Hey guys today’s Dreamspinner Daily Dose is Total Immersion by Ellis Carrington and it is a cute story that you don’t want to miss, we have an interview with Ellis and of course the chance to win a copy of Total Immersion by leaving a comment, and don’t forget that all important Rafflecopter link where you could win the entire Mended collection! Good luck guys <3 ~Pixie~

JenCW you’re our lucky winner of M. Lee’s Nightsweats! Congratulations 🙂

Mended

Various Authors

Life comes with a bit of hurt, but luckily for these men, it also comes with the right amount of comfort to mend their breaks, both of the body and the heart. From facing deranged exes to economic trials, the men in these tales have faced trial by fire–or in some cases water–for the right to love and live. Step into their shoes as they rebuild their family after a gutting betrayal or traverse the stars with an unexpected partner. The Mended Daily Dose package delivers stories about all kinds of second chances built on love. 

Felicitas Ivey Zahra Owens Emily Moreton Cardeno C. S.A. Garcia Elizabeth Noble M. Lee Ellis Carrington Kim Fielding Ari McKay E.T. Malinowski Bru Baker K.C. Wells Gwynn Marssen Lee Comyn Ashavan Doyon Eli Easton Charley Descoteaux Therese Woodson MA Ford Kenzie Cade Coral Moore L.D. Blakeley Chloe Stowe Ronnie Matthews Jayden Brooks Diane Lennox C. Callenreese Mars Novak Emma Wilson

Interview with Ellis Carrington

Pixie: Hello to Ellis Carrington who is joining us today for the Dreamspinner Press Daily Dose with her release Total Immersion, hey Ellis.

Ellis:  Hi, thank you so much for having me!

Pixie: Ellis your contribution to the Daily Dose is Total Immersion why don’t you tell our readers a little about it.

Ellis: Total Immersion was a different story for me. I usually write kind of gritty, tragic heroes, and I decided to go lighter, with a slightly humorous new adult story about these two guys who meet on a study abroad trip and think they’re nothing alike, but manage to be exactly what each other needs at that moment in their lives. Evan is managing the trip with a broken heart and an injured back, and Bale is coming to a new understanding about himself after breaking up with his long-term girlfriend. They longer they trek across the hot, beautiful landscape of Turkey and Greece together, the closer the get. 😉

Pixie: So did you have this story in mind before the Daily Dose Mended submission call or did it come into being after you saw the call for hurt/comfort stories?

Ellis: Mary Calmes mentioned the daily dose to me, and that she thought it was a good submission call for me because I do kinda love that trope. I didn’t have anything in mind but I filed it away in case an idea popped up. Right before the deadline, Evan and Bale showed up. 🙂

Pixie: Evan has really been through the mill and Bale was fantastic the way he handled everything, did you enjoy writing this hurt/comfort story?  

Ellis:  I honestly adored writing Total Immersion. I usually like to write angstier stuff; I’m a big believer in throwing yourself into the void, purging your inner emotion on the page, and all that junk. It just so happened the day I sat down to write Total Immersion what I was feeling was something very different, and I was remembering a day when I’d loved exploring a new place with someone I liked, getting to know both it and her, and all the possibility that lay in that moment. Bale’s sense of humor and Evan’s vulnerability made me fall so in love with both of them.

Pixie: Do you think you could give the readers a little teaser, just a couple of lines?

Ellis:  Of course!

“Evan, check it out!” Two of the girls from our group were looking through high-heeled shoes at a table. Next to them, Bale held up a small jar. You’d think it was a trophy. “Penis-enhancement cream!”

The two girls, Tamara and Susan, they giggled and looked at him like he belonged in a zoo. Bale sure didn’t seem to care. You’d think he won a competition. I’d say I couldn’t believe he shouted that shit from two table away, but after asking the guy selling lacy thongs if they had any in his size and telling the dude at the baklava shop he’d like his pastry with extra nuts? I kind of can.

Turns out Captain Khaki has a bright, shiny freak flag.

Pixie: Do you think you will revisit Evan and Bale in the future?

Ellis: I haven’t planned to, but never say never.

Pixie: What can we expect to see from you next?

Ellis: I’m finishing Stripped Away, the sequel to Stripped Clean and the second book in my Escapade series (a series about men finding love with other men in a girlie bar, because I thought that was a fun concept to play with). I’ve also got a short story coming soon that’s going to spin off from the Escapade series, it’s about two men who meet outside of the club, and one of them goes to school at nearby Bradford College, and I sort of think that town might wind up being its own world later on town the road. Not sure yet. I’m also working on an Air Force story, that I’ve been dying to finish for awhile now, but it’s taken a lot of research, so the progress has been slow. I hope to finally get it done soon.

Pixie: Why don’t you let the readers and fans know where to find you.

Ellis:  Web: EllisCarrington.com,

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EllisCarringtonRomance

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MMbyEllis

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4639529.Ellis_Carrington

Pixie: Before we go is there anything you’d like to tell the readers and fans?

Ellis:  First and foremost thank you, because I appreciate all the readers I have and the support I’ve gotten for my books. I’m a reader first—I’d probably be a lot more productive if I weren’t—and hearing readers say the things that *I* say about other stories makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And I love to share reading recs on my Twitter and FB pages, so feel free to keep in touch!

Pixie: Ellis thank you so much for joining us today 🙂

Ellis:  I’m so happy to be here. Thank YOU!

About Ellis

Romance requires a hopeful ending and that is why Ellis Carrington is driven to write it. She loves to create original stories that are gritty, witty, and a little unexpected, just like the heroes who inhabit them. Her guys come in both human and non-human form because spirit guides and vampires deserve love too. Her favorite things are great friends, great music, and books that make her sob like there’s no tomorrow.

@MMbyEllis

Review

Title: Total Immersion

Series: Mended Daily Dose 07

Author: Ellis Carrington

Genre: Contemporary

Length: Novella (83pgs)

ISBN: 978-1-63216-079-9

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (1^st June 2014)

Heat Level: Low – Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: Evan Stanton is in over his head. Injured from a fall on campus, he’s let his boyfriend talk him into a senior year total immersion trip—two weeks abroad—only his boyfriend ends up dumping him shortly before takeoff. Evan gets on the plane anyway, but he’s lost his hope and added to his pain.

Chris Bale decided to spend his senior year of college clearing his head after breaking up with the girl he’s dated since high school. He finds himself on a flight to Istanbul next to a surly kid with piercings and guyliner who couldn’t be more his opposite. They strike up a friendship anyway, and as they make their way across a foreign land, Bale realizes he’s too immersed in Evan to let go.

Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5129

Or as part of the 2014 Daily Dose Full Set Mended: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5113 

Review: Evan and his boyfriend Josh were supposed to be jetting off together for a senior year immersion trip abroad before being grownups and getting jobs, but Evan finds himself sitting on the plane alone after being abruptly dumped. Bale is going to Istanbul just to enjoy himself after ending the relationship he’s had since high school, sitting next to a guy who looks the complete opposite to him Bale finds himself drawn to the other man. Bale and Evan’s friendship grows, as the trip comes to an end will Bale and Evan take a chance on each other?

This is a cute little number that was a perfect read for a sunny afternoon. Evan is a great guy who is suffering through not only a break up but also excruciating pain caused by a fall months earlier, refusing to let the pain overcome him he tries to continue with his plans. Bale is a bit of a cheeky chappy, filled with mischief and life he drags Evan out of his shell and doesn’t make a big fuss of Evan’s pain. Their friendship blossoms and it isn’t long before Bale reveals a startling truth about himself.

I really enjoyed this story and thought Evan and Bale made a superb couple, Bale doesn’t let Evan wallow in his pain and encourages Evan to push his boundaries. Evan is down about his pain and his boyfriend dumping him does hurt, but we learn that all was not happy in the relationship so when he and Bale get drunk *cough* we don’t feel like Evan is on the rebound. That isn’t to say there isn’t some fancy dancing to do by Bale as Evan also doesn’t want to be Bale’s gay training wheels.

So I recommend this to those who love summer romances, encouragement and support, new friends to new lovers, great characters and an ending that is also the beginning for two young men.  

Giveaway!

 One lucky comment winner will receive Ellis Carrington’s Total Immersion

(Ends midnight 8th June 2014)

One lucky clicker will win the entire Mended collection

(Just click the link below)

Dreamspinner Mended Collection Rafflecopter giveaway!

(Ends Midnight 30th June 2014)

All winners for the Giveaways will be notified by MM Good Book Reviews by email and will receive their prize in their Dreamspinner Press Account.

(I will contact you for the email you use for your Dreamspinner account)

Don’t have a Dreamspinner Press account? sign up here:

https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/create_account.php

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