Category: Torquere Books

In the Book Spotlight: Classic
 (Rainbow Connection
 #3) by Lynn Townsend

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Classic
 (Rainbow Connection
 #3) by Lynn Townsend
Release Date: September 2, 2015

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Publisher: Torquere Press
Cover Artist: BSClay

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Sales Links:  Torquere Books

STRW Author BookSynopsis

Beau Watkins and Vin Reyes have mended their differences, but that doesn’t mean that everything is back the way it was. When Beau’s teenage niece shows up with her son in tow, Beau is thrown unexpectedly into a world of adult responsibilities and adult decisions, all of which could have disastrous consequences. Reconciliation with his family is complicated by an overseas internship with a predatory business woman.

Vin still struggles with his alcoholism, with finding his place in a world after college, and establishing relationships with his newfound father and sister. The last puzzle piece of Vin’s mysterious past is clicked into place when he comes face-to-face with his mother’s ex-fiance. His relationship with Beau has never been stronger… until an unexpected email threatens to topple everything they’ve build together.

Pages or Words: 69,900 words

Categories: Contemporary, Fiction, Gay Fiction, Humor, M/M Romance, New Adult, Romance

STRW Spotlight Book Excerpt

Beau grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and tossed it in his gym bag. Outside, David laid on the horn.
“Coming,” Beau muttered to the empty room. Vin was off touring yet another one of his grandfather’s facilities in the endless, looping discussion about what he was going to do with his life.Beau locked the door behind himself, and skipped most of the bottom half of the stairs with a one-handed rail-jump. He waved to the Escalade, knowing David would see him behind the tinted windows. Beau felt a flutter of pleasurable nerves in his gut; it had been a while since he’d gone out dancing–avoiding the bars was in Vin’s best interests for the time being–and he really needed a workout. David had suggested a trip to the gym, where he’d teach Beau some of the basics in kick-boxing.
Beau just reached the door when someone grabbed his shoulder. He dropped his bag, whirling, heart in his throat, breathing hard. He knocked the offending limb aside. The passenger side door of the Escalade flew open and David slid out, gun already in hand.
“Back away from Mr. Watkins, sir,” David advised, his voice low and firm.
“I am Mr. Watkins,” the man said, confused. “Beau?”
“Lee?” Beau’s legs almost gave out from under him and he leaned hard against the side of the SUV, feeling the black painted metal heating his skin. “Jesus Christ.”
“Are you all right, sir?” David didn’t look away from his target, his gun still trained on Beau’s older brother.
“Parking lot,” Beau said. David knew about his panic attacks. David had been there when Vin found Beau, beaten and bloody, on the asphalt, two years ago.
“Back. Up.” David slid the rest of the way out of the vehicle. “I consider you a threatening individual.”
“My God, David,” Beau said. David wasn’t wearing his typical three-piece suit, probably the first time Beau had ever seen him dressed casually, in black sweatpants and a white tank top, his gun holster buckled to his chest like some sort of kinky lingerie. Beau’d always suspected the raw strength underneath the tailored coats, but he’d never actually seen it. David was cut from a block of wood, hard muscles overlaid with tanned skin, marred here and there by scars, one of which could have been caused by nothing less than a bullet wound. “Lee is my brother.”
“Which does not negate the need to protect you from him, sir,” David said. “I’ve heard about his letters. Not only that, but I saw Mr. Reyes’s throat after spring break. This is a dangerous individual.”
“I kinda dislocated his shoulder for that,” Beau admitted. “Seriously, David, put the gun away and put on a shirt, you’re makin’ me horny.”
“Yah, you’re cute, kid, but not that cute.” David gave Lee a particularly fierce look. “I am very fond of your brother. I will shoot you if I even think you’re about to do something stupid. Are we crystal on this?”
“Yeah, clear, man,” Lee said. He took a cautious step backward. “I just wanna talk to him. I’m not here to pick a fight.”
Beau nodded. “Right. We’ll go talk on the steps,” he said.
Lee waited until they were out of earshot. “What the hell is that guy’s problem?”
“David and Vin saved my life a few years back,” Beau said. “I think David takes it personally that he wasn’t there to keep Contreras from beating the shit out of me. And you did try to crush Vin’s throat.” Beau’s legs were still wobbly and he collapsed onto the stairs gratefully.
“Whatever, man.”
It was barely worth the effort to glare at Lee. “What are you doing here? What do you want? How the hell did you even find our place?” Beau leaned his head against the brick wall. He would probably kill someone for a cigarette, but he was trying to quit–again–and didn’t currently have any on him.
“I got the address from Sheila, down at the post office. I asked her where Momma was sending all your packages.”
“Well, that’s just a little bit creepy,” Beau said. Not that it wasn’t typical; small towns did not hold with big federal laws about privacy. It wasn’t private, between kin, and half the town was related to most of the other half. “Sit down, Lee. My head already hurts.”
Lee dropped onto the porch, leaning his weight back on one arm. He looked older. There was no better word for it. His usually needs-a-haircut curls were gone, close clipped in an almost military style, and he’d finally shaved off the soul patch under his lip. Lee wore a button down shirt and jeans. Near his knee, there was a red smear of something that might have been dried jelly.
“How have you been, kid?” Lee asked.
“Are we being nice? Is that what we’re doing here? Nice? After… well, after everything?”
“I didn’t think you’d listen to me if I called.” Lee raked a hand over his scalp, his wedding ring glinting in the sun.
“I suppose you think I’m being unreasonable, all things considered?” Beau asked.
“Look, I’m sorry about the letters,” Lee said.
“Don’t apologize to me about them.” Beau snorted. “I didn’t read ’em after the first two. Broke my hand on the wall wishin’ it was your skull. Ann-Marie read them for me, to see if you’d stopped being an ass. Haven’t gotten one in a while. Something change in your life?”

STRW Author Bio and Contacts

Lynn Townsend is a geek, a dreamer and an inveterate punster. When not reading, writing, or editing, she can usually be found drinking coffee or killing video game villains. Lynn’s interests include filk music, romance novels, octopuses, and movies with more FX than plot.

Where to find the author:
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/LynnTownsendwriter
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tisfan
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/kthicks3/
Other: http://paidbytheweird.blogspot.com/
Other: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/tisfan

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Tour Dates & Stops:

Parker Williams, Happily Ever Chapter, Bayou Book Junkie, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, MM Good Book Reviews, My Fiction Nook, BFD Book Blog, Inked Rainbow Reads, Molly Lolly, Velvet Panic, Jessie G. Books, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves, Divine Magazine, Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My

 

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Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: Trilogy of books, Roll, Blues and Classic. Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.
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In the Book Spotlight: Herc’s Mercs: Once A Hero by Ari McKay (excerpt and giveaway)

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Herc’s Mercs: Once A Hero by Ari McKay
Release Date: August 26, 2015

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Publisher: Torquere Press
Cover Artist: BSClay

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Sales Links:   Torquere Books

STRW Author BookSynopsis

Ezra Levin retired from Hercules Security to pursue his dream of being a private chef. But when the life of his gorgeous employer, Judge Mason Whittaker, is threatened, Ezra quickly realizes that once you’re a Merc, you’re always a Merc.

Pages or Words: 44,325 words
Categories: Contemporary, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Thriller

STRW Spotlight Book Excerpt

Mason shook his head. “I wasn’t paranoid enough,” he said. “You were. You knew it could get bad. I didn’t believe it — didn’t want to believe it. It almost killed me.”

“I did not want to believe it either. I hoped I was wrong, but my instincts were telling me something bad was going to happen. Now that it has–” Ezra’s voice broke, and he brought Mason’s hand to his cheek, clinging tightly. “I cannot be objective. When I saw you there, saw all that blood…” He shook his head, and Mason thought he saw the glimmer of tears in Ezra’s eyes before Ezra looked away. “I cannot be merely an employee. I tried. If you want me to recuse myself, I will.”

“What?” Mason was confused, but he could see Ezra’s pain, and he reached over with his free hand, touching Ezra’s cheek. “Are you saying you want to leave Jamie and me?”

“No!” Ezra stared at Mason, wide-eyed. “No, I don’t want to leave. But if you want me to remain only your employee, I cannot do that any longer. I tried to maintain my professional distance, especially after I overstepped so badly, but I cannot do it after this.”

STRW Author Bio and Contacts

Ari McKay is the professional pseudonym for Arionrhod and McKay, who collaborate on original m/m fiction. They began writing together in 2004 and finished their first original full-length novel in 2011. Recently, they’ve begun collaborating on designing and creating costumes to wear and compete in at Sci Fi conventions, and they share a love of yarn and cake.

Arionrhod is an avid costumer, knitter, and all-around craft fiend, as well as a professional systems engineer. Mother of two human children and two dachshunds who think they are human, she is a voracious reader with wildly eclectic tastes, devouring romance novels, military science fiction, horror stories and Shakespeare with equal glee. She is currently preparing for the zombie apocalypse.

McKay is an English teacher who has been writing for one reason or another most of her life. She also enjoys knitting, reading, cooking, and playing video games. She has been known to knit in public. Given she has the survival skills of a gnat, she’s relying on Arionrhod to help her survive the zombie apocalypse.

Where to find the authors:

Facebook Author Page
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AriMckay1
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/arimckay
Website: http://www.arimckay.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6153630.Ari_McKay
Amazon Author Page

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Tour Dates & Stops: August 18, 2015
Amanda C. Stone, Bayou Book Junkie, BFD Book Blog, Bike Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves, Charley Descoteaux, Divine Magazine, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Happily Ever Chapter, Inked Rainbow Reads, MM Good Book Reviews, Molly Lolly, My Fiction Nook, Parker Williams, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Sinfully Addicted to All Male Romance, The Jena Wade, V’s Reads, Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My, Velvet Panic, Wake Up Your Wild Side

 

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Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of ‘Herc’s Mercs: The Bigger They Come’.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.
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A M/M Anthology Spotlight: First Timers Anthology from Torquere Books

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First Timers Anthology from Torquere Press

Stories from Authors Rob Rosen, Gacy Grant, Evelyn Burkhardt,
Jacey Mills, Andrea Dalling, Helena Maeve, Erin McRae & Racheline Maltese,
Megan McFerren, Val Prozorova, McKay, Katherine Halle

Publisher: Torquere Press
Cover Artist: BSClay
Release Date: August 12, 2015

Sales Links:   Torquere Books

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About First Timers Anthology

First Timers brings you a collection of eleven stories about first experiences. From sweet and innocent to smoking hot, these stories capture the exhilarating feeling that something wonderful is about to happen.

Humor and passion blend in Rob Rosen’s “Come Hell or High Water,” Gacy Grant treats us to a heartwarming first in “The Pickup,” long-time friends become lovers in “The King’s Guard” by Evelyn Burkhardt and “One Sneeze, a Wish, Two Sneezes, a Kiss” by Jacey Mills, and revelations abound first time away from home in Andrea Dalling’s “What a Man Wants” and Helena Maeve’s “Initiation.” “Sample and Hold” by Erin McRae and Racheline Maltese, Megan McFerren’s “Just Like That,” and Val Prozorova’s “Guitar Lesson” explore the intensity of a first coming out, first time, first kiss, while love can be found where you least expect it in “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” by McKay and “Finding Home” by Katherine Halle.

Whether contemporary or fantastical, past or present, a sweet kiss on a riverbank or reveling in the Bayou, these stories are all uplifting, fun, and did we mention hot?

Pages or Words: 74,000 words
Categories: Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Romance

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Excerpt


“We’re here,” Duncan said, parking the car and stretching in the driver’s seat. He looked out the window. “Looks fairly unassuming. That’s always a good thing. They a have a menu posted outside as well.”

He got out of the car and met Brian on the sidewalk where they both looked at the menu. Duncan had barely made it past the appetizer section when the door opened and a middle-aged woman with a smile on her face stepped out.

“You must be Duncan and Brian. We’ve been expecting you. René and Lexa are already inside. Please come in, join them.” She gestured to them with her hand.

Brian and Duncan followed her through the front room toward the back of the restaurant, to an alcove with a table set for four. The shifter they had met last year stood as they approached the table and Duncan again took note of the man’s thick—although unusually short—arms.

“Afternoon, wo’ves,” he grinned, showing his teeth and extending his hand for a shake. “It’s good to be seein’ you again. Wasn’ sure you’d come.”

Duncan shook his hand, surprised at the strength of his grip.

“Neither were we,” Brian answered, reaching his own hand out tentatively.

“How’d tha’ bite heal?” René asked, gripping Brian’s hand without the same obvious squeeze he’d given Duncan. He placed his other hand gently over their joined hands and patted Brian.

Duncan watched as Brian’s face flushed before he answered.

“Um, just fine, thanks. Sorry we trespassed.”

“S’all righ’,” René said with a grin. “Sorry I bit you. I ten’ to git snappish with strangers in ma territory.”

“Understandable,” Brian said.

René finally let go of Brian’s hand. “Lemme introduce to you ma second, Lexa.”

The tall brunette who had remained seated now stood and smiled warmly at both of them. “You’ll have to forgive my brother. Sometimes he lets his animal side take precedence. I’m Lexa.” She extended her hand to both Duncan and Brian in turn. Duncan noted her strong grip, her almost fully black eyes, and the grin that appeared to be just as toothy as René’s.

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Tour Date: August 12, 2015:
Parker Williams, Havan Fellows, Wake Up Your Wild Side, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Molly Lolly, BFD Book Blog, Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My, Inked Rainbow Reads, Bayou Book Junkie, Redz World, Divine Magazine, Boys on the Brink Reviews, Happily Ever Chapter, Velvet Panic, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, MM Good Book Reviews, The Jena Wade

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Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of the ‘First Timers’ anthology. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by the publisher and Pride Promotions.

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In the Book Spotlight: Agate: Then and Now (The Stones of Power #4) by M.D. Grimm

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Agate: Then and Now (The Stones of Power #4) by M.D. Grimm
Release Date: August 5, 2015

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Publisher: Torquere Press
Cover Artist: Shardel_4251

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Sales Links:     Torquere Books

STRW Author BookSynopsis

Time travel. For mages, it violates their number one rule: what the Mother has written, let no one unwrite. The Mother writes the destinies of the creatures on the world of Karishian. If her writings were undone, it is feared that Creation itself could be undone. The Dark Mage Morgorth takes this rule to heart, but there are others who do not.

Morgorth is about to claim a stone of power when it is stolen from him by a female mage he hasn’t seen in decades. As they struggle for the stone, she activates it, and Morgorth is unwillingly plunged into another time and another place. It isn’t long before he realizes what time he’s found himself in and there are a few familiar faces.

Most notable is a much younger version of Aishe. His mate.

Living with a tribe who will be massacred, caring for a young lad who will become his mate, and fighting a battle against a mage who can travel from past to future at a whim; Morgorth’s life has never been easy but now he must contend with the will of the Mother. Unable to change the future and the tragedies of Aishe’s life, he must decide what his role in his mate’s past will be, and ask himself one vital question: how does one defeat time?

Pages or Words: 74,654 words

Categories: Fantasy, Fiction, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Romance

STRW Spotlight Book Excerpt


Even as I felt the air around her began to tremble and heat, I only had a split second to make a decision. I lunged forward, trying to grab the stone again. She jerked her arm away but I managed to grab her wrist just as she activated the stone’s power. I didn’t have time to change my mind as a silver dome formed around Drasyln, as the stone seemed to open a vortex with a gravity I couldn’t fight. I was being suffocated, compressed on all sides. My breath left my lungs, my muscles seized and wept. My last thoughts were of Aishe, and if I would ever see him again.

In my efforts to prevent this exact event, I realized I’d just broken the cardinal rule of a mage. The Number One rule my mentor Master Ulezander had ever taught me.

What the Mother has written, let no one unwrite.

Atcoatlu was an agate. It was the stone of time.

STRW Author Bio and Contacts

M.D. Grimm has wanted to write stories since second grade and nothing has changed since then. Thankfully, she has indulgent parents who let her dream, but also made sure she understood she’d need a steady job to pay the bills. After graduating from the University of Oregon and majoring in English, she embarked on her writing career and couldn’t be happier. Working by day, writing by night, she enjoys embarking on romantic quests and daring adventures and creating characters that always triumph against the villain and find their soul mate in the process.

Where to find the author:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001710645622
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/M.D.-Grimm/e/B00I0KZMY6/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

Website: http://www.mdgrimmwrites.com

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Tour Dates & Stops: August 5, 2015Parker Williams, MM Good Book Reviews, TTC Books and More, Bayou Book Junkie, BFD Book Blog, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Dawn’s Reading Nook, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Molly Lolly, Christy Loves 2 Read, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, 3 Chicks After Dark, Amanda C. Stone, Full Moon Dreaming, Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My, My Fiction Nook, Andrew Q. Gordon, Ogitchida Book Blog, Inked Rainbow Reads

 

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Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of ‘Agate: Then and Now’. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.

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In the Book Spotlight: The Camp by Victoria Zagar (excerpt and giveaway)

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The Camp by Victoria Zagar
Release Date: August 5, 2015

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Goodreads Link
Publisher: Prizm Books
Cover Artist: BSClay

Sales Links:   Torquere Books  | Amazon

Blurb:

Jesse Harvan comes home from school one day to find his parents have discovered the gay pornographic magazine hidden under his bed. Disgusted, they decide to send Jesse to Camp Grady, a summer camp which prides itself on converting people’s sexuality.

Once at the camp, Jesse meets the other inmates: Charlie, a disabled African-American gay teenager, Natalie, a transgender girl, her sister Lita, Japanese lesbian Sakura, and last of all, Minister Grady’s son Jacob, who works for the camp under duress. These teens must learn to bridge their differences and get along if they’re to beat their common enemy and keep their identities–and sanity–intact.

Pages or Words: 27,600 words

Categories: Contemporary, LGBT Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Transexual, Lesbian Romance, M/M Romance

Excerpt:

I sit in the back of an old school bus that has been converted for the camp’s use. It rankles that I didn’t even get to say goodbye to Sam. Mom and Dad wouldn’t let me near him. I tried to send him an e-mail, but it was blocked. I didn’t have time to figure out how their new family-filter software worked. The next morning, I was on a plane to Pennsylvania, Mom and Dad accompanying me like this was some kind of family vacation. They left me at the airport and went their own way, transferring me directly to camp custody so that I wouldn’t get infected with any gay on the way.

I know I’ll be going back home eventually, but it doesn’t feel like it right now. I feel like Camp Grady will go on forever. My greatest fear is that the me who goes home won’t be the same as the one sitting here right now.

What if they can change me? What if they do have the power to fix me? That thought in my head argues with its natural opposite: I’m not broken. I won’t change. There’s nothing they can do to change who I am.

Last night I scared myself. I went onto the Internet and looked up ex-gay camps, which surprisingly were not filtered out. There are people who claim that they work. That they’ve thrown away partners, friends, and husbands because they’ve been ‘cured’. I read reports of abuse and beatings that made my stomach clench. I cried myself to sleep for the first time in a long time. I’m genuinely scared. How can something like this be legal? Apparently in California it isn’t. I wish I was a San Francisco kid. Maybe then my parents would be cool, and I wouldn’t feel so alone in the world.

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About the author:

Victoria was born in the United Kingdom but emigrated to the United States at age 21. She’s bisexual, genderqueer, happily married, and still shouts in a British accent. She lives with her husband in Pennsylvania where she spends a lot of time playing and talking about video games, especially Japanese role-playing games.

Where to find the author:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/synthesislandale
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/infinitelovefiction
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/landale
Website http://victoriazagar.com


Tour Dates & Stops: August 3, 2015
Parker Williams, MM Good Book Reviews, Just Love Romance, Jessie G. Books, Boys on the Brink Reviews, Bayou Book Junkie, BFD Book Blog, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Molly Lolly, Wake Up Your Wild Side, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Full Moon Dreaming, Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My, My Fiction Nook, Ogitchida Book Blog, Foxylutely Book Reviews, Inked Rainbow

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Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of ‘The Camp’ by Victoria Zagar Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.

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A MelanieM Review: Roughstock: Blind Ride – Season One by B.A. Tortuga

Rating: 3.25 stars out of 5

Blind Ride cover 2Jason Scott is at the top of the field in his career, that of professional bull riding.  Jason, along with his traveling partner and best friend, Andy Baxter, are riding the circuit, both hoping to finish at the top of the boards and win enough money to see each of them set for life.  Jason and Bax have been dancing around the fact that they are crazy about each other.  Each is afraid of losing his best friend if they admit how much they actually love each other. It will take something huge to make a change in their relationship.

Being a professional bullrider is a dangerous game and in one horrible instant everything changes for both Jason and Bax.  When a ride on one of the top bulls goes wrong, an injury to Jason’s head causes him to go blind. Reeling, Jason and Bax retreat to Jason’s family ranch to recover and wonder what’s next for them both.  For Jason, it appears his life is over and he has nothing to live  for.  Bax is determined to prove him wrong, both personally and professionally.

Bax thinks Jason can ride the bulls even blind.  But it will take Bax, his love and their small circle of friends to prove to Jason that even blind bullriders have their life and love ahead of them.

I have a huge fondness for both the Roughstock series and its author, BA Tortuga.  So it pains me when I have to report that this story, while having so many of the great qualities I have come to expect from this series, is guaranteed to frustrate the reader to the point that it is hard to recommend it. First let’s look at the merits of this story.

The characters are wonderful.  Jason “Mini” Scott and Andy “Bax” Baxter are typical of the cowboys you will find in the stories of B.A. Tortuga.  Their personalities are so authentic to the bull riding circuit and the locale that I would also expect to run into them at any PBR event.  They become so real that they feel like a part of your family.  And it is this intimacy that connects the reader to them and their futures.  You feel the dust that coats them as they pick themselves up off the arena floor and the pain their profession inflicts upon their bodies.  They are just so realistic that you hurt for them.  And Tortuga is one of the best authors around when it comes to dialog.  The words that issue out of the mouths of her cowboys ring with authentic local flavor and colloquialisms.  And it does so without being hokey or off sounding.  Here they are heading down the road to get supper:

Bax threw his duffel back, too, sliding into the driver’s side. “So, where to? I figure that one little place where you circle your order will be closed.” “There’s that one place by the highway — about twenty minutes out. It’s nothing but old ranchers taking their women out. Nice T-bones.” And he always got tickled by those tables with the ads printed on them. Reminded him of going to auction with Pa-paw.

“That works.” The big dualie slid right into traffic like an elephant into a herd of zebras, Bax muscling them right in.

They scooted down 35, radio blaring. He found a pack of smokes in the console and lit one for Bax, then got himself one. Three days of rest, then Tulsa.

“You think we ought to try and hit home ‘fore Tulsa?” It was kinda eerie sometimes, the way Bax read his mind. Then again, they’d been on the road together for nigh on six years.

“We can. Momma’d like to see us. ‘Course, we could go on to the city. Goof off. Depends on how much you want Momma’s pineapple upside down cake.”

“Oh, I’d rather go see your momma.” That man did have a sweet tooth. Pineapple upside down was Bax’s very favorite.

“Cool. I’ll call her. Let her know we’ll be in.” He took a deep drag, grinned. Lord, lord. “I hope your knee’s up to riding fence.”

“Shit, you know it. Just don’t ask me to walk fence.” Wheeling around a little Honda, Bax started humming with George on the radio, off tune as anything. “Nah. You wouldn’t be worth shit in Tulsa, then.”

They both hooted, and Jason leaned back, easy in his bones. Man, event win number three. Check in his pocket. Him and Bax heading for steak.

Life, she was good.

Of course, we know it’s all going to change and soon.  But in that short exchange we see the ease and contentment of Jason and Bax’s relationship.  It sings of a friendship long established and perhaps much more.

And once they fess up and go for a full romantic relationship, it is still in keeping with their cowboy ways and personalities.  No flowers here.

 It was like a good ride, all motion and want and spinning. He tried to warn Bax, tried to let the man know he was gonna be way quick off the mark, but it wasn’t happening. And it didn’t seem to matter one bit. Bax was pushing him on, making these amazing noises, just as hot for him as the Fourth of July.

Their relationship is hot, sexy, and emotionally deep.  How we fall for them.

Pretty much everything works here for much of the story.  The narrative suffers a bit from almost too much sex.  We want more of Jason coming to grips with his blindness.  And we want to see exactly how Jason, with Bax and Coke’s help, will learn to ride again.  At one point, even Bax remarks that he and Jason have sex instead of talking.  OK, but as a reader, while I love the hot sex, I want more of the relationship that produces it.

After all I have been through with Jason and Bax, feeling side by side with them on their emotional rollercoaster, I want and deserve to have the emotional payoff I expect at the end of the story.  And that is exactly what’s missing.  No “aha” moment, no ending.  Nothing.  It just stops prior to Jason ever getting back up on a bull, even one on his friend’s ranch.  The emotional reward, the moment everything has been building up to never happens. Frustrating? You betcha.  And totally unexpected from this seasoned author.  And it is this aspect that dragged the rating down to a 3 star rating.

So who should read this book?  Well, hard core fans of B.A. Tortuga for one as well as fans of the Roughstock series.  Coke, AJ, Bax and Jason are the core characters of the Roughstock series so its good to have this part of the story.  But that lack of ending just makes me want to grab a beer and go watch some PBR instead of continuing to bemoan what could have been an outstanding book.

Cover art by Posh Gosh.  I like this cover, it feels more representative of the story and characters.  Terrific job.

Sales Links:  Pride Publications |  Amazon | Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook, Pride Publications (a LGBT imprint of Totally Bound, now Totally Entwined)
Published July 7th 2015 by Totally Bound Publishing (first published January 1st 2007)
original titleRoughstock: Blind Ride – Season One
ISBN139781784306397
edition languageEnglish
seriesRoughstock #1
charactersJason Scott, Andy Baxter settingUnited States

Books in the Roughstock series:

Roughstock: Blind Ride — Season One – Novel, m/m, core
Give it Time: the Seven of Wands – Novella, m/m
Roughstock: And a Smile — Season One – Novel, m/m, core
Doce — A Roughstock Story – Novella, m/m
Amorzinhos — A Roughstock Story – Novela, m/m, threesome
Roughstock: File Gumbo — Season One – Novel, m/m, core
Roughstock: And a Smile — Coke’s Clown – Novela, m/m,
Shutter Speed, A Roughstock Story: the Seven of Pentacles – Novella, m/m
Roughstock: City/Country – Novel, m/f
Roughstock: Picking Roses – Novel, m/f
Needing To: A Roughstock Story – Novella, m/m

Upcoming Roughstock Novels
Roughstock: What She Wants – Novel, m/m/f
Roughstock: Tag Team – Season Two – Novel, m/m
Roughstock: Terremoto – Season Two- Novel, m/m

Roughstock Shorts:
Cowboy Christmas (Coke and Dillon)
Barbed Wire and Bootheels (Sam and Beau)
Some Good Doctoring (CB and Jonesy) – Free Read

 

Its All Bar Nights and Romance with The Dusty Hat Bar by L.J. Hamlin (excerpt and contest)

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The Dusty Hat Bar by L.J. Hamlin
Release Date: July 22 2015

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Torquere Press
Cover Artist: BSClay

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Sales Links:  Torquere Books

About The Dusty Hat…

Noah Kimberly walks into his usual bar, same as he does most Friday nights. It’s surprisingly busy for this time of night, even for a Friday.

Tonight things are different. Tonight Noah will meet Lennie Boyce, the son of Earl Boyce the biggest ranch owner in the area and Noah’s ex boss. His friend and bar owner Dusty might warn him away from the other man, but Noah’s just not sure he can resist this cowboy.

Pages or Words: 31,000

Categories: Contemporary, Erotica, Fiction, Gay Fiction, Humor, M/M Romance, Romance, Western/Cowboy

The Dusty Hat Excerpt

Dusty is behind the bar, and Noah signals him for a beer, trying to shake off his thoughts about the Boyce family. He hasn’t been keeping track of them since he got fired. He sees them around, sure. It’s not that big of a town, and he hears the odd thing. But he hadn’t heard much about Earl’s youngest, Lennie, other than that he was his father’s pride and joy. If Noah was a violent man, he’d punch Lennie in the face just to see what his Daddy would do, but he’s not a violent man and prefers to avoid using his fists unless he has to.

“That’s quite a frown you’ve got going,” Dusty says as he passes him a cold bottle of beer.

“When did Boyce’s boy turn twenty-one?” Noah asks, ignoring the comment about his frown.

“Just today. That’s why him and all his friends are here. Mainly college kids, but if they’re drinking, I’m not complaining.” Dusty shrugs.

“Huh,” Noah says thoughtfully, taking a quick glance at the now seated Lennie.

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About the author:

My name is L.J. Hamlin. I’m twenty-four and writing has been a passion of mine my entire life. I have a deep love of M/M fiction and at the moment that is the only genre I write in. You can check out another short of mine, Nurse Levi, in the Men in Uniform anthology.

Where to find the author:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008189472526
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/L.j.hamlin91
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LjHamlin
Pinterest: https://uk.pinterest.com/lizibabes
Mailing list: http://eepurl.com/bkVh09
Blog: https://www.blogger.com/profile/02717576317697299159


Tour Dates & Stops: July 21, 2015
Parker Williams, The Hat Party, Bike Book Reviews, BFD Book Blog, My Fiction Nook, Bayou Book Junkie, Havan Fellows, Molly Lolly, Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves, Inked Rainbow Reads, Ogitchida Book Blog, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Happily Ever Chapter, MM Good Book Reviews, Christy Loves 2 Read, Velvet Panic, Because Two Men Are Better Than One, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Hearts on Fire, Chris McHart, Kimi-Chan, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

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Contest

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of ‘The Dusty Hat Bar’.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.
Rafflecopter Code:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

In the F/F Book Spotlight: Graveyard Sparrow by Kayla Bashe (excerpt and giveaway)

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Graveyard Sparrow by Kayla Bashe
Release Date: July 22, 2015

STRW In The Spotlight Header

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Torquere Press
Cover Artist: BSClay

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Sales Links:  Torquere Books

STRW Author BookSynopsis

Katriona Sparrow, dubbed the Mad Heiress by London’s upper class, is the deceptively fragile ward of a foreign nobleman. She can’t stand making small talk with strangers, but she’s unparalleled when it comes to deciphering the dead.

On a routine investigation, something goes horribly wrong, leaving Katriona catatonic in an upscale hospital and a serial killer with an artistic bent stalking London’s most vulnerable.

Enter Anthea Garlant, a young witch and academic ostracized from polite society for traveling the world without a chaperone. She devises magical treatments to protect Katriona from the side effects of her abilities, but as she grows more and more attached to Katriona, her professional façade begins to slip.

Will they be able to stop the man who turns beautiful dead women into works of art before he turns his attention much closer to home?

Previously published through Kindle Unlimited.

Pages or Words: 84 pages, 33,700 words

Categories:
Alternate Universe, Bisexual, Crime Fiction, Fantasy, Historical, Lesbian Romance, Romance

STRW Spotlight Book Excerpt

She was so beautiful that she looked as if she was only sleeping, but clearly she’d cried tears of blood. She was dressed in clothing that appeared expensive but was cheaply made; a poor girl wanting only for a day to live beyond her means. From far away, she seemed to wear pearls and sapphires. Up close, the pearls were her teeth, and the sapphires were her plucked-out eyes. And the golden sash around the waist of her plum-colored taffeta gown? It was made of hair. She also wore a heart-shaped locket, clearly her own. Although tarnished somewhat, and made of much cheaper material, it was of a similar design to Anthea’s, provoking an odd frisson of familiarity. Whatever our profession, whatever our station in life, we’re all women, Katriona mused as she crouched beside the corpse. And if one of us is in danger… then we all are.
“The gloves are made from his previous victim’s skin, by the way,” pointed out a constable. “At least, they’re the same color.”
The girl’s mouth had been filled with dirt; the sort of unremarkable dirt that could have come from anywhere in London. Some of it was smeared across her chin. In her lap, she held another girl’s head.
“Salome and the head of John the Baptist.” That came from Anthea, who was tilting her head at the scene.
“Sorry, what?” Inspector Claybrook looked up from the body.
“The sash, the gown… if you look at the pose and jewelry alone, it’s an exact replica of one of the paintings in the Louvre.” Before anyone asked her how she knew that, she added “When I’m in Paris, I go there often to clear my mind.”
“This is his art,” Katriona murmured thoughtfully. This woman would offer her another piece of the puzzle, she was sure of it.
“I’ll hold your gloves for you,” Anthea said in an undertone.
Katriona removed them and held them out with an almost imperceptible nod. Anthea transferred them to her reticule.
There were still other people around, but for all intents and purposes, it had become just Katriona and the corpse. This small, powerful figure was radiating something inexplicable—still delicate, but somehow frightening. Her eyes were so blue that they could drown a man.
She touched the decapitated head first. I had a dog. I had a dog. Who will feed my dog?
“I’m sorry, but that’s all I can get. She’s been dead for days. She’s well-preserved, but I can’t read her. I suspect it’s from the same woman we found the other day, but…” If I died, she thought, I’d be so afraid for Sentinel. She felt closer than ever to this dead girl, the one whose name she did not know.
“At least it was only a whore,” a constable murmured behind her. Instantly Katriona wanted to tear off his head and eat him whole.
Men! They visit prostitutes, yet they look down on them. None of these girls deserve to be told “Your friend is dead” by an uncaring and contemptuous man.
Katriona made an impulsive decision. She crouched further over the corpse, using her body to shield her movements, and ripped the heart locket from her neck, tugging until the cheap chain broke. Surreptitiously, she dropped it into her white kid boot. Next, she ran her hands through the woman’s curly dark hair. Her voice changed, becoming noticeably less cultured; now there was a rich warmth to it and a Cockney accent.
“I’m really excited because I’m getting paid extra to spend the night with a man where he lives instead of where I live. Maybe I can pocket something good on the way out. He’s real handsome. Smooth hands, long fingers… so then I said, do you want a brush, then? And he said, he said, ‘Have a drink’. He offers me… something. Dunno what it is, never had it before, but I’m excited. When I wake up, I’m—”
Katriona wavered, but held her grip on the memories. She would follow this to the end.
“—I can smell earth. ‘Run, little rabbit,’ he says. ‘Run away from the hunter’s horn.’ But I’m not running; it’s too dark. Blacker than night. Rather die than be in the dark, than lose my way in the dark down in the earth. I fight like a tiger. I try to scratch his face but he grabs my wrists and—God, he’s strong! Kick him in the jewels and he moves out of the way—too damn fast, too damn fast—where’d he go? Hands around my neck—squeezing the life out of me—I can’t breathe! Please don’t kill me. Please, no, no, no… Now I’m afraid but I’m angry, and I hold his gaze until my eyes roll back. He told me I made a mistake, I deserved to die because he couldn’t have imagined the girl he loved saying such dirty things.
“‘You’re too wildly sexual.’ That’s what he said. And he beat me where the bruises wouldn’t show. I fought like a tiger; tell them I fought. Salome with her head in her hand and her mouth full of dirt—this is his art!”
All at once, Katriona’s aura of power seemed to startle back inside her skin. Her eyes opened. She lurched backward, wide-eyed and pale. Anthea was at her side at once, and Katriona held onto her for stability.
“Are you going to be all right?” Anthea’s voice was as low and mesmerizing as ever—as beautiful as a hypnotist’s—and Katriona followed the sound of it as it led her out of her fear. She buried her head in Anthea’s neck, taking in the twin fragrances of jasmine and bergamot. Anthea made her feel like the best and strongest version of herself, a little less neurotic and a little more rational. She thought she wanted Anthea around for the rest of her life.
A flash of thought: If she holds onto me any longer, people will think we’re betrothed. Did it come from Anthea or from her? She couldn’t quite care, couldn’t tell. Reluctantly, because Katriona knew what it was like when people held onto her too tightly or for too long, she let go.
Anthea repeated the question. “Are you going to be all right?”
“Yes.” Now that you’re here.

STRW Author Bio and Contacts

Kayla Bashe is a literature/theater student at Sarah Lawrence College. She has previously self-published several novels, and her story A Muse Afire was featured in the first issue of Vitality Magazine. Her passions include Shakespeare, feral cats, and answering “If you want more diversity, write it yourself!” with a variety of snark.

Where to find the author:
Facebook: Kayla Bashe
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KaylaBashe
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/kayebashe/

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Tour Dates & Stops:
Parker Williams, The Hat Party, BFD Book Blog, My Fiction Nook, Bayou Book Junkie, Havan Fellows, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Molly Lolly, Amanda C. Stone, Ogitchida Book Blog, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Happily Ever Chapter, Christy Loves 2 Read, Velvet Panic, EE Montgomery, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Hearts on Fire, Chris McHart, Kimi-Chan

STRW Spotlight Contest Header

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of ‘Graveyard Sparrow’. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.

Rafflecopter Code:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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