Category: Riptide Publishing

Love Gets Complicated with Misfits by Garrett Leigh (contest)

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Misfits by Garrett Leigh
Published by Riptide Publishing
Cover Artist: G.D. Leigh

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Have you discovered Garrett Leigh and Leigh’s ability to tug at your heart with stories of damaged men and love?  Here is another book guaranteed to draw you in all over again….a stand alone story called Misfits!

STRW Author BookSynopsis

About Misfits…

Restaurant owner Tom Fearnes has loved his partner Cass for as long as he can remember, but their work often keeps them apart. When he meets a striking young man named Jake on the vibrant streets of Camden Town, their heady first encounter takes an unexpected turn.

Jake Thompson can hardly believe his luck when he wakes up in Tom’s bed. Tom is gorgeous, kind, and . . . taken. Tom’s explanation of his open relationship leaves Jake cold, but Tom is too tempting, and when hard times force Jake to accept Tom’s helping hand, he finds himself between two men who’ve lost their way.

Cass Pearson is a troubled soul. He loves Tom with all he has, but some days it feels like he hasn’t much to give. Jake seems like the perfect solution. Cass risks everything to push Jake and Tom together, but Jake resists, wary, until the darkness of Cass’s past comes to call. Then Jake finds himself the last man standing, and it’s time to dig deep and shine a light for the men he’s grown to love.

Visit the Misfits Riptide Page to read an except and purchase.

STRW Author Bio and Contacts

About the author

Garrett Leigh is a British writer and book designer, currently working for Dreamspinner Press, Loose Id, Riptide Publishing, and Black Jazz Press. Her protagonists will always always be tortured, crippled, broken, and deeply flawed. Throw in a tale of enduring true love, some stubbly facial hair, and a bunch of tattoos, and you’ve got yourself a Garrett special.
When not writing, Garrett can generally be found procrastinating on Twitter, cooking up a storm, or sitting on her behind doing as little as possible. That, and dreaming up new ways to torture her characters. Garrett believes in happy endings; she just likes to make her boys work for it.

Garrett also works as a freelance cover artist for various publishing houses and independent authors under the pseudonym G.D. Leigh. For cover art info, please visit blackjazzpress.com.

Social media:

Website: http://garrettleigh.com
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/Garrett_Leigh
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/garrettleighbooks
Cover art enquiries: blackjazzdesign@gmail.com

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STRW Spotlight Contest Header
Giveaway/Contest: Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Prizes provided and to be awarded by Riptide Publishing.

Every comment on this blog tour enters you in a drawing for a $15 Riptide store credit. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on March 22. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries.

A MelanieM Review: Blue Eyed Stranger (Trowchester Blues #2) by Alex Beecroft

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Blue eyed Stranger coverFor Billy Wright and Martin Deng, life presents very different but just as challenging obstacles to overcome on  a daily basis.  Billy Wright’s problem? He’s only visible when he’s wearing a mask, which is  fine as Billy performs at country fairs with his local morris dancing troupe. But when the dancing is over, Billy’s life is lonely and empty, made seriously worse by his crippling depression.

In any crowd Martin Deng would stand out but he is that more startling as a member of a historical reenactment troop . After all, there aren’t that many black Vikings on the living history circuit. But as the founder of a fledgling historical re-enactment society, Martin is  lonely and harried. The headmaster as the school he teaches at doesn’t like his weekend activities, his warriors seem to expect him to run everything single-handedly, and it’s stressful enough being one minority without telling the hard men of his group he’s also gay.  Or coming out to his family.

When Billy’s and Martin’s societies are double-booked at a packed county show, they know at once they are kindred spirits, united by a deep feeling of connectedness to their history and culture. But they’re also both hiding in their different ways, and they need each other to be brave enough to take their masks off and still be seen.

The village of Trowchester crept into my heart with the first story in the Trowchester series, Trowchester Blues.  I fell whole heartedly in love with the layered characterizations, and richly textured story set within a fictional town so memorable and believable that I never wanted to leave. I knew another story was coming but wondered if it could possibly live up to the story that preceded it.  I shouldn’t have worried.   Blue Eyed Stranger is just as moving and rich as the first, perhaps even more.

Blue Eyed Stranger (Trowchester Blues #2) by Alex Beecroft is not a continuation of Finn and Michael’s story.  In fact, Finn, and his book club make only scant appearances here, along with Trowchester’s archaeologist James.  No, this story belongs totally and gloriously with the characters of Billy and Martin, a duo so odd and compelling that I wondered how Alex Beecroft came to think of them at all, let alone as a couple.

Billy Wright has so many layers to his character.  We meet him in the throes of a deep depression attack.  He is unable to move, even if its to save himself from the cold and exposure.  The thought that finally creeps through the  blackness enveloping him is the county fair his Morris troop, Griffins, is to dance at and we begin to understand how important dancing is to Billy’s survival.  The music, on my what  incredible music,that exists in Billy comes later.  With Billy, its at though he is enveloped in an invisibility cloak, one that oddly enough disappears once Billy dons the makeup and yes, cloak of a Morris dancer.  And then he flies, and takes our hearts with him.

I didn’t really understand that much about Morris dancing, the various types (Border, Cotswold, etc) and apparel and facial makeup the dancers put on.  But as Billy explains it to Martin, the knowledge and history (as well as misunderstandings about the black face  makeup), flow as naturally in the dialog as it would in a conversation with someone new and interested in what you were doing.   Beecroft gave me a nice foundation of knowledge that sent me off to Youtube for examples of all types of morris dancing and music.  But its not just in the explanations but in the descriptions of Billy and his troop as they whirl and jump and the clash of their wooden staffs that make this element of the story come alive!  I felt that not only could it see it happening, I could hear the various instruments played and the crowd react with glee and appreciation.

On the other side of this unlikely pair is Martin Deng, a phyically impressive man, whose biracial appearance sets him apart (father is from Ethiopia and an English mum).  His profession is to teach history in school but his passion?  To bring it to life as an active member and founder of a fledgling historical re-enactment society.  Martin is not only passionate about being historically correct in appearance and actions but as a black Viking he calls attention to himself just in his presence alone.  Martin is also gay, a fact he hides from almost everyone, including his family.  His small group, Bretwalda, is a splinter group from a larger more restrictive society and Martin is buried under the pressure of a new troop, obtaining new recruits and managing their increasing fair/event schedule while maintaining his job. It a precarious position, and becoming more so by the minute.   Martin may appear to be the opposite of Billy but underneath, that simply isn’t true.  Both men care deeply and passionately about history and representing it accurately.  While Billy is out with his sexuality, but unless he has his true self cloaked behind his Griffins attire, then Billy is less than assured about his attractiveness and appeal.

Their romance is believably full of obstacles, including Billy’s depression which is handled realistically and authentically and Martin’s fear of being ostracized if his homosexuality were known.   Both Bill and Martin need to address issues within themselves before they can move forward as a couple together and the manner in which Alex Beecroft understands this and makes the reader a part of their process elevates this narrative even higher.

Bily and Martin’s journey is fraught with misteps, fear, and ignorance but the trip they take together is gripping, emotionally rewarding, and results in what is one of my favorite books of the year to date.  You don’t have to have read the first story, Trowchester Blues, to read this one.  It does beautifully as a stand alone.  But together?  The portrait of an amazing small village full of people you would love to meet becomes richer and, quite frankly, more addictive.

Need a new passion or several?  Pick up Blue Eyed Stranger by Alex Beecroft, its my of my finest reads to date this year!

Cover art by Lou Harper.  I love the cover, but the inclusion of the gun (a minor element) surprises me other than to brand the series.  Give me a hearpe or a true Viking helmet instead!

Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing   All Romance (ARe)   Amazon coming closer to April 6th.

Book Details:

ebook, 230 pages
Expected publication: April 6th 2015 by Riptide Publishing
original titleBlue Eyed Stranger
ISBN139781626492127
edition languageEnglish

Books in the Trowchester Series

  • Trowchester Blues
  • Blue Eyed Stranger (Trowchester #2) Expected publication April 6, preorder now
  • Blue Steel Chain (Trowchester Blues, #3)Expected publication: July 27th 2015

Barb, A Zany Old Lady Review – Tempest (Playing the Fool #3) by Lisa Henry and J.A. Rock

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Tempest coverShakespeare buffs should love this series. As in the other two stories, quotes from “The Bard” abound and, in fact, the title of the story is an adaptation of The Tempest.

Henry Page, aka Sebastian Hanes, aka a hundred other aliases, is a Shakespeare buff. He and his twin sister Viola were raised by an alcoholic mother who was an actress and instilled a love of William Shakespeare in her children from a very early age. As this third story in the series opens, Henry is on the run and so is his boyfriend, FBI Agent Ryan “Mac” McGuinness Mac is being framed for murder and with nowhere else to go, they head for Altona, Indiana, where the series began. Altona, not the most well-known city in the world has a population consisting of Mac’s family, some goats, a few chickens, and maybe a handful of other people. Henry’s not happy about lying low at the McGuinness family farm (hence, his singing of Old MacDonald’s Farm on the way there), but they’ve got nowhere else to go, and he believes Viola will be safe there, a fact which makes him most cooperative.

Viola suffered a brain injury while trying to pull one of their mother’s boyfriends off of Henry as he was being raped when they were teens. In this book we learn something more about this man, JJ. <spoiler> The way the authors wove Mac’s and Henry’s stories together was both complex and compelling. Interesting to me as a reviewer and as someone who has read the past books, I felt like I was slowly unwrapping a gift and each layer brought a new surprise. In hindsight, it’s obvious that the authors plotted this series out before starting the first book, yet each story is a complete story in itself. Together, they make an incredibly interesting action adventure saga. As Henry jokes, the two of them together, aka “Mac and Cheese”, had enough going on in their lives to create a TV series about them, and now they seem to have enough material to make an epic motion picture.

Watching their relationship develop, and most especially, watching Henry come to the realization that he can indeed rely on Mac, that he loves him, and that he might have finally found a home with Mac, is incredibly fulfilling and I just literally couldn’t put the story down. If this had been a movie, I certainly would have watched between my fingers, like a little kid who can’t bear to see what’s going on, yet can’t leave the room either. The last chapters were a hair-raising adventure, super scary for more than just Mac and Henry, and highly riveting. A definite nail-biter, for sure.

The authors continue to relate to the world of William Shakespeare throughout the story, and I particularly enjoyed Mac’s realization that “everyone had their assigned part, and played it. All the world was a stage, after all, and it was just bursting at the seams with eager understudies.” He went on to speculate on the people who loved you and those you loved—those are the only people who mattered. It was clearly evident that he loved Henry, and when Henry finally admitted that he loved Mac, though it was mumbled, it was just perfect for them. And speaking of perfect, the ending of the story was exactly what will allow our guys to continue on in future stories if the authors want to take them further, but would be a fine place to end if they decide to do so.

I highly recommend this series. It got better with each book, and both characters are now on my list of favorite M/M characters and definitely on my most memorable couples list.
~~~
Cover Art by L.C. Chase depicts an open black umbrella on a red background, giving the same overall feel as the covers of the other books. In this case, use of an umbrella symbolizes both Henry’s fear of storms and the use of an umbrella to thwart one of the “bad guys” in the story. Nicely done.

Sales Links:   Riptide Publishing       All Romance (ARe)      Amazon    Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook, 205 pages
Expected publication: March 9th 2015 by Riptide Publishing
ISBN139781626492233
edition languageEnglish
seriesPlaying the Fool #3

Playing the Fool Series in the order they were written and should be read:

Henry And Mac Are Back in Action in Tempest (Playing the Fool #3) by Lisa Henry & J. A. Rock (Excerpt and Contest)

Tempest cover

 

STRW In The Spotlight Header

Lisa Henry and J. A. Rock’s series Playing the Fool is a Must Read, highly recommended series of stories here at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words.   Happily, we now have another book to add to this series.  It’s Tempest (Playing the Fool #3) !  The authors are here today with a special excerpt and a contest for all to enter.  Check it all out below and don’t forget to leave your email address in the body of your comment when entering the contest!  Let’s get started!

Welcome, Lisa Henry and J. A. Rock!

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Hi! We’re Lisa Henry and J.A. Rock, the authors of TEMPEST. We’re touring the web taking about our influences, our processes, anything we can think about actually, and even giving you guys a sneak peak or two! And what would a blog tour be without a contest? Check out the details at the bottom of the post to see what you can win!

Today we’re sharing an excerpt from TEMPEST.  Here, Henry and Mac are on their way back to the city to get to the bottom of who’s framing Mac. Henry is as distracted, and distracting as always. Contains a bonus Skittles reference.

STRW Spotlight Book Excerpt

***

The next morning, Mac looked Henry up and down as he approached the truck. Refrained from shaking his head as Henry settled into the passenger seat. “I thought you’d be wearing a disguise.”

“Seriously?” Henry smoothed down his tie. “I am wearing a disguise. Look at me. I could be selling magazine subscriptions. Or Jesus. Or subscriptions to magazines that are exclusively about Jesus. White Jesus. Or maybe I’m on my way to a job interview at an accounting firm.” He flashed Mac a smile. “Yeah, I’ll bet that’s what I’m doing.”

Mac frowned at the pants. There was something both weirdly familiar and aesthetically disturbing about the houndstooth pattern.

“Are those my dad’s pants?”

“Circa 1974. Your dad wore ’em tight. This is his tie too.” “You’re really wearing a tie?”

“You like boys in ties.” Henry ran his fingers down the silk, in a gesture that would have been a hell of a lot sexier if Mac didn’t remember buying that tie for his dad one Father’s Day. “Look at you. Even in jeans something about you just screams cop.”

“I’m not a cop.”

“I know. But ‘something about you just screams authority figure who can deprive me of my freedom’ just doesn’t roll off the tongue in the same way, does it?”

“I guess not.” He stared at his parents’ house a little longer, then turned the ignition. The truck rumbled into life. “You ready for this?”

Henry pulled a packet of Skittles out of his pocket. “I’m always ready for a road trip.”

Of course he was.

They headed for Indianapolis.

Mac let Henry fiddle with the radio and spill candy and talk bullshit at a million miles an hour, because that was Henry. It was how he dealt with stress. If he talked fast enough, if he teased, if he didn’t stop, then he didn’t have to deal. Even a week ago Mac would have been irritated by that. Would have wanted to slap him around the back of the head for being so damn irritating. Like Energizer Bunny irritating. But not today.

Henry glanced out the window at the darkening sky. “Looks like rain.”

“Storm’s not supposed to hit until this evening.”

“Great. Let me get out my umbrella and tap shoes.” Henry changed the radio station again. Then suddenly slapped the radio knob, turning it off. “Can we stop for donuts, Mac?”

“Says the guy who just put away two omelets for breakfast.”

“Which is my protein requirement for the day. Now I need my sugar and frosting requirement for the day. Oh, and my milkshake requirement. Strawberry.” He jiggled his leg. “Definitely strawberry.”

“If we see somewhere, we’ll stop.”

Henry’s eyebrows shot up. “Are you serious? I don’t need to argue about this?”

“Nope.”

Henry slumped back down in his seat. “Well, now I know you think we’re gonna die.”

Mac glanced sideways at him. “Maybe I’m just tired of arguing with you.”

“Or maybe you want me to finish these Skittles and put something else in my mouth. Want me to taste your rainbow ?” “Not while I’m driving, I don’t.” Flirty Henry was incorrigible. He was also deflecting again. One day, Mac decided, he would surprise the fuck out of both of them and say yes to whatever crazy suggestion fell out of those candy-stained lips.

“You’re so boring, Mac.”

“Shut up, Cheese.”

STRW Author BookSynopsis

About TEMPEST:

Something wicked this way comes.

FBI Agent Ryan “Mac” McGuinness and con man Henry Page are on the run again. This time they’re headed back to where it all began: Altona, Indiana. Population: some goats. Henry’s not happy about lying low at the McGuinness family farm, but they’ve got nowhere else to go.

While Mac fights to clear his name and Henry struggles with whose side he’s really on, a ghost from the past threatens to destroy everything. And those aren’t the only storms on the radar. Cut off from both sides of the law, Mac and Henry must rely on their tenuous partnership to survive.

If Henry can convince himself to let Mac see the man behind the disguises, they’ll stand a chance of beating the forces that conspire against them. The course of true love never did run smooth, but for the two of them, it might be their only hope.
You can check out TEMPEST at Riptide.

Books in the Playing the Fool Series are -linked to Barb’s 5-star reviews:

 

STRW Spotlight Contest Header

The Giveaway: Thanks for following our tour! To celebrate our release, we’re giving away an awesome prize – an ebook copy of a novel of your choice from either of our back catalogs. We’re also giving away a $20 Riptide gift voucher, and some comfy items picked especially for you by Henry: a pillow shaped like a donut, and a pair of donut-themed socks.

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post with a way for us to contact you, be it your email, your twitter, or a link to your facebook or goodreads account. Please put your email in the body of the comment, not just in email section of the comment form, because we won’t be able to see it otherwise! On March 20, 2015, we’ll draw a winner from all eligible comments! Be sure to follow the whole tour, because the more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win the prize!

Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Prizes provided by Riptide Publishing and the authors.

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STRW Author Bio and Contacts

 

About the Authors

Lisa Henry

Lisa likes to tell stories, mostly with hot guys and happily ever afters.

Lisa lives in tropical North Queensland, Australia. She doesn’t know why, because she hates the heat, but she suspects she’s too lazy to move. She spends half her time slaving away as a government minion, and the other half plotting her escape.

She attended university at sixteen, not because she was a child prodigy or anything, but because of a mix-up between international school systems early in life. She studied History and English, neither of them very thoroughly.

She shares her house a log-suffering partner, too many cats, a dog, a green tree frog that swims in the toilet, and as many possums as can break in every night. This is not how she imagined life as a grown-up.

Connect with Lisa:

Blog:  http://www.lisahenryonline.blogspot.com/”
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LisaHenryOnline
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/LisaHenry

J.A. Rock

J.A. Rock has worked as a dog groomer, knife seller, haunted house zombie, standardized patient, cashier, census taker, state fair quilt hanger, and, for one less-than-magical evening, a server—and would much rather be writing about those jobs than doing them. A lover of m/m BDSM romance, J.A. lives mostly in West Virginia, and always with a beloved dog, Professor Anne.

Website:  http://www.jarockauthor.com/
Blog:  http://jarockauthor.blogspot.com/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/jarockauthor

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ja.rock.39

Barb, A Zany Old Lady Review: Rules to Live By – A BDSM Anthology by Heidi Belleau, Lisa Henry, Anah Crow, Dianne Fox, Anna Zabo, and Cari Z

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

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Rules to Live By – A BDSM Anthology by Heidi Belleau, Lisa Henry,  Anah Crow, Dianne Fox,

Anna Zabo, Cari Z.

Four intimate tales of power exchange, discipline, risks taken, and pleasures earned.

Master Key by Anah Crow and Dianne Fox

Navin is surrounded by family in control of their company and feels he can’t live up to their expectations for him—until he starts dating Marquis, and Marq offers Navin the key to his cock cage. It’s because of Marq’s need to be reminded that Navin is important to him and that he needs to make an effort to always be on time for Navin, but it has an unexpected, empowering effect on Navin as it gives him courage to take control in other areas of his life, including his role in his family’s company. The idea seems to be working until one too many things go wrong in one day for Marquis to handle, and he allows himself to doubt his need to submit to Navin in this way. The two nearly don’t get their HEA, but thankfully the simple solution of communication works to get both men back on track. I enjoyed the development of the characters in this story and would like to see it expanded. There’s so much more to explore in their fledgling D/s relationship, and they are so interesting that they deserve their own book. 4 stars

House Rules by Cari Z.

Jonathan lives by the rules established by his lover, Alistair Fraser, an actor who seems to be in a bromance with his co-star in the film that was written by Jonathan himself. Deliberately breaking the rules when he becomes jealous after watching the men on the Academy Awards broadcast, he’s looking forward to a reward after the punishment he knows he deserves. He doesn’t get exactly what he wanted, but he does get the punishment from a master who very evidently loves him enough to do what’s best for him, not what he wants. This is a shorter story than the others in the anthology, but presents a nice glimpse of domestic discipline. 4 stars

The Harder They Fall by Lisa Henry and Heidi Belleau

A spoiled and neglected rich kid, Tad cashes his allowance in small bills to hire a prostitute at the fancy brothel he recently found, and he’s looking forward to another night of domination and dishing out humiliation on a whore. But instead of getting an old washed-up whore like he requests, he gets “Daddy”, a big, strong, gorgeous, older man with a major dominant streak. And Daddy doesn’t care what Tad wants, Daddy is going to give Tad what he deserves. This is a great story, perfect for those who like some Daddy in their Doms. I would definitely like to read more about these MCs. 5 stars

CTRL Me by Anna Zabo

After breaking up with his homophobic girlfriend when she finds out he is bisexual, Tom agrees to go out with his best friend Gabe on his usual Thursday date night. Little does Tom know that he’s actually accepted a date with a man who can push all of his submissive buttons. Both techies and co-workers, Tom had no idea that Gabe was bi as well. One glance at the length of soft blue rope in Gabe’s glove compartment leads Tom to hope for more than just sex, and it appears that Gabe is just the man to give it to him. This story was a wonderful tale of giving up control through rope bondage. Like some of the other stories, there’s plenty of room here to expand this story, although it felt more complete than many of the others in this book. 5 stars.

My overall rating of 4.5 stars was based on an average of the individual ratings. This would be a good place for someone new to BDSM to start reading. The very talented authors in this volume explore several different aspects of the BDSM lifestyle, enough to give a newcomer inspiration to continue to read more, or to decide that it is not an area they are interested in exploring further.

Cover Art is a photo by L.C. Chase which depicts several items often seen in BDSM scenes: leather cuffs, chains, collar and candle, all artfully displayed. It’s a nice representation for this anthology.

Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing   All Romance (ARe)    Amazon    Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook, 250 pages
Published February 16th 2015 by Riptide Publishing
(first published February 14th 2015)
original titleRules to Live By
ISBN139781626492516
edition languageEnglish

In the Spotlight: Hammer and Bone by Kirby Crow

STRW In The Spotlight Header

Hammer and Bone by Kirby Crow
Published by Riptide Publishing
Cover by: Kirby Crow
Roberto Quintero

Hammer and Bone cover

 If that amazing cover isn’t enough to draw you in, check out the synopsis below!  

STRW Author BookSynopsis

 

About Hammer and Bone

The purest evil lives in the hearts of men.

Carnival mystics. Zombie tribes. Bad magic in the Bayou. Mage-princes, alien cities, and soul-stealing priests. The grim monsters in the worlds of these dark, speculative tales are true horrors, but it’s the people you should fear the most.

People like Michel, a boy pining for his best friend, Ray. But a presence in the swamp calls Michel to avenge another lost love, and he must decide which summons to answer. Or Angelo, a prescient cop who denies his visions until they endanger the man he loves. Or Bellew, an overseer in a shantytown of criminals sheltering a revenant and feeding it from their ranks.

From ruined lands of steam and iron, to haunted Southern forests, to brutal city streets where hope and damnation flow from the same spring, only a few stubborn souls possess the heart to challenge evil on its own terms. Some wield magic, some turn to rage or even love, but the ones left standing will survive only if they find the courage to carve their own paths to freedom.

Even if it means carving through flesh.

STRW Author Bio and Contacts

About the Author

Kirby Crow is an American writer born and raised in the Deep South. She is a winner of the EPIC Award and the Rainbow Award, and is the author of the bestselling “Scarlet and the White Wolf” series of fantasy novels. Kirby and her husband and their son share an old, lopsided house in the Blue Ridge with a cat. Always a cat.

Her published novels are:

Prisoner of the Raven (historical romance)
Scarlet and the White Wolf: The Pedlar and the Bandit King (New Adult fantasy, m/m, Torquere Press)
Scarlet and the White Wolf: Mariner’s Luck (New Adult fantasy, m/m, Torquere Press)
Scarlet and the White Wolf: The Land of Night (New Adult fantasy, m/m, Torquere Press)
Angels of the Deep (paranormal/horror)

Circuit Theory (novella, scifi, Riptide)
Coming Soon:


Malachite (speculative m/m, New Adult, 2015)
Poison Apples (collection, dark fantasy, m/m, 2015)
Scarlet and the White Wolf 4 (New Adult fantasy, m/m, 2015)

For upcoming news of her future novels, visit her website at http://KirbyCrow.com

Book Details:

ebook, 250 pages
Published March 2nd 2015 by Riptide Publishing (first published February 28th 2015)
ISBN139781626492042
edition languageEnglish
Sales Link:  Riptide Publishing

Barb, A Zany Old Lady Review: Lights! Camera! Cupid! A Bluewater Bay Valentine’s Day Anthology

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5BWBlogo_Web

Cupid is visiting Bluewater Bay, and he’s leaving chaos in his wake.

Lights! Camera! Cupid! coverIt’s been my experience that anthologies generally have stories which are great, not so great, and middle of the road. In this one, that’s not true—they are almost all terrific. To help me come up with an overall rating, I’ve rated each individual story and decided to leave that rating so that readers can see which ones I thought were the best.

The stories are:

Just Another Day by L.A. Witt

Levi Pritchard hates Valentine’s Day. In fact, he absolutely abhors it, so when he comes home to find that his lover Carter Samuels (“Starstruck”) has bought him a rare DVD for his collection and is making Pasta Carbonara, his favorite meal, he knows he’s going to have to say something ,and that it will likely hurt Carter’s feelings. He does, and it does, and after a brief period of time out for both of them and a call by Levi to his friend Anna, he does the unexpected and sits down with Carter to explain why he hates the holiday then takes Carter upstairs for a very special Valentine surprise. Saying more here would spoil the surprise but readers will definitely love it as much as Carter does! 4.5 stars

Nascha by Amy Lane

It never ceases to amaze me that Amy Lane can create an entire story spanning over fifty years, sketch full characters with both a history and a future, stir in a little (or in this case a lot) of angst, and spit out a story that is full, rich, memorable, and creates a lump in my throat and a pain in my heart. If I had to assign one word to this story it would be depressing. Another would be complex. It’s a story about Nascha, an American Indian and gambler, who falls in love with his two best friends, Kitten and Rawlins, from the time they are teens. Though those two legally marry, in their hearts they are a part of him, and it’s Nascha who struggles to feel that he’s bound with them forever, especially when life circumstances stink and he ends up trying to raise his niece, then ultimately his grandnephews, one of who has Asberger’s.

I struggled to get into the story at first, especially since there are some M/F sex scenes at the beginning when the story is being established. Later when the reader is engaged in the plot, all of the scenes make sense but it is a very complex story for so few pages. But it works, and it’s one of the best of the anthology. 4.5 stars

No Easy Way by S.E. Jakes

Cary Teijan, a teacher who holds the interesting job of tutoring both the delinquents who keep getting suspended and the child actors from the Wolf’s Landing TV show being filmed in Bluewater Bay is shocked when he runs into Dylan James on the set. Dylan is the man he was so deeply in love with in high school who has recently returned after six years in the service, and he’s also the subject of the M/M romances Cary writes under a pen name, romances which are highly successful.

Dylan is back and he wants Cary with all the passion he felt years before, but Cary resists with that same degree of passion because Dylan walked away from him without a word, and Cary is finding it hard to forgive and forget. This story is lengthier than most others in the anthology and is both intriguing and exciting. The fun in watching Dylan go after Cary and watching Cary continually give in then run away makes for a great short story and fits perfectly with the Bluewater Bay stories previously released. 5 stars

Helping Hand by Anne Tenino

Lucas Wilder is the son and brother of lumberjacks who have lived and worked in the Bluewater Bay area for generations, but he’s not willing to follow the family footsteps into the logging business. He barely knows how to hold a saw! He’s just been accepted into a prestigious art school, and he’s terrified to tell his homophobic father that there’s now one more reason for his father to hate him. In fact, he gets so flustered that he spills the beans about being gay shortly after he announces his plans to attend college to study art. Thankfully, his best friend Audrey is there to help him through this fiasco as she’s been there for him throughout high school. Both are looking forward to leaving the town behind them forever when they go to college.

Gabriel Savage, lumberjack and best friend of Lucas’s brother Zach, spots Lucas walking home a few nights later and stops to give him a lift. He gives him more than that too—his first sexual experience as a gay man. To be honest, I’m not sure I get the point of this story. I’ve re-read the entire section of their hookup several times and I still don’t quite understand the point the author was trying to make so for me, this story wasn’t on the same level as the others. In fact, whether it was just supposed to be a quick hookup or whether Gabe truly wanted a lasting relationship with Lu, really doesn’t matter. Either way, the story lacked the spark and interest the others held and that’s very disappointing since I generally love Anne Tenino’s work. 3 stars

I’ll Be There by Z. A. Maxfield

This was a great story to cap the anthology as Nash Holly fights desperately to make his way to the Chicago area to be with Spencer Kepler (“Hell on Wheels”) on Valentine’s Day during the worst snow storm to hit the Midwest in years. It isn’t even so much that it’s Valentine’s Day as the fact that Spencer is so socially inept that he fears meeting the guest of honor at the fan convention he’s volunteered to attend—a woman who is dying of cancer. In a brief Skype session with Nash, Spencer reveals more about his feelings related to his own mother’s death from cancer than he even realized himself. Readers get to witness how Spencer acknowledges the past and, learning from it, deals with the present and waits hopefully to see if Nash can make it. And we get to witness Nash as he delves into his true feelings for Spencer and his gratitude for having Spencer in his life. Their love is greater than the sum of both parts and this story is perfect for their first Valentine’s Day together. 5 stars

If you’ve been reading the Bluewater Bay stories, you know they can each be read as a standalone, as can this anthology. However, readers of the stories will recognize the characters in the first and last stories of this anthology and that will only add to the enjoyment of the book. I recommend this one to all lovers of M/M romance and especially to those who enjoy the added spice of the Valentine’s Day holiday and all of the ways love can be expressed.

Cover art by L.C. Chase depicts a movie set clipboard with a faded out red background of two of the MCs looking at each other with stars in their eyes. Perfect for the stories inside.WolfsLanding_transparent

Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing    All Romance (ARe)   Amazon   Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook, 226 pages
Published February 9th 2015 by Riptide (first published February 7th 2015)
ISBN139781626492615
edition languageEnglish
seriesBluewater Bay #6

 

Bluewater Bay series, one location, different authors (and all highly recommended by Barb and Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words:

 

 

Want More Rules To Live By? Anna Zabo Talks Being Bi and CTRL Me (guest post and contest)

Want a few more Rules To Live By?

  Anna Zabo Stops By For A Chat!

Four intimate tales of power exchange, discipline, risks taken, and pleasures earned.

 

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Anna Zabo on CTRL Me and bisexuality…

I’ve been thinking a lot about the rainbow flag recently, partly because I’ve been thinking quite a bit about my bisexuality and how there are times I feel very queer and times I feel like I do not belong because I have dated men far far far more than I’ve dated women. But I am queer and I do belong to that rainbow.

All this was probably rolling around my noggin when I started working on CTRL Me.

I knew, pretty much from the start that Tom was bi. I also knew he’d just ended a relationship that had gone unexpectedly sour because Tom was bi, partly because his ex actually assumed he was gay.

Because there is this assumption that bi people are actually either straight or gay. That bisexuality is always some kind of transit between discovering you’re one or the other.

However, there’s also the stigma in vilifying the ex-girlfriend in m/m. Which…I kind of did. So, I compensated by giving poor Tom a spectacularly bad ex-boyfriend as well.

Honestly, both men and women can be jerks. Turns out, Tom’s lousy at picking people to date. Horrible. He wants to trust so badly.

Luckily, this time it was Gabe who did the picking. And Gabe doesn’t mind that Tom’s dated and loved (mentally and physically) both men women in the past, because he has too. So he gets it. It’s a non-issue, as it should be.

He’s also very into trust, which is also as it should be.

 

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  • A list of rules to live by.

In Cari Z’s House Rules, jealousy leads Jonathan to break the rules his lover has established. He can’t decide which he enjoys more: his punishment, or the reward afterward. Good thing he gets both.

  • A lesson in humility.

In The Harder They Fall by Heidi Belleau and Lisa Henry, spoiled college boy Tad hires a prostitute, but “Daddy” couldn’t care less about what Tad wants. Instead, he’s going to give his spoiled little boy exactly what he deserves.

  • A cage that means freedom.

In Master Key by Anah Crow and Dianne Fox, Marquis offers Navin the key to the most intimate of locks, hoping it will help them to prioritize their relationship. And it does—until work and insecurities threaten to drive them apart again.

  • A spool of rope and a desire to be bound.

In CTRL Me by Anna Zabo, a night out between friends turns hot and tempting when Gabe deliberately pushes Tom’s submissive buttons. Then Tom discovers rope in Gabe’s glove box—and not the type for securing luggage.

 The Giveaway Is Almost Over!

Every comment on this blog tour enters you in a drawing for a $15 credit at Riptide Publishing. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on February 22. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

Rules To Live By Anthology Riptide Book Page