Get Swept Into the Past with Amelia Bishop’s Uncharted Hearts (excerpt and giveaway)

Uncharted Hearts by Amelia Bishop
Release Date: August 14, 2015

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Amelia Bishop
Cover Artist: Amelia Bishop with photo by Dan Skinner

Sales Links: Amazon

My Interview with Amelia Bishop and a Surprise Recipe!

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Amelia Bishop, author of Uncharted Hearts. Welcome, Amelia and thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

Hi! Thanks for having me here.

My current book is an m/m/m romance, set in 1795. It’s a story about making your own family, even if that family is outside of the norm. I hope that even though it is set in the past, this story will appeal to readers who don’t often choose historical romances.

Open up your recipe box! Give us something that would thrill us.

Oh man I just stumbled across this recipe a few months ago, and it became an instant favorite in my family: S’mores bars.

I’ll confess, I don’t really like s’mores all that much. Which is funny, considering I am a Girl Scout leader and an avid camper. But I’m not a big marshmallow fan, and s’mores are just so messy and hard to eat. Also I feel like the cookie-to-filling ratio is all off in traditional s’mores.

But then I found this recipe, and I love it!

It’s a little more work than actual s’mores, because you have to make the dough and assemble them, but the end product is so superior it is worth it.

Now, I will agree, there is something magical about roasting marshmallows over a fire, and assembling s’more sandwiches in the flickering firelight. And even the strings of melted marshmallow goop sticking in your hair and on your chin might be part of the appeal, for s’more purists.

But personally, I’m just all about getting as much of that chocolate-cookie-marshmallow combination into my mouth in the most efficient way possible. And this recipe, my friends, is the way.

(There are a lot of recipes out there for s’mores bars. This one is unique, though, in that it completely encases the chocolate and marshmallow, just like a regular s’more.)

I highly suggest visiting this site: http://lovintheoven.com/day-11-smores-cookie-bars/ and making these s’mores bars this summer! They taste pretty good around a campfire, too.

Thanks so much for having me here today!

About Uncharted Hearts

Clayton Taylor is smart and skilled, and born into privilege. His expertise with navigation lands him a job on The Irish Lady, a ship which promises a world of new experiences. Half in love with Peter, The Lady’s roguish captain, Clayton signs on for adventure and a chance to test his skill against the sea. Once aboard he meets Jorge, a pillar of quiet strength.

Clayton’s life among the sailors and thieves is happy, wild, and free. He learns to sail, to fit in with the crew, and to cheat at cards. There isn’t a course he can’t chart, or a job he can’t design.

But Clayton can’t navigate love, nor can he plan for the whims of his heart. Bold and direct and often stubborn, Clayton’s uncharted heart will plot its own course, bound for a union with two men who need him as much as he does them.

Together Clayton, Peter, and Jorge will discover the heart has no need of map and compass.

Pages or Words: 240 pages
Categories: Fiction, Historical, M/M Romance, Menage/Poly, Romance

Excerpt

The Irish Lady’s gangway was up, and I had a flash of panic. Was I too late? I caught a glimpse of Peter on deck, and called out to him. “Sir! Peter Simpson!”
He turned and strode back to the rail, a light in his eyes and a smile on his face. My trunk seemed suddenly much easier to haul.
A large black man lowered the gangway, and looked me over as I struggled up it, raising an eyebrow at my large case. He wore his hair in long twisted locks, and his shirt, open at the chest, revealed heavy glistening muscles. I swallowed hard. Was this a ship full of temptation? Would I spend my entire time here aroused and useless?
“You came!” Peter rushed to me, not hiding his excitement.
I nodded, smiling.
“I’m so glad.” He brushed his fingers over my cheek in a move much too affectionate for public display. I glanced at the large man, but he’d turned away.
“Come, I’ll get you settled in and explain your position.” Peter hoisted one end of my trunk, and led us toward the hatch.
I felt as if I had to ask him, before I went below, exactly what kind of situation I was signing on to here. “Just what sort of a ship is this, precisely? I’m sure you aren’t an entirely reputable merchant?”
He dropped his side of the trunk, and I feared I’d erred. Perhaps that was too forward a thing to ask. But his crooked grin told me he was not offended. “Is that a problem?”
Good lord, he was sexy. His chin was shadowed with a fine dark stubble, and his hair was gathered at the top of his head in some sort of ridiculous knot, which only accentuated his chocolate brown eyes and thick brows. “No…” I smiled. “But you’ll have to teach me.”
His mouth opened on a gasp. Finally, I’d unbalanced him.
“Gladly,” he rasped, and picked up the trunk again.

About the Author

I am a reader and writer of romantic erotic fiction of all varieties. Sometimes, the little stories in my head just need to be shared (and sometimes they are just for me). I enjoy red wine, black rum, shell-hunting walks along the seashore, and solo late-night drunken dance parties.

Where to find the author:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amelia.bishop.507
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/ameliabishopauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/anotheramelia
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ameliabishop507/
Blog: http://www.ameliabishop.wordpress.com

Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: $15 Gift Card (Amazon or ARe). Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.
Rafflecopter Code:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Dates & Stops:
14-Aug
Prism Book Alliance, Two Chicks Obsessed With Books and Eye Candy, Inked Rainbow Reads

17-Aug
BFD Book Blog,

Amanda C. Stone

18-Aug
Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Just Love Romance

19-Aug
MM Good Book Reviews, Love Bytes

20-Aug
Bayou Book Junkie, EE Montgomery

A Little Bit of Coffee and Kink with Building Bonds (Kiss of Leather 1) by Morticia Knight

Building Bonds (Kiss of Leather 1) by Morticia Knight
Release Date: August 26, 2015

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Pride Publishing
Cover Artist: Posh Gosh

Sales Links: Pride Publishing | Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | iTunes | Kobo | Google Books

Blurb

Kyle’s a natural sub who builds dungeon furniture, yet has no interest in BDSM. It takes a hunky Dom to show him just what he’s been missing.

After Kyle’s partner of five years leaves him for another man on the night of their housewarming party, the shy early thirties carpenter needs to do a serious reassessment of his life in addition to raising some serious cash. With no one else to help him pay the lease on his Los Angeles condo, he worries how he’ll survive. His best friend sets up a meeting with one of the Doms and partners at Kiss of Leather, a gay BDSM Club being built as a premiere destination for those who want the best of the best.

Master Gavin not only wants the best – he demands it. When he meets Kyle, he assumes that part of the builder’s reticence to share anything personal with him must be due to his experiences with an abusive former Master. Not one to back down from a challenge, Gavin determines to break through the walls surrounding the beautiful man he can’t get out of his mind. He’s certain that once he convinces Kyle to sign an initial contract, Kyle might be the first sub to open up his heart.

Misunderstandings and accusations almost destroy everything between them before it has a chance to begin. However, the true obstacle becomes not only whether Kyle will embrace BDSM as a lifestyle, but whether he can handle a fulltime D/s relationship with a big bad scary Dom who’s as sexy as hell.

Pages or Words: 173 pages

Categories: BDSM, M/M Romance, Romance

Excerpt

“I don’t have to be naked, right? You’re sure I won’t have to be naked?” Kyle sucked in a gulp of air. “Of course, if everyone else is and I’m not…Oh God, they’ll all be staring at me. Maybe I should be naked.”
Gavin stepped from the shower and the sight of his stunning frame with his semi-erect cock swaying, rivulets of water trailing down his beautiful skin over his rock hard abs – it made him want to…
“Kyle. Did you hear what I said?”
“Huh?”
Gavin chuckled then advanced on him. He grabbed Kyle by his nape then pulled him in for a deep kiss. He broke their connection, except he kept his hand circled around Kyle’s neck, holding him there, safe.
“No one expects you to be naked, least of all me. You have a wonderful body that I hope you’ll someday allow others to see, but tonight isn’t about pushing your boundaries.”
“Are you kidding me? They’re not being pushed, they’re being trampled.”
“Kyle. Now would be a good time to remember that you need to address me properly at all times.”
“Oh. Sorry. Are you kidding me, Master?”
Gavin narrowed his eyes at him. “We’ll revisit the tone of your voice later. I don’t want to be late.”
Kyle’s eyes widened. He was such a mass of jangled nerves about going to the dungeon owned and run by Gavin’s friend, he hadn’t noticed how his words might’ve come across.
“I am sorry. I’m just a little freaked out, that’s all.”
Gavin placed another light kiss on his lips. “All right. I’ll let it go this time. I’ll also acknowledge that I might be on the verge of trampling your boundaries. But I think you can handle it and I believe you’ll do very, very well. Focus on your desire to make me proud and let everything else fall away.” Gavin stroked Kyle’s cheek with the back of his hand. “Your safewords always apply, no matter where we are, boy.”
Kyle took in another deep breath. “Okay. Thank you. That helped. I just don’t want to, I mean, of course I want to make you proud, but won’t people be expecting you to have someone more, uh, not only experienced, but either super pretty and twinky or hot and-“
“Stop it. Don’t say another word or there will be a punishment and it’ll involve the cock cage with the penis plug I showed you.”
Oh shit.
“Please. Not that.”
“Then remember how stunning I think you are and how angry it makes me that you would denigrate my beautiful boy.” Gavin pulled him close, nuzzling him behind his ear, placing soft kisses on his skin. “I want only you.”

About the Author

Author Morticia Knight spends most of her nights writing about men loving men forever after. If there happens to be some friendly bondage or floggings involved, she doesn’t begrudge her characters whatever their filthy little heart’s desire. Even though she’s been crafting her naughty tales for more years than she’d like to share – her adventures as a published author began in 2011. Once upon a time she was the lead singer in an indie rock band that toured the West Coast and charted on U.S. college radio. She currently resides on the northern Oregon coast and when she’s not fantasizing about hot men she takes walks along the ocean and annoys the local Karaoke bar patrons.

Where to find the author:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authormorticiaknight?fref=nf
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MorticiaKnight

 Tour Dates & Stops: August 11 – 17, 2015
11-Aug Decadent Delights, Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My, Two Chicks Obsessed With Books and Eye Candy, LeAnn’s Book Reviews
12-Aug BFD Book Blog, V’s Reads, My Fiction Nook, Divine Magazine
13-Aug Amanda C. Stone, Jessie G. Books, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Mikky’s World of Books, Charley Descoteaux
14-Aug Molly Lolly, Velvet Panic, Parker Williams, TTC Books and More, Love Bytes
17-Aug Prism Book Alliance, Happily Ever Chapter, Rainbow Gold Reviews, 3 Chicks After Dark, Wake Up Your Wild Side, The Jena Wade

Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: A signed paperback of Building Bonds, flogger keychain and a $25 Amazon gift card. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.
Rafflecopter Code:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

A M/M Anthology Spotlight: First Timers Anthology from Torquere Books

First Timers Anthology from Torquere Press

Stories from Authors Rob Rosen, Gacy Grant, Evelyn Burkhardt,
Jacey Mills, Andrea Dalling, Helena Maeve, Erin McRae & Racheline Maltese,
Megan McFerren, Val Prozorova, McKay, Katherine Halle

Publisher: Torquere Press
Cover Artist: BSClay
Release Date: August 12, 2015

Sales Links: Torquere Books

About First Timers Anthology

First Timers brings you a collection of eleven stories about first experiences. From sweet and innocent to smoking hot, these stories capture the exhilarating feeling that something wonderful is about to happen.

Humor and passion blend in Rob Rosen’s “Come Hell or High Water,” Gacy Grant treats us to a heartwarming first in “The Pickup,” long-time friends become lovers in “The King’s Guard” by Evelyn Burkhardt and “One Sneeze, a Wish, Two Sneezes, a Kiss” by Jacey Mills, and revelations abound first time away from home in Andrea Dalling’s “What a Man Wants” and Helena Maeve’s “Initiation.” “Sample and Hold” by Erin McRae and Racheline Maltese, Megan McFerren’s “Just Like That,” and Val Prozorova’s “Guitar Lesson” explore the intensity of a first coming out, first time, first kiss, while love can be found where you least expect it in “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” by McKay and “Finding Home” by Katherine Halle.

Whether contemporary or fantastical, past or present, a sweet kiss on a riverbank or reveling in the Bayou, these stories are all uplifting, fun, and did we mention hot?

Pages or Words: 74,000 words
Categories: Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Romance

Excerpt

 “We’re here,” Duncan said, parking the car and stretching in the driver’s seat. He looked out the window. “Looks fairly unassuming. That’s always a good thing. They a have a menu posted outside as well.”

He got out of the car and met Brian on the sidewalk where they both looked at the menu. Duncan had barely made it past the appetizer section when the door opened and a middle-aged woman with a smile on her face stepped out.

“You must be Duncan and Brian. We’ve been expecting you. René and Lexa are already inside. Please come in, join them.” She gestured to them with her hand.

Brian and Duncan followed her through the front room toward the back of the restaurant, to an alcove with a table set for four. The shifter they had met last year stood as they approached the table and Duncan again took note of the man’s thick—although unusually short—arms.

“Afternoon, wo’ves,” he grinned, showing his teeth and extending his hand for a shake. “It’s good to be seein’ you again. Wasn’ sure you’d come.”

Duncan shook his hand, surprised at the strength of his grip.

“Neither were we,” Brian answered, reaching his own hand out tentatively.

“How’d tha’ bite heal?” René asked, gripping Brian’s hand without the same obvious squeeze he’d given Duncan. He placed his other hand gently over their joined hands and patted Brian.

Duncan watched as Brian’s face flushed before he answered.

“Um, just fine, thanks. Sorry we trespassed.”

“S’all righ’,” René said with a grin. “Sorry I bit you. I ten’ to git snappish with strangers in ma territory.”

“Understandable,” Brian said.

René finally let go of Brian’s hand. “Lemme introduce to you ma second, Lexa.”

The tall brunette who had remained seated now stood and smiled warmly at both of them. “You’ll have to forgive my brother. Sometimes he lets his animal side take precedence. I’m Lexa.” She extended her hand to both Duncan and Brian in turn. Duncan noted her strong grip, her almost fully black eyes, and the grin that appeared to be just as toothy as René’s.

Tour Date: August 12, 2015:
Parker Williams, Havan Fellows, Wake Up Your Wild Side, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Molly Lolly, BFD Book Blog, Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My, Inked Rainbow Reads, Bayou Book Junkie, Redz World, Divine Magazine, Boys on the Brink Reviews, Happily Ever Chapter, Velvet Panic, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, MM Good Book Reviews, The Jena Wade

Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of the ‘First Timers’ anthology. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by the publisher and Pride Promotions.

Rafflecopter Code:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Can A Seattle Baker Hold the Recipe for Love? Find Out with Definitely, Maybe, Yours by Lissa Reed

Definitely, Maybe, Yours by Lissa Reed
Release Date: August 11, 2015

★★★★★

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Interlude Press
Cover Artist: Cover photography by LaToya Conward 
Cover design by Buckeyegrrl Designs

Sales Links: Interlude Press | Smashwords |Amazon
Our books are also available for order from the Apple iBookstore, Book Depository and Indiebound.

Blurb:

Seattle-based baker Craig Oliver leads a life that is happily routine: baking cupcakes for an enormous family reunion, managing Sucre Coeur for its frequently absent owner, and closing out his day with a pint at the local pub. He has a kind heart, a knack for pastry, and a weakness for damaged people.

Habitual playboy Alex Scheff is looking to drown his sorrows, but instead discovers that he may have a weakness for Englishmen who carry cookies in their pockets. Can a seemingly incompatible pair find the recipe for love in a relationship they claim is casual?

Pages or Words: 296 pages
Categories: Contemporary, Fiction, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Romance

Excerpt:

With a wink, Craig pulls a ten-dollar bill out of his left coat pocket and a carefully bagged almond and raspberry-lemon croissant, Katie’s all-time favorite baked good, out of the right. He passes them across the bar as if he’s James Bond—a very cheeky and cheery sort of 007. “You know I’ll always look out for you. Keep the change.”

Katie squeals and flops across the bar to squeeze him breathless, and her ponytail slaps him in the nose. She bounces off with her treat in hand and Craig shakes his head and pulls long black and red hairs from his face, as he does every time this happens. Katie really is his favorite bartender at The Order of the Garter, hell, his favorite bartender in Seattle and maybe even the world. Much too good to be working at a grotty little pub, fending off unsavory advances and spilled drinks four nights a week; that’s why Craig will bring her any bakery treat she wants, anytime she wants it, until she finally wises up and gets the hell out of this place.

Time for another sip of this excellent, excellent stout: Craig reaches forward. It’s a good Thursday.

Of course, that’s when it takes quite the sharp turn, leaving every Seattle-pub-Thursday Craig’s ever known in the dust.

“Well, aren’t you a hit with the ladies,” comes a surly drawl from his left, startling Craig just as he’s got his fingers around his glass. “Was that a croissant in your pocket, or were you actually happy to see her?”

“Both,” Craig replies, shifting around to lean on his elbow and survey the formerly silent pile of misery hunched over two stools down, the limp guy at the end of the bar Craig had spotted on his way in. He is not unconscious after all, much to Craig’s surprise; judging by the row of empty shot glasses upside down in front of him and the distinct aroma of tequila emanating a good four-foot radius from his person, he should be. Craig winces and turns away as the fumes burn his nose.

“Baked goods. That’s a new one. Never saw anyone use baking to hit on the ladies before.” Mr. Misery sways his head upright, pushes a wild flop of brown hair out of his eyes and swings around until he locates Craig. He blinks. “Does it work?”

Surprised by the color of the eyes meeting his—an unusual shade, gray, not blue-gray or blue, but the gray of a sky covered in early storm clouds—Craig answers without thinking. “I wouldn’t know. I don’t hit on girls. Katie’s my friend, not my type.”

About the author:

Lissa Reed is a writer of fiction, blogs and bawdy Renaissance song parodies. She traces her first interest in becoming a writer to the fourth grade, when her teacher gave her the gift of her first composition book. A former newspaper editor, Reed shifted her focus to romance and literary fiction early in her writing career. She lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and is currently working on her new novel, Certainly, Possibly, You—the sequel to Definitely, Maybe, Yours.

Where to find the author:

Connect with Lissa Reed at

Website: http://www.lissareed.com; on
Tumblr at http://lissareedbooks.tumblr.com/; on
Twitter @LissaReedBooks; on
Goodreads at http://goodreads.com/LissaReedBooks and on
Facebook at http://facebook.com/LissaReedAutho r

Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: Grand Prize: $25 Interlude Press gift card. Second prize: One of five e-copies of ‘Definitely, Maybe, Yours. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.

Rafflecopter Code:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Stops:

11-Aug
Happily Ever Chapter
Jessie G. Books
Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

(Check out Mika’s 5 Star Review here )
12-Aug
Prism Book Alliance
MM Good Book Reviews
Mikky’s World of Books
13-Aug
Nephylim
Bayou Book Junkie
14-Aug
Amanda C. Stone
Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews
Love Bytes
17-Aug
Divine Magazine
Hearts on Fire
18-Aug
Two Chicks Obsessed With Books and Eye Candy
19-Aug
Because Two Men Are Better Than One
20-Aug
Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My
BFD Book Blog
21-Aug
Molly Lolly
Inked Rainbow Reads
24-Aug
My Fiction Nook
Dawn’s Reading Nook
Rainbow Gold Reviews

Into the Spotlight: Looking For Home ( More Than Friends #9) by Aria Grace (excerpt and contest)

Looking For Home ( More Than Friends #9) by Aria Grace
Release Date: August 15, 2015

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Surrendered Press
Cover Artist: Kris Kendall

Sales Links: Amazon | Nook | Itunes

Evan spends half the week on the road, literally, and the rest of his time sitting around in an empty house. Killing time and drowning his hopes of ever finding someone to share his life with. Someone to come home to.

When he meets Georgie at a New Year’s Eve, Evan’s entire perspective changes.

Pages or Words: Approximately 35,000 words
Categories: Contemporary, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, New Adult

 Bill, bill, coupon, coupon, bill, and a big black envelope addressed to me. An invite, maybe? I don’t see my name in calligraphy very often but it looks good.

Mr. Georgie Kelton

Most of the mail that comes to the penthouse is not for me so I rarely look through it. I mostly toss it in a pile for Spencer or Dylan to take care of when they’re in town. But for the past two weeks I’ve been checking every day for something important. Not just something. The one thing that could get me pointed in the right direction for a real career in fashion.

The Bijou Design Summit for Fashion in New York accepts six up-and-comers with no experience or schooling into their Page program for the week of the event. It’s not glamourous work but if I get accepted as a page, it’ll be worth a few years of practical experience right there. Fast-tracking my fashion aspirations from a ten year plan to a five year plan would be huge.

I’ve had dreams of starting my own fashion line since I was a kid but I couldn’t risk anyone catching me with a sketch pad full of wedding gowns so I put those dreams on hold.

Once I ran away and started dancing, I all but forgot about the goal. It wasn’t until Spencer and Dylan encouraged me to start sketching again that I even considered a career in fashion was possible.

But here I am, waiting for a letter from New York that will tell me if my dreams are more than fantasy. If I have what it takes to even stand in the same room as the people I’ve idolized since the day I thumbed through my mom’s Cosmopolitan magazine.

And as much as I want to say getting to New York is all about fashion, I know that’s a lie. It’s about more. I want more.

My friends are all beginning to couple up around me and it’s becoming harder to ignore the lack of a better half in my own life. I have fun with my tricks and I’m physically satisfied but watching them get dressed and go home to their wives or kids or wherever they go after they get their rocks off with me is starting to wear me down.

A five-year plan is perfect. Just enough time for me to put together a decent portfolio, make some contacts in the industry, and work my way out of whoring. It’s a good gig while you can get it but I can’t do this forever. And I won’t try. Wouldn’t want to even if I could.

Dropping all the junk mail on the counter, I take the invitation with me as I flop on the white leather couch. The Christmas tree is still standing in the corner but the unusually sunny day drowns out all the holiday cheer that filled the penthouse just twenty four hours ago.

With Dylan and Spencer back in California to spend time with Andre and his new boyfriend, Frankie, the penthouse is more lonely than ever.

Pulling open the corner of the black envelope with my teeth, I shake it sideways until the single notecard falls into my lap.

You’re Invited
Ring in the New Year with Chance and Vinnie
Black Tie Attire
10pm  Private Mezzanine
at The Heathman Hotel

A party at The Heathman? Are Chance and Vinnie going all 50 Shades on us? I haven’t spent much time with those guys but what I do know about them is all good. It sounds like just the kind of party I love but I have other plans.

Theo promised to ditch his wife on New Year’s and spend the evening with me. The tyrant he’s married to keeps his holiday schedule locked up during the entire month of December but he’s already given her an excuse about having to entertain some colleagues from the United Arab Emirates.

If all goes well, that ball in New York won’t be the only one getting some action on Saturday night. Being a high-end rent boy guarantees I have sex nightly when I’m working, but Theo will cuddle.

Sometimes.

If he doesn’t have to rush out, he’ll hold me until I fall asleep. But it’s been too long since he hasn’t had to rush out so Saturday can’t come soon enough.

While I’m thinking of him, I can’t resist a quick text.

I’ve sent the proposal.

Because his wife is always monitoring his phone when she’s around, I have to start every text with an innocuous phrase that won’t raise any suspicions.

Thanks. In a meeting. Will review tonight.

Tonight? I wasn’t expecting him to come over tonight. I quickly thumb through my scheduling app to make sure I’m free. I have one client at 7:00 but will be free by 9:00 so I send him a coded reply.

I’ll be offline until 9. Will look for your comments then.

Confirmed.

Confirmed! He’s coming tonight.

I toss the invite onto the coffee table and jump out of my seat. If I’m going to see my sugar daddy tonight, I need to do some prep work. I haven’t waxed in a week and I could use a pedicure.

Theo also likes lace so I spend the next hour trying on lingerie until I find a pair of panties that displays my package the best. The red lace against my pale skin has the same classic thing that my girl Taylor rocks.

The best part is they’re assless. The straps that hold the front together fit snugly under my cheeks, giving me a bit more of a bubble butt than nature intended. Again, exactly how Theo likes me.

Personally, my style is more about beauty and comfort than purely being femme. But, Theo has a thing for princesses. His wife is a princess but more beast than beauty.

So I give him what he wants. He doesn’t pay me anymore, not in terms of my nightly rates. He gives me something far more valuable than the cash I get from every other trick. Theo gives me affection. It’s not a perfect relationship right now, but as soon as he leaves the ice queen, we can be together.

Of course, if the page job in NYC comes through, I may have to reevaluate everything, including my patience with Theo.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Aria enjoys the year round sunshine and laid back environment of the west coast. She lives with her husband and two children on a quiet hill that gives her lots of time to read and write. Once she ventured into the exciting world of gay romance, she never looked back. She loves to hear from readers so please feel free to drop her a note or visit her at http://www.ariagracebooks.com.

Where to find the author:
Facebook: http://bit.ly/FollowAriaGrace
Amazon Author Page
Twitter: @ariagracebooks
Pinterest

Tour Dates & Stops: August 11, 2015
Parker Williams, Happily Ever Chapter, Charley Descoteaux, Bayou Book Junkie, Molly Lolly, MM Good Book Reviews, V’s Reads, BFD Book Blog, TTC Books and More, Carly’s Book Reviews, Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My. Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Christy Loves 2 Read, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Iyana Jenna, Velvet Panic, Inked Rainbow Reads, Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: $25 Amazon Gift card and paperback of Looking for Home (or other Aria Grace book). Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.
Rafflecopter Code:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday Afternoon Book Blast: Thianna Durston’s A Good Family Man (Corbin’s Bend,Season Three #8) (excerpt and contest)

A Good Family Man (Corbin’s Bend,Season Three #8) by Thianna Durston

Release Date: August 6th 2015

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Blushing Books

Sales Link: Amazon

Blurb:

Jack Carmichael’s natural instinct is to take care of people. In his job as a U.S. Marshal, he has done that for 25 years. Unfortunately, being married to his job has left his love life in tatters. Now classified unfit for duty, he retires and comes home to Colorado to figure things out. Dominant and used to taking control like his brother Brent, he has never been interested in spanking. Until a cute Nurse Practitioner catches his attention.

Josh Martin feels lucky. He’s not only accepted into Corbin’s Bend, but he’ll be working at the brand new Corbin’s Bend Medical Clinic as its only Nurse Practitioner. At thirty-two, he figures this is his last-ditch attempt at finding a dominant partner who isn’t abusive. He finds more than his share of dominant men in Corbin’s Bend, not the least of which are the Carmichael brothers. Brent’s dominance is both comforting and unnerving, Jack’s turns him on.

Josh is unlike any submissive male Jack has encountered and when the younger man asks him out, he decides to give it a go. One day of fun turns into two, three…until Jack, with more failed relationships than he can count in his past and unsure he can be the head of house Josh needs, leaves, burying himself once again in work. Forced to see the error of his decision, he puts aside the worries that have plagued him for months and returns to Corbin’s Bend. To become the good family man he wants to be, he has to earn back Josh’s trust and truly take on a role he’s never considered before: head of a loving discipline household.

Pages or Words:

Categories: BDSM, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Romance

Excerpt:

About the author:

Thianna likes to say she’s eclectic, fun, and just a bit naughty. She can also add, subtract, multiply, and divide in her head, but if people ask her to do it at parties, she isn’t impressed. While she would love to say there wasn’t a genre she had read that she didn’t enjoy, it would be a lie. For some reason, she keeps skipping to the ends of mystery books to find out who done it.

The creator and acquisition editor for the Corbin’s Bend Romance series, she wants to know: Who else wants to be safe, secure, and spanked in Colorado?

Under the name Thianna Durston, she writes M/M romance. Under Thianna D., she writes M/F romance.

Where to find the author:

Thianna’s Website – http://mm.thiannad.com/
Thianna’s Blog – http://blog.thiannad.com/
Facebook Author Page – https://www.facebook.com/ThiannaDurstonAuthor
Twitter – https://twitter.com/ThiannaDurston
Google+ – https://plus.google.com/u/0/+ThiannaDurston

Tour Dates & Stops:

Parker Williams, Foxylutely Book Reviews, BFD Book Blog, Molly Lolly, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Rainbow Gold Reviews, Bike Book Reviews, The Blogger Girls, Carly’s Book Reviews, Love Bytes, Inked Rainbow Reads, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, MM Good Book Reviews, Velvet Panic, Because Two Men Are Better Than One, Multitasking Mommas, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, 3 Chicks After Dark, My Fiction Nook, Sinfully Addicted to All Male Romance, Amanda C. Stone, LeAnn’s Book Reviews, Divine Magazine, Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves, Chris McHart, Iyana Jenna

Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: $5.00 gift card and copy of ‘A Good Family Man’ on release. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Its SciFy Friday with Chris T. Kat! Author Interview , New Release Breeding Stations (Alliances #1) and a Giveaway!

Breeding Stations (Alliances #1) by Chris T. Kat
Release Date: July 27, 2015

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Anne Cain

Sales Links: Dreamspinner eBook & Paperback | Amazon | All Romance (ARe) |

My Interview with Chris T. Kat On Pets!

Hi Chris, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

Tell us about your pets – past or present. Pictures are a must! (Not really, but they would be welcome.)

Do you know those kids that always wanted to have pets, but the parents didn’t allow it? Yep, I’m one of those, although it was only my mother who was against it. My stepfather simply bypassed her by bringing me a pair of guinea pigs one day. Of course, my mother wasn’t happy at first, but at least she tolerated them. I’m not sure I still have pictures of them, but their names were Ricky and Domingo. Since then, I’ve had guinea pigs pretty much all the time. For the past 13 years, we always had two boys. At the moment, we only have one guinea pig named Sam. He’s an old fellow now, and loves to cuddle and sleep in the curve of our arms. As soon as he needs to go pee, he alerts us by pulling at our clothes—that can get a bit painful during summer months, when he nips at our skin.

As I said we usually had two guinea pigs, and whenever one of them died due to age or illness, we got a new one. But after our Sky died last year, our kids didn’t want a new one. Sky had been very friendly to everyone: he came when you called him, and he always hopped and ran around. He was a real character, and we still miss him. We still have our Sam, and hope he’ll be around for some time in the future.

Spunky commander Berit Turner is known for two things: his huge libido and his lack of a filter—he says what he thinks. Berit sets his mind on being part of the mission to Ligador, to make sure the planet is habitable for humans. He’s ecstatic when his team is assigned to the task force. A delegation of Nadisc, a humanoid alien race, accompanies them, and passion ignites between Berit and their commanding officer, Tom. But Berit is determined that Tom is just another notch on his bedpost, as he doesn’t do relationships.

The excursion to Ligador goes wrong from the beginning, when they discover Ligador has been established as a breeding station by their worst enemy: the Tash’Ba. Dinosaur-like creatures become the team’s worst nightmare, and staying alive is going to take everything they’ve got… and then some.

Pages or Words: 204 pages or about 65,000 words

Categories: M/M Romance, Science Fiction

Excerpt from Chapter Two

Several alarmed shouts warned me of something going on, but I had no time to process what happened. Something roped around my waist and yanked me over to the side. I crashed into Tom’s chest as a harsh growling sound erupted from his throat.

I tried jerking myself free, but he held onto my wrists with one hand, while his tail kept me tethered to his body. “What the hell?”

Niyara squared off in front of Tom, her dark eyes gleaming with an eerie, demonic red glint where her pupils should’ve been. Her long tail swished from one side to the other and her arm muscles flexed.

“What the ever-loving fuck is going on?” I asked.

“Quiet!” Tom hissed.

My mouth fell open, and I gaped at him. Okay. Enough was enough. I caught the tip of his tail in my hand and pinched it—hard. He roared, but I used the chance to slip free. A Nadisc’s tail tip was the most sensitive part, which came in handy during sex but was a real disadvantage in a fight. Or maybe not. I’d never heard of someone winning a fight against a Nadisc when—

Niyara’s fist closing around my shirt stopped all my pondering. She lifted me off my feet, hissing and boring her eerie gaze into mine. Maybe I should’ve stayed with Tom. He’d felt slightly less dangerous than she did.

Carson appeared next to Niyara’s side, eyes as large as saucers but an equally determined look on his face. He reached out. As soon as he touched her arm, her head whirled around. I held my breath. Would he be able to save me from Niyara’s wrath? She’d seemed rather taken with him earlier. What the hell had I done, anyway, to agitate her?

As I wracked my brain, Carson and Niyara gazed at each other. The next instant he rose on tiptoes and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

She let go of my shirt, and I would’ve landed flat on my ass if Tom hadn’t snatched me around the waist. Niyara rested her head on Carson’s shoulder, which meant she had to stoop because of her height. No one said anything, and no one moved for what seemed like a long time. When she lifted her head, several people—including me—hissed, afraid of what she’d do next.

Niyara bowed her head toward Tom. “I apologize for my outburst. I’ve never encountered a jealousy spell before.”

“Jealousy spell?” I echoed.

She gazed at me, suddenly looking sheepish. “Feeling such a strong connection is new to me, and I didn’t like Carson using an endearment toward you.”

I blinked, then looked over at Carson. He gawked, and his eyes were the same size as before. Would they stay like that forever?

Niyara swept an arm around to include everyone in her proclamation, which resulted in startled jerks and coughs.

“I’m claiming Carson as my mate. Anyone who’d like to object has to fight me.”

No one objected. Everyone seemed busy inspecting their boots or the ceiling. I never noticed before how very ugly the hatch’s ceiling was.

“Berit!” Carson wheezed out.

I sighed and transferred my gaze from the ceiling to Carson. “Congrats?”

Someone cheered and the others followed suit, clapping their hands to add to the noise. Carson was so pale I feared he’d faint, but Niyara cupped his face in both hands and kissed him. After that, he didn’t seem to mind that much, not anymore.

Chuckling, I told the others to open the hatch and take up their position. The hatch opened with the usual buzz, but when I started to walk, Tom’s arms around my waist tightened to an almost painful level.

“Tell them to secure the area and wait for further instructions,” he whispered into my ear.

“Dream on. I won’t do—” My words ended abruptly when the steel bands around my waist left me no room for breathing.

“Now.”

Tom allowed me more breathing room, and I gave the desired order. No one looked twice or questioned my instruction, for which I’d have been grateful on any other day, just not today. Ticking off a Nadisc was a bad idea. One of the worst, really.

We waited until everyone had cleared the hatch’s area. Tom spun me around in his arms and lifted me up until we were face-to-face.

“You accepted me as your leader on this mission, remember? That means no punching me,” I said, “or doing anything that would harm me.”

Tom’s gaze intensified, and my mouth went dry when he spread out a red and orange speckled frill around his neck. I’d read about this display, but had never seen it before. Only a few Nadisc still had those frills—most opted for surgery because it gave away their emotions too easily—and those that did had a very tight control over it.

“But it’s okay for you to hurt me?” he rasped.

I tried to reason with him. “I… look, I’m the commander here. You can’t just order me around or hold me captive, okay?”

“Niyara could’ve killed you.”

I shrugged. “She didn’t, and she’ll just have to get used to the way Carson and I talk to each other.”

The frill around his neck unfolded even more. He said, “I’m not fond of the way you talk to each other.”

I had an inkling where this conversation was headed. I had an even bigger inkling that I’d panic if Tom said anything, so I closed my eyes, wrapped my arms around his neck—over the frill, which was kind of awkward—and sought his mouth with mine.

He opened up immediately, and I dipped my tongue into his mouth, licking along his teeth and eliciting an approving hum from him. Somehow I ended up with my legs wound around him and one of his hands steadying my ass.
When we broke apart for air, he said, “I won’t forget what you did.”

“I’ll make it up to you,” I replied. His eyes lit up with interest, so I added, “Deal?”

“Deal.”

Chris T. Kat lives in the middle of Europe, where she shares a house with her husband of many years and their two children. She stumbled upon the M/M genre by luck and was swiftly drawn into it. She divides her time between work, her family—which includes chasing after escaping horses and lugging around huge instruments such as a harp—and writing. She enjoys a variety of genres, such as mystery/suspense, paranormal, and romance. If there’s any spare time, she happily reads for hours, listens to audiobooks or does cross stitch.

Where to find the author:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ChrisTKat
Twitter: http://twitter.com/christi_kat
GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/ChrisTKat
Blog: http://christikat.blogspot.com
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Chris-T.-Kat/e/B008FQQH2Q

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: $20 Amazon gift card. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.
Rafflecopter Code:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Dates and Stops

28-Jul

29-Jul

30-Jul

31-Jul

3-Aug

4-Aug

5-Aug

6-Aug

7-Aug

10-Aug

The Sirius’ Wolf Pack is back in Broken Circle by Victoria Sue (excerpt and giveaway)

Broken Circle (Sirius’ Wolves #2) by Victoria Sue
Release Date: July 31, 2015

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Dark Hollows Press
Cover Artist: 3 Rusted Spoons

Sales Links:

Blaze, the most powerful werewolf on the planet has found his omega, Aden. Together with Conner and Darric they finally become true mates, fulfilling an ancient prophecy by the goddess Sirius and forming Orion’s Circle. The battle against the terrorist group, the Winter Circle, has begun.

Blaze, however, is fighting his own battle. Aden is due to birth a child, and despite Blaze’s six hundred years of being an Alpha, nothing has prepared him for his hardest challenge yet — how to become a father. His struggles are hurting the people he loves the most and threatening their bond.

The madman who kidnapped and tortured Aden still hasn’t been caught, and when the worst happens and their circle is broken, Blaze has to fight his biggest threat yet – his own inner weakness – an enemy against which his Alpha strength will be useless. Blaze has to learn that true strength is only found in forgiveness, and sometimes the most powerful weapon is love.

Pages or Words: 47,000 words

Categories: M/M Romance, Menage/Poly, Paranormal

Sales Links:

MM Love stories – because the only thing better than one hot guy is two of them.

Has loved books for as long as she can remember. Books were always what pocket money went on and what usually Father Christmas brought. When she ran out of her kids’ adventure stories, she would go raid her mom’s. By the age of eight she was devouring classics like Little Women, and fell in love with love stories. She’s still in love with them. Any size, any shape, any creature – love is love, no matter what it says on the box. In fact if they don’t fit very neatly into any box she loves them even more! She has a very patient husband and three wonderful children. In 2010 in search of adventure they all moved from the UK to the US and are happily settled in Florida. Finally, after reading love stories for so long, she decided to write her own.

Where to find the author:
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/victoriasueauthor
Twitter: @vickysuewrites
Blog: http://www.victoriasue.com

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: Any book from Victoria Sue’s catalogue of books
Rafflecopter Code:

 Tour Dates & Stops:
3-Aug
BFD Book Blog, Full Moon Dreaming, Inked Rainbow Reads
4-Aug
MM Good Book Reviews, The Blogger Girls
5-Aug
Bayou Book Junkie, Sinfully Addicted to All Male Romance
6-Aug
Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My, Prism Book Alliance
7-Aug
Molly Lolly, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Love Bytes

Our Pat Henshaw Interview and Book Spotlight! Redesigning Max  (Foothills Pride #2) by Pat Henshaw

Redesigning Max  (Foothills Pride #2) by Pat Henshaw
Release Date: July 29, 2015

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: AngstyG

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon

Author Interview

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Pat Henshaw, author of Redesigning Max.

Hi, Pat, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

Hi! I’m originally from Nebraska and have lived all over the U. S., landing here in Northern California. Now retired, I’ve held a number of jobs including theatrical costuming for the Alley Theatre in Houston, public relations for radio and television at WETA in D. C., and teaching English composition at a junior college in California.

Redesigning Max, the second of the Foothills Pride novellas, revolves around the unlikely pair of interior designer and architect Fredi Zimmer and the CEO of an outdoors equipment store and wildlife guide Max Greene. When he hires Fredi to redesign and update his Sierra Mountain mountain cabin, Max finds his life and heart undergoing a makeover too.

Not everyone in the small Stone Acres, California, community is as excited about Max and Fredi getting together as the guys are. Because Max’s been in the closet so long, he not only has to convince his friends that he’s gay but he also has to convince Fredi, who keeps getting mixed signals from him.

Do you have pictures that you use for your characters? Can you share them with us?

Yes, for this book, in my head I saw Fredi as Chris Colfer, so I watched a number of Glee episodes as well as looked at the accompanying photo of Chris. Max always looked like Aaron Eckhart with the addition of a droopy mustache to me and sounded like Sam Elliot.

What kind of book would you like to write that people would see as a huge departure for you?

I’d love to be able to write a children’s or YA book. Since I’ve never tried to write either one, they would be a larger-than-life departure for me. I’ve already tackled murder mysteries, fantasy (self-published The Vampire’s Food Chain about a vampire becoming a god), and het romance (as well as my gay romance Foothills Pride series).

Have you ever killed a character? Was it traumatic for you? If you haven’t killed one, would you ever consider it?

Not in the Foothills Pride series, no. I don’t think I’ll be killing off anyone in any of the gay romances I write. I have killed off characters in my futuristic fantasy novel, The Vampire’s Food Chain, but he was a vampire who needed killing. And when I was writing murder mysteries, well, a dead body is de rigueur, right?

Favorite location you’ve ever written about?

I like the Sierra Foothills where I’ve set the Foothills Pride series. I was particularly pleased when a friend of mine who grew up in the foothills told me I’d gotten the places and the people right. In fact, she said she knew Lorraine and Bud’s Rock Bottom Café really well. Since I hadn’t based it on any one place, I took that as a compliment. The last time we drove around the foothills I was saddened to see to see the place which I used as Guy’s Stonewall Saloon in What’s in a Name? wasn’t a bar anymore. It seems to be a warehouse now. Darn.

Introduce us to characters from a work in progress

Adam, the main character in When Adam Fell, is a renowned celebrity chef who walked away from his high-profile job in San Francisco to open a small foothills restaurant, Sierra Bistro. There he cooks a one seating prix fixe meal four times a week for friends, celebraties, and millionaires from the Lake Tahoe and San Francisco Bay Areas. Before he turned his back on the San Francisco gig, he was the host of his own cooking show on TV and had written a couple of bestselling cookbooks. Why he left his high-profile job and what he’s going to do next with his life are the focal points of his book.

Thanks, Pat, for stopping by and for the great interview! Please come back!

Renowned interior designer Fredi Zimmer is surprised when outdoorsman Max Greene, owner of Greene’s Hunting and Fishing, hires him to remodel his rustic cabin in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Fredi is an out and proud Metro male whose contact with the outdoors is from his car to the doorway of the million-dollar homes’ he remodels, and Max is just too hunky gorgeous for words.

When Max starts coming on to Fredi, the designer can’t imagine why. But he’s game to put a little spice into Max’s life, even if it’s just in the colors and fixtures he’ll use to turn Max’s dilapidated rustic cabin into a showplace. Who can blame a guy for adding a little sensual pleasure as he retools Max’s life visually?

Max, for his part, is grateful when Fredi takes him in hand, both metaphorically and literally. Coming out, he finds is the most exciting and wonderful time of his life, despite the conservative former friends who want to stop his slide into hell.

Pages or Words: 73 pages

Categories: Contemporary, Gay Fiction, Romance

By the time we got to the Rock Bottom Cafe, I felt like I’d bottomed out. I was hungry, tired, and feeling the first twinges of a headache.
Max hadn’t exaggerated about how much I’d hate the Rock Bottom’s decor. It was the worst of rural cafe: hellacious plastic flowers, grotesque plastic-covered booths, peeling gangrene-painted beadboard walls, pockmarked linoleum floor, and faded food-stained menus. It made the cabin look almost palatial, except it didn’t smell as bad.
As Max slid into one side of a booth and I into the other, he said, “Food’s great here. Okay?”
I glared at him, but I had to admit the odors coming from the kitchen wove seductively around us.
After we’d ordered and had gotten glasses of iced tea, which I liberally dosed with artificial sweetener, Max leaned back in his side of the booth and blew out a little breath.
“So guess here’s what you need to know about me.” He was looking at the tabletop. “I was an only kid when my folks died. Raised by my aunt and uncle with their four boys. I was the youngest and nobody cared what I thought, so I don’t talk much.”
Oh dear. I wasn’t sure which of those statements I should answer, if any. My heart bled for the beautiful man in front of me who would give me a raging hard-on if I let my libido take control.
His words and lack of self-pity made me want to create a unique space where he’d feel completely at home and that would soothe him when he needed it. I probably wouldn’t end up his BFF or someone he could unbend with, but I could create a warm cocoon to shelter and coddle the man or let him entertain his friends comfortably.
The image of the young Max feeling like an outsider when he was thrust on his uncaring aunt and uncle to raise was banished by the waitress who put lunch in front of us.
“Oh. My. God!” I nearly drooled into the chili and homemade bread as I tasted them. “This is incredible.”
“What’d I tell you?” Max gloated. “Said you shouldn’t be put off by the decor. Some of us are more than our decor.”
I spooned up a couple of bites, then looked at Max. “You really do think I’m a snob, don’t you?”
Why was it so easy to get him to blush? I hadn’t a clue, but his quick, mercurial red cheeks had me intrigued.
“No, no, I don’t think you’re a snob,” he protested. “I mean, you’re just so….” He waved a couple of fingers at me, but kept his elbows on the table as if protecting his bowl of chili.
“I’m so what?”
Max shrugged. “I don’t know. Beautiful. And fancy,” he added, ducking his head over his bowl.
Ah, I understood now. Max was intimidated by my suit.
“Look, you came to get me in the coffee shop. I was dressed to take a rich lady through her house later this afternoon. I can work in jeans and a T-shirt”—did Max think I wore suits every day?—“or anything I want. Pajamas even. You just caught me on a suit day.” Which, I didn’t add, was too often for even my overblown sense of style.
Now Max was staring at me.
“Yeah, right. You wear jeans,” he scoffed, but looked interested, intrigued.
I shrugged. “Okay, not when I’m with a client. At home I’m way more casual.” I might have sounded a tad defensive.
“Yeah, right,” Max muttered with a grin.
I left it lying there. It wasn’t worth fighting about. But it bothered me that he saw such a divide between us. I was just a man, wasn’t I? Just like him, right? What was he going on about? Sheesh.

Pat Henshaw, author of the Foothills Pride series, was born in Nebraska but promptly left the cold and snow after college, living at various times in Texas, Colorado, Northern Virginia, and Northern California. Pat has visited Mexico, Canada, Europe, Nicaragua, Thailand, and Egypt, and regularly travels to Rome, Italy, and Eugene, Oregon, to see family.

Now retired, Pat has taught English composition at the junior college level; written book reviews for newspapers, magazines, and websites; helped students find information as a librarian; and promoted PBS television programs.

Pat has raised two incredible daughters who daily amaze everyone with their power and compassion. Pat’s supported by a husband who keeps her grounded in reality when she threatens to drift away writing fiction.

Where to find the author:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pat.henshaw.10
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6998437.Patois
Book website: http://whatsinanamenovella.blogspot.com
Website: http://patbooked.blogspot.com
E-mail: whatsinanamenovella@comcast.net
Tumblr: http://phenshaw.tumblr.com/
Twitter: @phenshaw

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: One of three $10 Starbucks Gift Cards. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.
Rafflecopter Code:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Dates & Stops:
29-Jul
Bike Book Reviews
Rainbow Gold Reviews
Hearts on Fire

30-Jul
Nephylim
Bayou Book Junkie

31-Jul
Parker Williams

3-Aug
Mikky’s World of Books
Prism Book Alliance

4-Aug
Velvet Panic
Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings

5-Aug
Happily Ever Chapter
Jessie G. Books

6-Aug
Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My
Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

7-Aug
Inked Rainbow Reads
MM Good Book Reviews

10-Aug
Molly Lolly

11-Aug
The Novel Approach
Divine Magazine

Anna Butler is Here Talking SciFy, Aliens, Romance and Heart Scarab! (Author Interview, Excerpt and Contest)

Heart Scarab (Taking Shield #2) by Anna Butler
Release Date: July 22, 2015

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Wilde City Press
Cover Artist: Adrian Nicholas

Sales Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Kobo

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Anna Butler, author of Heart Scarab.
Hi Anna, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

First, thank you for hosting me today. I’m delighted to be here.

Heart Scarab is the second of the Taking Shield series, which charts the life and loves of Shield Captain Bennet. Taking Shield is both a sweeping sci-fi story (old school sci-fi with spaceships and lasers, aliens and handsome heroes) and an equally sweeping love story. I should warn you, though, that it isn’t a romance in the sense that it won’t be what most m/m romance readers would expect.

Thousands of years after an alternate-universe Earth went dark, the people of one of her colonies, Albion, are struggling in a war that’s probably unwinnable, against aliens called the Maess. Although humans have been fighting the aliens’ cyborg drones for over a century, they haven’t seen a real, organic Maess. Set against the war, is the love story between Bennet and Fleet Lieutenant Flynn. They meet in the first book, Gyrfalcon, but for various reasons theirs isn’t going to be an easy love. They meet and part several times before the end. In Heart Scarab, Bennet’s return after being declared missing in action, presumed dead, puts intolerable strain on his relationship with his long term partner, Joss, but paves the way for a reunion with Flynn.
As for me, I worked for the UK civil service for many years as a communications specialist, working on everything from marketing employment programmes to running an internal TV service. These days I’m concentrating on trying to make it as a writer, combining my love of old school science fiction and m/m themes. I live in London with my husband and our cockapoo, Molly. We’re currently house hunting, looking for a country retreat.
• Do you buy a book because of the cover, the blurb, or something else?

That depends. I won’t say that I buy books *because of* either of those things, but if I’m trawling Amazon or a bookshop they do influence which books I’ll look into and which I’ll then consider buying.

I’m a very visual person, so the cover will catch my eye first. Truly, all the advice you read about getting a good cover that tells the reader something about the story, really holds true. Terrible cover, and I probably won’t even get to the blurb to see if it’s worth pursuing.

If the book comes to me as a recommendation, I’ll usually not let the cover influence me too much (beyond a wince if it’s dire).

Best possible tool – the ‘look inside’ feature on Amazon, or the sample. That really gives you a feel for if you’re going to get on with this author and book.

• What does ‘romance’ mean to you?

‘Good storytelling’ and ‘strong characters’ and ‘lose yourself for an hour here’—heartfelt emotion and drama, eroticism, sex scenes in which the feelings and the relationship matter as much (more?) than the physical gymnastics, an ending that is happy/enriching/hopeful. Stories about love. Sometimes about loss. But ultimately uplifting stories that leave you feeling good.
• What are your current projects?

I’m currently working on the fourth Shield book, The Chains Of Their Sins. On the current timetable, it will be published around this time next year, so I have a little time to polish it up! In this book, Bennet and Flynn are thrown together again, but it isn’t all hearts and rainbows. In fact, it isn’t hearts and rainbows at all…

• What is the most difficult part of writing for you?

Not to edit as I go along. I have a terrible habit of tinkering with what I’ve written so far, trying to perfect it, rather than ploughing on to the end and then editing in its entirety. It is a bad habit, because I can spend hours dithering over word choices and syntax when I should be forging on with the plot. Scrivener helps because it’s a separate folder and document for each chapter, so going back to the beginning to read is several steps more complex than in a word processing programme like Word. Scrivener is breaking me of some bad habits!

• Tell us something about yourself that would surprise people.

I’ve ridden in the circus ring.

I was about five, and my parents took my sister (then about three) and I to a small circus visiting a nearby town. The clowns brought in a Shetland pony, trained to do tricks as part of their routine, and at the end the Ringmaster asked for a volunteer to ride it. I was down in the ring almost before the man finished speaking. I can just about remember noise and light and a lot of people’s faces as I rode three times around the ring, led by the chief clown. He had a red coat and blue trousers and that’s all I remember about him. The pony was called Pickles.

Thank you, Anna, that was wonderful!

Now more about Heart Scarab.

Blurb:

Telnos is an unpleasant little planet, inhabited by religious fanatics in the festering marshlands and unregistered miners running illegal solactinium mines up in the hills. But the Maess want Telnos, and Shield Captain Bennet’s job is to get out as many civilians as he can—a task that leaves him lying on Telnos while the last cutter of evacuees escapes in the teeth of the Maess invasion.

Bennet is listed missing in action, believed dead on a planet now overrun by Maess drones. His family is grieving. His long-term partner, Joss, is both mourning and guilt-ridden.

And Fleet Lieutenant Flynn? Flynn is desolate. Flynn is heart-broken… no. Flynn is just broken

Pages or Words: 97,900 words

Categories: Gay Fiction, Science Fiction

Excerpt:

Flynn liked kissing. In fact, Flynn considered himself something of an expert in the art. He’d tried it in all its forms, from the first tentative pressing together of juvenile lips that had you wondering what all the fuss was about, to the discovery that if you just opened your mouth and, you know, kind of moved everything, your tongue suddenly had a lot more positive uses than just allowing you to articulate clearly and swallow things without choking. Flynn got the hang of it, ran with it, and never looked back.

Soft kisses and hard kisses; kisses that were wet and slobbery with people who didn’t know exactly how to hold their lips to get the best and sexiest effect, and wet and sexy kisses with people who did. Kisses that turned the blood to molten lava and kisses that cooled you as you came down. Kisses that inflamed and kisses that soothed; feverish kisses and languid after-sex kisses. Kisses that meant only good fellowship and casual affection, and kisses that were desire incarnate.

Flynn had not only tried them all, he’d made them his own. He was considered by all the relevant authorities to be rather a specialist in the area.

Flynn really liked kissing. He had been gratified by the discovery that Bennet liked it too. Because now he could add slow kisses to the repertoire. Kisses so leisured and intense the world came to a stop while a hot tongue moved over his lips, explored each and every tooth down to the last molar, while teeth pulled at his bottom lip, biting it gently until it was swollen and hot and heavy, and he had to lick his lip to cool it and met Bennet’s tongue with his. Only then, would Bennet’s mouth close over his and start a real in-earnest kiss that lasted several more centuries. Those were kisses Bennet seemed to specialise in.

Flynn was always willing to take tips from another expert. A man should always try to extend his technique.

About the author:

Anna Butler was a communications specialist for many years, working in UK government departments on everything from marketing employment schemes to running an internal TV service. She now spends her time indulging her love of old-school science fiction. She lives in the ethnic and cultural melting pot of East London with her husband and the Deputy Editor, aka Molly the cockapoo.

Where to find the author:

annabutlerfiction@gmail.com
Website and Blog
Facebook
The Butler’s Pantry (Facebook Group)
Pinterest
Twitter