A MelanieM Review: Fire and Light by Berengaria Brown

Rating: 2.5 stars ouf of 5 stars

Several years after the divorce, Hugh’s ex-wife decides that she doesn’t want her son and gives Hugh full custody. Hugh loves his son and finds this a wonderful turn of events, even if it means he has to rearrange his life. With 6 year old Orion living with him, Hugh and his son are adjusting to life as a family when a chance encounter with a man named Quigley changes all their lives forever.

This is a short story about a romance that starts in an equally small amount of time. Hugh has just gotten custody of his son from his ex-wife. She is in a new relationship and her boyfriend does not want Orion around. Quigley is a man on a 2-week vacation. All three meet cute in a surf shop and bond over board shorts and goggles. In that 2 week time frame, the men fall in love and decide to be a family, along with Orion. Orion adjusts beautifully. Everyone is happy. The end.

That’s the story. Short, sweet and has no character building, no foundation on which to build a realistic love story and certainly no depth.What it does have is loads of sex scenes, with a smattering of story. It’s fluffy with some lovely scenes between Hugh and his son. That is really the best part of Fire and Light, the father-son relationship. Of course, that is also the component that makes the acceptance of a stranger and the instant family kind of creepy.

If Berengaria Brown is a must read author for you, then go ahead and pick this up. But for the rest of us, I would give this a pass.

Book Details:

ebook, 2nd Edition, 57 pages

Published June 19th 2013 by Torquere Press (first published June 16th 2011)

ISBN 1610404882 (ISBN13: 9781610404884)

edition language English

url http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=78_91&products_id=3928

A MelanieM Review: A Taste for Poison (Memory of Scorpions #3) by Aleksandr Voinov

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Even a king gets stung when he reaches for a scorpion.

Once the leader of the band of mercenaries known as the Scorpions, Adrastes is now King and a changed man. Ruler of two countries, along with his sister/wife, King Adrastes has just survived an assassination, just barely. In poor health and still recovering, Adrastes trusts no one and is determined to find the assassin and make the individual pay. Wary of everyone now, including allies and friends, King Adrastes prepares his kingdom for war against the only kingdom and ruler outside his control, the Elder of Vededrin. But not everyone supports Adrastes, including the man who loved and rescued him, Kendras.

Kendras, former lover to Adrastes and leader of the Scorpions, no longer blindly supports his king. He’s watched Adrastes change and the orders from the King are making him uneasy and reluctant to obey. And to go to war with Adrastes against Vededrin just might mean the end of the Scorpions for all time. And replacing Adrastes in Kendras’ bed and heart is Graukar, newly appointed general to the king, an event the King is not happy with. Kendras must figure out how to balance responsibilities and loyalties in a world gone increasingly complex and grey. And quickly before someone he loves is injured.

As Kendras tries to work through his thoughts and feelings, a new threat arises to King Adrastes rule. An anonymous outrider wearing a mask calling himself Death foments rebellion in the mountains, aided by a prophecy that promises he’ll stop the Black King. Ordered to find and kill the man called Death, Kendras leaves feeling unsettled, uncertain and sure of only one thing…his love for Graukar.

From the moment I read the first book in this series, Scorpion (Memory of Scorpions #1), I knew that Kendras and the Scorpions would lead me on a remarkable journey. It’s been a brutal, raw, and violent saga and one of the best in its genre. The life of a mercenary is a hard and savage one, unsparring in the injuries and deaths that come as part of the profession. Only the loyalty to each other and the tight rules and rich history of the Scorpions, make this band of soldiers a family. Voinov’s saga begins with Kendras, his entrance into the Scorpions, his scant memories of his childhood, and the heartbreak and pain of finding and then losing Adrastes, not to another lover, but to the kingship itself. Told from Kendras’ point of view, the character grows from a soldier with a single minded focus and goal to one floundering amongst the political seas at court. It’s a mesmerizing and arduous scramble as Kendras rises up the social scale, pulled along by Adrastes, whether he wants to go or not. Kendras must grow as a character and Voinov delivers that mental and emotional growth in spurts that come with despair along with great joy.

A Taste of Poison (Memory of Scorpions #3) finds Adrastes suffering the effects of an assassination attempt, one that profoundly changes the King’s outlook on those around him and accelerates his goal of expanding his rule to all three kingdoms. The man who rules is not the man Kendras followed and loved. That dichotomy is cause for depression, and uncertainty, along troubling thoughts of disloyalty is adding to unrest among the Scorpions and Kendras. Voinov has made Kendras a man of honor and depth and to see and feel him floundering and pulled by this faction and that both enriches this story and ups the suspense for the welfare of all involved.

Everything is heightened here in A Taste of Poison. Goals, loyalties, love, trust…the bar is now so high and the repercussions of any deviation or conflict are swift, exacting, and devastating. Voinov reveals more of Kendras’ past, unknown even to Kendras Also revealed are hidden alliances, and schemes to depose one ruler or another. There are no black and white sides, only grey as Kendras has been slow to learn. And with every startling exposition and shattering event, we are pulled deeper into the lives of all the Scorpions and their leader, Kendras.

Voinov has delivered a saga rich in character development, alive with action and battle sequences, and complete with the horrors that love and jealousy can and does inflict on all involved. Aleksandr Voinov has said that the quote from Leo Tolstoy: “The best stories don’t come from “good vs. bad” but “good vs. good.” helped shape not only the characters of Adrastes and Kendras but the stories themselves. Only a tilt of the prism or a slight change of perspective will make either character “good” or “evil”. Is it evil for Adrastes to want to solidify the 3 warring kingdoms into one for the betterment of all? At what price is that not acceptable? Is Kendras’s feelings and actions betrayal or loyalty? Whose goals are the ones that should be honored by personal sacrifice and love? That Voinov is able to bring all facets to life in each of these strong personalities is not only a marvelous achievement but makes this a series worth reading and remembering.

The Memory of Scorpions series is astonishingly inventive, beautifully crafted and fiercely passionate. From the bloody sands of battle to the lethal layers and complex rituals of court, Alexandr Voinov brings his world and characters to life word by word, page by page using vivid imagery and an attention to detail that leaves no construct of person or kingdom feeling shallow or undone. Just masterful.

I don’t know if this is the end of the Scorpions. Voinov is silent about future stories. I hope not. There is so much here I still need to know. The Black King still lives…if the prophecy is correct, who will bring him down? What is ahead and possible for Kendras and the Scorpions? This amazing story and series begs the questions. Hopefully Aleksandr Voinov will answer. Meanwhile, pick up this wondrous series and get acquainted with some of the most powerful and engaging characters around. One of Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words “must reads” and highly recommended stories of 2014.

Cover art by Reese Dante. Love that cover, powerful and perfect image that speaks to the story within.

Sales Links: Riptide Publishing All Romance eBooks (ARe) Amazon A Taste of Poison

Book Details:

alternative world, gritty fantasy, warrior mercenaries

ebook, 265 pages
Expected publication: October 13th 2014 by Riptide Publishing
ISBN139781626491557
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/a-taste-for-poison
seriesMemory of Scorpions #3

Books in the Memory of Scorpions series in the order they were written and should be read:

Scorpion (Memory of Scorpions, #1)
Lying with Scorpions (Memory of Scorpions, #2)
A Taste for Poison (Memory of Scorpions, #3)

Enter the Addictive World of the Scorpions! On Tour with Aleksandr Voinov’s A Taste of Poison

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One of my favorite series from Aleksandr Voinov is the addicting and dangerous universe of the Memory of Scorpions series , an ancient mercenary band of brothers (and sister) with a history as rich as the kings they work for. Now comes the latest installment, and hopefully not the last, A Taste of Poison (Scorpions #3) by Aleksandr Voinov. You can follow Aleksandr Voinov on tour with all the dates here. For now, let’s focus in on Aleksandr Voinov on his Scorpions:

“Good versus Good”

Hi, I’m Aleksandr Voinov, and I’m happy to talk about my newest release. Thank you for the invitation!

I recently stumbled over this quote from Leo Tolstoy:

“The best stories don’t come from “good vs. bad” but “good vs. good.”

It struck home for me, because while some writing courses tell you that you need a “villain” (in m/m, it’s the “evil ex”), and the more villainous the villain, the more tension we get. I think it’s bollocks, to use a lovely British term. Even if we have an almost cartoonish level of over-simplification, in, say, Star Wars (I love Star Wars), the much more interesting evil guy is Darth Vader. (Palpatine is more “cartoon evil”) Why? Because he used to be “good” and Luke believes passionately that Darth Vader, his father, can be redeemed. And it’s amazing, because that levels the playing field – while Luke is still in training, Darth Vader is seen as “just evil”. Once Luke comes into his power, he gets almost literally hamstrung (arm-strung?) by the revelation that Darth Vader is his father, and the decision to get him back to the good side. It’s very difficult fighting a duel against somebody you want to save/redeem, especially when that somebody seems absolutely set on destroying or breaking you.

What a conflict.

So often we do have the villain with the redeeming feature (“He only wants to bring peace to the galaxy”). But studying real-life evil, I’m usually struck by how some of the evillest men ever fully accepted they were doing “bad things”, but they usually did it not out of lust for destruction, but because they were looking for a higher good. The evil they did was seen as a “price worth paying”. In short, they were twisted idealists. Some stated that the “work” (read: atrocities) wasn’t pleasant, but they sacrificed themselves, their sanity, their peace, their souls, to do it. And that’s really disturbing. “Personal sacrifice” is actually a virtue.

I have zero doubt that Adrastes in the Memory of Scorpions series considers himself the “good guy”, and Kendras is being bothersome, dishonest, disloyal, and also in league with mutinous soldiers. Apart from the obvious jealousy with regards to Kendras and Graukar, Adrastes is driven by the need/desire to rebuild the empire, to end internal wars, to be strong against outside invaders, and to have peace and prosperity. And if he has to kill, torture and wage war for that noble end – well, he’s good at it, and there would be much worse people to do it. Less competent, less decisive, less thorough. He truly believes he’s doing the right thing. And we’ve seen him as the charismatic, self-sacrificing leader who looks after his men. Regardless of what he does later, we know he’s not “evil”. He’s very possibly not “good”, he’s just human. Like they all are. We buy more into Kendras’s version of the story because we never hear the story of the other characters, but chances are, if we did, we’d buy their version and consider Kendras “evil” or “wrong”.

And that’s really where I’m coming from. I can’t do sparkly shiny heroes versus dark and twisted evil guys, because I don’t believe that’s how it happens in real life. I can have characters cross the line (arguably, once Adrastes begins assassinating political enemies and using his father’s intimidation tactics, that’s where he crosses the line), but even in fantasy, which is full of dark gods and demons and tyrants and whatnot, I just don’t believe in that model of the world.

For me, pitting idealists with strong values against each other is far more fun, so I can root for all of them. It keeps me engaged and happy as an author, and I hope it has the same effect on readers.

Title: A Taste of Poison (Memory of Scorpions #3) by Aleksandr Voinov
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Cover Artist: Reese Dante
Page Count: 260 pages

A Taste of Poison Blurb:

Even a king gets stung when he reaches for a scorpion.

After barely surviving an assassination attempt, King Adrastes is a changed man—one who mistrusts even his allies and friends. He readies his empire for war against an enigmatic enemy, the Elder of Vededrin, but not everyone approves. While courtiers dare only to whisper dissent, an outrider called Death foments rebellion in the mountains, aided by a prophecy that promises he’ll stop the Black King.

Kendras—former lover to Adrastes and leader of the Scorpions—is sent with his elite mercenary force to bring Death to justice. But when Kendras learns who’s hiding behind the mask, he must choose between his lover Graukar, newly-appointed general to the king—and King Adrastes himself.

With no man to call master, the Scorpions could flee the danger and intrigue. But Kendras cannot abandon the man he once loved—or the man he’s growing to love—without first uncovering the real threat to the Empire.

– See more at: http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/a-taste-for-poison#sthash.n5Pu5nYZ.dpuf

A Taste of Poison Excerpt

(read more at A Taste of Poison Excerpt page at Riptide Publishing)

Chapter 1

“Officer, Lady Nhala wishes to see you.”

Kendras had barely sunk into the hot bathwater to wash the sweat and dirt off when Runner stepped into the room. He groaned and ducked his head underwater, scraping over his scalp with both hands, then emerged again, blowing out a breath.

“How urgent?”

“She looked like it was a pressing matter.” Runner walked over to the stool next to the bath and picked up a linen towel, unfolded it, and offered it to Kendras. Her ironic expression forbade any comment that she wasn’t a bath slave and he could dry himself. Kendras crumpled his washcloth into a ball and ran it over his chest, belly, armpits, and groin. No leisurely soak to loosen up his tired muscles, then. Duty was calling. He tossed the cloth into the water and stood.

She enveloped him in the towel, and he reached for a corner of it to dry his face and head before he stepped out of the bathtub. “Get me my boots and leathers.”

“At once, Officer.” She turned and walked off.

Kendras rubbed his skin dry and was almost finished before Runner returned. He tossed the towel over the rim of the tub and began to dress. “Let her in.”

He was just pulling on his boots when Nhala appeared in the doorway. He felt her gaze linger for a moment on his bare chest, then she straightened almost as if standing at attention. “Officer.”

“My lady.” He closed the top of his leathers and began tightening the straps and laces. “I’m at your service.”

She stepped further into the room and glanced over her shoulder back into the barracks, checking for witnesses, no doubt. “We are all called to war council. Immediately.”

Kendras bit down on a groan. After a long, hot day on the training yard, and before any food, standing for hours in his heavy plate armor while generals bickered over the best strategy to achieve a victory wasn’t a prospect he relished. He much preferred when the plan was set and the only issue left was when to act. “Who’s issued the call?”

“The king.”

“The king’s—”

More dead than alive. Maybe dead.

– See more at Riptide Publishing’s A Taste of Poison page.

Memory of Scorpions stories in the order they were written and should be read:

Scorpion (Memory of Scorpions, #1)
Lying with Scorpions (Memory of Scorpions, #2)
A Taste for Poison (Memory of Scorpions, #3)

Is There a “Wicked Defense” in Your Future? On Tour with Talia Carmichael!

Welcome, Talia Carmichael! Talia is here talking about her inspiration, her writing, and her latest release, Wicked Defense! Check out Talia Carmichael’s latest release, Wicked Defense (Bonds of Justice #4)!

Living It by Talia Carmichael

When I write a book I get emotionally invested in what happens. I basically live it and doing so takes a lot out of me, as I experience what my characters do. When I write I become very intimate with my characters. I know every intimate little secret. The good, in between, bad and those that brings them to their knees. They wreck you and make you drop. The memories of things that shape a character into being who they are. That guides what they do and react to each situation. Not every moment of a characters life makes it to a page, if it did it would be an unending book. 🙂 But to write my characters and make their reactions genuine they have to become real people to me. I’m a voyeur living in their lives and I don’t just get to live the good stuff. I get to live those awful things.

In Wicked Defense (Bonds of Justice, #4) my latest release, my main characters have to deal with someone trying to kill their partner. Spencer is a police detective and he knows he has a job to do but he is personally invested in Craig. That makes it more overwhelming for him—emotionally, spiritually and physically. Through the book I already knew what eventually what was coming. The big reveal of why Craig is being hunted and the repercussions of that. I ached for Craig knowing it was coming and what would happen. When it happened I raged with him and wept. With Craig and Spencer as they had to handle what happened. I lived it with them and it was a rollercoaster of emotions.

Wicked Defense (Bonds of Justice, #4) isn’t angst filled because I’m not very good at it. My book was emotional to me because I knew everything my characters experienced before it happened in the book. How it affected them both and where it would lead. As I read through my book, I was going through all the same emotions as my characters. Each time I read my book it has the same impact on me.

Now Wicked Defense (Bonds of Justice, #4) is out. My characters are out in the world for others to experience like I did as I wrote them. You will take the adventure with them and go along with them as they work toward their happy ever after. Enjoy taking their journey to happy ever with them and you too will be living it.

Blurb for Wicked Defense

This is book four in the Bonds of Justice series.

When life brings you something unexpected, it creates the most interesting adventure…

Spencer West never would have come to an art show if not for one of his best friends. The pieces he sees are powerful and when a man strikes up a conversation asking his opinion, he gives it. Craig Scott—the artist—has been watching him all night. Spencer’s curiosity is piqued by this laid-back man who evokes such strong emotions in his art and just by being in his presence. Their conversation makes Spencer even more intrigued and he promises to get to know Craig better. Yet the circumstance of their next meeting makes Spencer realise he already cares too much. Someone wants Craig dead. Now invested in Craig emotionally and professionally, Spencer sees there is so much more beneath the surface of who Craig is. If only he can convince Craig to lie low… From what he has seen of the man, he isn’t one to listen.

Craig Scott spots the most intriguing man who seems out of place, and after their conversation, Craig knows he wants to see more of the sexy, brawny man. Nothing will get in his way—not some pesky attempt on his life or everyone wanting to protect him. He wants to make Spencer his—body, heart and soul. Spencer wants seduction and Craig is more than willing to tempt all the senses. As for the danger he is in, Craig will not hide from it but will meet it head on and kick the shit out of it.

Spencer has his hands full trying to protect Craig—who makes him feel all sorts of things—and he will use a wicked defense to keep him safe.

Reader Advisory: This book is best read in sequence as part of a series.

Like the sound of Wicked Defense? Buy it here!

Talia Carmichael Bio

Talia Carmichael is a romantic who believes that family; no matter if it is by blood or those you choose as family, is integral to who you are. She is an author who writes sexy stories in a variety of genres. She believes in creating stories that encompass all that falling in love or lust entails, from the highs of that first blush of attraction to the lows of not knowing if you can make your coming together as a couple work, and then finally to the acceptance of the reality of making a life together. It’s all about the journey.

Among her books you’ll find contemporary, futuristic, fantasy, and paranormal settings with M/M themes that will have a happily-ever-after. Her books are passionate, intense, and real… to fill the craving.

Check out more about Talia at :

Website
Blog or
Facebook or
Contact her at http://taliacarmichael.com/blog/contact

In The Spotlight: Varian Krylov and Bad Things (interview and contest)

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There are bad boys and then there are the predators. Here to tell us the difference is Varian Krylov and the release Bad Things.

Book Name: Bad Things
Goodreads Book Link:
Author Name: Varian Krylov

Author Bio:

Growing up near Los Angeles, I spent much of my time frolicking in the Pacific Ocean and penning angst-twisted poetry. Now I’m living in sunny Spain writing pathos-riddled fiction. I’ve always loved the music and substance of words, always loved writing in well-worn notebooks by hand, tapping at the keys of the computer, and, of course, conjuring up stories.  And from my earliest memories, I’ve always been fascinated—maybe obsessed?—with sex and sexuality. In my writing, sex is the medium, the expression, and the tool of discovery for my characters’ insecurities, the needs that drive them, the comfort they can’t live without, the joy and relish of life that makes each of them intense, strange, and alluring.

Author Contact:

variansfiction@yahoo.com
https://www.facebook.com/varian.krylov
http://variankrylov.blogspot.com.es/
Twitter: @VarianKrylov

Title: Bad Things by Varian Krylov
Publisher: Smashwords
Cover Artist: Photographer: Ekaterina Zakharova; Cover design: Jay Aheer

Sales Links: Smashwords Amazon

Bad Things Blurb:

Xavier makes a lot of people nervous. The rest, he flat-out scares. More than his hulking, tattooed body, it’s his predator’s gaze that makes people feel vulnerable, as if he had the power to read their thoughts and see their soul. For his lovers, it’s Xavier’s ravenous appetite for all things carnal—for the taste of flesh under his tongue and the feel of a trembling body under his control, for whispered pleas and muffled cries—that makes him dangerous.

But recently, driven by a festering rage against the men who attacked his sister a decade ago, Xavier has developed a taste for a different kind of hunt and conquest: stalking men who do truly bad things and punishing the predators he sniffs out. The problem with vigilante justice, though, is sometimes the man in your trap is innocent.

Carson suspects he’s playing a risky game with dangerous men. But the lies are convincing, especially when they’re slipped to him among hundred dollar bills. He never guessed how big and dark the secret hidden under all the lies and money could be. And he has no idea he’s not the predator, but the prey, until it’s too late.

And you can’t beg for mercy when there’s a gag in your mouth.

But when Carson escapes from Xavier’s trap, he’s forced to accept that Xavier is far from his most dangerous enemy. Xavier may even hold the key to overcoming the painful past that has kept Carson prisoner for almost two decades.

Book Categories: BDSM, Romance, Contemporary, Crime Fiction, M/M Romance, Erotica, Menage/Poly, Thriller, Fiction

Bad Things Excerpt:

When Xavier moved in, Carson struggled against the restraints. “Fucking . . . Come on. This shit’s not funny anymore.” Pleading gaze upturned from under his dark lashes.

Xavier laughed. “What’s that look?”

“Come on, Xavier. I know I fucked up. Of course you’re mad. But . . . come on. We’re . . . ”

“What are we, Carson?”

“I thought we were . . . ”

“Did you think we were friends?” Xavier laughed. “Did you think that you sleeping on my couch and cooking me a couple meals makes us friends?”

He breathed in the smell of him. Nervous sweat rising over the scent of soap. He caressed his cheek.

Carson went dead still, then tried to mold his frightened expression into sternness. “You could go to jail for this.”

Carson’s whining was getting on his nerves. Xavier lifted the lid on the chest of dark brown leather and took out the ball gag. Too funny, that perplexed expression on Carson’s face, then horrified incredulity as he figured it out. Sitting on his thighs, gazing into those shimmering blue pools of terror, Xavier got it on him before he could complain much more.

Xavier grinned. “You’re not the first guy I’ve had cuffed to this post. And that gag in your mouth isn’t the only toy in my box of treasures. But it is one of my favorites, because it means I don’t have to listen to a bunch of whining and begging. I mean, I love whining and begging. I get hard for whining and begging. But only for the first few minutes. Then it gets incredibly fucking tedious.

“But the thing I really love about the gag is, it’s so much easier to get to know someone when they’re being quiet. Just watching their face. Looking into their eyes. Without a bunch of blah, blah, lies, blah, blah rationalization to muddy the truth.”

 Tour Dates/Stops:

9/22: Rainbow Gold Reviews
9/23: Velvet Panic, Multitasking Mommas
9/24: Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings
9/25: Cathy Brockman Romances
9/26: Michael Mandrake
9/29: My Fiction Nook
9/30: Amanda C. Stone
10/1: It’s Raining Men
10/2: Romance the Night
10/3: Queer Town Abbey
10/6: Decadent Delights
10/7: Wake Up Your Wild Side
10/8: MM Good Book Reviews
10/9: The Novel Approach
10/10: Parker Williams, Iyana Jenna
10/13: Nephylim, The Blogger Girls
10/14: Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words
10/15: Love Bytes
10/16: Inked Rainbow Reads
10/17: Prism Book Alliance, Dawn’s Reading Nook

Rafflecopter Code: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rafflecopter Prize: Ebook copy of ‘Bad Things’ by Varian Krylov

Travel with Sarah Madison on her Walk A Mile Book Tour (Contest)

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Sarah Madison is here today to talk about her latest release, Walk A Mile. After the interview, check out the book’s excerpt and enter the contest for a chance to win a eBook copy of Walk A Mile!

• Unspeakable Words is part of your new Sixth Sense series. Do you believe in extrasensory perceptions?

I think there’s a lot out there we don’t know about. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve dreamt of someone that I haven’t seen in years and I hear from them out of the blue the next day, or I am thinking of someone and they call. I strongly suspect that some people are more attuned to certain things than others. Call it intuition, or a subconscious response to information we didn’t realize we’d processed, but that’s my impression, anyway. Migratory birds can sense magnetic poles. A bloodhound has such an advanced sense of smell it can detect skin cells shed from a missing person through the ventilation system of a car—and track it. Animals are often agitated hours before an earthquake strikes. I think we’re no different from other animals in what we can pick up from our surroundings but we’ve deadened ourselves to what we’d call ESP and other perceptions through loss of contact with the physical world and replacing it with the electronic/tech one.

There’s lovely sci-fi story I read once titled “Mimsy were the Borogoves.” The premise was that the poem “Jabberwocky” was actually an alien language for building a portal to another dimension, but that only children could understand it, and they older they got, the less the directions made sense. I think we train ourselves out of so much in order to grow up. We lose our connections with the planet, our ability to communicate with animals, and much of our creativity.

All I know is that I require a certain amount of time outdoors in nature every week or I don’t feel right.

• Why a paranormal story? What was the inspiration for it?

I like to think I write stories with a twist in them, so you’ll rarely get a straightforward contemporary romance from me. It’s the twist I find fascinating, be it a paranormal gift, a murder mystery, or a sci-fi story. Most of my ideas start from a ‘what if…?’ premise: what if gargoyles came to life every night? What if a vampire wanted to live a normal life? What if werewolves ran into a type of shifter they’d never met before—or if touching a strange object in a museum gave you special powers? Once the premise is in place, I begin imaging what the ramifications of such a thing would be, and the story builds around that idea.

I just find more scope for the imagination in the stories with a twist!

• One of the special agents is gay, the other supposedly straight. Would this fall under a Straight for You story?

That is one of the central dilemmas for Jerry Parker. He can’t help but wonder if the artificial bond created between him and John Flynn hasn’t forced the two of them together in ways that never would have happened if not for Flynn encountering the mysterious artifact. Certainly at first glance, this would appear to be a Gay for You story, but there is more to Flynn’s backstory than Jerry knows—and Flynn holds his cards very close to his chest!

• Or more of a closeted or gender fluid character who falls in love with a person?

You know what they say about Denial, right? It’s a very long river in Egypt.

• You note some of the most famous mystery writers as influences. If you could pick one, who would it be?

Oh my. It would be hard to narrow it down to one, but if I had to pick only one author, I’d have to say Dorothy L. Sayers. Her Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries not only rank among some of the most cleverly plotted and wittily enacted stories I’ve ever read, but Lord Peter remains my hallmark for showing me at an early age just what an adult relationship between a man and woman who met as equals looked like.

• Why mysteries?

I love the puzzle. I love the way the mystery drives the plot. Give me a romantic relationship as well, and you’ve given me icing on my favorite cake, but I tend to get bored if the relationship is the main point of the story. Give me the relationship being tested in the face of a plane crash, or when one character has a dark and deadly secret, or when the protagonists are facing a world-wide invasion of their planet by aliens. That’s the whole idea behind my tag line: Hot Men in Hot Water. I like to put my guys in hot water to see how strong they are. Like tea bags, only sexier.

• Do you know how many books will be in this series?

It was originally intended to be a three book series, but as I am working on book three right now, it has become apparent that there are too many loose ends to tie up in the third book! There will have to be a fourth to deal with the fallout of the third book, tentatively titled Truth and Consequences.

• When it comes to mysteries, cosy or hardcore? Or neither?

Oh, I do enjoy both. I love film noir, The Big Sleep and Laura being among my favorites. I’ve read Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, and I was a huge fan of the Earl Stanly Gardner Perry Mason series growing up, having found a box of books at a yard sale for ten cents a copy. But give me an English country house and body in the library every time. I re-read the great mysteries from the Golden Age of the thirties and forties over and over again. Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, Josephine Tey, Agatha Christie, Patricia Wentworth. There is a depth and richness to the writing that supersedes the ‘simple’ murder mystery in these old stories, though to be sure, it was much easier for the amateur detective to get away with more in those days.

• What childhood book made the greatest impact on you as a child? And does it impact your writing today?

I thought a LOT about this question last night. I’ve read so many books, and so many of them had a huge impact on me, shaping my ideas about the kind of relationships I think are healthy and admirable, as well as molding my opinions as to how we should interact with our world and what kind of hero/heroine I’d like to be. I felt a little sad for the kids today who aren’t reading the books I read when I was young, and wondering what kind of message we’re sending when nearly every YA book today seems to be about terrible dystopian societies in which the future is bleak and grim. As a sidebar, one of the things I love most about Gene Roddenberry’s vision of the Star Trek future is that we’ve worked out many of our problems and we’ve succeeded as a species—but I digress.

I asked my boyfriend what was the most influential book for him when growing up, and like me, as an avid reader, he had a hard time narrowing down his choices. For him it was the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and I can think of worse things for a young person to absorb whole-heartedly.

If I had to point to one book however, it would be Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty. I read it when I was six, only my copy was missing the final page. I went to the librarian to ask for help locating it (as I didn’t quite understand the Dewey decimal system at the time) and she steered me into the children’s section of the library, handing me a picture book version of the story.

“Thank you, but I don’t want this one,” I explained politely. “I want the unabridged copy.”

Yes, I used the word ‘unabridged’. That should have been her first clue.

She laughed at me. “My dear, you can’t read that book. It’s for sixth graders and above.”

“I’ve already read the rest of the book,” I said. “I just want to see the last page. My copy is missing that page and I want to know how it ends.”

She refused to help me find it or allow me to look at the final page.

So that story had a big impact on me in many ways. It fostered my life-long love of horse and dog stories. It taught me that if you are telling a gripping and entertaining story, you can also share your opinions and views in an attempt to change the world. In Anna Sewell’s case, she wanted to showcase the abuse of the carriage horses of her time. But it was the first time I discovered that a story could be used to share ideas, and what a powerful concept that was! I also learned that I was different from average children, and that different wasn’t necessarily a good thing, and that adults weren’t going to believe me when I told the truth. It was my first experience with people trying to limit me because they didn’t understand me or I didn’t fit certain preconceived notions. Sadly, it wasn’t the last.

• What’s next for Sarah Madison?

Well, I have a lot of ideas and Big Plans. I’m not certain how many will come to fruition; I have a tendency to bite off more than I can chew! I’m currently working on the next in the Sixth Sense series, which is tentatively titled Truth and Consequences. I’ve got sequels in mind for Crying for the Moon, as well as the gargoyle story, Raincheck, which has proven to be very popular with fans.

I’m also in the process of launching a new series of M/F romances under the name Madison Dean. As much as I love my boys, I’d like to try my hand at creating a heroine I genuinely like and admire. I’m currently working on a sci-fi story that takes place across alternative universes titled Bishop takes Knight, as well as a series set in post-war 1950s, where my intrepid pair poses as a Ward and June Cleaver couple by day and investigate paranormal events by night. I’m having great fun doing the research on that one at the moment!

Book Name: Walk A Mile
Goodreads Link:
Author Name: Sarah Madison

Author Bio: Sarah Madison is a veterinarian with a big dog, an even bigger horse, too many cats, and a very patient boyfriend. She is a terrible cook, and concedes that her life would be easier if Purina made People Chow. She writes because it is cheaper than therapy.

Author Contacts:

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Title: Walk A Mile by Sarah Madison
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Paul Richmond

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press

Walk A Mile Blurb:

Six months after starting their hunt for a serial killer who is still at large, FBI agents Jerry Lee Parker and John Flynn are partners in every sense. But Jerry has serious doubts about their relationship and whether they would even be together if not for the way Flynn changed after touching a mysterious artifact in a museum.

Flynn hates the extraordinary power bestowed on him by the artifact and wants nothing more than to have a normal life again. Jerry fears that without the unusual connection they forged, Flynn will no longer want or need him. Chasing after a similar artifact takes them back to Flynn’s old stomping grounds in Washington D.C., where his newfound abilities uncover long-buried secrets, the kind people would kill to protect. But they aren’t the only ones looking for these powerful relics, and what they discover will threaten their relationship—and their lives.

Walk A Mile Excerpt:

Jerry returned his attention to the tableau unfolding in the aisle. Flynn was making his way casually toward Jerry; he yawned, taking his time. 15-A hesitated; Jerry could see that he had stepped into the aisle, but was thinking of sitting back down again. Just then, the door to the toilet opened and the toddler came out into the aisle. Picking up on the air of tension, the child immediately started to wail.

15-A snapped like a wire stretched beyond its tensile strength. Whipping off his sunglasses, he reached into the pocket of his hoodie and pulled out a glass vial. Holding it up high over his head for everyone to see, he shouted, “Everybody stay where you are!”

People glanced up and turned around in their seats, startled and immediately alarmed. 15-A looked around sharply, making sure that no one was trying to rush him. Several people had started halfway up out of their seats to see what was going on; Jerry knew they were remembering United Flight 93.

15-a moved his hand in a broad semi-circle so that everyone could see the vial tucked in his palm. “I have Sarin!” he announced. “If anyone moves, I break the vial. Someone make that child shut up!”

 Tour Dates/Stops:

October 3: Louise Lyons, Parker Williams
October 6: Multitasking Mommas
October 7: Prism Book Alliance, 3 Chicks After Dark
October 8: Amanda C. Stone, Emotion in Motion
October 9: Andrew Q. Gordon, Inked Rainbow Reads, Love Bytes
October 10: Romance the Night, Cate Ashwood
October 13: Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Because Two Men Are Better Than One
October 14: Wake Up Your Wild Side, Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves
October 15: Queer Town Abbey, The Blogger Girls, Butterfly-O-Meter
October 16: MM Good Book Reviews, Jade Crystal, Velvet Panic

Contest: Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of book #1 – Unspeakable Words. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Use the Rafflecopter link for the entry form and for all additional contest details.

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On Tour with Susan Mac Nicol and Love You Senseless (Men of London: Book 1) Release (contest)

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Susan MacNicol is on tour today with her release, Love You Senseless (Men of London:Book 1). Check out the blurb and excerpt and don’t forget to enter the contest provided below!