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Bad to the Bone by Nicki Bennett: Exclusive Guest Post and Excerpt

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A second chance at first love—if he has the courage to take it.

Alex can’t think of himself as anything but a failure. In high school, he was on the fast track to a career in pro football when he forged an unlikely friendship with a half-Comanche boy from the wrong part of town, Ricky Lee Jennings. Their shared love of books could have grown into more—but a homophobic teammate attacked Ricky Lee, and Alex wouldn’t risk his scholarship to defend him. Ricky Lee was kicked out of school, and Alex never heard from him again.

Now Alex’s glory days are nothing but a memory. An injury ended his football aspirations, his marriage fell apart, and his dreams of making a difference as an environmental lobbyist are as dead as his fantasies of sports stardom.

But all that could change in one magical night, when Ricky Lee shows up at their high-school reunion.

Title: Bad to the Bone
Author: Nicki Bennett
Release Date: May 15, 2018
Category: Contemporary, Dreamspun Desires
Pages: 202

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

 

Translations usually happen after a book is published, but Bad to the Bone was actually available in French before it releases tomorrow in English.

When Dreamspinner Press offered me a chance to attend this year’s Livre Paris, the international book fair that takes place in Paris every spring, there was just one problem. The salon du livre was taking place March 16-18, and based on the Dreamspun Desires schedule, which couldn’t be changed, Bad to the Bone wasn’t going to release until May 15.

“No problem,” Ariel Tachna—the head of Dreamspinner’s translation department, who (full disclosure) also happens to be my sometime coauthor—said. “We can have the translation ready in time for the salon. We’re doing it for several other titles too. We’ll offer attendees the chance to get the book signed by the author two months before its official release!”

And so it happened. As the book went through translation, however, another situation arose. Dreamspinner’s French translation coordinator, Jade Baiser, pointed out that the literal translation of the title—Mauvais jusqu’à la moëlle—has a much meaner connotation in French than it does in English.

According to Dictionary.com, “bad to the bone can mean rebellious in an exciting, attractive way as well as irredeemably bad” and mentions the 1982 George Thorogood song as an example. You can read about it here. (Do you have the song running through your head now like I do? If not, listen to this great live version. You’re welcome for the earworm.)

According to Ariel and Jade, the term in French has a much more negative connotation, more like rotten to the core, completely without the sexy, wrong-side-of-the-tracks nuance it has in English. They were worried it could potentially keep readers from picking up the book. So after some discussion, we agree to title the French translation Ricky Lee est de retour, which translates to “Ricky Lee has returned” or “Ricky Lee comes back.”

Livre Paris is an incredible experience. French readers in general, and m/m fans in particular, are passionate! It was raining the night the fair opened, and people were lined up outside the exhibition center and down the street, waiting patiently with bags and backpacks and suitcases (and umbrellas!) to hold all the books they’d buy. So many people stopped by the Dreamspinner booth to talk about their favorite books and meet the dozen attending authors. This year the Dreamspinner booth and those of the three large French LGBTQ publishers were all placed together, creating a happy queer fiction neighborhood.

So those fans who preordered Ricky Lee est de retour or bought it at the salon got to meet Ricky Lee and Alex months before everyone else. They seem to like them, based on the reviews from the French m/m Facebook groups I’ve joined (thank heaven for Google Translate!) Now it’s your chance, and I hope you enjoy reading about them in Bad to the Bone as much as I did writing about them.

 

Meeting Sam for breakfast had become a morning routine since she joined the Freeland police force. Today, as Alex walked from Morrison Hardware to the Danish Coffee Pot, he scanned the street in both directions but didn’t see any sign of the motorcycle from yesterday afternoon. He wasn’t sure which emotion was stronger, disappointment or relief.

Sam was already seated at their usual booth when he entered the diner. As always, the smells of cinnamon and bacon greeted him, along with a wave and a cheery smile from Brigit, the restaurant’s owner. A cup of coffee sat on the table waiting for him as he slid into the blue vinyl bench seat across from Sam.

“I thought you might need some morning courage,” Sam said. “You looked pretty stunned yesterday when I left.”

Alex took a grateful sip of the strong black brew. He hadn’t slept well the night before as he grappled with eleven-year-old memories. “Surprised, not stunned. I’d given u—I hadn’t expected to see Ricky Lee back in town again, that’s all.”

Brigit bustled over to take their orders—Danish fruit pancakes for Sam and one of the restaurant’s signature cinnamon rolls for Alex.

“Wonder what brought him back now.” Sam smiled a thanks to Brigit for topping off her coffee cup, pausing until the older woman had moved on to the next table. “He didn’t even come home when Old Man Jennings died.”

“I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t consider Freeland ‘home’ anymore,” Alex said. “His relationship with his father was always pretty strained after his mother passed away.” Which was part of what had drawn Ricky Lee and Alex together, but Alex tried to push those memories away, with as little success as the night before.

“Yeah, having the town drunk for a father couldn’t have been easy. I pulled Billy Joe in more than a time or two for public intoxication or DUI myself before he passed.”

“Not to mention being half Comanche, living on the wrong side of town, losing his mother when he was barely thirteen, and coming out as gay his freshman year of high school. You remember what it was like for him, Sam. High school was a tough enough time even if you were part of the ‘popular’ crowd. Ricky Lee was looked down on and bullied for things he had no control over.”

“You always stood up for him, Alex. That’s something I’ve always admired you for.”

Fortunately Brigit arrived at that moment with a tray piled with food, sparing Alex from Sam’s scrutiny as guilt washed through him. He’d failed to stand up for Ricky Lee when it counted most, and he’d regretted it all the years since. By the time Sam looked up from the plates of thin, crisp-edged pancakes, hash browns, and bacon arranged in front of her, Alex had his expression under control. He hoped.

“Besides, Ricky Lee got into plenty of trouble on his own,” Sam said after taking the first bite of her berry-topped pancakes. “Chief Cowart had me pull up his juvenile records, and he must have been brought in half a dozen times at least.”

“And never convicted of anything,” Alex protested. In his opinion, Chief Cowart had made up his mind that Ricky Lee was as no-good as his father and taken every opportunity to try to prove it. “He never started any of the fights at school. He had the right to defend himself.”

Growing up in Chicago, Nicki Bennett spent every Saturday at the central library, losing herself in the world of books. A voracious reader, she eventually found it difficult to find enough of the kind of stories she liked to read and decided to start writing them herself.

You can find Nicki on her Facebook page.

 

Victoria Sue: Monthly Author Guest Post: Exclusive Excerpt and Giveaway from Ben’s Rainbow (Rainbow Key Book 3)

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Once again, the fabulous Victoria Sue is stopping by for her monthly check in on what is happening in her world. Today she has a new release! Ben’s Rainbow is book 3 in the Rainbow Key series, and the one I have been waiting for (yeah, yeah, I might have said that about the others, but this one for reals!). Anyway, as you can see by the exclusive excerpt she dropped, this one might be a bit angsty. Second chance love, two broken men, one beautiful Florida Key. That’s the makings of some good stuff! Make sure you leave a comment for the giveaway!

 

Benedict Keeler was one of America’s most popular models. Hot body, hot career, and super-hot boyfriend, until a devastating house fire destroyed his face and his dreams. After being told all his life that a pretty face is the measure of his worth, he can’t face another rejection and runs from his lover, eventually hiding out on Rainbow Key.

Zachary Quinn, a highly sought after photographer—even if he would rather shoot the homeless in Manhattan than a fashion spread—is now facing the real possibility that a genetic disease will render him blind and his days behind a camera may be over.

Two devastated men, one haunted by his past and one convinced he has no future. Will they both hide from the world, or will they give love, and each other, a second chance?

Amazon

 

The bark of a dog had him jerking to attention. He’d wandered a few feet away from Matt because Matt had said the tide was out, and the only thing beneath his feet was miles of sand, but the thought of being faced with an animal he couldn’t see and might not be friendly had him spinning around to where he knew Matt was stacking the sun beds.

“Hey, Kai,” Matt said in a warm voice. He must have noticed the way Zach twisted around sharply because his voice remained steady. “Kai’s just a big puppy. Labrador cross and as soft as a brush.”

“Kai?”

Zach heard the whispered faintly panicked plea of the other voice and stilled immediately.

“Hey, Ben,” Matt greeted the owner of the voice and obviously the dog, but Zach didn’t need to hear the name to know. Much as his mind was screaming in disbelief and denial, he only needed to hear the voice once to immediately recognize it.

Ben.

His Ben. The man he loved so desperately but had obviously never loved him. Zach whirled around and started walking away, ignoring Matt’s shout. His steps became faster and faster until he broke out into a run. Running from the voice he knew and couldn’t bear to hear now. He couldn’t see where he was going, and it didn’t matter. Nearly four fucking years. Four fucking years he had tried to find Ben, but he had vanished even before he’d made it to Hawaii. And that damn reporter had succeeded where he hadn’t then Ben had vanished again. All the agency would say was that Ben didn’t work for them anymore, and if Sylvia had said it was such a shame one more fucking time in front of him, he would have been tempted to put his fist through the expensive glass doors to her office. Even Seth, with all his medical contacts, had been unable to find him. He’d hired a private investigator, but it hadn’t helped, so Zach had thrown himself into his work. For nearly two years he had stayed home searching, until he’d given up and since then he had barely been home for more than a week at a time before he was gone again, chasing the next photograph. Then he had woken up without his sight and finally realized he had been missing his heart already.

“Zach, wait.” The words, urgent and panicked never filtered past the more pressing need to run. “Zach, stop.”

Fear. Fear this time, and that, more than anything, made Zach check his speed. The hand that clasped his arm and yanked made him stumble. “Rocks,” Ben gasped. “there’s three huge rocks, and you were running right at them.”

“Zach,” Matt yelled, and Zach heard him closing in. He shook his head, his knees gave way, and the hand that held him guided him to the ground. “We’re okay, Matt,” Ben called back. Tight tears burned, and Zach yanked at the sunglasses that were suddenly suffocating and threw them to the side. Zach bent over, kneeling, hands clutching his abdomen as agony both speared and mocked him. Sweat broke out on his forehead, and he forgot how to breathe. It seemed when he tried to inhale, nothing happened.

“Ben.” Choking, gasping, hurting.

“Hush,” Ben soothed. “Just breathe. Breathe with me.” And he did. Giddy as oxygen flooded his starving lungs, even as his body hungered for something else. He clasped the hand on his arm in sudden terror it was all a dream… a nightmare, and he had woken again to the other side of the bed as empty as the rest of him.

“Don’t—” go. But he couldn’t force the words through his choked throat. He jumped. The raspy tongue cautiously licked his other hand, and suddenly it was ridiculous, and he was laughing. He gasped again, and the laughs became sobs as he bent over and clutched at his body, convinced if he didn’t hold on he would fly apart.

But then maybe he should let it go?

Crying. Shaking. Turning his head and pressing into the comfort of the one thing he needed and had forgotten. He tried to inhale Ben’s scent, but his nose was clogged. Tried to reach out and hold him but his arms shook.

“Hush, sweetheart, I’m so sorry.” Pain everywhere. In him, around him. In the catch of Ben’s voice that seemed to fracture over and over until his brain was echoey and foggy. He couldn’t think, didn’t want to think.

Harsh panting seemed to steady him, and he became aware of the arms clutching him, holding him up. He sagged again, too heavy, but too tired to do any other. He wanted to ask so much, but renewed terror silenced him. More hands helped him to his feet, and too exhausted to form a protest, Zach did as he was told. All he could do was hold onto the one hand he was convinced it would kill him to let go. Begging him to stay without having the energy to form the words.

“Let’s get him back and into bed.”

“Do you think we should call his doctor?”

“No,” Zach gasped, knowing it was Josh and Matt who spoke. Ben was silent, but so long as he didn’t leave, he didn’t need to hear him.

“I’ll stay with him.”

Which made Zach want to cry all over again. Please.

Zach was barely aware of being helped back into the cart then into the hotel. He was finally in bed and completely exhausted…and still, through everything, clinging to the hand that held his. Nothing else mattered. Being alive. Being blind. Nothing.

Well, what do you think? Is this one going to be good or what? Leave a comment to be entered to win one of Victoria’s backlist books.

Kiss Your Scars by Avril Ashton: Exclusive Author Guest Post, Excerpt and Giveaway

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Being the king of Atlanta’s underworld used to have its perks, but lately all undercover agent Renzo Vega has seen is the downside. Someone is auctioning off women in his city, and he’s damn sure not about to let that offense stand. Just as he’s set to make a move, Renzo’s club is ambushed and he’s shot. Unsure of who to trust, he turns to the one man he definitely knows wants him dead.

Yanked from his bed, blindfolded and spirited away in the middle of the night, Lowell Scott is shocked to find the darkly gorgeous Renzo bleeding and in need of his help. The very last thing he wants is to come to the aid of the man responsible for his cousin’s death, but the knife at his throat doesn’t give Low much options.

Close proximity doesn’t temper the hatred Low harbors for Renzo, it only brings up new problems. Like the vicious attraction Low struggles to control, and bullets that won’t stop flying. It’s a tough sell to believe there’s anything good in a man as unapologetically dangerous as Renzo. And even if Low could forgive the unforgivable, Renzo is still shadowed in secrets. When they’re exposed, those secrets will bring far-reaching consequences that could sever not just their shaky bond, but Low’s family ties as well.

This is book three in the Loose Ends series, but can be read as a standalone.

Warning: Contains references to subjects that may be triggering. Please read with caution.

KISS YOUR SCARS

LOOSE ENDS SERIES, BOOK 3

AVRIL ASHTON

RELEASE DATE: 02.20.18

 

Amazon US

Amazon UK

 

 

So happy to have Avril Ashton joining TCO today, with a fantastic post about her take on being an #AOC, an Author of Color. Avril’s Brooklyn Sinners series was some of my first books in the m/m genre, and still some of my favorite. They’re gritty, raw, and hit at the heart. I hope you’ll read her guest post, and give us your thoughts on this topic.

Back when I picked up my first romance novel, the couple on the cover looked nothing like me. I didn’t let it stop me from flipping those pages, because I didn’t pick up that particular book because of the cover models. I picked it up because the story hinted at on the back cover intrigued me and I wanted to know it.

I wanted to experience it.

So I read it.

And I did.

I experienced. I learned.

The next romance novel I picked up also wasn’t about people blessed with my particularly gorgeous shade of the brownness. Not the next one. Or the one after that. But I’m a reader.

It’s what I do. Who I am.

Took a lot of books before I found one with people that looked like me. Surprise. A good surprise. But for every one book that had a POC on the cover, there were hundreds—probably thousands—of books that didn’t. I accepted that. I knew what it meant, don’t get me wrong. I just accepted it. Until I didn’t.

I finally started writing my own.

There is a feeling in your chest when you see people who look like you on a book cover. When you see them loving and winning at love, at life. There’s a sense of belonging that you can never know, unless you’ve actually experienced the opposite.

The “not for you”.

The “not good enough”.

The “lesser than.”

I write for those people who aren’t afraid to reach for and embrace different. I write for those readers willing to experience something they’ve never had before. My characters have always been POC. I will always hit you with the diversity.

Kiss Your Scars is my latest M/M romance featuring a diverse couple. Renzo Vega is Brazilian and Lowell Scott is Grenadian. Some of you will have never heard of Grenada. It’s a tiny island in the West Indies where I was born.

Back when I picked up my first romance novel, there was nobody out there writing love stories about people who sounded like me, who ate what I ate and lived where I lived.

Aye, today somebody can say that’s no longer true.

“I can’t relate.” Somebody, somewhere always says that when it comes to a POC romance.

There’s always something to learn, though.

Everything about him was magnetic and dangerous, and he moved like a rogue wave on an abandoned beach, wiping away your foundation before you had a chance to prepare for the hit.

Right now his gaze devoured Low, making it hard for him not to squirm.

“There is something between us.” Renzo put his hands in his pockets. Low tried not to notice the way that action tugged his pants waist lower and rucked up his shirt. “You and I both know that.”

“No.” Low held up a hand when Renzo took a step forward, but that didn’t stop him from coming closer. “I have a boyfriend.” So yeah, he’d upgraded Chance. “I don’t want you.”

“Yes.” Renzo got in Low’s space, trapping Low between him and the locked door. “You have a boyfriend but here you are, sneaking off to see me. Why are you at my club? Are you here looking for love? Looking for a fuck?”

Low’s eyes widened and Renzo touched him, a slide of his knuckles down his cheek. That touch. He’d thought about. He’d fantasized about it. He’d grieved for the loss of it.

“Doesn’t matter which. I’m good for either one.”

Low jerked his head up and slid closer. He couldn’t help it, couldn’t fight the coil in his belly that pulled tighter with every word Renzo spoke, bringing them together until their bodies made contact, front to front.

Step away. He should step back. But Renzo kept him right there with his heat and the smell of him. Low leaned forward slowly, seeking more of it.

The heat.

The scent.

His lips brushed Renzo’s neck.

Renzo groaned. Low’s entire body clenched.

Have mercy. “Leave me the fuck alone,” Low whispered. But there was no force beyond that plea. Just empty words mocking him, because the truth was he wanted Renzo closer.

Renzo grabbed him by the arm and pushed him up against the mirror overlooking the main area of the club. They could see out, but no one could see them as they stood, Renzo at Low’s back, humping him, sliding his hardness all over Low’s ass. Slowly.

Fucking painfully slow.

“Watch him,” Renzo murmured at his ear. “Watch your boyfriend. Does he know he’s your second choice, Low?”

He shuddered, panting, but he still held his head high, squirming as he tried to get away from Renzo’s hold. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Renzo laughed. “You know.” His tongue slid over the shell of Low’s ear.

Low’s breath hitched as he locked his knees to keep from falling. Renzo melted him. He destroyed Low and he remained in that grip, loving their destruction.

“Where does Chance think you are, Low? Men’s room? Outside getting some air? When you leave here, will you tell him where you were, I wonder?” Renzo nipped at his earlobe and Low gave him everything. Every shudder, every gasp. “You gonna tell him you were rubbing your ass all over my cock, Low?”

“No.” He moaned. God. Fuck. Low gave up his moans, too. “Please.”

“You gonna tell him you can’t stay away from me? That you only brought him here to make me jealous?”

“I don’t want you.” His voice was an embarrassingly thin thread of sound that wavered under the weight of Renzo’s touch, like a ribbon wrapped around a tree branch, fighting against a heavy wind.

“Doesn’t matter how much you tell yourself you hate me,” Renzo whispered. “You still close your eyes when Chance touches you and pretend it’s me.”

The stark truth in those words buried him. “No.”

Renzo ignored his weak protest. “Does he know what you like, huh?” He touched Low, one hand at his chest, lips at his ear. “Has he fucked you lately?”

“Renzo.”

“Yes.” Renzo moaned, too, the sound hitting Low in the balls. “The way you say my fucking name.” He pressed closer, rocking against Low. He clasped Low’s throat, tilting his head against his shoulder. “Good?” he asked, voice turned husky. “He fucks you good, Low? The way you want, the way you need?”

“I don’t…” Low choked, but he was moving with Renzo, on him, sliding up and down, riding the hard ridge of Renzo. Unable to stop. Just for a second. He’d forget himself just for however long it took for this hunger to work its way through him.

“Does he eat you out? Lick it up?” The hand around Low’s throat tightened. “Does he tell you you’re the best?”

Low sobbed for him, trembling, fingers clinging to the hand Renzo had splayed over his lower belly. Done, he was fucking done.

“You’re the best I’ve ever had, Low, and I haven’t even fucked you yet. Let me get that.” He touched lower, cupping Low’s erection through his jeans and squeezing. “Let me tear it up while you call me Daddy. Let’s stay here, like this, you riding me till we both come.”

“No!” Low wrenched himself away, stumbling as he glared at Renzo as arousal crawled along his spine. “You killed my cousin.”

Renzo shrugged. “Did I?”

 

A Caribbean transplant, Avril now lives in Stone Mountain, GA. with a tolerant Spousal Equivalent. Together they raise an eccentric daughter who loves reading and school (not so much school anymore). Avril’s earliest memories of reading revolve around discussing plot points of Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys with an equally book-minded mother

Always in love with the written word, Avril finally decided to do the writing in August of ’09 and never looked back. Spicy love scenes, delicious heroes, and wicked women burn up the pages of Avril’s stories, but there’ll always be a happy ending; Av remains a believer of love in all its forms.

A lover of cake, the ID Channel and the UFC, Avril writes Erotic and GLBT Romance.

WEBSITE

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PATREON

AMAZON AUTHOR

Loose Ends Series

 

 

 

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The Eager Boy by Sean Michael: Exclusive Guest Post and Release Day Review

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Eight months ago Robin Secoya left his lover and master, Stack Lobond, because he didn’t believe Stack really cared about him. He was sure that for Stack, any warm body would do, and Robin wasn’t willing to be just a warm body anymore.

A chance meeting at the Iron Eagle Gym brings them back together, and old feelings aren’t far from the surface. They decide they can’t pass up a second chance at romance. But this time, it isn’t just Stack’s demanding career as a big-cat vet putting strain on their relationship. Robin also has a new job that takes up a lot of his time.

Will their kinky love affair crash and burn a second time, or can they find the balance that will allow the passion between them to flourish?

Title: The Eager Boy
Author: Sean Michael
Release Date: April 24, 2018
Category: BDSM
Pages: An Iron Eagle Gym: Book 5

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

Barnes and Noble

Kobo

Thank you to Two Chicks Obsessed for hosting me today!

One of the characters in The Eager Boy – Stack – rides a motorcycle. I have a neat coincidence happening. The book came out this week, and this week is also the week when our weather turned from winter to summer (yeah, we have kind of skipped over most of spring) which means that there were suddenly a whole bunch of motorcycles on the road. Given that for six months of the year the roads are fairly traitorous for two wheeled vehicles, most drivers of motorcycles only use them during the late spring, summer and early fall.

There’s something sexy about a man on a motorcycle, isn’t there? There’s the leathers they wear to keep the bugs and wind from trashing their skin, not to mention to help against road rash should they have an accident. And there’s the image of the motorcycle driver being a bad boy. Yum.

I’m not that knowledgeable about motorcycles, but even I can recognize something unique and special when I see it on the road. There’s one here in the city that is this really dark pearlized purple with always brightly polished chrome. It’s quality. That’s the kind of bike I like to think that Stack rides. Something that makes people who see it immediately think that it’s quality and it’s driver is hot 😉

Whether you’re into motorcycles or not, I hope you enjoy Stack and Robin’s story.

Sean

smut fixes everything

I do like Sean Michael’s writing. It is real, the conversations are how I would expect to hear them as if I was standing next to the characters in real life, and the issues that come up are often ones you see in your own relationships or those around you.

This book with Robin and Stack was a second chance romance, Robin having left Stack months before because Stack was not giving him the attention he needed. And Stack, when he had the chance to get his boy back, realized he needed to change. However, I felt like it wasn’t the most sincere of changes in the beginning. Stack claimed not to know why Robin left, and clearly communication was an issue, but not having spent the time to understand why he left, before trying to reclaim their love lost me somehow.

I loved that Robin decided to reclaim his independence, getting a job, and his own apartment, working out on his terms. However, when he met up with Stack again, he seemed to immediately fall into whatever Stack wanted to do, which in the short run included getting into bed, and a scene. I felt that keeping his job was essential to him continuing a path towards independence, even if they lived together.

Although, I liked the characters, and their second chance, I felt like there were some pieces missing. I would love to catch up with them later, though, and see if that has been addressed.

3 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/

 

Set Ablaze by KC Burn: Exclusive Guest Post, Release Day Review and Giveaway

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California firefighter Hayden Hurst is starting to realize there’s more to life than fighting fires and drinking with his buddies. He has room in his home and his life for someone special, but no one has stood out among his hookups. And while he’s out at work, admitting he’s gay is very different from showing up at social functions with a man. He’s afraid that’ll be too much for his less-than-accepting “friends.”

Broadway dancer Jez Bouchet hasn’t been mistaken for straight since he was gay-bashed at seventeen. After getting a lucrative job offer in Hollywood, he uproots his life in New York and drives to Los Angeles. His brother, who is Hayden’s best friend, arranges for him to crash at Hayden’s place.

The attraction between Hayden and Jez is unexpected but fiery, and they succumb before they’re even sure they like each other. But Jez hates Hayden’s homophobic friends, and Hayden knows Jez is too flamboyant for him to fly under the radar. Then there’s the complication of Jez’s brother.

Despite those hurdles, they fling themselves into a relationship. But Jez has secrets: a tiny spoiled dog and a determined stalker. If he doesn’t come clean, he might torch their burgeoning relationship before it has a chance to bloom.

Title: Set Ablaze
Author: KC Burn
Release Date: April 24, 2018
Category: Contemporary
Pages: 193

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

Hi all! I’m KC Burn and I want to thank Two Chicks Obsessed for hosting me today for my new release Set Ablaze.

I know there are authors out there who have to hide what they write from family. There are readers out there who have to hide what they read. I am not one of those people. My friends are all supportive, my family is mostly supportive, my in-laws are super supportive. My hubby is the most supportive man I could ask for. When I’m not behind on deadlines, he edits my books and he’s excellent at catching plot holes and continuity errors as well as grammar mistakes.

For Set Ablaze, though, I required a different brand of support. Set Ablaze is set in a fictional firehouse, in Pasadena, California, where I currently reside. I’d done a bunch of research (like many of my books, the heroes’ professions only peripherally influence the story, so I didn’t need HUGE amounts of information about firefighters, just enough to get the parts I do reference correct). There were two questions I could not seem to locate answers for online though.

During this creation process, I traveled to Toronto for a conference. While I was there, I saw a Facebook post for the city of Pasadena. One of the fire stations was having an OPEN HOUSE. While I was AWAY. You could wander in and check the place out, and ask questions.

The conversation with my hubby went like this… “So… do you have any plans for Saturday?”

Yes, the hubby went to the open house, armed with my two questions, and took some pictures for me. It was exactly what I needed to finish the book. Gotta love my supportive hubby.

What about you? Have you been scorned for your reading choices? And I’m not necessarily talking m/m romance. Romance is often looked down on by the rest of the literary world. I’ve gotten flak for straight romances, and even just any sort of genre fiction. I really feel for those out there who can’t just enjoy the escape that reading (and writing) provides.

When I said I would review this book, I had no idea what to expect. A firefighter who’s out, but not quite out, a dancer with a future, but no home, and a puppy. So, yeah, all those together, and I said “yep, that’s for me!” Having not read this author before, I took a chance. (Meanwhile, I went and searched and found I had purchased at least one book by this author, and its in my TBR, moved up accordingly. 🙂 )

What I did not expect was the twists and turns this book would take, and not the normal ones you might expect. Jez’s brother, his reactions to Jez, and later his reasoning behind it all were surprising to me. Also, the…for want of a better word…s**t that Hayden took from his friends, despite them knowing he was gay, and how it was handled. This impressed me as a reader, because it could have easily turned into a hugely dramatic part of the book, and instead was dealt with as (hopefully) most adults would have handled it.

In the end though, I loved the relationship between Hayden and Jez. They respected each other, despite their extreme differences, and didn’t allow circumstances to pull them apart. They truly just worked on falling in love, with only a little internal drama-and a whole lot of cute puppy. 🙂

Hayden’s own issues made complete sense considering the circumstances he’d had to deal with, and the way he allowed Jez to assist with the process of letting go was touching. They really did make a good team together.

I really enjoyed this book, and am hoping to find some time soon to read Cop Out now…or if there’s another in this series, that too!

4.5 pieces of eye candy

KC Burn has been writing for as long as she can remember and is a sucker for happy endings (of all kinds).  After moving from Toronto to Florida for her husband to take a dream job, she discovered a love of gay romance and fulfilled a dream of her own — getting published.  After a few years of editing web content by day, and neglecting her supportive, understanding hubby and needy cat at night to write stories about men loving men, she was uprooted yet again and now resides in California. Writing is always fun and rewarding, but writing about her guys is the most fun she’s had in a long time, and she hopes you’ll enjoy them as much as she does.

Visit KC at her website, on Twitter, on Facebook, or find out about new releases by signing up for her newsletter.


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A Full Plate by Kim Fielding: Exclusive Author Guest Post and Release Day Review

by

Opposites come together for a spicy surprise.

Bradford “Tully” Tolliver has everything—money, a great car, a beautiful condo, and a promising career as one of Portland’s hottest young lawyers. Sure, he puts in long hours and has no social life to speak of, but who needs romance when corporations pay top dollar for his expertise? He hesitates when a colleague asks if her cousin can live with him, but the arrangement will last less than a year, and then the cousin—Sage Filling—will return to his tiny hometown.

But Sage is handsome and intriguing, and his cooking makes Tully swoon. Sage has obligations back home, though, and Tully has offers he might not refuse from a persistent—and very wealthy—ex. Since Tully and Sage each have a full plate, can they make room for a side of love?

Title: A Full Plate
Author: Kim Fielding
Release Date: April 17, 2018
Category: Contemporary, Dreamspun Desires
Pages: 197

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

Hi! I’m Kim Fielding, and I’m very excited to announce the arrival of my new Dreamspun Desires book, A Full Plate! If you’re in the mood for a sweet little opposites-attract romance with a hint of spice, this may fit your tastes exactly.

Are you a city slicker or a country bumpkin? Neither of those are very positive terms, so let’s put it another way. Are you more comfortable amid the high-rises of the urban jungle, where the hustle and bustle and the 24/7 lifestyle keep you juiced? Or would you prefer to remain in the quiet of the country, with nature at your doorstep and a slower, steadier pace?

I think both locales have pros and cons. I love the convenience of the city, the variety, and the opportunities for people-watching. But I also appreciate the peace of the countryside and the relative lack of stress.

To be honest, I live in neither environment. I’ve spent most of my life in the burbs or in cities that are too big to be towns but far too small to be metropolises. My current home is two blocks from almond orchards and cornfields, but the freeway roars nearby, and I can buy pho or a microbrew without leaving the city limits.

My day job and other practicalities keep me where I am for now. But if I were completely free to choose, I’d opt for a big-city condo—with frequent vacations to the mountains, the desert, and the beach. The best of both worlds, right?

In my new book, A Full Plate, the main characters face the basic question of where to live. Tully is a corporate attorney, born in Manhattan and now living in a Portland high-rise. Sage, however, is from the tiny central Oregon town of Hair Shaker—one of those places where everyone knows everyone else’s business. He aspires to nothing fancier than being a good cook, but he must temporarily live in the city in order to support his family.

So there we have it: a classic conflict. How can these two very different men ever find happiness together?

Where would you prefer to live, in the city or in the country?

 

Here’s a nice country-inspired recipe from my childhood.

 

Fruit Coffee Cake

 

Cake:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 ½ tsp grated orange peel

½ cup butter

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

3 ½ cups fresh fruit of your choice, washed, pitted or hulled, and cut into bite-size pieces

 

Topping:

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

¼ cup flour

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp butter

½ cup chopped nuts (optional)

 

Make cake: In a bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange peel. With pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles cornmeal.

In another bowl, beat eggs lightly, then stir in milk and vanilla. Make a well in center of flour mixture and pour in egg mixture; stir just until moistened. Spoon batter into well-greased 7 ½ by 11 ½ pan and arrange fruit evenly on top, pressing in lightly.

Make topping: Combine sugar, flour, and cinnamon. With fingers, work in butter. Stir in nuts.

Squeeze together handfuls of topping, then break into chunks and scatter over fruit.

Bake at 350F until pick comes out clean, about 60 minutes. Cool 20 minutes on wire rack.

Sigh. I just love a happy ending. Not just when it ends on a good note, but when we get to see the characters in their new lives, enjoying each moment. It’s one of the reasons I love the Dreamspun Desires series. That happy ending is never far away.

I really enjoyed this one by Kim Fielding. A Full Plate gave me all the good feels. Sage was happiest right where he felt at home, in the kitchen, make those around him happy with his food. Okay, there was that one time with Tully, but it led to happy, so easily forgiven. J

What I loved most was Tully though, and not simply because the book was written from his POV. Tully grew up rich in Manhattan, going to private schools, having the best of everything, until he came out. That kind of childhood could have led to him being a snob, and looking down on Sage for “only wanting to be a cook”. Yet he didn’t, he told people with pride what Sage did. He treated him with respect and care, not caring that Sage didn’t have a college degree, or that he didn’t work for a Michelin starred restaurant. Tully was a person of great integrity-although I think he should have given Eddy hell for destroying wetlands-and treated everyone respectfully.

Tully and Sage were so compatible deep down, that it seemed odd that it took them so long to make that connection. But they did, and all cylinders seemed to fire from there. Love was inevitable.

I would love to see them pop up again somewhere else, just to get more of a glimpse into how their lives have evolved.

4 pieces of eye candy

Kim Fielding is the bestselling author of numerous m/m romance novels, novellas, and short stories. Like Kim herself, her work is eclectic, spanning genres such as contemporary, fantasy, paranormal, and historical. Her stories are set in alternate worlds, in 15th century Bosnia, in modern-day Oregon. Her heroes are hipster architect werewolves, housekeepers, maimed giants, and conflicted graduate students. They’re usually flawed, they often encounter terrible obstacles, but they always find love.

After having migrated back and forth across the western two-thirds of the United States, Kim calls the boring part of California home. She lives there with her husband, her two daughters, and her day job as a university professor, but escapes as often as possible via car, train, plane, or boat. This may explain why her characters often seem to be in transit as well. She dreams of traveling and writing full-time.

Follow Kim:

Website: http://www.kfieldingwrites.com/

Facebook: http://facebook.com/KFieldingWrites

Twitter: @KFieldingWrites

Email: Kim@KFieldingWrites.com

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bau3S9

A complete list of Kim’s books: http://www.kfieldingwrites.com/kim-fieldings-books/