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Roped In by Marie Sexton and L.A. Witt: Author Interview, Review and Giveaway

June 20, 2016 by Denise

Graham and his roping partner, Jackson, have been friends since they were boys. They’ve ruled the rodeo scene for ten years running, but lately, Graham’s heart isn’t in the game. He’s tired of the bruises, the cowboy mentality, and the animal rights activists who picket every event. He’s also tired of being in love with Jackson, and nothing’s been the same between them since their disastrous drunken encounter the year before.

Then Graham has a run-in with one of the rodeo protesters, and everything changes. Kaz is young, idealistic, and sexy as hell. But he’s also a know-it-all, animal-loving vegan, bent on saving the world one cow at a time. They have next to nothing in common, but Graham can’t stop thinking about what might happen if they can stop butting heads long enough to give it a try. Unfortunately, no matter how attracted Graham is to other men, he always panics and runs when the clothes start to come off. But Kaz has an idea for getting Graham past his nerves and into bed.

All they need is a bit of rope.

(Note: This is a re-edited second edition of a previously published title.)

Two Chicks Obsessed wants to thank Marie Sexton and LA Witt for joining us for our Five-ish Good Questions, to talk about about Roped In, their new book from Riptide Publishing. Thanks so much ladies for taking time away from your busy writing schedule to answer a few “we have to know” questions. 🙂

We would love to know a little more about the co-writing process. It can’t be easy, as there must be so many moving parts.

What made you decide to write this book together? Was this something dreamed up one night over a glass of wine and too much chocolate? Or were more nefarious things involved? 🙂

Marie: Lori had already committed to writing an “opposites attract” story for a bundle. I was between projects and asked if she wanted to try co-writing something for it. She said, “Sure!” So we brainstormed character ideas until we hit on two that sounded fun.

Lori: That’s pretty much what happened. And I really enjoy co-writing with different people, so I definitely jumped at the opportunity to write with Marie.

How did you decide who writes what part of the story?

Lori: We kind of did it as we went. We opened a Google doc, and one of us started writing while the other watched. Then we just switched back and forth whenever it felt like a good spot to switch.

Do you plot before you co-write, or do you see how the story unfolds?

Marie: Well, like Lori said above, we were usually working on the story at the same time. We had a chat window open. We’d occasionally say, “hey, what if [x] happens?” Other than that, we sort of just rolled with it.

Do you edit each other’s parts as you do?

Marie: I think we did a little of that, but mostly just tidying up each other’s typos as the other one worked.

Lori: Pretty much what Marie said. We both did some tweaking and adjusting here and there. That, and when you write real-time, you tend to lose track of who wrote what, so I would be editing a paragraph and have zero recollection of who actually wrote it.

The last question is always the fun one…hopefully. One of you have been arrested, the other is responsible for bailing you out. Who did what to land in jail, and what three things would the arrested lady want brought for her release?

Marie: I’m quite sure it would be Lori in jail! Lori, what did you do, and what should I bring?

Lori: Why the hell am I the one in jail? Jeeeez. I’m pretty sure it would be some kind of public disturbance or something. Likely with my husband, since we’re mutual bad influences. So, bring bail money, a getaway car, and probably a pair of pants.

Marie: I won’t even ask why one of you is pantless. 😉

This was not at all what I expected! I think I was expecting a cowboy getting himself hooked up with someone, then meeting at a club, learning about ropes, etc. This was so much more!

Graham was as far in the closet as he could be, never even having gone very far with anyone, because he was so anxiety-ridden. That was an interesting dynamic. It really allowed you to see how Graham needed to come to terms with his feelings, so he could move forward. Kaz’s idea to use the rope to calm Graham down was inspired.

I loved how Kaz was a contradiction of so many things. A protester, yet a skateboard type young man, a Dominant to a man that would normally be seen as the dominant type.

Finding their HFN/HEA was a bit of learning, into a journey that took them both outside the boxes they had known, and put them into places that would bring them together. They could work it out, because they both were able to find a compromise, and a way to change what they needed from their lives.

4 pieces of eye candy

Amazon

ARe

Riptide Publishing

About Marie Sexton

Marie Sexton lives in Colorado. She’s a fan of just about anything that involves muscular young men piling on top of each other. In particular, she loves the Denver Broncos and enjoys going to the games with her husband. Her imaginary friends often tag along.

Marie has one daughter, two cats, and one dog, all of whom seem bent on destroying what remains of her sanity. She loves them anyway.

Connect with Marie:

Website: net
Twitter: @MarieSexton
Facebook: com/MarieSexton.author
Goodreads: com/MarieSexton

About L. A. Witt

L.A. Witt is an abnormal M/M romance writer who has finally been released from the purgatorial corn maze of Omaha, Nebraska, and now spends her time on the southwestern coast of Spain. In between wondering how she didn’t lose her mind in Omaha, she explores the country with her husband, several clairvoyant hamsters, and an ever-growing herd of rabid plot bunnies. She also has substantially more time on her hands these days, as she has recruited a small army of mercenaries to search South America for her nemesis, romance author Lauren Gallagher, but don’t tell Lauren. And definitely don’t tell Lori A. Witt or Ann Gallagher. Neither of those twits can keep their mouths shut . . .

Connect with L.A.:

Website: com
Author Blog: blogspot.com
Personal Blog: blogspot.
Twitter: @GallagherWitt
Facebook: com//L-A-Witt-MM-Fiction
Goodreads: com/GallagherWitt

To celebrate the release of Roped In, Marie and L.A. are giving away $20 in Riptide Publishing credit plus one ebook from each of their backlists. Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on June 25, 2016. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

Amnesia by Sean Michael: Release Day Review and Guest Post

June 13, 2016 by Denise

Who wouldn’t want a do over?

When Thaine wakes up in the hospital after a bull-riding injury, he immediately asks for his lover, Jerry. He has no idea who this man next to his bed is, despite the fact Drew insists they have been an item for the last five years.

Thaine’s best friend, Jesse, calls Jerry. He thinks it’s a pretty crappy thing to do to the new boyfriend, but tells himself it’s unlikely Jerry will come after so many years. He also doesn’t get why Thaine would pass up the opportunity to be with Drew since he’s young, optimistic, and hardworking. In short, everything Jesse ever wanted in a man.

Jerry still carries a torch for his cowboy, so when Thaine asks to go home with him to recover, Jerry agrees. At first they pick up their intense physical relationship right where they left it before the breakup. Jesse, in turn, consoles the now homeless Drew and offers him quite a bit more than a shoulder to cry on. But in the back of all the men’s minds loom Thaine’s lost five years.

Title: Amnesia
Author: Sean Michael
Release Date: June 13, 2016
Category: Contemporary, Cowboys, Erotic Romance
Pages: 200

Opposites Attract

By Sean Michael

That’s what ‘they’ say, isn’t it? Opposites Attract. I like to think that more than just opposites attract, but it definitely is fun to play with opposites when writing couples. The couples in Amnesia are opposites, even as the men within each couple are opposites. So I had the best of all words with these four men.

Thaine and Jerry are both stubborn and passionate, but one is a bullrider and the other is a business man. It’s those opposites that actually broke them up five years ago. But it’s also those opposites that make their relationship exciting and both men crave excitement.

Then there’s Jesse and Drew. These two are both cowboys, but one is older, the other younger. They fit together perfectly though. Their love is as deep as Thaine and Jerry’s, but they are a calmer couple, they are more… quietly in love, while Thaine and Jerry are an explosion. They both want to settle down while Thaine and Jerry are chasing their next high, both in their jobs and together.

It was fun to be able to explore all their differences, and similarities – for even the most opposite characters can find some points of commonality – with these four men.

Sean

Smut fixes everything

I love a good cowboy story, especially one with a little angst.

Thaine and Drew have been together for 3 years, after a bull riding accident that almost killed Thaine he doesn’t remember Drew at all. He can’t remember the last five years of his life and he still thinks he’s in a relationship with his ex Jerry.

Jerry comes running to Thaine’s bedside when he learns of the accident from Thaine’s best friend Jesse. Jerry and Thaine pick up their relationship where it left off five years ago, leaving Drew out in the cold and Jesse to pick up the pieces.

Jesse has had a thing for Drew for years so jumping in to help mend his broken heart is no hardship. All four men move on with life and love wondering if Thaine will ever remember.

I love the storyline, bull riding is such a dangerous sport and it makes me wonder how often this really happens.

I kept expecting Thaine to have an Ah-ha moment, but he never did. I wasn’t expecting him to get back together with Drew because Jerry really was the one that got away but I feel like there was no closure between Drew and Thaine.

Sex, holy hell there was a lot of sex. I get that there were two separate couples but wow, these guys were like Energizer Bunnies. I ended up skimming some of the scenes.

The overall story was good, the characters had good chemistry.

3 pieces of eye candy.

Amazon

ARe

Dreamspinner Press

Best-selling author Sean Michael is a maple leaf–loving Canadian who spends hours hiding out in used book stores. With far more ideas than time, Sean keeps several documents open at all times. From romance to fantasy, paranormal and sci-fi, Sean is limited only by the need for sleep—and the periodic Beaver Tail.

Sean fantasizes about one day retiring on a secluded island populated entirely by horseshoe crabs after inventing a brain-to-computer dictation system. Until then, Sean will continue to write the old-fashioned way.

Links:

WEBSITE: http://www.seanmichaelwrites.com

BLOG: http://seanmichaelwrites.blogspot.ca

TWITTER: seanmichael09

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/SeanMichaelWrites/

A Dangerous Game by Rick R. Reed: Guest Post and Exclusive Excerpt

June 8, 2016 by Denise

Sex can be a dangerous business. So can love.

On the worst day of his life, Wren Gallagher wants oblivion when he steps into Tricks for a drink. When a mysterious stranger steps up to pay his tab, he offers Wren the key to fulfilling his dreams of prosperity and true love.

But appearances are not always what they seem.

His savior owns the escort agency À Louer, and he wants the young and handsome Wren as part of his stable of men-for-hire. Down on his luck, Wren figures, why not? He needs the money. When he joins, though, he doesn’t count on meeting Rufus, another escort with whom he falls hopelessly in love.

But their love story will have to overcome the obstacles of not only trading love for money, but À Louer’s dark—and deadly—secrets.

Exclusive Excerpt: Wren Picks Up an Abandoned Paper on the Bus and Discovers a Murder in A DANGEROUS GAME
A Guest Post by Rick R. Reed

A Dangerous Game has its thriller aspect as well as its love aspect. Here’s where one of our boys first finds out that escorting can not only be risky—it can also be lethal.
Snatch that paper up. See what’s going on outside your own little dramafest. Maybe there’s something in there that will take your mind off Rufus for the next ten minutes. Hell, maybe the classifieds is just twitching with dream jobs, just for you.
Right.
Wren did lean over and pluck the newspaper from the seat. He scooted back up against the window and opened it.
And his heart nearly stopped.
The front-page headline practically screamed at him, making his blood run cold and the world around him dissolve.
Second Murder on City’s North Side Believed to be Linked to Escort Service
Wren fought his way through the spare, journalistic prose to learn that a second young man had been “stabbed to death along Chicago’s lakefront.” The victim, whose name and details were being withheld pending notification of next of kin, was believed to have been associated with the same escort service, À Louer, that Evan Maple, who was murdered in a similar fashion two weeks ago, worked for.
Wren scanned the article for more, but there was nothing to identify who the victim had been. But Wren was suddenly certain it had to have been Rufus who’d been killed.
That was the reason he hadn’t called.
He was dead. And before that he was being stalked by some serial killer out to put an end to male escorts by picking them off one by one, stopping their hearts and their commerce with something like a sharp hunting knife.
Wren felt like he was going to be sick. Although he still had several blocks to go, he reached up and pulled the cord to alert the bus driver he needed to get off. When the bus had barely stopped at a corner, Wren dropped the paper to the floor and hurried out the back door of the bus.
Outside the air was thick with humidity and exhaust fumes, even this early in the morning. The sun, beating down harshly out of a dirty white sky, didn’t serve to make him feel any better. Wren sat down on the curb and then put his head between his legs, trying to slow his breathing and force back the bile burning the back of his throat.
He sat there for several long minutes, waiting for his heart rate and respiration to slow, telling himself over and over again that he needed to get ahold of himself and that À Louer employed several young men, any one of which could have been the killer’s victim.

Amazon

ARe

Dreamspinner Press ebook
Dreamspinner Press paperback

Rick R. Reed is all about exploring the romantic entanglements of gay men in contemporary, realistic settings. While his stories often contain elements of suspense, mystery and the paranormal, his focus ultimately returns to the power of love.

He is the author of dozens of published novels, novellas, and short stories. He is a three-time EPIC eBook Award winner (for Caregiver, Orientation and The Blue Moon Cafe). He is also a Rainbow Award Winner for both Caregiver and Raining Men. Lambda Literary Review has called him, “a writer that doesn’t disappoint.”

Rick lives in Seattle with his husband and a very spoiled Boston terrier. He is forever “at work on another novel.”

STALK RICK
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/rickrreedbooks
Twitter: www.twitter.com/rickrreed
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+RickReedWRITER
Blog: http://rickrreedreality.blogspot.com/
Website: www.rickrreed.com
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/rick-r-reed
Email: rickrreedbooks@gmail.com

Picked Fresh by Posy Roberts: Exclusive Cover Reveal, Excerpt and Giveaway

May 31, 2016 by Denise

Is five thousand miles far enough to say I love you?

Hudson Oliva loves stability. He was a throwaway teen before finding Kaleidoscope Gardens, but has since thrived at the commune. When Jude Garrity moves in, life gets even better, but Hudson still craves more. He knows he has to be satisfied with their exclusive status being temporary and that Jude will eventually navigate his full sexual awakening with their other housemates.

Hudson has a journey of his own to make. It might only require going home to settle his grandmother’s estate, but he plans to use his time away to figure out how to temper his feelings for Jude and bury his jealousy once and for all. But when Jude joins him on his trip, Hudson falls even deeper in love, especially after Jude stands by his side when he finally confronts his mother for rejecting him.

However, it’s not all hearts and flowers while they travel. They’re over two thousand miles from home when Hudson learns a ruthless corporate farm threatens the commune they both love. In order to save their way of life, Hudson must ask his mother for help. And if he wants a chance at a stable future with Jude, he has to tell him the truth about his feelings, no matter if it ruins the harmony he’s tried so hard to preserve.

Title: Picked Fresh
Author: Posy Roberts
Series: Naked Organics #2
(Can be read as a stand along but best read as a series)
Publisher: Labyrinth Bound Press
Genre: MM Romance
Length: 83,000 words, ~250 pages
Goodreads Link

Cover Designer: Natasha Snow

excerpt

Jude moved where Hudson directed him, mouth soft now. He ended with Hudson’s nipple under his lips, tonged across it, gave playful bites and even a few harder ones. Hudson’s breath caught in his throat.
Jude looked up again and whispered, “Last night wasn’t enough to satisfy you?” He moved to kiss the other nipple, then the mark he’d left.
“Not sure I’ll ever be able to get enough of you.”
Jude stood and smirked, then popped a quick, chaste kiss to Hudson’s mouth. “As much as I’d like to put that theory to the test, I have to get to class.”
“I know. You always have to get to class.”
“Give me five minutes to deliver these eggs to the kitchen. Meet me at my car?”
“More kisses?”
“You betcha!”
Hudson nodded as Jude picked up the egg basket and walked away. It wasn’t like Hudson had time to test how much he needed of Jude to get enough. He had to do a load of laundry if he wanted clean underwear for his trip, so he pulled his T-shirt back over his head on his way to the springhouse to see who’s washday it was. Purple House was written in neat script on the chalkboard. He made a mental note and kept on walking.
In the gathering circle right outside Unity House, Hudson met up with Jude, who held out his hand the second he was within reach. Hudson took it, weaving their fingers together and allowing Jude to lead him to Jude’s tiny hybrid. There, Hudson leaned Jude against the driver’s door and gave him a few playful pecks.
“See you tonight?” Hudson asked.
“Yeah. I should be back around sunset. I’ll be there by suppertime, for sure.”
“Sleep in my bed with me?”
Jude nodded and closed his eyes in a soft way. He gave what Hudson knew was a parting hug. “Gotta go.” Jude got in the car, opened the backpack he’d left sitting on the passenger seat last night, and slipped his phone in the protected inner pocket. “Well, have a great day!”
“You too.” Hudson shut the driver’s door.
Hudson waved as Jude drove off the Kaleidoscope Gardens’ land for his busy day at Portland State. Once the car was out of sight, Hudson pressed the mark Jude had sucked right above his heart. It was sore, more from the bite than the sucking, but as Hudson peered down the neck of his shirt and studied the red mark, he smiled. He knew it would only get darker. Maybe even purple, which would be perfect, because it would be fading to yellow by the time he got home again. He couldn’t take Jude with him to Kentucky, but he could take his mark.

Jude Garrity visits the farmers market every Saturday. As an environmental engineering student, he’s curious about living off the grid and sustainable agriculture.

And one particular farmer.

Hudson Oliva has worked hard to support his commune, where queer people live without fear of harm or retribution. When Jude asks pointed questions about living there, Hudson realizes he needs to be honest about his home. Few people know what the farm is actually about, but Jude is insistent.

Jude moves to Kaleidoscope Gardens, however his sexual hang-ups make it hard to adjust. He’s an uptight virgin living among people who have sex freely and with multiple partners. When Jude finally loosens up, Hudson is flooded with emotions. Falling for Jude wasn’t part of Hudson’s life plan. But when vindictive rumors about the commune begin to spread, love might be all he has left.

Genre: Contemporary Romance, MM Romance, Gay Fiction, with a splash of MMM+
Length: Novel, 202 pages

Goodreads Link

Book Trailer

Amazon

Short story. This is not a romance but is Hudson Oliva’s backstory on how he escaped his parents and moved to the commune.

Read it here

Goodreads Link

Hudson Oliva didn’t expect the world to end with the new millennium, but his life did change forever on that New Year’s Eve. After his religious parents walk in on him with Zac in his bed, Hudson is sent to conversion therapy. The parents he returns home to after being cured aren’t the same people he’s known his entire life. They’re cold and withdrawn.

In order to survive, Hudson becomes an expert at lying while working hard to be the perfect son, yet his parents remain emotionally distant. He’s sure the pray-away-the-gay camp broke something inside him along with tearing his family apart. When his parents discover Hudson has continued seeing Zac for years, they demand he go back to the camp. Hudson has no choice but to run. Somehow he has to find a safe place, but he has to get out of Florida first.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Posy Roberts writes about the realistic struggles of men looking for love. Whether her characters are family men, drag queens, or lonely men searching for connections, they all find a home in her stories.

Posy is a Jill of all trades and master of the drill and paintbrush. She’s married to a partner who makes sure she doesn’t forget to eat or sleep during her writing frenzies. Her daughter, a budding author and cinematographer, helps her come up with character names. For fun, Posy enjoys crafting, hiking, and singing spontaneously about the mundane, just to make regular life more interesting.

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On Higher Ground by Melissa Collins : Release Day Review, Teaser, Giveaway

May 17, 2016 by Denise

OHG_facebook

HAPPY RELEASE DAY! Dax and Beck are LIVE and waiting for you!

Have you grabbed your copy?
AMAZON
iBOOKS
B&N
KOBO
GOOGLE PLAY

When there’s no peace after war…
When there’s no solace after death…
When there’s only pain and suffering…
Anxiety and loss…
All you can hope to find is something more…
Something that makes you whole and complete
Something that puts you
On Higher Ground

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deanna review

I didn’t think it was possible to love Dax and Beckett any more than I already did, but Melissa Collins made that possible with this beautiful story.
This book picks up about 2 years after the On Solid Ground. Dax and Beck have been engaged for about a year and a half, but haven’t started making the wedding plans. Dax is dragging his feet, and Beck can’t understand why. Dax’s nightmares have returned but have morphed into crazy dreams of Beck dying instead of Delaney, Dax’s ex. Instead of talking through this with Beck, Dax starts pulling away. Beck thinks some space will help Dax, but as the weeks turn into months Dax isn’t getting any better and their relationship is strained. It takes Dax talking Micah, a vet from the VA center through a panic attack to get some clarity in his own mind. Dax stops pulling away and starts talking to Beck; they set a date and start planning the wedding.
After a beautiful wedding and a two week honeymoon on the beach, Dax and Beck are back to normal everyday life. Deciding to become parents again Dax and Beck go through the long arduous adoption process. Along the way they have to deal with parenting issues with Violet, Beck’s jealousy over Micah, Dax’s recurring PTSD symptoms, and just when things start to settle down Beck’s father resurfaces. No matter how far life tries to pull them down they know that they can count on each other to pull them on to higher ground.
Where do I begin… I really happy to see that for the most part Dax had a handle on his PTSD but that symptoms did still arise. This is an all too common reality for many of our veterans and I loved that Melissa Collins didn’t romanticize it. Her portrayal of Dax dealing with PTSD made me realize what a difficult reality this is for many men and women, and the people who love them.
Violet, what can I say about little Ms. Violet. She is hysterical, she brought just a touch of levity to some otherwise heavy moments. There is so much sass trapped in the little 6 year old body.
I thought the wedding was beautiful. The vows Dax and Beck spoke took my breath away. I loved how they included Violet in their special day.
I am a greedy reader, I had so many questions I still wanted answered after On Solid Ground. Melissa Collins answered them all, and then some. This was a perfect follow up book. I can’t say enough good things about it. My best advice to you is just to read it for yourself.

5 pieces of eye candy

I was so happy to get more of Dax and Beck. I really love when authors give a more of their characters after the initial get together phase. Because as we all know, after “The End” it isn’t all perfect. Dax’s issues didnt just suddenly end when he got with Beck and I love that we got to see him again continuing to work at it. It takes hard work to make a life with others and I so enjoyed reading more of Beck’s and Dax’s story. Beck has his own issues to work through as well and I thought Mellisa did an amazing job with this. These are two guys that she has created that you just want to root for. You have the urge to cheer them on and feel their pain. I was so engrossed in this story and I really wouldn’t mind getting more of these two if they start talking to her again, maybe a glimpse of their life after 10 years or so.

5 pieces of eye candy

AND DON’T FORGET… ON SOLID GROUND IS ON SALE!

On Solid Ground is where it all began, and you can start today for only 99 pennies!

AMAZON

ARe
iBOOKS
B&N
KOBO
GOOGLE PLAY

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We have an awesome Amazon Kindle Fire to giveaway!
Some of my author friends have also donated ebooks to the winner!

All you have to do to enter is go to this blog post! GOOD LUCK!

***The giveaway is open to US residents only. If you enter and win and are not a US resident, your prize will be forfeited.

Power Play by Avon Gale: Blog Tour, Character Interview and Giveaway

May 10, 2016 by Denise

A freak accident during the Stanley Cup Playoffs put an end to Max Ashford’s hockey career. Despite everything, Max gets back into the game he loves—only this time, behind the bench as an assistant coach of the Spartanburg Spitfires, the worst team in the entire league. But nothing prepares him for the shock when he learns the new head coach is Misha Samarin, the man who caused Max’s accident.

After spending guilt-ridden years for his part in Max’s accident, Russian native Misha Samarin has no idea what to do when he’s confronted with Max’s presence. Max’s optimism plays havoc with Misha’s equilibrium—as does the fierce attraction that springs up between them.

Not only must they navigate Misha’s remorse and a past he’s spent a lifetime to forget, but also a sleazy GM determined to use their history as a marketing hook. But when an unwelcome visitor targets the team, Misha revisits his darkest days, which might cost him and Max the beginning they’ve worked so hard to build.

Author Name: Avon Gale

Book Name: Power Play

Series: Scoring Chances

Book: Three

This book can be read as a standalone

Release Date: May 9, 2016

Pages or Words: 240 pages

Categories: Bisexual, Contemporary, Fiction

Goodreads Link

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Cover Artist: Aaron Anderson