M.A. Church's Blog, page 94

Dragon's Hoard under contract and a small excerpt!

WHOOT!! Dragon Hoard's is under contract with Dreamspinner with a release date of October. This will be part of the new houseline, Dreamspun Beyond. I'm very excited about this novel--I've been wanting to do a dragon story for a while now, lol.

Here's a little sample of the story. It's unedited as of yet by DsP, of course.



Raised voices drifted out onto the deck, and Avery sighed. Now what? “By all the gods, is that a—”Avery frowned. A what? Then someone screamed, and he jumped. The increased heartbeats of his fellow pack members inside the parlor beat relentlessly at him. Okay, that was a little disconcerting. Then the tinny stench of fear drifted on the cool breezes out to him. Fear? Forget disconcerting. Now he was flat out worried. There was very little werewolves feared. Broken pieces of conversations, anger, and waves of distress overwhelmed him. Maybe he should get back in there, although he wasn’t sure what he could do to help—not that he would be allowed anyway.“Silence!” The roar hit him like a sonic boom. His knees went weak, and he grasped the deck railing to keep himself up. Power, unlike any he’d ever felt, rolled over him. Oh gods. He closed his eyes trying to rein himself in. As he adjusted, he noticed something else. That roar—so masculine, low and growly. It sank into his very bones. His cock perked up and his claws came out, digging into the wood of the railing he so desperately held. He pried his eyes open. Confusion hit him. His breathing spiked. This wasn’t a weaker wolf reacting to one more powerful. No, it was something else. Something he’d never experienced before. Didn’t matter though. He wrestled his body under control. He refused to be the weak-willed Omega everybody assumed he was. Once his breathing leveled out, he noticed the silence. The nighttime sounds he was so familiar with was glaringly absent. There was no prey scuttling across the dead grass and decaying leaves. No predator stalked on stealthy feet. There was nothing. A chill crept up his spine. It seemed as if everything around him had frozen. He glanced back into the parlor. Both the music and conversations had stopped. Tension rolled out through the open doors. Avery had the perfect view of his father. Several of his betas stood behind the Alpha. Even from where he stood, Avery could see the unease on his father’s face. Avery gawked. His father was renowned for being cool under pressure. But not this time. His mother stood off to the side and behind his father with several female werewolves clustered around her. He sister Mandy stood next to their mother, but he couldn’t see the rest of his sisters.What in the hell was going on?“Your time is up.”Avery shivered again. That voice. What was it about that voice?“Not until the stroke of midnight, it isn’t.” Alpha Montgomery growled.For once his father didn’t sound like the authoritative werewolf Avery knew he was. Avery shifted to the side trying to see through the French doors into the parlor. Who was his father speaking with? He bit his lip, still unable to see. Slowly he inched farther to the right. Just a little more and he could finally see.“Which is less than three hours away. You’ve made no effort to contact me nor have you made any type of payment. I have to tell you, Alpha Montgomery, this disturbs me greatly.”Avery blinked. Who dared to speak to his father was such a disrespectful tone? More importantly, why wasn’t his father wiping the floor with them? Avery eased a few inches over. As he moved, he got a better look into the room. His glance roamed over a male who was of average height with brown hair. His looks weren’t anything spectacular, and the black rimmed glasses he wore didn’t help. He wasn’t a paranormal, although he wasn’t quite human either. He sniffed again and finally picked up the hint of magic in the air.Then he saw the other one. Good gods. A man stood several feet from his father. Avery’s stomach dropped. The stranger was tall, dark and sexy beyond belief. Long black hair fell to slender hips. Avery swallowed. Whoever this man was, he wasn’t as tall as his father nor was he bulky with muscles. He had what the humans termed a swimmer’s build. Even though Avery could only see his profile, there is no denying the stranger had a strong jaw, insanely chiseled cheekbones, and a perfectly formed nose. His light gray pinstriped suit fit him like a glove and suggested it was custom-made… and expensive, very expensive.Who was this male? He wasn’t human, Avery knew that. He sniffed, trying to pick up the stranger’s scent. When he finally did, it hit him like a ton of bricks. It was dark, delicious… and completely unfamiliar. But he liked it, and he wanted more. His cock, which had softened slightly, sprang up. Tingles raced through his body. Oh gods, so good. He yearned. His wolf wanted nothing more than to roll around in that scent. He sniffed again, more deeply this time. Gods, what was that other male?Alpha Montgomery tensed. “I’ll talk with you tomorrow. Tonight we’re celebrating my youngest coming of age.”“No, I don’t believe so. Why don’t we adjourn to your office?”Avery hiked an eyebrow. Whoever this guy was, he had balls the size of coconuts. The fact that he was still standing on his feet, in one piece, amazed Avery. Why was his father allowing such disrespect?“I—”“Now!” the stranger snapped.“Holy shit,” Avery whispered, expecting to see blood flow at any moment. No one spoke to his father that way. The stranger whipped his head around and stared straight at Avery. Shock hit him square between the eyes. Feet glued to the floor, all Avery could do was stand there, frozen, with his mouth hanging open. Beautifully colored indigo eyes zeroed in on him. Avery had never seen such an unusual swirling mixture of blues and purples for an eye color. They were striking and quite intimidating. For the first time ever, Avery understood how prey felt. His heart pounded, and his head spun. His mouth was so dry he couldn’t swallow. An instinct he didn’t know he possessed shouted at him to turn, run… to escape. But another yelled at him to get closer, to go belly up for his….Mate. Shit, it can’t be. Just can’t! What was staring at him was the top predator in the paranormal community—a dragon. Nobody fucked with dragons. No one. And somehow, his father had gotten on the wrong side of one.

Time to Spring Forward...

Don't forget, y'all!!! ;)
~M

Separation cover reveal by Louise Lyons

Separation
Release date: March 31, 2017
Length: 45,000 words
Cover design: Simon Searle



Blurb
Matthew Langford is told on his twenty-first birthday that he has a twin. After the initial shock, he quickly realizes this is why he always felt part of him was missing. His search takes him 200 miles to Devon, UK, where he meets fraternal twin, Tremaine Wheal.
The pair discover many things in common, and quickly become as close as if they’d never been separated. But when they share a moment in a nightclub, each realizes there is more between them than having shared a womb. Panic sets in and they part. Once again their separation brings loneliness and pain.
Eventually, unable to stay away from each other, they tentatively move forward together as lovers. But secrets don’t stay secret for long, and discovery and questions threaten their happiness.

*This is a taboo story featuring twins. 




Author Bio
Louise Lyons comes from a family of writers. Her mother has a number of poems published in poetry anthologies, her aunt wrote poems for the church, and her grandmother sparked her inspiration with tales of fantasy.
Louise first ventured into writing short stories at the grand old age of eight, mostly about little girls and ponies. She branched into romance in her teens, and MM romance a few years later, but none of her work saw the light of day until she discovered FanFiction in her late twenties. Posting stories based on some of her favourite movies, provoked a surprisingly positive response from readers. This gave Louise the confidence to submit some of her work to publishers, and made her take her writing "hobby" more seriously.
Louise lives in the UK, about an hour north of London, with a mad dog called Casper, and a collection of tropical fish and tarantulas. She works in the insurance industry by day, and spends every spare minute writing. She is a keen horse-rider, and loves to run long-distance. Some of her best writing inspiration comes to her, when her feet are pounding the open road. She often races home afterward, and grabs pen and paper to make notes.
Louise has always been a bit of a tomboy, and one of her other great loves is cars and motorcycles. Her car and bike are her pride and job, and she loves to exhibit the car at shows, and take off for long days out on the bike, with no one for company but herself.


Social Media
Facebook: www.facebook.com/louiselyonsauthor
Twitter: www.twitter.com/louiselyons013
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/louiselyons013
Instagram: www.instagram.com/louiselyons013
Blog: www.louiselyonsauthor.com
Email: louiselyons013@gmail.com

Beneath the Surface is up on KU!

Buy link: https://www.amazon.com/Beneath-Surface-Deep-Blue-Book-ebook/dp/B06XFK2FBV



Blurb:

*Second Edition Release. The content and author have not changed.*

A whole different world exists beneath the surface.

The last thing Nisha expects while patrolling his territory is to find his mate, but his instincts tell him the handsome human diving into the surf is the one meant for him. Two bites and Kannon will be joined to him forever. But when Kannon’s father disrupts the mating process, Nisha releases his claim, hoping beyond hope his mate will one day return.

While free diving with his father, Kannon is bitten by a seductive merman. Although he swore to never go near the ocean again, the pull to return to the water and his mystery man remains strong. Finally, after fifteen years away, an impromptu wedding brings Kannon back to the Seychelles, and his destiny.

Kannon only plans to stay on the island for a week, but this time Nisha won’t let his mate go without a fight. Merfolk and human culture collide as the embers of Nisha and Kannon’s mate bond ignite, and Nisha must complete the mating before it’s too late.



Excerpt:

Prologue A whole different world existed under the sea—lighting, sounds, even the feeling of otherworldliness. No matter how clear the water, it still played tricks, even on experienced divers. The colorful tropical fish, artifacts, and the remnants of history buried beneath the waves—along with a mysterious landscape mostly untouched by humans—always gave Kannon a thrill. Parts of the reef weren’t very deep, so he had no trouble freediving. This year for vacation, Kannon and his dad rented a boat and guide to take them to the reefs around the Seychelles. This was by no means the first time he’d gone snorkeling. Growing up along the California coast guaranteed Kannon was comfortable in the water. The guide had warned them to stay together, but Kannon had other ideas. Besides, he wasn’t going that far off. After investigating the colorful reef fish and interesting coral formations—and seeing his dad was distracted—Kannon slowly but steadily wandered off on his own. An outcrop of rocks covered in algae caught his eye, and he went to investigate. Many of the multihued native fish swam past him, curious as to what he was. It was funny how they circled him. Kannon held his hand out. A few braver fish darted in, nibbled at his fingers, and then swam off. God, what a rush it was. Nothing was better than this. He drew closer to the outcrop, surprised it was much deeper than he’d first thought. Huh, not an outcrop, but the mouth of an underwater cave. Cool. From a distance it appeared to be nothing more than oddly shaped rocks. Peering inside, he was unable to see past the murky blackness within. Curious, he reached his hand out, stretching toward the mouth of the cave. His scalp prickled. A tingle washed through him. The water around him caressed his body as he hung weightlessly, staring at the cave entrance as his dick swelled in his trunks. What the…?It wasn’t as if he made a habit of getting horny while diving, so what the hell? Torn between desire and unease, he hovered in the tropical water. Chills chased up his spine, and goose bumps broke out over his body. His heart rate sped up—not a good thing underwater—and the feeling of being watched crept across his nerves. Something was in there, and his mind screamed at him to get away even as the urge to reach inside nearly overwhelmed him. Kannon’s body swayed dangerously closer. His nipples ached as the water flowed past, and he had to force himself not to whimper as need struck him. He jerked back. There’s something waiting for me, just waiting for me to reach in so it can... what? So it can do what? Jesus, he needed to get a serious grip on his imagination, and crap, he had to surface too. Lack of oxygen made the decision for him. All this panicking on his part had used up his air—stupid of him. He surfaced and shook the hair out of his eyes. Wow, is that our boat way over there? Oh man, Dad’s going to kill me. Worried about the fit his dad was going to have, he was totally unprepared for the strange guy who popped up next to him, although “guy” might have been overly nice. Kannon yelped, but the dude across from him just smiled. The androgynous, fey face wasn’t quite human. The long pointed ears were a good indication, as was the glimpse of sharp little teeth. Oh, and the gills at its neck. Azure blue hair floated in the water around shapely shoulders and cobalt blue eyes stared back at him. It was a visage that was hauntingly beautiful, otherworldly, and a tad disconcerting. The creature smiled slightly as if he agreed. It—whatever it was—scared the bejesus out of him. Then it reached out and dragged Kannon under the water. Oh. My. God. Terror struck, and Kannon fought, kicking furiously as he tried to twist away, but it did no good. The creature was too strong, and its hands were everywhere. Kannon fought to hold his breath. He needed to get to the surface and… he froze—just stopped fighting as something thrashed behind the other guy, churning up the water. No way. He stared in shock at the, the... its upper part looked like a regular human torso, but the bottom—a tail? That’s a... a... no way! The unbelievable sight of a tail—a long, shimmery tail with iridescent scales—was attached to the guy in front of him. It glistened in the sunlight that filtered through the water. There was only one human-like sea creature he knew of with a tail—and that was mermaids. Or mermen. Merfolk? Whatever. Those were make-believe.And this make-believe creature was trying to kill him. Then it kissed him full on the lips, and thoughts of his murder flew out of his head along with every other rational thought. Before he could react, it stopped the kiss and twirled him around so they were chest to back. Well now, if he had any doubt it was male, he had his answer now. There was no mistaking the hard cock poking him. The merman held him securely as they floated in the water. That marvelous fluked tail slowly flipping back and forthcaused their lower bodies to rock together. It was kind of nice and… then the merman sank his teeth into the fleshy area between Kannon’s neck and shoulder. Oh fuck! What the what? Pain exploded through him, and he arched helplessly as he fought not to cry out underwater. But as rapidly as it appeared, the sharp pain faded. The creature’s hand gently trailed up and down his chest. Is that a fin below its wrist? Lassitude invaded him. He knew, just knew, this was where he was supposed to be. He belonged here with the merman. Tingles raced through his body. I’m home.Even the teeth still buried in his neck didn’t bother him, but in the distance he heard something. A voice… and it sounded upset. Scared. It dragged at his mind. He needed to do… to do something. That voice he heard was… was… someone special. He needed to listen to it and… something. The creature looked up and sighed. It trilled softly in his ear then propelled him upward. Water rushed past Kannon, and his head broke the surface.“Kannon! Kannon!”The first thing he heard was his dad yelling his name, and the feeling of peacefulness faded. He wanted to cry at the loss, but right then he had other things to worry about. Oh boy, he knew that tone. Reality rushed back, and Kannon started flailing around in the water looking for that, that… There was no one near. He was alone. His neck stung, his head spun, and he was alone. Sadness retreated, and fear speared him. What the ever-living fuck was in the water with him? What did it want? Where was it? He wanted out of the water. Like right then. Immediately. Ten minutes ago would’ve been good. Holy crap, that thing had bit him too. God, was he going to turn into some kind of fish thingy like that merman? Oh. Oh. He clutched his belly. A merman. His stomach cramped and a headache he didn’t know was lurking struck like a snake. Whoo hoo, if the waves didn’t stop rocking him, he was going to be sick. “Dammit, Kannon! Get over here. Now!”Yup, his dad was cussing, and he never cussed. He was in so much trouble. As he swam toward his dad and the guide, he decided not to tell them what happened. They’d think he made it up to avoid getting in trouble. It was only then he remembered he hadn’t been afraid of drowning.* * * *The sun pounded down on his shoulders. The fact he wore a black dive shirt wasn’t helping matters, but there was no way he was taking it off. Apparently the bite wasn’t as deep as he first thought since he wasn’t seeing blood all over himself. He took a deep breath, and the tang of salt in the air stung his swollen lips. Gentle waves rocked their boat—just another day on the ocean, right? Unfortunately that couldn’t disguise the horror he’d faced earlier. White sand beaches and hot, sunny weather—what better way to spend a vacation, right? Right?Wrong. “Kannon Michel Thomas!” Charles, his dad, sat on the floor of the boat glaring at him. “Do you have any idea how badly you scared me?”Bet you weren’t as scared as me.Everyone in a five-mile radius knew how badly he’d scared his old man because he resorted to using his full name. His full name. He was eighteen for God’s sake, and his old man used his whole name. His life was over.“Why? What possessed you to go that far out?” His dad folded his arms over his chest. “I’m sorry, Dad.” Kannon flopped back on the deck. Time to face the music. “I didn’t mean to. I thought I saw some interesting rock formations and—”“And you just had to investigate. I get that, but in the meantime you scared ten years off my life. We’ve had the talk about being safe while snorkeling years ago. Do we need to go over it again? One minute you were close by and the next you were just gone.” Kannon looked down blinking steadily.Sighing, Charles hugged Kannon. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry I yelled. I was terrified when I couldn’t find you.”Oh man, his dad must have thought he was on the verge of tears. Actually, he really was, but not for the reason his dad thought. Kannon wrapped his arms around his dad, hugged hard, and then backed off. How uncool would it be if someone actually saw him hugging his dad—even if the old man needed the hug? Hell, who was he kidding? He knew he needed it too. “I know, Dad, I’m really sorry. I didn’t realize I’d gotten that far out.” Well okay, that wasn’t exactly true. He had totally planned to sneak off. He’d just gotten more than he bargained for.“There are sharks, and jellyfish, and… and other things out there that can kill you.” His dad rubbed his shaved head. “I know you love the water, but the ocean can be deadly.” Dude, you have no idea.Kannon shaded his eyes and squinted at his dad. “Please don’t be upset with me. You’re right. I shouldn’t have gone so far off.” Yup, now he felt lower than a sea slug’s belly. “You’re a teenage boy, of course you didn’t think.” His dad lightly ruffled Kannon’s wet hair. “I might have gotten a little upset when I couldn’t find you, and maybe I overreacted a little bit. Just promise me you won’t go out so far tomorrow. As tempted as I am to restrict you to the resort’s pool area, I won’t.”Kannon fought to hide the horror he felt. “Oh, ah, I thought we were going sightseeing tomorrow.” The last thing he wanted was to go back in the ocean. “Well, we can if that’s what you want. Tell you what. We’ll talk about it over dinner. I imagine all that exploring has got you hungry.”Kannon scooted over to where his dad sat. All he wanted was to get off the water and back to their bungalow. “Yeah, I could eat a whale.”His dad’s sharp crack of laughter echoed over the boat. “Boys,” he mumbled. “Hollow from the toes up.”Before the boat motor started, Kannon could’ve sworn he heard what sounded like an angry slap of a tail against the water. He wasn’t tempted to look. Nope, not even remotely. He was terrified of what might be looking back at him. Trepidation licked along his spine.His mind still questioned what he’d seen while under the waves, but his lips stung from the kisses, and his shoulder ached where that, that… thing bit him. Good thing his dark dive shirt covered the mark. His old man would’ve had a cow if he’d seen his shoulder. What would he have told his dad? Oh that? That mark? Well see, this merman came out of nowhere, dry humped me, then bit me. Excuse me while I binge on raw seafood. Don’t my scales look extra scaly today? Sorry my fin got in your way. Will this shirt go with my gills? I’ll be flopping around in my room if you need me. Oh, and how was your day?What he saw just couldn’t exist, could it? His growling stomach shoved all thoughts out of his head. Well, almost all thoughts. It stood to reason his close call would’ve taught him something, and it did. Stay away from the ocean.

Beneath the Surface cover reveal

Okay, love this cover. Sara York created it, and she rocked the thing, lol. It may be one of my most fav covers... ever.

Beneath the Surface is going into KU. Don't have a release date yet, but it will be soon. Cia kind of acts like my publisher for my self-pub stuff. She deals with loading it and all that jazz.

This is the same book ARe published and kept 4Q royalties from. (As a side note, *any* book they published, they kept the 4th Q profits. I wasn't the only author they pulled this crap on, and not the only one who took a huge hit either.)

There are no changes. If you already bought it, no reason to get it again. Riding the Tide will follow soon. I've been thinking of doing one more in this series too, but I have a few books that have to get done first. Namely Raiden's book, lol.

~M

Finicky Friday - Drunken JELLO Snow Cone

Ooops! Lost track of the days! Seriously, it was just Tuesday a minute ago, lol. So, time for Finicky Friday again... just a tab bit late. ;)







Are you ready to have your adult mind blown? Here you go, the Drunken JELLO Snow Cone.


1C Boiling Water

2C Sprite

1C Vanilla Vodka

2oz. JELLO Mix

Now just put it in the freezer over night and enjoy the next day.



*I noticed that the JELLO packages comes in 3oz, so increased everything by 50% - 1.5 c water, 3 c Sprite (which is 2 12 oz cans, so that's easier anyway), 1.5 c vodka, and a 3 oz pkg of jello. Also, you can experiment: Cherry Vodka and cherry jello. Or Chocolate Vodka and cherry jello.

DsP is having a 25% off sale March 1-5

List of my DsP books:  https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/authors/ma-church-525

Joan Jett concert Feb 2017

Hey everyone! The girls and I went to the Joan Jett concert on Feb 24th. We had a blast and had front row center seats. God, we were so close to her... I could see the stickers on her guitar. Here are a few of the pics I took. We stayed the night in the casino and came home the next day.

Finicky Friday - Biscuit and Gravy Ring

Biscuit and Gravy Ring



Hey everyone, time for Finicky Friday again! Ring around the biscuits time, lol.

Full recipe: http://dlsh.it/vudHtys


TOTAL TIME: 0:40
COOK: 0:30
LEVEL: EASY
SERVES: 1 RING

INGREDIENTS
1/2 lb. pork sausage, casings removed
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 c. whole milk
kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Pinch cayenne pepper
1 can refrigerated biscuit dough
Egg wash
1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an ovenproof 10” skillet with cooking spray.
Cook sausage in a medium skillet over medium heat until browned all over cooked through. Sprinkle flour over the sausage and cook for about a minute. Pour in milk and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until very thick, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper and cayenne. Turn off heat.
Cut each biscuit in half and roll halves into balls. Place around the perimeter of skillet to form a ring. The biscuit pieces should be touching! Add gravy to the center of the biscuit ring.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until the biscuits are golden. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve warm.

KU Fun with LGBT Romance Deals!

If you've read my blog, you know I love a good deal. And I'd even say, adore it, when said deal involves books. And right now you could be missing out on a few great ones! 





Seriously! It's okay! I have all the information you could want. Check out the LGBT KU Fun newsletter for highlighted eBooks (including the second editions of my book Paws & Claws and  Alicia Norswell's novella, Pricolici) available through the Amazon Kindle Unlimited program (there's a great free trial option if you don't already have a membership) and don't miss the...




Enter to win an Amazon Fire or Kindle eReader!!!
So what are you waiting for?