Avril Ashton's Blog, page 3
December 23, 2017
Merry Christmas + #LowRenzo Update
I have been MIA for a long while. Longer on here than on social media, but still gone for a minute. I needed to remove myself in order to breathe, and deal, and work.
Today, I finished the first draft of Kiss Your Scars. The first draft is the hardest part, for me. The second draft is by no means easy…just easier. So I figured I’d pop on here to tell you…
The first three books in the Loose Ends series–Hidden Scars, Scars and Secrets, Scars and Ruin–will be on sale for 99c (yes, still FREE in KU) over the Christmas holiday, starting Christmas Eve. Staniel (Call the Coroner) will go on sale Jan 1-5.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
HAPPY NEW YEAR
And you should expect #LowRenzo sometime in February.
Keep reading for a teaser.
Cover by Jay Aheer
Photo by Strangeland Photography
Kiss Your Scars (Loose Ends 3)
-Final book in the series
-Grenadian MC (Low)
-Daddy Kink
-Role Switching
-Age Gap
-Hurt/Comfort
-Piano Sex
-West Indian Food
-Syren Rua
-Daddy Kink (figured it was worth a second mention)
Teaser Excerpt*
Low walked over to the bar and climbed onto one of the stools while Renzo stood back with a small, indulgent smile on his lips. Leaning back on his elbows, Low eyed Renzo. He wore a suit, of course. This one charcoal gray, with a white shirt unbuttoned at the throat and no tie. “The only time I’ve seen you disheveled was when you got shot.” He cocked his head and motioned to Renzo’s clothing. “Those suits all you wear?”
“I’m kinda partial to my birthday suit.” The smirk on Renzo’s face got wider until Low found himself smiling along.
Damn. He couldn’t stop staring. The level of wanting he had for Renzo was…scary. Exhilarating too. But so damn scary. Toes at the edge of the cliff as he gazed down in search of bottom.
All he found was nothing.
And all he wanted to do was jump.
“Low.” Mere feet away, Renzo watched him, gaze shooting familiar flames that ate at Low, burning any lingering resistance to ash.
He’d never expect a man like Renzo to wait, but he did.
“You should fuck with me,” Renzo said hoarsely. When Low lifted an eyebrow, he went on, “You told me once you can’t fuck with me. But you should. You should fuck with me.”
If he wasn’t strung as tight as he was, Low would smile at that. As things stood now, he was afraid if he moved a muscle, he’d break. “Come.”
Renzo followed his instructions, standing in front of him with control straining at his features and hunger darkening his gray eyes. Low hopped off the stool, bringing them chest to chest with no touching.
Everything he wanted, he was going take. Everything Renzo offered, he was going to accept. For tonight. Maybe for longer. He just wanted to always feel the way he felt in this moment, staring into Renzo’s eyes.
“You scare me,” he whispered. Renzo’s lips parted, but Low stilled any words he’d speak with a shake of his head. “I like it.”
Renzo’s nostrils flared as his lashes lowered.
Low could tell him all the ways in which Renzo made him hunger and thirst, but he chose to voice something that would say it all. One word.
“Daddy.”
Renzo jolted, eyes flying wide. His mouth opened. Closed. He staggered back a step before crashing to his knees in front of Low, burying his face in Low’s belly. Low tunneled his fingers through Renzo’s hair, cupping his nape and dragging his head backward.
Renzo stared up at him, expression holding nothing back. “Low.”
“I’m about to do way more than fuck with you, Daddy.”
****
There was a burning under Renzo’s skin and a roaring in his ears. He heard nothing after “Daddy”. Nothing.
Oh, but he understood the look in Low’s eyes. He understood the tight grasp Low had on his nape. For some reason he was on his knees, taken down by this man whose touch only brought fire. An arsonist who held Renzo immobile simply with a gaze.
Weakness?
Maybe. But Renzo luxuriated in it. He’d thought with Low he’d have to be Renzo Vega, man in charge, all the time. But turns out he could also be Renzo Vega, man in desperate need of touch, of light, of this.
Knees to the floor.
Scorching touch leaving his nape to catch his chin, tilting his face upward. He watched Low through lashes that didn’t seem to want to lift higher than half-mast. The languid flames made it hard to focus, melting him and slowing his movements.
He sank his fingers into Low’s hip. Always. He needed Low within his reach always.
“You promised to bust it down, Daddy.” Low’s voice was a rock slide along Renzo’s spine, and he found himself writhing on his knees, especially when Low’s thumb stroked his bottom lip.
Back and forth. Back and forth.
He trembled.
Then the thumb pushed into his mouth.
Renzo sucked.
Low used his free hand to slide his zipper down.
Jesus. Fucking—
He moaned.
“And I’m just here—” Low continued speaking as if he wasn’t throat-fucking Renzo with his thumb. As if he wasn’t holding his hard cock in his grip—fat, cut, pre-cum beading at the tip. “Wondering if you swallow.”
For him? For this man who’d put him on his knees? “Every drop.” And he’d never been thirstier.
*Unedited. Content subject to change.
October 21, 2017
New (Re)release: Make Me Sweat
So, as you can see from the title of this blog, this is yet another re-release.
I’ve been really, really sick. And mostly scarce as I try to recuperate. Working on Kiss Your Scars is definitely on hold in the interim. No new words, because my head can’t hold on to anything long enough to make sense.
What I can do, though, is put out my previously published works as I get the rights back to them. Which is what I’ve been doing. It’s gonna continue for the rest of the year, so bear with me.
I don’t know when I’ll be able to get back to LowRenzo, or when they’ll be published.
In the meantime, it’s (re)release day for Make Me Sweat. As you can tell from the cover…it’s M/F.
Cover by Sloan J. Designs
Charged with planting a listening device in the office of a mysterious nightclub owner, Ever Marcille accepts an invite from her target to indulge in some naughty play. She didn’t count on their mutual, insatiable need, or the many ways his closely guarded secrets intertwined with hers.
Simon Dakin has one thing on his mind, getting close to the arms dealer known as Ghost. That’s until he spies Ever at his club. Time after time she comes in, teasing his senses, starring in his fantasies. He promises himself one night with her in his arms, but a single taste isn’t possible. He’s hooked.
Even as their secrets intrude, Dak and Ever succumb to their desires on borrowed time. Can their new-found feelings survive the many blows, or are they over before they’ve had a chance to truly begin?
This is a previously published work. The cover, and/or publisher has changed. The content has not .
AVAILABLE IN KindleUnlimited
October 6, 2017
Reissue: Far From the Usual #weekendreads
Next up in the long list of previously published books I’m reissuing is Far From the Usual. This one is a quick, dirty MF novella. If you’ve already read it, you’re not missing anything.
If you haven’t had the chance to check out my MF, it’s Free w/Kindle Unlimited subscription, so here’s your chance.
Cover by Sloan J. Designs
He’s her ex’s brother, yet Arden Windham aches to be in Cam Mercer’s arms. The man is rude and obnoxious, his blue eyes cold and unfeeling, but he makes her body melt. Being with ex-con Cam is nowhere in her plans, not if she wants the affection she’s worked so hard to gain from her overbearing father. Still, Cam’s touch is unlike anything she’s ever felt and Arden finds herself having to choose between her wants and her needs.
Cameron Mercer is his family’s black sheep, a man apart. For six months he watched Arden waste her time with his twin and now she’s free, he’s not waiting another minute. He’s on a campaign to get her off the tight rope she’s been walking. There’s a rebel behind that smooth façade and he’s on a mission to set Arden free. Too bad she insists on putting up a fight.
September 16, 2017
New Release: Prez’s Mercy
I’ve been busy fixing up and re-releasing titles that revert to me. There’s gonna be a lot of republishing in the upcoming months as I regain the rights to my older MF titles.
But this repub is M/M, from my Paranormal Security Council series.
Formerly titled Till Mercy, it has a brand new cover courtesy of Sloan J. Designs and a new title. What hasn’t changed though, is the story, so if you’ve already read it, you’re golden.
In case you haven’t, and would like a taste of my paranormal-slash-shifter works, feel free to cop it. It’s free w/your KindleUnlimited subscription.
PREZ’S MERCY
A suicide mission to avenge the death of his family brings an outspoken professor face to face with the enemy, and a new chance at life and love.
Cover by the amazeballs Sloan J. Designs
He’d topped the Paranormal Security Council’s hit list at one time, but Professor Nathan Valte has been given a second chance. But instead of moving on, he’s pedaling backwards. Consumed with guilt and grief, he sets out for revenge, hunting the leopards who brutally murdered his wife and child.
In Nathan’s way, preventing him from achieving his goal, is one of them—the enemy. In the arms of the last person he expected, he finds forgiveness and acceptance. In the embrace of a leopard lies hope for a future, if only Nathan is brave enough to reach for mercy instead of retribution.
July 5, 2017
Out Now: Remi’s Betrayal!
Remi’s Betrayal (formerly Till Betrayal) is part of my Paranormal Security Council series. It’s a republish, so if you’ve already bought/read the original, you won’t be missing out on anything. It’s available via Kindle Unlimited, If you haven’t given my foray into paranormal romance a try, now’s your chance.
AMAZON US
AMAZON UK
AMAZON CA
AMAZON AUS
Remi Parascu has unearthed a traitor in the midst of the Council—the ruling body in charge of all paranormal beings—she oversees. Armed with evidence, on her way to request a kill order, Remi’s plane is crashed, her bodyguards are killed and she’s taken hostage. Things would be a whole lot simpler if her captor had been the traitor.
Jaguar shifter Czion Whitehall has distanced himself from his family and the woman he recognizes as his mate. There’s no way he can be with the President of the Council, so Czion walks away without ever cementing the bond with Remi. The absence of that bond makes it much easier for someone else to swoop in and take his place.
As a skin walker, able to take on the appearance of anyone, Jaxon Fenti wears the face of a man Remi can’t resist in an effort to get the name of the person who killed his brother. What Jax didn’t count on was Remi being one-third of his Trinity, and a stubborn jaguar being the one to complete their triad. Czion wants nothing to do with any of it, and Remi and Jax can’t make it without him. It takes outside forces, and the threat of losing it all, before this trio can set aside their differences and accept how much they need each other.
*This is a previously published MMF romance that’s been re-edited. The cover/publisher has changed. The content has not.
June 6, 2017
Cover Reveal: Kill Me With It
Cover by Sloan J. Designs
Justice Alexandre kills for a living. A lover of the shadows, he makes no excuses for what he does. And with a job like his, personal entanglements are a no-go. Except for one hot summer night in an Atlanta nightclub, where a woman with misery in her eyes whispers three words in his ear.
She wants to lose herself, or maybe find herself, Myka Prentiss can’t readily decide. What she does know is the compelling stranger hugging the darkness at the back of the club calls to her in ways she can’t explain. Putting fear aside, she takes a chance.
One nameless night. Nothing between them but hot sweat and tangled sheets.
Then they walk away.
Back to an unfulfilled life, Myka is comforted only by her memories…until her sexy stranger shows up at her door with an announcement.
He’s been hired to kill her.
**This MF Interracial romance is a re-release that has been extensively re-written. It includes a younger bisexual hero and an older damsel who DGAF about your distress. Oh, and pegging. So. Much. Pegging.
Coming this August…
May 25, 2017
Impostor Syndrome
Writing is such a solitary thing for me. It is intimate. It is raw. It is my therapy, my release and my relief.
Sometimes, it is my enemy, too.
I don’t see it being talked about enough, the downside. Maybe if it’s as openly discussed then it wouldn’t be so hard to open up. I felt like talking about it tonight. I felt like putting my thoughts down, this way I can come back to it when my enemy resurfaces from wherever it’s lurking.
Self-doubt.
Impostor Syndrome.
I go through it with every book. Every single one without fail.
But with Call the Coroner it was the worst.
The.
Worst.
Self-doubt is the reason you had to wait so long for that book. Self-doubt had me sitting at my desk with the laptop open, deleting and adding commas and periods in a manuscript without the ability to do more. To finish what I started.
What was I doing? The words made no sense. The sex wasn’t good enough. The emotions weren’t real enough. The story wasn’t captivating enough. Didn’t pack enough punch.
It wasn’t enough.
I wasn’t enough.
You look on social media and you see everybody doing things, and you think you don’t deserve to be in that boat. In that crowd. Because you’re a fraud, sitting at the laptop, willing words to come and they won’t. And when they do eventually trickle in, you just know they’re stupid, and you’re stupid, and this will be the one book where everyone sees you for what you truly are…
Pretender.
You’re not that good. And it doesn’t matter how many people tell you they like your work, they only do it because they don’t want to hurt your feelings.
So…
Impostor Syndrome.
It is paralyzing. Jesus. It takes root deep inside and it never relents, not until you fucking give in. Not until you close that document, not until you shut down that laptop. Not until you walk away from that desk. You walk away, because that’s what you’re good at, aren’t you? Who do you think you are, trying to be this other person? Trying to do this thing?
I managed—and I still don’t know how—to finish the book. Longest it took me to do so in a while, but it was a fight. Do you hear me? It was a fight. A daily battle, forcing myself to shut out the negativity in my head and just do it.
Just. Do . It.
It happens to me. Happens to others, too. If you go through this, if you’ve experienced it. You’re not alone. I know it feels like you are.
I know.
I have never been so scared to release Call the Coroner. To me, it was a shitty fucking book. And I was convinced, convinced everyone would know it. They’d all laugh and point, and whisper about the author pretending to do what others do so much better.
Sometimes it’s gonna feel like you don’t know what you’re doing. It’s gonna feel like you’re treading water only to sink to the bottom. It will feel like you’re trying on clothes that belong to someone else.
Don’t stop.
Don’t stop.
Call the Coroner has been out for two weeks now. I cannot fucking believe the reception to this book. I cannot.
I didn’t cry through release day. Not that week.
I cried tonight for the first time.
Relief. So much relief.
Some anger too, that I didn’t trust myself. That I didn’t trust my gut. My heart. My fingers on the keyboard. I let the doubts win. I can admit that. I let it win.
But only for a moment.
Only for that moment.
It’s gonna happen again. Happens every book, but I’m wiser having gone through this latest brutal round. I’m wiser. I know the battle might leave me bruised and bloodied, but the war is mine to win.
I own it.
May 18, 2017
Just a Note…
Syren already has his story, for those who aren’t familiar.
For those who are familiar, no, there isn’t a new Syren book coming out. What there is, is a connection Syren has to Renzo which will be explained in Renzo’s book, Kiss Your Scars.
Which I just started writing, so nope, no news on when that will be out.
May 16, 2017
On The Brooklyn Sinners
Every day I get questions about the Sinners.
Especially now, with a new book out and people wanting to know about Syren.
Yass, girl. That little devil has his own book. If you don’t know why it’s not available out there for sale, I won’t bore you with the fucked-up details. Suffice it to say, it is beyond my control.
But, I bring a reprieve.
If you don’t own a copy of The Brooklyn Sinners–where it ALL began–might I add. And if you wish to know more about that powerful little so-and-so named Syren–who will be going away no time soon, I might also add–you can buy a copy from me.
An ebook copy, NOT paperback.
Transaction to be done via PayPal and nowhere else.
Email me: avril.ashton@yahoo.com if you want to buy a copy, or the whole series.
$4 per book.
Email.
Not comment here in the comments. Those go into SPAM, and I’ll simply delete, without reading/responding.
You can also FILL OUT THE CONTACT FORM. Fill it out. Not comment in the comments there. if you do, it goes to SPAM and I. Shall. Delete without reading/responding.
You must have a PayPal account. If not, this won’t work.
Tell your friends.
May 9, 2017
#NewRelease: Call the Coroner!
The time has come, people.
This is NOT a drill.
Available only on Amazon/Kindle Unlimited.
AMAZON US AMAZON CA AMAZON UK AMAZON AUS
