Tag: m/m action/adventure

In The Book Spotlight: Alpha,Delta by R.J. Scott

magnifying glass and book

Officer Finn Hallan has never run from a fight. With Niall’s life and love at stake, he’s not about to start now…

 

 

 

New from R.J. Scott, Alpha, Delta- Part of the All Romance Alpha series

alpha delta

Finn Hallan is a member of the elite Norwegian Emergency Response Unit, code name Delta. When the team is sent to respond to a hostage situation on a Oil Platform in the Norwegian Sea, he has to face demons he thought he had buried a long time ago.

Scottish engineer Niall Faulkner’s skills in oil platform decommissioning takes him to the Forseti platform at the worst possible time. When he’s captured by terrorists, his only thought is that he will never get to tell his lover how he really feels.

Can Finn keep Niall alive? Or will they both die at the hands of hijackers in the frigid waters of the Norwegian sea?

Buy Link:  All Romance (ARe)

 Author Bio

About RJ

RJ Scott has been writing since age six, when she was made to stay in at lunchtime for an infraction involving cookies. She was told to write a story and two sides of paper about a trapped princess later, a lover of writing was born.

As an avid reader herself, she can be found reading anything from thrillers to sci-fi to horror. However, her first real true love will always be the world of romance where she takes cowboys, bodyguards, firemen and billionaires (to name a few) and writes dramatic and romantic stories of love and passion between these men.

With over sixty titles to her name and counting, she is the author of the award winning book, The Christmas Throwaway. She is also known for the Texas series charting the lives of Riley and Jack, and the Sanctuary series following the work of the Sanctuary Foundation and the people it protects.

Her goal is to write stories with a heart of romance, a troubled road to reach happiness, and most importantly, that hint of a happily ever after.

Author Contacts:

rj@rjscott.co.uk
www.rjscott.co.uk/
https://twitter.com/Rjscott_author
www.facebook.com/author.rjscott
www.librarything.com/author/scottrj
www.tumblr.com/blog/rjscott (some NSFW (not safe for work) photos)
www.pinterest.com/rjscottauthor/

Alpha, Delta Excerpt:

 

Chapter 1

“This is the second fucking time we’ve had to do this and I’m telling you now I’m not staying for the whole thing.”

Finn Hallan glanced over at his teammate and wondered if he should check him for any visible weapons. Erik was one of those guys who was never happy about sitting still, let alone in a meeting as seminar dealing with health and safety.

“Cap’s not going to like you backing out of this,” Finn warned. He was just as restless, too used to action and getting on with things instead of sitting here in a briefing room listening to changes in policy. Thing is, this shit was statutory and Cap had made Finn and Erik attend, in case there was anything important about oil platform safety. Finn was certainly not going up against Cap, and he knew Erik needed to keep his ass in the chair if he wanted to stay on the team.

Delta was a highly sought after group of people to join and if you made it you didn’t refuse to sit in meetings that you’d been ordered into.

“We need a serious emergency,” Erik groused. “A hostage negotiation or at the very least a terrorist threat.”

The woman in front of him turned and frowned at the words, but she took one look at both Erik and Finn and turned back to face the front. Finn knew they looked out of place. Both in the dark dress colours of the Delta uniform, not long off duty, they probably gave the impression of some kind of hardass security detail. Certainly not the kind of guys you told to shut up. She would know who they were, members of the ERU, codenamed Delta, and the ones who policed for terrorist activities in Norway and out into the Norwegian sea. Which, incidentally, was where most of these NorsDev employees in the briefing worked.

Erik grinned and raised his eyebrows suggestively before cupping his groin and looking pointedly at the back of the blonde’s head. Finn shook his head. She was a NorsDev exec and everyone knew the high-ups at the energy company had nothing to say to the ranks. If only she knew how much Finn and Erik could do for her if she was in trouble, if only she was aware of the kind of men they really were—ones who never sat still—then maybe she’d be a little more understanding of the boredom factor.

The presentation on the large screen at the front of the room switched to a new slide with a name in block capitals. NIALL FAULKNER. Not a name that Finn recognized and he couldn’t help the groan when he saw the line under the name. Platform Decommissioning Engineer.
“Oh Jesus fuck. Save me from nerds with clipboards and PowerPoints. I think my last brain cell up and died,” Erik muttered.

The speaker indicated the slide, “And now I’d like to hand it over to Niall Faulkner. Some of you will recall Niall was responsible for the X220 additions.” A ripple of murmurs around the room indicated that at least some knew what the hell that meant. Evidently this Faulkner guy was someone with a name at NorsDev. A man stood in the front row of the lecture theatre and made his way up the four steps to the stage, tripping on the last step and grabbing at the retreating previous speaker as he left. Luckily the new guy, Niall, Finn assumed, didn’t fall flat on his face, but he couldn’t help the smile on his face. It was funny shit seeing someone fall over.

Niall made his way to the lectern, looking down at his notes and shuffling them into some kind of order. The main spotlight flickered then focused directly on him and Finn had an instant gut reaction to the man on the stage.

Short and slim, with dark hair and glasses, he was the hottest safety officer Finn had ever seen.

“Woo boy,” Erik said under his breath. “You thinking he’s way to pretty to be a man?”

Finn didn’t dignify the comment with a response. Erik was the only member of the Delta team who knew Finn was gay and that comment was directly aimed at Finn and the fact Erik kept trying to get Finn hooked up with someone. Anyone.

“Not my type,” Finn lied very quietly. Actually, this Niall guy was pretty much the epitome of Finn’s type. Preppy with a side order of nerdy was just exactly what Finn liked under him, or over him, or hell, anyway which around him. And the glasses? Hell, glasses got him every time.

“You think he’s batting on your team?” Erik asked.

“Absolutely,” Finn deadpanned.

A MelanieM Review: Love is a Stranger (More Heat Than the Sun #1) by John Wiltshire

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Loving a total stranger can be very hard work sometimes.

Love is a Stranger coverEx-SAS soldier Ben Rider falls in love with his enigmatic married boss and secret lover Sir Nikolas Mikkelsen.  It was supposed to be only an affair of lust not of the heart.  Sir Nikolas Mikkelsen isn’t what he seems and one explosive event shatters the lie that Nikolas has been living. It’s a lie so profound that when the shadows are lifted, Ben realises he’s in love with a very dangerous stranger. Ben has to choose between Nikolas and safety, but sometimes danger comes in a very seductive package.

John Wiltshire’s Love Is A Stranger is a packed full, suspenseful tale of betrayal, danger, and lies.  The first story in Wiltshire’s More Heat Than The Sun series, it introduces us to the main players in this convoluted tale of secret identities and a struggle for love.  First there is Ben Rider, ex-soldier, cold, determined and fierce.  Ben is model gorgeous and black samba deadly.  He’s been having a supposedly “sex only” affair with his married,upper echelon boss, Sir Nikolas Mikkelsen.  A member of high society, at home in the fox hunting fields as well as the powerful political draw rooms, Nikolas draws Ben in with his intelligence, attractive body and a personality that seems to change with the light.    Wiltshire’s characters are layered, complex, and never exactly what you think they are,  each more Rubik’s Cube than solid persona.   Just when you (and Ben) think you have a handle on who and what Nikolas is and does, a bullet or something worse shatters that picture permanently.

I loved the myriad plot layers built into this story of suspense, love, and, yes, revenge.  Like Alice throwing herself down a warped rabbit hole, the twists and turns can’t be seen, only appreciated after the fact.  One fact is revealed or violent episode occurs, and you think, hmmm…I should have seen that one coming.  But you don’t.  And that immediately amps up the anticipation for the next turn or shock that is sure to come. This story is full of them, each better than the last.

Sexy?  Definitely.  Remember, this starts as an affair of lust not love, however, it ends up.  Only it doesn’t end.  In fact, this story has a bit of a cliffhanger.  Some or most might not be too happy about that but definitives in any aspect are not to be expected here.  Any foundations that exist under each man and their growing relationship is as fluid and safe as mercury.   The only sure thing is their love for that shaggy hound, Radulf, that was obtained from a shelter under dubious conditions.  I love Radulf and he helps to cement the idea that these two men might have any future between them as his addition helps to give an air of normality (perhaps the only one) to Nik and Ben.

I can’t get enough of this wild and dangerous couple and am moving on to the next stories in the series.  I hope you join me along with way.  If you love suspense and action/adventure to go along with your sexy men, this is the story and series for you.

Cover Artist: Michelle Cary.  It’s dark,  a little hard to see.  I wish there were more elements to it from the story itself. That would include the charismatic Radulf.

Sales Links:  MLR Press LLC       All Romance (ARe)       Amazon              Buy it here

Book Details:

ebook
Published 2014 by MLR Press LLC
original titleLove is a Stranger
ISBN 1020140242
edition languageEnglish
seriesMore Heat Than the Sun #1

Books in the Series:

  • Love is a Stranger (More Heat Than the Sun #1)
  • Conscious Decisions of the Heart (More Heat Than the Sun #2)
  • The Bridge of Silver Wings (More Heat Than the Sun, #3)
  • This Other Country (More Heat Than the Sun, #4)
  • The Bruise Black Sky (More Heat Than the Sun, #5) coming soon

Review: Cross & Crown (Sidewinder #2) by Abigail Roux

Rating:  4.5 stars out of 5

Cross&Crown_500x750After a leave of absence, Nick O’Flaherty is back at his job as a detective for the Boston PD.  When he is called to the scene of a double homicide, Nick learns that there is a witness to the crime in custody which should make this an easy investigation.  Instead, Nick finds that the witness’ injuries have resulted in a case of amnesia.  The witness doesn’t know who he is and he is not carrying any identification.  That the witness happens to be extremely good looking and drawn to Nick both helps and hurts in Nick’s attempts to manage the case and provide protection for the nameless man.

Adding to the stress of the situation, Nick’s boyfriend and ex recon partner, Kelly Abbott is visiting him for some necessary “vacation” time together.  Living in two different states is harder on them then they had anticipated and their alone time is precious to them both. Kelly Abbott is in Boston to spend needed time with his lover, Nick.  Kelly was responsible for Nick returning to work but he never realized how much they would miss each other or how hard it would be to coordinate their schedules to visit each other.

When Kelly arrives in Boston, Nick’s investigation has already become far more complicated than anyone expected and soon Kelly finds himself pulled into the search for the mystery man’s identification and something more ominous. Because shadowing their operation is none other than Julian Cross, a retired CIA hitman on a desperate mission of his own. Julian too needs their help and intends to get it any way he can.

All the clues point into the past…the United States Revolutionary War, Boston’s history and their own.  As the situation threatens to ignite, all their lives are put in danger as various groups clash on the same mission.  The hunt is on for the crown jewels and more. With the situation precarious, their future in jeopardy, and alliances uncertain, Nick and Kelly must solve the mystery of the missing crown jewels quickly before more people are killed, including themselves.

Cross & Crown is the second in the Sidewinder series from Abigail Roux.  This series emerged from the popular Cut & Run series and Ty Grady’s band of brothers from his Recon unit.  Over the last several stories, Nick O’Flaherty and Kelly Abbott have gone from the closest of friends to lovers to committed partners.  It has been a wondrous journey for both the men and the readers who have been following the course of their relationship.  Now in Cross & Crown, we get to see the men in the first stages of their new committed relationship, juggling their different work and living situations while in the middle of a murder investigation that turns into more.

One of the joys of the combined series is the growth and change the reader is able to chart in all the characters involved in these stories.  Roux’s ability to maintain continuity between series and novels is amazing as her gift for characterization. While the details of the Sidewinders last mission is unknown, its long term effects upon the men we have gotten to know is not. The author builds upon the tragedies and personal implosions of Touch & Geaux (Cut & Run, #7) in New Orleans where Kelly almost died.  Then continuing on through Shock & Awe (Sidewinders #1) and  Ball & Chain (Cut & Run, #8), Abigail Roux has each story doubling the stress and strain upon these men and their lovers.

The first in the Sidewinder series, Shock & Awe focused on Kelly’s recuperation under Nick’s supervision and the beginnings of their love affair.  Then the remaining Sidewinders, with the exception of Kelly “Doc” Abbott, are pulled away for one last mission, one that changes them all permanently.  This thread of change flows through all the stories, no matter the series.  Interpersonal relationships are shattered, others are formed, and everyone is in a state of flux.  Some are those alterations in personality and behavior is revealed in Ball & Chain where PTSD and other issues start to reveal themselves.

Abigail Roux makes this time of  disillusion and unbearable strain feel authentic and painful.  Over time, the author has brought the reader into the intimacy and close knit ties of these men and it hurts to watch them flounder in the aftermath of a mission they can’t and won’t talk about. As Cross & Crown begins, O’Flaherty is still suffering from the effects of the team’s last mission (as is all the other team members).  With the reader already heavily invested in Nick and Kelly’s romance (yes, I am making that assumption), their early relationship struggles will resonate with many readers as they try to manager a long distance romance along with Kelly’s adjustment to Nick’s easy PDA’s.  Big issues and small, Nick and Kelly seem more and more like a permanent couple than men in the first stages of attraction and affection.  Their ease with each other, their balance and equality of their relationship is wonderful.  I love these two and here their partnership deepens as they work through their disagreements and insecurities that still remain.

Another marvelous element in Cross & Crown was the reappearance of Julian Cross.  I have obsessed over that character since his story, Warrior’s Cross.  Afterward Julian and his lover, Cameron, made other appearances in the Cut & Run series, always to marked explosions amidst tumultuous events.  To have Julian and Cameron back is something to be celebrated!  I can never get enough of these two and although this might be the last we  see of them, I love that we got them in one last story.

There is never a dearth of ingratiating or intriguing characters in an Abigail Roux stories and Cross & Crown is chock full of them.  This includes the dubious characters from O’Flaherty’s upbringing and those of the archaeological and pharmaceutical factions in Boston.  Each character was built with care and attention to detail with regard to their profession, nationality and background.  With layers upon layers for each person,they all came across as genuine and quite alive, from dialog to their backgrounds and even locale.  This author does this sort of thing so easily that you can take it for granted as you read through the stories.  Only through meticulous research and organization does the hard look behind a story depth and cohesion seem as easy as it does here.  If you don’t want to take my word for it, visit the author’s blog sometime for her visits to various story locations and background workups  to see what it takes to bring the whole picture to life.

Am I a fan of Abigail Roux?  Yes, I am and these two series are ample reasons why. So many pluses inherent in this story.  The historical workup and investigation is absorbing and terrific.  I loved the growth in the love and deepening relationship between Nick and Kelly as well as the painful loss of closeness between Ty and Nick.  It’s a neat development to see the Ty Grady/Nick O’Flaherty relationship from Nick’s viewpoint instead of Ty’s.  And yes, Zane makes a fleeting yet important appearance here, even if it is over the phone.  As with all the stories recently, there are big changes in store for all the characters at the end of the book.  Nothing is settled except their love for each other, that is the given and the constant.

I will admit it is hard for me as a reviewer to remain objective about this and it’s connected series, Cut & Run.  I have read and followed these men and their stories from the beginning and have invested so much emotion in their love and relationship growth.  How will someone new to the series and lacking any sense of context feel about the Sidewinders if they haven’t read the other stories?  That is a question much harder to answer.  I bring all the knowledge and background of Cut & Run with me unthinkingly to this story and the Sidewinder series.  But if you are new to Nick and Kelly, you are lacking a wealth of information and an almost collective group of affections built up over time and stories.

To you, the new reader, this might seem a little confusing in some of the character histories and lacking in the mens backstory.  How these men are connected, what their interpersonal relationships and backgrounds mean to the reader and each other might be hard to grasp here. I get that too. But it doesn’t need to be.  There is a whole shelf of books waiting for you to discover them and the men inside the covers.  Start with the first of the Cut & Run stories written, include Warrior’s Cross among them.  Then continue on to the Sidewinder books listed below.  I recommend them all along with Cross & Crown.  You will fall in love with these complicated sexy men and their stories.  Don’t miss out on a single one.

Happy Reading!

Cover artist for Cross & Crown is the amazing L.C. Chase

Buy Links here:    Riptide        ARe             Amazon 

Book Details: ebook, 225 pages

Published June 9th 2014 by Riptide Publishing (first published June 7th 2014)
original titleCross & Crown
ISBN139781626491335
edition languageEnglish
url http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/cross-and-crown seriesSidewinder #2
Books in the Sidewinder Series to date in the order they should be read:

Shock & Awe (Sidewinder, #1)

Cross & Crown (Sidewinder, #2)

Review: Daylight Again (Hell or High Water #3) by S.E. Jakes

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Before Prophet Drews can have a future, he must first put his past to rest.

DaylightAgain_500x750Prophet Drews and Tom Boudreaux, his partner on the job and in real life, are back from the tumultuous events in New Orleans and trying to figure out where they go from here.  Tom has moved into Prophet’s condo while continuing to work for E.E, Prophet’s former employer.  And Prophet? He remains haunted by a past that won’t let him go and a secret he is hiding from Tom that might shatter any future they might have together.

Then his old CO asks Prophet to help in a dangerous rescue mission, one that will reunite all of Prophet’s old SEAL team and bring out Prophet’s and the team’s old enemies as well.  When Prophet asks Tom to come with him, Tom jumps at the chance to support his partner and uncover some answers of his own.

Before long it’s not just  CIA assassins, the terrorist Sadiq, and the enigmatic spook Cillian involved with Prophet, Tom, and the SEAL team’s rescue mission.  Odd events and occurrences start to point at one of the most  important person in Prophet’s past… John—”traitor, former teammate, and Prophet’s first love”, being involved as well.

With only a small window of opportunity to get in, accomplish their mission and then escape and when no one is sure who to trust , Prophet and Tom must search within themselves and their relationship for the truth, not only about each other but their relationship as well.  Danger , past, present and future lurks everywhere….can Prophet and Tom make it out alive and together?

In Prophet Drews and Tom Boudreaux, SE Jakes has created two marvelously complex and troubled men among a company of such men in her E.E series.  Through the last several stories, we have watched Prophet and Tom circle around each other in an absorbing pas de deux of action, passion and traumatizing personal past histories.   Endlessly drawn towards each other, the constant push and pull of attraction and yes, love, has made these two men fascinating to connect with in the drama they create and the mysteries that follow them through each adventure and calamity.  Now back from New Orleans and with their relationship strengthened, Prophet’s PSTD is getting worse by the day as is his indecision and pain over an enormous secret he is hiding from Tom.

Jakes has always been able to pull us intimately into the minds of these men and  in Daylight Again the author puts them both under a narrative microscope that will magnify all the demons Prophet and Tom have been fighting and bring them into the light for them and the reader.  Daylight Again begins a journey of revelation for Tom and Prophet on many levels.  SE Jakes starts to pull together the plot threads and characters from several of her interconnected series and weaves them here into a suspense filled, action packed drama that kept me on the edge from beginning to end.  This is a taut, streamlined narrative and it flows just as quickly from point to point as one would expect from this author and this series.

I love this author’s ability to create characters that zing off the page, their vitality and depth almost too much to be contained within the confines of a page. We have gotten to know them from Catch a Ghost, and then watch them pull together in Long Time Gone. Now Daylight Again starts with them living together and adjusting to that fact and each other with varying degrees of success.  What hurts is how close these men have become to each other and yet the reader is always aware that some sharp shard of their past lurks just outside their growing relationship to splinter it all to hell and back at a moment’s notice.  That tension that haunts this couple and story is just one more marvelous element in SE Jakes storytelling repertoire and it serves to keep the reader engrossed in the story and tightly connected to these men.

All my other favorites are here too, especially Cillian and Mal, whose story Dirty Deeds uncovered a major past connection between them whose disclosure  devastated them both.  Mal and Cillian are front and center here, still trying to deal with that personal bombshell while working together for the success of this mission.  These are strong characters too and SE Jakes does them justice and keeps us invested in their status even though this really isn’t their story….Its Prophet’s and Tom’s.  And what a story it is. SE Jakes has me both anticipating and dreading the next installment because of the great way this story ended.

The ending is astonishing.  I love the way Jakes sets us up for that denouement. And it will take us and this couple into the penulitmate story in their Hell or High Water series.  I can’t wait.  Consider this one of ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords highly recommended novel as well as one of the most entertaining series of the year.  Don’t pass up this or any of these stories by SE Jakes.  In fact, grab up everything in the Extreme Escapes universe and start reading.  You are going to fall hard for each and every dangerous and sexy man you will find within.

LC Chase has again supplied us with another outstanding cover, I just love these tats.  Graphically appealing and perfect for the men involved.

Books in the Hell or High Water series in the order they should be read:

Catch a Ghost (Hell or High Water, #1)
Long Time Gone (Hell or High Water, #2) 
Daylight Again (Hell or High Water, #3)
Not Fade Away (Hell or High Water, #3.5) Expected publication: July 14th 2014
If I Ever (Hell or High Water, #4) Expected publication: October 1st 2014

Associated Series: Extreme Escapes Universe: Men of Honor and Dirty Deeds:

Dirty Deeds (Dirty Deeds #1)  Mal and Cillian

Free Falling (Extreme Escapes, Ltd.) Blue and Mick

 

Book Details:

ebook, 265 pages
Published May 5th 2014 by Riptide Publishing (first published May 3rd 2014)
ISBN139781626491403
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/daylight-again
seriesHell or High Water #3

 

Review: Darkest Knight (City Knight #5) by T.A. Webb

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Darkest KNight coverMarcus Prater and his lover Benjamin Danvers have never been happier.  Marcus has reconciled with his brother Frankie and now Frankie and Frankie’s kids are now frequent visitors to his home.  His own wounds have healed as has Ben’s and now they are preparing for their first Thanksgiving as a couple.  What could go wrong?

Well, that would be everything.  Wick Templeton is missing along with his boyfriend Ned.  Archer calls, asking if Marcus has read that morning’s paper. Young, gay men are still turning up tortured and dead, including the twins mentioned in the headlines this morning.  Twins wearing medallions that hold a special meaning for Archer, Marcus and, of course, the missing Wick.

And when one of Marcus’ old contacts on the street, an underage prostitute called Brady,appears bruised and bleeding before Marcus with a startling request, one connected to Ben’s dead friend Travis.  Well, Marcus can’t say no and ends up bringing Brady home with him to keep him safe and to attend to his wounds.   So many painful memories arising, so many hidden secrets starting to come out.  Where will it all end?  Will this truly be the darkest night for Marcus, Ben and all those they love?

Just when I think this series can’t get any better, it surges into a whole new realm, expanding the storyline to incorporate more mysteries, hidden depths to characters we have already met, and exploring the new connections in old established relationships, adding texture and layers to already terrific characters and their bonds with each other.   Of all the books, Darkest Knight is the one that brings all the other men and their lovers together in one place, all but one.

Everyone has gathered together at Marcus and Ben’s place for Thanksgiving.  It starts out as a time of joy and  reconciliation then it turns  painful and bitter with one phone call.  Every  the buried emotions and old pain rushes out, first in Marcus and then in the others, leaving the new lovers to handle the situation.  I loved how  the author brings Jeremiah, Rory, and Ben into their own in this story.  Each demonstrates a new found strength and depth of character that is not only surprising but disarming.  It’s unexpected and finally grounds each man not only in their relationships to their lovers but with each other as well.  It’s wonderful in so many ways.  It redefines how we look at all the relationships present, it exposes old past histories while providing a new avenue of thought with regard to the mysterious deaths of young rent boys in the city.

I loved that T.A. Webb chose Thanksgiving as the occasion to bring them all together.  Its our traditional family holiday and these men have been each other’s family for over 15 years.  And the fact that one of them is not only missing but has kept secrets from some of them all that time is doubling their feelings of hurt and betrayal.  It’s a marked contrast to the new found love that most of the original members  have now found, with those lovers present and now incorporated into that tight band of men.

Then Webb adds Brady, an resilient, underage rent boy and Frankie, Marcus’ brother, to the mix and things really start to bounce out of control.   Brady is a wonderful little portrait of a kid thrown away at a hauntingly young age but has who succeeded in surviving the streets and the predators that hunt there, if only just.  I love Brady and want more of this amazing kid.

Here is a small excerpt as Marcus comes across Brady on the street:

And in every face, every kid standing there with all the false bravado, in every potential target, he saw his love.

He had to focus on their job tonight, though. One young man hadn’t made it, and it broke something in Benjamin when Travis had been murdered. Oh, he still went to school, and made love with Marcus, and joked with Jeremiah. But he’d tried to help the boy and it blew up in his face. And Wick…he’d said he would help and the boy slipped away and now he was dead. Goddamn it, Marcus needed Wick and that crazy Bayou or Banyon or whatever the hell his name was to help him find Travis’s killer.

The feel of his heart racing in his chest and the tension in his jaw from grinding his teeth made him stop, close his eyes, and take a couple of deep breaths. Getting mad at Wick wouldn’t do him any good right now. Now, his Benjamin needed him. So fuck Wick, he’d deal with him later. But that made him feel guilty for being mad at his brother, and then he was right back in the same loop.

“Mister Marcus?” He almost didn’t hear the small voice and walked past the kid hanging outside the alleyway leading up to the Zesto’s and McDonald’s. Glancing around, Marcus stepped in the space and nodded for the young man to walk with him.

“Brady. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you. I was worried about you, son.” The boy—he was one of the younger ones Marcus had tried to keep his eye on before he’d been shot, and he’d lost track of him—was skinnier than he remembered, and his hair hung in greasy hanks around his face. He walked stiffly and slightly bent over, and all of Marcus’s red flags went off.

His head nodding as if he heard music no one else could hear, Marcus saw the sideways glance Brady gave him, and then looked around like he was scared of either being overheard or seen. Part of Brady’s twitches were affectations, so people would leave him alone or think him helpless. The fact of the matter was he’d been on the streets since he was twelve, and was alive now at the ripe old age of seventeen only by the grace of God and a buttload of tricks he’d learned over the years. If he was patient, Brady would tell him what he wanted or needed.

What happens next is both heartbreaking and startling in its intensity.  You really have to read it all to get the full benefit of Webb’s realistic descriptions and spot on dialog that brings this young man and his pain so vividly to life.  More than a few tissues will be needed before all the mysteries are solved and bonds can be knitted back together.

City Knight, of which Darkest Knight is the fifth book,  is one of four interconnected series.  The others are Triple Threat by LE Harner, Chances Are by Lee Brazil and Wicked’s Way by Havan Fellows.  You can read each series by themselves.  But read together, you will enter a rich world inhabited by strong, intelligent men, a gritty band of brothers and their lovers.  Grab them all up, and read them one after the other, starting with book one in each series.  Each is remarkable in their own right, but together form a Pulp Friction universe you will never want to leave.

Here are the books in the City Knight series in the order they were written and should be read to understand the men and their relationships and the events that occur:

City Knight (City Knight #1)
Knightmare (City Knight #2)
Starry Knight (City Knight #3)
Knights Out (City Knight #4)
Darkest Knight (City Knight #5)
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Book Details:

ebook, 60 pages
Published October 15th 2013 by A Bear on Books
edition language English

Book Contest and Guest Post by T.A. Webb, Pulp Friction Author of the City Knight series

Scattered Thoughts (that’s me) has loved having all the authors here this week.  And we still have another surprise day to go where I will announce the winners and the Pulp Friction authors will have one last post together.Darkest KNight cover

So, don’t forget to leave a comment, either at the end of today’s post or on the review post.  Either way, we will count that as an entry.

And now for our fourth and final Pulp Friction author, T.A.”Tom”  Webb and his City Knight series. *offers up a chair and a cup of coffee*:

TW: Thanks for having me, Melanie. Well, me and my guys Marcus and Benjamin. Now, these two men are rather mouthy and will tend to jump in and say what’s on their minds before you or I know it. So, bear with us and I’ll try to filter it all into something that makes sense for us all.

ST: *sinks into her chair, pets the pups*

TW: When Laura, Lee and Havan and I started talking about some kind of series that would be like the old pulp fictions, what immediately came to mind for me was the Doc Savage pulps I read as a kid. I loved Doc Savage with hathim, and always thought he was kind of like me, in that he was different. When I put a name to it—gay—I realized he never was with a person of either sex, but I could easily imagine him as mine.

So, when we put the series here in Atlanta, we talked about each of us putting out six stories. My first idea was to write two sets of three stories—a trilogy—for two sets of characters. Then Marcus whispered in my ear, and he was this mature cop who patrolled the area around his home. I asked him why, and the whole story came out about his doctor lover who was shot and killed senselessly, and how he made a promise to protect the neighborhood. Kind of Doc Savage meets Batman.

A man like that deserves a happy ending, so I imagined who would crack through a man like that’s shield? Because Marcus, he deserves someone who would make him laugh, someone who would light up his dark nights and make his heart beat again.

Enter Ben.

Now Ben, or as Marcus calls him, his Benjamin, isn’t a slam dunk. He has a past of his own that tried to keep him away from Marcus. He’s younger, smart as a whip, but so closed off from his own feelings because of his own soul-crushing experience—he was raped—that it was a challenge for him to connect to Marcus for more than sex.

But he does. And the trilogy follows how they two men circle each other and gently open up despite all the horrible things in their pasts, and the bad things coming after them in their present. But, they make it.

So, when it came time to write the other two men I had in mind, Marcus and Benjamin said they weren’t ready to step aside. Plus, we—Laura, Lee Havan and I—had started interweaving Chance and Zachary and Archer and Wick with my boys, so how could I leave them hanging?

ST:  You can’t, that obvious, plus it would make your fans cry. Not a good thing.

TW: Plus, slowly but surely, the fans caught on and would have killed me if I let them go. And we had to find out who killed Travis, and then Marcus’s brother Frankie showed up with little Marcus, and they have a loud voice too.

My plans, now that all five books are written as well as the final book we all will co-author, are to write a small holiday story for Marcus and Doc_Savage_plus_Five_by_SilvreBenjamin called “Christmas Knight”.  And at some point there will be a novella for Frankie and Brady, because they are screaming in my head that they need their story told.

ST:  I am so happy to hear that because I fell in love with Brady and Frankie!  They do need a story of their own. Oops,  sorry to interrupt.

TW: This has been such a fun process, and I have learned SO much about how to write from these three talented friends of mine. I almost hate to leave Atlanta behind, but Flagstaff calls and that makes my creative juices flow.

ST:  Hmmm. Flagstaff…..more stories perhaps?  Another secret for another day.

TW: Thanks to everyone who’s read City Knight, and it’s on sale for $0.99 for everyone on Amazon and ARe.

Please, leave a comment, and you can have your choice of any book in the series in a drawing especially for Melanie’s blog. She’s been so wonderful about reading all 20 of the books and reviewing them, and Marcus and Benjamin have her in a big hug for liking them. They have no words, and neither do I!

ST: Aww, shucks.   *hugs back*  Plus you mentioned Doc Savage.  I remember seeing plenty of those paperpacks on my dad’s shelf near his chair.  Oh that did bring back the memories.  Thanks for the great guest post and wonderful stories, Tom.

TW: Thanks all!  Remember to leave a comment and win!

Tom

Here are the books in the City Knight series in the order they were written and should be read to understand the men and their relationships and the events that occur:

City Knight (City Knight #1)
Knightmare (City Knight #2)
Starry Knight (City Knight #3)
Knights Out (City Knight #4)
Darkest Knight (City Knight #5)
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Welcome, Lee Brazil, author of Chances Are Pulp Friction series

 

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words: Author Spotlight and Chat with Lee Brazil, author of the Chances Are series.Chance In Hell cover

Good morning all and welcome to Pulp Friction Week. This week I am happy to have all the authors of the Pulp Friction series in to talk about their characters, and their series…and well whatever they want to discuss with us. Happily for my readers, each author is offering a copy of one of their books in their series as a giveaway. Just leave a comment at the end of each day’s post and you will be entered.

Yes, its that easy. Now on with our chat!

It’s Pulp Friction Week at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words and we are excited to welcome Lee Brazil to pull up a chair and have a chat with us.

STRW: I have to tell you that I just love Chance Dumont and the Chances Are series. Can you tell everyone a little bit about the Pulp Friction series and yours in particular?

LB:: Good morning everyone! *sips coffee* For those who don’t know me, I’m Lee Brazil, author of m/m romance with Pulp Friction, Story Orgy, Breathless Press, etc. I’d like to thank Melanie for inviting me over today to talk to everyone. As is usual in such a circumstance, I find myself tongue tied and unable to come up with a single thing of value to say.

Isn’t that the way of things?

ST: Let’s start with the Pulp Friction series and Chances Are.

LB: Pulp Friction has been a blast to write, and it’s morphed in ways I never quite imagined when it started. When we first discussed it, the stories were supposed to be no more than 8K apiece, which is why my first story, Chances Are is so short. After I got started, well. It was quite a different tune. Each story grew longer and longer, it became harder and harder to incorporate a little character growth and development in with the need for some sort of mystery/adventure, and sex. Can’t forget the sensual rapport between the two main characters, and the growing emotional attachment as well.

Add in to that the seemingly irrepressible urge our characters had for interacting with one another across the whole series, and yeah. Size was a big challenge.

Size isn’t everything though, *waits for snickers to die down* even though each story is longer than the one that preceded it. All the stories in each series create a big picture of the relationship between a couple, or triad. Then, when you put all the series together, something even bigger is revealed.

And by that roundaboutation, I guess I’m saying that then end has not yet arrived for Chance and Rory and all the Pulp Friction 2013 guys. Look for something special in December.

For everyone who managed to hang in over here, through my sad little excuse for a blog post, I am enclosing a coupon code for Smashwords for you to download Chances Are for free.

Chances Are coverCoupon Code: FM25N
Expires: November 1, 2013

So click on over to CHANCES ARE at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/277629 for your free copy.

That’s my Treat for all of you today…Here’s my Trick. Leave me a comment, telling me whether you’re ever at a loss for words, or if you always have plenty to say, and one lucky winner will receive a copy of Second Chances Are, book two in the series.

ST: Trust me, lovely readers, you won’t want to miss out.  This is a terrific series and gets got me addicted to the characters and their relationships.  Thank you, Lee, for stopping by today and for the surprise gift for all the readers.

Review: Wicked Truths (Wicked’s Way #05) by Havan Fellows

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Wicked Truths coverWicked Templeton is not happy.  Usually he is in total control of his life and that’s the way he likes it.  But lately things are happening all around him that make him feel edgy and unsettled.  First of all Ned has disappeared.  No calls, no friendly break-ins at his home, no dinners or worst of all no sex.  Plus someone is still targeting young gay men, torturing and killing them, putting many of his friends lovers at risk.

Then Wick finds out that his past has returned and is behind Ned’s disappearance.  All Wick’s secrets have come back to play and that is a wickedly deadly thing to happen.  Wick must first save Ned and then his  circle of friends but at what cost to himself?  When all the secrets are revealed, Wick’s life changes forever.  Who will be left standing at the end?

Wicked Truths is the fifth in the Wicked’s Way series and is a marked departure from all the stories that preceded it.  In those stories, Wick Templeton is  almost supernaturally great at  everything he does.  He is quick with a quip or a gun, knows where the bad guys plan before they do and how to outsmart even the smartest criminal. Wick is also seemingly impervious to pain, angst and any form of commitment outside of friendship.  A kind of James Bond outlook  but much grittier and, of course, definitely gay.

But in Wicked Truths, many of the carefully crafted images we have of Wick is shattered.  With Ned’s disappearance, we see cracks in the hard veneer Wick has created for himself over time.  He misses Ned and hates that he does so.  And as his life starts to spiral out of control, we get to see not only Wick Templeton’s beginnings but how that history has created the man Wick Templeton is today.  True to form, this is not a happy past but one so torturous and twisted that everything about Wick and his personality becomes understandable.

Havan Fellows does a terrific job in bringing the horror and banal evilness that is Wick’s past to life.  Her descriptions are succinct and perfectly reflective of the depraved personality at work behind the events that occur.  Wick’s desperation is made all the more real because we have never seen the character in this mental and emotional state before.  It’s a revelation as the truth about Wick shatters our assumptions about him and his character is created anew from the rubble around him.

The ending of the story is heartbreaking but leaves a path open for more.  It’s realistic, grounded in Fellows characters and the lives they have built for themselves.  And now I want more.  So will you.  What a tremendous series, what a compelling character! If you are new to the series, start at the beginning.  Its necessary to understand the characters and all the events that follow.

Here is a small excerpt:

Wick opened the fridge and grabbed one of his hard ciders. In the middle of his second long swallow, he heard a strange ringing noise. Bottle still upturned at his mouth, he briefly glanced around. It came from the corner of his counter reserved for those uni-tasker appliances that he never messed with. If it wasn’t a toaster or coffee maker, he had no use for the damn things.

After setting the half empty bottle down, he walked across the kitchen to the ominous corner and moved the electric can opener—wasted appliance when he had a perfectly good handheld one.

There, tucked back in the corner, was a landline phone. When the fuck did he get a landline phone installed? He picked up the cordless phone and stared at the face of it as it rang for the umpteenth time. The whole thing lit up with each ring, and he could honestly say he’d never seen this damn thing before in his life.

He set it down ringing and took the three steps over to the other counter, leaning against it as he took another sip of his drink.

He watched that black piece of electronic plastic as he tilted the bottle to his lips, eyeing it like he expected it to do some sort of trick or something.

“That’s thirty,” he whispered as it kept with that damn annoying eighties ringtone. Either it was defective or someone who had a number he never even knew he had wanted to talk to him really badly.

Cover Art by Laura Harner.  Perfect for the conflagration that is this story.

Wicked’s Way series in the order they were written and should be read:

Wicked Solutions (Wicked’s Way #1)
Wicked Bindings (Wicked’s Way #2)
Wicked Incarceration (Wicked’s Way #3)
Wicked Guidance (Wicked’s Way #4)
Wicked Truths (Wicked’s Way #5)

Book Details:

Buy Link:
All Romance EBook, Amazon
ebook, word count 16, 649, approx. 55 pages
Published September 13th 2013 by Appleton Publishing Avenue
ISBN HFPF000004
edition language English