Category: Uncategorized

Review: Faire Protector (The Faire #2) by Madeleine Ribbon

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

MR_FaireProector__coverinIt’s been almost a year since assassin Max chased his foster brother Devin onto the mystical Renaissance Faire grounds with orders to kill him. But the Faire has a mind of its own as does its small band of inhabitants and Max ended up a prisoner of the Faire and his soul captured in a magical amulet.  Now its time for the Faire to return from its home in another dimension and take up residence in the Faire grounds in the present.   During the past year, Max has changed profoundly and found friends amongst the villagers and Faire workers.  Even his foster brother Devin has forgiven him and found love.

So now its time to return to the normal world and with Joryk’s help, they will smash the amulet and return Max’s soul and free will to him.  Max is afraid that with the return of his soul, the worst of Max will return as well.  Plus Kelderman, Max’s old crime boss, is still after Max and Max is afraid he will put the Faire and his friends in danger  once they return.

Joryk, the Faire’s mage, has assigned Max to work with the Faire’s brew master, Shepherd, to keep Max busy until the amulet can be broken and out of sight of any of the crime bosses underlings looking for Max on the Renn grounds.  But Shepherd wants nothing to do with Max, even as a worker helping him at the brewery. Shepherd thinks Max is the reason his cousin, Perry, got back into drugs, and Max has a past history as a drug dealer, no matter what Max tries to tell him.  Even at odds, both men find the other attractive.  With everything coming to a head, criminals on the hunt, an amulet to destroy and a soul to return, can love still find a way into the hardest of hearts?

I found Madeleine Ribbon’s stories when I read the first book in this series, Faire Fugitive, last year and fell immediately in love with both the characters and the premise behind the series.  A lover of all things Renaissance Festival, the idea of a magical Renn Faire that disappeared into an enchanted dimension once the season was over, only to return the following year to sell it’s inhabitants wares and restock up on supplies needed, charmed me.  A sort of Renn Faire Brigadoon! Only some of the Renn Faire workers are year around inhabitants and know the secrets of the Faire and Faire grounds, including the fact that the Faire has a mind and will of its own.  That concept alone had me in thrall.  But then Madeleine Ribbon added some vulnerable and fascinating characters and I was hooked!

Max was a villain, sort of, in the first story.  Forced into becoming an assassin for the crime boss Kelderman, Max thought becoming a killer was the only way he could protect Devin who his boss wanted dead.  Instead of killing Devin, Max would hunt him, scaring Devin into running over and over again.  But Max also had to kill others on Kelderman’s orders and that ate at his soul until the voices in his head almost destroyed him. Only being captured by Joryk in the Faire grounds and having his soul taken away and imprisoned in a crystal amulet, saved Max.  The year spent in the other dimension restored much of Max’s humanity and gave him peace even if he was left without free will and still a prisoner  within the village boundaries.  Ribbon’s descriptions of the magic of the other dimension and the places that Max seeks out as solace make it easy to understand how Max feels and the sanctuary it has provided.

But everything has its complications, including the soul spell that Joryk and the others didn’t fully understand.  The repercussions of the spell are just being fully realized and that’s a huge part of this story and its most poignant element.  Max is full of guilt for his past actions and the fear of the future once his soul returns haunts him.  As it should. I loved that the author realizes that there should be weighty consequences for Max’ past actions.  He destroyed peoples lives.  And you can’t get off with a new life without paying the price of the pain and death you caused in the past. The ramifications will be as horrific as his deeds and Madeleine Ribbon’s scary descriptions are up to the task of making us feel what Max feels.  Those scenes hit home with some hefty emotional power.

Yes, there is a romance here as well.  A reluctant one at the start, given the personalities and histories involved.  That a great choice because a case of instant love would definitely be out of place here.  The relationship is a slow one, evolving over a period of 3 months, the duration of the Faire in present time.  And the romance between Max and Shepherd is always a tenuous one.  Given the circumstances, neither is sure how to go forward or even if that is possible.  That’s a lovely realistic touch.

The story flows rapidly to its conclusion and I was left wanting to remain with the characters back in the land of shimmering birds and lights that chase each other through the ancient woods.  Just as I was at the end of Faire Fugitive.  Madeleine Ribbon has created a magical world that you won’t want to leave and filled it full of characters to love.  I can only hope that there is another Faire story on the horizon.  I know there is one Faire librarian in need of romance and a HEA.  I hope he gets it and we get another story.

Cover Art by Fiona Jayde.  Nice even if the dot over the “i” is placed directly over the cover model’s nipple!

Buy Links:       Loose id           ARe                Amazon   Faire Protector

 

 

 

Book Details;

ebook, 263 pages
Published July 1st 2014 by Loose Id (first published June 30th 2014)
ISBN139781623004064
edition languageEnglish
seriesThe Faire #2

Books in The Faire series to date:

Faire Fugitive (The Faire, #1)
Faire Protector (The Faire, #2)

Review: In Despair (Princes of the Blood #3) by Megan Derr

Rating 5 stars out of 5

In Despair coverSixteen year old Prince Telmé Guldbrandsen has been groomed to become a Prince of the Blood and take over as Commander of the Legion.  Equally young Korin is heir to the Reach of the House and the Temple of the Sacred Three. Expectations run high for him as well since it has been foretold that he will be the next High Priest.  Telme’ and Korin are also engaged to each other, an unfortunate affair since neither boy can stand the other.  Between the constant fighting and endless quarreling, the Halls of Castle Guldbrandsen have been ringing with shouts of anger and  fists hitting flesh instead of calm and the silence of boys at their studies to the displeasure of the royal family and all the others around them.

Monsters and dark mages left over from the last war lurk all around the kingdoms.  Princes of the Blood, and their fellow supernatural beings are the only things that stand between them and the remainder of humankind.  But humans that will allow their children to be tested to see if they have the right percentage of Demon blood are few as are pure blooded humans.  When found, they are brought to the Castle Guldbrandsen for testing and to strengthen ties through marriage.  Just such an happening at Castle Guldbrandsen ends in a devastating and unthinkable event, leaving those still standing awash in grief and anger.  Telme’ and Korin are Castle Guldbrandsen’s last hope but can they put aside their distrust and personal hatred long enough to save the kingdom and each other in the bargain?

In Despair marks the end of the Princes of the Blood trilogy by Megan Derr and I am so sad to get to the end of this marvelous tale of love, loss, and magic.  From the beginning, Megan Derr made the fascinating and quirky decision to write this trilogy backwards.  The first book, Of Last Resort (Princes of the Blood #1) takes place towards the end of the trilogy’s timeline, and each book thereafter moves the story back towards the beginning years and the history that is only hinted at in the first book.  It’s a challenging and imaginative format and its has worked beautifully here.

In Despair starts out with the characters in deep despair, a state that will follow them into the past.  Telme’ stands at the bedside of Koren who is terribly wounded from his fight with an angel from Of Last Resort.  That momentous battle came at the end of the first story and it left Koren in a coma.  Now as the trilogy comes to an end, Derr puts us down at Castle Guldbreandsen to get at glimpse at the lives of those impacted by that battle.  While Telme’ waits at Koren’s bedside, he remembers back to when they were teenagers and at odds with each other.  And from that time on, In Despair  starts its own tale of war, black magic, loss and love.

Megan Derr is one of my favorite fantasy authors.  In the Princes of the Blood trilogy she weaves together romance, action, adventure, fantasy and magic into stories that both the YA and adult readers will love.  As with all her stories, we start off with some amazing world building.  From Castle Guldbrandsen whose rulers have a very close connection to demons as well as all the fantasy beings that make up the incredible magic protectors of the realm,  the army of mixed-blood beings known as the King’s Legion: dragoons, shadowmarch, sorcerers, titans…and of course, the Princes of the Blood.  Derr has folded so many rich details and layers into this world.  The trilogy starts after a cataclysmic war has occurred that brought forth all sorts of demons and set them loose in the world almost destroying it.    While the war ended centuries ago, the aftermath has left demons scattered throughout the kingdoms, the human population with varying degrees of demon blood in them due to intermarriage, and necromancers others still trying to reopen the door’s to hell and start the war all over again. And with each story, Derr reveals more about the past through the characters battles in the present time and their interactions with each other.

In Despair is a standout from the other two stories in the trilogy in a number of ways.  First, the characters here are the youngest of all the main characters whose tales and romance unfold in these three books.  Telme’ and Koren are but sixteen (with Koren slightly younger than Telme’).  Telme’ and Koren exhibit all the stubbornness, impetuousness, and capriciousness of youth.   Quick to anger, unable to communicate, and equally quick to assume hurt and humiliation, these two young boys yet have the weight of the kingdom on their shoulders.  Both are expected to assume two of the highest positions in Castle Guldbrandsen and neither has the maturity or knowledge needed to make that leap to power and responsibility.  Sullenness and fights are the rule for both as are misunderstandings and punishment.  Derr makes both boys come across so real, so human in their insecurities, pain, and anger.  It is easy for the reader to see both sides of the picture for each teenager because it is such a recognizable stage of human growth.  Between hormones and pushing back against parental expectations, Telme  appears not only “bratty” as the adults term him but overwhelmed by the responsibilities he doesn’t want to assume.  And the reader gets that too, particularly as becoming a Prince of the Blood means turning into a demon or half demon at a young age.  By his behavior Telme has delayed the test but time is running out.  Derr makes both boys so young in their mental and emotional development that we connect with them easily.  Then she jerks their foundations out from under them and the tale really gets underway.

As with all marvelous coming of age stories that include high adventure and fantasy, it must also include the darkness of evil and absolute loss.  As Castle Guldbrandsen falls under the destructive powers of both, Telme’ and Koren must pull together, grow up (somewhat) and assume the duties they have been avoiding.  It’s a timeless, dramatic concept and Derr’s treatment of it and her characters growth is as compelling as they come.   That’s possible because no matter what challenges these boys face or hurdles they must overcome, they remain the teenagers they are.  They still make poor judgement calls, make assumptions about each other and the events that occur that adults with more experience would disregard, and suffer from the lack of practical knowledge and maturity that age would have given them.  I love that there is no “instant adult” changeover in persona.  No, these are still kids trying to fill adult shoes and mostly succeeding  to mixed reviews from the grownups around them.  How can you not empathize with a sixteen year old who has just kind of “saved the day” only to come back to adults who don’t like the way he did it?  As an adult, you can see both sides but the teenager in you will be just as dumbfounded and angry as Telme’ is. That’s one of the real beauties of this story and this trilogy,  Megan Derr tells it in such a way that we believe so deeply in these characters and their lives that we can see all sides to every argument and still come down on the side of youth and fragility no matter our own age.

At the end, Megan Derr brings the story back around to the time of the first story, Of Last Resort, with Telme’ still waiting to see if Koren lives.  Her circle is complete, and her trilogy is almost over.  All the characters from all three stories appear and their stories resolved in scenes and mentions of events happening inside the castle.  Did I love the way In Despair ended?  Absolutely.  Do I recommend In Despair and the entire Princes of the Blood trilogy?  Without question.

Of Last Resort, With Pride and In Despair will all be at the top of ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords Best of 2014 lists this year.  Check them all out but read them in the order that Derr wrote them.  It will make for some magical reading and leave you sighing for more at the end.  Just like me.

Cover art by Aisha Akeju who is quickly becoming a new favorite artist of mine.

Buy Links:           Less Than Three Press              ARe                 Amazon               In Despair

 

Book Details:

ebook
Published July 9th 2014 by Less Than Three Press
original titleIn Despair
ISBN139781620043233
edition languageEnglish
seriesPrinces of the Blood #3

Princes of the Blood Series include (written in reverse sequence)

Of Last Resort (Princes of the Blood #1)
With Pride (Princes of the Blood #2)
In Despair (Princes of the Blood #3)

Review: Wolf Run by B.A. Tortuga

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Wolf Run coverLone wolf Mick Eagleheart is just passing through the small town of Arroyo Seco in New Mexico when an intriguing scent catches his interest.  Following his nose, the scent trail leads him to a battered Airstream trailer out in the scrub lands and a young wolf shifter running the fence line that  surrounds the place.  At first Mick is outraged that someone should cage up a wolf pup so.  But the story behind the pup and the sad trailer is anything but what Mick expected.

The young wolf’s name is Scotty Miller.  And instead of being abused, he is being taken care of by his young mate, Daniel, to the best of young Daniel’s ability.  Thrown out of their pack by their Alpha, the young mated pair is barely making it on the money Daniel makes washing dishes and cleaning up at the local diner.  Starving, exhausted and working too many hours, Daniel no longer shifts at the full moon.  Scotty is cute, spends most of his time in wolf form and is far too scattered to hold down a job.  Two young wolves who need help and quick.

Mick is lonely and has been looking for a mate to settle down with.  But after meeting Scotty and Daniel, Mick realizes not only that they need him badly but they might just be the mates he needs too.  Two are better than one when you are a wolf, but three is better still…it’s a pack.  Now only if he can convince Scotty and Daniel of that fact.

I am such a fan of B.A. Tortuga and this story is an excellent reason why.  B.A. Tortuga takes the wolf shifter genre and puts her own quirky Tortuga spin on it with Wolf Run, her m/m/m wolfshifter story.  One of the delights of a Tortuga tale is the dialog and behaviors of her characters.  The dialog sparkles and dances, full of colloquialisms and regional sayings that not only give a character a geographical foundation but a cultural one as well.  And the behaviors of her characters can be counted on to jump, bump, and sometimes grind, as full of sexuality, fun and vivacity as can be.  In short, a B.A. Tortuga story is fun, sexy, a romp you won’t want to miss and those words are perfect to describe Wolf Run!

Tortuga’s wolf shifters maintain a lot of their animalistic behaviors and that’s an element I really appreciate.  Like most canines, high on their priority list is food, sex, and companionship, in other words pack.  Whether it is from association with her own Bassett hounds or research, this author is connected to her canines and it shows.  The  purposeful interest with which Mick approaches the fence as well as the cautious and respectful manner Scotty, in wolf form, greets Alpha wolf Mick bespeaks of canine greeting behavior with all its mannerisms intact.  That element of bringing a realistic wolf conduct into the actions of the characters continues throughout the story.  It’s never overdone but it’s a consistent part of their personas and lives and its gives this fun loving story an unexpected depth.

Some readers might shy away from a m/m/m storyline but it works beautifully here.  Wolves are a pack animal and never have I read about two young wolf shifters in need of an older Alpha lover than Scotty and Daniel.  Adding Mick Eagleheart to their relationship not only makes sense but its so sexy as well.  Daniel has been trying to be an Alpha he’s not and he’s failing to meet not only Scotty’s needs but his own.  It’s a poignant, loving, and desperate situation that Scotty and Daniel find themselves in when Mick happens along and enters their lives.  Of the two young wolves, Daniel’s existence is the most precarious.  But we don’t realize that fact immediately.  B.A. Tortuga slowly leads us and Mick to that conclusion as their story reveals itself and more of their back history comes to light.

That’s another reason I love this author.  Even if you have a story that comes with a “lighthearted, sexy, fun” label, the sadness and pain that life delivers up is only as far away as the next dirt road and bad paying job.  B.A. Tortuga never forgets that.  A hint of darkness, a dash of hurt, those exist within the parameters of a Tortuga storyline along with the fun and joy and exuberance to be found there.

One of the issues I see with B.A. Tortuga’s stories is that she makes what she accomplishes with them look so easy to do.  The words, characters, and situations just flow off the page without a hint of the complex edifice beneath it.   The realistic behaviors folded into a human reference?  The dialog that snaps, sings, and yet remains individualistic?  The settings and locales that breathe of desert air and the desperation of a poor economy?  It’s all there, even if its impact is never fully noticed.

Part of my job as a reviewer is to take apart a story to see how it well it was written, if the characters, structure, and plot pull together for a joyous reading experience.  I can say wholeheartedly that B.A. Tortuga has always delivered that for me and Wolf Run is another “home run” for this prolific author.

If you are new to B.A. Tortuga, well, you lucky person, you!  There is a whole backlist to read your way through.  If you love wolfshifters, this is a lovely place to start.  Then work your way over to her cowboys and bull riders and such.  If you are already a B.A. Tortuga fan, add this to be TBR pile.  To all of you, happy reading!

This is how it starts (Wolf Run excerpt):

Mick liked to go for a wander. His wolf form was perfect for it, too. No need for a backpack or a water bottle. Sure, the occasional hunter or farmer tried to shoot him, but then he’d just flash into his feral wolf form and scare the bejeezus out of them.

That was pretty fun, too.

Today, he was on the outskirts of Taos, where he’d left his truck, in a wee town called Arroyo Seco. Dry gulch. How hilarious was that? He’d sniffed around and growled away a couple of big herding dogs, but now, something else caught his nose. A scent he knew but was unfamiliar at the same time.

The scent of someone like him. Not from his clan, but a wolf like him.

His head tilted, and he started moving closer, nose working hard. Sweet, sharp. Nummy. Definitely male, which was his preference. Young enough to intrigue him.

The scrub out here was sparse. Trailer homes were scattered like giant building blocks. There was an old Airstream trailer that sat back on its own, surrounded by a fence improvised out of scrub, wood and wire.

Inside, a young wolf ran from one end of the makeshift yard to the other, over and over.

Pretty. Gray. Tail like a plume. Nice.

Skinny though and a little desperate, running in circles to relieve stress. Poor baby. Who had him all penned up? The place was like a bad dog run. Only it was a wolf run, right?

Mick slowed, letting the pup see him, scent him, and the sweet skinny thing stopped and stared at him, tail drooping. Mick let his tail lift and wag. No sense not being friendly.

The pup came to the fence. Tail beginning to swipe back and forth, the youngster barked happily, greeting him.

 

 

Cover art by Kris Norris. Great sexy cover, wish I had a little more of the wolf here.

Buy Links:   Resplendence Publishing       ARe          Amazon   Wolf Run

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 118 pages
Published June 4th 2014 by Resplendence Publishing
ASINB00KRVSCAC
m/m/m wolf shifter story

Review: One Door Closes (Secrets of Neverwood #1) by G.B. Lindsey

Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5

One Door ClosesYears ago, Calvin Ware was one of many of the foster children that Audrey Elizabeth Rasmussen brought into her home, Neverwood, to shelter, comfort and raise.  Following the death of his foster mom, Calvin has returned home to Neverwood to try and save the house and continue his mother’s mission to give shelter to those children most in need of a home and compassion.  However, it’s not just Calvin to whom she has left the house but two other foster sons as well.  Devon McCade, Calvin Ware and Daniel Redmond each held a special place in Audrey’s heart and now its up to them to save the house they were raised in and honor their mother.

But the house is mortgaged up to the rotting roof and a ruthless builder is giving them only a short amount of time to come up with the money needed to restore the mansion or have it repossessed and condemned for development.  Calvin, Devon and Daniel haven’t seen each other in years as each went their own way after turning 18.  Only Calvin remained close and in touch with Audrey.  That reality, plus resentment and the fact that they can’t agree on the restorations needed is keeping them divided and the house in danger of falling down around them.

All the boys have secrets between them and one of Calvin’s turns up on Neverwood’s doorstep as a contractor looking to help restore the mansion.  Will Cabot, Calvin’s high school crush, remained behind in town and is now an accomplished contractor.  Will offers to work on the mansion to restore it but Will and Calvin’s past is acting as a barrier to any new relationship between them.  Old secrets must come forth before any of the boys can move forward towards happiness, love and a new chance for the home they call Neverwood.

One Door Closes is the first book in a Secrets of Neverwood trilogy written by 3 different authors.  Available individually or as a complete collection, the trilogy is focused on three foster brothers,  Devon McCade, Calvin Ware and Daniel Redmond, who were brought to Neverwood by Audrey Rasmussen to live until their 18th birthday.  Upon her death, the three men learn their foster mother has left them the house equally and now must work together to restore Neverwood and continue her mission of sheltering unwanted children.  One Door Closes by G. B. Lindsey is Calvin Ware’s story.

I love the idea behind the Neverwood stories.  The trilogy plot of three foster brothers, each with their own closely held secrets, is an engrossing concept, one that is easy to connect with.  None of the brothers were  particularly close when they lived at Neverwood and only Calvin appears to have remained in touch with Audrey after leaving foster care.  Told from Calvin’s perspective, you get the viewpoint of the child he was when he arrived at Neverwood and that of the returning, grieving adult.  Calvin is a man on overload.  Burdened by secrets from his past that he has never dealt with as well as some closely guarded issues in adulthood, Calvin is suffering from a combination of guilt, resentment towards his two other foster brothers, pressure from an unscrupulous developer and mired in a financial quagmire left by Audrey’s estate.  The impact of all those problems upon Calvin weighs as heavily on the reader as it does on the character due to the beautifully scripted moments that highlight scene after scene.

Lindsey has filled her story full of poignant characters and unresolved issues that stem from childhood angst and trauma.  This is a story full of grey, a matter of  muted tonality and shading instead of darkness and light.  It feels realistically written with scenes and plot lines that radiate authenticity and a certain amount of desperation due to the situation Calvin and his brothers find themselves in and the chilling nature of their backgrounds that brought them to Neverwood.  However, instead of the drama and high impact one might expect from such a storyline and the anticipated revelations that  comes from long buried secrets, the  grey scale of the narrative continues throughout the story.  Its as it the very vivacity of life has been removed under the burdens they all carry and even the secrets uncovered make a much smaller impression upon the reader than they should.

I appreciated G.B. Lindsey’s approach to her story and the well-rounded characterizations that include many human frailties as well as a certain hopefulness as well as the ability to forgive and be compassionate.  Calvin’s battle to overcome a shared  event from his past  as well as his quiet, loving regard for Audrey make Calvin a most admirable character.  But, as with real life, it takes a while to pull up some of the issues that are alluded to continually in the story. That dragged out admission as well as others bogged down the narrative making it painfully slow at parts and  almost at a standstill at others.  How well you deal with this type of slow reveal and tempered be calmed storytelling will impact your enjoyment of this story.

I intend to read all three novellas that make up the Neverwood trilogy and I can’t wait to see how each author handles the remaining brothers stories.  It should be exciting and informative.  If you are looking for a romance, then this might not be the story for you.  There is a halting relationship here but its buried under layers and only emerges at the very end.  But as a marvelous character study and to appreciate an author’s well crafted approach to her story, then I recommend One Door Closes to you.

Cover art not credited.

Buy Links:     Carina Press              ARe                            Amazon  One Door Closes

Books in the Neverwood Trilogy include:

One Door Closes (Secrets of Neverwood #1) by G.B. Lindsey
The Growing Season (Secrets of Neverwood, #2) by Diana Copland
The Lost Year (Secrets of Neverwood, #3) by Libby Drew
Secrets of Neverwood Collection by Libby Drew

One Door ClosesThe Growing Season Neverwood 2 coverThe Lost Year Everwood 3 coverSecrets of Neverwood Trilogy cover

 

 

 

 

 

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 149 pages
Published June 30th 2014 by Carina Press
ASINB00I15VKGE
edition languageEnglish
seriesSecrets of Neverwood

In the Author Spotlight: R.J. Scott, and Kian’s Hunter & The Christmas Throwaway tour/contest

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍

spotlight on booksThe Christmas Throwaway coverKian's Hunter Fire ! coverRJ Scott on Writing and Two Books Close 

To Her Heart, “The Christmas Throwaway”

and “Kian’s Hunter”

 

 

 

 

RJ Scott has stopped by ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords today to talk about writing and two stories that are favorites of hers.  One of them, The Christmas Throwaway is also a favorite of mine.  RJ Scott is known for her  HEAs, whether she is writing about a family in Texas (Texas series) or a group of ex Navy Seals and intelligence gatherers that are Sanctuary or  even supernatural lovers.  Nothing is outside the realm of RJ Scott and HEA and that’s marvelous news for us!

RJ has also brought a contest with her on tour.  Contest details can be found at the end.  Don’t forget to leave a comment and be entered!  Now on to RJ Scott!

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍

Welcome to of my mini author tour, thank you to Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words for having me… 

When I was at the UK meet I was told by readers on more than one occasion that they thought I just wrote paranormal, or I just wrote contemporary. Of that they knew about Texas, but had never heard of the Sanctuary series. So I came up wit this idea… highlight two very different books, or series, and add in some cool prizes and maybe readers might find something new from me.

Today I thought I would focus on two books, one paranormal and one contemporary set at my favourite time of the year, Christmas. The first is Kian’s Hunter (book 1 in my Fire Trilogy) and The Christmas Throwaway.

The Christmas Throwaway is without a doubt the book that most people ask me for a sequel to. As much as I would like to follow Ben and Zach into later stories there is something very personal about this story that means I Just can’t write a book 2. The story is about Zach, a throwaway, a child thrown out by his parents, lost, alone and scared on Christmas Eve. He feels he has nowhere to turn and no one who will help him. A rookie cop, Ben, finds him on a snowy bench on Christmas Eve starving and freezing and sets out showing him that everyone deserves a Christmas miracle. The book is emotional, heart-breaking, happy, thoughtful, and has all the wonder of Christmas wrapped in and out of the words.

On the other hand Kian’s Hunter is as far away from contemporary as it is possible to be. With a parallel world to our own, monsters escaping from their side to ours, magic and fire, this is the paranormal book I grew to become proud of. Kian is a young man, only just coming into his powers, and Regan is the only man who can help him this side of the barrier. Regan isn’t convinced Kian is for real, but when both their lives are put in danger, he has to realise that he and Kian together could be the only way they stay alive.

More information, including blurbs, excerpts, buy links, reading order and reviews can be found here:

Kian's Hunter Fire ! coverKian’s Hunter : Paranormal, adventure, parallel world, demons –  Visit here for excerpt and more details.

Blurb: 

Kian has crossed over from his world to ours to seek revenge. His plan is to kill the monster who murdered his Uncle. The same monster who used magic to escape to our world and is hiding here and growing in strength.

Regan Campbell is a hunter of Demons. The first son, of a first son, he is the one who protects this world from the monsters that no one else knows are here.

When Kian reaches this world, he knows Regan is the perfect man to fight alongside him, but Regan trusts no one.

It isn’t until they are facing death and a terrible evil that will be let loose, that Regan finally realises he can trust another…his fated partner, Kian.

 

 

The Christmas Throwaway coverThe Christmas Throwaway : Family, both good and bad, Christmas, love and an overwhelming message of hope –

Blurb:

Christmas is a time for giving – what do you do when no one gives a damn?

For Zachary Weston Christmas means sleeping on a churchyard bench in the freezing snow with nothing better in his future. Thrown out of his home for being gay, he is left without money or, it seems, anywhere to go.

Until a stranger shows him that some people do give a lot more than a damn.

Ben Hamilton is a rookie cop in his small home town. He finds a young throwaway, fresh from the city, sleeping on a bench in the churchyard on a snowy Christmas Eve. Can he be the one to give Zachary his own Christmas miracle?

Visit RJ Scott’s The Christmas Throwaway page for excerpt and book details.

 

 

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍

Contest: – closing date 16 July 2014, 13:00 GMT (London)

Simply comment below to be entered into the draw to win one of two prizes, first drawn name wins a $10 Amazon/ARe voucher, and for second winner an ebook from my backlist, or a future book when it becomes available.

Each comment on this post and other posts in the tour will be entered into a grand draw to win $50 Amazon/ARe voucher with the winner drawn from all entrants on Saturday, 26th July.  Please leave an email address in your comment where you can be reached if chosen.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍

Author Bio:

Writing MM Romance with a Happy Ever After…

I am in awe that people read my writing and thank you all for taking the time to read, rate and review. Rj xxxxx

About me…I live in the UK just outside London. I love reading anything from thrillers to sci-fi to horror; however, my first real love will always be the world of romance. My goal is to write stories with a heart of romance, a troubled road to reach happiness, and more than a hint of happily ever after.

Rj Scott can be followed at:

 

 

 

Review: Somebody to Love by Merry Farmer

Rating: 3.25 stars out of 5

MerryFarmer_SomebodyToLove_CoverBanker Phineas Bell has, by necessity and law, hidden his sexuality behind a kind but prim exterior, one expected of a banker in Montana in 1901.  But the arrival of Elliott Tucker in Cold Springs, Montana  stirs up old feelings and desires Phineas thought he had buried.  Elliot is a vet from Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders in the Spanish-American war and has been looking for a place to settle down and call home.  A homosexual used to hiding his preference for men behind dalliances with women, Elliot thinks he knows what’s best for  Phineas as well as for himself.

When the only room available in town for the new sheriff is as a lodger in Phin’s house, the close quarters make the sparks fly but the consequences might be not only traumatic but costly when Phin’s uncharacteristic behavior causes an uproar.

But even more dangerous are the scoundrels that have come to town to make sure that Phin’s friends don’t open a store in their mine owned and operated town.  When their insidious plans don’t pan out, then desperation  causes them to kidnap someone close to Phin’s heart.  Elliot and Phin must race to catch the kidnappers before something unthinkable happens and the child is hurt.  But will their hidden romance be revealed?  And at what cost to the themselves, the town, and their loved ones waiting for them to return?

I have very mixed feelings about this story and some come from the westerns I love and read growing up.  Those stories by Louis L’Amour and Zane Grey set a standard against which, right or wrongly, I judge all western stories I read.  From their characters to their authentic settings and plots, I reveled in every story of theirs I could get my hands on.  Luckily for me, my dad was an ardent fan of both authors so I had their entire library of stories to pull from whether it was Louis L’Amour’s The Sacketts or Zane Grey’s Riders of the Purple Sage.

Now I can hear you grumble that this is a m/m romance and that’s true.  But that doesn’t make the comparisons any less relevant.  I bring to these m/m western romances a need to hear a dialog that would make sense in the time period involved.  I want behavior and mannerisms in keeping with the times and culture of the west.  That includes Easterners that have made their home in the territories (for surely they would have appropriated some of the local colloquialisms and idiosyncrasies after they settled in the area) as well as taciturn cowboys and soldiers who have learned to hide their sexual preferences.  I am also a stickler for detail and historical accuracies.  While I have seen more than one author tripped up by poor research and inattention to detail, I have also read stories by authors (m/m authors) who embraced the genre and made it most memorably their own.    With all that in mind, Somebody to Love is a mixed bag for me.

This is the first story I read by Merry Farmer and its apparently one in a series called Montana Romance.  Without the other books as a support, I don’t know if the issues I have with Somebody to Love are pertinent only to this story or all the others too.  So let’s start with the elements I thought were well done.

Merry Farmer has researched the era and physical setting of her story.  The town of Cold Springs, Montana comes alive here with its stores, bank and lively citizenry.  The section of the book that deals with the underhanded tactics of mine owners protecting their interests feels authentic and true to the times.  The “Copper Kings” and the Anaconda Mining Company were ruthless in pursuit of their interests and holdings and their tactics were as varied and wide ranging as their need for domination of the copper market. Those agents are represented here by two women and how you feel about their characters, their “realness”, and their placement in the plot might guide your feelings about the story.

I did enjoy Farmer’s plot.  I found it interesting and certainly entertaining.  But what held me back from connecting with these characters and their passion for each other was believability.  I never found their behaviors or actions to be realistic for both the time period and the setting. Phineas Bell is a “confirmed bachelor”, typical of that age.  He has never demonstrated any interest in the women in town, and other than his adopted family of friends and their children, Phin occupies himself with his bank and financial dealings.  In short, he is an upright, well regarded member of the community.  Into town comes Elliot Tucker to upset everything, and I do mean everything, including the believability in their romance and story.

For me Elliot is everything that is “off” about Somebody to Love.  Elliot is a former member of the Rough Riders that stormed San Juan hill and has arrived to take the Sheriff’s position in town.  But almost immediately, without “taking the lay of the land” so to speak, Elliot decides to admit he’s gay to the town banker he just met, kiss him, assume he knows best for Phin and urges him to flirt and date girls in town, including some of the more disreputable bar girls, to act as beards for their affair.  He starts a fight that Phin is involved in, all in a matter of hours and days.  This is the man the town is supposed to have faith in as a Sheriff?  Someone so completely lacking in judgement that his actions and hotheadedness would surely have gotten him killed in action before now.  And our staid, closeted and utterly reliable banker is following his advice?  Why would the town continue to let him hold their money and futures in his bank when all of a sudden his actions are unaccountably crazy?  The fact is that they wouldn’t and a later scene with a run on the bank should have come much earlier in the story if the author had wanted to remain realistic to the times and actions of a small town in the territory.   And Elliot’s strange and impetuous behaviors continue throughout the story to my astonishment.  In the space of a few days the author has Elliot almost completely destroying Phin’s reputation and business and we are supposed to connect with this man? It never made any sense or came across as realistic for the times.  For a war hardened soldier with the past that Farmer provided for him, Elliot is a strange and unbelievable character from start to finish.   And he takes the character of Phineas Bell down the rabbit hole with him.

Merry Farmer included some wonderful and suspenseful scenes within this story.  There are fires, and rescues, and all sort of shenanigans that will make you catch your breath and tense in anticipation of the action to come. Those segments are described with energy and are bright with emotion. But time after time, an element rises up to disconnect me from the story with its irrational and unrealistic idea or plot point.  The town is flooded with counterfeit money at the exact same time to strange women come to town with threats and devious actions.  Elliot and Phin figure it out but the town immediately assumes it’s Phin whose the culprit? And the actions they take, even after some initial investigations into the nefarious goings on, had me dumbfounded because they were so far removed from reality and common sense.  The behavior of Phin and Elliot seemed to change according to the needs of the plot instead of being aligned along those of human nature and societal norms of 1901 in the Territories.   I just could never lose myself in either their romance or the storyline as it proceeded no matter how I appreciated other parts of the story and various characters I met along the way.

It’s a difficult task authors set for themselves when writing historical novels, western or otherwise.  They must bring their characters and stories to life within a defined range of cultural morays and mannerisms found in the particular time period they have set their stories.  Everything, from the dialog and to laws and societal norms must be taken into consideration and still connect the readers to the plots and passions of those involved.  That’s a huge undertaking, and it’s one I’m not sure Merry Farmer accomplished here.  For every element I enjoyed there is its opposite that served to disconnect me from the story and the characters.

Somebody to Love is similar in my mind to a m/m “Paint Your Wagon” sort of story.  Part of it made no sense, likewise the casting.  Parts of it were fun, absolutely enjoyable while others were, well, lets be kind and just say perplexing. But not every reader will feel as I do and for some, this journey into 1901 Montana and a Cold Springs romance might just be the thing for them.  It’s all in how you approach historical fiction and your tastes might vary from mine.

But if, like me, you are a fan of the more typical Western, including m/m Westerns, there is a host of other stories and authors to explore.  Start with the older authors such as Zane Grey and Louis L’Amour and then look at the 5 star western m/m stories circulating now.  There is a book and author out there for everyone.  Let me know who is at the top of your list of authors and stories who brought the West alive to you!

Buy Links:    All Romance (ARe)          Amazon  ” title=”Amazon”>Somebody To Love

Cover Art: The lovely cover is by Pehr Graphic Design.

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 288 pages
Published April 27th 2014
ASINB00K02UWIS
edition languageEnglish

It’s the “Vegas Hustle” by Ethan Stone – What’s His Passion? Book Tour (contest)

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

WHP_Ethan Stone_Book Tour_final banner

 

ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords is happy to host Ethan Stone’s and Totally Bound’s Vegas Hustle Book Tour today.  As part of the new What’s His Passion? imprint at Totally Bound, they have brought a great contest along with them.  See contest details below as well as a blurb and excerpt from Ethan Stone’s Vegas Hustle…

♦Contest:  To celebrate the launch of What’s his Passion? Totally Bound is giving away a bundle of prizes. Enter here for your chance to win! Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

vegashustle_800 badge♦Blurb for Vegas Hustle:

A business trip to Las Vegas becomes a life or death situation for a comic book fan.
Comic book geek Adam Brand is young, good-looking and wealthy. He’s also a virgin because he’s not skilled at picking up guys. While in Vegas with his friend Dean to finalize a real estate deal, he throws caution to the wind and hires a professional. Hustler Javier Campos is just Adam’s type and his first time is perfect.

♦Excerpt from Vegas Hustle:

“Yes, I’m looking forward to our other plans, too.” I smirked.

He leaned forward and eyed me. “Dude, we’re talking about you having sex for the first time and you sound like it’s just another day.” Dean had a fake ID and had gotten one for me as well. He’d been going out to bars and clubs and having sex with men since he was sixteen. He’d promised me we would party until we found the right guy for me to sleep with.

“I’m nervous about it,” I admitted.

“Adam, it’s going to be awesome.” He sat back in the chair and closed his eyes.

“Did you see that Hispanic stud in the hallway earlier?” I’d only gotten a quick glance at him but it was enough. He was a few inches shorter than me, had a goatee, light-brown hair and beautiful brown eyes.

Dean nodded.

“Damn, he was hot.”

Dean lowered his sunglasses. “You know he was a hustler, right?”

“A what?”

“A hustler,” he repeated. “Hooker. Prostitute. Whore.”

I forced my jaw closed, trying not to let my naiveté be quite so obvious. “How do you know?”

“There’s no way a dude like him could ever afford to stay at the Bellagio. He’d probably just finished with a customer.”

I knew hustlers existed, but the ones I’d seen and imagined were dirtier and skankier than the hottie in the hallway. “You ever hired one?”

He shook his head. “I don’t see anything wrong with it but I’ve never needed to pay for sex when it’s so readily available.”

I wondered what the man charged. He had the body type I craved as well as a rough edge that made my body tremble. Being kissed and touched by him had to be a thrilling experience. A man who got paid for sex was no doubt good at what he did.

Want to find out more about the characters from Vegas Hustle?

Totally Bound
WHP_Ethan Stone_Social Media Patch_finalYou can purchase it here!Totally Bound Tour Banner

Book Blast: The Secrets of Neverwood Anthology (contest)

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍

SoNBanner

 

Contest: To celebrate the release of The Secrets of Neverwood Anthology, an eBook copy of this anthology is offered as a giveaway.  To enter to win, visit the Rafflecopter link below and be over the age of 18.  

Book Name: The Secrets of Neverwood Anthology
Authors Names: G.B. Lindsey, Diana Copland, Libby Drew
Author Bios:

✍
G. B. Lindsey was born and raised in California, where she earned her undergraduate degree in Literature and Creative Writing from UC Santa Cruz. Her first love has always been writing: as a child, she cultivated such diverse goals as becoming “a cowgirl and a writer” or “a paleontologist and a writer.” 

Aside from her salacious and ongoing affair with the horror genre, she loves to write sci-fi, romance, historical fiction, and short stories. Other hobbies include playing the piano, reading voraciously, the occasional period drama movie night, and devouring scary film after scary film. She recently moved back home from Newcastle upon Tyne, where she earned her Master of Arts in Creative Writing, and now lives in Sacramento.

✍
Diana Copland began writing in the seventh grade, when she shamelessly combined elements of Jane Eyre and Dark Shadows to produce an overwrought Gothic tale that earned her an A- in creative writing, thanks entirely to the generosity of her teacher. She wrote for pure enjoyment for the next three decades before discovering LiveJournal and a wonderful group of supportive fanfiction writers, who after gifting her with a “Best New Author” Award encouraged her to try her hand at original gay fiction.

Born and raised in southern California, Diana moved to the Pacific Northwest after losing a beloved spouse to AIDS in 1995. She lives in eastern Washington with four obnoxious cats and her ninety year old Dad, near her two wonderful adult children.

✍
Libby Drew glimpsed her true calling when her first story, an A.A. Milne /Shakespeare crossover, won the grand prize in her elementary school’s fiction contest. Her parents explained that writers were quirky, poor, and often talked to themselves in supermarket checkout lines. They implored her to be practical, a request she took to heart for twenty years, earning two degrees, a white-collar job, and an ulcer, before realizing that practical was absolutely no fun.

Today she lives with her husband and four children in an old, impractical house and writes stories about redemption, the supernatural, and love at first sight, all of which do exist. She happens to know from experience.Libby’s STATE OF MIND received rave reviews for being fast, clever, and relentless and was nominated for a Bookie Award for Best M/M Novel of 2011. 40 SOULS TO KEEP, Libby’s third novel, has been described as intense and heart-poundingly good and was praised by Publishers Weekly for maintaining a high level of suspense.

An avid supporter of gay rights, Libby donates her time to the Trevor Project and organizations that work to support marriage equality.

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍

Publisher: Carina Press
Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 431 pages
Expected publication: June 30th 2014 by Carina Press
ASINB00I15VKRI
Secrets of Neverwoodedition languageEnglish
series: Secrets of Neverwood #1-3

Blurb(s): Three men with vastly different lives are called home to Neverwood, the stately Pacific Northwest mansion of their youth. The one thing they share is a promise to Audrey, the woman they all called mother—that upon her death, they would restore the house and preserve it as a home for troubled boys.

But going home is never easy.

Cal struggles to recover from past heartbreak, while Danny fears his mistakes are too big to overcome. Devon believes he may never break down the barriers that separate him from honest emotion. And a benevolent spirit lingers in Neverwood’s halls, intent on guiding her foster sons away from the mistakes of their youth and toward true love.

On the path to brotherhood, they discover the old mansion holds more than dusty furniture and secret passageways. An old mystery stirs up a new danger, one that could cost the men far more than just the house.

 

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍

Buy Links: 

Secrets of Neverwood: One Door Closes\The Growing Season\The Lost Year :  Amazon

 

 


Tour Dates: June 16 – July 11WillPride

Tour Stops:
SoNBadge3June 16: Kimi-Chan
June 17: MM Good Books
June 18: Iyana Jenna
June 19: Up All Night, Read All Day
June 20: Parker Williams, Cate Ashwood
June 23: Prism Book Alliance
June 24: Hearts on Fire
June 25: LeAnn’s Book Reviews
June 26: It’s Raining Men, Velvet Panic
June 27: Boy Meets Boy Reviews
June 30: My Fiction Nook
July 1: Top2Bottom
July 2: Dawn’s Reading Nook, Michael Mandrake
July 3: Love Bytes
July 4: Jade Crystal, Jane Wallace-Knight
July 7: EE Montgomery, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words,
July 8: Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves, Because Two Men Are Better Than One
July 9: Fallen Angel Reviews
July 10: Nephylim
July 11: Amanda C. Stone

Contest: Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Rafflecopter Prize: An E-copy of the anthology

Rafflecopter Code:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Author Spotlight: An Interview with Merry Farmer & her release “Somebody To Love”

spotlight on books

 

MerryFarmer_SomebodyToLove_Cover

 

 

 

 

 

 

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍

Somebody To Love†is the fourth full-length novel in Merry Farmer’s highly acclaimed, historical†Montana Romance series. In this novel, which has already found a home atop Amazon’s LGBT romance lists, she writes about the love between two men, Phinneas Bell and Elliott Tucker, and the issues that surround them as they try to make their way in 1800s Montana.

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍

I have Merry Farmer sitting in our Author Spotlight today for an interview about writing, her story and the muse behind Somebody To Love:

STRW:
Why did you choose to write M/M stories?

Merry Farmer:  It wasn’t so much that I started out to write an m/m story as much as I knew from the beginning of the series that I needed to write a love story for the character of Phineas Bell. He was part of the Montana Romance series from the start, and I always felt as though he deserved to find love too. So it was only natural to write that story of Phin falling in love.

STRW: Where do you find your inspiration?

Merry Farmer:  
You know, I find inspiration in the strangest places. History itself has always been a source of wonder and stories for me. So many of the actual people and events of history are fantastic stories in and of themselves that it takes just a little imagination to spin them into a complete book. I am also inspired by those quirky little questions that pop into my mind for no apparent reason, like “How were animals originally domesticated by the earliest humans?” That simple question inspired my entire Grace’s Moon science fiction series as I went on pondering how civilizations are born.

STRW:  What is for you the perfect book hero?

Merry Farmer:  Ah. Here’s something that makes me a little different from other Romance writers. I’m madly in love with beta heroes. I love the intelligent, clever men who might not be as macho or hunky as an alpha hero, but who love the heroine with their whole heart. I love the sidekick who never gets the girl and absolutely adore writing books where the nice guy wins.

STRW:  When you start a book, do you already have the whole story in your head or is it built progressively?

Merry Farmer:  
I usually have a general idea of where I’m going with a story before I start and maybe one or two important plot points, but I certainly don’t have everything figured out before I start typing. In fact, I learn so much about my characters and their world and the story of what happens to them as I write that a lot of times I need to go back and rewrite the beginning once I finish so that it matches the end.

STRW:  Do you pay attention to literary criticism?

Merry Farmer:  Sometimes. It’s important to take criticism with a grain of salt. Occasionally you can learn something from the faults that readers see that you were unable to see yourself. It can help you to write better in the future (or revise that book after publication). But a lot of the time reading criticism will just get you down.

STRW:  What inspired you to write your first book?

Merry Farmer:  Well, I’d been dating this guy for a while. I was certain I was going to marry him. Then suddenly, he broke up with me. I was devastated. Even more devastated when, six months later, he got engaged to someone else. I fell into a horrible, horrible depression. I’d been writing since I was ten years old, but in the depths of that break-up depression, something just clicked in me and I knew I had to WRITE. I sat down and started writing The Loyal Heart and it pulled me right out of that depression. The rest is history.

STRW:Do you have a specific writing style?

Merry Farmer:  I think I do. I would be hard-pressed to define it, though. I’ve been told by people that know me that they can hear me speaking when they read my writing, so in terms of prose, I think I write like I speak. As far as subject matter and theme, I have always been more interested in the underdog and people who had had to struggle in life more than the alpha heroes and standard heroines of much of Romance fiction. I would like to be known for writing romantic stories about the non-dukes and the middle class characters of the world.

STRW: How do you come up with the titles?

Merry Farmer:  Titles are HARD! I struggle with them through the entire process of thinking about and writing my stories. I spend a lot of time (especially when I’m driving) thinking up word combinations, possible titles, shifting things around, counting syllables, all sorts of weird tricks. Ultimately, something just pops into my head and I know that’s it. Sometimes it’s song lyrics. Somebody to Love comes directly from the Queen song of the same name because it fits my characters and their journey…and because it came on the radio as I was driving.

STRW:  Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

Merry Farmer:  Be true to who you are, even if it’s not popular, even if it’s difficult, even if it’s dangerous. You can stand to lose material things, but integrity is more valuable. If you stay true to yourself, true love will find you against all odds.

STRW: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

Merry Farmer:  
I guess I have a problem with saggy middles. But I have that problem in real life too. 😉

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍

Get Somebody To Love†on Amazon, Amazon UK, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble,  ARe ,
and iBooks.
Add In Your Arms†to your Goodreads to-read shelf!

About Somebody To Love

MerryFarmer_SomebodyToLove_CoverFor Phineas Bell, love has not only been out of reach, it has been impossible. In a world where men who love other men are anathema, he has poured his love into his work, his town, and the friends who accept him as family. But when a handsome new lodger takes over his home and his heart, breaking all his careful rules, Phin must choose between playing it safe and letting love in.

War hero Elliott Tucker is the answer to Cold Springs ís prayers for a sheriff worth his salt. But with every single woman in town throwing themselves at him, Elliott has eyes for only one person: Phin. The sparks are hot between then, but in spite of Elliottís best efforts, Phinís heart proves the toughest nut to crack. A love that starts with fire threatens to burn them both until a shocking abduction throws Phin and Elliott together on the trail of ruthless kidnappers. Will their efforts to save a child wrench them apart or will it prove that at last theyíve found somebody to love?

Genre classification:†M/M LGBT Western Historical Romance

Get†Somebody to Love†on†Amazon,†Amazon UK,†Smashwords,†Barnes & Noble, and†iBooks.

Add†Somebody to Love†to your Goodreads to-read shelf!

About the author

Merry FarmerMerry Farmer is an award-winning author of Historical Romance and what she likes to call ìSci-Fi for Women.î She lives in suburban Philadelphia with her two cats and enough story ideas to keep her writing until sheís 132. Her second novel, The Faithful Heart, was a 2102 RONE Award finalist and her unpublished futuristic novel A Manís World won first place in the Novel: Character category at the 2013 Philadelphia Writerís Conference. She is out to prove that you can make a living as a self-published author and to help others to do the same.

Find Merry Farmer on her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Amazon Author Page.