Author Spotlight: Writing with Humor by John Inman (contest)

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍

Author Spotlight: John Inman On Writing with Humor

The stories of John Inman are a true favorite of mine. I think of John Inman and his stories and immediately I start to smile. He has the ability to convey the emotions and thoughts of real people with startling issues in his stories through humor, frankness, and acceptance. Interspersed, of course, by the occasional moments of angst.

“Laughing through our tears” is probably a phrase most readers would associate with this author, whether it is through his books, Shy, Hobbled, or the recently released Spirit. I invited John to talk a little about how he combines the authenticity of every day problems and real life difficulties with humor. John has brought a copy of his latest release, Spirit, to give away. To enter to win leave a comment and an email address where you can be contacted. The contest ends June 4 at midnight.

Writing with Humor by John Inman

I was recently asked how and why I temper the impact of real issues with humor.

Well now, there’s a question and a half, huh?

Questions about why I write the way I do always go flapping over my head like distraught pigeons, because I honestly never know how to answer them. My motives are a mystery even to me. They always have been.

I do know there are times when I’m trying to delve into serious issues in a story and it’s an uphill battle for me to not start cracking jokes or going for a laugh. I’m talking about my writing here. In real life I’m much too shy to shoot for a belly laugh from anybody. I’m the guy sitting in the corner behind the potted palm slurping down cocktails to calm his frazzled nerves and trying to be inconspicuous. On paper, however, I’m fearless.

I honestly had not thought about it before, but behind every one of my comedies — SHY, HOBBLED, SPIRIT, LOVING HECTOR, SERENADING STANLEY — (I’m leaving out PAULIE because the only serious aspect to that story was the fact that everybody wanted to get laid, and I mean seriously.) Taking those other stories in order, the serious issues are Social Anxiety, Murder and Kidnapping, just plain Murder, Physical Abuse, and with STANLEY, an apartment building full of crazy people and the MC’s Inferiority Complex.

✍
Even my serious novels have a good deal of comedy interwoven into the story. Take A HARD WINTER RAIN, for instance. With all the people being violently mowed down left and right, that one simply cried out for mood lighteners. So I gave them to the reader through the gallows humor of two homicide detectives chasing down a serial killer. JASPER’S MOUNTAIN, too, had its lighter moments. How could there not be an underlying comedic tone when the main character had three dogs, two cats, a couple of baby pigs, and a shitload of alligator lizards infesting his mountain retreat?

✍
I think even in the most serious story lines, there is a need to lighten the mood now and then. I realize I go a little overboard with my humor sometimes, but still it serves a purpose. I know when I’m reading a long, sad, morose tale of abuse or angst or heartbreak, I require an occasional chuckle just so I won’t set the book aside periodically and toddle off to the bedroom to blow my brains out.

When I was a high school kid back in Indiana about a thousand years ago, I remember my English Lit teacher giving us an assignment to write a story about ancient Rome. Growing up in Switz City, Indiana, with a population of 212 people, and with only one stoplight, one feed store, one tiny market where the clerk doled out change from a cigar box, and about a gazillion churches, I had, of course, never been to Rome in my life, ancient or otherwise, and unless I was sorely mistaken, I was pretty sure none of the other kids had been there either.

So instead of writing a story about something I knew absolutely nothing about, I wrote a commercial. A commercial like you might have seen had ancient Rome been bombarded with endless hours of mindless television shows like we are. (Yes, even as a kid I hated TV.) Remember Cal Worthington and his dog Spot (who was actually a tiger) hawking used cars all over TV? That’s the type of guy I based my commercial on. Only Cal wasn’t Cal anymore. He was Calicus. And he didn’t sell cars, he sold chariots. Calicus stood there in his lot full of used chariots, his toga flapping around his pale skinny legs, touting the wonderfulness of his inventory in a loud booming voice, while his bigass pet elephant, Spot, followed him around like a Corgi.

I fully expected to get an F on the assignment, but strangely enough Mrs. Donahue (who I always thought hated my guts) –see? I was paranoid even then — well, Mrs. Donahue gave me an A+ and asked that I read my creation in front of the class, which I refused to do because I was just too damn shy. My best friend at the time, Linda Strietelmeier, of brave German stock, took pity on me and offered to read my story to the class in my stead.

✍
I still remember the kids laughing at my silly commercial as Linda stood at the podium reading it out loud. Even sourpuss Mrs. Donahue cracked a smile or two. I sat there looking down at my lap, blushing up a storm, and loving every fucking minute of it. Looking back now, I do believe that day was the beginning of my need to write comedy.

It isn’t a pretty story, I know. But it is my own. And as true as the day is long.

So in answer to the question, how and why do I temper the impact of real issues with humor, the answer is — I have no choice. It’s just what I do, what I am, how I write. There is no big mystery to it. I’m just doing what I enjoy doing. And in truth, I think the answer to the question is pretty simple.

✍
Not only am I simply wired that way, but maybe even more to the point is the fact that I’m doing it because that’s the kind of writing I like to read.

And what better reason is there than that?

Author Bio:

John has been writing fiction for as long as he can remember. Born on a small farm in Indiana, he now resides in San Diego, California where he spends his time gardening, pampering his pets, hiking and biking the trails and canyons of San Diego, and of course, writing. He and his partner share a passion for theater, books, film, and the continuing fight for marriage equality. If you would like to know more about John, check out his website at—-

Follow John Inman at:

If you are unfamiliar with John Inman and his stories, I have listed a few,ok a lot of my personal favorites below. Check them out and prepare to start laughing. It’s the only way to go. Those marvelous covers are by artist Paul Richmond except for Spirit whose wonderful cover was done by Reese Dante.

Review: Love Comes Home (Senses #3) by Andrew Grey

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Architect Gregory Hampton’s son, Davey, is playing in a Little League softball game and having difficulties with pitching and hitting where he had none before. Then a stranger approaches Gregory with a startling suggestion…that Greg should take Davy to an eye doctor for an examination. The diagnosis is frightening. Davey has a genetic occular disease that has just kicked in with the result that Davey’s sight is degenerating rapidly, and eventually he’ll go blind. Suddenly life is all about helping Davey adjust to his impending loss of eyesight and a romance with the handsome businessman he just met has to be relegated to the background. Or does it?

Wealthy businessman Tom Spangler had no sooner met architect Gregory Hampton and arranged to go on a date when a call arrives to disrupt their evening. Sometime during the evening, Greg’s son Davey had completely lost his sight and a traumatized son is in need of his father. After ferrying them both home, Tom waits to hear from Greg. And while he waits, Tom researches how to help Greg and his son, Davey even though he is not even sure the man and his son will accept his help.

One of the things that Tom has researched is beep baseball. Here balls and bases make sounds to enable the visually impaired to participate in Little League. When Tom spearheads an effort to form a team so Davey can continue to play the game he loves, it draws Tom and Greg closer and brings Davey back to the game he thought he would never play again. But Greg’s ex wife has returned with a plan in mind for Davey that will reject everything that Greg, Tom and Davey have worked so hard to accomplish. With a threat to Davey’s happiness at stake, what will Tom and Greg do to ensure his safety and future?

Love Comes Home is the third story in the Senses series and it is a lovely one. The previous story focused on Howard who is blind and his lover, Gordy, both of whom are a strong presence here in Love Comes Home as part of the village of people who help Davey accept his blindness and move forward. Once again, Andrew Grey’s story is centered on someone who is blind but in this case it is a young boy who turns blind almost overnight due to a genetic ocular disease no one knew he had until puberty sets it off. Up until then Davey is a highly athletic, normal boy being raised by a single dad, Greg Hampton.

Andrew Grey’s characters comes across as totally believable human beings, albeit sometimes a little too nice given some of the circumstances they find themselves in. Gregory Hampton is high on my list of favorite characters here as a single dad who puts his son first, including his own wants and needs. His reactions when informed of his son’s diagnosis seems so authentic as he reels between denial and acceptance, not for himself at first but for Davey. Then later, Grey shows Greg’s own grief set in and its both wrenching and raw. Davey too feels all too authentic as a young boy who thinks his life is over until he is shown how to move forward with his disability by a close knit circle of friends. Tom, however, is a little more too, too everything. Too wealthy, too handsome, too great a boyfriend and potential stepfather to Davey. I just wish he had a tad more flaws to make him less a knight in shining armor and more a lonely man looking for love who finds a family as well. A flawed human being for me is always the more interesting and absorbing person to read about. Tom seems almost too perfect to be read and that lessens the romance for me as well.

Andrew Grey has indicated that he has done a mountain of research towards this book and it shows. From the classes that Davey is immersed in to teach himself how to read and write Braille or to simply function in every day life, the author moves his characters through the necessary steps towards Davey’s independence and acceptance at exactly the right pace for a family still trying to deal with Davey’s disease and altered lifestyle. It’s a wonderful journey and it culminates in Davey’s introduction to Beep Ball and the formation of a team of children like Davey in that they are sight impaired.

Ah, Beep Ball. What a splendid sport. And through Grey’s descriptions we are able to visualize how Davey and the other kids step forward with enthusiasm for some and trepidation for others to have fun, be a part of a group and play a sport that was thought impossible to participate in for some kids and parents. We get the laughter, the dropped balls and the tears that flow as parents realize just what it is that they are seeing. Be prepared for a sniffle or two yourself. This really made the story for me.

Romance is well represented here. There is the slowly evolving love between Greg and Tom, marked only by the hiccup arrival of Greg’s ex wife. That part of the story seemed odd and less realized. Absent for 2 years, she appears with demands about her son’s future. It never comes across as though that is her true reason for her appearance. The reader will keep wondering when “the other shoe” will drop and her hidden agenda will be revealed. But that aspect is dropped and the resolution between all the parties comes off as a little contrived. This is probably my biggest issue with this story.

But that element aside, I loved this story. Davey and his journey towards acceptance of his blindness, the manner in which Howard and Gordy helped Greg through the challenges they all faced, the realistic and heartwarming manner in which I felt I knew this group of friends by the end of the story….those are all terrific reasons to buy this book. The romance too will keep you smiling as well as the picture of a new family formed by love at the end. So charming, so heartfelt, and imminently enjoyable too.

Cover design is both lovely and relevant.

Book Details:

ebook, 200 pages
Published March 7th 2014 by Dreamspinner Press (first published March 6th 2014)
ISBN 1627986626 (ISBN13: 9781627986625)
urlhttp://www.dreamspinnerpress.com
seriesSenses #3

Books in the Senses series include:

Love Comes Silently (Senses, #1)
Love Comes in Darkness (Senses, #2) (Howard and Gordy)
Love Comes Home (Senses, #3)

Review: Spirit by John Inman

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

When Jason Day, video games designer, agrees to watch his precocious four-year-old nephew, Timmy, for four weeks he has no idea how his life will be forever changed by his acceptance. Jason works from home and is a confirmed, but not happy about it, gay bachelor. He is the only immediate family in his his nephew’s life outside of his nephew’s mom as Timmy’s father disappeared several years ago and has never been heard from again. Jason is surprised to find himself bonding with Timmy, loving the 4 year old’s company even as it exhausts him.

Then a young man arrives and announces himself as Timmy’s uncle too but from the other, still missing, side of the family. His appearance starts off a series of startling events, not the least of which is a ghostly presence that is getting increasingly agitated by the hour. Soon Jason finds himself with a burgeoning love interest, a mystery that turns ominous, and a ghost with an alarming sense of humor. Things are getting out of hand and Jason finds himself and Timmy right in the middle of it all. Can the weirdest summer Jason has ever had also turn out to be his best?

I found author John Inman about 5 books of his ago after cuddling up to Loving Hector. Between gales of laughter and more than a few shed tears, I knew that John Inman, with his talent for writing comedic fiction with a heart, would always have a place on my must read author list. After Loving Hector, came Shy, and Hobbled, and Serenading Stanley, and all the rest leading up to Spirit, a whacky, supernatural infused tale of love and what it means to be a family, ancient Chihuawhatits included. And while I can always be certain that each tale of his will include some gut busting scenes of humor and maybe a dog or two, everything else comes as a surprise. That’s what I found with Sprit. Surprise after surprise to my total delight and absolute amusement.

How else can you explain a supernatural love story murder mystery? Because that is exactly what Spirit is, a conglomeration of elements and genres that swirl around a thirty something video game designer, Jason, and his energetic, intelligent 4 year-old nephew, Timmy. It is clear that when Jason’s sister drops off Timmy before heading off on vacation that Jason has only spent short amounts of time with his nephew and has no idea what is in store for him during this extended stay. Why you ask? Because so much of what happens with Timmy here is accurate (ok, supernatural stuff not withstanding). YOu can child proof your house all you want but there will always be something that is missed or not thought of. That haircutting business that Inman throws in? Perfection and spot on. Sometime I will recount my college days in Ohio and a certain preschool playground when scissors reigned supreme and 3 to 5 year olds ran amuck inside those concrete cylinders that were ubiquitous at the time. Thank you, John Inman, for bringing those memories so vividly back home. I had to put my Kindle down because my sides hurt from laughing so much at Timmy and his haircut.

Some readers will look at Timmy with askance. I can hear them asking “Is that really how a 4 year old will act and speak?”

Let me say, with years of experience behind me as a parent and park naturalist, ” why yes, indeedy, they do”. Some toddlers and older kids come out just preternaturally smart and smart mouthed. They can say the most amazing things and have the most acute and unexpected take on situations that astound those that care to listen to them. Not all, surely, but a larger amount of children than you would expect. So when I came across Timmy, I felt as though here was a child I already knew. And watching the relationship between Jason and Timmy unfold was truly a thing of joy. From the funny conversations to the walks they had with Thumper who is, in John Inman’s words ” … a mix of Chihuahua, dachshund, miniature poodle, and quite possibly a three-toed sloth” and also 20 years old, this uncle/nephew bonding time felt real and loving. The love that Jason feels for Timmy grows so strong and heart deep that it becomes ours as well.

That’s the just one of the familial love elements here. Then Inman introduces us to Sam, Timmy’s uncle from his father’s side. With Sam’s appearance, a whole slew of new elements come into play. First there is the love aspect for Jason and Same, who is just as happily gay as Jason is. Their attraction is immediate but there is no instant love to be found here, thankfully. Just a naturally occurring affection that turns into something deeper as time passes and the astounding events unfold. Sam is as realistic a character as the rest of the people to be found within this story. His cautious acceptance of Jason and his pain over the mystery of his brother’s disappearance are easy to empathize with and believe in. So we have love, love, and more love. Terrific and endearing on every level. Did I mention a dog’s love for a boy too? That’s here as well.

Then Timmy starts to see a ghost and everything turns into a supernatural mystery that starts pointing towards an dark happening in the not to distant past. I loved Inman’s ghost, a supernatural entity at turns humorous and chilling. And you never know which side of the ghost will arrive at any given situation. That’s another marvelous aspect of this story too. The ghost does what all ghosts should, scare you, entertain you, and provide a certain amount of pathos one would expect from someone who…..oh never mind, Find out that one for yourself.

So yes, a mystery, a ghostly tale, a couple of love stories, both familial and romantic, Spirit is all that and more. I loved it. Did I see the ending coming? Kind of but that in no way lessened my enjoyment of this story. I don’t think it will yours either. If you are unfamiliar with John Inman, this is a wonderful place to get acquainted. Pick up Spirit and then work your way through his back list. If you are already a fan of this author, then this is another story that you are sure to love. Either way grab it up now and start reading! I consider Spirit to be one of ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords Highly Recommended Novels of 2014.

Here is an excerpt from the beginning chapter of Spirit:

I HAD toddler-proofed the house as best I could. The basement door was securely latched so the kid couldn’t tumble headfirst down the flight of stairs leading into the bowels of the house, snapping a myriad of youthful bones along the way. Electrical wires were safely coiled and taped up and tucked under furniture in case Timmy got the inexplicable urge to chew on them. Electrical outlets were covered. All breakable knick-knacks were raised out of reach and all dangerous objects securely stashed away— switchblades, rolls of barbed wire, plastic explosives, bobby pins. (Just kidding about the bobby pins. I’m not that nelly.)

✍My dog, Thumper, who was a mix of Chihuahua, dachshund, miniature poodle, and quite possibly a three-toed sloth, was no threat to Timmy at all. The poor thing was almost twenty years old and hardly had any teeth left. I hadn’t heard her bark in three years. She only moved off the sofa to eat and go potty, and once her business was done, she stood in front of the sofa looking up like the Queen Mother waiting for the carriage door to be opened until I scooped her off the floor and redeposited her among the cushions. Poor thing. (I mean me.) She lay there all day long watching TV: Channel 9, the Mexican channel. Don’t ask me why, but that was the only channel she would tolerate. Couldn’t live without it, in fact. The one benefit to this annoying habit of hers was that, while I didn’t understand my dog at all, I was pretty sure I was beginning to comprehend Spanish.

✍Timmy was at that happy stage of child rearing where he could pull down his own pants and climb onto the commode without any help from squeamish gay uncles. He had brought an entourage of toys with him that would have kept an orphanage entertained. The first thing I did after finding a trail of little black skid marks on my new oak flooring was to confiscate his tricycle, allocating the thing to outdoor use only, which Timmy accepted with stoic resignation, although I did hear him mumble something about chicken poop and peckerheads. I’m not sure if his watered-down-obscenity-strewn mumbling was related to the tricycle announcement but fear it was. While the kid might have gotten my brat gene, there was also little doubt he had inherited my sister’s sarcastic- foulmouthed-snarky gene. God help his teachers when he started school.

Cover art by Reese Dante. Love this cover. Spooky and pertinent in every way. Great job.

Buy Links: Dreamspinner Press Amazon ARe

Book Details:

ebook, 214 pages
Published March 17th 2014 by Dreamspinner Press (first published March 16th 2014)
ISBN 1627986812 (ISBN13: 9781627986816)
urlhttp://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

Review: No Ocean Too Deep (A Loose Screw) by Leona Carver

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Where Amirzade Sharouk, son of the Amirate of Ujmah, his cousin Dastyaf Begzada is sure to follow. When Sharouk decides that the only way to save his country and his people is to rebel against the Republic, Dastyaf is there to support his efforts and keep him safe. Their plan? Destroy the Republic’s fleet by allying themselves with the legendary sea folk, masters of the leviathans, immense living weapons born of the sea and magic. But during the initial battle, something goes terribly wrong and Sharouk goes overboard, taken by one of the leviathans. Now Dastyaf, warrior and tactician, must rely on one of the sea people to help him get back his cousin, the man he loves and can never have.

Nils is a sea mage, one who controls the leviathans of the deep and knows their secret. When one of his leviathans goes rogue during battle, Nils is at a loss to understand why. Furthermore, that action will cost his people their pact with the King of the land people whose prince has been taken by the rogue leviathan. Now Nils must join forces with a man from the land, Dastyaf, whose disapproval, desperation and need for control, is putting them at odds from the very start of the mission.

Both men will need to work together to save not only Sharouk but their kingdoms as well. To do so, Dastyaf must agree to transform into one of the sea folk in order to follow Nils through the ocean depths. For Dastyaf, it means not only the loss of his legs but of control over the situation and his body. He will be helpless in another’s environment, an unfamiliar feeling he despises. And by saving Sharouk, he will lose him forever to another.

For Nils, it means giving up his perceptions and assumptions, not only of the land people but of the very leviathans he is close to. The journey to save Sharouk, is full of dangers to all involved and time is running out for everyone before all is lost. Sharouk’s life, Dastyaf’s humanity, and for Nil’s? A love he never expected to feel for a man who loves another….

I love it when I find a book that unexpectedly opens the door into a mesmerizing universe. No Ocean Too Deep is just such a story. It is full of incredible creatures, dynamic characters and a plot as deep as the ocean in which all the events take place. Leona Carver is a new author for me but with this one story she turns into one of my must read authors on the strength of this story alone.

In No Ocean Too Deep, Leona Carver puts her own spin on mermen and the men who fall in love with them. Carver’s plot is guaranteed to pull the reader down into her universe from the first page. She sets up a situation in which two widely disparate kingdoms become allies to defeat a common enemy. One kingdom is human and lives in the desert Amirate of Ujmah, an environment that can be as hostile as it is beautiful. The other? Sea folk, mermen, almost mythical in their own right in their watery kingdom also full of its own dangers and delights. The two protagonists have more in common then they are aware, especially as neither has any experience with the other’s world. For Dastyaf, he usually has to deal with an ocean of sand, fraught with extreme heat, a dearth of water and constantly shifting sands. His is a world of light and dark where their caravans are guided by the stars above. Nils is a sea witch merman who lives in an ocean world of shifting current, little light, and a breadth and variety of creatures, small to gargantuan, with varying degrees of risk associated with them. Guided by his senses and shifting currents, darkness is of little concern, especially with his magic to assist him. Each character is fully formed and feels so believable no matter what world they belong to.

Carver throws her characters into a plot born of desperation. The kingdoms of a desert people and the sea folk make a pact to take down the Republic, a threat to both with its empire. The Sea folk will use their leviathans, enormous sea creatures of magic and myth, as weapons against the Republic’s fleet. The desert kingdom’s prince, Amirzade (Prince) Sharouk and his warrior/tactician cousin, Dastyaf Begzada, will be aboard one of the enemies vessels under false pretenses. This will help them direct their armies against the fleet when the battle starts. It’s a desperate and dangerous move made from necessity. Carver does such a splendid job bringing us directly into this precarious situation, a last ditch endeavor for Sharouk to break his people away from the control of the Republic with help from the sea folk. Waiting back home for Sharouk is his royal family and fiance. By his side, as always since childhood, stands his cousin, Dastyaf, a great warrior and best friend. As the ships pitch wildly in the ocean waves, tentacles start to appear over the side of the vessels,the battle is engaged and the reader is thrown immediately into the fray. Carver’s descriptions are dramatic and stirring, making the scenes scream with the emotions of the men on board.

But that is nothing compared to what happens when the location switches to the ocean depths and the sea folk themselves. Here the mermen and their watery environment comes vibrantly alive from its many denizens to the myriad ocean landscapes Nils and Dastyaf journey through. Vast living carpets of coral, phosphorescent invertebrates, forests of kelp, and dinners that consist of living organisms instead of cooked meat. Had I been able to stand within the story itself, my head would have been on a constant swivle as it turned here and there to observe all the amazing sights and creatures that Carver has in store for us and Dastyaf. An ever moving banquet for the senses made all the more palpable as Dastyaf experiences it for the first time in his new temporary merman body.

Nils and Dastyaf’s journey is full of wonder and fears as Dastyaf’s tries to reconcile his human experience with his new merman one. His frustration and fear as the light fades into almost constant darkness is tangible, and his emotions become ours. I could go on and on about the sea witches, the canyons, and the leviathans themselves…but the discovery of wonders and suspense of this desperate mission is part of the joy and revelations found in No Ocean Too Deep and I don’t want to spoil them for you. But I found myself going backwards to reread a description or scene to relive that moment over because it thrummed the wildness and surprise of life lived under water.

As I said the characters are as wondrous and layered as their environment. Dastyaf with his doomed love and desperate mission, Nils with his questions and assumptions, both men grow as individuals and together as their journey unfolds. I grew to love both men and couldn’t figure out how Carver was going to bring this journey to fruition in a satisfactory manner. She did but it tool me a while to realize that.

The ending is the slight bump in the road, the loose net in the ocean. It had me a little puzzled, so much so that I needed clarification from the author as to what happened to Nils. Turns out, I needn’t have worried but it was cloudy enough that others might feel the same way. Had there been a tad more clarity at the end this would have been a 5 star review. As it is, it comes darn close. Without revealing too much, it turns out that both Nils and Sharouk’s fiance have much the same role to play at the end, and no, its not the one you think it is. Luckily for us, there will be a sequel coming. That was the best news yet.

Not familiar with Leona Carver? Haven’t read No Ocean Too Deep? Remedy both and grab this terrific tale up and start reading. Be prepared to fall in love with these characters, their mission and the ocean deep. It will be an amazing journey you won’t want to see end.

Cover by Tanya Rehulak. I love this cover, so different and lovely.

Buy Links: Less Than Three Press Amazon ARe

Book Details:

ebook, 174 pages
Published April 9th 2014 by Less Than Three Press LLC
original titleNo Ocean too Deep
ISBN139781620043448
edition languageEnglish
urlhttps://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-nooceantoodeep-1466468-153.html
seriesA Loose Screw

Author Spotlight: Leona Carver & her latest release, No Ocean Too Deep (Contest)

***********************

No Ocean Too Deep Carver_Cover

No Ocean Too Deep by Leona Carver

Begzada Dastyaf, a warlord of the desert Amirate of Ujmah, descends into the deep sea to find his beloved prince and cousin, Sharouk. Not only must he navigate a strange new realm, but he must master an unfamiliar body and learn the ways of the folk who live within that dark and watery place … all while struggling with an unwanted attraction to his resentful sea folk guide, the witch Nils.

My name is Leona Carver and I’m here to talk about my new novella, “No Ocean Too Deep”, and the world in which it unfolds. I’m pleased to offer an e-copy of No Ocean Too Deep to give away.

Contest: To enter the draw, please leave a comment and an email address. The contest runs until midnight EDT June 1st, at which point I’ll draw a name from a bonafide hat.

Where will duty and love take you?

The vastness of the ocean triggers a deep sense of awe. There are a myriad of ecosystems and flora, fauna, and in-between creatures (florauna?), and we know so little about it. Every week there’s some new discovery, an animal or a piece of footage of a place that had never been seen before. It is absolutely stunning. Immersing myself in that world both thrilled and challenged me, making No Ocean one of the most satisfying stories I’ve written.

I’m from the school of, “Write what you don’t know.” I find that I’m most passionate about those stories that challenge me, make me ask questions, make me fling out the long arm of imagination to grab at answers. Dastyaf and Nils travel in a place where there is very little light and the senses are both impaired and enhanced by the characteristics of the ocean. The challenge was to describe actions, emotions, and communication without the use of vision. I drew on research about the abilities of sharks to sense the electromagnetic fields of other animals, and had Dastyaf learn the language of scents and pheromones, which gives the sea folk a nearly telepathic ability to sense the thoughts and feelings of others. If I had had the word count at my disposal, I could have filled entire chapters with Dastyaf learning his new body.

In addition to the difficulties of communicating in the sea, sans sight but with enhanced taste and skin receptors, that world adds another complexity: The entire place is alive. Tiny organisms exist everywhere, from harmful, to benign, to beneficial, and the culture of my sea folk needed to reflect that. They depend on their slimy coatings for protection; therefore, touching is limited and, when it does occur, it indicates a deep level of trust. Sea folk healers understand how some organisms can be used to fight malign organisms, how the deeper briny waters can be used to kill weaker microbes. Witches use that thick miasma of life to cast their magic, to the extreme of the leviathans, giant creatures built from the less-sentient organisms.

No Ocean Too Deep- Carver_Image 2

The people were adapted to fit the environment, influenced by existing sea creatures. Sea folk come in all forms. The Angler Fish Deep Sisters: mighty huntresses wielding bait made of light, spiky with bone, their males little more than nubs and pustules attached to their skin. The Sirens: though they can be from any species, so long as they are witches, tend to be more vulnerable species. In No Ocean, they are delicate, translucent, highly venomous jellies, and their giant nautilus entombs a leviathan.

Environment is character: Active in the story, equipped with motivations and needs, acting on the other characters and reacting to what they do. In No Ocean, the environment is partially responsible for the existence of the leviathans. They would not be possible without the soup of microbes through which magic travels and acts on the world. When witches die, if they hold onto their lives strongly enough, the sea answers them and weaves them into herself. They are eaten away over time, losing more and more of themselves as their leviathan armour grows, until they become the silent, monstrous guardians of the ocean.

It was my intention to share my love of the ocean and all she holds, and create a new and interesting world to play in. Hopefully, this came through!

No Ocean was inspired by a simple prompt: Write a romance involving mecha. Somehow, that translated into organic armour built from corals, anemones, squids, fish, crabs, etc. Thankfully, Less Than Three Press went along with it. Because, once that seed was planted, it grew into a leviathan of its own. There are deep seas, deserts, castles, a hostile Republic, and even a distant jungle nation to explore. No Ocean is only the beginning.

I’m currently working on the sequel, in which Dastyaf hunts for the ingredients needed by sea folk witches to maintain their sentience and fight their leviathan nature. Once that hurdle is overcome, he’ll need to deal with the Republic. Last we saw them, the Republic had rebuilt their fleet and commenced another invasion.

As well as the direct sequel, there will be a companion series beginning with The Clockwork Centurion. This will be another M/M fantasy/romance set in a Jules Verne-esque version of post-Roman Briton, with the heavier steampunk aspects that No Ocean Too Deep mostly missed out on, other than the Republic’s weaponry. Eventually, the characters from each series will meet and we’ll see what happens.

Sword fighting, probably. Topless sword fighting, if I have my way.

Leona Carver

*********************************************

Book Blurb:

To buck the brutal rule of the Republic, Amirzade Sharouk and his men pull off a desperate plan: Destroying the Republic’s fleet by joining forces with the legendary sea folk, masters of the leviathans, immense living weapons born of the sea and magic.

Though the gamble succeeds, one of the leviathans vanishes with a valuable human, straining an already tenuous alliance. Her caretaker Nils needs to find her as quickly as possible to redeem himself before his superiors. His search is further burdened by Dastyaf, a furious human warlord and liability in the marine realm. But after combing the deep ocean and discovering the dangers it holds, Nils realizes he may need the human more than he thought, to save his mission and himself.

Buy Links: Less Than Three Press Amazon Smashwords ARe

Book Details:

ebook, 174 pages
Published April 9th 2014 by Less Than Three Press LLC
original title:No Ocean too Deep
ISBN139781620043448
edition languageEnglish
urlhttps://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-nooceantoodeep-1466468-153.html
series: A Loose Screw

Author Bio:

Leona Carver lurks in a Canadian basement with a cat and an aerospace engineer, one of whom helps with the science while the other scratches at the window to get out. She writes novels and short stories with a penchant for genre mash-ups—because fairy tales need space stations, historical romance needs steam powered cyborgs, merpeople should wear mecha, and all of the aforementioned need a little love. Or a lot of love.

Leona has published two M/M romances through Less Than Three Press: Piper, a space age version of the Pied Piper, and No Ocean Too Deep, a deep sea rescue with giant coral monsters and angry desert warriors.

Follow Leona Carver at: Leona can be rousted from her cave via email (leona.r.carver@gmail.com) or on her website (leonacarver.wordpress.com).

On Tour with Amelia C. Gormley and Saugatuck Summer (contest)

Good morning all! Amelia C. Gormley is here today talking about her latest release, Saugatuck Summer, a book that is truly an endeavor from the heart.

Good morning, Amelia!

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍

Hi, and welcome to the Saugatuck Summer blog tour! Thank you to Scattered Thoughts and Roque Words Reviews for hosting me today!

For those of you who have seen me talking about it on social media for the last nearly year and a half, you know that Saugatuck Summer was a labor of love far beyond what I would normally claim for one of my books. Of course I love them all, but Saugatuck Summer came from my very soul. Actually, I’m not certain it came from me at all.

✍
Basically, here’s what happened: One day I was driving along, running errands, and Topher Carlisle whispered one line of dialogue in my ear. Just one. When I asked him what I was supposed to do with that, he promptly took over my brain for fifteen absolutely insane days and at the end I had the first draft of Saugatuck Summer.

✍
Topher’s story of recovery, hope, making mistakes, and growing up just told itself, and the experience of being the conduit for that was at times grueling and heartbreaking, but also euphoric and wonderful. It was one of those experiences that, as a creator of some form of art, be it musical, visual, or literary, you have once or twice in a lifetime if you’re extraordinarily lucky, when you know you’re creating something magical. I’m not sure it will ever happen to me again, but I feel absolutely blessed that this book has come of it.

✍
This week on the Saugatuck Summer blog tour, I’ll be sharing some bonus content from the book and a sneak peek at another upcoming book in the Saugatuck universe. I’ll also be having a heart-to-heart discussion with Marie Sexton about our experiences as adult children of alcoholics and how they translated into writing our ACOA characters from Saugatuck Summer and Family Man, giving you a peek at some of “Jace’s” art, and I’ll be sharing the official Saugatuck Summer soundtrack from a brilliant singer/songwriter of my personal acquaintance, Casey Stratton.

✍
And finally, all week long I’ll be asking trivia questions from Saugatuck Summer and this week’s blog tour articles, and each correct answer emailed to me offers you a chance to win your choice of any of my backlist titles!

✍
So put on your sunscreen and let’s go!

✍
Contest: HOW TO WIN YOUR CHOICE OF ANY SINGLE BOOK FROM MY BACKLIST (all-in-one volumes not included):

Riptide Publishing Saugatuck Summer Book Tour:
At each stop along the blog tour I’ll be asking a trivia question from Saugatuck Summer. Yes, this means some familiarity with the book is required, whether you purchase a copy, have an ARC, or employ the Kindle or B&N lending programs. If you visit some of the other blog tour stops, you might also find the answer in some of the excerpts.

✍
PLEASE DO NOT ANSWER IN THE COMMENTS. Instead, send the answer to me privately by using this contact form. Each response will enter you into the drawing and three winners will be picked. The more questions you answer, the more entries you get. You can choose from any of the following titles:
Inertia (Impulse, Book One)
Acceleration (Impulse, Book Two)
Velocity (Impulse, Book Three) 
The Laird’s Forbidden Lover
An Inch at a Time (The Professor’s Rule #2)
Inch by Inch (The Professor’s Rule #3)  ”
Every Inch of the Way (The Professor’s Rule #4)
To the Very Last Inch (The Professor’s Rule #5)
Strain

(Note: Giving an Inch (The Professor’s Rule #1) is already available free at Riptide, and my pre-Saugatuck novella, The Field of Someone Else’s Dreams, is available for free at Amazon, All Romance eBooks, and elsewhere.)
Contest Rules and Prizes: Again, please do not post your answer in the comments, but submit it to me privately.
To give people time to read and respond, the contest will remain open for one month after the release of Saugatuck Summer. It will close on June 19, and the drawing will be held on June 20.

Today’s Saugatuck Summer trivia question:
Chapter 16, what happens between Topher and Brendan to bring an end to their affair?

***
One summer can change everything.

Hi, I’m Topher Carlisle: twenty-one, pretty, and fabulous. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself. But let’s get real. Walking the fake-it-til-you-make-it road to independence and self-respect isn’t easy. Especially since my mom’s a deadbeat alcoholic, and most of my family expects me to turn out just as worthless. Oh, and I’m close to losing my college swimming scholarship, so let’s add “dropout” to the list.

My BFF has invited me to stay at her beach house on the shore of Lake Michigan. That’ll give me one summer to make money and figure out what I want to do with my life. So of course I decide to have an affair with my BFF’s married, closeted dad. Because that always works out.

Now I’m homeless, friendless, jobless. Worthless. Just like my family expects, right? Except there’s this great guy, Jace, who sees it differently. He’s got it all together in ways I can only dream of—he’s hot, creative, insightful, understanding. He seems to think I don’t give myself enough credit. And if I don’t watch out, I may start to believe him.
***
Be sure to check out the Saugatuck Summer soundtrack by singer/songwriter Casey Stratton .

Author Bio: Amelia C. Gormley may seem like anyone else. But the truth is she sings in the shower, dances doing laundry, and writes blisteringly hot m/m erotic romance while her son is at school. When she’s not writing in her Pacific Northwest home, Amelia single-handedly juggles her husband, her son, their home, and the obstacles of life by turning into an everyday superhero. And that, she supposes, is just like anyone else.

You can contact Amelia on:

Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads Author Page
BookLikes
Tumblr
Contact her through email via the form here
Website

Books/Series:

In addition to the books/novellas listed above, check out Amelia C. Gormley’s author page at Riptide Publishing for more information and buy links for

Self-published Impulse Trilogy (info at Amelia C. Gormley’s website)

The Professor’s Rule series, erotic novelettes co-written with Heidi Belleau and of course, at Riptide Publishing.

Saugatuck Summer, adult comtemporary fiction available now at Riptide Publishing.

Review: I Survived Seattle (Coming About #1) by J.K. Hogan

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Only his best friend’s wedding would make Justice Crawford leave the security of his home to fly across the country to Seattle to assume the best man duties that he has been given. A strange place, a schedule of events full of new people? Just the beginning of a worst case scenario for Justice. Because Justice is not only a deeply closeted gay Southern man but his social anxiety disorder and OCD make any new or strange situation problematic at best, a nightmare at its worst. And this is definitely the worst that could happen. That sometime during the festivities, Justice will be outed to the only friend he has ever known.

Sailor and charter boat captain Nic Valentine is returning home to Seattle from his father’s funeral when an attractive man literally falls into his lap when their plane hits some unexpected turbulence. Eyes meet, attraction forms, a phone number is exchanged and then….nothing. Cute guy disappears once Nic leaves the airplane in Seattle. Nic is certain he will never see that man again but Fate and a wedding brings them together once more.

Justice has let his disorders and closeted status isolate him from society and a chance at love. Nic’s past includes a closeted boyfriend that hurt him deeply and now he isn’t sure he wants to take another chance with a man who hides who he really is. But sometimes love finds a way to bring the most unlikely of people together for their HEA. Will Nic and Justice find the courage to take a chance on each other?

J.K. Hogan’s romantic tale, I Survived Seattle (Coming Ab0ut #1) has two opposite personality characters that meet cute on a plane. A spate of turbulence, ok, a ton of turbulence throws Justice Crawford into the lap of one Nic Valentine during the flight. A few words, a couple of flirtatious glances are exchanged and hopes are raised for a lite romcom.

But initial impressions are often deceiving. One man is on the way to his best friend’s wedding, the other returning from his father’s funeral. One has serious mental health issues and the other is grieving over his father’s loss. Not exactly comedic fare and I am not sure the introduction works to frame out the depth of the problems and the complexities in store for both men once they land in Seattle. But once that plane lands….this story really takes off. Don’t you love it when that happens?

Justice Crawford is a man sinking under the weight of his problems. When he was younger, the decision to come out to his parents, cost him home and family. Only the support of a grandfather in a retirement home, enabled Justice to attend college and complete his degree. The trauma of that situation forced Justice back into the closet and no one, not even Rory his best friend and only family, knew he was gay. In addition to being closeted, Justice suffers from a social anxiety disorder and OCD. Medication has helped but fear and his anxiety have kept Justice in a cage or closet of his own making along with his decision to hide his homosexuality. Hogan makes this character delightfully easy to empathize with,even with his closeted status. He is socially inept and closed off, and still we like him. We see where his past and his anxiety have contributed to the fears he is letting dictate his life and we are able to understand him.

Nic Valentine is the much more genial and open of the two personalities. He lives aboard his charter boat, accepts who he is and longs for a partner to complete his life. Nic’s past includes a closeted boyfriend so we can understand Nic’s frustration with and uncertainty about pursuing a relationship with Justice. Both men come complete with a pair of best friend/girl friends who support them and help their relationship along. I liked them as well as I did the main characters. Rory, the best friend, is a little more elusive a character. It was hard to get a feel for him and that was important given the fact that Justice’s fear over losing him is central to his rationale for staying in the closet. More of Rory or more of Rory and Justice’s past history would have solidified this element of the story. And I am not certain how I feel about a certain character who seemed more of a plot device to boost Justice out of the closet than a real human being. Maybe he will grow on me if he returns in the sequel.

J.K. Hogan may reside in North Carolina but she has life on the water and Seattle down pat. I loved the descriptions of Nic’s boat and the harbor in Seattle. His carefully organized space and quarters sound realistic and attractive. Did I want to be there on his boat? Why yes I did. I could feel the peacefulness and quiet that Justice felt when he stood on deck because Hogan’s descriptions were able to transport me there to stand next to him.

Another element of this story I appreciate was the degree of authenticity in regard to Justice’s anxiety disorder and OCD. There is no magic wand to make it all better. Instead thee is an adjustment of medication, and long term visits with a therapist to help Justice lead a more normal life. We get a better understanding of what can trigger anxiety attacks and exactly how that can incapacitate a person. Like I stated, not exactly comedic fare. But it works when developing a character that comes across as real instead of a stereotype. And Justice feels as real as they come.

I Survived Seattle is the debut novel for J.K. Hogan and I found it to be a sweet, rewarding and totally endearing first jump for this author into the m/m romance genre. From the title I anticipate this is but the first in a series. Perhaps the next in line just might be the recently married but unhappy Rory? I can’t wait to find out. But while we are waiting, grab up I Survived Seattle. You are going to love Justice and Nic and their journey to their own HEA!

Cover art by Wilde City Press. The cover has a number of nice elements but I am not sure they work together to form a cohesive whole. It’s a little murky but the font is nice as is the Seattle backdrop and inclusion of a boat.

Book Details:

ebook, 161 pages
Published March 19th 2014 by Wilde City Press
ISBN139781925031911
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://www.wildecity.com/books/gay-romance/i-survived-seattle/#.UzjYAfldWNE
seriesComing About #1

Buy Links: Wilde City Press Amazon ARe

Rain, Rain Go Away and the Week Ahead in Reviews, Author Guest Blogs and Contests

And it rained, and rained and rained……again we got over 3 to 4 inches of rain this weekend. On top of about 5 to 6 inches a week or so ago. To say that everything around here is soggy is an understatement. I swear I can hear the concrete squish when cars roll by. There was a Canada goose standing on my roof, honking away a couple of days ago. Probably thought my house was an island in the midst of all that water. Crazy thing. Problem was that it was right! What’s next? Trout?

As I watch all the water swirl away, I kept thinking what a waste. I wish there was a logical way to capture it al and maybe ship it out to California or Texas where it is needed. Instead of a oil pipeline, perhaps a rainwater express to help alleviate some of our flooding and the drought that our new weather patterns has brought to that area. Rain barrels are great things…so are water catchments but I have standing water now in places that once was completely dry. Is water gardening in my near future? It’s looking that way….

I have a great schedule this week. S.A. McAuley is stopping by to talk about her Borders War series and the next in the series, Powerless. Katey Hawthorne is here with the next story in her Fairies series. Amelia C. Gormley is taking us into summer with her Saugatuck Summer. Plus I’ve discovered a new author for me, Leona Carver, who will be here talking about her writing and the inspiration behind No Oceans Too Deep. Another new author for me is J.K. Hogan and I Survived Seattle. There are book giveaways connected to each author guest post and book tour so don’t miss out on a day here! Oh, and a cover reveal by Amanda Young too!

I will finish the week up with John Inman’s Spirit. I just love this author’s stories and he will be here the following week with John Inman’s Writing with Humor and his growing up in a small town.

I also have two Winner Announcemenst. Winner of S.J. Frost’s Knight of Fire is Midia. Congratulations to Midia and my thanks to S.J. Frost for the guest blog and book donation and to all who stopped by and left comments. And Congratulations to MizEqualityPatricia, winner of the Kimber Vale’s contest for Double Takes. Thank you, Kimber, for the guest post and great contest!

The Week Ahead at ScatteredThoughts:

Monday, May 19: Author Spotlight with SA McAuley and Powerless (Contest)
Monday, May 19, pm: Powerless by SA McAuley
Tuesday, May 20: Author Spotlight: Katey Hawthorne on Fairies
Tuesday, May 20: I Survived Seattle by J.K. Hogan
Wed., May 21: Amelia C. Gormley’s Saugatuck Summer Book Tour/Contest
Wed., May 21 pm Cover Reveal for Amanda Young’s GWM Wanted Novel
Thursday, May 22: Author Spotlight on Leona Carver and No Oceans Too Deep (Contest)
Thursday, May 22: Quick Stop: The Surgeon’s Apprentice by Richard Longfellow (Contest)
Friday, May 23: No Oceans Too Deep by Leona Carver
Sat., May 24: Spirit by John Inman

Review: Daylight Again (Hell or High Water #3) by S.E. Jakes

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Before Prophet Drews can have a future, he must first put his past to rest.

Prophet Drews and Tom Boudreaux, his partner on the job and in real life, are back from the tumultuous events in New Orleans and trying to figure out where they go from here. Tom has moved into Prophet’s condo while continuing to work for E.E, Prophet’s former employer. And Prophet? He remains haunted by a past that won’t let him go and a secret he is hiding from Tom that might shatter any future they might have together.

Then his old CO asks Prophet to help in a dangerous rescue mission, one that will reunite all of Prophet’s old SEAL team and bring out Prophet’s and the team’s old enemies as well. When Prophet asks Tom to come with him, Tom jumps at the chance to support his partner and uncover some answers of his own.

Before long it’s not just CIA assassins, the terrorist Sadiq, and the enigmatic spook Cillian involved with Prophet, Tom, and the SEAL team’s rescue mission. Odd events and occurrences start to point at one of the most important person in Prophet’s past… John—”traitor, former teammate, and Prophet’s first love”, being involved as well.

With only a small window of opportunity to get in, accomplish their mission and then escape and when no one is sure who to trust , Prophet and Tom must search within themselves and their relationship for the truth, not only about each other but their relationship as well. Danger , past, present and future lurks everywhere….can Prophet and Tom make it out alive and together?

In Prophet Drews and Tom Boudreaux, SE Jakes has created two marvelously complex and troubled men among a company of such men in her E.E series. Through the last several stories, we have watched Prophet and Tom circle around each other in an absorbing pas de deux of action, passion and traumatizing personal past histories. Endlessly drawn towards each other, the constant push and pull of attraction and yes, love, has made these two men fascinating to connect with in the drama they create and the mysteries that follow them through each adventure and calamity. Now back from New Orleans and with their relationship strengthened, Prophet’s PSTD is getting worse by the day as is his indecision and pain over an enormous secret he is hiding from Tom.

Jakes has always been able to pull us intimately into the minds of these men and in Daylight Again the author puts them both under a narrative microscope that will magnify all the demons Prophet and Tom have been fighting and bring them into the light for them and the reader. Daylight Again begins a journey of revelation for Tom and Prophet on many levels. SE Jakes starts to pull together the plot threads and characters from several of her interconnected series and weaves them here into a suspense filled, action packed drama that kept me on the edge from beginning to end. This is a taut, streamlined narrative and it flows just as quickly from point to point as one would expect from this author and this series.

I love this author’s ability to create characters that zing off the page, their vitality and depth almost too much to be contained within the confines of a page. We have gotten to know them from Catch a Ghost, and then watch them pull together in Long Time Gone. Now Daylight Again starts with them living together and adjusting to that fact and each other with varying degrees of success. What hurts is how close these men have become to each other and yet the reader is always aware that some sharp shard of their past lurks just outside their growing relationship to splinter it all to hell and back at a moment’s notice. That tension that haunts this couple and story is just one more marvelous element in SE Jakes storytelling repertoire and it serves to keep the reader engrossed in the story and tightly connected to these men.

All my other favorites are here too, especially Cillian and Mal, whose story Dirty Deeds uncovered a major past connection between them whose disclosure devastated them both. Mal and Cillian are front and center here, still trying to deal with that personal bombshell while working together for the success of this mission. These are strong characters too and SE Jakes does them justice and keeps us invested in their status even though this really isn’t their story….Its Prophet’s and Tom’s. And what a story it is. SE Jakes has me both anticipating and dreading the next installment because of the great way this story ended.

The ending is astonishing. I love the way Jakes sets us up for that denouement. And it will take us and this couple into the penulitmate story in their Hell or High Water series. I can’t wait. Consider this one of ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords highly recommended novel as well as one of the most entertaining series of the year. Don’t pass up this or any of these stories by SE Jakes. In fact, grab up everything in the Extreme Escapes universe and start reading. You are going to fall hard for each and every dangerous and sexy man you will find within.

LC Chase has again supplied us with another outstanding cover, I just love these tats. Graphically appealing and perfect for the men involved.

Books in the Hell or High Water series in the order they should be read:

Catch a Ghost (Hell or High Water, #1)
Long Time Gone (Hell or High Water, #2)
Daylight Again (Hell or High Water, #3)
Not Fade Away (Hell or High Water, #3.5) Expected publication: July 14th 2014
If I Ever (Hell or High Water, #4) Expected publication: October 1st 2014

Associated Series: Extreme Escapes Universe: Men of Honor and Dirty Deeds:

Dirty Deeds (Dirty Deeds #1) Mal and Cillian

Free Falling (Extreme Escapes, Ltd.) Blue and Mick

Book Details:

ebook, 265 pages
Published May 5th 2014 by Riptide Publishing (first published May 3rd 2014)
ISBN139781626491403
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/daylight-again
seriesHell or High Water #3

Join Aleksandr Voinov and L.A. Witt on Hostile Ground/Riptide Publishing’s Book Tour&Contest

❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖

ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords is happy to host Riptide Publishing’s Aleksandr Voinov and L.A. Witt Hostile Ground Book Tour. Comments will automatically enter you in the drawing for a choice of 2 eBooks off the authors backlists. Details are listed below.

❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖

Welcome to the Riptide Publishing/Aleksandr Voinov/L. A. Witt blog tour for our thriller, Hostile Ground!

Contest: Every comment on this blog tour enters you in a drawing for a choice of two eBooks off our backlists (excluding Hostile Ground) and a $10 Riptide Publishing store credit. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on May 17th, and winners will be announced on May 19th. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries.

❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖

Hostile Ground:
Enemy territory is a dangerous place to fall in love.

After the deaths of three undercover cops investigating a drug ring in a seedy strip club in Seattle, Detective Mahir Hussain has been sent to finish the job. He joins the club’s security team in the hopes of finding enough evidence to bust the operation before the men in charge find a reason to put him in a shallow grave.

To protect the strippers, only gay men can work the club. Ridley, the cold and intimidating head of security, knows exactly how to test potential new hires—including Mahir. From the minute they meet, Mahir and Ridley engage in a dangerous dance of sex and mind games. Mahir needs to find his evidence before Ridley figures out he’s a cop—and before they both grow too close to betray one another.

As the game goes on, Mahir burrows deeper into the operation, where he learns there’s much more happening than meets the eye . . . and why every cop who made it this far has been silenced with a bullet.

Hostile Ground is available May 12th from Riptide Publishing.

Book Details:

ebook, 362 pages
Expected publication: May 12th 2014 by Riptide Publishing
ISBN139781626491250
edition languageEnglish
url http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/hostile-ground

About the authors:

Aleksandr Voinov: Aleksandr has been published for twenty years, both in print and ebook. He has ten years’ experience as a writing coach, book doctor, and writing teacher, and until recently worked as an editor in financial services.

After co-authoring the M/M military cult classic Special Forces, Aleksandr embarked on a quest to write gritty, edgy, sometimes literary M/M and gay fiction (much of which is romance/erotica)—the only way he can use his American Literature degree these days.

He’s been published with Heyne/Random House, Carina Press, Samhain Publishing, and others, and is an EPIC Awards winner and a Lambda Awards finalist.

Connect with Aleks:

Website: aleksandrvoinov.com
Blog: aleksandrvoinov.blogspot.com
Twitter:@aleksandrvoinov
Goodreads: goodreads.com/Vashtan

***

L.A. Witt: L.A. Witt is an abnormal M/M romance writer currently living in the glamorous and ultra-futuristic metropolis of Omaha, Nebraska, with her husband, two cats, and a disembodied penguin brain that communicates with her telepathically. In addition to writing smut and disturbing the locals, L.A. is said to be working with the US government to perfect a genetic modification that will allow humans to survive indefinitely on Corn Pops and beef jerky. This is all a cover, though, as her primary leisure activity is hunting down her arch nemesis, erotica author Lauren Gallagher, who is also said to be lurking somewhere in Omaha.

L. A.’s backlist is available on her website, and updates (as well as random thoughts and the odd snarky comment) can be found on her blog or on Twitter (@GallagherWitt).

Rafflecopter Link:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: