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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Goldie by Danni Maxwell Release Blast, Excerpt & Giveaway!

Goldie

Author: Danni Maxwell

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: July 6, 2020

Heat Level: 1 – No Sex

Pairing: Female/Female

Length: 12400

Genre: Fantasy, LGBTQIA+, mythical creatures, Magic/Magic users, Fairy tales, fantasy, romance

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Synopsis

Cast out of her village after being accused of killing her father, Marigold Lovelock has nothing but the clothes on her back and the willpower to make it into the woods.

With the company of an Ursidae, a mythical creature known as Squeak, she seeks out The One, the Storyteller who speaks the truth.

Throw in a nasty beast called the Gromas, a pack of wolves, and a girl with lips as red as blood, Marigold knows she must learn how to embrace the person she was always been destined to be.

Excerpt

Goldie, Danni Maxwell © 2020, All Rights Reserved

A person falls in love with three people in their lifetime. At least that’s what the Storytellers will show you in their legends.

Each love will come at a time in a person’s life when they need it most. Even if they don’t realise they needed it in the first place.

There’s the first love, the one who teaches what the magical thing called love is. It’s young love. It’s innocent, and it’s pure. It ends far before it can truly begin, but it will always remain the first love of one’s life.

The second love is a hard love to endure. It changes a person, teaches them that a heart can break, that a person can wound you more than a knife, that not every love is a fairy tale. It makes a person stronger; it shapes them, helps them grow, teaches them that a heart can mend in time.

Then there is the third love, a love that has no warning, that sneaks up on a person and takes them by surprise. It’s the love that they didn’t know they needed, the one they were not looking for. It’s the love that will truly last the test of time. This is the love that can withstand all the battles a person has to endure. It’s unwavering. This is the love that feels like a fairy tale.

*

Marigold Lovelock had heard these legends more times than she could count, but she never once believed in them.

Her father was a Storyteller. His job was to be the one a person seeks for the knowledge, the truth, the wisdom. His job was his life. It took precedence over everything else, including Marigold. Her father’s favourite thing about his title, his powers, was the fact that people blindly adored him. They believed her father could do no wrong, that he was the one with all the answers. He could gather as many of the townspeople as he wanted, tell them of the stories, the legends, the prophecies that had been passed down to him by Storytellers past. And the townspeople would gather; they would flock, run, rally to the town’s centre to hear a new story each day; their eyes and hearts full of belief, of wonder and whimsy.

They truly loved her father, for he could tell them all the things their hearts desired to hear, could warn them of the dangers of the beasts and demons that lay beyond the town’s edge. Her father was the light, and Marigold his shadow. The people treated her like she was nothing, like all she did was bring the darkness wherever she went. They skittered away if she got too close, made shifty, judging glances with narrowed eyes and lips pressed in tight lines. The children were ushered away and taught to keep their distance.

Though Goldie never knew why they did this, she wondered if it was out of fear, and if that were true, perhaps she was afraid of them too. She’d shy away from everyone as they would hiss and pull away from her. Because why would you even try to fit in when you’re a puzzle with one too many pieces that will never be completed?

Her life had never been easy. She lost her mother to childbirth, she lost her father to the Storytellers, and she lost herself to the darkness of being alone. The darkness enveloped the townspeople too but not as heavy as it weighed on her. They all had lost their light; her father had died this past spring, and though the doctor had said he passed from age and peacefully in his sleep, Marigold wondered if he had died of a broken heart. He was always so lost without her mother, and he blamed Marigold for that loss; it’s why she never felt close to him, to anyone.

Everyone believed Marigold was cursed, that she possessed something inside her so dark and wicked that it had killed her mother, and that anyone who got close to her, anyone who loved her, would fall dead to the curse too. Her father was just another reason for them to fear her. The townspeople were lost without their Storyteller. The next was still learning the stories and prophecies, and so they had no one to turn to for guidance, for what should be done about Marigold, about who they thought she was, what she was to become, and who she might hurt in the process. The elders of the town were brought up on the stories, but they could only remember so much. Only the mind of a Storyteller could remember all. Their older minds were forgetting, slowly with time, but they never failed to forget the prophecy of the Kalakuta. That is what they believed Marigold was.

The Kalakuta were ancient beings, the ones the elders and Storytellers alike would call “the potion people of death.” Their prophecy tells of the Kalakuta being a sentient being that lived long before the time of people. Beings that, once they found a host, would kill any human or being in its path, for the darkness inside told them to do so. They were the makers of death. Her father, the Storyteller, had spoken of a Kalakuta preying on their town, feasting on the sick, the weak, the lost, believing that over time they would eventually take everyone, and there would be no one left to stop it. The minute Marigold’s father had passed, it was like any suspicion they had of Marigold being a Kalakuta had all but been confirmed.

This is why she now stood at the edge of the wood, at the final edge of sand between the unknown and the town, her only belongings scattered just beyond the trees, and the entire town standing at her back, waiting to be rid of her at last. Their mourning period was over for the Storyteller. The townspeople were no longer grieving; they were rioting. The moment their mourning cloud had lifted, they went on a manhunt for her. They found Marigold hidden away, wishing to be forgotten in her small hut of a home. They were all afraid of her, just as she was afraid of them. No one was willing to get too close to her. She cowered in her corner, begging someone, anyone, to leave her alone.

Someone looped rope around her body, cinching it at her waist and all but dragging her out of her home toward the dark wood. She was scrambling to grab anything she possibly could, begging them to stop, promising them that she would willingly go if they just let her grab her things. They stopped for a moment, enough time for her to grab a satchel with two dresses to change, her pouch of every coin she had saved that her father had hesitated to give her as gifts on special days, and the only drawing she had of her mother, one that her father had tried to throw away in anger and mourning on the anniversary of her death, Marigold’s birthday. It was the one thing Marigold had treasured all her life. It was the last thing she had.

“Now. Get going,” the man holding the end of the rope had grunted, tugging on the rope so hard her chest ached with the effort to breathe.

The people gathered in her hut parted at the door. They led Marigold out of the town to the wood with a rope around her waist, something hard pressing into her back, pushing her forward while tears streamed down her face. She gripped at her satchel, her heart breaking with every step she put in behind her. Please, she had begged them. Please don’t send me away.

All that resulted in was her being shoved even harder, falling to the ground, her crying out in pain as something hard, no doubt the broom handle of a local keeper, cracked down on her back. Her things were grabbed by the children, her satchel tossed, her dresses strewn, her photo crumpled into the tiniest ball. Her pouch of money pressed against her hip, hidden in the pocket she’d sewn into her dress herself. It was the only thing they couldn’t take from her.

“Be gone, Kalakuta!” They were all shouting obscene comments at her now, where she stood straight as a pin, her bare toes touching the edges of the dark wood.

“Please, I am not a—”

“You are a killer, Marigold Lovelock. You killed your parents; you kill the elders, the children even! You have a darkness in you that will never settle. We ought to kill you, but that would be too kind of us. We shall let the beasts of the woods decide your fate. Never return to Veritas, or we will change our minds. Kalakuta.” The man spit at her. The crowds were throwing things at her, rocks and sticks and anything they could use to hurt her.

“Please—” Marigold pleaded one last time, her cheeks dripped with tears, her whole body trembling. She had never been so scared in all her life.

“She does not learn. We have no pity,” an elder breathed in hushed tones.

“Let us show her what we do to Kalakuta.”

This was the last thing Marigold heard before she felt a sharp, blunt pain at the back of her skull, and the world went black.

Purchase

NineStar Press | Amazon

Meet the Author

Danni Maxwell has been writing stories for as long as she can remember. Born and raised in Ontario, Canada, she is a debut author who is currently studying to become a librarian, a job she defines as the best of both the reading and writing world. She has won multiple prestigious writing awards in the past few years. Her favourite genres to write are contemporary, LGBT+, and more recently she’s been dabbling in YA, sci-fi and poetry. When she’s not writing, you can find her creating book- and writing-related videos on Youtube’s Booktube community, at Danni Darling.

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Mending Noel by Charlie Cochet (2nd Edition)

Charlie Cochet - Mending Noel Cover 634hr7Title: Mending Noel

Series: North Pole City Tales 01

Author: Charlie Cochet

Genre: Fantasy, Christmas

Length: Short (60pgs)

Publisher: Charlie Cochet (November 18, 2019)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: 💖💖💖💖💖 5 Hearts

Blurb: All is not sparkly snowflakes and sweet candy canes in North Pole City. Office workers Tim and Noel do nothing all day but antagonize each other—petty fighting that might be based on hatred… or a heated mutual attraction. It’s up to Jack Frost and his elf-friend Rudy to broach the hostilities and introduce some Christmas kisses, but is the Frost Prince up to the challenge of launching a new romance when someone’s trying to break his holiday spirit?

ISBN: B081C7SQSV

Product Link: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Reviewer: Shorty

Review: Wonderful story about Tim and Noel who have problems at work only to overhear a plot against Frost and have Rudy save them.

I loved that Jack and Rudy decide that things need to change for the better and set about doing just that while at the same time helping Noel and Tim with their feelings for one another.

It was an entertaining read that had much more than I thought it would. Drama, action, and romance are all in abundance in this stunning story with a great cast of characters that I am looking forward to getting to know.

Fantastic read.

Holiday Tales From Fairyland by Joe Cosentino Blog Tour, Guest Post, Excerpt and Giveaway!

Joe Cosentino - Holiday Tales From Fairyland Banner

Hi guys! We have Joe Cosentino stopping by today with his newest release Holiday Tales From Fairyland, we have a brilliant guest post from Joe, a great excerpt and a fantastic giveaway so check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤ ~Pixie~

Holiday Tales From Fairyland

(Tales from Fairyland 02)
by

Joe Cosentino!

It’s holiday time in Fairyland. On Halloween, Ichabod Crane, a young schoolteacher, has a boner over sexy and muscular farmer Brom Bones. When the residents of the homophobic Sleepy Hollow aren’t happy about it, the headless horseman rides into town. Will Ichabod fall off his horse into Brom’s strong, rescuing arms, teaching the townsfolk a lesson in acceptance they’ll never forget? On Christmas, hunky Cavalier P.I. receives a visit from a new client, handsome young Fritz. Somebody strangled Fritz’s sister Clara with the ribbons of her toe shoes, and Fritz is the top suspect. But he seems more interested in the bulge in Cavalier’s tights than in getting himself off the hook. When Cavalier turns sweet on Fritz, it’s time for the private investigator to question his old dance partner the Sugar Plum Fairy, Clara’s husband the Nutcracker, Fritz’s other sister Louise, and Fritz’s Godpapa Drosselmeyer to save his intended and find out: Who Killed Clara? At Winter Solstice, young Vasily falls in love with a mysterious, handsome man who rides by his orphanage each morning, noon, and night. Upon following him, Vasily discovers the man is a prince under the powers of Baba Yaga. Can Vasily rescue his tortured Prince Anton from the witch’s conversion therapy and dance around his pole on May Day?

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

Continue reading “Holiday Tales From Fairyland by Joe Cosentino Blog Tour, Guest Post, Excerpt and Giveaway!”

Of Princes False and True by Eric Alan Whitehall

Title: Of Princes False and True

Author: Eric Alan Whitehall

Genre: Fairy Tales

Length: Novel (273pgs)

Publisher: Eric Alan Whitehall (August 8, 2018)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts

Blurb: A tennis match? Starting a war between the Duchy of Avann and the Kingdom of the Westlands?

Only in a fairy tale.

When Prince Henry hurts a young ball boy who told him Danilo’s ball was inside the line, Danilo’s response is automatic. Punch the prince’s face, pick him up left-handed, and break the royal jaw. Unfortunately, there’s another “automatic” at work in the Westlands: a death sentence for whoever strikes royalty.

King Hiram can’t—won’t—change the rule of law to rule by royal whim. But he grants the Heir of Avann fifteen days to find words which will persuade him to let Danilo live.

In those fifteen days: Magick. The gods, goddesses and gender-fluid deities on Deity Lane. Kilvar, the assassin. A wallet which opens in a bank vault. A mysterious old man. The Lady of All. The Magickal Hand writing, rewriting. A fairy tale within a fairy tale. A huge horse called Brute. And at the end…perhaps the right words and a most unexpected love. Plus a deity-supplied dinner with just the right amount of garlic.

81,380 words of story. All royalties will go to a local LGBT organization.

ISBN: B07G667SX8

Product Link: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Reviewer: Shorty

Review: When Prince Henry hurts a young boy for going to get Danillo’s ball back he takes it upon himself to teach Henry a lesson about picking on those smaller than him by punching him. Unfortunately that is a death sentence. King Hiram tells Danillo find the words that will persuade him to let Danillo live.

Danillo’s journey is quite adventurous, lively with humour. Diety Lane was interesting with all manner of different characters being introduced and interacting. Danillo does a great job communicating with a manner that is quite adorable at times for me.

I really enjoyed this story except for Henry. I mean he is mean and abrupt then all of a sudden out of the blue does a complete turn about. I did not understand the sudden change of heart so it threw me a bit.

There is so much going on in this adventure of Danillo’s that it is impossible to cover everyone and everything happening. Needless to say it was a well written journey that had me laughing now and then at some of the characters actions and words. I truly loved everything about this book.

Fantastic read and highly recommended.

Of Princes False and True by Eric Alan Westfall Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway!

Hi guys, we have Eric Alan Westfall stopping by today with his new release Of Princes False and True, we have a great exclusive excerpt and a brilliant giveaway so check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤ ~Pixie~ p.s. keep an eye out for Shorty’s review!

Of Princes False and True

by

Eric Alan Westfall

A tennis match? Starting a war between the Duchy of Avann and the Kingdom of the Westlands?

Only in a fairy tale.

When Prince Henry hurts a young ball boy who told him Danilo’s ball was inside the line, Danilo’s response is automatic. Punch the prince’s face, pick him up left-handed, and break the royal jaw. Unfortunately, there’s another “automatic” at work: a death sentence for whoever strikes royalty.

King Hiram can’t—won’t—change the rule of law to rule of royal whim. But he grants the Heir of Avann fifteen days to find words that will allow Danilo to live.

In those fifteen days: Magick. The gods, goddesses and gender-fluid deities on Deity Lane. Kilvar, the assassin. A purse which opens in a bank vault. A mysterious old man. The Lady of All. The Magickal Hand writing, rewriting. A fairy tale within a fairy tale. A huge horse called Brute. And at the end…perhaps the right words and a most unexpected love. Plus a deity-supplied dinner with just the right amount of garlic.

All royalties will go to a local LGBT organization.

Continue reading “Of Princes False and True by Eric Alan Westfall Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway!”

Fearful Symmetry by Francis Gideon

Title: Fearful Symmetry

Author: Francis Gideon

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Fairy Tales

Length: Novel (145 pages)

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (7 Oct 2015)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥ 3 Hearts

Blurb: When something is perfect, it sets itself up to be destroyed, and for everything gained, something is lost.

Since Dryden was young, his mother taught him about balance. While she weaves jewelry to sell at the marketplace, Dryden learns how every unspoiled gem begs to be damaged, just like the universe corrects every misfortune.

But with age and experience, Dryden begins to see the cracks in his mother’s naïve view of life. If she is wrong about balance, she might be wrong about the supposed beast in the woods. Dryden ventures into the forbidden, where a handsome hunter named Otto saves him from a deranged fox and seduces him. But like so much else, Otto has an unseen side, and if Dryden wants to regain his freedom and break Otto’s spell, he’ll have to answer three riddles in three days.

With the help of his mother’s stories and the fox who once threatened him, Dryden must beat the monster and restore balance to his world. But it will come at a cost.

ISBN: 9781634766357

Product Link: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon US | Amazon UK

Reviewer: Prime

Review: This is a thoroughly enjoyable book. It isn’t so much as long or intense read but I did find the writing and descriptions a bit of a hindrance at times, though I suspect that is because I got a short attention span.

The story follows Dryden, whose mother has taught him something that is along the lines of “every action has an equal and opposite reaction” – that’s Newton’s Third Law but it generally applies to karma, too, I suppose. Now grown up, Dryden goes on an adventure which starts with him going into a forbidden forest (that’s always a sign of doom). Dryden is very naive when it comes to being saved and later getting to know the mysterious Otto. Sometimes it felt like that Otto wasn’t really the face of evil (which is the kind of role he has in this book) but more that he was experienced, knew what he wanted and more than aware of the harsh realities of life. Then there is the fox shifter, Eammon, I don’t want to go too much into his character because I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but he is the kind of personality that I hoped that Dryden would become. I found him the most relatable character.

One thing I really loved about this was the fairy tale aspect. Francis Gideon has gone to great lengths to deliver a traditionally structured fairy tale and all the elements are there. There are great life lessons, a few morals and moral dilemmas thrown in, as well as the usual good overcoming evil and whatnot.

This is more of a young adult coming to age type of adventure more than a romance but the romance that was there felt so natural with the evolution of the story. Very sweet and sexy. It was also a bit angst-y at times, which is something that I don’t always connect with as a reader.

Beastly Businessmen and Guitar Gods by Asta Idonea Release Blast & Giveaway!

Asta Idonea - Beastly Businessmen and Guitar Gods RB Banner

Hi guys, we have Asta Idonea stopping by today with her new re-release Beastly Businessmen and Guitar Gods, we have a fantastic $10 NineStar GC giveaway so check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤ ~Pixie~

Beastly Businessmen and Guitar Gods

by

Asta Idonea

They say magic doesn’t exist in our modern age. But is that really true?

Without magic, how could a stolen guitar or a lost shoe lead to love?

What could spark romance at a workplace assessment, or turn a mean-spirited monster into a man?

Six fairytales and myths receive a contemporary MM twist in this collection of stories, which prove that sometimes the mundane can be magical too.

Continue reading “Beastly Businessmen and Guitar Gods by Asta Idonea Release Blast & Giveaway!”

Once Upon a Rainbow, Volume Three Anthology & Giveaway!

Anthology - Once Upon a Rainbow, Volume Three RB Banner

Hi guys! We have NineStar Press popping in today with their new anthology Once Upon A Rainbow Vol Three, we have a fantastic $10 NineStar GC giveaway so check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤ ~Pixie~

Once Upon A Rainbow Vol Three 

by

A.E. Ross, Elna Holst, Mark Lesney, N.J. Romaine, Sam Burns, Valentine Wheeler, W.M. Fawkes

Your favorite stories from childhood have a new twist. Seven fairy tales of old with characters across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum.

Green Things Grow from Cinders

by A.E. Ross

Glass slippers aren’t for everyone.

Gretel on Her Own

by Elna Holst

This time around, Gretel Kindermann is on her own. Or is she?

Bremen Town Musicians

by Mark Lesney

Loss and love on the road to Bremen Town.

The Scent of Magic

by N.J. Romaine

Who can win a hunt against the Big Bad Wolf?

The Rescue

by Sam Burns

Saving princesses is hard work. Getting out of marrying them is harder.

Loose in the Heel, Tight in the Toe

by Valentine Wheeler

The shoe fits, the prince is won: now what?

Baile de la Marioneta

by W.M. Fawkes

No one else can pull his strings.

Full blurbs below.

Continue reading “Once Upon a Rainbow, Volume Three Anthology & Giveaway!”

Disarming Donner by Charlie Cochet

Title: Disarming Donner

Series: North Pole City Tales 05

Author: Charlie Cochet

Genre: Fairy Tales, Holiday

Length: Short (68 pages)

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (December 21, 2016)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts

Blurb: As a beloved Rein Dear and Christmas elf for Mayor Kringle, Donner prides himself on his flawless reputation, good sense, and wise decisions. Donner never does anything until he’s thought it through properly. He’s certainly not one to get flustered, infuriated, or fall prey to romantic nonsense. At least not until the most unlikely of elves begins chipping away at Donner’s defenses.

Calder is a Dockalfar—a dark elf. He’s wicked, untrustworthy, and armed with lethal magic. At least that’s what everyone thinks. It’s easy for them to believe the worst and mistrust him before they’ve even spoken to him, but Calder is out to prove that he’s more than his Dockalfar blood, especially to a certain Rein Dear who has caught his eye. But it will take more than sweet words for Donner to admit what’s in his heart.

ISBN-13: 978-1-63477-813-8

Product Link: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon US | Amazon UK

Reviewer: Shorty

Review: Calder, a dockalfar dark elf is entrusted by Mayor Kringle to teach Calder’s brother Cupid how to control his dark powers. While there he is smitten by Donner. But alas Donner wants nothing to do with him.

Events out of their control happen and Calder is asked to help. I loved the festiveness and suspense of the story as Donner realizes you can not judge someone by what others have done. It is truly a magical tale of two opposites who come to love one another.

Fantastic read and highly recommended.

Loving Blitz by Charlie Cochet

Title: Loving Blitz

Series: North Pole City Tales 04

Author: Charlie Cochet

Genre: Fairy Tales, Holiday

Length: Novella (94 pages)

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (December 16, 2015)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts

Blurb: From North Pole City to Winter Wonderland, preparations are underway after a royal announcement sweeps everyone into a frenzy of festivity. At the heart of the celebration are the city’s most beloved elf pilots, the Rein Dears. Once the Big Flight is behind them, the pilots prepare for the royal event. Assigned a special task of finding an Elska rose, Cupid and Blitzen are unaware of how their friendship is about to change forever.

Yet not all that glitters is gold. The sweet, angelic Cupid hides a dark secret, one that threatens to destroy his Rein Dear status, his friends, and the elf who’s captured his heart. It’s up to Blitzen to help Cupid see the light in the darkness and show him that together they can mend broken hearts..

ISBN-13: 978-1-62380-949-2

Product Link: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon US | Amazon UK

Reviewer: Shorty

Review: Blitz and Cupid have been best friends since college. They are both on the Rein Deer squad. But Cupid has a secret he has been keeping from everyone. When on a mission for Rudy Blitz and Cupid become closer and then run into problems along the journey.

A jealous and resentful person decides to tell the truth as they know it at a gathering and sends everyone into shock and betrayal. I loved this story. Blitz and Cupid are so sweet together. The atmosphere of the story is both jolly and adventurous.

Fantastic addition to the series. Highly recommended.

The King’s Courage by Charlie Cochet

Title: The King’s Courage

Series: North Pole City Tales 06

Author: Charlie Cochet

Genre: Fairy Tales, Holiday

Length: Short (77 pages)

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (December 20, 2017)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts

Blurb: With the wedding of Jack Frost and Rudy Rein Dear only three weeks away, everyone travels to Jack’s palace in Svalbard, Norway, where the happy couple will exchange vows beneath the northern lights. Festivities have been planned leading up to the wedding, and Dasher eagerly anticipates not just the fun, but staying under the same roof as the blustering winter spirit who’s caught his eye—the King of Frost, Jack’s father.

A long-ago tragedy has left Eirik fearing to ever love again. As the King of Frost, Eirik maintains his distance from everyone, especially the young Christmas elf who insists on intruding on Eirik’s solitude. But Dasher is determined to find a way to show the lonely king that his heart still beats and he shouldn’t fear allowing it to beat for another.

ISBN-13: 978-1-64080-032-8

Product Link: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon US | Amazon UK

Reviewer: Shorty

Review: I loved this story of two heartbroken men who have faced loneliness different ways. The king of Frost, Eirik, has spent a long time since his queen died keeping away from everyone else. He is for all intents and purposes unattainable. Dasher, finds him sexy and alluring and starts trying to break through his icy walls to show him that life goes on and they are still alive.

Dasher has lost someone he loved as well only he tries to live life to the fullest. Amid wedding plans, doubts, enemies these two slowly come together. My heart broke for both their pains but I was glad to see them both shine in the end.

Fantastic read and highly recommended.

Beauty and the Guardian Beast by Rhys Ethan

Title: Beauty and the Guardian Beast

Series: Queerky Tales 05

Author: Rhys Ethan

Genre: Collections, Fairy Tales, Mythology and Folk Tales

Length: Short (31 pages)

Publisher: Rhys Ethan (November 3, 2017)

Heat Level: Low – Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts

Blurb: The classic tales you know, the characters with secrets you don’t.

Ayo is a lonely boy, bullied and withdrawn, until one day his father sends him away to the kingdom of Azizi, to study under the king’s advisor, Issa, a fearsome tiger, that thinks and talks like a man. Ayo misses his father and one day he takes it out on his new companion. The next morning he wakes up to find he is starting to turn into a beast himself and if he’s to ever turn back into his human form, he has a lot to learn.

Queerky Tales is a series of classic fairy tales retold with LGBT characters. Based on the French classic, Beauty & the Guardian Beast is a tale about oppression, kindness and forgiveness.

For children and adults alike.

ISBN: B076PJ8QKP

Product Link: Amazon US | Amazon UK 

Reviewer: Shorty

Review: Ayo is a shy and sweet boy who has been bullied when one day an accident sets his life on a different path. After the king tells his father he can have anything he wishes he sends his son with the king and his advisor Issa, a tiger and prince, to Azizi.

Unfortunately while there he becomes homesick and as a result insults Issa. He turns into a beast. Demanding answers Issa calmly tells him the the city is cursed. If you hurt anyone in residence you will turn and the only way to turn back is to make amends and mean it.

Ayo learns a valuable lesson to treat others kindly. I mean why would you treat someone as you have been treated if you were bullied? You know how it feels so why make someone else feel like that. Treat others as you would have them do to you. Just because someone hurt you does not make it right for you to do the same to someone else.

Beauty & The Guardian Beast by Rhys Ethan Blog Tour, Excerpt, Review & Giveaway!

Rhys Ethan - Beauty & The Guardian Beast TourBanner

Hi guys! We have Rhys Ethan popping in today with the tour for his new release Beauty & the Guardian Beast, we have Shorty’s review and a brilliant giveaway, so check out the post and enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~

Beauty & The Guardian Beast

(Queerky Tales 05)
by

Rhys Ethan

The classic tales you know, the characters with secrets you don’t.

Ayo is a lonely boy, bullied and withdrawn, until one day his father sends him away to the kingdom of Azizi, to study under the king’s advisor, Issa, a fearsome tiger, that thinks and talks like a man. Ayo misses his father and one day he takes it out on his new companion. The next morning he wakes up to find he is starting to turn into a beast himself and if he’s to ever turn back into his human form, he has a lot to learn.

Queerky Tales is a series of classic fairy tales retold with LGBT characters. Based on the French classic, Beauty & the Guardian Beast is a tale about oppression, kindness and forgiveness.

For children and adults alike.

Amazon US | Amazon UK 

Continue reading “Beauty & The Guardian Beast by Rhys Ethan Blog Tour, Excerpt, Review & Giveaway!”

Walking on Water by Matthew J. Metzger Blog Tour, Interview, Excerpt & Giveaway!

Matthew J. Metzger - Walking on Water Tour Banner

Hi guys, we have Matthew J. Metzger visiting today with his new release Walking on Water, we have a great interview with Matthew, a tasty excerpt and a brilliant giveaway, so check out the post and enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~

Walking on Water

by

Matthew J. Metzger

When a cloud falls to earth, Calla sets out to find what lies beyond the sky. Father says there’s nothing, but Calla knows better. Something killed that cloud; someone brought it down.

Raised on legends of fabled skymen, Calla never expected them to be real, much less save one from drowning—and lose her heart to him. Who are the men who walk on water? And how can such strange creatures be so beautiful?

Infatuated and intrigued, Calla rises out of her world in pursuit of a skyman who doesn’t even speak her language. Above the waves lies more than princes and politics. Above the sky awaits the discovery of who Calla was always meant to be. But what if it also means never going home again?

Continue reading “Walking on Water by Matthew J. Metzger Blog Tour, Interview, Excerpt & Giveaway!”

Beauty & The Guardian Beast by Rhys Ethan Release Blast & Giveaway!

Rhys Ethan - Beauty & The Guardian Beast TourBanner

Hi guys! We have Rhys Ethan stopping by today with his new release Beauty & the Guardian Beast, we have a brilliant giveaway so check out the post and enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~

Beauty & The Guardian Beast

(Queerky Tales 05)
by

Rhys Ethan

The classic tales you know, the characters with secrets you don’t.

Ayo is a lonely boy, bullied and withdrawn, until one day his father sends him away to the kingdom of Azizi, to study under the king’s advisor, Issa, a fearsome tiger, that thinks and talks like a man. Ayo misses his father and one day he takes it out on his new companion. The next morning he wakes up to find he is starting to turn into a beast himself and if he’s to ever turn back into his human form, he has a lot to learn.

Queerky Tales is a series of classic fairy tales retold with LGBT characters. Based on the French classic, Beauty & the Guardian Beast is a tale about oppression, kindness and forgiveness.

For children and adults alike.

Amazon US | Amazon UK 

Continue reading “Beauty & The Guardian Beast by Rhys Ethan Release Blast & Giveaway!”

Death Mask by Lexi Ander

Lexi Ander - Death Mask Cover sTitle: Death Mask

Series: Black Harbinger MC # 1

Author: Lexi Ander

Genre: Fairy Tales, Roughhouse Raiders, Urban Fantasy 

Length: Novella (115pgs)

Publisher: Less Than Three Press (November 9, 2016)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 4 ½ Hearts

Blurb: Grim Misery, the President of the Black Harbinger Motorcycle Club, discovers a wounded warlock and four werepups aboard the club’s LSD shipment. And the news keeps getting better and better. Not only is the warlock sitting on the edge of death, he’s illegally bonded to the werepups, which could trigger a war with the werewolves—and he turns out to be Misery’s estranged husband.

Years ago, Griffin turned Misery away to be with another warlock by the name of Marcheso Aldo. Misery left everything behind, even his family, but couldn’t shake the heartbreak Griffin caused. With Griffin thrust back into Misery’s life, he discovers things aren’t as they seem… and everything is about to get much, much worse

ISBN: 9781620048849 

Product Link: https://lessthanthreepress.com/books/index.php?main_page=product_bookx_info&cPath=106_139&products_id=1231

Reviewer: Shorty 

Review: Wow. Grim is the president of the Harbinger MC’s. When he is informed of a problem with a shipment he goes to investigate and finds his husband, (who chose another over him years before), on deaths door and were pups blood-bonded to him. Griffin had his reasons for doing what he did years before and it had nothing to do with wanting another.

The reasoning was heart-breaking as well as distasteful on the part of the warlock who wanted more power by any means necessary. There is a whole cast of characters that were both intriguing and terrifying. I loved the plot of the good versus the bad. The way the story played out was fantastic as each had a role to play. The different beings were a plus for me as usually there are only one or two in a story. That is not the case here.

So to say this is a good read is an understatement. It had angst, celestial beings, weres, action, drama, mystery and romance. Great read that I highly enjoyed.

I am looking forward to reading more in this series.