Hiya peeps, We have Lee Brazil and Havan Fellows visiting on their Christmas in His Heart blog tour. We get to enjoy a great excerpt and a fabulous giveaway and Cat’s review (Cat adores these two authors) so enjoy the post and click that Rafflecopter link <3 ~Pixie~
Christmas in His Heart
by
Lee Brazil & Havan Fellows
Christmastime brings joy to hearts everywhere. Between snow angels, festive clothing, holiday decorations, and of course, all the beautiful lights, it’s hard not to partake in the season.
Unless you no longer have Christmas in your heart.
Dermot Alasdair has never shared the horrific memories that keep him from celebrating the happiest time of the year, nor does he ever plan to. He’s fine being alone and shut off from everyone; he has his restaurant and that’s all he needs. He believes that, too…until the craft store next door from his eatery hires a perpetually smiling annoyance. Really, it isn’t normal for someone to be that happy all the time.
Xander Leahman didn’t know what he was getting into when he accepted an invitation to visit his best friend and help her interview people for the newly created position of manager at Craft Time. When a surly man bumps into him and then walks away with an enticing sway to his hips, Xander decides the position—and Dermot—are perfect for him. Now all he can think of is finding ways to get Dermot out of his clothes. Well that, and how to open this grinch’s heart to the Christmas season and, hopefully, love.
Hi guys, we have Kenzie Cade stopping by on her Hummingbird House blog tour. There’s a tasty teaser and a fantastic giveaway, and we have Cat’s review for you to enjoy, so check out the post and then click that Rafflecopter link <3 ~Pixie~
Hummingbird House
(Part of Dreamspinner Press Celebrate Advent 2014)
by
Kenzie Cade
To honor his grandmother’s final request, Trenton Appleton drops everything to visit the family’s ancestral home: Hummingbird House, where he experienced his first kiss and first heartbreak with Callum Eason.
Eight years ago, confused by his attraction to Trent, Callum reacted badly. But with help he never expected, Callum found himself and learned to accept who he was.
Now Trent is back at Hummingbird House, and Callum has his opportunity to salvage their friendship, at least. But Trent is less receptive than he was all those years ago. Still, Callum is determined to show Trent he has changed and keep his promise to Trent’s grandmother. When past mistakes repeat themselves, Callum must break the cycle before his last chance with Trent passes him by.
Hi guys, we now have Derrick Knight stopping by on the first day of his Miracle on Mistletoe Lane blog tour, this is a sweet Christmas story that warms the heart. We get to have a quick peek at an excerpt and there’s a great giveaway where you can win your own copy. So enjoy the post, read my review and click that Rafflecopter link <3 ~Pixie~
Miracle on Mistletoe Lane
by
Derrick Knight
Joe Koehler and his six-year old son, Joey, are down on their luck. Currently, Joe is unemployed due to a bad economy and taking care of a medically complex son. Recently father and son become homeless due to their apartment catching on fire and Joe being without any insurance. They are forced to live in Joe’s old red pick-up truck. Eventually father and son take refuge at Hope House, a local homeless shelter, which is run by a kindly, yet mysterious, elderly woman named Emily.
Sidney Maier recently inherited his grandparents home but the house is in desperate need of repair. Skills Sidney greatly lacks. He befriends a fellow church member Emily who is the Interim Director at Hope House. Sidney tells Emily that he needs help with remodeling his new home. Also, he confides in her, that he is lonely and wishes he could meet someone special.
Emily and her assistants orchestrate for Joe and Sidney to meet where an instant attraction forms between both men. Joe and Sidney embark on a journey of courtship, but soon a negative force learns of their budding romance and wants to stop it at any cost. Emily and her assistants must all use their special talents if Joe and Sidney are meant to live happily ever after.
Blurb: Nate Brandywine is an actor without prospects in need of an emergency roommate for the month of December. In the middle of a humiliating gig as a Christmas elf at a NYC department store, he meets Sean Callahan – his producer – a man struggling under the weight of a loan coming due and desperate for a place in the city for a few weeks. One month of sharing a workplace and an apartment with someone you can’t stop flirting with? Maybe this isn’t going to be a terrible holiday after all.
Review: Nate is in desperate need of cash, his roommate has disappeared and stiffed him for the rent, he has had to take an acting job as a Christmas elf in a new department store as acting gigs are scarce and he needs a new roommate if he is going to keep the roof over his head and eat. Meeting his new boss, Sean, has him getting some of his prayers answered, now if only he can stop flirting with the sexy man. Sean needs the production in the department store to be a success, he is trying to keep his head above water but the pressure is starting to wear him down, he has a loan coming due and he does not want to pay the strings that are attached. When Sean meets Nate he jumps at the chance to have a decent place to live and to save some money, living and working together proves to be easy, now if only the sexual tension would stop flaring up between them.
This is a great Christmas story which has strong sense of friendship and paying it forward, helping out and repaying kindness. Nate and Sean are both great characters, they are both in similar situations with both of them facing homelessness and failure if something doesn’t come along right now. They end up helping each other out and developing a friendship while trying to ignore their attraction to each other, but it isn’t long before the spark ignites and they fall into a relationship that surprises them both.
I loved how this story has taken what was two stressful circumstances and brought them together to ease the strain, while adding in a romance and a solution from unexpected quarters. Both Nate and Sean had worries that could have seen them both back under their parents roofs, as they embark on their new relationship Nate helps Sean to get out from under his father’s heel, Sean helps Nate keep his apartment and when the roommate reappears Nate gives Sean the security he needs.
The story switches between both Nate and Sean so we get a good feel for both men, we also understand exactly what is going on with each man’s troubles so we can easily envisage their stress as they try to get back on an even keel. The secondary characters are great, they really bring out the best in the MC’s and add to the storyline perfectly. This story really is a delightful Christmas read, with Christmas hope and a perfect Christmas ending.
I recommend this to those who love struggling men finding a way forward, discovering love and happiness, escaping parental expectations and a very happy ending.
Blurb: Home for the holidays, Don meets Trevor, all he’d ever hoped for in a man. With no intention of starting a relationship, would Don let Trevor be everything he wanted this holiday season?
Donald Bradley is home for the holidays when he meets Trevor Oxford. He is everything he could ask for in a man, but Don has no intention of having any type of relationship with him. Two hundred miles was too far away to even consider it. Trevor is confident and aggressive each time Don encounters him, not hiding his interest at all. Will Don accept what Trevor has to offer, giving him what he really wanted this holiday season and forever?
CONTENT ADVISORY: This title is a significantly expanded and re-edited re-release title.
Review: Bradley came home for the month of December while his apartment is being fixed. He works long hours then sleeps so he has no time for a relationship even though he runs an online dating service. This is his busy season with the holidays so he is throwing himself in his work. His Mom and sister want him to slow down and enjoy life and has a very special Christmas gift lined up for him.
This is one of those cute stories that make you feel good. We all need a family that gives such hot, sexy Christmas gifts.
I loved both Donald and Travis. Donald is an overachiever that uses his job as an excuse to avoid real life. I really related to him. Travis is outgoing and goes for what he wants with no holds barred. They complement each other well. I liked that the characters are unique, Donald being colour-blind and I liked that the story is also bi-racial. I would have liked more of Donald’s disability worked into the story. I loved Donald’s mom. She added a cute touch of humour and Donald’s sister added a touch of realism.
I did find it a bit odd that Travis ends up in Donald’s bedroom while Donald is sleeping, without them really having been out, but sometimes we just need a good book full of hot sex and this is one of them. The dream scenes; especially the one at the beginning are smoking hot. WOW!!!
If you like a short holiday story that is hot and fun to read this is for you!
Hey guys, yes I have nicked the site again to bring a new author to you! Today I bring you Liam Livings who has today released Christmas Serendipity with JMS Books. So with out further ado my interview with Liam Livings and the review for Christmas Serendipity! ~Pixie~
Pixie: Christmas Serendipity is your first published work, how happy are you at the moment seeing your baby released to the masses?
Liam: I really can’t quite believe it’s actually happening! I started writing a few years ago, with a view to getting published. I didn’t expect Christmas Serendipity to be my first published work. I wrote Best Friends Perfect http://www.liamlivings.com/best-friends-perfect-series.html a few years ago, but due to publisher deadlines, it’s worked out that Christmas Serendipity is published first, which I’m thrilled about.
Pixie: Tell us a little about Christmas Serendipity and how it came about.
Liam: I wanted to write something shorter than a novel. I love Christmas, so that was always going to be an obvious choice for a topic. While on holiday over summer 2013, the BF and I were sat outside a pub, and we watched the opening scene from the story unfold in front of our eyes. In real life it was two women with one of them working in the pub. As they left, I wondered what they would get up to afterwards. I used that as the start of Christmas Serendipity – with two gay male friends.
Pixie: When writing CS did you draw from personal experience for either David’s or Christian’s issues?
Liam: I have known people who’ve had a hard time coming out to their family. I’ve also had a few nasty break ups, and supported friends through them too. I used elements of those when writing about David’s and Christian’s issues. The actual story and characters were from my imagination.
Pixie: Most people now throw Delia Smith, Nigella Lawson, Jamie Oliver or Gordon Ramsey’s names about when talking about cooking idols and Mary Berry is a rare one to find, do you yourself admire Mary Berry?
Liam: I love Mary Berry. She is the queen of baking cakes – much better than the others for cakes, in my opinion. I discovered baking after I started cooking properly with the aid of Delia & Nigella. I wanted to find ‘the mother-ship’ of baking, and I believe in Mary Berry I found it.
Pixie: David’s and Christian’s friends Tony and Cathy are great characters both supporting their friends and offering them a safe haven for Christmas, do you have friends that you can turn to like that? And are they like Cathy and Tony?
Liam: I’m lucky to have friends I can turn to for help in that way. None of my friends are, what I’d describe as ‘like’ Cathy and Tony.
Pixie: What encouraged you to write MM rather than mainstream (whatever that is)?
Liam: When I wrote my first novel, Best Friends Perfect, I didn’t even consider whether it was MM. I simply wrote a story with characters, experiences and love which I could relate to, and had in part, experienced myself. It was only when Clare London invited me to UK Meet 2012 in Brighton, that I realised I’d written a MM novel.
Pixie: Can you tell us what you have coming next in your career as an author, any more books being published?
Liam: The Best Friends Perfect series will start to be published from spring 2014. I have a fairy tale called Frangipani Kisses http://www.liamlivings.com/frangipani-kisses-short-story.html in an anthology which is due out in 2014. I will begin submitting my next novel, And Then That Happened in 2014, http://www.liamlivings.com/and-then-that-happened.html so that could be published in 2014 too. And also I have just planned my next story, called The Wrong Room, which I’ll write in 2014, and who knows when that will be ready for a publisher to see it.
Pixie: Tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you do when you aren’t writing, and where they can contact you and buy your book.
Liam: I love to bake cakes and other sweet things. I love to spend time with friends and family. I enjoy tucking up with a good box set or film. I have furry friends, our cats. And I am also, to mix it up a bit, and go against some stereotypes, a massive car geek too.
Pixie: Thanks for joining us Liam and we all hope you do great with Christmas Serendipity and we look forward to your next release Best Friends Perfect.
About Liam Livings
Three things about him – there are five more on the website, one is a lie.
1) He lives, with his partner and cats, where east London ends and becomes nine-carat-gold- highlights-and-fake-tan-west-Essex.
2) He was born in Hampshire with two club feet (look it up, it’s not nice) and problem ears, needing grommets: this meant he was in plaster from toe to groin until he was two, and had to swim with a cap and olive oil soaked lamb’s wool over his ears – olive oil bought from a health food shop, before it was sold by supermarkets.
3) He started writing when he was 14: sat in French lessons during a French exchange trip, for want of anything better to do, he wrote pen portraits about his French exchange’s teachers. He wrote for his school’s creative writing magazine and still writes a diary every day.
Just before the Christmas holiday, in a snowy small town in England, refugees of Christmas bad luck, handyman, plumber Christian and office worker David find themselves thrown together at miss Organiser, Cathy’s non-family Christmas.
Christian thinks the world has ended as his parents get used to him being gay, and disinvite him to their Christmas. David has just been fired from his waiting job, and is still getting used to the fact that he has dumped him. Although David’s ex was a useless cheating, money grabbing waste of space, he was at least, David’s useless, cheating, money grabbing waste of space. And now David doesn’t even have that. He’s not in the mood for a night out with his best friend, camp Tony, just before Christmas. Instead they retire to Cathy and Tony’s place, to find a quiet Christian.
With Cathy’s organizational skills and enthusiasm, these four spend a non-family Christmas together, making the best of it. Together they drink, eat and play their way through Christmas, surprising each other at how it turns out, and how well they all get to know one another during the short break.
Refugees of serendipity and luck, David and Christian realize that spending the holiday season together may be just what they both needed, when they both needed it. They find that apart from both just escaping from awful relationships, they also have much more in common.
Excerpt
We talked late into the night, moving onto Cathy’s special Christmas spirits. “Only to be drunk at this time of year,” she explained. She appeared with a tray of snowballs—yellow advocaat and lemonade, foaming with a little red cherry perched on top of each one. “This’ll send us to sleep,” she advised.
We took it in turns to throw more wood onto the fire, until we ran out. Cathy announced she was going to bed. She’d made up the spare room for Christian, and she pointed to the sofa in the corner for me.
I looked at her, feeling slightly light-headed from the alcohol, and started to ask if she’d show me how to make it up. Before I could say anything more, somehow she’d managed with just one hand, to turn it into a bed and cover it with perfect duvet and pillows.
“Thanks, Cathy. Night.” I stood up, a little unsteadily.
She kissed my cheek. “Night boys.” And she made her way up the stairs.
Tony followed, waving goodnight to us both.
And then there were two. I’ll admit I did consider, for a brief moment, just following Christian to his room. But I decided he wasn’t that sort of boy, and really, neither was I. So instead, I opted for an awkward goodnight hug/kiss, standing over the remains of the Indian takeaway in the middle of the floor. The gentle glow from the fire and a few candles around the room gave the only light. He kissed my cheek and I his, before lingering for a moment too long on his neck, holding the hug as long as I could manage without seeming creepy. I felt his breath on my neck and I felt myself responding in my boxer shorts. We both pulled back and stared into each other’s eyes, his warm breath mixing with mine as I breathed in and out. He smiled. I stared into his deep blue eyes and kissed him again, this time with our tongues exploring each other’s mouths. He gently bit my bottom lip and a jolt went to my groin. I felt his hand on my bum, trying to pull me towards him, despite our legs being a few feet apart, separated by the takeaway. We fell onto the sofa, his small frame landing gently on my muscly chest. He sat astride me, leaning down and continuing to kiss me. His hands caressed my pectoral muscles under my T-shirt, tweaking my nipples, harder and harder.
Maybe he was that sort of boy, and maybe I was too.
***
Christmas Serendipity will be published by JMS on 8 December.
Buy links from 8 December – other distributor links will be available a week or so after this date.
Blurb: In a snowy small town in England just before Christmas, handyman Christian thinks the world has ended — his parents are still getting used to his being gay and have disinvited him to their Christmas. Former waiter David has just been fired and is still getting used to the fact that his useless, cheating, money-grabbing, waste-of-space boyfriend has just dumped him. Their mutual friend Cathy steps in and invites the two strangers to a non-family Christmas at the flat she shares with Tony.
With Cathy’s organizational skills and enthusiasm, these four spend Christmas together, making the best of it and getting to know each other. A spark of attraction clearly brings David and Christian closer, and spending the festive season together may be just what these two refugees need to calm their troubled souls.
But the past still haunts them both and threatens to be their undoing. Is love enough to overcome the burdens they bear? Can they find a happy Christmas together after all?
Review: David leans on his mate Tony as he mulls over the ending of his disastrous relationship, when he gets fired from his job just days before Christmas Tony drags him home with him. Christian finds himself with nowhere to go for Christmas when his parents rescind their invite after he confesses he is gay, his workmate Cathy takes pity on him and invites him home for Christmas. As David and Christian share Christmas with the two flatmates, a spark of attraction flares between them and it just might bring them both happiness in the New Year if they can both resolve their past hurts.
I quite enjoyed this simple story of friends becoming a family for Christmas. David has had a terrible relationship where he was used as a doormat by his boyfriend, but with the boyfriend tossing him to the side David can’t just put his feelings behind him. When David meets Christian a spark is lit and although he doesn’t want to rush into anything he knows he has to give them a chance. Christian is still reeling from his parent’s actions and although there is a spark of hope that his parents will come around he is still miserable, meeting David sparks his interest and taking it slow is a great idea even if he would at first prefer passionate sex to ease his woes.
This is a very Christmas with friends story, where friends pull together to have an enjoyable Christmas and put their problems behind them for a couple of days. Cathy and Tony are incredible friends who make this Christmas for both men enjoyable, but while Cathy is overjoyed that David and Christian are becoming close, Tony is more cautious and encourages David to slow down and not jump in feet first. Both David and Christian seem to be wonderful men working their way through their personal issues but neither man is willing to turn their back on the attraction between them, it is a slow moving relationship that is still tentative and new but with much hope on both sides.
I recommend this to those who love saving Christmas stories, friends pulling together, support and friendship, a spark of new love and new hope and a very Merry Christmas.
