Susan Mac Nicol's Blog, page 25
October 11, 2013
Friday Free-For-All with Sue Mac Nicol
Reblogged from Coffee and Porn in the Morning:
This week we got to know Susan Mac Nicol and find out about her past and future works. Today she's back with a digital copy of both her current m/m books, Stripped Bare and Saving Alexander. We'll do a random drawing for each, so, leave your name in a comment to be entered!
I was honoured to be on the Coffee and Porn in the Morning blog again with a great giveaway of both of my books. So if you fancy a chance to win one of them please leave a comment !
October 10, 2013
Thursday Thoughts with Susan Mac Nicol
Reblogged from Coffee and Porn in the Morning:
(We brought Sue back for another post! This time she expands on location, location, location. :) Enjoy!)
Where do you set your stories?
I was lucky enough to be featured on the Cup O Porn bog for a second time (the phrase 'suckers for punishment) springs to mind lol. I hope you enjoy it!
October 9, 2013
Fellow author Laurence O’Bryan’s ‘ The Manhattan Puzzle’.
I’m really pleased to feature award winning author, Laurence O’Bryan, on my blog today.
Laurence was first published by a school newspaper when he was ten, for a short story about aliens getting lost. The Istanbul Puzzle was his first novel to be published (Jan 2012), The Jerusalem Puzzle his second (Jan 2013), and The Manhattan Puzzle will be his third (Oct 2013).
In 2007 he won the Outstanding Novel Submitted award at the Southern California writer’s conference. The same novel was shortlisted for Irish Crime Novel of 2012, five years later. He is a member of the UK Crime Writer’s Association, the Society of Authors, the Irish Writing Centre, two “live” writing groups and online writing communities in England and the States. His research has taken him all over the world, from San Francisco to deep in the Arab world. And he still enjoys looking at the stars and listening to the stories of strangers.
Laurence has shared with us some of the details of his new release, ‘The Manhattan Puzzle’.
The Themes of The Manhattan Puzzle
By Laurence O’Bryan
What has been hidden in Manhattan by the most powerful people on earth?
What would you do to a Manhattan banker who treated ordinary people like slaves?
What magic is buried under Manhattan that allows it to rise again from anything the world throws at it?
These are the themes of The Manhattan Puzzle. The story sees Sean and Isabel (my characters from The Istanbul Puzzle and The Jerusalem Puzzle) reunited in Manhattan at the headquarters of one of the world’s largest banks, BXH. There’s been some grisly murders, and now the plot takes a new twist. The contents of the book they found in Istanbul are revealed.
BXH Bank building, Manhattan, vehicle entrance visible under the arch.
Image © LP O’Bryan
My personal journey with this story grew out of my disgust at the financial crisis that has brought many so low. I am interested in the myths and the beliefs of those who value money above everything.
But The Manhattan Puzzle is about other things too. For instance, what would you do if your partner didn’t come home one night? And what would you think if the police turned up at your door the next day looking for him?
Relationships are under stress everywhere, because of the demands placed on us by our jobs, but few of us will face what Isabel has to face when Sean goes missing.
There is violence from the start in The Manhattan Puzzle too, but the opening has a woman inflicting it on a man. I am tired of reading about men inflicting sexual violence on women. I think it’s time for the handcuffs to swop wrists. And they certainly do in The Manhattan Puzzle. You can download the first chapter here as a pdf.
But don’t get me wrong. I love Manhattan. It’s a city in a snow globe of dollar bills. So look in your bookstore and on your E-readers and order it too, if you want.
To order The Manhattan Puzzle – http://www.amazon.com/The-Manhattan-Puzzle-ebook/dp/B00CCUB80C
Or to visit my website http://www.lpobryan.com/
And thanks for reading this and for buying The Manhattan Puzzle, if you do. I hope you find it entertaining and the themes interesting.
Laurence’s other social networking links -
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/laurenceobryanauthor
Twitter – @LPOBryan
October 8, 2013
Kindle Alexander’s ‘Double Full’ has arrived!
My fellow author and friend, Kindle Alexander’s new book, ‘Double Full’, the story of Colt and Jace, has been released today! I mean, how can you not be intrigued with a great cover like this one designed by the wonderful Rees Dante. The book was edited by Jae Ashley. It’s a great combination of writer, editor and cover designer.
Four time Super Bowl winning Quarterback and this year’s Most Valuable Player, Colton Michaels plays hard and parties even harder. Known as the all American Playboy, his fast lane lifestyle guarantees he lives up to his name. After one too many drinks, Colt wakes to find he’s engaged to Russian supermodel Maryia Cherchesov. Colt seems to have it all, but looks can be deceiving, especially when you’re buried so deep in the closet, you can’t see your way out. Jace Montgomery single-handily built the largest All-Star cheerleading gym in the world. His reputation as an excellent coach, hard nose business man, and savvy entrepreneur earned him respect and reverence in the sometimes catty world of competitive cheerleading. Today, Jace’s cheerleading empire has catapulted into a multi-million dollar business. His success driven by the need to forget a life changing encounter with a handsome quarterback from his college cheer days. Now after hearing his heart’s desire plans to marry, Jace’s carefully placed resolve crumbles. Can his island escape finally rid him of his past and move his life forward, or will he forever be stuck as the one tossed away?
Wow. It sounds like an incredible story and I for one will be downloading it onto my Kindle. I’m a great fan of Kindle’s work so I just know this story is going to be one that I love.
Buy the paperback here http://www.amazon.com/Double-Full-Nice-Novel-Volume/dp/0989117375/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1381228782&sr=8-4&keywords=double+full
And check out Kindle’s other books too
http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Alexander/e/B009Q82Y0G/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1
Images all courtesy of Kindle Alexander.
October 6, 2013
Morning
Well since I'm in Santa Monica and waiting for coffee to brew..... Let's have a few boys in the water.
Rhys Ford just finds the sexiest pictures ever....Sunday morning is dawning nice and perky!
September 24, 2013
Recent blog hops and winners of Stripped Bare.
Well, the TRR and Safari Heat blog hops are over now and I hope everyone had fun -until the next one at least. Thanks to everyone who stopped by and commented, your participation is really appreciated.
I wish everyone could be a winner of the e-book prize but unfortunately, that’s not possible. So without further ado, here are the winners randomly selected from the entries on the blogs.
Winning a copy of Stripped Bare – I decided to give two/three copies away as there was a great response.
The Romance Reviews Blog Hop
HB
Trix
Safari Heat Blog Hop
Jean
Catrina
Amanda A
I will be in touch by email to find out what format you’d like so I can send you the book.
In the meantime enjoy this very sexy picture and Happy Tuesday!
September 20, 2013
Guilty Indulgence Blog Hop
http://guiltyindulgencebookclub.blogspot.com/p/blog-hops.html
Here’s the thing. My debut novel was called Cassandra by Starlight and it included a fairly controversial topic abut female on male rape. I did a huge amount of research for the female on male rape scene as it was something new and appeared to be a fairly contentious issue. I came across some real life experiences and men’s views and one of them that really impacted on me was a story and some views by a man called James A. Landrith who’d been subject to this very thing.
James was matter of fact, truthful and at the time of my research, he was openly active in helping promote the awareness of male rape and disprove the misconceptions out there. I used James’ views and the research and blogs etc he’d done as the basis for my rape scene for my leading man, Bennett Saville. At no time did I make actual contact with the man and his material went into my ‘research’ archive in my Google mail account.
As is the practice being a self promoting author, Tweeted , Facebooked, Google +’d and blogged the news about my book all over the place in the hope someone was listening to me. Imagine my surprise when James contacted me via Twitter over this past weekend and gave me the links to recent posts and some more information. He’d seen my promotion post on Twitter somehow and decided to get in touch. We chatted online, had a few messages pass between us and James then surprised me with the fact he’d written a blog about it on his own site and would I mind if he published it, together with links to my website and my book. I also gained a new reader as he downloaded the book to read.
There are two reasons I said a resounding ‘Yes’ to this. One of them is a purely a selfish one – my book was getting exposure to people I otherwise might not have reached. The second one, and honestly, the more important one to me, was it was getting publicity in a way that really mattered – in the context of a really social conundrum that lent itself to discussion and debate.
So, to see a really controversial subject that I used in my book promoted and written about in the way that James has done, lends credence to the fact that we can also use serious topics in our romance books and that sometimes our writing does have an impact on others. It’s awe inspiring for me as an author to see my book written about in this way and I am truly grateful to James for giving me the opportunity to do so.
You can view James’ blog and his comments on my book here – he is a self proclaimed ‘left libertarian blogger, publisher, Marine and civil liberties activist.
http://jameslandrith.com/content/view/3904/79/
The first in the Starlight series of books
I’m now writing M/M Romance books although my Starlight trilogy is still going strong. For this blog hop, I’m giving away a copy of my latest best selling release, Stripped Bare (e-book only -available in mobi, epub and pdf formats) via random draw. To qualify you need to leave a comment on this guest post -you must include your email so I can contact you if you win. If you’d prefer the first book in the Starlight series, ‘Cassandra by Starlight’ leave a note in your comment and I can certainly accommodate that request.
You can purchase the book here
Boroughs Publishing Group http://www.boroughspublishinggroup.com/books/stripped-bare
Amazon.com http://amzn.to/16j78uL
Amazon.co.uk http://amzn.to/19wW6oO
All Romance ebooks http://bit.ly/18MvZHK
Kobo http://bit.ly/1cnHE1X
Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/339469
If you want to gain extra entries into the Giveaway, then you can do any of the following. (These are not mandatory, it’s up to you. But each one will qualify you for an extra entry into the draw)
Leave a comment – Please tell me whether you are a reader, an author and where you live
Follow my blog at http://susanmacnicol.wordpress.com
Follow me on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/susiemax77
Follow me on Twitter @SusanMacnicol7
Example of posting comment and detail needed to qualify:
Name: Sue Mac Nicol
Email: susanmacnicol7@gmail.com
Comment: Great Post
Twitter: Followed
FaceBook: Followed
Blog: Followed
Are You a Reader or Author: Author
Country You Live In: United Kingdom
To enter in the Rafflecopter and follow the hop, click the link below
http://guiltyindulgencebookclub.blogspot.com/p/blog-hops.html
September 18, 2013
Talk to me!
Damn it! Am I so old fashioned?
Am I asking for too much?
When did this all come to pass?
Why the hell can’t we do this anymore?
Yes, I’m ranting!
It should be as easy as sticking a dick in a hole.
We are Irish after all.
All I want is a bit of banter.
Real banter.
Not just tapping away at a computer.
Patrick Darcy has a point of view shared by many. What the hell has happened to the art to conversation, of wooing a man with clever words, of making him feel sought after so at least when the kit does come off he feels a little as if there was a little verbal foreplay. Are we doomed to a generation where people have forgotten how to talk to each other, especially when it comes to getting jiggy with it....
Your thoughts, ladies and gents? Are you a conversationalist, a texter, a dumb struck ass in the flesh, an app geek or do you really pursue that booty call with vigour and passion...Speak now or for ever hold your peace...
September 17, 2013
Excerpt for Abi …..she knows who she is :)
Waiting for Rain – Dreamspinners – Feb 2014
Quick intro – Rain has arrived at the Duck and Drake Hotel in Stamford with his friend Lucas.He’s about to begin work on a custom built bar for the hotel.
“Hi, Tammy. My name is Rain Engel and I’m here to start moving my gear into the Canterbury Bar Room. Is it okay if I go ahead? I know where it is.”
“Oh, Mr. Engel. Yes, we’ve been expecting you. Mr. Winslake said you’d be by.” Her eyes batted at me, and there was a sexy smile on her face. I smiled inwardly.
Sorry, sweetheart, I don’t bat for your team. But you are cute. Now my friend here on the other hand is definitely the right man for you….
“Please go ahead and do what you have to. I assume you know where the tradesman entrance is?”
I nodded. Nothing like coming in via the tradesman entrance. Made me feel all warm and fuzzy.
“If you need anything at all, let me know.” She batted her eyelashes again at me and I grinned. Lucas chuckled beside me but I ignored him. “I’ll do that. Thanks.”
We walked down the long corridor, through a set of double doors – more cherry wood from the look of them – down past a lounge that looked like it belonged in an exclusive man’s club, then a large library which was filled wall to wall with books. It looked incredible, like a bibliophile’s wet dream. I stopped to peer in and heard Lucas’ knowing sigh at my side.
“Rain, if you go in there, we’ll never see you again. Come on, let’s start getting the gear out.” He scowled. “And can you just leave the straight ladies to me? Christ, it’s no fun going anywhere with you. You give off sex pheromones like nobody’s business, man or woman.”
I raised my eyebrows at that comment and he blushed. “You know what I mean. I don’t mean I’m affected by them, it’s just-“ I was laughing now at his discomfort and he scowled. “Fuck off.”
He almost pushed me into the large room at the end of the corridor which spanned the whole end of the wing. The room itself was just over a hundred square metres, measuring about twelve by nine. It was a comfortable, intimate venue to put a bar. I felt the usual avaricious thrill as I surveyed the area that was at my mercy. I’d noticed the service entrance not too far away. The room was perfectly positioned to come and go without disturbing what I imagined were the privileged residents of this rather luxurious hotel too much. I thought drily that Simon Winslake had probably planned the whole thing to a tee. He struck me as a man that left nothing to chance.
The next couple of hours were spent dragging equipment from the van into the bar room. Lucas and I were sweating like the condensation on an ice cold Coke by the time we’d finished. I’d just finished straining to put down a particularly big saw blade. As I let it drop to the floor, there was a loud ripping sound and I felt a cool breeze where no breeze should blow. Lucas broke into peals of laughter as he pointed at my back.
“Fuck, Rain, you’re showing your skin, mate. Your bloody shirt has just ripped in two right down the middle!” His hilarity was not only off putting it was also really not on. I was standing in the middle of a swanky hotel with a shirt on my back that was ripped in half, flapping like wings on my back.
“Christ, what do I do now?” This denim shirt had definitely had its day. “I don’t have anything else to bloody change into.” I looked at Lucas in dismay. He was laughing so hard now the tears fell down his ruddy cheeks. I was going to get no help from him.
I growled at him. “I suppose I’d better see if I can find the manager or someone and see if they have a lost property section. Maybe they can loan me a shirt or it’ll mean driving home to go get one. I don’t fancy that much.”
I walked to the door and down the corridor, shrugging my shirt off as I did so. I rolled it up into a ball, about to throw it in a rubbish cart in the corridor on my way to the reception when I heard a soft cough behind me. I turned to find a man about my age staring at me. His right eyebrow was raised questioningly and his face was very polite. He was well dressed, in a suit and tie, his mid length dark blonde hair artfully mussed and gelled. He was lean and wiry and very bloody sexy. My groin twitched in interest. I gazed at him and he gazed back warily
“Sir, we don’t generally allow people to wander around the hotel shirtless. It’s hotel policy. May I ask what’s wrong?” His voice was quite deep, a mix of Cambridge posh and something else. I scowled.
“I don’t usually make a habit of walking around half naked. Not in public in hotels anyway.” The other man’s eyes narrowed slightly and his nostrils flared as I continued.
“I can assure you that if I had a choice, I’d still be wearing a shirt. It ripped in half so it was no bloody good to man or beast. I was going to ask the management staff if they had an overall or something I could put on. Maybe something from lost property- I assume you have one of those?” I raised an enquiring eyebrow at him. He licked his lips. He had very nice ones, I noticed distractedly. Full and pouty, definitely good for kissing.
Christ, Rain, get a grip, man! Stop ogling the staff. I was twenty eight years old but I was acting like an adolescent kid.
“I see.” He moved forward and extended a hand. “Toby Prentiss. I’m the General Manager here. I’m sure we can find you something to wear, Mr?” He raised his eyebrows again, looking very alluring and I gave a mental groan.
It had definitely been too long since I’d gotten laid.
“Rain Engel. I’m here to build the new bar you guys ordered.” I shook his hand. An electric current run through my palm as he shook it. He pulled his hand away quickly. He tried hard not to stare but his gaze seemed hypnotically drawn to my hairy, bare chest. I suppressed a grin. This could be fun. I felt the thrill of the chase. My instincts at spotting other gay men were normally spot on.
“Rain? That’s an unusual name.” He swallowed as I moved a little closer to him. I wanted to test my theory.
“It’s a long story. My name is Reinhardt, it was shortened to Rhine mostly. But my last boyfriend didn’t like it. He said it was too Germanic. So he called me Rain and the name stuck. “
I knew I smelt rank but his pupils dilated slightly. He nodded. He’d definitely noticed the word ‘boyfriend’.
“You have a slight accent too. Where’s that from?”
I moved a little closer, watching his lips. He seemed mesmerised by my slow dance forward. “South Africa. I was born in Durban then moved over here when I was ten. Eighteen years ago. I never seem to have lost some of the accent though.” I cocked my head at him. “Are we done with the inquisition? I’m getting a little cold.” I looked down pointedly at my nipples which were indeed hardening- but not from the cold. He cleared his throat as his eyes were drawn them and his pale cheeks grew rosy. He looked absolutely fucking adorable. I felt the stirring in my groin and smiled slightly.
Chalk one up to me.
September 14, 2013
Romance Matters – Making the genre more credible.
This is a direct appeal from Barbara Vey at Publishers Weekly
If you love Romance, then read along…
Dear Friends in Publishing,
Over the past 6 1/2 years, I have listened carefully to what you’ve had to say. The one thing I heard over and over again was how romance never received any respect. Many of you were thrilled when I started writing my blog because it seemed to make your genre more credible in PW’s eyes.
Well, I finally have managed to get a PW Romance Webcast off the ground. In the past, PW has done every other genre and even webcasts on Faith and Yarn that were highly successful.
The time has come for everyone to help support the romance genre. I really need everybody to sign up for the webcast (Sept. 17th Noon EST). Signing up does not obligate you to listen to the webcast. You can either listen live or later on iTunes if you’d like. It is absolutely free and listeners have a chance to win giveaways (because Romance is best at that!).
As you all know, everything is a numbers game, so we need the numbers. I’m attaching the logo with all the information in case anyone wants to use it on their websites, blogs or social media.
Here’s the link: http://bit.ly/13M3XeT
Please help me show everyone why romance is number one by registering for webcast and feel free to forward this email. It’s kind of like an election. Every single registration counts.
Thanks so much for your support over the years and please let me know if you have any questions.
Barbara
Barbara Vey
Contributing Editor, Publishers Weekly
Beyond Her Book blog
PO Box 438, South Milwaukee, WI 53172
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