Crazy Week Ahead, Ghoulish Cocktail Recipes, and This Week’s Reviews

Sooooooo, sitting here wondering why I do things that make myself crazy. I’m really not a masochistic sort, occasionally absent minded but truly, people, usually I am a better planner than this. So this week, the alarm people are coming to fix the alarm system that wants to beep, squeak, squeal, or otherwise make high pitched noises at all hours of the day, none of them actually caused by any realtime event. And all are picked up by Captain (African Grey Parrot) who finds these noises irresistible enough to mimic. So even after they are banished , thanks to Captain’s skill at mimicry, they will always be with us. Cue the Excedrin.

Also this week? A friend is coming to stay for the week. I haven’t seen her in a while and I am looking forward to getting caught up on her life (outside of the computer chats) face to face. So what else is also going on? My wonderful book group is coming over on Sunday for lunch and togetherness, my niece and her boyfriend just flew in from CA for her birthday and my mother is making noises about a “birthday celebration” for my niece over at the Farm this weekend too. What aligned among the stars and planets that said all this had to happen this week and weekend? Hey! *waves hands frantically over head* Can we not do this? Please? This is making me crazy. I like to do things slowly, think the forward momentum of a sloth. I enjoy getting ready for events and people the same way. This is not making me happy. Sigh.

So I plan on lots of writing today so I don’t have to do that as well. Here is my schedule for the week if I am not carted off to Bedlam.

Monday, June 22: Sweet Young Thang by Anne Tenino

Tuesday, June 23: Parting Shot by Mary Calmes

Wednesday, June 24: Welcome, Brother by Erica Pike

Thursday, June 25: Attachment Strings by Chris T. Kat

Friday, June 26: Vampirism and You (Guidebook #01) by Missouri Dalton

Saturday, June 27: Necromancy and You (Guidebook #02) by Missouri Dalton

Cocktail Recipes: In honor of Missouri Dalton’s new series which I absolutely adore, here are a couple of scary Cocktails to cool you off:

The Necromancer’s Martini:

Vampire Martini

1 part vodka
1 part strawberry liqueur
1 part lime juice
1 part cranberry juice

Pour all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a cocktail glass to serve.

Bloody Vampire Cocktail

1 part rum
1 part cherry kool aid

Pour both of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a highball glass to serve.

Anthologies, Love Them or Leave Them?

I seem to be running into more and more anthologies these days. Name a publisher and I can show you a long list of anthologies they have published in just this year alone. I am not sure what is driving this trend. Are authors writing more short stories? Do publishers find it easier to publish short stories in an anthology rather than release them on their own? Torquere Press has their Torquere Sips. Dreamspinner Press has Nap-sized Dreams but is now only accepting stories under 15,000 words for use in their anthologies alone. For the most part, I look to find short stories in anthologies these days.

What is an anthology? An anthology is a collection of short stories by various authors that is usually grouped together by a common theme. I have seen anthologies where the stories all occurred in the same city, that was the common thread. Or different stories about a group of friends, each having their own tale in the anthology. Think Hearts From The Ashes from Samhain Press, a favorite of mine, for an anthology along these lines. And the number of authors found in each anthology can be anywhere from three to thirty! An anthology is quite the diverse creature.

So why all the mixed feelings with regard to anthologies? For some readers, its because they prefer a much longer story. They want a novel. These are readers who revel in the long view, jump with joy over complex characterizations and equally complicated story lines. And for the most part, those can only be found in the novel or novella form. Think banquet versus amuse-bouche (a one bite appetizer). Some readers get frustrated with anthologies or short stories because they feel they just get engaged with the characters and plot only to have them end abruptly. I understand that but often feel that is due to the quality of the short story being read. A well done short story should leave a reader satisfied in every way, an increasingly rare occasion these days (see Scattered Thoughts Looks A Short Story Writing).

I think we need to look at anthologies a bit differently than we do with novels or novellas. And perhaps with a different expectation as well. We all have our preset notions when it comes to novels we like. And when we finish a novel, after having invested a certain amount of time and emotion, if it does not meet those expectations, than we are disappointed and frustrated with book and author alike. But an anthology can represent, should we choose to look at it this way, a chance to look at a compilation as something quite different. And rightly so, because there is a different expectation in the amount of time invested because of the shorter length as well as large quantity of stories involved.

Perhaps an anthology becomes a daunting proposal when you think of reading multiple stories one right after the other. I get that as some of these collections are quite huge. I used to just plow through the collection, one right after the other, only to find the stories running together towards the middle, a method that never seemed to do the authors or their tales justice. Now I try to read them in short bursts and that has made it easier for me when not only reading but reviewing the anthology. These are short stories, not a run on novel and they should be read as such. I think we forget that at times because they have been grouped together in one volume. But that fact doesn’t change the actuality that these are short stories, separate from each other except for an artificial grouping made by a publisher.

For me, an anthology is often a smorgasbord or even a Tapas Bar. A series of small plates or appetizers, instead of a formal banquet of a novel. There will often be something familiar, maybe a well-known or well-loved author or two. And there will be surprises, new writers or authors never heard of before. Or just maybe there will be a story from an author whose literary works you don’t normally connect with for whatever reason but here you find a story from them that just blows you away, giving you a new perspective on this author you normally pass on. All those reasons and more make the anthology a format to be looked at with anticipation and with affection. Think your goody bag at the end of the evening on Halloween. How did you approach it? Did you dump it all out at once or pick through the candies left inside the bag? For me, the anthology is the Halloween goody bag. There will be some apples, or a banana, along with Twix, or Mounds Bar to go with the Reese’s Pieces and Hershey Kisses at the end of the night. You can read it all at once or pick through it, reading it a little at a time. Like some, love some, pass on others.

I have come to love anthologies for the jewels I have found inside, authors and stories alike. Inside anthologies I have discovered the joys of a sloth shifter (Charlie Cochrane for Lashings of Sauce) or the grief of love lost and found again (Two Tickets To Paradise). Give them a try, they will undoubtedly surprise you. And let me know, anthologies, do you love them or leave them?

Here are some of the anthologies I have reviewed:

Animal Magnetism

Closet Capers Anthology

Lashings of Sauce

Making Contact

Private Dicks Anthology

Two Tickets To Paradise

Fever Anthology

Unconventional At Best

Review: Side Line by Ben Ryder

Rating: 1.5 stars out of 5

Jay Wells is a sales/promotional manager for a British beverage company that produces Side Line, a beer advertised as being a Sports aficianado’s beer. When his boss tells him that the company wants him to go to Bahrain to promote their beer and makes sales to the city’s bars, he is less than enthused. But his boss is sure than Bahrain is the next market to expand in and want Jay and his team to go.

During a beer promotion, Jay meets closeted Marine, Damon O’Connor, an encounter that goes wrong immediately. Damon refuses to admit he is gay but his actions tell a different story. When their attraction turns while hot, Damon’s refusal to admit his homosexuality and Jay’s impulsiveness threaten not only themselves but Jay’s business in Bahrain as well.

Never have I read a book so disconnected from its blurb from the publisher. My expectations for this story was that it centered around a US Marine named Damon O’Conner, now overseas and ready to ship out for a tour of duty. He meets cute little Brit selling beer in Bahrain and love ensues. That is the story I expected and wanted to read, certainly not the mess that unfolded in Side Line. That story is told from the pov of Jay Wells, gay British top beer salesman for a brewery that puts out a beer called Side Line, a beer marketed towards the sports minded. It’s his story, and that of his beer promotions that take up most of the storyline. Certainly not Damon’s, at least not until almost the middle of the story.

This story takes place on Bahrain during the Iraq war, known also as The Third Persian Gulf War (2003-2011). While a more liberal Arab state than the others, Bahrain still has rigid rules regarding homosexuality, womens rights and the use of alcohol. A disregard for those laws (while giving them casual lip service) and the culture that created them is pervasive throughout the story to my astonishment. And that is only one of my issues with this story.

From the beginning, the story had an odd, disjointed feel to it. Here is Jay and crew arriving in Bahrain:

THE plane landed in a dark and very humid Bahrain in the early hours of the morning. Despite visiting the Middle East before, I was still unnerved by the sight of so many police and security guards, who patrolled the airport and looked at each person who passed with blatant suspicion. They all had wiry, slim builds, with dark features and a scruffiness about them that made them look as though they had just rolled out of bed unwashed and unshaven. The current climate of war in the region made them seem nervous and jumpy, which didn’t help when you saw that they held their guns with their fingers barely inches from the triggers at all times.

We are starting with Arab stereotypes? Where is the sweetness and innocence from Noah? It goes downhill from there as Jay sets up his local contacts and dates for his promotional acts. Jay’s company wants to open up the market in Bahrain, selling its beer in venues that target service personnel. Jay has a group of beer girls, The Side Line Girls, who promote the beer by wearing cheerleader outfits, with skimpy underwear that is revealed in their routines. The “girls” are composed of every known stereotype, including one so dumb that when their chaperone mentions “stoning” she believes that they are talking about weed.

“Also,” Jackie continued, “since we are in the Middle East, there are certain cultural differences that you should observe and adhere to at all times.”

“Yeah, women still get stoned for sex around some of these places,” Siobhan offered.

“What’s wrong with that? I’ve been stoned and had sex loads of times,” Emma said, as if it were no big deal.

“That’s not what she means,” the twins said in unison. It sometimes creeped me out when they did that.

“Thank you for your confession of drug use, young lady,” Jackie said sternly. “But I think Siobhan is referring to the fact that, should a young lady take a lover outside of her marriage, or is considered a whore within someone else’s marriage, she could be sentenced to be stoned to death.” Jackie saw that Emma was still confused, so she explained, “It means they throw rocks at her, dear, until she perishes in the street.”

Emma looked horrified.

“However, that isn’t in Bahrain. That usually happens in places like Saudi Arabia,” Jackie continued.

“Which is just a stone’s throw away,” I added, punctuating the point Jackie was trying to make.

The author then has the girls put on their Daisy Dukes, tight Side Line t-shirts and head out the door to the bar to sell beer. For me, this was just one more example of what I disliked about this story. From the dumb blonde cliche to the line about Saudi Arabia being “a stone’s throw away”, Side Line was turning sour and fast.

Another odd facet to this book is that there are pages and pages of descriptions of the girls, their routines on the stage, the reactions of the men in the crowd, that I began to wonder if Damon was ever going to make an appearance. So much of this story is occupied with the beer promotions and girls that the romance is supplanted by pom poms and free beer. This annoyed me at first, but by the time I did get to the “romance”, I speedily wished for a return to the beer games and “Girls Gone Wild” portion of the plot.

I am not sure the author knew which war all the service personnel were shipping off to. Ryder says its the Third Gulf War but then has this exchange between Jay and Damon:

“What do you do? In the military, I mean,” I asked.

“I’m a staff sergeant in the Marines.”

I laughed. “I’m not surprised a big fella like you is a Marine. Those Iranians haven’t got a hope against you guys! Have you been serving long?”

Ryder seems to think that Iran and Iraq are interchangeable. Throughout the story, the characters make mention of “the majority of you are heading on to Afghanistan or Iran”. If you can’t get such a simple thing right as to where the war was fought, then I should have expected the rest of the nonsense that followed.

That lack of attention to detail carries through the length of the story, including his portraits of Marines and Navy Seals. I don’t think Ryder knows anything about the Marines or Seals, especially their codes of honor and behavior. Instead he portrays the Seals as undisciplined young buffoons, aggressive and unruly. Seals are not your ordinary soldiers but the author seems unaware of that fact in his descriptions of their actions such as drunken brawlers in a bar.

The main characters too are problematic. The only character I connected with and enjoyed was Jackie, Jay’s assistant and good friend. She was delightful and the only bright spot in this story. Unfortunately, the book was not about her. The character of Damon O’Connor is the one I had the most issues with. A Marine Staff Sergeant, he is deeply closeted, aggressive to a fault, self delusional, a totally dislikable person. He is responsible for an abduction, then forcing a person to commit several sexual acts (including one without a condom), and we are supposed to like him? Feel a connection to such a thug? I can’t begin to think of anyone who would find this man engaging, other than the author. And Jay of course. But the author has made Jay a complete doormat, just right for a thug such as Damon. Their “romance” as such is unlikely, unsexy and off putting.

I know there is supposed to be a connection between Noah and Side Line but I can’t think of one as the two stories seem so far apart in tone and substance. One was a sweet and endearing romance (Noah) and the other an offensive mess (Side Line). I know a book is in trouble when my list of issues goes beyond two or three. What is all adds up to a book I cannot recommend on any level and that surprises me because I enjoyed Noah so much. N0ah and Side Line are part of a series but if Side Line is any indication of the direction the series is taking, I am stopping here and you should too.

Cover design by Paul Richmond is the best thing about this story.

Book Details:

ebook, 174 pages

Published June 12th 2013 by Dreamspinner Press

edition language

English

Review: Worlds Collide (Sanctuary #7) by R.J. Scott

Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

Dale MacIntyre, Sanctuary agent, is in charge of protecting Emily Bullen, wife of Senator Thomas Bullen, from her husband and the rest of the criminally inclined Bullen family. After turning states evidence, Emily is headed back to Albany on a jet. Accompanied only by Dale, the pilot of the plane, and the copilot, she is horrified when word reaches them that a key player in the Bullen family crime syndicate was mistakenly freed from jail and is now able to hunt down the only person who can put him away for life. That person is Emily Bullen.

Midflight, Dale realizes the extent that Ryland Griffin will go to in order to eliminate Emily Bullen. Dale reaches out immediately to the person he knows he can trust to have immediate answers, have his back and that of the person he is protecting. That person is his lover, Navy Seal Joseph Kinnon. When Dale’s assignment gets more dangerous, Joseph and his Seal Team intervene and the resulting events bring about a serious introspective search for Dale and Joseph about where their relationship is headed.

I have been waiting for another Dale and Joseph book since they first appeared in The Only Easy Day (Sanctuary #2). In that story, Dale, an ex Seal and Joseph, current Navy Seal, meet, clash and lust as the investigation into the Bullen family crime syndicate is in its initial stages with Joseph’s murdered sister as one of Bullen family’s first known victims. The start to their romance is white hot, primal and short lived. Since then, R.J. Scott has kept the readers on high anticipation with teasers of the couple in book after book but nothing notable or even remotely satisfying. This is how it all starts:

“It’s not too late, we can still get out of here,” Chief Petty Officer Joseph Kinnon said urgently. He pressed both hands to the glass and stared down at the street below. The city was a white, snowy landscape and at any other time would have been stunningly beautiful. They were ten stories up in a hotel in the heart of the historic district and the place had ledges at each level. As a team they’d dealt with worse. Assessing the situation, he considered the options.

“Fuentes, talk to me.”

Luca Fuentes, young, tall, and built like the side of barn with muscles on muscles, was the team’s resident hacker but was also a tactical genius. He joined Joseph at the window. “Chief,” he said formally. His green-eyed gaze unerringly focused in on the view that Joseph had. He frowned as he looked out.

“Can you find egress here?” Joseph asked.

Luca tapped the glass.

“Reinforced; we’d need some pretty heavy ordnance to get out—I can get Viktor on that—then zip wire. Get it hooked to the top of the plaza building.” Luca looked up and down, then turned to Joseph. “Forty degrees. We can get down to the roof and get out that way.”

“Assessment?” “Fifty-fifty. I think most of us will be okay, but one of our team is scared of heights,” Fuentes said seriously.

Joseph nodded in agreement. “You’re talking about Mike Dexter.”

“He’s a liability, sir,” Luca answered. “I’m not sure his underwear would remain unstained and survive the fall.”

Joseph and his Seal team are assembled for a very different type of mission, a personal one. This is a funny and really moving introduction, just what I have come to expect from R.J. Scott. Joseph and his team are truly a band of brothers,unchanging until now. But the event they have gathered for marks the beginning of transitions for more than one member of the team. We have not met Joseph’s team until now and what a diverse group they turn out to be. I can easily see R.J. Scott building an entire new series around this team, especially the randy Viktor. While Scott has let us see Joseph in action, this is the first time we get to see Joseph operating as a member of his Seal team. By their interactions with each other and their dialog the author lets us feel why being a Seal and a part of this team is so important to Joseph. And it also lets us into the pain Dale felt when he was forced out. Since being a Seal is fundamental to Joseph’s character, what plays out next highlights the importance of Dale and their relationship.

And that is really what Worlds Collide is all about, an internal shift in both men that will allow them to have a future with each other. This is more a relationship book than any of the other stories in the series to date. Yes, we are still dealing with the fallout from the Bullen family crime investigations. One important criminal has escaped and Dale is in charge of getting Emily Bullen to safety so she can testify. But this section is just the impetus for providing the platform for change in both men’s lives. Here is Joseph with a note from Dale:

Just touching the note grounded Joseph in the here and now. Slowly, over the course of the last few months, the space in his life that had once been filled by the team he was with, by the job, by staying alive, had seen a full-frontal assault by the man he had fallen in love with.

This is a huge ground shift by a man who lived for the Seals alone. Dale too has undergone his own emotional introspection about Joseph and their possible future ahead. I love the way Scott has developed their story. Our first meeting and theirs was explosive, a fight turned sexual. It was incendiary. But after that, something else occurred, they started to care about each other and so did the readers. From time to time, we heard about each man and their tentative relationship in the other books. Nothing concrete for them or us, just tantalizing bits that kept us engaged in their future. So this book was more than welcome, I am sure we felt it was long overdue after being teased through five books. And the author doesn’t let us down.

We alternate perspective, from Dale to Joseph and back, as the events brought on by Dale’s assignment, guarding Emily Bullen, brings out those determined to stop her at all costs. We get to see the fluidity of motion and deadly competency of the Seal team in action, and the intrepidness of Dale’s Sanctuary training coming together to achieve one end. But the highlight of the story must be the time that Joseph and Dale get to spend together after the mission is finished. It’s heartwarming, it’s sexy and it fulfills most of the dreams we have had about this couple. But of course, not all.

It’s all here. All the things that have made this series such a great one. Realistic, fully rounded characters, a complicated criminal investigation that spreads through the series, and a narrative that moves the plot forward swiftly and smoothly. I love that the Bullen investigation is still ongoing, with loose ends out there waiting to trip up Sanctuary and the other agencies. Just a terrific aspect of this series and beautifully plotted out. There are one or two small chinks in the armor here. One small scene with the Seals and the criminal that I thought was unrealistic given their training and readiness. And then there is the ending. Absolutely realistic as always. For those expecting a finality to Dale and Joseph’s romance, we haven’t gotten it …yet. But you know that it is coming and this ending will leave you satisfied for now.

If you are new to the series or Dale and Joseph’s romance, go back to the beginning. An absolute must in order to understand the characters and the events as they play out. Here are the books in the order they were written and must be read:

Guarding Morgan (Sanctuary #1)

The Only Easy Day (Sanctuary #2), Dale and Joseph’s romance begins

Face Value (Sanctuary, #3)

Still Waters (Sanctuary, #4)

Full Circle (Sanctuary, #5)

The Journal Of Sanctuary One (Sanctuary, #6)
]
Worlds Collide (Sanctuary #7)

Cover design by BitterGraceArt is lovely and in keeping with the characters.

Book Details:

ebook

Published June 28th 2013 by Love Lane Books (first published March 30th 2013)

url http://rjscottauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/worlds-collide-sanctuary-7.html

series Sanctuary

Review: Forever Promised (Promises #4) by Amy Lane

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Nothing stays the same forever even when you wish it too. For the family of friends that call Levee Oaks and The Pulpit home, things are about to change and rock their lives to the core. Four years after Crick returned injured from his tour of duty, things have settled down for him and Deacon. Crick and Deacon have married, so have Mikhail and Shane, Jeff and Collin, as well as Lucas and Kimmy. Benny and Drew, and of course, Parry Angel are coming together to form a family, just as Amy and Jon have. Promise House is up and running smoothly just as Shane had always envisioned, providing a place where young men and women could get a second chance at life. Even Martin, brother of Jeff’s former boyfriend, has settled in to become part of this larger extended family and will soon be returning to Levee Oaks to live. With all their lives going along smoothly, of course, something happens to shake them up and provide the impetus for a decision from Benny that will change their lives forever.

When Jon and Amy receive job offers in Washington, DC with a firm that specializes in LGBTQ law suits and gay civil rights, it is impossible to turn the offer down. But that means leaving Deacon and Crick and everyone else who has become their family behind and they are not sure they can do that. Benny also is looking at her future and seeing many changes as well. She will be graduating from college and Drew wants her and Parry Angel to move into the cottage with him so they can start to become a real family of their own. But in order to move forward with her life, she wants to make sure that part of herself will always be with Deacon and Crick. That leads to a momentous decision and a gift, that should Deacon and Crick accept, will change everyones lives forever.

Back in 2010, Amy Lane wrote a book called Keeping Promise Rock that became an almost instant classic and comfort read for so many readers. People embraced the characters of Crick and Deacon, little Benny and Parry Angel, connecting with them deeply and with a heartfelt passion. We clamored for more stories about them and The Pulpit, the horse farm where they lived in Levee Oaks, California and Amy Lane obliged. She then gave us Making Promises (Promises #2) which introduced us to Shane and the heartbreaking Mikhail, causing us to fall in love with a new set of characters while keeping our adoration for all things Crick and Deacon intact and up to date. The third book, Living Promises, brought Jeff Beachum and Collin Waters into our lives. Actually Jeff was there early on as Crick’s physical therapist in Keeping Promise Rock where he became part of the growing circle of people around the foundation couple of the Promise series. Living Promises starts with Jeff comforting a young Collin outside a HIV treatment center and then charts their rough road to a loving relationship. And as always, there to support the couple, were all the people we had come to love from all the previous books, continuing on with their lives and loves. Sometimes funny, sometimes painfully sad but always with their hearts and souls in the right places and full of passion. We were there with them, deeply engaged in their relationships and their future. Now with Forever Promised, Amy Lane brings this series to an end and I am not sure we are ready for that to happen.

Amy Lane has such a way with characterizations that the people she creates for her stories live outside the pages and constraints of her novels. They become alive for her readers. We laugh with them and we cry for them. And sometimes just shake our heads in disbelief over their actions. My beloved grandmother would shake her head and tell me “I can’t believe that Erica did that to (insert name of husband here). She knows better than that!” after watching the soap All My Children. For her, those people in that show were real folks and she talked about them as though they were her neighbors. That’s the way the readers (myself included) have come to feel about the people of Levee Oaks and The Pulpit. We have lived with them through traumatic events, near death experiences, times of great sorrow and times of great joy. How do you let that go?

The answer is not easily but Forever Promised tries hard and mostly succeeds in closing a series we never wanted to see end. Every character we have ever come to love over the course of this series is here, in different stages of their lives. Most have achieved a deeply loving and satisfying relationship, a majority of the couples have gotten married and Parry Angel is old enough to be on a soccer team. A soccer team where one of the funniest passages in this story occurs. Really, I can’t remember laughing so hard that I was gasping for breath. One of the things that make that section so priceless is that I could see it actually happening on a soccer field in anytown, USA. Amy Lane writes stories about real people who live through real things that happen in everyday life. We recognize the milestones in the characters lives because they are ones that happen to us. Her characters bleed and cry and laugh as we do. Lane writes good people trying to be the best they can be in situations both normal and stressful, so how could we not love them? We would in our real lives and the author understands the importance of that connection. Amy Lane writes reality. Whether it is dealing with kids thrown away by society, a woman unable to bear a child and her grief over that fact, or the fragility of the future before us, Amy Lane gets it and makes those truths a part of her writing. Not once did I find myself stoping mid story to think “well, that would never happen” because the emotions and events that occur in Forever Promised and the Promise series ring with authenticity. And never more so than with the issue of surrogacy and pregnancy, which is at the center of the storyline here.

There are so many plot threads to resolve, so many lives and relationships that need a happy ending. Forever Promised delivers that to us, but not without an event so heartbreaking that I had to put the book down for a time to get myself through it. I am still ambivalent about this episode but acknowledge that the reality of Promise House is that not all can find their way out of past pains and anguish, and that despair and sadness is a part of life as well. Without going into details, it will hurt then the author will use that hurt to bring the reader and the story up to another level of authenticity. Our couples find that they are happy and moving forward in ways that the reader will find moving and true. That’s the promise Amy Lane makes to her readers and her characters, and that is the one she delivers in Forever Promised.

Each couple gets their own section in a way and the events that happen are seen from various perspectives. Events from the past are brought up again (another reason to read these books in order), and the characters examine their past lives and how best they can go forward in their current ones. Not all the couples are settled, several are still in transition when the book ends but that is to be expected given the number and diversity of the characters involved and the realistic way Amy Lane writes their lives. I know I was happy to see them all moving forward, happy with each other and mostly together as a family. Just as it should be at Promise Rock.

If my quibbles in a story are that it included a pain I didn’t want to feel, and characters I didn’t want to say goodbye to in a book that ended a series I wanted to continue on forever, well, then, those are hardly quibbles after all. Amy Lane made us several Promises and delivered on all of them. Forever Promised is both a gift and a promise kept. Don’t miss out on this book and the entire journey.

Here are the Promise series in the order they wee written and should be read to understand the characters and the events that occur:

Keeping Promise Rock (Promises #1)

Making Promises (Promises #2)

Living Promiese (Promises #3)

Forever Promised (Promises #4)

Cover art by Paul Richmond shows several of the couples together. But I have to admit that I wanted to see one like the first cover, Keeping Promise Rock. That is the one that sticks in my memory.

Book Details:

ebook, 350 pages

Published June 28th 2013 by Dreamspinner Press

ISBN 1623808596 (ISBN13: 9781623808594)

edition language English

url http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3980

series Promises #4

Mired in the Miasma and the Week Ahead in Reviews

Miasma, such a wonderfully descriptive word. Miasma: from the dictionary, literary the miasma from the stagnant swamp made us choke and gag: stink, reek, stench,fetor, smell, fume, odor, whiff; gas, cloud, smog, vapor.

Yep, that is exactly what it feels like in the Metropolitan DC area these days. Most people forget that Washington, DC was built on a swamp and the regions around it are riddled with water. There is a reason Foggy Bottom is called Foggy Bottom. We have water everywhere. The Potomac, the Patuxent, the Severn and a ton of other rivers and streams, the Chesapeake Bay and of course the Atlantic Ocean. It’s delightful, it’s outstanding, except when our humidity is around 99% and stays there, making our area feel downright tropical and swampy. The air is thick, stagnant, some call it soupy. It is so heavy it almost takes on a form of its own. The skin feels clammy, your clothes stick to the skin as though they were glued, perspiration rolls down the face to disappear into your collar and sandals are the only footwear you can bear on your feet. And when someone mentions that they didn’t have air-conditioning in the “olden days” so we should all come outside and enjoy sitting on the porch…well, you just want to swat them.

Back to miasma. I grew up in a Southern family where the word miasma could be frequently heard in conversation, especially by my grandmothers. It went something like this:

“Oh the miasma is so bad for you, stay away from the window.”

“Heah, keep those windows closed so the miasma doesn’t come inside.”

Or when my Mamaw smelled something bad, well, then of course, it was the “miasma”.

I love that word but it seems to have fallen out of favor. I mean, scientifically, we know that swamps are a wonderful thing, necessary for the environment as delicate habitats and nature’s filtering system. A swamp is not a purveyor of disease and that illness did not waft in on the moisture laden air (hey, we are not talking mosquitos today). So with knowledge in hand, the word miasma started to disappear. But I want to bring it back. Miasma a term rich in eloquence, laden with romantic images, mired in the gothic and teaming with meaning. If I am to be drenched in sweat, with hair and skin soaked with moisture, miserable and lethargic, then I want to put a layer of something magical, otherworldy and significant on it. I want miasma! I will have my miasma.

And besides what other explanation is there for Congress? Its miasma. Stay away from the windows.

We are all over the place in book reviews for the coming week. Plus I am still focused on the subject of short stories so expect another Scattered Thoughts blog on the subject on Saturday. This is how the week looks to play out:

Monday, July 15: Tattoo You by Willa Okati

Tuesday, July 16: Forever Promised (Promises #4) by Amy Lane

Wed., July 17: Worlds Collide (Sanctuary #7) by R.J. Scott

Thursday, July 18: Waiting for Ty by Samantha Ann King

Friday, July 19: Side Line by Ben Ryder

Saturday, July 20: Anthologies? Love Them Or Hate Them?

And to help fight the miasma, a Red Sangria recipe to cool you down:

Ingredients
1 bottle (750 ml) dry red wine
1/4 cup brandy
1/4 cup orange liqueur
2 tablespoons sugar
2 sliced oranges
1 sliced green apple
1 1/2 cups seltzer

Directions
Mix the wine, liqueur and sugar in a pitcher, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then add the fruit.

Refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

Add the seltzer just before serving.

Review: Fever Anthology by M Rode

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

If you love cowboys, than this is the anthology for you. From cowboy tv stars to those that ride bucking bulls and every permutation in between, these 8 stories will make you laugh, make you sigh, even reach for a fan or too but always make you remember why you love a cowboy.

Stories included in Fever are:

Loose Riggin’ by Julia Talbot
Two Buckets and a Snakeskin Suit by Aaron Michaels
Torn by Sean Michael
Cowboy and Indian by Rob Rosen
Heart of Dixie by Mychael Black
Ready to Ride by Katherine Halle
White Hat/Black Hat by Kiernan Kelly
In the Pocket, a Roughstock story by BA Tortuga

I really enjoyed this anthology, especially because cowboys are a real weakness for me. Of special interest was the new story from BA Tortuga in her Roughstock series, I cannot get enough of those boys. It also introduced me to a series I hadn’t heard of, Mychael Black’s Hearth and Home series, so that was a plus too. Here in sequence as they appear are mini reviews of each story:

1. Loose Riggin‘ by Julia Talbot: 3.5 stars

One cowboy on the way up, one cowboy bull rider on the way down. Baron LeBlanc is a top bullrider at the end of his career. During one ride he injuries himself badly and an young bull rider, Arlen Deamus, offers to take care of him and become his traveling partner. I loved this story and thought the characters and the plot were full of promise. It is the perfect introduction for a longer story. Julia Talbot draws us in with her wonderful characters, great names and vivid descriptions but just as we are settling in, its over. As a short story, it ends so abruptly that it feels incomplete and the reader feels more than a little frustrated after investing emotionally in the story. I would love to see this author expand Baron and Arlen romance into a full length book. I will be first in line to pick it up.

2. Two Buckets and a Snakeskin Suit by Aaron Michaels: Rating 3.5 stars out of 5

While on vacation, Marcus and his sister Shelly attend camel races outside Las Vegas. Shelly is dying to meet an Australian cowboy and these camel races have more than their share of those. But when Marcus is hurt after he falls off a camel, he is the one who captures the attention of the only Aussie cowboy there. This was a cute little romance between a man talked into riding a camel by his sister and the Aussie cowboy who just happens to be a chiropractor who comes to his aid. Michaels did a nice job with presenting us with a well rounded character in Marcus and Shelly but I would have loved a little more back story on Vic. But it’s cute, hot, and has a realistic HFN.

3. Torn by Sean Michael: 5 stars for the heat alone

Pistol, an injured bull rider, returns home to his partner Bender and their ranch after a long 6 month absence on the rodeo circuit and shoulder surgery. He is unsure of his welcome after receiving an angry phone call from his partner following his injury. Bender’s love for Pistol is both the source of his anger and the one thing that will heal it. This is my second favorite story in the collection. Sean Michael gets everything right in this story. We get all the information we need about these two men and their long term relationship from Michael’s descriptions of their tense posture, their loving gestures and a dialog that telegraphs a well established intimacy at every level. Bender is tired of his lover’s injuries and this last one scared him badly. Pistol loves riding bulls and is frightened that his time as a bullrider is coming to an end. The situation is tense, hot, loving, angry, gentle, just everything you would expect from two scared people who love each other deeply and are faced with a serious situation. The ending is perfection, but then so is this short story. It doesn’t need to be longer, it doesn’t need any additional backstory. It ends where it should. Lovely. Here is a tease. Pistol is returning home after surgery unsure of his welcome:

He opened the door, pushed it open and stood, trying to keep them from the arm still in the sling. “Hey y’all, you happy to see me?”

“You should have called and let me know.” Bender waited for the dogs to have their hello, blue eyes on him like twin laser beams.

“I didn’t want you worrying. Jack needed his guest room back.” He’d been imposing. Not to mention, the man’s mother-in-law had come to help with the last few days of Mary Ellen’s pregnancy, and he’d wanted to come home. Bender told the dogs to “scatter,” and they did.

Before Pistol could say anything Bender was on him, mouth covering his in a kiss that smashed his lips against his teeth and totally stole his breath.

Oh. Oh, thank God. He pushed up into the kiss, damn near sobbing with relief.

4. Cowboy and Indian by Rob Rosen: 2 stars out of 5

Jed sees a poster for a fifty-dollar prize for the longest bronco buck advertised outside a saloon. He figures his horse Bessy needs a new saddle and aims to get it for her by riding in the rodeo. Along the way he runs into an Apache warrior, Taza, who wants to help his people. They make love, not war and end up with a future neither of them ever dreamed of. There are quite a number of things about this story that I have issues with, but the portrait of Taza, an Apache warrior, is the largest. Having a Native American character, especially in a historical story, can be a iffy element if not handled just right. For me, Taza just did not work. From his pidgin English which reminded me of the “Me, Tonto, you white man” variety to the fact that he drops trow for an unknown white man just after the awful Apache wars have ended….well it’s not just unrealistic but downright ridiculous. Here is their first interchange:

“Jed,” I told him, with a polite nod. “White man sounds so, well now, formal.”

With his free hand, he pounded his chest. “Taza,” he informed me. “In your language, means Apache warrior.”

I nodded my head. “Pleasure, Taza.”

And then he nodded, releasing the beast before sending it swinging. “You want to pleasure Taza?”

The only way that piece of dialog would work is in a Mel Brooks comedy. And it just goes further downhill from there. This is the one story I would skip over.

5. Heart of Dixie by Mychael Black: Rating 4 stars out of 5

Mack Sexton has been in love with his best friend and handyman Les Spencer for a long time. Les feels the same but neither man has acknowledged let alone acted on their feelings. Then one day everything changes. Heart of Dixie is a snapshot of a relationship that is part of a series called Hearth and Home by Mychael Black. I am unfamiliar with that series but got enough of a taste of it from this story that I will be scampering back to pick up the rest. Black develops the characters and setting to the point that it and both men feel real and the reader connects with them from the start. Mack’s sister, Kate, is a lively character in her own right and the interaction among the three of them comes across as long established and affectionate. Enjoyable and romantic. I loved this one.

6. Ready To Ride by Katherine Halle: 4 stars out of 5

Eric is an orthopedic surgeon volunteering his time with the Justin Sports Medicine program. Ben Greene is champion Saddle Bronc rider Eric has come to love. When Eric’s volunteer time with the rodeo comes to an end, Ben must travel on the circuit alone. And while neither man has talked about where their relationship is going, both love each other deeply. When Ben is receives a season-ending injury during a ride, Eric decides that, conversation or not, he is bringing his man home for good. I loved Halle’s characters and thought she got the character of Ben with his avoidance of “mushy talk” just right. While most of the story is seen through Eric’s eyes, Halle shows us that Ben’s actions telegraph his feelings perfectly to his lover and that words are not always necessary. This story has romance, cowboys and HEA in a nice short package.

7. White Hat/Black Hat by Kiernan Kelly: 4.25 stars out of 5

The time is 1968, the place Hollywood where a new TV western is getting ready to go into production. Two men, Dallas Frank and Stone Grant, arrive to audition for the two leads, Black Bart and Sheriff Carson Star, the White Hat/Black Hat title characters. To each man’s surprise and delight, they win the roles and secretly the love of each other. For the next forty years, they pretend to hate each other in public while continuing a love affair that has lasted as long as their show. Then their show is cancelled. What will they do now? Kelly gives us a terrific look back at old Hollywood and its outlook on homosexuality. Through small interludes we watch as Dallas (real name Joe Bob) and Stone Grant (real name Arvin Mason) settle into a long term relationship while playing the Hollywood game to protect the series and their reputation. The ending is rewarding, the relationship has a very authentic feel as does the times the men pass through. My third favorite story of the collection.

8. In the Pocket, a Roughstock story by BA Tortuga: 5 out of 5 stars

Sterling is a new bullfighter and he loves his job. He also loves working with his hero and fellow bullfighter, Coke Pharris. But rodeo clown Dillon Walsh is tired of the youngster drooling on his man and figures a little matchmaking is in order. When stock contractor Colby Tyburn asks for an introduction to Sterling, Dillon sees an opportunity and takes it, maneuvering Sterling into a date with the stock contractor. Colby Tyburn has been watching Sterling for some time and loves what he sees….a gorgeous energetic young man, all want and desire. Sparks fly at the first introduction but neither man expects the white hot sex to turn into something deeper and just perhaps, permanent. In the Pocket is a Roughstock story. So if the reader is familiar with the series, than you already know all about Coke Pharris and his rodeo clown lover, Dillon Walsh. They happen to be a favorite couple of mine so it is wonderful to see them make an appearance here. But the focus of the story is the young (and virginal) bullfighter, Sterling, and the older, more experienced man, Colby Tyburn, a roughstock contractor.

Sterling is a bouncy Tigger of a character. He is youthful, energetic to the extreme and has a bad case of hero worship when it comes to Coke Pharris. Unfortunately for Sterling, Coke is taken and Dillon is not happy that Sterling can’t keep his hands off his man. BA Tortuga paints the perfect portrait of innocent enthusiasm and lustful need all wrapped up in one young man who doesn’t seem to know what to do with it all. I just loved Sterling, he absolutely made me smile. Colby Tyburn could have come off as a predator but his appreciation for Sterling and all of his qualities, not just his physical traits, brings him back to a person the reader can relate to. Their sexual encounter is sexy, white hot, and ultimately very touching. It is not necessary to have read the other Roughstock stories, but it does help to round out the back history of the other men mentioned, however casually. There are over 17 stories in the Roughstock series, Coke and Dillon’s story is called Roughstock: And a Smile- Season One. I absolutely recommend them all. Here is a taste:

Nate (was) screaming his head off to get the bull’s attention. Joa landed, but luckily the Brazilian was ready, and they sort of strong-armed each other.

“Gotcha.”

He flung Joa toward Pharris and put himself between the cowboy and Merry-Go-Round. He heard Coke grunt, but then he and Nate were busy playing a game of slap the bull on the nose, trading off as it went round and round. This was his favorite part, the fun part. They did their little dance, and he pulled his butt in, hearing the whoosh as two thousand pounds went by.

“Woohoo!” He grinned at the gate shut, jogging over to Pharris, who clapped him on the back.

He loved his life.

Loved it.

Cover illustration by BSClay is perfect in tone and design for this collection.

Book Details:

ebook, 195 pages

Published June 5th 2013 by Torquere Press

ISBN

1610404858 (ISBN13: 9781610404853)

edition language

English

url

http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=76&products_id=3911

Review: Changing Planes by Karenna Colcroft

Rating 2 stars out of 5

Oliver Sheehan is on his way from Boston to California to marry his long time fiance. Theirs has been a bicoastal relationship but neither is getting any younger and both feel its time to marry and settle in one place. Oliver is giving up everything to relocate, his beloved Boston, his friends and his job because of his fiance’s desire to remain in California with her family. Oliver is feeling more than a little resentful and not as sure of this marriage as he ought to be. Then he meets Colin Traynor, the flight attendant in his section and the sparks fly.

When Oliver tells his fiance of his doubts, Sophia responds with hers, plus the fact that she has fallen in love with her female coworker, all two days before the wedding. Oliver is angry, relieved and ready to return to Boston, but not without hooking up with Colin first. A date leads to the men texting and then meeting in Boston. But is Oliver really ready for a new committed relationship? Colin doesn’t think so. It’s up to Oliver to convince the man he wants that he is ready to commit to Colin for the rest of their lives. Now is only Colin will believe him.

Sigh. It’s a bad sign when I tell a reader that if they want to read a book, just read the blurb instead and leave it at that. Such a disappointing story at just about every level. Giving it a 2 star rating was actually kind and a stretch. First you have the characters which are oddly unformed and weirdly dislikable. Oliver is already dithering about the relationship on the plane, saying he loves Sophia in one breath and making declaimer statements about her and their relationship in the next. Here he is on the plane:

They hadn’t agreed on much of it. She wanted a big wedding with all her family and friends. He had no family— at least none who spoke to him— and none of his so-called friends were willing to travel, so he wanted a small ceremony with only Sophia’s parents and siblings in attendance. She wanted a church wedding. He hadn’t set foot in a church since his parents’ church turned its collective back on him right after his parents threw him out.

Sophia had won all the arguments, including the one about which of them should have to relocate. Her entire family lived in either Sacramento or the Bay Area, and she refused to leave them. As far as she was concerned, the fact that Oliver had no relationship with his family meant he had no reason to stay in Boston. When he’d protested that his job was there, she’d reminded him there were more software technician opportunities in California than in Massachusetts. He’d finally caved, partly because he’d seen no way to win the argument, and partly because love meant giving things up for the other person’s benefit. And he loved Sophia. At least he thought he did.

He just wished he could be sure.

And it goes downhill from there. Oliver starts flirting with Colin on the plane, not telling him that he’s getting married, then goes to meet his fiance, Sophia, another oddly flat character whose personality never arises above one dimension. Interestingly enough, both of these characters are supposed to be bisexual, but neither shows any real feeling towards each other or the other gender. They “say” the sex was hot and the author gives us an extended m/f sex scene to prove it. However, it falls as flat and unsexy, and quite frankly unbelievable as is their statements. I am not sure the author really understands what bisexuality means, because it comes across more like the mistaken “one step to gayness” that haunts so many other characterizations of this ilk instead of true bisexuality. And between these wobbly characters and their treatment of the situation they are in, the reader finds themselves separated from any emotional connection to these people other than a mild disgust and disbelief.

After deciding to call things off two days before the wedding, this is how Sophia decides to tell Oliver she is in love with a women (and tell her conservative family and friends as well):

“What about the reception?” That was one of the most expensive parts of the wedding, judging by the bills and receipts Sophia had shown him. He’d cringed when he’d seen those, but she hadn’t seemed to think they were at all out of line.

“We could still do it.” Her face lit up. “We can have a cancellation party. Or better.” She hesitated again but didn’t appear as nervous. “A coming-out party.”

Oliver’s heart stopped for a second. She knew he didn’t want anyone to know about his encounters with guys in the past. How could she even suggest such a thing?

And her next words were:

“I didn’t mean you.”

That was a bigger bomb than her previous statement. Now Oliver didn’t try to come up with a response. He understood exactly what she meant, and it was too much of a mind-screw for him to think coherently.

“Say something,” she pleaded. “I didn’t mean to hide it from you. I should have told you when you told me about your past. I didn’t want to admit it to you. I didn’t want to admit it to anyone, but I should have. I haven’t been fair to either of us.”

By now, these characterizations are changing by the minute, think of a new personality trait and they assume it. What they both come off as is closeted individuals, not realistic bisexuals. In addition, both Sophia and Oliver are over 30 but it surely doesn’t show in their actions, all of which are colored by a layer of immaturity. They both decide to invite Colin (after a chance meeting and phone call) and Sophia’s coworker to the reception/coming out party which leads to a disastrous scene with Colin jumping up and lecturing the families on tolerance. Really? A stranger jumps up and yells at the families who have been broadsided at a party to celebrate a wedding? Just one mess after another. I kept wondering what the author thinks a reader is going to do with all this? Because the characters I felt compassion for were the friends and families, not any of the MCs blithely running roughshod over feelings and honest expectations. *shakes head*

Colin is just as unformed and unappealing at Oliver. Out and proud, he goes along with Oliver to the party knowing what’s coming. Jumps into a relationship with him, while saying he won’t jump into a relationship with him, etc. No, Colin is not believable either. Here he is after Sophia has made her grand announcement to all:

This time, there were fewer insults, but the ones that occurred were still directed at Oliver, as he’d suspected. Somehow it was his fault his fiancée had become interested in a woman. “Excuse me.” Colin’s voice rose above the clamor, and everyone shut up and stared at him. He stood, and Oliver wished he could slide under the table. He had no idea what Colin was doing, and Colin had no idea what he was getting into by standing up to Sophia’s family. “I don’t know any of you, and you don’t know me, and it’s probably a good thing. You can’t turn someone gay. Or bisexual, depending on what Sophia considers herself. Those of you who are sitting here ranting about Oliver have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Oliver cringed. Sophia’s family didn’t take well to “outsiders” as it was, and Colin had probably just made enemies out of all of them. Even Sophia looked appalled.

The insults were along the lines of Oliver being a jerk. Hmmmm. Now play that scene over in your head (and that’s pretty much how it plays out in the story). What would your reaction be? I suspect that your sympathies will lie everywhere but with Sophia and Oliver as do mine. Why does the author not see this? This odd outlook permeates the story, furthering the disconnect with the reader from the plot, the characters, heck all of it.

Towards the end of the book, after a month of texting, Oliver decides he is in love and wants Colin to move in. Keep in mind they really only had a day together in California, a month of texting, then a day in Boston.

Colin hadn’t said he would give up everything. They hadn’t even said they were going to move in together. His mind was jumping all around the conversation and not waiting for anything definite to be determined.

“You know, we keep saying we aren’t sure about this, but we’re talking as if we are.” Colin took a drink of coffee. “Let’s just say it, okay? We’re good together. I’ve felt it for a while now, and being here with you has proved it. Seeing you last thing last night and first thing this morning seemed more right than anything else in my life lately. We can change our minds if things do fall apart this week, but I want to be with you, Oliver.”

The elderly couple at the next table shot them sharp glances. Oliver glared at them until they went back to their eggs and bacon. This was Massachusetts. Same-sex marriage was legal, same-sex couples existed, and he didn’t care about the opinions of some random old folks he would never see again.

By this time, I am surprised I made it almost through all 196 pages, only to find Oliver still dithering around along with Colin. I will let you all extrapolate the rest of the story from the bits I gave you and the blurb from the publisher. The story does mercifully end and we get to leave these characters on the pages of this book, soon to slip forever out of mind.

I have read at least two other stories by Karenna Colcroft, including Sensei. That book had some promising ideas as well as intriguing characters in it whereas Changing Planes has neither. If you wish to read a Karenna Colcroft story I would suggest you pick up that one and leave this where it belongs….on the shelf gathering dust bunnies.

Cover art by Mina Carter. That cover is just adorable. So unfortunate that the story inside doesn’t live up to it.

Book Details:

ebook, 196 pages
Published June 4th 2013 by Loose Id
ISBN139781623003142
edition languageEn

Review: Pickup Men by L.C. Chase

Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5

Marty Fairgrave is a top Pickup* man in the rodeo. It’s his business to make sure that the bull and bronc riders get back to the gates safely. The riders count on him and he rarely makes a mistake. Then Tripp Colby catches a ride on a bull named Shockwave and the events that follow prove to be a life changer for both men. Marty has been in love with Tripp Colby for several years now and knows that Tripp loves him back. But Tripp is also deep in the closet and not even an injured Marty can make him come out.

For Marty the romance is over but Tripp is determined to get him back. But what will a closeted cowboy do when no one is there to pick him up, not even the one he loves?

From May to August, the PBR is on break, so what a great time to get caught up on all the rodeo fiction that has been published recently. If you are a fan of hot cowboys and rodeo action as I am, then you will appreciate this story from L.C. Chase. In Pickup Men, the author’s focus is on the unheralded, but important profession of the pickup man. Here is the definition of a pickup man from Jerry Nelson’s Frontier Rodeo website:

Rodeo Pick Up Men* are vital to the safety of the cowboy. A Pick Up Man’s job is to rescue the cowboy after his eight second ride from a bucking bronc. The cowboy’s job is to first ride the bucking bronc for the eight second ride with one hand, then grab on with two hands and wait until the Pick Up Man rides in along side the bronc and picks him up and they ride off to safety. The cowboy then is easily set down to the ground without injury. The Pick Up Man’s job is also to remove all equipment from the bronc and to remove the bronc from the rodeo arena after the competition. Pick Up Men also play a role in the calf roping and steer wrestling events, by roping calves and steers after competion and gentling coaxing them out of the arena. Pick Up Men are also a vital part of keeping the show fast paced. Pick Up Men have a great rapport with the livestock and have years of training in horsemanship.

They are the unsung heroes who time and again save both the rider and the roughstock. So it was wonderful to see a book with a Pick Up Man not only as the title character but as the title itself. Way to give these men their due, L.C. Chase!

In Marty Fairgrave, L.C. Chase gives us a wonderful character who exemplifies the best qualities of a Pickup Man in more ways than just his career. Marty is one of the top men in his profession and in his personal life, he is also the pickup man for Tripp Colby, a closeted mess of a champion bull rider. The two men have been having a romance that has been kept hidden from those around them because Tripp fears that he will lose his sponsors once the truth is known that he is gay. As the stress of this situation builds, Marty risks everything to save Tripp, and the result is disastrous for both of them. For me, this is actually the best part of this book. It is raw, the descriptions are vivid, and the action so swift that you feel as though you are down in the arena with the action taking place. This is how it all starts:

Two thousand pounds of pissed-off beef, aptly named Shockwave, tossed around the man on its back like a ragdoll. But Tripp wouldn’t be dislodged. He clung to the spinning beast with an ease and confidence that belied the skill and athleticism—not to mention pure guts— required to compete at the professional level.

Sitting astride his best pickup horse, Fairgrave Flyer, near the chutes of the Santa Maria Elks Rodeo arena, Marty Fairgrave couldn’t suppress the smile that fought for freedom across his face.

It was a beautiful sight watching a champion at work.

But what happens next takes your breathe away, and its impact upon the reader is immediate and heartpounding. Really, some of the best descriptions happen here. Clearly, L.C. Chase is familiar with the rodeo and has great affection for those who make it their life’s work. And while the fan may only see the 8 second ride, a story like Pickup Men lets the reader go behind the scenes of the rodeo, where a hundred jobs and actions must take place to pull off such an event. This includes what happens when the cowboys are injured and the physical ailments that are part of the job. There is the constant traveling, the stress of being tired for long periods at a time and of course, the injuries. L. C. Chase gets this aspect right as well.

But the problem here is the character of Tripp Colby. He is not terribly likable at the beginning. As I said earlier, he is a closeted mess and the reader comes down hard on the side of Marty when the two are apart. Later on as Tripp’s story is revealed, he does earn our compassion, especially during a trip to San Francisco. But for the majority of the book the character that Chase has created in Tripp serves more to disconnect the reader from his story rather than engage them. And, as the book winds down, it is hard to bring the reader back into his corner.

There is a considerable amount of miscommunication between the men, including one incident that eludes any type of plausibility for me. And the narrative becomes a little uneven towards the middle of the story. The other thing is that Tripp is 33 years old, and that is old in a profession where most bull riders are between the ages of 20 to 25. It is a young man’s sport. And while most bull riders hate to give up riding, most accept that they have a certain time frame to work with. All of which makes Tripp’s attitude a little more whiney than perhaps the author wanted it to come across.

But those issues aside, I did enjoy this story. It moved along at a nice clip most of the time and had a lovely cast of secondary characters that I wished I had seen more of. From Marty’s mother, a champion rider in her day, to his small circle of friends, they are a well rounded and charismatic group. I enjoyed my time with them immensely. So for all those fan of the rodeo as well as fans of L.C. Chase, I can recommend Pickup Men as a fun way to spend the time while waiting for the rodeo to return to cable. Pick it up now!

* I have seen Pickup Men written several different ways by several different rodeo organizations. From Pick Up Men to Pickup Men to Pick up men, all seem to be correct.

Cover art and design by L.C. Chase. Just an outstanding cover, perfect in every way.

Book Details:

ebook, 166 pages

Published July 8th 2013 by Riptide Publishing

ISBN13

9781626490284

url http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/pickup-men

series

Winners of Kendall McKenna’s The Final Line Contest

Good morning all! Here are the winners of the e-book drawings from Kendall McKenna and MLR Press are:

The Final Line: Sally -n- Sean (which is perfect!) halliday.sally@yahoo.co.uk
Pick of Recon Diaries title: Ilona F. felinewyvern@googlemail.com

Thanks to all who participated! We have had wonderful comments and a great time.

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