Category: Friday Five

Friday Five: F.E. Feeley Jr.

Hi all. This week’s guest for Friday Five is author, F.E. Feeley Jr. Thanks for joining me here on the blog, Mr. Feeley!

What kind of books do you read for fun?

I love Horror Novels. Stephen King, Dean Koontz etc. but I’ve read a great deal of John Inman and Jamie Fessenden along with Cate Ashwood. Brilliant writers. Extraordinary ability and masters of their craft.

What’s the one thing you can’t live without? My husband.

If a genie granted you three wishes, what would they be?

1) That America would shake itself out of this modern Gilded Age.
2) That race issues along with sexuality issues would disappear and everyone would just leave everyone else alone.
3) That veterans would realized how absolutely loved they are. That society would stop ignoring mental illnesses and that the 144 thousand vet’s who’ve killed themselves between 2002-2015 would shake this country out of its refusal to grant parity to mental illness. According to CNN the death rate is 22 a day. According to vet advocates it 35. Either way you crunch those numbers the death toll is staggering. To any vets out there, you are loved. You are important. You matter. You’ll never see a day when it gets better if you give up now. Please stay with us.

What is best writing advice you can give?

Some would say read. Others would say write. I say watch. Watch the world around you. Observe it. Listen to it. Learn from it. Nina Simone said it is the artist’s responsibility to reflect the world around them. And Dr. Maya Angelou said when you get, give. When you learn, teach.
When you put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, you’ll be surprised what you feel about certain things. Don’t be frightened to speak. The world of writing isn’t for the faint of heart. Be bold. Be brazen. Pour your heart into it and be prepared to bleed. You, me, and the world will be better for it.

Can you share a little about your current release with us?
StillWaters_FBprofile_OptizimedForFeed

Blurb:

Promise, Michigan is very much like every other small town across the state. Built on the edge of a lake, the homes sit in neat little rows in cute little neighborhoods. During the summer Promise bustles with tourists who come to spend their vacation dollars and enjoy the lake’s refreshingly cold water. But Promise holds a terrible secret. In the center of the lake is an abandoned island where a curse is rumored to wait for victims, unabated and deadly. Most think it’s just a story, something used to keep kids out of trouble. Still, everyone gives it a wide berth. Everyone except Bret and Adam. They dare to venture out the night of Bret’s birthday. When they declared their love and promise to get married, they believe no one else heard their whispered words—but they are wrong.

Five years after Adam dies, Bret returns to his family to heal. But someone is killing the people of Promise in random acts of violence. Bret, with the help of FBI agent Jeff McAllister, must discover the identity of a murderer with death on his mind and revenge in his heart.

Buy Link:
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6210

Excerpt:

She loathed Adam. Loathed what Adam meant to him, who they’d been, what they were. Bret felt the anger rise like bile in him, but he just shook his head as Kaiser nudged at his hand, feeling the tension in the room.
“Well, I’m sure he’ll turn up just fine,” she said. “Your father will be home in a few days. You may want to get a head start finding campus housing. I mean, the fall is coming quickly, and it’ll take your mind off your friend.”
“Fiancé,” Bret replied.
“Excuse me?” she asked, her eyes narrowing.
“Fiancé, Mother. I am not leaving behind someone I love because—”
“Please, don’t try to dignify what the both of you do as love.”
“Oh, right. Because that’s what you and Dad have? Tell me, when Dad had his affair with—what was her name… Jessica?—was that love as well?” Bret fired back with a smile on his lips. His mother’s lips puckered, and he watched as her fury grew.
“You little son of a bitch, how dare you—” she said, growing furious, but Bret put up a hand.
“Tell the truth? Look, let’s just keep from jumping on the merry-go-round of knives, shall we? Stay out of my way, and I’ll stay out of yours. Deal?” he asked.
“Fine. But I will be telling your father when he gets back,” she sniffed, putting her hands on her hips and then dropping them in outrage as Bret suddenly burst into laughter.
“Oh no,” he said, grabbing his heart. “Oh, please don’t tell Daddy. What will I do with his disapproval?”
“Oh, you don’t care much about his approval, I know. Your father cheated on me because he couldn’t handle having a gay son. It disgusted him,” she said venomously.
The statement would have hurt him if he hadn’t turned her off a long time ago. He still wanted to slap her. But instead, he decided he’d hit another way.
“Mother, your husband cheated on you because when we moved here, his wife became Queen Ice Bitch of Promise Lake. That, and Jessica was twenty-three. So don’t put your Stepford bullshit on me,” he fired back.
She took an angry step forward, and Kaiser let out a menacing growl that caused her to hesitate. However, the look of fury on her face was replaced with one of stone calm, something that scared Bret even more than their heated war of words.
She was beginning another “how dare you” statement, which had become common since her discovery of Bret’s sexuality, when Kaiser let out a series of very loud barks that caused them both to jump. The reflection of two lights across the kitchen wall caused Bret to turn as a car pulled into the driveway.
“Kaiser, come on,” he said, snapping his fingers.
The dog turned from the window and looked at Bret before wagging his tail and following him on his way to the stairs that led up to his room.
“Where are you going?” his mother demanded, and Bret turned and was about to respond when a car door slammed and a voice tore through the night—and right into his heart.
“Bret! Bret!” The voice sobbed and broke the second time.
The tortured sound hit him like a truck. His heart skipped, and the truth he was yet to discover, the hand fate had held, was shown for the first time. Bret’s mouth went dry as his throat constricted, and he swore if he were to try to step forward, he would fall flat, but with another shout of “Bret!” he ran forward. He knew the voice, and Kaiser was hot on his heels while his mother complained about the racket they were causing.
Bret hit the door, his heart lodged in his throat and his knees trembling. Kaiser rushed between his legs to the person standing in the light of the car. Bret’s view was obscured as the beams from the headlights stole his night vision, but Kaiser knew the newcomer and got out of their way as they came into focus.
It was Timmy, Adam’s older brother, and the look on his face screamed through Bret’s body like electricity as realization dawned horribly in his mind. The cards were being laid out on the table.
“No.” Bret sobbed, shook his head, and brought his hand up to his mouth. As if shaking his head would somehow slay the dragon, he reached out for Timmy as his knees finally gave out on him. Timmy fell too as he gathered Bret in his arms, as Adam’s mother and father shrouded both boys in grief.
Kaiser, unsure of what was happening, raised his head toward the sky and let out his own mournful wail as they wept, their tears soaking the parched concrete driveway with the truth.
Adam wouldn’t be coming home.



Friday Five: Allie Ritch

Hi all. This week’s guest for Friday Five is author, Allie Ritch. Thanks for joining me here on the blog, Allie!

So, what kind of books do you read for fun?

I love to read books in the same genres that I write. Paranormal romance and sci-fi romance are my favorites. Give me aliens, shifters, vampires, and the like and add in a good love story, and I’m interested.

What’s the one thing you can’t live without?

Books! Seriously, I think I would go crazy if I couldn’t read. I enjoy getting lost in another world and falling in love with fantastic characters.

If a genie granted you three wishes, what would they be?

(1) All my books would hit the bestseller list. What author wouldn’t make that wish?
(2) Health and happiness for my friends and family. That’s actually #1.
(3) A real-life man who’s like one of my favorite fictional heroes. Since I read so much PNR, that hero might actually be the genie.

What is the best writing advice you can give?

You know in the movie Finding Nemo, when Dory sings, “Just keep swimming”? Well, my best writing advice is, “Just keep writing, writing, writing…” Practice makes perfect, and I keep working to improve my craft with every book I write.

Can you share a little about your current release with us?

Absolutely. I’m so excited about my new urban vampire romance, Drinking Partners. This is the edgiest book I’ve written to date, and I really went all out on it. It has hot love scenes, gun play, an alternate history, and some wicked fang action. Drinking Partners comes out in just a few days, on January 13 from Loose Id. Readers who don’t want to miss new releases, posts, and other announcements can follow my blog or follow me on Twitter or Goodreads (see my links below).

Allie Ritch's Vampire Territory Series

Blurb: Being the master vampire for the Mid-Atlantic Territory is a tough job. Between the Human Rebellion trying to kill him with poisonous suicide donors and snobby born vampires bucking his authority, Lucas Thane has his hands full. What he needs is a regular drinking partner to feed from and a bigger power block. He finds both in the form of Alexandra Gage, the master of the territory south of his.

Alex could use a little help herself, but she has no intention of letting Lucas take over. Turned into a vampire against her will, she has had enough control taken from her. She’ll never let Lucas usurp her right to rule, but will she let him steal her heart? Passion ignites between them, and it’s amazing what vampire bodies can do.

Buy Link (1/13/15): http://www.loose-id.com/authors/a-f/allie-ritch.html

Website/Blog: http://allieritch.wordpress.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AllieRitch
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/AllieRitch
Author Amazon Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/allieritch



Friday Five: Michele Rakes

Hi all! My guest for this week’s Friday Five is Michele Rakes. Please give her a warm welcome. Thanks for joining us this week, Michele.

Tell us what kind of books do you read for fun?

I read gay fiction and mm romance. Also, I read spy thrillers. Love them, and my favorite is cleaner Micah Dalton from David Stone’s Echelon Vendetta. Would love to see Micah with a hot dude who isn’t trying to kill him, but alas, he’s straight. Bummer. Right now I have a long list of TBR’s. Currently reading The Price of Dick by D.w.Skinner. Special Forces is next on the list, by Aleksandr Voinov. I’m also beta reading my friend, Meg Amor’s new book, Hawaiian Lei.

What’s the one thing you can’t live without?

My kids. (and new grandbaby, Madisyn.)

If a genie granted you three wishes, what would they be?

For my children to be happy, safe, and never want for the necessities. If I can get all that in one wish, then the other two would be for my writing to become a full time job paying my bills and to live where I can ride my Harley all year. I guess I don’t really need a genie for those, huh? How about an unlimited supply of frequent flier miles?

What is best writing advice you can give?

The best advice is to send your stuff out. Don’t sit on it and think, my friends read it so it’s all good. Get it out there for the rest of us to enjoy. Take chances and keep writing.

Can you share a little about your current release with us?
MMR_SavingKane
Kane Abel has had a rough life and it gets rougher. At the start of the story, he’s just been attacked by a group of men who have beaten, raped, and nearly killed him. Paramedic Garrett Young performs a life-saving tracheostomy on Kane and gets him to the hospital. While Garrett isn’t completely whole either, he hides a struggle with the aftermath of a firefighting accident that left him burned and scarred mentally, he still tries to take care of Kane. Garrett’s drawn to the man. When Kane needs someone to take care of him, Garrett can’t resist, and they soon discover someone isn’t through with Kane, not by a long shot.

When Garrett first came to me, he was struggling with a mental disorder and was considered a non-compliant schizophrenic. For Kane and Garrett’s ending to eventually be a HEA, in the long run, Garrett needed to be somewhat whole. I still would like to tell a story like that, where they survive and love, growing used to the daily difficulties of that kind of relationship. With Kane, he needed Garrett to be different, and so when Garrett started to tell me about his mother, I knew what had to happen. I know it sounds weird talking about my characters as if they talk to me, but it’s more like an impression. When ideas come to me, I treat it as though the characters are fleshing themselves out, rather than I’m actively doing anything. To me, that makes them live more on the page, but I don’t let them run amuck. The bad guys try to in my stories where I write from their POV too. I have to knock them down a few pegs.

Dark stories appeal to me, and I tend to write characters in the midst of some sort of struggle, either physical or psychological. Whatever it is, they have to walk through the muck and mire to find their HEA. There is always some sort of happy ending to my stories. I think my characters earn them and so does the reader.

Buy Links:

http://www.loose-id.com/saving-kane.html

http://www.amazon.com/Saving-Kane-Michele-M-Rakes-ebook/dp/B00MNYKYCA/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412348482&sr=1-1&keywords=saving+kane

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/saving-kane-michele-m-rakes/1120133779?ean=9781623002794

https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-savingkane-1592932-149.html

Author Links:
www.michelerakes.wordpress.com

Twitter: @michelerakes



Friday Five: Sindra Van Yssel

Hi all. This week’s guest for Friday Five is author, Sindra Van Yssel. Thanks for joining me here on the blog, Sindra!

So, what kind of books do you read for fun?
I read a lot of different things, but lately it’s been mostly mysteries or manga. I’m a big fan of old-school mysteries like Ellery Queen and Dorothy L. Sayers.

What’s the one thing you can’t live without?
I’m really very fond of my computer and a bit addicted to my cell phone. But I could live without them if I really had to.

If a genie granted you three wishes, what would they be?
Genies can be so tricky! You wish for world peace and they destroy the planet. It’s dangerous business, and I doubt anyone wants to hear about that kind of wish anyway. For artistic and financial reasons I’d love for a few million people to read and pay for my books. I’d like a fully stocked private dungeon I could throw parties in. And I’d like everyone to have access to basic healthcare, including contraceptives.

What is best writing advice you can give?
Finish what you start. I think it’s so easy to feel halfway through that you want to start a completely different book, one that doesn’t have the problems you’re encountering with the one you’re writing. But writing endings and working through those problems is different enough from writing the first few chapters that you really need to see things through to completion as much as possible to learn the craft.

Can you share a little about your current release with us?

OnlyIfItPleases
I’ve got a series coming out from Ellora’s Cave that centers around the play parties held in a large mansion. The series is called Iron Butterfly, and the first book, Only if it Pleases, is already out. Hart and Vanessa start a relationship after Hart wins a bet with her former boyfriend. Since Vanessa is curious about Hart she goes along with being the stakes in the bet, but he’s got a reputation as a very strict Dom into some very heavy play and she’s a little nervous. He’s just the right person to train her to push her limits.

The second book, Double Bind, is coming out in November, and the third, His Private Secretary, in December.

To find out more see my website, www.sindravanyssel.com

I can be reached via email at sindra at gmail dot com, and on facebook as Sindra van Yssel. I always love to hear from readers.




Friday Five: Pia Veleno

This week’s guest for Friday Five is Pia Veleno. Thanks for visiting the blog, Pia!

Tell us, what kind of books do you read for fun?

Horror. Lately, dystopian or post-apocalyptic settings. Outside of that, about once a year I read the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series. It’s like a comfortable old blanket.

What’s the one thing you can’t live without?

Can I say something corny like “my husband”? It’s true though. Without him, I’d be an incorrigible hermit. He loves to tease me that without his friends I wouldn’t have any. It’s not completely true, but my best girl was his friend first… before her transition.

If a genie granted you three wishes, what would they be?

More wishes! Actually, I’ve geeked out enough to know wishes can be more dangerous than beneficial. Most gamers are inherently wary of wishes. They never turn out as you expect. I’m sure there’s a story to write in there somewhere, but even that makes me wary.

What is best writing advice you can give?

Don’t get discouraged. Just keep writing.

I read somewhere that a writer needs to write three novels before they’re ready to publish. I did that. I still have those three novels. It was a het vampire urban fantasy series. I read the first book again not too long ago. They were awful. I still keep them though. Maybe I’ll rewrite it someday. Or maybe I’ll keep it only to remind me to keep challenging myself, to keep improving.

Can you share a little about your current release with us?
Fallen
Fallen was my first published story back in 2010. When that publisher imploded and I got my rights back, I knew I had to find a new home for this above the other stories I had there.

I wrote the first draft in ten days. I felt like I was channeling Mal. It was simply meant to be, and I couldn’t stop even if I wanted to. As I worked through production to get Fallen ready for the rerelease with Loose Id, I felt that same pull for Bran as I did back then for Mal. Then, it was easy to get caught up in the excitement of that first release, and Bran’s story was forgotten. Not this time. This time, I’ve learned, and I’m ready to let Bran speak his mind too.

While I’m working on that, dear Readers, check out Fallen released by Loose Id, with lovely cover art by Fiona Jayde.

Buy link: http://www.loose-id.com/fallen-2.html
Pia’s blog/website: http://www.piaveleno.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/piaveleno



Friday Five: Teresa Noelle Roberts

This week’s guest for Friday Five is Teresa Noelle Roberts. Thanks for visiting the blog, Teresa!

What kind of books do you read for fun?
I guess it’s cheating to say “the print kind, usually in English” so I’ll try to be more specific. I binge-read paranormal romances and urban fantasy—Jim Butcher and Ilona Andrews are favorite authors. Certain historical romances speak to me; I’m a huge Eloisa James fan, for example. In the right mood, I love history, especially cultural history. I cut my teeth on Tolkien and still adore epic fantasy. Never made it though the Song of Ice and Fire series, though; George RR Martin is an excellent writer but he described his dark, nasty world so vividly the books depressed me.

Oh, and I read cookbooks. I love to cook, but some of my favorite cookbooks to read have such complicated recipes or require such exotic ingredients I rarely cook from them. I enjoy them because they’re well written and full of stories about people told through the medium of food.

What’s the one thing you can’t live without?
I suppose my husband doesn’t count as a thing, and neither do my cats, so BOOKS. (I bet you get that answer a lot.)

If a genie granted you three wishes, what would they be?

36 hours in a day while not needing to sleep more than I do now.
A library-Tardis: it’s not very big on the outside but it’ll hold all the books I could ever want. I know a Kindle’s kind of the same thing, but I like print books too.
Knees that don’t ache.

I was going to say my dream kitchen, but that’s possible without a genie (though hard on a budget).

What is best writing advice you can give?
I can’t remember who originally said, “You can’t revise a blank page, but you can revise utter crap,” but that’s become my motto over the years. Just get a draft done. Then fix what you already know is wrong, share it with beta readers, listen to what they have to say and fix it some more. Lather, rinse and repeat a few times to make it the best finished product you can. But first you need the messy, partly horrid draft.

Can you share a little about your current release with us?
witches waves
Witches’ Waves is the fourth numbered book in the Duals and Donovans: the Different series. (There are currently five books set in the Duals and Donovans world, but one has its own story arc.) These are red-hot paranormals, full of shapeshifters of all kinds (Duals), powerful witches who specialize in sex-magic (the Donovan extended family), and a shadowy government branch that wants to control all paranormal activity for its own ends. Witches’ Waves wraps up one major storyline in this world, but there are still plenty of sexy Donovans and their witchy relatives left for future adventures.

Here’s the book blurb, complete with the usual Samhain warning that’s more like a recommendation:
The ocean is on their side. But the fight is on land—and it’s about to get dirty.
Duals and Donovans: The Different, Book 4
Long held captive as the Agency’s secret weapon—a blind witch with visions—Meaghan has come to a line she refuses to cross. Rather than betray the infant “child of five bloods” to the Agency’s scientists, she chooses death. Except when she throws herself into the ocean, she doesn’t die. Her repressed water magic comes to life.
When the sodden, delirious witch drifts into Kyle’s arms, his otter dual instincts tell him to get her to the Donovans as fast as possible. Even though one particular surfer-dude Donovan broke his heart.
Declan Donovan continually kicks himself for pushing Kyle away, but his touchy combination of water, earth and lightning magic is too volatile, and Kyle wanted more than Deck was ready to give.
When they come together to help Meaghan control her new magic, it leads the Agency straight to the child of five bloods. They’ll have to dive head-first into total trust—in their magics, in themselves and in each other—to save the child and stop the Agency once and for all.

Warning: Contains an oceanful of sex between an ethereal blind heroine who swears like a pissed-off Marine, an overly serious otter shifter, a would-be beach bum who may be descended from a Norse god, in permutations as fluid as the sea – and themes of abuse and recovery.

And here’s the series blurb:
Welcome to an America where the non-human Different and magically gifted humans live among ordinary people. Witches are both feared and honored, but shape-shifting Duals are treated as second-class citizens. The Agency, a government agency that’s supposed to monitor illegal uses of magic and Different abilities, has developed its own dangerous agenda. But when Duals and witches join forces, the Agency and other bad guys aren’t going to know what hit them.
And neither are the witches and Duals. Witch magic grows from the positive energy of love and sex–and the only thing better than one Dual for sex magic is two of them!

Buy links for the book:
Amazon US / Amazon UK / Barnes and Noble /Samhain / Kobo

Where to find me online:
Website & blog: www.teresanoelleroberts.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTeresaNoelleRoberts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TeresNoeRoberts
Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Teresa-Noelle-Roberts/e/B0047V74PC/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1415286559&sr=8-2-ent



Friday Five: Leela Lou Dahlin

This week’s guest for Friday Five is Leela Lou Dahlin. Thanks for visiting the blog, Leela!

What kind of books do you read for fun?
I’m an all romance kind of woman but I like all kinds. Every once in a while I’ll add a little Sci-fi in there just for kicks.

What’s the one thing you can’t live without?
My family but if you’re talking about an electronic device I’d say my iPhone

If a genie granted you three wishes, what would they be?

A genie, huh? My next story involves a genie…well…sort of. Wishes if I could have three they would be.
1. A beach house in North Carolina all furnished and paid for of course.
2. I’d wish everyone really did treat people like they wanted to be treated
3. An abundance of health, wealth and happiness
I guess I could have used the abundance of wealth to get the beach house but hindsight is 20/20. LOL

What is best writing advice you can give?
The best advice I can give is in two parts-
1. Write. I know it’s been said a million times before but if you don’t do that one part all the other parts don’t matter. Make it a priority.
2. Get into a group of other writers in real life or the internet variety—it doesn’t matter it’s just nice to have like minded people to bounce things off of. You’ll quickly figure out that authors are in a league of their own and I’ve never met such helpful people.

Can you share a little about your current release with us?

LLD_RumorHasIt_coverin

My current release is called Rumor Has It and was my NaNoWriMo 2012 so I was really happy that it was coming out at this time of year. Here’s the blurb

Raina Gibson is an event organizer who’s planned a family of her own ever since her mother passed away. The idea was to be married by age twenty-six, and have two children by thirty. She’d had everything in place, but one thing kept getting in her way: her best friend Liam Prescott. She’s attracted to his sexy confidence and intrigued by his daring spontaneity. Rumor has it this committed bachelor is phenomenal between the sheets, and since she’s never known anything but ordinary she figures that has to be the draw. So she decides there’s only one thing to do: get him into her bed and out of her system then get herself back on track.

Liam’s a Lieutenant Fire Chief who’s never forgotten what it feels like to have the most important woman in his life walk away without looking back. But there’s still something about Raina that makes him want to keep her close and protect her. So when Raina propositions him he’s torn. They’re thrown together for the Annual Fire Ball and the more he has her the more he wants.
“Out of their systems” isn’t working out as planned. So they’ll have to decide whether to keep the fire between them burning or hose down these new behaviors and go back to what’s always worked for them.

LLD_RumorHasIt_banner

Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Rumor-Has-Leela-Lou-Dahlin-ebook/dp/B00OZ132I2/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1414623711&sr=1-3&keywords=rumor+has+it

ARe- https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-rumorhasit-1658066-149.html

Loose Id – http://www.loose-id.com/rumor-has-it.html

Facebook – Leela Lou Dahlin

Twitter – LeelaLou_2

Email – [email protected]

Blog – LeelaLou.wordpress.com



Friday Five: Lynley Wayne

This week’s guest for Friday Five is Lynley Wayne. Thanks for visiting the blog, Lynley!

So, Lynley, what kind of books do you read for fun?

These days I don’t have a lot of time to read. When I do find the time, I read whatever catches my interest. Mystery. Romance. Fantasy. Science Fiction. Suspense.

What’s the one thing you can’t live without?

Books, obviously! Outside of books though, I’d have to say my chai tea. Without it I wouldn’t be able to function.

If a genie granted you three wishes, what would they be?

1. To be able to download my thoughts directly to a computer. (would make writing so much easier)
2. To be able to travel anywhere with a thought.
3. To be healthy and in shape.

What is best writing advice you can give?

Be true to yourself. This is assuming you’ve already taken the most common advice writers give, and that is to write. You have to write the story you want to write and not the story you think you should write. If you don’t care about your story or your characters, it will show in your writing.

Can you share a little about your current release with us?

Facing Demons, book three in the Scars series, just came out on Oct. 3rd. This story is about Seth and Cam. They’ve known one another since they were kids. Cam’s life isn’t ideal by any means. His father is abusive and drags him into a life of motorcycle gangs, drugs, and guns. While Seth knows about some of what Cam has to deal with, he doesn’t know it all. Seth begins to have feeling for Cam, but Cam is determined to stay just friends. It takes awhile but Seth eventually convinces him to give them a chance. However, circumstances out of their control cause them to go their separate ways. Fast-forward eleven years. Cam’s in trouble so he turns to the one person he knows he can trust…Seth. It’s a story of drug cartels, dirty law enforcement officers, love, and facing the demons of the past.
facing demons v4.3

Blurb:

At the age of fifteen, Seth Dempsey gave his heart to Cameron Reyes. Three years later, Cam shattered it when he walked away. When Cam blows back into Seth’s life years later, Seth knows he will do whatever it takes to ensure Cam doesn’t slip away again. Even if it means going up against a corrupt DEA agent and a drug cartel.

Cameron Reyes was born on the wrong side of the tracks. He fell in love with Seth, but knew the only way to keep him safe was to leave, no matter how much it hurt. Eleven years later, when his life implodes, he knows the only person he can trust is the boy whose heart he broke all those years ago.

While they fight to stay one step ahead of everyone and clear Cam’s name, can they learn to work together in order to face down the demons of the past and find the happily ever after they have dreamed of?

Author Bio:

Lynley Wayne is the pen name of a thirty-something female living on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. When not writing, she can usually be found reading and thinking up creative ways to avoid housework. She is married to a very understanding man who doesn’t complain when she spends hours in front of the computer, or talks for hours about whatever story she’s working on, or asks random off the wall questions. He also keeps her fed on those occasions when her muse has taken over and she loses days at a time. Yeah, basically he’s vying for sainthood.

Lynley strongly believes everyone is entitled to their own version of happiness, no matter how it may differ from the norm. She writes characters she wants to read and hopes others like reading about them as much as she enjoyed writing them.

It is her hope that one day society will be able to look past the labels and see the person behind them. That they will realize we are all the same. Until that time comes, she will continue telling stories of a love others may believe is wrong, but she thinks is nothing short of beautiful.

You can find Lynley online at:
Website: http://www.lynleywayne.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@LynleyWayne
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Friday Five: Thom Lane

This week’s guest for Friday Five is Thom Lane. Thanks for visiting the blog, Thom!

So, what kind of books do you read for fun?

…Wait, what? There are kinds of books? There are categories, and people think some are more fun than others…?

No, sorry, I will be serious: but I read all kinds of books, me. Anything in English. History – for research, yes, but who says research can’t be fun? – and biography, science for simpletons, all the varieties of fiction that there are, from kids’ books to serious literature. What I love best is genre: science fiction and fantasy and historical fiction and mystery and and and. I’ve written all of those, in various combinations, but I read them before ever I was a writer.

 

What’s the one thing you can’t live without?

Ask me first thing in the morning, it’ll be coffee: brewed hot and black and very strong. Ask me five o’clock in the evening, it’s alcohol: beer or wine or a cocktail, depending. Ask me at six o’clock in the evening, it’s my favourite kitchen knife. But ask me once for all time, and it’s books, reading, the ability to read. If I couldn’t read – well, I dunno, but I’d probably just cease to exist. In some absolutely concrete way, I think I probably am text rendered flesh.
If a genie granted you three wishes, what would they be?

Heh. I’d find it hard not to wish for eternal youth, because I’m insatiably curious and I really, really want to know what happens to humankind in the far far future; and I might well wish that I’d been into bitcoins in the very early days, because an awful lot of money would make things so much easier, for myself and all my friends. Digital currency is such a mysterious concept that it’s still intriguing me to look into it and perhaps look at how to Bitcoin kaufen Paypal. Then, of course, I’d wish for three more wishes, because I’m not a fool, y’know.

 

What is the best writing advice you can give?

Probably my favourite single line is “Don’t get it right, get it written.” Bad drafts can be made better, but nothing can help a story that’s not actually made it onto paper. But that’s a quotation; my own personal best advice is not to get hung up on anyone’s advice, let alone a mantra like “less is more”. Sometimes that’s true, but sometimes less is just less. Every story has its own voice, and some of them need to be tight, and some of them need to be extravagant. Write everything you can: every genre, every style. If you don’t tell your stories, nobody else is going to tell them for you.

 

Can you share a little about your current release with us?

I can! For some years now I’ve been writing the “Tales of Amaranth” series for Loose Id, set in a fantasy empire where slavery is an accepted part of life. These are m/m stories, some told from a slave’s point of view, some from a master’s. People who are strict about such things say they’re not properly BDSM, and they’re not romances either. Me, I just shrug: I’m not good at definitions and they are what they are, which is stories about young men learning how to live and be happy in a fairly ruthless environment. Some of the stories feature magic (there’s a recurrent couple of characters, a master mage and his body-slave), some don’t.

TL_HeartsHunt_coverhr

(cover art by Anne Cain)

The new one, Heart’s Hunt, is a long short story, a good entry-point for anyone who hasn’t met the series before. It’s set in a neighbouring kingdom, where revolution has overturned the social order. A bounty hunter is chasing down a runaway prince, but his big score doesn’t turn out the way that he was hoping. According to the publisher’s blurb (actually, I think I might have written this): “When he rides into the charcoal-burner’s clearing, he doesn’t find a depraved young aristocrat hiding out with his loyal servant. Rather, he finds a displaced old man doing the best he can with only a slave to help. A willing, beautiful, poorly trained slave. From their first encounter, Martel can’t keep his hands off the boy – and sees no reason to, when the master doesn’t care and the inexperienced boy is sullen and frightened and eager all at once. This is the last thing he was looking for – but can one hot night change the course of a life, of two lives…?”

You can read more (and buy the book!) here: http://www.loose-id.com/tales-of-amaranth-heart-s-hunt.html

 



Friday Five: Douglas Black

Hi all! This week’s guest for Friday Five is author Douglas Black. Thanks for joining us this week, Douglas.

So, Douglas, what kind of books do you read for fun?

I spend a terrifying amount of time on my Kindle.

Easily fifty percent of what’s on there are MM erotic romances. Partly, that’s because I like to know what’s going on in the genre I write in, but really it’s got more to do with me being a massive fan of a great number of MM authors. I always have my eyes peeled for a new release by people like James Lear or Josh Lanyon. Their work can never come out quickly enough for me!

The rest of the space is taken up with crime fiction or political/satirical works. I’m obsessed with ‘Tartan Noir’ (if you don’t know what that is, I urge you to look it up!) A real favourite ¬– one I can read over and over again – is Not The End Of The World by Christopher Brookmyre, although anything he writes is fine by me!

What’s the one thing you can’t live without?

You’d think given what I just said about my Kindle, I’d pick that, but the truthful answer is my phone (I’ve got the Kindle app on there!).

I’m fortunate to have a number of genuinely amazing friends ¬– the type that would do more than just help you get rid of a body – but unfortunately they’ve decided to fling themselves all over the world. Without my phone, and all the different apps that I use to stay in touch with them, I’d be a very lonely Douglas!

If a genie granted you three wishes, what would they be?

Tough one. I’m going to go for world peace, an end to all hunger, and a self-cleaning kitchen.

What is best writing advice you can give?

“Write.” I know how rubbish that sounds, but really it’s the only advice anyone can give. You’ll discover a process that works for you in time, but until then just keeping filling in the blank page with words. First drafts are usually hideous, but the more material you cram into them, the happier you’ll be when rewrite time comes around!

Can you share a little about your current release with us?
DB_PortInAStorm
(Available October 14 from Loose Id)

Port In A Storm follows Alex, a young university graduate, working a dead-end job to avoid joining the family law firm like his father wants. Jake is a perpetual traveller, handsome and worldly with his fair share of emotional baggage and an attitude towards life that Alex adores.

With Jake’s itchy feet making it impossible for the man to stay in one place for too long, their relationship starts out as a series of hook-ups in unlikely places – an airport sleeping POD, a caravan in Bamburgh, a Venetian townhouse – but soon these brief meetings aren’t enough and that leaves Alex with a new problem to worry about.

It seems no one has ever been able to tame the wandering man, so if Alex wants Jake it looks like it’s going to cost him. Alex is going to have to decide what price he is willing to pay to be happy, before Jake and Alex’s family’s patience runs out.

Douglas Black 500 X 215 copy
Author Biography

Douglas Black was born and raised in bonnie Scotland. An archaeologist by trade, Douglas started writing MM erotica as a means of avoiding starvation at university before returning to the genre in 2012.

Welcome to your fantasy.

Author Links
Blog
http://douglasblackerotica.wordpress.com

Amazon
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Douglas-Black/e/B00A93HUHO/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1406885803&sr=8-1

Facebook Author Page
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Douglas-Black/1632968396841732?ref=hl&ref_type=bookmark

Twitter
@DBlackErotica