TCO Reviewer: Deanna

Hacked Up by Ethan Stone: Quick Review with Giveaway

February 22, 2017 by Denise

synopsis Seattle is being plagued by a string of gruesome murders. For Detective Peter Tao, it’s a career-making case, but he’s struggling to find a lead. How is the killer choosing his victims? What is he trying to prove?

With a long list of suspects and nothing to connect them, Peter is more determined than ever to apprehend the murderer. Then Peter gets the one vital piece of evidence that ties everything together. Now he’ll have to look beyond the obvious to identify the killer before anyone else is murdered.

Solve the mystery in this fast-moving crime thriller by Ethan Stone.

Title: Hacked Up

Author: Ethan Stone

Publisher: Stone Publishing

Release Date: Feb 6, 2017

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Goodreads Link

deanna review

Ethan Stone is a new author for me and I was really looking for something different than the normal contemporary romance I’ve been reading lately. This book definitely hit the mark, from the first page I was sucked in. So much so, that I woke up at 3 am to read the last half of the book.

Detective Peter Tao and his partner Detective Jamey Nolan pick up a homicide case where the male victim was stabbed in the neck and after he died his genitals were cut off. It takes two victims for the detectives to link the crimes back to the hack of Ashley Madison by the hacker group Anonymous. I don’t want to get into too much detail and give anything away.

I will say there is a small romantic story line but it in no way overshadows the other plot line and really complements the story.

The plot moves at a steady pace with numerous twists and turns. The story was well thought out and well executed. It was incredibly entertaining and I couldn’t find any plot holes or anything I would have changed. The characters were very well developed, the backstories were full of rich detail.

This book was the perfect detour from my normal contemporary read. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can’t wait to read more by Ethan Stone.

5 pieces of eye candy

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meet the author

Romance on the Edge

Ethan Stone doesn’t write your typical boy meets boy stories. With a combination of love and suspense he makes his characters work hard for their HEAs. If they can survive what he puts them through, then they can survive anything. He enjoys Romance with an Edge.

Ethan has been reading mysteries and thrillers since he was young. He’s had a thing for guys in uniform for just as long. That may have influenced the stories he writes.

He’s a native Oregonian with two kids. One of whom has made him a grandfather three times over; even though he is way too young.

Readers can find Ethan online.

www.ethanjstone.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ethan.stone.54

Twitter: @ethanjstone

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/ethanjstone/

Tumblr: www.tumblr.com/blog/ethanstone

Email: ethanstone.nv@gmail.com

His books: http://www.ethanjstone.com/my-books

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Painted on my Heart by Kindle Alexander: Blog Tour, Excerpt, Review, and Giveaway

January 3, 2017 by Denise

Title: Painted On My Heart

Author: Kindle Alexander

Genre: M/M Romance

Release Date: January 2, 2017

Artist Kellus Hardin let love and loyalty cloud his past decisions, a mistake he definitely won’t make again. Now, lost and alone, he’s left to pick up the shattered pieces of his broken heart while facing the truth of his reality.

Arik Layne exudes power, confidence, and determination. But when an encounter with the guarded artist shakes him to the core and alters all his future goals, he finds more than just his heart on the line.

For Kellus, opening himself to love isn’t an option.

All Arik wants is to make the artist his.

Can love create a masterpiece when it’s painted on your heart?

Painted on My Heart by Kindle Alexander from Bibliophile Productions on Vimeo.

teaser

deanna review

Wow! There isn’t one aspect of this book that I don’t adore. The writing is stellar, the characters are complex and relatable and the plot line kept you on the edge of your seat.

Arik owns a chain of popular hotels and is opening one in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. His cousin Gage has hired local artist Kellus to make an original piece to hang in the lobby of the hotel. Kellus has made other pieces for his hotel chain but Arik has never had the opportunity to meet the artist face to face. One look and Arik is hooked.

Kellus has come to learn that he can’t depend on anyone but himself. His family has turned their back on him and his best friend/boyfriend has chosen his drug habit over him, but not before taking everything of value from him and leaving his life in tatters. Kellus has the weight of the world on his shoulders and he doesn’t have time for a relationship. Kellus’s big dream is for stability, it both his personal and professional life.

Arik is offering both, but it will take a huge leap of faith from Kellus to believe they won’t be snatched away. Just as Kellus starts to get comfortable with Arik, his ex rears his ugly head, sending Kellus off doing damage control. Kellus is so afraid that he isn’t worth the drama and extra effort and that Arik will walk away, when all Arik wants to do is hold onto his gorgeous artist tighter.

I love the character crossover. We get to see Gage and Trent and Colt and Jace again, which is always a good thing.

This was a long book, but an amazing book. Despite the length, the plot never got stuck it always kept moving. For me there weren’t any parts that were slower that others, the whole storyline was well developed and entertaining.

Arik, what can I say about Arik. His confidence was a delight. He saw who he wanted and he barreled through Kellus’s defenses to get to his heart. The way Arik could take one look at Kellus’s art and see exactly what Kellus was going through at that point one in his life was one more foundation block in building their rock solid relationship.

The quirky relationship Arik has with Gage had be laughing, it was much needed comic relief. They fight like children and at times it was just the levity that was needed. While Arik and Gage are the larger than life jokesters, Kellus and Trent are the quiet strength.

Kellus reminds me of a wounded warrior, he may have been broken by his ex at one point but his spirit is still fierce. The words were so well written that at the height of the drama with his ex I could actually feel his embarrassment, despair and soul crushing ache of not being in control of anything. Even when it appeared that nothing else could be heaped on top of Kellus without breaking him, his inner strength would surprise the hell out of you.

This book was a great way to start out 2017.

5 pieces of eye candy

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Chapter 1

The shrill ring of his phone should have startled him awake, but Kellus Hardin was just too damn tired to do much more than roll in the direction of the irritating sound and throw a hand out to half-ass search around his mattress for the device. When he came up empty handed, he managed to turn the other way and do the same. By the time his exhausted sleep-hazed brain identified the phone wasn’t anywhere around him, he heard the chirp indicating a voice mail. He cracked an eyelid and lifted his head enough to look over at the alarm clock. Four thirty in the morning. Seriously? Nothing good could come from a call that time of night. He collapsed back to the bed with an annoyed groan. He’d been asleep less than an hour after working the fifteen before on the pieces he had due for the art gallery opening.

“Fuck,” he growled out, turning over again. He tucked a soft pillow into his side and decided he’d deal with that call in the morning. His exhausted state gave a solid thumbs-up on the plan, and he easily drifted back to sleep. What had to be a mere second later, the ringing started again. Stupid cell phone.

Kellus threw the covers away from his body and darted off the bed, angrier than he’d been in a very long time. He was fucking tired—tired of his fucked-up life and tired of this motherfucker who wouldn’t leave him the fuck alone.

Fuck!

With a vengeance, he zeroed in on the location of the noise. He marched to his laundry basket by the bedroom door and began tearing through the clothes to find the stupid phone, no doubt still inside his paint-spattered coveralls where he’d dropped it not fifty-three minutes ago before he’d finally managed to crawl into bed.

Palming the device, he glared at the caller ID. John. Of course. Who else would call in the middle of the fucking night?

“What?” he shouted as he connected the call.

“Come get him.” A deep masculine voice with a Spanish accent had him pulling the phone from his ear to look down at the screen in confusion.

Wait. Great. Even fucking better—John’s dealer.

“No,” he said firmly as he stood tall and fisted his free hand at his side. His chest bowed in defiance as if the guy on the other end of the phone were right there in his darkened bedroom. “You give him that shit, you deal with him.”

The harsh laugh on the other end of the line held what might have been genuine amusement. “I deal with him and it won’t end well.” The line went dead. Kellus shoved his fingers through his hair to help push the long strands out of his eyes.

“Fuck!” he bellowed to the empty room, spinning in a complete circle, gripping his phone in his hand and punching his fist through the air. Thank God he was alone, because if anybody had witnessed that little outburst he’d have been carted off to the nearest mental facility. He was just so fucking sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Breath heaving as anger and dread coursed through his veins, Kellus stood there, staring absently at his bed. The fatigue of the day settled heavy on his shoulders. He had responsibilities. He couldn’t take on more of John’s bullshit. He jammed the heels of his palms against his tired eyes and released an exhausted sigh. After so many hours holding a brush for the fine details of his painting, his hands cramped with the movement, and the muscles in his neck and back protested the long hours he’d put in today. He needed sleep. More than the fifty-three minutes he’d gotten.

“I’m not fucking doing this again. I warned him the last time. I made it clear. No more!” Kellus sliced the hand still holding his cell through the air with finality. With that decision made, he stalked across the room and tossed his phone on the nightstand. He climbed back in his bed, whipping the covers over his exhausted body.

He hadn’t heard from John in six days.

Six glorious, productive, happy days.

Staring up at the ceiling, unable to get his mind to shut off, he told himself he’d made the right decision. John needed to stay away. Kellus forced his eyelids closed. At this point, he’d still get a few good hours sleep before he had to start his day. The longer he lay there, the more guilt crept in.

It always did.

Images of his best friend came to mind. Happier times. Memories of his and John’s younger days and all the trouble they’d managed to get into. Those thoughts actually calmed his breathing. His mind drifted to the summer of their senior year. He hadn’t thought about that time in so long. He and John had gone to the lake with some friends. A healthy, glowing, handsome John had teased him unmercifully until he had finally agreed to skinny dip…

“Fuck!” Kellus whipped off the covers and rose, angry and worried.

He couldn’t leave John in that place.

Kellus stopped dead center in his bedroom, fuming; he was so pissed at himself, at his own indecision, at John. What the fuck was wrong with him? John had destroyed both their lives, shit on him over and over with absolutely no regard for his feelings whatsoever. He’d lost everything because of John. He swore he’d never do this again.

But he couldn’t leave John there.

Not there.

Dejected, Kellus ran a frustrated hand over his face, sighed, then went for his closet to dress.

~~~

Topping out at max speed, Arik Layne flew down the Dallas North Tollway. Being the only one on the highway might have been the only benefit of flying home in the middle of the night from his Escape Del Mar property.

God, he was past exhausted.

Less than five minutes later, Arik parked and wearily made his way through the private entrance of his downtown Dallas high-rise, shrugging out of his hand-tailored suit jacket before he reached the elevator. At the elevator, he tossed the garment over his arm and entered his exclusive security code into the wall-mounted keypad, effectively locking the car for his personal use. The doors opened immediately. The technology didn’t require him to do anything more than step inside before the doors closed and the overhead floor-indicator light displayed each passing floor, a soft ding sounding repeatedly as he traveled non-stop up the forty or so floors to his penthouse. Arik rested against the back wall, forcing a finger into the knot of his necktie to loosen its tight hold. He then removed each cuff link at his wrist and absently dropped them into his slacks pockets. The more he removed now, the faster he could hit his perfect Vera Wang mattress and shut his tired eyes.

The entire building was quiet. Another benefit to relocating to this area. Well, sort of. Dallas as a whole was quieter than any place he’d ever lived. He walked the few steps to his front door, pulling out his wallet to wave in front of the security pad when the doors didn’t unlock at his arrival. Strangely, the key card inside his wallet didn’t trigger the lock to release. Arik let out a yawn as he entered his code into the attached keypad. He’d have to remember to check his card in the morning.

The overhead lights automatically lit as he entered his front door, and the motion sensors continued lighting his way the deeper he ventured inside his home. Arik absently tossed his suit jacket on a chair in the living room, never straying from the direct path to his bedroom. He pulled his shirttails from his slacks, his level of sheer exhaustion rising with each step he took. Honestly, that had to be the only reason he didn’t register the glow of lights coming from underneath the closed door until he’d already turned the handle.

“What the fuck?” His heart almost leaped out of his chest when he stepped inside his bedroom to find someone sprawled across his bed in what probably qualified as a seductive pose. Recognition took another second to seep in.

“Surprise!” A small pop sounded and confetti flew into the air, scattering across his bed.

Arik’s brows snapped together. Oh hell no. He loved that bed.

“What the hell are you doing?” Arik asked as he moved farther inside the room. He registered the slight look of indignation and the flip of that long, black, silky hair before Boy Toy’s face morphed again into a pleasant smile.

“I came to surprise you.” BT wiggled his sexy ass and gave a cheeky little smile.

Even as tired and annoyed as he was, Arik experienced a stir below his belt. He was human after all, and this particular BT was especially skilled. He stopped at his dresser, reached inside his front slacks pockets and casually tossed the contents on the small tray. He didn’t like surprises of any kind, and BT, short for boy toy number one hundred and—hell, he’d lost count of the willing men he’d bedded—had just shocked the hell out of him.

This one was way too pretty and so deliciously tempting that for a split second he almost gave in…almost.

No, he had to stay firm. This was utter bullshit. He couldn’t have random BTs breaking into his home, surprising him at every turn, desecrating his perfect bed with confetti.

“How did you get in here?” he asked, leaning against the dresser, casually crossing his arms over his chest.

“I’ve been planning this since you left me last week. I swiped your card from your wallet when you were in the shower.” Boy Toy lost the erotic pose, probably too much strain for his delicate body.

“I guess I need to keep a closer eye on my wallet in the future.” Arik shoved away from the dresser and headed toward his closet.

“I’m beginning to think you’re not happy that I’m here. You know I’d look good on your arm for the opening of Escape Dallas.” BT hopped up from the bed and trailed after him, following him into the closet.

“Are these your things?” he asked, nodding toward the garment bag hanging in his closet with luggage settled beneath. Arik’s things had been pushed aside and replaced with BT’s, as if the guy planned to stay awhile. First the bed, now the closet. He didn’t allow anyone to breach his private space. That crossed every line he had.

Fuck, he’d known when he first saw this guy he’d be trouble. The gorgeous ones always were. Arik shook his head.

“Yes, I put them next to yours. I arrived late and didn’t have time to unpack.”

Arik abandoned his silk tie on the built-in dresser and began to grab BT’s things. The level of pissed off coursing through him now superseded any desire he might have mustered.

“You can’t ever do this again. I told you from the beginning,” Arik said, shoving the garment bag toward BT as he went for the two suitcases, then he tossed the strap of one over his shoulder and grabbed the other by the handgrip. How long had he even planned to stay that he needed all this?

“Be careful with that. It’s got my mink inside!” BT carefully draped the bag over his arm, allowing Arik to take him by his other arm and forcefully guide him from the closet.

“Why in the hell would you bring a fur coat to Texas?” Arik kept his grip tight, even when BT tried to worm his way out.

“Why would I leave home without… What are you doing?” BT actually held on to the doorframe to keep Arik from removing him from the bedroom.

“You’re going to the guest room, BT. We’ll talk—”

A solid outraged screech cut him off.

“Stop calling me that! I hate that. I have a name.” The guy went into full-on diva mode right there in the middle of his hall.

“You’ve known the deal from the beginning. I don’t like these kinds of surprises. I was very clear,” Arik said. When he realized it might take two hands to deposit BT into the guest bedroom, he went for that door, pushed it open wide, and tossed the suitcase in his hand across the room. For a second there, he’d thought the guy planned to go back to Arik’s bedroom which would have turned things pretty shitty real quick. Luckily, BT came toward him with a very calm, patient look on his face.

“If you would just go with it, we could have a very special relationship,” BT said, placing a delicate hand on Arik’s dress shirt, letting his fingers trail down Arik’s chest as he took a step closer. “I’m good at attending events with you. I look good on your arm. Besides, I’m tired of modeling. It takes up so much of my time. And if we came to some sort of arrangement, with all my extra free time, I could take care of you any way you saw fit.”

“Not gonna happen.”

BT’s words couldn’t have been better deterrent for giving in and indulging in a quick hook-up. Arik preferred his fun with no strings attached. Not that he had anything against the whole finding Mr. Right concept. But the boy toy currently groping his ass was not anywhere close to his idea of relationship material. Arik stopped the hand at his waistband and shrugged the case off his shoulder, dumping it right inside the guest bedroom door. He left the gorgeous but clearly crazy man standing there as he headed back toward his bedroom.

“I need to leave here by eight in the morning. Be ready.’’

“Seriously? You’re just leaving? I stretched myself to be ready for you.”

Arik looked back to see BT stomp his foot for good measure, his now flaccid dick swinging in the process. BT was certainly beautifully put together, tall, lean, chiseled abs, a perfect body that Arik knew from past experience could bring a lot of pleasure.

No, Arik. That was how he’d gotten in this situation in the first place. Stop. No. Walk away.

“Goodnight, BT. Don’t come back to my room,” he said at the door.

“Stop calling me BT! I’m not just your boy toy! My name is Steffan.”

Steffan—yeah, he remembered that now. Steffan twirled around and stalked into the guest bedroom, that long hair floating out around him. The door slammed shut in his wake.

Arik closed his door and reached down to twist the lock when he heard something crashing against the guest room door. Arik chuckled at that one and quickly opened his door again.

“Be ready by eight in the morning. I won’t be happy if you make me late,” he yelled before closing and relocking the door.

He staggered to the bed. His bed. Even with taking the time to rid the bedspread of the confetti and change the pillowcases where that overly strong cologne lingered, he’d still, hopefully, get at least a couple hours’ sleep.

Best Selling Author Kindle Alexander is an innovative writer, and a genre-crosser who writes classic fantasy, romance, suspense, and erotica in both the male/male and male/female genres. It’s always a surprise to see what’s coming next!

I live in the suburbs of Dallas where it’s true, the only thing bigger than an over active imagination, may be women’s hair!

Usually, I try for funny. Humor is a major part of my life – I love to laugh, and it seems to be the thing I do in most situations – regardless of the situation, but jokes are a tricky deal… I don’t want to offend anyone and jokes tend to offend. So instead I’m going to tell you about Kindle.

I tragically lost my sixteen year old daughter to a drunk driver. She had just been at home, it was early in the night and I heard the accident happen. I’ll never forget that moment. The sirens were immediate and something inside me just knew. I left my house, drove straight to the accident on nothing more than instinct. I got to be there when my little girl died – weirdly, I consider that a true gift from above. She didn’t have to be alone.

That time in my life was terrible. It’s everything you think it would be times about a billion. I love that kid. I loved being her mother and I loved watching her grow into this incredibly beautiful person, both inside and out. She was such a gift to me. To have it all ripped away so suddenly broke me.

Her name was Kindle. Honest to goodness – it was her name and she died a few weeks before Amazon released their brand new Kindle ereader. She had no idea it was coming out and she would have finally gotten her name on something! Try finding a ruler with the name Kindle on it.. It never happened.

Through the course of that crippling event I was lucky enough to begin to write with a dear friend in the fan fiction world of Facebook. She got me through those dark days with her unwavering support and friendship. There wasn’t a time she wasn’t there for me. Sometimes together and sometimes by myself, we built a world where Kindle lives and stands for peace, love and harmony. It’s its own kind of support group. I know without question I wouldn’t be here today without her.

Find out more by visiting www.kindlealexander.com or email me at kindle@kindlealexander.com

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Love and Snowball Fights by J.R. Loveless: Quick Review

January 2, 2017 by Denise

synopsis

Lane Freeman supposed there were worse places to be dumped than a place named Christmas Valley. After being ejected from the foster care system, he spent the past five years hitchhiking and moving around. But six months of a steady job at Tal’s Bar and Grill, an apartment, and even a three-legged cat have him almost ready to risk putting down a few roots when Tal’s brother comes home for the holidays.

Dallas firefighter Trey Jenkins reluctantly accepts that Lane isn’t like the other drifters who’ve come through his brother’s place. A fragile attraction begins to bloom between them in spite of the many reasons they each have to fight it. Trey wants to give Lane a family, but experience has taught Lane to depend on no one but himself. Will winter love burn hot in the town called Christmas Valley or will Lane return to his wandering ways?

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Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

deanna review

I really enjoyed this one, J R Loveless is a new author to me and I wasn’t disappointed.

Lane is extremely shy, almost painfully so. His parents died when he was 15 and he bounced around from foster home to foster home until he was 18. Then he roamed from place to place never allowing anyone close, until he lands in Christmas Valley.

Lane starts working at a restaurant as a bus boy and slowly the owner, Tal earns his trust. Then Lane finds a cat and before you know it, he’s put down some roots. He’s still extremely quiet and uncomfortable around strangers, but he’s taking care of himself.

Then Lane meets Trey, Tal’s brother who can only be described as rude. Trey is so used to Tal being taken in by a sad story and then being hurt when someone steals from him that he assumes Lane is doing the same thing. Without giving Lane a chance, Trey warns him about hurting Tal. Lane is so upset by the confrontation that he begins planning his escape from Christmas Valley and Trey.

Tal finally corners Trey and explains just how bad a life Lane had before coming to Christmas Valley. The story has Trey looking at Lane in a new light and he knows he has to do everything he can to repair the tenuous relationship he has with the skittish man.

As the two work together in the restaurant, Lane becomes more comfortable in Trey’s presence. A huge snowstorm leaves Lane and Trey snowed in together and Lane realizes that he’s fighting a losing battle trying to keep him feelings for Trey at bay. Trey only has until the snow melts to prove to Lane that he’s worth the gamble.

Great holiday read. I love stories with strong characters that don’t realize how strong they are. Lane is as strong as they come, but he didn’t realize it about himself. Trey may be physically stronger, but Lane is an emotional fortress.

If ever there was someone that deserved a happily ever after its Lane. I. So glad he got it.

J R Loveless is a new author to me, but I am definitely going to read a few more. Very enjoyable story, great scenery and characters.

4 pieces of eye candy

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Only Forever by Scotty Cade: Release Day Review

November 30, 2016 by Denise

synopsis

Master Captain Theodore Gourdin has always loved the ocean. But his devotion to maritime life left little possibility for a long-term relationship. After two failed marriages, Theo gave up on finding the person who completed him and decided the sea was his soul mate. When offered the opportunity to captain the newly launched megayacht Eternity, Theo jumped at the chance. With Eternity’s maiden voyage looming, Theo focused all his energies on hiring his crew and readying his ship. The last thing he expected was to finally lose his heart in the process.

After twelve years at sea, First Officer Heath Rawlins was restless and in need of a change. A gay seaman’s life could be a lonely one, but to Heath the positives far outweighed the negatives. With excellent recommendations and an impressive résumé, he was quickly offered a position on the private megayacht Eternity. Heath’s heart skipped several beats when he finally met the ship’s captain. He was handsome and charming. And… familiar? Had they met somewhere before? Highly unlikely. But as smitten as Heath was with the gorgeous captain, everything inside him screamed, Abandon ship! Rough seas ahead!

Title: Only Forever
Author: Scotty Cade
Release Date: November 30, 2016
Category: Contemporary
Pages: 134

Amazon

ARe

Dreamspinner Press

deanna review

Oh my goodness, I am so glad I read this book. Amazing doesn’t cut it. This isn’t they type of story I would normally read, but something called to the romantic in me.

Theo is Captain of a new yacht, Eternity and looking for a crew to man the ship for it’s maiden voyage. Heath applies for the First Commander spot and the two meet for dinner to discuss the job. Instantly both men feel a sense of deja vu, like they must have met before. Heath accepts the job and the two dive into preparations for the voyage.

Both Heath and Theo begin having weird dreams about two men in love named Eddie and Steven. While Eddie and Steven resemble Heath and Theo they aren’t identical. Both men begin to see eerie resemblances between the dreams and the present and a recurrence of the song “Only Forever” which Theo doesn’t remember hearing before but knows all the words to. With the attraction becoming too much to fight, Theo and Heath give into it and immediately feel a sense of completeness. Like they were each half of a whole, waiting for the other.

“How long will I search to hold you again? Only forever… if it takes until then!”

I’m not sure where to begin, I’m probably going to gush. This was a perfect story for me. I love the idea of destined lovers that find each other from one life to the next. The setting was romantic and perfect as was the name of the yacht. Could there be a more fitting name than Eternity?

I loved that there were only a few steamy scenes, it helped lend credibility to the connection between Theo and Heath being more than physical.

My favorite parts were the prologue and the epilogue, heart-wrenchingly beautiful. How lucky would we be to find a love that transcends time? To meet the love of your life over and over again. This is one of those books that will stay with me for a long time.

5 pieces of eye candy

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Catching Heir by Julia Talbot: Guest Post & Release Day Review

November 30, 2016 by Denise

synopsis

Is he in love with an old hotel—or its new owner?

Professional snowboarder Cullen Patrick is successful and kinda famous. So when he inherits an old Colorado hotel from an unknown relative, he really should leave well enough alone.

Matt Nathanson has been managing the Treeline Estates since college. He loved the elderly former owner, and he stands to inherit the place if no one claims it in the next week. Of course, Cullen shows up, and Matt thinks it’s time to move on. He doesn’t want to like Cullen, no matter how engaging the guy is, or how hunky.

Cullen has grand ideas for the Treeline, but he doesn’t want to implement them without Matt, and he’s not sure he’s ready to give up snowboarding. Can Matt convince Cullen that putting down roots is worth it… and maybe catch his heir at the same time?

Title: Catching Heir
Author: Julia Talbot
Release Date: December 1, 2016
Category: Contemporary, Dreamspun Desires
Pages: 220

Guest Post

The Snowboarder in My Past

Hey, y’all! I’m Julia Talbot, and I here to talk about my newest release with Dreamspinner Press, Catching Heir.

The novel is about a professional snowboarder who inherits an old hotel in Colorado. When Cullen gets there, the manager, a hot, if stodgy, man from Texas, thinks he’s about to inherit the hotel, instead. Matt is surprised and angry when he realizes Cullen intends to stay, but we all know hope isn’t lost! This is romance, darn it!

So, when I decided to write a snowboarder, I knew I would have to do some research to see what and who was current in the world of extreme sports, but I also knew some things never change, so I could call upon personal experience.

I lived in Colorado for ten years, and in most of that time, I was a circulation manager at a college library, a small university on the Western Slope, which is what they call the area west of the continental divide. In Grand Junction, you have very few entertainment choices unless you’re “outdoorsy”. Hiking, mountain biking, skiing, rafting, snowboardng… These kinds of activities are super available, and to a man or a woman, most of the eighteen to twenty-one year old kids who worked for me were totally into them.

I had one student in particular, let’s call him Braden, who was a snowboarder. A damned good one from what I could tell, mainly from what the girls said about him. He was obsessed with snowboarding, and when he wasn’t shredding out there in the snow, he was thinking about it, or talking about it, or practicing for it on his skateboard. Braden was the laziest worker I had, and he was never embarrassed to call in sick if there was fresh powder.

If I let Braden work nights, as we were open until eleven pm, I would come in the next morning to security footage of him sliding down the handrail of the atrium stairs standing up or flying past the camera at the front desk on a rolling office chair, feet together, knees bent, hands out for balance.

He made me laugh all the time. The neat thing about Braden was how he knew everything there was about snow and ice. He knew that the closer you were to the coast, the better the snow, so ski areas in Idaho and Nevada, then Utah, then Colorado were preferable. He knew what local slopes, which in Grand Junction could be everything from Vail to Telluride, including the tiny Powderhorn just up the road on Grand Mesa, would be like in any given conditions: wet snow, dry snow, sheet ice. All of it. He was quick to tell me that it was the lift ticket that cost so darned much, and when I gave him one I won to Telluride from a vending machine, attached to a bottle of diet Coke, he was ecstatic, and he brought me back a t-shirt that read: If you can read this, flip my Jeep back over.

When I needed to write Cullen, my snowboarder, I put a lot of Braden in him. The humor and the snow knowledge, the slang like “asspass” and “Shred”. (Asspass is when you fall on your butt and slide.) I also played the what if game. What if Braden had been a child prodigy at his sport. What would he be like if that was all he’d ever done.

I hope I did him justice in the little parts of Braden that I used to build Cullen. And wherever Braden is right now, I hope he’s well on his way to a righteous snow dump so he can bust it down the hill.

Find Cullen and Matt in Catching Heir, my new Dreamspun Desire from Dreamspinner Press.

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deanna review

What a great read. Julia Talbot is a new author to me and I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Matt is just days away from claiming ownership of The Treeline, a hotel he has worked hard to maintain for years when Cullen, the deceased owners grandson is found and ownership reverts to him. Cullen is a professional snowboarder and never wanted to own a hotel.

Ben, the previous owner wrote a clause in the hotel trust that Matt could never be fired for any reason. His job was and always would be secure at The Treeline. Cullen and Matt will have to work together to ensure the success of The Treeline while Cullen still has his snowboarder’s life to contend with. Along the way feelings are developed and both want to make their arrangement a little more permanent.

I loved his! It was a sweet, low angst read. I loved the progression of the relationship between Cullen and Matt. It felt real, with everyday obstacles and little to no drama.

4 pieces of eye candy

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meet the author

Julia Talbot lives in the great Southwest, where there is hot and cold running rodeo, cowboys, and everything from meat and potatoes to the best Tex-Mex. A full time author, Julia has been published by Samhain Publishing, Dreamspinner Press, and Changeling Press. She believes that everyone deserves a happy ending, so she writes about love without limits, where boys love boys, girls love girls, and boys and girls get together to get wild, especially when her crazy paranormal characters are involved. Find Julia at @juliatalbot on Twitter, or at www.juliatalbot.com

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Dirk Tales, The Book by Dan Skinner: Author Guest Post, Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway

November 24, 2016 by Denise

synopsis

Dirk Tales, The Book includes previously released Misadventures of Doc & Dirk volumes, available now for the first time in paperback, an additional episode, and more!

He’s a middle-aged, newly single, gay photographer starting life over. Along comes a freshly out nineteen-year-old, irreverent free spirit who wants to be his apprentice. Mismatched by more than a generation, what could possibly go wrong? Everything! And it’s AWESOME!

Dirk’s First Time: Every gay boy has his first experience. Usually it’s a memorable, exciting personal time of discovery and intimacy between two young people. But two comic book characters? Is it horseplay or Cosplay?

The Boy At The Gym: First impressions can be deceiving. Sometimes that boy in the baggy clothes, talking to himself in the gym isn’t as shy as he appears. Sometimes there’s a deviant imp lurking beneath that freckled mask of innocence. Beware the Trojan Nerd!

A “Muse” ing: Most authors struggle with the voices or “muses” in their head when writing. Tuning that voice out becomes a little more challenging when your muse is a real-life nineteen-year-old who inhales espresso and turns out ideas at light speed. Danger Will Robinson!

Daddy and The Rent Boy: In sales, advertising is half the battle. That can become hazardous when you’re in the company of an irreverent walking billboard.

Sex Dolls and Bad Dates: We’ve all had one of those dates where we think we’ve bitten off more than we can chew. The trick to know is Bite or Flight?

Dirk’s Quirks: Everyone has idiosyncrasies; that’s what makes us interesting. If you’re lucky, you get a heaping helping and can share them with everyone.

Make it Naked: Teaching a nineteen-year-old walking hormone photography apprentice to shoot nudes is more than an adventure… It’s a human obstacle course.

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Guest Post

Don’t Fight Magic – Dirk Tales Blog Tour Post

I’m not a superstitious person. I’m not even a religious person. I’ve always been a realist, a pragmatist. I sincerely subscribe to the assertion that hard work equals success, to never half-ass anything you do and you can attain your goals.

I’m also a person who sets goals… firmly and works toward them fiercely because, like everyone else, I would like to attain a modicum of success. Not fame… but fortune wouldn’t hurt. I hate bills as much as the next guy and struggling to pay them is a bitch.

A few years ago, I felt like I was almost there. And then events beyond my control ripped the rug out from under me. I had to start all over again, but what made it more difficult was that I was no longer a youngster with grand ideals. I was older and the idea of having been pushed from nearly the top floor back to the basement was a bit… well… traumatic.

I had to re-evaluate, and what I saw in myself actually surprised me. As close as I’d been to being a success before the fall, I had become someone I didn’t recognize or much like. I’d grown tired and lazy and out of shape. I was going through the motions with my job as a photographer and putting off the things I’d always wanted to write as an author. The close proximity of financial success had made me into someone less than who I wanted to be. And strangely, I didn’t see that until the fall to the bottom.

Oddly, at this desperate point, when I hated looking in the mirror the most, I’d been hired to photograph a personal trainer and his boyfriend. He was a Buddhist and had a calming influence on me, but also an inspirational one and we became friends in that dire period of my life. Without my asking, he took me under his wing and said, “Let’s get you back in shape! Let’s get you fired up again. Let’s see what’s really left burning inside you.”

He started me out walking and then running and I became addicted to it. As we ran, we talked about the stories I’d always wanted to write and he encouraged me, and before I knew it my first full-length novel, Memorizing You was written and lo and behold, I was in shape again. I could look in the mirror without feeling that angst of self-loathing. Something… well… magical had happened. From the midst of pain and trauma… I had self-recreated.

As I moved on with my life the next two years, more books came spilling out of me. The Bible Boys, the book I’d always wanted to write about my painful childhood being raised in a repressed Evangelical household and discovering I was one of their “abominable” gays. The Art of the Heart, a gay fairy tale paying tribute to period films like The Last Picture Show. The Price of Dick, a cautionary tale to help all of us avoid making poor romantic choices. I had become wildly productive again.

So I tackled the biggest project I’d ever wanted to do. A dystopian science fiction novel, Xperiment. A projection of our future if crazy people took over the country and how a scientist, using evolution, could produce a new species, which would save the planet. The undertaking was daunting and the book would end up being over 700 pages of an intense rollercoaster thrill ride. It consumed me, and almost all my time. I didn’t think I had room for much more of anything.

In the middle of this, I ran into a teenager named Dirk who wanted to apprentice photography with me. I didn’t want to do it. I didn’t have time to deal with the quirks and annoyances of a young person when I had so many things I wanted to accomplish… I didn’t think it was worth the bother.

I look at those thoughts I had when I first met him and smile, because by fluke of nature – or magic – this “annoying” young man… this apprentice who became a friend and then a muse, did something remarkable. He “magically” changed my life again. He touched me, and my friends who said, “Dan, write about yourselves… we’d love to read it.” And again, I said, “No… No… No,” until my arm was bent by my editor, Dirk’s mother, Dirk himself, and all of you… and here we are.

The first book of our “Misadventures” hit the number one bestseller list in a matter of hours and I sat there… stunned… because this realist had just learned to believe in….

Magic! You are all a part of this. That’s what makes it so wonderful!

deanna review I really enjoyed this installment in the series. This one digs a little deeper, there are fewer laugh out loud moments but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable.

In this installment Dan and Dirk each regale us with a story of someone they met that was super hot and really weird at the same time. The stories are witty and entertaining.

This is a super short read, but well worth the price of admission.

4 pieces of eye candy

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meet the author

I’m a single gay man living in the Midwest. I write because I consider myself to be an old-fashioned storyteller. I’ve been a photographer for half my life, specializing in male romance cover art. My dream is to one day live on the beach with my dog and continue to tell tales that inspire and entertain.

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