V.L. Locey's Blog, page 38
July 23, 2016
July 21, 2016
Author/Book Spotlight-Iris Blobel's New Beginnings
The story is set in Hobart, the capital of Tasmania, the most southern state in Australia. A most beautiful place. I went there a few years back and imagined how it would be to live in this city, how to adapt as a "non-local", and bit by bit I wrote the story of two sisters moving there. Obviously, I added a little romance into the story as well – so I added Mark and Zach.This is the second edition of NEW BEGINNINGS. The story is now a bit sexier and has also received another edit.
Literary Chanteuse's review: "This author has a way of endearing her characters and it is easy to fall in love with them. An intriguing story with emotion, love and hope."Sharon's review: "This was a very enjoyable read and it left me wanting just a little bit more. I highly recommend it."
"Other people have to fight battles in their life as well."
~~ New Beginnings ~~ (2nd Edition) by Iris Blobel
AMAZON US: http://amzn.to/2a1BSJ7AMAZON UK: http://amzn.to/29FTb4BAMAZON AU: http://amzn.to/2a9yKgW
♥♦♥ SYNOPSIS ♥♦♥
The chance to start life all over with the help of a stranger.
Twenty-two-year-old Sophie Levesque has been guardian to her eight-year-old sister Mia since their mother's death a few years ago, and it hasn't been easy. Luck comes their way when they inherit a small house in Hobart. Problem is, though, they don't know and have never heard of Clara Bellinger, the testator. Settling into their new life, Sophie is still afraid it's all a mistake.Mark O'Connor, attorney in Hobart and the bearer of the good news for Sophie and Mia, curses himself for the lack of information about the testator. However, researching the questions gives him an opportunity to see Sophie again, and the more time he spends with the two, the more he realises that his life is missing something. And it's not his casual lover Linda.
But then there's Zach, Sophie's sexy neighbour from across the road… and a very good friend of Clara's.
Will unravelling the mystery unravel Sophie and Mark's promise of a future?
♥♦♥ MEET THE AUTHOR ♥♦♥IRIS BLOBEL
Iris Blobel was born and raised in Germany and only immigrated to Australia in the late 1990s. Having had the travel bug most of her life, Iris spent quite some time living in Scotland, London as well as Canada where she met her husband. Her love for putting her stories onto paper has only emerged recently, but now her laptop is a constant companion.
Iris resides west of Melbourne with her husband and her two beautiful daughters.
Next to her job at a private school, she also presents a German Program at the local Community Radio.
Social Media Links:Click here to subscribe to Iris' NewsletterFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/IrisBlobelTwitter: https://twitter.com/_iris_bGoodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4067254.Iris_BlobelInstagram: https:/www.instagram.com/iris_blobel/
July 20, 2016
Throwback Thursday Tune
I'm not sure if this singer has ever been on TBT tunes before. If not, shame on me! Kick back and enjoy Neil Diamond's America as we enjoy another week of songs with "USA" or "America" in the title.
July 18, 2016
Tuesday Tales - Write
Hello! It`s time for Tuesday Tales.
It's time to have more zombie fun! Today we have another excerpt from my LGBTQ zom-rom-com Two Guys Walk Into an Apocalypse 4 - Zombies, Zendra, and Ziegfeld Follies. Despite Paul taking a sound beating at the hands of Mercury and his people, he still refuses to divulge any information about himself or his small group of loved ones. Mercury then decides to push our leading man a little harder...
This story contains crude language, gore because of the darn zombies, and gay sexual situations. If that offends now would be the time to move onto another Tuesday Tales offering. Our word prompt for the week is "Write".
Don`t forget to visit the other talented Tuesday Tales authors. Thanks for stopping by!
I hung there between two big lugs, my eyes roaming the landscape trying to find something - anything- that would give me a clue as to where I now was. The two runners sent to fetch Iris returned. One dragged a young teenager of perhaps fifteen behind him. The girl looked to be Inuit. Her dark brown eyes were wide with fear. Her clothes hung off her frail frame in tatters. My sickly stomach rolled over when Iris was thrown to the ground in front of Mercury. His eyes never left mine as the girl whimpered and hugged herself tightly, eyes squeezed shut, tears tracking through several layers of dirt on her face.
"Mr. Pitt, this is Iris. She was supposed to head to the border with you and a few others, but since she's already been broken in..." a few animals behind me made leering noises and grunts, "... she's not nearly as valuable as she had been."
"So your human traffickers? Slavers?" I asked my voice a mere shade of what it usually was. It had taken a mere year for the scum to start preying on their fellow survivors. Sometimes I truly hated humanity and wished I could write most of those left behind off. Mercury reached for his hat, lifted it with panache, and pulled out what appeared to be my damn Smith & Wesson from under the dusty Fedora. My knife and the shattered remains of my walkie-talkie also lay on the table. Sight locked with mine he pointed my gun at the head of the cowering teen at his feet. I lunged forward but was jerked back as Iris screamed and threw her arms over her head.
"Slavers is such an ugly word. We prefer "population redistributors" since we move people from one location to another. So, Mr. Pitt, give me your name and where you're from or I put one of your bullets into the head of the not-so-valuable anymore Iris." He flipped off the safety, his manic eyes glowing with pleasure. One dark eyebrow crept up his forehead. "I'll give you to the count of one starting with one." His finger slid back and forth over the trigger. "One."
"NO!" I shouted then started blabbing. "My name is Paul Cooke; I'm from a small town in New York State. My husband and I were both in education before the—"
Mercury's eyes widened. The barrel of my gun lowered just a fraction of an inch."Did you say husband? Are you queer, Mr. Cooke?"
"Flamingly so," I replied with a wee bit of tart. Maybe it just sounded like tart to me. Probably it sounded sickly to the rest. My tart was probably lacking.
Copyright 2016 ©by V.L. Locey
*~*~*
Click on the link below to return to the Tuesday Tales main blog for more great reads from the Tuesday Tales authors.
Tuesday Tales
See you next week!
July 17, 2016
A Hat Trick of Questions #1
People are always asking author's questions and we love it! Nothing shows us that you enjoyed our book like questions about it, our process, development, or any other query a reader might have. Well, reviews also show your love but I know that you're all reading and reviewing, right?
I thought it would be fun to share a trio of questions that I've been asked recently then give you my replies. Please feel free to shoot me any questions you might have that I don't cover here, or in future Q&A posts. I adore interacting with my readers!
Question: Why don't all of your books end with a wedding?
This is a really common question that I get asked all the time. My answer is that I don't feel that marriage is the end all and be all for every couple on earth. I've been happily married for over 25 years, and I have great respect for the institution of marriage. That being said, it is not for everyone. Many couples live long and extremely happy lives without legal vows and government licenses. Sometimes my couples marry (Victor and Dan) and sometimes they don't even if they have a child together (Isabelle and Philip) because I like to have the ending reflect who the couple are and where they're at when the book/series ends.
Also, wedding vows do not always equate to a happy ending. Ask the millions of divorced people out there and I suspect they'll back me up. So, I do strive to give my readers at least a happy for now. If a wedding is the right course for a couple, then I'll be there throwing rice with the rest of the guests. But if it's not, I'm not going to add the vows just to fit into a romance novel Jell-O mold of conformity.
Question: Why don't you write in third person with alternating POV? I like that best.
I get this one a lot. I know some readers dislike first person. Sorry about that, truly I am, but writing in third feels awkward to me. I actually started out writing in third, way back in the day when I was doing Marvel fan fiction. It always felt odd and stilted but that was how everyone else was doing it so...
Then I tried first person and it clicked perfectly. Getting into the mind of the storyteller suits me. This is why I think I can only work on one book at a time. When I'm Victor Kalinski, I am totally Victor. I just can't be Vic in the morning and then someone else in the afternoon. I have to submerse myself totally in that character.
So yes, I much prefer first person, one point of view. I am branching out a bit with my upcoming LGBT hockey series, The Brighton Wood Blades, and writing those in first person alternating views. Why? Well, because my muse wanted to do this series that way and who am I to argue with her? Does that mean I'll someday do a book in third person? It is highly unlikely.
Question: Why are you moving to all LGBT books after the Venom series ends?
Because over the years I have discovered that LGBT romance is where I belong. When I first began writing, I never knew there was such a thing as M/M romance, so any romance that I wrote was M/F. I find it interesting now when I think back because reader's way back in my fan fiction days always commented on the homoerotic aspect of my work. Little did I know those comments were an indicator of where my true author heart would lead me over time.
I have a special place for M/F romance and I will always be grateful to those books for opening up the door for me. Without the Wildcats and Venom, I would have never found the wonderful world of erotic hockey romance, and the fantastic readers that support us. However, my calling is, and I feel it has been for some time, M/M or LGBT hockey romance. My couples rarely come to me as traditional man/woman pairings anymore. Most are somewhere on the rainbow spectrum and I fully embrace them.
My characters need to have their stories told. They must to be able to express their love in a world filled with bigotry to help combat the darkness. I'm transitioning not only because I am the mother of an openly out and proud bisexual daughter, because that is surely a part of my decision, but because love is love. I am and always have been a vocal ally of the LGBTQIA community. It's my hope that my books may open someone's eyes, or at the very least, show the world that the love between two men or two women is a natural and beautiful thing.
A Hat Trick of Questions
People are always asking author's questions and we love it! Nothing shows us that you enjoyed our book like questions about it, our process, development, or any other query a reader might have. Well, reviews also show your love but I know that you're all reading and reviewing, right?
I thought it would be fun to share a trio of questions that I've been asked recently then give you my replies. Please feel free to shoot me any questions you might have that I don't cover here, or in future Q&A posts. I adore interacting with my readers!
Question: Why don't all of your books end with a wedding?
Because I don't feel that marriage is the end all and be all for every couple on earth. I've been happily married for over 25 years, and I have great respect for the institution of marriage. That being said, it is not for everyone. Many couples live long and extremely happy lives without legal vows and government licenses. Sometimes my couples marry (Victor and Dan) and sometimes they don't even if they have a child together (Isabelle and Philip) because I like to have the ending reflect who the couple are and where they're at when the book/series ends.
Also, wedding vows do not always equate to a happy ending. Ask the millions of divorced people out there and I suspect they'll back me up. So, I do strive to give my readers at least a happy for now. If a wedding is the right course for a couple, then I'll be there throwing rice with the rest of the guests. But if it's not, I'm not going to add the vows just to fit into a romance novel Jell-O mold of conformity.
Question: Why don't you write in third person with alternating POV? I like that best.
I get this one a lot. I know some readers dislike first person. Sorry about that, truly I am, but writing in third feels awkward to me. I actually started out writing in third, way back in the day when I was doing Marvel fan fiction. It always felt odd and stilted but that was how everyone else was doing it so...
Then I tried first person and it clicked perfectly. Getting into the mind of the storyteller suits me. This is why I think I can only work on one book at a time. When I'm Victor Kalinski, I am totally Victor. I just can't be Vic in the morning and then someone else in the afternoon. I have to submerse myself totally in that character.
So yes, I much prefer first person, one point of view. I am branching out a bit with my upcoming LGBT hockey series, The Brighton Wood Blades, and writing those in first person alternating views. Why? Well, because my muse wanted to do this series that way and who am I to argue with her? Does that mean I'll someday do a book in third person? It is highly unlikely.
Question: Why are you moving to all LGBT books after the Venom series ends?
Because over the years I have discovered that LGBT romance is where I belong. When I first began writing, I never knew there was such a thing as M/M romance, so any romance that I wrote was M/F. I find it interesting now when I think back because reader's way back in my fan fiction days always commented on the homoerotic aspect of my work. Little did I know those comments were an indicator of where my true author heart would lead me over time.
I have a special place for M/F romance and I will always be grateful to those books for opening up the door for me. Without the Wildcats and Venom, I would have never found the wonderful world of erotic hockey romance, and the fantastic readers that support us. However, my calling is, and I feel it has been for some time, M/M or LGBT hockey romance. My couples rarely come to me as traditional man/woman pairings anymore. Most are somewhere on the rainbow spectrum and I fully embrace them.
My characters need to have their stories told. They must to be able to express their love in a world filled with bigotry to help combat the darkness. I'm transitioning not only because I am the mother of an openly out and proud bisexual daughter, because that is surely a part of my decision, but because love is love. I am and always have been a vocal ally of the LGBTQIA community. I hope that my books may open someone's eyes, or at the very least, show the world that the love between two men or two women is as natural and beautiful as the love between a man and a woman.
July 16, 2016
July 13, 2016
Throwback Thursday Tunes
To continue our month of songs with "USA" or "America" in the title, I present the always amazing Mr. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers!
July 11, 2016
Tuesday Tales - Smudge
Hello! It`s time for Tuesday Tales.
It's time to have more zombie fun! Today we have another excerpt from my LGBTQ zom-rom-com Two Guys Walk Into an Apocalypse 4 - Zombies, Zendra, and Ziegfeld Follies.
This story contains crude language, gore because of the darn zombies, and gay sexual situations. If that offends now would be the time to move onto another Tuesday Tales offering. Our word prompt for the week is "Smudge".
Don`t forget to visit the other talented Tuesday Tales authors. Thanks for stopping by!
I sat on the damp ground, my shirt soaked, and my legs stretched out in front of me. I opted not to look back at Slug or his pillowcase.
"What do you want?" I asked my voice a little thick and scratchy from coughing up water.
"Well, for starters, your name would be nice."
"Lynyrd Skynyrd," I replied and one fool behind me gave a short grunt of approval. Mercury did not seem as amused as his dimwitted friend did. His mouth now resembled a paper cut and I could see a glint of anger in his green eyes. He had a small smudge of dirt on his chin that captivated my attention for some bizarre reason.
"Funny, you don't sound Southern," Mercury coolly replied and lifted a hand. Two men hefted me from the ground. "Maybe the shot Marcus gave you to the back of your pretty blond head rattled you so badly you can't recall things. Let's try again. What's your name?"
I jerked in a vain attempt to get my arms free from the morons holding them. "Lynyrd Skynyrd and I'm from Alabama. I had a sweet home down there before phobies showed up and—"
I heard Mercury shout "Not his face!" before the blow to my stomach bent me over. The pain was incredible. My legs felt weak. Someone jerked a pillowcase over my head and I fought madly. I managed to get a fist to a body part but was overpowered quickly.
"Stop, stop, that is no way to treat a new friend," I heard Mercury say while I struggled to draw a full breath through the filthy pillowcase. "Now, Mr. Skynyrd, I have no desire to harm you or injure that face of yours. I just want to know your name and where you're from." His voice remained calm. I squinted to see him through the pillowcase. My heart thumped violently behind my ribs. "So I'll ask again. What is your name?"
Copyright 2016 ©by V.L. Locey
*~*~*
Click on the link below to return to the Tuesday Tales main blog for more great reads from the Tuesday Tales authors.
Tuesday Tales
See you next week!
