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Sharing our love of M/M Romance

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Long Shadows by Kate Sherwood: Blog Tour Spotlight and $100 Riptide Giveaway

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longshadows_500x750synopsisLA cop Jericho Crewe got the hell out of Mosely, Montana, when he was seventeen. Fifteen years later, he’s back, and everything is just as messed up as when he left. He planned a quick visit to deal with his injured father, but of course things are never that simple. Family complications, police complications, social complications—and, as always, Wade Granger complications.

Jericho and Wade had been so close, once upon a time. First friends, then more than friends—and then, after Jericho’s escape, nothing. Wade’s magnetism hasn’t been lessened by a decade and a half apart; even when Jericho learns that Wade is the prime suspect in the death of Jericho’s father, the old connection still sparks.

When Jericho’s newly discovered half siblings are kidnapped, he needs to trust someone to help him find them. Wade’s a terrible choice, but Jericho’s never been known for his good judgment. Anyway, he’d rather make a bad decision with Wade than a good one with anybody else.

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meet the author

Kate Sherwood started writing about the same time she got back on a horse after almost twenty years away from riding. She’d like to think she was too young for it to be a midlife crisis, but apparently she was ready for some changes!

Kate grew up near Toronto, Ontario (Canada) and went to school in Montreal, then Vancouver. But for the last decade or so she’s been a country girl. Sure, she misses some of the conveniences of the city, but living close to nature makes up for those lacks. She’s living in Ontario’s “cottage country”–other people save up their time and come to spend their vacations in her neighborhood, but she gets to live there all year round!

Since her first book was published in 2010, she’s kept herself busy with novels, novellas, and short stories in almost all the sub-genres of m/m romance. Contemporary, suspense, scifi or fantasy–the settings are just the backdrop for her characters to answer the important questions. How much can they share, and what do they need to keep? Can they bring themselves to trust someone, after being disappointed so many times? Are they brave enough to take a chance on love?

Kate’s books balance drama with humor, angst with optimism. They feature strong, damaged men who fight themselves harder than they fight anyone else. And, wherever possible, there are animals: horses, dogs, cats ferrets, squirrels… sometimes it’s easier to bond with a non-human, and most of Kate’s men need all the help they can get.

After five years of writing, Kate is still learning, still stretching herself, and still enjoying what she does. She’s looking forward to sharing a lot more stories in the future.

Twitter: @kate_sherwood

giveaway

To celebrate the release of all four books in the Common Law series, we’re giving away one four-tour-wide GRAND PRIZE of $100 in Riptide credit! Enter at each stop on each tour (once they go live) to maximize your chances to win! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on April 8, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the Long Shadows tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

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Clickbait by E.J. Russell: Blog Tour and Giveaway

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Hi everyone, this is E.J. Russell! Thank you so much for joining me as I celebrate the release of Clickbait, my first contemporary novel with Riptide Publishing!
synopsis

clickbait-600x900After the disastrous ending of his first serious relationship, Gideon Wallace cultivated a protective—but fabulously shiny—outer shell to shield himself from Heartbreak 2.0. Besides, romance is so not a priority for him right now. All his web design prospects have inexplicably evaporated, and to save his fledgling business, he’s been compelled to take a hands-on hardware project—as in, his hands on screwdrivers, soldering irons, and needle-nosed pliers. God. Failure could actually be an option.

Journeyman electrician Alex Henning is ready to leave Gideon twisting in the wind after their run-ins both on and off the construction site. Except, like a fool, he takes pity on the guy and offers to help. Never mind that between coping with his dad’s dementia and clocking all the overtime he can finagle, he has zero room in his life for more complications.

Apparently, an office build-out can lay the foundation for a new relationship. Who knew? But before Alex can trust Gideon with the truth about his fragile family, he has to believe that Gideon’s capable of caring about more than appearances. And Gideon must learn that when it comes to the heart, it’s content—not presentation—that matters.

Now available from Riptide Publishing.

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ARe

Riptide Publishing

 

meet the author

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/

giveaway

To celebrate the release of Clickbait, one lucky winner will receive $25 in Riptide credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on December 10, 2016. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

 

Freckles by Amy Lane: Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway

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freckles_600x900synopsis

Carter Embree has always hoped to be rescued from his productive, tragically boring, and (slightly) ethically compromised life. But when an urchin at a grocery store shoves a bundle of fluff into his hands, Carter goes from rescuee to rescuer—and he needs a little help.

Sandy Corrigan, the vet tech who helps ease Carter into the world of dog ownership, first assumes that Carter is a crazy-pants client who just needs to relax. But as Sandy gets a glimpse into the funny, kind, sexy man under Carter’s mild-mannered exterior, he sees that with a little care and feeding, Carter might be Super-Pet Owner—and decent boyfriend material to boot.

But Carter needs to see himself as a hero first. As he says good-bye to his pristine house and hello to carpet treatments and dog walkers, he finds that there really is more to himself than a researching drudge without a backbone. A Carter Embree can rate a Sandy Corrigan. He can be supportive, he can be a hero, he can be a man who stands up for his principles!

He can be the owner of a small dog.

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ARe

Riptide Publishing

 

denise review

OMG! The cuteness factor on this is HIGH!!!!

I love Amy Lane books and this one is no exception. Between Freckles, the cutest dog ever, and Carter being the sweetest, sincerest man ever, this book was made to be a comfort read.

I enjoyed how Sandy wasn’t put off by the fact that Carter really had no concept how to socially engage, or flirt, and just went after what he wanted, Carter. Meanwhile, Carter took a few times meeting to open his eyes and see Sandy as a person, and not a vet tech who was helpful. Then he was all in. Carter fell in love with Freckles on first sight, and did the same with Sandy…once he saw him.

This is such a good re-read book. Made to just sit back, laugh a lot (and between Freckles’ antics and Carter’s lack of awareness sometimes there is tons of laughter!) and just want to soak up the enjoyment.

And if you are a Johnnie’s fan, like I am…you might recognize one of the snarky side characters. 😉

Grab this, read it, and laugh it up!

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meet the author

Amy Lane exists happily with her noisy family in a crumbling suburban crapmansion, and equally happily with the surprisingly demanding voices who live in her head.

She loves cats, movies, yarn, pretty colors, pretty men, shiny things, and Twu Wuv, and despises house cleaning, low fat granola bars, and vainglorious prickweenies.

She can be found at her computer, dodging housework, or simultaneously reading, watching television, and knitting, because she likes to freak people out by proving it can be done.

Connect with Amy:

giveaway

To celebrate the release of Freckles, one lucky winner will receive Freckles in ebook and another ebook of their choice from Amy’s backlist! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on November 19, 2016. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

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Blank Spaces by Cass Lennox: Blog Tour and Giveaway

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blankspaces_600x900synopsisAbsence is as crucial as presence.

The decision to stop dating has made Vaughn Hargrave’s life infinitely simpler: he has friends, an excellent wardrobe, and a job in the industry he loves. That’s all he really needs, especially since sex isn’t his forte anyway and no one else seems interested in a purely romantic connection. But when a piece is stolen from his art gallery and insurance investigator Jonah Sondern shows up, Vaughn finds himself struggling with that decision.

Jonah wants his men like his coffee: hot, intense, and daily. But Vaughn seems to be the one gay guy in Toronto who doesn’t do hookups, which is all Jonah can offer. No way can Jonah give Vaughn what he really wants, not when Jonah barely understands what love is.

When another painting goes missing, tension ramps up both on and off the clock. Vaughn and Jonah find themselves grappling not just with stolen art, but with their own differences. Because a guy who wants nothing but romance and a guy who wants nothing but sex will never work—right? Not unless they find a way to fill in the spaces between them.

buy now

Amazon

Riptide Publishing

 

meet the author

Cass Lennox is a permanent expat who has lived in more countries than she cares to admit to and suffers from a chronic case of wanderlust as a result. She started writing stories at the tender age of eleven, but would be the first to say that the early years are best left forgotten and unread. A great believer in happy endings, she arrived at queer romance via fantasy, science fiction, literary fiction, and manga, and she can’t believe it took her that long. Her specialties are diverse characters, gooey happy ever afters, and brownies. She’s currently sequestered in a valley in southeast England.

Connect with Cass:

giveaway

To celebrate the release of Blank Spaces, one lucky winner will receive a $15 gift certificate to All Romance Ebooks! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on November 19, 2016. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

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Kinky Sprinkles by L.A. Witt: Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway

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kinkysprinkles_600x900 synopsis

Joel has finally walked away from his abusive ex and is ready to meet new people. But that isn’t easy for a guy who’s shy, self-conscious, and struggling with his body image.

Andre has wanted Joel since the first time he laid eyes on him, and finally Joel is single. But Andre is a Dom and a sadist, and Joel is unapologetically vanilla. There’s no happy medium—either Andre reins in the kinky side that took him years to accept, or Joel grits his teeth and subjects himself to kinks that aren’t his thing. No matter who bends, someone’s going to be unhappy.

They agree to walk away, but they keep circling back to each other. Though their kinks might not line up, the chemistry between them sizzles and the emotional connection keeps getting deeper. But none of that will get them anywhere if they can’t find some kind of middle ground in the bedroom.

 

Welcome to the Riptide Publishing/L. A. Witt blog tour for Kinky Sprinkles!

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Riptide Publishing

 

Heather's Review

I can’t remember the last time I had such a hard time summing up my thoughts on a book. Kinky Sprinkles combines two things I love: LA Witt and kink, which should make for a very happy day. But it is a novella, and I ran into some of the things I don’t love about shorter stories.

First, what I did love about this book:

Andre and Joel 

Andre was written so well. His status as a Dom wasn’t about how he controlled anyone or how he dressed. It was simply the man he was. As Joel said at one point, he could’ve been wearing Hello Kitty pajamas and still been Dominant. It’s hard to find books where the author truly understands what makes a Dom.

On top of that, he was always mindful of his role as a Dom. There’s one scene that solidifies him as one of my favorite main characters in a BDSM story.

Joel is a bit more of a mixed bag. His visceral reactions to the lifestyle made sense given what he’d been through. At the same time, there were glimmers which led me to wonder what the future would hold for them. I give him props for being open and honest about what he was and wasn’t willing to do.

Tightly written

One of the benefits of a well-written shorter story is everything is stripped down to the bare bones. There’s no time for the author to wander along the garden path. And Kinky Sprinkles was one of those books.

Now, for what didn’t work for me:

Too many unanswered questions

If I hadn’t gotten wrapped up in the characters, I don’t know that I’d be as upset as I am at the end of the book. But I did. And I am. In the end, it felt more like the first portion of a book, where they go from being strangers (or in this case, acquaintances) to deciding they’re going to be together. But I’m still not certain they’re going to make it and there are going to be plenty of bumps in the road. My only hope is that maybe, just maybe, LA Witt has plans we don’t know about, because there could easily be a follow-up for these two.

Joel’s struggle

Yes, I know I just said I loved Joel for being honest, but by the time I read the last page, it felt more like he was sticking to his guns because he was holding onto the past. There were these passing thoughts that make me think everything will be okay in the future, but not in the way they agreed to proceed. I wish we’d had more time to see how the relationship progresses.

Even though I have mixed feelings, I’m giving this book 4 pieces of candy. LA Witt delivered what she promised and it was well written. It would’ve been a 5 for me if only there weren’t so many unresolved issues.

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giveaway

Every comment on this blog tour enters you in a drawing for a choice of two eBooks off my backlist (excluding Kinky Sprinkles) and a $10 Riptide Publishing store credit. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on October 1st.  Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Don’t forget to leave your contact info, and thanks for following the tour!

 

meet the author

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).

  

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

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RopedIn_600x900synopsisGraham 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.)

tco-friday five-ish

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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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. 😉

denise reviewThis 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

 

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Riptide Publishing

 

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meet the author

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:

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.:

giveaway

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!