Review: Lust and Other Drugs (Mythos #1) by T.J. Nichols

Rating: 4.5🌈

Urban Fantasy is a automatic read for me and when you throw in dragon shifters, well, I’m so there!

Lust and Other Drugs by T.J. Nichols satisfies both my book cravings and then some by also being a great start in a new urban fantasy series that has as one of the main characters a dragon shifter.

Nichols, whose world building is always layered and imaginative, throws readers into a place where humanity and mythological creatures aren’t exactly in a equal standing with each other. There’s a toxicity and outright hostility or speciesism apparent in every aspect of the relations. It’s a fascinating and believable state.

As a result of a scientific experiment, barriers between our world and the Mythos world collapses with horrific consequences, causing mythological beings, creatures we’ve only known through legends and myths to flee to our world as refugees. As we know that never works out well. The fear of the unknown, the different cultures and beliefs and beings makes things worse for the refugee situation. Including experimentation.

It’s a dark, grim and fascinating world full of possibilities and worlds of mythology Nichols is continuing to create.

Jordan, a gay cop who’s inwardly sympathetic to the mytho beings, rides the edges of his own life by taking a Fae drug called Bliss and frequenting Fae bars, something that could get him fired. Edra, a dragon, has been assigned to the San Francisco Police Department as a liaison for Mythological Services, a agency that works for all the supernatural creatures.

A case that involves murder, the illegal drug Bliss, coverups, lead to a dual team investigation with Jordan and Edra. Nichols weaves a intriguing interpersonal agency relationship with a complicated dynamic that starts to emerge between Edra and Jordan. Each with their own fears and prejudices, rife with past histories and cultural conflicts.

All this overlaid with a very neat , and complex police procedural that has to go forward with investigations into drug smuggling and murder.

Once you get into the complex storytelling and detailed narrative of Lust and Other Drugs it’s hard to emerge until you are finished.

And then you’re are onto the next. Luckily, they are all available for reading.

I’m highly recommending this story. It’s a fabulous book and start to a new series.

Mythos Series:

✓ Lust and Other Drugs #1

◦ Greed #2

◦ Envy #3

◦ Vanity #4

◦ Sloth and Other Delights #5

◦ Wrath and Other Troubles #6

◦ Gluttony and Other Hungers #7

Buy Link:

Lust and other Drugs: gay dragon shifter urban fantasy (Mytho)

Description:

Police officer Jordan and dragon shifter Edra might have to work together, but they don’t trust each other—even if sparks do fly between them.

If anyone finds out Jordan’s a mytho sympathizer, it could kill his career. No one can know that he frequents the satyr dens and uses the drug Bliss. A dead satyr might not get much attention, but two dead humans who appeared to overdose on Bliss? That shouldn’t even be possible.

And it might not be an accident.

Edra, the Mythological Services Liaison, has been covering up mytho crimes to protect the community’s reputation. With a mayoral election looming, the last thing his people need is a scandal.

To get a murderer off the streets, Jordan and Edra will be spending a lot of time together, and it won’t be easy to keep up with their deceptions… or to keep resisting each other.
~~~
Lust and other Drugs is the mm urban fantasy romance you’ve been waiting for; rich with creative and engaging world building, complicated characters, and an exploration of the intricacies of dragon mating rituals, Nichols gives a captivating and sensual touch to gay paranormal romance.

Book 1 in the gay urban fantasy series that follows Jordan and Edra as they solve crime and figure out how to improve Mytho and human relations. For readers who like dragon shifters and forbidden romance.

Review: Wolf Soul (Outcast Pack, #3) by T. J. Nichols

Rating: 4.5🌈

Wolf Soul , third in the Outcast Pack series, is my favorite to date. It changes up things by introducing a cat shifter, in this case, a leopard shifter as a mate. It also brings in toxic male sexual stereotypical roles, hypermasculinity, all within a werewolf pack or rigid community.

And the idea of what constitutes a leader within that rigid hierarchy.

So yes, this story covers a lot of ground with a short amount of length and does a great job of describing the issues and resolutions. It , the drama, will be also carried over to the next book.

Kyle Ashfield, supposedly head of the Outcast Pack , but not officially, as the group has not been recognized by the Coven, the Paranormal governing board. With all the attacks on its members and home, the Coven is sending a agent to investigate the situation and make recommendations.

That’s Cooper Badr, the leopard shifter.

The romance and relationship that comes from a meeting between Kyle and Cooper is sexy and full of emotion, especially when it’s fraught with questions about leadership roles and toxic masculinity from past history.

I read the story right through. It’s exciting, full of a great action and excellent relationship growth. The characters are very well written and the supporting cast are equally memorable.

It makes me want to reach for the next book immediately.

If you’re a fan of paranormal fiction and romance, here’s a series you will want to check out.

Read them in the order they are written for events, and relationships growth and development:

Outcast Pack:

✓ Wolf Heart #1

✓ Wolf Blood #2

✓ Wolf Soul #3

✓ Wolf Mate #4

◦ Wolf Lust #5 – March 28, 2023

Wolf Soul: mm opposites attract wolf shifter romance (Outcast Pack Book 3)

Description:

With the rival wolves closing in, fighting attraction is one battle they can’t win.

For the last couple of years, Kyle Ashfield’s friends have used his rural property as a place to gather and run beyond the territory of the official wolf packs. But now, their numbers have attracted attention, and some packs are not happy that a bunch of outcast wolves are living so freely.

Cooper Badr is a leopard shifter and the Coven agent tasked with interviewing and investigating the pack so the Coven can make an informed decision about its future. He’s supposed to be impartial, but around Kyle, he wants to do other things than talk.

Will Coven grant the pack of gay wolf shifters territory, or will they be shut down and banned from running together?

Discover the Outcast Pack mm paranormal wolf shifter romance series. Join the wolves as they fight to make their pack official and fall in love along the way. Each book has a new couple and a HEA/HFN with no cliffhangers and no mpreg.

Wolf Soul is a steamy, gay opposites attract, age gap romance between a wolf who should know better and a leopard who has to learn to fight for what he wants.

Review: Wolf Blood (Outcast Pack, #2) by T. J. Nichols

Rating: 4🌈

At 124 pages, Wolf Blood is an exciting, engaging paranormal romance. It’s a quick read with all the books in this series flowing pretty seamlessly from one to the next.

If you’re a fan of Nichols’ Familiar Mates and Mythos series, then you will have a good understanding of the universe Outcast Pack is located in as they are all connected.

Drew Preston’s relationship troubles with his ex, the human River Yates, was mentioned in the other story. As it’s illegal for humans to be told of the paranormal world, it’s no wonder they had issues.

Here we find out they have far more serious problems then they know of .

Nichols does a good job in supplying the background information about the paranormal world that’s the basis for three series for those new to the universe. It’s not a layered story but it gets the job done.

The limited amount of length makes the story rock along and the fighting and high drama is over quickly. But not the enormous ramifications. Those are sliding into the next stage in Wolf Soul.

As I said prior, these wonderful characters and entertaining quickly told romances flow by with the high energy of a terrific serialized romance adventure. That’s the spirit in which I’m reading them.

And recommending them.

Read them in the order that they were written.

Outcast Pack:

✓ Wolf Heart #1

✓ Wolf Blood #2

✓ Wolf Soul #3

◦ Wolf Mate #4

◦ Wolf Lust #5

Wolf Blood: mm second chance wolf shifter romance (Outcast Pack Book 2)

When both of them are keeping dangerous secrets, will their romance get a second chance or will there be too much spilled blood between them?

River Yates always thought his grandmother’s tales about shifters and witches living among them to be just stories. Until his ex, Drew Preston, showed up at his door naked and bloodied and in need of help.

After being attacked by wolves determined to tear apart the fledgling Outcast Pack, Drew did the only thing he could: shift and run. The nearest place he might find refuge is River’s house. But his ex is human, and when River accused him of cheating, he ripped out Drew’s heart.

While River wasn’t wrong about Drew keeping secrets, how could he tell a human what he is?

When a hunter arrives to kill the shifters that have been making trouble, River is forced to confront the truth not only about Drew but also his own family. Once again, he’ll be picking up weapons and facing off against his grandmother, but this time, it isn’t a training exercise.

Discover the Outcast Pack mm paranormal wolf shifter romance series. Join the wolves as they fight to make their pack official and fall in love along the way. Each book has a new couple and a HEA with no cliffhangers and no mpreg.

Wolf Blood is a steamy, angsty, second chance romance between a hunter and shifter.

Review: Wolf Heart (Outcast Pack, #1) by T. J. Nichols

Rating: 4🌈

The Outcast Pack series takes place in the same universe as this author’s Familiar Mates and Mythos series. So if a reader is familiar with those books then they will be able to supply the missing foundation information one would normally expect to receive from a first story here.

Paranormal/human interaction. Officially none. The paranormal species and ruling structure, The Coven. All that crosses over all three series and I expect to eventually see the other characters as well.

What I found so enjoyable was that this book is written somewhat like a serialized story. It’s quick, exciting, with easily connectable characters and a plot that will flow into the next story and couple’s lives.

There’s not quite a cliffhanger but an overall plot that’s constantly addressed by multiple sources. It’s viewed as a historical event by the wolf and paranormal investigators. Can a group of outcasts, gay shifters, form a pack and be recognized by all other lawful paranormal groups and be given a territory of their own.

The first story, much like the rest, is about 130 pages. So a fast read. The relationship between paramedic Con Albury and future Alpha Zach Ellis progresses quickly but in a way that draws the reader into their problems. Primarily the old homophobia that’s been going on in their packs that’s threatening their lives and that of all gay shifters.

I was through the romance before I knew it and it ended abruptly. Much like a serial would.

The next picks up the drama and key points and takes everything smartly forward.

Honestly, it’s paranormal romance popcorn in the best possible way. I went through them all and was so happy with them.

That’s why I’m recommending you do the same.

Outcast Pack:

Wolf Heart #1

Wolf Blood #2

Wolf Soul #3

Wolf Mate #4

Wolf Lust #5

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showWolf Heart (Outcast Pack, #1) by T.J. Nichols

Description:

They belong to rival wolf packs…so why can’t they keep their hands off each other?

Paramedic Con Albury loves nothing more than spending his time off either as a wolf or at night clubs. He’s always looking for a good time, and he usually finds it. While he has aligned himself with the Outcast Pack for protection, he tells himself he prefers to be alone.

Zach Ellis has spent his life preparing to take over the pack just like everyone expects. Pack and family come first. But he needs more than duty and giving into temptation and falling into Con’s bed is easier than it should be.

But the fallout will threaten everything the Outcast Pack stands for: freedom and found family.

Discover the Outcast Pack mm paranormal wolf shifter romance series. Join the wolves as they fight to make their pack official and fall in love along the way. Each book has a new couple and a HEA with no cliffhangers and no mpreg.

Wolf Heart is a steamy, gay, enemies to lovers romance between rival wolf shifters.

Review: The Witch’s Familiar (Familiar Mates #1) by T.J. Nichols

Rating: 3.75🌈

Somehow I missed this series when it began so I’m catching up now. T.J. Nichols Familiar Mates series has nine books to date and The Witch’s Familiar is the one that launches it all.

It’s a entertaining story, full of romance, magical characters, and thrills. I did find it lacking in world building, especially when we land into electro mage Jude Sullivan’s predicament with a paranormal ruling council, The Coven. He’s in real trouble, again, this time he could be stripped of his magic.

Now, it’s assumed and understood through some of the dialogue that the human world and magical exists together, the mundane hasn’t a clue about the paranormal side, and obviously it should stay that way. But as to all the rest of the structure and who the Coven is? Nothing.

Except all the serious stuff that’s implied in bits and pieces throughout the rest of the book. Nichols has left a hole here and hopefully each book will continue to fill in more of the series foundation.

Jude Sullivan is given a mission as a test, complete it successfully and keep his powers or fail and have them removed. Seems a bit excessive. Plus there’s a obvious enemy on the Council.

At the small town where the killings are occurring that Jude needs to investigate is a lone bear shifter, Rob Mackenzie. He’s the town mechanic.

I adore this character. Mack is exactly what you’d want in a bear shifter. His personality suits the regional location and his temperament.

The manner in which Nichols has the two men meet is a tad odd because who jumps to such wild assumptions without any research or clues. It made no sense. It was just one of those “narratively directed” choices that always seem so out of place.

Especially when the later combined dynamics and growing relationship indicates anything but character driven actions.

The creatures, their magical history were amazing, and the investigation/hunt to capture the mystery animal was a great feature. Including Mack’s reaction to everything.

I really enjoyed the romantic aspects of their relationship, but wish they had gone further with the familiar/mate part as it seemed so serious with big ramifications, but we got none of that.

We also had two characters , Jude’s enemy on the Council, and Mack’s ex, each of whom promised more drama. They faded out at the end.

Those are the issues that nagged at me.

The Witch’s Familiar (Familiar Mates #1) by T.J. Nichols is a quick read. Light, suspenseful with a terrific couple. If you can set aside those issues that I mentioned above, you will find this a very satisfying paranormal romance.

I’ve listed the entire series below. I’m onto the next. A vampire with a familiar!

Familiar Mates series:

✓ The Witch’s Familiar #1

◦ The Vampire’s Familiar #2

◦ The Rock Star’s Familiar #3

◦ The Vet’s Christmas Familiar #4

◦ The Fire Dancer’s Familiar #4.5

◦ The Detective’s Familiar #5

◦ The Siren’s Familiar #6

◦ The Soldier’s Familiar #7

◦ The Billionaire’s Familiar #8

◦ The Firefighter’s Familiar #9

https://www.goodreads.com › showThe Witch’s Familiar (Familiar Mates #1) by T.J. Nichols – Goodreads

Synopsis:

He can hold lightning in his hand, but will love slip through his fingers?

Jude Sullivan has one more chance to prove he isn’t a danger to the paranormal community. If he fails, he’ll be stripped of his magic, a painful process to make a witch human. As a test, the Coven sends him to Mercy South, Colorado, to stop a creature that’s been mutilating cows and scaring the locals. Jude hates cows and small towns. The Coven should’ve sent a nature witch.

Rob Mackenzie is the local mechanic and bear shifter. If the locals knew his secret, they’d run him out of town. He wants someone to really know him and not be afraid. With several chewed-up cows and some other weird happenings, he’s wondering if he’s no longer the strangest creature in Mercy.

After meeting Mack, Jude thinks he’s found the cause of the trouble. But the trouble is only just getting started when Mack realizes he’s Jude’s fated mate. As the cow-mutilating creature starts hunting in town, Mack and Jude will have to stop fighting their attraction and each other, to stop the creature from killing again.

———-

Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

TJ Nichols on Mytho Origins and Lust and Other Drugs (Mytho #1) by T.J. Nichols

Lust and Other Drugs (Mytho #1) by T.J. Nichols

Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Tiferet Design

Buy Links:  Dreamspinner Press | Kobo | iTunes | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host TJ Nichols here today on tour for Lust and Other Drugs.  Welcome, TJ.

 

 

Mytho—Origins

One of the first thing people ask when a new book comes out is ‘where did the idea come from?’

It would be nice if there were an easy answer. A point in time where I could pinpoint exactly how the pieces came together. A story, for me, comes in many bits that have to be assembled without any instructions.

I think the first bit that appeared was Edra. I wanted to write a dragon shapeshifter and thought it might be fun if he had invisibility issues (he can’t control it all that well), which can make things awkward.

I wanted to set the book in the here and now, not an alternate earth like the Demonology series. But I had no idea how dragons fitted into our world so let the idea sit.

Months later I remembered reading something about the Hadron Collider and remembered all the predictions of ripping the world apart that had been made—but I still had no story at this point.

Then I went to a crime writing workshop (for no good reason besides a general interest) and thought that maybe I could add that in, maybe the love interest is a cop. And the love interest likes pretty lingerie (I don’t know why, sometimes a character insists and it’s easier and more interesting to go with it, so I did). So Jordan arrived with his pet can and lingerie.

Then it all snowballed into an idea that I could play with.

What if it wasn’t our world the Hadron Collider destroyed, but the Mytho world. The place where mythological creatures and people lived, though they had sometimes interacted with our world, thus our myths and legends. What if the Mytho world collapsed into ours and now we have werewolf and vampire and ogre refugees?

I had to make a choice here, I either wrote about the disaster, the fighting, marshal law and internment camps for mythos that would inevitably happen in such a disaster or I let all of that happen and write 10 years on when humans have grudgingly accepted that the Mythos are here to stay and cops are trying to police satyrs and mermaids and beings they know very little about. I went with the later simply because I didn’t want to write the grim fighting and death and destruction (I was writing the Demonology series at the time and this series needed to be a little lighter.

I plotted out the romance arc over several books, gave Edra and Jordan a crime to solve in each book and that was that. And that was about two years before I started writing Lust and other Drugs. All the plots and character arc sat there waiting for attention.

This sometimes happens, book ideas have to wait until I have time or the calling to write them (it’s kind of like my brain going, THIS ONE NOW and everything falls neatly into place).

The only thing I hadn’t decided on was where to set the story. I had two locations in mind Sydney, Australia (I’m an Aussie so that was the easy choice) of San Francisco. Both places have bridges and an island in the bay (both of which matter). In the end I went with SF (Which I’ve only visited once) so yay for the internet and the brilliant SFPD website.

Of course the Mytho world collapsing into ours changed a few things so any errors are clearly meant to be there and happened as part of the disaster…

About the Author

TJ Nichols is an avid runner and martial arts enthusiast who first started writing as child. Many years later while working as a civil designer, TJ decided to pick up a pen and start writing again. Having grown up reading thrillers and fantasy novels, it’s no surprise that mixing danger and magic comes so easily. Writing urban fantasy allows TJ to bring magic to the every day. TJ enjoys writing novellas and novels and has a series, Studies in Demonology, coming out with DSP Publications.

With two cats acting as supervisors, TJ has gone from designing roads to building worlds and wouldn’t have it any other way. After traveling all over the world and Australia, TJ now lives in Perth, Western Australia.

Website: www.tjnichols-author.blogspot.com

Twitter: @TobyJNichols

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TJNichols.author

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/cO-YRz

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/TJ-Nichols/e/B01B463R6W

Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tj-nichols

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14669076.T_J_Nichols

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tjnichols.author/

Blurb:

Mytho: Book One

Police officer Jordan and dragon shifter Edra might have to work together, but they don’t trust each other—even if sparks do fly between them.

If anyone finds out Jordan’s a mytho sympathizer, it could kill his career. No one can know that he frequents the satyr dens and uses the drug Bliss. Another satyr overdose might not get much attention, but two dead humans? That shouldn’t be possible.

And it might not be an accident.

Edra, Mythological Services Liaison, has been covering up mytho crimes to protect the community’s reputation. With a mayoral election looming, the last thing his people need is a scandal.

To get a murderer off the streets, Jordan and Edra will be spending a lot of time together, and it won’t be easy to keep up with their deceptions… or to keep resisting each other.

A Alisa Release Day Review: Rogue in the Making (Studies in Demonology #2) by T.J. Nichols

Rating:  5 stars out of 5

The blood sacrifices have brought rain to Demonside, but across the void, the Warlock College of Vinland is still storing and gathering magic, heedless of the warnings of the international magical community. The underground is full of warlocks who disagree with the college, but do they care about wizards and demons or only about snatching power?

With a foot in each world, Angus is no longer sure whom he can trust. The demons don’t trust humans, and even though he is learning more magic, he will never be one of them. He is human and only tolerated. Some demons would be happy to slit his throat. It’s only because his demon is powerful in his own right that Angus is alive.

Saka only has a year to prove that Angus’s people can change and that the magic taken will be rebalanced, but the demons want action. His affection for Angus is clouding his judgment and weakening his position in the tribe. Time is running out, and he must make a choice.

I was so excited to see Angus and Saka again and I was disappointed.  This story was just as in depth and thought out as the last one.  This story seems to pick up just after the last book when Angus and the trainees are in demonside following Angus’ injury.  This book was even more trying for these characters as they continue to try and help both worlds.

The story’s focus was still primarily on solving the problem of rebalancing the magic in Demonside and fixing the problems in Vineland but we continue to see Angus and Saka’s relationship blossom and Angus continue to grow his relationship with Terrance in the human world.  Angus is torn between them both but also trying to decide how to deal with the growing doubt he has in the underground.

We got to see both Angus and Saka’s points of view throughout the story.  Both were torn between the one they loved and doing what is “right” for their people.  Saka continues to have push back from others in his tribe while he is trying to keep the peace and mend the rift between the two worlds.  I felt the most for Angus because he seemed to be having to have so many different faces depending on who he was talking to he always seemed to have to stay on guard for one reason or another.  As I see this story continue it makes me even more anxious for the next book to come out for a conclusion.

Cover art by Catt Ford is wonderful and connects well with the setting of the story.

Sales Links: DSP Publications | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 284 pages

Published: May 22, 2018 by DSP Publications

ISBN-13: 978-1-64080-452-4

Edition Language: English

Series: Studies in Demonology #2

TJ Nichols on Expanding the World and their new release Rogue in the Making (Studies in Demonology #2)

Rogue in the Making (Studies in Demonology #2) by T.J. Nichols 
DSP Publications

Cover Artist: Catt Ford

Sales Links:  DSP Publications | Amazon  | iBooks | B & N | Kobo

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host T.J. Nichols here today on tour for Rogue on the Making. Welcome, T.J.

✒︎

Expanding the world by TJ Nichols

When writing a series, especially on that centers around the same characters I think it’s important to offer the reader something new. That means the difficulties the characters face need to be different, bigger and more dangerous. The characters need to continue growing.

I knew how the series was going to end so I had a vague idea about how the characters would need to change over each book.

The other thing I did in each book (the third book, Blood for the Spilling, is in edits) was to expand the series world, giving the reader new things to explore with the characters.

In book one, Warlock in Training, the world I introduced was Demonside. I wanted the desert and the demons who lived there to be real. The human world is much like ours, but with warlocks and magic and I didn’t need to go into too much depth in the book, it was enough to know that the Warlock College was the big bad and our human hero was going to get into trouble if he didn’t start to figure things out. The reader figured things out along with Angus.

In Rogue in the Making I went back to the human world and peeled back the layers. More time is spent in Vinland looking at the Warlock College, and what has gone wrong. The hints that were there in book one get pulled open and the horror is revealed.

For each book I had to research various things. In book one it was how desert civilizations lived. In book two I looked at desert survival, what happens to deserts in the rain—life happens fast—but I also looked at modern countries where media is controlled, what happens to people who discover the truth and how the takeover happened without bloodshed. The Warlock College didn’t start out wanting to control all magic, but somewhere along the way it became corrupted and when it went unchallenged the corruption spread until they effectively run the country, and everyone believes that demons are the bad guys who are threatening another war. I don’t think any of the warlocks in charge would call themselves evil, they believe they are making magic safe by removing demons.

In book three I expand the world beyond the Vinnish boarders. There are hints in the first two books about book three. The cover (which I have seen a draft of) gives another major hint. Another way of using demon magic is explored, and I researched jungles and a past civilization, so I could bring it back to life in a world where magic is real.

If I’d put all of this world building in the first book there would’ve been no room left for magic and lust and it would’ve made for a very dry read. One of the advantages of having a series is the ability to dig deeper and widen with each book. As an author I love being able to expand my story world and as a reader I love the way long running series bring in new things—as long as they don’t become so sprawling the point of the story doesn’t became lost. Character arcs and plot shouldn’t get swallowed up in favor of lush world building IMHO.

 

Rogue in the Making (Studies in Demonology 2)

The blood sacrifices have brought rain to Demonside, but across the void, the Warlock College of Vinland is still storing and gathering magic, heedless of the warnings of the international magical community. The underground is full of warlocks who disagree with the college, but do they care about wizards and demons or only about snatching power?

With a foot in each world, Angus is no longer sure whom he can trust. The demons don’t trust humans, and even though he is learning more magic, he will never be one of them. He is human and only tolerated. Some demons would be happy to slit his throat. It’s only because his demon is powerful in his own right that Angus is alive.

Saka only has a year to prove that Angus’s people can change and that the magic taken will be rebalanced, but the demons want action. His affection for Angus is clouding his judgment and weakening his position in the tribe. Time is running out, and he must make a choice.

About the Author

TJ Nichols is an avid runner and martial arts enthusiast who first started writing as child. Many years later while working as a civil designer, TJ decided to pick up a pen and start writing again. Having grown up reading thrillers and fantasy novels, it’s no surprise that mixing danger and magic comes so easily, writing urban fantasy allows TJ to bring magic to the every day.
After traveling all over the world and Australia, TJ now lives in Perth, Western Australia.

Website: tjnichols-author.blogspot.com

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TJNichols

Twitter: @TobyJNichols

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TJNichols.author

Newsletter: http://www.eepurl.com/cO-YRz

An Alisa Advent Release Day Review: Poison Marked (2017 Advent Calendar Daily – Stocking Stuffers) by T.J. Nichol

Rating:  3 stars out of 5
Kill his lover or disobey his king and instigate civil war?
As the feared court poison master, Nikko is sworn to do as his king bids. As the lover of the king’s nephew, Lord Rodas, Nikko must hide his affection or risk being labeled a traitor and punished. A former thief who clawed his way into the palace from the filthy streets, Nikko longs to be deserving of Rodas’s love.
A respected war hero, Rodas is in a delicate political situation. He is not the kingdom’s natural heir, though many support his claim over the wastrel, Prince Fortin. The last thing Rodas wants is war. His highest ambition is for Nikko to openly wear the jewels he’s bestowed on him as a public declaration of their love.
Neither man is prepared for the king to order Nikko to poison Rodas during the solstice feast or for the deadly intrigue they’re plunged into, which exposes their affair and rocks the foundations of the kingdom.
This was a nice story, however as I thought when I first read the description it isn’t what one would think of as a Christmas story.  It is focused on the Solstice but doesn’t have the same feel.  I could feel Nikko’s pain of indecision and duty when he is ordered to kill his lover.  Rodas seems genuine but I didn’t really get a good feel for him.  I’m not a fan of the whole have to have an heir thing but I can have a lover also; it just feels too close to cheating to me but in the world they seem to live in it’s the best that  Nikko could hope for.
Cover Artist: Alexandria Corza.  Great cover….for anything but an Advent story.  Not sure how I feel about it.
Sales Links:  Dreamspinner Press | Amazon
Book Details:
ebook, 56 pages
Published: December 12, 2017 by Dreamspinner Press
Edition Language: English

TJ Nichols on Plotting and Planning and their latest release Olivier (Order of the Black Knights #7) (guest post)

Olivier (Order of the Black Knights #7) by T.J. Nichols
Dreamspinner Press

Cover Artist: Paul Richmond

Buy links:   Dreamspinner Press |  Kobo | iTunes | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have T.J. Nichols here today to talk about the latest in the Order of the Black Knights series, Olivier and share some insight into the author’s writing process.  Welcome, T.J.!

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Plotting and planning by T.J. Nichols

I like to get to know my characters and have an idea about where my story is going before I start writing. Because Olivier is part of a series written by several authors there were also some basic rules that I had to follow, such as including the prologue (about the Knight’s last life and how he died) and also the detail about how Olivier became a Black Knight.

Aside from those couple of things the world was my own to create. It is less fantasy than my other works, but I love a cursed hero and the lure of including past lives was too great for me to pass up the opportunity.

The first thing I did was work out why Olivier signed on with the wizard. Who did he want revenge on and why? Then I needed to show an echo of that in the prologue and have him confront that issue once again in the actual story. After all those lives of killing and seeking revenge without understanding why, he has to eventually learn the lesson.

With one character established I then had to work out who it was that Olivier had been killing over and over again through the centuries. What had this guy done in the past and who was he now? While he hadn’t signed on with the wizard he’d been dragged into the curse.

I knew when I started that I didn’t want the breaking of the curse to become part of the Happily Ever After. It had to be another complication that only makes things worse for Olivier and Cody.

Somehow as I was writing it all got rather tangled and I had to go back to my reliable method of fixing a plot: make a list of every scene with a one sentence summary and a note about whose point of view it’s in. This method has saved many a story as I can see quickly when someone is taking over, or when scenes are missing, or need deleted. What I usually find is that when things get messy I’ve jumped ahead and missed scenes or I’ve taken a wild wrong turn and I need to rewrite one scene to put it back on track. Writing this list also helps me remember what the story is about and to keep true to that instead of trying to make it something else.

With this story one of my problems was working out how to deal with Cody’s father. I couldn’t let him walk away, but I also knew that he was too slippery for the police. Once I’d worked out what to do with him the ending came together—though not as I’d originally planned.

Olivier

Order of the Black Knights

Olivier Merlo works for a dangerous man. He does what he’s told without asking questions because he needs to protect his sister and niece. When someone gives his boss trouble, Olivier does what he does best. It’s a routine hit—until the victim’s brother starts poking around.

Cody Anders left his family behind a decade ago—along with their wealth and influence—to live on his own terms. Still, he knows his twin didn’t die of a drug overdose, and he’ll do anything to find the truth. What he uncovers is a conspiracy that will topple his family and leave him staring down the barrel of a gun.

Olivier must decide if he’s going to obey orders or free himself from the curse that has guided his hand for centuries. Cody, who challenges Olivier’s notion that no one can love him, holds the key to breaking his chains. But when the truth finally comes out, it might be more than Cody can accept.

About the Author

TJ Nichols is an avid runner and martial arts enthusiast who first started writing as child. Many years later while working as a civil designer, TJ decided to pick up a pen and start writing again. Having grown up reading thrillers and fantasy novels, it’s no surprise that mixing danger and magic comes so easily, writing urban fantasy allows TJ to bring magic to the every day. TJ enjoys writing novellas and novels and has a series, Studies in Demonology, coming out with DSP Publications.

With two cats acting as supervisors, TJ has gone from designing roads to building worlds and wouldn’t have it any other way. After traveling all over the world and Australia, TJ now lives in Perth, Western Australia.

Website: www.tjnichols-author.blogspot.com

Twitter: @TobyJNichols

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TJNichols.author

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