Category: Vampires

A Sammy Review: Cronin’s Key (Cronin’s Key #1) by N.R. Walker

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5:

Cronin's key coverWeird and Alec MacAidan tend to go together. From bending bullets to people suddenly turning to ash, his experience on the police force and in life haven’t necessarily been the most normal, but it’s about to get a whole lot weirder when a vampire named Cronin shows up at the station and disappears with Alec in front of a whole bunch of cops.

Alec’s full of questions, but the answers always seem to lead to more. There’s a whole other world out there Alec had no idea about, and Cronin and his coven are all part of that. Alec’s been told most of his life that he’s special, but he just never had this in mind – being fated to a vampire is one thing, but what they discover about just how special he is… well that’s a whole different ball game.

He wanted to be everything to Cronin. And he would be. Everything he needed, everything he wanted, Alec was it.

 As Cronin was to him.

N.R. Walker has always been the author I go to when I need a break from reality. her books tend to provide me with easy escapes and easy reads, and Cronin’s Key is no different. When I had time to read, I flew through the pages and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

This book, which I hope is the first in at least a three book series, provides a great introduction to both Alec and Cronin. They both have distinct personalities that Walker does a great job of highlighting. Furthermore, the way that the connection between them builds, despite there being an instant love factor due to fate, is really great, especially the bits of humor that are laced into it. I had so much fun reading their banter and it kept me smiling.

The side characters were really great too. I enjoyed getting to know them as well as how they laced into the story of Alec and Cronin. They didn’t take away from it, but they added greatly to the depth. It presented a whole new dynamic that I certainly appreciated.

But my favorite part, hands down, is the alternate history and therefore the world that Walker created. Instead of just throwing vampires into society as we know it, she took events such as the Black Plague and reimagined them. I was so giddy over this and so enamored by the past that she built. I really hope that this continues in coming books, as it was such a strong element to the book that it’s something I will remember this book for.

My only complaint would be that I wasn’t immediately drawn in at the beginning, and unfortunately some of the lines were a bit cheesy, especially toward the end in battle scenes. It was just that the villain sounded like they were from a badly scripted series, but besides that, it read very well. In general, this was a fun start to a new series that I will look forward to reading more of.

The cover art by Sara York does a nice job of accenting the story, though I am not necessarily the most pleased with it aesthetically. It fits the story, but looks-wise, it’s not that great.

 

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

Book Details:

ebook, 265 pages
Published March 13th 2015 by Self-Published (first published March 12th 2015)
original titleCronin’s Key
edition languageEnglish
seriesCronin’s Key #1

A Paul B Review: A Rose for Paul’s Protector (A Loving Nip #2) by Charlie Richards

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

a Rose for Paul's Protector coverJaymes Martinez has been waiting for the last three months for his beloved, Paul Cosborn to come of age. Unable to claim his beloved until his eighteenth birthday, the leader of the Amarillo coven has been setting the stage for Paul’s arrival. Will someone from Paul’s past come between them before Jaymes finally claims his beloved?

Jaymes Martinez is the coven leader of the Amarillo vampire clan. Jaymes goes about preparing his coven for the arrival of his beloved, Paul Cosborn. During the three month since meeting his beloved, Jaymes has been showing symptoms of the separation. He is short tempered to his best friend and second in command. He exists on bagged blood that the doctor is preparing for him as drinking from known donors has no appeal to him. The bright spot in the past three months has been the constant emails exchanged between him and Paul. Jaymes is determined to have his coven and the dude ranch that the coven runs prepared for the arrival of his beloved around Valentine’s Day.

Paul Cosborn has recently turned eighteen. He has been living with his “Big Brother” Korbin for the past three month, having escaped his foster home after being falsely accused of molesting the fifteen year old son of the family he was living with. Korbin and his beloved Daystrum plan a vacation for Paul to a dude ranch near Amarillo where he can reconnect with Jaymes, who helped him out of the situation in the foster home.

Upon arriving at the ranch, Jaymes begins the task of making Paul his. Jaymes takes Paul on a personal tour of the stables, where he shows Paul his gift to him, an Arabian horse. Unsure why Jaymes would buy a gift for someone who is only staying a week, they share their first kiss. The next day, they share a ride through the ranch and a picnic lunch where Paul learns Jaymes is a vampire. Things begin to progress well between the two until Paul is found missing one morning. Jaymes is enraged that his beloved has been taken so shortly after the process of bonding has started. He must find the missing Paul and deal with those who have taken him in order to begin their new life on the dude ranch.

This is a nice first love paranormal story. Paul has just turned eighteen and is new to the world of love. He has been crushing on Jaymes for the past three months and the anticipation on both sides is palpable. Having had a terrible past with his mother’s drug abuse and the terrible situation in the last foster home he was in makes Paul want to be needed and cherished as Jaymes has promised to do.

The one problem I had with the book was an off page death at the end of the book. Deaths in the paranormal genre are regular and I usually do not have a problem with them. However, this death, while justified because of the actions of the deceased, still gave me pause because of his age.

This is the second book in the Nip of Love series by Charlie Richards. It is set in the same universe as her series The Wolves of Stone Ridge, Kontra’s Menagerie, and A Paranormal’s Love Story. The focus on this series is the various vampires and covens that have been introduced in the previous series. The characters from the other series do cross over from time to time. While the book can be read as a standalone, having read previous books in the other series will help the understanding of these characters and overall arc of the story.

The cover art by Carmen Waters shows the young Paul sniffing a rose with a rural Texas landscape in the background. It is a well done representation of the ending of the book and draws the reader in.

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

Book Details:

ebook, 94 pages
Published February 15th 2015 by Extasy Books
ISBN139781487402303
edition languageEnglish
Series A Loving Nip:

  • A Nip of Good Cheer (A Loving Nip, #1)
  • A Rose for Paul’s Protector (A Loving Nip, #2)

A MelanieM Review: The Devil’s Bedpost: Four of Clubs (Pulp Friction 2015: Altered States) by Parker Williams

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

The Devil's Bedpost coverDetective Ben Nelson’s not happy with the new world order.  He’s stubbornly refusing to believe in the supernatural beings that the world now knows to be real ever since a vampire burst into flames on a city street and a cop sat up in his coffin at his funeral. Now Ben has a chilling new case that frustrating them all and breaking their hearts. It involves seemingly unconnected people—men, women, children—who disappear from their beds and are later found beaten to death. When evidence leads to an offhand comment about voodoo, Ben refuses to admit that there might be something unreal about it all until his boss orders him to visit a seer named A. Middleton or hand the case over to the Odd Squad—the federal bureau charged with investigating supernatural crimes.

Artie Middleton lives alone in a huge house, able only to be physically close with his dog. Why? Because with one touch, Artie Middleton can see, feel, and relive the stories held by objects, and some of those stories are very bad indeed.  The last missing person’s case he assisted on left him bedridden, recovering from the same wounds as the victim. His power is one that few would envy.

When a disbelieving Ben arrives at his door, needing help to find a missing seven-year-old boy, Artie is torn. He fears what might happen if he agrees but knows the fate of the child if he doesn’t. Even more troubling for Artie is the detective’s effect on him. While Artie can’t allow skin-to-skin contact with a person for fear of what he might see, Ben makes him want to break all the rules he has in place to protect his sanity.

When the two begin working together, they find much more than they expected. And if they can’t stop the perpetrators, the body count will increase.

Parker Williams joins the Pulp Friction team this year and The Devil’s Bedpost (Four of Clubs #1),his tale of supernatural beings, love and mystery, folds itself seamlessly into the others, meshing a new world order that recognizes the existence of supernatural beings and their effect upon the city, its politics, and its people.

Just as it would occur in real life, there appears someone who stubbornly refuses to believe in the changes that have so rapidly occurred.  That’s NOPD Det. Ben Nelson.  He’s an overworked hard driving cop, short on sleep, and even shorter on tolerance and belief in magic and those that wield it.  And he’s in the midst of a case that heartbreaking and lacking in clues.  The one lead they available is the last one Ben wants to follow up on because it contains supernatural elements to it.  I absolutely believed in Ben Nelson from his first appearance.  Parker Williams has built so many believable layers to this man that he’ slides easily to mind and into our hearts.   And the case he’s working on tugs at our emotions, especially as it involves children being kidnapped, and tortured before being killed.

To offset the mundane, everyday and oh so human routine of the police force, the author gives us A. Middleton, also known as Artie to his friends.  A potter who turns out museum worthy art pieces, Artie is also a seer specializing in psychometry.  Artie can touch an object and immediately he is flooded with memories and scenes and emotions of those the object belonged to.  At once it becomes clear that such a talent is more curse than gift.  When those memories and events are horrific, involving physical damage that happened to the person the object belongs/belonged to, that same damaged is felt and physically manifests itself on Artie.  Definitely not the sort of thing someone would want to be able to do.  It has caused Artie to retreat from all physical contact with others.  The only touch he can tolerate is that of his dog.  What a lonely existence and yet, Parker Williams has developed Artie to such a realistic degree that Artie has found a way to have others in his life, no matter how restricted it might be.  You will fall deeply in love with Artie just as I did.

The case that ties these two men together is horrific, grounded as it is in the kidnapping of children and a few adults who vanished from their bedrooms without a trace.  The mystery of their disappearance combined with the fact that when their bodies are eventually found, the manner of their deaths add terror to the mixture.  The police work drudgery feels authentic and the suspense and buildup satisfyingly haunting and addictive.  And that ending…..

Yes, it’s a cliffhanger, something I have come to expect from the Pulp Friction serialized stories.  Be prepared to yell “noooooooo” at the end.  I did.  Along with a “argh”, and “hell no, he didn’t end it there”.  A few comments like that may have flown out of my mouth!  But I loved every word of this story even as Parker Williams twisted my heart and stomach into knots during the telling.

But don’t take my word for it.  Run out (or over to your computer or eReader) and get it right now.  You need to be ready for the next installment. I am.  And while you are at it, pick up the other two Round One stories already out.  This is going to be one wild ride, and I can’t wait for more.

Cover art by Laura Harner.  I love these covers, perfect for branding the group of series and introducing the characters.

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

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 73 pages
Published March 13th 2015
ASINB00UP4SBCA
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

In Our Book Spotlight: Fighting Fangs by Lisa Oliver (excerpt and contest)

STRW In The Spotlight Header

Fighting Fangs (Bound and Bonded #4) by Lisa Oliver
Release Date: February, 2015
Goodreads Link

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Lisa Oliver’s supernaturals are here in Fighting Fangs, the fourth book in her Bound and Bonded series.  Love your shapeshifters bound up with bondage?  Check out Fighting Fangs’ synopsis and excerpt below and don’t forget to enter the contest for your own copy of Fighting Fangs (Bound and Bonded #4) by Lisa Oliver

STRW Author Bio and Contacts

About Lisa Oliver

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.

Where to find the author:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lisaoliverauthor
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/wisecrone333
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest/lisaoliver79
Lisa’s Blog – http://www.supernaturalsmut.com

 

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Publisher: Oliver Group Publications
Cover Artist: Lisa Oliver

Sales Links: Amazon  AllRomance (ARe)  Smashwords

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STRW Author BookSynopsis

Ace is on a mission. On the run from his old pack, the enforcer is determined that cat shifter Teric must die. In his head it’s the only way he can regain his place in the Washington pack and the Bound and Bonded club. In an effort to meet his needs for Domination in the human world, Ace visits Whips, a predominantly human BDSM club and gets the shock of his life.

Devin is a five hundred year old vampire who has been searching for his one and only for the longest time. Working as a house sub at Whips was fine until one Master over steps his boundaries and Devin is left with time on his hands. Deciding on a whim to track down the delicious wolf shifter he had smelled at the club, Devin soon tracks down Ace…and then promptly wishes he hadn’t. Ace is a wolfist and refuses to accept Devin as his mate.

Misunderstandings are just one hurdle these two need to overcome, if they are ever to have their HEA. The enforcers from the Washington Pack are still looking for Ace, and when they find him it might prove the end for both Devin and Ace.

Warnings; this is a gay erotic romance about a wolf shifter and a vampire. The book includes graphic sex scenes between men, BDSM elements and coarse language.
Categories: BDSM, Erotica, Fiction, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Paranormal, Romance

STRW Spotlight Book Excerpt

“This is not a scene. Not this time. This is us, together. Mate. Amatus. No rules. No restrictions. Just two men who will be together for a lifetime.”

Devin’s eyes flashed a brilliant red, the sight almost shocking Ace with its intensity and then it was gone just as quickly.

“I want that,” Devin said softly, as his hands came up from where they had been resting on the bed and gripped Ace’s biceps. “I want that a lot,” his voice finishing on a growl that set Ace’s wolf on edge as though not sure whether to challenge or submit. But that growl left Ace in no doubt that the man underneath him was as much a predator as he was.

Pages or Words: 38,000 words

 

STRW Spotlight Contest Header

Contest:   Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Rafflecopter link and prizes provided by Pride Promotions. Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of Fighting Fangs.

Rafflecopter Code:
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Tour Dates/Stops:

9-Mar

Sinfully Addicted to All Male Romance

Bayou Book Junkie

Love Bytes

10-Mar

The Fuzzy, Fluffy World of Chris T. Kat

11-Mar

Velvet Panic

Cate Ashwood

MM Good Book Reviews

12-Mar

Hearts on Fire

Inked Rainbow Reads

13-Mar

Molly Lolly

16-Mar

Amanda C. Stone

BFD Book Blog

17-Mar

Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

Because Two Men Are Better Than One

Divine Magazine

18-Mar

Wake Up Your Wild Side

19-Mar

Carly’s Book Reviews

20-Mar

Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews

Rainbow Gold Reviews

The Ides of March are Upon Us and This Week’s Schedule at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

“Beware the Ides of March!”

Beware the_ides_of_march_xlarge

 

March 15 is the Ides of March!  Most people think of Julius Caesar who was famously warned by a soothsayer “Beware the ides of March!”.  And we all know how  that turned out!  But before Caesar so unfortunately helped make it famous, March 15-the Ides of March- was just another day on the calendar! It all actually started much  earlier in Roman history, long before Caesar.  Romulus (the supposed founder of Rome) is also said to have  invented the Roman calendar.  The Ides of March was just another way of saying March 15 (no hint of foreboding was linked to it at the time).

The calendar went something like this- Ides of March http://www.infoplease.com/spot/ides1.html#ixzz3UNnMrzj1:

 The Roman calendar organized its months around three days, each of which served as a reference point for counting the other days:

Kalends (1st day of the month)
Nones (the 7th day in March, May, July, and October; the 5th in the other months)
Ides (the 15th day in March, May, July, and October; the 13th in the other months)
The remaining, unnamed days of the month were identified by counting backwards from the Kalends, Nones, or the Ides. For example, March 3 would be V Nones—5 days before the Nones (the Roman method of counting days was inclusive; in other words, the Nones would be counted as one of the 5 days).

Days in March
March 1: Kalends;
March 2: VI Nones;
March 3: V Nones;
March 4: IV Nones;
March 5: III Nones;
March 6: Pridie Nones (Latin for “on the day before”);
March 7: Nones;
March 15: Ides
Used in the first Roman calendar as well as in the Julian calendar (established by Julius Caesar in 45 B.C.E.) the confusing system of Kalends, Nones, and Ides continued to be used to varying degrees throughout the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance.

There were also some religious festivals also associated with this time, including the festival of Anna Perenna, sister to the tragic Carthaginian queen Dido.  Dido was immortalized in Ovid’s masterpiece “Metamorphosis” as well as from Virgil’s Aeneid.  Look them up when you have some time.

Ides Book worm

Anyhow, all anyone remembers is that when they hear its the Ides of March, someone will invariably say”  Beware the Ides of March”…and now you know why!

For a few  more facts, neat and weird see the link below.

The Smithsonian has a link where they listed 10 events of import that happened on March 15.  While I agree most are calamitous (acts of war, major weather events), I’m not quite sure that the cancellation of the Ed Sullivan show on March 15 1971 should be listed among their ranks. It must have, at least to the person who made the list.

Go here to check out the complete list.

Now for our

Schedule This Week At Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Sunday, March 15 (Ides of March)

Mini History Lesson and This Week’s Schedule

Monday, March 16:

  • Tricia Owens ‘Master of No One Book Spotlight and Contest
  • A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Winter’s Wolf (Tales of the Harker Pack #3) by Tara Lain
  • A MelanieM Review: Melting Into You by Cassandra Carr
  • A Mika Review: This Other Country (More Heat Than the Sun #4) by John Wiltshire

Tuesday, March 17:

  • Kay Ellis’ tour for Young at Heart (author interview and contest)
  • In the Book Spotlight: Lisa Oliver – Fighting Fangs (excerpt and contest)
  • A Stella Review: Here for You by Skylar M. Cates
  • A Paul B Review: Broken Bridges by Cheyenne Meadows

Wednesday, March 18:

  • Jaycee Edward and Helena Stone’s Strangers in the Night Excerpt Tour
  • A Stella Review: Bratty Angel by Chris T. Kat
  • A MelanieM Review: Midnight Run by Bailey Bradford
  • A Stella Review: Moment of Truth (Moments in Time #2) by Karen Stivali
  • A MelanieM Review:  Kian’s Hunter by RJ Scott

Thursday, March 19:

  • A BJ Review: Chyna Doll (Horizons 4) by Mickie B. Ashling
  • A MelanieM Review: The Curse on the Mountain by Missouri Dalton
  • A Stella Review: Loving the Astrophysicist (Astrophysicist #1 & 2) by T.N. Tarrant
  • A Stella Review: The Belgian Chocolate Remedy by Julie Lynn Hayes

Friday, March 20:

  • Cover Reveal Time for Shira Anthony’s  ‘Blood and Ghosts’ (contest)
  • Book Blast: Going to the Chapel: Don’t Ask by J.J. Massa
  • Release Day for the Encore Anthology – All About the Music and Love (contest)
  • Misfits by Garrett Leigh Book Spotlight and contest
  • A Stella Review: Guns ‘N Boys: Homicidal Instinct by K.A. Merikan

Saturday, March 21:

  • Time to Cowboy Up with Bailey Bradford’s Belt Buckles and Cowboy Boots!
  • A MelanieM Review: Eoin’s Destiny (The Fire Trilogy #3) by R.J. Scott

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A MelanieM Review: Blind Stud (King of Hearts #1) (PF 2015) by Havan Fellows

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

In a world where supernatural creatures openly exist, who can blame them for coalescing in one of the most fascinating and erotic places on earth? Welcome to New Orleans.

Laurant likes sex…

Blind Stud, King of Hearts cover PF2015Who is Laurant?  An incubus of course, so the pleasures of the flesh aren’t just enjoyment, they’re food. However, Laurant isn’t attracted to women, but to men.  In his family, being a gay demon means you are the wrong type of demon. And that makes Laurant’s life more than a little difficult when your family looks down on you for your choice of food and companionship.

But all that changes when Laurant catches sight of a lost and alone human who definitely needs his help…a gorgeous young man about to become prey to the human sort of predator.  Once saved, a larger mystery looms.  That of the stranger himself who is a stranger…to himself.

What are you supposed to do when you blink your eyes and realize you have no idea who or where you are? Pretty sure the answer isn’t trust a sex demon with your life…all things considered that may be the lesser of two evils…

You just know a series is going to be captivating when the first character you meet is not only unapologetically outrageous and charismatic but also oozes with merriment and sex appeal.  That’s Laurant.  A incubus with the appetites of a succubus.  Laurant comes equipped with corny pickup lines and the ability to make the local squirrels and any other living being around him, go into a sexual frenzied state.  He also has a more complex personality than is first apparent.  I think all readers will love Laurant upon introduction.  He’s a terrific character and Fellows did a great job in providing him with layers that makes one look past some of his more “eye rolling” actions and dialog.

But what or in this case who pulls at Laurant’s attention and needs is a young amnesiac he rescues off the streets in New Orleans.  First given the name “Vic” for victim by Laurant, the young man sets the incubus straight (kind of) and names himself for the street they are on.  For all the questions posed by his presence, Havan Fellows crafts a wonderful character who is a strong fascinating man behind the mystery and soon we are as drawn to him as Laurant is.

And yes, danger to both lurks just around the corner.  Fellows throws so many neat clues around the mystery man that I was making a list of bribes to offer her so she would tell me who and what he possibly might be.  And then that ending…

This story flew by so rapidly that it felt as though the ending appeared seconds after I started on page one.  Not true but I was so into this tale, that the story was over before I was ready for it to end.  For those of you for whom cliffhangers are beyond frustrating (you binge watchers know who I’m talking to), you just might want to wait for another story or two to come out.  Those readers who love to be surprised, stymied by plot and events, and who enjoy every minute of it, grab this up and start reading.

Round One is four stories and only two are out.  Each represents additional layers to the overall series and world building and you can see the stories start to interlock here as old and new characters appear.  But as interesting as those peripheral (for now) characters are, nothing and nobody will steal your  attention away from our couple here.  They are amusing and astonishingly equal in their interactions, sexually dynamic,  and just plain out engaging.  And they make this story unputdownable – yes, that’s a word and I’m sticking to it.

I highly recommend this story and its companion in the Altered States Pulp Friction 2015 combined story.  I’ve become a fan once more of serialized fiction and think you will feel the same.  If you are new to the Pulp Friction gang, once you’ve delved into these stories, go back and read the Pulp Friction series of 2013 and 2014…all terrific and must reads for me!

Cover art by Laura Harner.  Great cover, love the model and the branding at the bottom.

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

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 49 pages
Published March 1st 2015 by Appleton Publishing Avenue
ASINB00U634T2Q
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) by Laura Harner and T. A. Webb
• Deep Blues Goodbye (Altered States, #1) by Laura Harner and T. A. Webb
• Deadly Shades of Gold (Altered States, #2) by Laura Harner and T. A. Webb
• Free Falling Crimson (Altered States, #3)  by Laura Harner and T. A. Webb (aka Tom Webb)

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

STRW In The Spotlight Header

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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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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)