Category: MLR Press

The Werewolves of Manhattan are Back in AC Katt’s ‘Marking Kane’ (excerpt and giveaway)

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Marking Kane (Werewolves of Manhattan #4) by A.C. Katt
 Release Date: March 4, 2016

Goodreads Link:
Publisher: MLR Press
Cover Artist: Lex Valentine

Blurb

Gabriel Martin has hope. Three of the Alphas on the council have found mates in the past year and a half. Returning to New York from Atlanta, he comes across a human who has been raped in an alleyway. The human is his mate, Kane Brady.

Kane has been teaching at the local high school and refuses to rubber stamp the education of their star basketball players—almost paying the price with his life. He’s unusual as he’s a Human Omega but he can’t be intimate with Gabriel because of his horrific experience.

It’s up to the Alphas and their Mates to help Kane recover and accept all that it is to be with Gabriel.

 

Pages or Words: 51,655
Series is best read in order – His Omega, Remy’s Painter, Scarred Mate, Marking Kane
 Categories: M/M Romance, Paranormal, Shifters (Wolf)

Excerpt

First Week in December Friday

The faculty room at New York City’s McClellan High School reeked of industrial strength cleaner, sweat socks, and chalk. The walls were made of dirty beige concrete blocks and the linoleum was beginning to crack. Today it was empty save for Coach Tom Hughes and Kane Brady, the junior year English teacher, who were involved in a heated exchange.

“Neither Johnny Sanders nor Deon Jackson did the work. They didn’t turn in one homework assignment all semester, they refused to take all of their tests and didn’t even bother to do their term papers. I have to fail them.”

“Do you realize that Johnny is the power forward and Deon is the point guard for McClellan High School’s basketball team? This year’s team has a shot at the state championship.”

“Tom, they’re not here to learn to play basketball, they can do that on the street or at the Y. They’re here for an education and they won’t get one if we continue to pass students along without them doing the work required to get a passing grade.”

“Are you telling me physical education isn’t important?” Coach loomed over Kane, who was only five-foot-six.

“Physical Education is as important as English is to their development. If they failed to show up for your class, sat on the sidelines for every exercise and disrupted the class on a regular basis what would you do? I know you’ve failed students.” Kane’s eyes blazed.

“I didn’t fail our two, star basketball players,” the Coach huffed.

“Talk to them about what happened. I didn’t want to be unreasonable so when I realized they were on the team and failing my class, I told the boys in November what they had to do to pass. I also told their parents. They didn’t do it. They didn’t turn in one missed homework assignment or the term paper I assigned in September.”

“They don’t have time for all that shit, they have to practice. The other teachers go along. This is your first year here. You fail Deon and Johnny and you’re out on your ear.” Coach drank the sludge they called coffee and stared at Kane pointedly.

“And I’m out on my ear if these kids don’t pass the standardized tests at the end of the school year.”

“There are ways of getting around that.” Coach Hughes was trying to physically intimidate him, and Kane wasn’t buying it.

“So which do you suggest, do I sacrifice their education so they graduate without being able to read passed a sixth-grade level? Or do you suggest I fail them and give them the incentive to pass next semester so they can play ball?”

“These boys can get scholarships for college if they play,” the coach said belligerently.

“And if they don’t do the work here, their professors will fail them because they can’t keep up and they won’t be able to play or pay for the education they were promised.” Kane was practically begging the coach to put the kids and their futures first.

“They have difficult lives at home.” The coach got sanctimonious.

“No, they don’t. They have both of their parents and both sets of parents work. Deon’s father is a policeman and Johnny’s mother is a nurse. I’ve spoken to them and they agree with my decision. Their boys have gotten out of hand. They are aware that their sons have not done any school work for the past two years, with the school turning a blind eye. As I said, I have their full support. The parents would rather have their sons educated than have them only know how to play basketball.”

“They don’t have the mental capacity to do the work.”

“I’d like to see you tell that to their parents. If they were incapable of doing the assignments, I’d suggest putting them in a remedial class, but they can do the work, they just refuse to do it.” Kane glared at the coach.

“One way or another, you’ll pay for this. Those kids were my ticket to coaching college ball and I’m not going to lose out because of you”,” Tom shouted. Kane shrunk back. The coach was six foot six and about two-hundred fifty pounds to his one-forty soaking wet.

“Get them another student to tutor them. If they catch up, I’ll change their grade,” Kane offered.

“Fuck you, Brady. Either you pass both Deon and Johnny, or you’ll pay the consequences. This is what happens when you let fags teach school.”

“I could have you fired for that remark.”

The coach pushed him up against a wall, shook him and said, “Buddy, you’re not going to be around long enough to complain.” He let Kane go and Kane slipped to the floor.

Tom Hughes tore out of the faculty room and down the corridor.

Kane had stood his ground but was shaking in his boots. He wished he had someone to talk to about this, but this was his first year teaching and since he came in August from Indiana, he hadn’t had time to make friends. The coach had been at the school for five years. What is my word worth against his?

***

The coach approached Johnny and Deon in the locker room. “He won’t budge. If you get your papers in, he’ll pass you, if you don’t you fail. You should have made a token effort.”

“Why should we have to be in class with a fag? Why would I want to do work for a fag? He needs schooling of a different kind. By the time Deon and I are through with him, there’ll be a new teacher in English three who gets how to play the game.” Johnny’s smile boded no good for Kane Brady.

“Yeah, let’s see how much he really likes to take it up the ass.” Deon poked his friend in the ribs. “We’ll make it a team effort.” Deon laughed out loud.

“Yeah sort of like a class project,” Johnny smirked.

“I didn’t hear you say that. Remember, if you get caught, it will go worse for you than if you fail,” Coach told them. “You’re courting jail time and then no college or pro team will have you.”

“You’re just as guilty as we are for encouraging us not to participate in that fag’s class and you’ve threatened other teachers before this.” Deon spat. “This one is the first one to face you down. The fag has balls, who knew?”

“If he fails us, you don’t get to coach college ball. If we get caught, you don’t get to coach college ball. It would be in your interest to let us know where he lives so we can take care of business, and to provide us with an alibi if we need one.” Johnny stood waiting for the requested information.

“He sometimes stays late to review papers and make up his lesson plans. You can follow him home. If you get caught, you’re on your own.”

“No, we’re not. You’re right there with us. We told you what we’re going to do, if you don’t report us, you’re as guilty as we are. But, we all know you won’t make any waves because you want that college coaching position.”

“All right, go, do your worst. If you get caught, I know nothing.”

“Right…” said Deon as he elbowed Johnny in the ribs and smirked.

***

Kane hadn’t realized it was after nine. He was grading papers. It was easier to do that at school. Here he could spread out unlike in his efficiency apartment. However, his apartment was only two blocks from work on the edge of New York’s trendy SOHO and convenient to shopping. It also had huge windows which let in more light than the usual city apartment. His was a neighborhood in flux. He lived in an old tenement and there was a pricey new high-rise down the block at Ten Sullivan. It was the tallest building in SOHO.

Kane sighed, gathered up his papers, put them in his satchel and closed up his classroom.

“Good night, Ernie,” he called to the janitor as he left the building.

“Good night Mr. Brady. You be careful. There’s a lot of snow and ice outside and they’re predicting another storm. Schools will probably be closed tomorrow.

“I’ll be careful. Thanks.”

***

Kane shivered in the cold. The walk home seemed more difficult tonight, feet dragging through the snow piles with the wind gusts almost picking him up off the ground. He kept on looking over his shoulder. Kane was sure someone was following him. Every time he glanced backward he saw shadows in doorways.

He looked around again and watched five boys in ski masks come out of an alley. They were walking quickly toward him, with seeming purpose. As they got closer, he realized that they were following him. He began to walk faster. They also picked up speed. Kane started to run.

Buy the book: MLR Press

 

Meet the Author

AC Katt was born in New York City’s Greenwich Village. She remembers sitting at the fountain in Washington Square Park listening to folk music while they passed the hat. At nine, her parents dragged her to New Jersey where she grew up, married and raised four children and became a voracious reader of romantic fiction. At one time she owned over two thousand novels, until she and her husband took themselves and the cat to New Mexico for their health and its great beauty.

Now, most of AC’s books are electronic (although she still keeps six bookcases of hardcovers), so she never has to give away another book. AC is a late bloomer, however, she claims to have found her niche writing LGBT romance.

She hangs out at ACKatt.com and ackattsjournal.com; where she keeps her blog. To get snippets of new releases and Works in Progress subscribe to AC Katt’s Kattery by sending an e-mail to mlhansel@gmail.com.

Where to find the author:

 


BannerTemplate Tour Dates & Stops: March 4, 2016

Parker Williams, Open Skye Book Reviews, Divine Magazine, The Hat Party, Bayou Book Junkie,
Full Moon Dreaming, Alpha Book Club, A.M. Leibowitz, Multitasking Mommas, Outrageous Heroes, Decadent Delights, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Velvet Panic, Happily Ever Chapter,
BFD Book Blog, The Jena Wade, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Unquietly Me, Molly Lolly
Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings, My Fiction Nook, MM Good Book Reviews, Bonkers About Books, Mikky’s World of Books, Inked Rainbow Reads

Final

Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: Full set of ‘Werewolves of Manhattan’ by A.C. Katt.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prize provided by the author and Pride Promotions.
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An Insider’s Look at Christopher Stone’s ‘Going and Coming: The Minnow St. James Metaphysical Adventures’ Keep Me In Mind (guest blog and contest)

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Going and Coming (The Minnow Saint James Metaphysical Adventures #1)
by  Christopher Stone
 Release Date: January 22, 2016

Goodreads Link
Publisher: MLR Press

Going and Coming: A Brief History

By Christopher Stone

Several decades ago, when Christopher Stone was little more than a Pebble, I had the honor and privilege of studying with Carmen Montez, a Beverly Hills-based psychic advisor/meditation and metaphysical teacher.

It didn’t take long for Carmen and my relationship to morph into a close friendship. This larger than life metaphysician was among the people I most treasured in my life. But Carmen Montez was much more than a sage spiritual teacher. My metaphysical mentor was also a character straight from Charactersville. She had worldly friends in high places. Just for openers, she drove a T-Bird with leopard skin upholstery, a gift to her from another student: a rather famous one, Elvis Presley. Her constant companion was a white, tear-stained toy poodle, named Marlon, a gift from yet another student from the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Marlon Brando.

Although Carmen’s often hobnobbed with the rich and famous, and her metaphysical teachings were out of this world, she had a basic, Earth Mother way about her. Even her taste in food snacks did not bespeak her spiritual understanding.

Rather than caviar and champagne, my Carmen’s snack of choice was pepperoni and crackers. And while my amazing teacher hailed from Barcelona, Spain, she made Italian spaghetti second to none.

But it was from Carmen’s lips that I first heard terms such as, The Eternal Now, Simultaneous Time, and the Eternal Nature of Personality. All of them are featured prominently in my new novel.

I was young and new to my writing career. But, even then, I knew that I’d make metaphysics my avocation. With Carmen, I frequently expressed my desire to someday fold metaphysics into a work of popular fiction.

At one point, that desire became a pledge to my mentor.

Carmen Montez passed from this world many years ago.

Through the years, I’ve thought often and long about my promise to Carmen: Someday I’ll write a pop fiction with metaphysical ingredients. I even started such projects several times. But they never felt quite right to me, and so I abandoned them mid first drafts.

I was maturing, and finding success elsewhere: first as an entertainment and lifestyle journalist for national print publications, and then, as a nonfiction book author. My first book, Re-Creating Your Self, was a personal development bestseller, and my three hardcover books of guided meditation, co-authored with the lavishly talented Mary Sheldon, were big hits, too.

It was only Spring 2014, when I was putting the finishing touches on my second novel, The Dark Side of Stardom, that I hit upon this idea: I could well use the character of a Past Life Regression therapist as a springboard to write about every metaphysical theme I wanted to explore.

Eventually the Past Life Regression therapist became Dr. Minnow Saint James, and his first book adventure became Going and Coming, because Dr. Saint James’s work has him going into his patients’ past lives and coming back with the past life origins of present-day challenges and traumas.

For the book, I even created a character, Carmen Montel, based primarily upon my Carmen. She becomes a psychic bridge between Dr. Minnow Saint James and his patients. She was the most difficult character in the book to write because I so much wanted Minn’s Carmen to reflect closely my real-life mentor.

The book is dedicated to Carmen Montez, and I hope she’d approve heartily of what I’ve done.

I suspect she does.

Blurb

At forty, Dr. Minnow Saint James, “Minn” to his friends, is a gay, metaphysical sleuth who, through Past Life Regression therapy, spans time, space, dimensions, and the entirety of God’s Creation, to discover the past, or future, life origins of his patient’s most challenging present day problems.

But Minn is also a bestselling nonfiction author. His book, In a Past Life, I…. is an international publishing sensation.

Going and Coming is the story of how Dr. Minnow Saint James became the person he is today.

In chapters that alternate between 2007-2008, and 2015-2016, we learn exactly how “Minn” transitioned from an atheist who is a slave to his five physical senses, into a professional metaphysician with a true belief in the Divine Mind we call God.

Readers may find themselves mesmerized as Dr. Saint James hypnotically regresses Ramona Burford, a student volunteer at the UCLA’s Parapsychology Lab, to a past life where, she describes everything that happens from a person’s physical death in one life, until they are reincarnated in a new body. Many readers will be surprised to learn that Pearly Gates, Judgment, Heaven and Hell, have nothing to do with what really happens.

In addition to reincarnation and the eternal nature of the personality, readers, along with “Minn,” explore metaphysical concepts including Simultaneous Time, and the erroneous physical beliefs in sickness, sin, and death.

Along the way, Going and Coming may just shatter your strongest beliefs about the very nature of reality.


Pages or Words: 80,000 words
 Categories: Contemporary, Gay Fiction, Mystery, Paranormal, Thriller, Humor, Metaphysical

Excerpt

Who am I?

My name is Dr. Minnow Saint James. My family and friends call me Minn. To everyone else, I am Dr. Saint James.

I was born and raised in Beverly Hills, California, amid swimming pools, movie stars, and private schools. My parents are Sheila and Russell Saint James. Father owns and operates Saint James Cadillac, six highly successful Cadillac dealerships in the San Fernando Valley. Mother, known simply as She to one and all, is Lady Bountiful to Beverly Hills at large, conceiving and coordinating many of its most prestigious charity events.

Want someone to coax an antisocial celebrity into hosting a Republican fundraiser? Mother is your go-to gal.

A youthful forty, I now live and work in Hermosa Beach, California, one of Los Angeles County’s loveliest South Bay beach cities.

Minnow, now there’s a moniker you don’t hear every day. That is, unless you happen to be me. Jokes about my first name haunted my school years. But these days, when people speak of Dr. Minnow Saint James, there’s no mention of his quirky first name. They talk about my professional achievements: You see, nowadays, I have a wildly successful practice as America’s leading Past Life Regression therapist, and I’m also the founder of the Institute for Mental Health Through Past Life Regression Therapy, -now an international organization – with my friend and former professor, Dr. Adrian Finkelstein, as the Institute’s CEO.

But what exactly is a Past Life Regression therapist? I am in the business of going and coming – that is, going into my patients’ past, and sometimes future, lives through hypnotic regression, and coming back with the other life origins of their present life challenges.

My work is cutting edge and evolutionary. Let me put it this way: medical marvels such as artificial limbs, Titanium plates and other metal joints, and pacemakers, have already transformed humans from biological organisms into creatures that are biological and technological hybrids.

Similarly the science of psychology, will soon come to understand the necessity of treating the individual’s entire mental gestalt – including what we think of as past, and even future, lives – in order for the person to achieve mental health.

In my practice, I’ve been treating that entire gestalt for the past seven years. I’m the future of good mental health; science’s better way and brighter tomorrow. But to Psychology Today, and to most of the mental health community, the jury is still out on past life regression therapy, and so they claim my work is not science based.

Nonetheless my success rate, in excess of eighty-five percent, not only speaks for itself; it is the envy of the “scientifically sound” therapies. My services are sought out by people from all walks of life, and from all over the world. My private practice has a six-month waiting list.

Quite simply, while Mother is the go-to woman for Charitable Beverly Hills, I’m the guy ya gonna call when you believe the challenges of your current life may be rooted in a past, or future, one. Often my therapy represents the last, best hope of patients who have tried and failed to achieve mental health through traditional treatments.

The profession has many perks. For one, it is much easier dealing with other people’s issues than with your own. I have a good excuse, if not a good reason, for leaving my own challenges and shortcomings unexamined.

That is how I’m able to avoid pesky questions. Questions such as: Why, at forty-years-old, am I without a spouse, a boyfriend, or even the steady hook-up? I like to think the lack of romance in my life, and the absence of booty in my bed, are products of the spiritualization of my thought, gained in the eight years since my personal transformations. That is what I like to think. The truth may vary.

Buy the book:  Upcoming at MLR Press

 

 

 

Meet the Author:

Born in Bronx, New York, and raised in Fresno, California, Christopher Stone’s early years were dominated by school, watching television and motion pictures, bicycling, skating, and reading avidly. Summers were spent swimming, and doing whatever it took to survive the oppressive San Joaquin Valley heat. But he also remembers fondly the yearly summer trips to New York, to visit family and friends – and to see Broadway shows.

Christopher left Fresno, for Hollywood, California, during his college years after being accepted into the Writers Guild of America’s Open Door Program, a two-year, scholarship, training ground for aspiring screen and television writers. As it happened, rather than a teleplay or screenwriting gig, his first professional writing job was in journalism – as the Los Angeles Editor for Stage Door, at that time, Canada’s equivalent of the U.S. entertainment trade weekly, Variety.

Christopher would later use his Writers Guild of America training to co-author and sell the original screenplay, The Living Legend, with Jon Mercedes III, to the Erin Organization, and later, and also with Mercedes, to write two seasons of The Party Game, a Canadian TV game show.

As a young freelance entertainment journalist, he contributed to many Los Angeles-based publications, among them The Advocate, for which he wrote a breezy film column, “Reeling ‘Round,” and the Los Angeles Free Press. During this time, he became a member of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle.

Christopher dipped his toes into the world of motion picture advertising and publicity, as assistant to the West Coast Director of Advertising and Publicity for Cinerama Releasing Corporation, in Beverly Hills. At the same time, he also did special advertising and publicity projects for 20th Century-Fox. Christopher went on to become an Account Executive for David Wallace & Company, a public relations firm specializing in entertainment accounts – and located on West Hollywood’s legendary Sunset Strip.

Returning to his first love, writing, Christopher became a full time freelance contributor to national consumer publications including Us, Good Housekeeping, Family Circle, McCall’s, In Cinema, and The National Enquirer, among others. Many of his stories were syndicated worldwide by the New York Times Syndication Corp.

Another important area of endeavor for Christopher Stone was Re-Creating Your Self. A Blueprint for Personal Change that he first developed for himself, the journalist went on to teach the principles and processes of Re-Creating Your Self to others – first, in private sessions, later, in workshops and seminars, and, finally, for California State University Extended Education. Eventually, one of his students suggested he write a book version.

Re-Creating Your Self was first published in hardcover by Metamorphous Press, and subsequently published in a trade paperback edition by Hay House. It has since been published in Spanish, Swedish and Hebrew language editions.

When not writing, Christopher used his longtime interest in, and study of, metaphysics, to teach meditation and psychic development classes – first in Beverly Hills, then later, in Manhattan Beach.

He went on to co-author, with Mary Sheldon, four novellas for a Japanese educational publisher, and then, also with Mary Sheldon, the highly successful The Meditation Journal trilogy of hardcover books. Subsequently, he returned to journalism, this time, contributing hundreds of print and online entertainment features, columns and reviews to magazines and websites. For eight years, Christopher was the Box-office Columnist for MatchFlick.com, a popular online motion picture site.

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In his private life, Christopher Stone met David M. Stoebner on May 17, 1994, and they have been together ever since. 
In 2008, they were married in Los Angeles.

They share a home with their three pets in Coastal Los Angeles County.

In 2013, Christopher’s pet project has been transforming their rarely used kitchen table area into a killer, retro 1950s Diner Nook, complete with a 1952 Seeburg Table Top jukebox, a neon diner sign, and a malt machine.

Christopher’s first novel, Frame of Reference was e and print published, in fall 2012, by MLR Press. A short story, Sweet Homo Alabama was published by MLR Press, December 19, 2012.

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Stone spent much of 2013 writing Frame of Reference 2: The Dark Side of Stardom, a sequel novel to Frame of Reference, as well as, Abracadabra, and a short story, published at Halloween. But the indefatigable scribe also found time to contribute weekly reviews, columns and interviews to Queer Town Abbey.

On December 11, 2015, Christopher will introduce readers to the Past Life Regression therapist, Dr. Minnow Saint James, the subject of his new series, The Minnow Saint James Metaphysical Adventures, in the Christmas short story, Shaking the Holiday Blues Away, MLR Press. Going and Coming: The Minnow Saint James Metaphysical Adventures, Book 1, will be released by MLR Press, January 22, 2016.

Where to find the author:

 


Tour Dates & Stops:

22-Jan: Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Love Bytes, BFD Book Blog

26-Jan: Molly Lolly, The Novel Approach

28-Jan: MM Good Book Reviews, Happily Ever Chapter

2-Feb: Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings, Hearts on Fire, Divine Magazine

4-Feb: Velvet Panic, Prism Book Alliance

9-Feb: A.M. Leibowitz, My Fiction Nook

11-Feb: Lee Brazil, Inked Rainbow Reads, Bayou Book Junkie

16-Feb: Book Lovers 4Ever, Havan Fellows, Emotion In Motion

 

Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of Going and Coming: The Minnow Saint James Metaphysical Adventures.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prize provided by the author and Pride Promotions.

 

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A Paul B Review: Hot on a Chipmunk’s Tail ( (Paranormal Dentistry for the Fanged and Friendly #4) by Jackie Nacht

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Hot on a Chipmunk's TailJason Fieldstone is a chipmunk shifter.  All of his brothers and sisters (all 20 of them) are known to be a bit skittish, as chipmunks are known to be.  However, Jason has essentially wrapped himself in the cocoon of family and shies away from public interaction too much.  When his new neighbor, Will, seems to take an interest in him, Jason tends to run back inside to the comfort of his family.  Deciding that he has to learn to deal with the world at large and not sequester himself in the family home, Jason decides to move to White Pine, Michigan where a few of his brothers have moved.  He hopes that the move to the shifter friendly town will allow him the opportunity to grow.

Will is a mountain lion shifter who has bought the place next to the Fieldstones’.  He grows concerned when the cute little chipmunk shifter Jason has not been around for weeks.  To make matters worse, he has not seen any of the Fieldstone family since before the holidays.  One day he runs into Jason’s sister Theresa.  Theresa, who is sympathetic to Will’s feelings, tells him that Jason has moved to live with his brothers.  She tells him that if he wants to pursue Jason, he should give him time to get accustomed to his new life.  Determined to pursue some chipmunk tail, Will decides to take Theresa’s advice.

Four months later, Jason is working with his brother in the paranormal dentist office.  He is sent out to pick up lunch for the office in an attempt to build Jason’s confidence in dealing with people.  When he walks into the deli to pick up a sandwich for his boss, Jason notices his crush Will working the meat slicer behind the counter.  Jason must decide if he is going to turn tail and run like he has in the past or gather the courage to talk to the one man who makes him feel like no other.

I really enjoyed this story.  Jason is about as timid as you can get due to his shifter qualities.  His biggest concern about moving up north with his brothers is if any of the larger shifters would eat him in his chipmunk form.  This is part of the reason that Jason is so skittish around Will.  Will must control his predatory instincts while he is trying to romance Jason.  Determined to let Jason set the pace for the romance, Will is seen as moving too slow by Jason.

Two other things I should mention.  They are named Winslow and Sparks.  Describing them as hellions might be putting it mildly.  The two seem to cause havoc, both intentional and not, wherever they go.  They provide the perfect comedic secondary storyline for the book.  Their lives might be in for a change as Will’s friend Teegan has taken an interest in one of them.

The cover art by Winterheart Design is perfect for this book.  In the top half we see Will and Jason with a forest backdrop.  In the lower half we have Will’s mountain lion and Jason’s chipmunk resting peacefully while the chipmunk is stuffing something in his mouth.

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

Book details

EBook, 86 pages
Published:  November 2015 by MLR Press
ISBN:  MLR-1-02014-0475
Language:  English

Series:  Paranormal Dentistry For the Fanged and Friendly

  • Peanut Butter and Jelly for Two (Paranormal Dentistry #1)
  • Stalking the Hygienist (Paranormal Dentistry #2)
  • Chipmunk Drizzled in Honey (Paranormal Dentistry #3)
  • A Paranormal Chipmunk Christmas (Paranormal Dentistry #3.5)
  • Hot on a Chipmunk’s Tail (Paranormal Dentistry #4)
  • A White Pine Chipmunk Invasion (Paranormal Dentistry #5)

In the Book Spotlight: Rob Rosen’s Hilarious Tale of Friendship, Family and ‘Fate’ (excerpt and giveaway)

FateCover

Fate by Rob Rosen
 Release Date: November 18, 2015

Goodreads Link
Publisher: MLR Press
Cover Artist: Melody Pond

Blurb

Eddie is in love. The problem is, Eddie’s in love with four men… four men simultaneously, that is. But who does Eddie love more? And can the heart feel for that many men equally? Ah, but it does have four chambers, so four seems the most logical choice… at least, of course, to Eddie.

Paula is Eddie’s famous mom. One by one, each of his lovers comes to work for her, their lives so connected that if one of them itches, another one scratches. But who will wind up with whom in this comedic tale of life and love and friendship? In the end, it’s up to fate to decide what none of them could possibly have seen coming.

 

Praise for ‘Fate’:
“All the perfect kisses, love and laughter, sex and happily-ever-afters of a great romance novel, times four.” — Martha Davis, author of Dirty

“Fate asks provocative questions about the nature, and capacity, of love. A thought-provoking, tears-and-laughter gem that deserves a look!” — Rick R. Reed, award-winning author of Dinner at Home and Blink

“Don’t even try to resist diving head first into Rob Rosen’s latest novel, a witty, wonderful ride through the chaos of friendship and family. ‘Gayer than Oprah,’ as his protagonist quips, Fate is ripe with fearless joy as only Rosen can write it.” — Salome Wilde, editor of Shakespearotica: Queering the Bard

“Sensitive, touching and often uproariously funny, with a style that makes it feel like an American Notting Hill, Fate keeps you guessing and introduces a fresh, quirky set of characters.” — Riley Shepherd, author of The Last Paltry Drops and The Boy He Left Behind

“As fate would have it, Rob Rosen has written another screamingly funny novel exploring the foibles of gay romance.” — Jonathan Asche, author of Kept Men and Other Stories

Pages or Words: 262 pages, 75,000 words
 Categories: Contemporary, Fiction, Gay Fiction, Humor, M/M Romance, Romance

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Excerpt

Then the lights went down and the music started and…there was Jay! Wait, scrub that. THERE WAS JAY LENO! In the flesh. Sure, he was pretty far away, but on the studio monitor he was close up. Ironic, because I could’ve just stayed at home and seen the same thing. Still, here he directly addressed the audience. At home, not really, not like this. I mean he was looking, pardon the expression, straight at me! Or maybe at Trevor. Or Aunt Caroline. But definitely in our general vicinity.

“Weird,” whispered Brian.

“Weird,” I agreed.

“The camera adds twenty pounds to his chin,” added Grandma from behind. I laughed. Guess the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree, Ma being the Red Delicious.

After the monologue, which again was sort of drab and on the vanilla side, especially when you were accustomed to Ma, Jay sat at his desk and did some standard Jay stuff in his standard Jay nasal twang, and then the curtain parted from the side and out popped Katie.

“She’s so tiny,” Aaron said from two seats over.

Again I nodded. “All the stars are. The big ones don’t fit inside their trailers.” Everyone nodded, even the strangers in front of us.

Katie was now yammering on about some new project of hers, but I had a hard time concentrating. Ma was going to be on in less than an hour. My Ma! On the friggin’ Tonight Show! Sure, Leno was no Carson, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. Then Katie was done and there was Sean.

“He’s shorter, too,” whispered Aaron.

Again I nodded. “Madonna probably wouldn’t have married anyone too tall. Then the cameras would’ve focused on him.”

“As if,” said Brian, reverently.

Again, I had a difficult time concentrating on Sean. Ma was on next, after all. Ma was the closer. Sean Penn was Ma’s opening act. I had a feeling that statement would be repeated for years to come. Mostly by Ma.

Trevor reached over and held my hand. “I’m so nervous.”

“Ditto,” I said. “Imagine what Ma must be going through.”

Dad tapped me on the shoulder. “Ma’s been drinking since breakfast. Ma is feeling no pain whatsoever. Ma is probably talking Katie Couric’s ear off even as we speak.”

“Probably trying to land a segment on 60 Minutes or CBS Evening News,” I added, knowingly.

“Probably,” agreed my grandma. “Or asking if Matt Lauer is a prick in real life.”

I held back a laugh. “Sounds like Ma.”

And then Sean was gone and the cameras were back on Jay. Honestly, if I was breathing at the time, there were no signs of it. Despite the cool air blowing down on us, beads of sweat were trickling down my face. I squeezed Trevor’s hand. He squeezed mine in return. Brian pressed his knee to mine. Astoundingly, my dick stayed still. I suppose it was as nervous as the rest of me.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Jay then shouted, still nasally, “please welcome to the stage for her very first television appearance, the very funny, Paula Jackson!”

I gasped. Jay Leno just nasally shouted my mom’s name to the entire country! Or at least to a few million DVRs and VCRs.

Ma walked out smiling, sure and steady. She looked beautiful, radiant, at home. Then she started her routine. Most of it was what we’d practiced. The rest was about me. Again I gasped.

Brian leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Your closet door will never be the same.”

My mouth remained in gasp mode. “She’s blowing the fucking hinges off.”

Grandma smacked my head. “Language.”

And I realized that Ma was also outing me to my family, to our neighbors, to everyone I’d gone to high school with, everyone I went to college with. Everyone. Wait, better—or worse—still, EVERYONE! Or at least anyone who didn’t watch Letterman or Conan.

The audience laughed. I ducked down in my seat. My friends laughed. I prayed for a meteor to hit Burbank. My family raucously applauded. I planned on ways of slowly torturing Ma, starting with locking her TV on Fox News and substituting her vodka with flat Sprite.

Her three minutes, which felt more like three hours, finally came to an end. Jay ran over and gave Ma a hug. “Ladies and gentlemen, Paula Jackson!”

The audience cheered, friends and family the loudest. Me, I was in shock. Me, I was in a coma. Me, I definitely peed myself. “Should’ve bought the Depends,” I whispered, my voice drowned out by the crowd.

Said crowd began to disperse. I was frozen to the spot. “Eddie,” Trevor said, shaking my arm. “Come on, time to go backstage.”

I looked up at him. “Huh?”

“Backstage. To see your mom.” He said it slowly. Or perhaps that’s just the way I heard it. In fact, the whole world was going in slow motion now.

“Huh?”

Dad hit me from behind. “Snap out of it. Your mom was amazing.”

I forced a smile. “Amazing,” I said. “Let’s go tell her how amazing she was.” Because I sure as hell was amazed.

Buy the book:  Amazon | MLR | ARe | B & N

 

RC

 

Meet the Author

Rob Rosen (www.therobrosen.com) is the author of the critically acclaimed novels, Sparkle: The Queerest Book You’ll Ever Love, the Lambda Literary Award Nominated Divas Las Vegas, which was the winner of the 2010 TLA Gaybies for Best Gay Fiction, Hot Lava, Southern Fried, the Lambda Literary Award Nominated Queerwolf, Vamp, Queens of the Apocalypse, Creature Comfort and the Lambda Literary nominated Fate. His short stories have appeared in more than 200 anthologies. You can find 20 of them in his erotic romance anthology, Good & Hot. He is also the editor of Lust in Time: Erotic Romance Through the Ages, Men of the Manor, Best Gay Erotica 2015 and Best Gay Erotica of the Year, Volume 1.

Where to find the author:

 


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Giveaway

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A Stella Review: Vampire Prince (Paranormal Nobles #1) by S.J. Frost

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Vampire PrinceThree years ago, Sebastian Beaumont, was starving and struggling on the streets. An offer for safety and shelter was nothing but the lies of a vampire. Since then, he’s been trapped, surrendering his blood and body as a blood slave to vampires, all for the hope of gaining one more day of life and maybe, someday, his freedom.

Having crossed more than three hundred years of life, Valentin Wyndham, is a prince among vampires. Memories of betrayal still haunt him and love isn’t something he seeks. When his need for blood becomes too strong, he breaks his usual habits and visits a blood house. Though he tries to resist, he can’t help but be captivated by the beautiful Sebastian.

Unable to deny the intensity between them, Valentin frees Sebastian from the blood house, but danger follows them both from those who don’t want to let Sebastian go.

Vampire Prince is the story of Sebastian, a young man taken from the streets three years ago by Wesley with promises of a better life (or at least some food) and brought in his blood house as a blood slave, where people like him, runaways and people no one is going to miss, are used and abused by vampires. This mansion is become his prison, but he has no choice, he needs to stay safe and play the good boy, pretending to enjoy the entertainment he provides vampires. But Sebastian is really tired, three year in this life are really too much and he knows the time for his death is near.

Prince Valentine has just moved to Savannah from England. He doesn’t like the kind of blood house he’s going to, but it’s his only choice at the moment to not become a danger with his thirst. There he meets Sebastian and the insta-attraction will bring them to a sweet and steamy relationship.

I enjoyed this story a lot, I haven’t read the previous edition so I’m not sure about differences or changes SJ Frost made in the plot/writing. I found the writing good and I was surprised by the plot, I was waiting for the usual “vampire story”, instead I got an interesting and original book, light and funny. I felt soon a connection with Valentine and Sebastian, both well developed and likeable.

I can say I am particularly curious to read the next books in this series. Sal and Basil, Valentine’s friends, were both so well done, sometimes took away attention from the MCs.

The reason why I can’t give Vampire Prince an higher rating is that I often found myself bored by too many sex scenes and sugary sentences  (a little too much even for me). Still I can’t wait for the next one.

Cover art by Scarlet Tie designs. I really like this cover, it’s mysterious and dark, and it soon caught my attention.

Sales Links:  MLR Press | All Romance (ARe) | Amazon |

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 236 pages
Published November 28th 2015 by MLR Press (first published March 7th 2014)
Original TitleVampire Prince
ASINB018GKSB74
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesParanormal Nobles #1
CharactersSebastian Beaumont, Valentin Wyndham settingSavannah, Georgia (United States)