The Boy Who Chased After His Shadow by Jeff Jacobson Blog Tour, Excerpt & Giveaway!

The Boy Who Chased After His Shadow - Jeff Jacobson

Jeff Jacobson has a new queer YA urban fantasy romance out, Broom Closet Stories book 3:

The Boy Who Chased After His Shadow.

And there’s a giveaway!

What If an Evil Witch Was Controlling Your Thoughts Without You Knowing?

Soon after being whisked away to Seattle to live with an aunt and uncle he barely knew, Charlie Creevey learned that he hailed from a family of witches. After settling into this unfamiliar life, his feelings toward his new friend Diego Ramirez began to grow into something more serious. And if that wasn’t enough, he failed to stop the nefarious witch Grace and her cohort from using the dreaded deathcraft and killing his mentor Malcolm.

In Book 3 of this riveting series, Charlie discovers that Grace has gone into hiding and is acting behind the scenes. Able to influence minds in ways that were previously unheard of in the witching world, Grace compels Charlie to unwittingly do things like taking on the bullies at Puget Academy and lying to his family. The more Charlie believes he is acting of his own accord, the more Grace secretly rebuilds her strength and plots her comeback.

Will Charlie ever be able to overcome Grace and her coven? Or is Charlie destined to live life as a gay teen witch, shrouded by the evil veil of the deathcraft? And can he ever share his secret with Diego—or will he have to keep his identity as a witch hidden in the broom closet forever? Find out in The Boy Who Chased After His Shadow.

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CAN

About the Series:

The Broom Closet Stories series
High school life as a gay teenage witch is never easy. Ask Charlie Creevey, the boy who’s busy developing his witchcraft abilities while navigating romance with Diego Ramirez. Forget about focusing on schoolwork, too, thanks to an evil witch and her ilk who will stop at nothing to destroy everyone around them, including Charlie and his family, for power. All he wants is some normalcy… but will Charlie ever be able to share who he really is? Or must everything remain a secret?

From paranormal adventures and a whirlwind romance, to battling evil witches and a gripping conclusion, enjoy all the thrills and excitement, in the supernatural world of the Broom Closet Stories.


Giveaway

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Excerpt

Meme - The Boy Who Chased After His Shadow
With a shrug, Diego set the tray down on the coffee table and sat down next to Charlie, who leaned into the taller boy’s warmth.

“That,” said Diego, looking about in wonder as he draped his arm over Charlie’s shoulder, “was epic. That was the most epic party I’ve ever been to.”

Amos came walking into the living room and pushed on Randall’s arm, indicating that he was ready to be petted.

“Are you glad they’re all gone, boy?” asked Charlie’s uncle. In reply, Amos’s tail thumped the floor, and the groan of pleasure that escaped his throat seemed answer enough as he leaned into Randall’s hand.

“I’m glad you liked it, Diego,” said Beverly. She held a mug of tea in her hand. The expression on her face seemed to be a mix of wistfulness and pleasure—or maybe something else. Charlie often couldn’t tell with Beverly.

“I thought that the trick-or-treaters would never end,” said Randall, shaking his head. “I worried we’d run out of candy. Just when you thought it was over—”

Amos barked once, sharp, then ran over to the north-facing wall, looking up at the small picture window high up near the ceiling, wagging his tail.

A yellow cat sat on a bare tree branch, peering down at the people in the living room as if holding court.

“Holy feline, that scared the crap out of me!” shouted Diego, clutching his chest.

Charlie snuck a glance at his aunt and raised his eyebrows. Was that a cat from the network? Or just some stray prowling around on the trees out front?

The slight shrug of her shoulders and the way she narrowed her eyes told Charlie she didn’t know.

The doorbell rang.

Amos barked again, then ran over to the front door. Randall and Diego jumped.

“I’m gonna have a heart attack!” Diego declared.

Charlie and Beverly looked first at the front door, then back at each other.

“Who the hell could that be?” asked Randall, starting to stand up. “Even the older kids should be done for the night.”

“Let me get it,” said Beverly, placing her hand on her husband’s knee before coming to her feet. Charlie knew it was a command, not a suggestion. Upon her secretive glance to him, he shrugged off Diego’s arm and followed his aunt to the foyer.

Two small figures stood on the front stoop, bathed in the yellow cone of light from the lamp above the door. They were dressed as ghosts, with pure white sheets stretched over their small bodies, ghoulish eye and mouth holes drawn in overly large ovals. Red droplets of paint, to mimic blood spatter, speckled their heads and upper bodies. As an added touch of the grotesque, twin ropes with frayed ends encircled their tiny necks.

Charlie’s skin prickled.

“Trick or treat!” cried the figure on the right, a boy’s voice. He couldn’t be older than five or six. The figure next to him, only an inch or two taller, stayed silent but held out an empty, plastic jack-o’-lantern. There was something demanding and greedy in its gesture.

“Oh,” said Beverly. “Hello. Isn’t it a little late for you to be out?” She craned her neck, and Charlie guessed she was looking for an adult standing beyond the front gate. The sidewalk appeared empty. “By yourselves?”

“No,” stomped the figure on the left. A girl. “We don’t have a curfew.”

Charlie watched as his aunt’s eyes widened before softening. “Well, I see. Charlie, do you think we have any leftover candy?”

“We won’t eat it. We just—” said the smaller boy.

The girl elbowed him so sharply that the boy teetered backwards. “Ow!” he shouted.

Charlie reached out and grabbed the bony shoulders of the ghost boy before he could topple off the porch, releasing his grip only when he was steady on his feet again.

“You’re not going to eat it?” asked Beverly.

“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Anyway, about that candy,” demanded the girl.

Something isn’t right about this, Charlie thought. But it was Halloween, right? You were supposed to give out candy to anyone who came by. Wasn’t that the unwritten rule?

He glanced up at the upper branches of the trees but could see no yellow cat.

“Charlie, wait here while I check to see if we have anything left,” said his aunt, turning around and walking back into the house.

Charlie, guessing that his aunt was up to something besides looking for leftover candy, did as he was told.

“Are you having a good time?” he asked the small figures.

The two ghosts stood still and remained silent, their black, oval eyes staring up at him—more chills over his skin. There was something downright frightening about these two little kids, standing side by side in their macabre costumes, saying nothing.

A strong gust of wind blew overhead, and the massive trees surrounding the house bowed and straightened, bowed and straightened. A car door slammed somewhere down the street, and he heard what sounded like a group of teenagers laughing and shouting.

“We just had a really big party,” he said. “Lots of people. Lots of kids.”

More awkward silence.

Charlie summoned a Word and cast it outward, double-checking that the extra-strong wards his aunt set to run the perimeter of their property were still intact.

His Word bounced back to him, healthy and intact. Nothing breached.

Now that he thought about it, that was silly. Charlie could tell that these two little kids were neither witches nor Echoes. Plus, if they had broken through the wards, Beverly wouldn’t have left him alone with them on the porch.

Then why were the hairs on the back of his neck static with electricity?

“Here we are!” said his aunt, stepping next to him on the porch. She held a small, clay bowl in her hand. In the bowl sat three ridiculously fat chocolate bars, wrapped in shiny black paper and tied with ornate orange ribbon. They definitely did not come from the trick-or-treaters’ stash they’d been using; he’d never seen them before.

“Only take one each, now,” said his aunt, leaning over and holding the bowl down at eye level with the children.


Author Bio

jeff Jacobson
Jeff Jacobson was born and raised in Seattle and graduated in 1991 from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash., with a degree in Asian studies and a minor in Chinese language (Mandarin). He works both as a coach and a trainer of coaches, and is passionate about how evolved leadership can help transform organizations, their clients, and even the world.

The Broom Closet Series emerged from a challenge/dare after Jeff Jacobson criticized other books for how they depicted witches (“Windswept hair… spells, always in Latin…” no, no, no). The friend he made these comments to called him out on his critique, noting that the authors wrote their books, not Jacobson’s. Could he write his own witchy books? In 2008, Jacobson decided to find out.

Already top sellers on Amazon, The Boy Who Couldn’t Fly Straight and The Boy Who Couldn’t Fly Home chart teenager Charlie Creevey’s double coming out – as a young gay man, and as a witch. He lands in the hamlet of West Seattle and becomes part of the local coven, which he needs in order to fight off Grace, a murderous villain who’s killing teens to fuel her power and control. Jacobson picks up the thread yet again in The Boy Who Chased After His Shadow as Charlie’s feelings for classmate Diego Ramirez deepen, and Grace’s pitiless murders terrify and threaten the community.

Author Website: http://www.jeffjacobsonworld.com

Author Facebook (Personal): https://www.facebook.com/jeff.jacobson.528

Author Facebook (Author Page): https://www.facebook.com/theboywhocouldntflystraight

Author Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theboywhocouldntflystraight/

Author Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Jeff-Jacobson/e/B00FI0QO02/

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Peace Maker by Mary Rundle Audio Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway!

Mary Rundle - Peace Maker Audio Banner 1

Hi guys, we have Mary Rundle stopping by today with the tour for her new audio release Peace Maker, we have a short intro from Mary with an exclusive excerpt, a fantastic $20 Amazon GC and a Blackwood Brothers mug giveaway, so guys, check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤️ ~Pixie~

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Peace Maker

(Blackwood Pack 03)
by
Narrator: Nick J. Russo

Mary Rundle

The Blackwood Pack saga continues…

This is part of an on-going series by Amazon Bestselling Author, Mary Rundle, and catching up on previous titles is advised. Readers of the past books will enjoy meeting old friends once more as the pack does what it does best ̶ caring for one another and helping shifters everywhere.

Enforcer Dylon Royd worked for the notorious Silver Point Pack until they accused him of disloyalty. Imprisoned and beaten to within an inch of his life, he’s dumped at the side of a road and left for dead. Waking up in the Blackwood Pack’s hospital, he’s shocked to discover his Fated Mate is one of the pack’s members he’d been ordered to kill.

Cody is a seer and has grappled with visions all his life, but after most of his family is massacred they have intensified so fiercely he begins to make plans to escape his pain and suffering. Thinking no one wants a freak for a Fated Mate, he tries to reject Dylon until he realizes his salvation depends on accepting him.

A life or death situation for Cody, a rare gift to both from the Fates, a dangerous mission, and an unexpected surprise are some of the challenges they face. Together they begin a journey to save Cody’s life while forging a partnership that requires absolute trust for both to survive.

.•.•.**❣️ Audible US | Audible UK | Audible FR | Audible DE ❣️**.•.•.

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Chaos in Milan by Edale Lane Blog Tour, Guest Post, Excerpt & Giveaway!

Edale Lane - Chaos in Milan Banner 1

Hi guys! We have Edale Lane stopping by with the tour for her new release Chaos In Milan, we have a brilliant guest post from Edale, a great excerpt and a fantastic $20 Amazon GC giveaway so check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤️ ~Pixie~

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Chaos In Milan

(Night Flyer 03)
by

Edale Lane

One woman stands between chaos and order – the Night Flyer!

When chaos strikes at the heart of Milan, it is up to Florentina’s alter-ego the Night Flyer to stop it. As Florentina and Madelena’s love deepens, so does the well of danger surrounding them. The race is on to discover the mysterious Shadow Guild and uncover who is behind the deadly rampage, but Florentina’s mission is threatened by a gang of assassins. Can the Night Flyer prevail, or will Maddie’s love be ripped from her arms?

Chaos in Milan is the third book in Edale Lane’s Night Flyer Trilogy, a tale of power, passion, and payback in Renaissance Italy. If you like action and suspense, rich historical background, three-dimensional characters, and a sweet romance, then you’ll want to complete the Night Flyer saga. Order your copy of Chaos in Milan today!

.•.•.**❣️ Amazon US | Amazon UK ❣️**.•.•.

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Through Rain and Missing Mantaurs by Jeanne Marcella Blog Tour, Excerpt & Giveaway!

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Hi peeps! We have Jeanne Marcella popping in today with her new release Through Rain and Missing Mantaurs, we have a great excerpt and a fantastic $20 Amazon GC giveaway, so check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤️ ~Pixie~

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Through Rain and Missing Mantaurs

(Elemental Rain 01)
by

Jeanne Marcella

Her past is postage due and centaurs are ready to collect.

Through Rain and Missing Mantaurs is a dark fantasy most daring and eccentric. A tale not for the faint of heart. Pony is a bipedal half-breed centaur with no desire to waste tears on a past she can’t remember. She’s busy enough with her mail routes and package deliveries, and of course, floundering through hot-cold love affairs with the high class courtesans Mardyth and Lullaby.

The mundane drudgery of her life shatters when Konstantine Bywater takes over as Lightfoot Delivery’s new boss. He asks questions she can’t possibly answer, and stirs up a tragic past better left dead and buried.

But running away is no longer an option. Not when Kon and his minions accuse Mardyth of an unspeakable crime. With her lover’s life at stake, Pony won’t stop until she uncovers not only the truth of Mardyth’s innocence, but the truth of the past as well.

.•.•.**❣️ Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | B&N | Kobo | iBooks | Books2Read | Angus Robertson | Indigo ❣️**.•.•.

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Poor Little Rich Boy by Katey Hawthorne Blog Tour, Guest Post, Excerpt & Giveaway!

Katey Hawthorne Poor Little Rich Boy Ad 1st January

Hi guys! We have Katey Hawthorne popping in today with her new release Poor Little Rich Boy, we have a brilliant short guest post from Katey, a great excerpt and a fantastic 2 x £10 Amazon GC giveaway, so check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤️ ~Pixie~

Katey Hawthorne - Poor Little Rich Boy Cover 7rnvm

Poor Little Rich Boy

by

Katey Hawthorne

Ted MacTaggart’s overbearing father is still trying to control his life, even from the grave. His will insists that, in order to inherit the family company, MAC Superior, Ted must be married by his twenty-fifth birthday — and the marriage has to be “real.” As in the board of MAC has to sign off on it.

Ted could fight the will, but then the handsome, artistic Ryan Costa, an old friend from school days walks back into his life, offering to be his groom-of-convenience. Ted draws up the contracts and Ryan, who has family medical bill problems, agrees gladly to the terms. Ted, emotionally walled off and afraid of his attraction to Ryan, also suggests they should keep their relationship strictly professional. Caring for people has always proven a weakness for him. Now isn’t the time to start.

It’s not long before Ryan’s charm breaks through Ted’s walls, but Ted isn’t his own worst enemy in this case. Other forces are vying for MAC Superior, and even when their relationship is becoming the real deal, its shaky foundations land Ryan and Ted in trouble.

.•.•.**❣️ Katey Hawthorne One Shots | JMS Books | Amazon US | Amazon UK | Smashwords | Kobo | B&N | Google Play ❣️**.•.•.

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Young King Arthur and the Round Table Knights by Siryn Sueng Blog Tour, Interview & Excerpt!

Siryn Sueng - Young King Arthur and the Round Table Knights Banner

Hi guys! We have Siryn Sueng stopping by today with the tour for her new release Young King Arthur and the Round Table Knights, we have a brilliant short interview with Siryn and a great excerpt, so check out the post and enjoy! ❤️ ~Pixie~

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Young King Arthur and the Round Table Knights

(King Arthur 01)
by

Siryn Sueng

There was no reason for Arthur to think he would ever become king.

A peasant and son of a baker, Arthur grew up in the castle town of Camelot. When he attended the Choosing Ceremony, it was merely to see who would draw the Holy Sword, Excalibur—to see who would inherit the throne of the recently departed King Uther. He never expected the sword would choose him…

But it did.

Now, at the young age of fourteen, he has become King Arthur, and for all the power he has gained, he has made just as many enemies. Surrounded by the Knights of the Round Table, and led by the mysterious mage, Merlin, Arthur is grateful for his allies, though he would just as soon return to his old life. Surely, someone more worthy should be chosen as king.

Arthur is in the middle of chaos, a world where everyone wants more than they let on, where many hate the idea of a young boy with no noble background being crowned king; where cold stares and whispered words are just as sharp as an assassin’s blade.

As Arthur fends for his life, he must draw on the strength of his knights, especially fifteen-year-old Mordred, who becomes closer to him than the mere bounds of duty. He must become king, not just in name, but in his heart.

And he must do it quickly, because his enemies want more than just his crown…

.•.•.**❣️ Amazon US | Amazon UK ❣️**.•.•.

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Cash In Hand by T.A. Moore Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway!

T.A. Moore - Cash In Hand Banner

Hi guys, we have T.A. Moore stopping by today with her up new release Cash In Hand, we have short guest post from T.A., a great excerpt and a fantastic $10 Amazon GC giveaway, so check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤️ ~Pixie~

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Cash In HandTitle

by

T.A. Moore

The last monster died a hundred years ago. At least, that’s what the monsters want you to think.

Half-monster Cash just wants to keep his head down and raise his daughter, Ellie, to be an upstanding member of monstrous society. Even if she’d rather spend the summer with her human friends than learn the art of man traps at Camp Dark Hollow.

So the last person Cash wants to see is her uncle Arkady Abascal, who’s also Cash’s ex-boyfriend.

Arkady has more than Ellie’s summer plans on his mind. He’s there to enlist Cash to find out who’s been selling monster secrets. Cash hasn’t gotten any better at telling Arkady no, but it’s not just his weakness for Arkady that makes him agree. The Prodigium thinks an Abascal exposed them to humans, and now the whole family is at risk—including Ellie.

Recruited to help Arkady identify the culprit—or frame a scapegoat—Cash finds the machinations of monstrous power easier to navigate than his feelings for Arkady. At least, at first. But when things get bloody, he wishes romantic disasters were all he had to worry about….

.•.•.**❣️ Amazon US | Amazon UK | Dreamspinner ❣️**.•.•.

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Heart of the Holidays by Pat Henshaw Blog Tour, Guest Post, Excerpt & Giveaway!

Heart of the Holidays - Pat Henshaw

Pat Henshaw has a new MM holiday romance out:

Heart of the Holidays.

And there’s a giveaway!

Everyone hopes his road to happily ever after will be carefree and smooth, but too often hair-pin turns and detours seem to get in the way.

Having thought he was on the road to forever before, former Silicon Valley programmer Dan Lassiter is leery about pedaling down it again. His elderly companion Charlie urges him to get to know Rick Reardon whose bakery is across the street from Dan’s bicycle shop.

Under the watchful eye of Charlie, Dan and Rick take tentative steps towards each other, all the while trying to avoid potholes such as exes, homophobes, and family problems.

As summer turns to fall and then winter, they hope that the road will be smooth going from their first date and first kiss to having what Rick’s sister euphemistically calls their “sleep overs”. At each step, though, they are tripped up and wonder why there seem to be so many bumps in their road.

Maybe Dan and Rick should heed some of Charlie’s sage advice or maybe they should listen to their hearts instead of the warnings from their pasts.

QRI Universal Buy Link


Giveaway

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Pat Henshaw Guest Post!

The Perfect Cookie Exchange

The Perfect Stack of Cookies to Go

One of the delights of the holiday season is a cookie exchange with friends and coworkers. True, it’s going to be a little light this year, what with COVID restrictions and all. But that makes it all the better to devise a game plan for next year and the one after.

Why a game plan?

Because you don’t want to be the person whose cookies smash and break before they are exchanged. You want to be the one with the perfectly delicious looking stack of an array of different cookie types, each cookie looking enticing in its own right.

But how can you do that with a stack of cookies?

Glad you asked.

You need to come up with your cookie tiers. Or you can steal mine.

The bottom tier for my cookie exchange plate is a pan cookie—usually chocolate chip bars or pecan pie bars—anything with enough internal heft that they can withstand a stack of cookies on top of them and still not be squished.

Stay away from lemon bars or cheesecake bars, which while yummy will yield like sinkholes, making them and the cookies stacked on top into one mega-cookie.

True, that’s great for the person who picks up the top cookie and finds them all stuck together in the jackpot of the holiday season.

Still, if you get caught with the mega-cookie, you are stuck with it and can’t pry one off and leave the rest for another hapless eater.

So be kind and plan a sturdy, non-sinkable bottom tier.

The middle tier is the traditional colorful cookie tier—gingerbread people, cut-out and frosted cookies, and shaped dough goodies.

The key to this layer is color, lots and lots of color. For example, blue, white, and silver for Hanukkah or green and red for Christmas or black, red and green for Kwanzaa or red, green, brown, and white for Solstice. Whatever you celebrate, make sure the colors pop at the mid-level of your cookie tier.

Remember that frosting and piping are your friends at this tier.

Finally, add the touch de resistance to the top tier: light, airy meringue delights and chocolate chip clouds.

Make these small, bite-sized treats so that you can use them to place around the decorated cookies to highlight their colors and decorations. Or you can use them to stack into a pyramid to support the cling-wrap or other protective layer you’re using to transport your exchange plate.

Whether you call them biscuits (like the Great British Baking Show does) or cookies like Americans do, edible exchanges are the highlight of any season, but particularly of those holidays in the winter.

Do you participate in a cookie exchange either during the holidays or during the rest of the year? If so, what’s your favorite cookie type?

Give yourself a gift of cheer with four HEA romances to take the edge off 2020:

Blame It on the Fruitcake where a motorcycle shop owner and a location scout bond over a grandmother’s holiday recipe;

The Orpheum Miracle in which a squatter in a revival theater meets the man of his dreams;

Making the Holidays Happy Again that sees a blacksmith forge a future with a chemist; and

Heart of the Holidays where a bicycle repairman and a baker travel down the road to love.

And whatever you do, remember that Every day is a good day for romance.


Excerpt

Heart of the Holidays meme
The kids and their mom arrived after lunch, right about the time Charlie usually turned in for a nap. He gave them the once over as they got out of the car, nodded to me with raised eyebrows, and ambled back toward the house. I guess he figured he’d meet them sometime, probably sooner rather than later, so he didn’t have to knock himself out now. It was the siesta part of his day.

After the kids tumbled from the car and jumped on Rick, he pointed at my open garage and waved at me. I waved back, and they galloped across the street.

“Hi, I’m McKinsey! You can call me Mack.” The red-haired boy danced in front of me. His hair blazed in the sun and was as bright as his green eyes and freckles. He didn’t look anything like his uncle. “So these are all the bikes I can ride? Can I try them out first?”

“Yeah, but don’t go very far. I’ve got an app keeping an eye on them.”

“Cool. Bye.”

He didn’t wait for me to explain further, but ran toward the racks so fast that I thought he would barrel into them. A small hand on my arm stopped me from chasing after him.

“Don’t worry. He’s careful. He won’t hurt the bikes. We won’t go far because of mom.” Since I wasn’t worried about the bicycles, I looked down into brown eyes, a solemn face, and curly sable hair. “I’m Leslie. Everyone calls me Lee. My brother throws himself into his activities. I don’t. Can we choose any of the bicycles?”

I glanced up at their uncle who shrugged at me. The small hand let go of my arm, so I looked down at Lee again.

“Yes. You have three choices. One, you can select a bike and ride it the entire time you’re here. Two, you could come back to the garage and pick another one to ride for the day, the half-day, the hour, or however long you want it. That means if you wanted, you could ride every bike in this place in one day. Or your third choice, you could stay at the bakery and not go bike riding at all.” I winked at her. “I would choose the bakery except then I’d look like a human lead balloon if I did.”

She giggled and put her hand on my arm again.

“I like you, Mr. Dan. I think we’ll get along fine.” She nodded and gave me a long assessing once over. “Don’t worry. You don’t look like a balloon at all. Not at all.”

If she’d been in her teens, I would have thought she was flirting. But Lee seemed as if she was merely making an observation.

I liked both kids and their approaches to life. I’d be willing to bet Charlie would like them too when he got up from his nap and met them.

Unlike her brother, Lee sauntered over to the bikes, many of which were now askew thanks to Mack’s unsorting process. She carefully started to right those tossed aside. She stopped at a turquoise bicycle, hopped on, and waved to me and her uncle as she sped away. Her brother was long gone. The bike rack still needed straightening which would give me something to do while Charlie snoozed.

I started toward it. Rick had surged across the street and was striding up to me.

“Here. I’ll help.” He stood staring down at the mishmash of bikes. “If you show me how to untangle them without making things worse.”

I nodded.

“I don’t get it. Aren’t you afraid people will just take off with your bikes and you’ll never see them again?”

I watched him bend over to pick up one on the ground. My groin tightened at the sight. We were going out to dinner. Together. Soon. My heart and dick lifted as my mind piled up image after image of dinner and afterward. It was about time for me to get back in the saddle as it were.


Author Bio

Pat Henshaw Logo
Pat Henshaw, born and raised in Nebraska, has lived on the U S’s three coasts, in Texas, Virginia, and now California.

Before she retired, she held a number of jobs, including theatrical costumer, newspaper features reporter and movie reviewer, librarian, junior college English instructor, and publicist.

She also loves to travel and has visited Canada, Mexico, Europe, Egypt, Thailand, and Central America as well as almost all fifty US states.

Now retired, she enjoys reading and writing as well as visiting her older daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren on the East Coast and playing havoc with her younger daughter’s life in NorCal.

She thanks you for reading her books and wants you to remember that every day is a good day for romance.

Website | Facebook | FB Page | Twitter | Instagram | QueeRomance Ink

 

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Bound by Rhys Ford Blog Tour, Guest Post & Giveaway!

Rhys Ford - Bound banner

Hiya guys! We have Rhys Ford visiting today with the tour for her new release Bound, we have a brilliant guest post from Rhys, and we have an amazing $20 GC giveaway, so check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤️ ~Pixie~

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Bound

(Chinatown Demons 01)
by

Rhys Ford

Chinatown, San Francisco.

A different place — another time— and where the city’s streets keep secrets, shadowy mysteries SFPD Inspector Spencer Ricci needs to dig through after he finds himself on a case involving a dismembered, mummified man in a restaurant’s locked storage room.

Spencer drags around a lot of baggage, including an ongoing battle with the bottle and a long career as an LAPD detective he’d set fire to in a blaze of booze-soaked mistakes. San Francisco is supposed to be a new start but his old ghosts haunt him, beckoning him back into his self-destructive bad habits. Bad habits that include contemplating doing dirty things with the wrong kind of guy and this time, it’s a sleek, cold-tempered medical examiner named Xian Carter with a complicated reputation.

For a century-old demon, Xian Carter is content with his secretive life. Hiding his nature from the mundane world, he blends in with the city’s inhabitants as best he can but even the best of predators make mistakes. Delving into the mysteries of the dead provide a welcome distraction from endless nights and hiding in plain sight amuses him, until something supernaturally wicked comes knocking on his door with an extremely hot, broody Inspector close behind.

Murder makes for strange bedfellows and this one is no exception. The twists and turns of the case leaves Xian and Spencer on a wild goose chase after clues but Xian can only hope there’s a human at the end of the trail—because the last thing San Francisco needs is another predator.

.•.•.**❣️ Amazon US | Amazon UK | Kobo | B&N ❣️**.•.•.

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Wonderland by J. Scott Coatsworth Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway!

Wonderland - J. Scott Coatsworth

J. Scott Coatsworth has a new gay post-zombie apocalypse Christmas book out:

Wonderland.

And there’s a giveaway!

Zeke is a hermit in his late forties who lives a quiet life in a small cabin in the Western Montana mountains, a few miles outside of Thompson Falls. He’s gotten used to being alone since the end of the world, and has everything he needs. Everything but someone to talk to.

Nathan is a younger man on a cross-country trek, searching the country for someone… anyone still alive. Saddled with a ghost from his old life and a case of OCD, he stumbles upon Thompson Falls and a pack of rabid dogs.

Rescued by Zeke, he has to figure out how to be human again. And with Christmas just a week away, both men have to figure out if there’s something left to be hopeful for, and if they might have a future together.

Get it At Amazon


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Exclusive Excerpt!

Zeke removed the board that kept the Grocery Surplus doors closed and pushed them open. He always barricaded it when he left to keep out animal intruders. One time early on, he’d startled a bear inside, licking up honey off the floor. It had given him quite a scare before it lumbered past him and out of the store.

Out back, four makeshift wooden crosses marked the plots where he’d buried Redd Johnson, the owner, and the three others he’d found dead inside.

The checkout counters were covered in a heavy layer of dust he’d never bothered to clean. The plastic grocery sacks had hardened and flaked into little piles of white that swirled like snowflakes whenever the wind blew in from outside.

He picked up one of the faded cardboard boxes that used to hold Hershey bars. They were long gone. He had eaten a lot of chocolate in the first twelve months.

The store was out of most of the good stuff now, taken in the initial panic or used by Zeke. It was down to cans of the aforementioned Brussels sprouts and spinach, as well as green beans, canned tomatoes, and Dole fruit salad. Just another indication it was time to move on.

One corner of the ceiling had caved in since the last time he’d been there. He approached the pile of debris in the produce section of the store cautiously. The fruits and vegetables had long since rotted away.

He looked up at the new damage. The hole didn’t go all the way through to the roof, just through the interior ceiling. A couple boxes lay crumpled on the ground.

With a leery glance at the broken edges—must have been some kind of storage up there—he opened one of the boxes to see what was inside. It was a disassembled Christmas tree, probably for holiday displays.

Christmas. It had been a long time since he’d celebrated that holiday—or any of them, for that matter—not since his mother had passed away when he was ten. She had owned a tree just like this and had put it up every year. She’d been an environmentalist, not wanting to kill a living thing just to celebrate a man-made holiday.

Zeke glared at the tree and grunted. It wasn’t like he needed any more crap in his little cabin.

He closed his eyes, and he could still see her face, lit by the glow of the Christmas lights. “It’s the one time of the year when we all have to be nice to each other,” she’d whispered to him once, shooting a glance at his father, asleep in his easy chair. Zeke could still smell her sweet perfume. His father had been a rough man. Rough but fair.

“What the hell.” He hauled the box out to the ATV and transferred the metal branches into his sack.


Author Bio

J. Scott Coatsworth
Scott lives with his husband Mark in a yellow bungalow in Sacramento. He was indoctrinated into fantasy and sci fi by his mother at the tender age of nine. He devoured her library, but as he grew up, he wondered where all the people like him were.

He decided that if there weren’t queer characters in his favorite genres, he would remake them to his own ends.

A Rainbow Award winning and runs Queer Sci Fi, QueeRomance Ink, Liminal Fiction, and Other Worlds Ink with Mark, sites that celebrate fiction reflecting queer reality, and is a full member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).

Author Website: https://www.jscottcoatsworth.com/

Author Facebook (Personal): https://www.facebook.com/jscottcoatsworth

Author Facebook (Author Page): https://www.facebook.com/jscottcoatsworthauthor/

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Author Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/J.-Scott-Coatsworth/e/B011AFO4OQ

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And Then There Were Four by Elna Holst Release Blast, Excerpt & Giveaway!

And Then They Were Four

Series: Tinsel and Spruce Needles, Book Four

Author: Elna Holst

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: November 30, 2020

Heat Level: 3 – Some Sex

Pairing: Female/Female, Female/Female Menage, F/NB

Length: 16700

Genre: Contemporary, NineStar Press, LGBTQIA+, FF romance, lesbian romance, pregnancy and childbirth, reunited, second chances, menage, holiday, international romance, seasonal, advent

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Synopsis

Malmö/Lund, Sweden, 2000

A radical feminist turned cop and a former Lucia candidate are expecting—twins. A gender studies professor burns her candle at both ends. A lovelorn bus driver is feeling fragile, until an unexpected visit brings her some queer holiday cheer; and an obstetric nurse single mother delivers the expected, while her past catches her unprepared.

In the final A Tinsel and Spruce Needles Romance, the crew from Candlelight Kisses, Little x and Wild Bells make their way through Advent 2000, celebrating the first X(X)mas of a new millennium.

Excerpt

And Then They Were Four, Elna Holst © 2020, All Rights Reserved

Malmö, Sweden, 3 December 2000

Rick’s hand slid over the striated orb of her stomach. She looked like a giant walnut. Yes, a walnut, that was how Padma Lindgren felt about herself as she entered the ninth month of her pregnancy: she was moving slow as a walrus and going nutty into the bargain. Her enormous middle was striped with indelible stretch marks, distended like a carapace, overwhelmingly ever-present, forcing her to sleep in positions she had never slept in before.

The wan white of Rickie’s freckled hand stood out against her belly, her touch making Padma’s skin break out in goosebumps. She hissed out air between her teeth. She knew her registered partner—or wife, as she called her for short—was just saying good morning to the babies. It didn’t matter. Her sex ached in readiness. Her huge, dark mother-to-be nipples puckered. Her pulse pounded in her ears.

“Morning, love,” Rick mumbled into her hair, and Padma whimpered. Erika’s hand stilled. “You okay?”

She turned in her arms, meeting Erika Stolt’s soft, grey-green gaze. Her thin, pink lips were pointing down in an expression of worry. Padma groaned. “Rick, please. Don’t stop. I’m—I’m incandescent.”

Erika smiled goofily. “You really are.”

Padma snorted, but Rickie’s eyes held a promise: one promptly delivered on as she moved her tantalising palms up the sides of Padma’s bump to cup her swollen breasts.

A sharp quiver cut through Padma, from chest to groin. These last few months her tits had been ridiculously hypersensitive. Erika had always been a fan of them, it was true—ever since their school days, Padma suspected—but now she was close to enlisting in the Holy Order of the Sacred Boobs. She grazed the undersides with her thumbs and Padma moaned.

Rick flushed with gratification. She flushed so easily it was just silly. And utterly fucking adorable.

Padma gripped her head, the semi-outgrown buzz cut tickling her fingers. She pulled her face up close. “Yeah, I’m going to need you to suck them. Hard.”

Rick didn’t need telling twice. She crushed their mouths together, swallowing Padma’s rough gasps as she continued to stroke her, but the kiss, for all its scintillating intensity, was nothing but a few seconds of foreplay before she progressed to Padma’s pebbled, painfully erect peaks.

She started with the left one, circling the areola with her tongue as she palmed the right. Padma sighed her encouragement. Her fingers brushed along Erika’s scalp, itching to pull, but endeavouring not to. She had to pace herself, or the moment would be over before it had properly begun; she knew this, although it was only the hard-earned self-discipline of the certified fitness instructor that managed to hold her in check.

Rick licked directly across her nipple and Padma’s hips bucked, her belly jutting into the warm, lean abdomen of her lover.

“Fuck, babe.” Rick’s whisper had a gulpy, watery quality. Her right hand skimmed along Padma’s obliterated waistline, sweeping the underside of her bump before finding the jungle-like swelter of her bush.

Sparks of hot, treacle-sweet arousal ran the length and width of her. Padma’s fingers clamped around Rickie’s skull. She was whimpering again. She couldn’t bloody help herself.

Rick chuckled, but after six years together, Padma knew exactly what that chuckle meant: Erika was skating the edge herself, the joy of sexual fulfilment gathering in her loins.

“Do it. I fucking swear to you, Rick, I— Oh! God!”

Rickie gorged on her breast. There was no other way to describe it. She had been rolling the nipple between her lips, teasingly, but now she was pulling, hard and relentless, and the rush of sensation made Padma cry out, her pussy starting to pound to the rhythm of Rick’s tongue swiping and lapping. Even before Rick pushed inside her, Padma started to flow.

Rickie didn’t let go. Padma’s juices were pooling in her cupped palm, colostrum, no doubt, seeping into her working mouth, but Rick didn’t let go, wouldn’t, as Padma’s hands came down to her shoulders, her nails digging half-moons into her flesh.

She had three fingers inside her now, filling her, pumping and pummelling, and as Rick found her clit and pressed down heavy; as her mouth moved to repeat the exercise with her right tit; as her left hand rested on her belly, protectively, lovingly; Padma’s consciousness of the world around her broke into a million trembling little pieces, her back arching, the howl of her climax loud enough to make the icicles hanging outside their bedroom window dance and glitter in the bright, white December morning.

Well, not really. But it sure felt like it, as far as Padma Lindgren was concerned.

Purchase

NineStar Press | Books2Read

Meet the Author

Often quirky, always queer, Elna Holst is an unapologetic genre-bender who writes anything from stories of sapphic lust and love to the odd existentialist horror piece, reads Tolstoy, and plays contract bridge. Find her on Instagram or Goodreads.

Website | Goodreads | Instagram

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Promise Me by A.G. Meiers Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway!

Promise Me - AG Meiers

AG Meiers has a new MM contemporary romance out:

Promise Me.

And there’s a giveaway!

A fortune shouldn’t get you killed. a Promise shouldn’t break your heart.

Attorney Rafe Stanton knows making promises is a dangerous thing. Over and over he has failed to keep people under his protection safe. For years he watched his younger cousin Noah lose his battle with drugs and alcohol, which eventually led to a deadly car accident. When he finds out about Noah’s secret marriage to Logan Tate, Rafe has one last chance for redemption.

Inheriting a fortune should be a blessing, but for Logan life never works out that way. He’s learned the hard way that dreams don’t come true—and if they do, well, there is usually a hefty price tag attached. All he really wants is a quiet life, but that isn’t in the cards when his apartment gets broken into and a pretentious lawyer from Boston arrives thinking he can call the shots.

The two men don’t see eye-to-eye about the inheritance, but with Noah’s powerful family coming after Logan, they find themselves reluctantly on the same side. A gunman, greedy in-laws, and meddling friends are not enough trouble; soon they also need to deal with the explosive chemistry between them.

But Rafe made a promise to the past and Logan doesn’t trust easily, so a future together seems out of reach.

Get It On Amazon


Giveaway

Win a Kindle Fire7!

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Excerpt

Promise Me meme

Chapter 3

Rafe walked over the graveled driveway and took a narrow path along the side of the building. There was indeed a fourth door. Rafe knocked.

“Wow, that was fast, Ria. I just got your message.” A voice floated through a cracked window and then the door was pulled open. A young man was standing in the frame. Logan Tate. Rafe recognized him from the picture Kane had sent him earlier.

Whoever Ria was, Tate obviously found it appropriate to welcome her without a shirt. He was wearing nothing but some ripped jeans hanging low on his hips. Miles of golden skin over well-defined muscles. In fact, Tate had a six pack, with a swirl of soft brown hair disappearing into those jeans. Fuck. Rafe forced his eyes up. A square face, chiseled jaw. Tate’s hair was still wet, he had it tucked behind his ears with a few strands escaping and falling into his face. His eyes were already huge, but now they were wide open in surprise. For a second Rafe felt like he’d been transported into an American Eagle catalog shoot.

Before Rafe could get a word out, the door was slammed shut in his face. “All right, that went well,” he mumbled to himself. He stepped forward and knocked again. “Come on, Tate. Open the door.”

“I’ve got a lawyer, and I won’t talk to anybody without him present,” came the muffled reply through the door.

“I think there is a misunderstanding. I’m here—” Rafe’s cell started ringing. Annoyed, he pulled it out to silence it, when the door was ripped open again. Tate—still without a shirt—stared at him with his phone in his hand.

“You’re Rafe Stanton? Shit, I should have recognized you.” Tate turned and disappeared into the house. Rafe took the open door as an invitation to follow. The room he walked into was dominated by a huge bay window overlooking the ocean and the rocky beach. It was filled with honey-colored pine wood furniture, which was typical for beach homes, but none of the usual lighthouse or seashell knick-knacks. Midday sun flooded every corner with light and warmth.

Tate pulled a shirt out of a laundry basket on the floor and quickly put it on. When he stretched up his arms, his pants dropped even lower and Rafe’s eyes roamed over his Vee peeking out over his waistband. A bolt of lust hit him. Logan Tate was sinfully gorgeous. It’d been a long time that a man’s beauty had such an immediate impact on Rafe.

Still pulling his shirt down, Tate said, “Yeah, I should have recognized you. Noah showed me pictures. He talked about you all the time. Man, he loved you like a brother.”

“Excuse me,” Rafe replied tersely. He wanted to add: How dare you talk about him? You used him like everybody else.

“Fuck. I shouldn’t have said that? I pissed you off. I’m sorry.” Tate tugged on the bottom of his shirt and then waved to his small kitchen. “Coffee? I just made a fresh pot.”

Wrestling with his emotions, Rafe nodded, “Yes, thank you. And maybe we can start with formal introduction. My name is Rafe Stanton and I’m with Parker Law. I’m Noah’s cousin, and I’m also the executor of his last will and testament.”

Tate nodded and then walked over to the small, open kitchen and took two cups out of a glass cabinet and put them on the counter. “Milk? Sugar? I’m sorry I’ve no cream.”

“No, thank you. Black.”

“Of course,” Tate mumbled as he poured a cup and handed it over. Rafe only now noticed the dark purple bruise in his face and wondered what that was all about. “I’m Logan Tate. Please call me Logan. I’m—I’m Noah’s husband, but then you know that already.”

Yeah, Rafe knew, but he also hadn’t missed the slight hesitation, so he said, “I’d still like to see some ID. It’s just a formality, but maybe we can get it out of the way.”

“Sure.” Tate walked over to the small kitchen table tucked into a corner. He picked up his wallet and pulled out his driver’s license.

Rafe took a quick look, even though he’d seen a copy already. He could see one of his business cards lying on the table as well. His personal cell phone number was added in the middle. “Noah asked you to call me?”

“Yeah, he said to call you as soon as any lawyers from his family showed up. He said you would help me.”

Damn, Noah, how about a heads-up? Rafe took a sip, hummed in surprise and then took another. “Wow, this is good coffee.”

Tate smiled. And for a split second Rafe felt like he was looking at the most beautiful human being he’d ever met. Brown eyes—Logan had deep, dark brown eyes. It was a deadly combination with his honey blond hair. Rafe had a thing for blonds. Kane gave him crap about it all the time. Unconsciously bias.

“It’s from a small coffee shop in town. They roast and blend their own. Glad you like it.”

“Mr. Tate, Logan, can I ask you a few questions?”

“Of course, do you want to sit down?”

“Sure.” They settled down on the kitchen table. Rafe took another sip of his coffee and watched Logan fiddle with his cup. When he realized what he was doing, he dropped his hands onto his lap and gave Rafe a nervous smile. “So, what now?”

“How long have you been living here? It’s a nice place.”

Rafe could almost see the mental eye roll at his attempt at small talk, but Logan decided to appease him. “I moved here a little less than a year ago. Noah and I, we used to travel a lot, but then we started to look for something closer to his family in Boston.”

“Have you met his family?”

Logan blushed and lowered his gaze. “No, no, I haven’t. We kept our marriage quiet—”

“Why was that?”

“Fuck, what is this?” Logan pushed his chair back and stood up. “You know I’ve never met his family. They’d have taken one look at me and crushed both of us. Noah was scared shitless of his mother, that’s why he kept our marriage a secret. Why are you asking these stupid questions?” He walked to the bay window and looked out.

“Okay, then let’s jump right in, what do you know about Noah’s will?”


Author Bio

AG Meiers
Eighteen years ago, AG Meiers came to the United States for adventure, but stayed for love. Currently, she lives in New England with her husband and two awesome kids–balancing work, friends and family, and writing.

When she has some free time, her favorite thing to do is travel and visit new places. Her past trips have already brought her to a variety of countries on four continents. She never passes up an opportunity to experience different cultures, diverse people, and amazing locations.

Even though she has been dreaming up stories all her life, she has only recently started to write them down and share them with the world. As a writer, she loves to to put her characters through a lot of challenges, conflict, and heartbreak before she allows them to find their happy-ever-after.

 Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon

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Tiny Planet Filled With Liars by Stephen M.A. Blog Tour, Interview, Excerpt & Giveaway!

Tiny Planet Filled With Liars - Stephen M.A.

QSFer Stephen M.A. has a new diverse military space opera out:

Tiny Planet Filled With Liars.

And there’s a giveaway!

An armada that never dies. A society on the verge.

Every 30 days, Fleet Eternal arrives to surround the planet and lay siege to a complacent populace. Its armaments are unbeatable, its numbers uncountable, but the terrifying assault has one fatal flaw: a mere .01% loss in combat strength triggers automatic retreat and reset.

For decades, the Unified Fiduciary Dominion has relied on the Board and its military contractors to defend the planet and maintain the knife’s edge of survival. Now, riven by greed and false confidence, those corporate lords have abandoned their duty in pursuit of political power.

The tactics of the Alpha Vector Defense Corps have served for generations—so why are they suddenly faltering? And why do Board members seem increasingly unconcerned with the tenuous state of the system? Armed with the exclusive authority to investigate, one fussy ex-military reporter must partner with a generous Madame to chase down the story behind a string of failed battles—and pray they find answers before the districts are turned to ash.

As casualties rise, The Interviewer faces deadly resistance … and discovers a disturbing conspiracy at the highest ranks.

The world’s security is careening toward disaster, and this whistleblower is running out of time. But when every answer seems to bring more questions, one reminder guides the way:

Don’t come here looking for truth. This is just a pack of lies and the end of the world.

A genre-busting dramedy & political satire thriller in military sci-fi clothing.

Universal Buy Link


Giveaway

Win a $20 Amazon gift card!

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Interview with Stephen M.A.!

[The Interviewer]

Who would you say your favorite character is? I’m presuming you won’t be pretending not to have one.

(chuckles)

[Stephen M.A.]

No, of course not. But actually, I think it was more a matter of having a particular favorite character at a particular point in the story. I think in the end it’s probably pretty obvious which character is my “hero” at any given section. The favorite.

[The Interviewer]

But never me.

[Stephen M.A.]

Well, no. Sorry.

[Int.]

I told you from the start you’d begin to hate me as soon as you let me start to get autobio—

[SM.A.]

It is NOT autobiographical—I mean, YOU are not autobiographical! You are NOT a stand-in for me! For crying out—

[Int.]

It’s Zhou, isn’t it.

[SM.A.]

(laughs)

Yes, it is. Of course it’s Zhou. She was the first, and the last. It could only ever have been her. She’s the only reason I turned this into an entire world.

[Int.]

Bless her mean and cranky heart.

[SM.A.]

Cheers.

[Int.]

We don’t have a drink. Quarantine, remember.

[SM.A.]

(sighs)

Yeah, I know. Also I don’t really drink.

[Int.]

(sighs)

Yeah, I know.

[SM.A.]

Can I be honest?

[Int.]

I don’t see why you’d bother starting at this point in the game, but sure, go ahead, it’s your word count.

[SM.A.]

I came into this with a firm concept, and a firm emotion. Mine. Anger. You know all the reasons.

[Int.]

Yes.

[SM.A.]

But the only reason this is likely to become a series now is because Zhou is the story. I’ll be writing the next two books for her.

[Int.]

Aw, that’s sweet.

[SM.A.]

Is it?

[Int.]

You’ll take a sandal to the throat if you say that to her face, though.

[SM.A.]

Well luckily you’re in there with her and I’m out here … uh … with you … you know what, let’s just wrap this up.

[Int.]

Probably for the best. Thanks so much to MM Good Book Reviews for having us! Grab Tiny Planet Filled With Liars on Kindle Unlimited today!

[SM.A.]

Goodbye.

[Int.]

Goodbye!


Excerpt

Tiny Planet Filled With Liars Meme - Stephen M.A.

2

Bartimus Caldwell

Onyx Hoteliers LTD., Suite 7382, Courtesy Level Omega Plus Royale

[Interviewer]

First, let me say welcome to the suite.

[Bartimus Caldwell]

Uh. Thank you.

[Interviewer]

It’s courtesy level Omega Plus Royale, you know.

[Bartimus Caldwell]

Okay.

Uh, I mean, that’s great. Very impressive.

[Int.]

Thank you. You need to purchase 2,000 units of Class A shares just to get the invitation to apply for a reservation.

[B.C.]

I see.

[Int.]

Mm-hmm.

[B.C.]

I’ll … uh … I’ll look into it, for sure, though I don’t know what I’d do with a room this fancy on my own.

[Int.]

You are Bartimus Caldwell.

[B.C.]

Yes, sir.

[Int.]

Don’t call me that. I’ve been discharged for years.

[B.C.]

I’m sorry, si—I mean, I’m sorry. I won’t.

[Int.]

State your position, rank, and assignment.

[B.C.]

Yeoman Sensor Scry, Grade III, Alpha Vector Defense of the Unified Fiduciary Dominion.

[Int.]

State your duties, in the most simple and clear terms you are able to.

[B.C.]

Uh … I coordinate the intake and regressive analysis of real-time sensor data to monitor the mid-threat-time development of incursions in the Alpha Vector, when under the command of UFD Central Board Oversight.

[Int.]

You’re a watchman and analyst.

[B.C.]

Uh … correct, sir.

[Int.]

How long have you been enlisted?

[B.C.]

I … was assigned commission four years ago.

[Int.]

You’re not volunteer enlisted?

[B.C.]

No, sir.

[Int.]

Why are you even allowed in the Operations Center, in that case? Or have those regulations been changed?

[B.C.]

I don’t—uh … I was not given such information, sir. Just the assignment.

I’ve been told my predecessor retired out of her indenture due to debilitating stress. Uh … several predecessors, actually. For the same reason.

[Int.]

I see.

[B.C.]

Yes.

[Int.]

Are you stressed, Bartimus?

[B.C.]

Yes, sir.

[Int.]

Bartimus.

[B.C.]

Yes, sir.

[Int.]

Stop calling me sir.

3

Bartimus Caldwell

Alpha Vector Operations Center

DURING incursions Bartimus Caldwell often feels chained to his desk.

Though incursion has initiated in the late afternoon (within a Unified Time Stamp of plus or minus 30 seconds) for the last twenty-six-and-one-half years, all personnel Grades V and below are still required to take stations no later than 0600 on the morning of.

Bartimus hates waking up so early, which may be why he avoided commission for so many years. It is to his great misfortune that he’s a whiz kid with sensor analysis, and inevitably discovered that Central Board Oversight had been made aware of his talents when he was abruptly recruited (then indentured) for a 20-year service stint four years ago, precisely two weeks after his 31st birthday. At the time he was gainfully (and happily) employed in the remote sexual screening industry, but that’s not relevant to this portion of his story.

Bartimus Caldwell’s desk, which binds him so readily, is located on the upper balcony of the Alpha Vector Operations Center, when under the command of Central Board Oversight.

This room represents the most exclusive and highly classified product catalogs of no less than three dozen military contractors. However, those who’ve bothered to learn as much know that in reality only two conglomerates perch atop the corporate meta-structure which hides its many tendrils behind each of those contractors.

In some professions, as you know, acknowledging this easily verifiable duopoly is quite literally illegal. For instance, service personnel are forbidden to acknowledge or discuss, in any capacity, any information that might insinuate that the dozens of military contractors working with Central Board Oversight are not in fact plucky small businesses that have been rightfully rewarded with thick and hefty revenue streams by virtue of patriotism and good old-fashioned UFD entrepreneurship.

Bartimus Caldwell adheres to this policy with unerring slavishness and would never even think of speaking ill toward the contractors. I know this because he has assured me of it several times.

When Alpha Vector Defense is not under the command of Central Board Oversight, Bartimus Caldwell’s desk is in the auxiliary hangar, packed in alongside the other 382 service members in the unit. In that venue, each such member enjoys no less than two square meters of personal space in which to perform their duties, of which their auxiliary desk takes up no more than one-point-two-five square meters.

Bartimus Caldwell bubbles with gratitude toward the military for providing this generously outfitted working space to its service members. I know this because he has assured me of it several times.

However, this was an incursion week, which meant that Board members would be in attendance for their usual round of post-contact media conferences and photo opportunities, which meant Bartimus Caldwell and his unit were stationed in the Alpha Vector Operations Center, showcasing the finest product catalogs of the military contractors owned by said members of the Board.

From his desk in the front ring on the upper balcony of the Alpha Vector Operations Center, Bartimus enjoys an unobstructed view of the entire room. Behind him on the octagonal balcony, which encircles the entire outer wall of the Operations Center, two more layers of desks and control consoles are laid out, fully staffed with unit members of Grades II and I.

The bidding wars to manufacture the desks used on the balcony have been quite fierce in recent years, and a new contract seems to be assigned every other month. Bartimus has grown quite used to arriving for OC duty and discovering a brand new desk in front of his seat, though thankfully, after one long stretch of genuine UX insanity, a regulatory design decree was issued that now ensures the general layout and functionality of each new desk model is largely the same as the last.


Author Bio

Stephen M.A.
Stephen M.A. is an ex-film student, Great Recession survivor, and first-generation tribal descendant originating from a reservation in big sky country. He now lives and writes in the northeastern United States.

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Other Worlds Inc

The Wicked Stepbrother and Other Stories by Warren Rochelle Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway!

The Wicked Stepbrother and Other Stories - Warren Rochelle

Warren Rochelle has a new collection of gay fairy tales out:

“The Wicked Stepbrother and Other Stories.”

And there’s a giveaway!

Fairy tales. We all know the traditional stories, right? Prince Charming, the hero, fights evil, wins the princess, happily ever after. Three sons, three wishes, witches, dragons, a quest, and happily ever after.

These stories are part of our cultural fabric. We retell them, over and over, and the stories change in the retellings, to reflect contemporary culture, such as Princess Charming, heroes and heroines as people of color. It has been only relatively recently that queer folk have found their way into the retellings, as they have here, in this collection of stories, stories that grew out of questions:

What if the prince falls in love with Cinderella’s gay stepbrother?

What if Rumpelstiltskin doesn’t really want the Queen’s child? He wants his old boyfriend back, the King.

What if Beauty and the Beast were two men?

As fairy tales do, these stories explore the human condition, human experience, through the metaphors of magic and the magical, exploring what it means to be human. After all, all fairy tales are true. But this time, with a gay perspective.

In these tales, retellings and original ones, readers are asked to consider what price must be paid for happily ever after—which is not guaranteed. Love, on the other hand, without a doubt. These tales are love stories.

Duty or love? Is love worth great sacrifice?

So… once upon a time….

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Giveaway

Warren is giving away a $20 Amazon gift card with this tour:

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Exclusive Excerpt

The Wicked Stepbrother and Other Stories - Warren Rochelle
from “The Wicked Stepbrother.”

“You want to make the ugly orange-haired brother feel better? Ease your conscience for being the favored one? You feel sorry for me?”

“Calum. I didn’t mean it that way—I only meant—I mean—I’m sorry.”

“Go away.”

She never tried to be friendly to me again. Father slapped me for my rudeness at the dinner table that night, of course in front of everyone. Conor tried to stop him but that only earned Conor a verbal slap. I just stared at him, the print of his hand on my face a bright red. Elena said nothing; her mother just looked smug.

The dark plague came to Colomendy two weeks later.

It was the night of the midsummer ball and Father, or so I had heard, was going to announce Conor’s engagement to Elena. And—according to what my footman bedfellow whispered to me—I was to be denounced as illegitimate because Mother had used her magic to seduce him and the marriage was null and void. A horse, a bag of gold, a cage of his doves, and the bastard would be sent on his way to start a new story somewhere else.

Father would wait, of course, to send me off. The engagement party was not to be spoiled. I was ready, thanks to Mary Grace.  One drop from the vial in my pocket into the after-dinner tea and they would all die in a lot of pain, writhing, screaming, their bodies contorting as their skin turned black. Neither Elena nor her mother would be so beautiful then.

But a messenger from the king arrived—a human one. That meant the message was of extreme importance. The man was shown in before the engagement announcement was made, as the beautiful couple spun around the inlaid star in the center of the ballroom with Father smiling. I stood by the long white-lace-covered table, decked out with all kinds of desserts and sweets.

Father, compelled by law to immediately read a sovereign’s message, waved his hand for silence. The dark plague. The first cases, already in the capital. The greenwitches and healer witches were desperately seeking a cure, a vaccine. We were to stay calm, to carry on. The engagement announcement was postponed. I closed my fist around my vial and said nothing.

A week later a scullery maid took sick. She died gasping for breath, the sight in one eye already gone. Colomendy lost fully half of the house servants, and a third of the estate staff. Then, Conor got sick. Elena. Her mother. Father.

Her mother died first. By then, Mary Grace was working day and night to come up with anything that would help and I was beseeching all the gods for Conor. I loved him and I knew if he died that I’d lose one of the few people who loved me back. Mary Grace called me to her herbarium the day after Elena’s mother died to hand me another vial, with one dose of a long-sought-for cure. It was like a vaccine, too, she said. The sick would get better and those not sick would stay well.

I told myself I would have given Father a dose if there had been enough. I knew that wasn’t true. So did Father, who called me to his room the next day. I could barely hear him speak. I knew he could barely see me.

“So, the ugly man-loving bastard wins. You will be Lord Culver, ninth Baron of Colomendy.”

“I’m not a bastard, Father. You just wanted to make me one.”

“You killed your mother. Having you killed her,” he gasped and with what energy he had left, he pushed back against the head board, and lifted his right hand to scrawl a warding sign in the air.

“You should be afraid of me,” I hissed, and he was gone. I was the new Baron.  I was eighteen-going-on-nineteen.

Mary Grace was among the last to die. She had raised me. She had shown me my silver blood; she had helped me learn how powerful I could be. She had taught me magic, despite the magic control laws.

I still grieve for her.

~~~~

What’s next?

Right now, I am working on completing Fletcher and Sam’s story. Fletcher is in Faerie, now he has to find Sam and bring him back. This task will test Fletcher. I think their story could a novella, but I am not sure.  I keep thinking of more things, of more story. The other project, which might be a novella, or at least along story, is a sequel to my first novel, The Wild Boy, and takes place two hundred years later, as humanity is recovering from the Long Nightmare of the Lindauzi conquest. When can you expect these novellas?  Next year, I hope. I also want to revisit a novel I have rewritten a few times, The Golden Boy, set in alternate history, in the world of the Columbian Empire.


Author Bio

AUTHOR PIC - The Wicked Stepbrother and Other Stories - Warren Rochelle
Warren Rochelle lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, and has just retired from teaching English at the University of Mary Washington.

His short fiction and poetry have been published in such journals and anthologies as Icarus, North Carolina Literary Review, Forbidden Lines, Aboriginal Science Fiction, Collective Fallout, Queer Fish 2, Empty Oaks, Quantum Fairy Tales, Migration, The Silver Gryphon, Jaelle Her Book, Colonnades, and Graffiti, as well as the Asheville Poetry Review, GW Magazine, Crucible, The Charlotte Poetry Review, and Romance and Beyond.

His short story, “The Golden Boy,” was a finalist for the 2004 Spectrum Award for Short Fiction. His short story “Mirrors,” was just published in Under A Green Rose, a queering romance anthology, from Cuil Press. “The Latest Thing,” a flash fiction story, is in the Queer Sci Fi anthology, Innovation.

Rochelle is also the author of four novels: The Wild Boy (2001), Harvest of Changelings (2007), and The Called (2010), all published by Golden Gryphon Press, and The Werewolf and His Boy, published by Samhain Publishing in September 2016. The Werewolf and His Boy was re-released from JMS Books in August 2020. The Wicked Stepbrother and Other Stories is forthcoming from JMS Books in late September 2020.

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The PV-3 Mutagen by Beryll and Osiris Brackhaus Blog Tour, & Excerpt!

The PV-3 Mutagen - Beryll and Osiris Brackhaus
Beryll and Osiris Brackhaus have a new sci fi/space opera book out, Virasana Empire: Dr. Laurent Book 1: “The PV-3 Mutagen.”

As a history scholar and courier for the secretive Circle of Thales, Rene Laurent is a man of many talents – none of them lending themselves much to a life of adventure.

But when a chance meeting with a young, idealistic Belligra priest drags him into a wild quest to keep a dangerous mutagen off the streets of Floor, his curiosity gets the better of him. Between monsters both human and man-made, he realises that maybe fieldwork is more of his game than he had ever thought possible…

Written by Rainbow-Award-winning authors Beryll and Osiris Brackhaus, ‘The PV-3 Mutagen’ is a colourful non-romance sci-fi adventure set in the wildly diverse ‘Virasana Empire’, and the first novel of the ‘Doctor Laurent’ series.

Warnings: Not a romance. Harsh setting, but hopeful.

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Exclusive Excerpt

The PV-3 Mutagen

Cutting Edge

The monofilament weaponry shop was located at one of the posher malls in the quadrant. One Rene had never visited before since it specialised in all sorts of combat equipment. That the shop ran holo ads at other malls pointed to them having a good marketing budget which in turn meant they must be profitable.

The security guards at this mall didn’t so much as blink at the Belligra coming in. After all, he had good reason to be here. When they walked in, the first thing they saw was a shiny, hulking hovertank on display in the ground floor foyer, setting the mood for the whole place.

Amusingly, the holo ads here were a whole lot less obnoxious, mostly confined to displays right outside the shop windows rather than following the customers around. It probably wasn’t a good idea to annoy people who were interested in buying weapons, heavily armed and aggressive as they were wont to be.

Rene nearly lost Riccardo while studying the floor plan for the monofil shop. He found the Belligra at a nearby store, longingly gazing at what was advertised as the latest model of personal energy shields. The ones on display were in the form of various types of belt buckles and ornamental brooches. Riccardo was watching the holo display showing the shields in action with rapt attention.

Rene took one look at the price tags and dismissed the notion of getting one for his Belligra friend. There was a reason the store was located in the prime spot, right at the entrance. It wasn’t meant for priests, or normal commoners. This was the turf of company bosses and minor nobles. Looking inside, Rene found a stylishly uniformed shop clerk glaring at him. He wasn’t making shooing gestures, after all, a Belligra was not someone to be trifled with, but he very much wanted them gone.

“Come on,” he told Riccardo and tried to gently herd him away, “the ‘Cutting Edge’ is on the third floor.”

That got Riccardo’s attention. “Cutting Edge? Seriously? They couldn’t come up with a more cliche name?”

Rene shrugged. “You have to give them that you know exactly what they are dealing in.”

Riccardo cast one last longing glance at the energy shield display but obediently followed Rene to the escalators. There were plenty of other distractions for someone interested in combat. On their ride up, they had a good view of the great variety of shops selling all manner of killing tools devised by humanity and as many to make sure you didn’t get killed by them. Riccardo kept craning his neck to take it all in. It was the first time Rene had seen him truly fascinated by the abundance of commerce Floor was famous for. So, the austere, disciplined Belligra had a weakness when it came to weaponry and armour. Rene was curious to see if he would be overwhelmed by it, but he kept his own weakness of curiosity in check and led Riccardo straight to the monofil store.

It was located between a dingy-looking ammunition shop, which advertised bulk sales, and a small workshop offering armour repair services. The Cutting Edge very much dominated the scene with a sleek, white and silver interior, looking very high-tech in a most pleasing, confidence-inspiring way. The displays in the windows showed only a handful, equally sleek weapons, with special lighting illuminating the edges in different colours.

Next to Rene, Riccardo made a small sound of joy. While before he had looked like a kid in a candy shop, he now seemed more like someone admiring a piece of art. Rene looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. In reaction, Riccardo managed to look embarrassed and righteous at the same time.

“What? They’re pretty. Can’t I appreciate that?”

Rene smiled at him. “Appreciate away. It’s nice to finally see you find something you like on Floor.”

“Hmm. Let’s call it reason number one why I don’t have to leave the planet as soon as possible, shall we?”

“Let’s.” Rene entered the store and was announced by a soft tinkling as he stepped through the door.

He half expected to be treated as unwelcome rabble here as well, so he was pleasantly surprised when, instead, a clerk dressed casually in cargo pants and a white t-shirt with the Cutting Edge logo approached them with a bright smile. No older than in his mid-twenties, his bright blue, spiky hair sparkled the same colour as some of the weapons’ edges.

“Welcome, gentlemen,” he greeted them, “I’m Gino. What can I do for you today?”

Polite customer service was what sold wares, and this franchise was well aware.

“We’ve seen an ad for your monofilament grenades,” Rene replied. “We have a bit of a vermin problem, and we think that your grenades are the way to go to get rid of it.”

“That must be some seriously bad vermin,” Gino joked.

Rene held out his hand at waist height. “This tall and armed with teeth and claws.”

“Oh.” Suddenly, the joke wasn’t that funny anymore and Gino switched gears with admirable speed. “Then I think you are in the right place. Our grenades were specifically designed for exactly these kinds of problems. If you will come with me, I can show you the options we offer.”


Author Bio

We are Beryll and Osiris Brackhaus, a couple currently living our happily ever after in the very heart of Germany, under the stern but loving surveillance of our cat.

Both of us are voracious but picky readers, we love telling stories and drinking tea, good food and the occasional violent movie. Together, we write novels of adventure and romance, hoping to share a little of our happiness with our readers.

An artist by heart, Beryll was writing stories even before she knew what letters were. As easily inspired as she is frustrated, her own work is never good enough (in her eyes). A perfectionist in the best and worst sense of the word at the same time and the driving creative force of our duo.

An entertainer and craftsman in his approach to writing, Osiris is the down-to-earth, practical part of our duo. Broadly interested in almost every subject and skill, with a sunny mood and caring personality, he strives to bring the human nature into focus of each of his stories.

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Canopy by Liz Faraim Blog Tour, Interview, Excerpt & Giveaway!

Liz Faraim - Canopy Banner 2

Hi guys! We have Liz Faraim stopping by today with the tour for her new release Canopy, we have a brilliant interview, a great excerpt and a fantastic $20 Amazon GC giveaway so check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤️ ~Pixie~

Liz Faraim - Canopy Cover fnhfg7

Canopy

(Vivian Chastain 01)
by

Liz Faraim

Vivian Chastain is an adrenaline addicted veteran, transitioning to civilian life in Sacramento, California. She settles into a new routine while she finishes up college and works as a bartender, covering up her intense anxiety with fake bravado and swagger. All Vivian wants is peace and quiet, but her whole trajectory changes when she stumbles upon a heinous crime in progress and has to fight for her life to get away.

While recovering from the fight, she falls in love with someone who is tall in stature but short on emotional intelligence, and this toxic union provides Vivian the relationship that she thinks she needs. Given Vivian’s insecurities and traumatic past, she clings to the relationship even while it destroys her.

Vivian’s relationships are strained to their breaking points as she continues to seek balance. She turns to her best friend for support, only to be left empty handed and alone until she finds comradery and care from the last person she would have thought.

.•.•.**❣️ NineStar | Amazon US | Amazon UK | Kobo | Smashwords ❣️**.•.•.

Continue reading “Canopy by Liz Faraim Blog Tour, Interview, Excerpt & Giveaway!”

The Hunter’s Gambit by Nicholas McIntire Blog Tour, Excerpt, Review & Giveaway!

The Hunter's Gambit - Nicholas McIntire

Nicholas McIntire has a new queer fantasy book out,

The Archanium Codex book 1:

The Hunter’s Gambit.

Aleksei Drago never expected an easy life, but he never expected what he got. Growing up amongst the Ri-Vhan of Seil Wood, losing his mother and just as suddenly being torn from the forest folk, Aleksei had no choice but to make the best of the unpredictable path in life.

But what happens when the monsters and figures of fiction become horrifyingly real? Can Aleksei find the right path? When his life and the lives of his family and friends are at stake will he fight, reforging himself into the man Prophecy demands he become? In a world of magic and Magi, of Angels and Demons alike, how will a simple farm boy survive his own contorted destiny?

This is the story of a seemingly-simple world gone mad, and the reality that every action, no matter how apparently benign, can serve to unravel terrifying truths. This is the story of Aleksei Drago, farmer, Hunter, and so much more.

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Giveaway

Win two x $20 Amazon gift cards!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 


Excerpt

Henry spent the rest of the day watching his son closely. Something was undeniably troubling him, but until Aleksei decided to open up to him there was nothing he could do.

“He’ll tell you in his own time, Henry.” he muttered under his breath.

So he waited. Every now and then he would engage his son in conversation, but every time he thought Aleksei might be on the brink of telling him something, the conversation fled to some superficial topic. Did he think it would rain by Market Day? Who did he think would bring the biggest pig to the Harvest Festival? Did he think Mother Margareta would come to bless their fields before the first frost?

Henry answered each question as though it was the direction he meant to steer the conversation, and refused to allow his frustration to surface. But by the end of the evening, he was no closer to understanding his son’s troubles than he’d been that morning.

Finally Aleksei rose from his seat before the fire, put his book away, and went to bed. Henry watched him go, more troubled than ever. The boy had never gone to bed without a word before. He always had some last comment to make, even if it was just to wonder at the next day’s activities.

Henry sat before the dying embers of the fire well into the night, thinking. He didn’t remember falling asleep, so when the voice woke him his eyes started open.

Hello, Henry.

He looked around, trying to get his bearings.

Gone was the heat of the hearth, the comfort of his chair. Instead he stood in an enveloping fog of shimmering gold.

He could see no one.

“Where am I?” Henry demanded.

A dream, Henry. This is merely an illusion. I apologize that I cannot offer you more comfortable surroundings at the moment.

“Who are you?” Henry called, feeling a touch foolish, shouting at phantoms.

His question went unanswered.

Henry, I’ve come to ask a favor.

“Who are you?” Henry repeated flatly.

There was a moment of hesitation before the voice responded. A man much like yourself, Henry Drago. One who only wants what’s best for your son.

“Speak then.”

When the favor was uttered, Henry blinked in confusion. A thousand questions bubbled to the surface, yet he found that he only possessed the strength to ask one.

“Why?” he choked, surprised by the weakness in his own voice.

The air before his face shimmered and distorted, as though he were looking through intense heat. Slowly, images formed. Images of Aleksei. An Aleksei he didn’t recognize.

“Why are you showing me this?” Henry managed.

Because I want you to see what your son could become. The man he could be, if you’d only let him. If you just do as I say.

“I don’t trust you.” Henry barked back. “I can’t even see your face.”

Another image shimmered into being. A man, though Henry saw nothing remarkable about him. The man leaned forward and whispered in his ear, and Henry heard the unmistakable ring of truth.

In that moment he thought he might have preferred a dagger to the heart. It would have been far less painful to simply die at the end of a highwayman’s blade than to agree to this. Either way, he would lose the most precious thing he had.

“Bargain struck.” Henry whispered bitterly, a tear winding its way down his cheek.

You’re doing your son a great service, Henry Drago.

The man even sounded earnest.

Henry started to say something, but even as he opened his mouth, darkness swirled around him. He slipped back into the empty chasms of sleep.

#

Morning greeted Aleksei gently, rousing him from a dreamless oblivion. It had taken him hours to finally find some rest, and his relief was immeasurable when he woke without encountering the specter of the green-eyed man. His wish had been granted. The man was gone.

He made his way down the narrow stairway and walked into the kitchen, frowning at what greeted him. Their rough wooden table was laid out with provisions for what Aleksei could only guess was a journey.

But a journey where? His father hadn’t said anything about travel. There was still wood to chop and hay to store. The first snow might be weeks away, but there was no telling when the winds would usher in the chill of Northern air. Working outside in the cold was not something he, nor any farmer, relished.

“I see you’re up.” Henry said from behind. Aleksei jumped.

He turned, “Da, where are we going? I thought we were going to finish the hay this morning.”

His father shook his head and smiled, though Aleksei caught the deep sadness in Henry’s eyes. “We aren’t going anywhere, Son. You are.”

Aleksei frowned, “Me? But I thought—”

His father tried to hold the smile, but it was forced, “You’re needed, Son. In the North.”

Aleksei thought his heart would stop. He forgot to breathe. He could hardly process what his father had just said.

You know the truth he speaks, Aleksei.

Aleksei fought back a sob of frustration. He thought he’d freed himself of the damned voice, but now he knew the truth. He would never be free from it. It would hound him until the end of his days, or until it drove him mad, whichever came first.

Or until you simply do as I ask.

“Why?” he finally managed.

His father looked out the kitchen window, and Aleksei followed his gaze. Dash waited patiently outside, a saddle fitted snugly about his muscular frame.

“Because you’re needed, Son. It’s the only answer I can give you.”

“I’m not needed here, Da? Don’t you need me?”

Henry bit back the pain in his voice, “You are more of a help than I can say, Aleksei, and I love you dearly. But no, I don’t need you. Not like this. If you stayed here, you’d be wasting something…extraordinary. And honestly, I think you’d know it too. They need you in the North, Son. And their need is much more important than mine.”

Aleksei stood there, stunned by what his father was saying to him. And then the questions came pouring forth. What did Henry mean by ‘extraordinary’? What had his father learned? What was still being kept from him?

“And I’m sorry I can’t give you the answers you want, Son. But I think you know who can. Find him.”

“But how can I….” Aleksei began, fighting back the tears springing into his eyes.

“You’re strong, Aleksei. You’ve always been strong. That won’t fail you now.”

Henry swallowed back his own tears and tried to smile again, “Now you’d better get on the road. The sooner you get beyond the Southern Plain, the better. You don’t want to be riding under the Harvest sun too long if you can help it.”

“But where am I going?” Aleksei cried, his voice breaking. It was happening too fast. His life was slipping through his fingers moment by moment and there was nothing he could do about it.

“North, Son. North. You’ll know where you’re headed as you get closer. That’s all I know to tell you.”

Aleksei looked into his father’s eyes and saw the sadness, the regret that burned within him. His father wanted to know just as badly as he, to know just what sort of place he was so blindly sending his son.

Finally, after a long silence, Aleksei nodded. “Alright, Da. If you want me to go, then I’ll go.”

“I’ll never want you to go, Son.” Henry whispered, his face contorting with pain. He had already lost his wife, and now he was losing his son, too. Aleksei would still be alive, but he would be so far away.

“But promise me something, Aleksei.”

Aleksei nodded, “Anything, Da.”

“If you find this place and if it’s not what you want, what you need, promise me you’ll come back. Even if this isn’t what you want either, at least we can figure that out together.”

Aleksei finally allowed a tear to wind its way down his cheek, “I promise, Da.”

Henry stepped forward and wrapped his arms tightly around his son, hugging him as close as he could, as though any moment Aleksei might turn to mist and vanish forever. Henry stepped back and managed a sardonic smile. Aleksei might remain solid as stone, but surely enough he was about to vanish.

#

Henry didn’t watch his son ride away. In truth, he couldn’t bear it. As long as he’d never seen Aleksei leave he could always pretend the boy was out in the barn, or by the pond he’d swum in as a child. It was a good hour before Henry allowed himself to sit down in his chair and sob.


Author Bio

Nicholas McIntire
Critically-acclaimed author Nicholas McIntire has been writing fantasy since he was 8 years old. The bones of the Archanium Codex were first created when he was 16, and in the past 20 years, he has taken that initially simple idea and crafted it into a fully realized world, finished the sequel, earned three degrees (one in Russian, Eastern European Studies, two in Nursing), and lived life to its fullest. Now writing full-time, Nicholas is ready for share is vision of the Archanium Codex, a 10 book series. The first book of the series being The Hunter’s Gambit.

Nicholas, lives in Fort Worth, Texas, but writes in both Fort Worth and Fort Davis, TX, where his family has a small place situated at 5200 feet in the Davis Mountains – and, yes, Texas does have mountains.

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Nicholas McIntire - The Hunter's Gambit Cover w9eudn sTitle: The Hunter’s Gambit

Series: The Archanium Codex 01

Author: Nicholas McIntire

Genre: Epic Fantasy

Length: Super Novel (722pgs)

ISBN: 9781733849128

Publisher: Black Dove Press, LLC (20th January 2020)

Heat Level: Nil

Heart Rating: 💖💖💖💖💖 5 Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: Aleksei Drago never expected an easy life, but he never expected what he got. Growing up amongst the Ri-Vhan of Seil Wood, losing his mother and just as suddenly being torn from the forest folk, Aleksei had no choice but to make the best of the unpredictable path in life.

But what happens when the monsters and figures of fiction become horrifyingly real? Can Aleksei find the right path? When his life and the lives of his family and friends are at stake will he fight, reforging himself into the man Prophecy demands he become? In a world of magic and Magi, of Angels and Demons alike, how will a simple farm boy survive his own contorted destiny?

This is the story of a seemingly-simple world gone mad, and the reality that every action, no matter how apparently benign, can serve to unravel terrifying truths. This is the story of Aleksei Drago, farmer, Hunter, and so much more.

Purchase Link: Publisher | Amazon US | Amazon UK

Review: Now I’m a bit of a fantasy snob, sometimes the fantasy just isn’t fantasy enough but this baby is allllllll fantasy and not just fantasy but EPIC FANTASY.

This is an amazing story that has twists and turns all the way through, it has misdirection’s right from the start lulling you into a false sense of knowledge which is then shattered and it just gets more and more interesting.

Now this isn’t a romance, yes there’s gay characters but anything between them is kept in the background so you can fully get your teeth into the storyline… and oh my what a storyline it is. Danger, mystery, dirty deeds and epic fighting is just a bit of what you can enjoy in this well-crafted story. The world building is wonderful, the characters are fantastic and you really get dragged into the story.

Aleksei is one amazing man who discovers many things about himself; his counterpart is Jonas Belgi who also makes many discoveries as they both try their best to save their kingdom. This story is amazing and I really don’t know how to explain how fantastic it is. And OMG it’s a ten book series *squee* I can’t wait!!!

 I really really have no words to tell you more about this story without giving away the many surprises that unfold, all I can say is if you love epic fantasies and amazing battles then this story is for you.

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Steadfast by K.L Noone Blog Tour, Novella Preview, Excerpt & Giveaway!

K.L Noone - Steadfast Banner 2

Hi guys! We have K.L. Noone Popping in today with the tour for her new release Steadfast, we have a brilliant sneak peek of Cinnamon and Strawberries K.L.’s holiday novella (releasing in December), we have a great excerpt and a fantastic $10 Amazon GC giveaway so check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤️ ~Pixie~

K.L Noone - Steadfast Cover vnv8j

Steadfast

(Character Bleed 03)
by

K.L. Noone

A love story for the ages! An intimate confession! An epic quest! And happily ever after on the horizon…

Jason Mirelli loves Colby Kent. And Colby loves him. They’ve told the world. And Colby’s recovered from injury, so they’re back at work and back on set. Jason just might have everything he’s ever dreamed of, with a serious leading role, an epic love story, and Colby safe and happy in his arms—but they only have two weeks of filming to go. He’s afraid of the dream falling apart, and he knows Colby has a secret to confess—one that could transform both the ending of their movie and their future together.

Colby never got around to telling Jason his final secret before the accident on set. Now that he’s recovered, he wants to share his writing and his silent script doctor work with the man he loves. Besides, he’s rewritten this script to give their characters a proper happy ending. But he’s nervous about making changes to a classic novel, and he wants the author’s approval.

Colby’s hoping to seek out the famously reclusive author in question, but first he’ll need to trust Jason with this last piece of himself. If he can, he and Jason might finally find their happily-ever-after both on screen and off—for their characters and for themselves.

.•.•.**❣️ JMS Books | Amazon US | Amazon UK | B&N | Kobo ❣️**.•.•.

Continue reading “Steadfast by K.L Noone Blog Tour, Novella Preview, Excerpt & Giveaway!”

The Werewolf and His Boy by Warren Rochelle Blog Tour, Interview, Excerpt & Giveaway!

Warren Rochelle - The Werewolf and His Boy Banner 2

Hi guys! We have Warren Rochelle stopping by today with the tour for his new release The Werewolf and His Boy, we have a great interview of Warren interviewing himself, a great excerpt and a brilliant $25 Amazon GC giveaway so check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤️ ~Pixie~ p.s. keep an eye out for Shorty’s review coming soon!

Warren Rochelle - The Werewolf and His Boy Cover gvjg8v

The Werewolf and His Boy

by

Warren Rochelle

Their leap of faith could unleash magic—or plunge them into darkness.

Henry Thorn has worked at Larkin’s since graduating high school. He likes it—especially when he can use his secret skill of hiding inside shadows so his boss can’t find them. Without that talent, he would never had survived growing up different.

When a hire enters the store, Henry’s other latent talent kicks in. He can smell an emotional response even before he lays eyes on the redhead.

Jamey Currey came out, and his conservative parents promptly kicked him out. He, too, is different—he senses Henry’s attraction the moment they met. The first time they kiss, torrential rains fall from skies split by lightning.

Their kiss also awakens the Watchers, diabolical hunters who will stop at nothing—even extermination—to keep magic suppressed. With the help of a friendly coven of friendly witches, the boys embark on a quest to discover an ancient key to restoring magic to the world, and to understand mysteries of their own hearts.

The question is, will this quest cost them their lives?

.•.•.**❣️ JMS Books | Amazon US | Amazon UK | B&N | Kobo ❣️**.•.•.

Continue reading “The Werewolf and His Boy by Warren Rochelle Blog Tour, Interview, Excerpt & Giveaway!”

Skythane by J. Scott Coatsworth Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, Review & Giveaway!

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Hi guys, we have J. Scott Coatsworth stopping by today with the tour for his new release Skythane, we have a fantastic excerpt, a brilliant $25 Amazon GC giveaway and Shorty’s review, so check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤️ ~Pixie~ 

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Skythane

(Liminal Sky: Oberon Cycle 01)
by

J. Scott Coatsworth

Jameson Havercamp, a psych from a conservative religious colony, has come to Oberon—unique among the Common Worlds—in search of a rare substance called pith. He’s guided through the wilds on his quest by Xander Kinnson, a handsome, cocky skythane with a troubled past.

Neither knows that Oberon is facing imminent destruction. Even as the world starts to fall apart around them, they have no idea what’s coming—or the bond that will develop between them as they race to avert a cataclysm.

Together, they will journey to uncover the secrets of this strange and singular world, even as it takes them beyond the bounds of reality itself to discover what truly binds them.

.•.•.**❣️ Amazon US | Amazon UK | Publisher ❣️**.•.•.

Continue reading “Skythane by J. Scott Coatsworth Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, Review & Giveaway!”