Category: Publishers

It’s A Series Spotlight! Storming Love: Flood from MLR Press! (6 authors, 1 giveaway)

StormingLoveFlood_base

 Storming Love: Flood 6 Book Collection from MLR Press!

Storming Love: Flood Authors: NJ Nielsen, Jenn Dease, Jambrea Jo Jones,

AC Katt, Pelaam, Cherie Noel

STRW In The Spotlight Header

Winter has left, however slowly, and Spring is upon us!  With it can come torrential rains and the accompanying floods.  MLR Press has a new collection with love, romance and wild weather once more at its heart!  This time its floods.  Check out all the authors, titles, couples and details below.    Now grab an oar and let’s start paddling!

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Storming Love: Flood Couples names:
NJ Nielsen: Adrian and Lockie
Jenn Dease: Bridge and Doug
Jambrea Jo Jones: Pete and McKenzie
AC Katt: Derrick and Steven
Pelaam: Euan and Gregg
Cherie Noel: Patric and Sam

A note from Jambrea Jo Jones on Pete and McKenzie,her Storming Love: Flood Couple!

Thank you for letting me stop by the site!

I’m part of the Storming Love series MLR Press is doing. I’m taking on the disaster that is known as the flood.

We have our fair share of floods in Indiana. I remember one really bad one when I was younger. I’m pretty sure it made national news.

Watching the national news and seeing cars floating in the street because someone didn’t pay attention to floor warnings has me shaking my heads, but I can see how it can happen. You think you’ve got a car that can take a little bit of water then it starts gushing in and you’re stuck. Which happens to my poor hero, McKenzie. You can find out what happens when you read the book.

Please leave a comment for your chance at an ebook copy of my story from Storming Love, Pete & McKenzie.

Jambrea_Jo_JonesBlurb:

McKenzie Hallowell was born and bred in Copper Creek. He knew what could happen during flash flood season, but that didn’t stop him from driving through water during a storm. Almost dying might be the best thing that ever happened to him.

Pete Compton moved to town five years ago to take over a feed store. He’d been crushing on McKenzie Hallowell almost from the start. A flash flood brings them together, but will it also bring them love?
Again, thanks for letting me stop by!

STRW Author BookSynopsis

Release dates and Blurb(s):

April 3
STORMING LOVE: FLOOD – Adrian & Lockie by N.J. Nielsen: 30,270 wordsN.J._Nielsen
Adrian Clarke knows his life is a hot mess. This is only one of the reasons he boards a plane and flies halfway around the world—so he can escape everything that’s determined to see him break. Lockie Rivers has worked his whole life on Tenderfoot Downs. After his boss died, Lockie remained as caretaker for the new owner—a man who’d never even set foot on the place. When circumstances bring them face to face, a flash flood comes along to threaten their very existence. Can virtual strangers work together to save their home, their hearts, and find their own slice of heaven?

April 10
STORMING LOVE: FLOOD – Bridge & Doug by Jenn Dease: 22,400 wordsJenn_Dease
Fourth generation lawman, Bridge Bridgerton, has never seen Copper Creek, Texas, flood before. Doug Jones is a lifeguard stopping in Copper Creek to look after his grandfather’s house. Together, they help rescue some of the residents trapped in the rising water. And together, they feel an attraction for each other that gets stronger day by day. But, will they be able to stay together once the water goes down?

 

April 17
STORMING LOVE: FLOOD – Pete & McKenzie by Jambrea Jo Jones: 10,300 wordsJambrea_Jo_Jones
McKenzie Hallowell was born and bred in Copper Creek. He knew what could happen during flash flood season, but that didn’t stop him from driving through water during a storm. Almost dying might be the best thing that ever happened to him.
Pete Compton moved to town five years ago to take over a feed store. He’d been crushing on McKenzie Hallowell almost from the start. A flash flood brings them together, but will it also bring them love?

 

April 24
STORMING LOVE: FLOOD – Steven & Derrick by A.C. Katt: 13,102 wordsA.C.Katt
When a flash flood strikes, Steven stays behind at school to find a little girl who hid from the storm. His lover, Derrick, comes to rescue them both but can only get Josie out. Will Derrick be able to get back to the elementary school in time to get Steven or will he lose him to the raging flood waters?

 

May 1
STORMING LOVE: FLOOD – Euan & Gregg by Pelaam: 21,527 wordsPelaam
Euan looks forward to spending time with his best friend, and unrequited love, Gregg. But Gregg has a confession himself, he isn’t the straight jock Euan thinks. When the truth emerges, Euan learns of a side to his friend’s life he never imagined.
Just as they find out the truth Mother Nature unleashes her fury and they’re trapped on a mountain during the flood.
Even if they weather nature’s storm, there is still a more personal fury to be faced.

May 8
STORMING LOVE: FLOOD – Patric & Sam by Cherie Noel: 17,515 wordsSamPatric_CherieHall_StormingFlood
Patric Carselowey stole Samuel Touchet-Smith’s heart six years ago in an incendiary act of passion. Then he disappeared, joining the Army without a word. When he returned, treating Sam like stranger, he broke Sam’s heart. Now Sam’s meddling Maman and sister have booked him a hiking tour with Patric as the guide. Caught in the unexpected storm, will Sam’s wounded heart be healed during their race to safety or crushed once and for all by lingering misunderstandings and lost memories?

Publisher: MLR Press
Cover Artist: Kris Jacen
Categories: Contemporary, Gay Fiction, Romance, Western/Cowboy (Please note that not all books will contain all elements.)

STRW Spotlight Book Excerpt

Sales Links:  Storming Love: Flood at MLR Books

Patric and Sam by Cherie Noel
Chapter One

Sam’s first indication that the damnable duo of Céleste and Delphine Touchet-Smith were plotting about his love life—again—came during Sunday dinner. The twin terrors of Copper Creek, Texas, a.k.a. his beloved maman and mostly tolerated sister, couldn’t go more than six months without interfering in les affaires de coeur, or if you wanted it in plain English, matters of the heart. Sam’s heart to be precise. They called it trying to get him settled. He called it a damned lot of tom-foolery. Seeing as Maman and Del were well into their eighth month without any shenanigans, Sam let himself get a touch too comfortable. He couldn’t help it. He liked the lack of what his maman called—and good Lord did the woman ever lay on the French accent thick as anything when she said it—eligible bachelors showing up out of the blue for Sunday dinner. He really should have seen it coming, though.
Sadly, he didn’t. Instead he tumbled through the weather beaten door of the hundred year old farmhouse where he’d grown up with only seconds to spare—if he was lucky—before his maman decided he was late. Lord help him if that happened, because then she’d start to think up ways to punish his “lack of proper decorum”. His mind firmly fixed on the delicious meal in his immediate future, Sam hot-footed it into the house blind as a new kitten and innocent as a fluffy little baby chick. With his mind more on squeaking in under the wire than being alert to signs and symptoms of meddling, he was ripe for their not-so-subtle machinations.
His wind-milling arms and rubber-chicken legs were half excessive speed on the well waxed floorboards of the front hall, half pure nerves, and one hundred percent Sam. He thanked his lucky stars he wasn’t in Del’s line of sight when he came in, because that would have been fuel for her to heap on the bonfires of their lovingly antagonistic sibling rivalry. She got plenty of mileage out of his clumsiness as it was. His whole life had been plagued by the same trademark lack of grace–it happened anytime he got too nervous. Today’s occurrence made perfect sense in light of his late arrival and the possible revocation of all beignet and crawfish étouffée privileges for a full week. Sam whimpered at the thought.
While enduring a longer span of time than seven days without Maman’s famous étouffée caused severe mood swings, more than three days without beignets might well be a death sentence. That was Sam’s philosophy on the matter and he saw no reason to ever risk such a dire outcome. So he zipped out of his Jeep, sprinted across the front porch, and then yes, tumbled through the front door with no thought to who or what might be on the other side.
Maman and Del’s chattering voices flowed from the kitchen, echoing back and forth down the hall. Paying them all his attention, he tripped over Cletus, otherwise known as Cletus the Lazy, Maman’s old brindle mess of long legs, floppy ears and slobber. Maman insisted he was an example of canine perfection. If you asked Sam the mutt was far from achieving the pinnacle of dogdom. In point of fact, the disreputable lump spent ninety percent of his time masquerading as a throw rug in the front hall—directly in the path of anyone coming in the door. Therein lay the problem. The dog too, or Sam might have gotten all the facts quicker and hightailed it out of Maman’s front door before he got caught in her matchmaking scheme.
All Sam knew in the moment was that he was sweating like a whore in church and praying Maman was in a good mood. Then, he swore he heard Del saying his name with intent as stepped forward to shut the front door. He tip-toed along like a ninja or a spy—at least in his mind—but was foiled by Cletus. The mange infested throw rug yelped out a piteous aaaarrrhhh—oooo—wee and followed that up with a snuffle-whuffle and the doggy sad-side-eye. All sounds from the kitchen ceased. A weighty beat of silence passed, and then Sam’s maman called out. Her dulcet tones dripped false innocence as they echoed along the passageway. Good Christ, he really should have known.
“Samuel, cher, we’re just finishing up in the kitchen. You go on mon fils, wash up now. We be through to the dining room in a moment.”
Sam rolled his eyes. “Maman, we ain’t in de Louisiana bayou no more. You gotta use English. Proper American-style English. I know you speak it, what with all the times you done tanned my backside for not speaking proper when I was in school.”
A choked off snort followed by a thwapping sound came from the kitchen. Then the amusing melody of his sister’s indignation. “Maman, you didn’t have to smack me with the spatula. You got to admit, Sam talking his personal proper Texas-American style language is pretty damn funny.”
Another thwap echoed down the hall. Sam snickered. Del yelped, louder than Cletus had, and then Sam’s maman was talking. Her tone, all edge of the bayou Creole haughty with a dash of pure southern belle temper made it clear he’d gone and stepped in a heap of trouble. Between her conciliatory tone, the lack of reprimand for stepping on Cletus, and her handling of Del, the handwriting was on the wall. It was too late for him to escape altogether, but he stood a fair chance of mitigating the damage if he could figure out what the heck those two half-crazy bayou belles were plotting. Waiting in silence should push one of them to fill the void. Maman’s long, soft vowels and deliberate Parisian-style French warned him. Whatever they were planning, he was gonna be madder than a twice baited bull.
“Ah, we-el, mon fils, je suis tres desole. No matter. I will do my best to speak only the finest King’s English, no?”
Delphine appeared around the edge of the kitchen door before Maman stopped speaking. Her soft brown eyes huge in her little heart-shaped face, she hissed at him. Waving her hands back and forth like angry birds picking at a scarecrow, she advanced.
“Oh my gosh. Sam, I swear Maman dropped you on your head every day you was a boy! Lock up your lips tout de suite before Maman kicks us both out without supper. Just think about it. No more homemade beignets, no crawfish étouffée…and a whole week long to wait for another chance at them.”
Narrowing his eyes, Sam sniffed and pointed at his sister. “I can make my own red beans and rice, little cat, so put your claws away. And…ah, hell, get out of the way so I can go apologize to Maman.”
His vain attempt to camouflage the utter terror of going so long without Maman’s beignets only caused his sister to smile, flip the long tail of her braid over her shoulder, and murmur as she sashayed around him. “Suck up.”
Sam grunted. “You’re damn skippy I am, cher. Ain’t a body on Earth can cook like Maman…I plan on staying in her good graces forever.”
Del laughed, just like he knew she would. Warmth spread through his chest. Sisters. Shaking his head, Sam curled one side of his mouth up and flicked the end of her braid. He never got tired of being able to predict how she would react. Chuckling quietly, Sam ambled through the kitchen door. Spreading his arms, hanging his head and gazing up through his lashes, he gave his best little boy grin. “Sorry Maman. I didn’t mean no disrespect.”
Céleste tossed a small kitchen towel over one shoulder. “Hmmpf.”
Sam snuggled up to her, bending down to hug her tight. “Je suis tres desole, Mamam. Ne soyez pas en colère contre moi.”
Laughing, Céleste pushed him toward the dining room doorway. “Delphine is right. You are a suck up. You sit down, cher. I still be serving crawfish étouffée, you terrible boy. Non, non, you were late getting here, Sam, and you think I did not notice? On second thought, you get right back up. Go help your sister set the table if you want to earn your way back into my good graces.”
They waited until he was stuffed fuller than a suckling pig destined for the table before dropping the bomb. When Del met his eyes directly, and Maman cleared her throat twice in a row, Sam froze in place. Del’s smile wobbled ever so slightly as she began to speak.
“Now, Sam, we done paid already, and there’s no refunds possible.”
Eyes closed to mere slits, Sam waited her out.
“The thing is, you been working too hard. Everybody says so. And wel—”
Maman folded her napkin with small, neat motions, and Sam dropped his head forward to rest his forehead in the palms of both hands. “Just tell me what the two of you have cooked up besides the delicious étouffée I done just ate too much of?”
Del turned beseeching eyes toward Maman. The elder Touchet-Smith woman at least had the grace to get a splash of red in both cheeks. “Samuel, cher, we done booked you a little hiking trip. With Carselowey Tours. You work so hard taking care of us, ever since your père et grand-père, ah, father and grandfather passed. We just wanted to say thank you.”
Sam choked, coughed, and sprayed a mouthful of étouffée across the table, missing Delphine by inches. The bright smile Maman wore as she spoke dimmed. She and Delphine both stared down at their plates. Del grimaced.
“Oh, Sam, it was such a good deal, but because we booked so close to the departure date they can’t offer a refund. Well, except in case of death or extreme medical emergency. And I’m pretty sure bull-headed refusal to take a vacation don’t count.”
Closing both eyes, Sam sucked in a steadying breath before giving in as gracefully as he could.
“Ah. I guess that clears up the issue of what to do with my vacation days this year. When do I leave?”
Delphine cornered him in the front hall after he’d made his farewells to Maman and before he made good on his bid for freedom. Wrapping a strand of her curly brown hair around one finger, she plunked her back against the front door and pressed both little palms against the center of his chest. “Listen, you hard head—I been hearing some things. I want you to promise me to go on this trip. I know you got some kinda powerful dislike for Patric Carselowey, but Maman put down a heap of money she had put by for something else just so’s you could take some time away from that store. I—just you promise to go, you hear me? Go. And maybe find out if there might have been some reason he did whatever made you come all over fulla hate for him so quick. Can you do that for me, cher?”
Sam glared down at Del. “You so fulla yourself. One day somebody going to throw a little magic your way bayou girl, and we see how you like that.”
Del huffed out a breath. “I never!”
“Ha. I’m going on this trip. For Maman. But you? Best admire those eyebrows while you still got them.” Sam backed away as he spoke, knowing Del would do the same thing as always in three-two-one…
“I’m gonna tell Maman you threatening my eyebrows again!” she screeched and lunged toward him. Sam dodged around her, jerked the front door open and ran like the wind. He laughed his fool head off all the way to his Jeep, too.

STRW Author Bio and Contacts

  • About the authors:
    NJ Nielsen: NJ needs to write like she needs to breathe. It’s an addiction that she never intends to find a cure for. When you don’t find NJ arguing with Vlad, her muse or writing about the wonderful men in her stories, you’ll find her reading work by other authors she greatly admires. NJ lives in the SE of Qld, Australia with her family who all encourage her writing career even if she does occasionally call them by her character’s names. NJ thinks that anyone taking the time to read her stuff is totally awesome.
    Jenn Dease: Jenn Dease is a Chef with a reading and writing addiction. The six bookcases in her bedroom are proof of this. She was born and raised in Pittsburgh with one of those families that have four generations in a four block radius. The Redheads, or her sisters, are the best things in her life. When they want to be.
    Jambrea Jo Jones: Jambrea wanted to be the youngest romance author published, but life impeded the dreams. She put her writing aside and went to college briefly, then enlisted in the Air Force. After serving in the military, she returned home to Indiana to start her family. A few years later, she discovered yahoo groups and book reviews. There was no turning back. She was bit by the writing bug.
    She enjoys spending time with her son when not writing and loves to receive reader feedback. She’s addicted to the internet so feel free to email her anytime.
  • AC Katt: She lives in New Mexico with her husband and new cat who, just as she does loves paper and words. She got a late start to her writing career but is now in a writing frenzy. Go figure!
  • Pelaam: Living in clean, green New Zealand Pelaam is a multi-published author of m/m romance and erotica. She’s loved writing since childhood and to become an author is a cherished dream come true. She grew up reading fairy tales and watching science fiction, horror and fantasy. When not writing she can be found indulging in her other passions of cookery and wine appreciation.
    Cherie Noel: Cherie’s been in love with words since before she drew breath, and doesn’t see that ever changing. She write stories, full stop. Sometimes there’s music with them, sometimes they’re poems, and lately, to her great delight, a plethora of M/M fiction and erotic romance. Yum. Smexy man to the second…or third power…now that’s the kinda math Cherie can get behind!!

The hair curls or frizzes as it will, the eyes are green and tend to look in two different directions—no, really—and the rest is subject to change. You know the guy who didn’t know if he was a butterfly dreaming he was a man or a man dreaming he was a butterfly? Yeah, that’s Cherie, but substitute drag queen for butterfly and wacky, wild ex-Army chick for man.

Where to find the authors:

On Goodreads:

NJ Nielsen: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5042080.N_J_Nielsen
Jambrea Jo Jones: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2856938.Jambrea_Jo_Jones
Pelaam: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4425974.Pelaam
Cherie Noel: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4874967.Cherie_Noel

Facebook:
NJ Nielsen: https://www.facebook.com/norma.nielsen.9
Jenn Dease: https://www.facebook.com/Jenn.Dease.5
Jambrea Jo Jones: https://www.facebook.com/JambreaJoJones
AC Katt: http://www.facebook.com/ackatt
Pelaam: https://www.facebook.com/pamela.pelaamone
Cherie Noel: https://www.facebook.com/CherieNoel

Facebook Author Page:
NJ Nielsen:https://www.facebook.com/pages/NJ-Nielsen/793520884042153?ref=bookmarks
Jambrea Jo Jones: https://www.facebook.com/groups/565548900226323/
Pelaam: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pelaam/1467778320131583?ref=hl
Cherie Noel: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cherie-Noel/253662497986298

Twitter:
NJ Nielsen: @NJNielsen1 https://twitter.com/NJNielsen1
Jenn Dease: @momsdesk1 https://twitter.com/momsdesk1
Jambrea Jo Jones: https://twitter.com/Jambrea @jambrea
AC Katt: https://twitter.com/ackatt @ackatt
Cherie Noel: https://twitter.com/authornoel

Pinterest:
Jambrea Jo Jones: https://www.pinterest.com/jambrea/
AC Katt: : https://www.pinterest.com/ackatt/
Cherie Noel: https://www.pinterest.com/authorcnoel/
Other:
NJ Nielsen: Blogger: http://normanielsen.blogspot.com.au/ WordPress: https://nielsennj.wordpress.com/ Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/profile/public-profile-settings?trk=prof-0-ovw-public_profile-secondary Google +: https://plus.google.com/u/0/108478475874292907770/posts
Jenn Dease: WordPress: http://www.jenndease.com
Jambrea Jo Jones: http://www.jambrea.com
AC Katt: http://www.ackatt.com http://www.ackattsjournal.com
Cherie Noel: Blogger: http://talesfromthewritingcave.blogspot.com/ Website: http://www.cherienoel.com/
Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/cherie-noel/46/b2/52/

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Tour Dates & Stops:Parker Williams, Inked Rainbow Reads, MM Good Book Reviews, Bayou Book Junkie, Bike Book Reviews, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Carly’s Book Reviews, Tara Lain, BFD Book Blog, Hearts on Fire, Velvet Panic, Cate Ashwood, Charley Descoteaux, Chris McHart, The Hat Party, Up All Night, Read All Day, It’s Raining Men, Michael Mandrake

 

 STRW Spotlight Contest Header

Contest: Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: $50 Gift Card. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Prizes and links provided by the publisher, authors, and Pride Promotions.

PLUS……Each author is also giving away a small gift at each blog stop. Either some small bits of swag, an eBook copy of their food story, or something from their backlist.   Leave a comment and an email address where you can be reached!

Rafflecopter Code:
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A MelanieM Review: Hawaiian Trunks by Caraway Carter

Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5

Hawaiian Trunks coverIn Hawaii for the wedding of his lovers, Toby Lee wonders if he’ll ever find a love like Clay & Colin. When he meets Wolff, a hot bartender, over the course of a weekend he thinks it could just be possible. Toby Lee puts his foot down and decides that his love life is far more important than the so-called friends who take advantage of him. A broken law, handcuffs and a kiss might just seal the deal on his future.

Hawaiian Trunks by Caraway Carter is an enjoyable short story that has the legs and heart of a much bigger tale.  The story is told through the perspective of Toby Lee in Hawaii to attend and manage his lovers/employers wedding.  It’s a time of celebration for all except maybe Toby whose life is now as unsettled and rippling as the waves outside the resort they are all staying at.    Employed as Colin and Clay’s houseboy, Toby became their “third” over the five years he lived with them but the wedding for these two changes everything, including their relationship dynamics.  Why?

Because Toby now wants what Colin and Clay have together for himself.  He wants his life to change.  And he wants love, not just affection but the deep abiding love he sees in the men at the alter.

As the story opens, the reader is dropped down into the wedding ceremony as the vows are being said.  It’s intimate, its lovely, and its also clearly heartbreaking for Toby, who loves these men but is ready to move on with his life but doesn’t know how. The story only takes place over a couple of days, the few last parties before everyone  goes home to their now changed lives. You get a glimpse as to how wealthy Colin and Clay are and the lifestyle that Toby has lived with them as their lover/houseboy.  It’s that brief look into their regular lives that lets you understand both Toby’s frustration as well as his yearning for more.  It will take courage and determination to leave that life behind but does Toby have that?

Toby’s wish for  change is helped along by continual encounters with a bartender called Wolff, who seems to pop up everywhere at the resort.  A few conversations peak each other’s interest, a longer encounter deepens the attraction into something neither wants to define but both want to pursue.  That’s a pretty realistic approach and one I appreciated when other authors would have gone for the instant love aspect.  Luckily, that is not to be found here.

The ending is again believable in its resolution and HFN status for the main characters.  There isn’t too much drama or angst…it is a wedding after all. And the challenges Toby faces are ones that come with change and maturity.  The progression towards the character’s growth and the thought processes that gets him there flow smoothly and realistically.  I believed in Toby and how it all ended and wished him well.  You will too.

My only quibble is that it often felt as though we were missing either part of the book (the first half) that contained Toby’s life with Colin and Clay.  It would have been nice to have more of a back history and substantial heft now lacking to the wholeness of the plot.  Instead, as I said, it felt as though we were dropped down in the middle, and got that and the end.  A prologue might have giving this lovely little story the final touch that it needs for completeness.

If you are looking for a lovely tale of romance to while away a hour or two, pick up Hawaiian Trunks by Caraway Carter.  If you turn away from any sort of m/m/m element, don’t worry about that here as that aspect is over as the story begins and Toby is looking for that one person to be his alone.

Cover art by Deanna Jamroz works perfectly.  I love the lanterns in the background and the Hawaiian print trunks in the foreground.  Great job.

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

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 40 pages
Published February 22nd 2015 by ManLove Romance Press
ASINB00TXWJXWW
edition languageEnglish

 

It’s Ally Blue ~ Back With “Down”, Love with a Hint of Horror! (guest post and giveaway)

Down_200x300

Ally Blue is here today at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words.  Any reader who loves romance with a hint of the supernatural or a touch of horror is familiar with this prolific author.  Ally Blue has written the popular Bay City Paranormal Investigations series, The Happy Onion, Willow Bend and so many more and now she brings us Down, her latest tale of romance and horror.

But let Ally Blue tell you herself….

Down_TourBanner

Hi everyone! I’m Ally Blue, and I’m touring the internet tubes this week in support of my new horror novel, Down. I really appreciate my hosts here at Scattered Thoughts and Rouge Words for having me here today, thank you!

If anyone here is familiar with my work, you’ll know me as an author of gay romance. For the past ten years, I’ve written romance pretty much exclusively. I’ve hit several different sub-genres, including paranormal, contemporary (both angsty and comedic), futuristic/dystopian, sci-fi, and suspense. But except for a couple of horror short stories, my books have always been romances at heart, no matter what else happens.

Down changes that in a big way. The two central characters are still gay men and they do fall into a romantic relationship which plays an important role in the story, but this book is definitely not a romance. The relationship between Mo and Armin is important to the book, but it’s not the focus. The horror plot is the focus of this book—the thing the BathyTech crew finds, the events that follow from that find, and what happens to Our Heroes and the people around them as a result. And some things happen that are not very nice at all. Yeah, Down is definitely Horror. With that big old capital “H”.

Writing horror as a romance author has been interesting. As a reader, I’ve been a fan of horror all my life. I’ve always wanted to write it. Like I said, I’ve done a couple of horror shorts—one of them, Flesh and Song, is available through Riptide Publishing in their Bump In the Night erotic horror anthology—but Down is my first full-length horror novel, something I’ve wanted to do for a long, long time. Horror is a completely different animal to romance. The focus is different. I mean, the characters still have to be the main focus, or the story will feel dead and uninteresting. Or at least that’s my opinion. But the way you handle the characters, their motivations and the consequences of their actions, is different. Obviously, in horror you can go a lot darker than you can with romance. Or maybe it’s just me, ha. I wanted to weave the romance into the horror plot and make the relationship a part of the horror. That was a big challenge for me, as a big fan of the Happily Ever After ending, but I think I succeeded. I think the romance part is very poignant, and the horror part is pretty damn horrific, and I think they work well together to create a frightening but touching story.

I’m very proud of this book, and I want everyone else to love it too. Thanks for letting me talk about it! Happy reading, y’all

About Down

Seven thousand meters below the ocean’s surface, the crew of the BathyTech 3 mineral mining facility has found something remarkable: a rock-like sphere of unknown material and origin.Down_200x300

For Mo Rees, the discovery calls to his inner explorer and adds color to his dull miner’s life. Even better than the promise of new knowledge is the unexpected connection he forges with Dr. Armin Savage-Hall, leader of the team brought down to study the thing.

For Armin, the object is the find of a lifetime. It could prove his controversial theories and secure his scientific reputation. And Mo is a fascinating bonus.

Then crew members start behaving strangely. Worse, they start to change: their eyes glow purple, their teeth sharpen. Then the violence begins, the brutal deaths. As BathyTech descends deeper into chaos, the surviving crew works desperately to find the cause of the horrors around them. What they uncover could annihilate the human race. And they can’t stop it.

Buy It Here (and read an excerpt too) at Riptide Publishing.

About the Author

Ally Blue is acknowledged by the world at large (or at least by her heroes, who tend to suffer a lot) as the Popess of Gay Angst.

She has a great big suggestively-shaped hat and rides in a bullet-proof Plexiglas bubble in Christmas parades. Her harem of manwhores does double duty as bodyguards and inspirational entertainment. Her favorite band is Radiohead, her favorite color is lime green and her favorite way to waste a perfectly good Saturday is to watch all three extended version LOTR movies in a row.
Her ultimate dream is to one day ditch the evil day job and support the family on manlove alone. She is not a hippie or a brain surgeon, no matter what her kids’ friends say.

Connect with Ally:
Website: http://www.allyblue.com
Twitter: @PopessAllyBlue
Tumblr: https://www.therealallyblue.tumblr.com
Facebook fan page
Facebook profile page: https://www.facebook.com/AllyBlue.author
Group blog: http://www.fictionwithfriction.com
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/PopessAllyBlue

Giveaway

Down_150x300Every comment on this blog tour enters you in a drawing a $15 Riptide store credit. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on April 25. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Don’t forget to add your email so we can contact you if you win!  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Prizes provided by Riptide Publishing.

A Stella Review: A Boy Called Cin by Cecil Wilde

Rating 3 stars out of 5

A Boy Called CinOn the search for a cup of coffee before the guest lecture he’s giving, Tom spies a tired, half-frozen young man who looks even more need of coffee than him. On impulse, he buys the man a cup—but an attempt to strike up conversation ends in the young man walking off, seemingly put off by Tom Walford—the tabloids’ favourite billionaire—buying him coffee. But when he reappears in Tom’s lecture, all Tom knows is that he doesn’t want the man slipping away a second time.

Agreeing to dinner with a man he only knows from internet gossip columns isn’t the wisest decision Cin’s ever made, but he wants to like the infamous Tom Walford and he can’t do that if he doesn’t give the man a fair chance to be likeable. Which he is, almost frustratingly so, to the point Cin wishes maybe he hadn’t been so fair because he never had any intention of getting attached to Tom, who seems to come from a world far too different from his own for anything between them to last. Little does Cin know, they’ve got a lot more in common than he imagines—including their shared discomfort with their assigned genders, and all the complications that go with it.

A Boy Called Cin by Cecil Wilde is the story between Tom, a famous forty years old billionaire, genius of the tech industry and Cin, a twenty years old broke, smartass art student. They are attracted to each other from the first time they meet in the coffee shop of the campus where Tom works and Cin studies. Theirs will be a slow burn story, full of fears from both of them. Tom is basically a lonely man, apart from his sister Poppy. He is a mess, living a life he’s not comfortable with anymore.

“I have been so uncomfortable for so long without knowing how to fix it. I tried ignoring it, pretending it wasn’t there, and then when that didn’t work, I just tried hiding it. And then you came along and gave me a word for what I was feeling and took me seriously, and I don’t deserve any of it, because I’ve done absolutely nothing for you except annoy you.”

Tom finds in Cin the first person he can finally confide in and trust. Cin got him from the start, he is the only one to keep in mind Tom’s needs and feelings. I like how they are supportive of each other.

I can honestly say this is not my favorite book of the author. It was sweet, but not so sweet as the other two I read by Cecil, it was instructive to me (Cecil has the power to make me feel stupid every time I read one of their books). My problem with it was my impossibility to like the characters. Tom seems so young, so fragile, while Cin is too cynical for be just twenty. I don’t like my characters to be perfect, I love to read about damaged and normal persons just like us, but Tom and Cin were not for me. Especially the dialogues between them didn’t seem real at all.

As I already said in my review of Defying Convention, I loved how the author addressed various transgender issues, especially in this book. I liked the writing, even if I often have a hard time read a book written using the simple present. At the end I’m sorry, I’m a little disappointed by it. I was really hoping in something more.

Cover art by Aisha Akeju. Really well done, simple and different.

Sales Links:   Less Than Three Press (pre order )       All Romance (ARe)     Amazon      Buy It Here other links coming closer to  release

Book Details:

Published July 8th 2015 by Less Than Three Press
ebook, 169 pages
ISBN13 9781620045589
Edition language English

 

A Mika Review:  Breaking the Habit by J.P. Bowie

Rating: 3 stars out of 5 :

Breaking the Habit coverMike Peterson is determined to break the gambling habit that resulted in two failed marriages, no money, no job, plus almost getting himself and his brother killed when loan sharks came looking for their money. In addition, he’s recently been having some doubts about his own sexuality. When his gay brother suggests he get in touch with an old friend, recently out police officer Larry Bertoli, Mike is at first leery of the idea, and their first meeting isn’t exactly ideal.

They decide to meet again and this time more of what they are and what they could mean to one another is revealed during their time together. They begin a tentative friendship that graduates to a first, fumbling attempt at romance. Can they find the secure relationship they both want, or will Mike’s addiction and lack of self-esteem hinder what could possibly be salvation for both men?

Seriously, if I could take the entire cast of the book out to a field and shoot them I would. Is everyone selfish and hurtful in this book. I’m so happy it was only a 100 pages, I literally wanted to DNF at the first re-introductions of the main characters. Why?? I can’t say without spoiling it for you, but it’s ridiculous. I can’t look past that. I’m disgusted that the mother and brother actions, as though it was perfectly fine as long as Mike is getting his life together. How is that okay? Another thing was if the sister was okay with it, where was she during most of the story? Absent, that’s where she was. I don’t get it, you might as well as portrayed them as long lost class mates. And let’s not talk about the assassin type murder your brother’s boyfriend supposedly had done, based on your own gambling addictions. Isn’t he a journalist? Come on, I just found the story lacking on all fronts. The excessive usage of Lar, and Jer got on my last nerves. It’s only 2 damn syllables; you can say Larry and Jerry without being tired.

Then the insta-love, I dislike this trope because it doesn’t work well for me. They literally had 2 dates in a 2 week duration before the underwear was getting thrown around. Both were virgins, as well.  The romance part lacked for me as a story element. They were so over the top with everything. Let’s not mention the marriage proposal in a month’s time. I mean, Mike, you went from confused, to not knowing, to thinking about Larry, to being okay with identifying as a gay man? I think not, it felt totally unrealistic.

Cover Art by: Wild City Press, I don’t know who is suppose to be who. The descriptions I remember doesn’t suit with the cover models. Nice efforts with the dice though.

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

Book Details:

ebook, 100 pages
Published February 4th 2015 by Wilde City Press
ISBN139781925180947
edition language English

In the Spotlight: In Memory of Us by Ana J. Phoenix (excerpt and contest)

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 In Memory of Us by  Ana J. Phoenix

Release Date: March 31, 2015

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Ana J. Phoenix has a new release out, In Memory of Us.  Just that gorgeous cover is enough to draw you in, don’t you think?  Here is more information about the book and its author.  Don’t forget to enter the giveaway located at the end of the post.

 

STRW Author BookSynopsis

About In Memory of Us….

Kite’s had a crush on Shin since middle school, but never acted on it until the eve of his yearly trip to the States, when he slipped up and kissed his best friend. Shortly after, a tsunami wrecked the country and his hometown, and put all his plans on hold. Now, two years later, he’s back in Japan and he wants to set things right.

When he finds Shin, though, his former best friend isn’t who he used to be. Losing his parents changed Shin and now, instead of following his heart, he’s dedicated his life to studying for university entrance exams and ignoring everything else. He won’t let Kite get close, denying his obvious attraction and all their good memories.

Kite doesn’t want to give up on Shin, but he can’t shake the feeling that there’s something his friend isn’t telling him. Something else that happened two years ago on the day of the tsunami. He doesn’t know what it is, just that it’s destroying his friend—and possibly their shot at love.

Pages or Words: 28,000 words, 100 pages

Categories: Contemporary, M/M Romance, New Adult, Romance

STRW Spotlight Book Excerpt

“You know I watched you all through high school.”

“Watched me do what?”

“Fuck around.”

Kite grimaced but didn’t know what to say. He had been promiscuous, no denying that.

“I didn’t have a crush on you in third grade,” Shin went on. “Not consciously.”

“When did it become conscious?”

Shin leaned back a little, as if he needed the distance to be able to think. “Middle school,” he said then. “We were having ice cream and suddenly you told me you’d kissed Kaoru.”

Kite furrowed his brow. He didn’t remember much about Kaoru, but he did remember coming out to his best friend over ice cream. Ice cream made him think of a time in California when his sister would take him out for a treat to get away from their parents’ fighting and she’d tell him that she would definitely never get married. He figured since he was kissing boys, he probably wouldn’t get married either.

“Kaoru was a test run,” he told Shin.

“Yeah? Was everyone after him a test run too?”

“No.” Kite lifted his hand and ran his fingers through the soft hair at the nape of Shin’s neck. “Everyone after him was to take my mind off you.”

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Publisher: Loose ID
Cover Artist: Dar Albert

Sales Links:  Loose Id    All Romance (ARe)  Amazon

STRW Author Bio and Contacts

Ana is a writer of m/m romance and erotica. Her interest in hot guy-on-guy action was first sparked by reading scandalous Japanese mangas. A dirty secret she couldn’t resist. In a long bout of insanity – also known as her life — she decided to learn the language and escape to the land of sushi, sumo, and yaoi.

She’s since moved back to Europe to be with the love of her life – delicious European chocolate.

Now she resides in the sunny part of Germany where she fills her days chasing her dreams and writing about men in complicated relationships. Her family believes she’s writing “erotic manga stories.” She’s pleased they got the erotic part right, at least.
Where to find the author:

Facebook
Twitter: https://twitter.com/anajphoenix
Website: http://anajphoenix.com
Goodreads Link

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Tour Dates & Stops: April 21, 2015

Parker Williams, BFD Book Blog, Nephylim, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, The Hat Party, Chris McHart, My Fiction Nook, Bayou Book Junkie, Rainbow Gold Reviews, MM Good Book Reviews, Wake Up Your Wild Side, Boys on the Brink Reviews, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Cate Ashwood, Velvet Panic, Multitasking Mommas, The Fuzzy, Fluffy World of Chris T. Kat, Boy Meets Boy Reviews, Inked Rainbow Reads, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Divine Magazine

 

STRW Spotlight Contest Header

Contest: Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: From Ana J. Phoenix: “To keep with the theme, I’m giving away a small goody bag with Japanese things.” (Giveaway open to everyone anywhere in the world.) Japanese good luck charms play an important role in the story, so I’m including one in this gift bag. Note: You must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Prizes and link provided by the author and Pride Promotions.

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