Tag: Lesbian romance

In the Book Spotlight: Summer Love Anthology (A YA Collection from Duet, YA Interlude Press) (mini interview &giveaway)

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Summer Love Anthology – A YA Short Story Collection
Published by Duet – a YA imprint at Interlude Press
Release Date: June 23, 2015

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Goodreads Link
Publisher: Duet, a Young Adult imprint form Interlude Press
Cover Artist: BuckeyeGrrl Designs

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Sales Links:  Interlude Press – Amazon – Independent Bookstores

Our mini interview…

My Best Friend, Summer Love- HJ Coulter

Today I am very lucky to be interviewing HJ Coulter, author of My Best Friend, part of the Summer Love Collection. Hi, HJ, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us about yourself, your background and your current book.

If I was to categorize myself, I guess I would say I am a geeky, classy, redneck. I grew up on the farm so I have an appreciation for wide open spaces and playing in the mud. I LOVE country music and the independent lifestyle that comes with country living. But I also the love the theatre, the sound of cellos, lace and old books. Plus I own more TV shows in DVD than should be legally allowed, dream of owning a replica of Hogwarts and my “ I Want To Believe” poster is one of my most prized possessions.

My current story, My Best Friend, is a letter from a gay young man to his best friend who has recently gotten married and is moving away. When I heard the theme Summer Love, I automatically knew that I did not want to write a romance. I wanted to capture all the other loves in people’s lives. Whether that be something as simple as a love for summer rain storms or as complicated as the love between a young man and his mentally ill father. My goal was to give emphasis to the fact that the epic love stories in your life don’t have to be romance.

What did you want to do when you grew up?

Like most people, I think my career aspirations changed as my interests grew and evolved. When I was very young, 4 or 5, I wanted to be Beethoven. Growing up with my Oma and Opa gave me a very early love for classical music and Beethoven’s 9th was my all-time favourite. I even sat down at the piano one day and played the melody to Ode to Joy by ear. This is what sparked my deep love for music. And like all first loves, music will always be a part of my life.

When I was an adolescent I was obsessed with cop dramas. I was known around school as the “ CSI girl”. I wanted to be everything for a lab tech to a beat cop to forensic psychologist. I read a lot of true crime novels and biographies of serial killers. I was a little creepy, not going to lie. It’s weird because most of my personal library has shifted into fiction. And I now like my procedurals with aliens or super villains. How times change.

I also remembering wanting to be a paramedic, hair dresser and English teacher. In fact when I went to post-secondary I was working towards getting my education degree. But to tell you the truth, I still don’t know what I want to do when I grow up. And I’m almost 25. Sure I have been thinking a lot lately about being a musical therapist or officially getting my papers to be a recreation facillator for older adults, but who knows? Not too long ago I didn’t think I would a published author and now look at me.

STRW Author BookSynopsis

Summer Love is the first collection of short stories published by Duet, the young adult imprint from Interlude Press. These short stories are about the emergence of young love of bonfires and beaches, of the magical in-between time when young lives step from one world to another, and about finding the courage to be who you really are, to follow your heart and live an authentic life. The contributing authors have written stories about both romantic and platonic love featuring characters who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, pansexual and queer/questioning. The authors also represent a spectrum of experience, identity and backgrounds.

SUMMARIES & AUTHOR BIOS

  • Beautiful Monsters
    A campaign volunteer is assigned to assist his high school’s Gay Straight Alliance for the Pride Parade, forcing him to face the students he had previously avoided, and the truth about himself.
    Author: Rachel Davidson Leigh is a writer, educator, and small town native who tells stories she wishes she could have read as a teen. Beautiful Monsters is her first published work of fiction. She lives in Wisconsin with her family and two dogs who are spoiled out of their tiny minds.
  • The Willow Weeps for Us
    Jack, the young son of a grocer, falls for a charming piano teacher at the dawn of World War II.
    Author: Suzey Ingold is a writer, linguist and coffee addict, currently based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Brought up in a household where children’s books are quoted over the dinner table, literature has always had a strong influence on her life. She enjoys travelling, scented candles and brunch.
  • The Fire Eater’s Daughter
    When a traveling carnival comes back to town, Ruth must choose between caring for her mother and a life with the beautiful and mysterious Constance, the fire eater’s daughter.
    Author: Amy Stilgenbauer is a writer and aspiring archivist currently based in southeast Michigan. She is the author of the novelette series, Season of the Witch, as well as the Young Adult novel, The Legend of League Park. When she isn’t writing, Amy enjoys all things bergamot and tries to keep her cats away from her knitting.
  • Surface Tension
    Logan just wants a summer where he can be anonymous and fit in without labels, but that all changes when he meets out-and-proud Dave at summer camp.
    Author: Ella J. Ash is a lawyer by day and an author by night. She has been a writer in online fan communities since 2006. She also enjoys dance parties with her family and cooking experimental vegetarian cuisine. She lives in Toronto with her partner, three daughters and four tropical fish.
  • My Best Friend
    In a letter to his best friend, a young gay man reminisces about their relationship.
    Author: H.J. Coulter lives in Winnepeg, Canada, where she works as a respite worker and studies music, in hopes of one day becoming a musical therapist. My Best Friend is her professional writing debut.
  • What the Heart Wants
    A young student discovers attraction and desire through her experience drawing figures in her summer art class.
    Author: Naomi Tajedler was born and raised in Paris, where art has always been a part of her life—including painting, restoring books, and working in auctions. She started writing in online fan communities in 2009.
  • The Most Handsome
    Carter, a Cape Cod boy who recently came out as transgender, meets and falls in love with a college student visiting for the summer.
    Author: S.J. Martin lives with his partner and their cranky, rotund cat in Washington D.C. He’s a barista by day and a writer by night. He makes a mean cappuccino and lives for good coffee, good books, and good company. The Most Handsome is his first published story.
  • Something Like Freedom
    A boy finds a safe space from which to imagine a new future after leaving his conservative parents’ home, thanks in part to a new friend.
    Author: Caroline Hanlin is a full time statistician, a part time stage manager, and an avid sports fan. She currently resides in Boston, where she enjoys writing during her commute. Something Like Freedom is her first published short story.
  • On the Shore
    A young woman retreats to her parents’ beach house to nurse a broken heart, but instead meets a vivacious girl who helps her find joy again.
    Author: Rachel Blackburn is a writer, musician and librarian based in central Ohio. When free from work, she enjoys cuddling with her cats, drinking tea, and baking more cupcakes than necessary. On the Shore is her professional writing debut.

Pages or Words: 276 pages

Categories: Please keep in mind that as an anthology, not all stories contain all elements listed.
Bisexual, Contemporary, Fiction, Gay Fiction, Lesbian Romance, M/M Romance, Romance, Trans*, Young Adult, Collection

STRW Spotlight Book Excerpt

Excerpt: (From Beautiful Monsters)
Beautiful Monsters
By Rachel Davidson Leigh

“Glad to see you could join the party,” Terrence deadpans, pressing a rainbow bandana into André’s hand. André grabs a second bandana out of the bag, stuffs one in each of his back pockets, and then goes in for a third.
“Cody was checking out the parade route,” André replies, in a smooth lie. “It turns out we’re still walking six blocks through absolutely nothing and then calling it a day.” Terrence laughs, and, as he turns away, André presses a handkerchief into Cody’s hand. “Use it wisely,” he whispers into Cody’s ear. “You’re one of us now.”
One of us. He’s never been part of an “us.” Cody stares down at the lines on the handkerchief and then at the two patches of color on the back of André’s jeans as he walks toward the arriving cars.
Cody expects panic, but it doesn’t come. Maybe he isn’t ready to be Gay with a capital G, but if “us” can mean being one of these idiots, then maybe he’s ready to have people of his own. As he watches the sharp sway of André’s hips, the heat rising up his neck doesn’t feel like fear. It feels like… clarity, as though the run put everything in perspective and now he can’t stop seeing André in crisp, dazzling color.
Someone presses a sign into his hand and guides him toward the parade staging area with the rest of the crew. Once again, he can’t hear himself think over the din, but it’s different now. At the meeting, and for years before that in the hallways, he felt like an invader locked out by a wall of sound, and now he’s somehow wandered inside. 

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About the authors at Interlude Press:

Where to find more information:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/interludepress
Twitter: @duetbooks, @interludepress
Pinterest: pinterest.com/interludepress
Other: duetbooks.com
Other: duetbooks.tumblr.com

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Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Link and prizes provided by the press and Pride Promotions. Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: One $25 Interlude Press gift card. Five multi-format Summer Love eBooks.
Rafflecopter Code:
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Tour Dates & Stops:
23-Jun
Hearts on Fire
Because Two Men Are Better Than One
Cathy Brockman Romances

24-Jun
Boys on the Brink Reviews
Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

25-Jun
Up All Night, Read All Day
Happily Ever Chapter
Velvet Panic

26-Jun
Bending The Bookshelf
Mikky’s World of Books
Prism Book Alliance

29-Jun
Bike Book Reviews
Rainbow Gold Reviews
Amanda C. Stone

30-Jun
Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves
BFD Book Blog

1-Jul
TTC Books and More
Foxylutely Book Reviews
Bayou Book Junkie

2-Jul
MM Good Book Reviews
Inked Rainbow Reads

3-Jul
Emotion in Motion
Love Bytes

6-Jul
Molly Lolly
Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews
My Fiction Nook

In the Book Spotlight: Sword of the Gladiatrix by Faith L. Justice (author interview and giveaway)

Sword of the Gladiatrix cover

Sword of the Gladiatrix by Faith L. Justice
Release Date: May, 2015

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Goodreads Link
Publisher: Raggedy Moon Books
Cover Artist: Todd Engle

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Sales Links: 

Amazon.com Worldwide (US, UK, Canada)
BarnesandNoble.com 
CreateSpace (print only)
iBooks (ebook only)
Kobo (ebook only)
Smashwords (ebooks–all formats)

..

My Interview with Faith L. Justice…

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Faith L. Justice, author of Sword of the Gladiatrix. Hi Faith, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

Thanks so much for having me here at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words. I’m a science geek and history junkie and have been all my life. I knocked around a bit and worked as a lifeguard, paralegal, systems analyst, human resources executive, and college professor before settling into full-time writing. I live in Brooklyn with my family and the required gaggle of cats. For fun, I like to dig in the dirt—my garden and various archaeological sites.

My current book is an action adventure, lesbian romance set during Nero’s reign. A departure for me. I usually write novels based on real historical women—ones who should be in the history books but aren’t. Sword of the Gladiatrix features two fictional characters from the far ends of the Roman Empire: Afra, scout and beast master to the Queen of Kush; and Cinnia, warrior-bard and companion to Queen Boudica of the British Iceni. Both try to replace lost friendship and love in each other’s arms, but fate intervenes. Before they complete their journeys, I toss in a pair of trained hunting cheetahs, a nasty snake dancing bitch, a natural disaster or two, a neurotic emperor, and several gladiator fights.

Whenever I pitched Sword of the Gladiatrix as my “lesbian gladiator novel,” I encountered raised eyebrows and skeptical snorts. The first question everyone asked: “Were there really lesbian gladiators?” My answer: “Of course!” We know there were females fighting in arenas for a couple of centuries, although far fewer than men. Some had to be lesbian. What really surprised people was the fact of female gladiators. They rarely appear in popular culture. Despite the popularity of Xena Warrior Princess and the myths of the Amazons, they don’t come to mind in the media-soaked imaginings of brutal, bloody, gladiatorial games. Women warriors? Maybe. Women gladiators? No. Yet they are there in classical literature, art, grave markers, and archaeology. All you have to do is look.
• Was there a basis for your story? A previous experience or something else?

I love museums (see science geek and history junkie above). I spend days wondering around and reading all the labels. When I visited the British Museum several years ago, I came across a stone carving, from the first or second century, found in Turkey. It showed two women named Achilla and Amazon fighting with swords and shields, their helmets on the ground. Female gladiators! At that time, I didn’t know they existed. I researched the topic and found that females (in small numbers) fought regularly over a two hundred year period

The image of those two women haunted me. They were real women who lived and died centuries ago. Who were they? Where did they come from? How did they feel about their lives? That’s when I decided to tell their story. Well, not their story precisely—no one knows their background or fates. So I created Afra and Cinnia to stand in for those two women carved on the stone.
• What skills do you think a writer needs?

Writing is a craft and can be taught. There are aisles full of good how-to books on writing in bookstores and libraries, but the one thing any writer—fiction or non-fiction—needs to master is storytelling. How do you develop your characters, plot, and setting in such a way that it draws the reader in and keeps them turning the pages. A good storyteller can get away without sparkling prose, but the opposite isn’t true.

Also persistence and a thick skin help. I’ve known several people over the years who (I felt) were wonderful writers with original voices and compelling stories, but they gave up after getting a couple of rejections. Write your story or novel to the best of your ability, put it out there, and move on to the next. All writing is practice and useful. Someone once said you need to write one million words before you get good. Rewriting the same sixty thousand over and over doesn’t count.

Oh, and either a deep understanding of English grammar or a crack copy editor. I loved your rant: Win a Celery Stalks At Midnight Can A Balled Bare Bear Bee Far Behind?: Vocabulary Goes Bad with Homonyms! I haven’t laughed so hard in ages. I recently caught a blooper in one of my draft blog posts where I talked about “navel battles”—belly button wars! Glad I caught it before I posted it, but if it made it into a book, shame on me and my editor.

• What for you is the perfect book hero?

I like complicated and flawed. If s/he is perfect, everything comes too easily, there’s no conflict or risk—boring! I’m also partial to the underdog and the odd one out like Tyrion from Game of Thrones. A hero has to make mistakes and overcome the consequences, not just overcome external obstacles; otherwise there is no growth or emotional throughline. They also have to learn from their mistakes. In my first book, Selene of Alexandria, my protagonist is an impulsive young woman who—like most young people—suffers from a feeling of invincibility. She learns her rashness has consequences—sometimes deadly—but also understands that her impulsiveness comes from a deep need to do good and make the world a better place. Some actions she regrets, others she doesn’t.

• Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

No so much the craft. My challenges go back to persistence: getting my butt in chair and fingers on keyboard. In today’s connected world, it is so easy to get distracted and fritter the day away on the internet. Working at home doesn’t help. Stuck on a scene? Oh, there’s laundry! Or cats to play with. Or…you name it. I schedule a minimum of three hours—preferably in the morning before I look at email/Facebook/Twitter—that is dedicated to new writing (not rewriting!) I take my ancient laptop to the couch in the parlor (no TV, no Wi-Fi) and sit staring. Sometimes the words flow and I’m “in the zone.” Other times it’s like pulling teeth, but I sit there until I write one word, then the next, then the next. Each word gets easier.

• Tell us about your favorite childhood book.

Mrs. Coverlet’s Magicians by Mary Nash (1962, Little, Brown & Co.). My parents signed me up for a book-of-the-month club and this was one. The story is simple: Three siblings on their own because their parents are on a trip, their housekeeper won a cooking contest, and their substitute babysitter is in bed under a voodoo spell that the youngest child Theodore (Toad) put on her. Malcom and Molly, the oldest two children, work hard to keep the house going and make it a nice Christmas for their younger brother, but things keep getting weirder and weirder. Chaos, hilarity, and an impossible snowstorm ensue.

It’s not great literature. The dialog sucks and the gender stereotypes are…1962, but I read this to my little sister every year at Christmas till she could read it herself. It wasn’t Christmas until we read Mrs. Coverlet’s Magicians. I found my old hardback copy with the battered dust jacket a few years ago and gave it to my sister. Best Christmas present ever! Sweet memories of a lovely time.

Thanks again for letting me visit your site. Many hours of great reading to you all!

STRW Author BookSynopsis

From the far edges of the Empire, two women come to battle on the hot sands of the arena in Nero’s Rome. They seek to replace lost friendship, love, and family in each other’s arms; but the Roman arena offers only two futures: the Gate of Life for the victors or the Gate of Death for the losers.

Pages or Words: 260 pages, 75,000 words

Categories: Fiction, Gay Fiction, Historical, Lesbian Romance, Action/Adventure

STRW Spotlight Book Excerpt

A slave wraps my lower legs with felted wool and straps a gilded greave to my left shin, because I fight as myrmilla. He smells of sour sweat, as do I. I’ve already fought once today, tested fate, and won. The gold sand that Nero favors in the arena still crusts my hair and rasps the skin under my sweat-soaked breast band. I will go again before the ravenous crowds to satisfy their bloodlust. For what? An emperor’s whim? The crowd’s passing fancy? A sacrifice to their gods?

I swallow the bitter gall that surges into my mouth.

Across the room, another slave straps armor on Cinnia, my beloved. She looks at me with pride in her eyes and a brief smile on her lips. We said our goodbyes last night, clasped breast to breast, thigh to thigh, a stolen moment before being sent to our lonely cells. My heart beats an irregular rhythm.

My love. Light to my dark. Fire to my ice. ‘

Cinnia is goddess-given to me; from a land of mists and forests, so different from my country of desert and blistering sun. Without her, I would be dead. Without me, so would she. We have suffered, struggled, lived, and loved. Now we go out upon the sands of the great arena to die. One by her lover’s hands, the other by her own.

It is not the life or death I chose for myself, but it is the one the gods gave me.

STRW Author Bio and Contacts

About the author:

FAITH L. JUSTICE writes award-winning novels, short stories, and articles in Brooklyn, New York. Her work has appeared in Salon.com, Writer’s Digest, The Copperfield Review, the Circles in the Hair anthology, and many more. She is a frequent contributor to Strange Horizons, Associate Editor for Space and Time Magazine, and co-founded a writer’s workshop many more years ago than she likes to admit. For fun, she digs in the dirt—her garden and various archaeological sites.

Where to find the author:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/faith.justice.7
Twitter: https://twitter@faithljustice
Author website: https://www.faithljustice.com
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/profile/view?id=64543293

 STRW Spotlight Contest Header

Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions. Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: Copy of ‘Sword of the Gladiatrix’ by Faith L. Justice

Rafflecopter Code:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Tour Dates & Stops:
15-Jun
The Hat Party

16-Jun
Hearts on Fire
7-Jun
Love Bytes
18-Jun
All I Want and More Books
Amanda C. Stone
19-Jun
Bayou Book Junkie
22-Jun
Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words
23-Jun
Bike Book Reviews
24-Jun
Prism Book Alliance
25-Jun
Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews
26-Jun
Inked Rainbow Reads

In the Book Spotlight: Family Time Anthology from Torquere Books

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Family Time Anthology
Author Names: Sean Michael, Jessica Chase, Nicole McCormick, Nora Birch,
Lynn Townsend, K. Lynn, RJ Schmidt, Katherine Halle, Rob Rosen, Mychael Black,
and Andrea Dalling, Yolande Kleinn

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Release Date: June 17, 2015
Publisher: Torquere Press
Cover Artist: BSClay

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Sales Links:   Torquere Books

STRW Author BookSynopsis

These twelve stories range from first-time parents, to a couple still trying to conceive, to a ready-made family hoping to make it official, to parents just trying to get from one day to the next.

But it can’t all be about the kids. Especially when the kid to parent ratio favors the kids. You might have sneak out of your own house. Or remind your spouse what grown-ups can do when the kids are away.

From veteran and new authors, these families contain several m/m couples, an F/F couple, and an asexual mom who has some explaining to do to her genderfluid teen.

Pages or Words: 77,000 words

Categories: Contemporary, Humor, Lesbian Romance, M/M Romance, Romance, Anthology, Erotic Romance (Please keep in mind that as an anthology, not all stories may reflect all categories.)

STRW Spotlight Book Excerpt

 

Excerpt from First Day of School, a And Manny Makes Seven short by Sean Michael

Lizzie stared at Hutch with huge, tear-filled eyes. “Please. Please, Hut. Don’t make me go away. I’ll be the best cooker ever. I promise.”

God, she was breaking his heart. Hutch managed to find a warm smile for her, though, as he crouched to give her a hug. “You’ll be home by three thirty. And I bet you find you like school. There’s so many fun things to do.” He’d known it would be hard to send the twins off to school every day, leaving the house empty until afternoon, but he hadn’t expected it to be this hard.

She shook her head, the tears beginning to fall. Felicia was desperate to be big, to go to school like Darla, but this one had been opposed to the whole idea and finding out she wasn’t in the same Kindergarten class as her twin hadn’t helped. The school claimed they split twins up to let them develop their own individuality.

Well, Hutch knew damn well his girls were plenty individual, each with their own unique personality despite being together since birth.

“When you get home you can help me make supper,” he promised. “That won’t change just because you’re going to school.”

“Please? You can tell Addie-Lou it’s okay. I know you can,” she insisted.

“No, little. He can’t.” Adam shook his head. “School is important.”

“Is not!” She stamped her little foot, glaring at Adam. “I want to stay with Hut!”

“Okay, Lizzie, that’s enough.” Hutch gave her his most firm voice. “School is important and you’re going to make friends and find really fun things to do. Addie-Lou and I will be here when you get home.”

He wanted so badly to tell her she could stay home, but he knew she needed to do this. It was his job to make sure she didn’t need him and Adam anymore and this was how it started. Even if it was the hardest thing ever.

STRW Spotlight Contest Header

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

Rafflecopter Code:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Tour Dates & Stops:
Parker Williams, Divine Magazine, MM Good Book Reviews, BFD Book Blog, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Kimi-Chan, Havan Fellows, Because Two Men Are Better Than One, The Fuzzy, Fluffy World of Chris T. Kat, Happily Ever Chapter, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, The Hat Party, Molly Lolly, Decadent Delights, Just Love Romance, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Bayou Book Junkie, Two Chicks Obsessed With Books and Eye Candy, Mikky’s World of Books, Redz World, Rainbow Gold Reviews, Velvet Panic, Iyana Jenna

In the Book Spotlight: “His Womanly Ways” by K. Lynn (excerpt and giveaway)

His Womanly Ways cover

His Womanly Ways by K. Lynn
Release Date: May 27, 2015

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Goodreads

Publisher: Torquere Press
Cover Artist: BS Clay

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Sales Links: Torquere Books

STRW Author BookSynopsis

 

Alex is a womanizer. He makes no excuses for it. Yes, he picks up women at the local bar, leaving them with just a memory of a good night and a good lay, but he hasn’t had any complaints yet. That is, until he picks up the wrong woman. Not satisfied to be tossed aside as just another notch in Alex’s bedpost, she curses him, wishing he “knew what it was like for a woman.” And he’s about to find out what she means, embarking on a genderswap journey that he can’t stop.

Alex starts slowly gaining secondary female characteristics. Waking up with his cock gone, replaced by a vagina, was bad enough. Then it gets worse, as his body becomes more like a woman than the man he used to be. Alex tries to hide the changes he’s going through, for fear that someone will discover his secret, but keeping this quite literally “under wraps” might be impossible before the curse runs its course.

With the help of his female best friend, Eve, Alex tries to deal with who he is becoming. He feels like he’s lost his identity, his mind not matching the body he now has. But Eve sticks by him, and they become closer as Alex’s changes progress. What started out as friendship may become something more before Alex’s journey is over. Perhaps this curse was actually a blessing in disguise.

Pages or Words: 65,000 words

Categories: Bisexual, Contemporary, Erotica, Fiction, Humor, Lesbian Romance, Body Horror, Romance, Transgender, Transformation, Genderswap, Gender Change, Cursed

STRW Spotlight Book Excerpt

“I don’t need you to courier anybody, okay?” he growled. “This is more serious.”

She gave him a raised eyebrow. “I’m not helping you get rid of a body either. That was just a joke. You can’t hold me to anything I say when I’m drunk.”

“Shut up, there’s no dead body,” he said, untying the strings on the front of his sweatpants. “There’s something wrong with me.”

“For fuck’s sake, Alex, I don’t want to see your diseased dick,” Eve said, covering her eyes. “Go to the clinic.”

“I don’t think the clinic can help me with this,” he said, pulling his pants and underwear down and sitting on the edge of the bed in front of her. Alex pushed his legs apart, splaying them so there was no way she could miss the problem when she opened her eyes again.

“Eve, just look,” he urged, looking up at her.

“No!” she said, keeping her eyes fully covered.

“Please, Eve, I’m freaking out here and you’re the only person I knew to call,” his tone was pleading now and he was starting to freak out again. “Just look at me.”

“I told you,” she began as she started taking her hand away from her face, “I don’t want to see…what the hell is that?!” Her eyes widened as she saw him in full glory, her face losing all trace of color as she stumbled back.

“You should know, you’ve got one yourself,” he said with a pasted-on smirk, but his attempt at humor fell flat.

STRW Author Bio and Contacts

About the author:

K. Lynn has been an avid reader and writer since childhood. In her youth, she could most likely be found in the local library, devouring books that covered everything from WWII History to Dr. McCoy’s latest adventures aboard the Enterprise, with some X-Men thrown in for good measure. Once she had read everything that was on the shelves, she turned around and read them again. K. Lynn was also known to create elaborate adventures that more than once made it to the page. Ink-filled papers gave way to overflowing computer memory as the years went on, but the stories never ceased.

While in college, K. Lynn increased her involvement in LGBT issues and writing within the LGBT fiction genre. She has become a long-time fan of the authors that seek to explore the commonality that exists within all sexualities and genders. Most of K. Lynn’s work features LGBT characters, many of whom are in established relationships and show how love perseveres through every trial and tribulation that life holds. She also has a particular interest in seeing transgender characters gain a larger foothold within the LGBT fiction genre, hoping that the market for these works expand in the future.

Where to find the author:

Twitter: @WriterKLynn
Livejournal – (I have a personal one at http://kimberlyfdr.livejournal.com/, but it’s not K. Lynn specific…though I do speak about my writing there and welcome friending)
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6294892.K_Lynn
Amazon http://www.amazon.com/K.-Lynn/e/B009PNS6VS
Website: http://writerklynn.com/

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Tour Dates & Stops: May 25, 2015
Parker Williams, Cate Ashwood, Inked Rainbow Reads, Bayou Book Junkie, The Fuzzy, Fluffy World of Chris T. Kat, Havan Fellows, BFD Book Blog, Molly Lolly, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Wake Up Your Wild Side, Happily Ever Chapter, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Rainbow Gold Reviews, Divine Magazine, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Chris McHart, Iyana Jenna, The Hat Party, Up All Night, Read All Day, Bending the Bookshelf, Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves

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Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Link and prizes provided by the author and Pride Promotions.  Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of ‘His Womanly Ways’ by K. Lynn

Rafflecopter Code:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check Out Mythologically Torqued, Volume 1 (anthology) (giveaway)

Mythologically Torqued, Volume 1 (anthology)
Published by Torquere Books

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Release Date: May 13, 2015

 

Author Names: Leigh Ellwood, L.J. Hamlin, Eva Lefoy, V.L. Locey, Jacey Mills, Alisha Monroe, Shiloh Sadler, Alyx Shaw, Delilah Storm, T. Strange, Carol Tierney, Angelique Voison, Max Wilde, Salome Wilde, Logan Zachary

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Love a legend, or myth or more?  Check out this latest anthology from Torquere Books.  It’s huge and has something for everyone.

Blurb(s):

Torquere’s largest anthology to date features a total of 15 authors please to bring you 15 unique tales from when gods and goddesses ruled the world. This collection features both m/m and f/f content for your reading pleasure. Dare you enter this realm of Mythologically Torqued fantasy? Be on the lookout for Volume 2 summer 2015.

Mythologies from around the globe receive a happy little twist in this first volume of Mythologically Torqued. A Scottish kelpie, Greek gods and goddesses, a Japanese princess, and demons delight and intrigue in these stories, each containing LGBT elements.

OR…

Whether it’s Greco-Roman gods and goddesses or heroes from tales around the globe, Mythologically Torqued, volume 1 brings together not-so-classic lovers with a Torquere twist.

OR…

  • Eros finds his soul mate in the arms of a demigod friend in L.J. Hamlin’s In Love with Zeus’ Son.
  • In Shiloh Sadler’s Clipped Wings, two men on a plantation find love under the most unusual circumstances in 1842 Missouri.
  • V.L. Locey’s Back to the Garden, Pan hits up Woodstock with the sun god Apollo—sex, drugs, and rock and roll take on a whole new meaning.
  • In Brísingamen, Carol Tierney offers us the story of a magical necklace, and the payment goddess Freyja delivered to four dwarven sisters for it’s creation.
  • Delphinos, by T. Strange, is a modern-age retelling of Dionysus’ creation of dolphins.
  • In Angelique Voison’s version of the Japanese Moon Princess myth, Reiko is tasked with bringing the Emperor’s future bride, the fabled Moon Princess to court, and complications arise when Reiko falls head over heels for Kaguya.
  • Charged with ensuring Sisyphus fails, Hercules is conflicted by his feelings for the former ruler in Angelique Voison’s How Hercules Got His Bruise.
  • In Leah Ellwood’s Styx and Stone, Ferrying souls across the Styx is a lonely business, but Charon doesn’t mind—newly arrived Stone is more than willing to keep him company.
  • No one believes in the Greek gods anymore, and Apollo is in a rut, Ganymede—cupbearer to the gods— tries to get Apollo to see what’s in front of him in Jacey Mills’ Another Night at the End of the World.
  • Salome Wilde’s Eternal Grind offers a corporate take on Christian Hell, populated with horned and hoofed demons inspired by medieval monks’ fertile imaginations, which follows a pair of lesbian demon baristas, determined to find their own happily-ever-after.
  • In the distant past, Ero was the god of desire, but in present day, he looks for love with Psy—a peerlessly gorgeous mortal man—and needs to keep a secret, in Alisha Monroe’s The Myth of Ero and Psy.
  • Bound by chains and defenseless, Thor is being held captive by Garrick, a young man also forced to service until demands are met in Logan Zachary’s Bound by Desire. Together, attraction ignites between Thor and Garrick—can love grow if it is bound by desire?
  • In Delilah Storm’s The Golden Balls, true love’s kiss is powerful, and Jasper’s sexuality awakens—will Anur be able to keep Jasper in this sleepy little kingdom?
  • A spurned lover, mythical horse, and a public official walk into a pub—murder, mayhem, and everlasting love result in Alyx Shaw’s The Kelpie.

Pages or Words: 106,600 words

Categories: Alternate universe, BDSM, Bisexual, Contemporary, Erotica, Fantasy, Fiction, Gay Fiction, Historical, Humor, Lesbian Romance, M/M Romance, Menage/Poly, Paranormal, Romance, *Trans

*****Please remember: As an anthology, not all stories will use all categories*****

 

Publisher: Torquere Press
Cover Artist: BSClay

Sales Links:  Torquere Books

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Tour Dates & Stops: May 6, 2015
Parker Williams, Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings, Inked Rainbow Reads, BFD Book Blog, The Hat Party, Dawn’s Reading Nook, Andrew Q. Gordon, MM Good Book Reviews, Bayou Book Junkie, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Molly Lolly, Mikky’s World of Books, Full Moon Dreaming, Carly’s Book Reviews, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Divine Magazine, Wake Up Your Wild Side, Velvet Panic, Michael Mandrake

Contest:

Contest:  Enter to a Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of ‘Mythologically Torqued’.  Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  Link and prizes provided by Torquere and Pride Promotions.
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Need An Anthology to Love? Well, Love is a Mess Has the Stories for You! (contest)

Time to Focus on Anthologies!

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Title: Love Is A Mess (a Supposed Crimes anthology)
Release Date: January 3, 2015

Author Names/Stories:

  • Viral Valentine by L. M. Perrin
    When a Valentine’s Day prank goes badly, Paige’s guilt won’t let her watch the victim walk away without a proper apology.
  • Date Blind by Geonn Cannon
    A woman discovers the worst possible blind date scenario when her date turns out to be someone who bullied her in high school.
  • The Politician and the Pilot by Amber Kinsey
    A politician and a pilot make a steamy connection on Valentine’s Day.
  • Bar Tryst by Rachael Orman
    After her roommate blackmailed her into going to an Anti-Valentine’s day party, Vanessa decided to make the best of it especially when the bartender shared that she was looking to have a good time too.
  • Quarter Life: Energy Feed by Adrian J. Smith
    With strange creatures in her path, Faye is determined to get the information she wants no matter the cost.
  • Property of Cupid by Eva Lefoy
    Will an ancient Greek god give up half his powers to love a mere human? Or will Cupid loose his golden arrow, letting Jeremy fall in love with another man?
  • Private Dance by A. M. Leibowitz
    With Alex’s sexy boyfriend, Phin, gone for three weeks, there’s only one option: let his best friend’s kids lead him on a treasure hunt through town to find his Valentine’s gift waiting for him to unwrap.
  • The Last Mitzvah by Michael DuPuy
    One man seeks salvation over love, death, and ice cream.

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About the authors:

A. M. Leibowitz is a spouse, parent, feminist, and book-lover falling somewhere on the Geek-Nerd Spectrum. She keeps warm through the long, cold western New York winters by writing romantic plot twists and happy-for-now endings. In between noveling and editing, she blogs coffee-fueled, quirky commentary on faith, culture, writing, and her family at amleibowitz.com.

Adrian J. Smith, aka AJ, loves to write women, and specifically women who are strong, independent and fall in love with other women. She claims bisexuality but is probably closer to omnisexual. She’s a go with the flow type of person. She loves writing urban fantasy and creatures and powers of all different kinds. She also loves writing women in uniform, because let’s face it, a woman in uniform has an irresistible draw. Most of her stories have a romantic element, but if you want action, drama, plot with a hint of romance, she’s the author for you. Find her at adrianjsmith.wordpress.com.

Amber Kinsey is a part-time federal employee, full-time geek, and occasional writer. She lives in a suburb of Nashville, TN with her three cats: one is the light of her life; the other two are just little stinkers.

Eva Lefoy writes and reads all kinds of romance, and is a certified Trekkie. She’s also terribly addicted to chocolate, tea, and hiking. One of these days, she’ll figure out the meaning of life, quit her job, and go travel the galaxy. Until then, she’s writing down all her dirty thoughts for the sake of future explorers. You can find her blog at writery.wordpress.com.

Geonn Cannon is the author of On the Air, Gemini, World on Fire, The Following Sea, Tilting at Windmills, Only Flame and Air, Confused by Shadows, Chasing Dragons, What Matter Wounds?, Silence Out Loud, the Riley Parra series, Railroad Spine, Gunfire Echoes, the Underdogs series, Girls Don’t Hit, and The Rise and Fall of Radiation Canary. He also wrote an official tie-in novel for Stargate SG-1 titled “Two Roads” and contributed a Stargate Atlantis story to the “Far Horizons” anthology. An archive of free stories can be found at geonncannon.com. When he’s not writing, he’s asleep.

L. M. Perrin is an English major who writes fiction to break up the monotony of analyzing novels. She lives in Leelanau County, also known as Michigan’s pinky finger, with her dog and the occasional stray cat, and in her opinion there is nothing wrong with spending a night binging on Netflix and pizza. This is her first published piece.

Michael DuPuy, while not investigating epistemological dead ends, cultivates a greater understanding of the folly of man most often by recreating as many of such folly’s as possible through no intent of his own. Michael turned to writing as a method of perhaps extending his sanity and to justify his coffee consumption. If anything this tactic has backfired.

Rachael Orman: Mother by day. Writer by night. I spend a majority of my day with my children and reading while my nights are filled with the sound of the keyboard as I work on my next work. 

I have written in F/F, F/F/M, F/F/F and then of course F/M genres…. So, beware, I do not always have the most ‘traditional’ scenes. And one day I will venture into M/M, just have to find the time. 

I love to try new things and learn from every piece of work I write. I’ll write just about anything once to learn from it. I’ve even ventured out of my normal erotica genre into Monster Erotica. Doubt you’ll find me writing anything not erotic as you can barely get me to even read something out of that category, but then again, you never know what I might try next.

About the Publisher:
Supposed Crimes, LLC publishes fiction and poetry primarily featuring lesbian characters and themes. The focus is on genre fiction–Westerns, Science Fiction, Horror, Action–rather than just romance. That’s how we set ourselves apart from our competitors. Our characters happen to love women and kick ass.

“Supposed crimes” refers to the idea that homosexuality is outlawed, and that our authors are being subversive by writing. As times change this becomes more tongue-in-cheek, but can still apply broadly to our culture. Christians writing lesbians and men writing lesbians are also subversive ideas in this industry, and we promote people bending the rules.

Publisher: Supposed Crimes, LLC
Cover Artist: C.E. Case
Categories: LGBT fiction, Romance, Gay Romance, Lesbian Romance
Pages or Words: 35,000 words, 119 pages
Tour Dates: February 9, 2015

Tour Stops: Parker Williams, Rebecca Cohen Writes, MM Good Book Reviews, Fallen Angel Reviews, Molly Lolly, Kristy’s Brain Food, BFD Book Blog, Cate Ashwood, Wake Up Your Wild Side, Wicked Wolves and Dreaming Dragons, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, The Hat Party, Velvet Panic, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Kimi-Chan, Carly’s Book Reviews

 

Contest: Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of ‘Love Is A Mess’. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

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Our Focus is On: Mia Kerick on Playlists, Writing and Come To My Window (contest included)

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Come to My Window by Mia Kerick
Release Date: January 2015
Goodreads Book Page

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A Mia Kerick Playlist!

Ever have songs in your head as you read a book?  Well, the authors do as well.  Here is Mia Kerick’s playlist for Come To My Window:

Here is my Top Ten Songs Playlist for Come To My Window!!

1. “Come to My Window” by Melissa Etheridge:

This is the song after which the book is named. It describes the way that the two girls meet, by gazing through their third story bedroom windows. For months they don’t verbally communicate at all, but instead simply study each other silently through the glass. The song details the strong urge the girls experience to reach out to each other—and the lengths to which they will go to fill their souls with the other. Furthermore, it shows the way that the girls can look away from society’s opinion about their love because their love is more important than social expectations.

Come to my window
Crawl inside, wait by the light
of the moon
Come to my window
I’ll be home soon

I would dial the numbers
Just to listen to your breath
I would stand inside my hell
And hold the hand of death
You don’t know how far I’d go
To ease this precious ache
You don’t know how much I’d give
Or how much I can take

Just to reach you
Just to reach you
Just to reach you…

I don’t care what they think
I don’t care what they say
What do they know about this
love anyway

Come to my window
Crawl inside, wait by the light
of the moon
Come to my window
I’ll be home soon

2. “You Oughta Know” by Alanis Morissette:

This song is important because it shows that Justine truly understands the anger that Kemina feels toward the glamorous cage in which she is trapped, and also, toward her own mother, who is controlling and uses her daughter as a tool to get what she wants. “You Oughta Know” is an expression of pure unadulterated anger, and the two girls listen to it together—but separately—each of them sitting on their own beds in their own bedrooms, gazing at each other across the alley.

And I’m here to remind you
Of the mess you left when you went away
It’s not fair to deny me
Of the cross I bear that you gave to me
You, you, you oughta know….

3. F**ckin’ Perfect by Pink

Pink’s song expresses how Justine feels—that Kemina is perfect as she is. Justine watches Kemina through the window, struggling to diet and exercise so that she can fulfill society’s expectations of a physically perfect female body, and she becomes frustrated that Kemina, as a model, is held hostage by these ideals. By the end of the song, Pink is basically pleading that the person to whom she sings realizes that he/she is already perfect, which parallels Justine’s pleading with Kemina for the very same thing.

Pretty, pretty please, don’t you ever, ever feel
Like you’re less than f**king perfect
Pretty, pretty please, if you ever, ever feel
Like you’re nothing, you’re f**king perfect to me

You’re so mean (so mean) when you talk (when you talk)
About yourself. You were wrong.
Change the voices (change the voices) in your head (in your head)
Make them like you instead…

Done looking for the critics, cause they’re everywhere
They don’t like my jeans, they don’t get my hair
Exchange ourselves and we do it all the time
Why do we do that, why do I do that (why do I do that)?

Pretty, pretty please, don’t you ever, ever feel
Like you’re less than fucking perfect
Pretty, pretty please, if you ever, ever feel
Like you’re nothing, you’re fucking perfect to me…

4. “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond

I originally chose this song because it’s the song that traditionally plays in the Red Sox’s home stadium, Fenway Park, halfway through the eighth inning. And Justine, despite her New York City roots, is no Yankees fan, but is a Red Sox Fan, through and through. In particular, she is somewhat obsessed by David Ortiz, or Big Papi, the Red Sox’s famous designated hitter. But when I read the lyrics carefully, I realized that the song was about falling in love—about reaching out and touching a special person who makes the good times better than ever, which is what Kemina does for Justine’s life. This blossoming relationship helps Justine to put the hurt in her life behind her.

Sweet Caroline
Good times never seemed so good
I’ve been inclined
To believe they never would
But now I…

…look at the night
And it don’t seem so lonely
We fill it up with only two.

And when I hurt,
Hurtin’ runs off my shoulders
How can I hurt when holding you?

Warm, touchin’ warm
Reachin’ out, touchin’ me, touchin’ you

Sweet Caroline
Good times never seemed so good
I’ve been inclined,
To believe they never would
Oh, no, no…

5. “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC

I chose “Thunderstruck” because Justine is crazy about the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team, and this is their theme song. She also gets a powerful, almost thunderstruck, feeling when she plays street ball and scrimmages indoors with the male friends she grew up with.

Thunder, thunder, thunder, thunder
I was caught
In the middle of a railroad track
I looked round
And I knew there was no turning back
My mind raced
And I thought what could I do
And I knew
There was no help, no help from you
Sound of the drums
Beating in my heart
The thunder of guns
Tore me apart
You’ve been
Thunderstruck

6. “One Less Lonely Girl” by Justin Bieber:

I chose this song for the playlist because Justine is constantly compared to Justin Bieber due to their physical similarities. She admittedly wears her hair like Bieber in his “One Less Lonely Girl” days, and nobody lets her forget it, particularly not the guy friends that she grew up with. In addition, the lyrics discuss how many girls have pretty faces but now that he has seen this certain girl’s pretty face it is all he can see, which is similar to how Justine feels about Kemina.

Saw so many pretty faces before I saw you (you)
Now all I see is you
I’m coming for you (I’m coming for you)

(No no) Don’t need these other pretty faces like I need you
And when you’re mine, in the world
There’s gonna be one less lonely girl

I’m coming for you, one less lonely girl [x3]
There’s gonna be one less lonely girl…

I can fix up your broken heart (heart)
I can give you a brand new start (start)
I can make you believe (ya)
I just wanna set one girl free to fall (free to fall)
She’s free to fall (fall in love)
With me

Her heart’s locked and know what I got the key
I’ll take her and leave the world with one less lonely

There’s gonna be one less lonely girl
One less lonely girl
One less lonely girl
One less lonely girl…

7. “Daughters” by John Mayer:

I chose “Daughters” because a major theme of Come To My Window is the relationship between mothers and daughters. Justine and Kemina both have challenging relationships with their mothers, in particular, and, this song asks parents to be good to their daughters, because everything the daughters learn about love they learn from their parents.

I know a girl
She puts the color inside of my world
But she’s just like a maze
Where all of the walls all continually change
And I’ve done all I can
To stand on her steps with my heart in my hands
Now I’m starting to see
Maybe it’s got nothing to do with me

Fathers, be good to your daughters
Daughters will love like you do
Girls become lovers who turn into mothers
So mothers, be good to your daughters too

8. “Paparazzi” by Lady Gaga:

I chose this song because the paparazzi constantly hounds Kemina, as she is the “Baby Vixen”, or the newest and youngest model of Nightingale Lingerie, which is comparable to Victoria’s Secret’s angels. The constant presence of the paparazzi shape Kemina’s personality and mold the blossoming relationship between Kemina and Justine. The relationship between the girls and the paparazzi seems to be completely out of control, until at the end of the novel, the girls successfully negotiate with them. Negotiation in relationships, and hopes for positive change in these relationships, is yet another theme of the story.

We are the crowd
We’re coming out
Got my flash on it’s true
Need that picture of you
It’s so magical
We’d be so fantastic, oh…

I’m your biggest fan
I’ll follow you until you love me
Papa-Paparazzi
Baby there’s no other superstar
You know that I’ll be your
Papa-Paparazzi

9. “My Girl” by The Temptations:

“My Girl” is the song that comes into Justine’s mind when she realizes that she and Kemina have become girlfriends. It’s the way that she begins to think about Kemina when they’re apart, just because simply knowing that Kemina is hers gives her bright and happy feelings.

I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day.
When it’s cold outside I’ve got the month of May.

I guess you’d say
What can make me feel this way?
My girl (my girl, my girl)
Talkin’ ’bout my girl (my girl).

I’ve got so much honey the bees envy me.
I’ve got a sweeter song than the birds in the trees.

Well, I guess you’d say
What can make me feel this way?
My girl (my girl, my girl)
Talkin’ ’bout my girl (my girl).

10. “She Keeps Me Warm” by Mary Lambert:

I chose this song for the playlist for two reasons. First, it describes Justine’s feelings upon the occasion of their first kiss. The feelings she experiences when they kiss are safe and kind and warm, which combine with her sense of gentle passion for Kemina. She knows beyond a doubt that kissing Kemina is right—that kissing a girl is right for her. The second reason I chose “She Keeps Me Warm” is because I imagine it’s the song they slow dance to at the end of the story at Justine’s high school prom, when Justine finally expresses her deep feelings to Kemina. In effect, it becomes “their song.”

She says I smell like safety and home
I named both of her eyes “Forever” and “Please don’t go”
I could be a morning sunrise all the time, all the time yeah
This could be good, this could be good

And I can’t change, even if I tried
Even if I wanted to
And I can’t change, even if I tried
Even if I wanted to
My love, my love, my love, my love
She keeps me warm, she keeps me warm…

Copyright for all songs belongs to the artist, songwriter, and record company.

Author Bio:

Mia Kerick is the mother of four exceptional children—all named after saints—and five nonpedigreed cats—all named after the next best thing to saints, Boston Red Sox players. Her husband of twenty-two years has been told by many that he has the patience of Job, but don’t ask Mia about that, as it is a sensitive subject.

Mia focuses her stories on the emotional growth of troubled young people and their relationships, and she believes that physical intimacy has a place in a love story, but not until it is firmly established as a love story. As a teen, Mia filled spiral-bound notebooks with romantic tales of tortured heroes (most of whom happened to strongly resemble lead vocalists of 1980s big-hair bands) and stuffed them under her mattress for safekeeping. She is thankful to Dreamspinner Press, Harmony Ink Press, and CreateSpace for providing her with alternate places to stash her stories.

Mia is a social liberal and cheers for each and every victory made in the name of human rights, especially marital equality. Her only major regret: never having taken typing or computer class in school, destining her to a life consumed with two-fingered pecking and constant prayer to the Gods of Technology.

Where to find the author:

Blog: http://www.miakerick.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mia.kerick
Dreamspinner Author Arcade
Goodreads Author Page
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MiaKerick

Publisher: Mia Kerick
Cover Artist: Reese Dante

Sales Links:  Barnes & Noble  Kindle Link   Amazon Paperback  All Romance eBooks

Blurb:

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Justine Laraby and Kemina Lopez are intimate acquaintances yet they have never exchanged so much as a single word. For months, high school senior Justine, and famed model, “Kemina, the Baby Vixen” of Nightingale Lingerie, have been peering at each other across a narrow alley between brownstones in the Upper West Side of Manhattan. This mutual observation soon turns into the exchange of handwritten messages on signs they hold up whenever they come to their bedroom windows. Via this “sign language,” a friendship grows, and Justine learns that Kemina is, like her, a high school senior, but with a controlling mother and a modeling career that requires her to maintain an unnaturally thin physique. And through the window, she also witnesses her new friend exercising fanatically, hoarding food, and being physically and emotionally abused by her ambitious mother.

Window messages evolve into clandestine meetings and soon a tentative romance blooms. But Justine must come to terms with her own “mommy issues,” as well as accept her gender identity and sexual orientation, before she can provide Kemina with the support she needs to survive a family life that resembles a ruthless business transaction. 

Will Justine be strong enough to throw open the window so Kemina can escape society’s suffocating expectations?

Categories: Contemporary, Fiction, Lesbian Romance, Romance, Young Adult

Come To My Window excerpt…

But it’s not until the screen fills with the image of this baby seal,
all white and fluffy with dark vulnerable eyes that we both gasp a
little bit and then turn to look at each other. I can feel her breath on
my lips and my nose is nearly touching hers, and, well, I don’t know
about Kemina, but I’m all kinds of spellbound by this moment. She
reaches up and touches my jaw, just below my ear, with this soft
brush of her fingertips, and I have no choice but to lean down and
kiss her. Not that I was looking too hard for another option. Cuz I
wasn’t.

I kind of thought that my first kiss would be like an electric
shock or the sharp poke of cupid’s dart or fireworks exploding in a
dark night sky, but it’s not like any of those things. The way it feels
when my lips touch Kemina’s is soft and gentle and tender. It’s a
yielding of her mouth to mine, and then mine to hers. It’s an intimate
moment that’s breathy and warm and sweet and just ours.

“Ummmm….” She lets out this sound that makes me think of
how it feels to sink into a hot bath after a long afternoon of ice
skating in frigid temperatures. “That was my first real kiss.”

“Real kiss?” I ask. Our lips are only about an inch apart. I have
a strong feeling that her second real kiss is only a moment away.

—

 

Pages or Words: 182 pagesCTMWBadge
Tour Dates/Tour Stops:

26-Jan

The Fuzzy, Fluffy World of Chris T. Kat

Elin Gregory

Kimi-Chan

27-Jan

Molly Lolly

Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

Inked Rainbow Reads

28-Jan

Full Moon Dreaming

Bayou Book Junkie

29-Jan

Book Reviews and More by Kathy

Prism Book Alliance

30-Jan

Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents

Cate Ashwood

Amanda C. Stone

31-Jan

Love Bytes

Contest: Enter to win a Rafflecopter Prize: $25 Gift Card. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

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On Tour with Lila Bruce and The Scent of Jasmine (book tour and contest)

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Book Name: The Scent of Jasmine
Goodreads Link
Author Name: Lila Bruce

Author Bio:

Lila Bruce lives in the North Georgia Mountains, where the air is sweet and the summers are hot. When not writing, she spends her time adding to her ever-growing pack of basset hounds and dreaming of being able one day to leave behind her evil day job.

Author Contact:
Publisher:
Cover Artist:

Sales Links:  amazon

The Scent of Jasmine Blurb:TheScentofJasmine - LilaBruce

Four years ago Jessica Taylor thought she was ready to leave small town living behind and headed West. Now she’s back in Cedar Creek, a little older, a lot wiser, and ready to live the quiet life for a while. 

It’s been eight months since her fiancée walked out and shattered Grace Donnelly’s dreams of a happily ever after. Her friends tell her it’s time to start living again, but the breakup with Emma was still just too raw for Grace to wash her hands and move on. 

After a chance meeting at her brother’s bakery, Jessica finds herself unable to get Grace off of mind. She’s sure she feels an attraction from Grace as well, but will Jessica be able to convince Grace to stop living in the past and take a chance on a future together with her…

Categories: Contemporary, Lesbian Romance

The Scent of Jasmine Excerpt:

Jessica Taylor stood there grinning, a slight dusting of flour decorating the bridge of her nose. She held a rack of cinnamon rolls at chest level, drawing Grace’s gaze to the slender woman’s chest, the white t-shirt and bright green apron seeming to accentuate the fullness of her breasts. She had long, dark hair that was tied back into a pony tail. And her eyes…her eyes seemed to dance as they stared at Grace from other the display case.

Holy hell, she is fucking gorgeous.

Grace opened her mouth to respond but looking at the other woman’s emerald eyes, could suddenly think of nothing but purple dildos. Mortified, she just stood there, saying nothing.

Keeping her gaze on Grace, Jessica slid the rack of cinnamon rolls into the case.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

Grace flushed briefly and the shook her head. “Oh no, that’s ok, you just startled me, that’s all. I didn’t hear you come out from the back.”

“So how would you like it?” the woman drawled. Gone was the nerdy teenager with wire-rimmed glasses. This woman looked more like she had just stepped off the runway rather than out of a kitchen.

Grace shook her head and blinked at her. “Um, I…um, excuse me?”

“Your cinnamon roll. Would you like it in a box or bag?”

“Oh. A box please,” she said quickly. “And I need sex…I mean six! I need six cinnamon rolls,” Grace added, reddening as she spoke.

Oh my word, I have got to get out of here, she thought to herself.

Words: 16,930

SoJBadgeTour Dates: October 29, 2014
Tour Stops:  
Parker Williams, Cate Ashwood, Inked Rainbow Reads, The Hat Party, Full Moon Dreaming
Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Prism Book Alliance, My Fiction Nook, Regular Guys, Hot Romance
Michael Mandrake, Velvet Panic, Fallen Angel Reviews, Queer Town Abbey, Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings
Hearts on Fire

 

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