Two Chicks Obsessed with Books & Eye Candy

Sharing our love of M/M Romance

blog tour

Survivor by TM Smith: Audiobook Tour, Sample and Giveaway

by

Taylor Langford’s world is torn apart when he is only thirteen years old—his parents killed, leaving him alone and orphaned. With no living relatives, he’d certainly be another statistic if not for the intervention of the policeman who found Taylor in the crawl space where his mother hid him that fateful night. Despite the tragedy and resulting anguish in his life, Taylor knows how lucky he is.

Frank Moore is a rookie with the Dallas Police Department when he and his partner answer a call in Devonshire, one of the city’s more affluent neighborhoods. They think the young boy in various pictures throughout the home has been kidnapped until they find him, shaken but alive. Officer Moore recognizes the pain in the kid’s eyes, having lost his own mother to cancer when he was just a boy. He steps in, making sure Taylor is placed with a loving foster family. Over the years, Frank becomes a permanent fixture in Taylor’s life.

A decade later, the case remains unsolved and the once gangly, uncertain teenager is now a college graduate who knows exactly what he wants. He’s coming home to the man that helped mold and shape his life, the man he’s loved for as long as he can remember, Frank Moore. But Taylor isn’t the only person returning to Dallas, and while Frank is distracted by his own conflicting feelings and the new bond growing between the two, the past creeps up on them, determined to finish what was started ten years earlier.

Amazon

Audible

 

A note from the author…

I hope you enjoy Frank and Taylor’s story. It’s been a long road to get them settled, but I’m happy with where this story has taken them. When I started this book, the intent was to write a stand-alone story, but that has changed. Characters continually evolve throughout the writing process, and there are several characters in the book that want to tell their story. I’ve grown especially fond of Rory and I can’t wait to write his book, which will take us back to when he first joined the Bureau, and continue on to his happy ever after.

Please be advised: This is a May/December romance, and as in life, there are sexual situations that take place prior to the main characters finding their way to one another. This is not gratuitous; it is meant to show character growth and self-realization. There is absolutely no cheating.

 

Listen to a 5 minute sample >> here <<

 

What reviewers think of Nick J Russo’s narration… 

 

Wow!  AWESOME story! Gripped me from the very start. Loved the premise. Nick J Russo did a fantastic job with the characters. Highly recommend!

May-december, Friends to Lovers, touch of suspense. Nick J Russo is a favorite narrator of mine and I can never tire of him. His voice is smooth and his pacing s more like telling a story not reading it. I love his voices for both Taylor and Frank and how distinctive they are. This is on my to listen to again list!

 

A military brat born and raised at Ft. Benning Georgia; TM Smith is an avid reader, reviewer and writer. A Texas transplant, she now calls DFW her home. Most days she can be found curled up with a good book, or ticking away on her next novel.

Smith is a single mom of three disturbingly outspoken and decidedly different kids, one of which is Autistic. Besides her writing, she is passionate about Autism advocacy and LGBT rights. Because, seriously people, Love is Love!

Website: www.authortmsmith.com

Blog: www.ttcbooksandmore.com

Facebook Author: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTMSmith

Facebook All Cocks series: https://www.facebook.com/AllCocksStories

Twitter – https://twitter.com/TTCBooksandmore
GoodReads: https://goo.gl/XQugse

Pinterest: https://goo.gl/cq9R9t

Youtube: https://goo.gl/Rpq5gX

Head over to Pinterest to see the Survivor album.

Head over to Youtube to listen to the Survivor playlist.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Daddy, Daddy, and Me by Sean Michael: Exclusive Guest Post and Release Day Review

by

When Jeff agreed to be the sperm donor to his best friend Beth, he never expected a tragedy to leave his newborn and three-year-old motherless. Beth’s loss has totally thrown his life into chaos: his lover has left him, his house isn’t anywhere near childproof, and his boss feels the restaurant has been patient enough with Jeff’s time off.

Donny has always known he wanted to work with kids, and he just finished his degree in early childhood education. He didn’t count on the prejudice he’d face as not only a male nanny, but a gay one at that. Job-hunting has been frustrating to say the least, so when he knocks on Jeff’s door and is greeted by the sounds of things breaking and a pair of screaming children, he thinks maybe he can begin this particular interview with a trial by fire.

Becoming the nanny to Jeff’s children might be a dream come true for Danny and exactly what Jeff needs, but are either of them ready to really be a family?

Title: Daddy, Daddy, and Me
Author: Sean Michael
Release Date: February 23, 2018
Category: Contemporary
Pages: 162

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

 

Thank you to Two Chicks Obsessed for hosting me today.

As Daddy, Daddy and Me features a couple of kids, I thought I’d share my top five favorite kids’ books growing up. I read all the following multiple times as a kid. And yes, I adored series because that meant I got to stay in the world I loved.

 

Top Five Favourite Kid’s books

  1. Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. My copies of these were dog-eared. It was fascinating reading about this little girl who grew up a long time ago.

 

  1. The Hobbit by JJR Tokien – I read the Lord of the Rings books in my early teens, but this book in my childhood and it helped form my lifelong love of fantasy/sci-fi

 

  1. Z is for Zachariah by Robert C O’Brien – I remember taking this one out of the library (more than once.) If The Hobbit turned me onto fantasy, this book turned me onto post-apocalyptic fiction.

 

  1. Anne Of Green Gables series by Lucy Maud Montgomery Anne taught me that it was good to use my imagination and that being ‘normal’ and ‘just like everyone else’ were not the be all and end all.

 

  1. Famous Five series by Enid Blyton – I was first introduced to these at the English bookstore in Heidelberg and loved them beyond reason. We would go back every week and get a new one until I had them all 21 of them. Then I re-read them.

There were many more of course, we started going to the library as early as I can remember and my mother stuck a book in my crib to keep me company in the mornings from six months on, but those are five that stick out in my mind.

 

Sean Michael

Smut fixes everything

This one is such a sweet read with really cute kids and an awesome Uncle/manny love story.

Jeff agrees to be a sperm donor for his best friend in the world, thinking he could be a totally awesome uncle and nothing else. Until tragedy strikes and he is left raising two little people who miss their mom while trying prove life goes on without a best friend and now an absentee boyfriend.

Donny has recently graduated with a degree in early childhood education but is having a tough time finding a job. Once people find out he’s gay they can’t get rid of him fast enough. Praying this next interview is his last, Donny is surprised to find Jeff might need him just as much as Donny needs this job.

Trial by fire doesn’t even begin to cover it. Jeff is in way over his head, overworked and running on no sleep doesn’t help when dealing with grieving kids. Donny steps in to help and Jeff can see a noticeable difference in the kids in such a short time. It seems Donny has been good for all of them. Jeff just needs to stop the inappropriate thoughts he’s having about Donny before he scares him right out of their lives. Little does he know, Donny is fighting his own attraction.

When Jeff’s ex returns to cause trouble for the new couple, Jeff and Donny will need to decide if they’re stronger together or apart and what’s best for their little family.

The story is really entertaining , but I love that all the drama in the story revolves around outside characters. Donny and Jeff are pretty chill, letting the love evolve naturally. It felt so real, never forced. The was they come together as a family is so beautiful.

If ever I have wanted to throat punch a character Jeff’s ex would be number one on that list. What a tool! But his resurfacing just proves how blind a person can be and what they thought was love was just mere lust because true love makes everything else dull.

Great read. I couldn’t put it down.

4 pieces of eye candy

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.

Sean Michael on the web:

WEBSITE: http://www.seanmichaelwrites.com

BLOG: http://seanmichaelwrites.blogspot.ca

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

TWITTER: seanmichael09

INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/seanmichaelpics/

The Artist’s Touch by E.J. Russell: Blog Tour, New Release Review and Giveaway

by

Two men haunted by more than the past.

Painter Stefan Cobbe was homeless and debt-ridden after the death of his wealthy partner, but the worst loss of all was his artistic inspiration. After two years of nothing, he’s offered patronage by an eccentric gallery owner and starts to produce again, canvas after canvas. The only problem? He can’t remember painting any of them—not one single brushstroke.

Luke Morganstern’s reputation as an art-fraud investigator is in tatters. He can’t afford to turn down any job, even a lousy one for an anonymous client who sends him after an unidentified forger in a remote cabin in Oregon. When the alleged forger turns out to be Stefan, the man he never stopped loving, Luke’s professional ethics are stretched beyond the breaking point.

As the two men take tentative steps toward reconciliation, evidence begins to mount that they’re not alone in the woods. Someone—or something—is watching. Something with sinister plans for them both. To escape, Luke must overcome his suspicions and Stefan must trust Luke with his deepest fears. Otherwise they could forfeit their relationship, their sanity—and their lives.

Publisher’s note: This is a heavily revised and significantly expanded reprint of Northern Light. The second book in the Art Medium series, Tested In Fire, is a first edition. Both are sold together in both ebook and print collections.

Thank you Two Chicks Obsessed for inviting me to stop by today! Hello, intrepid internet adventurers, and welcome to the blog tour for The Artist’s Touch, the first book in my Art Medium series. After the release of book two, Tested in Fire, in April, I’ll be giving away a $40 Riptide gift card, so please leave a comment for a chance to win.

Amazon

Riptide Publishing

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this novella, but I got more than I bargained for, in a good way. A second chance at love for these two men, a ton of history behind them, both when they were together, and afterwards, and some supernatural elements thrown in (notice what’s behind the MC on the cover????).

Well, it was definitely intriguing, and I had no idea that little tiny plot points in the story along the way, would transcend into what was a huge crescendo at the end. I really enjoyed those final scenes, knowing how the small touches had helped to build to such a huge ending (the kind where you cringe a little at what the MC’s are going through, love it!).

Small spoiler ahead! This novella isn’t long, but definitely packs a punch, with two second chance love stories, the one you expect, and the one you don’t.

Definitely recommend this one! 4 pieces of eye candy

 

About the Art Medium Series

Artists use all manner of materials to express their vision, to interpret the world around them, to affect the hearts and minds of their audience.

But what if the artist himself were the medium? And what if artistic inspiration weren’t the only force at work?

If painter Stefan Cobbe and art investigator Luke Morganstern don’t answer those questions fast, they stand to lose their reputations, their relationship—and their lives.

Check out the Art Medium series now!

E.J. Russell holds a BA and an MFA in theater, so naturally she’s spent the last three decades as a financial manager, database designer, and business-intelligence consultant. After her twin sons left for college and she no longer spent half her waking hours ferrying them to dance class, she returned to her childhood love of writing fiction. Now she wonders why she ever thought an empty nest meant leisure.

E.J. lives in rural Oregon with her curmudgeonly husband, the only man on the planet who cares less about sports than she does. She enjoys visits from her wonderful adult children, and indulges in good books, red wine, and the occasional hyperbole.

Connect with E.J.:

Website: ejrussell.com

Blog: ejrussell.com/bloggery/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/E.J.Russell.author

Twitter: twitter.com/ej_russell

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/ejrussell/

To celebrate the release of both books in the Art Medium series, one lucky winner will receive a $40 Riptide credit! Winner will be pulled from entries to both blog tours. Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Contest closes at midnight, Eastern time, on April 7, 2017 and is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following The Artist’s Touch tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

 

Going Overboard by L.A. Witt: Exclusive Guest Post and Giveaway

by

Second-class petty officers Dalton Taylor and Chris Ingram have been best friends since coxswain’s school. Now they’re stationed together in the Harbor Patrol Unit of NAS Adams. They’re content as friends, but secretly, they both ache for more. Neither makes a move, though; while Dalton is out and proud, Chris is closeted—even from his best friend.

Then another coxswain’s negligence nearly drowns Dalton. After a taste of how easily they could lose each other, neither man can keep his feelings hidden anymore, and it turns out love and sex come easy when you’re falling for your best friend.

Things aren’t just heating up between the friends-turned-lovers, though. The Navy is investigating the accident, and the Harbor Patrol chief isn’t going to let his star coxswain go down for dereliction of duty, even if saving him means throwing Dalton under the bus.

As the threats and gaslighting pile up, Chris and Dalton need each other more than ever—as shipmates, friends, and lovers. But if their chief prevails, the only way they can save their careers is to let each other go.

Amazon

Riptide Publishing

 

Fact, Fiction, & Creative License – Military Characters

One thing I’m asked about a lot is how much of my characters—particularly military characters—are based on reality, and how much I’ve made up.

The short answer is—a lot of both.

I grew up around the military, and I’ve been a Navy spouse for the last 15 years. As a result, I’m around a lot of service members and their families. Particularly when we’re stationed overseas (we’ve spent 7 of the last 10 years overseas), the majority of my face-to-face interaction comes from other people living on base.

So, when it comes to creating my military characters… they’re pretty much people I’ve encountered in real life. Obviously not exact clones, but very much inspired by reality. Whether it’s someone’s speech pattern (especially their cursing), the challenges they’ve faced in their careers, their pre-military background, the after effects of being in combat—chances are, it’s something I picked up from real life. I don’t really have to make up a lot of it.

The self-medicating deeply-traumatized drone pilot who can’t talk about what happened and no one will take him seriously? Real person.

The ex-Marine who drank himself stupid at the expense of his jobs and relationships because he couldn’t cope with his trauma? Know him.

The Sailor who put her life on the line to save a shipmate, only to find herself under the command’s microscope instead of getting an award, and pretty much overnight deciding she’s done with the Navy? At least three people.

The gay man who married a lesbian so they could safely stay in the closet during DADT? Officers and senior enlisted with deep regrets over using women as beards, only to wind up having their wives hate them later? Higher-ranking older service members who feel compelled to come out to set an example for their younger subordinates—both to let the queer people know they’re not alone, and to let the homophobes know they won’t be tolerated? You guessed it.

A lot of other things come from real life, either from general observations of military life or from specific experiences/anecdotes/etc. For example, when people read Conduct Unbecoming, the single most frequent question I get is if I made up the following:

“Oh, look, a cheater’s house.” He gestured out the window.

I pulled up to a stop sign, then looked at the house he’d indicated. “What? How can you tell?”

He shot me an incredulous look. “You don’t know this shit?”

“Well, on my last base, the my-husband-isn’t-home signal was a mop next to the front door.” I craned my neck but didn’t see the incriminating mop propped up next to the door.

“Not here. All the husbands found out about that one. Here, it’s a detergent box in the dining room window.”

I glanced up just before I pulled through the intersection, and sure enough, peeking down from the window of one unit’s dining room, was a box of Tide.

I shook my head. “Every fucking base.”

“Yeah, get used to it,” he said. “It’s way worse out here than it is in the States.”

The answer? No, I did not make it up. The Tide box was a thing when I was on Okinawa, and it’s one I personally witnessed. The “signal” varies, and it changes constantly—the mop against the door, a towel in a mailbox, even a red light in the kitchen window, which I thought was a little on the nose. Things like this aren’t as common anymore now that Tinder is a thing, but it is absolutely real, and that’s why it wound up in a book.

I try to work in a lot of those real details from life on a military base, whether it’s things from base housing or the rank dynamics on the job. As I said, I don’t really have to make it up—real life offers plenty of material!

Going Overboard gets into a lot of the, shall we say, unsavory aspects of being in the military. When Chris and Dalton find themselves butting heads with a chief, and they’re afraid to go to another chief or a senior chief for help because “chiefs protect chiefs”? That’s absolutely a thing. When their chief gaslights and threatens them? When one of the heroic Sailors is threatened with an investigation and chastised for losing a weapon while saving her shipmate’s life? Seen it happen.

Without getting into spoilers, there are a number of moments in Going Overboard where my editors said—and my readers will likely say—“Can he really do that?”

And the answer is “On paper, no. In practice, yes. Because it definitely happens.”

So yes, when I write military stories and military characters, I do sometimes take some creative license, but more often than not? I don’t have to. Because in this odd little world, fact really is stranger than fiction.

 

Welcome to Anchor Point!

Nestled on the northern coast of Oregon, this small town is home to Naval Air Station Adams. On base, you’ll find freshly minted Sailors who’ve just graduated boot camp, salty officers counting down till retirement, grounded pilots who’ve landed behind desks, and everyone in between—and they’re all looking for love. Well, not all of them, but that won’t stop love from finding them.

So pull up a barstool, grab a beer, and get ready for some sea stories as these men in uniform—or not—navigate the waters of love and life in the military.

Anchor Point stories can be enjoyed in any order. Hop in wherever you’d like!

Check out Anchor Point today!

 

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…L.A.’s backlist is available on her website, and updates (as well as random thoughts and the odd snarky comment) can be found on her blog or on Twitter (@GallagherWitt).

 

To celebrate the release of Going Overboard, one lucky winner will receive their choice of two eBooks off L. A. Witt’s backlist (excluding Going Overboard) and a $10 Riptide Publishing store credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on February 10, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

 

Swann’s Revenge by Shira Anthony: Exclusive Guest Post, Excerpt, and Giveaway

by

Can a swan make peace with his ugly duckling past?

Chubby geek Jimmy Zebulon’s heart broke the day his high school crush, Danny Parker, looked on as his teammates tormented Jimmy. Fifteen years later, Jimmy is long gone, and from his ashes has risen Graham Swann, a movie-star-handsome law firm owner. Graham thinks Jimmy and his past are long forgotten—until attorney Dan Parker shows up for his first day of work.

Getting injured playing college ball was the best thing that ever happened to Dan. It turned his future in a better direction and allowed him to emerge from the closet that trapped him.

Graham wants to believe his childhood dream can come true, but he can’t bring himself to tell Dan who he really is—and their pasts might ruin any chance for a happily ever after….

Title: Swann’s Revenge
Author: Shira Anthony
Release Date: February 6, 2018
Category: Contemporary, Dreamspun Desires
Pages: 224

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

Kobo Books

Barnes & Noble

iTunes

 

 

Shira’s Recipe for Romance: Swann’s Revenge (Dreamspun Desires)

Thank you, Two Chicks Obsessed, for hosting the first stop on the Swann’s Revenge Book Tour! I’m so happy to share my latest entry in the Dreamspun Desires line of romance-forward, tropey love stories from Dreamspinner Press. Be sure to read to the bottom of the post about how to enter to win a cool unisex leather heart bracelet to celebrate the book tour and read an excerpt from the story.

Swann’s Revenge is an honest to goodness “category romance.” The term comes from the old tradition of publishing a certain number of books on a monthly basis in a certain category. You remember these. When I was a kid, they were the Harlequin and Silhouette romances that were shipped, 4 books a month, on subscription.

Category romances were sweet, sometimes funny, standalone stories with a yummy happy ending. These were romances that made you feel good. For me, I remember being an angsty teen and reading these books. They made my heart pound, made my arms ache, and gave me that rush of “oh yeah!” at the end of the story that made me want to devour more romances.

When I worked on Swann’s Revenge and the other Dreamspun Desires I’ve written, I did a lot of thinking about what makes a classic category romance make me feel so damn good. I’ve reread a few of the old romances, and I really thought about what makes them work for a reader like me. My husband, the scientist, would call that “reverse engineering.” It was a bit like eating a really good piece of cake and figuring out what ingredients went into it because you don’t have the recipe!

So what’s the recipe?

Take two main characters and ratchet up the heat. I’m talking a very slow burn that builds until you are fanning yourself and ready to scream, “Tell him you love him already!” Or at least, “Tell him you want to have sex with him already!”  In the case of Swann’s Revenge, it’s “Tell him who you are already!” that comes to mind, since the MC, Graham Swann, has a secret past he can’t bring himself to tell the other MC, Dan Parker, about.

Stir in something that presents a bit of a sticking point for both characters and threatens to keep them apart. Nothing too angsty here, just something they have to overcome separately or, even better, together. In Swann’s Revenge, it’s Graham’s secret that keeps him from allowing himself to be vulnerable and letting himself fall for Dan.

Add a secondary character or two who just might derail the budding romance or help it happen for our main characters. In Swann’s Revenge, the secondary character isn’t out to derail the romance, but she does up the ante between our two men.

Add doubts and stir again. Little niggles or fears. Maybe sprinkle a little misunderstanding in while you’re at it. Pour all the ingredients into a pan and bake it at high temperature. What do you get? Sexy, sweet, and spicy romance that tastes as good as tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich on a cold day, or maybe some really good mac ‘n cheese. We’re not talking prime rib that you eat with expensive French wine, but the kind of meal that leaves you satisfied and smiling. Simply fun and feel-good fare.

Swann’s Revenge releases February 6th from Dreamspinner Press! You can buy it alone, or you can subscribe to the Dreamspun Desires line and get two books a month at a significant discount (ebook and paperback). Read down for an excerpt and don’t forget to enter the giveaway! -Shira

“Terri tells me you’re from my neck of the woods,” Dan said and leaned back in his chair.

Graham met Dan’s gaze. The urge to shift in his seat passed as he reasserted control. “Oh? Where would that be?” He made it his practice never to divulge too much about himself. Even Terri, whom he’d met when they were both taking prep classes for the Tennessee bar examination, only knew so much. The past was best forgotten.

“Carletonville. My folks still live out there.” Dan chuckled. “They still go to all the football games at Merrill High.”

Graham pretended the name hadn’t made his stomach drop into his feet. The back of his neck felt cold and clammy. “How nice,” he said evenly. “Did you play?”

“I did. But that was a long time ago,” Dan said with a sigh and shake of his head. “A different lifetime.”

“I see.” Graham glanced at his watch. He needed to end this interview soon or he’d lose his composure.

Fortunately, Dan got the message and stood. “I’m probably keeping you from something. I’m sure we’ll have more time to chat later.”

“I’ll have my assistant set up a few hours for us to go over strategy tomorrow morning.” Graham smiled and added, “Good to have you aboard.”

“Thanks again.”

Graham watched Dan leave, all the while struggling to keep his discomfort from showing. Dan closed the door behind him and Graham let out a long breath. How had he missed it before?

The Invincible Danny Parker. North Carolina All- State Quarterback of the Year. Full ride at Carolina. NCAA All-America Quarterback. A shoo-in for the pros until he tore his ACL in his senior year and had to quit the game.

Graham thought he’d forgotten what it felt like to sit in the mud as half the football team looked on and laughed, but he’d been wrong. All his memories came barreling back, and with them the pain and humiliation of fifteen years before.

The day after, he’d quit the band. When his mother remarried in June, they moved to Memphis and he took his stepfather’s name. He grew nearly eight inches his senior year.  He put high school and the chubby kid behind him. In college, he learned he didn’t have asthma at all—he’d been allergic to the mold in the Carletonville apartment where he and his mother lived. He started to exercise. His roommate taught him to play racquetball and he started running regularly. He got into shape and learned to imitate the way the popular students dressed. He was accepted into a great law school and never looked back.

Fifteen years before, Jimmy Zebulon, the chubby kid with a face covered in zits, left Carletonville and never returned. Jimmy had moved on with his life. He’d banished the memories and the shame. He’d been absolutely fine.

Until now.

Shira Anthony was a professional opera singer in her last incarnation, performing roles in such operas as Tosca, i Pagliacci, and La Traviata, among others. She’s given up TV for evenings spent with her laptop, and she never goes anywhere without a pile of unread M/M romance on her Kindle. You can hear Shira singing “Vissi d’arte” from Puccini’s Tosca by clicking here: Shira’s Singing

Shira loves a great happily-ever-after and never writes a story without one. She’s happy to write what her muse tells her, whether it’s fantasy, sci fi, paranormal, or contemporary romance. She particularly loves writing series, because she thinks of her characters as old friends and she wants to visit them even after their stories are told.

In real life, Shira sang professionally for 14 years, and she currently works as a public sector attorney advocating for children. She’s happy to have made writing her second full-time job, even if it means she rarely has time to watch TV or go to the movies. Shira writes about the things she knows and loves, whether it’s music and musicians, the ocean, or the places she’s lived or traveled to. She spent her middle school years living in France, and tries to visit as often as she can.

Shira and her husband spend as many weekends as they can aboard their 35′ catamaran sailboat, Land’s Zen, at the Carolina Coast. Not only has sailing inspired her to write about pirates and mermen, her sailboat is her favorite place to write. And although the only mermen she’s found to date are in her own imagination, she keeps a sharp lookout for them when she’s on the water.

 

Hurricane Reese by R.L. Merrill: Exclusive Guest Post, Release Day Review and Giveaway

by

The life of Tony-winning musician Reese Matheson resembles a natural disaster, and caregiver Jude De La Torre is caught in the eye of the storm. But can the love of two opposites survive caring for an ornery octogenarian with wayward balls and a meddling family insistent upon tradition?

Fresh off the successful London run of his musical, the last thing Reese expects when he comes home is a house surrounded by paparazzi and his girlfriend throwing his stuff into the pool. All he wants to do is spend time with his beloved grandfather and musical mentor who suffers from Alzheimer’s. Reese knows he doesn’t have much time left before the elder Matheson forgets who he is. In classic “Hurricane Reese” form, he moves into the cottage by the sea and displaces Jude, the intriguing caregiver he hired two years before. When Grandpa proves too much for Reese to handle on his own, Jude comes to his rescue, taming Grandpa… and the Hurricane as well. Soon all Reese can think about is how to get Jude out of his scrubs and into his bed—permanently. Will Hurricane Reese destroy everything in his path, or will this odd couple learn to harmonize together?

Title: Hurricane Reese
Author: R.L. Merrill
Release Date: January 30, 2018
Category: Contemporary
Pages: 205

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press ebook

Dreamspinner Press Paperback

 

Hurricane Reese is the result of many pieces coming together to create a funny and heartfelt romance. Those pieces include a beloved grandfather with Alzheimer’s disease, interracial dating in the LGBTQ community, musical theater, the Rat Pack days, and a new relationship with not only a power differential, but an age and cultural gap that threatens to halt any progress Reese and Jude make. Throw in an ex hell-bent on making Reese’s private life public, homelessness, a disappearing best friend, and a troubled younger brother and you have the natural disaster that is Hurricane Reese. Readers who enjoyed my self-published works like the Teacher trilogy and The Rock Season will find this new book a natural progression and new readers to my books will hopefully fall in love with Reese and Jude and the crazy families they bring along for the ride.

 

I haven’t read anything by R.L. Merrill before, but I knew when I read the description that I wanted to. And in a way I was not sorry, but more like I paid the price to read it. For the last six months, I’ve been dealing with something similar to what Reese was dealing with. My father had a couple of strokes, and has been left with some lingering effects that six months later we are still trying to manage, and cope with. So, reading about the deterioration of Grandpa and how Reese and Jude dealt with it, had me in tears more than once. I’ve felt some of the pain that Reese felt when my father didn’t recognize me. Or when he said things to me that were hurtful, because it was his disease talking and not him. So, I wasn’t sorry I read it, but my gosh, there were so many flashes of pain there, that it tells me that she hit me a little bit hard in the feels.

The story was well planned and thought out. The characters all written with such detail in their backstory, it really helped to understand things like why Jude struggled with coming out. The opposite side, you could see why Reese really didn’t give a fig about who knew what. There were pieces in the story that I certainly wasn’t expecting, but certainly made sense when you figure that stories like this don’t happen in a vacuum. As your characters are living their lives, so too are the other characters in the story living their own.

There were some areas that seemed a bit rushed, but I think that had more to do with the number of side stories rather than not wanting to hit those areas at all. It didn’t detract from the story, it just made me want just a little more length to some of the scenes where they are acknowledging and addressing their feelings.

In the end, I was happy to read this, and find a good way to address what has been a dark cloud looming over our family for a while. Reminding me that the world does continue to turn, and love continues to flourish, even during dark days was a great way to look at it overall.

4 pieces of eye candy

Once upon a time… a teacher, tattoo collector, mom, and rock ’n’ roll kinda gal opened up a doc and started purging her demons. Several self-published books and a debut gay romance with Dreamspinner Press later, R.L. Merrill is still striving to find that perfect balance between real life and happily ever after. She writes stories set in the places she loves most, such as Hollywood, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Northern California—and Iowa. Ro also loves connecting with other authors online, at the annual Romantic Times Booklovers Convention, and chapter meetings for the Romance Writers of America, of which she’s been a member since 2014.

A sucker for underdogs, Ro has adopted a wide variety of pets including cats, dogs, rats, a snake and fish. Her love of horror is evident the moment you walk in her door and find yourself surrounded by decorative skulls and quirky artwork from around the world. You can find her lurking on social media where she loves connecting with readers, educating America’s youth, being a mom taxi to two busy kids, in the tattoo chair trying desperately to get that back piece finished, or head banging at a rock show near her home in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Connect with Ro:

Website: www.rlmerrillauthor.com

Twitter: @rlmerrillauthor

Facebook: www.facebook.com/rowritesrocknromance

And stay Tuned for more Rock ’n’ Romance.

Facebook Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2001762376761722/

Spotify Playlist Link: https://open.spotify.com/user/rlmerrillauthor/playlist/79BaPjDRZXUwVr5tPI9FNC


a Rafflecopter giveaway