Cameron D. James's Blog, page 19

Who Better Than Canyon (Book Blitz)

Today’s blog tour book blitz brings us Who Better Than Canyon, by DC Juris! Read on for the blurb, cover, excerpt, and giveaway!

Blurb:

When Canyon’s ex-lover, Robert, dies, he leaves behind a last request that Canyon take word of his passing to Simon, an old friend on the east coast. Canyon reluctantly agrees, and soon finds himself falling for Simon, despite the nagging belief he shouldn’t, and his guilt over his part in the accident that claimed Robert’s life. Simon knows something Canyon doesn’t — Robert’s death wasn’t an accident, but a suicide, and Robert’s intent was for the two men he left behind to come together. But Robert’s plan didn’t account for two things: Simon’s disbelief that anyone can truly love a soon-to-be-cripple, and Canyon’s staunch decision that the next man he gives himself to will give him a wedding ring first. Can Canyon and Simon set aside their own issues long enough to see what lies between them, or will they both miss out on their happily ever afters?

Previously published by Breathless Press

Goodreads | Torquere Press

Excerpt:

Canyon leaned back in his desk chair with a sigh and rubbed his tired eyes. An online search of Pratt’s Hollow, New York, his destination in two days, hadn’t revealed much. A small coastal town, founded back in the 1600’s by Elijah Pratt — making it one of the oldest cities in the country — it boasted an economy based mostly on agriculture, but at the same time the residents seemed rather proud of the new Target that had moved in two months ago. Front-page news. They did have a tiny airport, though its website didn’t even give any details about what terminal he’d arrive at.

At least it wasn’t New York City. He had no desire to go gallivanting off to the hustle and bustle of a place like that. Canyon sighed. In truth, he had no desire to go gallivanting off anywhere. And who was this Simon, anyhow? What significance did he carry to Robert? What kind of important friend never even called or wrote or visited? And why the hell was it suddenly his responsibility to carry out some assuagement of Robert’s guilty conscience? What if he just said no? Who, beyond Paul and Natalie, would even know or care? Never saying no to Robert had gotten him into this heartache in the first place.

Well to hell with Robert. To hell with Paul and Natalie, and whoeverthefuck this guy was he was supposed to go meet. To hell with everyone, for that matter — the family that had turned their backs when he’d come out, the friends who had called him a coward when he hadn’t demanded Robert leave Natalie right away, the other friends who shook their heads and called him pathetic for his stranded little life out here in the middle of nowhere. “To hell with you all,” he whispered.

But the words needed more than just a whisper. “You hear me?” Canyon raged, gasping as emotion constricted his chest. “To hell with all of you! I don’t need any of you!” He shoved his chair back from the computer desk, upending it, and rushed to the pantry, grabbing one of the large plastic bags he used for recycling. Slinging the bag in the air to open it, Canyon went from room to room, filling it with Robert’s things. That stupid lumberjack-looking shirt he’d left at Canyon’s two years ago. Three paperback Louis L’Amour westerns. The brown stained coffee mug he’d never allowed Canyon to wash because it was seasoned just right. All of it. Every shred of proof that Robert had even been there.

Canyon flung the front door open and trudged out onto the porch, kicking over the flowerpots full of now-wilting pansies that Robert had planted. He tied the bag’s handles together and tossed it out onto the lawn. Let the animals have it. Or the neighbors. Or the garbage man, for all he cared.

Halfway back to the door, Canyon stopped. Off in the distance, thunder rumbled. Thunder. Which meant rain. Which meant Robert’s things would get wet. He sighed, shoulders slumped in defeat. Goddamn Robert anyway. Canyon turned and retrieved the bag.

About The Author:

Romance author, sci-fi fan club Captain, cosplayer, reigning Queen of Monkeyland, and random menace. Yep, we’re talking about DC Juris. She’s a cupcake-making, football-watching, rubber-duck-collecting, drag-show loving, full-of-fabulous-with-a-capital-F kinda gal. She’s also an ordained minister and an amateur photographer. She lives in Upstate New York with her husband, three dogs, and three cats. When she’s not writing, you can find her in her favorite chair watching Star Trek and Supernatural repeats on Netflix, or surfing the web for porn. Er…research. Surfing the web for research. She may speak softly but she lives and loves loudly. Just ask the neighbors. ::wink::

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Blog | Goodreads

Giveaway:

Click here to visit Rafflecopter and enter to win an ebook copy of Who Better Than Canyon!

Quick and Clean Formatting — Sex For Money, Post #17

Sex For Money is a semi-regular blog series about my experiences in writing, publishing, and marketing gay erotica and M/M erotic romance. All of this information is from my own experience, so your experience may differ. It’s hoped that sharing this information might be helpful to new and aspiring erotica and erotic romance authors, as I see a lot of questions and a lot of misinformation out there. To read more Sex For Money posts, click here.

If you find these posts handy, or you’re looking for more information on the business of writing, publishing, and selling gay erotica and M/M erotic romance, check out my in-depth book, Sex For Money.

You’ve written the hottest story ever and you’ve had it perfectly edited – don’t let it fall flat on your face by submitting a poorly-formatted document to Smashwords or KDP! Too often, I’ve seen people panic when they discover that their ebooks show up all wonky when people download them – bizarre indenting, strangely-colored text, changes in font and size – I’ve seen them all.

To prevent all of these mishaps, all it takes is about ten minutes of formatting in Word, to help you produce a professional and top-notch product.

This post assumes that editing has been completed – there are no typos, your grammar is correct, and plot holes have been filled. If you haven’t done that yet, do it first! Formatting for publication should be your last step. If you do editing after formatting, you run the risk of accidentally introducing new errors into your file.

These steps should fix most, if not all, of the problems that appear in your manuscript. I’ve followed these steps and have had no problems (that I’m aware of), and I’ve had no difficulty getting my file through Smashwords’s notoriously-finicky “meatgrinder” software.

Correct Spacing

If you’re like me, you double-space after a period. It should only be one space. (Even if you don’t have a habit of doing this, it’s still advisable to complete this step, in case you put one in there without knowing.)

Do a Find and Replace with this:

Find: [space][space]
Replace: [space]

Of course, replace [space] with an actual space!

Correct Indentation

Ideally, your paragraphs should be indented, rather than “block style.” (Block style is where you do not indent paragraphs, but you have a blank line between them.) However, you should not use your TAB key to indent paragraphs.

Highlight the text that needs to have correct indentation – this could mean highlighting the whole thing OR doing a chapter at a time, as you don’t want your centred chapter headers to be indented. Click on Paragraph Styles (in the newer version of Word for Windows, at the bottom right of the section of the toolbar that has the paragraph alignments, there’s a small angled arrow in the corner – click that). Set the indent to “first line” at .3”. We’re setting it at .3” rather than the standard .5” because if someone is reading on a small device like a phone, a .5” indent is massive. Click okay.

If you had used the tab key while writing your manuscript, you need to get rid of the tabs.

Go to Find and Replace and enter this:

Find: ^t
Replace: [blank]

Correct Font

Dedicated ereaders (Kindle, Kobo, Nook) tend to have, at most, eight basic fonts on them. You generally don’t want fancy fonts in your file. Ideally, it should all be Times New Roman, 12 pt. If you have variation in your file, for whatever reason, make judicious choices, but don’t rely on people reading it in the exact font you chose – if you chose a weird one, the ereader will default to one of the fonts pre-loaded in them. And if you choose something too big or small, your readers can adjust the size on their device.

If, for whatever reason, you changed the color of the font – even if you set it to black – then you need to correct this. Highlight the whole document and choose “automatic” from the font color list.

Correct Punctuation

Depending on how you wrote your book, you may have a mix of apostrophe and quotation mark styles. You may have some that are straight up and down lines and others that are curled properly. To ensure all is proper, go to Find and Replace and enter:

Find: “
Replace: “

It will automatically correct it to curled right and left quotation marks. Then do the same for the apostrophe.

Minutiae

You may have a space at the end of a paragraph or a space at the beginning of a paragraph and not know it. Here’s how to find them and get rid of them. Go to Find and Replace and enter:

Find: [space]^p
Replace: ^p

And then follow up with:

Find: ^p[space]
Replace: ^p

One Last Step

Smashwords will only take a DOC file, and not a DOCX. Amazon’s KDP apparently doesn’t care if it’s DOC or DOCX.

But here’s the tricky part – if you just go File, Save As and then save your document as a DOC file, Smashwords will sometimes recognize that at one point in the file’s lifetime, it had been a DOCX and Smashwords’s meatgrinder will reject it.

Highlight and copy the whole document, then paste it into a new document. Then save this file, making sure to select DOC from the file type option at the bottom of the window.

You’re Done!

Once you do all that, your file should be fine to submit to Smashwords and KDP. I say “should” because there might be other errors in there that will make things go screwy. The trick is to be patient and to work through things slowly. It’s a steep learning curve if you’ve never done it before, but once you get the hang of it, it just becomes automatic.

Happy self-pubbing!

Proper Author Self-Care — Sex For Money, Post #16

Sex For Money is a semi-regular blog series about my experiences in writing, publishing, and marketing gay erotica and M/M erotic romance. All of this information is from my own experience, so your experience may differ. It’s hoped that sharing this information might be helpful to new and aspiring erotica and erotic romance authors, as I see a lot of questions and a lot of misinformation out there. To read more Sex For Money posts, click here.

If you find these posts handy, or you’re looking for more information on the business of writing, publishing, and selling gay erotica and M/M erotic romance, check out my in-depth book, Sex For Money.

Several few weeks ago, I wrote a rather personal Sex For Money post in which I spoke about author self-doubt. I feel the need to follow-up with it as there have been some important developments and it underscores the need for further discussion.

Though I couldn’t see it at the time, it wasn’t actually writing that was causing me stress. Rather, my writing was suffering due to stress from another source.

Like many writers, or perhaps most writers, I have a day job that pays that bulk of my bills while writing income supplements all that. Work had been growing more and more stressful everyday and I had assumed it was due to other influences (as there was both my birthday and my mom’s wedding at the same time, both of which required a lot of work and time from me) and that everything would be back to normal once those obligations were over.

Well, the obligations came and went and the stress I was experiencing at work only grew. So much so that one day my hands were shaking for half my work day. The stress was paralyzing me — both at work and at home. I realized then that I hadn’t done more than a couple hundred words of writing in the last four weeks.

I sat down with my boss to talk about it and we uncovered what was really going on — problems in the workplace that were putting enormous amounts of stress on me, and this stress was eating away at me all day everyday. I’m now on six weeks of stress leave to work on getting better and getting back to work.

Now… I have a rule of not sharing negative personal information on my author platform. You readers are not my therapists and this is not a private journal — this not the place for such a discussion. However, I chose to break my rule this one time to talk about the impact this has on a writing career.

With my day job, even when it was at its most paralyzing, I could still show up for work and do the basic tasks I needed to do and manage to get through the day — even if it meant hiding in bed for the rest of the day once I got home. This meant I was still earning my full day job income.

My writing, though, froze dead for four weeks. While there are continued sales of older works that generate income, an erotica and erotic romance writer’s income comes from regular releases. And with paralyzing stress, I couldn’t write, couldn’t publish, and couldn’t generate new income. If this stress had been caused by something I couldn’t deal with as effectively as I actually am, and if writing income was my sole source of income, I’d be in serious financial trouble.

Writers need to continually work on self-care so that they can remain healthy and productive. A big component of this is thinking proactively, rather than reactively. Spending some time and money on staying healthy and preventing from getting sick is far better than getting sick for an indeterminate amount of time and running the risk of financial ruin.

Every once in a while, I see a post about self care for writers and it contains cliche things like fancy pens, unique notebooks, literary-themed merchandise like teapots and clothing, and good coffee or tea to keep an author warm.

While these suggestions certainly have some validity and do have some effectiveness in maintaining good mental health, they are likely not enough if there is a truly stressful event in your life that can create paralyzing stress. Over the past four weeks, no amount of fancy pens, notebooks, and coffee would’ve gotten me to write more.

Here’s a real list of self-care resources for authors:

1. Get the name and phone number of a good counsellor. If you have difficulty coping with stress, a counsellor can help you figure out techniques to keep you healthy. Two or three sessions, while they can be costly, could save you from succumbing to stress and requiring several sessions at a later point.

2. Get the name and phone number of a good massage therapist. I prefer trigger point massage. It can be painful, but it’s effective. Visiting this person even just semi-annually could help work out the painful kinks in your back and neck before they become too serious. Again, there’s a cost, but an annual or semi-annual appointment is a good investment if it prevents having to go for half a dozen appointments after a stress crisis has riddled your back and neck with knots and twitches.

3. Make a list of things that stress you out and then figure out how to reduce the impact of these stressors. This can be as simple as re-organizing your day or your work flow so that you are better able to get things done. Effective time management makes a huge difference for stress and stress relief.

4. Exercise. Authors sit at their computers a lot. Exercise gets us up and active, increases blood flow, increases oxygen, and just makes us feel good. Figure out what works for you. For me, my favourite exercises are hot yoga and outdoor walks. I’ve got a beautiful cemetery near my house with a 5.5 km walking path that is a great hour and a half break in my day and gets me out in nature and fresh air and sunshine.

5. Healthy eating. What you eat affects how you feel. For me, too much coffee and too much fast food has me queasy and unhappy, no matter how delicious those things are. I’m working on improving my diet with lots of chickpeas, lean meats, and vegetables.

6. Do things that make you happy. It can be easy to put off things that make us happy — time with family, seeing the latest movie, going out with friends — because we have so much work to do. But if your whole life becomes work, then life loses its fun appeal and just becomes a chore.

7. If that’s not enough, reach out. Being an author is an isolating experience, even if we have a family that loves us. It’s easy to believe that we’re stressed because we’re not handling our workload properly and thus it’s all our fault. But reaching out to someone can make a world of difference and help you sort out what’s stressing you and what you can do about it. A writer friend recently reached out to me because he was near the breaking point due to stress and we examined his workload and we broke it into small manageable chunks, discarded unimportant things, and relaxed some self-imposed deadlines. For me, when stress was overwhelming me, I reached out to a close friend and said what I was feeling — he encouraged me to have a talk with my boss and, well, it led to where I am now, with six weeks to focus on getting better.

A healthy writer is a productive writer, a productive writer is a successful writer. Taking care of your health means taking care of your writing business. Don’t put off taking care of yourself until it becomes a bigger problem than it needs to be — take care of yourself now.

An Erie Garden Party (Book Blitz)

Today’s blog tour book blitz bring us An Erie Garden Party by VL Locey! Read on for the blurb, cover, excerpt, and giveaway!

 

Blurb:

Spring has finally arrived along the shores of Lake Erie and no one is happier than skunk shifter, Templeton Reed. Now that the snows have melted, he can frolic and play on the grounds of Lupei Manor, the formidable home that he shares with his life partner, Mikel Lupei, the alpha of the Lake Erie pack. What a pity that his joy is short lived.

Not only does a stranger appear to shake things up in the manor, bodies begin showing up on the grounds as well! Could the newcomer to the pack be the one viciously killing innocent humans and shifters? Or is there a more nefarious force at work lurking just outside the boundaries of the ancient manse Templeton, Mikel, and their LGBT friends call home?

Add to Goodreads | Purchase at Torquere Press

Excerpt:

“Son of a human,” Mikel snarled.  He stripped and shifted. I stood with his clothes over my arms, watching the wolf work the scent. He padded to the lake, snuffled the shore intently, and then slowly made his way back to the corpse. I turned my head to stare at Erie when he shoved his head under the bloody sheet to smell the body. The water seemed almost tranquil today. How I wished we were planning our spring fete instead of standing here beside a dead man. Mikel tapping my arm brought my attention from the Great Lake back to him. I handed him his pants.

“So, what can you tell us about this poor man’s fate?”

“He’s human.” Mikel zipped his trousers vehemently. “And he was killed by a large animal, either wolf or bruin. Whoever did this dragged him through the lake to mask the scent. I’ll have to gather the pack to scour the woods. Damnation.”

“Oh dear me,” I sighed. “I suppose the call must be made then.”

Mikel threw his head back and stared at the soft white clouds ambling past. “Yes. We have to notify the Elder counsel. That is standard operating procedure when a human is involved in mystical matters. Damnation!”

I reached out to pat his thick bicep. I wasn’t sure he wanted consolation but I offered it anyway. He placed his hand over mine.

“Let me know when they plan to arrive. I’ll take a long stroll through the woods.”

Mikel’s lip rolled as he turned to look down at me. “I hate that as well. You should be at my side. This mansion is as much your home as it is mine.”

“Yes, well, the times they aren’t a changing as rapidly as needed,” I smiled then snuggled into his wide chest. His arms cinched around me tightly, his smoky shirt smashed between us. My ear rested over his strong heart. “If one of the Elders saw me here it would raise questions. I know we have a lie all in place, but I for one do not wish to put that lie to the test. Better I enjoy the forest for an hour or so while they attend to this mess.”

“I love you beyond words, Templeton,” Mikel said into my black hair. “Someday, I swear, we shall not have to hide our love for each other.”

“From your mouth to the Elders’ ears,” I whispered, then tipped my head up for a kiss. We both needed one. Pity it couldn’t be a longer one, but it was tender.

About the Author:

V.L. Locey loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.) She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, a flock of assorted domestic fowl, and three Jersey steers.

When not writing spicy romances, she enjoys spending her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in hand.

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads | tsú

Giveaway:

Click here to visit Rafflecopter and enter to win an eBook copy of An Erie Garden Party!

NEW RELEASE: Sex For Money

Today, I’m got something a little different. While I’m still hard at work on the next Forbidden Desires novella (about a priest and a parishioner who fall for each other), I took a little side detour to write a project that’s been nagging at me for a while now.

Sex For Money: How to Write, Publish, and Sell Gay Erotica and M/M Erotic Romance is a handy manual of everything I’ve learned in my years of writing dirty stories. If you’re one of the many people that have heard there’s money to be made in writing erotica and erotic romance, but don’t know how to get started, this book is a basic primer to the publishing landscape for these genres.

So if you’re only interested in my dirty writing, but aren’t interested in writing some yourself, this book isn’t really for you — there’s no sexy content in it. But if you’re an erotica or erotic romance writer, either aspiring, newly published, or you’ve been around for a while and are looking for some perspective, then this book might be just the thing you’re looking for.

Now, time to get back to work and pump out that next dirty novella!

Cameron D. James is a multiple-bestselling author of gay erotica and M/M erotic romance, and in this all-in-one book, he shares his personal experiences and advice on how to write, publish, and sell your erotic fiction. While it can be difficult to make a living off of writing, the secrets in this book can help you grow your career and increase your sales month after month. Years of experience, research, trial-and-error, and experimenting have led Cameron to hone his approach to writing, publishing, and selling, and he shares everything with you in this book.

This handy manual explains:

Key writing and editing advice to ensure the quality of your fiction rises above your competitors.
What to look for in a contract if you choose to publish your fiction through a publishing house.
The realities of the hard work behind self-publishing your fiction.
How to give your book — including the cover and blurb — a spit and polish to make it draw readers in and close that sale.
The truth about which online vendors are worth your time… and which ones are best ignored.
The secrets of marketing an erotic book in a highly competitive genre.
How to effectively use social media to network with readers and sell your books.

Don’t waste time and money trying to figure all of this out on your own when you can learn how to do things correctly on your first try. This book gives you what you want to know, all in one convenient place.

Sex For Money is available as an ebook at Amazon, Kobo, and Smashwords and retails for $5.99. Are you a Barnes & Noble or iBooks user? It should upload to those sites soon.

Would you rather buy this book in paperback and hold it in your hands? I’m in the midst of finalizing the paperback printing and should have it available in a week or two — I’ll announce it as soon as it’s available!

Lucky (Book Blitz)

Greetings book lovers! Today’s blog tour book blitz brings us Laid by AL Llewellyn! Read on for the blurb, cover, excerpt, and giveaway!

Blurb:

From the mind of gay porn director John Bruno comes the first book in the Laid series, penned by author A.J. Llewellyn…

Jack Cannon is an elite member of LAPD’s new Violent Crimes Unit. He’s tough, he’s smart…he’s also gay. Jack’s a guy who deals with pressure and stress by cruising. When he has a fling with a hot guy one even hotter night in Los Angeles, it’s no casual coupling. This guy is great. Jack wouldn’t mind seeing him again except he’s discovered he’ll be seeing a lot of him. This is Lucio Natale, the most violent mob boss ever to land in the city of angels.

He’s the guy Jack’s supposed to tail—and preferably kill.

Previously Published by Stiff Rain Press.

Purchase at Torquere Press  | Add to Goodreads

Excerpt:

I flashed my membership card. The twink on the front desk smiled at me. He was a sweet little cocksucker who reminded me a lot of my favorite gay porn star, Leo Giamani, but I wanted to scope the locker and steam rooms.

There were a few loiterers in both, nothing worth investigating. I was starting to think my urge for a hot fuck after the biggest haul in my personal memory was going to be a bust.

And then, I saw him.

Man, he was hot. He had a body that appealed to my sense of aesthetics. His skin tone was the color of milky coffee, his hair dark. Nice cock, thick, big, half-hard. He was running his hands through his hair, about to turn off the shower taps when he saw me.

We traded glances and he gave me a half-smile.

I held up a finger and his smile widened a fraction. I quickly dumped my stuff in a locker, grabbed a lambskin condom and joined him in the shower.

His gaze fell on my cock, which was big, hard and ready to play.

Fuck, he mouthed and turned around. His face was beautiful, his ass even sweeter. Hands splayed against the wall, water ran down his back and I heard him moan as I tore the package open with my teeth and rolled that rubber over the length of my shaft. I stroked it down, smoothing out the ridges and ran my hands over his ass. His skin was warm. My thumbs reached into his ass crack. Nice and tight.

I ran my fingers ran over his hole and he squirmed against them. Shit, he was ready. I inched my cock toward his ass and felt the heat before I was even close. I sliced into him and felt his hole resist, then embrace me. I fucked him slowly at first and he pushed into my hips. I gripped him with both hands, but I didn’t need to worry. His muscular legs were planted firmly on the floor and he wanted to be fucked.

I kept one hand on his ass, moving the other around his belly, reaching between his thighs to stroke him off. I like the feeling of a guy coming when I am. I love the way their ass muscles bear down on my cock. Hell, if he’s bringing me heaven, I should save a slice for him.

We fucked like we’d been doing it forever. He anticipated every move I made. And yet…and yet it was new and exciting. The thrill of being caught kept me hard until I felt his come spurt over my fingers and splash the wall. My cock was caught in his grip and I shot inside him, my mouth moving to his neck. I wanted to bite him, don’t ask me why. I never want to kiss the guys I fuck, but this one seemed surprised, then turned his face and his tongue ran right across my lips and I thought I would never stop coming.

About the Author:

A.J. Llewellyn’s obsession with myth, magic, love, and romance might have led to serious stalking charges had it not been for the ability to write. Thanks to the existence of some very patient publishers, A.J.’s days are spent writing, reading and dreaming up new worlds. A.J. has definitely stopped Google-searching former boyfriends and given up all ambition to taste test every cupcake in the universe to produce over 200 published gay erotic romance novels.

A.J. wants you to read them all. A.J. can be found lurking on Facebook and Twitter—part-time class clown being another occupation. When not writing or reading, A.J.’s other passions include juggling, kite-boarding, and spending a fortune buying upgrade apps for Pearl’s Peril and Farm Heroes Saga.

Amazon Author Page | Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter | Website

Giveaway:

Click here to visit Rafflecopter and enter to win an ebook copy of Laid!

 

Fragments of a Unicorn’s Cole (Book Blitz)

Greetings all! Today’s blog tour book blitz bring us Fragments of a Unicorn’s Soul by JR Loveless! Read on for the blurb, cover, excerpt, and giveaway!

Blurb:

Content with his life, Elek Keros never questions the ways of the Unicorn. Until one night the sense of something coming awakens him from a deep sleep. He breaks Unicorn law by leaving the enchanted glade his kind lives in to search for what is calling to him. Each night he returns home without answers, but he cannot stop entering the forest day after day to find what he seeks.

The answer lies in a small child Elek rescues. Over the years, he watches over the boy, learns all that he can about the human and steadily falls in love with him. But how can the love he feels possibly breach the divide between their two worlds?

Book/Buy Links

Goodreads | Torquere

Excerpt:

Elek let out a pained whinny, tossing his head in denial of Jonathan’s words. The human male would not be coming back. It struck such pain through his heart that Elek did not understand how to cope with it. What could he say to make Jonathan remain by his side? Please don’t go.

Heart wrenching at the distress in Elek’s voice, Jonathan stifled a small sound and rested his forehead against Elek’s neck. “I can’t stay, Elek. It’s not possible.”

Why? Elek demanded.

“Because my feelings for you aren’t rational! You aren’t human, Elek, and… I can’t do this anymore. All I can think of is you, all I dream of is being here with you. It isn’t possible,” Jonathan cried, squeezing his eyes shut. Today would be their last day together. He returned to school tomorrow.

Desperation rose in Elek. A strange burning sensation started behind Elek’s eyes. Salt stung his nostrils and water welled up, spilling down his muzzle.

Jonathan felt wetness drip onto his neck and he pulled back in surprise. His sapphire gaze widened in shock. “Elek!”

I… love you, Jonathan. Elek keened to him, frantically hoping that Jonathan returned his love.

Jonathan shook his head. “No, Elek. No. You can’t. It’s not possible. Please… don’t.”

Elek struggled to his feet, backing away from Jonathan. He’d put his heart in Jonathan’s hands and the human had rejected him. Despite knowing that their love wasn’t possible, Elek couldn’t stop the hurt spearing deep into his soul.

Jonathan gave him a helpless look. “Elek, please don’t go.”

A shrill cry echoed throughout the trees and Elek spun around, racing away from Jonathan, trying to outrun the pain. But it haunted him, nipping at his hooves like dogs at the paws of a fox. The human did not return his love. Elek didn’t stop running until he’d reached the glade. His head hung down almost to the ground in sorrow, and the normally vibrant spiral horn had dulled to a grayish color.

Author Bio:

J.R. Loveless is a native Floridian who spends her days in an office physically but mentally is frolicking between the pages of her imagination. Writing has been a lifelong passion that escaped from her in the midst of life until she discovered Yaoi. After following breadcrumbs of the anime style, she discovered a forum dedicated to the world of Yaoi. Inspired, she tried her own hand at M/M romances, spending hours building worlds of her own with the newfound support of other forum members. She can never write enough of the electrifying emotions that blaze across the hearts and souls of her characters.

She is a self-confessed Dr. Who addict with a spastic dog and a neurotic cat for companions on her long journey through the many chapters of her life. One day she hopes to visit far off places and have grand adventures like those of the characters in her stories.

Blog: http://jrloveless.blogspot.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorjrloveless

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrloveless

Website: http://www.jrloveless.com

 

Giveaway:

Click here to visit Rafflecopter and enter to win an eBook copy of Fragments of a Unicorn’s Soul!

 

 

Will & Patrick Meet The Mob (Book Blitz)

Today’s book blitz blog tour brings us Will & Patrick Meet the Mob — the fifth in the Wake Up Married series by Leta Blake and Alice Griffiths. Read on for the blurb, cover, excerpt, and giveaway!

Blurb:

Follow Will & Patrick in this fifth installment of the romantic-comedy serial, Wake Up Married, by best-selling author Leta Blake and newcomer Alice Griffiths!

Patrick has finally accepted that he’s in love with Will, but his newfound determination to do something about that runs up against his father-in-law’s mobster plans. Though just what those plans are have as yet to be determined. As far as Will and Patrick can tell, they consist of blowing through town, wreaking small havoc, and turning the Patterson family’s lives on end.

Will must face the truth about his family before he can fully come to terms with his feelings for Patrick. And Patrick has to decide if this whackadoodle world is something he truly wants to be part of forever.

Episode 5 of 6 in the Wake Up Married serial.

Book/Buy Links

Goodreads | Amazon

Find the entire series on Amazon

Excerpt:

The next morning, Will’s romantic musings feel like the product of overwrought exhaustion when Patrick wakes up cranky as a cat dunked in water.

“Turn off the alarm,” he snarls. “Make it stop.” Then, sitting up and glaring at Will like he’s going to kill him with the power of his mind, he demands, “Did you test yet? Did you eat? What’s your BG number?”

Will’s not even out of bed. Only fifteen seconds ago he’d had one hundred and seventy pounds of Patrick spread out on top of him. Of course he hasn’t tested yet. “I just woke up.”

“Don’t make me test you myself.” Patrick flings back the covers and stalks to the bathroom in his underwear. Will rolls his eyes but grabs his kit and quickly tests. Over the sound of piss hitting water, Patrick calls out, “Well? What’s the number?”

“Ninety-eight. Calm your tits.”

Patrick comes out, arms crossed over his chest and his hair sticking up everywhere. “Calm my tits? Calm your tits.”

Will indicates his nipples. “What? Check ’em out. Not even a little bit pointy.”

Patrick narrows his gaze but a reluctant smirk tweaks up the corner of his mouth.

“Let me guess.” Will laughs. “You know how to change that.” The knot of worry loosens in his chest. “Maybe later. I have to eat first.”

While they wait for room service, they shower and shave, and Will endures Patrick making a solid pitch for him to consider a Continuous Glucose Monitoring System.

“I’ll ask Dr. Anastasia about it,” Will compromises.

“And a pump.”

“Don’t push your luck.”

They throw on robes to greet Perry and his cart of warm, delicious-smelling goodies. Conversation is cut dead at that point as Patrick devours his bacon, muffins, doughnuts, and strawberries with fresh cream. Will’s healthier breakfast of cottage cheese, whole-wheat toast, and a small slice of quiche Lorraine isn’t nearly as exciting, but he doesn’t know how Patrick stays so slim eating like he does. If he tried it, he’d be the size of a house.

Once they finish breakfast, Will broaches the topic. “We’re going to need to talk about my dad eventually.”

“What happened to pretending he’s dead?”

“Unfortunately, he’s not.”

“Point.”

“And he’s staying in this building, so we’re bound to run into him sooner rather than later.”

“Better point.”

Will lets a wry grin spread on his lips. “But I’m not going to just sit back and let him run the show this time. I need find out why he’s in town and then get him to leave again. As soon as possible.” He stands up and brings the chess set over to the table, clearing away their plates. “If we can play ahead of his game, we can at least capture his queen. And then maybe even his king. Especially since he won’t be expecting us to be playing at all.”

“If by queen you’re referring to Kimberly, I don’t know about that. She’s a slippery one.”

“You think Tony’s back because of my mother?”

“Historically, her milkshake has brought him to the yard.”

Will sighs as he sets up the board. “She’s only been dating Jason a few weeks. Tony usually waits for her to get serious before he drops in to ruin her chance at happiness.”

“Maybe Jason proposed.”

“That’d be on The Hurting Times forums ten minutes after it happened. Have you seen it there?”

“Nope.”

“And Caitlin would have called threatening to jump off a bridge or shave her head or something drastic in protest.”

“So he hasn’t put a ring on it yet.”

Will moves his pawn forward. “It’s still a starting place.”

Patrick shoves one of his pawns out to an empty square. “Before surgery, I have to know what I’m dealing with. I can’t just cut into someone’s noggin without knowing if I’m going in to repair damage or to cut out a tumor. Same here. We need more information. What’s your dad’s sign?”

Will’s lips flatten. “Seriously?”

Patrick lifts his brows.

“Sagittarius.”

“I knew it!” Patrick shakes his head. “Never trust a Sagittarius.”

Will sighs and ignores this. “Even though the award ceremony isn’t until March, word is getting around now that I won the Healing Hero Award. I hope to God he’s not planning to stick around for that.”

“A congratulatory phone call from Mobster Daddy would have sufficed.”

Will moves a pawn in front of the right bishop. “You’ve been slapped with that stupid malpractice suit. That might have raised his hackles too, if he’s not sure of your intentions toward me.”

“I have zero honorable intentions toward you. So, he’d be onto something there.”

Will snorts. “You made an honest man of me.”

“For now.”

“Yeah.” Will smiles softly as gentle warmth blooms in his chest. “For now.” He bites his lip. “Do you think sex will be even dirtier once we’re divorced?”

Patrick looks up from contemplating the chessboard. “Are you planning on sleeping with me after we’re divorced?”

Will’s ears burn. “Would we have to stop?”

Patrick swallows, his blue eyes shading darker. “Not unless we want to stop.”

Heat zings in the air between them. Will clears his throat. “That’s a long time from now. Who knows when we’ll even have to think about it? You’ll probably be tired of sleeping with me by the time a loophole opens up for us.”

“I’ll never get tired of fucking you.”

Patrick sounds so certain that Will’s dick stirs and he has to look away, focusing his attention back on the chessboard. He’s not sure whose move it is now. “Anyway, there are plenty of reasons for Tony to make the trip from Minneapolis. I’m surprised I didn’t see it coming.”

 

Author Bios

Leta Blake

Author of the bestselling book Smoky Mountain Dreams and the fan favorite Training Season, Leta Blake’s educational and professional background is in psychology and finance, respectively. However, her passion has always been for writing. She enjoys crafting romance stories and exploring the psyches of made up people. At home in the Southern U.S., Leta works hard at achieving balance between her day job, her writing, and her family.

You can find out more about her by following her online:

On the web: http://letablake.wordpress.com/

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/letablake

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/LetaBlake

 

Alice Griffiths

A long-time reader of romance novels, Alice Griffiths finally took the plunge into writing, teaming up with best-selling author Leta Blake for the ‘Woke up Married’ serialized comedy. A lover of tropes, Alice enjoys mining old ideas and putting a fresh, funny spin on them. Formerly working in the newspaper industry, Alice is now an art curator. She lives in Sydney, Australia.

You can find out more about her by following her online:

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/Alice_Author

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alice.griffiths.7169

Giveaway:

Click here to visit Rafflecopter and enter to win an ebook copy of any Will & Patrick episode.  (Two winners will be selected.)

 

 

Easter Invitation (Book Blitz)

Today’s book blitz blog tour brings us Easter Invitation: BDSM Voyages Book 2, by AJ Llewellyn and DJ Manly! Read on for the blurb, cover, excerpt, and giveaway!

Blurb:

Paul and Hamish are at it again, this time on the Easter Holiday. Paul is on a business trip in Amsterdam trying to think of some kinky games to liven things up a bit. However Hamish’s family may just stand in the way of their fun. Paul must be creative this time in order to fit the family dinner into his sexy plans. Finally, he comes up with a solution to be there at the dinner table carving up the roast for the family meal and satisfy his lover’s sex-craved dreams. Enlisting the help of his friend Ethan, he heads home, unaware that Hamish is hatching his own scheme for a lusty good time.

Previously Published by Stiff Rain Press.

Book/Buy Links

Goodreads | Torquere

Excerpt:

Quietly, I let myself in and turned off the burglar alarm. We crept up the stairs and when we got to the top, I put a hand on Ethan’s arm. There was a light on in our bedroom. Hamish was awake. Damn it. I could hear the murmur of the television in the background. He was having one of his sleepless nights, probably because I wasn’t with him. It was sweet.

Ethan nudged with a question on his face. I brought myself back to present. I handed him the mask and mouthed, “Go ahead, I’m right behind you.”

Ethan took out the rope, handed me the rest of the toy bag, nodded and pulled on the mask. He crept down the hall and I held my breath as he entered. I’d given Ethan a few tips in the cab on how to tackle Hamish so Hamish didn’t kill him. I hoped he was a quick study.

The struggle started immediately. I pulled on the hood and rushed in when I heard Ethan yell, “I’m going to need help here.”

When I got to the bedroom, I wanted to laugh but if I did, I’d ruin all of it. A naked Hamish was on top of Ethan pounding the crap out of him. I pulled Hamish off and both of us took all our strength to get him onto the bed. Ethan sat on him while I secured the gag in his mouth. He almost bit me twice. I tied one wrist then the other to the bedpost while Ethan got the harness. We said nothing as planned. I held one of Hamish’s legs high and pushed it up and out as Ethan slid one end of the harness down to the top of the thigh. We hooked the attachment to the top of the bed then did the same to the other leg while I took hold of Hamish’s cock and fit it into the specially made strap in the middle of the harness.

Hamish bucked uncontrollably as I manhandled his cock and balls. We could hear his muffled protests through the gag. “Protest all you want, slut,” Ethan told him gruffly. “Tonight you’re ours to do with what we want. So you might as well be quiet and cooperate.”

Hamish looked at Ethan then over at me. There was fear in his eyes but something else. I knew what that was. That was that look where he was halfway turned on but wondering whether he should be or not.

“Paul?” he asked, looking dazed. Damn. He’d recognized me. The light was dim and I was careful to wear clothes I’d bought while I was away so he wouldn’t recognize me but he was already surmising that I was of the same stature as his husband, tall and muscular. I couldn’t hide that. Ethan however, who was a big, burly bear of a man was throwing him off.

Ethan took out a blindfold and fitted it around Hamish’s eyes. Hamish was still squirming but he’d calmed down some. His chest was heaving just a little and he looked really hot spread out that way, his cock caught in that strap.

I motioned to Ethan that we would leave the room.

Ethan reached out and twisted one of Hamish’s nipples then roughly handled his cock a minute. He leered down into his face. “We’re going to find some booze in this joint, bitch, then we’ll be back for a good time.”

Hamish grunted. Oh, he liked that.

 

Author Bio:

A.J. Llewellyn

A.J. Llewellyn’s obsession with myth, magic, love, and romance might have led to serious stalking charges had it not been for the ability to write. Thanks to the existence of some very patient publishers, A.J.’s days are spent writing, reading and dreaming up new worlds. A.J. has definitely stopped Google-searching former boyfriends and given up all ambition to taste test every cupcake in the universe to produce over 200 published gay erotic romance novels.

A.J. wants you to read them all. A.J. can be found lurking on Facebook and Twitter—part-time class clown being another occupation. When not writing or reading, A.J.’s other passions include juggling, kite-boarding, and spending a fortune buying upgrade apps for Pearl’s Peril and Farm Heroes Saga.

D.J. Manly

I write not only for my own pleasure, but for the pleasure of my readers. I can’t remember a time in my life when I haven’t written and told stories. When I’m not writing, I’m dreaming about writing. Eroticism between consenting adults, in all its many forms is the icing on the cake of life but one does not live by sex alone. The story of how two people find love in spite of the odds is what really turns me on.

Social Media Links:

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/A.J.-Llewellyn/e/B002DBJBC2
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aj.llewellyn
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dante.manly
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/ajllewellyn
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ajllewellyn
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/djnovels
Website: http://www.ajllewellyn.com
Website: http://www.djmanlyfiction.com

Giveaway:

Click here to visit Rafflecopter and enter to win an eBook copy of Easter Invitation!

 

 

Buried Treasure — Book Blitz

Today we’re featuring Buried Treasure by DC Juris here on the good ol’ blog! Read on for the blurb, cover, excerpt, and giveaway!

Blurb:

After his last long-term relationship ended because of his nightmares, Mark closed his heart to the possibility of finding love again. He’s certainly never considered Gabe, the orderly who works at Miller’s Retirement Home where his father lives. But there’s more to Gabe than meets the eye, and if Mark is willing to let Gabe in, he might just discover the most important buried treasure of all.

Book/Buy Links

Goodreads | Torquere

Excerpt:

“Don’t you have work to do?” The words came out clipped and terse. Mark regretted sounding rude, but he wasn’t in the mood for company, at least not anymore.

“I’m on my lunch break.”

Mark frowned. No way in hell would he stay at his work when he didn’t need to. “You hang around this place on your lunch?”

Gabe shuffled his feet. “I like my job. And anyhow, I was actually hoping to catch up with you today.”

“Why?” The tiny hairs on the back of Mark’s neck stood up. “Something wrong with dad?”

“No.” Gabe shook his head quickly. “Nothing like that. I just wanted to ask you out for a cup of coffee.”

Mark cocked his head, studying Gabe’s appearance for the first time. Usually dressed in a drab navy blue shirt and matching slacks, Gabe was wearing a brightly colored, close fitting Hawaiian shirt with black pants that, if Mark didn’t miss his guess, were brand new. And Gabe had said he’d been hoping to catch up with Mark.

He’d known Gabe ever since he’d moved his dad into Miller’s, but he’d never considered Gabe date-material, though at the moment, he couldn’t say why. Over the course of hundreds of conversations, he’d learned they had a lot in common — from their love of the Pittsburgh Steelers, to their mutual admiration for mystery novels, to preferring pineapple and ham on their pizzas. “Are you asking me out on a date?”

“I’m trying to.” Gabe blushed and looked away. “Unless there’s someone. I haven’t seen you with anyone, since the last time Donald came.”

Mark shook his head. “There isn’t anyone.”

“You dumped Donald?”

Was that a trace of happiness Mark detected in Gabe’s tone? “He dumped me, said dad was too much stress for him.” He didn’t like lying, but the real reason for his broken relationship was far too embarrassing. He dumped me because I’m a mental case just didn’t have a positive ring.

“What the hell?” Gabe wrinkled his forehead. “He’s your dad, not Donald’s.”

“Yeah, well.” Donald had been a big mistake, and remained a subject Mark didn’t want to discuss. “How long’s your lunch break?”

 

Author Bio:

Romance author, sci-fi fan club Captain, cosplayer, reigning Queen of Monkeyland, and random menace. Yep, we’re talking about DC Juris. She’s a cupcake-making, football-watching, rubber-duck-collecting, drag-show loving, full-of-fabulous-with-a-capital-F kinda gal. She’s also an ordained minister and an amateur photographer. She lives in Upstate New York with her husband, three dogs, and three cats. When she’s not writing, you can find her in her favorite chair watching Star Trek and Supernatural repeats on Netflix, or surfing the web for porn. Er…research. Surfing the web for research. She may speak softly but she lives and loves loudly. Just ask the neighbors. ::wink::

Author Links

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Blog

 

Giveaway

Click here to visit Rafflecopter and enter to win an ebook copy of Buried Treasure!