Tag: Azalea Moone

Diversity Over Time – Azalea Moone Guest Post + Giveaway (Storm Moon Press 4th Anniversary)

Hi guys, today we are joining Storm Moon Press for their 4th Anniversary, they have sent Azalea Moone to do a guest post and they have also sent two fantastic Giveaways!! The first is Azalea’s with a chance is win Angel’s Redemption and the second is Storm Moon Press’s where the grand prize is receiving an ebook a Month for 12 months…. that’s 12 ebooks! What a fantastic prize!

So guy’s check out the post and click the Rafflecopter links to enter these brilliant Giveaways, I know I will be 😉 ~Pixie~

Azalea Moone - smp_banner_400 1

All month long, we’re celebrating diversity with Storm Moon Press for their 4th anniversary. But what exactly is diversity? Well Merriam-Webster dictionary describes diversity as: “the condition of having or being composed of differing elements.” That would mean there are several kinds of… well, everything in the world. Like chocolate! White chocolate, milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, etc. Excuse me while I devour all the chocolate!

Jon PAUL - Cover Art for Romance by Catherine La Rose (65)RomanceNow that I have acquired a sugar high, we’ll continue. Okay, I won’t lie, I used to hate romance fiction when I was younger. Sure, I tried reading one of those popular romance stories, ya’ll know, from one of the biggest publishers of romance. Those sweet, and not so sweet, “I’m a perfect woman who’s going to fall in love with this big, bad Fabio looking dude over here” titles made me puke. So it surprised the hell out of me when I picked up, and loved, writing erotic romance two years ago.

But I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s noticed that romance has changed dramatically from those older titles back in the 70s and 80s. Apologies to those who grew up with and loved those stories.

Azalea Moone - when-the-hounds-come-out-to-play_BSOne major change is there are so many different character personalities, now. A variety of endings, a variety of genres, a diverse crop to keep readers entertained and gushing over a book for hours. I’ve found myself in the same pool, screaming “OMG, this book is so hot! I need moar.”

As a new author of M/M fiction, I knew I had a lot to consider before taking the plunge. One decision was which genre to write in. Should stick to one or the other? Yes, there are a wide variety of genres, aren’t there? I started with paranormal since that was the most familiar for me, but the more I read, the more I found that I developed a love for contemporary romances and fantasies and wanted to try writing them, too. Why should I stick with just one? As a diverse author, I try to write in a variety of different genres to broaden my experience and see what I truly love out of all of them. And I’ve had a lot of fun, and have found that I enjoy a wide variety of fiction genres.

I also must weave different character personalities into my fiction, different scenarios, different lifestyles, and more. Since everyone in real life is unique, why can’t fictional characters represent that? No one in real life is a Mary Sue. Not everyone is totally accepting of themselves, not just in the manner of sexual preference, but other aspects of their lives. Not everyone has the ideal job, or the perfect relationship, or the greatest family. Plus, weaving realistic scenarios into my stories allows me to explore all the possible endings to find the one that is just right for my characters, whether it’s a HEA, HFN, or bittersweet.

Another thing I’ve found myself gushing over is the heat level of books today. Back when “Fabio” type romances were popular, a writer couldn’t dare use a sort of language that would defile the book’s pages. A more suitable description used purple prose, or a fade to black. Today, it’s a necessity, and books are getting steamier. I never thought I’d be writing full fledged sex scenes, but here I am, finding it absolutely imperative that my characters have at least one (if not more) muscle-tensing, sweat-building, heart-racing good time. I can’t close the doors because I want to see it, too! And I try to change each scene up, meaning some scenes might be vanilla, while others might require something more taboo.

Azalea Moone - AngelsRedemption_BSThat’s the one thing that turned me on to Storm Moon Press, and put their press at the top of my list: their variety of fiction tales, especially those of the taboo flavor. Many of these topics other presses won’t touch with a ten foot pole, but Storm Moon Press recognizes the need for quality fiction in these topics such as bro-cest and dub-con fiction. Just as everyone is different, so are their reading tastes. While some may want sweet romance, which SMP also serves, some readers may want something more extreme that isn’t too easily found at a publisher website.

I don’t know… have things changed? Is there a bigger, broader variety of books on the market now? What do you think?

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This post is part of Storm Moon Press’ 4th Anniversary Blog Tour! Thank you for joining us, and please take a moment to enter Azalea Moone’s giveaway for Angel’s Redemption as well as our blog-tour-wide giveaway! The prize is receiving an ebook each month from SMP for 12 months! We hope to see you around the Internet and at RainbowCon in 2014! Happy New Year!

SMP’s 4th Anniversary Rafflecopter Giveaway
Azalea Moone’s “Angel’s Redemption” Rafflecopter Giveaway

When the Hounds Come Out to Play by Azalea Moone

18709524Title: When the Hounds Come Out to Play

Author: Azalea Moone

Genre: Paranormal Erotic

ISBN: 9781627570671

Length: Short Story (27 pages)

Publisher: Storm Moon Press (October 21st, 2013)

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥3Hearts

Reviewer: Thommie

Blurb: It’s Halloween night. Devil dogs Keir and Ryu are prowling the night, seeking condemned souls to take back to the underworld. But being among the humans proves too tempting for Ryu. He escapes his duties to party among the mortals, and in the process, finds himself in the middle of a case of mistaken identity with a sexy stranger.

Product Link: http://www.stormmoonpress.com/books/When-the-Hounds-Come-Out-to-Play.aspx

Review: Hellhounds let loose on Halloween, for a moment there, I thought I’d be reading a horror story, but this is the story of Devil’s dogs gone out one the one night they can. Nope, they are not out there for fun either, though Ryu is finding it hard not to. They are out there searching for lost souls and bring them back in Hell, where they belong. Ryu has been chained at the graveyard for too many centuries though and he does have a fascination with humans, so when his opportunity arises he takes advantage of it, consequences be damned, and goes to party on this wondrous night.

As he takes the form of a human that once came through the gates of the graveyard, he finds himself face to face with a human that knows him, and takes him along to party together.

It’s a weird story as the plot isn’t well developed and there are questions hovering around as we read. It turns quite erotic though with a dreary sense when the guy that recognizes Ryu in this human’s form is also one of the condemned souls he must bring back. The story has a sense of mystery and fun well woven together and the end is a bit surprising with its mellowness. I think I would have liked the story better if the erotic part was between Keir and Ryu. But, as it was, it was quite interesting as well. Recommended!

A Rogue's Power by Azalea Moone

aroguespower_new_800Title: A Rogue’s Power

Series: N/A

Author: Azalea Moone

Genre:  Paranormal/Vampires

Length: Novel

Publisher: Total E-Bound (June 14th, 2013)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥2 Hearts

Reviewer: Thommie

Blurb: A young vampire learns that being a psychic may be a rarity, but possessing magic abilities as well is truly a game changer.

Eight year fledgling vampire Malachi Faust is living his new life clumsily. He’s thankful to his maker, though he doesn’t know who that is, but he wants to party every night away, not caring about anything in the world—including coven life and other kin.

That is until he meets older vampire Dante, who tells him he’s not only a psychic vampire, requiring sexual energy as well as blood, but he’s also the grandson of a witch. These two gifts make him a wanted man by the most powerful clan leader in the city, who’s set to capture him and introduce him to coven life.

Malachi’s sceptical, though it does somehow explain his strangeness to need sex when he feeds, but he’s also unable to stop from getting caught up in Dante’s promises and passions. In order to survive the coven life, he must follow Dante through a world that he didn’t know existed while fighting his own lustful needs.

Reader Advisory: This book contains scenes of violence, one MMM ménage scene and a scene of foreskin play, commonly referred to as ‘cock docking’.

Product Link: http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=2156

Review: As I finished reading this book, I was left with questions, too many of them. Usually I’m pretty good a seeing the plot when reading a book, but this time I failed to see a point of what was happening for at least half of it and the other half simply made me think that the entire story is pretty much a chaotic jumble of carelessly thrown together thoughts.

Malachi is a new vampire, created and left alone in the world by his sire. He doesn’t mind it though, as he’s having a blast of a time; partying every night, feeding on blood and sex and freedom. However, out of nowhere Dante shows up, with his sophisticated mannerism (I didn’t quite see it) and his charm and offers Malachi himself as a mentor in order to escape people who want him – in not a necessarily good way either – and also offers to tell Malachi about who he is, and what makes him so damn special (I didn’t saw this either).

Now, here come my many, many questions. When Dante showed up Malachi was in the middle of his “hunt.” He had spotted his prey, but Dante prevented him from pursuing it. Nothing odd about this except the fact that that particular prey that was eyeing Malachi and vice versa was Raphael, the leader of the coven that ruled the city aka the guy who has been hunting Malachi down. So… why did Raphael let Malachi go with Dante…?

Moving on Dante and Malachi are trying to escape their pursuers that followed them from the club, because Dante is supposed to do just that, help Malachi escape. Yet, we learn in just a little bit that, Raphael had “hired” Dante to get, seduce, and deliver Malachi to him and along with us that information is passed onto Malachi as well. So… why is Malachi still trusting Dante, and why would Raphael let Dante go from the club with Malachi in first place since Malachi was obviously under Raphael’s thrall to begin with? See nothing so far made sense for me.

Moving on, the guy that finally found and captured them is Xavier, Raphael’s second in command. Later in the story we learn that besides being extremely strong, Xavier has also another powerful ability, that of seduction. And another thing, being the person who commands the troops that deal with rogues and drifters, Xavier is the guy that should be after Malachi in first place. It would be a piece of cake for him to get Malachi “home.”

Other questions that troubled me concern the basic story-line. Why are rogues not allowed to be? Why must everyone belong to a coven? What is the cove’s logic and dynamics? Why did Raphael (since he wanted Malachi so badly) let him go with Aurora? Why, since he forbids Xavier having fun with Malachi, did he allow Dante be with him and in the course of action another new vampire join them two in a sexual game? I mean the leader was scary, but not everybody feared him. In fact, the people defied him more often than I care to count and so on and so on. And what on earth is Malachi’s real power and what does it do? I mean the title says “The Rogue’s Power” but that one thing is left so very vague I’m found it frustrating.

Of course there is the romantic side of the story as well that had lots of staring and not making sense at all. The love thing not only came with a lightning speed, but it came out of nowhere. No reason to love there at all. I still don’t know why, why did Malachi fell in love with Dante? Or how even.

So when a book leaves me with more concerns and questions than happy feelings and entertainment I’m not so fond of it. In this case, I simply didn’t get it. For me this was a badly written book, one I wouldn’t recommend unless you don’t mind the plot and simply want to enjoy the “immortals going at it.”