Review: Devil’s Own (The Wheel Mysteries #2) by Susan Laine

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Devil's Own coverIt’s been almost 2 months since PI Niall Valentine and his occult shopkeeper boyfriend, Gus Goodwin, began their relationship over several mysteries and murders they solved together.  Now all they wish to do is find time to spend together and get used to being a couple.  Instead they find themselves once more pulled into magic, mystery, and murder.

Niall’s latest client, Angelina Talbot, is convinced that her new husband attempted to kill her. Florian Talbot appeared in their bedroom  half-naked and covered in blood. Scared out of her mind, Angelina hit him with a lamp and ran away, convinced she had killed him.  But his body never appeared and his family assumes he’s alive and well.  Is Florian dead?  And did she kill him?  Angelina Talbot wants to know and she wants Niall to uncover the truth about her husband.

The Talbot family is full of eccentrics, devil worshippers, and downright criminals. It’s the Satanists that draw Gus into the investigation.  No one and nothing is as it seems.  As more people disappear and the body count rises, Niall and Gus are sure only of one thing….their love for each other.  But will that be enough with a psychotic killer on the loose and kidnapping on the mind?

I fell in love with Gus Goodwin and Niall Valentine in the first The Wheel Mysteries story, Sparks & Drops (The Wheel Mysteries, #1).  It felt fresh and captivating.  And the element that really set it apart from other mysteries was the use of the Wiccan religion as a basis for the investigations  and the character of Gus Goodwin.  Susan Laine delves deep into the rituals, beliefs, and common misconceptions held about the Wiccan religion and uses that knowledge as story lines and the foundation for her series.

With her characters, Susan Laine offers the reader both sides of a familiar argument.  Is magic and witchcraft real?  Who are those people who not only believe in it but practice the Wiccan religion as others worship more recognized, commonly held religious beliefs such as Christianity and such? Coming down on the side of Wicca is Gus Goodwin, a practicing Wiccan.  He runs The Four Corners, a shop devoted to Wiccan accouterments, books and such.  How he gets to own that store happens in the first book.  Gus is a devout practitioner and the rituals he observes are relayed in one absorbing scene after another.

On the other side of the argument is PI Niall Valentine.  Thoughtful, open minded. Niall retains that acerbic, questioning attitude necessary for his profession and part of his persona.  Niall may research the topic of Wicca, and become knowledgeable but that certainly doesn’t make him a believer.  Together, they form a unified investigative front for the paranormal and supernatural mysteries that come their way.  They make a terrific duo, on equal level with each other and they know it.  How refreshing and adult.

Another thing I love about their relationship and storyline?  No instant love.  This is the second book and they are only a month and a half into figuring out their romance.  They live apart, see each other when they can, and haven’t said the L word because it is much too soon.  They are working on their emotions, and relationship dynamics.  They also haven’t had anal sex because they can’t seem to find the time to make the preparations necessary for that type of sex. That realism works to connect us to Niall and Gus on a basic level and their hurried, full lives make them relatable as well.

The mysteries here are good ones. Yes, more than one.  Once again, Gus and Niall bring in members from the local Wiccan society to help with their investigation which turns very dark early on.  There are murders and one particular practitioner of the occult seem to have a role to play in the books to come.  Sinister thy name is……nope, can’t give that one away.  And yes, their relationship takes several more serious steps forward.

Susan Laine gives the reader so many wonderful elements to enjoy in this story.  A romance just getting under way, several mysteries, a couple of murders, and a deeper insight into the Wiccan religion and its worshippers as a whole.  I can’t recommend this story and series enough.  It’s entertaining, sexy, and yes, fascinating too.   If you’ve read the first story, you will want to pick this up immediately.  But if this is a new series to you, start at Sparks & Drops to see how Niall and Gus meet and the romance starts.  The Wheel continues to turn and more  stories will come.  I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Cover Artist: Brooke Albrech.  I thought this was a great cover. Visually interesting and perfect for the story.

Buy Links:   Dreamspinner Press eBook   All Romance eBook (ARe)          Amazon    Devil’s Own

Book Details:

ebook, 192 pages
Published July 2nd 2014 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1627988033 (ISBN13: 9781627988032)
edition languageEnglish
seriesThe Wheel Mysteries #2

Books in The Wheel Mysteries in the order they were written and should be read:

Sparks & Drops (The Wheel Mysteries #1)
Devil’s Own (The Wheel Mysteries #2)

 

Author Spotlight: Jason Lloyd on Queer Dirty Laundry, a Character Interview and More (contest)

spotlight on booksQueer Dirty Laundry Cover

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jason Lloyd is here today to talk about his latest release, Queer Dirty Laundry!  Jason is interviewing his favorite character/person in the book and brought along a contest for you all to enter.  Just leave a comment with your favorite quote or motto, along with an email address where you can be reached.  The person chosen will win an eBook copy of Queer Dirty Laundry.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Contest ends 8/22.

Jason Lloyd QDL Blog Tour Banner

Queer Dirty Laundry CoverQueer Dirty Laundry Blurb:

What would you do if everything changed in the blink of an eye? Life teaches us that everything happens for a reason. Every good or bad experience, every event, shapes us into the adults we become. We are our pasts and they shape our future.

In this nonfiction coming of age mini memoir, Kevin and Jason embark on an adventure to Philadelphia to visit friends and to get into their normal hijinks. Along their journey, they confide in each other the only way best friends can; through laughter, love and pain. They share stories of coming out, first time sexual experiences and dramatic events that changed their lives forever. This hilarious and heartfelt journey through the past can only strengthen their friendship in the present.

Your best friend knows all your little secrets. They know all your dirty laundry. Can you air it all out? How dirty is your laundry?

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍

Interview with Knockers from Queer Dirty Laundry

Hello, I’m Jason Lloyd the author of Queer Dirty Laundry. A few weeks ago I asked fans of the book to submit questions they would like Louis Thomas Knock aka Knockers to answer. Knockers is one of my favorite characters in the book (and real life). He was delighted to take part in this. He is mentionedKnockers_20140728_164829000_iOS throughout Queer Dirty Laundry, but the audience doesn’t actually meet him until the last chapter. His chapter is a memorable one though.

You’re a character in Jason Lloyd’s new book Queer Dirty Laundry. What was your reaction when you found out you were going to be in his book? What’s it like to be written about?

I was honored to be included on such an exclusive list. I’ve been written about in the past, but that usually involved a deposition or police report. This time I didn’t need an attorney present.

In Queer Dirty Laundry, Kevin and Jason are on their way to Philadelphia and on their way they each share stories about their first time sexual experiences. What is your first time story?

My grandparents used to send me to a private summer camp growing up. When I was seven, I experimented together with this boy and girl pretty much that whole summer. That is as far as I’m going on that… ha-ha! I’ll never tell!

Jason and Kevin share some embarrassing stories in Queer Dirty Laundry. Can you tell us one about yourself?

I was fooling around with an ex in his car and the next thing we saw were those red and blue flashing lights, followed by a bright spotlight shining directly on us. We had to get dressed and get out of the car. The cops recognized my ex from his high-profile job, which made it even more embarrassing for the both of us. Lesson learned; don’t fool around in a park after dark!

Do you think people were accepting of your sexuality?

I’m very blessed to have a family that supported me and didn’t make me feel different.

How would you describe your friendship with Jason? What’s it like being friends with Jason?

Jason adds a unique dynamic to my social circle. He’s charismatic, funny, loyal and over the top! What first started out as a textual relationship turned into nights of missing underwear and a closet of four right shoes (Why am I always losing the left?). He’s famous for telling me, “Make good decisions.”

What do you most value in your friends?

What I most value in friendship is honesty, loyalty and support. (In that order.)

Do you have any hidden talents you would like to share?

I can move my eyes independently. Ha-ha, it makes me look crazy.

What’s your motto?

Life is a stage and you get only one performance. Make it a good one.

Last question, are you still missing those Burberry boxer briefs from the last chapter?

Ugh, that day! Too many Patron margaritas. I lost my underwear and dignity that day… only one returned.

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Here’s my favorite scene from Queer Dirty Laundry featuring Knockers.

***

Louis Thomas Knock looks amazing. His brown hair is perfectly styled, and he is wearing the latest collection from Burberry, a fitted gray button down shirt and tapered fit dark denim. I stare at him as brown eyes catch the sunlight shining through the restaurant window, making them almost look honey in color.

“Knockers!” I yell out.

“Hello darlings.” Knockers answers back. He gives us air kisses from where he is sitting at our table and when he gets to me, he blows me a kiss as well.

“You look handsome babe,” I say.

“Well, thank you J. You know, I have a taste for luxury and luxury has a taste for me.” Knock playfully winks at me.

“I know. You’re flawlessness is made up of silicone, saline and a perfectly bleached asshole.” I say.

Jelissa and Kevin both laugh.

“Do you actually bleach your asshole?” Kevin asks.

“No.” Knockers laughs. Our server appears and asks him if he wants to order anything. “Just a blood orange margarita, I’m on a liquid diet only this month. Better make it a pitcher.” The server disappears to fetch it.

“You’re gonna regret that in the morning,” I say.

“It’s okay. I’ll just sleep until noon. Look at me, I’m a problem solver,” Knockers confirms.

“Oh and Kev, he may not bleach his asshole, but I’m pretty sure little cartoon birds appear every morning and douche it for him.” I add.

“Just like Snow White! It’s good to have help,” Knockers says.

“I would have pegged him as the Evil Queen,” Kevin adds.

“Oh, that ratchet, dried up hag? Please, I’m the fairest of them all.” Knockers looks into his reflection on his phone screen and says, “My mirror tells me so.”

***Hey gang, what is your favorite quote or motto? Leave it in the comments for a chance to win an ebook copy of my new book Queer Dirty Laundry! One person will be randomly selected from the comments.

I would like to thank Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words for allowing me to share this interview with you. I also would like to thank the fans for submitting the questions and my wonderful publicist Joleen from Parenthetical Author Services for setting up my blog tour. If you need help promoting your work, email Joleen at joleen@parentheticalauthorservices.com.

Jason Lloyd Bio:

Jason Lloyd author picJason Lloyd is the author of hilarious m/m romance featuring an array of interesting characters. Salty Aftertaste (Ginge Publishing, 2013) was his first creative non-fiction novel. It reached Smashwords Top Best Seller list in Gay & Lesbian Fiction and was the #5 best seller in the New Adult genre on All Romance eBooks (ARe).

His second book, Queer Dirty Laundry (Ginge Publishing, 2014), is a creative non-fiction novella and is based on his popular blog by the same name. In 2011, QueerDirtyLaundry.com was nominated for The Best of Gay Philadelphia under Best Gay Website/Blog. Jason’s blog was also in the top ten numerous times on Best Male Blogs.

Jason is currently working on an m/m romance and mystery/suspense fictional novelette series called Filthy Fibbers. Filthy Fibbers is centered on five friends and the scandalous secrets they keep. The book takes place in a small Pennsylvania town called New Hope.

Jason grew up in a small town in Bucks County, Pennsylvania outside of Philadelphia. A majority of his writing takes place in Eastern Pennsylvania including Philadelphia. He currently resides in a small town in Berks County, Pennsylvania.

Social Contacts:

Email | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads and Ask the Author | Website

Queer Dirty Laundry Buy Links:

Amazon | All Romance eBooks | Barnes and Noble | Google Play | iBooks | Smashwords

Review: Wicked Winds (3.5 Elemental Elements Pulp Friction 2014) by Havan Fellows

Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

Wicked Winds coverWick Templeton and Ned Harris have begun to settle into their relationship after the traumatic events of the past year. So when Ned decides to go west to Arizona to check on an old friend, Wick goes with him. That each man’s past is about to collide in Mountain Shadows, Arizona, is something neither saw coming.

Can Ned’s past break the men apart when Wick’s past pulled them together?  What waits for them and their relationship on top of the mountains of Arizona, and what surprises lie in store for Wick and Ned that will change the way they look at each other forever?

Wick, Wick, Wick. How I love that man!  I  became addicted to him in Havan Fellows’ Wicked Ways series from  Pulp Friction 2013 and now he’s back and I couldn’t be happier.  But this time, it’s Wick who is along for the ride and its Ned’s mission they are on.  Quite a switch up.  And that strange change about of roles continues throughout this story.  What an astonishing group of surprises, no shocks, really, that are in store for us all, characters included.

Ned is there to find an old friend.  Wick is there to figure out how that friend fits into their newly established relationship.  That and check up on Cannon and the problems he has been hearing about from Chance and Rory.  Mountain Shadows is just one violent episode away from a complete meltdown on many fronts and Wick and Ned are there to add flame to the fire.

This is a short story and almost anything I can say about the plot falls into spoiler territory as the shocks start immediately when we find out just who Ned’s friend and partner was.  Didn’t see that one coming.  The implications are huge for all and the guns and knives are out the minute Wick’s opens the doors on his and Ned’s rental car.

Wick and Ned are never good at talking about their relationship, what it means to them and where it’s going.  But that will have to change and it does in an astonishing manner.  The emotional confrontations here are intimate, painful, angry and no amount of scared.  But who comes apart is just as unexpected as the rest of the story.  Fellows’ plot eddies and swirls, with elements from last year’s series intermixing with those of this year’s Elemental Connections.  It works and the mixture proves as explosive and addicting as all the rest.

Will we see them all again?  Not sure because no one is sure what happens next.  Not the characters nor the readers.  And that’s the way I like my mysteries…and my men, uh characters that is.  Rowen and Wicked, what a fabulous duo!  I can’t wait to see what Havan Fellows has in store for them next.  Stay tuned.

Cover art by Laura Harner.  Love it.

Buy Links:             All Romance ebooks (ARe)            Amazon                     Wicked Winds

 Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 84 pages
Published August 6th 2014 by Appleton Publishing Avenue
ASINB00MHVFDPM

The Pulp Friction 2014 series in the order they were written and should be read to understand the characters, events and plot:

Round One:

Firestorm (Fighting Fire: 1)by Laura Harner
Cold Snap (In From the Cold: 1) by Lee Brazil
Blown Away (Whispering Winds: 1) by Havan Fellows
Higher Ground (Earthquake: 1) by TA Webb

Round Two:

Controlled Burn (Fighting Fire #2) by Laura Harner
Cold Comfort (In From the Cold #2) by Lee Brazil
Blown Kisses (Whispering Winds #2) by Havan Fellows
Moving Earth (Earthquake #2) by TA Webb

Round Three:

Backburn (Fighting Fire #3) by Laura Harner
Cold Feet (In From the Cold #3) by Lee Brazil
Blown Hard (Whispering Winds #3) by Havan Fellows
Tremors (Earthquake #3) by T.A. Webb

Round Four:

Flare-up (Fighting Fire #4) by Laura Harner
Out In The Cold (In From the Cold #4) by Lee Brazil
Blown Chance (Whispering Winds #4) by Havan Fellows
Aftershocks (Earthquake #4) by T.A. Webb

Round 3 and 4 Side Stories:

Taking Chances by Lee Brazil (a In From the Cold story)
Wicked Winds by Havan Fellows (PF2014 3.5)

Round Five: to be released

Radiant Burn (Fighting Fire #5) by Laura Harner
Cold Day in Hell (In From the Cold #5) by Lee Brazil
Final Blow (Whispering Winds #5) by Havan Fellows
Terra Firma (Earthquake #5) by T.A. Webb

Sixth Book Series Finale Written by all the Authors
charactersFinn Lorensso

Review: Out in the Cold (In From the Cold #4) (Pulp Friction 2014 #14) by Lee Brazil

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Out In The Cold coverThe summer is coming to an end and with it, Dr. Cannon Malloy’s temporary job at the hospital and his stay at Mountain Shadows.   And now that Cannon should be preparing to say his goodbyes to Flaggstaff and the people he has gotten to know so well, he finds that’s the last thing he wants to do. His reluctance to leave especially applies to the relationship that has grown up between himself and Prof.Finn Lorensson.  Cannon has figured out that he loves Finn but what does Finn feel about Cannon?  That Cannon sets out to explore.  He wants to wine and dine and plain romance the heck out of Finn before its too late.

But Finn Lorensson has other things on the mind, huge problems that are getting bigger and bigger.  His brother Siggy is due in court on the trumped up rape charge,  And someone is out to get Finn at all costs.  Finn is beginning to think that Cannon is safer far away from him and Mountain Shadows even as the thought of Cannon leaving seems unbearable.

What happens when romance and danger collide?  Will the evil hunting Finn keep the men apart just when love has found them both?

This story and series (like its companions) is getting harder and harder to review.  Why?  Because the reviewer ends up saying the same things repeatedly.  The standards here are so high for excellence in character, plots, and writing that its hard to find something new to say.  But I’ll give it a whirl.

Out In The Cold is the penultimate story in Lee Brazil’s In From The Cold Pulp Friction 2014 group series.  There are five stories individually and then one sixth story written by all four authors for a finale.  So as you can imagine, things are getting ready to explode for all the characters living in Mountain Shadows.  The past is returning in multiple ways to each and every one.  Old friends are showing up.  So are old enemies and lovers.  And you can feel the mountain air crackle with suspense.

Lee Brazil’s Cannon Malloy is a character that has found himself in Mountain Shadows.  He’s come into his own skin and sexuality over the course of the stories.  And that solidification of character has made him someone the readers can love.  What a redemption for a man who almost single handedly destroyed  Chance Dumont (from the PF2013 series).  Then Cannon was a figure of contempt and pity.  Now? Lee Brazil has painstakingly turned this persona around until we believe in him as much as he has begun to.  What a tremendous journey we have been on with him.

The person who has not only witnessed that turn about but caused most of it is Prof. Finn Lorensson.  An intelligent, Thor lookalike, Finn has layers upon layers to him.  And all those layers are in love with Cannon Malloy.  Finn is deeply connected to his town and the people there, including his brother, Siggy.  Siggy is in trouble and it points back to Finn.  Finn has had problems at the college he teaches at, and they inadvertently involved Cannon as well.  Brazil has taken great care to make Finn as vulnerable, and fallible as possible to offset the image of a Nordic god made human.  Finn needs his human frailties in order for the readers to connect with him and for Cannon to believably fall in love with him.  Give us someone too perfect and it just wouldn’t work amidst this oh so human cast of characters.  How I love Finn too with his sense of honor and loyalty.

Someone is out to get Finn, no matter the cost to him and those around him.  With Out in the Cold, Lee Brazil’s narrative turns the proverbial corner as the race is on to the finish. The plot set up is done. The suspense has been building as has the mystery. Now as Cannon’s opens himself up to the pain of rejection in his quest for love from Finn, the stakes are heartbreakingly high for each man.  How high becomes apparent by the end of the story.  Danger is everywhere.  It”s personal, it will get physical, and the anticipation is nigh killing me here.

What a magnificent series, what a fantastic set of characters and mysteries to boot!  Will Cannon and Finn make it to their HEA?  I can’t wait to find out! Neither will you.  I hope you have been following along with me with this series (and their connected series).  But if this is a new story, or author, then make haste and check out the list of the Pulp Friction 2014 authors and series at the bottom of the review.  Read them in order.  They are like the best bonbons in the world.  Once you start reading, you won’t be able to stop.   These are fictional delights for the soul and all of them will have their special place on ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords Best of 2014!

Buy Links:                    All Romance (ARe)              Amazon                 Out in the Cold

Cover art by Laura Harner. Everything about these covers works wonderfully.  The PF2014 logo with the mountains at the top, the models, and the landscape at the bottom.  Perfect for the story and for branding the series!

Book Details:

ebook
Published July 31st 2014 by Lime Time Press
edition languageEnglish
seriesPulp Friction 2014 #14,

The Pulp Friction 2014 series in the order they were written and should be read to understand the characters, events and plot:

Round One:

Firestorm (Fighting Fire: 1)by Laura Harner
Cold Snap (In From the Cold: 1) by Lee Brazil
Blown Away (Whispering Winds: 1) by Havan Fellows
Higher Ground (Earthquake: 1) by TA Webb

Round Two:

Controlled Burn (Fighting Fire #2) by Laura Harner
Cold Comfort (In From the Cold #2) by Lee Brazil
Blown Kisses (Whispering Winds #2) by Havan Fellows
Moving Earth (Earthquake #2) by TA Webb

Round Three:

Backburn (Fighting Fire #3) by Laura Harner
Cold Feet (In From the Cold #3) by Lee Brazil
Blown Hard (Whispering Winds #3) by Havan Fellows
Tremors (Earthquake #3) by T.A. Webb

Round Four:

Flare-up (Fighting Fire #4) by Laura Harner
Out In The Cold (In From the Cold #4) by Lee Brazil
Blown Chance (Whispering Winds #4) by Havan Fellows
Aftershocks (Earthquake #4) by T.A. Webb

Round 4.5 Side Stories:

Taking Chances by Lee Brazil (a In From the Cold story)
Wicked Winds by Havan Fellows (PF2014 4.5)

Round Five: to be released

Radiant Burn (Fighting Fire #5) by Laura Harner
Cold Day in Hell (In From the Cold #5) by Lee Brazil
Final Blow (Whispering Winds #5) by Havan Fellows
Terra Firma (Earthquake #5) by T.A. Webb

Sixth Book Series Finale Written by all the Authors
charactersFinn Lorensso

 

 

Review: Dissonance (Blue Notes #6) by Shira Anthony

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Dissonance-build-full-r2(1)Lord Cameron Sherrington’s life feels very empty since he lost his love,  opera singer Aiden Lind.  Of course,it was his own fault.  Cam cheated on Aiden not once but numerous times until Aiden finally left him for good.  As Cameron always expected Aiden to do.  Aiden was much too good for Cameron and he knew it.  Now he hears from Aiden that Aiden and Sam are getting married and the depression that it brings on seems endless.

As Cameron tries to  figure out how to move forward in a life without goals, disaster strikes from the last  place he expects, the family business. Cameron is being framed for money laundering by someone who wants to takeover the business and the FBI want to bring Cam in for questioning.  Cam flees the authorities but with all his accounts depleted or frozen, he is friendless, helpless, and on the streets.

Galen Rusk plays his trumpet in NYC Subways for the shear enjoyment of playing and people watching. When Galen finds a man in dire straits in the tunnels, he recognizes him from the times Cam has stopped by to listen and leave him tips.  Now the tables have turned, and Galen offers Cam all the protection and sanctuary he can afford.  And soon, bonded by need and their desire for each other, a tenuous relationship forms that neither man is prepared for.

When love appears, all the troubles and fears threaten to break the men apart even before their relationship has been given a chance to succeed.   Can Cam and Galen overcome their pasts to grab onto the love in front of them or will it be lost forever in the pain and uncertainties of the present?

I have been such a fan of this series since its inception.  The marvelous blending of passion, music and drama in story after story keeps bringing me back into the lives of these musicians, their music and the men who love them.  For not only is love the key to their happiness but so is the music that flows through their lives, no matter the melody or instrument.   It sustains them, it speaks for them, and it consoles them when all else is falling apart around them.

The shear vitality and musicality to Shira Anthony’s writing makes these characters and their stories ones to hold close to your heart.  It is so easy to revel in all the romance, passion and yes, even pain, that life brings to them all as we watch them overcome the obstacles on the path to a future and happily ever after.  But of all of them, I believe that Cameron and Galen are my favorite couple of the Blue Notes series.  How astonishing!

After having lived through the turmoil and devastation of Aiden Lind’s life in Aria (Blue Notes #3) and the major role that Lord Cameron Sherrington played in Aiden’s pain, I never thought I would see the reclamation of such a cad.  In that story, Cam was an unadulterated terror.  A selfish, spoiled brat of a man who was used to getting his way and a bully when that didn’t happen.  Talk about your unlikable character! But over the next several stories, hints were creeping in that all was not well with Lord Cameron.  Glimpses of vulnerability and regret were seeping in, especially when it came to his actions towards Aiden. Soon people were clamoring for Cam’s story.

Here Shira Anthony tears off the cover of Cameron’s assuredness and arrogance to reveal a past of pain, neglect and perhaps something darker that even Cameron had repressed. It’s a slow process of pulling back the layers that Cameron has so completely piled on top of his memories. Anthony prolongs that  aspect of this story in a manner that makes it feel not only authentic but hauntingly real as well.  From the events that trigger Cameron’s memories to the stress and strain of his situation that brings Cameron to the breaking point, the author’s descriptions pull us into his life so completely until  we are there, teetering on the edge of the precipice with Cameron.  And Cameron is not the only one here whose past has immobilized him and any relationships he might attempt.  Galan is just as wounded as Cameron.  Both men must deal with their problems and pasts before  they can decide to move forward together.

What a wonderful and absorbing story in every way.

Textured portraits, a story full of plots guaranteed to secure our interest and emotions, and an ending that brings the men together with favorite couples from previous novels.  And on top of all those amazing ingredients, Shira Anthony folds in the music that so represents these characters and their journey, separately and together.  What music it is!  Such an eclectic selection.  From the iconic sounds of Billie Holiday to Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven, we sway to the music that flows through this narrative, pulling us along.  There’s some of my all time favorites here.  “Moon River’, sung by Audrey Hepburn , Bill Withers “Ain’t No Sunshine”, and so many others.  A complete soundtrack and links are listed below.  Check them out or better yet, listen as you read.

I loved Dissonance.  It’s a joy in every way.  It will be on ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords Best of 2014 lists this year.  Pick it up and start reading now. Yes, you can read it as a stand alone but do yourself a favor, and read the others first.  You will appreciate Cameron’s journey so much more if you know what went on before this book.  I highly recommend Dissonance and the entire Blue Notes series.  Get started on it today.

Buy Links:    Dreamspinner Press eBook      All Romance eBook (ARe)        Dissonance (Blue Notes) ”         Dissonance

Cover Artist:  Catt Ford.  Lovely cover, works for the story and for the branding of the series.  Great job.

Book Details:

ebook, 240 pages
Published August 8th 2014 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1632161826 (ISBN13: 9781632161826)
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5291
seriesBlue Notes #6
charactersDavid Somers, Alex Bishop, Aiden Lind, Lord Cameron Sherrington, Galen Rusk
settingNew York City, New York (United States)

Books in the Blue Notes series can be read as standalones but it helps to read them in order to understand the various relationships and time line. Listed below are all the stories in the Blue Notes series. The author has noted that she considers it a series of interrelated, classical music themed standalone novels that can be read in any order.

Knowing (Blue Notes, #0.5) a free read at Goodreads
Blue Notes (Blue Notes, #1)
The Melody Thief (Blue Notes, #2)
Aria (Blue Notes, #3)
Prelude (Blue Notes, #4) by Shira Anthony and Venona Keyes
Encore (Blue Notes, #5)
Symphony in Blue (Blue Notes, #4.5)
Dissonance (Blue Notes #6)

Shira Anthony’s Dissonance Sountrack:
Dissonance Playlist:

On Tour with Rory Ni Coileain and the SoulShares Series (contest)

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Series: SoulShares
Book Names: Hard As Stone

Author Name: Rory Ni Coileain

Author Bio: Rory Ni Coileain majored in creative writing, back when Respectable Colleges didn’t offer such a major, so she designed it herself – being careful to ensure that she never had to take a class before nine in the morning or take a Hemingway survey course. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa at the age of nineteen, sent off her first short story to an anthology being assembled by an author she idolized, got shot down in flames, and found other things to do, such as nightclub singing, for the next thirty years or so, until her stories started whispering to her. Now she’s a lawyer, a legal editor, a sopraltenor in her church choir, the mother of a budding video game designer, and amanuensis to a host of fantastic creatures who are all anxious to tell their stories, and sometimes even wait their turns.

Author Links:

Facebook Author
Facebook soulshares page   ,
Twitter: RoryNi
Cover Artist: Allan Penn
Publisher: Ravenous Romance

The Four Books in the SoulShares series are listed below with the accompanying blurbs and excerpts:

♦Hard As Stone:

Blurb:
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Hard As Stone: Tiernan Guaire is a Fae in exile. Forced from the Realm into the human world for the unimaginable crime of a brother’s murder, he lives by a century-old vow, to trust no one, and never to allow himself to love or be loved.
Kevin Almstead has just lost his future, to a vote of the partners at his law firm. Trying to escape for an evening, he ventures into Purgatory, the hottest all-male nightclub in Washington, D.C., where he allows himself to be seduced by a stranger with long blond hair and ice-blue eyes.
Drawn into a Soulshare bond with his intended one-night stand, Tiernan soon learns that the most ancient and evil enemy of the Fae still walks the human world, and it will stop at nothing – certainly not Kevin Almstead – to possess the magick of a Noble Fae.

 Hard As Stone Excerpt:

Tiernan stirred, muttered under his breath, the first signs of distress he’d shown since falling asleep. Passing out. Whatever. Kevin sighed, resting a hand lightly on the blond’s smooth chest; in short order, he found himself running his fingertips lightly over his lover’s chest, tracing the lines of the muscles, and then down, a fingertip traveling along the intricate tattoo over his hip. Tiernan wasn’t buff, not like some men were and Kevin himself tried to be. Lean, hard-bodied, almost impossibly fit. And with that long, unruly blond hair, and his crystalline blue eyes, Tiernan would turn heads in rooms full of men or women. And no doubt had.

Mine.

The Fae rolled onto his side, away from Kevin; chuckling softly, Kevin settled himself behind his lover, glancing over the shoulder in front of him at the bedside clock. He could still get almost three hours of sleep if he was lucky. He wrapped an arm around Tiernan, nuzzled into the curve where neck met shoulder, breathed in the scent of wild hair and sated male body and honey, and closed his eyes. So this is what magic smells like.

Sales Links: Hard as Stone for Kindle    All Romance eBooks   Nook    Kobo

 Ravenous Romance’s Web site

Gale Force:

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Conall Dary is the most powerful mage born to the Fae race since the Realm was parted from the human world, over two thousand years ago. But that very power condemns him to a lifetime of celibacy, because sex calls to power, and he has power enough to drain a world. When he refuses to use his talents for a Noble lady’s petty revenge, he finds himself shanghaied to the human world, his soul torn in half and his magick blocked.

Josh LaFontaine is the beautifully inked owner of Raging Art-On, a Washington, D.C. tattoo and piercing parlor. While taking part in New York City’s Pride march with a former lover’s dance company, his world changes forever when the man of his dreams materializes out of nowhere at his feet. Josh’s sensual and loving touch, the first Conall has ever known, may be enough to give him back the magick he’s lost. But before they can complete their Soulshare, a terrible accident leaves Conall bodiless, lost, and invisible, to everyone except – maybe – the human with whom he shares a soul. But Josh will need to find him before the ancient evil of the Marfach does or everything they have – and more – will be lost.

GALE FORCE EXCERPT:

The sense of relief as he got out of the taxi was like nothing he’d ever felt before, and even knowing most of it wasn’t his own didn’t make it any less overwhelming. Only the presence of the foot traffic in and out of Purgatory kept him from falling to his knees in gratitude, maybe doing some pavement-kissing.

Well, that and a sense of haste only slightly less urgent than a cattle prod. He fumbled the keys off the hook at his belt and unlocked the deadbolt, then keyed in the combination on the touchpad, wincing as the tiny crystalline tones tried to pierce his eardrums.

Are you sure you can do this, lanan? There might be another way. Just let me think, now that I can.

Josh shook his head. Letting himself into the small client lounge in the front, he locked the door behind himself and made straight for the tattoo studio.

No time. Every minute you’re disembodied makes it less likely you’ll ever get back, you said so yourself. And me…” He paused, his hand on the doorknob of his studio. “I’m not sure how much longer I can stand this.”

Buy Links:  Gale Force for Kindle (US)   All Romance eBooks Barnes & Noble (Nook)   Kobo   Ravenous Romance

♦Deep Plunge:

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For the last six hundred years or so, the only things reminding Lochlann Doran he’s a Fae have been his faceted aquamarine eyes and the fact that he can’t die. He’s been a wanderer for so long in the human world – over two thousand years – that he’s lost his magick, including the gift of healing that goes along with being a Fae of the Demesne of Water. Finding his SoulShare might get it back for him. But it might kill him, too.

Garrett Templar has been living on borrowed time, in a sense, since he was eighteen, when one of the johns he entertained to pay the bills while he danced at Purgatory infected him with HIV. It was always supposed to be a “manageable” disease, though, at least until a cure was found. Except he’s just found out that the virus in his system has inexplicably mutated into full-blown AIDS, and no known drug cocktail can even slow it down.

And when Lochlann and Garrett find each other at last, on Purgatory’s dance floor, the only thing as urgent as their need for one another is the hunger of an ancient evil to do whatever is necessary to possess Lochlann’s magick…

Deep Plunge Excerpt:

Shit. His grip tightened on the strap of his bag, ready to swing it — or ditch it, if it looked like that would help him escape . And for one sick, sweaty, gut-wrenching moment, he was ten years old again, hearing the kids closing in behind him, knowing there was no way in hell he was going to get away without another split lip, ruined shirt, blackened eye. Almost hearing his mother’s voice again. Garrett Lee Templar, I swear, you find more trouble than any ten other boys ever dreamed of. Do you think I can just make new clothes appear out of thin air?

“Garrett?”

He recognized that voice from somewhere. Slowly, he turned. And stared up into eyes that gleamed blue even in the crappy light from the streetlight on the corner.

“Lochlann?”

He hadn’t had to rent his ass out for a while now, but the idea of a john following him home from the club still made his skin crawl. Yet there was something about those eyes, something different.

No. Fuck that shit. You get hurt the worst when you let yourself hope.

Buy Links:  Deep Plunge for Kindle (US)  Barnes & Noble (Nook)   Kobo    Ravenous Romance   ARe

♦Firestorm:

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Rian Sheridan is a foundling, a Northern Irish Catholic corner boy whose world was destroyed in fire, and reborn the same way, beside an Orangemen’s bonfire last July the Twelfth. A consuming, dimly-remembered pain in his past calls to him, taunting him, daring him to find it and lose himself to it in the S&M underground of Belfast.

Cuinn an Dearmad is the last surviving Fae Loremaster, and he’s just seen the beginning of the death of the Realm, the haven of the Fae race. The only hope of stopping it starts with him finding the Prince Royal of Fire he stole from the cradle, and lost in the human world, many years ago. He has a few guesses about where that hope ends, and he doesn’t like any of them.

Rian and Cuinn are an impossible pairing, two SoulShared Fae. Any two Fae will strike sparks, but these two Fae are a conflagration. Unable to stand one another, yet drawn into an escalating series of sexual collisions, their passion will either save a world or destroy it.

FIRESTORM EXCERPT:

He gave up on trying to sleep, rolling onto his back and lying sprawled out in the great bed fit for a king. Or a Prince. Shite. He didn’t want to be a fecking Royal. Whatever that meant. But if there was one thing he could say he’d learned in life, it was that what he wanted had fuck all to do with what happened to him.

Though ever since the Twalf, last summer, there was one thing he nearly always got, when he wanted it. The thrill. They’d thought to break him that night, and perhaps they had, but after the breaking he’d been made anew. Into a man who craved what the bastards sought to shame him with, and who used them, in the end, more cruelly than they had used him. After all, he could use them, and others like them, any time he liked.

Addicted? Hell, no. Victorious.

Firestorm Buy Links: Amazon   ARe

SoulShareBadgeTour Dates:

July 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
August 5, 12, 19, 26

Tour Stops:
July 1: Smoocher’s Voice, Jade Crystal
July 8: Hearts on Fire, Nephylim
July 15: Parker Williams, Kimi-Chan
July 22: Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves, Fallen Angel Reviews
July 29: The Novel Approach, MM Good Book Reviews
August 5: Dawn’s Reading Nook, Love Bytes, Because Two Men Are Better Than One
August 12: Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, My Fiction Nook

August 19: Prism Book Alliance, Book Reviews and More by Kathy
August 26: The Blogger Girls, Amanda C. Stone

 

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Contest:  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Prizes provided by Pride Promotions and Rory Ni Coileian. The Rafflecopter Prize: One set of SoulShares series

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Reveal for Key of Behliseth by Lou Hoffmann! (contest)

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Book Name: Key of Behliseth (The Sunchild Chronicles)
Author Name: Lou Hoffmann

DEC2013LAPTOP - HoffmannAuthor Bio: Lou Hoffmann, a mother and grandmother now, has carried on her love affair with books for more than half a century, and she hasn’t even made a dent in the list of books she’d love to read—partly because the list keeps growing as more and more fascinating tales are told in written form. She reads factual things—books about physics and stars and fractal chaos, but when she wants truth, she looks for it in quality fiction. Through all that time she’s written stories of her own, but she’s come to be a published author only as a johnnie-come-lately. Lou loves other kinds of beauty as well, including music and silence, laughter and tears, youth and age, sunshine and storms, forests and fields, rivers and seas. Proud to be a bisexual woman, she’s seen the world change and change back and change more in dozens of ways, and she has great hope for the freedom to love in the world the youth of today will create in the future. You can find Lou on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/lou.hoffmann, or twitter @Lou_Hoffmann.

Author Contact:  Twitter   @Lou_Hoffmann

Key of BehlisethTitle:  Key of Behliseth (The SunChild Chronicles) by Lou Hoffmann
Cover Artist: Catt Ford
Publisher: Harmony Ink Press (Dreamspinner Press YA imprint)
Buy Links:          Dreamspinner eBook  Dreamspinner Paper 

Note: Use this code for a discount at DSP:Code: SUNCHILD
20% off – preorders
15% off – first 2 weeks after release

Blurb:
On his way to meet a fate he’d rather avoid, homeless gay teen Lucky steps through a wizard’s door and is caught up in a whirlwind quest and an ancient war. He tries to convince himself that his involvement with sword fights, magic, and interworld travel is a fluke, and that ice-breathing dragons and fire-breathing eagles don’t really exist. But with each passing hour, he remembers more about who he is and where he’s from, and with help, he begins to claim his power.
Lucky might someday rule a nation, but before he can do that, he must remember his true name, accept his destiny, and master his extraordinary abilities. Only then can he help to banish the evil that has invaded earth and find his way home—through a gateway to another world.

Excerpt (larger text to the side):

 

KOB excerpt graphic when something is trueThurlock gazed evenly at him. His cheek twitched; probably a tic, but to Lucky it looked like pain, a wince repeated over and over again. It made Thurlock’s next words seem important, maybe even urgent.

“I have erred. I’ve hurt you and that was never my intent. I assure you neither I nor Han are serial killers or anything else that’s ugly—we’re not like any of the predators you’ve probably met in the last few years.” Lucky didn’t have to decide whether to try to deny he’d had such thoughts, because Thurlock kept talking. “You can leave, if you want, with your key. If you go, I’ll watch over you as best I can, and—”

“Watch over me?”

“—and I’ll never again force you or trick you into coming here. You never need come back, if you wish it that way. Or—” Thurlock shifted his gaze, and though he didn’t move, his gray eyes closed in on Lucky’s until it felt as if they stood nose to nose. “—or you can open your eyes, and look into mine, and let yourself see with that part of you that you trust even though you don’t understand it, the part that knows when something is important, when something is true.”

hoffman KOB SCC banner (corrected) colorTour Dates: 8/12/14

Tour Stops: Parker Williams, Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves, Amanda C. Stone, Havan Fellows, MM Good Book Reviews, Prism Book Alliance, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Velvet Panic, Love Bytes, The Hat Party, Angel Martinez, Fallen Angel Reviews, Iyana Jenna, Will Parkinson, The Novel Approach, Hearts on Fire, Rainbow Gold Reviews, Smoocher’s Voice, Cate Ashwood, Charli Green

Contest:  Ebook copy of Key to Behliseth by Lou Hoffman.  Use the Rafflecopter link provided for the entry form and for additional contest details.  YA contest, age appropriate.

Rafflecopter Code: a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Book Blast: Cate Ashwood’s ” Wholehearted” Audio Book Tour & Contest!

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Take a Closer Listen To……….

Wholehearted by Cate Ashwood!

(Audiobook from Dreamspinner Press)

 

Book Name: Wholehearted (Audiobook)

Author Name: Cate Ashwood
Author Bio: Cate Ashwood wrote her very first story in a hot-pink binder when she was in the second grade and found her passion for writing. Her first successful foray into romance writing came five years later when she wrote her best friend, who was experiencing a case of unrequited love, her own happily ever after.

Cate’s life has taken a number of different and adventurous roads. She now lives a stone’s throw from the ocean, just outside of Vancouver, British Columbia with her husband and two cats. Her life is filled with family and friends, travel, and, of course, books.

Wholehearted600x600BannerTitle: Wholehearted by Cate Ashwood
Cover Artist: Aaron Anderson
Narrator: John Orr
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press


Buy Link:   Dreamspinner Press

Blurb: Officer Declan Grant responds to a call at the Hope Cove docks to find Lucas Hale barely alive after being beaten and tossed off his fishing boat. The violent crime rocks this tranquil community where everyone knows each other and doors are rarely locked. Despite Declan being new to Hope Cove, he wants to keep his new home and Lucas safe. He starts by volunteering to care for Lucas after he’s released from the hospital.

Lucas just wants to put the whole incident behind him and move on, but the more he gets to know Declan, the harder he finds it to push Declan and his do-right attitude away. The investigation into the assault continues, but Declan will soon face a moral dilemma, a choice that may topple his tidy life and force him to choose between Lucas and the law.

Audio Excerpt: Listen to an audio excerpt from Wholehearted here!



TBadgeWholeheartedour Dates: 8/11/14

Tour Stops: Parker Williams, Regular Guys, Hot Romance, LeAnn’s Book Reviews, MM Good Book Reviews, SA McAuley, My Fiction Nook, Love Bytes, Kimi-Chan, Prism Book Alliance, Havan Fellows, Hearts on Fire, The Hat Party, Amanda C. Stone, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Fallen Angel Reviews, It’s Raining Men, Michael Mandrake,, Iyana Jenna, Rainbow Gold Reviews, Emotion in Motion, Tara Lain, Velvet Panic,

 

Contest:  To celebrate the release of the audiobook, Wholehearted,  Cate Ashwood is giving away a audio copy.    Visit the Rafflecopter link below to enter and for additional contest details.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.
Rafflecopter Code: a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

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Shira Anthony’s Blue Notes Series is Back! On Tour with Shira Anthony and Dissonance! (contest)

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Shira Anthony is here today on her Dissonance Book Tour!  In her Blue Notes series, each story has a musical title and that continues with Dissonance.  But what is dissonance and how does it relate to music?  Shira Anthony gives us some insight into her love of music, its many aspects and of course, how it fits into her latest release, Dissonance!

Contest:  There is a very special prize, a cuff inscribed with the NYC Subway on it,  associated with this tour.  Make sure to enter at the  Rafflecopter link   here or provided at the end of the post.   Good luck and of course, you must be 18 years of age or older to enter!

Striking the Right Note: Discord and Redemption, by Shira Anthony

Thanks, Melanie, for hosting me today! And thank you for the chance to talk about my newest book release, Dissonance, a Blue Notes novel. For those who might not have heard about the Blue Notes Series from Dreamspinner Press, these are interrelated, standalone books that can be read in any order. All of the books in the series share one common element: music.

I’ve been a musician nearly all my life. Being a musician isn’t only about performing or teaching—it’s about living with music. For me, music starts and ends my day. I usually have a stubborn ear worm playing on an endless feedback loop in my brain (that is, until another song or piece of music displaces the current ear worm!). I grew up singing. My mother is a professional musician. My sister and I both were, as well. It’s in my blood. It’s part of me. So I suppose it isn’t a big surprise that in my writing I use music to help bring emotions into focus.

Dissonance, the sixth novel in the series, is no exception. The title says it all. What is a “dissonance?” Here’s the Merriam-Webster definition: “a mingling of discordant sounds; especially :  a clashing or unresolved musical interval or chord.” In classical music written before the 20th Century, dissonances usually ended in resolution. You know what I’m talking about, even if you haven’t put a name to it. It’s the twang you hear before the music smoothes out and your ear says “ahhhhh.” Like the tension in a romance that builds and finally ends with the happily-ever-after. Your ear tells you it wants the tension in the music to resolve. Your human brain craves it. (If you’re interested, here’s a short Youtube video that explains consonance and dissonance .)

In the novel, Dissonance, Cam Sherrington’s life is all about dissonances. He loves opera singer Aiden Lind, but he cheats on him. He wants to do something more satisfying with his life than flitting from project to project, but he’s afraid he’ll fail so he doesn’t try. He’s burned plenty of bridges, and he’s convinced himself he isn’t worthy of friendship or love. He’s also tells himself he doesn’t need either, because if he admits that he cares, he’d hurt, and he doesn’t want to hurt.

If Cam’s life is a series of dissonances, then his happiness, if and when he finds it, is about the consonances. How do you find happiness when you’ve hurt people and, in the process hurt yourself? For Cam, his chance at redemption and happiness comes in the form of Galen Rusk, who plays in the New York City subway for tips. Galen’s Zen attitude and calm support are the consonances that help a broken Cam turn his life around. But before that can happen, Cam has become the kind-hearted man Galen believes him to be. He has to believe he’s worthy of redemption.

Dissonances are about striving for resolution. Moving toward the consonances. The tension we hear in dissonant sounds cries out for consonance. And that’s just what happens to Cam. He knows his life is empty, but until things come crashing down around him, he’s content to live in the dissonance. Through Galen’s calm and patient support, Cam has a chance at happiness. To find out whether he grabs that chance, you’ll have to read the story (no spoilers here!).

                   -Shira

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Book Name: Dissonance
Series:  Blue Notes
Author Name: Shira Anthony

Author Bio: In her last incarnation, Shira was a professional opera singer, performing roles in such operas as “Tosca,” “i Pagliacci,” and “La Traviata,” among others. She’s given up TV for evenings spent with her laptop, and she never goes anywhere without a pile of unread M/M romance on her Kindle.
Shira is married with two children and two insane dogs, and when she’s not writing she is usually in a courtroom trying to make the world safer for children. When she’s not working, she can be found aboard a 36’ catamaran at the Carolina coast with her favorite sexy captain at the wheel.

Author Links:

Dissonance-build-full-r2(1)Title:  Dissonance by Shira Anthony
Cover Artist: Catt Ford
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Buy Links:  Dreamspinner Press   Amazon       ARe (All Romance)

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Blurb:
British lord Cameron Sherrington has hit rock bottom. The love of his life, opera sensation Aiden Lind, is marrying another man, and Cam knows it’s his own fault for pushing Aiden away. Then someone tries to set him up and take away his family business. Facing arrest by US authorities on charges of money laundering and with no money to return to London, Cam decides to run. But with no money and no place to stay, it’s not exactly the Hollywood thriller he’d imagined.
When Cam hears Galen Rusk play in a lonely subway station, he’s intrigued. But his assumptions about Galen are all wrong, and their unusual relationship isn’t exactly what Cam bargained for. Add to that the nightmares that dog him nightly, and Cam’s world is shaken to its core. Cam figures he had it coming to him, that it’s all penance due on a life lived without honesty. He just never figured he might not be able to survive it.
Note: Blue Notes Series novels are standalone stories, and can be read in any order.

Excerpt:

“Oh.” Cam eyed the seat warily, his first thought that his black jeans would pick up the fur like a lint brush. Then he reminded himself that he’d been sleeping in the subway and a bit of fur was hardly the worst of what he might find on his pants. Still, as he settled into the seat, he dusted a few stray hairs off the armrest.

The drive through the Lincoln Tunnel and on into Jersey was an easy one, too late for there to be much traffic. Cam looked out the window, unwilling to engage Galen in conversation. Galen didn’t seem to mind. He whistled—a tune Cam recognized but couldn’t remember the name of—then tuned the radio to a jazz station that played bebop.

Thirty minutes later Galen exited the freeway, and they drove another ten minutes before turning down a small street lined with cookie-cutter houses. Postwar, Cam guessed, each with the same boxy structure, some with dormers, others with vinyl siding. Galen pulled into a driveway between two of the houses, but to Cam’s surprise, the driveway didn’t end at either house. It continued on, snaking behind them a few hundred feet to an old farmhouse. Probably the original house on the land that was now cluttered with homes. Built in the 1800s, he guessed.

A single light lit the walkway from the driveway to the front porch. White, with blue shutters, the house was nearly three times as large as its neighbors. A dog barked, although in the semidarkness, Cam couldn’t see it. Max, no doubt.

Cam followed Galen up the stairs and through the front door. Galen flipped on the light to reveal high ceilings and wide-planked wooden floors. To the right, in what Cam guessed was supposed to be the dining room, stood two trestles supporting a large piece of wood—a makeshift table stacked high with more than a dozen fiberglass cases and several instruments. On one side, Cam saw a battered french horn and what looked like a tuba; on the other side, a clarinet with some of its keys missing. Between the cases and the instruments were a bevy of tools, neatly arranged by size and shape, most of which Cam didn’t recognize. Maybe Galen repaired instruments on the side. Playing in the subway couldn’t pay that well.

600x600BannerDissonanceBlue3Tour Dates: 8/8 – 9/5

Tour Stops:
8/8 – Prism Book Alliance
8/11 – Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words
8/12 – Smoocher’s Voice
8/13 – Fallen Angel Reviews
8/14 – The Hat Party
8/15 – Amanda C. Stone
8/18 – Tara Lain
8/19 – The Novel Approach
8/20 – LeAnn’s Book Reviews
8/21 – Kimber Vale
8/22 – Full Moon Dreaming
8/25 – Love Bytes
8/26 – Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves
8/27 – Hearts on Fire
8/28 – Wicked Wolves and Dreaming Dragons
8/29 – Velvet Panic
9/1 – Decadent Delights
9/2 – Rainbow Gold Reviews
9/3 – My Fiction Nook
9/4 – Emotion in Motion
9/5 – BONUS DATES: MM Good Book Reviews, Book Suburbia
Rafflecopter Code: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rafflecopter Prize: NYC Subway cuff.  Neat cuff that shows the subway system of NYC!
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Sunday expectations , Sounds of fall in the air and the week Ahead at ScatteredThoughts

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Sunday is  upon us once more.  How quickly it seems to come around each week.  Normally I would be outside planting, weeding, enjoying the gardens and the dogs but the sounds I hear lately remind me that fall is coming and preparations need to be made.   The whites, yellows and purples associated with late summer, early fall flowers are out in full force.  The “Daisy Mae:” Daisies are hanging in there, the Black-Eyed Susans have thwarted the deer, and the purples of liriope, False Dragonhead, and Great Blue Lobelias are just starting to make their presence known.

Overhead flocks of Canada Geese and Snow geese are reforming, heading to the marshes surrounding the Bay in huge masses, reading for migration and winter.  My feeders are being emptied at an astonishing rate after piddling interest all summer long.  Some leaves have started falling, and the sunlight has that slanted, cooler look to it that proclaims that the Summer Solstice has passed and it is filtering the landscape through an autumnal lens.

The pruning shears are out, the mulch bags waiting for someone other than me to cover the beds.  The hummingbirds are still here, the feeders still full, and the offerings in the yard are getting scarcer by the day.

It also means that GRL is fast approaching in October and I hope soon to be able to make an announcement about a new reviewer here at ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords.  I love fall.  Its every bit as beautiful to me  as Spring and Summer. In fact it may be my favorite of all the Seasons.  Brisk, clean air that puts a snap to your step as your walk and a little color in your cheeks.  I know the dogs are happier…its terrier weather for sure.

Ahhh, the sounds of change is in the air…how sweet, how promising, how wonderful!

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Dissonance-build-full-r2(1)Gale Force

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Now for the upcoming week ahead at Scattered Thoughts….

Monday, August 11:

  • Blue Notes continues with Shira Anthony’s Dissonance Book Tour (contest)
  • Book Blast:  Cate Ashwood’s Wholehearted Audio Book Tour (contest)

Tuesday, August 12:

  • On Tour with Rory Ni Coileain’s SoulShares Series (contest)
  • Lou Hoffman is Here with Key of Behliseth, a YA Book Release (contest)
  • Review:  Dissonance by Shira Anthony

Wednesday, August 13:

  • Review: Wicked Winds by Havan Fellows
  • Review: Out in the Cold by Lee Brazil

Thursday, August 14:

  • In the Author Spotlight: Jason Lloyd and his release, Queer Dirty Laundry (contest)
  • Review:  Devil’s Own by Susan Laine

Friday, August 15:

  • In the Author Spotlight:  Lee Brazil on Writing, In From the Cold, and More (contest)
  • Review: You Can’t Go Home Again by Michael Murphy

Saturday, August 16:

    • Review: Queer Dirty Laundry by Jason Lloyd