Bree Cariad is visiting today to talk about Light in the Dark Night, and share an excerpt. Welcome, Bree!

Heat Rating: Low
Age range: 16+

Blurb:
Reverend Jonathon Neiland gets his wish a decade in the making and finally the Paul D. Regelo Center for LGBT Youth is up and running. He knows things will never be easy, but then he never expects them to be. All he asks is that the Lord be on his side while he takes care of his kids.

Court Brecker has been through his own brand of hell and strives every day to be the best he can be, but he never expects to find a runaway on the streets, nor to take him to Jonathon's center. Never one to get in too deep with anyone or anything, to his surprise he finds himself enjoying his time both with Aiden and Jonathon. They develop a deep friendship and for the first time in his life, he has someone to rely on who also relies on him.

While Brecker tries to understand the new feelings he’s battling, Jonathon runs into more and more stress, especially when Aiden is removed from the shelter forcefully. He’s never doubted that the Lord has a plan for them and when they are attacked from without and everything seems dark, He opens the door to show them the light.

Buy Links:
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​

Bree is a best-selling inspirational & sweet romance author. Xe identifies as non-normative, multi-gender and believes in love in all forms and that happily ever afters come in many ways. Whether in a romance or a non-romance, in xys stories, love conquers all.

While xe enjoys the xe, xys, xem, xemself pronouns, xe isn't sussed about it. Call Bree she, he, or xe. As xys gender identity is fluid, odds are you'll get it right some of the time ;)

Find Bree Online:
Website / Blog / Newsletter / Facebook / Author Group / Twitter / Pinterest / Tumblr

Thianna Durston is visiting today with a new book. Welcome, Thianna!

If he makes a misstep, he could lose everything. If that happens, running may be his only recourse.

I have an affinity for community romance series. Where each book is about a different couple, but secondary characters you’ll continue to see through the books and a few might become major characters at some point. Elan Isle follows that concept. The individuals of Elan Isle looked and found a place, a private island, where they could practice their kinky lifestyles without fear of reprisal. That it also houses a kinky renaissance faire is just a perk. *grins* Some of the books main characters are het, some are lgbtq+ oriented. 

Making His Stand is the 2nd novel in the Elan Isle series, and the first where the main couple is gay. People have asked me at times why I write both LGBT and het romance. I’ve given lots of reasons over time, but I think it all goes back to the fact I’m tri-gendered and genderfluid. So romance of all sorts is part of my framework. 

Enjoy these two wonderful men (and the scene-stealing Chihuahua Zippo) and our shy accountant’s intro into BDSM by moving to a kinky island.
​

James Kaden-Scott leaned heavily on the rail of the ferry as it chugged across the water. What had he been thinking taking a job on an island? He’d never done well on water. And now he would be working on land that was completely water locked. Well, at least once the god-forsaken ferry landed, hopefully he’d never have to get on it again. Or at least not for a long while.

He kept his head faced toward the oncoming wind as breathing it in kept the nausea at bay. His shoulder bag jiggled and he reached in and patted his dog. “Shh,” he said quietly. “I don’t think I’m supposed to have a dog here. Keep quiet.”

Zippo, who was used to staying quiet, stilled. James scratched his little head and went back to holding onto the rail.

His decision to accept the job of accountant for the Elan Township Cooperative had been more out of desperation than deliberation. He really should have thought it out. With a groan, his body gave emphasis to that fact, and he bent over the rail. He hated boats.

When he saw the docks ahead, he stood up again and reached into his bag to pull out a napkin. After hopefully getting all evidence of his recent sickness off his face, he dropped the napkin in a waste bin and sat down to wait. As soon as the ferry docked and the motor calmed down, he grabbed his two suitcases and dragged them behind him. 

Getting his feet on solid ground felt wonderful. The world stopped shifting and he took a deep breath. While the air was filled with salt water, it also had the combined scent of trees and flowers. Land.

As he was the only person getting off on Elan Isle, the ferry took off again and he was left to walk from the docks toward the large gates ahead. A sign above them read Ye Olde Kinke Faire. He’d read about it in the information Kendrick Finleigh sent him on the accounts he would oversee. A renaissance fair for kinky people. What would they think of next?

As a non-kinky person… well, technically he didn’t know if he was kinky or not. He didn’t have a lot of experience except for a few groping hands in back rooms during his bachelor’s degree program. He’d been too afraid that someone would find out he was gay and tell his family, so he’d kept those to the bare minimum. There’d been nothing except porn during the three years of his master’s program and the added four years of his doctorate.

So here he was, practically a virgin at the age of twenty-nine—he figured having used dildos and plugs kept him from actually being a virgin—and working on an island where there’d be kinky stuff everywhere. He seriously should have thought this through.

His phone buzzed and he stopped walking and put his suitcases down before pulling it out of his pocket. The caller ID made him smile. “I’m here.”

Stan, his roommate during undergrad, chuckled. “Good to hear. Are you green?”

“A little,” James admitted, looking down. The dark olive skin tone covered most of it, but on the inside of his arms, there was an unhealthy pallor and he was sure his face was showing the worst of it.

“What’s your place like?”

“I just arrived and am on land. Haven’t talked to Mr. Finleigh yet.”

“All right. Well call me when you’re all settled. How’d Zippo do on the trip?”

James smiled. Unlike his family who didn’t think animals should be pets, Stan had supported him when he found the wonderful little dog. “Great, as usual. He’s still curled up in my shoulder bag.”

“Give him a treat for me. I’ve got to head over to my aunt’s house. Supposedly she’s found the perfect girl for me.” The droll way he said the last four words made James snort. “You’d think the fact I’m dating the perfect girl for me would have stopped her. But no.”

“I don’t think,” James said with a snicker, “that a relationship with a blow-up doll can classify as dating.”

“Fuck you,” Stan said with a bark of a laugh. “I’ll have you know that Amber is more than just a blow-up doll. She’s animatronic.” James shook with laughter. Amber was Stan’s on-again, off-again girlfriend and looked like the life-sized rendition of a Barbie doll. Personally, James thought she was too fake for Stan, but he never said so. “I think that kink community is rubbing off on you already. Good for you. Go find some bear of a Dom and let him fuck your brains out. Time to officially no longer be a virgin.”

Heat flooded into James’s cheeks. “No comment.”

“All right. I won’t tease you anymore. But I wanted you to know I’ve got all your things in my shed. When you know if you’re staying, call me. I can ship everything out within a day or two.”

“Thanks, Stan.”

After they hung up, James put his phone away and picked everything up again. He didn’t like being secretive, but the fact was that he left in the dead of night. His father expected him to take a job with the family back in Saudi Arabia, and he’d been turning him down for years. In fact, the only reason he went for a masters and doctorate was to keep from having to go to the Middle East. Since he was a teenager, his father had been pushing him to convert to Islam and he’d found ways around it. There was no way he was telling his father he was gay. 

Kaliq Zaman was Muslim and James knew how Muslims viewed homosexuality. In many Middle Eastern countries, just by being him, he could be put to death. 

He took the job when Kendrick Finleigh offered it without thinking too much about it and had left three months before graduation. All of his work was done and he’d already defended his dissertation. His father didn’t think he’d be free until June. Stan picked up James’s boxes and James took a bus across the country to a place he’d never been before. He hoped it was better than the alternative.

A trail ran to the side of the gates. A small sign read Elan Township with an arrow to the left so he went in that direction. There was a ten foot tall fence between him and the Faire so he couldn’t see in, but he wondered what it looked like. Just what did a kinky renaissance faire do? He had no idea.

Zippo lurched as though trying to get comfortable. “I know,” James said. “As soon as we get into our cabin, I’ll let you out.” He hoped they got their own bedroom. Mr. Finleigh had explained that since James was working for the co-op, he would be housed in a cabin with other people who, like him, had a six month span of time to decide if they wished to buy into the co-op or leave. He wasn’t sure about the whole thing, but as he rounded a bend and took in the gorgeous trees ahead of him, he thought that it looked like a beautiful place to live. 

A couple voices to his right drew his attention and he turned to the strangest scene. Two men stood talking and a naked woman knelt at their feet. She looked calm and happy. And very nude. James averted his gaze, not sure what to do.
​

James Kaden-Scott’s method of coping with fear is escape and when his father tries to force him to do something that could kill him, he takes a job on Elan Isle as their accountant. While he knows the town is kinky, he has no idea what that means. Until the day he arrives.

Alec Rowland has been in the BDSM lifestyle for seventeen years and loves it. For the first time in his life, he craves having a sub of his own. From the moment he meets James, he feels a pull toward him. When James asks him to teach him about kink, he’s thrilled. 

Between having his eyes opened to the kink world and trying to find his footing on Elan Isle, James finds himself torn between the old him and the new. When his worst fears come calling, history says to run, but for the first time in his life, he has something… someone to fight for. But those fears are strong, and some of them are real. If he makes a misstep, he could lose everything. If that happens, running may be his only recourse.
​
Heat Rating: High
Age range: 18+ only
​
Buy Making His Stand:
A Thia Thing
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Thianna Durston is a writer by day and supernova by night. Or at least that’s what the faeries tell her. And who is she to deny those pesky *cough* lovely little creatures?

She lives in the Pacific Northwest, though her heart belongs elsewhere. In the meantime, until she can return to the place she calls home, she happily lives in a city that still thinks it’s a small town. Thankfully, it has given her muse lots of amusing places to start a story.

Find Thianna Online: 
Website / Blog / Newsletter / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads / Pinterest / Tumblr

Carolyn Hill is here today talking about science fiction romance and her book Beneath the Skin. Welcome, Carolyn!

Raise your hand if you love science fiction and romance.  Did you “ship” Star Trek before shipping was a thing?  Did you swoon over Mal’s tight pants in Firefly and wish that he and Inara would just profess their love already?  Do you root for Miles Vorkosigan and his space-faring mercenaries, for the Liadens and their beloved ships, for the Jagernauts of the Ruby Dynasty, for the women who live and love amongst the stars in novels by Elizabeth Moon, Tanya Huff, Susan Krinard, Linnea Sinclair, Wen Spencer, C.J. Cherryh, Ann Aguirre, S.L.Viehl, Karin Lowachee, and more?

If so, you love romantic science fiction as much as I do—in particular, the subgenre known as romantic space opera.  The classic rocket ship, standing tall and proud, might have seemed the sole property of men during the golden age of science fiction, and romance might have been considered too melodramatic a topic by authors interested solely in nuts and bolts.  But those days are long past.  Romance has taken hold of the rocket and launched love into space alongside logic.  (Ah, Spock, making logic so fascinating, so swoon-worthy.)

If rockets were once the province of men, then the genre was ripe for romance.  Consider the romances you’ve read that aren’t science fiction.  Who are the heroes?  Cowboys and ranchers, dukes and princes, bodyguards and sheriffs, doctors, bosses, and men in kilts. Certainly the astronaut in his shining silver ship belongs in that list of Alpha males (as well as in the list of equally attractive Beta techno-geeks).  Romance successfully colonized science fiction and space opera, chartering new territory: in the futures depicted in romantic science fiction today, the heroine might just as easily be the ship’s pilot, or the war-hardened mercenary, or the talented mechanic.

I fell in love with the blending of romance and science fiction many years ago, when I read Anne McCaffrey’s Restoree. In that intersection of science fiction and romance, I found hope:  hope that humanity will survive, expand, explore, learn, love—that we will evolve and will continue the great journey of life beyond the bounds of this Earth; hope that love will conquer pain, death, isolation, the small and great indignities of life—that it will elevate us beyond selfish solitude.

That same hope sparked my most recent novel, Beneath the Skin, a science fiction romance, which was published recently by Venus Ascending.
​

In a dystopian future, a healer and a shapechanger join forces against a ruthless alliance of powerful families.

Aleta Graham is a healer and empath, abilities that make her a useful pawn for the Dagarro family, who have addicted her to the drug known as Sand in order to keep her submissive. But Aleta is determined to overcome the influence of the drug, and make a desperate bid for freedom — even knowing that the penalty for disloyalty to the family is death.

Riven is a shapechanger, a computer genius, a spy sent by the government to destroy the power of the Dagarro. By taking on multiple identities he becomes at once Aleta's dearest friend and most feared enemy. But in growing closer to Aleta, Riven imperils her, himself, and his mission.

Buy Beneath the Skin at Amazon.

Chapter One

The drug was wearing off. Aleta Graham’s head ached and her hands shook as she leaned against a pair of diamond-studded urns embedded in the ballroom’s wall. She fought the drug’s deadening effect and focused on one clear fact: she must escape, now, while they were all preoccupied with Joanna’s wedding.

Aleta peered out from behind the enormous porcelain vase that shielded her from the wedding guests. Joanna was waltzing across the low-friction floor in the arms of her groom. Above the dance floor, the orchestra wheeled in the air, bows sawing across strings, drums booming, cymbals chiming. The music rattled Aleta’s nerves.

She craned her aching neck and stared up, past the orchestra, her burning gaze following the inwardly sloping walls of the ballroom. Each wall was formed of gold and platinum bricks, covered with precious containers of various sizes and shapes: fine art and irreplaceable antiquities, all useless now, set permanently in the metal, an extravagant display of the Dagarro Family’s wealth. Five stories above, beyond a clear ceiling, lay the airless moon’s surface and the void of space.

Withdrawal sank talons deep into Aleta’s chest. She gasped and bent double. Dear God, she wanted . . .

Escape, she must focus on that. She wanted to escape. While Joanna smiled in the arms of her beloved under the watchful eyes of Dagarro Family security, Aleta trembled and struggled not to scream. She straightened her spine, took one step, then another, and slipped out from behind the urn into the shadows between two marble sarcophagi.

The music changed, and guests poured onto the dance floor in a rainbow of glittersilk gowns and light-washed haute couture. Aleta slid deeper into the shadows, until she could no longer see the security guards. Her wrist itched—a maddening, distracting, incessant itch. She scratched furtively beneath her formal glove. The itch grew worse. She yanked the glove off. Her arm spasmed, and the glove slipped to the floor.

Something moved behind her in the darkest shadows: a man’s figure. Melting? Changing?

Aleta blinked, trying to shake off the hallucination.

Softly, gently, the glove was placed back in her hand.

The fingers of the man who had returned the glove clamped over her velvet sleeve, pushing the fabric up her arm. Looming above her, he studied the fading blue spiderweb of lines that streaked her pale wrist.

She trembled again, this time in fear.

Dark on dark he was, dressed all in light-swallowing black silk except for a glowstone earring whose incandescence stained half his jaw a bloody red. The angles of his face were as sharp as the glint in his obsidian eyes.

Darcavon.

He lifted his gaze and met her own. One sculpted black brow rose.

Aleta squared her chin.

Carefully, without touching her skin, he ran a forefinger above the drug’s lingering blue trace at her wrist. “A web not of your own making,” he stated. One heartbeat, two, then Darcavon dropped her arm.

“Trituros wants you,” he said, and stepped past her. As he strode toward the dance floor, light from the cascading candleplants glinted off his tightly bound black hair.

Aleta stood, stunned. Darcavon had seen that she was fighting the drug the family used to enslave her, yet he hadn’t called the guards.

It made no sense. The Darcavon she had always so carefully avoided was a perfect creature of the Family Dagarro, as ruthless as Trituros Dagarro himself, advancing in the household ranks with the cold inexorability of a glacier, intent—so rumor had it—on becoming seneschal.

Her hands shook. He must be setting her up for some later, unguessable purpose of his own.

Pulling the glove securely over her hand and wrist, Aleta peeked around the end of the sarcophagus. The closest guard was looking in her direction. Linked to the family’s security net, the guard knew that Trituros wanted her and that she should leave the ballroom and head toward the patriarch’s office.

She cursed silently to herself and stepped out from behind the sarcophagus. The mouths of the vases buried beneath the clear floor gaped up at her in silent warning. She must be careful—very very careful—or Trituros would know that the drug was wearing off.

#

The man who would be seneschal turned and watched Aleta walk toward the arched doorway. Had she seen him change shape? After long years of planning and preparation, had he ruined everything because he had needed a few brief moments to be himself?

He noticed the slight hesitation in the empath’s step as she neared the door guard, and he noted the squaring of her shoulders as she continued past.

The pad of his finger tingled where it had almost caressed her flesh. She had skin as white and cool as purest marble, and eyes as green as ancient jade, lit from within by a fire he’d not seen before in her glance. The family and its drug were banking that fire, enslaving her to their own ends.

But he had ends of his own.

And he would be seneschal, no matter the cost.
​

Born and raised in the heart of Silicon Valley, I developed an abiding sense of wonder and a fondness for heroic geeks. 

​By the age of eleven, I was reading all the science fiction I could lay my hands on at the local library, and, because they were shelved together, I was also reading all the fantasy books.  Genre-straddling works by Andre Norton gave me the impression that everything I was reading belonged on one wonderful spectrum of imagination and possibility. Andrew Lang’s fairy books (in all their colorful editions) left me with the equally strong impression that Beauty and the Beast is the yummiest folktale ever.

I entered university a chemistry major intending to become an astronaut who would rocket into a brave new future, and I left (or, rather, never left) with a doctoral degree in rhetoric,  a dissertation on James G. Frazer’s twelve-volume encyclopedia of magic, science, and religion, and a job teaching writing at the University of California, Berkeley. 

And now I write my own science fictional variants of Beauty and the Beast, exploring the romance of the alien, the metaphorical beast in every man, even in the handiest of techno-geeks.

When I’m not writing, teaching, or reading, I’m quilting, playing board games, or hurling heavy objects into the air above my head.  Or I’m sitting on the couch, eating almond M&Ms and daydreaming about life amongst the stars.

Where to find Carolyn: website / Facebook

Thianna Durston is visiting to tell us about a new book today. Welcome, Thianna!
​

Alpha Hunter Maison’s primary focus is to keep his wolf pack healthy and happy. But with humans encroaching, they need a way to shift without getting noticed. He knows the local feline pride has found a way to temper their inner animal and asks for their help. Finding a desire to submit to the gorgeous lion shifter is unsettling. Knowing he is his mate turns his world upside down.

Blaise Wylde has worked tirelessly for his pride his entire life. As owner and creator of Wylde KingDom, a BDSM club just for feline shifters, he knows the power that BDSM can wield for their inner animal. When Hunter asks him to help the Pack learn BDSM, he agrees, especially when his inner lion is instantly interested and Hunter turns out to be submissive to him.

Someone in the Pack is unhappy about their alpha being involved with ‘a cat’ and anger quickly escalates to attacks. As Blaise fights to protect his mate, Hunter must do the same, because while he’s trying to find his attacker, someone’s after Blaise and he may already be too late to stop him.

Heat Rating: High
Age range: 18+ only

Buy Don't Mess With His Pack:
A Thia Thing
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The felines have their own BDSM club. The wolves need a place to play. Can shifters of different species play together?

Welcome to the world of wolf shifters, feline shifters where kink keeps their inner animal satisfied.

Hiding in plain sight, shifters have been around for as long as humans have, but they’ve learned to blend in and not be noticed. They need a way to get out their wild side. Blaise Wylde started the kink club Wylde KingDom four years ago to allow his pride a space to let out their animal a little. It’s amazing how freeing BDSM can be. Their natural predatory aura scares most humans away and they haven’t had any kind of a challenge. But the Okanogan Pack lost their wild lands and now need a place to howl. Can felines and wolves play together?

This started as an image, a cover I created for no reason whatsoever. It’s the exact one that became the cover for Don’t Mess With His Pack. Looking at the lion and the man above him, for some reason I had this image in my head of the old TV show – Wild Kingdom. And that became Wylde KingDom in my head. The idea of feline and wolf shifters involved in BDSM took over and… the rest is history, right? :)

(Meet Hunter Maison)

Hunter strode around the circle, staying just within the barrier. The pads on his paws could feel each blade of grass underneath him. The breeze tickled his fur. But he paid attention to none of it. He stared at his opponent. Vito was tiring. He’d led the Pack for almost two centuries, but had lost what vitality he used to have. Hunter asked him several times to step down on his own, to do the honorable thing. But the old wolf was nothing if not stubborn. And full of himself. He believed the wolves were above everyone and that they needn’t bother with hiding themselves from the human factor. He was wrong. 

Humans encroached upon their lands with more frequency every year and the dratted satellites put them in danger of being spotted if they didn’t keep to the fully wooded areas. Hunter had done anything but challenge for two years, but Vito’s newest edict had been too much. He had made it known that the killing of humans who got in their way was now sanctioned.

Like hell.

Keeping humans unaware of their existence had been a part of Hunter’s training since he was a pup and there was no way he was going to let a wolf who had clearly lost his senses destroy the tentative peace they had. Which was why he issued the official challenge this morning. 

In his human form, Vito appeared much as he had since Hunter was born—like a robust man in his mid-fifties. But his wolf form told the tale of his years and his mental degradation. Part of his coat was missing, looking as though he’d chewed it off. His tail was ragged and hung loosely between his legs. His ears were covered in bumps and scratches. This was a wolf who had lost hold on the delicate balance every shifter danced on between animal and human. He was well on his way to madness.

It saddened Hunter that he was going to have to kill Vito, even if it was the most humane thing to do. Vito would just deteriorate further until he exposed their kind, likely killing innocent people in his path. He was no longer the warrior he once was. 

In the Okanogan Pack, there was only one ending to a challenge. One would win and the other would die. Hunter wasn’t going to drag this out. This wasn’t a show or a way to prove his mettle. He needed to end Vito and rid the Pack of the last few rulings. And he needed to do it now.

Hunter’s nails dug into the soft earth as he changed direction and charged. Vito turned his head, his eyes wide, pupils blown. He bared his teeth, saliva dripping off the tips, and lunged. Hunter leapt and turned his body, landing flat on top of Vito’s back as his jaws closed around his opponent’s throat. Vito snarled and howled, but the sound barely lasted a minute. Hunter’s teeth hit true and bit clear through his windpipe and carotid artery.

Blood filled his mouth but he had no desire to drink it. During a kill in his wolf form it was natural for his animal instincts to kick in, to drive him to rip the animal apart, drink its blood, and devour the meat. But this wasn’t for food. It was an act he had to do and he took no joy or satisfaction in it. When Vito went limp, Hunter instantly released him, backed up, and spat out what he could of the blood. 

Silence reigned around the circle. Due to Pack law, the eldest members of each Pack family were in attendance in their human form, there to give evidence to the winner. As soon as he backed away, two of Vito’s security detail rushed forward and checked their former alpha. It took a few seconds before they both rose to their feet. 

Ben Ryder, their doctor, turned toward Hunter, fell to his knees and bent his head in abject surrender to his new alpha. One by one, every member of the Pack did the same. When not one of them stood against him, Hunter stood on all fours and howled a lament. Vito might have turned, but he led their Pack for a long time and must be honored.



Question:
What is your favorite kind of paranormal creature?
​

Thianna Durston is a writer by day and supernova by night. Or at least that’s what the faeries tell her. And who is she to deny those pesky *cough* lovely little creatures?

She lives in the Pacific Northwest, though her heart belongs elsewhere. In the meantime, until she can return to the place she calls home, she happily lives in a city that still thinks it’s a small town. Thankfully, it has given her muse lots of amusing places to start a story.

Find her online:

Website / Blog / Newsletter / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads / Pinterest / Tumblr

Lila Leigh Hunter is here today with her new novella, Dating in Retrospect, part of Dreamspinner's States of Love collection. Thanks for visiting, Lila!

Title: Dating in Retrospect (States of Love)
Author: Lila Leigh Hunter
Cover Artist: L.C. Chase
Publisher:  Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: February 15, 2017
Category: Romance
Genre: Contemporary
Sex Content: Explicit
Pairing: MM
Orientation: Bisexual
Identity: Cisgender
Length: Novella
  Words: 38,800
  Pages: 101

Giving the commencement speech at his alma mater doesn’t fit Clay Keller’s meticulous schedule. As Chief Executive Officer of Travel Mogul—the largest travel connoisseur company on the West Coast—he has no time to get back in touch with his country roots. He left fifteen years ago without a second look, but a medical scare makes him change his mind about the speech and brings him face-to-face with his only regret.
Time always moves slower in Southeastern Iowa, and Aaron Grant loves it. He’s added solar farms to the Grant Lanes portfolio and has been teaching at the local university for a decade. The last thing he needs is to have his tenure application compromised by the return of his ex-boyfriend. If he had known who the commencement speaker would be, he would never have volunteered to be the administration liaison.
A proposal—to date for a year—will help them discover that time changes a person, even when everything else stays the same.

Buy Dating in Retrospect:
Dreamspinner | Amazon US | Amazon UK | Nook | Kobo

Speed Dating: Author’s Edition

​Hi, everyone! I hope you’re having a beautiful Sunday. I want to thank Antonia for letting me stop by today to talk about my States of Love novella set in Iowa, Dating in Retrospect. My characters, Clay and Aaron are dating for the second time and are taking a year to get to know each other again. But since we don’t have that kind of time, I want to do a round of speed dating with you. That way, you get to know a little about me before you start reading my story. It’s a pleasure meeting you all. <3 

Name: Lila Leigh Hunter
Zodiac Sign: Cancer
Siblings: 5 older
Married or Single: Married
Kids: 4
Languages: Spanish & English
Favorite Food: Anything Mexican
Favorite Color: Black
Favorite Number: 11
Favorite Season: Fall
First car: Grand Voyager
Morning or Night person: Morning
Beach or Countryside: Beach
Hobbies: Reading & Photography
Hidden talent: I can fall asleep in less than three minutes
Apple or Windows: Windows
Favorite Author: Isabel Allende
Longest Book Read: 11/22/63 by Stephen King
Favorite MM Romance: Came Upon a Midnight Clear by Katie Porter
Favorite Actor: Kevin Costner
Favorite Movie: The Bodyguard
Favorite TV Character: Duke Crocker – Haven 
Favorite Music App: Spotify
Favorite Soundtrack: Great Expectations (1998)
Fictional boyfriend: Adam Copeland (WWE Edge) 
​

©2017 Lila Leigh Hunter 
All Rights Reserved

Clay—May ’15

Back to the future and all of that were Clay’s first thoughts as he stepped out of the car. The campus looked the same—Midwest Americana at its best. Redbrick buildings and perfectly pruned trees surrounded him, but as if the last fifteen years hadn’t happened, Clay’s world narrowed to the man waiting at the top of the portico stairs. The only thing time had changed? Them. 

“Here’s your receipt, Mr. Keller,” the valet said, interrupting Clay’s musings. He didn’t remember being as young as the valet. Mr. Keller was his father, but Clay didn’t feel like correcting the man’s error. 

“Thank you.” 

“Not a problem. The man in the light gray suit is Professor Grant. He will be your escort today.” 

“Perfect,” Clay responded, smiling at the mention of having an escort at his service, especially one whose body he knew well. With a nod and a tip, Clay left the valet behind, turning his attention back to Professor Grant. Professor. Aaron had done it after all. Clay had never doubted it, even after Aaron decided to stay and work at his family’s farm instead of moving with him to LA. Now he needed to find out if he had a chance with Aaron. At least having him there, waiting for him, had to be a good sign. Today was his lucky day indeed. True, he hadn’t expected to see Aaron so soon. He had planned to stop by the farm after the commencement, but he was ready either way. Life had been rough lately, but having the opportunity to see Aaron again was worth coming back to the middle of Nowhere, Iowa. 

He walked casually toward the man he’d left behind many summers ago—a man standing like a prizefighter, waiting for Clay to reach him. With only a couple of feet between them, Clay’s step faltered. Aaron didn’t seem happy to see him, more like he was ready to bolt before Clay got to him. Shaking his head and keeping his eyes on his prey, he closed the distance and extended his hand in greeting.

“Professor Grant, I believe you’re expecting me?” He hoped his smile would ease Aaron’s frown. 

“That I am, Mr. Keller. As the university liaison, it is my pleasure to welcome you back to your alma mater and to convey the president’s and the board of trustees’ deepest regards.” 

“How long did it take you to memorize that spiel? As far as I remember, you weren’t fond of formalities.” Neither of them let go of the other’s hand. Aaron’s touch, familiar and foreign, branded him in seconds. 

“Ass.” 

Aaron didn’t expect the hug that followed. As soon as their bodies touched, Aaron tensed, but Clay held him tighter. 

“Relax, sunshine. It’s been a while.” Clay let Aaron go, but not before he rubbed his trimmed beard against Aaron’s clean-shaven face as he moved back.

(February 9th to February 28th – Winner to be contacted March 1st)
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Lila Leigh Hunter is the pen name of a Puerto Rican author with a hyphenated surname. Born and raised on the island, Lila grew up making up stories her siblings pretended to like. But no matter what they say, as the youngest of six, she’s still their mom’s favorite. According to the dusty diplomas on her wall, she’s an architectural designer living in Southern Texas with her husband and four military brats.

She spends most of her free time writing homoerotic romances about middle-aged men finding happiness and the rest hiding from pesky house chores. When outside of her cave, she likes to observe people and try to guess their stories. Sometimes she wishes the voices in her head were real; going out with the boys in her books sounds like a plan made in heaven.

Newsletter / Author's Page / Lila's Cabana on Facebook / Facebook Profile / Twitter / Instagram / Pinterest / Goodreads / Website / Email: llhunter.romance@gmail.com
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Asta Idonea is visiting today to tell us about her new novella. There's a great giveaway too. Welcome, Asta!
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The death of Oakley’s sister has left his family broken and buried beneath their grief. In an attempt to get out from underneath their pain, they rent an isolated cottage in the Cotswolds. For Oakley, it’s an exercise in futility. He doesn’t see much hope for things to get back to the way they used to be, and he’s bored and restless as he waits out the time until he can return to the city and university. All of that changes when he meets local boy Bobby, and the connection between them is instant. Within a few days, Oakley is ready to walk away from everything to stay with Bobby. However, Bobby has problems of his own, and they might be more than the budding romance can survive. But they might also give Oakley a new perspective on his own situation.

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Buy Wish You Were Here:
Dreamspinner Press
Amazon US
Amazon UK

I always like to include a little symbolism in my stories, to a varying degree, depending on the style and needs of each piece. Sometimes it only extends to the choice of character names. Other times it runs deeper. Wish You Were Here is one of those other times.

​In Wish You Were Here I chose the character names for their meaning, but another important symbol is the oak tree around which much of the action takes place. Oaks symbolise strength, endurance, and nobility. They are also often linked to courage, power, and family ties. These qualities are important in light of Oakley and Bobby’s story. It resonates with their individual stories and is also connected to the formation of their close bond. So, through its symbolism, the tree almost becomes a character in its own right.
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Summer passed England by that year, as if it shared his family’s grief and refused to intrude upon such solemn days with unwanted sunshine. A cool, wet July turned into a blustery August, and now a dismal September loomed. From the window of their rented cottage, there was nothing but gray skies as far as the eye could see. The fields spread out in a patchwork of shortbread and moss. Plentiful rain meant the grass stood tall, but the lack of light filtering through thick, heavy clouds dulled its various shades of green. And this bleak scene was supposed to make everything better?

​Oakley sighed and turned to the sink. He poured himself a glass of water from a spluttering, corroded tap and took a sip. Despite the dubious appearance of the fittings, the water was clean, tasteless, and refreshing. He supposed he should at least be thankful for that. It was likely to be the only pleasant thing this vacation would provide.
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Prize: 1 x e-copy of my MM Sci-Fi novella Fire Up My Heart
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Asta Idonea (aka Nicki J Markus) was born in England but now lives in Adelaide, South Australia. She has loved both reading and writing from a young age and is also a keen linguist, having studied several foreign languages.

Asta launched her writing career in 2011 and divides her efforts not only between MM and mainstream works but also between traditional and indie publishing. Her works span the genres, from paranormal to historical and from contemporary to fantasy. It just depends what story and which characters spring into her mind!

​As a day job, Asta works as a freelance editor and proofreader, and in her spare time she enjoys music, theatre, cinema, photography, and sketching. She also loves history, folklore and mythology, pen-palling, and travel, all of which have provided plenty of inspiration for her writing.

Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Google+ / Goodreads / LinkedIn / Amazon Author US / Amazon Author UK

Today, Anna Butler is visiting with her new book, The Chains of Their Sins, the fourth book in her Taking Shield series. Welcome, Anna!

Earth’s a dead planet, dark for thousands of years; lost for so long no one even knows where the solar system is. Her last known colony, Albion, has grown to be regional galactic power in its own right. But its drive to expand and found colonies of its own has threatened an alien race, the Maess, against whom Albion is now fighting a last-ditch battle for survival in a war that’s dragged on for generations.

Taking Shield charts the missions and adventures of Shield Captain Bennet, scion of a prominent military family. Against the demands of his family’s ‘triple goddess’ of Duty, Honour and Service, is set Bennet’s relationships with lovers and family. When the series opens, Bennet is at odds with his long term partner, Joss, who wants him out of the military and back in an academic, archaeological career. He’s estranged from his father, Caeden, who is the commander of Fleet’s First Flotilla. Events of the first book, in which he is sent to his father’s ship to carry out an infiltration mission behind Maess lines, improve his relationship with Caeden, but bring with them the catalyst that will destroy the one with Joss: one Fleet Lieutenant Flynn, who, over the course of the series, develops into Bennet’s main love interest.

Over the Taking Shield story arc, Bennet will see the extremes to which humanity’s enemies, and his own people, will go to win the war. Some days he isn’t able to tell friend from foe. Some days he doubts everything, including himself, as he strives to ensure Albion’s victory. And some days he isn’t sure, any longer, what victory looks like.
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Taking Shield 01: Gyrfalcon

Taking Shield 02: Heart Scarab

Taking Shield 03: Makepeace
(2nd place winner, Rainbow Awards 2016)

Shield Captain Bennet arrives on the Gyrfalcon to take up his final year's posting before returning to the Shield Regiment after his rotation out.

On the Gyrfalcon he faces up to the fallout from Makepeace—ethical, political and above all, personal. Will he be able to accept necessity: that knowing what the Maess are up to outweighs the humanitarian issues surrounding the prisoners he rescued from Makepeace? Can he ride out the political furore that follows the loss of the dreadnought Caliban? How will he cope with an entire year of serving under his father, Caeden? And worst of all, how in the name of every god in the Pantheon can he stand to see Flynn every single day, with the Fraternisation Regs standing between them and keeping them apart?

It will be an interesting year. Bennet can hardly wait for it to be over. Of course, things never really do go to plan...

​Book Title: Chains of Their Sins
Series: Taking Shield
Publisher: Glass Hat Press
Cover Artist: Adrian Nicholas
Wordcount: c 98,000
Category: Sci Fi, Gay mainstream

More Hornets were out of the tubes, racing to catch up; almost everyone, now. Bennet had the Patroklus squadron on visual, little points of light on his left, speeding towards him. He held the Starboard and Port wings in position, waiting for Patroklus to join him, listening to the continuous stream of inter-ship Comms that gave him the intel he needed on everyone's position. Captain Sergei reported he was in position.

​“Heads up, boys and girls,” Bennet said over the command line. “Bandits will be here in two minutes. Battlecode comm transmissions only.”

All chatter stopped. Everything around him fell silent. It took him a second to realise that the dull muffled thumping that he felt as much as heard, was his own quickening heartbeat. His eyes never stopped moving—to port, ahead, the scanner, to port, ahead, to starboard, ahead, the scanner, ahead, to port…

His gaze flickered to port-side most. His pilots were out there, tackling the outriders to the first wave of fighters. Nothing much to see. The fighters were drones, with no internal atmospheres to give even the briefest flash of light and heat when they were destroyed. If he saw a flash, it would be one of their own.

Port, ahead, the scanner, port, ahead, starboard…

“All advance bandits accounted for,” Kyle said. “No survivors.”

“Casualties?”

“None. Clean strike.”

“Good. Stand by.” Look to port, ahead, the scanner, ahead, to starboard, ahead, the scanner, ahead… “Kyle, you have their left flank. Sergei, their right. Starboard Wing, we're punching right through these guys to take on the second wave.”

“Yes!” The excitement in Kyle’s voice was unmistakable.

“Ready.” Sergei was more subdued.

“We're ready,” Cruz said, steady as ever. “We're all ready.”

Bennet took a split-second to watch them get into position, the usual cold clenching around his guts, knowing they wouldn't all come back. He had the fighters on visual now, a close-packed phalanx of ships, blotting out stars. There had to be more than a hundred of them, with a second wave of at least another hundred, maybe more, behind. A full complement of a battleship's fighters all stacked up against the little Hornets.

Bennet opened his private comline to the Gyrfalcon. “Ten seconds, bridge. We're going in.” He only half-heard Quist's acknowledgement. He'd already keyed into the battle code comline. A deep breath. “All Attack Wings, intercept attackers and engage the enemy. Go!”

Five seconds later the front ranks of Hornets and fighters smacked right into each other.
​

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Available for pre-order at Kobo.

$25 (or equivalent) Amazon voucher.
Signed copy “Gyrfalcon”, Taking Shield Book 01.
​

​Anna was a communications specialist for many years, working in various UK government departments on everything from marketing employment schemes to organizing conferences for 10,000 civil servants to running an internal TV service. These days, though, she is writing full time. She recently moved out of the ethnic and cultural melting pot of East London to the rather slower environs of a quiet village tucked deep in the Nottinghamshire countryside, where she lives with her husband and the Deputy Editor, aka Molly the cockerpoo.

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Anna Butler is visiting today with an exclusive excerpt from her new book and a great giveaway. Welcome, Anna!

About Passing Shadows

Man is like a mere breath; His days are like a passing shadow.
Psalm 144:4

Passing Shadows is a trilogy of short stories with a lesbian main character, Li Liang, who is one of the sole surviving witnesses of the destruction of Earth. The stories tell of the beginning of a long exodus across the galaxy looking for a haven where mankind can start again.
​
The stories are:
        Overthrown By Strangers
        Habitation Of Dragons
        Winterlight

​Book Title: Passing Shadows
Publication Date :  12 December 2016
Publisher: Self-published through Glass Hat Press
Cover Artist: Kellie Dennis at Book Cover By Design
Wordcount: c 29,400
Category: Sci Fi, Gay mainstream, Short Story trilogy


Blurb

Li Liang has found a berth to suit her: chief pilot and first officer of the all-female crew of an old space freighter, the Sappho. Then one ordinary, unremarkable morning, Liang retunes the Sappho’s communications systems just in time to catch the breathless, terrible accounts from Mars of the total destruction of Earth.

Earth’s a cinder. The unknown alien race that destroyed it has left Mars, too, in flames and is ravening outward from the solar system, devouring every human colony on the way.

Liang’s one of the few survivors, racing ahead of the Devourers, rescuing as many frightened, shocked people as she can. Will Liang and the pitiful remnants of humanity find a new haven, somewhere to start again? Or will she, too, echo the dreadful last message coming out of their dead home?

​They’re coming. Oh God, they’re coming.

From Habitation of Dragons:

We’re silent for a very long time, just looking out at the city. When Earth went dark, we heard the Martian broadcasts of the attack, heard the despair and the terror. I’m willing to bet that every single one of us has jack-knifed up in bed, roaring up out of nightmare. We hear those anguished screams in our heads and imagine we’re the ones screaming, that we’re trapped there and dying in torment and pain. And I’m willing to bet we’ve done it more than once.

​And now we can see it, or something close to it. This is what a desolate wasteland looks like, when war has burned across it.
I don’t realise I’m crying until Thom’s hand brushes over my face, wiping it clean. His own eyes are wet. I hadn’t even noticed him swopping seats with Penny King, but I’m glad he’s there. I tuck my hand into his and hold on.

“What do you think happened?” Kit isn't usually subdued, but the deserted, desolate city streets must impress even him. He's quiet and withdrawn and that's not usual.

The Major looks grim, his mouth drawn down so hard it looks as if nothing will ever make it turn upwards again. “Nothing good. That doesn't look like something that just fell into disrepair. It looks like explosive damage to me.”

He points to a domed building at one end of the plaza. The dome is shattered, great shards of it missing, like an egg shell cracked open, the jagged edges biting up into a smoky sky the colour of ash. Rubble lies scattered across the stone pavement.

Thom shifts in his seat. “Most of the buildings show the same sort of damage.”

“Do you think...?” I stop, shake my head, squeeze my eyes tight shut against the stinging. “Is it like this there? At home? I can’t picture home anymore.”

Thom’s hand tightens on mine. He puts his other arm around my shoulders.

“From everything we heard and saw before Mars went, there won’t be this much left.” Matt Harrington’s voice is cold, his tone a little distant. “This city is a greater memorial to its people than anything we have left.”

“Don’t!” someone says. One of the troopers.

“War, then,” Kit says. "Looks like they're long gone, both the victors and the vanquished."

"Sometimes I wonder if we'd be able to tell which is which." There’s a deep sadness in Thom’s voice.

The city could probably tell. The city of the victors isn’t likely to be this bleak.

​

Buy Links:


Links at Amazon.com  and Amazon.co.uk


Passing Strangers will also be available on Kindle Unlimited.
​

Win $25 (or equivalent) gift card at Amazon
​

Anna was a communications specialist for many years, working in various UK government departments on everything from marketing employment schemes to organizing conferences for 10,000 civil servants to running an internal TV service. These days, though, she is writing full time. She recently moved out of the ethnic and cultural melting pot of East London to the rather slower environs of a quiet village tucked deep in the Nottinghamshire countryside, where she lives with her husband and the Deputy Editor, aka Molly the cockerpoo.

Website and Blog
Facebook
The Butler’s Pantry (Facebook Group)
Pinterest
Twitter

Sign up for Anna’s quarterly newsletter
​

Aisling Mancy is visiting today to tell us more about Heartifact. Welcome, Ash!

Welcome to the Blog Tour for Heartifact! A very special thanks to Antonia Aquilante for hosting me today! It’s great to be here!

My newest novella, Heartifact, is an enchanting romance that combines the contemporary adventure of an undersea archaeological dig with ancient Greek myth. The story centers on a risky salvage operation of a trireme, and quite possibly one of Alexander the Great’s warships. 

Harper Kidd, (no coincidence that he bears a pirate’s last name), is a respected marine archaeologist, and is plagued by beautiful dreams of an undersea lover as he embarks on the excavation. His best friend, Stick, is a marine scientist with expertise in undersea robotics, and she possesses a wicked sense of humor. 

As it turns out, the trireme they salvage sits over the ruins of an ancient Greek civilization. In the great hall of those ruins, Harper finds a statue of the ancient Greek god—the very god who stars in his dreams. Harper is caught between ancient myth and reality as he falls in love with the mysterious man, and struggles to keep a level head to oversee the archeological dig.

I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you this novella means a lot to me. I advocate for abused youth and 100% of the net proceeds from this book go to benefit those youth in three countries.

Heartifact debuts in French and English on November 24th, and in Italian in January 2017, and comes to you from Men Over the Rainbow and our lovely Bénédicte Girault. I hope you enjoy Heartifact as much as I enjoyed writing it. Go read the book!

About Heartifact

Harper Kidd is a highly respected marine archaeologist. Yet, with the economy in a slump, he’s trapped working in an oil company’s exploration division. Now, at the ripe age of thirty, Harp is disgusted with his employer’s damage to the undersea world he loves, tired of his ATM-card-filching ex, and tormented by beautiful dreams of an undersea lover. It’s time for a change and when his best friend, Stick, pleads with him to assist on a deep-sea dig in the Mediterranean, he jumps at the chance. 

Harper’s spirits are high when they discover the ruins of an ancient civilization, and soar to the heavens when they discover a statue of an ancient pelora, a mysterious hybrid creature said to mediate between the worlds of reality and fantasy—and the very lover who holds the starring role in his dreams. 

When the crew discovers the site is teeming with unexploded ordnance from the conflicts in the Middle East, and the excavation turns deadly, Harper must choose between saving his best friend and saving the pelora he’s fallen in love with.
​

Net proceeds from Heartifact benefit the The Trevor Project in the US,
le Refuge in France, and Arcigay in Italy

Heartifact is available from Men Over the Rainbow
Amazon, Amazon UK, All Romance eBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords
en français Men Over the Rainbow
Amazon FR, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords

About Aisling Mancy

Ash is an author who lives, most of the time, on the West Coast of the United States. Ash writes mystery thrillers, fantasy, science fiction, romance, and fiction for gay young adults as C. Kennedy.

Raised on the mean streets and back lots of Hollywood by a Yoda-look-alike grandfather, Ash doesn’t conform, doesn’t fit in, is epic awkward, and lives to perfect a deep-seated oppositional defiance disorder. In a constant state of fascination with the trivial, Ash contemplates such weighty questions as If time and space are curved, then where do all the straight people come from? When not writing, Ash can be found taming waves on western shores, pondering the nutritional value of sunsets, appreciating the much-maligned dandelion, unhooking guide ropes from stanchions, and marveling at all things ordinary. Ash does respond to emails because, after all, it is all about you, the reader.

​Find Ash on blog, Twitter @AislingMancy, Facebook, Google+,
Goodreads, Booklikes, Dreamspinner Press Author Page, and Amazon.

FOLLOW THE BLOG TOUR AND ENTER TO WIN
TWO SIGNED BOOKS & A $25 AMAZON GIFT CARD!

Today, fellow Dreamspinner author EAB is visiting to tell us about Black Snow. It sounds fantastic and isn't that cover gorgeous?

Title: Black Snow 
Author: EAB
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Genre: Fantasy
Word Count: 162,045

Prince Brier Snow has lived in the shadow of King Snow’s exalted memory. However, his fate changes when he nears his majority and Lirend’s steward queen attempts to dethrone him by exploiting an obscure requirement in the late king’s will: a yearlong sabbatical.

Brier travels to the desolate land of Aire to train under the Ceve guild, scorned refugees of war, including their guarded leader, Roland. Brier’s skillful master unlocks hidden potential, and what begins as a dutiful bond turns into ill-fated affection. When Brier returns to the capital, he’s carrying proof of his indiscretions with Roland—and his condition grows more apparent with each passing day. An affair with the huntsman is a scandal Brier’s enemies can use against him, but the birth of an heir is a burden even Brier is not sure he can bear.

Roland Archer, a man with a murky past, is skeptical of the contract to train the prince but willing to do anything for the guild’s freedom. Despite his best intentions, he is smitten by Lirend’s future king. Roland has resigned himself to solitude, but fate has other plans—for him, for Brier, and for Lirend’s oppressed subjects. Can Roland help Brier face a power-hungry queen and a country torn asunder? Either they will bring equality to a land that desperately needs it, or they’ll be thwarted by cunning enemies and an illusory curse.
​

Buy Black Snow at Dreamspinner.
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