Category: Uncategorized

A MelanieM Review: Flax’s Pursuit (AURA Series #2) by Angel Martinez and Bellora Quinn

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Flax's Pursuit coverA murderer haunts the city, turning the unwary to stone. Between hunting this evil and corralling new arrivals, Flax struggles to guard both his life and his heart.

Quinn and Valerian have come through the trials of facing an undead lich queen and the perils of falling in love. Now they work to restore AURA to its previous strength and efficiency while navigating their new life with each other. Fortunately, they’re not in this alone.

Kai Hiltas has taken over as the head of the research department at AURA and has become everyone’s favourite workaholic, everyone except his lover Tenzin, who has had enough of his late nights and broken promises. As Kai tries to salvage his relationship, he finds a teacher for Quinn, who also happens to be one of Valerian’s new officers, Flax Wolfheart, a sexy elf with trouble written all over him.

Flax has motives beyond simply teaching Quinn to control his magic. He’s trying to recover from his own losses and failures, but he has a plan. The two newest elvish crossovers, Ash and Sage, are sizzling hot and might even like him. With them as backup as he tracks a deadly stone mage and figures out how to teach Quinn, Flax sees his chance to impress Val and snag a place by his captain’s side. On the hunt for both danger and redemption, Flax’s pursuit leads him ultimately down trails he never expected.

Angel Martinez and Bellora Quinn’s AURA series continue’s its marvelous saga with Flax’s Pursuit.  The world has been made unstable by a magical explosion, causing tears in the fabrics of the universe to heartbreaking effect.  Beings are snatched from their worlds without notice, torn from their worlds, loved ones, family and all things familiar, and sent tumbling into the human one often with the worst repercussions you could imagine.  A mermaid falls through a tear in the fabric, appears over the Mojave desert, despairs and commits suicide, all without ever knowing why.  For others, the death is slower, achieved through addiction or other means of self destruction when the idea of never being able to return home becomes unbearable.

Martinez and Quinn bring not only this new world in a constant state of flux to vivid life but makes it carry with it the aroma of misery, shock, and depression that surrounds those who are unable to adjust to their new circumstances.  Magic has returned everywhere and people now aren’t quite sure how that is going to affect the things or beings around them. I love that these authors have a whole world and any number of mythologies to pull from when gathering ingredients for these stories.  You never know what type of being or universe the authors will pull from when the next “event” occurs to bring another creature into the human world.  It creates a level of  suspense that rolls over from moment to moment throughout the story, a anticipatory narrative note that helps to make each tale sing with surprise, delight and sometimes sorrow.

Val and Quinn return from the first story.  In fact, its Quinn’s wild powers and a need for control that bring Flax into the picture.  Quinn needs a teacher and Kai Hiltas has determined that the elf Flax is the one to teach him, willing or not, mostly not.  Flax is one of those who has not adjusted well to life within human laws or society, nor does he find human Quinn particularly suitable for the majestic Val.  Flax reeks of unhappiness and arrogance, never a good combination but the authors also make us taste the bitterness of life as he sees it.  The stench of the air pollution, or the smell from the garbage in the alleys, all an anathema to a woods elf who remember the purity of the life he can never  return to.

Then two  more elves fall into the city, taken from their lives and world mid battle. The manner in which these two will complicate everyone’s lives is lively, layered, semi-sweet, and ultimately satisfying.  At one point it looked as though the authors were taking it (the m/m/m relationship) in one direction, but didn’t.  But it was the way the story line flowed in that direction, the reasons and emotions behind  the plot twists that swirled, eddied and then moved on, and felt so natural doing so, was just one more narrative gift from Martinez and Quinn.  It was right in very aspect of the story and relationships.  Yes, this is a m/m/m but there are cultural reasons behind it.  It feels natural and in many respects, healing.  And so damn sexy.

Another moving aspect of  this story?  The murders and the culprits behind them.  For every evil, there is an explanation and accompanying pain, a blackness you can watch grey out with understanding by the end of the storyline.  That happens here.  That’s really another of the facets about this story that I love, one that the authors both bring to the story and series.  A sense of depth, an openness of attitude towards all sorts of beings…drows…yetis…trolls…there is something good in every being if you look for it. I wonder what or who  will fall to earth next?

There is a secondary love story between Kai and his yeti lover, in fact there are all manner of relationships or would-be relationships going on here at AURA headquarters.  I can’t wait to see who is up next.  This is one amazing series.  It has heroes of every variety, it has quests both small and large,  personal and for all beings involved.  It has first loves, established partnerships teetering, and lost loves mourned.  It really has it all.  Grab them up and get started today.  This is a series you won’t want to miss.

Cover artist Posh Gosh does a nice job with adding the ears and with the characters, especially as one is so young in age.

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

Book Details:

ebook
Published June 16th 2015 by Totally Bound Publishing
ISBN139781784306229
edition language English
url https://www.totallybound.com/flaxs-pursuit
series AURA Series #2

AURA Series

AURA, the Agency of Unnatural Resettlement and Assimilation: it’s a weird job, but somebody’s got to do it.
A magical catastrophe tears the fabric of reality, causing unpredictable holes between worlds through which anything might fall—elves, centaurs, trolls, yeti. The brave officers and employees of AURA struggle daily to help the lost and injured, and contain the irretrievably violent while their research staff scramble to find a way to reverse the effect.
Anything can and does pop through into the human world, sometimes with disastrous and deadly results. It’s a race against time to see if the AURA mages can repair reality and stop the inter-dimensional flood before something crosses over that proves strong enough to destroy the world.

Quinn’s Gambit (AURA, #1)
Flax’s Pursuit (Aura #2)

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words: Best Book Covers of September 2015

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Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Best Book Covers of September 2015

That blank book cover above doesn’t look very appealing does it? Would you buy a book with a cover like that? A great book cover should draw your attention to it, make you want to pick it up (or buy it), tell you a little bit about the story or characters, be intriguing enough for the reader to want to explore more or just be plain gorgeous that we can’t resist.  In short, a book cover has a job to do.  Some book covers do ok, some fail, and some exceed beyond measure.

As some of you may be aware, Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words loves its book covers. Here are Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words’ Best Book Covers, chosen from the books we read and reviewed during the month of September 2015.  Its a diverse group, with cover art represented by all types of art work and artists, including some of the authors themselves.

I’ve included the covers for you to see.   Each of our reviewers includes a comment on the book’s cover in their review at the end of their post.  Do you agree with them?  Disagree?  Which were your favorite covers this month?

Best Book Covers of September 2015:

ACID coverBeautiful Thunder coverBeyond the Surface coverButtermilk Ranch

 

 

 

 

 

ACID by Wulf Francu Godgluck & S. van Rooyen, Cover art by Wulf Francu Godgluck

Beautiful Thunder by Louise Lyons, Cover art by Maria Fanning

Beyond the Surface (The Breakfast Club #1) by Felice Stevens, cover art by Reese Dante

Buttermilk Ranch by Patricia Logan, Cover art by AJ Corza

 

Dangerous Sprits coverEmpty Nests coverFit To Be Tied coverLate Summer Early Spring cover

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dangerous Spirits (Spirits #2) by Jordan L. Hawk, Cover art by Jordan L. Hawk

Empty Nests (Nested Hearts #1) by Ada Maria Soto, Cover Art by  Paul Richmond

Fit to be Tied (Marshals #2) by Mary Calmes, Cover art by Reese Dante

Late Summer, Early Spring by Patricia Correll, Cover art by Anne Cain

 

Other Side of the Line coverRed Hot Coffin Nails Cover

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other Side of the Line by Marguerite Labbe, Cover art by Catt Ford

Red Hot Coffin Nails by KA Merikan, Cover art by Natasha Snow

 

A MelanieM Review: High Stakes (Four of Clubs #4) by Parker Williams (Pulp Friction 2015 #15)

Rating:  5 stars out of 5      ★★★★★

High Stakes coverBen Nelson marvels at the resiliency of his lover, Artie Middleton. He takes everything life throws at him and comes out the other end stronger than ever. It’s with this strength in mind that Ben tosses Artie a curveball that will change both of their lives forever.

A single question from Ben’s lips has Artie rushing headlong toward his happily ever after. One that he never thought he’d have and is now being served to him on a silver platter. He has it all—friends, family, and a future. But even a gifted psychic can’t see everything, and Artie is about to get a wakeup call.

Things he thought to be true about his past aren’t as clear-cut as he believed. His history with some of the people in his life runs deeper than he realized. And he’s about to learn a previously unknown threat from his childhood has returned to rip it all away.

Artie soon finds that in this game, the stakes couldn’t be higher: the lives of everyone he loves.

We’ve reached book four in the latest Pulp Friction series and we all know what that means if you’ve read any of the previous series.  It’s time for some serious angst and despair.  Boy, does Parker Williams and High Stakes deliver that in, well, clubs. Can’t very well say spades can we?

Using the poker game analogy, the stakes of the games are raised up even higher still.  Within these 60 pages, Parker Williams fills in more of Artie’s history and family background, along with a connection to another character’s past.  The author uses this information not merely to inform but to scare the living bejeezus out of us with the ramifications it brings.

If any book has a purpose in a series (and this one surely does), its to show the closing in of evil around our small gang of knights gathering to do battle.  And the odds aren’t looking good.  The despair pours off the descriptions, and the angst flows even over the most joyful of scenes.  And that ending?  A shocker to the soul.  That one went beyond a mere gnashing of teeth and tearing of the hair into the “Oh Nooooooooooo!” *cue to  screams of disbelief*.

I did not see that one coming.  When you can hide something like that event in the small clues stashed away in bits and pieces throughout the tale, well, that’s wonderful storytelling.  Well done, Mr. Parker!  Still devastated but well done.

Two more books to go.   One more by Parker Williams and then the series finale written by all the authors and combined story lines.  I can’t wait to see how they are going to pull this off.  I  am totally perplexed about the whole thing.  The villains, the subplots, and just how its all going to work itself out.  Am I a happy camper?  Yes, I am.

All the stories are short, so it easy to catch up if you need to start at the beginning of a series.  There are four of them that are connected here.  I have them all listed at the bottom of the review.  Use it as a TBR list if you haven’t already.

Love paranormal romance?  Murder mysteries?  Supernatural beings?  Why not combine them all in the style of a pulp fiction series?  They have it all here.  Now I just can’t wait to see how it will all end.

I highly recommend this series and all the interconnected series its attached to.

Cover art by Laura Harner.  I’ve been ambivalent about these covers from the start.  But I really like this one.  Especially with the shadows that can be taken a number of ways.  Great job.

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

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 65 pages
Published September 13th 2015
ASINB015DBPJHE
edition languageEnglish
seriesPulp Friction 2015 #15, Four of Clubs #4
other editions (1)
High Stakes (Four of Clubs #4) (Pulp Friction 2015, #15)

 

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About Pulp Friction 2015

Lee Brazil ~ Havan Fellows ~ Parker Williams ~ Laura Harner

The Pulp Friction 2015 Altered States Collection.
Four authors.
Four Series.
Twenty books.
One supernatural finale.

Spend a year with the creatures that go bump in the night…fighting for their rights to exist and protecting the innocents of The Big Easy. A diverse group of friends trying to find their place in a world they never had to “fit” into before.

Although each series can stand alone, we believe reading the books in the order they are released will increase your enjoyment.

Round One:
Drawing Dead (Jack of Spades: 1) by Lee Brazil
Blind Stud (King of Hearts: 1) by Havan Fellows
The Devil’s Bedpost (Four of Clubs: 1) by Parker Williams
Diamonds and Dust (Ace of Diamonds: 1) by Laura Harner

Round Two:
Dead Blind (Jack of Spades: 2) by Lee Brazil
Stud Player (King of Hearts: 2) by Havan Fellow
Up the Ante (Four of Clubs: 2 ) by Parker Williams
Diamond Draw (Ace of Diamonds: 2) by Laura Harner

Round Three:

Dead Button (Jack of Spades #3) by Lee Brazil
Blind Man’s Bluff (King of Hearts #3) by Havan Fellows
The Devil’s Playground (Four of Clubs #3) by Parker Williams
Diamonds Edge (Ace of Diamonds #3) by Laura Harner

Round Four:

Dead Man’s Hand (Jack of Spades 4) by Lee Brazil
Blind Heart (King of Hearts 4) by Havan Fellows
High Stakes (Four of Clubs 4) by Parker Williams
Diamond Flush (Ace of Diamonds 4) by Laura Harner

A Free Dreamer Review: Late Summer, Early Spring by Patricia Correll

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Late Summer Early Spring coverHour of the Lotus
General Sho Iwata is devastated when the man he secretly loves, Prince Narita, is struck with a mysterious illness. Iwata’s current lover, Hiroshi, is well aware of the general’s unrequited passion. But that isn’t his biggest problem. His sister is Narita’s favorite consort, but Hiroshi believes she has been replaced by an imposter. When they discover the true cause of the illness, they will have to battle an ancient spirit and survive.

Fox Hunter
Lord General Iwata Sho sets out in search of the mysterious Fox Hunter. When he finds his former lover, Hiroshi, he discovers a changed man, scarred inside and out and consumed by vengeance. Together with Narita’s grown son Daigo, Iwata and Hiroshi pursue the malicious spirit as it leaves bloodshed in its wake. Iwata worries about what will become of Hiroshi when the fox is defeated—if Hiroshi’s revenge doesn’t kill him first.

I absolutely love historical Japanese novels, especially when there’s an element of typical Japanese mythology. So when I read about this book, I just had to have it. I have to admit, I totally didn’t realize that this book was actually two stories until I read the blurb again just now. It didn’t feel like two separate stories when reading. One definitely doesn’t work without the other, so it’s a good thing that it comes as a package.

 Late Summer, Early Spring by Patricia Correll had so much potential: Two samurai, a mysterious demon and a reunion after decades apart. And it definitely was intriguing. I was constantly wondering what was happening to the poor prince. And when the demon did finally show up, it was a very creepy revelation and I was glued to my Kindle to find out what happens next.

The relationship between Hiroshi and Iwata fell a little short over all. I am aware that DSP titles aren’t supposed to focus on the romance, which is usually fine by me, but here I really felt that the author could have easily made the relationship feel more real without taking anything away from the main plot, if only she’d decided to let the actions speak for them. I don’t expect major declarations of never ending love from two samurai warriors, but Ms. Correl could have shown more of the physical intimacy. Simple touches and kisses would have gone a long way to making me really feel the connection between the two.

The biggest downfall of “Late Summer, Early Spring” was the length, or rather the lack thereof. The fantasy and the relationship fell short because of that. I’m convinced the author could have easily filled twice as many pages and the story wouldn’t have lost any of its suspense. More details would have been nice overall.

Still, I really liked what was there. Lots of suspense and an intriguing plot with interesting characters. This could have been a truly amazing book, if only it had had more space for details. A real shame.

Cover Art by Anne Cain. I really quite like the cover. It’s unique and fits the book well. It looks a little like it could be an antique Japanese painting.

Sales Links: DSP Publications |  Amazon | Buy It Here

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 168 pages
Published July 14th 2015 by DSP Publications
Hour of the Lotus published by Dreamspinner Press, May 2013.

A Stella Review: Rough Road (Lake Lovelace #2) by Vanessa North

Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

Rough Road coverEddie Russell is many things: A wealthy pillar of the community. An outrageous flirt. A doting best friend. A masochist with a kink for brawling with his bedmates. But he is definitely not a man who invites intimacy. His friends are close but few, his lovers rarer still.

When Eddie runs his Mercedes off the road on a hot July afternoon, Wish Carver comes to his aid—and leaves his number in Eddie’s phone. Wish, a road crew worker half Eddie’s age and sexy as sin, seems fascinated by Eddie’s different sides. Mutual attraction and compatible kinks ignite the sheets, but it’s their connection outside the bedroom that Eddie begins to crave.

When the two come down on opposite sides of a local issue, Eddie finds his growing feelings for Wish at odds with his business interests and his devotion to his best friend, local wakeboarding legend Ben Warren. Torn between old loyalties and his new love, Eddie is reluctant to make a choice. But he knows he can’t make Wish wait too long to make up his mind.

Rough Road was my first book by Vanessa North. It’s part of the Lake Lovelace series but if you haven’t read the first one yet, Double Up, don’t worry. It can be easily read as a standalone. Still I was so nicely surprised by Rough Road that I’m going to come back to the first one soon. I’m so curious about Ben and Davis story.

This book was really really good, there wasn’t one thing I didn’t like, on the contrary. I’m a huge fan of characters with an age gap between them and with some kink elements or light BDSM. So from the blurb Rough Road had the potential to be a winner and I wasn’t disappointed at all. the age gap was an important one but not so evident cause Wish (*swooning over him*) was more mature for his years, he was sure of himself and what he wanted or better who he wanted. I particularly liked the MCs, Eddie was hilarious, too many times over the top but that’s why I loved it so much. He and Wish hit it off from the first time they laid eyes on each other and I can guarantee the chemistry came out from the pages in waves. I rushed into their story cause I was engaged by the scenes and the dialogues.

Their relationship was hot and sweet and just what I was in the mood for. I think you can’t go wrong picking this book, it was wonderful, light and quick. It was well written and I enjoyed the little but important hitches the author put in front of the MCs, they gave depth and reality to a story that could have been too simple to be loved so much. I liked the author’s style, she was so good she was able to make me like a story written in the first person using the present tense. I usually have a hard time with these choice but not in this case, I honestly noticed it on the second chapter. I think she did great and I can’t wait to read more by her. Highly recommended!

Cover art by LC Chase. The cover is nothing special to me and that’s probably why it caught my attention but it fits the book.

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

BOOK DETAILS

ebook, 185 pages
Expected publication: September 28th 2015 by Riptide Publishing
ISBN 1626492980
Edition Language English

Series Lake Lovelace
Double Up #1
Rough Road #2

 

Coffee Sip & Book Break: Where the Grass is Greener by Debbie McGowan & Raine O’Tierney (excerpt and contest)

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Where the Grass is Greener by Debbie McGowan & Raine O’Tierney
Release Date: September 28, 2015

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Beaten Track Publishing
Cover Artist: Debbie McGowan

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Buy the book: Beaten Track Publishing | eBook | Paperback | ARe |

Amazon | Amazon UK | Smashwords

My Mini Interview with Debbie McGowan and Raine O’Tierney

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Debbie McGowan & Raine O’Tierney authors of Where the Grass is Greener!

Hi Debbie & Raine, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little something that will let your readers get to know you all a little better.

Hello! We’re Debbie McGowan and Raine O’Tierney, two halves of a fantastic writing whole. We started collaborating early in 2015 and we’ve been writing recklessly together ever since! Our new book is Where the Grass is Greener (book 2 of The Seeds of Tyrone)–in addition, we’re working on book three, have almost completed a new humorous intrigue book, and are about halfway into something dark and mysterious. Any time our queue gets low, we just add things to the pile! Oh, we haven’t tried this…

  • What hobbies do you have for when you’re not writing?

DM: Hobbies? Ah, alas all my hobbies have gone by the wayside. I probably should do something about that. So…assuming I still do have hobbies…I’m a mediocre musician. My instrument is the concert flute, but I can also get a tune out of most brass instruments (with the exception of the French horn and trombone). I can twang chords on a piano, and if I had a sax I could probably play a passable Baker Street. I also have a few geek hobbies—making 3D characters and video. Sometimes I listen to music, and of course, I read. In fact, reading is the only hobby that seems to have survived my present work-sleep lifestyle.

RO: Okay, I did not know my collaby could play Baker Street (passably or otherwise!) I friggin’ LOVE Baker Street. Now I’m singing it… Oh, hobbies. I play video games, huge gamer nerd–most any console you can think of and handheld. I draw sometimes! I “collect” dachshunds and snuggle on them. Um…I write, oh damn! No! What I do when I’m not writing… I can also play the flute, though not well. I love anime and appreciate a sweet yaoi manga from time to time. Ooh! And I like to do grid logic puzzles and collect weird/alternative Christmas music.

 Now on to Where the Grass Is Greener….

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Blurb

Mistakes were made, that’s for sure. But was it the night of passion? Or walking away afterward?
That’s the question Seamus Williams must face when he gets a late night phone call from someone he never expects to hear from again.
“I miss you, Shay.”
Chancey Bo Clearwater is a cowboy through and through. He spends his days finding work on whatever ranch will take him and his nights at the pool hall. He’s always done what needed doing and never thought much about what he wanted. ’Til that drunken night with Seamus.
A world of problems now stand between Seamus and Chancey exploring what might have been, the least of which being the Atlantic Ocean. On one side there’s Chancey’s daughter who mood swings from angel to demon in two seconds flat; on the other there’s the new lodger, hogging Shay’s telly and his cornflakes, and making private Skype time hard to come by.
Is this relationship doomed before it ever begins? Or can a surprise announcement from Seamus’s brother be enough to help the two find their second chance?
Where the Grass is Greener features Seamus Williams – the older brother of Patrick from Leaving Flowers.

Pages or Words: 75,000 words
Categories: Bisexual, Contemporary, Fiction, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Western/Cowboy

Excerpt

“You’re quiet today, Seamus. What’s up?” the landlord asked.
“Just tired, is all. Got a leaky roof and the fecker was drippin’ all the damn night. And didn’t I get up this morning and kick the bucket?”
“You look alive and well to me, so you do. I say well…you look like shite.”
“Yeah, thanks very much. Think I’ll go join the lads, see if I can’t get a few more insults thrown at me.”
Seamus gave the landlord a wry grin and went over to the others, who were already well into the first of the three games they got in every lunchtime. He watched one of them take a bad shot and accidentally pot the black, the clunking of the ball as it rolled its way through the machinery of the table setting Seamus’s teeth on edge. John was right: he was dog-tired and probably did look like shite. He’d barely slept after the missed call, trying to decide whether to return it or not. His mind played tricks on him, one minute convincing him it was urgent and he should call back, the next telling him to stay strong. He’d made the move. He’d come back to Ireland. That’s what he’d wanted all along.
He had wanted it. Ever since Mam died, his sights had been set on coming home. He’d only stayed for Paddy’s sake, and now Paddy had Aidan there was nothing to keep Seamus in the States, although he was no further away from his brother now than he had been in Kansas. Never mind that he’d already made the decision before he knew Aidan even existed. No. It was a good decision. He was just—
He already knew, before he pulled his phone from his pocket: same Kansas number, same caller. His thumb hovered over the red button. Reject the call. Reject the call.
He answered.
“Seamus Williams.”
“At last! I thought I was calling a wrong number. Man, it’s so good to hear your voice.”
“Er, yeah. Yours too. What’s up? Has something happened?”
“Nothing new. I just…”
The rapid-hard thump of Seamus’s heart filled the pause, two seconds, three, four, and more. He drew breath to speak, but there was nothing to be said. Or nothing he should say.
“I miss you, Shay.”
***
The first call had been a drunk dial. Thank the heavenly father that Seamus Williams hadn’t picked up. Lord, the shit that might have come tumbling out of Chancey’s mouth. Now he was dead sober, but only slightly more composed. Had he really just said he’d missed Seamus? He tried for a laugh. It sounded as fake as it felt. Well he had missed Seamus. Nothin’ wrong with that.
“You gonna say somethin’?” He knew he was putting on the accent. Drawing out his vowels, droppings his g’s. His grandmother—who was from south Texas and who had an accent so deep it was digging itself a hole to the centre of the Earth—used to yell at him when he’d get lazy with his words.
You jus’ sound ign’rant, Chancey Bo Clearwater. Full name, cue snickering cousins, and young Chancey sank down low in his chair, ashamed at the way he sounded despite the fact they all talked just alike. The accent followed him when he moved to Oklahoma, where he picked up a whole set of strange ‘O’s, and even having lived in Kansas now for the better part of his life, it was still there underneath, just waiting to crop up in stressful situations.
“I didn’t expect to hear from you, that’s all.”
“Surprise.” He was trying for friendly, for calm. Trying to keep the I wanna put my fist through the wall and did you really mean to let me find out through Lulu? out of his voice.
“Isn’t this call costing you a million dollars?”
“Skype. On my phone. I bought minutes, y’know?”
“Is that right then?”
“But I didn’t think. It’s probably charging you too.”
“It’s fine.”
Is it? Seamus sure as hell wasn’t saying much. There was a long pause as Chancey considered his next move. He’d called because he’d wanted to talk. Not talk. Not like that. Nothing to say on that front. Seamus had made it all as clear as crystal dropped in the mud when he’d left his parting message with Lulu down at the pool hall, Rack ’Em. In a last-ditch effort, Chancey said the only thing he could think: “Boss Tina asked after you the other day when I went around for work.”
That got a laugh out of Seamus, which gave Chancey more relief than he cared to admit.

RC

Meet the Authors

  • DEBBIE McGOWAN is an author and publisher based in a semi-rural corner of Lancashire, England. She writes character-driven, realist fiction, celebrating life, love and relationships. A working class girl, she ‘ran away’ to London at seventeen, was homeless, unemployed and then homeless again, interspersed with animal rights activism (all legal, honest ;)) and volunteer work as a mental health advocate. At twenty-five, she went back to college to study social science— tough with two toddlers, but they had a ‘stay at home’ dad, so it worked itself out. These days, the toddlers are young women (much to their chagrin), and Debbie teaches undergraduate students, writes novels and runs an independent publishing company, occasionally grabbing an hour of sleep where she can.
  • RAINE O’TIERNEY wants to change the world…one sweet story at a time.
    Known as “The Queen of the Sweetness” (well, a few people have said it anyway!) Raine loves writing sweet, character-driven stories about first loves, first times, fidelity, forever-endings and…friskiness? In addition to her solo works, she’s one half of a collaborative team with author Debbie McGowan.
    When she’s not writing, Raine is either playing video games or fighting the good fight for intellectual freedom at her library day job. She believes the best thing we can do in life is be kind to one another, and she enjoys encouraging fellow writers.
    Contact her if you’re interested in talking about point-and-click adventure games or discussing which dachshunds are the best kinds of dachshunds!

Where to find the authors:

Debbie’s Social Media Links
Twitter: twitter.com/writerdebmcg
Facebook: facebook.com/DebbieMcGowanAuthor and facebook.com/beatentrackpublishing
YouTube: youtube.com/deb248211
Tumblr: writerdebmcg.tumblr.com
LinkedIn: uk.linkedin.com/in/writerdebmcg
Google+: plus.google.com/+DebbieMcGowan
Goodreads: goodreads.com/author/show/4401329.Debbie_McGowan
Website: debbiemcgowan.co.uk

Raine’s Social Media Links
Homepage: Raineotierney.com
LGBT Author Interviews: raineotierneyhatparty.blogspot.com/
Facebook: facebook.com/RaineOTierneyAuthor
Twitter: twitter.com/RaineOTierney
Goodreads: goodreads.com/author/show/7770350.Raine_O_Tierney


Tour Dates & Stops:

28-Sep – Jessie G. Books, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Full Moon Dreaming

29-Sep – Velvet Panic, Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves, Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My

30-Sep – All I Want and More Books

1-Oct – Amanda C. Stone, Michael Mandrake, Bayou Book Junkie

2-Oct – Divine Magazine, Mikky’s World of Books

5-Oct – Love Bytes, V’s Reads, Sinfully Addicted to All Male Romance

6-Oct – It’s Raining Men, Happily Ever Chapter

7-Oct – Louise Lyons, Hearts on Fire, Molly Lolly

8-Oct – BFD Book Blog, Two Chicks Obsessed With Books and Eye Candy, Prism Book Alliance

9-Oct – My Fiction Nook, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Inked Rainbow Reads, MM Good Book Reviews

 

Final

Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: e-copy of one Debbie McGowan title and an e-copy of one Raine O’Tierney title (winner’s preference of file type and title).  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Link and prizes provided by the authors and Pride Promotions.
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WillPride

Cover Reveal for Leythe Blade by Jaye McKenna (cover reveal and excerpt)

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Leythe Blade by Jaye McKenna
Book Release Date: October 26, 2015
Cover artist: Chinchbug

A Guardians of the Leythe Universe story

 Leythe Blade Goodreads Page

Jaye McKenna is here to reveal her gorgeous new cover for Leythe Blade, a new story in her Guardians of the Leythe Universe series.  Luckily for us, a mini interview ensued.  Welcome, Jaye.

  • Fans who’ve read more than one of your series have noticed that they actually all tie together. You recently posted a timeline on your website, but could you talk about how the series fit together? How does Leythe Blade specifically fit in with the others?

The Guardians of the Leythe series, which at the moment contains only two books: Human Frailties, Human Strengths and Human Choices, take place in the earliest period of Aion’s history that I’ve written about so far, a thousand years or so after humans first arrived on Aion. These stories take place in the Westlands, the lands west of the mountain range called the Dragon’s Spine.

Burn the Sky takes place a few hundred years after the Guardians of the Leythe stories, in the years leading up to the first cataclysmic event in Aion’s history, the Wytch War, a conflict between the Westlands and the Kingdoms of Skanda. The story is set in Altan, a small mountain kingdom located east of the Dragon’s Spine.

Leythe Blade takes place perhaps another thousand years after that, when the Wytch War is a distant memory and the Middle Kingdoms have arisen in the lands that were laid waste to during the Wytch War. Leythe Blade takes place in the Middle Kingdoms, and I have a fantasy trilogy planned that takes place only a few years after Leythe Blade. The characters from Leythe Blade all have important roles to play in the Kingmakers trilogy, so you’ll be seeing them again.

The Guardians of the Pattern series takes place some six hundred years after Leythe Blade, after a second cataclysm has pretty much destroyed the population of Aion.

  • How many more books will be in the Guardians of the Pattern series?

The Guardians of the Pattern series will be six books long, so there are three more to come. Wildfire Psi, book 4, should be out in early 2016.

  • Will there be a sequel to Burn the Sky? Who will be featured?

Yes, the Burn the Sky sequel is my next project. I have already outlined the story and I’m planning to write the first draft for NaNo (National Novel Writing Month) in November. This story will feature Kian, Garrik’s close friend from Burn the Sky, and you’ll be seeing Garrik, Ilya, and Prince Jaire again, as they all have important roles in this story. It will take place in the late winter/early spring following the events of Burn the Sky.

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Blurb

Sasha is a healer forced to take on the role of a warrior when his clan is attacked. Trapped in his caravan, the only weapon he can lay hands on is Ryka, the sword that was once wielded by his great, great grandmother. To Sasha’s horror, the blade takes control of his body and turns him into a ruthless killer. Worse, Ryka sets in motion an irreversible process that will bind them together for life — if he can survive the bonding.

Jace is a mercenary soldier, charged with protecting his commander’s brother, Eredwyn, on a journey through the Middle Kingdoms. When Eredwyn’s sometimes-prophetic visions lead them to the dying Sasha, Eredwyn insists that they must save him.

As Sasha struggles to come to terms with Ryka and his need to avenge his clan, Jace finds himself torn between his orders to protect Eredwyn and his growing feelings for Sasha. Can Jace walk the fine line between duty and desire, or will Sasha’s plans for vengeance lead all three men to their deaths?

Excerpt

Jace’s cheeks burned until he was nearly halfway to the lake, and the words he’d said to Sasha wouldn’t stop bouncing around in his head.

I’d like to see you dance, Sasha.

Where the hell had that come from?

No, he knew where it had come from. Right from his heart, without passing anywhere near his brain. He would like to see Sasha dance, but he’d never meant to say so, and certainly not within Sasha’s hearing. The young man had quite enough to deal with as it was.

Still, it pleased Jace to see him beginning to take an interest in things. The air of grief was still there, but since the day they’d taken Sasha to the massacre site, there had been a subtle change in him. He’d started to help with some of the chores, and even joined in when Jace and Eredwyn talked, offering the occasional quiet comment.

Sasha still whimpered in his sleep, though, and Jace wished he could wipe the sadness from those mesmerizing violet eyes, and put a real smile on Sasha’s face.

No, he couldn’t deny — not to himself, at least — that he would very much like to see Sasha dance. And laugh. And he’d most definitely like to see the man smile…

Shaking his head, Jace continued on down the path until he heard something large moving near the shore. He stopped, crouched down, and peered through the underbrush. In the spaces between the leaves, he could just make out a light-colored shape by the water’s edge.

He crept forward and breathed a quiet sigh of relief when the shape resolved itself into a horse, not a soldier or a predator. The white mare stood with her head lowered to drink. Her mane and tail were rough and tangled, but there were a few scattered braids and beads left in both. An Ajhani horse, then, which meant she belonged to Sasha.

“Easy, lady, Easy.” Jace used the same soothing tone he used when speaking to Rakki as he approached her. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

The mare turned her head and gave him a look that Jace chose to interpret as sorrowful.

“Been out here on your own for too long? Would you like to come back with me, pretty one? I can get you fed and get all these dried weeds brushed out of your hair. Come on.”

She snuffled at Jace and allowed him to guide her down the trail toward the shelter. In the stable, he settled her in the empty stall next to Rakki and prepared some feed for her. After she’d eaten, he brushed her down and groomed the tangles and remnants of beaded braids from her mane and tail.

“That’s better,” he said as he stood back to look over his handiwork. “You look like a proper lady now.”

When Jace entered the shelter, Eredwyn looked up from his seat on the floor, where he was sorting bundles of herbs. “That was quick. Did you find us some dinner already?”

“No, something better than dinner. Come, Sasha, come see.”

Sasha gave him a questioning look, but got slowly to his feet. “What did you find?”

“I’ll show you.” Jace led him around the back of the shelter to the stable.

Sasha’s face lit up when he saw the mare. “Dena!”

A long string of soft, lilting words followed. Jace understood none of it, but the mare apparently did. She nickered softly, and when Sasha drew close, she hung her head over his shoulder. Sasha put his arms around her neck and reached up to scratch her, fingers tangling in her blond mane.

“I found her having a drink on the shore,” Jace said. “I wondered if you two might know each other.”

Sasha turned his head toward Jace, still smiling. “She was my Da’s favorite. He’d ride her up and down the caravan line, making sure everyone was all right. She’s the sweetest of all of them.” He frowned then, fingers still working the mare’s mane. “I don’t suppose you’ve seen any more of them?”

“No, I’m afraid not.”

“She would have been tied separately. Da—” Sasha stopped for a moment, and Jace saw his throat working. “He… he kept her by the wagon when we were camped, in case he needed her in a hurry.” He turned back to the mare and murmured softly to her in Djhara.

Jace hung back, taking the opportunity to observe the man. Sasha was slender, and not particularly tall, although he was perhaps a finger’s width taller than Jace. It was his coloring that fascinated Jace, though. The golden skin, violet eyes, and pale, silver-blond hair were an unusual enough combination to make him worth a second — and perhaps a third — look.

Unaware of Jace’s scrutiny, Sasha continued crooning softly to the mare. Jace could have listened to the sound of that deep, husky voice wrapping around those lyrical sounds for the rest of the day.

He didn’t get nearly that long. All too soon, Sasha pulled away from the horse and approached Jace. “Thank you, Jace,” he said softly. “This… it means so much to me. Thank you for bringing her to me.”

Mesmerized by those beautiful eyes, Jace could only stare. When he realized he was staring, he looked away quickly, face flushing. “I… what else would I do?” He swallowed hard, then added quietly, “It’s good to see you smile.”

Sasha didn’t say anything, and when Jace looked up again, his attention was on the mare.

“With her along, we won’t need to limit our baggage quite so much,” Jace said, more to fill the silence than anything. “Maybe… maybe you can pack some of those pretty clothes you set aside this morning.”

When Sasha turned his head and gave him an unreadable look, Jace muttered a curse under his breath and fled.

He should have just kept his mouth shut, and wished he had.

 

 

About the Author

Jaye McKenna icon

Jaye McKenna was born a Brit and was dragged, kicking and screaming, across the Pond at an age when such vehement protest was doomed to be misinterpreted as a “paddy”. She grew up near a sumac forest in Minnesota and spent most of her teen years torturing her parents with her electric guitar and her dark poetry. She was punk before it was cool and a grown-up long before she was ready. Jaye writes fantasy and science fiction stories about hot guys who have the hots for each other. She enjoys making them work darn hard for their happy endings, which might explain why she never gets invited to their parties.

You can contact Jaye McKenna at     Goodreads| Twitter| Website