Rick R. Reed's Blog, page 61

Good Karma, Good Books: Press START to Play by Briana Lawrence

Every Wednesday, I put on my pimp clothes (I favor feathered hats and zebra printswith a little crushed velvet) and help promote the new or old work of some of my favorite fellow authors. Be sure to stop by every week and see what’s new.

This week, I’m excited to introduce you to Press START to Play by Briana Lawrence. I'll let Briana tell you more about the story:

"Press START to Play is my first gay romance short story and was featured as part of a 'Daily Dose' anthology - a collection of 30 other stories so that readers had one a day. I was also lucky enough to have an alternate cover drawn by Ann Uland of Arbitrary Muse Comics."

BLURB

Lukis Singleton’s once-popular sports column is fading fast, thanks to the terrible track record of the local football team. In an attempt to save the column, Lukis's editor, John, decides he needs to go in a different direction. Video games are all the rage these days, so John insists that sending Lukis to a huge video-game tournament in Los Angeles will shake up his current readers and bring in new ones. Lukis isn’t thrilled about reporting on games with impossible powers or gamers who still live in Mom’s basement, but then he meets a tempting flaw in the gaming stereotypes of unwashed man-children. Aaron Sanders is a gorgeous breath of fresh air at the tournament who takes Lukis’s less-than-stellar view of gamers and turns it on its head, leaving Lukis to wonder if it might be worth being Aaron’s player two.
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Published on November 18, 2015 00:30

My "Romance with Recipes" DINNER AT HOME On Sale for Only $1 through Nov 20!

Dreamspinner Press is having a "bring home the bacon sale" with books that marry food and love, including my DINNER AT HOME--for only $1! Also on sale at Amazon for the same price; see buy links below.

BLURB
It only takes a few days for Ollie D'Angelo to lose his boyfriend, his job, and his home. Instead of mourning what he doesn’t have, Ollie celebrates what he does: the freedom to pursue his real passion—cooking. He begins Dinner at Home, a home-catering business, and it takes off.Late one night, Ollie catches Hank Mellinger, a streetwise hood down on his luck, about to rob his car. Ollie soon discovers that appearances aren’t necessarily what they seem. Hank isn’t a criminal caught red-handed, but a hungry young man trying to make a life for himself and the four-year-old niece he’s trying desperately to take care of.

Instead of calling the cops, Ollie offers Hank a job and a way to pull himself up by his bootstraps. Together, they discover they can really cook... and that their shared passion for food just might lead to a passion for each other.

BUY FOR ONLY $1 THRU NOVEMBER 20
At Dreamspinner Press
For Amazon Kindle

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Published on November 17, 2015 09:43

A Playlist You Can Strip To

My new book, TRICKS takes place in the world of male dancers (i.e. strippers). My main character, Arliss, is a one of the hottest dancers at TRICKS and, when I put this post together, I wondered what kind of music he’d pick out to dance to and get down to just his little pouch and combat boots.

Below is the (very diverse!) list I’ve come up with. Put it on to get yourself in the mood to immerse yourself in the world of TRICKS.

TRICKS PLAYLIST

1. Cookie by R. Kelly
2. Night Train by Oscar Peterson
3. Pour Some Sugar on Me by L.A. Guns
4. Hot for Teacher by Van Halen
5. Magic Man by Heart
6. Slow Ride by ZZ Top
7. Toxic by Britney Spears
8. Erotica by Madonna
9. Pull Up to the Bumper by Grace Jones
10. Face Down, Ass Up by 2 Live Crew

BLURB
Tricks can mean many things: sex partners, deceptions, even magic—or maybe all three.

Arliss is a gorgeous young dancer at Tricks, the hottest club in Chicago’s Boystown. Sean is the classic nerd, out of place in Tricks, but nursing his wounds from a recent breakup. When the two spy each other, magic blooms.

But this opposites-attract tale does not run smooth. What happens when Arliss is approached by one of the biggest porn producers in the business? Can he make his dreams of stardom come true without throwing away the only real love he’s ever known? This question might not even matter if the mysterious producers realize their dark intentions.

BUY: Dreamspinner ebook || Dreamspinner paperback || Amazon

EXCERPT
Arliss had everything he needed right in front of him for that night’s performance—hardhat, check; steel-toed boots, check; tool belt, check; black mesh thong with pouch for his rather prodigious endowment, big check—yes, Arliss was just about ready for his turn on the stage at Tricks, located in Chicago’s infamous Boystown neighborhood, at its epicenter on the corner of Belmont and Halsted. He also had before him a tall tumbler of Stoli vodka with just a whisper of cranberry juice cocktail in it for color and a half-empty pack of Marlboro Ultra Lights. The latter two items helped the twenty-one-year-old calm himself before a performance, and the vodka in particular went a long way toward reducing backstage jitters.

He lit up a cigarette and regarded himself through the smoke. The lights in the crowded dressing room, which he shared with the other eight or so exotic dancers, were unforgiving. Fluorescent did little to hide any imperfections, like rings under the eyes, reddened noses from too much partying, and for those on their way out of the club, track marks on the arms. But Arliss didn’t have to worry about signs of drug abuse showing up on his person. He had learned to just say no a long time ago, in a manner he preferred not to dredge up, at least not now, when he was trying to put himself in a cheerful, high-energy mode.

The face that looked back at him was young, handsome, and vital. Arliss had a shock of white-blond hair that stuck up in a manner reminiscent of rocker Billy Idol back in his glory days, before Arliss was even born. Both ears sported piercings—from one a single razor blade, cast in sterling, dangled; from the other, three hoops crawled up the side of his ear, growing smaller as they ascended. Arliss had full lips, sharp cheekbones, a cleft in his chin, and the most piercing ice blue eyes in the Midwest (or so he had been told). The only thing that marred his nearly perfect face was a gap between his front teeth, for which he comforted himself by saying the space gave him character. Cigarette clenched between his teeth, he struggled into his costume, ending by stuffing his dick into the pouch that protruded from his black thong. His member stuck out in a way that invited grasping hands, which was what Arliss wanted, as long as there was cash in those hands to stuff the thong even more fully.

BUY: Dreamspinner ebook || Dreamspinner paperback || Amazon

Note: This post originally appeared, in slightly different form, at The Novel Approach.

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Published on November 16, 2015 08:01

Rave Review for TRICKS from Hearts on Fire Reviews

I'm so pleased to share the review Hearts on Fire gave of my stripper/nerd love story, TRICKS yesterday. In part, reviewer Barb said:

"If you love age-gap, love at first sight, and sweet underrated main characters, you should like this one. And if you are a fan of thrillers, or at least nail-biting suspenseful M/M romance, you will definitely like this one."

Read the whole review here.

BLURB
Tricks can mean many things: sex partners, deceptions, even magic—or maybe all three. Arliss is a gorgeous young dancer at Tricks, the hottest club in Chicago’s Boystown. Sean is the classic nerd, out of place in Tricks, but nursing his wounds from a recent breakup. When the two spy each other, magic blooms.

But this opposites-attract tale does not run smooth. What happens when Arliss is approached by one of the biggest porn producers in the business? Can he make his dreams of stardom come true without throwing away the only real love he’s ever known? This question might not even matter if the mysterious producers realize their dark intentions.

BUY
Dreamspinner Press ebook
Dreamspinner Press paperback
Amazon Kindle

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Published on November 13, 2015 05:52

Good Karma, Good Books: Desert Run by Marshall Thornton

Every Wednesday, I put on my pimp clothes (I favor feathered hats and zebra printswith a little crushed velvet) and help promote the new or old work of some of my favorite fellow authors. Be sure to stop by every week and see what’s new.

This week, I’m all about DESERT RUN by Marshall Thornton.

Here’s what Marshall has to say about what makes DESERT RUN unique :

I wrote this in 2010 before I understood much about the m/m romance community. About a year after I wrote it I found out that it’s what’s called a Gay-For-You story - though when I wrote it I considered it more of a bisexual story. The first sex scene is actually het, which I included for the character’s arc. When I wrote that scene I was very concerned that it be accurate - or at least not outright wrong - so I ran it by a couple of female friends. What I didn’t know at the time was that a lot of m/m readers would have preferred that I skip that scene entirely.

BLURB

Palm Springs, 1973. On the lam after killing a mobster’s son in a bar fight, Don Harris hides out as a piano player in a Palm Springs restaurant until he’s accidentally found out. Broke and desperate, he walks into an unfamiliar bar where he meets...
Harlan, the secret lover of a well-known movie star. Stashed away in the sleepy resort, Harlan is bored and often alone which is why he’s spending the afternoon in his favorite gay bar.
When the two meet, Don thinks he’s using Harlan for a place to hide out but slowly realizes he’s falling for the kid. Don knows he shouldn’t get involved but can’t help but step in when Harlan gets into trouble. To save himself, Don’s got to save Harlan. Jamie does, will he turn out to be the ideal candidate for the vacant position of boyfriend?
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Published on November 12, 2015 00:30

COVER REVEAL: The Couple Next Door

I'm very excited to unveil the awesome cover for my new romantic suspense novel, THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR!

Cover artist Reese Dante worked her magic and I couldn't be happier with the mysterious face she put on my latest work.

THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR releases on December 7, but you can pre-order your copy NOW (buy links are below, or just click on the hyperlinked title).

BLURB
With the couple next door, nothing is as it seems.

Jeremy Booth leads a simple life, scraping by in the gay neighborhood of Seattle, never letting his lack of material things get him down. But the one thing he really wants—someone to love—seems elusive. Until the couple next door moves in and Jeremy sees the man of his dreams, Shane McCallister, pushed down the stairs by a brute named Cole.

Jeremy would never go after another man’s boyfriend, so he reaches out to Shane in friendship while suppressing his feelings of attraction. But the feeling of something being off only begins with Cole being a hard-fisted bully—it ends with him seeming to be different people at different times. Some days, Cole is the mild-mannered John and then, one night in a bar, he’s the sassy and vivacious drag queen Vera.

So how can Jeremy rescue the man of his dreams from a situation that seems to get crazier and more dangerous by the day? By getting close to the couple next door, Jeremy not only puts a potential love in jeopardy, but eventually his very life.

PRE-ORDER
Dreamspinner Press ebook
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Published on November 11, 2015 14:00

Dates from Hell: An Excerpt from BLINK

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EfduigctXxs..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EfduigctXxs..." width="266" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>If you’ve read much of my work, you might have noticed I like to have a little fun with what I call “dates from hell.” We’ve all had them, right? And if you answered no to that question, let me congratulate you. It takes a very special person to get through life without at least one date from hell on his or her resume.</i></div><i> </i><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><i>The excerpt below is from my latest, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Blink-Rick-R-Re... style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Blink</span></b></a>, and it showcases the date from hell one of my characters, Andy, has before re-connecting with Carlos, the man he’s never forgotten. Are you nervy enough to share one of your own dates from hell in the comments below? I’d love to hear about yours!</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>EXCERPT</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">I have just taken a sip of the expertly-made cocktail, reveling in its briny chill, when I feel someone tap me on the shoulder.</div><div class="MsoNormal">I turn around to face Chet. I smile and think that the picture he used on the site had to be at least a few years old. It’s okay, I think, we all want to put our best foot forward. The guy before me still has the beard and the baseball cap I saw in his profile pic, but the beard that was flecked with gray on OkCupid is now fully silver. He also didn’t wear glasses in his profile picture, but now a pair of wire-rimmed oval frames shield his muddy-brown irises.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Which is not to say he looks bad. He doesn’t. Just older. He’s still cute, with a kind of high-school wrestling coach vibe about him, augmented by his outfit—an Abercrombie and Fitch jersey, cargo shorts, and workman’s boots. I try to hold in any judgment I know I would make if I were sitting here with Jules observing him, about a man trying a bit too hard to look manly and young. We would laugh into our drinks and for sure Jules would say something like, “Mutton dressed as lamb.”</div><div class="MsoNormal">I slide off the stool, smiling, to shake his hand.</div><div class="MsoNormal">He grabs my hand and uses it to pull me into a bear hug, planting a too-wet kiss on my neck, which startles me. I move back and hop up on my stool, give a little laugh. I want to admonish him for being fresh, as my mom would say, but instead I ask him what he’d like to drink. “I’ll get the first round,” I say, holding up my glass. “Since I’ve already started.”</div><div class="MsoNormal">He orders a Bud Lite and sits down beside me. Immediately, one of his hands goes to my leg, just above my knee, and rests there. He looks me up and down, and then does it again. His grin, a little lewd, never wavers. I wonder if a wolf whistle is in store. I begin to have my doubts about Chet but again, remind myself to withhold judgment. He just got here, after all. Give the guy a freakin’ chance!</div><div class="MsoNormal">“Man, am I glad I sent you that message. It’s so nice when they look better than their pics.” He leans back on his stool to check me out again and I have to admit, he’s making me more uncomfortable than flattered. Much as I admired my reflection in my condo building’s front door before heading over here, I am not all that. I’m relieved when the bartender, a blond in a black V-neck T-shirt who could be Alexander Skarsgard’s twin, sets Chet’s beer before him.</div><div class="MsoNormal">“You want a glass with that?” the bartender points to the sweating brown bottle.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Chet winks at the kid and asks, “Do I have any other options?” I groan inside.</div><div class="MsoNormal">The poor bartender just looks confused. Then he smiles. “I don’t know. I think we’ve got an aluminum bowl in the back if you’d be interested.”</div><div class="MsoNormal">Chet shakes his head and reaches into his wallet and throws a ten on the bar, in spite of my having said I’d treat. “Keep the change, stud.”</div><div class="MsoNormal">The bartender grabs the cash from the bar and gives me a look. In the look, we’re both saying something along the lines of “Do you believe this character?” He hurries away, presumably to wait on less flirtatious and younger men. Or maybe to find out what the Jeopardy! response is to the answer displayed on one of the monitors: Arizona's motto, ditat deus, means he “enriches.” </div><div class="MsoNormal">God, I think, the answer is God. A fella I fear whose help I’m going to need to call upon before this night is over.</div><div class="MsoNormal">I turn to the guy I agreed to meet, based only on about a dozen or so lines of type and a decade-old (at least) photograph and try to make the best of things. “So Chet, do you come here a lot?”</div><div class="MsoNormal">He shakes his head and crinkles up his nose, as though he’d smelled something bad. “Nah. I just picked this place because it’s kind of neutral, you know?”</div><div class="MsoNormal">I shake my head.</div><div class="MsoNormal">“Pretty boys. Bright lights. Nothing too extreme.”</div><div class="MsoNormal">I think I see. “Good for meeting for the first time, huh?”</div><div class="MsoNormal">He leans in closer to me and slides his hand up farther on my leg toward my crotch. “Right.” He leans even closer and growls in my ear. “If I like the guy, we can always go someplace else.”</div><div class="MsoNormal">Like your place? I wonder, but don’t say. I lean back and away from him. He smells like cigarette smoke, Old Spice, and booze. I laugh and am embarrassed when it comes out a little high-pitched. I try to get him back on course. “So, where do you like to hang out?”</div><div class="MsoNormal">“So to speak?” He raises his eyebrows and laughs as though I said something filthy and then I realize he’s making my reference to ‘hanging out’ into something lascivious. </div><div class="MsoNormal">Why didn’t I call Jules and set something up? You know, the old saw where she would call a half hour after I meet my date and, if it wasn’t going well, I could say there was an emergency at home and I had to go?</div><div class="MsoNormal">“Yeah. Do you go to any other clubs?”</div><div class="MsoNormal">“Me, I like the leather bars.” He stares at me and I wonder if he’s expecting me to rush in with something like, “Oh me, too! I left my harness and chaps at home.”</div><div class="MsoNormal">“Yeah,” he says. “There’s no pretense there.”</div><div class="MsoNormal">Really? Men standing around in biker gear trying to look butch? Okay….</div><div class="MsoNormal">“What I mean is,” Chet continues, “They don’t have game shows on the TVs, for Christ’s sake. Or run show tune videos like that joint down the street. They’re just about what we’re all here for.”</div><div class="MsoNormal">Although I know what he means by ‘what we’re all here for’ I ask Chet anyway, “What’s that?”</div><div class="MsoNormal">“Come on, Andy!” He rubs a hand over my chest and tweaks a nipple. I pull back. I can’t keep the scowl off my face. Undeterred, he leans forward once more to whisper throatily, “Fuckin’ and suckin’.”</div><div class="MsoNormal">I grab his hand, still on my chest, and return it to him, placing it carefully on his leg and nowhere near his crotch. </div><div class="MsoNormal">“I mean, why do gay men come out to the bars? To meet fuck buddies, right? We might as well be honest about it. I know I am. I like the leather bars because even if I don’t meet a guy to bring home, I can always wander into the backroom and get a little somethin’-somethin’.” He laughs. “You know what I mean?”</div><div class="MsoNormal">I’ve had enough. I think I know this is going to go nowhere. Same old story. I feel a little sad. “No, I really don’t Chet. When I go out, and it’s not that often anymore, it’s to meet up with friends, laugh, talk, have a few drinks.”</div><div class="MsoNormal">“And then go off to your bedroom and do the nasty.”</div><div class="MsoNormal">I sigh. I’m impatient now. “Well, I’d be lying if I said that never happened, but it’s usually more of a thing about circumstances turning a certain way, rather than something planned.”</div><div class="MsoNormal">“I was kind of planning on you and me getting together tonight.” He jerks his head toward the door behind him. “I live just around the corner. On Cornelia?” He says, in a softer voice, “Got the sling all set up.”</div><div class="MsoNormal">I laugh. “We have an optimist here!”</div><div class="MsoNormal">“What? You agreed to meet up with me.”</div><div class="MsoNormal">“And that means I agreed to have sex with you?”</div><div class="MsoNormal">“Well, yeah. That’s what guys go online looking for, right? I mean, what else is there?”</div><div class="MsoNormal">I wanted to answer—romance, companionship, friendship, maybe, just maybe, finding true love. But I have a feeling that our Chet here is too far-gone for any of those responses to resonate. Concepts like love and friendship would be lost on him. I don’t think his thought processes go any higher than above the belly button. It’s kind of sad, really. Like his clothes, I suspect Chet is stuck in a kind of faux masculine adolescence. At the end of the night, when he’s alone and covered with sticky lube and his latest conquest is but a memory, does he ever hunger for more?</div><div class="MsoNormal">“For some, I guess, not much.” Finally, I allow myself to touch him, putting a hand on his shoulder. As much as I am a big old introvert and hate confrontation of even the mildest sort, it’s not that hard to be honest, because I know at the end of what I have to say, I’ll be free. “Listen, Chet, I think you and I are after different things.” I gulp down what remains in my glass and set it back on the bar. “I’m gonna take off. Thanks for coming out to meet me.”</div><div class="MsoNormal">He sneers. “What are you after? True love?”</div><div class="MsoNormal">I get down from the bar stool and stand, facing him. “Yup,” I say and turn to walk out the door.</div><div class="MsoNormal">“Good luck with that!” he calls out behind me. “You’re gonna need it.” He pauses. “At your age.”</div><div class="MsoNormal">He laughs and my consolation is that no one laughs with him. I slip outside into the exhaust-choked air, feeling like I can breathe again.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">BLURB</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">Life can change in the blink of an eye. That's a truth Andy Slater learns as a young man in 1982, taking the Chicago 'L' to work every morning. Andy's life is laid out before him: a good job, marriage to his female college sweetheart, and the white picket fence existence he believes in. But when he sees Carlos Castillo for the first time, Carlos’s dark eyes and Latin appeal mesmerize him. Fate continues to throw them together until the two finally agree to meet up. At Andy’s apartment, the pent-up passion of both young men is ignited, but is snuffed out by an inopportune and poorly-timed phone call. </div><div class="MsoNormal">Flash forward to present day. Andy is alone, having married, divorced, and become the father of a gay son. He’s comfortable but alone and has never forgotten the powerful pull of Carlos’s gaze on the 'L' train. He vows to find him once more, hoping for a second chance. If life can change in the blink of an eye, what will the passage of thirty years do? To find out, Andy begins a search that might lead to heartache and disappointment or a love that will last forever….</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>BUY</b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Blink-Rick-R-Re..." target="_blank"><br />Amazon</a><a href="http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/stor..." target="_blank"><br />Dreamspinner Press</a></div>

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Published on November 05, 2015 00:30

Good Karma, Good Books: What's in a Name and Redesigning Max by Pat Henshaw

Every Wednesday, I put on my pimp clothes (I favor feathered hats and zebra printswith a little crushed velvet) and help promote the new or old work of some of my favorite fellow authors. Be sure to stop by every week and see what’s new.

This week, I’m all about two books, WHAT'S IN A NAME? and REDESIGNING MAX by Pat Henshaw.

Here’s what Pat has to say about her books :

At one point when my daughters were growing up, I read a book by Indries Shah entitled World Tales: The Extraordinary Coincidence of Stories Told in All Times, in All Places. In it Shah presents the retelling of common fairytales, the ones most of us know from our childhoods, as they were told in other times and by world-wide cultures.For example, there are a charming Algonquin Cinderella and a Welsh retelling of Aladdin. Like all folktales, the stories in the book aren’t exactly the same as the ones most of us know, but each reflects the culture and peoples from which it sprung. I’ve carried the variations of these stories in my head for years.
So when I began writing my Foothills Pride novellas for Dreamspinner Press, in a way I saw the retelling of the age-old tales in terms of gay men and love in a contemporary California setting.
My first story, What’s in a Name?, which published in January 2015, riffed on the quirky Rumpelstiltskin fairytale in which a man’s name holds power and intimacy. Unlike the story we know best, however, my tale has no threatened babies, but rather the specter of modern day hate crimes and homophobic acts while barista Jimmy Patterson tries to guess the given name of the handsome owner of the historic Stonewall Saloon.
The second in the Foothills Pride stories, Redesigning Max, out July 29, takes a look at a modern Cinderella tale. When outdoorsman and closeted gay man, Max Greene, first spies new Stone Acres, California, resident Fredi Zimmer, Max tumbles into lust and possibly love. But since Max has been in the closet his entire life, he realizes right away he needs help figuring out how to woo a man. Who better to take him in hand (in oh-so-many ways) than the flamboyant architect and designer, Fredi?
And the third in the series entitled Behr Facts, coming in October, finds six foot six Abe Behr, CEO of Behr Construction, being charmed by golden-haired CPA Jeff Mason. Someone in the Behr family is embezzling from the company, and Abe needs Jeff’s help in uncovering the culprit. The basic Goldilocks props are integral to the plot: a chair in which Abe gives Jeff a sensual backrub, a bed for when their hormones take over, and lots of food.
The Foothills Pride saga only begins there as I’m currently finishing the fourth, When Adam Fell, and plotting the fifth, Cookie.
For now, both What’s in a Name? and Redesigning Max are available to readers who like their romances light and bite-sized, and their men as exciting as the gays living in Northern California foothills communities.
BUY
What's in a Name?

Dreamspinner Press: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5965Redesigning Max
Dreamspinner Press: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6690 Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Redesigning-Max-Foothills-Pride-Stories-ebook/dp/B012EI5FE6/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1437779043&sr=1-1&keywords=redesigning+max Amazon Canada: http://www.amazon.ca/Redesigning-Max-Foothills-Pride-Stories-ebook/dp/B012EI5FE6/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1437779137&sr=1-1 Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Redesigning-Max-Foothills-Pride-Stories-ebook/dp/B012EI5FE6/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1437779209&sr=1-1&keywords=redesigning+max Amazon Australia: http://www.amazon.com.au/Redesigning-Max-Foothills-Pride-Stories-ebook/dp/B012EI5FE6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1437779323&sr=8-1&keywords=redesigning+max Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1122379617?ean=2940150795617 All Romance eBooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-redesigningmax-1850449-149.html Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/redesigning-max Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Pat_Henshaw_Redesigning_Max?id=LaY8CgAAQBAJ

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Published on November 04, 2015 00:30

My Top 5 Halloween Books

It's that time of year again. My favorite holiday, Halloween, is just around the corner.

For your consideration, I offer up five of my scariest novels and hope you'll check out one (or more!) as a Halloween treat! So, in no particular order, here goes:

A DEMON INSIDE
Hunter Beaumont doesn’t understand his grandmother’s deathbed wish: “Destroy Beaumont House.” He’s never even heard of the place. But after his grandmother passes and his first love betrays him, the family house in the Wisconsin woods looks like a tempting refuge. Going against his grandmother’s wishes, Hunter flees to Beaumont House.

But will the house be the sanctuary he had hoped for? Soon after moving in, Hunter realizes he may not be alone. And with whom—or what—he shares the house may plunge him into a nightmare from which he may never escape. Sparks fly when he meets his handsome neighbor, Michael Burt, a caretaker for the estate next door. The man might be his salvation… or he could be the source of Hunter's terror.

BUY
From Dreamspinner Press
For Amazon Kindle
(Paperback version also available at the above stores)

THIRD EYE
Who knew that a summer thunderstorm and his lost little boy would conspire to change single dad Cayce D’Amico’s life in an instant? With Luke missing, Cayce ventures into the woods near their house to find his son, only to have lightning strike a tree near him, sending a branch down on his head. When he awakens the next day in the hospital, he discovers he has been blessed or cursed—he isn't sure which—with psychic ability. Along with unfathomable glimpses into the lives of those around him, he’s getting visions of a missing teenage girl.

When a second girl disappears soon after the first, Cayce realizes his visions are leading him to their grisly fates. Cayce wants to help, but no one believes him. The police are suspicious. The press wants to exploit him. And the girls' parents have mixed feelings about the young man with the "third eye."

Cayce turns to local reporter Dave Newton and, while searching for clues to the string of disappearances and possible murders, a spark ignites between the two. Little do they know that nearby, another couple—dark and murderous—are plotting more crimes and wondering how to silence the man who knows too much about them.

BUY
From Dreamspinner Press
For Amazon Kindle
(Paperback version also available at the above stores)

BLOOD SACRIFICE
What would you give up for immortal life and love?

By day, Elise draws and paints, spilling out the horrific visions of her tortured mind. By night, she walks the streets, selling her body to the highest bidder.

And then they come into her life: a trio of impossibly beautiful vampires: Terence, Maria, and Edward. When they encounter Elise, they set an explosive triangle in motion.

Terence wants to drain her blood. Maria just wants Elise . . . as lover and partner through eternity. And Edward, the most recently-converted, wants to prevent her from making the same mistake he made as a young abstract expressionist artist in 1950s Greenwich Village: sacrificing his artistic vision for immortal life. He is the only one of them still human enough to realize what an unholy trade this is.

Blood Sacrifice is a novel that will grip you in a vise of suspense that won't let go until the very last moment...when a shocking turn of events changes everything and demonstrates--truly--what love and sacrifice are all about.

BUY
From Untreed Reads
For Amazon Kindle

OBSESSED
Voices slam through the corridor of his wounded mind. The words of his dead sister cry out. His parents' taunts fill the silent room where he sits and waits--waits for the murderous rage, filling him with strength, driving him to kill, to touch the cold flesh, taste the warm blood--to feel alive again…

A witness has seen him, but his killing only turns her on and now she wants to protect him. His wife suspects him, but the private detective she hired cannot stop him. Joe MacAree fears nothing--except that he may no longer be human. The thirst that drives him is relentless, moving deeper and deeper into his own shattering, private realm, where each murder is a delicious new gift of life, where revulsion is beauty, and the obsession will never let him go.

"A harrowing ride through cutting-edge psychological horror, this one's got a vicious bite. Rick R. Reed's Obsessed is a twisted nightmare." - Douglas Clegg, bestselling author

BUY
From Untreed Reads
For Amazon Kindle

THE BLUE MOON CAFE
Someone--or something--is killing Seattle's gay men.
A creature moves through the darkest night, lit only by the full moon, taking them, one by one, from the rain city's gay gathering areas.

Someone--or something--is falling in love with Thad Matthews.

Against a backdrop of horror and fear, young Thad finds his first true love in the most unlikely of places: a new Italian restaurant called The Blue Moon Cafe. Sam is everything Thad has ever dreamed of in a man: compassionate, giving, handsome, and with brown eyes Thad feels he could sink into. And Sam can cook! But as the pair's love begins to grow, so do the questions and uncertainties, the main one being, why do Sam's unexplained disappearances always coincide with the full moon?

Prepare yourself for a unique blend of dark suspense and erotic romance with The Blue Moon Cafe, written by the author Unzipped magazine called, "the Stephen King of gay horror". You're guaranteed an unforgettable reading experience, one that skillfully blends the hottest romance with the most chilling terror...

BUY
From Amber Allure/Amber Quill Press
For Amazon Kindle
(Paperback version also available at the above stores)

CONTEST
Tell me your favorite horror book or movie in the comments below and you can win your choice of one of the books above in ebook format. I will draw a winner from all the entries on Halloween! Please leave contact info so I can reach you when you win!

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Published on October 29, 2015 00:30

Good Karma, Good Books: HORNS AND HALOES by Charlie Cochrane

Every Wednesday, I put on my pimp clothes (I favor feathered hats and zebra printswith a little crushed velvet) and help promote the new or old work of some of my favorite fellow authors. Be sure to stop by every week and see what’s new.

This week, I’m all about HORNS AND HALOES by Charlie Cochraine.

Here’s what Charlie has to say about HORNS AND HALOES :

HORNS AND HALOES was inspired a training course I delivered. (I do some freelance training for school governors.) Now, that makes it sound as though my courses are full of fit young gay men flirting with each other, which is - alas - far from the case. One of the courses I run is Selection and Interviewing and it's funny how feelings can run pretty high when you get people with different views and aspirations in a room, dealing with important matters. I remember driving home one day and thinking, “What would happen if those feelings got channelled into romance?” The story just grew from there.

Like both the lads, I think that Valentine’s Day can be a bit overhyped. It puts a lot of unnecessary stress on youngsters, especially when they never get any cards. Been there, done that, in my formative years. I also sympathise with their frustrations at dinosaurian school governors!
BLURB

What do you do when finding a new boyfriend is like conducting a job interview?

It's Jamie's idea of torture---a training course about selection and interviewing and on February the fourteenth! Everybody's going to be full of romance and he'll be playing gooseberry as usual. When Jamie finds himself sitting next to the gorgeous Alex, who seems to hate the day as much as Jamie does, will he turn out to be the ideal candidate for the vacant position of boyfriend?
BUY
MLR Press

VISIT CHARLIE ON THE WEB
Mysteries with a dash of slash, romances with just a pinch of spice
www.charliecochrane.co.uk

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Published on October 28, 2015 00:30