Jump Into Fantasy with Jeff Buffett and His Sleeping Beau Tour (contest)

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Jump into Jess Buffett’s fantasy world with her latest release, His Sleeping Beau. We have a excerpt to read and a contest to enter. Check them all out below:

Book Name: His Sleeping Beau
Goodreads Link
Author Name: Jess Buffett

Author Bio:

Jess Buffett was born and raised in New South Wales, Australia. She is a mum of two, married to her high school sweetheart.   Jess is a hopeless romantic who is a huge fan of M/M and M/F romance with a happy ending—anything with hunky men in all their glory, whether they be Shifters, Vampires, Cowboys, or the boy next door.   A caffeine addict who shamefully can’t make a decent cup of coffee to save her life, Jess believes in soul mates, happily ever afters, and in love at first sight, but that sometimes people need a second or a third for the brain to catch up.

Author Contact:

Website: http://www.jessbuffett.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JessBuffettAuthor
Email: jessbuffett@gmail.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/JessBuffett
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+JessBuffettAuthor

Title: His Sleeping Beau by Jess Buffett
Publisher: JK Publishing
Cover Artist: Jess Buffett

Sales Links: Amazon ARe B&N:

His Sleeping Beau Blurb:

Zanth is a teacher making the best of his life until a chance encounter changes everything for him. It leaves him questioning everything: his life, his family, and his ability to love.   When Guardian Liam is sent to collect his charge and bring him home, the last thing he expected is to discover the young, clueless man is meant to be his. Now he must explain the past to save the future to a man with no knowledge of his worth.  Will a Tribe gain the leader they have waited years for? Does the evil from the past finally receive their vengeance? Or can Liam convince Zanth that apart means death to all but together, they are unstoppable?

Categories: Fantasy, M/M Romance, Paranormal, Romance

His Sleeping Beau Excerpt:

The lost, almost broken young man in front of him tore his heart in two. How much had his mate suffered all these years alone?
“I wish I could take back the years you lost with your family, the pain you’ve felt…but I can’t.” Liam stood, walking over and reaching out to Zanth. He slid his hand around the back of Zanth’s neck, tugging the younger man forward. Zanth came without struggle, his eyes dim with grief. Bringing their lips until they were just a hair’s breath away, he whispered, “You are so very important to me, Zanth. Not because of your position in our Tribe, not because I have been ordered here. I will keep you safe, give you the family you were supposed to have…and I make this promise, not as the Guardian assigned to bring you home, but as someone who cares very deeply for you.”

Tour Dates/ Stops:

September 29: Parker Williams
September 30: Nephylim, MM Good Book Reviews
October 1: My Fiction Nook, Because Two Men Are Better Than One, Fallen Angel Reviews, Queer Town Abbey
October 2: Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Amanda C. Stone
October 3: Cate Ashwood

Rafflecopter Prize: Copy of His Sleeping Beau & a $10 Amazon Gift Card. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Use the
Rafflecopter Code provided for the entry form and for additional contest details:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

A MelanieM Review: Lukos Heat (Heart of Fire #1) by Megan Derr

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Dragon Najlah is on the hunt with his fellow shifters in the Royal Shifter Corp. His quarry? The court assassin who just tried to kill the King and his brother in the process. So far the mage has eluded them, but now Najlah and his battle brothers have chased the betrayer to the snowy Shide Mountains where few would dare venture, including themselves. The cold is beyond frigid and the peaks fearsome in their height and ruggedness. The Shide territory controlled by the Lukos, the wild wolf shifters. And it is the Lukos who meet them as they enter the range on their hunt. The feral wolves hate interlopers but agree to help in the search for the mage, if for no other reason than to get the hunters out of their territory.

Barkus, the head of the Lukos pack that intercepts the King’s Shifters is amazed to see a dragon among them. Dragons are so rare in the Shide that they are assumed to be folklore, beings used to scare small kits. But there roaring and unhappy in the cold, appears Najlah and Barkus is intrigued. Najlah returns his interest but first the race is on to find the mage and navigate the treacherous conditions they find themselves in. When a fight turns deadly, Najlah and Barkus must use every advantage they have to survive, including one that just might bind them together forever.

Lukos Heat is another intriguing start to a new series by Megan Derr. Heart of Fire’s first story, Lukos Heat introduces us to the Kingdom of Restuel, its Rulers, and the non humans among them. At the top of the group are the Dragons, not dragon shifters but dragons who can assume a somewhat human form but remain always dragons in mindset and action. Derr starts laying out her universe and beings almost immediately.

There are 3 types of dragons. Najlah is a hornless black scale, the most fearsome warriors. His brother Fayth? Huge, horned and a protector who just happened to have married a human who is royalty. And then there are the Bitches, the awe-inspiring female dragons who live in the caves, have the young and are basically the rulers in dragon society. Najlah’s home is inside a volcano where the fires sooth and refresh him. I expect more dragon natural history to appear along with more stories. What Derr gives us is fascinating while provoking more questions.

By royal marriage and agreements set between their rulers, dragons have come to live in Restuel, along with bird and cat shifters. The wolves? They are a feral group that lives apart in the Shide territories, content to remain aloof and isolated by choice and geographical and meteorological conditions. But a war is brewing and the attempt on the King’s life is just the start of the attacks. Who is behind it and how will they stop it? More questions pop up then are answered here.

This short story is all about the hunt for the poisoner and the meeting between wolf and dragon. Each is a fierce warrior, courageous, loyal, and impulsive in their actions. Both Najlah and Barkus recognize like souls immediately and how they pull together is the charm of this story. I love the descriptions that let us know that Najlah retains his poisonous claws, scales and even fangs in his human like form, fangs so long that he is unable to talk but communicates through growls and hisses. Barkus is as entertaining as he is savage and able. The two make an aggressively attractive pair. I can’t wait to see where Derr takes them and this series.

I recommend this story and will be waiting along with the rest of you to see what happens next to our dangerous duo and the Kingdom of Restuel. I can imagine the battles and snark now, and that’s just the courtship between wolf and dragon! Whatever it turns out to be, I am sure it will be entertaining, inventive and a must story for all lovers of dragons and fantasy!

Cover art by Julie Wright. Love that cover, works perfectly for Najlah.

Sales Links: Less Than Three Press (preorder)

Book Details:

ebook
Expected publication: October 22nd 2014 by Less Than Three Press LLC
(first published May 17th 2013)
original title”Lukos Heat” published in Dracones
ISBN139781620044438
edition languageEnglish
series: Heart of Fire

A MelanieM Review: Deep Plunge (SoulShares #3) by Rory Ni Coileain

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

For over two thousand years Lochlann Doran has wandered the continents of Earth, watching as little by little his magic dwindled away to nothing. For Lochlann Doran’s a Fae torn from his war torn world, his soul sundered as he was sent through the Pattern by fellow Loremaster and friend Cuinn to Earth. Now only his faceted aquamarine eyes and the fact that he can’t die remain as reminders of his true nature. Also lost? The ability to heal that goes along with being a Fae of the Demesne of Water.

Stripper Garrett Templar has been dancing along time. The club Purgatory, prior to being bought by Tiernan Guiare, was a hard, indifferent place to work. Garrett turned tricks in the back room to pay his bills and rent, something that would never happen now. But then? The dancers were unprotected by management something Garrett found out the hard way when at eighteen, one of the johns he entertained infected him with HIV. And while it may have been a “manageable” disease” with others, in his system the virus has inexplicably mutated into full-blown AIDS. And no known cocktail has managed to work to slow it down. Now the only place Garrett can find solace is to loose himself as he dances on stage, always alone by necessity and by choice.

Then Lochlann’s travels brings him into Washington, DC and to the very stage in Purgatory where Garrett is dancing. It only takes a few glances for the SoulShares bond to snap to attention, startling Garrett and freaking out Lochlann deeply. Lochlann never expected to find his SoulShare after so many centuries alone. And then he finds out from Garrett that he is dying from AIDS. Lochlann is devastated. If he had his magic back, he could heal Garrett immediately. But his magic is gone. And Garrett flees from Lochlann, not wanting to hope for a future he is sure they can never have.

But Purgatory has more surprises in store for Lochlann when the SoulShares appear along with his ex friend and now old enemy, Loremaster Cuinn. It seems their ancient evil, Marfach, has stirred and wants access to a unSouled Fae to return Marfach to the Realm. And Lochlann is the key to the survival of all.

Deep Plunge is the penultimate story in Rory Ni Coileain’s SoulShares series and with it Ni Coileain’s achieves a remarkable bit of storytelling. There is a huge amount of world building going on here. Two universes, that of the Fae Realm and that of modern urban Washington, DC, are both rendered with equal amounts of realism and imagination. Then the author builds onto that an epic battle of good and evil (evil being the Marfach) where evil almost conquered all. It left behind a blackened Fae landscape and a multitude of dead or dying Fae. To support such a cataclysmic event, Rory Ni Coileain builds a Fae society in dire straits, one that has to re-imagine itself in order to survive. That aspect of this story is mesmerizing, the history constructed to make all the events that occur in the books not only necessary but manipulated and foretold (yes, two different things are happening here…this layering is magnificent).

Facts about the Fae and the Pattern that we thought we knew from prior events are turned on their head here. Nothing is as it has seemed. There are so many elements in play here that you almost have to pause in your reading to make sure you have it all straight, including the latest revelations that have knocked you (and the characters) right on their butts. I love it when that happens. Smoke and mirrors, or merely the Fae at work…doesn’t matter because the end result is magical, suspenseful, and downright addictive.

The two protagonists here are unarguably poignant, deeply damaged characters, each with an emptiness inside where their other souled half should reside (more universe building). That they have found each other should be cause for celebration. Instead its marked by pain, and enough angst to fill a bathtub. Ni Coileain pulls off terrific non-human characters in her Fae. They do not have the same emotions as humans so that the fact that half their souls end up in humans is not only a neat twist but helps pull all the author’s Fae back down into characters we can empathize with as well as connect with on an elemental basis. For their human Soulshares it is easy to believe in them and their myriad lifestyles and issues. All couples from previous stories appear in important roles here as Ni Coileain starts pulling together all the threads she has been sowing in the books so far. But of them all, Garrett and Lochlann have to be among the most star-crossed. Garrett who’s HIV became full blown AIDS in almost no time and Lochlann the person who loves him and should be able to cure him but can’t. It’s both poetic and unbearably painful.

Trust me when I say it almost hurts not to spill all the details that are revealed here, the twists, the turns, the “never saw that coming” revelations. And Deep Plunge sets all the elements rolling for the final story in the series, Firestorm. The final battle between the Marfach against the Fae and humans is almost here. Who will be able to stop them? I can’t wait to find out! Mark this series down as a Must Read and this story as one of the best of the year! What an adventure Rory Ni Coileain has pulled us into! A multidimensional saga with characters who continue to astonish and deep loves that have me swooning for more. Consider the series, the story and the author among ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords Highly Recommended Reads!

Cover art by Allen Penn. Does a great job branding the series but missing the fantasy element.

Sales Links: Ravenous Romance All Romance eBooks (ARe) Amazon Deep Plunge

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 202 pages
Published August 28th 2013 by Ravenous Romance
ASINB00EV7OAYU
edition languageEnglish
seriesSoulShares #3

Books in the SoulShares series in the order they were written and should be read are:

Hard As Stone (SoulShares #1)
Gale Force (Soulshares #2)
Deep Plunge (SoulShares #3)
Firestorm (SoulShares #4)

Review: Hard As Stone (SoulShares #1) by Rory Ni Coileain

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Lawyer Kevin Almstead has just been told he doesn’t have what it take to ever make partner. Apparently he has “no fire, no ambition”. That’s what he has just been told and Kevin isn’t sure that he doesn’t agree with that assessment. Depressed and unsure of his next step, Kevin heads out for a drink and wanders into Purgetory, a gay bar in Washington, DC. What and who he finds there will forever change his life and his outlook on the world.

All leather, long blond hair and sexy hot, Kiernan Guaire spells trouble for Kevin Almstead in every way. For starters, he isn’t even human. Kiernan Guaire is Fae,a Royal from the Demesne of Earth who was banished from his realm for the only crime the Fae will not tolerate…kin killing. For killing his brother, Kiernan’s soul was sundered and he was sent through The Pattern to Earth. One hundred and sixty five years later, Kiernan has wandered, lusted and lived clear of attachments and beholden to no one. Then Kevin walks into Purgetory looking to drown his problems and finds Kiernan instead. Kiernan’s life and everything changes for him as well. For Kevin is his SoulShared, his other half.

Drawn into the SoulShare bond after one passionate night together, they separate unwilling and uncertain what that explosive moment meant to each other. But strange things are happening at Kevin’s work. Kiernan is having problems staying away from Kevin. And under the ground in Washington, DC an ancient enemy waits for its chance to free itself and walk the earth and Fae realms once more. And bonding of Kevin and Kiernan might just give it the magic it needs….

Hard as Stone is the first in the SoulShares series and my first by Rory Ni Coileain. My introduction to this amazing world building talent, creativity, and Rory Ni Coileain’s marvelous characters had me staying up late until I finished the story and then grabbing immediately for the next in the series. Just the mention of a storyline that includes a Fae thread and I’m involved. Then upend that Fae into the modern world and let the fireworks begin or not, depending upon each author’s take on the subject.

Ni Coileain’s Fae may be magical but they are not terribly likable, especially to each other. Ruthless, mercurial, and imperious. Yes. Gorgeous and forever young. Yes. Dispicable? Yes, that too. Particularly, as I said , with each other. The only rule they seem to abide by? Dont’ kill each other. Torture, maim, and terrorize, yes. Killing? No. Even if it is warranted. They may not kill but they also don’t love. This is a society of beings you want to avoid and they fall more along the lines of the old Fae of Irish lore.

Hard as Stone (and all the others) open in the realm of the Fae, a universe they walled off from ours, pulling the magic from Earth when the Fae left. There we first meet Kiernan Guaire, already bound in silver and awaiting his fate. We learn his crime and watch his tortuous passage through to Earth. It’s a great start and it draws us into his pain and the scary place that is his people and home.

Waiting on Earth is Kevin Almstead. Tall, kind, and gorgeous, Kevin’s life is on shaky ground. Groomed to be a partner at a prestigious law firm, it now looks as thought that won’t happen and Kevin is pondering his next step. Kevin is immediately someone we can identify with. He is approachable and his disheartened state of mind is one that anyone who has been rejected or stymied at work can recognize. I loved this character and thought he was a lovely balance of vulnerability and strength.

Hard as Stone takes place in Washington, DC and although there aren’t a lot of local flavor mentioned here outside of Adams Morgan, there isn’t any errors either which I appreciated. In fact, I wish Purgatory actually existed. The closest thing I could think of was The Crucible. But Purgatory is vividly described from its lighting to the bar and floors. It feels real and that successful element is a must here because Purgatory has a huge part to play in the stories so its ability to feel alive and present is as necessary to the series as the characters that drink there.

There are monsters here. Human, fae and something far worse. It speaks to Rory Ni Coileain’s ability as a writer that the dread she creates and the horror that is the Marfach will make you recoil from the pages and the terror that is rising from them. And the fight against it is as desperate and wild as you can imagine. I am still cringing just thinking about a passage or two when the Marfach comes to mind. That’s a job well done indeed.

There are a number of plot threads introduced here that set up the books to come. They will spark your interest and anticipation for the next story, Gale Force, in the series. I loved the SoulShares concept and the idea of finding your other half against all odds. A wonderful rationale behind an instant love/instant attraction…the fact that you recognize something so familiar about the person in front of you. It’s a compelling thought and a great storyline. I can’t wait to get to all the books in the series.

If you are a lover of a Fae/human connection and a fantasy that stretches into our world for unexpected consequences and love,, this is the story and series for you! I highly recommend them but make sure your journey starts with this one, Hard as Stone.

Buy Details: All Romance eBooks (ARe) Amazon Hard as Stone

Cover artist isn’t credited but while the models are great, the use of fire doesn’t make sense as ice blue, and earth are major factors here.

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 185 pages
Published October 18th 2012 by Ravenous Romance
original titleHard As Stone
ASINB009SX91JQ
edition languageEnglish
urlhttp://www.ravenousromance.com/fantastica/hard-as-stone.php?
seriesSoulShares #1

In the Author Spotlight: Chatting with Angel Martinez on Writing, Endangered Fae and Much More! (contest)

ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords Sits Down with

Angel Martinez to chat about her Endangered Fae series, writing, and

much more!

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I fell in love with Angel Martinez and her Endangered Fae series from my first introduction to Finn, the Fae in question, and his lover Diego in Finn (Endangered Fae#1). A first interview with the author followed, as did the second book, Diego (Endangered Fae #2). By now I was captured up in the universe Martinez had built for her series and the characters involved. So when I heard the third novel was coming out, I knew that a second interview was needed to learn more about the author and the series as it evolves.

Contest: Angel Martinez has brought along a copy of Finn (Endangered Fae #1) to give away. To enter to win an eBook copy of Finn, leave a comment below, along with an email address where you can be contacted. In addition, STRW is offering up a eBook copy of Semper Fae as a prize as well. Two Endangered Fae books, two winners! You must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Contest ends midnight EDT on July 25th.

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍Now on to my interview with Angel Martinez:
STRW: Endangered Fae combines a number of mythologies. Native American, Irish…what prompted that combination and which ones to choose from?

Angel Martinez: Myth and folklore are passions of mine, from when I was very young. Part of that probably stems from the leftover bits of the old ways in my mother’s and grandmother’s kitchen wisdom, (Stir that in one direction! You’ll upset the kitchen spirits!) and partly from a fascination with fairytales that morphed into something more.

The Irish/British Isles mythology stems right from the pooka himself, who is a mostly Irish spirit. In the second book on, Finn’s associations extend to more of the creatures of that myth/folklore region since those would be the people he knew. Later on, the world expands further as we travel further, so we run into creatures of Arabian myth as well.

The Algonquian mythology was also a matter of geography. Finn and Diego travel to Nova Scotia, so what they met there needed to be local as well.

STRW: The Fae continue to fascinate and they appear in many forms from the elegant “human” type to the alien and frightening “Good folk” in the old tradition. Which appeals to you?

Angel Martinez: I actually like both, and pookas, while they can appear as handsome humans, are more “good folk” than Tolkien elvish. For the purposes of romance, the fae I’ve chosen throughout the series as love interests are ones who are more humanoid and beautiful, but our heroes encounter many different types along the way, some lovely, but some alien and strange.

STRW: Did or do you have a muse for this series? If so, what was it? Or who?

Angel Martinez: I don’t often have muses, but Finn insisted on taking the job. He’s more real to me some days than the people in my neighborhood (and often more sensible.) Authors often talk about characters communicating with them or demanding things. It often seems a silly conceit, but Finn’s been beside me, whispering in my ear, for many years now.

STRW: You write in a number of genres. Do you feel that is important for you as a writer to continue to do so? Do you have a favorite?

Angel Martinez: I think it’s important for an author to have a recognizable milieu. You pick up Anne Rice, you’re pretty sure what you’re going to get. While I’ve done a couple of short contemporary pieces, I concentrate on Science Fiction and Fantasy because that’s what I love, as a reader and as a writer. I’ve set myself up so that readers (I hope) will see the name and make that instant connection (Oh, yes! She writers SFF.)

Mind you, I’m adamant about the fact that Science Fiction and Fantasy are *not* the same thing. There are distinct differences that shouldn’t be muddied if you want a believable story and when I write, I feel that they use different parts of my brain. SF uses that more rational side of the brain, even when I’m writing SF humor, and Fantasy uses that more fanciful, surreal side of the brain. (SF = plan, build, measure Fantasy = wheeee!)

I do write both adult SF and all ages (under my given name) as well, though I don’t really consider those different genres, just different focuses of story arc.

STRW: How long have you been writing?

Angel Martinez: Writers get asked this a lot. Most of us will tell you we’ve been telling stories all our lives, whether we wrote them down or not. I’ve written stories from the time I could write, but didn’t finish my first novel (that will never see the light of day) until the late 1990’s. My first published work was picked up in 2006 and my first gay romance published in 2007. So I’ve been around the block a few times 😉

STRW:. How long does it take you to research a story? Have you ever traveled for your research or folded your experiences into a story?

Angel Martinez: It depends what I’m trying to do. If the subject matter is something I have a lot of experience with and a lot of source material lying around, research might take a couple of days. If it’s something I’m struggling with, it could take weeks to hammer out the basic points (as in a new interstellar spaceship propulsion method.)

I wish I had the money to travel just for research. That would be lovely. But I do often use places I’ve been in stories: New York, Nova Scotia, Los Angeles, Wilmington. I sometimes do rough sketches of things I see to get the details right later. All of us pick bits and pieces of our experience out of our brains and use them for our stories, whether it’s conscious or not.

STRW: What’s next in the series?

Angel Martinez: Semper Fae, the third Endangered Fae book, just released from MLR Press on 7/11/14. That one’s Zack’s story, for all my readers who said the Marine needed his own story. But never fear, Diego and Finn (especially Diego) play a huge part in the plot still.

After that, I’ve just finished No Fae Is An Island, in which we have Diego and Finn traveling farther than ever and getting into just as much trouble as usual, and some new characters, one of whom we’ve met in Semper Fae, get to be the heroes.

Here’s a sneak peek blurb for No Fae Is An Island:

“Three years ago, Danu banished Diego for a time from the human world. Three years and three days doesn’t seem that long to be away from home but time among the wild fae can change a man and the human world returns the favor by changing while he’s away. Human governments haven’t all had humane reactions to magic users. There’s a vampire on Tearmann Island’s security force. A curious selkie’s followed him home. So much to do to keep the world safe…but Diego’s no longer sure he has the right to interfere.

Theo Aguilar started his vampire life on the wrong side of the law. He’s killed and knows how dangerous he can be if he doesn’t stay in control every moment of every day. But the fae took him in and Prince Lugh has given him a position of trust. He owes them more than gratitude, so when Diego and Finn are arrested on a diplomatic mission far from home, he knows his duty. He’s striking out on his own to rescue them, a lone vigilante once again, though this time for the good guys. The only glitch? The selkie, Limpet, can’t seem to understand the alone part.”

STRW: Do you write one story at a time or have several at different stages at one time?

Angel Martinez: Ideally, I have one at a time. I’m not one of those writers who can switch back and forth from one story to another. But I do, sometimes, start a story and then have to set it aside for another deadline. At one point this year, I had three stories started and had to work on a fourth. We’re now down to one at the edit stage, one started and set aside and one that needs immediate attention.

STRW: Finally, why do you write?

Angel Martinez: *tortured, dramatic sob* Because I must! Seriously, though,I enjoy it. It’s what I love best. And if you find something you love, why would you do anything else?

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Thank you, Angel Martinez, for stopping by and sitting in the Author’s Spotlight chair for a moment. I can’t wait to read the next two stories in the Endangered Fae series.

For those of you new to the series and, perhaps, the author as well, be sure to leave a comment below and be entered to win an eBook copy of Finn (Endangered Fae #1) from Angel Martinez and a second winner will be chosen to win a eBook copy of Semper Fae from ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords. Happy Reading!

Stories in the Endangered Fae series are to date:

Finn (Endangered Fae #1)
Diego (Endangered Fae #2)
Semper Fae (Endangered Fae #3) released 7/11 (5 stars review to follow!)
No Fae Is An Island (Endangered Fae #4) to be released

Author Bio:

Angel Martinez currently lives part time in the hectic sprawl of northern Delaware and full time inside her head. She has one husband, one son, two cats, a love of all things beautiful and a terrible addiction to the consumption of both knowledge and chocolate.

Angel’s alter ego writes the all-ages science fiction – Sandra Stixrude.

You can contact//follow Angel Martinez at:

Review: Diego (Endangered Fae #2) by Angel Martinez

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Diego Sandoval’s life changed utterly the day he rescued an ailing Fae under the Brooklyn Bridge. From dumped lover and struggling author, Diego’s life is now filled with the love of Finn, his Pookie lover and the book Finn inspired has gotten Diego a league of fans and followers. Now relocated to a remote area of Montana, life is good but change is in the wind once more….

A misunderstanding between Finn and Diego shatters their happy lives when in a fit of jealous rage, Diego’s uncontrolled power rips a hole in the Veil which seals his universe away from the Otherworld. The Otherworld is the place where all Fae fled in the face of humankind proliferation and despoiling of the Earth. Pulled unwittingly into the Otherworld, Diego must learn how to use his powers, find Finn and make their way back home.

But so many obstacles stand in their way, including a mysterious disease that is slowly killing all the Fae, a disease that all Fae are sure Diego can cure. And if that is not enough to contend with, then the appearance of the US Army with its own assumptions might be the biggest problem of all….

When a book and characters are able to pull me into their story to the point that I forget the time and other things I need to be doing then I know that the author has accomplished their mission as a craftsman of tales, a first rate storyteller that would be welcomed at any fire or table around. That’s how I felt about Diego (Endangered Fae #2) when I finally put down the Kindle and looked at the clock. I couldn’t believe how late it was or how absorbed I had been in Diego, the second book in the Endangered Fae series by Angel Martinez. I loved the first story, but this one built on that and became so much better….

This is a complex story with numerous characters, locations and worlds involved. Once again, Martinez pulls from a number of mythologies to build her two universes and multitude of Fae species. Diego follows months, perhaps a year, after the events of Finn. They have moved into a cabin in the wilds of Montana, and Diego has become a successful author based on his first published story about a fictionalized Finn. But a state of happiness is an unknown territory for both man and Fae and Martinez is wise to include the points of view of both Diego and Finn here to highlight their feelings and insecurities about their relationship and each other.

Finn, while long lived or even immortal, has not had a happy history with relationships, especially his last one which ended in his dismemberment and his lover’s torture and burning. And lurking underneath a traumatic history with love or because of it, is a case of poor self image and enough insecuritiesto fill a canyon. He wants to be worthy of Diego, but is not sure exactly how to accomplish that. He fears that Diego will abandon him even as Diego tries to reinforce the depth of his own feelings towards the Fae. Diego too has a bad history of romance behind him. Two insecure new lovers must balance their new relationship with the needs of each other, different species included. That’s a heavy task that Martinez has placed in front of her two main characters and that is only the beginning as well as the foundation for most of their issues. A stable, loving relationship is so new to both that neither understands how to communicate their fears or feel secure enough in their love for each other to question the firmness of the foundation upon which they base their feelings. That an impressive fracture to overcome for any new couple, let alone a human and a Fae. Plus both have a history with Diego’s prior self, Taliesin and the power that Diego has yet to harness. More issues still for the couple. I mean Martinez has these two on such shaky emotional ground (believably so) that its a wonder each gets out of the bed they are so fond of.

But an emotional jealous rage shatters a barrier raised by a Fae Queen and both are drawn into an ancient feud that has dire consequences for all. Here Martinez delves deep into Fae mythology and comes up with some astonishing characters. From Dana to Balor, ancient enemies with a common sorrow between them, and Lugh, half kin, ex lover and soldier, such amazing characters of immense gravitas and magic await the reader on the other side of the Veil. And none of them even remotely come across as human. This element of the story is incredibly compelling and magnetic in its pull. I loved Martinez’ ability to continue with her relationship dynamics between Finn and Diego while building on Finn’s history and complex relationships with others in the Otherworld. This will just add to the problems they face, trust me.

One aspect of this story will be the arrival (I won’t say where) of a top secret US Army detachment. Their impact upon our beloved characters and story isn’t for the squeamish. While Martinez is not as graphic as she might have been, my imagination supplied far too many details on top of the ones the author already delivered. Vivid, traumatic, scary….just what you might expect from such an encounter. The detachment fills much the same role as the Wendig0 did for the first story. It shakes everything up, provides a enemy to thwart, and makes the ending of the story that much more satisfactory for all everyone went through to get to the resolution. Not a easy element to read but so worthwhile once you get to the other side. Don’t flinch…move smartly forward. Trust me, its worth it.

So many wonders to be found here in this story and series. I loved the Fae, all of them, and the Otherworld. I loved that Diego’s cultural identity is as important as Finn’s Fae one, a lovely touch that adds spice to the Endangered Fae melting pot of a series. I absolutely fell in love over and over again with character after character, no matter the species and how much fun is that?

I am getting ready for the third book in the series, Semper Fae (great title). It deals with the romance between a soldier who plays a major role in this story and another great chacracter found here too. No spoilers as yet. It won’t be out for several months. Until then, get started on this series. Start with Finn, and then go on to Diego. I will meet you back here for Semper Fae.

Consider Diego (and Finn) definite recommendations from ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords. Such happy findings….I can’t wait to see where Angel Martinez takes us all next….

Cover art by Winterheart Designs. Nice cover, love the models standing in for both characters.

Buy Links: MLR Press Diego: Endangered Fae Series ” title=”Amazon buy link”> Amazon ARe

Book Details:

book, 3rd, 296 pages
Published June 6th 2014 by MLR Press (first published September 16th 2010)
original titleDiego
ISBN 1608209342 (ISBN13: 9781608209347)
urlhttp://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=AM_DIEGO
seriesEndangered Fae #2
charactersDanu, Finn Shannon, Diego Sandoval, Lugh, Balor
settingMontana (United States)
Otherworld ,Tearman Island

Books in the series include:

Finn (Endangered Fae #1)
Finn’s Christmas (Endangered Fae #1.5) (note: this was folded into Finn as the last chapter in the latest edition)
Diego (Endangered Fae #2)
Semper Fae (Endangered Fae #3)

Author Book Tour & Contest: An Interview with Angel Martinez on Finn (Endangered Fae #1)

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On Tour with Angel Martinez and the first in her new series,

Finn (Endangered Fae #1)

ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords welcomes Angel Martinez here today to talk about the new series and the story that starts it, Finn ( Endangered Fae #1). Contest: Angel Martinez has brought along with her a Rafflecopter giveaway. To enter to win an eBook copy of Finn: Endangered Fae, visit this Rafflecopter link and fill out the form. Contest ends June 13th.

STRW: Thanks, Angel, for stopping by today. I am always fascinated by the different approaches authors take the writing process and inspiration.
What research did you do for this novel?

AM: It’s funny. People don’t often associate research with fantasy. They think you can just toss it together all higgledy-piggledy. You can’t. You have to understand the genesis and history of your world, the nature of the characters and its magic, and the natural history of any non-human species you use. Urban fantasy is compounded with real world research as well. Sure I’ve been to New York and New Brunswick, but it had been awhile. What did I have to research?

Brooklyn neighborhoods, streets and where a Goodwill was located
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (it’s changed enormously since I saw it last)
Fundy National Park, the trees and wildlife there, and its surroundings
What to do for a carsick dog
Pookas – I dug through every old story I could find with a pooka reference and then had to decide what I wanted to use and what to discard
Wendigo – again, I knew something but not enough. I needed everything I could dig up.

STRW: So many people are enthralled by the Fae. And there is a huge amount of Fae folklore and writings to draw from. Did you create your own or draw from some of the more traditional aspects?

AM: I went straight to Irish legend, the old stories of the Tuatha Dé Danann and the several waves of invasions, of heroes and gods and ancient wars. My fae are directly built on those old stories, though I’ve made certain to characterize them as neither gods nor humans. Those stories and the old folktales people my fae courts and my Otherworld.

Obviously, I’ve taken liberties in creating distinct fae species and setting down the rules and characteristics of each type, but the old stories from the age of heroes are their forerunners.
STRW:What drew you to write about the Fae? What was your inspiration for this story?

AM: I suppose you could say my inspiration was a lifetime of stories, a deep love from early childhood for stories of fairies and non-human realms. They’ve always been with me. I suppose I had to write about them eventually.

This story specifically was a reaction to an internal need, though. My first M/M story was a contemporary piece – one written for a specific reason. But I wasn’t comfortable with contemporary fiction and probably never will be. I don’t read it. Why would I write it? My critique partners urged me to turn to what I loved. Why didn’t I write a fantasy? Elves and things. I wrinkled my nose. Everyone had written about elves. I didn’t want to do what had been done a hundred times already. So I dove for the books and searched until I found a critter that people rarely discussed. The pooka.

STRW: How many books are planned for this series?

AM: There are currently four – three already written and one in the works. I may find I need a fifth, depending on where things end up, but four has been the goal for some time now.
STRW: How long have you been writing or writing in the M/M genre?

AM: I’ve always written something, from the time that I could write. I first started writing novels in, oh, 1998 or so? I think that’s about right. The first novel was written for my son as a chapter-by-chapter bedtime story – a novel that will most likely never see the light of day. Then I spent several years writing mainstream science fiction, with no success in finding a publisher until a short story sold in 2005. I probably started writing M/M romance in 2001 but didn’t seek publication for a few years. The first M/M story I wrote specifically for publication was contracted in 2007.

So, the answer to the question is: a lifetime of writing, almost ten years as a published author and over seven years as a M/M fiction author.

STRW: Thank you, Angel Martinez, for a great interview and for stopping by today. And for all readers, check out Finn (Endangered Fae #1) below and don’t forget to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for a chance to win a copy of this book for your own!

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Book Name: Finn (Endangered Fae #1)
Author Name: Angel Martinez
Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 205 pages
Published May 2nd 2014 by MLR Press (first published July 2nd 2009)
original titleFinn
ASINB00K3496AS
edition languageEnglish
seriesEndangered Fae #1
charactersFinn Shannon, Diego Sandoval
settingNew Brunswick (Canada)

literary awardsDark Diva Top Pick

Buy Links: MLR Press Amazon ARe

Author Bio: While Angel Martinez is the erotic fiction pen name of a writer of several genres, she writes both kinds of gay romance – Science Fiction and Fantasy. Currently living part time in the hectic sprawl of northern Delaware, (and full time inside the author’s head) Angel has one husband, one son, two cats, a changing variety of other furred and scaled companions, a love of all things beautiful and a terrible addiction to the consumption of both knowledge and chocolate.

Author Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amartinez2
Facebook Author Page
Pinterest
Tumblr
Twitter:
Cover Artist: Lex Valentine
Publisher: MLR Publishing
Blurb:

Lost and starving, Finn wakes to a poisoned world, but a man comes to him, a white light in the darkness—can a centuries old pooka find what he needs with a heartbroken, modern man?

When Diego rescues a naked man from the rail of the Brooklyn Bridge, he just wants to get the poor man out of traffic and to social services. He gets more than he bargained for when he discovers Finn is an ailing pooka, poisoned by the city’s pollution. To help him recover, Diego takes him to New Brunswick where Finn inadvertently wakes an ancient, evil spirit: the wendigo.

While they struggle to find a way to destroy the wendigo before it can possess Diego or kill nearby innocents, Diego wrestles with his growing feelings for Finn. Kill the monster and navigate a relationship between a modern man and a centuries old pooka. Piece of cake

Finn (Endangered Fae #1) Excerpt:

The ordeal of the shower seemed cruel, but Finn was filthy and smelled like a dumpster during a garbage strike. Diego placed one of his plastic kitchen chairs in the middle of the shower and installed Finn there, but he only slumped against the chair back, eyes closed, face turned into the spray.
Too exhausted to even flinch.

Diego fought down the little shiver of revulsion at the stench, stripped to his boxers, and stepped into the stall with him. He attacked the tangled mass of hair first, positioning Finn so his head hung back over the chair. No lice—a good sign. He might have been homeless, but he probably hadn’t lived on the streets too long. The nest of midnight snarls unwound under the caress of water and shampoo. If Finn stood, his hair would reach at least to the top curve of his butt. A strange blue-black iridescence shone in it, his natural coloring as far as Diego could tell rather than bottled special effects.

The rest Diego washed with a loofah, shoving away modesty out of a need to get Finn to his rest. An ache lodged around his heart to see how malnutrition had ravaged what probably had been a lean-muscled frame. An athlete, perhaps, before he went off the deep end, an impression reinforced by the absence of almost all body hair. Waxed or electrolysis-denuded—only Finn’s crotch sported a black thatch of soft hair. Swimmer, perhaps. The Olympic competitors often shaved it all off for every small gain in streamlining.

He turned off the water and tugged at Finn’s arm. “Come on. Let’s get you settled. You can’t sleep in the shower.”

Finn staggered to his feet and Diego all but carried him to Mitch’s room. The spare room, he corrected himself. He usually kept the door closed so the stark, unfurnished space wasn’t glaring at him.

He sat Finn down against the wall, brought him a pair of flannel pajamas, soft with age, and went out to the front closet to retrieve the air mattress and vacuum. Six boxes lay stacked against the wall; all that remained of Mitch’s things. Diego ran a hand over one, and then shook his head against the temptation to open the top and look at its contents. When he returned, Finn hadn’t moved from where he sat, naked and dozing in a patch of sunlight.

“You might want to put those on.” Diego toed the pajamas closer as he dragged the air mattress into place. When Finn’s only response was a long sigh, he added, “We need to get you warm. I don’t want to have to take you to Emergency.”

With a puzzled frown, Finn unfolded the material and managed, after looking back and forth between the pajamas and Diego’s jeans a few times, to pull the bottoms on. His efforts with the top, though, were sabotaged when the vacuum roared to life. He startled and scuttled sideways, wide-eyed and panting.

Diego hurried to switch it off. “Sorry. Should have warned you.”

“Is it some sort of small dragon?”

For a moment, Diego stared in blank surprise before he caught himself. At least the nature of Finn’s delusion was becoming clearer. He might even share his history later when he had the energy, perhaps some tragic story of an exiled prince. For now, Diego thought it best to play along.

“Not a dragon. Just a machine. It blows out and sucks in air with great force.”

“Ah.” Finn seemed disappointed, but waved a hand for him to continue.

Mattress inflated, Finn dressed and installed in bed, Diego thought he should get something in him before he drifted off. He tried tap water first but Finn jerked his head away, the color draining from his face.

“Tainted,” he gasped. “Great Dagda, it reeks.”

Diego sniffed above the glass, puzzled. New York City water, piped in from the mountains, was cleaner than most but it was treated. Chlorine. Fluoride. Maybe Finn had an allergy to one or the other.

Bottled water produced a less violent reaction. Finn smelled it, nose crinkled, but he downed half the bottle in desperate gulps before Diego could take it back from him. Hydration, at least, wouldn’t be an issue.

The hurdle of food remained. Starvation often did terrible things to the body’s ability to accept nourishment. Not the best time to offer a hamburger and fries. Diego decided he should start with the foods one was supposed to give sick kids: bananas, rice, applesauce and toast, minus the applesauce, since he didn’t have any.

Finn wouldn’t touch the boiled-in-tap-water rice. He nibbled a corner of the toast and set it aside with murmured apologies. The banana completely stumped him. He turned it over and over in his hands and finally tried to bite through the skin.

“You eat these?” He handed it back to Diego with a grimace.

All right, so his reality doesn’t include New World fruit. Diego peeled the banana for him and handed it back. “You don’t eat the skin. Try the inside.”

Finn took a careful bite and his eyes widened. “That’s not bad.”

Diego could only watch anxiously, praying his guest wouldn’t choke, as the rest disappeared in three bites. With a contented sigh, Finn handed the peel back, gathered the covers into a circle in the center of the mattress, and curled into a tight ball inside his nest. By the time Diego brought an extra comforter to cover him, Finn was fast asleep.

Clean and at rest, his face had a childlike quality with his hair tucked behind one finely-curved ear. Diego wasn’t certain it was a handsome face, almost unearthly in its delicacy, and though Finn stood six inches taller, he had the odd feeling he could scoop that long frame up in his arms without much effort.
He backed out and closed the door as quietly as he could, confident Finn wouldn’t die on him. Tomorrow he would see about finding the right agency to take his guest, preferably one that wouldn’t hand him right over to immigration.

A few hours of peace while Finn sle

Crystalpt should let him at least get through the current chapter he was writing.

The moment he sat ready at his desk, fingers poised over the keys, the phone rang.

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Tour Dates: June 2, 2014 – June 13, 2014
Tour Stops:
June 2: Tara Lain
June 3: Parker Williams
June 4: Kimi-Chan, Jade, Talon SO
June 5: Book Reviews Rants, and Raves, MM Good Books
June 6: Nephylim, Hearts on Fire
June 9: Prism Book Alliance, Dawn’s Reading Nook
June 10: Love Bytes, My Fiction Nook
June 11: Fallen Angel Reviews
June 12: The Novel Approach, Rainbow Gold Reviews
June 13: Amanda C. Stone, Velvet Panic, ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords
Contest Link for an eBook copy of Finn: Rafflecopter Link

Author Spotlight: Leona Carver & her latest release, No Ocean Too Deep (Contest)

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No Ocean Too Deep Carver_Cover

No Ocean Too Deep by Leona Carver

Begzada Dastyaf, a warlord of the desert Amirate of Ujmah, descends into the deep sea to find his beloved prince and cousin, Sharouk. Not only must he navigate a strange new realm, but he must master an unfamiliar body and learn the ways of the folk who live within that dark and watery place … all while struggling with an unwanted attraction to his resentful sea folk guide, the witch Nils.

My name is Leona Carver and I’m here to talk about my new novella, “No Ocean Too Deep”, and the world in which it unfolds. I’m pleased to offer an e-copy of No Ocean Too Deep to give away.

Contest: To enter the draw, please leave a comment and an email address. The contest runs until midnight EDT June 1st, at which point I’ll draw a name from a bonafide hat.

Where will duty and love take you?

The vastness of the ocean triggers a deep sense of awe. There are a myriad of ecosystems and flora, fauna, and in-between creatures (florauna?), and we know so little about it. Every week there’s some new discovery, an animal or a piece of footage of a place that had never been seen before. It is absolutely stunning. Immersing myself in that world both thrilled and challenged me, making No Ocean one of the most satisfying stories I’ve written.

I’m from the school of, “Write what you don’t know.” I find that I’m most passionate about those stories that challenge me, make me ask questions, make me fling out the long arm of imagination to grab at answers. Dastyaf and Nils travel in a place where there is very little light and the senses are both impaired and enhanced by the characteristics of the ocean. The challenge was to describe actions, emotions, and communication without the use of vision. I drew on research about the abilities of sharks to sense the electromagnetic fields of other animals, and had Dastyaf learn the language of scents and pheromones, which gives the sea folk a nearly telepathic ability to sense the thoughts and feelings of others. If I had had the word count at my disposal, I could have filled entire chapters with Dastyaf learning his new body.

In addition to the difficulties of communicating in the sea, sans sight but with enhanced taste and skin receptors, that world adds another complexity: The entire place is alive. Tiny organisms exist everywhere, from harmful, to benign, to beneficial, and the culture of my sea folk needed to reflect that. They depend on their slimy coatings for protection; therefore, touching is limited and, when it does occur, it indicates a deep level of trust. Sea folk healers understand how some organisms can be used to fight malign organisms, how the deeper briny waters can be used to kill weaker microbes. Witches use that thick miasma of life to cast their magic, to the extreme of the leviathans, giant creatures built from the less-sentient organisms.

No Ocean Too Deep- Carver_Image 2

The people were adapted to fit the environment, influenced by existing sea creatures. Sea folk come in all forms. The Angler Fish Deep Sisters: mighty huntresses wielding bait made of light, spiky with bone, their males little more than nubs and pustules attached to their skin. The Sirens: though they can be from any species, so long as they are witches, tend to be more vulnerable species. In No Ocean, they are delicate, translucent, highly venomous jellies, and their giant nautilus entombs a leviathan.

Environment is character: Active in the story, equipped with motivations and needs, acting on the other characters and reacting to what they do. In No Ocean, the environment is partially responsible for the existence of the leviathans. They would not be possible without the soup of microbes through which magic travels and acts on the world. When witches die, if they hold onto their lives strongly enough, the sea answers them and weaves them into herself. They are eaten away over time, losing more and more of themselves as their leviathan armour grows, until they become the silent, monstrous guardians of the ocean.

It was my intention to share my love of the ocean and all she holds, and create a new and interesting world to play in. Hopefully, this came through!

No Ocean was inspired by a simple prompt: Write a romance involving mecha. Somehow, that translated into organic armour built from corals, anemones, squids, fish, crabs, etc. Thankfully, Less Than Three Press went along with it. Because, once that seed was planted, it grew into a leviathan of its own. There are deep seas, deserts, castles, a hostile Republic, and even a distant jungle nation to explore. No Ocean is only the beginning.

I’m currently working on the sequel, in which Dastyaf hunts for the ingredients needed by sea folk witches to maintain their sentience and fight their leviathan nature. Once that hurdle is overcome, he’ll need to deal with the Republic. Last we saw them, the Republic had rebuilt their fleet and commenced another invasion.

As well as the direct sequel, there will be a companion series beginning with The Clockwork Centurion. This will be another M/M fantasy/romance set in a Jules Verne-esque version of post-Roman Briton, with the heavier steampunk aspects that No Ocean Too Deep mostly missed out on, other than the Republic’s weaponry. Eventually, the characters from each series will meet and we’ll see what happens.

Sword fighting, probably. Topless sword fighting, if I have my way.

Leona Carver

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Book Blurb:

To buck the brutal rule of the Republic, Amirzade Sharouk and his men pull off a desperate plan: Destroying the Republic’s fleet by joining forces with the legendary sea folk, masters of the leviathans, immense living weapons born of the sea and magic.

Though the gamble succeeds, one of the leviathans vanishes with a valuable human, straining an already tenuous alliance. Her caretaker Nils needs to find her as quickly as possible to redeem himself before his superiors. His search is further burdened by Dastyaf, a furious human warlord and liability in the marine realm. But after combing the deep ocean and discovering the dangers it holds, Nils realizes he may need the human more than he thought, to save his mission and himself.

Buy Links: Less Than Three Press Amazon Smashwords ARe

Book Details:

ebook, 174 pages
Published April 9th 2014 by Less Than Three Press LLC
original title:No Ocean too Deep
ISBN139781620043448
edition languageEnglish
urlhttps://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-nooceantoodeep-1466468-153.html
series: A Loose Screw

Author Bio:

Leona Carver lurks in a Canadian basement with a cat and an aerospace engineer, one of whom helps with the science while the other scratches at the window to get out. She writes novels and short stories with a penchant for genre mash-ups—because fairy tales need space stations, historical romance needs steam powered cyborgs, merpeople should wear mecha, and all of the aforementioned need a little love. Or a lot of love.

Leona has published two M/M romances through Less Than Three Press: Piper, a space age version of the Pied Piper, and No Ocean Too Deep, a deep sea rescue with giant coral monsters and angry desert warriors.

Follow Leona Carver at: Leona can be rousted from her cave via email (leona.r.carver@gmail.com) or on her website (leonacarver.wordpress.com).

Author Spotlight on Mell Eight, author of The Oracle Series (And Book Contest)

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In The Author Spotlight Today: Mell Eight

ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords is happy to have Mell Eight stopping by today to talk about The Oracle series:

Contest: Winner will win a copy of The Oracle’s Flame. To enter please leave a comment and a email address or other method of contacting you. That’s it. Contest closes Saturday, April 5th.

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Mell Eight:

Melanie very kindly asked me to stop by her blog, ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords, to talk a little bit about The Oracle Series. I’m so happy to have this opportunity to share more about the stories I love, so thank you very much to Melanie and her blog for the invite!

One of the most difficult things for me when I start writing a new book is figuring out how to make it completely unique from every other book I’ve written. This was especially true when I began writing The Oracle Series. At the time, I had just finished The Dragon’s Hoard series in which my dragons had a very specific type of society and their magic was tied to their hoarding instinct. I knew I had to go in the exact opposite direction for my new adventure in The Oracle’s Flame. I eventually chose to work inside a Monastery and with the elements of Fire, Water, Air, and Earth for the magic.

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Every single person born in the Monastery has the ability to use each of those elements, called Castes. As children they’re trained in all the basics. I think of it like primary school children who study everything there is to know at an elementary level, but they eventually graduate and go off to college where they specialize in just one degree. When the children in the Monastery turn eighteen they’re eligible to approach the Oracle to ask for permission to take the test that will determine their future. The Oracle is an all-seeing and all-knowing being. She looks into the future of each child and determines if they’re ready for the test. Dragon (Kindle), from The Oracle’s Flame, did not test until he was twenty while Ling, from The Oracle’s Hatchling, tested when he was still eighteen. To continue my metaphor, each student in the U.S. has to pass their SATs in order to get into college and their final grade often indicates what level college they’re able to get into. In a way this is also true in my Oracle Series. The children are tested and they receive power based on their need in the future.

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The testing itself is a mysterious process that only the Oracle really understands. The child enters a dark, magical room where they are imbued with power that takes the form of a tattoo on their back. The tattoo will belong to only one specific Caste—i.e. an Earth Caste tattoo might have a tree in it, but it won’t have a nearby stream or leaves rustling in the wind—and the child would only have the ability to use that Caste.

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I can already hear readers of The Oracle’s Hatching asking me about Ling’s powers. He was able to use all four elements even after his testing! I don’t want to give away too many spoilers for future readers, but there is a very rare fifth Caste where the ability to use multiple elements is possible. Ling belongs to the Ether Caste, which is part of the strife he has to overcome in his story. Because the Ether Caste is so rare, it’s not included in the list of elements.

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Which brings me to my dragons! As I said earlier, the amount of future need determines the amount of power each child receives during their testing. If Dragon’s future only included lighting candles to keep the night at bay, he might have been a Kindle in truth instead of disguise. Instead he had a mighty quest to accomplish and emerged from the testing chamber with a dragon emblazoned on his back. Each Caste has one Dragon who is always the strongest person in the entire Caste. They have the ability to manipulate their element to the highest degree, including transforming into a dragon shape during dire need. Despite their strength, the Dragons are not the leaders of their Castes. The Oracle sends her Dragons into the world to keep it safe, like Dragon’s quest to find the missing Prince of Altnoia. This leaves other high level Caste members, called Masters, to run the Caste from the Monastery.

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Each book in The Oracle Series will focus on one Dragon and his or her Oracle derived quest to keep the world safe. There are five Castes which means I am planning on writing a total of five books for the series. The Oracle’s Flame was about the Dragon of Fire, The Oracle’s Hatchling was about the Dragon of Ether, and the upcoming The Oracle’s Golem will be about the Dragon of Earth. I have future books planned for the Dragon of Air and the Dragon of Water, which I am excited to write soon. Could there be more than five books in the series? Absolutely. I won’t know for certain until the very last word is written in book five and my muses close the door on the Monastery. There are two ways there could be more books: either a new type of Dragon emerges in the Monastery, which is very unlikely at this point, or I expand the world. I have mentioned in the stories that there is an entire world out there, but I have only gone into depth about the Monastery and the country of Altnoia. A sixth book would be a step sideways, a sort of new series connected to The Oracle because it’s set in the same world, but with a new setting and new characters. I won’t focus on the possibility of more books until after book five is completed, but the ideas are percolating!

I put a lot of thought into The Oracle Series as I was creating it and I hope I was able to unravel some of it for you today! Thanks again to Melanie and ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords for inviting me to stop by.

Purchasing information for The Oracle’s Flame and The Oracle’s Hatchling can be found at Less Than Three Press.
For more information about The Oracle Series, including published books and works in progress, please visit the series’ page on my website.

STRW: Thank you, Mell, for stopping by today! You can find the reviews for the first two books in the series on my website. And don’t forget to leave a comment and be entered into the contest!

Contact Mell Eight at:

Review: The Oracle’s Hatchling (The Oracle #2) by Mell Eight

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Ling was 18, old enough to be tested no matter his parentage. Yet the Masters barred his way into the testing chamber when he arrived at the choosing ceremony. forcing him to steal his way into the Oracle’s chambers. It wasn’t his fault that his birth killed his mother, but that didn’t stop everyone at the Monastery from reviling him nonetheless. But when Ling is tested, the mark on his back is that of an egg instead of one of the four castes, leaving Ling in a worse position than when he went in. Mocked and hated and now further separated by his tattoo, Ling obeys the Oracle when she sends him off to find employment and a life in Altnoia.

Once Ling has settled into life in the castle’s kitchen, he accidentally falls into a plot to overthrow King Edan and the Oracle who supports him. Behind the plot is the son of the man who killed the royal family and usurped the throne. The twin princes and their dragon killed his father and now Prince Damarion lives alone, angry and plotting in the dungeons below. But Ling understands the pain behind the mask that Damarion wears and starts up an unexpected friendship with the vengeful prince. Neither man is prepared for the relationship that follows. And where it will lead them only fate and the Oracle knows.

Not quite a continuation of the first story, The Oracle’s Hatchling, the tale of Ling, the Hatchling of the title, is set after the events that took place in The Oracle’s Flame. The twin Princes and Dragon now hold the throne of Altnoia but the effects of the treachery by the King’s brother continues to spread throughout the kingdom. At its center is the son of the man who killed his brother and most of his brother’s family. Now an orphan, Prince Damarion is the focus of all the rage and hatred the people of Altnoia felt towards his father. Brooding, sulking, and somewhat petulant, he still remains a sad figure, one who has isolated himself from Prince Edan and the other residents of the castle.

Mell Eight manages to take two young men, different in status but not in the manner in which they both were made outsiders by events outside their control, and make them both realistic and worthy of our compassion. Ling has suffered the worst, he lost his mother and then any place he might have had in the caste societies that live within the Monastery. Constantly taunted and belittled, his only hope for something better, goes seriously awry or so the author makes us think. The descriptions of the relationship between Ling and the Oracle are tender and bittersweet, almost guaranteed to bring forth a tear or two. And the moment in which Ling leaves the Monastery and everything he knows for the outside for the first time is something we can relate to, that first step into an unknown future that requires you to leave home maybe forever.

Damarion is another recognizable character. And by that he feels like that older teen, twenty something young person, who is angry over the things that have happened in his life, things he had no control over and has acted impulsively to the detriment of all. Our papers are filled full of these young men. And Damarion’s anger, and sense of indignant self- righteousness and pain makes him an easy target and tool. Again we can understand his behavior and general outlook. Concentrating on only two characters made Ling and Damarion more fleshed out then the Princes because I felt we got to know these characters better. And how Mell Eight brings those two together seems just right as does the communication that starts the relationship between them.

In The Oracle’s Hatchling, we see the kingdom from the viewpoint of those that serve the most basic necessities of the castle. The cooks, and household staff which is a nice contrast with those scenes where we are reunited with Dragon and his Princes. There are some wonderful action scenes. But my favorite? That has to be when we finally see what is behind that egg on Ling’s back. That is so magical, so imaginative, that as much as I liked the entire book, that made the story for me because it was so unexpected.

Mell Eight intends to write a story about each caste in the Monastery and maybe one more that contains a surprise. I really don’t know how she will top the surprise in this one. I can’t wait. The first story is obviously the Fire Caste with Dragon. Ling’s Caste is something of a surprise which takes some explaining (see the author interview later this week). While you don’t necessarily have to read The Oracle stories in order, it certainly helps to understand the events and timelines that occur. I continue to find the Oracle and her Monastery fascinating. The Oracle’s Golem is next. What will the Earth Caste bring? I can’t wait to find out what is in store next for this magical series.

The first story was m/m/m, or should that be m/m/dragon? This one is m/m. No matter, both are imaginative and wonderful, the descriptions vivid and the action engrossing. I loved the fantasy and Mell Eight’s world building and think you will too. Pick them up and start reading. The third is coming soon.

Cover art by London Burden. I like the simplicity of the cover and the branding design for the series.

Books in the series include:

The Oracle’s Flame
The Oracle’s Hatchling

Book Details:

ebook, 20,000 words, m/m
Published March 5th 2014 by Less Than Three Press LLC (first published March 4th 2014)
original title The Oracle’s Hatchling
ISBN139781620043257
edition languageEnglish
seriesThe Oracle

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Book Name: His Sleeping Beau
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Author Name: Jess Buffett

Title: His Sleeping Beau by Jess Buffett
Publisher: JK Publishing
Cover Artist: Jess Buffett