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Join Us for Release Day for Eric Gober’s Out of Order

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It’s Release Day for Out of Order by Eric Gober

Publisher: Wayward Ink Publishing

Synopsis

After bombing a job interview, Trent wants to get to the airport and fly home. But high up in a San Francisco skyscraper, he stumbles upon Rob, an old crush who mysteriously vanished from his life. Little does Trent know he’s about to be broadsided. In a moment, Rob will make a startling confession, old feelings for him will reignite, and the city’s worst disaster in decades will erupt around them. Can the two survive the deadly shaking? Or will they perish in the shattered, blacked-out city?

*originally published in the Stranded anthology

out of order

Book Details:

  • Author: Eric Gober
  • Length: short story
  • Genre: M/M, gay romance, contemporary

Buy links

Excerpt

Rob emerged from the hallway wearing an Oakland A’s baseball cap.

I didn’t know you were a baseball fan.

I’m not much of one, really, just supporting the home team. Iím going to a World Series party after our drinks.

You live in Oakland?

Yep. He came and stood very close to me and pointed. South of Calís clock tower, near Rockridge BART Station, so I take a train into the city for this project.

So many trees. It must be pretty there.

I like it.

Does Chris live with you?

He shook his head. We split up.

I’m sorry.

Me too.

Well, if you ask me, it’s Chrisís loss, not yours.

Trent, what I meant was I’m sorry I wasn’t completely honest with you in Arizona.î He looked at me as if I knew what he was talking about.

What do you mean?

Chris was my boyfriend, not girlfriend.

As I gazed into his handsome green eyes, comprehending his revelation, a crust around my heart ruptured, and feelings Iíd stored for him rippled through me. I felt the office sway as I tried to steady myself.

Then my knees buckled and everything shook.

Plate glass quavered. Lobby chairs lurched. Kaleidoscopic serigraphs rattled and fell off walls. Fluorescent light tubes popped from fixtures and shattered around us. A big beige computer monitor flew from the reception counter and exploded on the parquet floor.

Rob seized my arm and tugged me under the counter. The ground vibrated beneath my hands and knees, and the ceiling cracked so hard I feared it was caving and rubble from floors above would bury us. Something hissed, and I felt drops soaking my suit. I looked up. The fire sprinklers were on. Rob grabbed me and pulled me close, and I shut my eyes and nestled against him hard. If I were going to die, at least I’d be in the arms of someone I’d loved.

About the author

Eric’s fiction often explores complications and entanglements in romance. His debut novel, Secrets of the Other Side, won three Reader Views literary awards, including Best Fiction Book of the Year. Described by critics as an emotional journey of love, loss, and self discoveryî and ìan incredible coming-of-age story, the novel chronicles one gay youthís quest for love and happiness during the tumultuous eighties and nineties.

His short stories have appeared in numerous anthologies, including Encore, A Likely Story, Stranded, First Time for Everything, and Best Gay Romance 2014. He earned his MFA in creative writing from Wichita State University.

Eric grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, and has lived in Arizona, Kansas, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Today he makes his home in Los Angeles, where he enjoys trail running, spending time with friends, and working on new short stories and his next novel.

Social links

Website: www.ericgober.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoberEric
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gobereric
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6964936.Eric_Gober

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A MelanieM Review: Midnight Run (ALPHAS #10) by Bailey Bradford

Rating: 1.5 stars out of 5

Always the lone wolf, never the mate…

Midnight Run coverBlurb from ARe: Alpha Jack Herman used to have a pack, but he’s been alone for a long time. When he catches a whiff of another shifter encroaching on his preferred hunting grounds, he’s determined to put a stop to that immediately. There’s only room for one wolf in Jack’s territory—Jack.

Captured as a pup, Malakai is a shifter, but he’s neither wolf nor alpha. What he is, is scared, exhausted, starving, and close to giving up. Hunted by a predator, Malakai fears his newly found freedom is about to come to a violent and abrupt end.

Instead, he finds himself in the arms of a man strong enough to do whatever he must to take care of Malakai.

For the want of an editor a book was lost, along with continuity, and any semblance of logic and order.  Color me amazed and totally perplexed.  Rarely have I come across so many mistakes and lack of attention to details and storyline as I encountered here.  Midnight Run by Bailey Bradford is part of the Alpha collection of stories published by All Romance/OmniLit Books. Or is it self-published by authors through All Romance, not sure how that works?  No matter, I’m just not sure where it or this story or the blame falls because its issues are many.

I’m not even going to bother with my own synopsis.  Why bother when so little care and effort was put into publishing this story?  Instead of going on and on about all the issues I found in this story, I’m just going to list a few of them, that should be telling enough.

Here goes with a little bit of set up.  Malakai is an artic fox captured as a young shifter (a pup) in animal form while out on a run with his family in the wilds of Alaska.  So far so good.  He spends years in that animal form in a cage as a couple’s sort of “show-n-tell” wild animal pet.  He escapes after years of being confined as a fox in a cage (he should be close to feral) and is hunted/found by a wolf shifter.  Now let the errors begin:

Malakai has never really been outside his cage in years yet he is able to:

1.  Claw his way out of a concrete and heavily fenced cage even though he is starving and in poor condition.

2.  On the run in a park, Malakai is able to work the  restroom  stall door latches (so he can hide from a wolf in a stall) in the men’s room in a park lavatory.  I known adults who find those latches confusing or broken to the point of not being able to use them.  Plus how is a stall going to hide him?  Rarely are those restroom stalls totally enclosed or have sides that go to the ground. That costs money that park systems don’t have.  Just saying.

3. Malakai informs Jack that he has never worn clothes before and yet he puts on and buttons a shirt, zip up pants (both without help) and ties a shoe with only one rapid demonstration of how the laces go together. No learning curve here with buttons or zippers, no fumbling or figuring things out. Uh. No, that doesn’t reason out any way you look at it.  And don’t get me started on putting on shoes and wearing them for the first time if you have never done it before.

4. Malakai has no problem walking around in human form even though most of his years have been spent as a fox.   I’m pretty sure he might have some issues with balance, muscles and muscle tone, etc but no.

5. Malakai is emaciated to the point of starving, his bones are clearly visible. So what does Jack feed him? Tons of bacon and pancakes and more bacon. If Malakai had really been a fox or dog, you’d be cleaning up the rooms for weeks to come after feeding a starved animal all that rich food. I have read similar scenes in other stories and the authors take care to show that characters in such condition are eased back into eating and not cooked multiple breakfasts ala Burger King. They made the situation feel authentic. Clearly that didn’t happen here.

6.  Malakai informs Jack he’s a virgin (well, yes, he’s been caged most of his life) and knows nothing about sexuality (including whether he’s gay or not) so of course Jack has sex with him immediately and starts to talk about BDSM and spanking.  A sort of “I’m Jack, we’re going to have sex” fast tracked sex component that is definitely not sexy.

7.  It’s especially not sexy given that Malakai is emaciated, ignorant of human lifestyles and customs, and  basically a kid mentally.  Oh, and he is also traumatized because of the situation he escaped from.  *shakes head*

Enough already.

I could keep going on but why?  The whole story is like this.  There is also no continuity in back history and as it is part of an ongoing series, no effort has been made to pull in any details or history to the other couples and characters that come and go throughout the story.  I think you’re supposed to know who they are and how they fit in with Jack, but that lack of knowledge is probably one of this story’s lesser problems.

And finally, although an editor with an enormous red pencil could fix some of these mistakes, that fact that there is no connection, no electricity between Jack and Malakai dooms this story from the start.  On every level, Midnight Run is a pass.

I am familiar with Bailey Bradford and, generally, her stories are imaginative, her characters compelling, and, actions and events make a sort of sense, even with the supernatural elements involved.  None of that happens here and I’m at a loss as to why.   If you are a Bailey Bradford fan, I leave the decision to read this story up to you, but for the rest of the readers, look elsewhere for your shifters in love and HEA.

Cover art is not credited, probably a blessing.

Sales Link:  Available only at All Romance (ARe)

Book Details:

ebook, 50 pages

Published February 10th 2015 by OmniLit / All Romance eBooks, LLC
ISBN139781936387878
urlhttp://www.allromance.com
seriesALPHAS #10

A Stella Review: Bratty Angel by Chris T. Kat

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

A bratty angel…

Bratty Angel coverFirst Patrick is accosted by a hellhound with a yen for fries and ketchup. Then he encounters a beautiful, but bratty, angel who doesn’t seem to understand the concept of ‘no’… or personal space. Not to mention he demands Patrick pleasure him, which Patrick refuses to do. So why does Patrick feel a connection to this unruly seraphim? And why can’t he forget him?

Two weeks later, the brat is back, making more demands. But Patrick makes it clear he doesn’t do demands. That should be the end of it, right? Or not… Maybe there’s more to this bratty angel than meets the eye. If Patrick has the patience to get past his bratty ways.

A bratty angel with a hellhound as pet!

Forget everything you know about angels and hellhounds. Chris T Kat rewrote all the rules, showing us an hellhound scared of a little cat and an angel specialized in pouting.

In a world where the humans and the supernaturals aren’t separated anymore, Patrick is been trapped in his human form for twenty-three years. Now he is escaping from a creature, a hellhound hungry for his fries with ketchup. King Kong is the “pet” of a beautiful naked angel with no name, an arrogant and spoiled brat, who demands a reward since he rescued Patrick from his (not scary at all) hellhound. Does a blowjob work? Patrick can’t believe Angel’s request and leave him, but the sparkle is already on. They meet again after two weeks when Angel goes to Patrick’s home with the same request. Used to get what he wants, even with spells, Angel doesn’t know otherwise, he can only demand and order.

“I swear if you’re going to use the phrase I demand of you or even just the word demand one more time, I’ll put you over my knee.”

Angel gazed at him in confusion. “Why would you do that? Is that a good position for me to be in to receive my reward?”

After spending the last twenty-three years mourning the loss of his lover, Patrick is intrigued by this angel, naive about the human world. But the bratty-angel is not so bratty at the end.

I’ve  read other books by this author and I’m a huge fan of her works, especially her writing style.  I simply love how she writes. This little story was no exception, funny and easy to read but well done.

The author created an intricate world of angel, demons and hellhounds. Of course this incredible world could be better explained in more pages, this story is really short, just 47 pages.  But I loved how everything developed and was explained at the end, I wasn’t left with questions or doubts. Still we got a lot of details that I’m sure didn’t get enough space.

Be ready for a little surprise at the end, totally unexpected but very welcome. Now I’m just hoping for more.

Cover art by Latrisha Waters. This cover didn’t win me. I’m not sure I like the choice of the colors and the wings don’t seem real.

Sales Links: eXtasy Books    Amazon             Buy It Here

BOOK DETAILS

Published February 15th 2015 by eXtasy books
ebook, 47 pages
ISBN13 9781487402327
Edition language English

 

A PaulB Review: Broken Bridges by Cheyenne Meadows

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Broken Bridges coverWhen wolf shifter Detective Dax Steel discovers a serial killer is targeting bear shifters, he worries about his ex lover Adin. As he hunts for the killer, Dax is bound to protect his former flame. Will this new attention bring the two back together, drive them further apart or separate them forever?

Dax Steel is detective who is investigating a series of homicides that have occurred over the last three days. Being a wolf shifter, he recognizes each of the victims as a bear shifter. When he comes across the latest victim, Dax is relieved that it is not his ex lover Adin. Looking for any connections between the victims, Dax decides to pay his ex lover a visit.

Adin is a bear shifter who works for the parks services. As a bear shifter, his personality aligns with his creature. A loner as most bear shifters, he still cannot get past his relationship with Dax. When Dax shows up one day, it both excites and irritates him. Worried that there might be someone who is after his kind, he offers to help Dax with his investigation.

However, when Dax goes alpha wolf protector with Adin, he bristles. He reminds Dax that he is a bear shifter and can take care of himself. While the two once again reconnect, the very issues that drove them apart the first time threaten do so again. However, Dax is worries that this time it might be a permanent separation if he does not catch the serial killer in time.

I enjoyed this book a great deal. The sex scenes are hot throughout the novel. I enjoyed how the author used the alpha wolf and loner bear personalities to explain how what seemed to be a perfect match somehow fell apart when they first met. The murder mystery being used as the catalyst to bring these two lovers together again worked for me in this instance. I would like to see a sequel to this novel to see if they could work on another case together, but would be satisfied if this did not happen.

The mystery itself was well developed for a short novel. There were enough clues and red herrings to keep the reader entertained. The conclusion of the mystery was plausible without it being revealed completely until near the end of the case.

If you enjoy romance with your mystery, I would recommend this charming short novel.

The cover art by Posh Gosh shows both Dax and Adin in both their human form (in the background) and in their shifted form (in the fore). It is a gorgeous cover and the tag line “Will a second chance at love come too late?” perfectly sums up the story.

Sales Links:   Totally Bound Books     All Romance (ARe)    Amazon    Buy It Here

Book Details
Ebook, 89 pages
Published by Totally Bound December 2014
ISBN: 978-1-78430-346-1

Book Spotlight: Young at Heart by Kay Ellis (author interview and giveaway included)

STRW In The Spotlight Header

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Kay Ellis has a new release for all to check out!  It’s Young At Heart, a M/M contemporary romance.  As part of the release celebration, we have a giveaway contest for all to enter.  Check out all the book and author details below and enter to  win!

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Title: Young at Heart by Kay Ellis
Publisher: Wayward Ink Publishing
M/M Contemporary Romance novella

Now a Q & A with Kay  Ellis….

Q.I love the title, the song comes immediately into mind.  Do you listen to music as you write?

I think I had the title before the song came out so they copied me! I don’t tend to have music on while I write. More likely the television. I’m amazed at my ability to keep track of programs while barely glancing toward the tv!

Q.Ff so, what did you listen to as you wrote Young at Heart?

If I had been listening to music it would have been Adam Lambert, Garth Brooks, Bon Jovi or John Barrowman. Eclectic mix but they’re my regular choice of listening in the car.

Q.Were you a prolific reader as a child?

Most definitely. My mum says she doesn’t remember me learning to read. I just could. I remember going back to school after the summer holidays when I was in my early teens. The English teacher told the class to put up their hands if they had read one book in the holidays. Then two, three, four… She stopped at seven and asked me why I hadn’t put my hand up at all. I told her she hadn’t got to my number yet. For the record, it was thirteen!

Q.What childhood authors or/books made the greatest impact on you as a writer?

I think I probably always read above my age group so I don’t recall a particular childrens’ author I liked. I loved Louisa Alcott and The Little Women series though. I was a bit of a tomboy like Jo.

Q.What or who has been the biggest influence on your writing?

I hate to say it but I read Fifty Shades of Grey, and although I have always written stories from an early age, it was that book that gave me the confidence to write what I wanted to write and not be embarrassed or ashamed of writing sex scenes. A television programme ran a competition to find a new ‘racey’ author and I thought “I can do that.” I finished in the top three which gave me a bit of belief in myself and my writing.

Q There is a large age difference between the men in the relationship and that can be tricky to write.  Why include that element into your story?

My answer to that has to be – they are what they are! It’s hard to explain but usually my characters come in to my head fully formed before I ever get a word on the page.

Q.What was the inspiration behind making them generations apart in age and status?

Truth be told, Young At Heart started out as a relationship between a older woman and a younger man. It was basically flipping the whole rich man, innocent young woman which every one else seemed to be writing. I was told by a publisher my work was more sorted to a niche market and as I had just had a short story accepted by a m/m publisher I decided that must be my ‘niche’ and I changed the older character to a man.

Q. I know from past blogs and conversations, that readers (and some authors) have problems with switching a het romance over to a M/M romance without that being the original pairing to begin with. How do you respond to that?

I don’t have an issue with making the switch from HET to M/M. People are people. Gay, straight, black, white – we are all faced with the same problems. And it wasn’t simply that I went through and changed she to he, I changed some parts that didn’t work in the same way between two men. And Devon was one of my first gay characters from years ago. I never wrote his story but he was always a rich, older man in a relationship with someone much younger. I also think matching Jesse with Devon made Jesse a stronger character.

Q.  What’s next for Kay Ellis?

What’s next is whatever is finished first! I can have half a dozen different works in progress at anyone time and I always write which ever characters are shouting loudest in my head at the time. But the main two at the moment are the third book in my Evolin series and a kind of post-apocalyse tale of a mercenary sent out to kill a man who he ends up falling for once he finds him.

STRW Author BookSynopsis

Devon Alexander is a wealthy successful businessman. The world is his oyster. In his work life he is decisive and in control.

His private life is another matter.

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There, he doesn’t know if he’s coming or going in his on-off relationship with Jesse Young, an unemployed aspiring model half his age.

Can Devon and Jesse overcome the obstacles and outside influences standing in their way? Can they leave behind their own fear and mistrust? Or will they be their own worst enemies?

Genre: LGBTQ, MM, romance, gay romance

STRW Spotlight Book Excerpt

Devon pulled down his shirt and straightened his tie before bending to retrieve his underwear and trousers. Once dressed, he lifted his hands to his head, checking his hair. Vain, maybe, but he had an image to protect. All the while, he covertly watched Jesse tuck his rather impressive manhood into tight white boxer briefs and zip up the fly of his jeans. Jesse 
glanced up to catch Devon watching and a smug smile spread across his handsome face.

“Shit, did we even lock the door?” Devon asked suddenly, trying to remember if there had been time to turn the key in between Jesse walking into the office and them ending up sprawled half-naked across the desk. Emily, his personal assistant, was terribly efficient, but she was a shy, quiet girl and he hardly dared think what effect it would have on her if she saw 
Jesse in all his glory. “What if Emily had come in?”

“She wouldn’t have,” Jesse said confidently.

“Really? What makes you so sure?”

“I told her not to.”

Devon narrowed his eyes, not sure he liked the thought of Jesse giving orders to his staff. The last thing he needed was Jesse getting ideas above his station. Devon would be a laughingstock if his much-younger boyfriend started throwing his weight around like he was the one in charge.

“What did you say to her exactly?”

“I told her not to come in because I was going to fuck you hard over your desk,” Jesse replied with a smirk.
“I sincerely hope that’s meant to be a joke.”

Jesse looked at him, assessing his change of mood. There was a sudden gleam in Jesse’s velvet-brown eyes and Devon smothered a sigh, knowing he was about to be lied to. Such were the consequences of taking a man twenty years his junior as a lover. Jesse was Young in name and young in nature. Fortunately for both of them, his good looks and sexual prowess 
generally outweighed his immaturity.

“Of course it was a joke,” Jesse said, flashing his most disarming smile, the one that made women and quite a lot of men melt whenever they saw it. “You know I wouldn’t do anything like that, Dev.”

Dev. Nobody had ever called Devon that before Jesse. In the press and business life, he was Devon Alexander. To family and friends, plain old Devon. Only Jesse got away with calling him by the abbreviated form. Privately, he quite liked it when Jesse called him Dev, although recently he had come to realise the shortened version of his name was used most 
when Jesse either wanted something or was trying to wheedle his way into Devon’s good books after doing something wrong.

Sales Links:

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Giveaway

Prizes: 1 x $20 WIP Gift Card and 1 x ebook copy of Young at Heart.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by Eyes On Books Promotions.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

STRW Author Bio and Contacts

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Kay Ellis lives in rural Oxfordshire in the UK, where sheís mum to two beautiful daughters. From an early age, she has written stories, with a sole readership of one ñ her mum, Sylvia. In 2013, someone suggested Kay enter a competition on national television to find a new ëracey readsí author. Much to Kayís surprise, she made it to the final three, and although she didnít win, the high praise received for her work gave her the confidence to start submitting to publishers.

When not writing, Kay enjoys reading, eating out and the theatre.

Social links

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kay.ellis.79274

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KayEllisAuthor

A MelanieM Review: Melting Into You (Give Me a Taste #5) by Cassandra Carr

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Melting Into YOu coverSeth Mason’s life as a macaroni and cheese food truck owner in Austin, Texas, is pretty good.  His food truck is popular, business is good enough to consider branching out and the program he helped start to deliver left over restaurant food to the hungry has take off.  One of the stops Seth’s makes at the end of the day is to the Austin City Mission.  There Seth meets the one person who just might complete his life, Ben, the new case manager at the shelter.

Ben’s just moved to Austin from Connecticut to take a job as a case manager at the Austin City Mission, the first time he’s left home and family.  He has a new apartment, long hours and not much else.  Until he meets the hot food truck owner delivering the left over food of the day.

The attraction between them is instantaneous and hot. And both Seth and Ben are looking for something permanent and lasting.   As they grow closer, both must decide if they have the necessary ingredients for lasting love, or if the relationship will go up in smoke.

Melting Into You by Cassandra Carr was a very cute and sweet story, full of promising elements, not all of which came to fruition.  The very best part of this story resides in Seth Mason and his food truck,  which sells hot macaroni in all variations. This is where Cassandra Carr and this story excels.  Seth, his love for cooking, his passion for his life and food truck, complete with recipes, adorable employees, and home kitchen all come across in vivid descriptions, nuanced character portraits and authentic references to the Austin food scene. Particularly the life of a food truck operator in general.  Seth was real, his food offerings came across as mouthwatering and irresistible.  I wanted a Mr. Romance (macaroni and seafood selection) just like everyone else standing in line in section of this story…it felt that real.

Unfortunately, the other elements don’t rise up to the same thoroughness and depth of characterization.  Ben, naive and starting out in his first job, remains throughout the story a bit of a puzzle.  There really is no depth to his character or to their relationship which is along the lines of Hello-I love you. And the city mission where he works is given short shrift when compared to the well-researched descriptions of the food truck/food service industry.  Really, Carr should have continued to concentrate on the food trucks because the complex problems and issues that come with a city shelter are so varied and numerous that this story had not the length to do it justice or was described too superficially for it to be a powerful element here.  That shallowness was really highlighted by an event that happens toward the end of the story.  It felt as though it came out of  nowhere as the author never bothered to lay any foundation for such an event.  It felt out of place, and frankly just created because the  author needed a sense of drama.

Melting Into You is part of a series but the only story of that series I have read.  I think it works as a stand alone and as a quick sweet romance.  Based on the recipes alone I am going to be checking into the other books in this series which was written by multiple authors (see note below). I will let you know what I find.

Cover artist Scott Carpenter cover actually works because it’s just sweet, simple and only the addition of the food truck saves it from being generic.

Sales Links:    Fated Desires Publishing    All Romance (ARe)        Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 104 pages
Expected publication: March 31st 2015
ISBN139781623221997
seriesGive Me a Taste #5, Savor #1

Give Me a Taste series

5 works, 5 primary works, 5 authors

The Give Me a Taste Line is a delectable line where the main plot is centered on food and everything that comes with it. We’re serving up authentic and delicious ideas and plots where the heat is not only in the kitchen but out of it. Our characters are immersed in foods and the mouthwatering plots make us want to dig in.