Category: Uncategorized

A Stella Review: Played! (The Shamwell Tales #2) by J.L. Merrow

Rating 5 stars out of 5

Played coverTristan’s in Shamwell for one last summer of freedom before he joins the family firm in New York—no more farting around on stage, as his father puts it. But the classically trained actor can’t resist when members of the local amateur dramatics society beg him to take a role in their production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Especially as he’ll also be giving private acting lessons to gorgeous local handyman, Con, who’s been curiously resistant to Tristan’s advances. Tristan’s determined to get Con in his bed—not only is the man delicious, there’s fifty pounds riding on Tristan’s success after a bet made with his drama school chum Amanda.

Con’s never dared to act before. A late-diagnosed dyslexic who had a hard time at school, he’s always been convinced he’d never be able to learn his lines—but with Tristan helping him, he might just be in with a chance. Trouble is, the last time Con fell for a guy, he ended up getting his heart broken, and with Tristan due to leave the country in a matter of months, Con’s determined not to give in and start anything that’s bound to finish badly.

Just as Tristan thinks he’s finally won Con’s heart—and given his own in return—disaster strikes. And the curtain may have fallen forever on their chance of happiness.

Warning: contains a surfeit of Bottoms and asses, together with enough mangled quotations to have the Bard of Avon gyrating in his grave.

 

“Hello. I perused your advertisement in our local emporium. All—”

“You what?”

“I read your card in Tesco,” Tristan clarified with a sigh. Some people had no appreciation for the beauties of the English language. “All household job’s—I assume the apostrophe was ironic?—done, reasonable rates.”

“Er, yeah.” The man on the other end of the phone sounded somewhat nonplussed, possibly due to the way Tristan had stressed the “ibble” at the end of reasonable. “What’s the problem?”

“Biblical.”

“What?”

“I have a plague of frogs.”[…] “A frog,” the handyman was saying. There was another pause. “So technically, yeah, that’s a plague of frog. One of ’em.”

“Semantics. The plural, in this case, may be taken to include the singular.”

“Right… Look, I think you want pest control, anyhow.”

“Finally we reach agreement. So how soon can you be here?”

This is where I fell in love with Tristan. He was amazing, hilarious. I loved how Tristan talked.

Let’s start my review saying I read Played!, which is the second book in the Shamwell Tales series by JL Merrow, without having read Caught!, the first one, and I can assure you I didn’t miss anything, it just increased my curiosity about Caught!  Having different main characters, it isn’t exactly a sequel. So if you are interested just in Tristan and Con’s story, you can totally buy it. You won’t regret it.

Tristan has just moved to Shamwell where he is going to spend the the “last summer of freedom”. He is trading is biggest passion for acting with a boring (and hated) career at a desk job, working for his father’s firm in NY, a father who has never supported him in his dream of acting. No one ever supported him in his dreams, apart from his dear grandmother (Nana Geary). She’s just passed away and left him her house. So he’s planning to spend the summer in Shamwell to dispose Nana’s things before starting his new and boring life.

He meets Con when he called for help after a plague of frogs (it was really just one frog!).

Con works as an handyman with Sean (MC in Caught!). He moved to Shamwell where he met Geary the time he went to do some home repairs to her. She took him in and treated him like the mother Con’s has never been.

The first meeting with Tristan doesn’t go well. Tristan is funny but a prick, he’s used to having what he wants, he speaks perfectly and can’t stop himself in correcting the people who don’t. Con can’t stand Tristan. But nobody has ever turned Tristan down, Con is the first one, because he is not looking for just some fun, he needs something real and not casual.

When a new actor is needed for the role of Bottom in the Midsummer Night’s Dream production by the local theater, it  will take Tristan to convince Con to join the play and to help him with his dyslexia.  Con starts to overcome his fears and most of all to see who is the real Tristan hiding behind the snobby one.

There is a great cast of second characters, starting from Heather, Con’s friend. Some seem snobby as Tristan, others simple and sweet and caring as Con. They have some kickass friends.

Shortly JL Merrow did it again. She gave me another favorite book which is going to join the beautiful Muscling Through. The amazing Tristan will stay in my heart as Al did. I found this book fascinated. As I think I already said I love how the author puts words together in this so British way she has. She delivered a funny and light story, with a plot and great characters, a Tristan full of doubts and fears on his future. Sometime sure convinced that working for his dad will help him mature and become more responsible, other times that theater was just for fun. The relationship with Con will help him grow up so much at the end of the book, I (and Con) couldn’t love him more.

Moreover I can add I’m not a huge fan of slow burn and with almost no sex stories, I like my men to start loving each other pretty quickly in the book I’m reading and rather only a few times, otherwise I bore easily. Well in Played! I had no time to be bored. There was no dead moment, every sentence was full of humor, I laughed so much at Tristan.

Played! was an absolute winner, really really good. I don’t even know what to say to recommend you to buy it. I loved it so much.

Cover art by Kanaxa. You know, I can’t explain why, cause honestly there is nothing special about it, but I really like it.

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

Book Details:

Published January 30th 2015 by Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
Kindle Edition
ASIN B00U3M60TU
Edition language English
The Shamwell Tales series
Caught! #1
Played! #2

A MelanieM Review: Keep the Stars Running Anthology by Cassandra Pierce, Lexi Ander , Andrea Speed , Talya Andor , Leona Carver

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Keeping the Stars Running AnthologySpace is not always filled with adventures and glory. Not everybody goes racing off to battle evil and save the galaxy. Between the rebels, pirates, royals, and spies are the everyday people who work hard just to get by and ensure everyone gets home safe. Less Than Three Press presents a collection of tales about the ordinary folks who keep the stars running.

The Prince and the Programmer by Cassandra Pierce
The Aurora Conspiracy by Lexi Ander
About a Bot by Andrea Speed
Flight Risk by Talya Andor
Survival by Leona Carver

Take romance, throw it out into space and then gather together some wonderful authors to write their take on this fabulous trope and what do you have?  Keeping The Stars Running Anthology!  And each story couldn’t be more different from each other.  Here they are with my comments and rating in the order they appear in the anthology:

The Prince and the Programmer by Cassandra Pierce.  3.5 stars

Probably the closest story here to a familiar romance plot.  Food service mech/chef? is abducted but soon finds his new situation and “Prince” much more to his liking than his old one.  I thought the characters were charming and the situation sort of funny.  It was a sweet if not totally memorable way to open the anthology.

About a Bot by Andrea Speed. 4 stars out of 5

I loved/was frustrated by this terrific story by Andrea Speed.  Speed creates this complex universe, complete with on going intergalactic war, one in which the humans aren’t doing terribly well.  The main character, Tahir, is the Nebula space station’s mechanic who keeps all their robots in working order.  He also rescues and repairs older bots, giving them names and making them his “pets” with personalities.  In fact, Tahir is far more comfortable with his bots then with the rest of the crew on his station.  I loved this character.  He’s believable, fascinating, and when it comes to his interactions with his bots then Tahir becomes irresistible.  As are  his bots, including Spider and the adorable Bagel bot and Tank.

I loved this story so much that the ending, or perhaps lack of one frustrated me with its tantalizing possibilities.  How I would love to see this made into a full length novel.  Anyone listening?

The Aurora Conspiracy by Lexi Ander.   4 stars out of 5

In the Aurora Conspiracy, Lexi Ander’s takes ecological concerns and mining into space with no less than 2 completely different species and a conspiracy to boot.  Regin Valenta, crane operator for the Aurora Minerals and Rare Metals concern is being interrogated by constables from The Fraternity, a galactic law enforcement agency.  One of them, a Nythlithian, Constable Markari Gan’Sey, shares a painful past with Regin, although only one remembers.  The story becomes a dance between the main characters, as their past returns with its angst-filled memories and their attraction to each other flares back to life amidst an investigation into illegal mining practices on the planet below.   It’s suspenseful, layered, and marvelous.

Flight Risk by Tayla Andor  5 stars out of 5

One of my favorite stories in the anthology.  Again, we have an interplanetary war in progress and an embattled   Kiel Navarro’s work as a mechanic in the Gear hangar, keeping the Gryphon wings in perfect operating order for their pilots.  Andor’s world building is amazing and the author’s attention to detail bring this story and crews to life. Even the smallest touches, such as Kiel being half deaf where as most of the other pilots are deaf because of the noise of the engines and conditions they work in, give the readers a authentic feel for the environment and safety factors of the job Kiel does and the hangers in which he and his coworkers make their living.  And it’s not a very nice one.

The mechanics are being harassed, treated as lowly servants, who hide in their quarters for fear of retaliation.  And its by whom that is so startling.  A new Gryphon pilot, Marco Lafaele, a replacement for a recent death in the squad Wing Bravo, shakes up the status quo by showing an interest in Kiel, something that is just not done). His actions and determination not to follow along with his fellow pilots starts to put  cracks in the SOP in the Hangers. And ripples from the fallout spread throughout Cadlow Station.  I loved that Andors created the mechanic equipment down to the MagLens Kiel is using to augment his failing vision to the derogatory nicknames they earn him.

There is mystery, romance, gritty war time battles, and finally a white knuckle ride to the rescue.  Just an outstanding story on every level.

and finally….

Survival by Leona Carver.  3.5 t0 4.5 rating, really this story confounds me.

Not a romance.  I love Leona Carver so many aspects of this story didn’t surprise me while others absolutely did.   Just when I thought I knew where the author was taking this story, it took off in an unexpected direction.  And ending.  We start off on the Velikaya Knyazhna, a giant colonist ship on its new to a new planet.  Most of its crew is “sleeping” in order to make it to their destination without aging too much.  But an emergency sees the “ship” and its caretakers waking up some of the scientists to examine the cause of the emergency and fix it…before its too late.

Valentin Mashire, was trained to work on the planet, frozen on Earth and then shipped up to the “orbiting giant” in a crates, along with many others.   He’s a botanical scientist, a park technician trained to work in the terrestial parkland on board  that’s necessary to terraform the new planet they will land on.    The length of the voyage?  100 years.  Plenty of time for things to go wrong and they do.  And that’s where ship’s Security officer, Fyodor Bendlin comes in.

I can’t go any further.  To do so, takes away the best of the surprises found within this story.  I loved the descriptions of the park inside the ship and the ship itself.  But the romance I wanted to happen was never going to be part of this story.  No, this is all about Survival.  But it’s the “who” that is trying to survive that will shock you as will the ending.  Did I like this story?  Not really.  But did it fascinate me with its mythology and universe building?  Yes.  And it floored me with the surprising revelations and erotica.

What a great anthology.  I don’t know that I would have ended it with Survival.  I think that Flight Risk would have grounded this anthology better with its more substantial ending.  However, there is such variety, a true smorgasbord of stories, that everyone will find something to love.

I recommend this series to all lovers of science fiction, romance and the possibilities of tomorrow.

Cover art by Aisha Akeju.  Love this cover artist and this cover is another splendid example of their work. Great job.

Sales Links:   Less Than Three Press     All Romance (ARe)   Amazon      Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook, also available in print
Published May 13th 2015 by Less Than Three Press (first published 2014)
original titleKeep the Stars Running
ISBN139781620045305
edition languageEnglish

 

 

 

 

A BJ Review: Straight Boy (Straight Guys 0.5) by Alessandra Hazard

Rating:  5 stars out of 5

Straight Boy coverYoung, blond and handsome, Sage attracts unwanted attention in prison. When his cellmate offers him protection, Sage accepts the offer, even though he doesn’t trust the guy. Little does he know how much it will change his life.

When he’s released from prison, Sage finds himself needing and wanting things he shouldn’t want. Sage is straight. He really is. He has a girlfriend. What happened in prison stayed in prison–or so Sage tells himself.

Until he meets his former cellmate again. Xavier. The guy he hates and craves.

This short novelette contains explicit language and very steamy M/M sex. For mature audiences only. ~12,500 words

Handsome young Sage finds himself in prison for a DUI and attracting a lot of attention from the other inmates. Fearing whether he’ll survive his one-year sentence alive, he accepts an offer of protection from his cellmate, Xavier. The price for that protection is his body. Although Sage tells himself he’s straight and just doing it to get by, but he finds out things about himself he didn’t know. When he’s released from prison, he finds himself unable to control his body from wanting what he had in prison, or his mind from thinking of Xavier.

But Sage tried to pick his life up again, to focus on his girlfriend, firmly telling himself he’s straight, that nothing’s changed. Until he meets Xavier, the man he hates and craves, again on the outside.

I have a bit of a thing for prison stories, so I enjoyed the hell out of this short. It’s well-written, excellent pacing, and all kinds of hot. The sexual tension buildup is off the charts and smoking. This is one on my re-read shelf for times that I want something short and scorching.

I’d love an expansion of this story that tells more background on Xavier, I really would, because I loved him. A little of it comes out a sequel, but it wasn’t nearly enough. My one tiny niggle with this book is the name Sage. It sounds so feminine to me no matter how I keep telling myself it’s unisex. But that’s minor. I thoroughly enjoyed this.

The cover is erotic and fitting for the book.

Sales Links:      Amazon       Buy It Here

Book Details:

48 pages
Published October 10th 2014 by Alessandra Hazard

A MelanieM Review: My Cowboy Promises (The Cowboys #4) by Z.A. Maxfield

 

Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

A real man needs a real love…

My Cowboy Promises coverTo become the man he’s meant to be, one cowboy will have to be the man he never wanted anyone to know he was…

Ryder Dent is a true-blue cowboy. A devoted son, husband and father, but one who is living a costly lie. When they were both young, Ryder and his closest female friend Andy thought they’d found the perfect solution to both their problems—she was single and pregnant, and he was secretly gay—so they got married and raised Jonas together.

When Ryder gets hurt at a party, his son’s new pediatrician comes to the rescue. The connection between Ryder and Dr. Declan Winters is sudden, powerful, and undeniable. Ryder loves Andy and the family they’ve created together—but they both need more. Can they pursue their hearts’ desire without destroying the life they’ve built and losing the son they love?

I have come to love Z. A.. Maxfield’s Cowboy series, each story provides such an interesting group of characters and couples all loosely intwined.   And most are having to deal with issues of acceptance…of their themselves, sexuality, and their ability to love.  My Cowboy Promises, the 4th in the Cowboy series,  connection’s to the previous story is that the ranch that Tripp Triplehorn and Lucho Reyes went to work on is owned by a powerful, controlling rancher Sterling Chandler, father to Andrea, wife of Ryder Dent and mother to their son.  But as usual in a ZAM story, what you see on the surface is illusion, the reality and truth lies somewhere underneath for them all.

What an awful, stressful situation the readers get dumped into.  Ryder Dent saw his life’s (and father’s expectations) explode when, as a teenager getting ready to go to college, instead marries his best friend in high school, a girl pregnant with a rodeo star’s baby.  That the rodeo star wants nothing to do with either Andrea or the baby goes without question as she’s underage.  Instead Andrea turns to her best friend to save her and they marry to the dismay/disgust/condemnation of their parents and community. But these kids are hiding an even bigger secret…Ryder is gay and Andrea knew the truth before they got married.

Now its five years later, and while both love Jonas, their son, neither Ryder or Andrea is particularly happy.  Maxfield is able to let us intimately into Ryder and Andrea’s lives, see the stress and exhaustion both young people are going through as well as the continuing condemnation of parents and community they continue to live with.  All that while still trying to lead lives of courage and stability for their growing son.  It’s just feels all so real.  Ryder at 23 is just realizing the extent of his sacrifice. He’s lonely, he’s working at his father’s store shouldering all the responsibilities and duties but none of the recognition and gratitude one would hope for from his disapproving parent.  He shares a bed (platonically) with Andrea in the small house bought for them by her wealthy father who never lets them forget that fact or how much he despises his daughter’s choices.  Andrea too is beginning to hate their lifestyle. She’s always been a bit wild and talented and wants to sing as a career, something her father would never allow.  The only bright spot in their lives?  Jonas a boy everyone loves deeply.  But as Ryder is not his real father, that too becomes an intense source of pain and stress, especially now that the difference in their eye colors is being remarked on in town.

I think reading this story, delving into the lives of Ryder and Andrea, most of us will recognize the gritty authenticity of lives lived with the “quiet desperation” that Z. A. Maxfield presents us with here.  Dead-end jobs, disapproving parents, pressure to conform to small town values and expectations, along with any potential way out of their situation feeling almost impossible.  That theme has been a reliable source for books, songs and movies for ages and it always works because that scenario resonates with those listening, reading or watching it unfold.  And mostly because there is a part of us, all of us, somewhere inside those characters at one point in our lives.   How I understood these people and cared about them from page 1.

The status quo of their lives, already shaky, shatters completely when the town doctor retires and a new GP moves into his practice and house.  That would be Dr. Declan Winters, who has his own demons to exercise and naivete when it comes to small town pressure and disapproval.  Declan was a little more of a stretch for me.  I found it a little unrealistic, at first, that given he had met with the older town doctor, been filled in on the town’s prejudices and still thought the doctor was overstating the situation.  But maybe that’s because I am so familiar with small town life, something that “big city” folk  might find charming on the exterior until reality intrudes.  Perhaps Declan is not such a stretch after all.

Through dialog and scenes Maxfield brings this increasingly rocky situation to life.  We have a gay new doctor in town, one who is quick to recognize the attraction that Ryder feels towards him, an attraction that confounds him when he has to treat Ryder and find out the cause of the wound is an accident by Ryder’s son.  We understand it when he believes Ryder is straight, why not?  Everyone else does.  Then there is poor Ryder,dealing with his “gayness” for real for the first time in his life when he can’t get the good doctor out of his mind or nightly dreams.  It’s a situation where hurt feelings, expectation, and miscommunication abound.  Then throw in an unhappy wife, a son with questions and it gets downright explosive.  What a manner in which to examine your sexuality, come of age and come out as the person you truly are.  That’s the fight in front of Ryder for most of the story.

I think some readers will get a little frustrated with Ryder’s inability to “grow some spine” as his and Andrea’s father exclaim. But remember his age, the time and place of his youth.  He’s respectful and one accustomed to shouldering responsibilities for everything that comes his way. And he’s  young.  I found him to be the most real character here.  I understood him and his background supports beautifully his actions throughout the story.  Great job, ZAM.

There will be places you will need to bring out the tissues and other scemes as hot as the Texas sun.  Did I love this story?  You betcha!  In fact, I love the entire series and highly recommend them all.  But My Cowboy Promises?  This might be my favorite story yet of the series.  Grab it up today and decide for yourself.

Cover art by ?.  I* like the cover, in fact I like all the covers for this series, from the design to the color scheme.

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

Book Details:

ebook
Expected publication: June 16th 2015 by InterMix
ISBN139780698175037
edition languageEnglish
url http://zamaxfield.com/the-cowboys/
seriesThe Cowboys #4

The Cowboy Series Include:

A BJ Review: Peripheral People (Ylendrian Empire) by Reesa Herberth and Michelle Moore

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Peripheral People coverCorwin Menivie and Nika Santivan solve cases the old-fashioned way until they’re paired with Westley Tavera and Gavin Hale, the most powerful Reader/Ground team on the force. While Gavin and Nika hit it off right away in more ways that one, Westley rubs Corwin the wrong way right from the start, and not only because he avoids psys for reasons of his own.

A bit of a fluke occurs when West’s talent reads a corpse other than the one they were there to investigate and puts them on the trail of a brutal serial killer that kills with his mind. Soon Nika and Gavin are sharing a room, and Corwin finds himself spending more time with the quirky West.

I’ve read stories in this world before, so the world building is always excellent. This one had more of an urban fantasy type feel for me than the outer space sci-fi I’m used to with this series. Well-written, excellent characterization, but the pace was slow for me in this one. I felt the book was probably longer than it needed to be. That said, it was an enjoyable read.
West is a quirky high level psy who’s had some trouble with getting too involved in his cases, taking too much risk to the point of endangering his ground and best friend, Gavin. Past cases haunt him, and his power is so strong and pervasive it gives him nightmares. When Nika and Gavin get together, he finds himself turning more to Corwin who he thinks as a null. When the truth about Corwin comes out, the two begin to get closer in ways neither have done before.

I enjoyed all four of the characters in this book. Nika was an exceptionally well done kick-ass female, not something we see a lot of in M/M romance. Kudos to the authors for that.

While there is violence and gore in this, most of it takes place inside the mind rather than in the physical world. An interesting twist. The felt the connection between the two MC, but I would have enjoyed it if there was just a bit more of the hot times. There were a couple, but for the length of the book, there could have been more.

This book has mystery, romance, and sci-fi elements all woven nicely together with a very satisfying ending. I’ll continue to read more in this world as it comes available.

Cover Artist: Simoné. This cover is just stunning. Take a look the entire art (as the cover is just one side) here. Perfectly captures this story. Bravo.

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


Book Details:

ebook, 430 pages
Expected publication: May 11th 2015 by Riptide Publishing
ISBN139781626492684
edition languageEnglish
seriesYlendrian Empire

Ylendrian Empire (Universe)

The Ylendrian Empire universe is a series of loosely-connected space operas written by Michelle Moore and Reesa Herberth.

Fast-paced heists, gritty paranormal mysteries, rescue missions in far-flung exotic jungles . . . the character-driven adventures and romances of the Ylendrian Empire are a chance to explore a new set of stars, with just enough spice to keep you wanting more.

Currently available:

The Balance of Silence
The Slipstream Con
In Discretion
Peripheral People

Find out more about the Ylendrian Empire at http://ylendrianempire.com

Celebrate with Author Heidi Belleau & Artist Vivian Ng on the REV New Cover Reveal and Collaboration! (giveaway)

  • ApplePolisher_400x600

New Cover Celebration with Author Heidi Belleau and artist Vivian Ng!

Nothing makes a reader sit up and take notice then the cover art on their books, whether the books are in print or eBook format.  Covers pull us in and give the readers hints to the story and characters.  What better way to bring a story back to life than a new cover?  Here we celebrate new covers for the Rear Entrance Video stories, the author and artist and their collaboration!

REV-revise_TourBanner

Re-Covering Rear Entrance Video – Vivian Ng’s Process

Hi, I’m Heidi Belleau! Over the coming days I’ll be touring the web showing off the gorgeous new covers for my queer NA rom-com series Rear Entrance Video, all about a diverse house of Vancouver roommates who wind up running a dilapidated porn store.

Today on the tour, Vivian Ng tells us about her process designing these gorgeous covers:

I got brought on to do these covers by Heidi and worked under the direction of L. C. Chase (who I’m gonna add are both really great to work with). Essentially I was told that I’d be doing a re-cover that would appeal more to a broader audience, which I interpreted as, play down the sauciness, and play up the portions of the book that speak to a general YA fiction crowd. I feel like it’s worth noting that I actually went and read all three books. I don’t think that’s usually something illustrators can afford time-wise, but I was given a generous amount of time and I knew I would be much more confident submitting whatever the product ended up being if I’d seen the work myself instead of relying entirely on summary docs and art direction (not that those things were lacking). Also I was genuinely curious about what was in the books!

So, just as a general theme all three books have something to do with the main character struggling with self-expression in their personal and professional lives. And what I picked up from reading them as a way to represent that on the covers was how Heidi centred on clothing as a significant part of how her characters constructed and expressed themselves. I also had this idea that flat colours, neatly arranged objects, and slightly messy hand-lettering already have some precedent in YA book covers. From that core idea I basically just had to play around with composition, text, and colour under L. C.’s direction.

Vivian brought us lots of different concept sketches, which we’ll be featuring later in the tour. Riptide’s art and marketing people worked with me to narrow down our favourite choices, then tweaked those designs until we had a very gorgeous, cohesive set of images that really spoke to the books.

Vivian’s focus on clothes and objects worked really great to represent:

Christian’s carefully structured image—occasionally knocked into disorder and chaos—for Apple Polisher,ApplePolisher_400x600

 

and Rob/Bobby’s experimentation with femininity and androgyny as he came into himself as bigender/genderfluid in Wallflower,

Wallflower_400x600

and lastly, Austin’s attempt to fit kink (and queerness) into his life and identity as a hockey player in Straight Shooter.

StraightShooter_400x600

Be sure to check out the series at Riptide (and don’t forget your coupon code to get a great deal on Apple Polisher!), and also give the artist, Vivian Ng a visit: http://viivus.tumblr.com.

Rear Entrance Video (Universe)

Welcome to Rear Entrance Video, Davie Street Village’s very own backdoor triple X store! The peep show booths are sticky, the sex toys are out of stock, and nobody’s collected any late fees in months.

Enter the store’s new manager, uptight teacher-hopeful Christian Blake, and his four misfit college roommates from Noah Hadley’s house for wayward gay boys: reluctant landlord Noah, mysterious bad boy Max, vain jock Austin, and awkward gamer geek Rob. Together, they’ll try to run the store . . . without letting everything they’re hiding—from the world and each other—run it into the ground.

Stories in the Rear Entrance Video universe include:

  • Apple Polisher (Rear Entrance Video, #1) by Heidi Belleau
  • Wallflower (Rear Entrance Video, #2) by Heidi Belleau
  • Straight Shooter (Rear Entrance Video,#3) by Heidi Belleau

 

 

About Heidi Belleau and Vivian Ng

 

Author: Heidi Belleau

Heidi Belleau was born and raised in small town New Brunswick, Canada. She now lives in the rugged oil-patch frontier of Northern BC with her husband, an Irish ex-pat whose long work hours in the trades leave her plenty of quiet time to write.
She has a degree in history from Simon Fraser University with a concentration in British and Irish studies; much of her work centred on popular culture, oral folklore, and sexuality, but she was known to perplex her professors with unironic papers on the historical roots of modern romance novel tropes. (Ask her about Highlanders!)

When not writing, you might catch her trying to explain British television to her newborn daughter or standing in line at the local coffee shop, waiting on her caramel macchiato.

Connect with Heidi:
Blog: www.heidibelleau.com
Twitter: @HeidiBelleau

Goodreads: goodreads.com/heidibelleau
Email: heidi.below.zero@gmail.com

Cover Artist: Vivian Ng

Vivian Ng is an illustrator and occasional comic artist living in Mississauga, Ontario, working mostly in watercolour, ink, and digital media. Vivi’s hobbies include watching children’s cartoons, reading fanfiction, and drawing entirely too much fanart.
http://viivus.tumblr.com
https://twitter.com/VViiNNG
http://cargocollective.com/viivus-draws/

Apple Polisher (REV #1)

Buy it here at Riptide Publishing.
This straight-A student has a dirty little secret.

ApplePolisher_400x600Christian Blake dreams of being a kindergarten teacher, but making the grade means maintaining a squeaky clean image: no drinking, no drugs, no swearing, no sex. And definitely no falling for his new roommate—tattooed bad-boy Max, who may or may not be a drug dealer.

Most of all, it means no working at a porn store. But Christian’s aunt has cancer, and her beloved Rear Entrance Video will go bankrupt if Christian doesn’t take over managerial duties. Soon enough, Christian finds himself juggling sticky twenty-five cent peep show booths, a blackmailing employee, and a demanding professor who likes to make an example of him.

And then there’s Max, who doesn’t know anything about the store, but hates Christian’s preppy sweater vests and the closet Christian forces him into when they’re together. Max just wants Christian to be himself—even though Max is keeping secrets of his own. Christian struggles to find the impossible balance between his real life and the ideal one he thinks a teacher needs to live . . . all while trying to keep his aunt’s dream alive without losing his own.

Wallflower (REV #2)

Buy/find out more about Wallflower here at Riptide Publishing.
This gamer geek has a pretty little secret.

Wallflower_400x600Art student and MMORPG addict Robert Ng has always been a loner, but he’s recently made it his goal to make more (IRL) friends. Which is how he winds up working nights at Rear Entrance Video, shilling sketchy porn and blowup dolls as a favor to his roommate. The longer he works there, though, the more he realizes he’ll never be truly happy until he becomes the person he is online: his female persona, Bobby.

Bobby is cuter and funnier than Rob is, and a thousand times more popular with boys. Becoming Bobby IRL presents its own set of challenges, though . . . especially when you’re sitting on the fence between two genders, only one of which has caught the attention of your seriously cute customer/classmate.

Dylan Ford is a six-foot Inuit comic book artist who always says what’s on his mind, and screw anyone who doesn’t like it. As rough as he appears, though, Dylan has a soft spot for Rob. But will out-and-proud Dylan still want Rob if he’s not all man?

Straight Shooter (REV #3)

Buy/find out more about Straight Shooter here at Riptide Publishing.

This macho jock has a crooked little secret.

StraightShooter_400x600College hockey player Austin Puett is in trouble. Unless he starts treating his flamboyantly gay roommate with respect, he’ll lose his room and his job at Rear Entrance Video. But Austin’s got a not-so-straight secret of his own: nothing turns him on more than insults implying he’s gay—even though he’s definitely not!—and all his old coping methods have stopped working.
Pure desperation drives him to rent a Mischievous Pictures porn flick about straight men tricked into servicing Puck, a male dominant. Instead of letting off steam, though, it just leaves him craving more, more, more, and suddenly, Austin finds himself at Mischievous Pictures Studios for an audition. After all, you can be Gay For Pay and still be straight . . . right?

But meeting Liam Williams, the real person behind Puck, confuses Austin even more. Liam really seems to like him as a person, and Austin likes him back. And while Gay For Pay’s okay, what does it make Austin if he still wants Liam when the cameras aren’t rolling?

 

Contest

Giveaway at Riptide Publishing….

Use coupon code REVRECOVER to receive $2.00 off the ebook price of Apple Polisher!

Get Your Science Fiction Fix with Reesa Herberth and Michelle Moore on Peripheral People and Summer Reading (guest post and giveaway)

Peripheral People cover

Are you a lover of science fiction?  Need a new book to read and universe to dive into?  We have Michelle Moore and Reesa Herberth here to talk about their latest story in the  Ylendrian Empire series, Peripheral People.  They also have a reading list of books for you, some of which I hadn’t read before and have put on my TBR pile!  Check it all out below and don’t forget to enter the contest for the giveaway as well.  Follow them at every stop on their tour!

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Hi, we’re Michelle Moore and Reesa Herberth. The kind people here have invited us to stop by and tell you a little about our newest book, Peripheral People. A standalone novel in the Ylendrian Empire series, Peripheral People combines elements of romance, science fiction, paranormal, and crime drama in the intense, galaxy-spanning hunt for a psychic serial killer. Hot on the trail and hot for each other (in the sense that they’d both prefer to be set on fire than work together), the imperial agents who stumble into the case must evade terrifying mental traps, their own volatile relationship, and the discovery that someone in a higher pay grade may not be so keen on their quest for justice.

We’re thrilled to be with you today, and we’re looking forward to any questions or comments you might have.

Summer Reading List – Interstitial Investigations

Interstitial fiction is some of my favourite stuff- the books that fall between genres, neither one thing or another because they’re more than both. Below are some interstitial works I love, collected in handy list form so you can check them out before heading off for a summer holiday.

Point of Hopes by Melissa Scott and Lisa Barnett


Point of Hopes cover 2The argument could be made that these are straight-up fantasy, but what puts them firmly in the interstitial category for me is the clever mystery that could nearly stand on its own. The fantasy setting, a world where astrology is a vital part of everyday life, is rife for all kinds of plots. The two main characters, Nicholas Rathe and Philip Eslingen, enact an uneasy alliance to find a growing number of missing children, and learn more about each other in the process. Pleasantly diverse in an understated way, the cast features many women in strong supporting roles, and an honest, unfussy queering of the culture. There are several other books in this series.

Hellcat’s Bounty by Renae Jones

Hellcat's Bounty coverSpace western. Lesbian space western romance, in fact. The western elements in this story are so lovingly crafted there were times I honestly forgot it was taking place on a space station. That said, the rich detail of Rosewood Station was glorious, and there were moments when I could lose myself in the tiny little self-contained world sitting on the edge-of-forever. The two combined are a tapestry of old-world values and new-world problems. Lush with saloons, tea houses, amoeba-hunting rakehell heroines, and backroom doctors who know the cure for a ruptured spacesuit and a broken heart, Rosewood is a claustrophobic frontier made no less wild by being stuck to the side of an asteroid.

Widdershins by Jordan L. Hawk

Widdershins coverThe first book in Hawk’s Whyborne & Griffin series, this is a fantastic blend of paranormal, historical romance, eldritch horror, and mystery. Dr. Percival Endicott Whyborne is a master of languages, and he can’t resist the lure of translating the text brought to him by private investigator Griffin Flaherty. That it just happens to lead them both into a murderous plot to resurrect a madman isn’t really Whyborne’s fault. Whyborne’s best friend, Dr. Christine Putnam, is a cantankerous, trigger-happy joy in every scene she’s in. There are currently six books in the series, with at least two more planned.

The Gumshoe, the Witch, and the Virtual Corpse by Keith Hartman

The Gumshoe the Witch and the Virtual Corpse cover 2Noir-style mystery wrapped in a near-future Atlanta where religion plays a huge role in day-to-day life, Wiccans have their own news media, and someone is digging up corpses and crucifying them. The gay private investigator is looking for his missing partner (a psychic witch), the Cherokee seer is merely asking the courts to uphold a 19th century land deal that ceded them most of northern Georgia, and poor Benji just wants to turn 15, preferably without getting grounded for life when his Baptist parents find out his girlfriend is a witch. There’s a deeper science fiction element to the plot that I can’t mention without spoiling things, but suffice it to say, this book is as interstitial as it gets. With ten different first-person POV characters, this book is like a bag of literary potato chips- there’s no way you’re going to read just one chapter.

Peripheral People by Michelle Moore and Reesa Herberth

Peripheral People coverMy own contribution to the world of interstitial fiction, Peripheral People is a science fiction romance paranormal mystery. It pits psychic cops and imperial agents against a violent killer who only leaves mental fingerprints- and a string of dead bodies littered across the ‘verse. Irascible Inspector Corwin Menivie has secrets to keep, he’s stuck with Westley Tavera, psychic Reader extraordinaire, and neither one of them is sure which is more dangerous- the traps left by the murderer they’re hunting, or the ones already waiting in their own minds.

Interstitial fiction is all about drawing from multiple genres and writing a story that lets all of those elements shine. I hope I’ve mentioned a few books here that send you looking for all the great stories that live between.

                    About the Authors….

Reesa Herberth was born in Nevada and spirited away to California before moving to Hawaii, where she grew up on the Big Island. She tried Arizona for a few years, then lit out for the D.C. area, where her nomadic itch is regularly curbed by the nightmares of urban traffic. She’s held a handful of the requisite crazy writer jobs, including book store overlord, office goddess for an artisan ice cream maker, and cheese-cup scrubber at an organic goat dairy.

Michelle Moore has a well-documented obsession with travel, television, frappuccinos and flamingos. These, however, come in a distant second to her love of writing. Most evenings she can be found huddled over her laptop at the local Starbucks, dividing her time between actually writing and pretending to be a barista.

Michelle and Reesa have been writing together for over fifteen years. They are currently working on more Ylendrian stories, and a petition to have cat hair recognized as a form of currency.

Twitter:

Michelle Moore – @marigotc

Reesa Herberth – @reesah
Facebook – Ylendrian Empire Fan Page
Websites:
Michelle and Reesa Write
Ylendrian Empire

PeripheralPeople_TourBanner

Giveaway

Contest:  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Link and prizes provided by Riptide Publishing. Enter to win a  Peripheral People Prize Pack: includes a book-themed soft cooler, a handful of recommended reads, and the winner’s choice of a title from Michelle and Reesa’s backlist.Rafflecopter giveaway

 

About Peripheral People (Ylendrian Empire) by Reesa Herberth and Michelle Moore

Peripheral People coverCorwin Menivie and Nika Santivan are decorated veterans of the Imperial Enforcement Coalition, and are perfectly capable of solving cases the old-fashioned way. When they’re paired with Westley Tavera and Gavin Hale, the most powerful Reader/Ground team to emerge from the Psionics Academy, it could either be the best thing that’s ever happened to crime fighting, or the makings of a quadruple homicide.

During a routine investigation, West’s talent puts them on the trail of a brutal serial killer who traps his prey in a deadly mental playground. Then the killer starts baiting the team, laying psychic landmines at crime scenes and exposing IEC secrets. The strain of the case binds the agents closer together—so close that Nika and Gavin start sharing a room, and even the curmudgeonly Corwin finds himself as occupied with West as he is with the murders.

But as West’s visions of death grow more violent, the only way out for all of them may be straight through the mind of a monster. If they’re not careful, they may forget which side of the hunt they’re on.

Buy it and read an excerpt at Riptide Publishing.

Book Details:

ebook, 430 pages
Published May 11th 2015 by Riptide Publishing
ISBN139781626492684
edition languageEnglish

The Ylendrian Empire universe is a series of loosely-connected space operas written by Michelle Moore and Reesa Herberth.

ylendrianempire-color-transparentbg-nocopyrightFast-paced heists, gritty paranormal mysteries, rescue missions in far-flung exotic jungles . . . the character-driven adventures and romances of the Ylendrian Empire are a chance to explore a new set of stars, with just enough spice to keep you wanting more.

Currently available:

The Balance of Silence
The Slipstream Con
In Discretion
Peripheral People

Find out more about the Ylendrian Empire at http://ylendrianempire.com

– See more at: Riptide Publishing’s Ylendrian Empire’s page.