Category: Riptide Publishing

Barb, A Zany Old Lady Review: The Burnt Toast B & B by Heidi Belleau & Rachel Haimowitz

Rating: 5 stars out of 5:BWBlogo_Web

The Burnt Toast B & B coverI know I keep saying this but it bears repeating—I LOVE this series! This story, in which injured stuntman Ginsburg Sloan seeks shelter at the B&B run by Derrick Richards, a laid-off logger who is trying to make a go of the business he inherited from his parents, is right at the top of the list of outstanding books in this series.

Ginsberg is temporarily out of work after he broke his arm on the set of Wolf’s Landing, the TV show being shot in Bluewater Bay, Washington. In an effort to save money, he heads for the B&B with the worst reputation and therefore cheapest rates, and there he encounters not only Derrick but a smoke-filled kitchen with a fire blazing both in the oven and on the stovetop. Thankfully, Ginsberg knows his way around a fire extinguisher, even with one arm, and after putting out the fire, he takes the time to assess his soon-to-be landlord.

Derrick has been out of work as a logger and was trying his hand at running the B&B he inherited when his parents were killed in an accident several years ago. He’s come to the conclusion that his clumsy efforts in the kitchen, his inability to do the necessary home repairs, and his lack of funds to do anything else equals “get out of business”. But before he can do that, he’s now going to have to find a way to get this guy to vacate the premises. So Derrick sets out to make him leave but it backfires when Ginsberg jumps in to help out. He manages to help so much that Derrick finds himself getting back into the business and enjoying it, despite his inherent objections to doing feminine work such as cooking and cleaning.

As they work together, both he and Ginsberg find themselves attracted to one another. But Ginsberg is feisty and opposed to any outdated notions Derrick expresses about roles for women and men and he won’t tolerate Derrick’s comments on what makes a man masculine. Ginsberg is transgender but, as he explains to Derrick, that has no impact on his opposition to Derrick’s comments and actions. Derrick’s ideas are just plain stupid and outdated, and Ginsberg sets out to help Derrick leave the macho bull behind while making a go of the business. Derrick finds himself enjoying the work and spending all his free time fighting his desire for Ginsberg. He wants him desperately and starts to daydream about every facet of this man—his body, his personality, his kindness, his energy, and his courage. But at the same time, Derrick is still hiding behind his gruff persona and still negative about whether or not his business can succeed in the long run, and he’s firmly convinced that Ginsberg will be leaving by the time his cast comes off and he goes back to work.

He’s so convinced of this, in fact, that he torpedoes their relationship just as it’s starting. They’d spend an amazing night together after which Ginsberg had to get up and get out the door to work and while he was away, Derrick convinced himself that this just couldn’t last. So when Ginsberg came home and presented Derrick with a special gift, it backfired and Derrick blew up, shaming Ginsberg and forcing him away.

This is just a simplified explanation for a complex plot that has more facets than a brilliant-cut diamond. Secondary characters were outstanding, especially Derrick’s ex-boyfriend Jim, and the revisit with Carter and Levi was much appreciated. The way this story evolved, the growth and learning experiences for the MCs, the heartbreak and despair they suffered, and the maturity and change in Derrick’s outlook as the story evolved all combined to make this story amazing and memorable.

I highly recommend this series to all lovers of M/M romance. I am amazed that every author in the series, though very different, has brought us characters which make me smile and leave me with a warm and fuzzy place in my heart each and every time. Don’t hesitate to invest your time in this one.

Cover art by LC Chase depicts both the gorgeous Ginsberg, complete with the typical Hollywood sunglasses, and the rugged Derrick, arms crossed in one of his perpetual scowls, standing in front of the B&B.

Sales Links:   Riptide Publishing     All Romance (ARe)     Amazon          Buy it here

Book Details:

book, 225 pages
Expected publication: January 12th 2015 by Riptide Publishing
ISBN139781626492165
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/burnt-toast-bb
seriesBluewater Bay #5

Bluewater Bay Series by book and author:WolfsLanding_transparent

STRW Reviews of Lisa Henry Books

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Book Reviews of Lisa Henry!

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words has read and reviewed so many Lisa Henry stories that I am linking some of them below.

No matter the reviewer, her stories, whether written alone or as a co author, always make an emotional impact and lasting impression.  My review of When All The World Sleeps is being reposted today.  Myself and so many others considered it one of the Best Books of 2014.Best Books of 2014

 

Here are some of her finest stories (in our opinion) and in no particular order:

Bliss (A Barb the Zany Old Lady review) by Lisa Henry

King of Dublin (A MelanieM Review)

The Two Gentlemen of Altoona (A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review)

The Merchant of Death (A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review) written with J.A. Rock, a long time co author

ARC fullcoverBlissTwoGentlemenOfAltona_400x600The merchant of Death cover

 

 

 

 

 

Do you have a favorite Lisa Henry book?  Which one and why?

 

Lisa Henry is one of STRW Down Under Showcase Authors.

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Review: When All the World Sleeps by Lisa Henry and J.A. Rock

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

WhenAllTheWorldSleeps_500x750_0Daniel Whitlock is back in his hometown of Logan, South Carolina, after serving time in prison for killing a man. The man Daniel killed was another local boy, Kenny Cooper, someone who savagely beat Daniel because he was gay.   The problem is that Daniel doesn’t remember burning down Kenny’s house with Kenny in it.  Daniel is a sleepwalker and has been since he was a child but no one believed him when Daniel told everyone that he had been asleep when he burned Kenny’s house to the ground. Convicted with time served, now Daniel has returned home to a town that hates him and a family that won’t speak to him.  Isolated in a cabin in the woods, Daniel chains himself to the bed each night in hopes that he can sleep.  Sometimes it works, mostly it doesn’t.

When Daniel is found causing trouble at the local bar, its up to Logan cop Joe Belman to break up the fight and take Daniel home.  Like everyone else in town Bel has never believed Daniel’s defense of sleepwalking.  But now faced with the reality of a Daniel who doesn’t remember the fight at the bar, Bel’s attitude towards Daniel starts to change. When Kenny’s friends retaliate against Daniel, Bel agrees to watch over him, to keep Daniel safe by any means…including tying him up and handcuffs.

Watching over Daniel, dominating him to protect him, brings out a side of Bel he never knew existed.  And as he slips into a relationship with Daniel, one that deepens by the day, Bel finds himself looking at his hometown and its citizens in a new and harsh light.  It’s not only the town that won’t leave Daniel alone but his own fears and demons too.  Only with Bel does he find any measure of peace…now if only he can let himself believes he deserves it and that Bel will stick with him no matter what.

Not many books these days leave me speechless, let alone exceed any expectations I might have had from the blurb given.  But When All the World Sleeps is that treasure of a book that leapt over my perceptions and conjectures into a triumph of storytelling.

Truthfully, it’s the characters first that surprised me. I was unprepared for damaged Daniel Whitlock and his somnambulism.  And how deeply this character would affect me.  His pain and anguish over the past, and not just Kenny, is so profoundly real that I could swear I saw Daniel’s blood and tears wash over the Kindle’s screen as certain scenes unfolded.  He is steeped in guilt and confusion.  By returning to Logan, all the memories and problems that Daniel carries with him just intensifies for him and the reader on an almost hourly basis.  There is little mercy to be found in this small town with its almost biblical memory and cemented social judgements, whether it be against gays or convicts or those that happen to live outside the town’s proscribed idea of normal.  And oh the danger if someone just happens to be all of those.  That is a marked man, whether it be open taunts or concealed hatred.

Joe Belman, or Bel as he is called is another remarkable character in a sea of them.  Bel is someone we watch grow emotionally throughout the story.  He starts off as just another typical Logan citizen, holding much the same viewpoints and values as all the other close-knit family members and small town denizens.  Logan is so central to who Bel thinks he is that it would never occur to Bel to live anywhere else, so strongly does Bel identify with the town and his family and friends. But all that starts to change when Daniel reappears in Bel’s life.  There is a fundamental change that has to happen before Bel can see Daniel as someone other than a liar and killer, and that change happens slowly and with great realism.  Henry and Rock achieve something remarkable here with Bel.  His changeover in attitude and feelings towards Daniel feels so authentic in his doubt, stubborness, and finally acceptance that the authors pull the readers along with Bel’s introspection and emotional discoveries about himself and Daniel.  It’s intimate, it’s a ground swell of emotion that never stops breaking and its breathtaking in its accomplishment in making me, and all the readers so vested in these characters and their delicate relationship that any swerve off the path for them is as painful for us as it is devastating for them.  Bel is that singular voice in the night, the one that stands out in the sea of small town secrets and listening to him soon becomes as addictive as it is necessary.

Lisa Henry and J.A. Rock certainly understand the small Southern town mentality, one I am familiar with myself.  There is a delicate emotional balance that is necessary to achieve for appreciating and comprehending the complexities of life lived within its confines.   My father escaped it as early as possible, his brother never did.  The pull of a small hometown can sometimes be so strong in its depth of history (familial and otherwise), of its deep cultural and societal roots that establish themselves within a person never to  relinquish their hold, that some people never leave its jurisdiction, whether that be physical or emotional.  Henry and Rock get that and have made it come alive here within the pages of When All the World Sleeps.  The good, the bad, the indifference to the sufferings of those the town cannot abide or understand…its all there, laid out for the reader who has no idea of the charms and pitfalls that exist in such an atmosphere and makes it accessible.

When there is a bdsm content in a story, especially where it is a major element in a main character’s emotional makeup, I always wonder how its treatment will let me relate to the story and the character(s) involved.  Again, Henry and Rock take a multitude of difficult subject matters and by combining them, make us understand the demons that haunt Daniel and the methods chosen to help him deal with them.  Its another outstanding accomplishment that such methods seem utterly reasonable and necessary for both men, including Bel who is new to the whole idea of domination and submission.  Bel does his homework on the subject, researching and having open discussions, well as open as is possible with Daniel, on the toys and tools to be used to make Daniel feels safe enough to sleep. There is a natural progression from ignorance to total participation as a dominant and partner from Bel.  As there is an answering growth and recovery from Daniel at the end of the story.

With all the hatred that floats throughout this story, the self hatred, the hostility and animosity from the town, the pain and rejection that seems to be a matter of course for  several of the inhabitants here, there are also scenes of incredible tenderness and raw sexuality.  There is a moment with body markers so memorable in its tenderness and awkward eroticism that I didn’t know how to respond… then it gets to the end and I what my response should be…cheering for the bravery that is both Daniel and Bel, celebrating their almost impossible union and the milestones they have reached.  Hard not to reach for a tissue after that.

But the authors are not through with us or Bel and Daniel.  They are carefully constructing their plot, laying out the foundation and then the rest of the plot building blocks with the same attention to detail they did with the facts about sleepwalking and therapy.  Daniel is a superb artist, drawing both day and night and remembering only by seeing the results on paper when he awakes. The chills brought forth from the drawings ups the level of rising anxiety as events start to rush towards a climax.  And while the events speed towards a resolution, the plot never feels rushed or incomplete.  This is a narrative that leaves nothing to chance or is weighed down by extraneous or inconsequential elements.  The book is 405 pages long yet it never felt that way to me.

This story is so complete that I don’t feel a need for a sequel.  It ends as it should.  I think this is one of the finest books of 2014.

Cover Art by Amber Shah.  Again this will be on my Best Covers list.  The tones and the atmosphere achieved here are perfect for the story and characters within.

Sales Links:   Riptide Publishing       All Romance (ARe)        Amazon   Buy it here

Book Details:

405 pages
Published March 24th 2014 by Riptide Publishing (first published March 22nd 2014)
ISBN 1626490791 (ISBN13: 9781626490796)
edition languageEnglish
review posted back in 2014

Down Under Showcase Author: Lisa Henry

 STRW down Under Banner sm Hearts

Down Under Showcase Author of the Day

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Meet Lisa Henry

Lisa Henry is the author of Sweetwater, When All the World Sleeps, Bliss, King of Dublin and so many others listed below.

To get to know Lisa Henry a little better, she agreed to an interview. Look for the interview below and the Down Under Scavenger Hunt word found somewhere within.

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Author Bio 1

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 with too many cats, 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.

Author Contacts

Contacts/Follow at :
Twitter https://twitter.com/LisaHenryOnline
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5050492.Lisa_Henry
Website http://www.lisahenryonline.com
Blog http://lisahenryonline.blogspot.com.au
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/lisa.henry.1441

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Author Books Stories Down Under1 copy

Your Books:

Sweetwater_400x600BlissThe Two Gentlemen of Altona by coverWhenAllTheWorldSleeps_500x750_0

 

 

 

 

The Two Gentleman of Altona (Playing the Fool #1), with J.A. Rock
Fall on Your Knees, with J.A Rock – part of the Rated: XXXmas Anthology
Sweetwater
Bliss, with Heidi Belleau
Another Man’s Treasure, with J.A. Rock
When All The World Sleeps, with J.A. RockBest Books of 2014
The King of Dublin, with Heidi Belleau

 

Mark Cooper versus America coverBrandon Millsverse the V card The Good Boy coverARC fullcover

 

 

 

 

Mark Cooper versus America (Prescott College #1), with J.A. Rock.
Brandon Mills versus the V-Card (Prescott College #2), with J.A. Rock
The Good Boy (The Boy #1), with J.A. Rock
The Naughty Boy (The Boy #1.5), with J.A. Rock
The Boy Who Belonged (The Boy #2), with J.A. Rock
Dark Space
He Is Worthy
The Island
Tribute
The Dreams You Made in the Dirt – a free short.
Falling Away – a free short.
The Last Rebellion – a free short.

Dark Space cover
Genre(s):

I write m/m and I can’t really narrow it down any more than that. I’ve written contemporary, historical and sci-fi.

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Contests and Giveaways:

1. Today’s Giveaway (thank you, Lisa Henry) is an eBook copy of Mark Cooper versus America. Enter using this Rafflecopter link here. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rafflecopter Link: a Rafflecopter giveaway

2. Down Under Scavenger Hunt – find Lisa Henry’s Hunt “Word” in bold green. Collect all the words from each author and submit the list in writing no later than midnight on February 1st. Make sure you include an email address where you can be reached. Prizes will be given to 5 people selected, from 1st place to 5th! Happy Hunting.

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Author Qand A

 

Hi! I mean, g’day. It’s great to be here at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words. Today I’m offering an ebook copy of Mark Cooper versus America, a book I co-wrote with the awesome J.A. Rock, to one lucky commenter! Weirdly, I think it’s the most Australian of my books, even though it’s set in Pennsylvania and has snow and bears in it. I mean, we have snow here too, allegedly. I’ve only seen it once though.

Also today, I’m sharing a recipe with you. It’s simple enough that even I can follow it, I promise. The recipe is for Anzac biscuits, and no, you can’t call them cookies. Anzac biscuits are a century old this year. They are named for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, called the ANZACs, and were the biscuits of choice for families sending gift packages overseas to the troops during the First World War because, being egg-free, they wouldn’t spoil.

Anzac Biscuits Recipeanzac biscuits

Here is what you need:

125g butter, chopped coarsely
2 tablespoons golden syrup – you can substitute with treacle
¾ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 tablespoon water
1 cup (90g) rolled oats
1 cup (90g) desiccated coconut
1 cup (150g) plain flour
¾ cup (165g) brown sugar
And this is what you do:

Preheat oven to 160° Celsius or 140° Celsius fan-forced. That’s 320° Fahrenheit or 285° Fahrenheit fan-forced.

Combine butter and syrup in a small saucepan. Heat gently until butter and syrup melt.

Combine bicarbonate of soda and water in a small bowl and stir into butter mixture.

Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Pour over warm butter mixture and stir well to combine.

Roll rounded teaspoons of mixture into balls. Place about 4 cm apart on baking paper lined baking trays and flatten slightly.

Bake in preheated oven 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool 5 minutes on baking trays; transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

They’re yummy! Enjoy! And now onto some questions:

Were you a reader as a child?

Absolutely. I spent several years in Papua New Guinea as a child, and we had no television there. I’m sure that has a lot to do with my very early love of reading – having no other options. We had movies some weeks at the local club, but our main entertainment was reading and storytelling. There was also no bookshop in the town we lived, so my mum encouraged my sister and me to make up our own stories. Some of the first stories I “wrote” were written down by my mum because I hadn’t learned to write yet.

Title or characters or plot? Which comes first?

Characters, always. Everything else comes after I figure out who my main players are, and what their dynamic is, because that’s always going to be the heart of any story that I write. It doesn’t matter if it’s set in the future in space or in nineteenth century Wyoming (I’ve written both!), the characters are always the first thing I focus on and I build everything else around them.

Do you have a favorite character that you have written?

That’s a hard one! I think maybe Brady from Dark Space. It was so much fun to write in his voice, and be in his head. He’s sarcastic, and defiant, and always gets in trouble because he just can’t shut his mouth, but it’s mostly just a front because he’s so scared of being stuck in space where he knows he’s going to die. And I think I really love Brady so much because I was so worried that readers would hate him—a lot of times he’s selfish and immature and says hurtful things to the few people who care about him—but most readers love him too, which was fantastic. It’s totally a secret of mine that both Brady and Cam are also Aussie characters, even if it’s from an unrecogniSable future Australia. I think probably the only think that gives it away is that Brady mentions cockatoos. Otherwise, it could be anywhere.

Having said that, I’ve also got a total soft spot for Mark Cooper, from Mark Cooper versus America, for being a proud Aussie boy at an American college and refusing to give into peer pressure and use the word “ass”. Mark is fighting the good fight! Mark was written specifically because J.A. Rock and I spent so much time arguing about Australian English (which we all know is correct) and American English (which makes no sense and is wrong). So that gave me a chance to address most of my issues with American English, and will hopefully help explain to Americans why we giggle when you ask us which team we root for. Root does not mean what you think it means.

If you were a tour guide, what would you like a visitor to see and what impression would you want them to take away with them when they leave?

I was actually a bit of a tour guide last year when J.A. Rock came to visit. I made it my mission to take her to a wildlife sanctuary so she could see crocodiles, cassowaries, koalas, dingoes, wombats and the whole shebang. We were mobbed by kangaroos, and saw one of them punch a duck. It was hilarious.

So, the wildlife, definitely. Everyone should pet a wombat and hold a koala at least once in their lives. And see a duck get punched by a kangaroo.

Down Under Day 15: Author Lisa Henry, and our Australia and New Zealand Facts of the Day!

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Welcome, Lisa Henry!

Its Down Under Day 15 and our featured writer today is Australian author Lisa Henry!  Today, Lisa is sharing her recipe for Anzac biscuits and talking about her books and characters.  It’s another wonderful day Down Under so don’t miss out on a word of it, including Lisa Henry’s wonderful book giveaway and the Down Under Scavenger word of the day.

Australia Fact of the Day!

Because Lisa Henry lives in North Queensland, here are a few facts about Queensland and North Queensland in particular:

270px-Queensland_far_north_mapQueensland is the second largest state in Australia and covers over 22% of the total Australian continent an area of 1,730,648 square kilometres (1,075,378 miles). The coastline of mainland Queensland is 4,333 miles in length. Queensland has an extravagantly diverse landscape that is dominated by its extensive coastline

Far North Queensland is the location of the first amber fossils to be found in Australia. The four million-year-old fossils were found on a beach in Cape York Peninsula but were probably washed ashore after drifting with the currents for about 125 miles.

For interesting facts about North Queensland’s Animals, visit here!

 

New Zealand Fact of the Day!

What does Kaikoura mean? Well Kai means food and koura is Maori for crayfish. So one of the perfect places to seal and bird watch while eating a mound of fresh crayfish is Kaikoura, a place where the mountains meet the sea and an Ecotourism destination. With a population of approximately 3,800 residents, the Kaikoura township is located on a rocky peninsula, protruding from lush farmland beneath the mountains. In the waters off the peninsula, a complex marine system provides an abundantly rich habitat for marine mammals and seabirds making it an ideal place for getting ‘close to nature’.Kaikoura

mountain view of Kaikoura

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now onto Lisa Henry’s Down Under Author page, today’s contests and don’t forget to check out that Anzac Biscuit  recipe! 

Heat up your Heart with The Burnt Toast B&B Tour by Heidi Belleau and Rachel Haimowitz (Book tour and contest)

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Hi, and welcome to the Burnt Toast B&B blog tour! We’re Heidi Belleau and Rachel Haimowitz, the authors of the book, and we’re so thankful to have you along for the ride, and thankful to our hosts, Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words, for having us here today!

Normally on a blog tour, we like to share all kinds of behind the scenes goodies to do with the book: inspiration images, glimpses into research and plotting, deleted scenes, conversations about our process, character bios, etc. For this tour, though, we’re doing something a little different, but we hope you’ll still find it worth your while.

When Heidi first pitched The Burnt Toast B&B, it was as an opposites-attract story centring around the world’s worst B&B . . . and an M/M romcom where one of the lead guys just happened to be transgender. Writing solo, she’d done a trans book before, but that was very much a Trans Book, all about exploring gender identity, defining who you are, and coming out to your friends and loved ones. This book . . . isn’t that. It’s the story of an optimistic hipster stuntman and a pessimistic lumberjack who learn to make espresso, fix up a failing B&B, and generally butt heads in between loads of laundry.

Ginsberg, our hipster, is much like many of our other favourite M/M heroes: he’s funny, resilient, romantic, and sexy as hell. He’s also transgender; secure in his identity, his body, and his sexuality; and working in a career he loves. But his life isn’t without hardships. Ginsberg made his own family after his biological one turned out to be too toxic to live with. He scrimped and saved and borrowed to pay for the medical care he needed to be happy and healthy. He found a roof over his head as a “considerate couchsurfer,” living with friends and acquaintances on a temporary basis when money got tight. In Derrick and his failing B&B, Ginsberg finally finds an opportunity to have a real home, if only he can convince Derrick to keep the place open.

Ginsberg’s background of financial hardship and lack of family support is all too common among many people who, like him, are trans and trying to live happy, fulfilling lives as their true selves. As such, we the authors, our publisher Riptide, and our generous blog tour hosts will be using the next few days to highlight the personal fundraisers of real trans people in need. We hope that if you’ve got a little extra money this month, you’ll consider donating, and if money’s tight, maybe you can help by spreading the word, too.

For our part, Rachel, Heidi, and Riptide will be giving donors a $5 Riptide credit code for every $10 in donations you make (up to $50 in codes per person, up to $5,000 in codes overall)–just email your donation receipt(s) to info@riptidepublishing.com with the subject line “Burnt Toast Tour Donation,” and Riptide will send out all $5 codes a week after the tour ends. (It’s totally cool, by the way, to spread your donations across multiple fundraisers if you’d like; we’ll add up all your receipts sent in a single email and base your credit vouchers on the grand total.)

We’re also hosting a special contest for people who donate: every dollar in donations to any of these fundraisers will earn you an entry into a drawing for a full paperback set of Riptide’s current Bluewater Bay lineup, OR two signed paperback copies of The Burnt Toast B&B. We’ll draw one week after the blog tour ends. Every dollar helps, and every dollar counts!

Lastly, we’ll randomly select three commenters from all the tour stops and donate $50 apiece in each winner’s name to the trans charity or fundraiser of their choice. (Please be sure to leave a way for us to contact you if you win!)
Today’s featured fundraiser is for Reid, a young Canadian trans man struggling to make ends meet because of employment discrimination. You can find it at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/transman-needs-a-little-help. And here’s Reid 🙂

As a trans man in “the armpit of Canada,” Reid has been unable to secure long term employment, and is thus in need of emergency living expenses, as well as funds to help him purchase items like safe binders and packers to help him be safe and secure in his body. As a thank-you to those who donate, Reid is offering a number of reawrds, including original fiction, original music, and handwritten letters of gratitude. You can learn more about Reid and help this young man to get his feet beneath him at his fundraiser page, https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/transman-needs-a-little-help.

Thank you so much for following our (slightly unconventional) blog tour! Be sure to leave a comment on this or any of our other tour stops for a chance to have $50 donated in your name to a trans-related fundraiser/charity of your choice. And if you choose to donate to any of the fundraisers we’ve highlighted over the course of the tour, don’t forget to forward proof of your donation to info@riptidepublishing.com with the subject line “Burnt Toast Tour Donation” to claim your $5 coupon(s) and enter your name in the extra special drawing!

Lastly, if you or someone you love is transgender and going through a difficult time, please check out the Trans Lifeline, http://www.translifeline.org/. This crisis helpline is staffed entirely by trans volunteers and runs at least twelve hours a day, seven days a week, in the US and Canada. If you’re in crisis, please call them. If you’d like to support this nonprofit, please visit http://www.gofundme.com/translifeline.

About The Burnt Toast B&B:

The Burnt Toast B & B coverAfter breaking his arm on set, Wolf’s Landing stuntman Ginsberg Sloan finds himself temporarily out of work. Luckily, Bluewater Bay’s worst B&B has cheap long-term rates, and Ginsberg’s not too proud to take advantage of them.

Derrick Richards, a grizzled laid-off logger, inherited the B&B after his parents’ untimely deaths. Making beds and cooking sunny-side-up eggs is hardly Derrick’s idea of a man’s way to make a living, but just as he’s decided to shut the place down, Ginsberg shows up on his doorstep, pitiful and soaking wet, and Derrick can hardly send him packing.

Not outright, at least.

The plan? Carry on the B&B’s tradition of terrible customer service and even worse food until the pampered city boy leaves voluntarily. What Derrick doesn’t count on, though, is that the lousier he gets at hosting, the more he convinces bored, busybody Ginsberg to try to get the B&B back on track. And he definitely doesn’t count on the growing attraction between them, or how much more he learns from Ginsberg than how to put out kitchen fires.

Sales and Contact Links:

On Tour with Lisa Henry and J.A. Rock and The Two Gentlemen of Altona (Book Tour and Contest)

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Hi! We’re Lisa Henry and J.A. Rock, the authors of THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF ALTONA. 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!

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About THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF ALTONA:

Mischief, thou art afoot.

Special Agent Ryan “Mac” McGuinness is having a rough week. Not only is he on a new diet, but he’s also been tasked with keeping Henry Page—the world’s most irritating witness—alive. Which is tough when Mac’s a breath away from killing the Shakespeare-quoting, ethically-challenged, egg-obsessed Henry himself. Unless killing isn’t really what Mac wants to do to him.

Con man Henry Page prefers to keep his distance from the law . . . though he wouldn’t mind getting a little closer to uptight, handsome Agent McGuinness. As the sole witness to a mob hit, Henry’s a valuable asset to the FBI. But he’s got his own agenda, and it doesn’t involve testifying.

When evidence surfaces of a mole in the FBI office, Mac and Henry are forced to go into hiding. Holed up in a fishing cabin, they’re surprised to discover that their feelings run more than skin deep. But as the mob closes in, Henry has to make his escape. And Mac has to decide how far he’s willing to go to keep Henry by his side.

THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF ALTONA is the first in our PLAYING THE FOOL trilogy. Book 2, THE MERCHANT OF DEATH, will be available on February 2. Book 3, TEMPEST, will be released March 9.

You can preorder the series, and check out excerpts, at Riptide.

About Lisa:

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

About J.A.:

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

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 the contents of Henry Page’s bag during his arrest in THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF ALTONA: that’s some Shakespeare and a bunch of Henry’s favorite candy!

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 January 9, 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!

 

Blast Back to the Past with Abigail Roux’s According to Hoyle (book tour and contest)

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Hi! I’m Abigail Roux, the author of ACCORDING TO HOYLE. Thanks for having me. And don’t forget the giveaway! Check out the details at the bottom of the post to see what you can win!

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Blurb

By the close of 1882 in the American West, the line between heroes and villains is narrow. Total chaos is staved off only by the few who take the law at its word and risk their lives to uphold it. But in the West, the rules aren’t always played according to Hoyle.

US Marshals Eli Flynn and William Henry Washington—longtime friends and colleagues—are escorting two prisoners to New Orleans for trial when they discover there’s more than outlawry to the infamous shootist Dusty Rose and the enigmatic man known as Cage. As the two prisoners form an unlikely partnership, the marshals can’t help but look closer at their own.

When forces beyond the marshals’ control converge on the paddle wheeler they’ve hired to take them downriver, they must choose between two dangers: playing by the rules at any cost, or trusting the very men they are meant to bring to justice.

According to Hoyle Excerpt:

“Mr. Baird, I trust your end of this issue has been taken care of?” the old man rasped.

“I’m afraid there were some complications,” Baird reported. “Stringer is well on his way, but Rose refused to work with us. He then escaped before we could dispatch him.”

“Escaped.”

“Yes, sir. Escaped.”

“How ?”

“Pure luck, I assure you, sir. An earthquake, in fact.”

“An act of God,” the old man said in his disconcerting voice. He raised his spotted hand to scratch at his eyebrow.

The gold and jewels of the rings on his fingers reflected the light in odd patterns.

Baird fought not to be distracted by it. The silence fell heavy in the room. Dust motes floated by his head in the shaft of light let in by the frosted window. Baird waited for the old man to continue.

“Very well. Can his knowledge harm us? Harm our plan?”

“Certainly, if ever he were to find all the pieces.” Baird knew better than to hedge his answers. The truth and only the truth was the thing to give to his employer.

“Will he?”

“He couldn’t possibly, sir.”

“You believe a man who would be so lucky as to stumble upon an earthquake when one is needed could not possibly have the good fortune to piece together this puzzle you have so artfully taken apart?”

Baird pressed his lips tightly together to hide his frustration. “Point well made, sir. What would you have me do?”

“Kill him.”

“It’s already in the works, sir.” Baird had hired two men to track Rose down and dispatch him. The last telegram he’d received had put them somewhere in Nebraska. Baird was confident Rose would find no earthquakes there.

“And Stringer ?” the old man asked without acknowledging Baird’s forethought.

“He is quite capable. I have given him the bare bones of our orders and he assures me it will be done.”

The old man’s thin white hair flew in wisps around his head and his eyebrows seemed to weigh down the skin of his forehead, giving the impression he was constantly scowling. When he offered his snaggletooth grin, he appeared quite ghastly.

Baird smiled politely. He knew how this game was played. He’d begun his lengthy career as a Pinkerton agent during the War Between the States. He and others like him had acted as spies for the Union army, repeatedly going behind enemy lines to do the bidding of those with higher rank.

Baird had risen quickly. After the war, when the Secret Service department had been formed to help handle the workload of the US Marshals, Baird had been one of the first ones to be recruited. On the surface, the Secret Ser vice were involved with suppressing the counterfeiting of paper money, which had become popular since the currency of the failed Confederacy so many people had hoarded lost its value. But their reach extended much further than that; though they still performed the duties that had been their beginning , now they were also tasked with protecting government officials at certain times, and more importantly, they still acted as spies for the government, on both native and foreign soil.

Baird did not like farming out jobs to untrustworthy and unpredictable outlaws. If they failed, it would be on his head.

“And the information you intended to harvest from Rose. Where do you intend to get it now ?” the old man asked.

Baird had no good answer for that. Men who’d spent time peacefully with the tribes were few and far between. “I’m still seeking an answer to that, sir.”

“Very well. Inform me at once when you hear of any news.”

“Yes, sir,” Baird answered as he stood and tipped his head. “A good day to you, General.”

“John,” the general called after him as he turned to take his leave. “You may see fit to make certain your loose ends are tied. If Rose shows his face in New York, you had better not shows yours.”

Baird’s polite smile faltered only slightly. “Yes, General,” he said obediently, cursing under his breath as the heavy door shut behind him.

You can purchase According to Hoyle here!

About Abigail Roux

Abigail Roux was born and raised in North Carolina. A past volleyball star who specializes in sarcasm and painful historical accuracy, she currently spends her time coaching high school volleyball and investigating the mysteries of single motherhood. Any spare time is spent living and dying with every Atlanta Braves and Carolina Panthers game of the year.

Abigail has a daughter, Little Roux, who is the light of her life, a boxer, four rescued cats who play an ongoing live-action variation of Call of Duty throughout the house, a certifiable extended family down the road, and a cast of thousands in her head.

Connect with Abi:

Website: http://www.abigailroux.com
Twitter: @abigailroux
Facebook: facebook.com/Abigail-Roux
Tumblr: abiroux.tumblr.com
Goodreads: goodreads.com/AbigailRoux

Giveaway

Thanks for following the tour! You can win an ebook copy of a novel of your choice from my back catalog, and a $10 Riptide gift certificate!

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post. Please put your email in the body of the comment, not just in email section of the comment form, because I won’t be able to see it otherwise! On January 9, I’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.