Category: Wilde City Press

August is Here and the Week’s Schedule at ScatteredThoughts!

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍

Upcoming Reviews

HomeTheHardWay_500x750Unexpected Trust coverLoving LukiHard as Stone Final

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍

Where did the summer go?  August is arriving this week so thoughts of Fall is trailing in its wake.   I have seen ads for Back to School already, and even (hides my eyes) a few for Christmas.  Really, people?  Christmas?  Sigh.  I am still working on my gardens and the work progresses with the weather.   Like the tides, the work and I flow in and then out.  Cool weather?  Then I can work outside and still breath.  Hot and humid? The typical Washington,  oh right we are surrounded by water and were built on a swamp, DC summer?  Well, that sees me inside, knitting,reading, writing, and grateful for air-conditioning.

Surprisingly, this summer has been pretty good, better than good, so far.  Yesterday barely made it into 80 degrees.  It was lovely and appreciated by all here, including the terriers.  Today humid and 90’s.  Tomorrow more of the same and then down again.  A rollercoaster approach that I will take over weeks of constant 90 degree heat or higher.

It’s also been a wonderful summer so far for books.  New authors, old favorites,  and a new perspective on authors whose new stories I have really liked.  The Pulp Friction 2014 series, Elemental Connections, is off the charts in terms of great plots and even better characters.  I have been reading lots of  books with Fae in the plots, and guess what?  All terrific!  Angel Martinez’ Semper Fae?  Unbelievable!   Rory Ni Coiliean’s SoulShares has me hooked too! On the contemporary side, Lou Sylvre’s Vasquez and James?  Love, love, love them.   Shira Anthony has a new Blue Notes story coming out, Dissonance!   I have two in line from TJ Klune waiting to be read.  I will need more boxes of tissues for those I am sure.  What a happy reader I am these days!

♦If you have noticed, I have started to display current and future book tours to the right hand side of the page.  You can click on those and it will take you to the  entry forms associated with those tours!  Also I have joined the ranks of the Amazon,All Romance Affiliates and Totally Bound Affiliates, so if you buy it through the links at the bottom of each post, it will help support ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords and my efforts to continue to upgrade this website.

♦Now, one last thing.  I have been thinking about this for some time and have decided that I need to add another reviewer to help me cover more books coming out and the review requests I am receiving.  I have a standard format and requirements.  If you are interested, contact me at melaniem54@msn.com and we can talk!

Now on to the week ahead at ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords:

Monday, July 28:

  • Review: Hard as Stone by Rory Ni Coileain

Tuesday, July 29:

  • Riptide’s and Z.A. Maxfield’s Home the Hard Way Book Tour/Contest
  • Book Blast:  Jennifer Cie’s Down the Other Street Book Tour/Contest
  • Review:  Home the Hard Way by Z.A. Maxfield

Wednesday, July 30:

  • Book Blast Book Tour:  Silvia Violet’s Unexpected Trust
  • Review:  Unexpected Trust by Silvia Violet

Thursday, July 31:

  • Virtual Book Tour: That You Are Here by Meredith Allard
  • July Summary of Reviews and Best Covers of the Month

Friday, August 1:

  • Review:  Hero by Heidi Cullinan
  • Review: Gale Force by Rory Ni Coileain

Saturday, August 2:

  • Ink and Flowers by J.K. Pendragon (removed)
  • The Choosing by Annabelle Jacobs

 

Now stay cool, everyone.  Hope you are enjoying your weekend.  Here’s a summer cocktail to try out!

Cucumber Lemonade Mocktail. A111206 Food & Wine March 2012Cucumber Lemonade Mocktail (no alcohol)

Ingredients:
1 paper-thin, lengthwise slice of European cucumber, for garnish
Ice
1/4 teaspoon finely chopped dill, plus 1 dill sprig, for garnish
1 tablespoon agave syrup
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 cup fresh cucumber juice (see Note)
1/4 cup chilled club soda

Directions:

Press the cucumber slice against the inside of a chilled highball glass and add ice. In a cocktail shaker, muddle the chopped dill, agave syrup, lemon and lime juices and 1 tablespoon of water until the syrup is dissolved. Add ice, then add the cucumber juice and shake well. Strain into the prepared glass and stir in the club soda. Garnish with the dill sprig.
NOTES Cucumber juice is available at juice counters. You can also make it by pureeing peeled cucumber chunks in a blender and then straining the puree through a fine sieve. One large cucumber yields about 3/4 cup of strained juice.

Review: Belligerent Beta (Pack Partners #2) by Poppy Dennison

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Belligerent Beta coverBeta Dan Keller always assumed he would take over the pack as Alpha if anything should happen to their leader.  But when the dead Alpha’s son chooses a human to become Alpha and lead their pack, Dan wasn’t sure of his place in the pack or his position.  With ex cop Lex Tompkins as Alpha and new pack members, there is a lot of adjusting to do by all. One of the youngest members is also one who is having the most problems.  Nathan Ross, the Omega of the pack, has a troubled past that has not only made him a target to other wolves but left him unable to shift as well.

When Lex suggests to Dan that he needs to get more involved with pack members, become a true beta, Dan never anticipated that the one who needed him the most would be Nathan.  But a broken down car and a offered ride gives Dan a chance to get to know Nathan and to his surprise he finds he likes the shy man hiding behind poor posture and long bangs.  When trouble arrives in pack territory and local animals turn up dead, all clues points to Nathan as the culprit.

Will Nathan and Dan’s friendship and burgeoning romance be lost just as its getting started or will the belligerent beta find his true strength in time to protect a man he wants for his own?

This is such a cute series.  Accidental Alpha, the first story, revolved around an ex cop Lex Tompkins who gets bitten by a neighbor’s toddler which turned him into a shifter and pack Alpha.  The kid was/is adorable and the situation Lex found himself in was funny with a few serious elements attached.  Belligerent Beta is a perfect title for Dan Keller who is still smarting at being passed over for Alpha and by a child no less.  Dan is aloof, intimidating, and in a quandary over his role in the pack.   The story picks up with the pack and Lex still adjusting  to the new order and Lex’s new powers.  Nathan, a young Omega wolf, in jeopardy in Accidental Alpha remains troubled here for an unknown yet hinted at reason.

Nathan’s character is a little shaky here.  His history is one he only told to the last Alpha with hints of abuse or something equally horrific.  He is naive or ignorant about shifter culture.  And his inability to shift has caused him to withdraw even further into himself.  I expected more from Nathan’s history than is revealed here.  Either the reader still doesn’t have the whole story on Nathan or some of the implications were too overwrought,  Either way I felt his character could have used some additional information or substance.  Did that keep me from liking Nathan?  Absolutely not.  As someone in need of support and compassion, Nathan hits all the right buttons in order to connect with him.  Who did I love?  Well, that would be Dan.  Big, gruff, isolated Dan.   Dan is a character that you like the more he opens up and that happens as gradually as it can over 97 pages. And when Dan finally starts to get to know and get closer to Nathan its as cute as a puppy pile.  That’s the best part of this story. It’s heartwarming and so sweet.

If you are looking for drama or angst here, you won’t find it.  That element is almost completely missing from this story.  Any hints of turmoil or large crisis such as we saw in the first story are just so much smoke or a quick reference to Lex’s continued adjustment to his new shifter status.  This is a sweet, adorable romance..  The couple is endearing and they make a perfect pair.  When you are finished,  I think you will find you were happy you spent more time with this pack and their latest mate pairing.  Poppy Dennison continues to flesh out her portrait of this pack and their members with each new story.  I’m not sure who is next up in the series, but I can’t wait to find out.

Cover art by Wilde City Press.  I would call that model a wonderful bear but this is about wolves after all.

Buy Links:    Wilde City Press          Amazon                 ARe

Book Details:

ebook, 97 pages
Published May 14th 2014 by Wilde City Press
original titleBelligerent Beta
ISBN139781925031008
edition languageEnglish
url http://www.wildecity.com/books/gay-romance/belligerent-beta/#.U2hU16JQ7sc
seriesPack Partners #2

Pack Partners Series:

Accidental Alpha  (Pack Partners #1)
Belligerent Beta (Pack Partners #2)

Review: Miles and the Magic Flute by Heidi Cullinan

Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

Miles and the Magic FluteMiles Larson believes the world has turned against him.  The poor economy cost him his cushy job and lifestyle, now Miles lives in considerably reduced circumstances back in his hometown in Minnesota. At least that’s how he sees it.  He works in a friend’s pawn shop fixing broken down appliances while living in his friend’s trailer behind the shop.  And all the time, he is thinking “why me, why did this happen to me?”  As Miles begrudgingly goes to work and then home, the only thing that lifts his spirits is a walk in the woods nearby, a place of solice and adventure when little,  now a blessed respite from the disappointment that is his life.   Little does he know that as he bemoans his life, the wood have ears and are listening.

One day at the pawn shop, a box of personal goods to be sold revealed an intricately carved silver flute to be pawned.  When asked to research its origin, Miles’s investigation opens up an enchanted world where one can have all he wants if only he asks the right question.  Before he realizes it his reality becomes one of two worlds vying for his body and soul.  An ethereally gorgeous fae wants Miles to choose him and his world but is everything there exactly as it seems?  Who is the beast he encounters along with the Fae Lord in the Otherworld?  For each choice that Miles might make, a price is to be paid.  But what is the price of being given everything you desire?  What if what you desire wars with true love and happiness? What price will you pay then? Only Miles can answer those questions…now if only he knew what those answers are….

Miles and the Magic Flute is less a romance and more of Heidi Cullinan’s LGBTQ version of Aesop’s Fables.  Or should that be Cullinan’s Fae Fables?  An intricately layered cautionary tale, Miles and the Magic Flute starts with one character whose sense of entitlement and displeasure with his current status starts the games of enchantment to follow.

From the beginning Cullinan builds two very realistic and opposite worlds to vy for Mile’s body and soul.  One is the small town in Minnesota that Miles has returned to after losing his job and condo in the big city.  A sense of desperation covers the town like a layer of dust.  A factory has closed putting much of the town’s population out of work, and sometimes only the largesse of his friend Patty of Patty’s Pawn shop keeps some of them from going without food or a home.  A cluttered store filled with the bits and pieces of peoples lives, the pawn store has been passed from father to daughter as has the trailer behind it.  Into the shop flow various sundry folk, from a hispanic family seriously weighing how they will spend their strictly budgeted dollars to an antagonistic bully who learns that homophobic slurs will cost him big time from the lesbian pawnbroker.   Cullinan paints these small town characters with the same brush as her main ones, and they are as realistically detailed and human as they could be.  You can feel the paint peeling and the cars falling apart from neglect from the author’s descriptions of a small town barely surviving and the people who remain behind while others have left.

The second world starts off as nothing more than a shivery feeling as Miles walks through the woods nearby.  A feeling of being watched, a ripple in the air, the appearance of a small white flower in winter, and little by little Cullinan’s Otherworld, the Fae Dream world arrives to encroach on Miles’ reality and the well being of all.  I loved how the author built up not only Miles anticipation and sense of alarm but the readers as well.  Layer by layer the magic comes and at first its wondrous and enchanting….and then it deepens to something more.  And as we begin to  get a true sense of exactly what and who the Fae Lord represents, Cullinan continues to pivot us and Miles back and forth between reality and desire, human and Fae until the contrasting images and worlds start to blend eerily into each other. The author’s locations and world building is superb and each feels as real as the other.

Heidi Cullinan has also provided the readers with one of the most realistic and wonderful lesbian couples that I can remember. Patty with her blunt ways and mannerisms that cover a depth of personality just waiting to be revealed.  And  Julie whose perceptions and world views are startling and compelling.  I loved this couple and they provide the anchor that the story and Miles requires.  Patty and her long time lover, Julie, have slowly been pulling Miles out of his depression over losing his job and successful life in Atlanta at Fetterman Financial.  Patty gave him a job fixing the appliances she pulls out of trashcans or brought into the store.  Julie feeds him vegan food she cooks from her amazing garden out back and items she has traded for.  Cullinan does an exemplary job of conveying how grey and small this world appears to Miles in his current  emotional state, the businesslike and frank manner in which Patty deals with her customers and Miles, and the generous, compassionate nature that is Julie’s answer to everything she confronts in life.  And while we see their trailer, business and partnership only from Miles’ viewpoint, it is clear that Miles’  self-absorbed outlook keeps him from seeing his friends  and their lives in a clear and realistic way.

And that is part of what I feel is a real issue for the reader here.  The story is told from Miles’ point of view.  And he is whiney, complaining, and his sense of entitlement is hard to take after a while.  I get that we need to see Miles at his worst in order to get a base line from which we can chart his growth but that doesn’t make his selfishness and self centeredness any easier to take.   Even as Miles realizes that he sees everything now through his “Atlanta filter”, comparing and contrasting his current life against that which he lost, his musings become a Greek chorus of want, hate, and envy.  “I hate this, I hate my life, I hate what I’ve become, I hate what I lost, I hate realizing that I never really had it.” and finally “I hate my life and I would do anything and give anything to change it.”    Heartfelt worlds that the woods, or someone in the woods is listening to and geting ready to answer with an offer.

But the most damning words here are probably the ones that the readers will recognize, if not understand.  How the readers feels about hearing Miles utter them will reflect in how much the reader will like this story.  Those words are the ones that will propel Miles to accept an offer too good to be…well good.  And they are “I’m better than this.  I deserve so much better than this.”  What an all too human phrase…one that probably propels many a person into actions that they will regret later on.  How readers feel about Miles’ sense of entitlement will be the lens through which they view this story.  For many, I think it will mean they look at Miles and his predicament with a sense of detachment.  And no matter what befalls Miles, that lack of emotional investment in his problems and terrors will keep readers disconnected from the story and Miles.  I will admit I came perilously close to that detachment myself.  It took me much longer to connect with Miles than I anticipated and by then the story was almost over.

As I said this is a story of lessons and morality.  “Beware of what you wish for, as you just might get it”, “Be happy with what you have,” actually Miles and the Magic Flute is a roll call of lessons from Aesop’s Fables among others.  Whether it is about appearances being deceiving or giving one’s enemies the means for your own destruction, Cullinan lines them up and marches Miles through them on his way to  enlightenment, redemption, and finally love.

Yes, there is several love stories here, although no romances.  I wish I had a better understanding of “the Beast” here, he is the one character without much substance.  There is so much about Miles and the Magic Flute that is as wondrous as its plot.  From Terris and Murali to Patty and Julie and the worlds they all inhabit, Cullinan’s ability to bring both the magical and the mundane to life is amazing.  I just wished I had more of a connection to Miles, that I had wept when he did but ultimately that didn’t happen here.    Other readers might find themselves incredibly moved by Miles’ story and the terrific ending that Heidi Cullinan has crafted for them all.  Pick up this book and decide for yourself.  I am still so very happy that I read it and journeyed for a while in their shoes.

Cover art by Wilde City Press.  What a beautiful, magical cover.  Loved it.

Publisher’s Note: This title has been previously published and has been revised from its original release

 

Buy Links:    Wilde City Press       Miles and the Magic Flute ” Amazon          ARe

 

Book Details:

ebook, 2nd Edition
Published May 27th 2014 by Wilde City Press (first published June 7th 2010)
original titleMiles and the Magic Flute
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://www.heidicullinan.

Review: The Dog Trainer by Owen Keehnen

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

“Sometimes the last thing you expect is exactly what you need.”

The Dog Trainer coverRichard Myers’ life is set.  He is a well off gay urbanite looking for happiness and the perfect man one man at a time. Richard has a core group of outgoing if a bit self involved friends who like to party and a well-paying dead end job.  And if he hasn’t found the right man yet, Richard is sure he is out there.

Then  one night while stumbling on his way home, an inebriated Richard finds a puppy and almost immediately Richard’s life and his relationships begin to change.  Richard starts to  interact with his neighbor across the hall,  Evelyn, who also has a dog. In just a few days the  puppy, now named Hambone, wriggles his way into Richard’s life on every level.

Despite Richard’s disapproving friends and on again off again boyfriend, Richard finds a vet and then something much, much more. On Evelyn’s recommendation Richard hires a dog trainer named Abe and from the moment Richard hears Abe’s voice on the phone he feels a connection with this man.

When Abe’s comes for Hambone’s first  training session, the sparks fly. Abe and Hambone together start to show Richard a different life than the one he has been living and Richard likes the change in himself and his lifestyle.

Will love conquer all in the end? It will if Hambone has any say in the matter.

 

Can owning (or being owned) by a dog change your life?  How you answer that question will probably determine how you feel about this story.  The Dog Trainer by Owen Keehen takes that questions and answers it with a resounding yes!  This story really resonated with me (no small wonder here).  I absolutely believe in the power of animals (whatever they may be) to change a person’s view on life.  Whether that change is a small or large one depends entirely on the person involved.  If they have animals or a history with animals, then the changeover is more subtle, or less ground shaking.  But for that individual for whom this is a first time relationship/ownership, the changes can be startling and lasting.

Owen Keehnen certainly understands the impact that one small puppy can have on a solitary individual such as Richard.  The changes in lifestyle that a puppy brings to the right person, an accepting person, enlarges your life and that is exactly what happens to Richard Myers.  Upon first meeting Richard, our first impressions aren’t exactly positive ones.  Richard, like the people he has chosen as friends, are living a somewhat superficial, self involved life style.  Richard and his core group spend their time at bars picking apart people, events, whatever happens to grab their attention.  They dress well, attend the “right” functions and move from one hot bar to another in search of entertainment and romance.  Richard has niggling feelings that he might be missing out on something but soon pushes such trifling thoughts away.  I love  Keehnen’s descriptions of Richard and his friends.  From the dialog to their clothes they are the recognizable Millennials found in cities everywhere.

But in one instant, that all changes although Richard is the last person to understand what is happening to him.  Keehnen has Richard finding his puppy during a drunken walk home.  Pulled into a lot by pitiful cries, Richard finds a bag of puppies, of which only one is still alive.  And because Richard is, at the center, a decent human being, he takes the puppy home and changes his life in small ways at first, then much larger ones.  It is a slow climb out of the lifestyle Richard has made for himself and that makes it a realistic one.  The puppy attracts people he had never interacted with before, new avenues of interest, and slowly Richard opens himself up to new situations, people, and finally love.  I have seen it happen, and so probably have you, if you think about it.

Another great authentic touch is that Richard is uncertain that he wants to be a dog owner, he isn’t sure he wants the changes in his routine that come with dog ownership.  He has to puzzle it out for himself (ok , along with some help from his neighbor, Abe the dog trainer, and Hambone himself) but that is pretty accurate too.

I liked the slow build to a romance.  This is a tale of two Richards and Richard must decide which one he will be in order to get his man and HEA.  Hambone is an endearing character, just as you would expect.  It is easy to see why Richard is willing to make the changes he does when faced with such unconditional love and adoration.  And when Abe comes along, Richard is ready for a “less than picture perfect man” who just might be the man for him…and Hambone.

This is a sweet, endearing romance between man and puppy, and man and man.  There isn’t a lot of drama or fuss but a realistic changeover for one man when a dog comes into his life.  I loved that but then again I have three terriers at my side just like Hambone is for Richard.  So I get it.  And I believe in the power of an animal to change a person’s life.   I think Owen Keehnen gets that too.  I enjoyed this story and loved the cover.  Owen Keehnen is a new author for me so I look forward to seeing what else he has written.

If the above descriptions appeals to you, then pick up this story and start your journey with Richard and Hambone.  This gentle tale might just be the thing for you.

Great cover again by Wilde City Press.

Buy Links:         Wilde City Press      ARe          Amazon 

Book Details:

ebook
Published May 21st 2014 by Wilde City Press
ISBN139781925180015
edition languageEnglish
url http://www.wildecity.com/books/gay-romance/the-dog-trainer/#.U3ttn_ldV1A

In the Spotlight: David Pratt, author of Looking After Joey (Contest)

spotlight on books✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍Looking After Joey cover

In the Author Spotlight:

Meet David Pratt!

I recently read a story called Looking After Joey and immediately had to get to know the author behind this marvelous novel.  So I invited David Pratt to ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords today to talk about Looking After Joey, his inspirations, his muse, his favorite porn stars and whatever else came to mind.  What a great interview it turned out to be.  Here is a photograph of David Pratt at a reading.  Copies of the cover and model Nicholas Gorham can be found at the end of the interview.  Don’t miss out on those!

Contest:  David has brought with him a copy of Looking After Joey to giveaway.  To enter to win, leave a comment and an email address where you can be reached.  Contest ends June 18th at midnight.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.David Pratt reading

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍

STRW:. How did this idea (Looking After Joey) come to you?

David Pratt: Part One, “Calvin Gets Sucked In” comes from a short story I wrote. But I forget where the idea for that came from. Once I had it, though, it seemed natural to wonder, what if Joey took Calvin up on his offer and came into this world? I thought, that’s not a story. That’s a novel! A novel about what really matters to us — and what doesn’t. A novel that could be very funny. Half the stuff Joey encounters inspires existential wonder or panic. The other half inspires flat-out mockery! Some things inspire both.

STRW:  Is there a porn star out there you would like to see step out of a video?

David Pratt: I love watching Peto Coast. You can look for his videos on ice-gay.com. Now, I’m not sure about him stepping out of the TV. He is an extremely aggressive top. I can bottom, for sure, but he might be too much in person. In the Goofy Kid category, I like Paul Canon of Broke Straight Boys. I like Gino and Chase on Spanking Central, and I like this guy Kenny who’s on Sean Cody.He could step out of the TV for me! As could some of the guys from the Fraternity X website. But really, I did most of my porn watching in the 1980s, so I fondly remember Rod Garreto, Eric Manchester and Ted Cox from that era. I’d love it if Garreto stepped out of the TV! He was my fave.Rod Garetto porn star

STRW:. The Native American character was a terrific element, where did he come from and will we see him again in another story?

David Pratt: In the original short story, he was a joke, because of his name. In the book he acquires dimension because he reappears and we find out what he thinks of the “real world.” The decision he made shocked even me. I, of course, have experienced times when all arrows pointed to something in my work, but rarely does a character take a significant action that totally takes me by surprise. But Jake did, and I had to go with it. His presence signals a change for the other four. They can no longer think their world is all about wine bars and video nights. In the second half of the book there is an undoing of the cozy world of the first half. Everyone is growing up and moving on. Jake makes them think about who they are and what they are doing. Will we see Jake again? You never know. The whole gang of “Joey” characters could be revisited. I mean, tell me you don’t want to hear from Stuart again. In moderation, of course. And Desmond, hmmmm?

STRW:. That porn world was hysterical with all the elements most people see in a typical porn DVD, the delivery guys, the pizza, the gym etc. Do you think you will revisit this world and a certain character in it again?

David Pratt: Like Calvin, I learned two things about porn:  1.) it is rich with possibilities; and 2.) you run through those possibilities pretty quickly. Stuff starts to repeat. Which is kind of the point, isn’t it? There is just one character from that world that I’d be curious to follow up with. But I am not saying which one. I suppose I don’t want to be held to it. And writers never give away what they are thinking about that has yet to be written down. Or they shouldn’t.

STRW: . I found the pathos and angst surprising and it added layers of dimension that really made this story work. Had you planned on that happening or did the story take an unexpected direction once you started writing?

David Pratt: There was more pathos and angst in the original story, though there was comedy, too. In the novel,  Calvin and Peachy effectively become parents, so there has to be angst and pathos! Parents know, it’s a joyful but dangerous world out there. And it all starts with Calvin being lonely. His relationship with Joey springs out of loneliness and lack of confidence. For Joey there is angst and pathos in being introduced to time and the suggestion, which at first he barely understands, of death. That was just there. I had to include it. Think how completely different this world is from the world presented in porn.

Calvin compares Joey to an immigrant. The opera singer Teresa Stratas tells how, when her family emigrated to Canada from Greece, her father could not adjust. He sat and stared at the wall all day. Vietnamese dancer/choreographer Ea Sola freaked out when she came to France as a very young woman; her first performances consisted of standing still staring in the street, basically having a breakdown. Her audiences thought it was art; to her it was just what she did. My partner emigrated from Brazil. When he first came here, coincidentally, he delivered pizza. One day he stopped in the middle of the street in the rain and for a long moment couldn’t go on. This kind of paralyzing moment happens to Joey a couple of times. He’s immobilized by fear when he notices his fingernails growing — even after he’s cut them once! He can’t look at pictures of Calvin as a child. I think there is also a natural pathos as well as humor in, for example, Joey seeing what disabled people or people of different ethnicities look like. This is a rough world! But Calvin and Peachy and Doug teach Joey that there is love in it, and loyalty. And these defy time.

STRW: Do you have a favorite genre and a least favorite one? And why?

David Pratt: I tend to like “literary” fiction (see my New England background, below), but I have become open to anything. I never thought I’d go for erotica, until I encountered Erastes, Dale Chase and Ellis Carrington. I did not pay much attention to paranormal or fantasy until I read Felice Picano’s “Tales from a Distant Planet.” I had no interest in “spiritual” fiction until I stumbled on Cathryn McIntyre’s weird memoir/fiction mash-up “Honor in Concord.”

STRW:. What author or story has influenced your writing the most?

David Pratt: As a child I loved the Winnie-the-Pooh stories. They’re a direct influence on “Joey.” Chelsea is the Hundred Acre Wood. Calvin is Pooh, Joey is Piglet, and Peachy is Rabbit—or he’s Owl on speed! The House at Pooh Corner has one of the great endings ever: “Promise you won’t forget me, ever. Not even when I’m a hundred.” That could be the ending of “Joey,” too. In terms of the off-the-wall, what-the-hell feel of the book, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was probably an influence. I read everything by him when I was sixteen, though today I am not so interested. And as I come from New England, there’s all that transcendence and all that symbolism, though not so focused on the natural world. Emily Dickinson heard a fly buzz. Calvin hears a taxi. Melville had his white whale. Calvin and Peachy have Bunce van den Troell!

Finally, some more images are attached. Reading photo at Hotel Monteleone, credit it J. Stephen Young. All other photos,(c) 2014 Eva Mueller. Joey cover design, Adrian Nicholas, (c) 2014 Wilde City Press. Bob cover design, Peachy Boy Design and Distillery, (c) 2010 Chelsea Station Editions.

Thanks again so much for the great review and for your interest and the blogging opportunity. Let me know anything else you need.

Best,
David

STRW:  Thanks, David, for stopping by for such a wonderful interview and for generously donating a copy of Looking After Joey to give away.

Book:  Looking After Joey by David Pratt

Blurb: 

From the author of Bob the Book comes a funny, fast-paced, touching tale of love, laughter, family of choice and fabulousness!

Wouldn’t it be great if a character from a porn movie stepped right out of your TV, into your life? Well, be careful what you wish for. Because that’s how Calvin and Peachy end up looking after Joey. Then Peachy decides to make Joey the center of in a social-climbing scheme that will take them all from Chelsea to Park Avenue to Fire Island and will entangle a rogues’ gallery of eccentric Manhattanites, including portly, perspiring publicist Bunce van den Troell; theatrical investor Sir Desmond Norma; studly thespian Clive Tidwell-Smidgin; and evil lubricant king Fred Pflester and his mysterious nephew, Jeffrey. Tender, wise, witty and utterly deranged, Looking After Joey will make you wish you, too, had a porn character sitting at your kitchen table, pointing at the toast and asking, “What’s this called again?”

Details: ebook, 255 pages
Published April 2nd 2014 by Wilde City Press

Highly Recommended by ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords

Buy Links:   Wilde City  Amazon   ARe

Contest:  Leave a comment, your email address where you can be reached below.  Contests ends 6/18 at midnight.  

Joey_6433WatermarkJoey_6847WatermarkJoey_6868Watermark1

All photo credits are Eva Mueller. The cover model is Nicholas Gorham.

Photograph and book covers are credited to the following:

Reading photo at Hotel Monteleone, credit it J. Stephen Young. All other photos,(c) 2014 Eva Mueller. Joey cover design, Adrian Nicholas, (c) 2014 Wilde City Press. Bob cover design, Peachy Boy Design and Distillery, (c) 2010 Chelsea Station Editions.

Review: Clipped by Devon McCormack

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

 

Clipped cover

What are mortals to do when everything they thought they knew about Heaven and Hell are reversed?  God is planning their annihilation and Satan is their only hope.

Once God and Satan were lovers and the Earth was created as a gift for Satan.  But when Satan left God, his fury was apocalyptic. God intends to destroy the Earth and all humans.  It is left to Satan’s fallen angels to thwart God’s plans and save all humanity.

The demon Kinzer and his fallen angel lover, Janka, are agents of Satan, sent to spy on The Raze, a group of angels who are working with God to bring about Armageddon. When someone exposes their true allegiances, the Raze rips off Kinzer’s wings while torturing and killing his lover, Janka. Now wingless and powerless, Kinzer escapes. His mission? To track down all Satan’s allies to warn them about a traitor in their circle.  The hunt is on for the Antichrist—a powerful weapon that could prevent the apocalypse and both sides are getting nearer. It’s up to Kinzer to protect the unborn child and his mother.  And if he can avenge his lover’s death while doing so, then even better.  But first he has to stay alive….

Clipped is a story sure to instill strong emotions and reactions in all who read it.  It is a book that readers will either love or hate. Or even hate to love. Its plot contains religious content that some readers might find offensive. And  its rough, and brutal sex scenes are sure to turn off those looking for romance and/or sexual relationships that are consensual and with not a lot of bloodshed. To those readers, I say this is probably not the book for you.  But some of you are going to love it and with good reason.

What drew me to this story? That amazing cover for one.  Its dramatic and powerful.That kneeling winged man just cries out for his story to be told.  And, truth be told,  the story found within does contain both of those elements.McCormack’s plot is also unusual enough that its reversed theology is both interesting and fascinating in concept and details.  McCormack’s idea of flip flopping the roles of Heaven and Hell is intriqing.  By upending the idea of good and evil and the roles that Satan and God play, not only with each other as lovers but as the guardians of Earth, McCormack has designed a world where he can throw out all previously conceived notions of angels and demons and create his own pantheon of celestial creatures and infernal agents at play.

Within McCormack’s wonderfully twisted world, God rules over a unequal hierarchy of preternaturally exquisite beings called higherlings.  We know them as angels.  Not all angels are created equal in God’s eyes.  Some are created just to be ethereally beautiful, so much so that they are privileged,  Janka was one such being.

In McCormack’s words “… Janka was privileged, granted all that he desired from the Almighty. He’d been one of Heaven’s most desirable creatures. He was doted on, loved, adored. It left him, like so many of the Almighty’s elite, filled with a natural conceit. When Janka gave orders, Kinzer resisted. He fussed and barked. He wasn’t going to listen to a higherling, especially not one that had been afforded such luxuries…”.

These were luxuries that other less well crafted heavenly beings would never attain.  I loved this.  An entire line of what is basically heavenly himbos who were created by God to be sublimely gorgeous.  And that ‘s it. Big on beauty, and also big in their sexual appendages (think elephantine in length).  Not, however, big on the brains department.  That was saved for those lesser beings, also pretty and well endowed (inhumanly huge in every way although not prodigiously so), just not gloriously unimaginably over the top like the higher ups. That latter one is Kinzer.  Who abandons his current lover to be with this exquisite creature so high above Kinzer’s station as to be unobtainable. But obtain Kinzer does to his eternal regret. I’m not sure McCormack ever made a good argument for  this change up in lovers.  You just have to take it on faith that Janka’s beauty was too much to resist. Yes,beautiful, irresistible twits are everywhere, even in Heaven.

And with such inequality comes revolution, an ex lover  who rules in Hell and the fallen.  And now its God versus Satan and a rush is on to save the world from a spurned lover.  Yes, not from Satan, but from a revengeful and petty Almighty bent on smiting to oblivion his gift to Satan, now his ex.  So now we have two teams and the object of their mission is to find the mother of the Antichrist, who along with her unborn child, will determine the fate of Earth and all humanity. The teams consist of spies for both the Leader (Satan) and God.  On God’s side is the Raze, a group of sadist higherlings that report directly to the Almighty.  The mother of the Antichrist?  A drug addled whore who, realistically enough, thinks she is going crazy.   During one such battle to find the mother, the two groups came together.  Kinzer, a fallen, knew that someone within his team had betrayed them to the Raze.  He was brutally dewinged and his lover killed before his eyes.  All great stuff when creating a compelling story.

Its what happens within that narrative framework that didn’t exactly work for me. The major sticking point here would be the type and quantityt of brutal, painful sex that overtakes the actual storytelling.  One particular human is involved….a young boy called Kid who was kidnapped off the streets and is forced to work in a depraved brothel where anything, and I do mean anything goes.  It is here where a captured Kinzer finds himself deposited by his nemesis.  The action found within this brothel includes rape with not only multiple partners but cutlery as well.  Its crude, bloody, and its descriptions are as graphic and raw as the events taking place.  I predict that some readers are going to stop reading here.

McCormack can definitely write a scene because he will be able to pull emotions from his readers with characters that you will care about in a situation that is as intense as it is dramatic.  It is how you feel about rape, non consensual sex and torture that help form your feelings toward Clipped.  If those things fall  outside your reading comfort zone, then you most likely will want to skip this story because things only increase in intensity not lessen.

Why?  Because the Kid, who has huge emotional (and why wouldn’t he) issues as well as an abusive past history, continues on the run with Kinzer and not in a romantic way.  But there will be sex between the mortal Kid (who has a mortal’s body) and an immortal with the aforesaid ginormous sexual member.  So more forcing, more bloodshed and yes, quite a bit of angst and horror.  This is not a romance by any means.   Even the fallen on fallen sexual encounters  include brutality and blood.  Definitely not for the fainthearted.  I can see that such painful sex might be indicative of the Fallens status.  Not worthy of love and kindness, only brutality and pain.  I kind of get that.  And it does work in small doses.  But I am talking almost continual sex scenes of all combinations, and somewhere the plot gets lost for a while as the demons get their daily dosage of pain and sex in.

I also found it amazing or amusing or both that the devilish and heavenly creatures are as poor with their communication skills as the humans they deride. Because had several of the main characters actually talked to one another, this would be a much shorter novel.  That didn’t bother me, I just found it funny. What did make me flinch? Well, all the sexual degradation and humiliation not withstanding, it is the ending that peeved me the most.  It just ends on an astonishing event.  Boom, over and done.  I was flabbergasted because the fight scene was wonderful and I wanted to see how McCormack was going to resolve it, twists and all included.   But he didn’t . It ended on a cliffhanger.  It wasn’t until I went searching through various interviews that I found out that the author intends to turn this into series that I was mollified somewhat. Only somewhat.  Just my opinion but if you are going to end your story in that manner, let the reader know that this is a series or that a sequel will be coming.  Don’t let them think that a standalone story is missing an ending.

Anyhow.  Yes, there’s more to come.  And for some of you that will be a wonderful thing. There are enough elements here that I can understand that.  Others of you have already left the room by now having found out that this is not the story for you.  I get that too.  Like I said you will either love this or hate it.  I will leave it up to you.

But this amazing cover?  That will be on ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords Best Covers of 2014.  That is genuinely a heavenly (or devilishly) gorgeous cover.

Cover art by Wilde City art director.

Buy Links:       Wilde City Press            Amazon                 ARe

Book Details:
Kindle Edition, English
229 pages
Published April 9th 2014 by Wilde City Press (first published January 1st 2014)
ASINB00JQUYN6C
edition languageEnglish

Publishers Warning: This title is erotic and contains homosexual content, graphic sex, violence, and strong language. Readers uncomfortable with rough sexual situations should not purchase this book.

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

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

I Survived SeattleOnly 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