On Tour with K. C. Wells and The Bond of Three (book tour and contest)

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Book Name: A Bond of Three
Release Date: January 19, 2015
Goodreads Link
Author Name: K.C. Wells

Author Bio:

Born and raised in the north-west of England, K.C.Wells always loved writing. Words were important. Full stop. However, when childhood gave way to adulthood, the writing ceased, as life got in the way.

K.C. discovered erotic fiction in 2009, where the purchase of a ménage storyline led to the startling discovery that reading about men in love was damn hot. In 2012, arriving at a really low point in life led to the desperate need to do something creative. An even bigger discovery waited in the wings – writing about men in love was even hotter…

K.C. now writes full-time and is loving every minute of her new career.

The laptop still has no idea of what hit it… it only knows that it wants a rest, please. And it now has to get used to the idea that where K.C goes, it goes.

There is a Book Tour Interview with a question a stop.  Here is our’s:

19 – Ability you wished you possessed? Oh wow… telepathy

20 – Skill you wish you had? The ability to make stretch 24 hours….

Where to find K.C. Wells:

K.C. can be reached via email (k.c.wells@btinternet.com), on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/KCWellsWorld), on Twitter (@IslandTalesPres or through comments at the K.C.Wells website (www.kcwellsworld.com ) K.C. loves to hear from readers.

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Photography by R.J. Sebastian, designed by Alexander Tsopanakis, with exclusive cockboys.com models: Levi Karter, Duncan Black & Tayte Hanson

Sales LInks:  Dreamspinner Press E-Book  Dreamspinner Press Paperback

Blurb:Bond of Three cover

In the kingdom of Teruna, the red-cloaked Seruani teach the Terunans the art of love. Taken from their homes at seventeen to be trained, they are shunned as outcasts by society and considered the lowest of the low. So when Prince Tanish falls in love with the Seruan Feyar, the man who took his virginity and the only one to share his bed, he is not about to declare that love. No one can ever know, because the consequences would be too painful to consider for both of them.

When the king of Vancor visits Teruna, he promises that his son, Prince Sorran, will marry Prince Tanish to solidify the alliance between the two kingdoms, with the proviso that the virginal Sorran is instructed in the art of pleasing his husband-to-be. When Tanish’s father chooses Feyar to be this instructor, the lovers decide Prince Sorran must be taught that this is to be a marriage in name only….

A resentful prince, unwilling to share his lover.

A resentful Seruan, unwilling to share his prince.

And the shy prince whose very nature sparks changes in the lives of all those around them.

Teruna is about to change forever.

Categories: Alternate Universe, Fantasy, M/M Romance, Menage/Poly

Excerpt:

“We are alone,” Sorran said after a few minutes. “Tell me of the cashor. You have intrigued me.”

Tanish thought for a moment how best to begin. “It is worn by the Seruani.” Sorran’s furrowed brow told him what he needed to know. He sighed. “The Seruani are those men and women who provide a special service. They instruct us in the pleasures of the flesh. A husband whose wife no longer wishes to share her bed with him, those who have lost their partners, youths who seek their first experience to be with someone knowledgeable—all these people can pay for their services.”

Sorran’s forehead smoothed out. “Ah, I understand. We have such people in Vencor.” That frown was back suddenly. “But I am still confused. Why would someone not pay us heed if we wear the cashor?”

Tanish stared at him. “Because Seruani are considered the lowest of the low. When a youth is taken to be trained as a Seruan, he or she loses all contact with his or her family. If a Seruan was to be seen in the street by a family member, they would not be acknowledged. In truth, they would be shunned.”

Sorran pulled at Forena’s reins, bringing the stallion to a dead stop.

Tanish halted Nerita and twisted in his saddle to regard Sorran. “What is the matter?”

Sorran shook his head, his expression pained. “In Vancor, such people are revered. They are viewed as mystical.”

Tanish was astonished. “But why?” He could not believe such a difference in attitude could exist.

Sorran tilted his head. “My teachers tell me that when two people make love, their joy can be such that they almost touch the heavens. Surely one who can help you reach such levels is a person to be cherished, valued, revered.”

His description brought tears to Tanish’s eyes. To think that but for an accident of geography, Feyar could have been born into a land where his gifts would have had worth, where he would have been treasured. Tanish bowed his head, eyes closed, overwhelmed with emotion.

A soft hand came to rest on his arm. “What ails you, Tanish?” Sorran’s voice was low and lilting, his concern audible.

Tanish opened his eyes and gave Sorran a feeble smile. “For many years I have wept at the thought of those chosen to be Seruani, shunned by their families and society. I have wished for change.”

Sorran smiled, his dark eyes flashing. “But you are to be king one day, just as I will be. A king wields so much power.” He leaned closer, his gaze fixed on Tanish. “If a king does not like a law, he has the power to change it.”

Tanish shook his head. “To do so would be to insult those who drew up the laws in the first place.”

Sorran quirked his eyebrows. “Who created those laws? And when?”

“I do not know. It has always been so.” Tanish had reflected upon that many times.

Sorran frowned. “That does not mean it must remain so. And laws can be changed a little at a time. Take small steps, but always be sure of your goal.” He patted Tanish’s arm. “Win the people’s hearts first, and then lead them where you will go. If you act justly, your motives clear, they will follow you.”

Sorran’s earnest expression seemed older than his years. Tanish gazed at the prince in wonder. Sorran’s words resonated deep within him, sparking a flame of hope—and something else. For the first time in a long while, Tanish felt at peace with his destiny.

Pages or Words: 264 pages

Tour Dates: January 19th, 2015

Tour Stops: Parker Williams, Molly Lolly, BFD Book Blog, Bayou Book Junkie, Inked Rainbow Reads, Amanda C. Stone, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Carly’s Book Reviews, Love Bytes, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Kristy’s Brain Food, Sinfully Sexy, My Fiction Nook, Elin Gregory, Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings, The Novel Approach, MM Good Book Reviews, Andrew Q. Gordon, Velvet Panic, 3 Chicks After Dark, Christy Loves 2 Read, Nephylim, Wake Up Your Wild Side, Rainbow Gold Reviews, Kimi-Chan, Foxylutely Book Reviews

 

 

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The Harvest Series continues! On Tour with M.A. Church and The Harvest: Journey’s End (book tour and contest)

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Book Name: The Harvest: Journey’s End
Book Two of ‘The Harvest’ series. Best read in order.
Author Name: M.A. Church

Author Bio:

M.A. Church is a true Southern belle who spent many years in the elementary education sector. Now she spends her days lost in fantasy worlds, arguing with hardheaded aliens on far-off planets, herding her numerous shifters, or trying to tempt her country boys away from their fishing poles. It’s a full time job, but hey, someone’s gotta do it!

When not writing, she’s exploring the latest M/M novel to hit the market, watching her beloved Steelers, or sitting glued to HGTV. That’s if she’s not on the back porch tending to the demanding wildlife around the pond in the backyard. The ducks are very outspoken. She’s married to her high school sweetheart, and they have two children.

She was a finalist in the Rainbow awards for 2013.

Where to find the author:

Publisher: Self-published
Cover Artist: Lou Harper

Sales Links:  ARe  Amazon    GR

The Harvest: Journey’s End Blurb:TheHarvest_JourneysEnd_500

To survive is to adapt…

Dale Michaels knows all about change. As he settles into his new life with the Tah’Narian starship captain Keyno Shou, Dale has adapted to life with an alien, space travel, and having his body mutated so he can carry a young. He’s closed the chapter on his old life.

Living on Tah’Nar, Dale has a loving mate and good friends. He’s helped cement peace with the Onfre. Sure, being double-dosed during his harvest led to some serious drama, but that’s over. Dale’s happy.
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But life is never that simple.

Even though Dale loves Keyno, he still struggles with the way the Tah’Narians harvest young males as mates. Dale finds himself hijacked by his own body, courtesy of his extra dose of Tah’Narian DNA. Then there’s the devastating secret his mate, Keyno, has hid all this time. And if all that isn’t enough, outside forces threaten to rip Dale’s hard-won peace apart as well.

Join Dale for a non-stop adventure and a love that crosses several worlds and transcends space.

The Harvest: Journey’s End Exclusive Excerpt:

Book #2 in The Harvest series

Excerpt:

(The excerpt is from estrus (or heat) for Dale.)

Within seconds, his barb locked us together, making me cry out from the pressure of it engaging inside me. Keyno dropped down on top of me, propped up on his elbows, holding me close while I struggled to breathe. Lovingly, he wiped the sweaty hair away from my face while he murmured softly to me.

Finally, my brain engaged, and I remembered how to speak. Questions ran around in my head as my chest heaved.

“What was—fucking hell, what was…?” I was sweaty, dizzy, hoarse from screaming, and more than a little freaked out by what had just happened. “I don’t know what that was, but it was unlike anything I have ever felt, and scary as shit.”

“It’s normal, love. It has to do with your new womb, and the fact that you’re producing eggs now. Those eggs want to be fertilized; it’s a biological imperative. Your hormones are rising, driving your body to have sex, and when you do, your body rewards you. The orgasms you have during this time are different, because the pathway to your womb is contracting, drawing my seed up. Think massive g-spot and anal orgasm.”

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

Pages or Words: 90,000 words
Tour Dates/Stops:

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Cate Ashwood

Emotion in Motion

Christy Loves 2 Read

6-Jan

3 Chicks After Dark

The Novel Approach

7-Jan

Kristy’s Brain Food

Carly’s Book Reviews

8-Jan

Hearts on Fire

Bayou Book Junkie

9-Jan

MM Good Book Reviews

Prism Book Alliance

12-Jan

Kimi-Chan

Full Moon Dreaming

Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

Multitasking Mommas

13-Jan

Love Bytes

BFD Book Blog

14-Jan

Parker Williams

Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents

15-Jan

Amanda C. Stone

16-Jan

Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings

My Fiction Nook

Contest: Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: Copy of e-book. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Use the link provided for the contest entry form and additional details.

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PaulB’s Best Books of 2014!

Best Books of 2014

It’s that time of the year for the Best of Lists. Here at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words its the books that have stuck with us, made us laugh, made us cry, made us think and dream.

Here is Paul B’s Best of 2014!

 

Top 10 Paranormal/Sci-Fi:

Canes and Sticks by S.A. Garcia
Enforcer by Rob Colton
In Your Eyes by Cardeno C.
Heart-Mate Mine! By N.J. Nielsen
His Omega by A.C. Katt
Loveblood by M.J. O’Shea
Old Loyalty, New Love by Mary Calmes
Primal Desire by Lupa Garneau
Strength of the Mate by Kendall McKenna
Striker by Lexi Ander

Top 5 Contemporary:
Always by Kindle Alexander
The Art of Breathing by T.J. Klune
A Heart for Robbie by J.P. Barnaby
His True Home by Trina Solet
Living Again by Brynn Stein

January is Down Under Author Showcase Month and the Week Ahead at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

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 January is Down Under Author Showcase Month!

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Starting January 1st, Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is having its first annual Down Under Author Showcase.  Each day in the month of January we are featuring a different author from either New Zealand or Australia and their stories in an effort to promote these wonderful authors, not all of whom you might be familiar with.

This year many of my favorite books as well as  those of my reviewers came from these 28 authors who were able to bring their cities, territories, and people so vividly to life in book after book.  Each Down Under Author of the day will have their own individual contest as well as participate in the larger overall Down Under Author Scavenger Hunt.  More about that later.  There is a whole slew of prizes, over 35 to be exact for the readers to win.  Among those prizes include a $75 Amazon gift card, and gift baskets from the Embassies of Australia and New Zealand here in DCa, the 6 books that make up Dreamspinner’s Under the Southern Cross Anthology (thank you, Dreamspinner Press) and much, much more.

Those prizes are part of our Down Under Author Scavenger Hunt.  Somewhere on each day’s post is a hidden “Hunt” word or phrase in bold green.  Find and collect all the clues and then follow the instructions for submitting them at the end of the month!  Originally we were going to select 5 winners but the boxes from the Embassies overflowed with goodies so we are going to bring them up and award 2 boxes from each country as gifts.  My thanks to the staff of the Embassy of Australia and the Embassy of New Zealand for putting these gift boxes together for our event.

Want to know whose participating this month?  Check out this amazing role call of authors from Down Under:

Christian Baines         N.R. Walker            Anne Barwell              Nic Starr

Meredith Shayne        Renae Kaye             John Wiltshire           John Terry Moore

Lily Veldon                  Barry Rowe             L. J. LaBarthe            Beany Sparks

Jack Burnes                Nicki J. Markus      Michelle Rae              A. B. Gayle

Lisa Harris                 Isabelle Rowan        N. J. Nielson             Bette Brown

Lisa Henry                 Toni Griffin             Pelaam                        R. J. Jones

Penny Brandon          Cecil Wilde             Ellen Cross                Maggie Nash

Also hanging out with us this month Bottom Drawer Publications and Wayward Ink Press, also from Down Under!  What a month it’s going to be!   Author interviews, guest blogs and books, and contest, contest, contests!  If these amazing countries weren’t already on your travel want list, they will be after this.

And of course, we are still reviewing away as well as hosting book tours.  January has never been so busy or so full of authors and stories.

Now here is our week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words:

Monday, December 29, 2014:

  • Aria Grace “Just Stay” Book Blast and Contest
  • Cover reveal – The Adventures of Cole and Perry by Amanda C. Stone (tour and contest)
  • A Mika Review: Designs of Desire (Desires Entwined #1) by Tempeste O’Riley
  • A Mika Review: Bound by Desire (Desires Entwined #1.75) by Tempeste O’Riley

Tuesday, December 30, 2014:

  • A Mika Review: Desires’ Guardian (Desires Entwined #2) by Tempeste O’Riley
  • A Mika Review: Temptations of Desire (Desires Entwined, #3) by Tempeste O’Riley
  •  Barb, the Zany Old Lady’s Best Books of 2014 List
  • Paul B’s Best Books of 2014
  • MelanieM’s Best Covers of 2014

Wednesday, December 31, 2014:

  • According to Hoyle by Abigail Roux Book Tour and Contest
  • Skye Jones’ “Claimed by Love” Book Tour and Contest
  • A MelanieM Review: One Holiday Ever After by Tere Michaels, Elle Brownlee and Elizah J. Davis
  • A Mika Review: Truth in Lace (Desires Entwined #3.5) by Tempeste O’Riley
  • Aurora’s Best YA Books & Covers for 2014

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Thursday, January 1st, 2015 – Down Under Author Showcase Starts!

  • Down Under Author of the Day:  Christian Baines (contest)
  • A MelanieM Review:  The Beast Without by Christian Baines
  • Mika Review: All That Heaven Will Allow by DW Marchwell
  • Down Under Author Showcase Contest Recap and notes
  • A Barb, the Zany Old Lady Review: Vixen’s Valor by Charlie Cochet

Friday, January 2, 2015:

  • Nicki J. Markus- Down Under Author of the Day
  • Two Gentlemen of Altona Henry/Rock Riptide Book Tour and Contest
  • A Sammy Review: Making Nice by Elizah J. Davis
  • A MelanieM Review:  Fair Play by Josh Lanyon

Saturday, January 3, 2015:

  • Anne Barwell – Down Under Author of the Day
  • An Aurora YA Review: Children of the Knight (Children of the Knight #1) by Michael J. Bowler

 

Remember, a different contest each play plus hidden clues to find for the overall prizes!  And coming in May, Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words First Annual Authors Across the Pond Showcase!  It’s going to be a wonderful year!

 

 

 

 

MelanieM’s Best Books of 2014

Best Books of 2014

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MelanieM’s Best Books of 2014

 

Winnowing down my list of Best Books is always a near impossible project.  To me it always feels like trying to leave a book shop during a particularly wonderful sale.  My arms are full to overflowing with books, with ones toppling off the pile here and there as I totter over to the sales counter.  My impulse is to go back and get more because all are books I loved and need to have near me.  Sigh.  And this year makes it particularly hard.  So many great books came out this year,  terrific short stories,, fabulous endings to series I love…..so this is as close as I got…check it all out below:

Best Series:

 Best Holiday/Whatever Time of the Year Anthologies:

Best Contemporary Fiction:

 

Best Science Fiction:

Best Fantasy:

 

Best Supernatural/Paranormal:

 

On Tour with Lissa Kasey & Sam Kadence – Two Sides of the Same Coin (book tour and contest)

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One Person, Two Authors, Three Books!

Book Names: Hidden Gem, Unicorns and Rainbow Poop, On The Right Track (Audio Book)
Goodreads Link:  On The Right Track     Unicorns and Rainbow Poop          Hidden Gem

Author Name: Lissa Kasey/Sam Kadence

 A Short Conversation with Lissa Kasey…

Q – Do you remember your first story? What was it about?

Yes. It was a story called Ship Wrecked. It was about a bunch of kids who get stranded on an island with a house full of horrors (yeah i was in the sixth grade when I wrote it. I was always sort of twisted)

Q – What sequel are you most looking forward to writing in the upcoming twelve months?

The sequel to Hidden Gem. Title unknown as of yet, but it’s started and I love it.

Q- What is your most requested sequel?

Gabe’s story which I will write someday. Second to that was Bas’ story which just came out.

Q – Aki loves shoes. Do you have a fetish of your own?

Fetish as in sexualized no. But I love ball joint dolls and action figures. I have shelves of action figures.

Q- What is the most emotional scene you ever wrote?

The beginning of Reclamation when Sei is running from his memory of stabbing Gabe, which is second only to watching Bas come apart in front of Dane in Unicorns and Rainbow Poop.

Author Bio:

Sam Kadence has always dreamed about being someone else, somewhere else. With very little musical talent, Sam decided the only way to make those dreams come true was to try everything from cosplay at the local anime conventions to writing novels about pretending to run away to become a musician.

Sam has a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing, sells textbooks for a living, enjoys taking photographs of Asian Ball Joint Dolls to tell more stories, and has eclectic taste in music from J-pop to rock and country. All of which finds its way into the books eventually.

Email: samkadence.author@gmail.com;

Lissa Kasey lives in St. Paul, MN, has a Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing, and collects Asian Ball Joint Dolls who look like her characters. She has three cats who enjoy waking her up an hour before her alarm every morning and sitting on her lap to help her write. She can often be found at Anime Conventions masquerading as random characters when she’s not writing about boy romance.

Author Contact:

https://www.facebook.com/lissa.kasey; https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008292783586&fref=ts; parisbvamp@yahoo.com; samkadence.author@gmail.com

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press & Harmony Ink Press
Cover Artist: Hidden Gem – Siobhan,
Sales Links:

1.  Hidden Gem:  Dreamspinner Press   All Romance(ARe)         amazon

2. Unicorns and Rainbow Poop:  Dreamspinner Press   All Romance (ARe)    amazon

3.  On The Right Track:  Book:       Dreamspinner Press   All Romance (ARe)     amazon

                                                 Audio:      Dreamspinner Press    Amazon On the Right Track (Audible Audio Edition): Sam Kadence, Michael Stellman: Books

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UNICORNS AND RAINBOW POOP COVEROn the Right Track cover

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Blurb(s):

Categories: Alternate Universe, BDSM, Contemporary, Fantasy, Gay Fiction, New Adult, Paranormal (Please note: Not all books contain all elements.)

Excerpts:

HIDDEN GEM:  First Glimpse by Lissa Kasey

Aki swept up a bottle of McNaughton’s favorite scotch and headed toward the broad Irishman. The man’s shoulders were arched forward, back tense, hair a sexy mess, and face covered with a couple days’ growth. Obviously the cop was on a difficult case. The detective hadn’t yet asked for him, just for his usual meal—almost bloody steak with a baked potato.

“You look like you could use a drink,” Aki told him as he slid into the chair beside him. He turned an empty glass over and poured three fingers of the golden liquid.

McNaughton sighed, his dark eyes roaming over Aki’s small body, platinum blond hair pulled up and styled with sparkling pins, see-thru knit top, and super-short skirt, then over his bare legs down to the gleaming heels. The shoes were a silver mesh of crystals that slid up just past his ankles. A gift from McNaughton. The cop sucked in a deep breath and slid his hand over the covered part of Aki’s thigh. He knew better than to touch bare flesh to bare flesh. Aki was a cognitive psi, could see entire lives of horrors with a single touch, and he was sure McNaughton’s past was filled with a lot of nasty memories.

“Wish you had time for me tonight. But I’ve got a feeling you’re booked up tight.” He glanced back at the room bustling with companions and potential customers. Aki was the only psi in the room, his pale-pupiled blue eyes telling the world that he was different.

“I’m sure Bart can fit you in.” Aki’s eyes scanned the room until he found his boss, who was engaged with negotiations with another client. “Looks like you need some trouble eased tonight.” He leaned in close enough his breath ran across McNaughton’s cheek.

McNaughton turned his head, lips nearly close enough to touch. “Would love a bit of time with your shine.”
“Words like honey, McNaughton.”

The cop flashed him one of his rare, heart-stopping smiles then nodded as Bart appeared beside them. “Table seven is ready, Aki. Number one.” Bart told him.

Aki grabbed Bart’s wrist with a gloved hand. “The cop needs some time tonight. You can make that happen, right?”

“Of course.” Bart nodded to them and took Aki’s vacated seat and Aki made his way to his next client of the evening. There were only two services Aki performed. A hand job and a blow job, one and two. This client wanted number one—which meant he was cheap since rarely did anyone ask for a hand job from him. But his prices were astronomical anyway.

“Hello,” Aki smiled at the man as he slid into the chair opposite him. The client was dressed nice, button down shirt, pressed pants, but he was bald and a little heavier around the waist. A politician probably. “If you’re ready we can head upstairs.”

The man barely spoke, but he leered, eyes tracing over Aki’s form more like he was cattle than a night of entertainment. Even in his worst moments McNaughton had never done that. It wasn’t appreciation, but something darker. Aki sighed internally and hoped this would be fast. He knew a thousand ways to get a man off in minutes. Something about him just set off Aki’s creep radar.

“I hear some wait months for the pleasure of your time,” the man said with slightly accented speech.
Not usually. The only ones who waited weeks were because their schedule and Aki’s conflicted or because they’d done something to upset him or Bart. Most clients got in within a few days if not the same day of requesting Aki’s time. And regulars were always given precedence over someone not yet vetted like this client.

“If I don’t please you I can see if Preston or Royce is available.”

“I was hoping for Candy originally.”

Was always good to be told he was second choice. Aki gritted his teeth. “Candy only serves a special kind of client. And he does have a wait list.” Mostly because he took clients who wanted a little more kink than any of the other male companions preferred. Aki was going to recommend this client be removed from the premises after the service was over.

“I guess you’ll have to do then. Won’t you?” He gave Aki a chilling smile.

Bastard. Aki got up from his seat and offered his gloved hand to the man who followed closely. They’d reached the stairs when the man grabbed him, yanked Aki against him and shoved his hand up Aki’s skirt, groping him and sending him into a spiral of nightmares.

A dark room. The metallic stink of blood. Screams. The sound of knives being sharpened. Metal bars clanking. Crying. Pain. The music of an ice cream truck. How odd. It was all ripped away a moment later, but Aki’s stomach was already heaving. The small plate of fruit and yogurt he’d had for dinner was not going to stay down.

Someone carried him unceremoniously to the private companion bathroom near the kitchen and set him in front of the toilet just as the mash of fruits and dairy came up. Aki heaved a couple of minutes, his brain swirling with the images that thankfully began to fade just as quickly as they’d come. With any luck he’d be able to brush his teeth, wash his face and go about his work day.

He glanced up to find Manny, the head of security standing at the door. McNaughton knelt beside Aki. Had held his hair back and even used his jacket to cover Aki’s bottom. The skirts really were too short.
“Bart is already having the guy removed. He should never have touched you like that. Sorry I didn’t get to you quicker,” Manny told Aki. “Grateful to you, Detective, for responding so quickly.”

McNaughton stroked Aki’s back, using the soft material of the sweater to run circles over his spine. “Want to talk about it?”

Aki sighed. “Same crap. Just weird. Darkness, crying, smelled blood. Heard knives.” He shook his head. “The guy could work at a butcher for all I know. The memories get so jumbled.” Often with his own horrific past.
“Thought I heard a kid. And bars rattling like in a jail. And the music from an ice cream truck.”

McNaughton nodded like it made perfect sense to him and helped Aki get up and make his way to the sink where there were spare toothbrushes and endless varieties of paste. The cop leaned over and kissed Aki’s hair.

“Gotta go. I’ll have Bart reschedule me sometime this week though. Love that you wore my shoes.” He was gone a moment later.

Aki cleaned up and made his way back to work. At least the night was almost over. He was sad that McNaughton hadn’t stayed. Would have liked to see that smile another time or two. At least the rest of the night flew by without incident, even if the detective didn’t return.

“Sleeping with me tonight?” Candy asked as he stripped out of their work clothes, leaving just a pair of bright pink underwear and crawled into bed. His purple hair was already brushed and eyes heavy with sleep.

“Please,” Aki whispered. He stripped off everything but his underwear too. After putting his shoes and pins away, he washed his face.

“Heard that guy touched you. What a jerk.”

“He wanted you to begin with.” Aki curled up beside his best friend.

Candy flicked off the light. “I would have brought him down a few pegs.”

Aki smiled, but he didn’t want to think of the horrible man at all. Those memories just needed to go away. He had enough of his own to battle with each day. He fell asleep hoping to wake up with less nasty memories each day.

The next afternoon Aki was up early and at Artie’s for breakfast—best 24/7 diner in the area—when McNaughton arrived. The man sat down at his table without asking and pushed a pair of slim, jeweled, yellow flat sandals into Aki’s hands. “What’s this for?” Aki asked.

He just shook his head. He threw a stack of cash on the table and motioned to the waitress. “Anything he wants is on me.” He then got up from the table and headed for the door.

“Well that was weird,” Aki said to LuAnn, the waitress.

She pointed at the Vid screen. “He had a rough night. Caught the guy who was killing kids.” The Vidscreen was turned to the news. Something about a man named the “Ice Cream Killer” had been captured. Apparently he used an ice cream truck to lure kids in, kidnapped them, raped them and killed them. Real monster.

A picture popped up of the guy. It was the client from the Gem. Maybe that’s why McNaughton was at the Gem. No matter what he hoped the detective visited him tonight. The new yellow shoes would need a new skirt to match…

 

UNICORNS AND RAINBOW POOP EXCERPT:

“So I was thinking since you and I both care about Tommy, we have something in common. See, Tommy is stressed, and I thought we could do something nice for him.”

Dane sat but glared at the man suspiciously. “What sort of nice thing?”

Bas motioned to the bags. “We’re going to make him cookies.”

Dane gulped. “I don’t like food.”

“You won’t be eating it. Tommy will. He canceled a class to come here. Did he tell you? He was taking a theater class at the community college back in Minnesota. Had to withdraw to be here. And with college, you know that means giving up any money paid. Not that money matters much to you guys. Though as young as you all are, I hope you’re well invested.”

Bas shrugged at him and began taking things out of the bags. Flour, eggs, sugar—both white and brown—food coloring, butter, vanilla, and lemons.

“I didn’t know,” Dane said quietly. He’d thought Tommy would be the least affected by his problems. Of course he’d been wrong about that too. Couldn’t he do anything right? “I don’t know anything about cooking.”

“That’s okay. I got this recipe online. It’s pretty easy. We’re making unicorn poop cookies.”

“What?”

“They are sugar cookies with food coloring in them to make them all rainbow-like. Unicorns are good luck and all that. Supposed to be the embodiment of goodness and purity.” Bas picked up his tablet, tapped the screen, and flipped it so Dane could see. The cookies really did look like a big pile of rainbow poop.

“Looks tasty,” Dane grumbled.

“We shall see, right? Think you can measure for me?” He pulled out a couple of cookie sheets and turned on one of the many ovens. “I got permission to use the kitchen here, but we can’t get too rowdy or they’ll kick me out.” He winked at Dane. “I’m pretty sure the orderlies outside are to make sure I’m not burning the place down.”

Dane got up and moved around the counter to stare at the list of ingredients. Bas plugged in a big mixer and took the mixing bowl out of it, bringing it to the counter for them to fill.

“This is really for Tommy?”

“Sure. We can send some to Ru and Adam too if you’d like. I heard they are only an hour or so away.”

“I don’t want Ru to know I’m here,” Dane said immediately. He didn’t need to mess up anyone else’s life.

“No worries. We need tell them nothing other than that they are from you.”

 

EXCERPT FOR ON THE RIGHT TRACK

RU’S phone pinged with a new message from Tommy.

Looks like another one, sorry.

The text was attached to a photo of the cover of a magazine featuring Ru kissing his ex-boyfriend Kris and then a smaller picture of Kris kissing another guy. Headline for that one was Vocal Growth Star Jilted! Six months and still front page news.

He sighed. Even leaving California hadn’t helped. Here he was in the cold autumn of Minnesota, alone, but still stalked by the conservative media who thought anyone under eighteen didn’t deserve to recognize their sexuality. Sure he was gay. He’d known for years. Had even made the mistake of telling his father when he was eleven. Why did that make him a bad guy?

As part of a boy band that had traveled the world a few times and won a hefty number of awards, he was required to maintain a wholesome image. At least that’s what his former recording studio had told him. And wholesome didn’t mean kissing another guy, even when he and Kris had been exclusive for almost two years. So, while it was okay for other celebrities to come out and show pride, anyone under the magical age of eighteen was ridiculed, cast out, and treated as a pariah of the community.

Do you need me to come stay with you? Tommy texted again. He was a former bandmate but still a good friend. Tommy hadn’t cared when Ru told him he was gay. He did offer to kick the crap out of Kris after the guy had set them up to be photographed together, outing Ru to the whole world, only to then cheat on him. Would Ru’s heart ever stop breaking at the memory?

Ru texted back He never really loved me, did he?

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He’s Hot, He’s Sexy, He’s The Alpha King by Vicktor Alexander (book tour and contest)

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Book Name: The Alpha King
Goodreads Link
Author Name: Vicktor Alexander

I am thrilled to have Vicktor Alexander here in the author’s chair to talk about this intriquing new series from the inspiration to main story  elements.

Q.  The Alpha King  has a rather unique premise behind it, a sort of gay wolf shifters in space element.  Where did you get the inspiration for the concept?

Viktor: It’s really weird, honestly. With my books I live in a constant state of “What if?” And I found myself going, “What if the Earth was sentient and turned on humans because we were killing each other? Because of our hatred for each other? Our racism? Our inability to take care of her? What if there actually was life out there on other planets and they tried to warn us and we didn’t listen? And then, what if by they time they finally did, most of the human race had been killed off by Earth herself?” By that point my brain had already created this entire world, this entire series, and then I realized that humans wouldn’t be able to live on these other planets because of our lungs so we would have to breed with them and create new species, the humanoids, but then, because I’m a “what if” person, I wondered, what if there was one particular family whose genetic makeup gave them the ability to bring back the pure human race again? What would happen? Who would try to prevent that? And how would that happen? And The Alpha King was born. A book filled with shifters of all kinds, humanoids, scifi, monarchy, intrigue, angst, and lots of hot man sex.

Q.  The Alpha King rests on a plot narrative that meant your world building had to incorporate a wealth of information and back history.  From a dying world to prophesies to a planet of wolf shifters…that’s a lot of elements and back history to create and then fold into your story?  What or where did you draw from to create this foundation for your story?

Viktor: I think some of it came from Star Trek, LOL. I’m a HUGE Trekkie, fan. Some of it came from the dogma that my biological family used to spout at me, but I sort of flipped it on its head. Some of it came from just reality. The whole global warming thing. And I was extremely distressed when I heard a story about a transwoman being attacked in a McDonald’s bathroom and it was recorded. When I talked to a coworker about it, she said she understood and agreed with it! I was so brokenhearted about it and wondered if I was the only person. Then I wondered if the Earth were alive if it got tired of all the bullshit that we humans did to each other. So it was pretty much a number of different places that I drew from to get the world building. After that it was just a matter of sitting down and taking it planet by planet and creating languages, laws, history, etc. I’m so much of a history and sci-fi nerd that I wanted to make sure that it all worked together before I started writing.

Q.  Why science fiction?

Viktor: Because I’m a nerd? LOL. I like blending different genres together. And I didn’t want to just have the shifters on Earth. The entire premise of the series lay on humans being rescued by shifters from other planets, that was a science fiction element. Blame it on my Trekkieness. “To seek out new worlds and new civilizations…”

Q.  …and then why take wolf shifters, which I automatically think of as an “earth” oriented supernatural being, into space?

Viktor: Because I was always the kid who colored outside of the lines. I don’t like it when someone tells me that something has to be this way. I create the parameters, I create the lines and the boundaries. I am the Dom. My whole thing with writing has always been a “who said?” when people tell me I have to write something a particular way. “But vampires can’t walk in the daylight!” Who said? “But shifters have to be on Earth!” Who said? I write what my characters tell me to write and then when I cross some proverbial line that people say is there or I’m not in the box that people expect me to be in, I shrug and point at myself. I’m a multi-ethnic, transgender, gay male who is Messianic Jewish, a veteran of the United States Army, and a lot of other things. Nothing about me says “in the box.” Nothing about screams that I stay inside the lines. I spend my life pushing people’s boundaries because they want me to, I’m going to do it in my writing as well. LOL.

Q.  This book contains bdsm or elements of bdsm.  From the note included, it explains, rather succinctly, a little about the bdsm lifestyle plus a warning for those not in the lifestyle not to try this out without a trained professional.  Why do you feel that is so important?  Do you feel that your representation of aspects of the bdsm lifestyle come across as accurate?

Viktor: Well, seeing as how I was trained as a Dom for over a year and I have been in the BDSM Lifestyle for over 13 years now, I would say, pretty confidently that my representation of the Lifestyle is accurate. LOL. And yes, I do think that the warning at the beginning of the book is needed. Too often there are books that are published with aspects of the BDSM Lifestyle contained within them that do not contain a note of caution, and while most readers are not reading the book for anything other than entertainment, there may be some that decide to try out the actions or the scene within the story with someone who is not trained and may get hurt. Not only because they are not trained, but sometimes because the book that is published is written by someone who has not done any research into the Lifestyle, or it is written by someone who is not in the Lifestyle themselves. This worries me as a Dom, as an author, and as a caring individual. Not only does this put a mark on the BDSM/Kink community, but on the writing community as well. We put warnings at the front of books for anal sex, double penetration, and even humorous ones about virgins, or too stupid to live characters, but when a book contains BDSM, which prides itself on Safe, Sane, and Consensual, we have numerous books out there that do not hold any warning whatsoever. This, to me, is unacceptable, and I’ve had a number of readers and even other authors, who have emailed and private messaged me and asked me what I thought about different books, authors, and the lack of warnings in books, and because of that, I knew that I had to make sure that this warning was stated plainly in the front of this book. Thankfully, the other owners of Rooster & Pig Publishing, Inc. agreed with me.

Q.  With such an elaborate world building, do you plan more stories in this universe or a sequel to The Alpha King?

Viktor: Oh, absolutely! There are 5 other books planned for the Passion’s Hero series: The Beta Prince, The Epsilon Elder, The Gamma Guard, The Vermithian Consort, The Strawxigian Spy. And then there are 15 books planned for a spin-off series which follows the children born of the Passion’s Hero series in a series entitled: Love’s Savior.

Q.  Were you a prolific reader as a child? Was there one book or author who impacted you as a child whose influence has continued today?

Viktor: LOL. Yes I was. I was reading by the time I was 4 and by the time I was 10 I was reading William Shakespeare with comprehension. I would have to say that Langston Hughes and the book Where The Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein were probably the biggest impacts on my childhood, after William Shakespeare, of course (I know, I know. I cheated.)
.
Q.  What’s next for Vicktor Alexander?

Viktor:  I’m finishing up The Servant Duchess Of Whitcomb which is the sequel to Groom Of Convenience which released from Dreamspinner Press on October 17th. Then I’ll be working on a short story for MLR Press. Then finishing up Daddy’s Boy for Rooster & Pig Publishing, Inc. Then there’s the next book in the Mistake’s series for Totally Bound Publishing Wonderful Mistake, and then there’s the Truth or Dare Anthology which will be self-published. But of course, I’m saying all of this and my muse may decide to change his mind and rearrange all of it as soon as I finish the short story for MLR. LOL.
Thanks so much for having me! –  -Vicktor Alexander

Part of a series?: Yes. This is book one in the Passion’s Hero series and subsequent books should be read in order.

Author Bio:

Vicktor “Vic” Alexander wrote his first story at the age of ten and hasn’t stopped writing since. He loves reading about anything and everything and is a proud member of the little known U.N. group (Undercover Nerds) because while he lives, eats, breathes, and sleeps sports, he also breathes history and science fiction and grew up a Trekkie. But don’t ask him about Dungeons & Dragons, because he has no idea how to play that game.

When it comes to writing he loves everything from paranormal to contemporary to fantasy to historical and is known not only for being the Epilogue King but also for writing stories that cross lines and boundaries that he doesn’t know are there.

Vic is a proud father of two daughters one of whom watches over him from Heaven with his deceased partner Christopher. Vic is a proud trans* and gay man, and when he is not writing, he is hanging out with his friends, or being distracted by videos of John Barrowman, Scott Hoying, and Shemar Moore. Vicktor has published numerous bestselling novels and has a WIP list that makes him exhausted just thinking about. He knows that he will be still be writing about hot men falling in love with each other, long after he is living in an assisted living facility, flirting with the hot, male nurses.

Author Contact: http://www.twitter.com/VVeeB

Publisher: Rooster & Pig PublishingThe Alpha King Cover Photo
Cover Artist: Vicktor Alexander

Sales Links:  Amazon UK  Amazon   ARe    Rooster & Pig Publishing

The Alpha King Blurb:

Centuries after the destruction of Earth, destiny is being fulfilled and plans are in motion to restore not only the Earth, but mankind, to its former glory. One family is fated to bring about this amazing destiny. One man puts it all in motion, the day he crashes on to the wolf-planet of Tumaro and met his mate. 

Talon Versuthion always knew that some kind of way, life was going to screw him over. His parents died when he was just a boy and he can’t remember a thing about them. He was adopted by a great family only to have them tell him that he is a Vermithian, one of the most despised humanoid species. Even worse than that? He has no idea that a prophecy was made about his family, one that mentions that someone from the Versuthion family will bring back a pure human race. And there are people out there who will stop at nothing to make sure that never happens. No matter what.

While on a delivery for the GPA with his adopted sister Josie, however, Tal’s space shuttle crashes onto Tumaro, the notorious wolf-shifter planet. Tal is lucky to be alive, though Josie can’t be found. He is desperate to find her, but destiny steps in and history is changed forever. Because the Alpha King of the planet, Blazell Roughshire, is Talon’s mate. And before the two men can even settle into their new relationship they must deal with conspiracy, murder, kidnapping and a centuries old plot to completely eradicate the human race. Will Blaze be able to keep his mate safe from those who would see him dead? Is Tal truly the only one left from his family who can fulfill this centuries old prophecy? And can Tal, who has made it a point to never fall in love with anyone, open his heart and let Blaze be Passion’s hero?

Warning: This book contains references to abuse, rape, torture, and violence. It also 
contains hot sex between a young man with an affinity for celebrities that may sound familiar to 
you and his hot possessive Alpha mate. This is a R&P Whips & Chains novel which means the 
story contains BDSM elements. BDSM is a Lifestyle and while certain elements of it are not 
dangerous, please do not engage in any part of the BDSM Lifestyle without a trained 
professional on-hand.(This is a re-edited, re-published novel. The publisher has been changed. 
Over 22,500 words have been added to the original)

Categories: Alternate Universe, BDSM, Fantasy, Fiction, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Paranormal, Romance, Science Fiction

The Alpha King Excerpt:

“Where the hell are my clothes? More than that. Where the hell is my sister?” Talon yelled, pulling the bedcovers up to his chin.

Blazell laughed heartily, not at all deterred by his mate’s little freak-out. “Your clothes 
were destroyed in your accident, my love. I took the liberty of removing the hospital gown you 
wore when I brought you here to our bedroom,” he stated with amusement.

“Our bedroom?” Talon questioned in a small, hesitant voice, quivering with fear and shock.

“Yes, love, our bedroom. Where we will sleep and make love, more so the latter than the 
former.” He didn’t know how to respond about the man’s sister. He hadn’t heard anything about there being anyone else found at the crash. He would fully admit he was being rather selfish at the moment and only wanted to focus on his mate’s well-being and Talon’s sudden appearance in his life. Once they were fully bonded, Blazell would look into Talon’s missing sister. Blazell knew that made him an asshole, but, at the moment, he couldn’t bring himself and his wolf to feel ashamed.

Talon shook his head in bewilderment. “But you don’t even know me, and I certainly don’t know you!”

“My soul knows yours, my heart embraces yours, and my life and I were made for you as 
yours was made for me. I know you in the deepest parts of me, even though my mind may not,”Blazell declared. “You were made for me,” he said as he placed his hands on either side of his 
mate’s face, his thumbs delicately caressing Talon’s cheeks. “As I was made for you.”

Words/Pages: 92,505 words, 258 pages

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A MelanieM Review: Sand and Ruin and Gold by Alexis Hall

Rating: 5 stars out of 5 (for story and cover)

Once upon a time . . . that’s how the old stories always begin.

And so this one begins, in a land both foreign and familiar, it’s a tale of princes, and merfolk and love…of a sort.

Once upon a time there was a king of a fallen kingdom. He was just and he was beloved. Or so the numbers said. One day, he gathered together the greatest, wisest minds in all the land—not sorcerers, but scientists—and he bade them fashion him a son. A prince. A perfect prince to embody his father’s legacy. 

Sand and Gold and RuinBut as fate would have it, nothing ever turns out as planned and the golden perfect prince had other ideas for his future. After gazing upon the dances of the mer in a performance, our prince runs off to join the circus, the Cirque de la Mer.  Once there the prince trained the merfolk,  he performed with them, and  thought he was happy…for a year.

Time brought strange thoughts and emotions to the prince the closer he got to the merfolk. Then Nerites arrives, a mesmerizing merman who refused to be trained or tamed.  Nerites was something far more than the prince ever expected.  Nerites was savage and unknown.

How does the tale end?  Ah, there’s the rub.  For every prince, there exists a beast, and for every love, there exists a forever heartbreak.  Sand and Ruin and Gold has them all.

Sand and Ruin and Gold hearkens back to the olden stories.  Not the comforting ” Disneyfied” fairytales but those of Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson.  Here the darkness and unknown reign supreme, not happy endings or light.  Less a tale of romance, this beautifully written short story builds an atmosphere of  creeping foreboding, a sense that not everything is as it seems.  The poetic nature of the narrative combined with an imagery that will enchant, then leave you haunted by the possibilities, make Sand and Ruin and Gold by Alexis Hall a short story that refuses to be limited by category or trope.

The feeling of something just off kilter is already present at the beginning.  Hall’s prince isn’t born, he’s a genetically perfected young man, created to be the ideal heir to a “good” king who resides over a fallen land.  The clues and telling phrases are slipped in sparingly at first, then in ever increasing numbers. As new descriptions of the circus and the shows appear, a far different picture emerges from our original assumptions of the merfolk and the circumstances at the Circus.  And along with it comes the feeling one gets when the hairs rise off your arm when frightened or the queasiness that originates in your stomach when it dawns on you that something you thought was happily normal or ordinary turns out to be fearfully, horrifically wrong.

Alexis Hall understands how to build a powerfully evocative story, one that runs more along the lines of those classics passed from bard to bard, told around fires in great halls and forests alike.  Whether those bards be from the past or perhaps even our future, that is but one more chilling aspect of this story, a tale that exists in the mists and ocean eddies of the dark seas of this unknown world. But its Hall’s stylistically vivid and powerful narrative with its lush descriptions that makes this story so stunning, so poignant.  This is how it starts out:

“I must have been very young when I saw the mermaids at the Cirque de la Mer because it was the nurse who took me and her place in my life was soon surrendered to tutors. I don’t think my father ever found out.  He would not have approved.

The day is little more than a sensory haze, of pastel children, the laughter of strangers, and the burn of salt and chemicals at the back of my throat.

The mermaids, though.  They are as vivid as stained glass, even now.”

Told from the prince’s pov, we feel his assumptions of his life and the circus fall slowly away as comprehension and understanding arrive building block by building block as events unfold around him.  It is a tale of deep love faced amidst horrifying truths.  One reading will not be enough to capture all the incredible and terrifying moments as sudden realization, and insight sets in.

And then there is that ending, the one that will refuse to let you go.  Its in the words and feelings that emerge, and the tears that will run down your face as you try to decide the implications of words strung like pearls, luminescent and beyond value.  An ending that will send you back to the beginning of the story and start this tale once more.

I highly recommend this story to all readers.  This is a story that should be on everyones shelf, whether it be made of wood or eReader.  This is one of Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Best of 2014 as is its cover.

Cover Artist:  Simone.  The artwork for Sand and Ruin and Gold is every bit as lush and haunting as the story itself. One of the best covers of the year.

Sales Links:    Riptide Publishing           All Romance (ARe)        amazon          Sand and Ruin and Gold

Book Details:

ebook, 39 pages
Published September 22nd 2014 by Riptide Publishing
ISBN139781626492318
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://riptidepublishing.com/title

A PaulB Review: Galactic Treasure (Earth Con #2) by Theodora Marie Adams

Rating 3 out of 5 stars

Earth Con Galactic TreasureTolkian warriors Zaraheed and Valvik are sent to Earth to search for the ancient Ark scrolls. They make their way to Earth Con, a science fiction convention in Austin, Texas. They meet rising author Connor Masterson. The three then bond during the conference while the aliens track down the missing scrolls before the space pirate G’herkon finds them.

Zaraheed and Valvik are sent to Earth by General Tsubotai in search of the Ark scrolls. These scrolls contain the ancient history of their people and might provide answers to why their people were dying earlier than expected. Posing as Zack and Victor, the two go to Austin, Texas to a science fiction convention called Earth Con. While standing in line to enter, they meet Connor Masterson, a native of the city. Connor, who writes magna that closely follows the history of the Tolkian, is taken by the two travelers. He offers to show them around the city during the duration and after the conference. Connor falls for the foreign travelers. Zack and Victor must protect their new human lover while searching for the scrolls before a space pirate finds them first.

The romance between the three characters seemed to lack something for me. It started out as the aliens talking about someone in line at the convention as a way to have fun while trying to complete their mission. Meanwhile, Connor, who believes he is just an average guy, cannot believe that not one but two studs are after him. They all get hot and heavy after a party in which Connor becomes inebriated by alien alcohol. Once an alien doctor tells the pair that they have bonded with Connor, they know that their lives are tied together. But then once they have to leave, they decide to court Connor while have a really long distance relationship. The situation just did not add up for me. However, the sex scenes were well written, which can be a challenge when it comes to threesomes.

The other part of the book concerns the search for the scrolls. The plot twist involving the space pirate for me seemed to be telegraphed too much.

It was a decent book but the ending felt hollow for me.

The cover art by Karen Fox depicts our three protagonists as described by the author. The long braids and pointed ears of the aliens are well done.

Sales Links:  Changeling Press     All Romance (ARe)       amazon      Galactic Treasure

Book Details
Ebook, 100 pages
Published September 11, 2014 by Changeling Press
ISBN: 07097-02286
Edition language: English
This is book two of the Earth Con series. It can be read as a stand-alone. The books written by different authors include:

Fever Hitch (Earth Con, #1) by Ayla Ruse
Galactic Treasure (Earth Con #2) by Theodora Marie Adams

A MelanieM Review: Who Knows the Storm (The Vigilante #1) by Tere Michaels

Rating: 3.25 stars out of 5

Who Knows the Storm coverSometime in the future, a mysterious climate event caused torrential rains to fall, raising the water levels in New York City so high that huge areas were soon lost underwater and what civilians that could were evacuated, never to return.  Now a vastly different New York City is rising up from the flooded land, one where decadence reigns—gambling, the flesh trade, a playground for the wealthy. And underneath? Crime, fueled by “Dead Bolt,” a destructive designer drug.

Left behind in the initial evacuation as a young teen, now a grown Nox Boyet leads a double life. At night, he is the Vigilante, struggling to keep the streets safe for citizens abandoned by the corrupt government and police. During the day, he works in construction and does his best to raise his adopted teenaged son, Sam.

High priced whore, “model” Cade Creel, a high-end prostitute working at the Iron Butterfly Casino is asked by one of his influential “regular” clients to hand deliver an envelope to a person named Sam Boyer.  Never did Cade expect his delivery to take him into the worst parts of town where mugging and killings are frequent, and the best options where even worse outcomes have been known to occur.  A “rescue” by the Vigilante and the delivery made to Sam trigger an intense attraction between Nox and Cade, one that  ignites as dark figures from Nox’s past and the mysterious peddlers of Dead Bolt begin to descend—and put all their lives in danger. When things spin out of control, Cade is the only person Nox can trust to help him save Sam.

My hopes for Who Knows the Storm ran high.  The author?  One of my favorite and an automatic buy for her stories.  The synopsis?  Intriguing and current, especially the element of a climatic weather event drowning New York City, a possibility that many experts expect to happen in the not so distant future.  Plus it was the first in a new series called The Vigilante, another bonus.  Unfortunately, while Who Knows the Storm has many fine attributes, taken together they never add up to a logically constructed, gripping whole story. Sigh.

Set in some vague dystopian future, the settings and locations made sense while the backstory did not.  Everyone expects the sea levels to rise, especially given recent storms like Hurricane Sandy which left a wide path of destruction in its wake, including submerged subways and highly populated boroughs underwater. But here there was no effort made to reclaim the city, leaving it to crumble,falling into such disrepair and unhealthy state that no one returns to live there?  That’s the first premise the reader has to buy into and its a huge one that never feels believable.  New Yorkers giving up on their city?  The rich and influential fleeing, leaving their riches behind?  Uh no.  Especially when there are already cities (think Amsterdam or Venice or…) with the working technology to erect sea barriers.  There exist pumps to flush out the subways (which they did in Sandy), and so much more that is general knowledge that this “world building” is off to a shaky start on a foundation built on plot that never comes together.  I never bought into this dystopian world  and that lack of believability and connection damaged the rest of the story.

Then there were the characters.  Nox Boyet’s past is seen through the eyes of an abandoned 15 year old, one living through an ecological disaster of immense proportions.  This element of the story is both moving and affective.  We don’t need a reason for the rains to become affected by a young person in danger in uncertain times.  The descriptions and scenes are desperation incarnate and the frailty of Nox’s situation pulls the reader in…for a while.

Then we transition from the past, forward to a year and then to the nebulous present and Nox as not only an wary adult but a father of teenaged son.  The vast gap between the child left behind and the aged Nox just highlights the missed opportunities to flesh out the world building and answer the many questions floating around in the reader’s minds.

The pov switches from character to character, transitioning in a manner that’s not always as smooth as one could hope.  Michaels is also trying to establish all the main series plot threads, events and characters while balancing the need of the immediate storyline and character growth.  Sometimes it works and other times not so much.  Events from the past are reintroduced throughout the story but often lead to more questions not answers.  There are character with multiple identities and everywhere a facades are erected to hide the actual events and people responsible for them.  I rather liked the “smoke and mirrors” aspect to Michael’s plot.  There are some nasty little surprises in store for the main characters and shocks for the readers as well.  It’s a convoluted trip Tere Michaels takes us on.  There are white-knuckle moments galore, and gut clenchers (yes I know that’s not a word but it should be) to satisfy most picky of  action/suspense readers around.  But…..it never all comes together and feels like a harmonious whole.  It’s feels jumbled and a bit dense in places, and the “aha” moments  come and go a little too quickly.

The last thing?  The ending, which leaves major components and figures unresolved and unidentified.  That’s actually ok with me as this is the first in a series, and I can see the author using this mysterious scheme and head villain as an “umbrella layer” for all the books to come.  I was left strangely unsatisfied at the end of the story.  I just don’t think this part of the story was part of that unsettled feeling.  I’m still thinking about that one.

If you are a Tere Michael’s fan or a lover of dystopian stories, you might love Who Knows the Storm (The Vigilante #1).  This is a story that could go either way with readers, some will love it and others won’t make it to the finish.  You will have to be the judge.

 Cover Artist: Angsty G.  The coloration is nice.  I wish the idea of a New York Red District rising out of filth laden waters would have translated to the cover.

Sales Links:   Dreamspinner Press                    All Romance  (ARe)                   Who Knows the Storm             buy it here

Book Details:

ebook, 240 pages
Published October 17th 2014 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN139781632162175
edition languageEnglish
seriesThe Vigilante #1