Category: Riptide Publishing

Cordelia Kingsbridge has 5 Fun Facts and a Riveting Romance with ‘Can’t Hide From Me’ (blog tour and giveaway)

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Can’t Hide from Me by Cordelia Kingsbridge
Riptide Publishing
Cover by: G.D. Leigh

Read an Excerpt/Buy It Here

 

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have Cordelia Kingsbridge here today on tour with Can’t Hide From Me. Welcome, Cordelia!

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Hi! I’m Cordelia Kingsbridge, and I’m pleased to welcome you to the blog tour for my novel Can’t Hide From Me. Thanks so much for checking it out!

Five Fun Facts About Can’t Hide From Me

1. The novel’s original title was From the Ashes. This is why Ángel’s codename is Phoenix, and by extension, why the rest of the San Diego team has codenames sourced from various mythologies.

2. I first started thinking about this novel in the summer of 2012. I still have the Word document of the original outline and character sketches, which are interesting to read now after so much time has passed. The vast majority of CHFM turned out very different from that early conception – for example, the team was once going to be FBI instead of ATF, and Charles’ name used to be Alexander. I even have the research that I did into the inner workings of the FBI back then, which I’m saving in case I need it for future projects.

3. I struggled with the plot for at least a year before I finally figured it out. Believe it or not, I came up with the basic framework for CHFM – the beginning and ending, as well as a few big moments in the middle – without actually knowing who Ángel’s stalker was. But of course it was impossible for me to move forward or get the plot to gel without that information. It wasn’t until I realized who I wanted the villain to be that the entire plot clicked and fell into place like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. After that, CHFM flowed more smoothly for me than anything I’d written before.

4. I had to do some very interesting research along the way. Among the highlights: which firearms are popular with Mexican cartels, what polygraph examinations look like, how guns are hidden inside cars for smuggling purposes, how a person could introduce a suspect package into a federal building without raising red flags, what it feels like to be tasered, and other things I can’t reveal without major spoilers. I hope whichever NSA agent is monitoring my internet searches enjoys the man-on-man erotica!

5. I changed some of the major relationship moments based on feedback from my readers. I first posted From the Ashes online as a WIP (work-in-progress), as I had with my previous novels. One of the advantages of this approach is that it gives you real-time feedback on which aspects of the novel are coming across the way you want them to – and which really aren’t. In this case, I realized along the way that the conflict between Charles and Ángel was weighted too much in Ángel’s favor. Without meaning to, I’d been presenting Ángel’s side of things in a more sympathetic light and leaving out or glossing over Charles’ own very valid grievances, and the relationship came off as unbalanced in a way I definitely hadn’t intended. Seeing this, I went back through the novel once it was complete and changed a lot of the conversations and other details to balance things out before I even submitted it to Riptide for consideration. Feedback from my readers has always been vital to my writing process!

About Can’t Hide From Mecanthidefromme_600x900

Charles Hunter’s team is on a mission to extract an unidentified ATF agent from an undercover job gone wrong. All they’ve got to go on is the rendezvous location—until Charles recognizes the ex he hasn’t seen in years. Their “simple rescue mission” is about to get a lot more complicated.

For Ángel Medina, adjusting to life after his cartel nightmare is hard enough without confronting memories of a failed relationship. All he wants is a fresh start. But when a violent stalker lashes out from the shadows, Ángel realizes his nightmare is far from over.

As the stalker’s obsession escalates and bodies start dropping, Charles and Ángel are thrown together in a desperate search for the culprit. Tempers flare and old passions reignite, drawing them back into the same turbulent relationship that once ended in disaster.

But the stalker isn’t letting go—and the next strike might hit straight through the heart.

Available from Riptide Publishing: http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/cant-hide-from-me

About Cordelia Kingsbridge

Cordelia Kingsbridge has a master’s degree in social work from the University of Pittsburgh, but quickly discovered that direct practice in the field was not for her. Having written novels as a hobby throughout graduate school, she decided to turn her focus to writing as a full-time career. Now she explores her fascination with human behavior, motivation, and psychopathology through fiction. Her weaknesses include opposites-attract pairings and snarky banter.

Away from her desk, Cordelia is a fitness fanatic, and can be found strength training, cycling, and practicing Krav Maga. She lives in South Florida but spends most of her time indoors with the air conditioning on full blast!

Connect with Cordelia:

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Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Can’t Hide From Me, one lucky winner will receive a $15 Riptide Publishing gift card! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on October 8, 2016. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

Jump into the Mystery and Romance that is ‘Investigating Julius Drake’ by Daisy Harris (tour and giveaway)

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Investigating Julius Drake by Daisy Harris
Riptide Publishing
Cover art by Michelle Fairbanks

Read an Excerpt/Buy It Here

 

Welcome to the Investigating Julius Drake blog tour! I’m Daisy, the author, and I’ll be sharing excerpts from the book, as well as extra information about the characters, location and story. Up until recently, Seattle was my home town, and I’ve stolen plenty of locations and institutions as settings for Investigating Julius Drake. Together, we’ll take a tour through the twisty-turny, damp and caffeine-addled world that my protagonist, Henry Walker, finds himself in. Grab yourself a double, almond, split-shot, extra-foam latte, pull up a chair, and join us! And don’t forget to comment for a chance to win a $30 Starbucks gift card. Drink like a Seattleite and enjoy.

About Investigating Julius Drake

After arriving at Seattle’s prestigious Clinton Academy, fourteen-year-old Henry Walker realizes he won’t fit in. If he’s going to run with the rich and powerful, he’ll have to hide his modest background, his lack of interest in girls, and most importantly, his fascination with his handsome but troubled classmate Julius Drake.

When Julius draws Henry into the investigation of a classmate’s suicide attempt, Henry can’t resist the case—or Julius. Soon, Henry’s not only facing the truth about his feelings for Julius, but also risking his life to unmask a social media imposter. “The Other Woman” is manipulating his classmates, searching out their vulnerabilities, and driving them to desperate actions. Julius himself is at risk, what with his callous parents threatening to send him away, and his mental health taking a beating both at school and at home.

If Henry’s going to save the day and get the boy of his dreams, he’ll have to stop worrying what everyone thinks and stop pretending to be someone he’s not. Most of all, Henry will have to be honest about who he loves.

Available from Riptide Publishing. http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/investigating-julius-drake

About Daisy Harris

Born into the psychedelic wonder that was the seventies, Daisy Harris has had an interesting life so far. She’s been to Catholic school and Ramones concerts, danced to MC Hammer and Flo Rida, made the honor roll and Phi Beta Kappa, survived cholera, faced bed bugs, and she’s been a hair’s breadth from shipwreck twice. (Three times, if you count sea kayaks!)

Daisy has been a lifelong reader, devouring romance, young adult, urban fantasy, and nonfiction alike. In her professional life, she’s written medical copy and edited scientific papers. However, since 2012, she’s devoted her energy to writing gay romance full-time. That’s okay, because now on the weekends she reads medical studies for fun.

As far as Daisy’s concerned, the best things in life happen by accident. Though she’s gotten better at planning over the years, she still writes, lives, and plays by the seat of her pants. Her books are a happy mix of mysteries, romantic comedies, and coming-of-age stories, more often than not inspired by the great films of the 1980s.

Daisy lives in Seattle in a house full of dogs and children. When she’s not writing gay fiction, she can be found riding her exercise bike and testing the outer boundaries of her food processor’s potential. Every once in a while, she goes out to pay homage to the party gods of her youth—and maybe to find a little trouble.

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Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Investigating Julius Drake, one lucky winner will receive a $30 Starbucks Gift Card! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on October 8, 2016. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

Dive Into the Kinky Side of Romance with ‘Kinky Sprinkles’ by LA Witt

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Kinky Sprinkles by L.A. Witt
Riptide Publishing

Cover art by G.D. Leigh
Read an Excerpt/Buy It Here

Welcome to the Riptide Publishing/L. A. Witt blog tour for Kinky Sprinkles!

Every comment on this blog tour enters you in a drawing for a choice of two eBooks off my backlist (excluding Kinky Sprinkles) and a $10 Riptide Publishing store credit. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on October 1st.  Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Don’t forget to leave your contact info, and thanks for following the tour!

About L.A. Witt

L.A. Witt is an abnormal M/M romance writer who has finally been released from the purgatorial corn maze of Omaha, Nebraska, and now spends her time on the southwestern coast of Spain. In between wondering how she didn’t lose her mind in Omaha, she explores the country with her husband, several clairvoyant hamsters, and an ever-growing herd of rabid plot bunnies. She also has substantially more time on her hands these days, as she has recruited a small army of mercenaries to search South America for her nemesis, romance author Lauren Gallagher, but don’t tell Lauren. And definitely don’t tell Lori A. Witt or Ann Gallagher. Neither of those twits can keep their mouths shut…

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

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Kinky Sprinkles Blurb:

Joel has finally walked away from his abusive ex and is ready to meet new people. But that isn’t easy for a guy who’s shy, self-conscious, and struggling with his body image.

Andre has wanted Joel since the first time he laid eyes on him, and finally Joel is single. But Andre is a Dom and a sadist, and Joel is unapologetically vanilla. There’s no happy medium—either Andre reins in the kinky side that took him years to accept, or Joel grits his teeth and subjects himself to kinks that aren’t his thing. No matter who bends, someone’s going to be unhappy.

They agree to walk away, but they keep circling back to each other. Though their kinks might not line up, the chemistry between them sizzles and the emotional connection keeps getting deeper. But none of that will get them anywhere if they can’t find some kind of middle ground in the bedroom.

Kinky Sprinkles is available September 26th from Riptide Publishing.

A Stella Review: Gambling on Love by by Jane Davitt

RATING 2 out of 5 stars

gamblingonlove_600x900When Gary and Abe came out to each other in their final year of high school, a longstanding friendship turned into a new love. Keeping their feelings a secret was easy until a coach caught them together in the locker room, and their fragile relationship shattered around them. Panicked, angry, and rejected by his mother, Gary fled town, breaking Abe’s eighteen-year-old heart.

Eleven years later Gary returns just as unexpectedly, crashing into Abe’s truck during a blizzard. He’s as arrogant and stubborn as ever—and just as irresistible. Time has changed them both in ways they never imagined, but the heat that flares between them is enough to thaw any ice.

While Abe discovers what Gary did to survive in the city, Gary realizes that Abe has grown into a man with needs to match his own, and they fall in love all over again. But Gary’s determination to carry out one final order from the rich, older man he lived with—and obeyed—for years means that a dead man’s plans might split them apart again . . . this time for keeps.

Publisher’s note: This title is an edited second edition, previously published in 2011.

I haven’t read the first edition of Gambling on Love by Jane Davitt so I can’t compare this new version I read with the old one and tell you how much and where the story has been revisited.

That said my review will be short cause I have almost nothing to say about this book except it didn’t work at all.

If you usually read my reviews you will probably know I’m very easy to please. I easily at least like a story. There are rare ecceptions, Gambling on Love is one of them. I didn’t have a lot to say about the story cause it simply told nothing to me. The biggest problem I had with it was the absence of emotions. Throught all the reading I was asking myself “Where are the feelings in this book?”. Gary and Abe were two strangers till the end and I couldn’t  feel a glimmer of a connection among them. I got no love, just ice and coldness and I can’t at least like a story if I felt nothing. It is a second chance at love and friends to lovers story, I am a huge fan of those themes, that’s why I was curious about it. The disappointment was huge.

I always feel sorry about low rated reviews but this story was really bad. I didn’t like the MCs, I couldn’t find a sense in the plot, everything was so detached and with no meaning. I can’t recommend Gambling On Love but I will definetely giving the author a second chance.

The cover art by Jay Aheer is the only thing I liked, very well done.

Sales Links

Riptide Publishing

Book Details:

ebook, 2nd Edition, 267 pages
Expected publication: September 19th 2016 by Riptide Publishing (first published July 29th 2011)
ISBN 1626494533 (ISBN13: 9781626494534)
Edition Language English

Riptide Spotlight Tour : Gambling on Love by Jane Davitt (giveaway)

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Gambling On Love by Jane Davitt
Riptide Publishing

Cover by: Jay Aheer
Read an Excerpt/Buy It Here

About Gambling on Love

When Gary and Abe came out to each other in their final year of high school, a longstanding friendship turned into a new love. Keeping their feelings a secret was easy until a coach caught them together in the locker room, and their fragile relationship shattered around them. Panicked, angry, and rejected by his mother, Gary fled town, breaking Abe’s eighteen-year-old heart.

Eleven years later Gary returns just as unexpectedly, crashing into Abe’s truck during a blizzard. He’s as arrogant and stubborn as ever—and just as irresistible. Time has changed them both in ways they never imagined, but the heat that flares between them is enough to thaw any ice.

While Abe discovers what Gary did to survive in the city, Gary realizes that Abe has grown into a man with needs to match his own, and they fall in love all over again. But Gary’s determination to carry out one final order from the rich, older man he lived with—and obeyed—for years means that a dead man’s plans might split them apart again . . . this time for keeps.

Purchase at Riptide: http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/gambling-on-love

About Jane Davitt

Jane Davitt is English, and has been living in Canada with her husband, two children, and two cats, since 1997. Writing and reading are her main occupations but if she ever had any spare time she might spend it gardening, walking, or doing cross stitch. She’s recently taken up yoga and loves discovering her ability to bend.

Jane has been writing since 2002 and wishes she’d started earlier. She is a huge fan of SF, fantasy, erotica, and mystery novels and has a tendency to get addicted to TV shows that get cancelled all too soon.

She owns over 4,000 books, rarely gives any away, but is happy to loan them, and is of the firm opinion that there is no such thing as “too many books.”

Connect with Jane:

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Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Gambling On Love, one lucky winner will receive a $25 Amazon Gift Card and four individuals will also receive their choice of one ebook from Jane’s backlist. That’s FIVE winners total! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on September 24, 2016. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

An Ali Review: Looking for Group by Alexis Hall

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

looking-for-group-by-alexis-hallSo, yeah, I play Heroes of Legend, y’know, the MMO. I’m not like obsessed or addicted or anything. It’s just a game. Anyway, there was this girl in my guild who I really liked because she was funny and nerdy and a great healer. Of course, my mates thought it was hilarious I was into someone I’d met online. And they thought it was even more hilarious when she turned out to be a boy IRL. But the joke’s on them because I still really like him.

And now that we’re together, it’s going pretty well. Except sometimes I think Kit—that’s his name, sorry I didn’t mention that—spends way too much time in HoL. I know he has friends in the guild, but he has me now, and my friends, and everyone knows people you meet online aren’t real. I mean. Not Kit. Kit’s real. Obviously.

Oh, I’m Drew, by the way. This is sort of my story. About how I messed up some stuff and figured out some stuff. And fell in love and stuff.

This was a lovely story about two young men finding friendship and then love after meeting on line.  The gist of the story is that in the course of playing online games, Drew and Kit become friends and then fall for each other.  At the core though this book is about the importance that online friends can have in our lives.  I love looking at that subject because I know I have personally made a few friends online and they have been wonderful additions to my life.
The writing was really well done and the author painted such a well developed world that I felt like I knew what it was like to be caught up in these online games.  And I don’t.  I’ve never actually played any of these type games.  As a result of my real life experience there were a few scenes that were hard for me to get through.  I didn’t really understand what was going on.  There is a great glossary in the back that you can use to look up things.  Sometimes I took advantage of that and other, more extensive gaming scenes, I just skimmed.  I don’t think I missed anything by skimming them.  If there were inside comments or jokes I wasn’t going to get them anyways.  Overall it didn’t matter because the friendship and love story still came shining through.  I still got all of that and I enjoyed it immensely.  I think this book will be a special read for those who do have gaming experience and/or those who have made real life connections from their online lives.
Cover by Simone’:  I like the cover a lot.  I think it fits the story really well.
Sales Links
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Book Details:
Kindle Edition, 273 pages
Published August 27th 2016 by Riptide Publishing
Original TitleLooking for Group
ASINB01L54O60O

Riptide Tour and Giveaway ~ Bitterwood by Rowan Speedwell

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Bitterwood by Rowan Speedwell
Riptide Publishing
Cover Art by Lou Harper

Read an Excerpt/Buy It Here

About Bitterwood

Outrunning a winter storm in the north, Captain Faran of the King’s Guard leads his men and a young mage named Meric to shelter at Bitterwood Manor, the ancestral home of the Daenes. Faran and his troops have been searching for weeks for a mysterious, lion-like beast that reportedly haunts the uncharted northern woods. For Meric, finding that prophesied cat is a matter of life and death.

Though Faran is deeply focused on their mission, the enigmatic Joss Daene, Lord of Bitterwood, fascinates him. Strong and proud, Joss is everything Faran wants in a lover. More, if he were honest. But Joss belongs to Bitterwood, and Faran to his duty.

Together they will need to brave the oldest, darkest part of the Bitterwood in the coldest, deepest snows of winter to find the legendary cat. But time is running out—for Meric, for the kingdom, and for Faran and Joss’s fledgling love.

Purchase at Riptide: http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/bitterwood

About Rowan Speedwell

An unrepentant biblioholic, Rowan Speedwell spends half her time pretending to be a law librarian, half her time pretending to be a database manager, half her time pretending to be a fifteenth-century Aragonese noblewoman, half her time . . . wait a minute . . .  Hmm.  Well, one thing she doesn’t pretend to be is good at math.  She is good at pretending, though.

In her copious spare time (hah) she does needlework, calligraphy and illumination, and makes jewelry.  She has a master’s degree in history from the University of Chicago, is a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, and lives in a Chicago suburb with the obligatory Writer’s Cat and way too many books.

Connect with Rowan:

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Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Bitterwood, one lucky winner will receive a $15 Amazon Gift Card! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on September 24, 2016. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!