Tag: Mark Zubro

Turning The Page… Anthology Release Blitz!

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Hi guys, we have the charity anthology Turning The Page stopping by today to celebrate it’s release, so check out the stories and authors who have donated to this great anthology! <3 ~Pixie~

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Turning The Page…

by

Tempeste O’Riley, Dianne Hartsock, Nikki Prince, Grace R. Duncan, Sue Brown, Aine P Massie, Carole Cummings, Hope Ryan, Mark Zubro, Antonia Aquilante, D. Zander Crane

Turn The Page…. began as a simple idea and grew from there. No matter how bad things seem to be, just turn the page, there’s more—better—things to come. This is only one chapter in your life. It’s not the whole story. With this simple idea, Novice Sister Eroti-Quill—whom most know better as Tempeste O’Riley—began their quest to help Suicide Prevention and Awareness programs in their area. They managed to con (excuse me, convince) other authors to donate their time and stories to the project, and now, many months later, Turn The Page is born!

The authors in this anthology donated their talent as a way to support Eroti-Quill’s hope for others, to help bring strength to programs that so desperately need funding. It will allow them show those that need support but may not have it, or that may be afraid to reach out, just how much love and understanding surrounds them. Turn The Page…. is a diverse range of stories about the journey of love, hope, and acceptance.

Individual Blurbs:

Happy Birthday to Me by Tempeste O’Riley

When Dave’s best friend drags him out for his birthday—nearly kicking and screaming, he finds more than he expected at Sovereign, the BDSM club he half owned but had refused to step foot in for two years other than for administrative things while it was closed. He didn’t go to clubs. He didn’t sub anymore. Period.

Well… until he sees Master Nicky. Then his plans for his birthday change and he decides that maybe giving himself a present, might not be quite such a bad idea after all.

Robin’s Confession by Dianne Hartsock

How can Robin find true love without accepting himself first?

Purr by Nikki Prince

Sasha’s love was in imminent danger. All she wanted was to keep Tori safe. Stay at the cabin wait for the verdict from the council. That’s all they had to do. One little dip in the lake couldn’t hurt could it?

Lockdown by Grace R. Duncan

Gylam’s never been that great at communication and this time he’s gone too far. His penchant for keeping his mouth shut resulted in a disastrous trip to the local dungeon. Jackson, his partner—both cop and at home—and Dom, is well familiar with Gylam’s tendencies. The punishment he gives Gylam is just shy of his limits, but Gylam knows he’s earned it. It remains to be seen if it teaches him anything, though.

Ducks in a Row by Sue Brown

David spends his afternoons feeding the ducks, a peaceful activity until the day Jeff and his Labrador dog burst into his life. David and Jeff get to know one another, punctuated by Bozo’s mishaps, but David is unwilling to share all his secrets. Will Jeff give him the time he needs?

Butterflies by Aine P Massie

Kyndra visits Jaiden’s shop for a little birthday shopping but is there for more than the pretty blown glass designs she makes—lovely though they are. What she really wants is a date with the beautiful craftswoman. But can she push her fears aside and ask, or will her past get in the way? With Jaiden’s help, can who Kyndra is inside finally shine?

Once Step Back by Carole Cummings

When Sahir is busy running for his life, it never occurs to him that the being in wrong place at the wrong time might turn into the right place at the right time. Not until he literally collides with Nicholas and salvation comes by way of magical intervention. But when Nicholas ends up being the one who really needs help, Sahir has to decide the best way to give it—and how to offer it to someone who can’t even figure out if he wants it.

Superheroes by Hope Ryan

Many people reach a point where they think life can’t get any worse. Rock bottom, where the future is so bleak, they begin to ask, “why bother?”

When homeless gay man Wayne Kent reaches that point, standing on a Pittsburgh bridge on a cold Tuesday in April, the last thing he expects is to get stopped—especially by a man named Bruce Clark.

But Bruce has been there, he’s seen that, he’s thought and felt the things Wayne is now and he refuses to see the beautiful, hurting man become another statistic. Coffee and a sandwich is a first step and Bruce hopes it’ll lead to a permanent step up for Wayne. And maybe even a step toward more together.

Unworthy by Mark Zubro

A love lost over half a century ago. Is there really redemption for all of our regrets, or at least perhaps for one regret? A chance to change the decision you made over half a century ago, or at least a chance to say what was unsaid, to say what could be said now? The love you missed so long ago, and if you could have one moment again, once last chance.

Love and Hope and Magic by Antonia Aquilante

Once each century, a ritual is performed, the magic of which sustains the land and protects it and its people for the century to come. But the person who performs the ritual never survives. This time Ailill is chosen. He is honored and content with his fate, but his best friend Lorcan is not. Lorcan can’t accept the loss of Ailill and can’t see a life without the man he thinks of as his other half. But Ailill knew Lorcan perhaps better than Lorcan knows himself, and he knew a life of love and magic is waiting for Lorcan after Ailill is gone, if only Lorcan can find the courage to reach for it.

Façade by D. Zander Crane

David struggles with his gender identity as he searches his city for a woman-murdering madman in his female alter-ego, Façade. Can he overcome his depression and confusion long enough to stop the Grinning Reaper?

M/M F/F Transgender Genderfluid

Contemporary Urban Fantasy Paranormal BDSM Romance

(Each story is unique and special, so the genre varies wildly. All are LGBTQ)

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Dying to Play by Mark Zubro

71zpxPuPOFL._SL1425_Title: Dying to Play
Series: A Mike King Mystery
Author: Mark Zubro
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Length: Novel (263 words)
Publisher: MLR Press (January 8th, 2015)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4 Hearts
Blurb: Gay PI Mike King is called upon to investigate what is happening to a minor league baseball team. He follows the trail of drugs, death, and destruction through the deadly dangers he finds in the rural community.

Through the lives of the hot studs involved in baseball, he has to navigate to find the truth about what is happening to them and their dreams.

ISBN: 978-1-60820-975-0

Product Link: http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=MZDY2PLA

Reviewer: Prime

Review: This is my first read of a Mark Zubro novel and it was certainly an interesting book to read. Instead, this is a gritty mystery and realistic enough to real life. The story is narrated by Mike King, an intelligent man who knows his way around, not just the men he falls into bed with, but also knowing his way around the human mind. Being a PI, he also knows how to get his man.

I’m going to put this out there, but for anyone wanting a happily ever after, you’re not going to get it. This isn’t an erotic book either, but don’t worry, there is a lot of sexiness and the actual physical act was alluded to only a few times. Instead, the sexiness comes from the actual character personalities themselves.

Mike King, the PI, has been hired by a millionaire/billionaire who owns a minor league baseball team. There have not only been threats during the construction of their stadium and now the team players are also facing threat from an unknown perpetrator. And of course, everything revolves around money.

Quite honestly, it took me a while to get into the book and then by just over half way I pretty much had the plot figured out. However, I have to admit, it was a whole heap of fun as well. I loved the sarcasm, which was also very amusing. It certainly made the characters more likable in my mind, but then again sarcasm is a natural state for me.

The pace of the book was also good, nick and quick but not too rapid. That’s another reason why I was able to continue on when I was first getting into it, then later when I had figured out the plot. I think for me though, the surprises came in Mike’s personal life, which provided another riveting facet to the plot of this book.

The blurb doesn’t do justice to the complexity of the plot. Reading the blurb, I had expected something in the range of 90 pages, not 300. And because of that, I’m just going to have to leave things as they and not spoil anything!

There are many tiny elements that make up the story, some related some interrelated but on the whole, every bit of information was important, so you can’t get too lazy when you read this one. I also found it amusing how the final chapter basically sums up Mike’s when it comes to men.

This isn’t the type of book I would read on a lazy day, this one requires some brain cells to function to get into and through this one.

* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *

A Conspiracy of Fear by Mark Zubro

81P4xC-9hqL._AA1425_Title: A Conspiracy of Fear
Series: A Tom and Scott Mystery
Author: Mark Zubro
Genre: Police Procedural/ Mystery
Length: Novel (230 pages)
Publisher: MLR Press (October 24th, 2014)
Heat Level: Mild
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4Hearts
Blurb: After a vicious attack at the opening of an art exhibit, Tom and Scott must navigate a maelstrom of death and destruction where they may be the killer’s next victims.

When an elderly gay man with a lifetime of fear and pain behind him approaches Tom Mason with an intriguing story, Tom has no idea that he and his husband Scott Carpenter will be plunged into an anti-gay conspiracy and a maelstrom of death. They race against time and a deadly killer who may have both of them in his cross hairs.

ISBN: MLR-1-02014-0315

Product Link: http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=MZCNFEAR

Reviewer: Shorty

Review: This was a story about how one man’s hatred and fear that span decades, set into motion a terrible event and had Tom going all over talking to different people to get the facts of a story Fulhem told him, but you don’t find that out until the end. Amazing details about the shooting as sad as that was. The reasoning behind it and the people involved seemed strange to me.

Tom is a teacher who also loves to investigate things. His partner and husband Scott is a professional baseball player. These two seemed very in love and deeply committed to each other. I was glad they had one another while they each tried to deal with a horrific event.

Conspiracies about who knew what and why things were covered up. People making death threats, fighting, arguing, and a lot of drama are all throughout this book. I personally have never understood that kind of hatred because we’re all different in some way or another.

Well written day-to-day investigative account of events that happened through the years leading up to the finale that I never saw coming.

Good read.

Safe by Mark Zubro

20565919Title: Safe

Series:  N/A

Author: Mark Zubro

Genre: Contemporary/YA/Murder Mystery

Length: Novel (206 pages)

Publisher: MLR Press (January 12th, 2014)

Heat Level: Mild

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4Hearts

Blurb: In an unsafe world, death and danger stalk gay teens, Roger Cook and Steve Koemer.
Roger Cook is in the middle of his senior year when Kyle Davis, the most picked on kid in his high school commits suicide. Roger agrees to write an article on Kyle for the school newspaper. As he gathers information, Roger realizes the dead boy was gay and may have been murdered. Gay himself, Roger wants to find out the truth, but this leads him to danger and the possibility of love. Roger opens himself to even greater risk while trying to make those around him safe.

Product Link: http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=MZ__SAFE

Reviewer:   GiGi

Review: I’m always a sucker for a good murder mystery story, and this young adult novel does not disappoint my sleuthing fetish.

Zurbo lays out many possibilities for the bad guys, some more obvious than others, and puts young Roger Cook to work solving the crime immediately. Roger, usually the jock assigned to report of sports is given the case of a teen suicide, a gay teen, and he can’t help but wonder if it’s because someone knows about his secret, the fact that he’s also gay. Though he’s afraid of why he’s been given the story,

Roger feels it’s important to give boys like Kyle a voice, and protect those who may be different, those like himself. He manages to reach out to another reporter and mentor to help him uncover the truth to what he suspects is not suicide, but murder.

There are many twists and turns throughout this story, and the plot really surprised me! While there is a budding love interest, there is little or no sexual content aside from implied oral sex scenes and brutal attacks, this is young adult after all.

Don’t be put off by the bad cover art. This mystery is a little gem! I’d like to see more stories following Roger as he adventures off into the world.

Alien Quest by Mark Zubro

18465469Title: Alien Quest 

Series: Alien Dangers 01     

Author: Mark Zubro     

Genre: Science Fiction, Contemporary     

Length: Novel Plus (397pgs)     

Publisher: MLR Press (29th August 2013)    

Heat Level: Low     

Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥ 3 Hearts    

Reviewer: Pixie     

Blurb: Gay Chicago waiter falls in love with a sexy, mysterious alien who asks for his help to save Earth from a mad scientist.

Chicago waiter Mike Carlson stumbles into intergalactic intrigue and romance as he becomes involved with Joe, an alien cop, who lands on Earth in pursuit of a dangerous mad scientist bent on taking over our corner of the universe. As Mike joins Joe on a wild adventure beyond anything he dreamed of in his life, Mike must balance his obligations to his nephew and his first lover– with a little help from a drag queen in sequins and spandex and the well-dressed patrons of a leather bar.     

Purchase Link: http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=MZALNQST    

Review: Mike finds himself in difficult circumstances when he makes an impression on one of his customers and that customer drags him into a race against time to save the human race from a mad scientist. Joe needs help. On Earth to chase down a wanted criminal, he is clueless about Earth customs so he pulls Mike into aid him. Mike is now in for the adventure of his life, but Mike still has responsibilities with work, his nephew, and his AIDs stricken first lover. 

This is a pretty good alien visitor story where a mad alien scientist with nefarious plans is hiding out on Earth and an alien cop is hunting him before he can cause too much damage. Mike is just a simple waiter, but when he comes to the aid of one of the patrons of the restaurant he works at he gets pulled into a race to save humanity. Joe is a cop on his world, this mission is his last chance to redeem himself and keep his job but fitting in is hard. When Joe asks waiter, Mike, to help him explaining his mission, Mike thinks he is mad until things happen that has Mike helping him out, but Joe finds himself aiding Mike when it comes to Mike’s nephew.

This story is pretty interesting with Joe’s story and the hunt for the scientist keeping you reading. Mike is a pretty simple character who manages to catch the eye of an alien, Mike’s relationship with his nephew is on rocky ground until he discovers just what his nephew has been going through, and he isn’t sure what to believe about Joe. Joe has messed up in the past and he knows that this is a mission he isn’t expected to come back from, but that doesn’t stop him from trying his best. The connection he forges with Mike isn’t very strong but he hopes that Mike will trust him and give in to the attraction they both feel. 

Although I found that this story did jump between topics and at times dragged, it was still entertaining. Meeting Mike’s family added a nice twist to the story along with Joe helping out with Mike’s nephews secrets. Having Darryl seriously ill and finding out about a miracle cure which helps to lead them to the alien scientist was an interesting twist, but also pretty horrific when discovering the true twisted mind of the scientist. The relationship between Mike and Joe is very loose with mistrust that changes to more as they run from the police and FBI while trying to keep on step ahead of the alien bounty hunter. 

I recommend this to those who love alien love stories, danger, chases and escapes, finding love in difficult circumstances and prevailing over evil while keeping love intact.