Jump Into the Supernatural with N. R. Walker’s Cronin’s Key (excerpt and contest)

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Cronin’s Key by N. R. Walker
Release Date: March 13, 2015
Goodreads Link 

Is N. R. Walker an automatic buy for you?  She is for us here at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words.  We are so pleased to showcase N. R. Walker’s lastest release, Cronin’s Key, the first in a new supernatural series from this amazing author.  Check out the blurb, and excerpt below and don’t forget to enter the contest at the end! Enjoy!

STRW Author Bio and Contacts

About Author N.R. Walker…

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:
Website: http://nrwalker.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003907957620
Facebook Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/N.R.WalkerAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NR_Walker

Publisher: N.R. Walker
Cover Artist: Sara York

Sales Links:  Amazon

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STRW Author BookSynopsis

NYPD Detective Alec MacAidan has always been good with weird. After all, his life has been a string of the unexplainable. But when an injured man gives him cryptic clues, then turns to dust in front of him, Alec’s view on weird is changed forever.

Cronin, a vampire Elder, has spent the last thousand years waiting for Alec. He’d been told his fated one would be a man wielding a shield, but he didn’t expect him to be human, and he certainly didn’t expect that shield to be a police badge.

Both men, strong-willed and stubborn, are still learning how to cope with the push and pull of being fated, when fate throws them another curveball.

Rumors have spread quickly of turmoil in Egypt. Covens are fleeing with news of a vampire who has a talent like no other, hell-bent on unleashing the wrath of Death.

Alec and Cronin are thrown into a world of weird Alec cannot imagine. What he learned in school of ancient pharaohs and Egyptian gods was far from the truth. Instead, he finds out firsthand that history isn’t always what it seems.

Categories: M/M Romance, Paranormal

STRW Spotlight Book Excerpt

 

Alec patted his belly, which was now full of pizza and coffee. Then he thought of something. “When was the last time you fed?”

“Two days ago.”

“Is that too long?”

“I will need to feed soon, but it’s bearable.”

“What is not bearable?” Alec asked. “I’m just curious. I guess I should know these things. I mean, is it uncomfortable for you to be near me right now?”

“Of course not.”

“Is it a hunger, or a thirst? Does your throat burn until you feed, or what?” Alec asked out of pure curiosity.

“It is a hunger,” Cronin answered. “Though not like a human hunger. It affects the whole body, not just the stomach. The whole body craves it.”

Alec considered this. “I can see that, I guess.”

Cronin gave a smile. “You talk of such matter with ease. Does it not bother you?”

“Not as much as I thought it would,” Alec said. “I try not to think about the human loss of it, to be honest. Kinda like how I try not to think about the pigs that die to give us the amazing thing that is bacon.” Alec stared out the kitchen window for a while, looking over the city as he thought about what he just said. “I’m not sure when I stopped caring for human life… I’m a cop, I shouldn’t…” he shook his head. “I don’t know when that changed.”

“When you changed,” Cronin said softly. “When you met me.”

“I changed when I met you?”

Cronin nodded. “As I did when I met you.”

Oh. Alec paused. “Is that part of the fated thing? We change?”

“Yes. Fundamental changes to our psyche, to adapt to the needs of our significant other.”

“But I’m still me,” Alec said quietly.

Cronin gave him a small smile. “You will always be you. You just adopt certain tolerances.”

“So, normally if something pissed me off with someone, like something they did—like snoring! If they snored—I ‘d hate it, but if you snored, I wouldn’t care.”

“I don’t snore.”

“That wasn’t my point.”

Cronin chuckled. “Your point was correct, yes.”

“So what pisses you off in other people, but not in me?”

Cronin thought for a moment. “I don’t like being interrupted when I’m talking. It is frustrat-”

“Like that?” Alec said with a smile. “Like me interrupting you like that?”

Cronin huffed. “Yes, like that.”

Alec snorted. “But it still annoyed you.”

“It’s a work in progress.” Cronin let out a half-laugh, half-sigh. “It frustrates me far less with you than someone else, believe me.”

“Then I shall try my very hardest not to interrupt you ever again,” Alec said, with a smirk and flick of his eyebrow which meant he shall try his very hardest to interrupt Cronin every chance he got.

Cronin sighed. “I also find sarcasm rather tiresome.”

“Excellent.” Alec laughed and finished his breakfast and made himself another coffee.

Alec leaned against the kitchen counter with his second cup of coffee in his hand, and it was as though Cronin was waiting for him. He cleared his throat. “So, given the events of yesterday, I wondered whether you wished to continue our date? Considering it was cut short.”

Alec hid his slow-spreading smile behind his coffee cup. “I would love to, but I thought research might be in order, given the events of yesterday.”

“Research of what?”

Alec was stunned. Research of what? “Uh, everything we learned yesterday, none of which makes sense.”

“Jodis and Eiji are seeking out information as we speak.”

“I thought you said they were eating out?”

Cronin smiled. “They are doing both. They’ve gone to Egypt-”

“They’ve what?” Alec cried, interrupting him. “By themselves?”

“They’re safe,” Cronin told him. “They’re verifying the information Bes gave us yesterday. Though we’ve no reason to doubt him, I wanted to be sure.”

“You asked them to go?”

“Yes. I took them.”

“You what?”

“I was only gone for one second. The apartment is well alarmed, and you were sound asleep.”

Alec put his cup down and ran his hands through his hair. “And?”

“And they are searching out any other information we might use.”

Alec sighed. “And what about me?”

Cronin blinked. “I don’t know what you mean. What about you?”

Alec took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I’m a detective. Figuring shit out is what I do. I research, I study, I figure shit out.”

“Alec, I cannot risk you being out there. Please understand, it’s not my wish to see you confined here, but until this risk is over-”

“I don’t need to leave here,” Alec replied. “As much as I’d like to.” He rolled his eyes. “But we have this thing now called the internet. I mean, it is only recent in your perspective of timelines, and I know you think Shakespeare is still classed as popular culture, but it is the twenty-first century.”

Cronin glared at him for just a moment. “I take back what I said before. I do believe that I detest sarcasm more than being interrupted.”

 

Excerpt: 
Pages or Words: 83,000 words

Tour Stops:

Parker Williams, Amanda C. Stone, MM Good Book Reviews, Bayou Book Junkie, Redz World, Molly Lolly, Cate Ashwood, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, SA McAuley, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Andrew Q. Gordon, My Fiction Nook, BFD Book Blog, 3 Chicks After Dark, Divine Magazine, Elin Gregory, Carly’s Book Reviews, Inked Rainbow Reads, Sinfully Addicted to All Male Romance, Because Two Men Are Better Than One, Love Bytes, The Fuzzy, Fluffy World of Chris T. Kat, The Blogger Girls, Rainbow Gold Reviews, Fallen Angel Reviews, Nephylim, It’s Raining Men, Michael Mandrake, Velvet Panic

 

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Contest: Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: Two copies of Cronin’s Key (2). Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Rafflecopter link and prizes provided by Pride Promotions.

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A MelanieM Review: Drawing Dead: Jack of Spades (PF 2015 Altered States) by Lee Brazil

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Drawing Dead PF 2015 coverThe world hasn’t been the same since the preternaturals came out of the closet. Much to many people’s chagrin, strange beings of all kinds are making life tricky for the “normals.”  Vampires, werewolves, ghosts and ghoulies of all sorts.

Physics professor Dr. Sabine Brusilov has been obsessed with ghost hunting since he was eight years old. He’s gathered a wealth of knowledge, but can’t produce a shred of scientific proof.  Almost.  When Sabines found some old artifacts and bones at the bottom of a river, the last thing he expected was to see a ghost desolately sitting on the river bed next to them.  Now the ghost is a constant presence in Sabine’s life, including his bed.

One hundred and seventy-five years of death haven’t done riverboat gambler Barton Montoire a damn bit of good. He’s still rash, impulsive, and prone to fits of temper and bouts of melancholy.  He’s still trying to fit together pieces of his past, although the way he died, gunshot to the chest, feels as fresh as the day it happened over a game of cards.  Now he spends his days and nights haunting the very handsome  and gay Dr. Sabine Brusilov.

You’d think that when fate brought the two of them together, Bart’s lonely spirit would be calmed, and Sabine would have the proof his heart desires.  But their future is as cloudy as Barton’s past, especially when a new evil arrives in town.

In a world where mythical beings are real, love is still the most elusive… and treacherous myth of them all.

Here we are at the start of another round of Pulp Friction stories, Drawing Dead: Jack of Spades by Lee Brazil, and it has all the hallmarks of a most memorable series.  Taking place in New Orleans, whose name conjures up ghastly past events, hauntings and romance, Brazil’s characters  and plot fit right in.

First is Dr. Dr. Sabine Brusilov, an intense physics professor and hunter of ghosts.  Sabine is such an intently focused human being that he lurks on the edge of being self involved to the point of obsession and obliviousness to those around him. He is one character I hope shows some emotional growth as the storyline progresses because he comes close to dividing the main characters into two teams.  Team Sabine and Team Barton.  His careless treatment (in my eyes)  or perhaps just lack of concern towards Barton comes close to derailing any affection I feel towards Sabine.  Luckily, his lover more than made up for Sabine’s inadequacies in the personality department.  Barton I adore. Ten years ago, while hunting for artifacts, Sabine came across some bones and personal objects buried in the river bottom.  Sitting next to them?  Their dead and now ghostly owner, riverboat gambler Barton Montoire.

That aspect of the story just drew me in.  I love the idea of a ghost of outrageous character and gorgeous to boot and that’s Barton Montoire!  He’s definitely my favorite character.  Dressed in the clothes in which he died 175 years ago, he cuts quite the figure.  In Barton, Brazil has created a vivid character, voluble and emotional (well, who wouldn’t be given his circumstances), whose memories and personality is still somewhat frayed by the “whole dead thing” experience.  Barton is not only charismatic but made sympathetic by the way he is forced to “live” his ghostly existence.  He can only be seen and heard by Sabine (at first), and he is restricted in movement and to specific locations by Sabine’s will.  If Sabine doesn’t want him to travel with him, Barton is stuck in Sabine’s quarters, alone and frustrated.  If Barton has anger issues (and he does), they are ones the reader can relate to.  Really, he makes the story for me.

Sabine now runs a Dead Mens Tales Investigative Service and thats the plot point which introduces the mystery that launches an investigation that will threaten to bring both men, alive and dead, permanently down.  Brazil does an excellent job of easing us into this portion of the plot.  Sabine gets a phone call from an elderly woman, who may be dotty but is also definitely afraid of the tenants upstairs in her house.   His initial investigation provokes a few jitters but the worse is yet to come.  Little by little Brazil takes a mild case of suspicion and builds it into something ominous and heavy with evil intent.  I loved that!  It definitely gave me goose bumps.  And using a gambler’s or magician’s sleight of hand, while our attention is focused in one direction, something equally awful and startling is happening in the other direction, just put a wonderful finishing flourish to all the events unfolding.  In a totally scary and creepy way of course.

As the story heads towards its cliffhanger, other characters are introduced, some from the Altered States stories of Harner and Webb and others new and central to the Pulp Friction interconnected series.  Be on the look out for wolfshifter Jet (from Altered States), Laurant the incubus from Havan Brazil’s series, among many others.   I can’t wait to see what parts they all will play in the drama to come.

I definitely recommend this story and series.  It’s haunting, dynamic and full of elements that will draw you in.  Love supernatural tales?  Ones full of mystery, romance and dread?  This one’s for you.  Along with all the others to follow. Get started today!

 Cover art by Laura Harner.  I love this cover and all the covers I’ve seen for the Pulp Friction series.  Just gorgeous.

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

Book Details:

Kindle Edition
Published February 13th 2015 by Lime Time Press
ASINB00TL4F1XW
edition languageEnglish

About Pulp Friction 2015
Lee Brazil ~ Havan Fellows ~ Parker Williams ~ Laura Harner

The Pulp Friction 2015 Altered States Collection.
Four authors.
Four Series.
Twenty books.
One supernatural finale.

Spend a year with the creatures that go bump in the night…fighting for their rights to exist and protecting the innocents of The Big Easy. A diverse group of friends trying to find their place in a world they never had to “fit” into before.
Although each series can stand alone, we believe reading the books in the order they are released will increase your enjoyment.

Round One:
Drawing Dead (Jack of Spades: 1) by Lee Brazil
Blind Stud (King of Hearts: 1) by Havan Fellows
The Devil’s Bedpost (Four of Clubs: 1) by Parker Williams
Diamonds and Dust (Ace of Diamonds: 1) by Laura Harner

Not familiar with the Altered States series? Check them all out here:

Books in the Altered States Series in the order they should be read:
• Altered States (Altered States, #0.5)
• Deep Blues Goodbye (Altered States, #1)
• Deadly Shades of Gold (Altered States, #2)
• Free Falling Crimson (Altered States, #3)

 

Need a New Addiction? Pulp Friction 2015 is Back and Supernaturally Great!

 

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Are you a lover of serial fiction?  Especially M/M serial fiction?  Are hot men and supernatural beings things that heat you  up and make you grab for a fan or three?  Does the name New Orleans make you shiver with anticipation and a little bit of trepidation? How about a combination of all those elements?  Did I hear a squee of joy?  Well, this year’s Pulp Friction – Altered States  2015 edition  of interconnected series is up and running and it contains all those things and more!

Unfamiliar with Pulp Friction? It’s four author, four series connected together by characters and events.  It’s full of drama, mystery, murder and high suspense mixed with hot men and lots of  romance!  It started in 2013 in Atlanta, moved to Flagstaff in 2014 and now in New Orleans.  And with every year it gets better and more surprising.  And this year a supernatural element is added, along with vampires, werewolves, ghosts, succubus and much, much more.

Contest:All authors have contributed towards a special giveaway – a eBook copy of each of the first stories in Round One!  To enter leave a comment with your email address, tell us about your favorite supernatural being and click on the Rafflecopter link below (I am so over letting Kirby pick out names, he takes forever and gets distracted by squirrels!):

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Now on to our interview…

Stopping by today to  give all my readers a little bit of insight are the wonderful authors that make up this year’s Pulp Friction gang – Laura Harner, Havan Fellows, Lee Brazil and Parker Williams!

A Most Desired Pulp Friction Chat…..

Q. How do you see Pulp Friction?

(Havan) I love the series American Horror Story. I don’t just love it because of the scare factor (or gross-out factor or WTF factor or cheap thrills factor or Holy Shit they went THERE factor…I could go on and on, and this is only covering the horror genre of it so far lol) but it’s the writing and format of the series that works for me, also. I love that each season is all its own…sure they “tie” together in their own sort of way and doesn’t that have all the theorists going ga-ga lol – but each season is self-contained. The show reinvents itself every single season…using the same actors is irrelevant up to a point. The formula is the same.

That is how I see Pulp Friction. Sure the formula is the same:
• bad ass men who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty to get what they want
• a localized place for the men to run to whenever they need back-up
• the bonds of love and family

But each year (season) we introduce new characters for you to enjoy, love, hate, lust after. So not only are our readers falling hard for the men we are giving them now – they are also wondering what could we possibly bring to the table to top this next year…it keeps all of us totally vested in Pulp Friction and makes it more than a mere read…it makes it an addiction…

(Lee) Pulp Friction, in my mind is a complex, tangle of men, emotion, and action. It’s romance with a side of mayhem, which may or may not consist of homicide.

(Will) I see it as a shift (no pun) on the theme. Everything you’ve loved about Pulp Friction is still there. The friendship, the sense of family, the falling in love. It’s just amped up and included the supernatural elements that make Altered States such a thrilling read.

(Laura) What I’ve always loved about the original idea for the Pulp Friction group was the ability to serialize stories, to have the old fashioned “tune-in-next-week” atmosphere without the intensive work it would require from one person. By sharing the experience with multiple authors, we get to provide a more complex set of stories, and create a community with our characters as well as with our readers.

And like Havan, I absolutely love that each season is self-contained—we pack up our bag of tricks and move to a new world.
What do you have planned for 2015?

(Havan) Pure and absolute chaos.

(Lee) That mayhem I mentioned above? It might just contain a touch of homicide this year. But I couldn’t really say for sure. I can promise romance… Ah love…

(Havan) Seriously – you’ve unleashed us into the paranormal realm where rules no longer apply…sit down, buckle up and get ready. You may want to hang that garlic around your neck and invest in some sterling silver…perhaps cross your legs too (Laurant says hello *winks*) – you never know who might be up for a midnight snack in our world.

(Will) As the new kid at the table, I’m bringing a psychic who gets mixed up in abduction cases being handled by a detective who may, or may not, be more than he seems. I hope that Ben and Artie can step into the world alongside these amazing authors I’m privileged to work with and stand with the others as well as on their own.

(Laura) My part of the 2015 year picks up where Free Falling Crimson left off, and although I don’t want to spoil anything, if you’ve read the first two books this season, you already know my character Jet is in mourning. Jet will be meeting up with an ancient vampire, Nico who has worked as an enforcer for the vampire council in Europe for hundreds of years. Nico is now in New Orleans to assist Homeland Security’s new Odd Squad. The two men might be hard as diamonds, but with a year to explore their pasts, we might find out that not everything is as it seems…

Q.Best moment of writing with the PF group?

(Havan) Besides the fact that I’m learning so much from my fellow authors…or that they are real good for my self-esteem…or that we are so much more than a “group,” just like the men we write about we are truly a family… Yeah, all of the above. On a side note: how cool is it to get the reader to root for the anti-hero? Season one we got you to approve of the bad guys, season two was all about encouraging a rag-tag collection of misfits and season three be prepared to cheer on the monsters. 🙂

(Lee) There’s a sheer thrill in seeing it all come together- in seeing everyone’s individual characters and storylines meld into a single, cohesive universe. Also… it’s really cool to know what happens as it unfolds. Each subsequent story inspires me in the creation of my next episode. It’s amazing.

(Will) I’ve been proofing for the group for the last two years, and I’m utterly astounded at the focus they have for their own characters as well as the ability to write the guys from each other’s stories. My best moment was when they said, “Hey, Will… we have an idea. What do you think about writing with us this year?”  *THUD*

(Havan) Will is totally and completely THUD worthy himself!

(Laura) Triple thud? LOL. There are so many “BEST” moments, I’m hard pressed to pick one. Lee already mentioned how watching it all comes together as the year progress is amazing. Creating a “Pulp Friction” season is a lot like making sausage—no one wants to know what goes into it, but we can tell you that it’s a lot of fun, along with the hard work. We work on very tight deadlines, and must be constantly aware of what’s happening in the other writer’s series.

I consider myself very fortunate because I get to spend time every day with my Pulp Friction family. Just like a family, we care for each other in ways others don’t necessarily see. We share far more than just our PF story ideas. Havan, Lee, Will, Tom, and I have a chat box open whenever we’re on our computers—which is pretty much all the time. They are usually the first people I talk to every day, and we end many evenings doing writing sprints together. Yes, our family dynamics have changed over the years. Tom Webb might not be writing with us in 2015, but he is still involved, still joins us to sprint and beta reads. And adding Will was a no-brainer because he’s been a behind-the-scenes part of our family since the beginning.

Uh oh…we’re all in trouble now. Laura gave out our deepest darkest secret–she spoke about the nakey chat box!

Okay…so it’s only a nakey chat box in our minds (ie my mind) but it is the glue that holds us together I swear. There is almost always someone available when one of us needs inspiration for our present WIP, sprints to ramp up our word count, or if we have edits we don’t quite get…but the chat box is not limited to our writing. Oh heck to the no… our relationship is not limited to our writing careers. We are family. Period. When anyone needs anything all they have to do is log on and BOOM, instant gratification…whether there is nakey-ness or not. *winks*

It’s that connection we have that keeps all avenues of communication open between us…it allows us to write in depth serials brilliantly…among so many other things.

We’re the best type of family…we don’t just love each other, we like each other too.

So what if I happen to be the only nakey one in the chat box…it’s not like I’ve turned my webcam on…yet *smirks*

 PF2015 Banner-1

About Pulp Friction 2015
Lee Brazil ~ Havan Fellows ~ Parker Williams ~ Laura Harner

The Pulp Friction 2015 Altered States Collection.
Four authors.
Four Series.
Twenty books.
One supernatural finale.

Spend a year with the creatures that go bump in the night…fighting for their rights to exist and protecting the innocents of The Big Easy. A diverse group of friends trying to find their place in a world they never had to “fit” into before.
Although each series can stand alone, we believe reading the books in the order they are released will increase your enjoyment.

Round One (STRW reviews start next week):
Drawing Dead (Jack of Spades: 1) by Lee Brazil
Blind Stud (King of Hearts: 1) by Havan Fellows
The Devil’s Bedpost (Four of Clubs: 1) by Parker Williams
Diamonds and Dust (Ace of Diamonds: 1) by Laura Harner

Not familiar with the Altered States series?  Check them all out here:

Books in the Altered States Series in the order they should be read:
Altered States (Altered States, #0.5)
Deep Blues Goodbye (Altered States, #1)
Deadly Shades of Gold (Altered States, #2)
Free Falling Crimson (Altered States, #3)

 

Drawing Dead PF 2015 coverBlind Stud, King of Hearts cover PF2015

 

 

A MelanieM Review: Free Falling Crimson (Altered States #3) by Laura Harner and T. A. Webb

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

New Orleans, Louisiana. 2015.

Free Falling Crimson coverA bank is robbed and two guards are torn apart and yet the cameras show nothing.  No suspicious persons to be identified and no clues to help search out the killer. Other than the bloody aftermath. Except the fact that the victims are human and the crimes occur in  Human Only establishments.  All signs point to a Preternatural killer with a grudge against humans. It’s not the first, and it won’t be the last.

Three years have passed since a vampire burst into flames on television and humans were forced to face a new world where supernatural beings exist. Caught up in the revelation and new world order are Sam Garrett and Travis Boudreaux, former NOPD detectives. Once human, they find themselves part of the preternatural world. Now everything is different, new lives, new rules, only their strange bond and attraction to each other has remained the same.

So much to contend with.   Humans Only separatist groups are springing up everywhere ala KKK. Also out to get them is a vampire with political ambitions with huge plans of his own. No one’s safe in a world where humans—and supers—are forced to adapt, or die.

Working together as part of a team sanctioned by Homeland Security to carry out Justice Department decrees, Sam and Travis ensure the deadliest of supers pay for their crimes. Permanently.

Warning: This is a steamy urban fantasy. In this series the vampires don’t sparkle, werewolves kill.

Free Falling Crimson (Altered States, #3) by Laura Harner and T. A. Webb is the culmination of three preceding stories and its by far the best of them all.  While the others were setting out the characters, relationships (no matter how tenuous), and world building, this story pulls it all together in a taut thriller guaranteed to make your heart race for multiple reasons.

At the center of this series is newly made supernaturals Sam Garrett and Travis Boudreaux.  Their job as partners on the force pulled them together, their feelings for each other initialized a strange bond that even the calamitous events couldn’t destroy.  Now back together again, Sam and Travis are trying to make their new relationship work amidst a crime spree that seems unsolvable and a new world order that seems to want to repeat the same mistakes made with those of Japanese ancestry during WWII.  A Humans Only rights group is gaining in power and political leverage.  Everywhere there are talks of internment camps and registering supernatural beings.  And that makes solving this case even more important to all.

Harner and Webb understand complicated plots and they keep several important story lines in play at the same time to further deepen the mysteries and obfuscate important details and agendas.  Secondary but hugely important characters have relationships in motion at every stage of the game. Some of imploding under stress and power struggles, others are being formed despite outward behaviors to the contrary.  And each pairing is critical to the overall picture.  The Altered States series is very much a chess game and the authors are very adept at keeping their end game a secret while constantly upping the suspense and, yes, sometimes terror at the events happening all around our characters.

Sam and Travis finally commit to each other and the sex scenes are intense and oh so hot!  How I have waited for this to happen.  Other couples find themselves in flux and compelling new characters find their way into the mix.  Love, love, loved it.

Of course, it ends on a cliffhanger.  A heartbreaking, pulse pounding cliffhanger.  It is as marvelous as it is frustrating.  I can’t wait to see what happens next.

At around 152 pages, this is not a quick read because  you will find yourself backtracking to check facts, people and relationships along the way.  I told you it was complicated, but as you gather hints throughout the story, you begin to get and appreciate the layers to all the characters and story lines woven into the Altered States series.   Pick up the first story and get started if you are new to the series.  But if you have been reading along as I have,  than this is the book you’lll love on every front!

Cover artist Laura Harner.  I’m not a fan of red covers and this one doesn’t change my mind.  I get why the artist choose red but it just never works well, no matter the design.  A smaller dosage of crimson would have highlighted the drama, instead its lost in the monotone palette.

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

Book Details:

ebook
Published February 1st 2015 by Smashwords Edition
ISBN139781941841006
edition languageEnglish
seriesAltered States #3

Books in the Altered States Series in the order they should be read:

• Altered States (Altered States, #0.5)
• Deep Blues Goodbye (Altered States, #1)
• Deadly Shades of Gold (Altered States, #2)
• Free Falling Crimson (Altered States, #3)

A MelanieM Review: Deadly Shades of Gold (Altered States #2) by L.E. Harner, and T.A. Webb

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

“Wolf or vamp? Decide. It has to be now.”

Deadly Shades of Gold coverA life altering decision made in seconds. For those were the last words Sam Garrett ever heard—as a human. And as something other than human, his career as a cop was over.

Travis Boudreaux knows exactly how Sam feels, its an all too familiar situation. But as Travis and Sam are about to find out… when some doors close, the golden window of opportunity opens. Crimes against supernaturals require a new and different approach, and once the Feds show up, the Odd Squad isn’t the only law enforcement game in town.

With paranormal crimes flourishing and  a revenge-seeking vampire creating deadly havoc, the new federal agent-in-charge is on a recruiting mission—and he’s more than ready to fight fire with fire. What do you get when you mix old friends, new enemies, and a license to kill?

Pure dynamite.

Warning: This is an erotic urban fantasy. In this series the vampires don’t sparkle, werewolves kill, and the men sometimes have sex. With each other.

Alrighty then!  With Deadly Shades of Gold, the romance of Sam and Travis is about to be well…something hot and wonderful.  As well as totally unexpected.  I loved this story wholeheartedly.  It made me want to do a few high fives and “hell to the yeah’s”!  To recap briefly, Sam and Travis were partners on the force and soon to be partners in love when a vampire attacked Travis and killed him.  But Travis didn’t stay dead for long and his return (on the day of his funeral), revealed to the world that vampires and other supernatural beings were real and living along side of them.  Surprise!  And quite, naturally it split up Sam and Travis to go their separate ways.

In Deep Blues Goodbye, Sam became the focus of two warring supernatural groups and the end result was a life altering decision (not to be revealed here).  The choice made is startling as is the effects it has on Sam, his career, and all those around him.   It also brings Travis back into his life and that’s where this story takes flight for me more once more.  I love this two together.  Apart, its bittersweet but together? They become dynamic and compelling.  It doesn’t matter whether they are human or supernatural, Harner and Webb have created a romance that feels powerful and real, a connection that jumps off the page and into your heart.  This story starts them on the path back to each other and something more as it picks up from that moment.

I love how believable the authors made the characters adjustment to their new status.  There’s plenty of confusion and pain to go around, second guessing and indecision often rules the day.  The process of accepting and adjusting to being a supernatural takes time and we watch it happen as Sam works his way through this tumultuous period. More plot threads are revealed, including perhaps, a motive or two from the head villain himself.  Unknown histories are starting to surface and more supernatural politics combine with romance for another superb installment in this series.  I think this is my favorite so far.

I highly recommend this series.  I love the world building, its layered and complicated, just like the characters themselves.  I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Cover art by Laura Harner.  Love this cover, wish there was more branding to the series.

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

Book Details:

ebook, 134 pages
Published February 19th 2013 by Hot Corner Press
ISBN139781937252311
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://lauraharner.com
seriesAltered States #2
charactersSam Garrett (Altered States), Travis Boudreaux

Books in the Altered States Series in the order they should be read:
• Altered States (Altered States, #0.5)
• Deep Blues Goodbye (Altered States, #1)
• Deadly Shades of Gold (Altered States, #2)
• Free Falling Crimson (Altered States, #3)

 

A MelanieM Review: Deep Blues Goodbye (Altered States #1) by L.E. Harner, T.A. Webb

Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5

Deep Blues Goodbye coverWith one startling action, the world changed forever. Recently deceased NOPD Detective Travis Boudreaux was in the process of being mourned and buried when he had the bad taste to sit up at his own funeral.  Until that happened no one knew that vampires and werewolves had been living amongst them. Now two years later, the fight is on for civil rights for preternatural beings and most humans are on the bandwagon. Except whoever is killing vampires and would be vampires.

Since the death and return of his partner and almost love, Detective Sam Garrett has hated all things preternatural. Having your undead partner try to make you his first meal will do that to a guy. When Sam’s attitude gets the best of him on the job, Sam finds himself banished to the Paranormal Criminal Investigations Unit—the Odd Squad—under the oversight of Detective Danny Burkette.

Now it’s up to Burkette to work with Garrett by day and Boudreaux by night as they follow a trail of clues that leads from the historic cemeteries of New Orleans to the bayous of southern Louisiana. During the course of their investigations, both men come to the attention  of a Master vampire and the local werewolf pack Alpha.  If they aren’t careful, it won’t be just Boudreaux whose dead, but maybe even Sam as well.  Some lessons in life—and death—take longer to learn…and Sam and Travis find out that not all second chances are created equal.

Warning: This is an erotic urban fantasy. In this series the vampires don’t sparkle, werewolves kill, and the men sometimes have sex. With each other.

Deep Blues Goodbye (Altered States #1) by L.E. Harner and T.A. Webb deepens the amazing world building these authors are constructing for this series.  New Orleans, that rich feast of a city, is the perfect setting for supernatural beings  in love and evil schemes that are slow to unfold.  After that shocker at the end of Altered States, I eagerly grabed this up to see what had occurred only to find that two years had passed and the aftermath is viewed through the various perspective of the characters involved.  And yes, I was a little disappointed.  After all, what happened at the funeral was a stunner for all involved, including the now animated corpse of Travis Boudreaux.  But two years have passed since Travis was turned and now everyone has to deal with the fact that vampires, werewolves and more exist and live among them.  And not everyone is happy about that, including Sam.

I adore Sam, he’s a piece of cynical perfection and disappointment.  What happened to Travis altered Sam as well, especially since both men were so close to falling in love, if they hadn’t already.  But a vampire and fate intervenes and their new  relationship was destroyed…or so they think.  It soon becomes apparent that Sam has never gotten over Travis and that just adds onto the bitterness Sam already feels about the whole undead thing and his partner.  I loved the two of them together and their bonding extends past themselves and the pages to include the reader.  In fact, I so bought into their burgeoning love affair that  aspects of this story threw me off.

Without heading into spoiler territory, other supernaturals arrive to further complicate the current state of affairs and all their attention will be focusing on Sam.   We see Travis as he is trying to move forward with his undead life with not a whole lot of success.  We see Sam also trying to do the same, both are stalled and bitter.  Something has to occur to break the stasis and it’s a doozy.

As part of the events that happen,  a bonded pair will have some wild hot sex with one of our main characters.  Normally this doesn’t bother me, especially when the authors make a case for it to happen.  But here? Not an element I enjoyed.  I understood where the authors were going with it, but I so bought into Sam and Travis’ romance that this aspect never became palatable.  How a reader feels about this (it’s really not cheating) will likely foretell how they feel about this installment in the series.  Some readers will be asking if they can skip over this book (and yes, the third book sort of resolves this), but no *shakes finger*, unfortunately you can’t.

Think of each story as a building block essential to the whole construct.  Miss even one, and you miss key elements that not only enrich the series but deepen the mystery and suspense Harner and Webb are working hard to build.  So much of this story is worthy of your attention and commitment.  And, perhaps,  the few elements that bothered me won’t phase you in the least.  This is going to be one wild ride!

Another reason to start reading this series?  This year’s Pulp Friction 2015 gang situates all their interconnected series in the Altered States universe.  So its double or is that quadruple the fun for all!  So get started.  Each is a fast, wild, suspenseful tale…over before you know it.  However, don’t be astonished if it lingers on in the questions and clues left behind (and even more shockers).

Cover art by Laura Harner works for the series.

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

Book Details:

ebook, 120 pages
Published August 16th 2012 by Hot Corner Press
ISBN139781937252243
edition languageEnglish
seriesAltered States #1
charactersSam Garrett (Altered States), Travis Boudreaux

Books in the Altered States Series in the order they should be read:

  • Altered States (Altered States, #0.5)
  • Deep Blues Goodbye (Altered States, #1)
  • Deadly Shades of Gold (Altered States, #2)
  • Free Falling Crimson (Altered States, #3)

 

A Stella Review: Neon White E2 (A Tooth Claw and Horns Chronicle #2) by Wulf Francu Godgluck

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Neon White 2 coverRaven White is finding it very difficult to forget Chetlér – the demon has had a profound effect on him. But the daily grind goes on, bringing with it a new partner, an invitation to the Winter Ball, and an attempt on Raven’s life.
No one attending the Ball could have foreseen how it would end – in blood and death.

Warning: contain spoilers of the episode 1

I love this series so much. As I already said in the review of the Episode 1 it’s not my usually genre, so I really have no idea how I fell in love with it and the author too. I love the concept Wulf created. This time too I found myself captured from the story and I couldn’t put it down for a minute.

In the Episode 1 we left Raven and Chetlér first in some hot position (LOL), and just when I was thinking I could have some romance, Bla’Gar screwed it all and sent my poor Raven away. We finally can see the demon hidden inside of him and something else (I can’t say more, just think bigger, people!). We learn more about Bla’Glar’s past and it isn’t a beautiful one, in some parts was really hard to know what he went through.

Raven has a lot to deal with. First of all, a new partner, the sweet Pyro Jessy. I liked her at first reading. She seemed strong and loyal. She’s just one of some new characters we’ll meet in this new episode and for a short like this one is amazing.
Furthermore, Raven is still trying to understand what’s behind his parents death and in one of his rare visit at his old home, he will meet a not so friendly hellhounds.

As in all my favorite romances, tragedy will bring Raven and Bla’Gar together, but just for a little bit, some hot kisses and then… damn cliffhanger! Did I tell you how much I hate cliffhangers? Well in this series every episode ends with one, so if you can, take all the three episodes, you’ll avoid to scream at the tablet. I was so sure my stupid tablet had stolen at least one more chapter and when I realized it was really the end, I wanted to scream to the author… “Where is the next one? You can’t end this story in this way, Wulf!!!”

Highly recommended!

Cover Art by Wulf Francu Godgluck. The covers of the three episodes are pretty much the same with just some little details that fit that episode completely. You’ll understand and realize it if you’ll decide to read the series. Well done Wulf!

Sales Links:   All Romance (ARe)    Amazon     Buy it Here

Book Details:

ebook
Published October 31st 2014 (first published October 29th 2014)
ISBN139781311047151
edition languageEnglish
seriesA Tooth Claw and Horns Chronicle #

It’s Here! Pulp Friction 2015- Book #1 Jack of Spades, Drawing Dead by Lee Brazil

Book one in Lee Brazil’s Jack of Spades Series, Drawing Dead,

is releasing today, Feb. 15th.

PF2015 Banner

 

Pulp Friction 2015: Altered states
Jack of Spades #1,Drawing Dead  By Lee Brazil

About the book:

Genre: m/m paranormal serial
WC 16000,Heat Rating: 3

About Jack of Spades #1,Drawing DeadPF1-DDead-400x600

The world hasn’t been the same since the preternaturals came out of the closet. Much to many people’s chagrin, strange beings of all kinds are making life tricky for the “normals.”

Physics professor Dr. Sabine Brusilov has been obsessed with ghost hunting since he was eight years old.. He’s gathered a wealth of knowledge, but can’t produce a shred of scientific proof.

One hundred and seventy-five years of death haven’t done riverboat gambler Barton Montoire a damn bit of good. He’s still rash, impulsive, and prone to fits of temper and bouts of melancholy.

You’d think that when fate brought the two of them together, Bart’s lonely spirit would be calmed, and Sabine would have the proof his heart desires.

In a world where mythical beings are real, love is still the most elusive… and treacherous myth of them all.

EXCERPT

“Mrs. Carew, I apologize. Tell me about the paranormal problem again?” Sabine brushed back over his shoulder the dark hair that his mischievous boyfriend had loosened. Normally he kept it in a ponytail, a queue, as Bart quaintly called it, because it tickled his face when loose. He always ended up pushing it back and getting smudges on his glasses in the process.

He frowned at Bart’s glimmer…the sort of ripple in the air that reminded him of the way heat looked rising off a highway in the dead of summer. Sneaky bastard.

“It’s my new upstairs neighbors, Dr. Brusilov. Before they even moved in they installed dark blinds on their windows and I never see anyone coming out during the day. Not even at the mailboxes. But all night long… The thumping and the bumping and the shrieking. I’m sure they’re vampires up there murdering innocents.”

Sabine tapped his pencil on the desk and watched Bart coalesce into something resembling a solid shape in front of his office door. “Being a vampire is not illegal, and you’d have to have proof of murder, Mrs. Carew.” He explained as patiently as he could.

Six years earlier he’d investigated a haunting at Mrs. Carew’s church…and had received bi-weekly phone calls about hauntings ever since.

“Well, couldn’t you come out and investigate it?”

“That’s not the sort of paranormal I investigate, Mrs. Carew. Here at Dead Men’s Tales we only investigate hauntings.” He glanced at his watch. Thursdays were generally light, but tonight happened to be poker night, and as luck would have it, it was his turn to play host to the gathering.

“You mean ghosts, like at the church, right?”
\
“Exactly, just ghosts.” His brows shot up and his lips twitched as Bart began an elaborate strip tease accompanied by high knee kicks and spins. The cancan had been popular with students when Bart was at university, nearly two hundred years earlier. It was Bart’s idea of risqué…and Sabine bit back his laugh.

“Those are real, too?”

“Yes,” he sighed, setting the pen down and rubbing his temple. “Ghosts, vampires, werewolves…you name it, I imagine it’s real.” The world had changed so much, people like Mrs. Carew who’d once been considered crackpots were thrown even more off balance. Learning that the world as you knew it was never really…well, the world as you knew it, had been devastating for some and inspirational for others.

The vampires had come out first…then the wolves.

Just Sabine’s luck that the supernatural beings he’d spent the last fifteen years trying to prove existed—scientifically and irrefutably—were still shy and in hiding. Except Bart. He glanced up at the semi-transparent and now fully nude ghost that had haunted him for the better part of the last decade. And Bart was just stubborn enough to refuse to share any relevant information with him.

“You know what, Mrs. Carew?” he straightened in his chair. “I’ll come by on my way home. Maybe if I just knock on the door and ask them to be a little quieter at night, it might help.”

“I’ll make cookies.” The elderly lady sounded delighted, and Sabine was glad he’d made the offer as he hung up the phone.

“You”—he narrowed a level glare at his boyfriend—“are incorrigible.”

Bart stopped his high knee kicks, put his hands on his hips, and stood, bits dangling, an indignant expression on his face though his dark eyes twinkled with mirth. “That is exactly what old Father Peter used to say.”

“The old sod was right! How could you distract me while Mrs. Carew was on the phone?”

Bart jiggled and thrust his hips, and his prick bobbed and twirled. “She’s a waste of time. The old bat’s crazy as a loon.”

“She’s lonely.” Sabine rose and went around to the front of his desk. Bart immediately flashed, then reappeared centimeters from Sabine, close enough that Sabine could feel him…a warm current of air that grew hotter as the passion that drew them together intensified. In his pocket, the gold watch grew warmer as well. “You remember what that’s like, don’t you?”

Bart bounced back, instantly reclothed in the dark jacket and trousers, the brocade vest and frilled shirt that he’d died in.

“Why do you have to keep bringing that up?”

“Because you’re remarkably intolerant of human needs for someone who…”

“Was alone at the bottom of the Mississippi for, what did you say? A hundred and seventy-five years? That’s right. It’s 2015 now, isn’t it? I hardly think the few paltry years your Mrs. Carew has been alone count for a pittance in a pisspot compared to that. I need your company. She can find her own.”

Sabine dug his hand into his jeans pocket and closed it into a fist around the gold pocket watch he’d found in Barton Montoire’s steamer trunk when he’d excavated it from the depths of the river more than a decade earlier. “I was going to take you with me, but given this attitude…” He pulled the watch from his pocket and set it on the desk.

“Don’t you…” Bart flashed again…appearing across the room, by the windows. A splinter of light disrupted his eyes… Sabine caught his breath.

Most of the time Bart was good-humored, fun, and a pleasure to have around. He was an educated man and an excellent companion. Other times…the handsome face could appear menacing, and this was one of those times.

“Don’t leave me here,” Bart repeated. This time he took the time to walk across the room to Sabine, and his body had solidified to the point where his boot heels actually made noise as they struck the tiled floor.

Sabine shook his head. “I’m sorry. I can’t trust you, not in this mood.”

He’d learned the hard way that Bart’s morality was highly questionable, whether that was because he was a gambler or a ghost was in dispute. Certainly, he’d been considered a criminal in his own day, and his death proved that integrity and honor were malleable concepts for him.

“I’m not going to do anything to your old lady.” Bart flickered, and he was so beyond control that in some reappearances, the gunshot wound that had torn apart his chest before he’d been thrown overboard from the Delta Queen was clearly visible, gory and dripping with blood.

Sales Links:

A Paul B Review: Spearmint Warning by John Amory

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Spearmint Warning coverA regular customer who orders spearmint tea draws the attention of Thad, a barista at the coffee shop. Thad will learn what this man and the strange dreams he has been having are connected somehow.

Thad is the barista at a college coffee shop. For several weeks, a man enters the shop shortly after Thad begins his shift, orders a spearmint tea and sits wearing his sunglasses until closing time. His manager asks Thad to find out more about the man as his behavior unnerves most of the employees. Thad finds the man,  Guy, is blind and interested in Thad.

Later that night, Thad catches up with Guy and they talk. That night Thad has a dream of Guy at a French estate. Then Guy asks Thad for a date after his shift. While sitting on a park bench, Guy stops an attempt on Thad’s life. When asked what was going on, Guy insists that Thad follow him home so that he can explain about himself and the attack. Guy is actually a vampire and his creator has been obsessed with him for years.

This is the first novel by John Amory that I have read. The author does a good job in explaining his view of the paranormal world. He does this through a conversion between Guy and Thad about the “real world” of vampires as compared to most modern media. It also explains how Thad’s dreams at the beginning of the novel fit in with the story.

Another difference with Mr. Amory’s work is that this is not a case of instant love that a lot of paranormal writers use. I loved how at the end of the book, after dealing with the crazy creator that there is the possibility of a future romance between Thad and Guy and they were not mad crazy in love already. It left me wanting to know what is going to happen next to these two.

The cover art by BSClay is of a shirtless man with blood running down his chest. I assume it is to represent Guy after his conversion to a vampire. The extra blood streaks on either side of him while representative to the story behind Guy’s conversion, kind of detract from the cover for me.

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

Book Details
Ebook, 42 pages, included in the Eternally Dark Anthology
Published: October 2014 by Torquere Press
Edition: English

A PaulB Review: The Vampire’s Geek (Wolves of Stone Ridge #26) by Charlie Richards

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The Vampire's Geek coverTullion Kuznetsov has been on the run for the past couple of months, accused of a crime he did not commit. A chance meeting in a supermarket unites him with his beloved in Stone Ridge, Tullion must now return to Europe to clear his name to be with the man fate has decided for him.

On the run after being accused of killing his coven’s leader, Tullion Kuznetsov travels from Europe and finds himself in the small town of Stone Ridge, Colorado. After securing himself some temporary housing, he heads off to the local supermarket to get some food. While there, he believes he has encountered his beloved, what vampires call their fated mate.

Toby Dallow, a lab assistant who came to Stone Ridge when his friend and boss moved there to be with his werewolf mate, finds the tall blond in the supermarket attractive. But he never thinks he has a chance with this stud since he considers himself to be an overweight geek who wears glasses. When the stranger approaches Toby, he thinks the man must be playing some kind of game as someone that good looking would never go for him.

They head to Toby’s home where they have a night of passion. Later that night, several of Toby’s friends from the local pack show up because he never shows up for the scheduled poker game that night. Tullion is thrilled that Toby knows of paranormals and vampires. Tullion then recounts to those assembled the circumstances of his coven leader’s murder as he knows them. The pack members tell Tullion that if the bond is complete with Toby, they can offer some protection and would be willing to seek the assistance of their vampire friends on the American council to help him. After the meeting breaks up, Tullion tells Toby to get dressed and then Tullion slips away. Having found his beloved, his must return to Europe to clear his name.

This is the twenty sixth novel in the Wolves of Stone Ridge series. While it can be read as a standalone, having read the previous books would help understand the characters better.
I love how Tullion builds up the self confidence of Toby. Toby considers himself unwanted by most men, especially one as good looking as Tullion. Tullion tell Toby time and again that he is exactly the type of man that he finds attractive.

There were a couple of things that I had problems with the book. First, Toby has been around paranormals for a while but did not connect Tullion’s biting his neck with him being a paranormal of some kind. Second, Tullion ran away after being offered help from Toby’s friends in clearing his name. If his beloved trusted these men, I would think that Tullion would have given them the benefit of the doubt to help him out.

The cover art by Angela Waters depict Toby and Tullion as I would expect them. The bow tie and glasses bring out the geek in Toby.

Sales Link:  eXtasy Books         Amazon         Buy It Here

Book Details
Ebook, 120 pages
Published: December 1, 2014 by Extasy Books
Edition: English
Series: The Wolves of Stone Ridge
Werewolf at the Zoo (Wolves of Stone Ridge #1)
Alpha’s Prerogative (Wolves of Stone Ridge #2)
Accepting His Animal (Wolves of Stone Ridge #3)
Accepting His Human (Wolves of Stone Ridge #4)
Finding Balance (Wolves of Stone Ridge #5)
Goading the Enforcer (Wolves of Stone Ridge #6)
Through Dagus’s Eyes (Wolves of Stone Ridge #7)
Loving the Enemy (Wolves of Stone Ridge #8)
Casey’s Love Bite (Wolves of Stone Ridge #9)
Wolf Biker’s Mate (Wolves of Stone Ridge #10)
Kyle’s Valiant Hunt (Wolves of Stone Ridge #11)
A Cajun in Colorado (Wolves of Stone Ridge #12)
Catching a Bit of Irish (Wolves of Stone Ridge #13)
Gustuv’s Gargoyle Adventure (Wolves of Stone Ridge #14)
Choosing His Christmas Miracle (Wolves of Stone Ridge #15)
The Vampire’s Special Lover (Wolves of Stone Ridge #16)
Freeing Demitri’s Wolf (Wolves of Stone Ridge #17)
Soldier of Fortune’s Downfall (Wolves of Stone Ridge #18)
Just Lion Around (Wolves of Stone Ridge #19)
The Mountain Man’s Mate (Wolves of Stone Ridge #20)
Crashing the Comicon (Wolves of Stone Ridge #21)
The Wolf’s Healing Touch (Wolves of Stone Ridge #22)
Rehabilitating the Ding (Wolves of Stone Ridge #23)
Trusting His Rat (Wolves of Stone Ridge #24)
Drawing Out His Wolf (Wolves of Stone Ridge #25)
The Vampire’s Geek (Wolves of Stone Ridge #26)
Happy Furry New Year (Wolves of Stone Ridge #27)