Tag: fantasy

Lex Chase is Here! Answering Questions and Talking About ‘Chasing Sunrise’ (author guest blog)

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Hello, Internet! I’m Lex Chase, and the super amazing Melanie was kind enough to let me drop by today to talk to you about my DSP Publications release Chasing Sunrise.

It’s about King Sevon Marate, ruler of the cannibalistic†aisa, as he struggles to escape domestic violence and save his crumbling kingdom. It’s a dark story, featuring torture, war, genocide, but also one of hope and escape is possible. But make no mistake it is a story of how far would you go to survive and how love makes monsters of us all.

Melanie has me in the hot seat today as she asks some burning questions! So here we go!

Where do you normally draw your inspiration for a book from?† A memory, a myth, a place or journey, or something far more personal?

Chasing Sunrise is kind of drawn from all over the place. One of the toughest topics it deals with is domestic violence. I myself am a domestic violence survivor and I draw upon my own experiences for some of Sevon’s traits. Domestic violence is a complicated situation, and for those that have never experienced it have a tendency to be highly judgmental. From the victim’s POV we†believe we can “fix” our abuser and we†believe that if we’re obedient that our abuser will love us, or being†convinced the victim has nowhere to go, or how will they live. From an outsider’s perspective they often think the victim is “stupid” for staying or “deserve” what they get. Isn’t that terrible? We’re all taught to†say†something, yet pass judgement.

Sevon’s story with domestic violence is†far more complex because courtly politics is involved. If he doesn’t cooperate his entire kingdom will crumble and his people will surely die. And he can’t just†leave because he’s terrified of humans, and if they discover what he is, he’ll be killed. He†can’t seek asylum in another†aisa kingdom because they’re allies of his abuser. He’s completely convinced he can’t survive on his own, but he has to do†something.

That is… until an opportunity for escape presents itself in the form of the kindhearted shifter named Jack. But Sevon’s sense of trust has been so completely distorted that he wants to trust him but is conflicted if it’s another trap. It’s called hyper-vigilance, a very real symptom that comes with trauma and ptsd. While someone may show him kindness, any slight†sign that something might be amiss leads to panic. Even if there’s no such signal, and the kindness is genuine, you just never know and expect the other shoe to drop at†any moment.

Are you a planner or a pantzer when writing a story? And †why?

I’m a planner. A†super hardcore†planner. I’m a very scattered person mentally, and I write my outlines in a numbered list. My outlines run 10 to 15k a pop (like a short novella basically) where essentially it’s like I’m “pre-writing” the book. I call my outlines “The Directions” and as long as I follow them, it all works out. They sometimes include entire chunks of dialogue for a scene, or an entire chapter, or fight scene, or all the above. That way when I get to the scene I can just cut and paste into my doc and revise it to fit the story.

Also when I plan with as much detail as I do I actually†do have the ability to go ahead and write non-linear if I’m stuck on a scene and I can skip ahead. I actually don’t believe in the “oh! The characters do whatever they want to do!” That’s a sign of someone who’s a pantser. I’m in complete control of my characters. I acknowledge if I want to pursue tangents. I understand my ideas change. If something isn’t working. I come up with something different.

I listen to that voice inside of me, not†The Muse everyone talks about, but my†own voice, my gut, when I feel something is or isn’t right. If I kill one of my characters (and I’ve killed quite a few!) it’s a decision I consciously make. It’s even in my outline that this person dies, and how, and the fallout. I’m not GASP surprised or oh noes! I didn’t plan for that! Now do I sob hysterically while I do it?†Oh hell yes! I cry over my books all the damned time. And by the way, that’s not weird either no matter what people think.

Contemporary, supernatural, fantasy, or science fiction narratives or something else?† Does any genre draw you more than another when writing it or reading it and why does it do so?

Memoirs actually! I looooove memoirs! Reading about “Real People Drama” as I call it helps inspire “Fictional People Drama.” Also people telling their stories and certain turns of phrases they use, or sentence structures and vocabulary. One of my favorite memoirs I always come back to is Anderson Cooper’s Dispatches from the Edge where he narrates the audiobook version as well. Just wonderful word choice told by a fascinating person!

If you had a character you’ve written you would write differently now at this time in your writing career, who would it be and why?

Ooooh. Tough one. I think it would have to be Memphis Rook from my first DSP Publications release†Checkmate Ever After.†We never see his POV in the anthology, but in the first book, I had deliberately written him as the stereotypical comic book anti-hero. And while some readers adored him, I think he was missing a little more depth. In the first installment I feel he was a little cardboard and wooden. And while he gets a thousand times better as the anthology progresses.

Can a author have favorites among their characters and do you have them?

Yes! And I have so many for differing reasons. Among my favorites are Taylor and Corentin from the Screw-Up Princess and Skillful Huntsman series. Despite being fairy tale characters, they’re so†ordinary and they’re doing the best they can with what they have. They’re not exactly living high on the hog, but they’re just two totally normal guys who are kind of a pair of fuck-ups…and one happens to be a dude princess and the other a huntsman.

Also I love Jack and his brother Kaltag from Chasing Sunrise. Jack is probably the most genuine and†good character I’ve ever written. He’s patient, kind, and compassionate to a fault. Kaltag is brave, proud, pretty sassy, and stands up for what he believes in, and is a devoted father. And while it’s mentioned in passing, he and his wife Mirabelle are both bisexual.

If you were to be stranded on a small demi-planet, island, or god forbid LaGuardia in a snow storm, what books would you take to read or authors on your comfort list?

Considering I visited LaGuardia all of once when visiting fellow DSP Publications author C.S. Poe, I’d want her novel The Mystery of Nevermore coming late this summer. It’s the first in her Snow & Winter series and I got to read the proof. Holy crap I have such feelings. C.S. makes me want to be a better writer, hands down. It’s about a completely colorblind antique dealer, Sebastian Snow and a hard as nails detective Calvin Winter as they try to solve a mystery involving the works of Edgar Allen Poe. I can’t stop telling people about this book. I’ve never felt this excited before. She’s been sending me bits of the sequel and I’m like nnnnngggghhhhh *grabby haaaannnnds!*

How early in your life did you begin writing?

Like… seriously as a career? Or telling stories in general? In general when I was about 11. I came up for the world of Chasing Sunrise when I was 13. Yes it’s that old. As a career, I’d say about seven years ago when I first seriously pursued publication. Chasing Sunrise was actually rejected 15 times until I completely revamped it and submitted to Dreamspinner Press and Sweet 16 was the lucky number.

Were you an early reader or were you read to and what childhood books had an impact on you as a child that you remember to this day and why?

In third grade, our teacher read to the class after lunch. Two of the stories that stuck with me were Eddie and Gardenia by Carolyn Haywood†and James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl. There’s a nod to Eddie and Gardenia in Checkmate Ever After, and James and the Giant Peach gets a reference in the upcoming final Screw-Up Princess novel Urban Fairy Tale. While childhood memories are hazy, I very clearly recall my teacher hesitating with shock and tears at the end of Eddie and Gardenia because spoiler alert, things don’t end well for Gardenia. James and the Giant Peach was just total bananas. It made me want to live in a giant peach and fly away to New York City. When Tim Burton made the movie with stop-motion animation it was just….so delightfully odd.

What question would you ask yourself here?

Question: How can you†possibly†have loved the ending of Lost! It was such crap!

Answer:†Shut your face! It was beautiful. It was about the journey, not the destination. I will take you to the carpet.

If you were writing your life as a romance novel, what would the title be?

Dr. Chase: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Learned To Love The Bombshell

Thank you for having me Melanie! And noooow a question for the crowd! Sorry Melanie, I have to crib it! If your life was a romance novel, what would the title be?

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Genre: Fantasy/Horror/Paranormal
Series: The Darkmore Saga: Book One
Length: Novel
Published: April 5, 2016
Publisher: DSP Publications
ISBN: 978-1-63476-355-4
Buy: DSP Publications†| Omnilit | Amazon |†Barnes and Noble†

Blurb:

The once glorious aisa kingdom of Darkmore lies in ruins, and King Sevon MaratÈ is trapped. Sevon endures unrelenting abuse and is used as a scapegoat by Lord Dominic Ravensgrove, who rules Darkmore from the shadows. Coping by dressing in gowns and jewels, the effeminate king relishes the scraps of freedom he is given to be himself.

As a verkolai, Sevon possesses the ability to part the Veil separating his world from hundreds of others. His gift provides a chance for escape, but Dominic refuses to relinquish his tool for power. When Dominic forges an ambitious plan to invade the prosperous shifter land of Priagust, he manipulates Sevonís desperation for his peopleís survival. Out of options, Sevon has no choice but to cooperate.

On their foray into Priagust, Dominic’s men abduct a shifter named Jack. Despite being tortured for information, Jack’s loyalty to his kind never wavers. But Jackís knowledge about Darkmoreís history unsettles Sevon, and a curious bond begins to form. Despite Sevonís mistrust, Jack is determined to tame the beautiful kingís wild heart and perhaps earn his freedom.

As war looms, Sevon fears Jackís kindness is another trap. Conflicted, Sevon wonders if he should risk chasing the sunrise or remain Dominic’s compliant prisoner.

1st Edition published by Dreamspinner Press, 2014.

I’m giving away a super awesome $25 USD Amazon Gift Card! What do you have to do? Leave a comment down below and click the giveaway graphic to follow me on Twitter and Facebook or Share, Tweet, or Hashtag! So many ways to enter!

Totally cribbing off Melanie with much love! If your life was a romance novel, what would the title be?

Come follow me on Facebook and Twitter for Blog Tour Updates!

About the Author:

Lex Chase once heard Stephen King say in a commercial, ìWeíre all going to die, Iím just trying to make it a little more interesting.î Now, sheís on a mission to make the world a hell of a lot more interesting.

Weaving tales of cinematic, sweeping adventureóand depending on how she feels that dayóLex sprinkles in high-speed chases, shower scenes, and more explosions than a Hollywood blockbuster. Her pride is in telling stories of men who kiss as much as they kick ass. If youíre going to march into the depths of hell, it better be beside the one you love.

Lex is a pop culture diva, her DVR is constantly backlogged, and unapologetically loved the ending of Lost. She wouldnít last five minutes without technology in the event of the apocalypse and has nightmares about refusing to leave her cats behind.

You can find in the Intarwebz here:

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A.C. Katt’s The Sarrans Series Continues with The Sarran Senator (excerpt and giveaway)

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The Sarran Senator (The Sarrans #4) by A.C. Katt
 Release Date: March 27, 2016

Goodreads Link
Publisher: JMS Books

 

Blurb

The Sarrans return home from Earth in triumph, having gained many new Earthen fems, coffee, chocolate, and cats.

Senator Samuel Johnson joins his grandson Michael, his daughter Sara, and her WarriorPair on Sarran. To his delighted surprise, he bonds irrevocably with Tarin, one of Sarran’s top engineers. Tarin had been bonded before and thought he would never experience a bond again, yet Sam’s love gives him a new lease on life. Now they only hope the Goddess has a fem for them.

Then the Sarran Elders host a mixer for Sarran warriors to meet the Earthen fems. Margaret Mary O’Neil, Meg to her friends, is a talented woman who fled to Sarran like so many Earth women looking for a new life. When she meets Sam and Tarin, her life changes forever.

But while things are looking up for the Sarrans, with new babies being born and WarriorPairs settling down, their enemy the Zyptz are relentless in their efforts to wipe them out. When the Zyptz attack both Sarran and Earth, the mutual dependence between the two becomes ever more evident.

 

Pages or Words: 50,531 words
 Categories: Bisexual, Fantasy, Fiction, Gay Fiction, Ménage, Paranormal, Romance, Science Fiction

Excerpt

::We will need to get our promise rings and Asta glasses, but we can decide where to live and get our rings and glasses later. Right now I want you under me.:: Tarin pushed Sam’s shoulders down into the softness of the couch pillows. Sam turned on his side so they faced each other.

::I foolishly didn’t bother to ask, although I should have consulted Mark, but now that I’ve taken the vial, does my equipment work the same way?::

::Yes and no. Externally you will see the slick that pours from under your foreskin. This enables one of us to penetrate the other and our fem without pain when we bond. Internally, there will be a type of a tube, a Secondary Sperm Valve that connects your channel to the seminal vesicle in your partner. When a Sarran Warrior receives sperm from his bonded, it opens the valve. The sperm goes through the valve to connect to the seminal vesicle where they mix with the sperm of your bonded. It is only when they mix that we can impregnate our fem. Our offspring are born with half of our fem’s DNA and one-quarter of each of ours. After we form the bond with our fem, we may make penetrative love with her or without her, as the Triad chooses.::

::I feel foolish asking for such basic information. I had the whole voyage to research this aspect of Sarran physiology. I was concentrating on helping Michael adjust to Sara’s Warriors.::

::You did the right thing, my fox. From the holos you showed me, Michael had reason to be wary.::

::Now I feel like a pre-pubescent offspring in health class, not knowing how my body is supposed to function.:: Sam blushed. ::How do I please you?::

::All the ways you’d please yourself without penetration. Let me show you.:: Tarin sat up, got off the couch, and knelt in front of Sam, removing the boots Mark and Juraens had fabricated for him on board the Brightstar. Tarin kissed the inside of Sam’s knee. Sam moaned. He never knew he had a hot spot there.

Tarin removed his own boots and then attacked Sam’s flightsuit. The one-piece garment came off quickly, giving Tarin access to Sam’s body.

Sam looked at his lover in appreciation. “You have a beautiful, hard form. I love your wavy blonde hair and blue eyes. You are everything I ever looked for in a man. If I had met you before Mary, I doubt I would have joined the army. I’d have become a college professor and lived in a house very much like this with you always at my side.”

Sam ran his palm down Tarin’s side from his shoulder to the curve of his ass. “Beautiful … I can’t believe how lucky I am and it seems even our dreams are in alignment.”

Tarin blushed. ::I keep in shape because any Sarran Warrior can be called to battle at any time. You were in governance, how did you train? You have a hard and well-made body, my fox.::

::In the Senate Gym. I exercised and had a trainer. If I were going to be the President, I had to be in the best shape I’d ever been in my life. The job is debilitating. Although the United States is only one country on Earth, the President of the United States carries the weight of the world on his shoulders because we act as the planet’s police and are the only major power left on Earth. Russia and China have the land mass and China has population, but the United States still has the upper hand in weaponry. We, like the Sarrans, also have fierce Warriors.::

::Being on council is much the same as you describe the presidency. The Elders aged quickly during the war and later when the Zyptz took our fems, the Elders bore the brunt of finding a solution. Our population is dangerously low, a mere twenty-thousand WarriorPairs. If you add the unbonded Warriors and offspring, it is another ten thousand. We need all of these bebes our fems are carrying and we must keep them safe.::

::You have too much open land to police properly. What you need is a type of radar that lets the government know immediately if the atmosphere has been breached, or better still, something that shields the planet from all but our own vessels.::

“I’ve been working on that project with Bron. It’s almost ready.”

Sam was about to speak and Tarin put a finger on his lips. ::My fox, I want to know everything about you. We could talk until dawntine but right now, I want to love you. We’re naked and wanting. Can we make love?::

Sam smiled and kissed his bonded’s eyes. “I was counting on it.”

Google_SarranSeries

Buy the book:

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C3J942U

JMS Books; http://www.jms-books.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=82_200&products_id=1648

Meet the author:

AC Katt was born in New York City’s Greenwich Village. She remembers sitting at the fountain in Washington Square Park listening to folk music while they passed the hat. At nine, her parents dragged her to New Jersey where she grew up, married and raised four children and became a voracious reader of romantic fiction. At one time she owned over two thousand novels, until she and her husband took themselves and the cat to New Mexico for their health and its great beauty.

Now, most of AC’s books are electronic (although she still keeps six bookcases of hardcovers), so she never has to give away another book. AC is a late bloomer, however, she claims to have found her niche writing LGBT romance.

She hangs out at ACKatt.com and ackattsjournal.com; where she keeps her blog. To get snippets of new releases and Works in Progress subscribe to AC Katt’s Kattery by sending an e-mail to mlhansel@gmail.com.

Where to find the author:

 


Tour Dates & Stops:

Parker Williams, Molly Lolly, BFD Book Blog, MM Good Book Reviews, Sassygirl Books,

Bayou Book Junkie, Full Moon Dreaming, Bonkers About Books, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents,

Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Book Lovers 4Ever, Happily Ever Chapter, Alpha Book Club,

Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Havan Fellows, Unquietly Me, Redz World, A.M. Leibowitz,

Inked Rainbow Reads, V’s Reads, Man2ManTastic, Oh My Shelves, The Dark Arts, The Hat Party,

Rednecks and Romance, The Fuzzy, Fluffy World of Chris T. Kat, MM Book Escape, Chris McHart

 

Giveaway

Enter to win  a full set of ’The Sarran’ series by A.C. Katt!  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

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A Free Dreamer Review: The Empty Hourglass (Deal with a Devil) by Cornelia Grey

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

The Empty HourglassThomas Escott has always wanted to be a toymaker, yet just as he achieves his dream, an accident claims his right hand. He’s certain his life is over—until he hears about groundbreaking prosthetics being made by a reclusive inventor.

Jethro Hastings is perfectly content to live alone up in the mountains working on a secret masterpiece: a humanoid automaton that will change the scientific community forever. He’s behind schedule, and the date of the unveiling is fast approaching, so when Thomas shows up on his doorstep offering help in exchange for a mechanical hand, Jethro agrees. Time, after all, is running out on another deal he’s made: one with the devil.

The devil gives Jethro’s inventions life, but he can just as quickly take life away—Jethro’s, to be exact. As the sand in the devil’s hourglass falls, marking the time until the end of the deal, inventions go haywire, people get hurt, and Thomas realizes he needs Jethro just as much as his prosthetic. Now he must find a way to save Jethro’s soul, but negotiating with a devil is just as difficult as it sounds.

Review: First of all, while this is part of a series, “The Empty Hourglass” is a stand alone. Every book set in the “Deal with a Devil” universe can be read independently. They only have one minor character in common.

I was really looking forward to this book. I absolutely loved the first short story of this universe, “Devil at the Crossroads”, and “The Circus of the Damned” was pretty good too. And when there was a promise of a freaky, steampunky prosthetic, I was ecstatic. Apparently I have a real thing for that. Anyway, my expectations were very high and unfortunately the book couldn’t quite live up to them.

I liked that Thomas was a bit of an underdog. I would’ve liked to read more about his background, though. It’s not every day you meet somebody who grew up on the streets and then turned into a toy maker of all things in your M/M books. That could have made for a really interesting story, but unfortunately the author didn’t really use that potential.

Jethro is your typical eccentric inventor: Kind of grumpy and a bit of a weird loner, but with a good heart and a tragic past to boot. His characterization was a little shallow, leaving him with little depth and a lot of stereotypes.

One of the reasons why I loved the other two books in this universe is the sex. Cornelia Grey can write incredibly sensual, delightfully different sex scenes. Unfortunately, this time she chose to leave the sex non-explicit, which is a real shame. I usually don’t mind fade-to-black scenes, but I was really looking forward to how and if the author would incorporate the prosthetic. That unfortunately didn’t happen here and I was a little disappointed, to be honest.

I loved that Cornelia Grey actually decided to have a real ghost show up. I’ve never seen a similar take on ghosts and mysticism. That was really well done. But again, a little more detail would have been really nice.

The world building was unfortunately rather lacking. There’s talk about a big war that happened a few years back. Thomas was even recruited as an engineer and the experience seems to have left some deep impressions. There are also a lot of veterans who were injured during said war. However, we never do find out any details about the war. Who fought against whom? And why? For how long? And so on. I really expected more details since it played such an important role in the story.

The ending felt a little forced, as if the author realized she had to write a happy end of some sort and hastily came up with a magical solution for it all.

Overall, this was the weakest book of the series so far. It lacked in details and didn’t even have any of Grey’s usually sizzling hot sex scenes. It seems like the series gets weaker with every new book the author writes. A shame, because “Devil at the Crossroads” was simply amazing. But now I finally want a book solely about Farfarello, the devil everybody’s making deals with.

Cover: I don’t particularly like the cover by Jay Asher. It doesn’t really fit with the other two books, which have absolutely gorgeous covers. There’s just too much brown for my liking and the picture looks kind of blurry.

Sales Links:   Riptide Publishing | ARe | Amazon  other links to  come

Book details:

ebook, 264 pages
Expected publication: April 9th 2016 by Riptide Publishing
Original TitleThe Empty Hourglass
ISBN139781626493933
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesDeal with a Devil

Its Release Day for the Riverdance Anthology (excerpts and giveaway)

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Riverdance Anthology
Authors: L. J. Hamlin, Asta Idonea, Dale Cameron Lowry, Morwen Navarre, Lynn Townsend.
Cover Artist: Kris Norris
Publisher: Torquere Press
Release Date: March 15, 2016

Book/Buy Links: Torquere

Synopsis

Riverdance is a compilation of all things Irish. From fae flitting hither and thither trying to trick their quarry, to a modern-day Highland games, complete with caber tossing and traditional dance, our romantic compilation of Celtic tales and lore are sure to remind readers that love is the pot-o-gold at the end of the rainbow.

Morwen Navarre brings us The Sidhe’s Apprentice, a tale of a young man desperately wanting to be a wizard, like his grandfather, who never banked on falling in love with his mentor. In Finding Balance, Lynn Townsend sets readers in the middle of the Highland games, as well as between two former lovers who need to forgive and forget. L. J. Hamline’s tale, Luck of the Irish, tells of some lucky days that turn into lucky nights. Born of Fire, Dale Cameron Lowry’s offering, brings readers the abduction of a human by fairies, and the greatest lesson of all: love is more than superficial. Finally, Asta Idonea’s The First Swallow of Spring chronicles an annual pilgrimage to the land of the fae, and how the wiley lord tries to keep a human for his own.

Heat Level: 5
Pairing: M/M, F/F
Length: 32,900 words
Categories: BDSM, Contemporary, Erotica, Fantasy, Humor, M/M Romance, Paranormal

Excerpt

From Morwen Navarre’s The Sidhe’s Apprentice:

There was nothing for it but to follow the path which Master Lorc·n had indicated. Master Lorc·n’s parting words had not been comforting, and Alistair had a feeling this Master Cian·n would be no warmer.

Alistair took the opportunity to look around as he walked, wondering how much magic was required to maintain this place. The transition was completely seamless, as though the door to the embassy had been a gate to another realm. None of the whispers had even hinted at the existence of such a portal, though, and Alistair was not too sure he would want to ask. The illusion was flawless, the sky a pearly glow above the tall treetops. The light was softer than sunlight, but far brighter than moonlight, and he wondered if it was designed to duplicate the sun of the Sidhe realm. He could hear faint birdsong, and there was a gentle breeze that brought the scent of honeysuckle with it. If this was Sidhe magic, he wanted to learn all he could.

The stream was not very wide, where Alistair approached it. A single stride would take him over it, but he had been told to wait, and not to cross it. Obedience was mandatory for a student of the Sidhe. That much was common knowledge. There was no place to sit, so Alistair stood and waited. He let his thoughts drift, trying to imagine what it would be like to live in this tranquil place for a year and a day.

“Are you contemplating running away? I wouldn’t recommend it.”

The speaker was Sidhe, and there was a definite lilt to his English. Alistair felt his cheeks grow warm, and he bowed hastily as he straightened up. He swallowed as he got a good look at the speaker on the other side of the stream.

Author Bio
Publisher of GLBT fiction books:  http://www.torquerepress.com to offer the finest in erotic LGBT romance available.
Author Links:
Torquere Facebook Page | Torquere on Twitter |Torquere Blog
Torquere on Pinterest | Torquere Website

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Giveaway

Rafflecopter Prize: eBook copy of the Riverdance Anthology. Must be 18 years or older to enter.

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A MelanieM Review: Blood and Clockwork by Katey Hawthorne

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Blood and ClockworkAlistair Click set out to lay to rest the superstitious fears about the Mad Prince’s clockwork tower. If that meant he might bring the ghost city of Avalonia back to economic life, connecting the western kingdoms once again, so much the better. So what if no adventurer who’d entered the tower in the last century of desolation had ever re-emerged? They didn’t have his skill and wit. He could do better.

The tower turns out to be far more than Alistair expected, however. Not only are there clockwork puzzles to open every door, but one of them drops a boy from a strange world into his lap–figuratively speaking, if only just. Marco Murphy was just gaming in his New Jersey apartment, and now he’s stuck in what feels like a never ending LARP nightmare.

The deeper they delve into the Mad Prince’s tower, the darker the secrets they uncover. They’re not entirely sure they’ll ever be able to get out again, either. It’ll take all Marco’s charm and Alistair’s cleverness, plus the strange bond growing between them, to get them out together… and alive.

When I finished Katey Hawthorne’s Blood and Clockwork, several things popped immediately to mind.  First?  What a spectacular world and engrossing plot! That Mad Prince’s clockwork tower?  Spellbinding…literally. Step by step, I was peering over the shoulders of those wonderful characters, Alistair and Marco as they carefully maneuvered their way thru the mechanisms the Mad Prince has laid out before them.  Be prepared to hold your breath.

And right on the heels of that thought?  More, there needs to be more.

From the moment I meet brave, enterprising Alistair entering the deserted town of Avalonia, the reader comprehends he is someone special.  How special emerges as the story unfolds.   He wants the secrets to the Mad Prince’s clockwork tower that never seems to wind down, even centuries later in the middle of a city devoid of life.  Others have tried and never returned.  Alistair is determined to be the first.  Be prepared to fall deeply in loved with this character.  He’s intelligent, non-judgmental and open to life’s possibilities.  Also very brave which helps with what’s about to come.

Surprisingly, the tower has another occupant.  A visitor from another dimension.  Marco, an artist from our world.  Charming, easy going, intelligent and a perfect match for Alistair in ways that Alistair is not prepared for, this includes sexually.  For Alistair is asexual and the discussion had between them is thoughtful, easy and open,  another wonderful element here.  Marco is stuck in the tower and has no way home.  Together they must work as a team to solve the tower’s puzzles in order to send Marco home and let Alistair solve the riddle of the tower.

Sounds simple but its anything but as the terrific narrative will show.  Marco will pull in some of his skills from his home world, Alistair will use his, and the combination is lovely, imaginative, occasionally funny, and heartwarming.

When the story finished, I was happy yes, but not completely satisfied.  I wasn’t done with these two or their world.  I felt as though we had just gotten started with each  other.  Surely this was but the first in many adventures right?  Katey Hawthorne?  Are you listening?  With their combination of talents, surely  more stories and adventures are to follow?  Just let me know.  I’ll be ready to join in the fun or horror or both.

Cover art is beautiful yet horrific and works within the framework of the story.

Sales links:  Less Than Three Press | ARe | Amazon link coming

Book Details:

ebook
Expected publication: March 16th 2016 by Less Than Three Press
ISBN139781620047392
Edition LanguageEnglish

 

 

A MelanieM Review: Mantled In Mist (SoulShares #6) by Rory Ni Coileain

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Mantled in the MistIn the sixth novel in the Rainbow Award-nominated paranormal M/M SoulShares series, Fiachra Dubhdara is a Fae living a stolen life, in a body that isn’t his own. He’s also the most junior detective on the D.C. Vice squad, assigned the task of infiltrating and shutting down Tiernan Guaire’s Purgatory.
Peri Katsura is the newest and hottest masseur at Lochlann Doran’s Big Boy Massage, inexplicably drawn to the gorgeous cop assigned to bust him but needing to hide a dark secret of his own.
And the owner of Fiachra’s body has a plan to get it back – a plan that may cost Fiachra his SoulShare and close the doors of Purgatory forever. Unless the Marfach gets there first…

Mantled in the Mist by Rory Ni Coilean takes one of my favorite series and with this story made it even deeper and more fantastical.  The author has added several new magical beings, ones we have never heard of before, to this tale of pain, loss and magic.  We are now introduced to races that played major roles in the ancient war that sundered Earth from the other dimension the Fae now reside in.  The price for one race?  They became the subject of mockery, bullying, and deep outright cruelty by the purer fae on the other side for their racial bloodline and past history.  The price paid by the others on Earth? Well, I’ll leave that for the story.

By overlaying such emotional elements, one you can interpret by modern standards so many ways, Ni Coileain has elevated this series to new heights.  The overlays and  similarities can be made for the aboriginal races around the world today and their treatment at the hands of the “superior” races that followed, or to the nature/earth religions who suffered at the developing cultures that encroached and exterminated them.  There is a richness of interpretation here that makes the enjoyment of reading the story swell along with the tale of romance, suspense and yes, horror that follows.

Fiachra, dark skinned, dark haired, tormented, Fiachra thought it better to fade than continue his existence as it was.  But fading did not go as planned and he ended up in another’s body.  Tall, gorgeous, blonde, everything a pure fae looks like.  I love the comparisons and problems this poses here when Fiachra meets his SoulShare and wants him to love the real Fiachra.  The problem of getting his body back was a maze of pain and problem solving that I loved  watching play out over the story.  Actually one than one problem, something else I will leave for the story.

Peri Katsura is another one of those damaged souls that Rory Ni Coileain does so beautifully.  Drag queen, masseur, Peri has many faces and a inability to trust, especially the big blond cop that threatens to bust him.  The two of them together are so engaging in their painful pasts and colliding confusions of the heart.   To help them/blockade them are all the other SoulShare couples from the previous stories still working together to stop the horrific Marfach from their planned assault on the Fae world, a task making the Fae ruthless on both sides.

The characterizations here are vivid, believable and have staying power.  I can pick up these stories and remember exactly who is who.  The terror engendered by the Marfach just grows with each story, something I had not thought possible given some of the past scenes of torture that are rendered somewhat graphically in previous books. Here it is more of the imagination because we know what it/they are capable of.

It ends, as they all do, far too quickly, setting us up for the next in the series.  If I am reading the author right, it should be an entirely different take on the SoulShares element.  Could be wrong, but I can’t see to see it play out.

Here is a series that has it all.  Fantasy, romances, bdsm, horror, mythology, beautiful world building…and six books and growing. I highly recommend it to lovers of all of the above and more.  But don’t read them out of order as they build on each other.  New to the series?  Start with the first, keeping up with me?  Pick this one up and  continue along.

Cover art is lovely, I like the celtic elements and its very different from the ones before.

Sales Links:  Amazon | All Romance eBooks | Riverdale Avenue Books

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 334 pages
Published January 20th 2016 by Riverdale Avenue Books
ASINB01AVNC1N4
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesSoulShares #6

SoulShares Series in the order they were written and should be read (add them to your Goodread list):

A Free Dreamer Review: The Relics of Gods (Between Heaven and Earth #1) by Yeyu

Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

The Relics of the GodsWhat is worse: Being so broke you can barely afford food, getting hired for dangerous missions way out of your league, suffocating under mountains of unanswered questions—or wanting to sexually dominate someone who can kill you without lifting a finger?

Lu Delong is a mercenary who evaluates antiques most of the time and deals with the paranormal on rare occasions—even though it’s supposed to be the other way around. When he joins a dangerous quest for an ancient artifact, he meets and becomes strongly attracted to a mysterious and powerful immortal named Cangji. Despite his friends’ warnings and Cangji’s icy, unsociable demeanor, Delong is unable to resist befriending him. However, Cangji is deeply involved in a matter beyond mortals, and Delong is drawn into a chaotic struggle by both visible and invisible forces.

Always the pacifist who wanted to live a simple human life, Delong never imagined he’d end up involved in a conflict that will affect everything from the lowest insects on earth to the highest gods in heaven.

I wanted to like this book. I really, really did. I mean, dragons, gods AND Asian fantasy? That just had to be awesome. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed.

First off, the author’s style really didn’t work for me. It felt awkward and a little clumsy. It didn’t really fit the setting of the story. The way Delong talked felt way too modern.

Then, there were the MCs themselves. Delong soon got annoying. He was very whiney and extremely naïve. He seemed to fail at everything and followed Cangji like a dog. He got jealous over the most ridiculous things, like a dog-like demon creature. He didn’t behave like a grown man. At times, he actually read more like a three-year-old throwing a temper tantrum.

We didn’t really get to know Cangji. He’s the silent, mysterious type. He has some terrible secrets, but we never really find out what those are.

Overall, these two felt like the stereotypical seme/uke pairing you’ll find in most yaois. The only difference is that Delong wants to be the dominant part in the bedroom.

There are lots of minor characters, that seem important at first but they quickly disappear after they’ve served their purpose, never to be heard of again.

The love story didn’t work for me at all. I really couldn’t understand why Delong would fall in love with Cangji. Cangji seems more annoyed by Delong than anything else. Delong mostly gets ignored or glared at. And yet there’s insta-love on Delong’s part. Why? I have no idea. Cangji doesn’t get his own POV, so I don’t know how he truly felt about Delong.

Somehow, the plot moved too fast and yet didn’t seem to go anywhere either. There was mission after mission, Delong gets hurt, Cangji grumbles and rescues him, every minor character is evil. Honestly, I was rather bored at times and seriously considered skimming great parts of the story. It didn’t feel like I’d miss anything important if I were to just read the beginning and the end.

There was also a lot of mythology mixed in. Usually I love that and I like to think that I’m not completely clueless about the topic. But here I felt like I would have needed a degree in Chinese mythology to get all those references. There was a glossary at the end of the book, but I think the author should have explained at least the basics during the story itself.

And before I forget, the blurb is missing a warning about some dub-con kink. Oh, and it does get rather violent at times.

Long story short, I was sorely disappointed by this book. It had great potential but didn’t live up to it.

Cover: The cover by Reese Dante is absolutely gorgeous, just like most DSP covers. I love that dragon.

Sales Links:  DSP Publications |  Amazon

Series: Part 1 of the Between Heaven and Earth series

Book details:

ebook, 350 pages
Published January 6th 2015 by DSP Publications
Original TitleThe Relics of Gods
ISBN139781627987790
Edition LanguageEnglish
URL
SeriesBetween Heaven and Earth #1

Love is in the Air with Naughty Lovers by the Naughty Literati

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There is something for everyone, including BBW, BDSM, Contemporary, Fantasy,
Lesbian Romance, M/F/M, M/M, New Adult, Paranormal, Regency, Sci-Fi, Shape-shifter, Speculative Fiction, Steampunk & Stepbrother Romance from bestselling authors. We don’t expect you to read all of them unless you are interested in the genre.
 
Featuring:
The Ride of Her Life ~ Tina Donahue
Maddy’s so desperate for fun, she’s signed up for speed dating. Ew. Before she can ditch the event, Ben, her sexy driver, arrives. After one sinfully hot kiss, they’re breaking all the rules, and then some, on a sensuous spring night.
 
Love In The Air ~ Suz deMello
Jill’s been curious about BDSM since reading Fifty Shades, and firefighter Zack is more than willing to scratch that itch for her.
 
Renaissance ~ Alexa Silver
Kira meets Sage, one of the guys from her favorite band, at a “rock workshop”. Can she trust this handsome rockstar or is he after more than her talent?
 
Bastard’s Bonus ~ Terry Rissen
There is no love lost between the Glass Spinners’ Guild and the Tavern Keepers’ Guild. For Ian and Zane, it means they can never be together, or risk losing everything.
 
Cinderella Scandal ~ Nicole Austin
It was a onetime indulgence—a random encounter between strangers. A good girl’s dirty little secret with her bad boy stepbrother. Anything else is forbidden. Or is it?
 
Swing Follies: Ockham Steam-Works Laboratory Chronicles 3 ~ Regina Kammer
Blimey. Delia’s besotted. With Edward. But when an old flame from Edward’s revolutionary past swings by and steams up the laboratory, has Delia missed her chance at love?
 
Sappho’s Sisters ~ Berengaria Brown
Lady Eustacia Lumley, the only child of the Earl of Wentworth, must marry well and ensure the succession. Only problem is she’s falling in love with another woman.
 
Blast From The Past ~ Katherine Kingston
Lynn’s past relationship with Ryan wasn’t healthy, but when she meets him again after a long separation the old flames reignite. Can they have a more mature relationship now?
 
The WyndRaider’s Conquest ~ Charlotte Boyett-Compo
Prime Reaper Xandon Cree must pick the next test pilot to fly a super-secret war craft. Picking a female for the job is not what he had in mind.
 

 

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Also available from the Naughty LIterati:
 
Naughty Chances: Take a Chance on Love
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Naughty Reunion: Return to Romance
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Naughty Escapes: Eleven Naughty Vacation Getaways
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Naughty List: Thirteen Naughty Holiday Stories
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Naughty Hearts: Twelve Naughty Romance Stories
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Naughty Flings: Twelve Naughty Little Romps
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Find THE NAUGHTY LITERATI:
Triberr (anyone can join our Naughty Tribe) http://amzn.to/1LBpFHA
 
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Into the Fantasy World of Romance with Bailey Bradford’s ‘Dragon Dreams & Fairy Wings’ book blast and giveaway

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  • Dragon Dreams & Fairy Wings (Fire & Flutter #1) by Bailey Bradford
     Release Date: February 18 at Rainbow Ninja Press, February 25 elsewhere

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Rainbow Ninja Press
Cover Artist: Beany Sparks

Blurb

What happens when a fairy loses his wings– and his memory?

Griff was born a Love fairy, but he never quite fit in. He didn’t want to be part of a harem, at least…he didn’t think he wanted that. What with his wings gone and his memory damaged, he can’t be certain of what he felt in the past. All he does know is, he wants his wings back. Without them, he’s grounded.

Blaze is a dragon shifter who tends to stick his foot in his mouth…and some other parts in other places…when he really shouldn’t. His brother is the king, and his sister-in-law Bonny is scary. Blaze’s last screw-up got him grounded, unable to shift into his dragon form. His punishment seems harsh to him, but there’s no escaping it.

Then the Love fairies come to the castle to work on forming an alliance. Blaze has about had it with guarding the horny beings, and he’s disappointed that they don’t stay small and cute. He almost commits a major faux-pas when he swats at something buzzing him, and it turns out to be a fairy on a dragonfly.

And from that snarky meeting, something wonderful, and dangerous, will come.

 

Pages or Words: 58,600 words
Categories: Erotica, Fantasy, Fiction, Gay Fiction, Humor, M/M Romance, Romance, Shifters (Dragon)

Excerpt

Blaze was disappointed as all Hades. The fairies weren’t little all the time. They were tiny when they came in, but quickly morphed to regular sized beings, if not taller than most of the dragons when the dragons were in the two-legged form.

And holy dragon balls, Blaze did not know why anyone would want a harem! Okay, well, there was the sex, and lots of it, probably, but so far there’d been more bickering and outright fighting than anything sexy! He’d had to break up six altercations, and the fairies had only been in their accommodations for an hour!

This was going to be a long, suck-ass assignment.

The fairies sure were beautiful, though. Granted, he hadn’t seen each and every one of them. He’d seen the king, and some of the harem members. Every one of them was gorgeous, delicate-featured, lithe, and limber—that last one might not be true, but he was going to go with it, because… hot! Bendy fairies… Blaze adjusted his cock before it could pop up and embarrass him. He wondered if maybe, because they were Love fairies, they had special powers of attraction and such. He’d been fighting down boners ever since he’d been brought out to meet the Love fairy king, Artaxis.

Not that Artaxis even gave him a cursory glimpse. Blaze didn’t blame him. Artaxis was beautiful, like all the fairies Blaze had seen so far, and Blaze was… Well, there was nothing delicate about a dragon’s features, that was for sure. And lithe might apply to some of the other dragons in differing warrens, but not in any Blaze knew of.

With Blaze’s shocking orange hair and bronze skin… and freckles, another thing that was a burden to bear. How many times when he’d been a child had he been teased about having shit splatters on his face? Was it any wonder at all that he hated his human form? At least his scales made the freckles unnoticeable for the most part when he was a dragon. And Blaze was forever scarred from being told his freckles were caused by watching other creatures using the dragon dumping grounds. That was also the cause for styes in the eyes, according to old dragons’ tales.

Blaze had never in his life had a sty, and he’d maybe, sorta accidentally, seen an orc once in the dumping grounds. If anything was going to give someone a sty, that should have done it.

Blaze smacked himself on the forehead. Why did his mind spin around to such stupid thoughts?

Well, it’d curbed his arousal. He hoped the fairies weren’t going to hang around long. He didn’t need the struggle with his dick, and he sure didn’t need the blow to his ego—so far, none of the fairies had acknowledged him or even looked at him unless he was breaking up a fight involving them. Even then, he didn’t think he registered as more than a big, lumbering weirdo.

He watched a dozen fairies walk toward the baths. They were so pale and pretty, and that long hair was amazing. Then he realized something wonderful. They were naked!

It was wonderful because there were so many gorgeous naked fairies. Yet it was horrible, too, because he was never going to have blood anywhere else but in his cock again unless he got some sort of control over his libido. When the fairies’ hair swung just right, he saw glimpses of nicely rounded buttocks.

Blaze groaned and closed his eyes. He couldn’t look. He’d end up taking his shaft out right there and jacking himself to completion, and he didn’t have to think about it to know that wouldn’t go over well with Fyre or Bonny.

He had to leave the hall next to the harem rooms, where he’d been standing, waiting for the next fight to break out. Blaze couldn’t wait for more naked fairies to come out. He’d lose it and yeah, end up being grounded for a century.

It was easy to slip away, outside, into the heat of the sunlight. Blaze bit his lip until it hurt bad enough to kill his arousal. He was really going to have to get it together—if he could just figure out what it was.

A strange sound reached his ears. It was a fluttering, buzzing sound. He turned his head and frowned when he saw a gold-gilded dragonfly buzzing toward the entrance of the secondary palace where the fairies were staying.

Contrary to popular belief, dragons didn’t look at dragonflies as cute little relatives. They looked at them as bugs.

Blaze raised a hand to swat it away when it was within reach.

Buy the book:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BK0GKWU

http://www.rainbowninjapress.com/Dragon-Dreams-Fairy-Wings

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28951311-dragon-dreams-and-fairy-wings

Early release 18th Feb

General release 25th Feb

Meet the author:

These things always give me fits. Basically, I am an author of erotic romance. Besides being an author, I am a mother, a grandmother, a wife, and a combination of many other things that make my life joyous day in and day out. Unless someone swipes my coffee. Then it gets pretty ugly quickly.

Where to find the author:

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Tour Dates & Stops: February 18, 2016

Parker Williams, Divine Magazine, V’s Reads, Bonkers About Books, Bayou Book Junkie, The Hat Party, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Full Moon Dreaming, Decadent Delights, Unquietly Me, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Velvet Panic, BFD Book Blog, Happily Ever Chapter, Boy Meets Boy Reviews, Open Skye Book Reviews, Molly Lolly, Nephy Hart, Dawn’s Reading Nook, MM Good Book Reviews, The Jena Wade, Inked Rainbow Reads, Kirsty Loves Books

Final

Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: PDF copy of ‘Dragon Dreams & Fairy Wings’ by Bailey Bradford.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.

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Its Back to the Wonderful Urban Fantasy Series SoulShares with Rory Ni Coileain’s ‘Mantled In Mist’ (excerpt and giveaway)

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Mantled In Mist (SoulShares #6) by Rory Ni Coileain
Release Date: January 20, 2016

Goodreads Link:
Publisher: Riverdale Avenue Books
Cover Artist: Insatiable Designs

Blurb

Fiachra Dubhdara is a Fae living a stolen life, in a stolen body, and the newest detective on the D.C. Vice squad. Peri Katsura is the newest and hottest masseur at Lochlann Doran’s Big Boy Massage, inexplicably drawn to the gorgeous cop assigned to bust him. And the owner of Fiachra’s body has a plan to get it back – a plan that may cost Fiachra his SoulShare.

 

Pages or Words: 79,547 words
Series should be read in order
 Categories: Erotica, Fantasy, Romance, Urban Fantasy

Excerpt

The human’s laughter was completely unFae.

And it made everything perfect.

But then it faded. “Let me turn around.” Peri’s gaze dropped.

“Why do you —”

“Please.” He slid his legs off Fiachra’s shoulders, easing up onto his elbows. “Don’t treat me like something I’m not.”

Fiachra’s eyes narrowed. “Am I not allowed to treat you like a male whose smile I would give my left nut to see just because money changed hands?”

Peri stared.

“We agreed I’m not renting you, right? So I’ll do everything I can to make you pass out from pleasure if I fucking well feel like it.” Fiachra could feel his face flushing. Where is all of this coming from? Fae didn’t act like this. Didn’t feel like this.

Then he remembered Conall, looking at Josh. Cuinn and Rian, both of them Fae to the core, every breath either one took all wrapped up in the other.

Peri’s my SoulShare. Or I’m insane. And I don’t think I’m insane.

Buy the book:

Amazon | All Romance eBooks  | Riverdale Avenue Books

Meet the Author

Rory Ni Coileain has been writing almost as long as she’s been reading, and reading almost as long as she’s been talking. She majored in creative writing in college, back when Respectable Colleges didn’t offer such a major, so she designed it herself—being careful to ensure that she never had to take a class before nine in the morning or take a Hemingway survey course.

She graduated Phi Beta Kappa at the age of nineteen, sent off her first short story to an anthology being assembled by an author she idolized, received the kind of rejection letter that fuels decades of therapy, and found other things to do for the next thirty years or so, including nightclub singing, working as a volunteer lawyer for Gay Men’s Health Crisis, and studying ballet in New York City, until her stories grabbed her by the shirt collar and announced they were back.

Now she’s a legal editor, a soprano in her church choir and the St. Mark’s Cathedral Choral Society (unless they’re singing Mozart, because she’s decided that Mozart didn’t like second sopranos very much), the mother of a teenaged son and budding film-maker, and amanuensis to a host of Fae, Gille Dubh, and shapeshifters who are all anxious to tell their stories, and some of whom aren’t very good at waiting their turns.

Where to find the author:

 


Tour Dates & Stops: January 22, 2016

Parker Williams, Open Skye Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Dawn’s Reading Nook, A.M. Leibowitz, BFD Book Blog, MM Good Book Reviews, Bayou Book Junkie, Jessie G. Books, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Happily Ever Chapter, Multitasking Mommas, Charley Descoteaux, Divine Magazine, Molly Lolly, Mikky’s World of Books, Alpha Book Club, Velvet Panic

Final

Giveaway

Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of the first book of the series.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Link and prize provided by the author and Pride Promotions.

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