchida Book Blog, Nephylim, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews

 

Final

 

Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: e-Copy of ‘Shades of Power’ by Beany Sparks. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.

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What are you all reading now – part I- and This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

What are you all reading now?

I was over at J Scott Coatsworth’s Queer Sci Fi Facebook group (if you love fantasy, science fiction, the discussions held there will blow you away).  Any how, that day authors of  some gay graphic novels were there talking about their latest couples and releases.  I thought the pictures and storylines were hot, hot, hot.

Now I love anime’, cut my teeth on comic books and early graphic novels.  Found Yaoi, never looked further, which was a mistake.   So I took a quick “run” around the web and found some pretty neat LGBTQIA graphic comics out there. ALEX WOOLFSON and ADAM DEKRAKER: Queer Sci Fi ran interview/chat with the creators of The Young Protectors as part of their wonderful Graphic Novel Week.  That started August 25.  Check out the entire week’s contributions when you have the time.  But that made me wonder?

Do you all read graphic comics?  If so, which ones? Which authors? I’ve included a small poll to see how much we  read and follow graphic novels.  Please feel free to chime in with your comments as well.  Thanks.

Now on to this week’s schedule after the poll.

 

 

This Week At Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Sunday, September 20:

  • KC Wells ‘First’ book blast and contest
  • What Are You All Reading and This Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Monday, September 21:

  • Enter the Dystopian World of Bane by Amelia C. Gormley (Riptide Tour and contest)
  • Beany Sparks ‘Shades of Power’, book blast and giveaway
  • Coffee Sip and Book Break with Lisa & TJ Oliver’s ‘Uncaged’ (excerpt and contest)
  • A BJ Review: The Complications of T (The Actor’s Circle #1) by Bey Deckard
  • A Free Dreamer Review: The Demon You Know by Barbara Elsborg

Tuesday, September 22:

  • In the Spotlight: Draven St. James ‘Lost in the Fire’ (excerpt and giveaway)
  • Special Cheryl Headford Guest Post with Character Interview (giveaway and excerpt)
  • A Barb The Zany Old Lady Review: Fit To Be Tied by Mary Calmes
  • A Mika Review: Unbreak Broken by J.K. Hogan
  • A PaulB Review: Not A Line of Bull by Charlie Richards

Wednesday, September 23:

  • Whistlestop Book Blast for Alyssa Astra ‘Fiery’ (excerpt and giveaway)
  • In the Book Spotlight: Chris McHart ‘Small Steps’ (excerpt and contest)
  • Its Hot, Its Sexy, Its the Manchester Ménage Collection with Nicole Colville ‘Discovering Dalton’ (excerpt and giveaway)
  • A Barb The Zany Old Lady Review: Other Side of the Line by Marguerite Labbe
  • A PaulB review: Kissed by Nemesis by Andi Anderson
  • A Free Dreamer Review: Such a Dance by Kate McMurray

Thursday, September 24:

  • Coffee Sip and Book Break: Fai Marie Dawson ‘Please Understand’ (excerpt and giveaway)
  • Time to Heat Things up with H.C. Brown ‘Stalked’ (excerpt and giveaway)
  • A Stella Audiobook Review: Going Up by Amy Lane (Audiobook)
  • A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Empty Nests (Nested Hearts #1) by Ada Maria Soto
  • A MelanieM Review: Tequila Mockingbird (Sinners #3) by Rhys Ford

Friday, September 25:

  • Its Release Day for RJ Scott’s Texas 7 (contest)
  • Coffee Sip and Book Break: Theresa Hissong’s It Takes Two Tour (excerpt and giveaway)
  • A Jeri Review: Beautiful Thunder by Louise Lyons
  • A MelanieM Review: Sloe Ride (Sinners, #4) by Rhys Ford
  • A Stella Review: ACID by Wulf Francu Godluck

Saturday, September 26:

A MelanieM Review: Texas Wedding (Texas #7) by RJ Scott

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Sleepless City Series Finale Arrives with Shifting Chaos (The Sleepless City #4) by Elizabeth Noble (author interview, excerpt and giveaway)

Shifting Chaos cover

Shifting Chaos (The Sleepless City #4) by Elizabeth Noble
Release Date: Sept 7 2015

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: TL Bland

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Sales Links:  Dreamspinner ebook  |  Dreamspinner paperback

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Elizabeth Noble, author of Shifting Chaos. Hi Elizabeth, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

Hello, and thank you for having me today. I’m a veterinary nurse, and my education is a broad science background including biology and earth sciences. I was very lucky to become an author for Dreamspinner Press and its imprint DSP Publications.

Shifting Chaos is my most recent release and it’s the fourth and final book of The Sleepless City series.

Our Author Interview with Elizabeth Noble

• Why do you write?

Writing is something I’d never consider not doing. I write because if I didn’t my head would probably explode! Where the stories come from I couldn’t tell you, but I can tell you they must be set free. Writing is a way I deal with stress. It’s much cheaper than a therapist.

• Which of your books was the most difficult to write?

I think this book was. The series was set up to highlight one of three couples in each of the first three books. Their romance was the story the plot revolved around. In Shifting Chaos I didn’t have a romance to use as the focus of the book. There is romance, of course, but it’s the continuing of an already existing romance of primarily one couple, Jonas Forge and Blair Turner. During the course of Shifting Chaos I had three romances to deal with and that was a challenge. The balancing of several romances with the plot in general.

• Give us an insight into your main character. What does he do that is so special?

One of the main characters is Declan, of this group he’s the oldest of the vampires. He’s lived several hundred years and has acquired many skills during that time. He’s been a pirate, fur trapper, art thief and he also is a talented artist. What really makes him special is he’s a man who was born in France in the 1700s who has not only survived but flourished.

• How much research do you do for your books?

It depends on the book, but I do quite a bit of research. There are a lot of little details that go into a book and those are what bring the location and character to life. Since Shifting Chaos is an urban fantasy in this case a large percentage of my research revolved around various myths and legends to use in the story.

• Who designs your covers?

Most of my covers are created by the talented TL Bland. More of her work can be seen here: http://www.thruterryseyes.com . She designs covers for Dreamspinner Press as well as in a freelance capacity for self-published authors.. TL also has designed the logos I use on my websites. She’s a wonderful person and a good friend. Check out the great art on her site and drop her a line if you’re looking for art for a project or website. The Sentries series book covers are created by Paul Richmond for Dreampsinner Press.

Shifting Chaos cover

Blurb

Chaos reigns in The Sleepless City, and it’s really beginning to piss Detective Jonas Forge off. He’s got inner demons to battle and a life to build with his new soul mate, Blair Turner. Nothing is going right, and he already feels the universe is conspiring against him when a turn of events he never saw coming flips his world upside down.

Hallucinations grip the town and everyone in it, threatening to tear their precariously built family apart, and the only way forward is to bare all to each other. This means Declan and Blair need to learn to accept one another. Lucas Coate has to move forward without ties to his werewolf pack and live a monogamous life with Declan.

But while Forge and Declan confront horrors from their shared past, Simon learns a terrible truth about vampires—one he couldn’t have imagined in his worst nightmares.

Pages or Words: 73,000 words
Categories: Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Mystery, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy

Excerpt

“What happened?” Blair asked. He turned his head toward the back door. A second later Moose was running to the back of the house.
Jonas strode in, jerked his jacket off, and tossed it down beside Ben’s helmet, muttering as he went. He stopped and faced them. “Those fools have decided I must be head detective.”
Lucas came to a stop behind Jonas, grinning.
“Wait, you’ve been pissed off all day because you got a promotion?” Blair asked.
Ben lunged forward and threw his arms around Jonas’s neck. “Sweet as! We have to celebrate. It’s about time they recognized you like this. I think it’s crappy you haven’t been promoted until now.”
Jonas pulled in a breath and stepped back from Ben. “I thank you, but it’s a fucking disaster.”
“Another of the Council’s tricks,” Declan added.
“They can’t do this, can they?” Simon said and sat down abruptly on the couch. “That’s against the Council rules.”
“What’s wrong with all of you?” Ben turned in a circle, glaring at each of them in turn.
“I can’t be the head detective.” Jonas took a DVD from the shelf under the television and put it in the player. He grabbed the remote control, aimed, and pointed. “This”—he waved at the scene appearing on the TV—”is why I can’t have this job.”
An image of Stewie in relation to some incident that, by the looks of it, had happened a few years ago appeared on the screen. Underneath were the words “Flint, Ohio, Head Detective Stewart Belle,” and Stewie was speaking to a reporter.
“Oh crap,” Blair said. He and Ben stood side by side.
“Yes. Oh crap covers it nicely. The head detective must be a human, has always been a human. You know, someone who can be seen by a camera and is available during the full moon,” Jonas said. “Before Stewie there was some dick by the name of Felton, and before that we had the oh-so-delightful Smyth.”
Ben nudged Blair and waved one hand between Declan and Jonas. “Have you noticed that between the thief and the cop, the cop is the one with the problems with authority?”

RC

About the Author

Elizabeth Noble started telling stories before she actually knew how to write, and her family was very happy when she learned to put words on a page. Those words turned into fan fiction that turned into a genuine love of M/M romance fiction. Being able to share her works with Dreamspinner is really a dream come true. She has a real love for a good mystery complete with murder and twisty plots as well as all things sci-fi, futuristic, and supernatural and a bit of an unnatural interest in a super-volcano in Wyoming.

Elizabeth has three grown children and is now happily owned by an adorable mixed breed canine princess named Rosie, and two cats, Murphy and Yeti. She lives in her native northeast Ohio, the perfect place for gardening, winter and summer sports (go Tribe!). When she’s not writing she’s working as a veterinary nurse, so don’t be surprised to see her men with a pet or three who are a very big part of their lives.

Two of Elizabeth’s books have received Honorable Mentions in the Rainbow Awards.

Where to find the author:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.noble.77
Facebook Author Page
Twitter: @elizabethnoble1
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/elizabethnoble1/
Other: Google + https://plus.google.com/110207268360224371489/posts
Other: website http://www.elizabeth-noble.com
Other: Dreamspinner author page

Final

Giveaway

Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: 2 winners of an ebook off my backlist OR the audio version of Electric Candle. Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.
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Tour Dates & Stops:

28-Aug

Mikky’s World of Books, Love Bytes, Kimi-Chan

4-Sep

Bayou Book Junkie, Hearts on Fire, My Fiction Nook

11-Sep

BFD Book Blog, Divine Magazine, Prism Book Alliance

18-Sep

Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, It’s Raining Men, MM Good Book Reviews

 25-Sep

EE Montgomery, Michael Mandrake, Inked Rainbow Reads

2-Oct

Velvet Panic, Carly’s Book Reviews

9-Oct

Molly Lolly, Just Love Romance

16-Oct

Jessie G. Books, The Blogger Girls

 

 

Supernatural Book Spotlight: Cronin’s Key III by N. R. Walker (excerpt and giveaway)

CroninsKey3NRWalker1500

Cronin’s Key III by N.R. Walker
Release Date: September 18

STRW In The Spotlight Header

Goodreads Link
Publisher: BlueHeart Press
Cover Artist: Sara York

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Buy the book:  Amazon

STRW Author BookSynopsis

History isn’t always what it seems…

Twelve months after his change, Alec MacAidan is still getting used to his many vampire talents. While most vampires would give anything to have more than one supernatural power, Alec craves nothing more than peace and time alone with Cronin. But when Alec meets entities from outside this realm, he’s left powerless in their presence.

Zoan are half-lycan, half-dragon creatures that have slipped through time and reality, seemingly undetected by man and vampire. Or have they? They bear an uncanny resemblance to gargoyles, leaving Alec’s view on all things weird to get a whole lot weirder.

This new quest leads Alec, Cronin, and their band of friends to Paris, Rome, and Moscow, where they learn that gargoyles aren’t simply statues on walls. In the underground pits beneath churches all over the world, Alec discovers the Key’s true destiny. Facing the Zoan might take every talent he has. And he may need help from the dead to get them all out alive.

Pages or Words: 58,800 words
Categories: Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance

STRW Spotlight Book Excerpt

CHAPTER ONE

Alec sat back in the chair and held in a sigh, feeling every bit the lab rat he’d become. Since he’d become a vampire a year ago, he’d been put through test after test, so each and every one of his unending list of talents could be explored and documented.
He’d agreed to this, and he knew it was the right thing to do, but in that very moment, he wished to be doing anything else.
And with talents for making errant thoughts an instant reality—like setting fire to sofas and making Xbox controllers explode in Eiji’s hand because he’d somehow won—it wasn’t a good frame of mind to be in.
He loved Jodis. He really did. She had become one of his best friends. But she’d also taken it upon herself to document his talents, and he’d just about had enough for one day. If replicating wasn’t a talent so frowned upon in the vampire world, he’d make a copy of himself to endure Jodis’ tests while he and Cronin hid out in their bedroom. He’d replicated himself a few times, experimentally of course, and found it too taxing on himself anyway.
“Can you do it again?” she asked, notepad and pen in hand.
Alec had found a certain talent he’d dubbed the chameleon, for obvious reasons, because he could make things change color. It was absurd, really, and probably of no better use than a party trick. But he could, if he concentrated, turn a red pen blue or a white shirt black. The talent could only manifest by touch, and it lasted only a few minutes before returning to its original color, but Jodis was rather intrigued.
Alec, on the other hand, had passed bored like it was standing still and was well on his way to irate. “Jodis, I’ve kinda had enough of this today.”
“Last one, I promise.”
For Alec, it wasn’t so much as reining in a temper anymore, where the most damage done was a cutting remark. Now it was keeping a lid on a few dozen talents that reacted poorly to anger. He only had to get really pissed off and a rage would barrel out of him like nuclear fallout, literally knocking humans and vampires off their feet. Or he could burst eardrums with a furious roar, or maybe he could turn them to stone, or dust. Or maybe, just maybe, he could rip an earthquake through the apartment so he didn’t have to do any more of these stupid fucking tests.
“Alec,” Eleanor cautioned from the next room.
“I wasn’t actually going to do that,” he replied petulantly. He knew Eleanor, with the gift of foresight, saw possible outcomes of decisions made, and that did nothing to quell his frustration. “Jesus, now my thoughts aren’t even my own.” Standing up, he snatched the purple notebook off the desk, holding it for half a second and slamming it back down. It was now black, as was every page inside it, and it was smoldering as though it almost caught fire.
Cronin was suddenly in front of him, a hand cupped to his face. “He’s had enough,” he said to Jodis, and they disappeared.
* * * *
As soon as Alec’s feet hit the soft earth, he took a deep breath of fresh air and reveled in the silence.
His life hadn’t exactly been quiet in the last twelve months.
He felt the warmth of Cronin’s hand in his, smelled the sweet aromas of heath and moss from both the vampire beside him and the cool air of the long-abandoned battlefield, and Alec exhaled loudly.
Cronin had somehow learned to quiet his mind a little and it gave Alec the silence he so desperately needed. In the last twelve months, Cronin had taken Alec on more time-outs than he could count. Knowing when he’d had enough and was reaching breaking point, Cronin would simply remove Alec from the situation, leaping him somewhere quiet where his mind could have some much needed solitude. But with a gentle squeeze of his hand, Cronin reassured him he was there.
“I’m sorry,” Alec said.
“Don’t apologize,” Cronin said adamantly. “I can’t begin to imagine your frustrations.”
“Jodis is only trying to help. I behaved badly.” He could very well speak words directly into Jodis’ mind and tell her privately that he was sorry. But he’d prefer not invade the thoughts of others, preferring to apologize in person.
“She understands,” Cronin said, trying to pacify him.
Alec sighed loudly and allowed the quiet to envelope him. “I love it here,” he said eventually.
The field at Dunadd, Scotland, had become a sanctuary for Alec. No voices in his head, no city of millions with flurrying thoughts unbidden through his mind, no politics of vampire councils, no meetings, no one hovering.
Just Cronin.
“It affords you a great privacy,” Cronin said. His Scottish accent and formal tone still made Alec smile. “Your talents as a vampire are a burdensome gift.”
Alec had learned very early on to block out the voices and thoughts of those around him, but living in a city of millions made it a constant effort, and his display of anger at Jodis just minutes ago bothered him. “These talents are a pain in my ass.”
Cronin laughed quietly. “Your control over them still astounds us all.”
“The control you keep talking about is a talent in itself. It’s like casting a net over a thousand different fish.” Alec sighed loudly. “I’ve told you that before.”
“I know. Though it amazes me still.” Cronin squeezed Alec’s hand again and looked out across the field of long grass to the line of trees that fronted the river. “Lie down with me.”
Cronin simply lay flat on his back in the middle of the field and when Alec lay down next to him, Cronin snatched up Alec’s hand again. And together in the mind-clearing silence, they watched the blanket of stars glide across the sky.
It was a clear autumn night in Scotland, cold and dark. Neither of those things impeded a vampire of course, and Alec would never tire of the simple changes he’d gone through when he became a vampire. It was the complex changes he was beginning to struggle with. The talents he’d been given made him unique: the only vampire ever to have all vampire talents, some he was still discovering a year after his change. It was these talents that made his life hectic, his obligations as the key to the vampire world that gave him a great responsibility, and as Cronin had said, it was becoming a great burden.
Alec loved that Cronin would leap them to the very field where his human life had ended. The old battlefield in Scotland was also where they’d first made love, where they came to talk, to be by themselves. Like now.
“Thank you for bringing me here,” Alec whispered, his anger and frustration from before almost gone. “I feel like I can breathe here.”
“Is that not what husbands do?” Cronin asked with a smile. “Save the other from the myriad of madness?”
“Husbands,” Alec said, bringing Cronin’s knuckles up to his lips and kissing them softly. “Now that is something I’ll never tire of.”

 

STRW Author Bio and Contacts

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

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

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

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

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

She’s been writing ever since…

Where to find the author:

 RC

Tour Dates & Stops:
Parker Williams, Just Love Romance, Divine Magazine, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, My Fiction Nook, LeAnn’s Book Reviews, The Fuzzy, Fluffy World of Chris T. Kat, Full Moon Dreaming, Bayou Book Junkie, MM Good Book Reviews, SA McAuley, The Blogger Girls, V’s Reads, The Jena Wade, BFD Book Blog, Carly’s Book Reviews, Reviews by Jessewave, Nephylim, Inked Rainbow Reads, Jessie G. Books, Iyana Jenna, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Molly Lolly, Foxylutely Book Reviews, Mikky’s World of Books, Amanda C. Stone, Prism Book Alliance, Rainbow Gold Reviews, Sinfully Addicted to All Male Romance, Kimi-chan, Up All Night, Read All Day, Two Chicks Obsessed With Books and Eye Candy, Charley Descoteaux, Multitasking Mommas, Ogitchida Book Blog, The Novel Approach, Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My, Velvet Panic

 

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Rafflecopter Prize: One copy from backlist, including Cronin’s Key III
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Coffee Sip and Book Break Spotlight: Emerald Eyes (Bloodrose #9) by Julia Talbot (excerpt and giveaway)

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Emerald Eyes (Bloodrose #9) by Julia Talbot
Release Date: September 23, 2015

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Torquere Press
Cover Artist: Kris Norris

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Buy the book:   Torquere Press

Blurb

When Jonny, the owner of club Bloodrose finds out his shifter mate Luc has a twin brother, he decides Yves needs protection from the bad guys who have tried to kill Luc. He sends Reuben, a werewolf security agent, to keep Yves safe from the killers. And from Yves himself.

Reuben has never met someone as determined to find trouble as Yves. The guy has this obsession with a set of emeralds, a dead younger brother, and some kind of demon ritual. All of this should make panther shifter Yves a bad bet as a mate, but that doesn’t keep Reuben from falling hard. Can he and team Bloodrose keep everyone alive long enough to convince Yves they’re made for each other?

Pages or Words: 23,000 words
Categories: BDSM, M/M Romance, Paranormal

Excerpt

Jonny glanced up from his stack of surveys and geological reports, frowning. Kasey rarely sounded so serious these days, which for a broody older vampire was quite a feat. Hooking up with a werewolf had been the best thing for the fellow, really.
“What’s wrong?”
Kasey’s black brows drew together in what looked to be a puzzled scowl. “We have a situation.”
He barely held back his eye roll. “Goody.”
“Yeah, yeah. Deke got these today. Came in from our monitoring entry into the country.” Kasey handed him a stack of printed photos. Of what looked like his lover, Luc. No, not just looked like. This was Luc, except that his slinky werekitty was asleep in cat form four feet above him on the top of his armoire.
He let one eyebrow raise and pinned Kasey with a look. “Explain.”
“Yeah, somehow I think we might have to ask Luc to do that.” Kasey walked over and pulled that fuzzy black tail hanging down like a lamp chain.
He did enjoy his lover’s speed, the wild yowl, the flash of claws. Good thing Kasey had a vamp’s reflexes.
“Hey, furball. I need you to be human for a minute,” Kasey said.
Luc muttered, calling Kasey a wild assortment of things, including a few insults about Kasey’s mother, as he crawled down the armoire.
“It’s not as if he can see the photo, Kasey,” Jonny reminded gently. “He’s blind.”
“Oh. Right.” Kasey grinned over at him. “He’s so good at everything, I forgot.”
Jonny did glare at his mate, however. “Tell me, sweet, do you have family I don’t know about?”
Luc stretched, totally unconcerned with hurrying to console him in the least. Possibly. Which one in particular?
“One who looks just like you?” It was uncanny, really.
Ah. My twin. Yves. So casual. Ah yes, my twin — as if it were nothing.
Jonny glared, knowing Luc would feel his disapproval. “This didn’t seem important?”
“Children, we need to share the information with the investigator,” Kasey reminded them.
“He has a twin, apparently.” Jonny nudged Luc with the toe of this shoe. “Come speak to Kasey.”
Luc sighed, a sound that came out as a cough for a kitty, before shifting to his human form, which always made Jonny’s ears pop.
“I thought you knew,” Luc murmured.
“How could we know?”
Luc shrugged. “He’s never in the States. He’s always in South America bonding with the natives and hunting precious gemstones. He’s an addict. Has to hunt. I haven’t talked to him in…”
Luc stopped and frowned, and Jonny didn’t like this. Not at all.
“…in a bit.”
“How long?” Kasey asked, tone sharp. Someone else felt the weird vibes, too.
“Right before I met my mate, I think. I spoke to him then.”
Jonny exchanged a glance with Kasey, who scowled. “What did you talk about?”
“Emeralds. He had asked me to acquire a certain pair, I did the job, put them in a safety deposit box, and let him know.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. Who else knew about these emeralds?” Now Kasey was growling as though he was the werewolf instead of his lover, Deke.
“I have no idea. I had an address, a window. That was it.”
Jonny nodded slowly. “Okay. Kasey, you and Deke find out who else had an interest and if Silvia has anything to do with this. Luc, you need to get ahold of your brother. I want a detail on him.”
“What does that mean?” Luc scribbled down an address, a safety deposit box number. “He’ll go here. I mean, I’ll put an ad in the paper, see if he hollers. He’s… slippery.”
“That means if we thought he looked like you, someone else might think he’s you,” Kasey said. “I’m on it, Boss.”
Jonny sat back with a sigh, drew his mate into his lap. “You are a very great deal of trouble, sweet.”
“I’m worth it.” Luc kissed him. “Yves is… not like me.”
“Tell me about him?” Jonny stroked Luc’s hair, curious as hell.
“He’s addicted to gemstones, to the stories behind them. It’s like a sickness, worse than the jobs I used to work, I think, because I was at least collecting funds for it.” Luc leaned in, snuggling close. “There was another of us. He died fighting insurgents in the desert, long before there were troops on the ground. Yves went a little crazy when we lost Girard.”
“I’m sorry, sweet.” His family had been gone so long that he barely remembered them fondly.
“It was a long time ago; he’ll get over it.”
The sudden stiffness in Luc’s body said perhaps that was a bit of a fib. Jonny didn’t remark upon it; he simply touched and kissed until Luc relaxed.
“Love you, Mate.” And that was that, yes? What they had together, it was love.
“And I you, Luc.” He kissed Luc’s jaw. In fact, he loved his kit enough to want to finish off whoever had hurt him and to protect this unknown brother Yves.
Good thing Kasey and Deke knew what to do from here.
Someone needed to have a clear head in all this. He hoped his friends could do that for him.

RC

Meet the Author

Julia Talbot lives in the great Southwest, where there is hot and cold running rodeo, cowboys, and everything from meat and potatoes to the best Tex-Mex. A full time author, Julia has been published by Torquere Press, Dreamspinner and Changeling Press. She believes that everyone deserves a happy ending, so she writes about love without limits, where boys love boys, girls love girls, and boys and girls get together to get wild, especially when her crazy paranormal characters are involved. Find Julia at @juliatalbot on Twitter, or at http://www.juliatalbot.com.
Where to find the author:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juliatalbotauthor
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/juliatalbotwriterpage
Twitter: https://twitter.com/juliatalbot
Website: http://www.juliatalbot.com


Tour Dates & Stops: September 17, 2015

Parker Williams, Divine Magazine, The Jena Wade, Havan Fellows, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Bayou Book Junkie, Charley Descoteaux, Molly Lolly, The Hat Party, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Jessie G. Books, Dawn’s Reading Nook, BFD Book Blog, MM Good Book Reviews, Happily Ever Chapter, Inked Rainbow Reads, Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My

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Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of the book.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.
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What Happens When Demons Fall in Love? Check Out Base Instincts by Larissa Ione (tour and giveaway)

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Base Instincts by Larissa Ione
Publisher Riptide Publishing
Cover Artist Jay Aheer

Buy it here at Riptide Publishing

Hi, everyone! I’m so excited to be on the Base Instincts blog tour. Raze and Slake’s story was a labor of love for me, and while theirs isn’t the first m/m story I’ve written, it’s a first for the Demonica/Lords of Deliverance series. If you’re curious about how it all started, be sure to enter the giveaway for a chance to win the first two books set in the Demonica/LOD universe, and for more information, head on over to http://www.LarissaIone.com!

Blurb

As a Seminus demon, Raze’s life literally depends on having sex with females. The problem is that he doesn’t desire females, and it’s physically impossible for him to be with males. Thankfully, he and his best friend, Fayle, have an arrangement that keeps him alive . . . if lonely. He finds some solace in his work as a medic at Thirst, a vampire club known for its rough clientele. But his carefully structured world turns upside down when he meets a mysterious male who makes him want what he can never have.

Slake is an assassin used to getting what he wants, and what he wants is Raze. But he also wants to earn back the soul he sold when he was a much different demon. All he has to do is capture a runaway succubus named Fayle and hand her over to her family. What he doesn’t count on is being caught himself by a web of lies—and his attraction to Raze.

Raze and Slake must navigate a dangerous world to be together. But as Fayle’s jealousy of their relationship turns deadly, they find themselves embroiled in a battle not only for their love, but their lives and souls.

HYPERLINK “”

 Base Instincts is part of the Demonica Universe

caduceus Demonica

The demon is a prince of the air and can transform himself into several shapes, delude our senses for a time; but his power is determined, he may terrify us but not hurt.
– Robert Burton, Anatomy of Melancholy

Humans go to hospitals. Animals go to veterinarians. But where do injured, ill, and decapitated demons go? It isn’t as if every supernatural being possesses the ability to grow a new limb to replace one that’s been hacked off by a demon slayer scumbag. Fear not, fellow vamps, werewolves, and demons, for help has arrived. Three brothers, incubus demons by birth, human in appearance (mostly), have pulled together to make the most of the healing skills common to their species. Welcome to Underworld General Hospital, where sexy demons are doctors, HMOs are non-existent, and the blood bank sometimes doubles as the cafeteria. And you don’t even want to know what goes on in the supply closets…

About the Author

About Larissa Ione

Larissa Ione is an award-winning New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. An Air Force veteran and former EMT, she traded in a career as a meteorologist to pursue her passion for writing. She now spends her days in pajamas with her computer, strong coffee, and supernatural worlds. She believes in celebrating everything, and would never be caught without a bottle of champagne chilling in the fridge . . . just in case. She currently lives in Wisconsin with her US Coast Guard husband, her teenage son, a rescue cat named Vegas, and her very own hellhound, a King Shepherd named Hexe.

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Giveaway

Every comment on this blog tour enters you in a drawing for a tote bag with swag and signed copies of Pleasure Unbound and Desire Unchained, the first two books in the Demonica/Lords of Deliverance series! Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on September 19. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Don’t forget your email so we can contact you if you win!  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Good luck everyone!

Prizes are a tote bag with swag and signed copies of Pleasure Unbound and Desire Unchained, the first two books in the Demonica/Lords of Deliverance series!

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Author Discovery: BJ on Author Lia Black

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BJ on Author Lia Black

With the plethora of competent m/m authors around these days, we fans have a daunting variety to choose from. I’ve sampled and enjoyed a book or two from hundreds of authors, but there’s only a handful whose books I just can’t seem to get enough of. Their books call my name the second they’re released. Lia Black is one of those authors.

She’s published five m/m novels to date, and I’ve devoured every single one with relish. All were five star reads with one exception that I rated 4.25, not because of the writing… oh, wait a minute, maybe it was the writing. Because what else was it but her brilliant writing that got me so thoroughly invested in (or should I say in love with?) the two main characters that I just couldn’t stand it when they were separated for a portion of the book? The frustration of that separation made me want to scream. And that right there is a key to why she’s one of my favorite authors.

Lia Black’s storylines suck me in; her characters fascinate me; and her writing always works its way deep down into the recesses of my neglected, dusty, middle-of-nowhere heart and plucks at my emotions. Hard.

Lia’s writing is a bit hard to pigeonhole. Her goodread’s author page states that her work is fantasy, sci-fi, LGBT romance. But that doesn’t quite tell the whole story. You see, Ms. Black does tend to live up to her name. There are dark parts in each and every story I’ve read by this author. Sometimes very dark indeed. So, if you want light and fluffy with a cherry on top, you should probably look elsewhere. But if you’re okay with a story that can make you gasp, that can smash your heart into the gutter and step on it, then ever so tenderly and exquisitely rip it to shreds before putting it back together—read on. You won’t be disappointed.

This author’s characters are sometimes broken yet not angsty, glamorous yet sad, weird yet beautiful, extreme and even gross yet still awesome and cool in their own right. Some of them even have long hair (well, what can I say, long-haired men are a thing for me so I had to mention that!)

And her writing makes me feel… a lot. Sometimes that means quivering in disgust and wanting to roll into a ball like a pill bug and hide but being too entranced to put the book down and do it. Sometimes it means aww moments when my heart wants to melt in my chest cuz I’ve just fallen in love with a character she breathed such life into that I have a clear picture of them in my head, not of a generic sexy man that could fit for a character in any number of stories I’ve read, but someone I feel like I could pick out in a crowd… one I could pick up my paint brush and paint a portrait of except I usually don’t, because I wouldn’t do him justice since I paint dogs and not people.

Lia Black’s stories leave emotional paper cuts on my heart. They’re by turns exhausting, frustrating, horrifying, amazing, fascinating, and touching. But always riveting, and always, in the end, healing. Deliciously dark stories that somehow light me up inside.

I think this excerpt from my review of Fidelity sums it up well: “Not for the faint-hearted, one particular scene at the beginning took my breath away with its grisly, shocking cruelty. But amidst the bloody battle scenes, there is humor, small joys, and sweet tenderness. Amidst the dismantling, I was put back together. The ride to get there was gut-wrenching, heartbreaking, and painful to read. I absolutely loved it.”

So if you’re looking for something different, something to expand your boundaries or to touch on places that maybe you haven’t explored, something to make you feel and not always in a fluffy, sweet way—look no further. Read Lia Black. And if you need help picking which of her books to start with, check out the links to my full reviews below.

Oh, I have one other thing to say about her writing, and I really hope she’s reading this. I desperately need to read more.

About The Author

Lia Black tends to do everything the hard way; beginning with being born backwards into the world and now Lia Black Iconraising a teenage daughter by herself in conservative Upstate NY. Her career choices are no less extreme, including occupations of fine artist, computer geek, firefighter, and mortician’s assistant— just to name a few.

A fellow Author describes Black’s mind as “a glorious kaleidoscope of f*ckeduppery”; she loves the challenge of writing about people who probably have no business being together on the same planet, and who occasionally deal with questionable sanity/morality. It’s fun to glue broken things together and try to make something interesting and new.
–She especially loves broken boys who have lots of fascinating pieces.

Her characters often suffer through the worlds she creates for them, which leaves them a little cranky and sometimes less lovable than others in a romance genre. Yet Black swears that someday, “there will be comedy.”

Follow Lia Black at:  Goodreads | Website | Twitter |

BJ’s Reviews of Lia Black’s Novels

Spiretown coverFidelity coverA King's Ransome coverWhere The Willows Won't Grow cover

Goodreads Link                          BJ Review Link

A King’s Ransom                              BJ’s Review

Spiretown                                           BJ’s Review

Fidelity                                               Link to BJ’s Review

Where Willows Won’t Grow          Link to BJ’s Review here

Author and Book Spotlight: Jordan L. Hawk and her latest release, Dangerous Spirits (Spirits #2) (author interview and giveaway)

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Dangerous Spirits (Spirits #2)
by Jordan L. Hawk

Cover art by Jordan L. Hawk

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

I’m happy to welcome Jordan L. Hawk here to Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words to talk a little about her latest release, Dangerous Spirits, her writing process and the paranormal world. Welcome, Jordan!

. Good morning! I hope you all had a great weekend. This is just a quick note to let you know my latest novel, Dangerous Spirits, hits the virtual shelves today.

I can’t wait to share it with you. I think it contains one of the creepiest scenes I’ve ever written, although that might just be because I based it on a childhood fear. But don’t worry, between the scares there’s still plenty of romance and drama with Henry and Vincent! Can these two opposites forge a relationship that works for the long term, or will the heat that flared between them at Reyhome Castle burn out?

And yes, before you ask, Jo and Lizzie are both along for the ride once again. 😉

Dangerous Spirits Coming Sept 15

My Interview with Jordan L. Hawk

  • I love the name Dangerous Spirits. Where do you get your inspiration for your titles and even your characters?

Thanks! I try to keep the titles in a series linked somehow if I can. So all the SPECTR books are called “___er of ____” all the Whyborne & Griffin titles are a single word that usually (but not always) refers to the location where the action is taking place, and all the Spirits books will have the word “Spirits” in the title.

As for characters, I usually have a vague idea who one of the MCs might be, then ask myself who would be his opposite on the surface. So with Spirits, I wanted one of the characters to be a medium who was a bit decadent, into fashion and art and the like, witty and confident. So I figured his apparent opposite would be more into the physical world and science, rather on the stuffy side, and more insecure. Voila, Vincent and Henry.

  • Are your stories long in coming together or can they sometimes just spring to life in a burst of creativity that you fill in with details later?

It’s a bit easier in an established world, but some stories just come together more easily than others. The SPECTR books pretty much go from outline to finished first draft without a lot of rewriting and frustration. Whyborne & Griffin usually means a lot of rewriting and digging deeper to get at the aspects of the story. Spirits seems to be somewhere in between. Although I did end up throwing out the entire original outline I had for Dangerous Spirits about 10,000 words into the book. It was one of those things that looked great in planning stage but didn’t work at all when it was time to put it on the page.

  • What first prompted you to write?

I don’t remember ever not wanting to write, honestly.

  • Favorite paranormal character?

I’m not sure I have an answer to that. I love too many!

  • If you could create a world to live in, what would be a favorite element?

If I could create a world to live in, it wouldn’t look anything like the ones I put my poor characters in. Those are just a bunch of deathtraps.

I dunno, I really like seeing how far and fantastically modern technology has progressed in my lifetime. So I’d probably build myself some kind of sci fi utopia.

  • If you could have one magical power as part of your personal makeup, what would it be?

Probably some kind of telekinesis so I could get things down off the high shelves. 😉

  • What’s next for Jordan L. Hawk?

I’m currently working on Whyborne & Griffin 7, due out in December. I’m also in the planning stages for a follow up novel to “The Thirteenth Hex” (in the Charmed & Dangerous anthology).

Thanks for having me on the blog!

Please come back and see us anytime, and bring us many more stories!

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

 

The Spirits Series – Historical Paranormal

The Spirits series takes place in the latter part of the 19th century, and features the adventures of a man of science, Henry Strauss, and spiritualist medium, Vincent Night. The series came about because I always wanted to write a haunted house story, and what better period to set it in than the Victorian era, when the interest in seances and spirits permeated all levels of society?Dangerous Sprits cover

Blurb

Book 2 in the Spirits Series
Previous Book: Restless Spirits

After the events of Reyhome Castle, Henry Strauss expected the Psychical Society to embrace his application of science to the study of hauntings. Instead, the society humiliates and blacklists him. His confidence shaken, he can’t bring himself to admit the truth to his lover, the handsome medium Vincent Night.

Vincent’s new life in Baltimore with Henry is disrupted when a friend from the past asks for help with a haunting. In the remote town of Devil’s Walk, old ties and new lies threaten to tear the lovers apart, if a fiery spirit bent on vengeance doesn’t put an end to them first.

About the Author

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Jordan L. Hawk grew up in the wilds of North Carolina, where she was raised on stories of haints and mountain magic by her bootlegging granny and single mother. After using a silver knife in the light of a full moon to summon her true love, she turned her talents to spinning tales. She weaves together couples who need to fall in love, then throws in some evil sorcerers and undead just to make sure they want it bad enough. In Jordan’s world, love might conquer all, but it just as easily could end up in the grave.

Contact/follow Jordan L. Hawk at:  Goodreads | Twitter  |  Website  | Facebook

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Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter prize of one of Jordan L. Hawk  novels. The winner will get to choose a eBook, from Jordan L. Hawk’s backlist, winner’s choice (excluding Dangerous Spirits).  You must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Open worldwide.

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A Sammy Review: Cronin’s Key II (Cronin’s Key #2) by N.R. Walker

Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5

Cronin's Key II cover“I am forever by your side.”

“As are we,” Jodis said.

Finally, Alec smiled. “Just like the musketeers, huh? All for one and one for all.”

Cronin pulled back a little so he could see Alec’s face. “They weren’t vampires.”

Life hasn’t been a picnic since Alec MacAidan had his world turned upside down. Finding out you’re fated to a vampire, have pretty much been stalked by another since your birth, and are some kind of mysterious key that could save the world is a lot to swallow. But now that he’s started to embrace it, Alec wouldn’t change a thing.

But if he thought there would be rest for the wicked, he was wrong. With rumors of vampire covens fleeing Russia and disappearances in China, there’s no mistaking that Alec’s job as the key has come into play again. But this time, it’s not his life on the line, it’s his forever.

Completion.

Alec understood now what that really meant. It wasn’t some prudish, polite way to describe an orgasm. It was to be at one with Cronin, to be whole, to be complete.

To be fated.

I was beyond excited to read the second book in this series. The first set a great stage for world building and a lifelong (and then some) romance between Cronin and Alec. In this book, we get even more of that world building and romance, and let me tell you, Walker cranks up the steam.

One of my favorite aspects of the first story was the alternate history, and we got even more of that here. Hell, I’d have loved for pages of it (though most readers wouldn’t, so I understand her limiting it.) The author did a nice job of balancing the copious amounts of information with humor and the rest of the story so that it didn’t feel to heavy or like a huge info dump.

And that humor… oh that humor. It was just spot on. I adore Alec and in this book we got to see more of some past favorites and meet some new ones. I hope to see more of Jorge, and even when Alec and Cronin’s story concludes, I’d love to see what Walker could do with Jacques or Kennard. They both have a lot of potential as stars in their own stories.

But… I do have a bone to pick. Or, well, a few. First, the editing. I literally cringed at some of the mistakes. Commas were missing at points, commas were thrown in where they shouldn’t be, words were wrong… it’s a shame, because someone should’ve picked up on those things before it was published. Normally I can get over a few mistakes, but there were enough in this one that I was actually distracted a few times when reading.

Another issue I had was luckily resolved, and that was the portrayal of Dissociative Identity Disorder (or DID, as most people in the field would call it.) I was glad things changed at the end, because I was pretty unhappy with how this was written.

And then my last issue was with how quickly things happened at the end and the lack of emotion I felt for those parts. It was like two books of build up to that moment and… well, it basically went out with a little whimper instead of a bang. I’d love to see Walker push for more emotion in those parts of her story. Make it less of the motions and more of the feelings. In the end, it just felt too neat and clean. And when we found out who was behind stuff… it literally was like “huh? Oh… okay.” I was totally bummed by that.

Still, I love the world building and the characters, and I can’t wait to read more of these two.

The cover art by Sara York is a nice compliment to the first. It’s still not the prettiest thing in the world, but it ties in with the story and the series.

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

Book Details:

ebook, 195 pages
Published May 22nd 2015 by N.R. Walker
edition language English