Tempeste O'Riley's Blog, page 30
March 8, 2014
Guest Book ♥ Infected: Undertow by Andrea Speed
Infected: Undertow
by Andrea Speed
Sequel to Infected: Lesser Evils
Infected: Book Seven
Cover by Anne Cain
M/M, Shifter, Mystery/Suspense, Paranormal
June 14, 2013
In a world where a werecat virus has changed society, Roan McKichan, a born infected and ex-cop, works as a private detective trying to solve crimes involving other infecteds.
Now Roan is locked in a coma as the struggle between his human and werecat sides reaches a new extreme. All Dylan can do is sit, wait, and think.
Meanwhile, Roan’s assistant, Holden, wants to shed his old street life and his relationship with Scott, but he can’t seem to do either. Holden doesn’t want a relationship with Scott but finds himself drawn to him all the same, even if he can never fully reveal his past.
With Roan out of commission, Holden looks into the murder of an old friend. At the same time, Fiona takes on a case about underground death matches between infecteds —one with connections to the Church of the Divine Transformation.
Finally Roan wakes only to discover that his shifts have new consequences. His lion’s strength is growing, and he can’t hide from it any longer….
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1
This Boy
THINGS could be weirder, but Holden was kind of glad they weren’t because he thought his head might explode.
When he arrived at the hospital with Scott, they found Dylan looking like he hadn’t slept for days (possible) and so weary he didn’t even comment on the fact that they had arrived together. When he told them the lion had woken up but Roan hadn’t yet, Holden understood why he looked so tired and frazzled. What did that mean, exactly? Dylan was afraid it meant something went wrong during the surgery, but Holden had another idea, one that made him angry enough to want to go into the room and punch Roan.
Roan was hiding. The fucker had just given up. He decided he didn’t like what he was anymore and shut down, letting the lion run amok. Holden pulled Scott aside and whispered to him to keep Dylan company while he went and visited Roan. Scott obviously had questions, but Holden asked him to trust him, and he agreed.
Scott poured on the charm and got Dylan to agree to go have a decent cup of tea with him (there was a Starbucks down the street—of course there was as it was a law in Washington State you could be no more than five minutes away from one at any time). As soon as they were gone, Holden snuck into Roan’s room. (He wasn’t 100 percent sure anyone was supposed to be in there, so he wanted to avoid being intercepted by an overzealous nurse.)
There were signs Dylan had been sleeping here, from the cot in the corner covered with blankets to the sketchbook sitting on the floor beside it, the front smeared with charcoal. Roan was laying in his hospital bed, out cold, surrounded by all his bleeping machines, not perfectly bald but almost, his head covered with a rusty-red fuzz like dried blood. He looked more human with his hair trimmed back so violently, but that was a funny thing to think because he hardly looked inhuman with it.
Whatever. It didn’t really matter now anyway. He took a deep breath, gave himself a moment to feel awkward about talking to an unconscious man, and got down to business. “You think I don’t know what you’re doing, Roan? Really? What kind of an asshole do you take me for? I don’t really care if you give up and hide behind the lion all day long—that’s your choice—but I hope you rot on the guilt of what you’re doing to Dylan and every other one of us stupid motherfuckers who care about you. And don’t think I’m picking up your slack, ’cause fuck you, I have my own life to lead, and I’m not a detective. You are, so wake the fuck up and get on with it. You wanna feel sorry for yourself? Fine, but do it at home like the rest of us.”
He started walking away, but he was angry now and realized he had more to say, so he turned back. “You think I haven’t just wanted to give up and die? I have, millions of times, but then I remember my parents, the violent johns, the evangelicals who would like to kill all the gays, and I realize I have to live if only to piss them off. That’s what you have to do too. You have to live to piss off all the infected haters out there, fight back for those who can’t. And do it fast ’cause I’m on the verge of beating the shit out of you. Especially since you’re in no position to fight back. It’s the safest time to beat you senseless.” Of course he couldn’t actually hit him because it would be just his luck to hit him and bring the lion lunging out at him. He’d be the first man mauled to death by a lion in human form. He’d get a posthumous place in theGuinness Book of World Records.
This time he did walk away, but he decided to put a final boot in Roan’s ribs before he went. “Oh, and I think Scott and I are dating now, or something like that. I dunno; I don’t really do relationships. You want any more details, you’re gonna hafta wake up and ask. Chew on that for a while.” On the back of everything else, it was weak, but it was the only ammo he had left.
Dylan and Scott weren’t yet back from the Starbucks, so he went to join them. Scott had convinced Dylan to share a brownie with him, and when Holden joined them at the table, Scott broke off a piece of his brownie and gave it to him. “Watchin’ my carbs,” he said, in such a manner that Holden knew this was his way of getting Dylan to eat something. Holden played along because Dylan looked so exhausted, not just physically but emotionally and probably mentally. As much fun as Roan probably was in bed, the agony of being his husband surely wasn’t worth it. He was lightning, and in his shadow, all you got was burned.
Scott tried to get Dylan to go with them to the Del Toro film festival, but while Dylan was a fan, he felt he had to return to the hospital. It was like watching the poor son of a bitch slink off to his own execution, and Holden felt bad for him. He knew Dylan didn’t trust him, but he couldn’t really blame him. He couldn’t define his relationship with Roan in any way; it wasn’t an affair, but he knew a side of Roan that Dylan really didn’t, so in a way it was. Dylan married Bruce Wayne, but he didn’t know a single thing about Batman.
Oh fuck—bad metaphor. That made him Robin. So, Hulk and… no. Iron Man? No. Wolverine? No. Goddamn it, didn’t any other superhero have a sidekick?
Andrea Speed was born looking for trouble in some hot month without an R in it. While succeeding in finding Trouble, she has also been found by its twin brother, Clean Up, and is now on the run, wanted for the murder of a mop and a really cute, innocent bucket that was only one day away from retirement. (I was framed, I tell you – framed!)
In her spare time, she arms lemurs in preparation for the upcoming war against the Mole Men. Viva la revolution!
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March 5, 2014
“For You” by CR Guiliano ~ Blog Tour
CR Guiliano is an avid reader, which logically morphed into the love of writing. She writes in many genres, but is most happy writing the love between two men (or more!). She makes them work hard for their HEA and considers herself an expert in angst. CR finds her favorite form of writing is in serials, where she can continue to write about characters who have captured her heart and she hopes to have captured her readers’ as well.
You will usually find CR cuddled up to her laptop creating stories to entertain, inspire, and bring your emotions to the surface. CR has a huge warren of plot bunnies that is growing every day, and can’t wait to fill out each story idea and share them all with her readers.
CR was proudly nominated in the Goodreads Best Anthology Nominations and was thrilled to be included with the many talented writers from the same anthology.
CR is a committed advocate for the GLBTQ community and does her best to change society’s attitudes, one mind at a time. You can learn more about CR Guiliano and her stories at the following locations, and feel free to drop her line as she loves to hear from anyone interested in her or her writings:
Facebook Author Page ♥ Facebook ♥ Author blog ♥ Works-in-progress blog ♥ Website ♥ Twitter ♥ E-mail
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Writing Dreams
I have always dreamed of being a published writer. To write full time and make a living at it. I was never able to realize that dream until recently. Now, I sit in my pajamas, coffee by my side, and write. Unless I have errands for real life, I write. All day, I write. And I couldn’t be happier.
Now, don’t get me wrong, being an author is a very lonely career. You are more inside your own head, than you are relating to other people. But, I’ve been inside my own head since I was a child. Creating my own worlds, interacting with characters I conjure up and direct.
I don’t know about other authors, but to me, whose life is out of control most of the time, the control you have on your imaginary places and people is very important to you. I decide everything. It’s a heady experience. And, if you have a very active imagination like I do, it’s very rewarding too.
You see on paper (or computer/Kindle/Nook/etc.) your story, your characters that you made up. There is no feeling like it.
Now that I have realized that dream, to be a published author, my only other dream regarding my writing is to be one of those authors that readers consider their “comfort read”. Years from now, I want to be that author that has readers picking up her books over and over again, because they connect with the stories, with the characters. That would be my ultimate dream.
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Graham and Jeremy’s first meeting sparks an explosive and passionate relationship that proves opposites attract. However, as time wears on, their differences cause a lot of strain between them.
Jeremy, a first grade teacher and softball coach, is deeply closeted and sees no way out of the darkness. Graham is out and proud and doesn’t understand Jeremy’s fear at revealing his sexuality. After four years of trying to balance the differences, Graham leaves.
Jeremy is heartbroken, knowing that the love they feel is the real thing. He knows he’s the one who needs to change, but old habits are hard to break. He’ll need support from friends and family to make things right with Graham, but most of all he’ll need to find strength within himself to be honest about who he really is.
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GIVEAWAY!
Each comment will be entered to win a copy of For You! You can get additional entries by following the blog tour.
6th ~ http://tempesteoriley.com/blog/
7th ~ http://www.bookwhoresunited.blogspot.com/
8th ~ http://www.prismbookalliance.com/
9th ~ http://elingregory.wordpress.com/
10th ~ http://taralain.com/blog/
11th ~ http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com/
12th ~ http://sidlove.com/
Guest Author Wednesdays ♥ Charlie Cochrane
I’m thrilled to have Author Charlie Cochrane with me today share a bit about “Horns and Haloes” and The Lure of the Ordinary. Please say hi and leave her a comment or two below.
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As Charlie Cochrane couldn’t be trusted to do any of her jobs of choice—like managing a rugby team—she writes. Her favourite genre is gay fiction, predominantly historical romances/mysteries.
Charlie’s Cambridge Fellows Series, set in Edwardian England, was instrumental in her being named Author of the Year 2009 by the review site Speak Its Name.
She’s a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, Mystery People and International Thriller Writers Inc, with titles published by Carina, Samhain, BSB, MLR and Cheyenne.
You can reach Charlie at cochrane.charlie2@googlemail.com (maybe to sign up for her newsletter?) or catch her on Facebook, twitter, goodreads, her website or her blog.
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The Lure of the Ordinary
One of the things which came out of the “What Readers Want” panel at last year’s UK Meet was more books with everyday heroes. (You can read what else they want from authors at the UK Meet Blog.) “Older characters, people with everyday careers, people with real bodies as opposed to bodybuilder/supermodel types.” They also wanted more domestic settings, fewer stalkers and more disabled characters. Yes, they enjoyed books with big, hunky firemen or soldiers or men with other glamorous careers, but they also wanted ordinary people finding romance. None of those are unreasonable demands.
This gives an author a bit of a dilemma. There’s an inbuilt glamour and excitement to some of these jobs that you don’t necessarily get if your hero works in a bank or a library. The author has to work to create situations which will add drama to the story, and they have to be believable. I mean, you might just get away with a robbery at the bank, but having your bank clerk getting inadvertently involved in saving London from a terrorist plot or discovering that he’s the long lost heir to a far eastern kingdom sounds a bit far-fetched. If not fodder for comedy, rather than romance.
But ordinary people need—and find—love, too. Most of us live pretty mundane lives most of the time, but romance comes and hits us with the amorous equivalent of a sock full of wet sand. Some occupations, though, seem to mitigate against glamour. Chiropodist? Drain cleaner? Dustbin man? All tremendous professions, all necessary, although not your usual heroes.
I decided to write a story about two ordinary blokes finding romance, and I chose two school governors. Now, it has to be said, that the vast majority of school governors aren’t drop dead gorgeous. They’re lovely, enthusiastic, willing to put a lot of time in for no recompense, but George Clooney they mostly ain’t. What they have going for them, as I know from experience, is a tendency to get worked up about things. They care greatly, they have really strong opinions, and they can end up almost at daggers drawn about certain issues.
And maybe that’s the way forward for our everyday heroes. Find what floats their boats and what gets their goats. Find what makes them angry, what things they’ll fight tooth and nail for, what things make dramas out of commonplace events. What opportunities they have to be heroes in the small business of daily living. Once you’ve found that, you can do your characters—and their stories—justice. In those situations, you have the sparks that can make a fire, whether it be a blazing inferno of action or kindling of a romance.
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Horns and Haloes
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?
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Excerpt
Who’d want to be a school governor? No pay, little thanks, plenty of red tape. And yet they’d all volunteered to be on this course. Altruistic. Or gluttons for punishment. And on Valentine’s Day, just to rub things in.
“So just work with the person next to you.”
The tutor’s words brought Jamie back to the present with a bump. Work with the person next to you to do what?
“I hope you know the answers because I’m stuck.” The bloke next to Jamie — Alex, according to the hand written sticker on his shirt — grinned and brandished a worksheet.
“I do, but only because I’ve done this bit before, on another course.” Jamie returned the smile.
“You write the answers in, and I’ll read them and try to look intelligent.” Alex’s eyes twinkled.
Why weren’t there any blokes like this on the Cattlebridge Primary Governing Body, with brown eyes lively enough to make the interminable meetings worth sitting through?
“Deal. They’ll give us an answer sheet later, anyway.” Jamie scribbled down some key words, just so it wasn’t obvious that his mind wasn’t on the questions.
“I don’t think they’ll let me have one, punishment for sneaking in late.” Alex smiled again.
Jamie filled in some more answers, trying hard not to write “Do not flirt” on the page.
What point would there be in flirting, anyway? Alex was bound to be married, with two kids in school and one more to come. Typical parent governor. The handsome ones always were.
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February 28, 2014
Guest Book ♥ Kept Tears by Jana Denardo
Thanks Tempe for having me over. I appreciate it.
Kept Tears
by Jana Denardo
Cover by Paul Richmond
Urban Fantasy, Fantasty, Paranormal, M/M, Romance
January 27th 2014
Having left most of his arm and his self-confidence behind in the Afghanistan desert, young veteran Aaron Santori has enough on his plate learning to use his prosthetic arm. Attending graduate school at the University of Pittsburgh makes life both interesting and challenging. Mentally, he’s ill prepared for meeting Rhys Edwards, a young-adult novelist from Wales and everything Aaron could want in a man. Between the scars from the explosion and his PTSD, he’s reluctant to date. Ready or not, though, Aaron finds himself jumping into the deep end of the relationship waters.
What Aaron couldn’t possibly know is that Rhys isn’t human at all. As a prince of the Tylwyth Teg, Rhys is fae, with a list of enemies he’s accumulated over the past few centuries—among them a former lover, Morcant, who is back to make Rhys’s life miserable. An unwitting pawn in their Machiavellian fae politics, Aaron only knows he’s falling in love, never suspecting love might be his death sentence.
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One aspect of Kept Tears highlights the very real issues facing injured veterans, but at my core, I am a fan of fantasy, urban fantasy, and science fiction. I’ve talked about Aaron a lot so let’s hear about his partner, Rhys. It is Rhys’s true nature that made writing Kept Tears so much fun. He’s a prince of the Seelie Court, a Tylwyth Teg. I chose the Teg, since at least here in America, readers haven’t heard too much about Welsh Faeries. It’s a familiar theme with a little bit of a Welsh twist.
Rhys makes an excellent counterpoint to Aaron, who is facing life, learning to deal with his disabilities. Rhys, actually Prince Myrddin, is accustomed to a world filled with magic, even though he has been on Earth for centuries as a guard to ensure his people don’t take advantage of the non-magical humans. Rhys uses magic as naturally as breathing. Even his physical appearance is a lie, just an illusion to make him look human. While he has known war and loss, Rhys is also far more used to wounds being healed perfectly. Seeing the damage done to Aaron’s body is difficult to him since he is not used to feeling helpless, and he is as far as helping Aaron is concerned.
That said, Rhys can’t refrain from using a little magic on Aaron. He’s used to it ease some of Aaron’s pain and to energize him. He would do more if could. Rhys is capable of darker magic though that didn’t find a place in this novel. It might be something fun to play with in the future. There is some very big differences between the two men so the path of happiness might find a boulder or two in it.
The urban fantasy parts of the novel were a lot of fun to play with, especially taking established folklore and expanding upon it. The concepts of the Seelie and Unseelie Courts are very old indeed, but I got to reimagine them in modern times. Rhys brings with him all sorts of magic, old rivalries, and a host of bizarre entities. I pulled all the different faeries good and evil straight out of the lore, tweaked them a little or in some cases returned them to their original forms. In Victorian times, a lot of the faeries became smaller and more friendly, but earlier lore has them as something entirely different and often more than just a little dangerous.
Rhys stood in his yard, the grass soft under his bare feet. Moonlight poured down on him. Tobacco smoke from the casino still clung to his hair and his T-shirt, but he’d worry about that later. He had a job to do. He didn’t necessarily have to be barefoot for the magic he was casting, but Rhys felt more connected to the earth when he was. He needed to scan the local area for aberrant magic. It was one of the reasons he wanted a house with a high-fenced yard, because it was more accurate if he did this outside. If anyone did spot him, hopefully they would think he was practicing tai chi or yoga or something similar as he slowly moved his limbs, testing the energy lines.
Tonight he sensed the buzzing undercurrent of magic flowing through the world. Bits of it were, no doubt, from the faerie. He was hardly the only one here, and most fae had no ill will toward humankind. That wasn’t always the case, but the world wasn’t what it once was. The fey were nothing more than fodder for urban fantasies and the few people who still believed in them. Even those who might still believe usually had starry-eyed beliefs about who the faerie were. They had forgotten that terms like “the Kindly Ones” and “the People of Peace” weren’t given to the faeries because that’s what they were. No, those titles were placations humans used, hoping the fey would hold their tempers and not toy with them. Those old days were why faeries like him were in this dimension, keeping it safe. If he had to be isolated here among the humans making sure no one took advantage of them, Rhys was glad he could at least make human friends, but he was trying hard not to think about his newest friend. Aaron had no idea how close he had come calling Rhys Legolas. He wasn’t an elf, but he knew many of them.
Sensing very little moving about tonight, nothing at all to worry about, Rhys couldn’t stop his mind from wandering. There was only one path it wanted to travel. All roads led to Aaron. He was like no one Rhys had ever known. In the faerie realm, magic could have put Aaron back together, and sometimes, looking at the man’s battered frame, wondering what was hidden under his clothes, Rhys felt almost ashamed of his own perfection, and for all the magic that had chased scars from his flesh. He wished he could have helped, even though he knew that was ridiculous. He hadn’t known Aaron when the explosion picked him apart; there was nothing he could have done then, nor could do anything now.
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Jana Denardo’s career choices and wanderlust take her all over the United States and beyond. Much of her travels make their way into her stories. Fantasy, science fiction, and mystery have been her favorite genres since she started reading, and they often flavor her works. In her secret identity, she works with the science of life and gives college students nightmares. When she’s not chained to her computer writing, she functions as stray cat magnet.
Jana is Queen of the Geeks (her students voted her in) and her home and office are shrines to any number of comic book and manga heroes along with SF shows and movies too numerous to count. There is no coincidence the love of all things geeky has made its way into many of her stories. To this day, she’s still disappointed she hasn’t found a wardrobe to another realm, a superhero to take her flying among the clouds or a roguish star ship captain to run off to the stars with her.
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February 25, 2014
Guest Author Wednesdays ♥ Skylar M. Cates
I’m thrilled to have Author Skylar M. Cates with me today share a bit about Five Ways A Boy Can Break Your Heart, co-authored with Cate Ashwood. Please say hi and leave them a comment or two below.
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Skylar M. Cates loves a good romance. She is quite happy to drink some coffee, curl up with a good book, and not move all day. Most days, however, Skylar is chasing after her husband, her kids, and her giant dog, Wasabi. Skylar dreams about spending her days writing her novels, walking along the beach, and making more time for her good friends. On a shoestring budget, Skylar has traveled all over in her early years. Although, lately, the laundry room is the farthest place she has visited, Skylar still loves to chat with people from all around the globe.
Skylar can be found on Facebook, Goodreads, or her website: http://skylarmcates.wordpress.com.
Cate Ashwood wrote her very first story in a hot-pink binder when she was in the second grade and found her passion for writing. Her first successful foray into romance writing came five years later when she wrote her best friend, who was experiencing a case of unrequited love, her own happily ever after.
Cate’s life has taken a number of different and adventurous roads. She now lives a stone’s throw from the ocean, just outside of Vancouver, British Columbia with her husband and two cats. Her life is filled with family and friends, travel, and, of course, books.
Cate loves to hear from readers.
You can find her at: Website: http://www.cateashwood.com.
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Learning Disabilities
You’re a dummy.
You’ll never succeed.
You’re stupid.
Whenever a person has a learning disability, he or she often faces intense judgments. This judgment can come from a peer, a teacher, or even a parent. The student might begin to feel depressed or ashamed.
In Five Ways A Boy Can Break Your Heart, Trey and Liam meet as teenagers in boarding school. They have years together to fall in love, although it remains unspoken between them, and to build memories. Music is their shared passion, but they also take care of each other in different ways. Trey protects Liam from others; Liam protects Trey from himself. But Trey has a secret learning disability that he hides from Liam, and this problem not only shapes Trey’s character, but also breaks his world in two.
Having a learning disability does not make you stupid. It has very little to do with intelligence, actually. Here are some famous people with learning disabilities: Albert Einstein, Leonardo Da Vinci, Charles Schwab, Thomas Edison, and Walt Disney. These are only a few names from a larger list. Despite knowing this, many students continue to be misunderstood both in and out of the classroom.
Without giving away too much, Trey lacks the right support to acknowledge his learning disability or get the correct treatment for it. In the boarding school, he is valued for his family’s money and fame, and his school issues are pushed aside. As a result, Trey feels as if he is worth less than others around him, especially Liam. In a way, Liam’s sweet adoration of Trey only twists the knife deeper and increases his shame.
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Five Ways a Boy Can Break Your Heart
When Trey and Liam meet in boarding school, they couldn’t be more different. Liam is a classical violinist with a scholarship, and Trey is a punk rocker with famous parents. Despite their conflicting backgrounds, they hit it off and bond over their love of music. But after spending every waking hour together, Liam is devastated when Trey leaves school without an explanation. Worse yet, Trey capitalizes on a song they wrote together.
Seven years later, they bump into each other at a charity benefit in New York. Old sparks fly, but Liam hasn’t quite recovered from the pain Trey caused. Liam doesn’t know if any explanation Trey can offer will be enough, or if he can find it in his heart to forgive the only man he’s ever really loved.
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Excerpt
Trey returned to the bed and sat facing Liam, the guitar cradled in his lap. He strummed a few chords, testing out the pitch, turning the shiny silver keys meticulously until he was satisfied that it was in tune.
Playing guitar was the only time Liam wished he had no musical talent. The first time Trey had handed him a guitar, it had felt clumsy and awkward in his hands. He was used to strings, but they felt different on his violin, more natural somehow. The angle of his wrist had made it difficult to change the chords, and he couldn’t seem to make his fingers cooperate. It had only gotten worse when Trey had slid in behind him, pressing his solid chest against Liam’s back.
The world had gone still as Liam had tried his best to concentrate on the words Trey was saying rather than the way his breath danced over the back of Liam’s neck. The blood that had momentarily frozen in his veins had resumed pumping at a wicked pace, making him feel hot and dizzy. Trey had slid his hands over Liam’s, urging them to move with his. It had been the most perfect moment of Liam’s life. Making music in Trey’s arms, everything had felt right in the world.
Unfortunately, as much as he’d tried to prolong the experience, Liam was a fast learner, and Trey knew it. Now he would have to be satisfied with sitting across from his best friend, watching him fall into the music. It really was beautiful to watch; his whole body moved with the notes flowing from him, and when he sang, it never failed to make Liam shiver.
He strummed a few chords, testing out the sound, and then he began to sing.
…
“What do you think?” Trey asked when he’d finished the chorus.
It took Liam a moment to register Trey had stopped singing. The sound reverberated through him, numbing him and encasing him. “I think it’s perfect,” he said, finally. He scrawled the lyrics Trey had written across the center of the page, beneath the previous verse.
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Series Spotlight: Tales from Rainbow Alley
Series: Tales from Rainbow Alley
Author: Jaime Samms
Genre: Contemporary M/M, BDSM, Romance
Publisher: Totally Bound
Every city has a place, a corner, a network of streets and homes and business where being gay is safe; where men and women can work, live and love without fear or judgement. The Tales from Rainbow Alley tell the stories of the men who make up the small community of Rainbow Alley, so dubbed after the first gay bar in the area was raided and burned over forty years ago. Now, the tight-knit community has grown into a safe haven for those who care to make it their home. Just so long as they abide by one rule; love thy neighbour.
Tales from Rainbow Alley
Hotwired Heart
A good car thief needs sixty seconds, but grand theft heart might take even less time than that.
Freedom and trust; opposite sides of the same coin that could give expert car thief, Marky, the win he’s looking for. Little does he know escaping his gang ties will lead him through heartbreak and into cuffs he hadn’t even thought to watch out for. Now he can trust the powerful man who wants to help, or he can keep running. It all depends on how much he values his freedom, and whether or not Roland has managed the impossible; hijacking Marky’s carefully guarded heart.
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Finder’s Keepers
Searching for a way to be in the world that lets him live out his need to serve others has left Rory Sanders estranged from his family and without a lot of friends. When he meets Kane, he thinks his dreams have come true. Those dreams are shattered when he discovers Kane is less interested in his submission that his total subjugation and humiliation. Unable to figure out how to please Kane leaves Rory in a dangerous and humiliating position, bound and helpless in a fetish club where he at last meets people who understand.
Gabriel Stark is not only the private investigator called in to figure out who Kane is and why he has been abusing submissive men, he’s a professional Dom and the man of Rory’s dreams come to life. It remains to be seen if Gabe can overcome his own losses and mistakes and be the Dom Rory needs or if he will let his own past ruin yet another submissive who needs his help.
That Rory is physically, emotionally, and intellectually everything Gabe has been looking for only makes Gabe more determined not to get emotionally invested in Rory’s recovery from Kane’s abuse. Discovering just who Kane is and what his intense interest in Rory is all about may be the end of the fragile trust building between the two men, though. Keeping Rory safe from Kane turns out to be more than Gabe can manage on his own, and the result of failure could cost the submissive his life.
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Fix This, Sir
Jimmy’s been hiding from his troubled past for a long time—in drugs, drink and dangerous sex. It’s always been easy to find oblivion in the restraints of men who don’t really care who he is or where he’s come from. When tragedy puts him in a wheelchair and forces him to fix his legs—and his life—he’s not so sure he has it in him to even try. Belligerence is the only weapon he has left.
Cliff is a physiotherapist with a big heart…and a dominant streak a mile wide. The instant Jimmy Phillips rolls into his clinic, he sees a submissive headed straight for self-destruction and every protective instinct kicks in. Ignoring the dangers of getting intimately involved with a client, Cliff takes Jimmy under his wing and pries under the broken man’s guard. Getting behind the anger is a challenge the Dom in him just can’t ignore.
What he finds is so much more than he bargained for. Now that he’s reopened all of Jimmy’s old wounds, he’s not so sure he has what it takes to help his new submissive heal. All the control Cliff can muster can’t hold Jimmy’s crumbling world together, and now Cliff faces not just the loss of a sub, but his own fears that he was never worthy of Jimmy in the first place.
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Face To Face
They say home is where the heart is. They never mentioned rusty fire escapes, hustling or dumpsters. They never warned how fragile hearts could be, either. They say home is where the heart is. For Skate and Denny’s sake, they had better be right, because all they have is each other.
For eight months, they’ve been running from past mistakes, a vengeful gang and their own inner demons. But living on the street has become less and less viable. As winter deepens and food gets scarce, they have to make some tough choices. How much can they sacrifice before it becomes too much?
Desperate for survival, Denny is forced to make decisions when Skate no longer can, and takes them back to Rainbow Alley, where their lives first went wrong. Hoping Rolly can help them escape the gang and the streets with their lives, and maybe some of their tattered pride, he begs for help. But going to Rolly might prove to be the one thing that their fragile relationship can’t survive, not to mention that the chaos their return unleashes in the Alley and with its protectors could make them more enemies than friends.
Excerpt from “Face to Face”
“We have to go somewhere,” Mouse was insisting, still yanking on his arm.
“Here’s good.” Skate called up reserves of strength he didn’t really have to spare and hauled Mouse back in. “Not even cold anymore.” He smiled a wilted, floppy smile. “Just tired.”
“That’s what has me worried.” Mouse huddled against him, apparently giving up the attempt to get him to move. “Tell me something?”
“What?” Skate blinked into the dusky light. Knowing they were safe from prying eyes here, he wrapped his arms around Mouse and nestled his chin on his companion’s shoulder, breathing in the faint smell of Mouse clinging under the layers of street.
No use wasting the tiniest smidge of heat, he decided. Besides, despite the reek of city filth and the stale stench of other men, Skate could still detect that special tinge of open sky and hay and sweetness that he was addicted to. If he could breathe Mouse all the time, he would.
“Anything.” Mouse twisted around and cuddled his bony body to Skate’s. He never passed up an opportunity to get close. It didn’t matter how many times Skate reminded him they were just friends, he still wormed his way deeper every opening he got.
“Tell me anything,” he said, voice barely above a kitten purr. “Just talk. I love your voice.”
“Nothing to say,” Skate muttered. He was acutely aware that if anyone were around to overhear them, or see them like this, he would never get away with playing his dog-eared, bent-up straight card. Especially not with the way he let Mouse take the liberty of popping tiny kisses open along the side of his neck.
“You always have something to say.”
Skate tilted his head slightly. The man had a point. Skate had a big mouth. Opening it to voice his displeasure with his little brother after their parents had all but abandoned them had driven Gig into the Greenbacks for good. Opening it when Gig and Marky had tried to leave the gang had got Gig killed. Trying to bring attention to the Greenbacks moving into Rainbow Alley had only gained his former leader’s attention. That had put him in an untenable position that had left his friend, Jimmy Phillips, lying in a drug-induced puddle of drool and himself and Mouse—Denny, his Denny—on the run and freezing to death in an alley. He closed his eyes briefly and forced himself to remember that the man in his arms was called Mouse. Had to be called Mouse, because using his real name got too personal. Too close.
“Skate?”
“Wha—?”
He forced his eyes open to find Mouse’s luminous gaze on him. Brightness from the street lamps bounced off the shimmering golden hue of them and made it look like the little bastard was shining from within.
“Talk to me,” Mouse insisted. “Just whatever you’re thinking about. Anything.”
“I killed my little brother,” Skate blurted, his mind sheering away from the instinct to kiss upturned lips, to fall away into the brilliance inside his friend.
Giveaway
Jamie is offering to send someone a signed copy of one of the books. Only Hotwired Heart, the first one, is not available in print, though. She’ll be happy to send a digital copy, if that is the book the winner wants.
About the Author
Andrew grew up in western Michigan with a father who loved to tell stories and a mother who loved to read them. Since then he has lived throughout the country and traveled throughout the world. He has a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and works in information systems for a large corporation.
Andrew’s hobbies include collecting antiques, gardening, and leaving his dirty dishes anywhere but in the sink (particularly when writing) He considers himself blessed with an accepting family, fantastic friends, and the world’s most supportive and loving partner. Andrew currently lives in beautiful, historic Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
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February 21, 2014
Guest Book ♥ The Beginning by Vicktor Alexander
Today I have The Beginning by Vicktor Alexander stopping by. There’s a sweet giveaway at the end so make sure to read all the way down. Also, check out The True Story of Creation (According to the sons of Adam series) HERE.
The Beginning
Sons of Adam #1
Vicktor Alexander
Ronny Parker has always been aware that there was more to life outside of his Harlem apartment. When he goes to work one morning at Starbucks, he finds himself coming face to face with a reality that he was not prepared for. He finds himself the eyewitness to a fight between two shifters, a wolf and a lion, one of which bites Ronny and calls him “mate.” When Ronny wakes up the next morning, he finds himself thrust into a world neither his family, nor his teachers, ever taught him about and he does the only thing he can do. He starts to investigate.
Cole Tronk has been taught from an early age that he is never to mate a human, never reveal his true nature to a human, and that he cannot be gay. But when he gets into a fight with his oldest friend outside of a Starbucks and finds himself smelling the most intoxicating scent ever, he throws all of those rules out of the window. Before long, Cole and his mate, Ronny, are on the run from the governing body of the paranormals, humans who have now discovered that paranormals, magicks, and supernaturals exist, and someone from Ronny’s past who is determined to kill them both.
Along the way, Cole and Ronny meet up with a group of paranormals, magicks, and supernaturals who are also gay, and who are researching the true history of the world and creation. What they find will not only change their lives, but the entire world and the future. Will Ronny and Cole’s mating survive all of these obstacles? When a millennia-old lie comes back to bite them in the ass, will Ronny and Cole be able to deal with the consequences?
The Beginning can be pre-ordered from Rooster & Pig Publishing at a discounted price until its release day at which time it will go to its normal price:
Noticing that the bus was approaching the store where he worked, Ronny reached up a hand and pulled down on the string to signal for the bus to stop. He winced at the loud noise that sounded and rose from his seat. Walking down the stairs, he stopped at the side door and waited for the bus to come to a stop. Finally able to step off, Ronny squared his shoulders and stepped out of the open doors onto the sidewalk. He smiled at the two women leaving the store and walked around the side to the employee entrance. He stopped shortly after. The sound of flesh slapping against flesh, grunts, and curses reached his ears and it didn’t sound as if there were people having sex. It sounded like a fight. Groaning, Ronny raced forward. He was only five feet and eleven inches tall, built like a swimmer to boot, but he’d found that being black would sometimes chase away troublemakers, regardless of his slim build. Coming to a stop, Ronny’s mouth dropped open. His coworker, Benjamin, was fighting another man, but that wasn’t what shocked Ronny. It was the fact that Benjamin’s hands looked like wolf paws and the man he was fighting had hands like a lion. Ronny gasped when both men shifted into animals, backing up until he bumped into the wall behind him. His gasp alerted them to his presence and he watched with wide eyes as they approached him slowly.
“Oh, fuck, oh, fuck, oh, fuck,” Ronny chanted. “This is how I’m going to die.”
The lion shifted then, back into the form of a man. The lion man walked over towards Ronny and sniffed the air around him. Ronny trembled and began praying internally. This was not how he wanted to die. Not how he planned to be remembered. Killed by a freaky lion shifter person.
“Mmmm,” the lion man hummed. “Mate.”
Ronny’s eyes widened. He’d read enough romance novels to know what that word meant and he also knew that there was never a black man or woman involved in something like that. Mates seemed to be only for other races, so there was no way that he could be somebody’s mate.
“M-mate?” he stammered. “No. You’ve got it all wrong.”
The lion man shook his head. “There is no mistake. You are my mate. I am your destiny. My name is Cole Tronk,” the lion said.
Ronny stared at him in amazement. Cole stood at least six-foot-four and he was all thick muscles, skin that was a beautiful golden tan color, brown hair with gold highlights, and eyes so dark brown they almost looked black. As Ronny’s gaze traveled over the expanse of skin, he felt his own skin grow tight and hot as he took in Cole’s naked form and the thick, long cock hanging between his thighs. Ronny’s body responded to the man’s nudity, his own dick growing firm behind his zipper and his anus clenching as if preparing itself to be speared by Cole’s thick member. Cole’s jaw was square and firm, his lips full, and his nose slim, which twitched as Cole inhaled deeply. He grinned at Ronny and stepped closer.
“I can smell your lust for me, mate.” Cole’s voice was deep and smooth like whiskey. The sound of it flowed over Ronny’s body, tightening it further and making him moan softly.
“I-I’m not your m-mate,” Ronny stammered. “I’m black and human.”
Cole let out a bark of laughter before leaning forward to sniff at the column of Ronny’s neck. He let out a low growl before licking the skin there. Ronny shivered so hard he thought he would fly apart as the front of his pants grew wet with his pre-cum.
“Oh, fuck,” he whispered and clenched his fists against the wall.
Something inside of him wanted to reach out to Cole. He wanted to bring the other man against his body, preferably with both of them naked. He wanted to feel Cole thrusting inside of him. He ached deep inside for… something. He didn’t know what, but he knew that it was somehow the most important thing ever. He noticed that his breath and Cole’s seemed to be in sync and he watched, amazed that whenever he breathed out, Cole inhaled and vice versa. It was as if they were each other’s air.
Riiight, he mentally scoffed. I am not some fucking twink in a romance novel.
Giving himself a mental shake, Ronny raised his hands to push Cole away, who seemed to have gotten so much closer to him in the few seconds it took for Ronny to think. His hands landed on firm pecs and, though he’d told himself that he was pushing the other man away, he found himself squeezing the flesh instead, his palms grazed by the puckered nipples on Cole’s chest.
“Shit,” Cole growled.
It was Ronny’s only warning before sharp pain pierced the join of his neck and left shoulder as Cole, the lion man, buried his fangs into Ronny’s skin. Ronny let out a loud yell, that quickly turned into a moan as the pain became pleasure. Sweet, overwhelming, delicious pleasure. The kind that had him humping Cole’s thigh where it rested between his own legs. It was a pleasure so amazing that it took him a moment to realize that not only had he just cum in his work pants, effectively ruining them, but that he’d just let some fucking lion man bite him.
He told himself that he was going to push Cole away, but his hands seemed to not be listening to him and instead they rose to wrap around Cole’s neck as the other man groaned and drank Ronny’s blood. After a moment, when Ronny was starting to feel just slightly weak, Cole let go of his neck and licked the wounds. He kissed the skin there and began to purr. At first, it freaked Ronny out, but, after a moment, he found himself more turned on by the purring than he’d been by the bite to his neck.
The bite to his—hold the hell on!
Ronny shoved Cole away from him. Jabbing a finger into Cole’s chest, he glared and let out his own growl. “You fucking bit me, you psycho!”
Cole smirked. “You loved it,” he pointed out, crossing his massive arms across his broad chest.
Hi all! I’m Vicktor Alexander but everyone calls me "Vic." Southern gentleman by day, completely displaced and living in New York, and a writer and purveyor of steamy, sticky, hot man on man (sometimes on man on man on man on man on man) sex. I wrote my first story at the tender age of 10 about my youngest biological sister and her destruction of the world…with her breath. The stories didn’t stop there and it wasn’t long or much of a shock to those who knew me well, before I was writing interracial historical romances. I quickly realized that my heroes seemed much happier when they were hanging out with other guys (aren’t we all?) and that was when I discovered the M/M genre.
I now enjoy writing about shifters, humanoids, cowboys, firemen, rent boys, fairies, elves, dancers, doctors, Doms, Subs, and anything else that catches my fancy, all sexy men falling in love with each other and having lots of naughty, dirty, man-on-man sex. I am the author of the best-selling series, The Tate Pack (which still blows my mind) and am a huge fan of the "happily-ever-after" ending. But while all my characters all ride off into the proverbial sunset, all sexually satisfied and in love (because it’s the least I can do), they all bear the scars of fighting for that love, just like in real life. I am never satisfied with only one genre, and every book that I write tends to fall into more than one category and has each main character experiencing more than one orgasm.
Out and proud, I don’t believe that love only comes in one form, one race, one gender and that not only is gender fluid, by sexuality as well. I loves to make people laugh (and guys hot) and when I’m not writing, or rather, procrastinating in writing, I’m reading, playing the Sims 3, hanging out with my very supportive adopted family, talking to my adopted daughter whom I call Chipmunk, seeking the man or men who can handle my crazy, stressful, soap opera-esque life and being distracted from said writing by pictures of John Barrowman and Shemar Moore.
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February 19, 2014
Thursday Teasers: Desires’ Guardian
Welcome to the Thursday Tasters. Here you will find links to some awesome tasters of works written by awesome authors. Find the other tastes HERE
Today’s Taste is from my newly contracted (and unedited) Desires’ Guardian. DG is the story of Chase and Rhys, whom you first met in Designs of Desire, and will be out June 2014 from Dreamspinner Press.
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The sheet, Chase now realized was in all actuality a curtain, slid to reveal a painting of… of him! Well, it was him, but not him at the same time. The artistry was magnificent but over half his face there was a lion superimposed. The lion part even had his ear cuff clipped to the furry ear. Chase stood there gaping, barely noting the gasps and clapping which burst all around him.
Chase moved to the side, trying not to attract attention as questions and praise swarmed James. He couldn’t stop staring at the painting, trying to see how it could possibly be a representation of himself, but couldn’t. He wasn’t powerful or strong like a lion. And while he knew he was descent looking, the man in the painting had an ethereal beauty that dumbfounded him. It was both humbling and uncomfortable to look upon and hear Jamie’s voice in his head saying that was how he saw him.
Chase was startled out of his thoughts when two of his friends, Simon Tyler and Dale Millar, nudged him. “Chase! Did you know about the painting? It’s amazing,” Simon gushed.
Chase shook his head. “I didn’t. He can’t really see me that way, can he?”
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Blurb:
Chase is outwardly a party-boy twink, or at least that’s what many think when they first meet him. Actually, Chase is a loyal friend with deep wounds that only his BFF knows anything about. When he meets Rhys things don’t go well, but he can’t shake the attraction for the huge, sexy man.
Rhys Sayer is a man of contradictions and fear—a strange combination for a PI and bodyguard. When he first lays eyes on Chase Manning, he’s not in a good place emotionally and causes any possible future together to go poof, maybe. Rhys is not a complicated man, he doesn’t think so at least. But he fears the very type of relationship he desires, and even worse, Chase is his dream man in more ways than one!
Can Chase move past his hidden pains to truly let a man into his heart in the forever kind of way? Can Rhys win over the whiley Chase and teach him that love and trust are his to grasp?
February 18, 2014
Writing update…
I wanted to let all my loving fans know that you have so much to look forward to this year in the Desires Entwined series!
As many know, Desires’ Guardian is scheduled for Release in June 2014, but did you know that Temptations of Desire will be out in September of this year as well? Well, those two are full novels but as of yesterday afternoon (yep, signed the contract and everything, lol) there will be TWO shorts released that are mini extensions on Designs of Desire. Simple Desires will be out this spring and Bound by Desire out shortly before Desires’ Guardian releases! Oh, and there’s a short that goes with Temptations of Desire as well, but that’s for later in the year…
But don’t think that’s all… No, I’m working on a few standalone projects and things for anthologies as well so soon you’ll have lots of yummy men to read, travel along with, and fall in love with.
Have a great week everyone!
February 15, 2014
Guest Book ♥ The Pack or the Panther by Tara Lain
Welcome to my book posting series and The Battle Between Cats and Dogs!
Today I have invited a wonderful book to be my guest and hope you will give him a try once you read the blurb and devastating excerpt. Also, there’s a giveaway… so don’t miss out of a great new read. Oh, almost forgot… It’s 25% Off over at DSP!
The Pack or the Panther
by Tara Lain
Tales of the Harker Pack
Cover by Aaron Anderson
Contemporary Paranormal M/M
January 8th 2014
Cole Harker, son of an alpha werewolf, is bigger and more powerful than most wolves, tongue-tied in groups, and gay. For twenty-four years, he’s lived to please his family and pack—even letting them promise him in marriage to female werewolf Analiese to secure a pack alliance and help save them from a powerful gangster who wants their land. Then Cole meets Analiese’s half-brother, panther shifter Paris Marketo, and for the first time, Cole wants something for himself.
When Analiese runs off to marry a human, Cole finally has a chance with Paris, but the solitary cat rejects him, the pack, and everything it represents. Then Cole discovers the gangster wants Paris too and won’t rest until he has him. What started as a land dispute turns into World War Wolf! But the bigger fight is the battle between cats and dogs.
Dreamspinner Press
Amazon
All Romance eBooks
Cole took hold of a branch a few feet from Paris. “Do you think the alliance will stand?” He shrugged. “Hard to say. I know everyone hopes so, so I hope so too.” Cole pulled his eyebrows together. “But you don’t really care.”
Paris looked up sharply. “Yes, I care. I care about my parents. They’ve been good to me and I owe them a lot. I’m a freak by wolf standards, and my father has never abjured me. I honestly believe he kept me separate for my well-being more than his own. He acknowledges me as his son even though I remind him of his greatest sorrow.”
“Your panther mother.” He nodded. “And Trixie isn’t a brave female. My existence is difficult for her, but she’s been nothing but good to me. She had to stand against the combined disapproval of a lot of other females for me. They didn’t know what I was, but they knew I was Merced’s first wife’s son. They weren’t kind. She was. I value her and want the best.”
Cole nodded. If there was one thing he understood, it was loyalty.
“And then there’s you.”
Cole glanced up. Look at that mischievous face. He’d switched from deeply serious to court jester in one second flat. “What about me?” He grinned.
The cat danced around his tree, unfastening buttons on his shirt with intricate skill. “You want the alliance and I want you. Isn’t that an Aristotelian principle? If A equals B and B equals C, then Paris wants Cole to have his alliance so Paris can have Cole’s big yummy cock in his ass. An ass, I might add, that’s been throbbing like a voodoo drum since I first looked in your silver eyes, wolfman.” He whipped off the shirt, leaving his upper body bare.
Wow. Even knowing what was coming, that sight was hard to believe. The cat’s skin glowed in the moonlight like so much alabaster formed into a work of art. If you liked bulky, you wouldn’t like Paris. But if the look of a black leopard stealing along a branch stilled your heart, this sight would do it for you down to the ground. Not really slim. More like lean, with muscles just where they should be, but as if they were made of silk rather than stone. Fluid.
Paris reached and grabbed a branch, then pulled himself up one-armed until he leaned over the wood on his belly. Flip. He circled and came up to sitting, his upper body glowing and long legs dangling. He spread his arms out for a second as if balancing on a tightrope. Then he reached in and started to unfasten his belt. Slowly, he slipped it from his trousers, then swung it over his head until it caught on an upper branch.
He pulled himself to standing and used one hand to slowly lower his fly. White showed in the gap. Oh my. Not white underwear. White skin. Cole shuddered. He wasn’t used to this kind of sexy. Hell, who was? This cat was one of a kind.
Leave me a comment and I’ll pick a random winner to receive a free copy of The Pack or the Panther!
Tara Lain writes the Beautiful Boys of Romance in LGBT erotic romance novels that star her unique, charismatic heroes. Her first novel was published in January of 2011 and she’s now somewhere around book 21. Her best-selling novels have garnered awards for Best Series, Best Contemporary Romance, Best Ménage, Best LGBT Romance, Best Gay Characters, and Tara has been named Best Writer of the Year in the LRC Awards.
In her other job, Tara owns an advertising and public relations firm. She often does workshops on both author promotion and writing craft. She lives with her soul-mate husband and her soul-mate dog in Laguna Beach, California, a pretty seaside town where she sets a lot of her books. Passionate about diversity, justice, and new experiences, Tara says on her tombstone it will say “Yes”!
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