Cardeno C.'s Blog, page 50

Novella Releases by Cardeno C.

eBook Releases: $2.99 Kyle has an unwelcome crush on his nemesis Brent. Brent has a welcome crush on his friend Kyle. As it turns out, the line between a friend and an enemy doesn’t have to be a line at all.Born on the wrong side of the tracks to the wrong family, Kyle Potter has spent his life clawing his way toward a better future. When he gets the perfect job at the perfect firm in perfect Los Angeles, Kyle is sure there are only blue skies ahead. And then he meets perfect Brent Haralson.Born with a silver spoon to a well-established family, Brent Haralson has never been interested in leveraging his connections. Friends, success, and dates come easily to Brent and rejection isn’t something he has to deal with in life. And then he meets perfect Kyle Potter.Kyle despises his unwelcome crush on his lazy, arrogant nemesis. Brent welcomes his feelings for his stubborn, brilliant friend. As it turns out, the line between a friend and an enemy doesn’t have to be a line at all.This is a 2nd edition without substantive changes from the 1st edition, which was part of the It Was Always You anthology. When love's on the line, the brave jump in with both feet.Small town cop Clint Rivera can’t catch a break. His ex of two weeks is suddenly getting married, his dogs tore up his furniture, he’s getting evicted, and he’s out of beer. When he decides to solve his alcohol shortage by going to his ex’s engagement party, Clint winds up too drunk to drive himself home.Enter gorgeous deputy mayor Hawk Black, the man who constantly shows up unexpectedly and sends Clint’s body and mind into a tailspin with nothing but his whiskey voice and blue eyes. After months of patience, Hawk can finally seduce the man he’s been craving.Clint’s day might not have started out well, but Hawk’s going to make sure it ends with a bang, preferably in bed. He’ll show Clint some rewards are worth the risk. With love on the line, Clint will need to decide if he can open his heart, tear down his shields, and jump in with both feet.Word count: 18,500
This is a 2nd edition without substantive changes from the 1st edition, which was published by All Romance ebooks.Read these books, only $2.99 or $3.99!       Thank you for taking the time to leave ratings & reviews at Amazon & the places you purchase my books. Those truly matter & I'm grateful. ~CC            

Super Sunday by Christa Tomlinson

I skipped my friend’s Super Bowl party this year. You want to know why? Well, there are two reasons. First, this year it was moved to a different location in the Heights. That made it an instant no for me. There was no way I was getting on the highway to drive anywhere near the city of Houston where the Super Bowl is being hosted this year. No, thank you. I have enough anxiety driving inside the loop without the added traffic of a major sporting event. 
The second reason, is that the social climate is just too doggone tense right now. I’ll be honest, with the exception of the Super Bowl, I don’t watch football anymore. But I follow along enough to know what the hot button issues are. Last year it was the criticism of Cam Newton doing the dab to celebrate on the field. 

Most black people I saw talking about it didn’t have a problem with it. On the other hand, not all, but lots of white people did. Newton was boastful, unsportsmanlike, blah-blah-blah. Never mind the fact that Aaron Rogers does the championship title taunt – aka the discount double check, dozens of other guys currently and in the past jump into stands after a touchdown, and that celebrating in the end zone is just in good fun. The players aren’t robots after all. 
 I didn’t have a dog in last year’s fight, but since I saw Newton getting so much heat, I decided to wear Carolina colors to the party. I walked into my friend’s house, the only African American there, and the only one in teal, black and silver. Everyone who was in team colors and not just regular clothes was in Denver blue and orange. And there were comments just shy of unpleasant. Nothing to outright offend, but enough to raise suspicion that if I wasn’t there, they might have been a little uglier. Then Beyoncé took the stage. 
The sound was awful, so I could barely hear what she was singing, but as always, her dancing and overall performance was amazing. I loved it. Or, I wanted to love it. I was too tense to really enjoy it because the mood in the room shifted. There were a few I don’t like this kind of music comments. And after 37 years as an African American, I know how to translate that. And then of course when the performance was over, the country exploded with Beyoncé hate, and misrepresentation of the Black Panther party. 
This year I can only assume the party would have been worse, at least for me, and others who share my views and experiences. I’ve seen the picture of Tom Brady with his MAGA hat sitting in his locker. I’ve read his comment about not paying attention to what’s going on in the world because he’s just such a positive person. Must be nice to be able to ignore the world’s problems so easily. I also saw Trump’s tweet to John Lewis the Civil Rights activist and US Representative from Georgia. As an added bonus, Lady Gaga, whose songs show her solidarity for LGBT citizens, was the half time act.
I’m no good at math, but I can put two and two together and guess what the atmosphere at the party might have been like. That doesn’t sound in any way fun for me. In today’s political and social climate, it’s already hard enough staying creatively charged in order to do my job, which is to write romance. That made it a hard no on going to a party and spending three hours with tight shoulders hoping no one made a comment that got my face hot.
We’ve had a rough few months in this country. And right now, a lot of us are walking a fine line between staying informed and wanting to help, and trying not to be overwhelmed with the stress and fear of it all. Everything is tense. And it’s making all of us tense. With that in mind, it is important that we remember we have to look out for ourselves. For me, that meant skipping a football party. For many people, it might mean spending a little less time on social media so we don’t feel like the world is sucking us beneath the undertow. Or worse, getting burned out and losing interest in being politically and socially active. 
Do what you have to do to recharge your emotional and physical batteries. Eat chocolate. Have a glass of wine. Play with your doggos, kittens or babies. Or go crazy and play with all three. And of course, you can always read a good book. Books are so important right now. They, and other creative entertainments, are an escape for artists and consumers. Tonight, I’ll be settling down with Sam B. Morgan’s new release, Love By Design. I’ll let you know how it turns out, but I suspect it will have a happily ever after. ;-) And a little happy is just what I need right now. 
Thanks for reading!

Love,Christawww.ChristaTomlinson.com
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Kicking Back by S.C. Wynne

By the time this post goes live I should be returning from a six day vacation. I'm hoping I can just let go and be in the moment.

I've always had trouble relaxing. I think it stems from my dad and how he couldn't, and still can't, seem to just be. He always woke me and my sisters up each Saturday with "Wake up! There are places to go and people to see!" And the irony is we really didn't go many places or see many people even. lol
But the point of this post isn't to pick on my dad. I'll save that for another post.... I KID!

Do you have trouble letting go of the things that worry you? I do. I tend to fixate and try to solve each problem ahead of time. It's a stupid way to handle things to be honest. But my husband is very laid back. I think that makes me feel like I have to be the one to solve things or they might catch us off guard. Gotta keep my guard up just in case.

I want to be one of those people who is able to live in the moment. Because you really do need to do that. You need to take joy in every little pleasure while you have the chance.

So hopefully, as you read this, I'm crawling home, tired and happy after a fantastic week of sleeping late, and drinking and eating way too much. But most importantly, a week of letting go and just being!

S.C.
www.sc-wynne.come

Change of scenery by Felice Stevens

Happy Almost Weekend!

A bit of book news I have decided to put my re-released series into Kindle Unlimited, which means that as of today you can read A Walk Through Fire for free if you subscribe to KU. Here is the link:
getBook.at/AWalkThroughFire  It's the first time these books will be in KU so if you haven't read them, I hope you pick them up. After the Fire will be out the end of February and Embrace the Fire, at the end of March, all in KU.




And in case you didn't gt the news, Reunited is out, and is the final chapter to Jason and Ryder's story. If you read Rescued and want to find out the story behind Ryder's mother, you'll want to read Reunited. You can purchase it on Amazon here:getBook.at/RyderandJason   It is also available on iBooks, B&N and Kobo.
 

The Cold that Never Ends by Riley Hart

I have been suffering through the cold that never ends. I'll have a day where I feel almost normal and think the end has finally come, but then the next day, I can't breathe again. I'm sneezing and tired and COLDS ARE LAME. lol.

I'm a big baby when I'm sick. I fully admit that. I get done what I need to get done but I do my fair share of complaining while I do it. My husband is usually the opposite. He's not a complainer at all but this cold? He thought he was going to die too! It's like a super strain or something.

So, wherever you are, I hope you don't get sick. And if you have this cold too, I feel your pain.

Ask Andrew - Sit Down for a Chat

Dear Andrew

If you could sit down and chat with only one of the characters in one of your stories, who would you choose and why?

Dawn

Dear Dawn

That's an interesting question and it took me a few minutes to try to come up with an answer.  The easiest one would be to choose someone from one of the more popular novels, but I think I'd choose Nemat from Crossing Divides.  The story is set in Syria and I wrote it some time ago when the conflict was new.  Now it had gone on for years and I'd like to get his take on what's happening and what could be done to end it. 

When writing Nemat in Crossing Divides there was something that touched me deeply.  I have considered revisiting him just to see how he and Carter are doing and I think sitting down with him would be a great way to do that.

Hugs and Love
Andrew
 

Ask Andrew is your chance to ask questions of a gay romance author.  The questions can be about the writing process in general, writing sex scenes, gay men, sex, characters in romance, characters having sex... okay you probably get the picture.    I promise to answer your questions as frankly and with as much humor as I possibly can.

So if you have a question, please send it to andrewgreybooks@comcast.net.  This is different from my usual email so your questions don't get lost.  I will answer one question a week.

Please remember this is meant to be all in fun.  (I was going to say good, clean fun, but who wants that.)    So send me your questions and let's see what mischief we can get into.

Visit Andrew on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/andrewgreybooks  and you can join Andrew's fan group All The Way With Andrew Grey.

Follow him on Twitter:  @andrewgreybooks

Valentines Day Themed Favorites with BA, Julia, Kiernan and Sean

As Valentine's Day is right around the corner, we thought we'd share some Valentine's Day themed favorites.

favorite flower
favorite chocolates
favorite candy
favorite restaurant
favorite meal

B.A.
favorite flower -- carnations. I love them. I grow a lot of roses, though.
favorite chocolates -- dark. dark dark dark. the darker the better.
favorite candy -- Cherry sours
favorite restaurant -- Dos Salsas in Georgetown, Texas
favorite meal -- bacon cheeseburger and fries, most likely

Julia
favorite flower - roses
favorite chocoltes  - chocolate cherries
favorite candy   - red hots
favorite restaurant - that's so hard! in ABQ? probably Wecks, just for the people. In general, the Bistro de Venice in Venice, Italy
Favorite Meal - spaghetti with meat sauce, garlic bread and salad

Kiernan
Favorite flower: roses, especially coral and yellow ones
Favorite chocolate: I can't eat chocolate anymore (weeps) but when I did, I loved melt-a-way truffles, and anything with nuts in it.
Favorite candy: Again, can't eat it, but I'd choose chocolate, although I also loved peanut brittle.
Favorite restaurant: Emeril's at Universal City Walk. Oh, the yumminess!
Favorite meal: Cow. Rare. Just show it a picture of the stove kind of rare.

Sean
favorite flower:
favorite chocolates: Hedgehogs from Purdy's - I love me some praline
favorite candy: raspberry puckers from IKEA's bulk candy - I love all sour candies and these are the best
favorite restaurant: The Black Dog in Manotick, which is just outside of Ottawa. Their sticky toffee pudding is amazing.
favorite meal: Steak and scallops


Sean’s website is http://www.seanmichaelwrites.com
Julia’s is http://www.juliatalbot.com
BA’s is http://www.batortuga.com
Kiernan's is www.KiernanKelly.com

Facebook:
Sean -- https://www.facebook.com/SeanMichaelWrites
Julia -- https://www.facebook.com/juliatalbotauthor
BA -- https://www.facebook.com/batortuga
Kiernan -- https://www.facebook.com/kiernan.kelly


Sean
smut fixes everything

Free Books! by Cardeno C.

I've been staying busy lately working on an awesome project and it's now live - a book club for readers! The Gay Romance Readers Club is free to join and every month members get a free book from a different author in the group. The participating authors are:
Cardeno C.Felice StevensAlexa LandSean MichaelLisa OliverRj ScottRiley HartK.C. WellsJosh LanyonSilvia VioletSloane KennedyKiera AndrewsI hope you join us. Have a terrific week.
CCwww.cardenoc.com

Instagram Wrap-Up! by Christa Tomlinson

It's the end of the month, so I thought I'd share some of my favorite January posts from Instagram. When Instagram was first taking off, I resisted it. I didn't want to join yet another social media world and it seemed redundant. I already posted pictures on Facebook and Twitter, so what was the point? But eventually I joined, mostly due to the cool pics my friend Feisty was always sharing. And now I'm hooked!

What I like about Instagram is the fact that it's visually based. When I just want to scroll and look at pretty pictures and cool graphics, Instagram is where I go. It's a nice break from word heavy Facebook and Twitter. Plus, using the Instagram filter features makes my photos look like I actually know how to use a camera.



 
This is probably my favorite of the month because the mug and my expression are hilarious. The night before this picture, I'd stayed up until about three in the morning. I was watching Return of the Jedi, because after 37 years on this earth without seeing nary a Star Wars movie, I figured it was time. I am now firmly on board with the Rebel Alliance. Unfortunately, I was feeling the pain when I had to get up at 7 to walk the dogs and then get started writing. That pain is so obvious in my face. The mug - which I ordered after I saw a friend take a similarly hilarious picture with it - pretty much summed up how I felt.




My two doggos! The blonde is Mindy. The brunette is Chunky. I was relaxing on the couch, minding my own business, when these two came over and started jockeying for position to sit in front of me. I tell you, they are the most jealous dogs. Whenever one gets affection, the other immediately comes running over to break it up. I know this by now, so I just let them fight it out. This is how they solved the problem, squeezing both their big selves into the little square in front of me. Silly fur babies.




These days, I do most of my writing in yWriter. It's a great program for keeping your scenes and chapters separate and organized. The problem is, when I need to "see" the "flow" of stories it's a little hard to do because they're umm... separate. In this case, the order of the second half of my WIP wasn't making sense to me. So, I printed the scenes out, lined them up and did a little reorganizing and combining. Seeing the scenes all at once really helped and I was able to get the story back on track.




Another example of needing to work with hard copy. Sometimes, I reach a point in a scene where typing just isn't working any more. I need to free write, and scratch out, and draw lines connecting sentences and paragraphs. Working by hand also helps when I'm either A) struggling not to edit while writing or B) trying to get away from the horrible time suck of the internet. (Shout out to the Yuri on Ice magazine that's waiting for me to read it tomorrow.)




Coffee selfie number two! I usually take these every Monday. I figure since I'm addicted to buying coffee mugs (and guzzling coffee) I might as well show them off. This one is cool because it's clear (I don't know why that matters to my brain) and the little saying is clever. Good job coffee mug maker factory.




And last but definitely not least. Voltron Legendary Defender is back! You'll notice the Voltron Lions themed manicure. I watched the original as a kid, really disliked the reboot they did in 2011, and fell in love with the 2016 Netflix/DreamWorks version. It's amazing. Season 2 is even better than the first. I spent the day binging it all when it uploaded on January 20th.

Fun fact. I ship Shiro and Keith, aka Sheith. I ship them so hard. Remember my goal to get back to writing fan fiction? Whelp, thanks to Sheith I'm already on it. I wrote a short fic for them. And as I promised myself, I also used it as a chance to try writing something outside my comfort zone. For this fic, it was Lactation!Kink. It was a little weird at first, but eventually my brain didn't care about anything but making the story work. You go, brain.

And that's my Instagram Wrap-Up! I hope you enjoyed it. If you're on Instagram, give me a follow and I'll be sure to follow back. You can find me as christa.tomlinson or follow this link: https://www.instagram.com/christa.tomlinson/   Thanks for reading and enjoy your week!

Love,Christawww.ChristaTomlinson.com
Follow me around the internet! Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads
View my titles on Amazon

Inevitable Change by S.C. Wynne

Morning all,

It's funny how change can knock you back on your heels. Even when the change is, in theory, a good thing. Even if the thing you've been doing has tortured you with long hours and stress beyond belief, when it ends, it's oddly crushing.

I've never been someone who enjoys change. I like things to be mostly the same and I enjoy a safe routine. I don't think I'm that unique when it comes to that. It's not that I am afraid of change or can't
handle it, I just like things to be familiar. Maybe that's because then I don't have to think so hard about what to do next?

Either way, change is a part of life. The world around us will move on and morph into different versions whether we come along for the ride willingly or not. You can't hide in a hole, and pretend it isn't happening. You might want to, but it won't work.

So I guess I'll lift my chin and straighten my back and face what's ahead with optimism. I'll send good vibes out into the world and hope that's what the universe sees fit to return to me.

Remember, change is coming whether you're ready or not. So be ready.

S.C.
www.sc-wynne.com