Hi guys, we have debut author Rachel Ravenheart popping in today with her very first release Uncommon Valor, we have a fantastic excerpt for you to get teased by, we have a brilliant giveaway and we have Lisa’s review. So check out this new author and her first release and then click that Rafflecopter link <3 ~Pixie~

Uncommon Valor

Rachel Ravenheart

“Lil’ Bro,

If you’re reading this, then something obviously happened and I’m not going to be around. I wanted to let you know how much I love you, and you don’t have to tear yourself up over this. I’m the one who chose to enlist, and I believe I’ve served proudly for the last few years. I know this won’t ease your mind any, but I believe I’m probably in a better place now. Please don’t be sad. I died doing what I loved, fighting for my country. I wish I could be there for you when you tell Mom and Dad about you being gay. Just know that I am with you in spirit. Look to Chase for guidance. I know he’ll be the big brother for you I can no longer be. The guys will be a great support for you, and they won’t care that you’re gay. They’re a great group of guys, and they’ll treat you just like I would. They’ll be a support system for you when Dad blows up, and you know he will. Be safe and know I will be watching out for you from the other side.

Love, Sam.”

Uncommon Valor is not just a story of a gay man, it is the fulfilling story of a young man who is on the verge of discovering his true self and he has the perfect prop to do that. He is also about to become a Dad. Will he pull through as a gay man and a Dad? Or will he fall upon the wayside and reject his newborn child, and in so doing, also reject the man of his dreams?

Excerpt

Last weekend with the platoon was great.

I met a ton of new people, and the guys were really supportive when I told them. I hadn’t heard anything from my Mom, so I wasn’t sure what to think about that, but I’d decided I wasn’t going to worry too much. I was on cloud nine from having spent time with people who didn’t care I was gay and treated me like one of the guys even though I wasn’t a Marine.

That all came to a halt when I ran into Tina in the dining hall on campus during the week.

Tina uses her beauty to her advantage. She’s medium height with red hair and green eyes. Whatever she said was right and she was of the opinion that no one could outsmart her. Personally, I tried to stay away from her if I possibly could.

But, she had a crush on me.

I never got the chance to tell my brother that during a night of drunkenness I had slept with her. There was a part of me that always felt something else had been involved, but I couldn’t prove it. I didn’t even know if we did anything. All I knew was I woke up the next morning in the same bed with her and both of us were naked. It wasn’t something I was proud of, and I honestly hoped I would never see her again. Unfortunately, we were both in law school together, so I knew that wasn’t going to be an option.

I’d almost completely forgotten about the incident because it had happened at the end of the semester and I had taken the summer off. The new semester had just started, and I had been lucky enough to not see her in any of my classes or around campus.

I was shocked to see her with what I would consider a baby bump, but I didn’t want to make any assumptions. I pretended to not see her, but she saw me.

“Jason! I need to talk to you,” she said, and grasped my elbow from behind.

“What do you want, Tina?” I yanked my arm out of her grasp with a snarl.

“It’s a private matter.”

“We can talk tat my house, but that’s all that’s going to happen.” I turned and walked away, expecting her to follow me to the parking lot. As it turned out, we were parked fairly close to each other, and I motioned for her to follow me as I got into my car.

§

We arrived at my house and I was still trying to figure out what she wanted to talk to me about. I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like it.

Inside, she headed for the lounge. “Would you like something to drink?” I asked. When I turned to face her she held her stomach in a protective manner.

“Water would be nice.”

“Have a seat and I’ll be right back.” I said, placing my bag on the floor by the door.

When I returned, she was standing in front of the bay window looking out over the park. “Here you go.” I held out a bottle of water to her as she turned around.

“Thanks, Jason. I’m sorry to put you out like this, but I needed to talk to you and I didn’t want to do it with people around.”

“What’s going on? I haven’t seen you since the end of spring semester.” I walked over and took a seat on the couch and waited to hear what she had to say.

“I went home for summer break and some surprising news came up just before I came back to school.” She came over and sat down next to me.

“Spit it out,” I said, frustrated. I just wanted her gone; something about her really irked me.

“The thing is, just before I came back I realized that I had missed my period so I went to the doctor and took a pregnancy test. I’m pregnant.”

“What’s that got to do with me?” It felt like I had been punched in the gut.

“Well, I hadn’t been with anyone for a while before you and I hooked up at the end of the semester.” She licked her lips and wrung her hands.

“We didn’t hook up. I got way too drunk and don’t remember anything until I woke up the next morning with you by my side and naked.”

“Why do you refuse to believe that what we shared was something special?” she whined. “You know you love me, you only need to admit it and we’ll be happy together as a family.”

“It wasn’t special. What do you want from me?”

“I want you to be a father to our child. I want us to be a family.” She tried to put her hand on my arm. I pulled away.

“We will never be a family. What the HELL were you thinking? Obviously you weren’t; that’s the problem.” I walked over to the bay window and glared out. “If the child is mine I’ll support it and even take custody of him or her, but we will never be together. As soon as the baby is born I’m going to fight for custody and before I commit to anything there needs to be a paternity test, until that time you are nothing more to me than a pregnant woman. Until you have further information, I think this is all we have to talk about.”

“We’d make good parents together. Why are you refusing to admit that?” she cried.

“I have no doubt that we will be good parents, but we won’t be a couple. I’m gay and will not be in a relationship with any woman. Now, if there’s nothing else, I think that it’s time for you to leave. Let me know when you set up the paternity test and I’ll be there. We’ll talk more after the test results come back.” I opened the front door and waited for her to leave. I was being mean and harsh, but I was pissed about what had happened, mostly at myself because I let myself get wasted at that party. I wished I could remember what happened that night.

She stormed past me and went out to her car mumbling under her breath. Part of me hoped I was the father, but there was a greater part of me that hoped I would have nothing more to do with her.

About Rachel

Rachel Ravenheart is new to the literary world, but has had the desire to write since she was in junior high school. She moved from a small town in Iowa in time to start high school in Louisiana.

Rachel lost sight of writing as she got bogged down with sports and school. Her dream of being a writer forgotten as she looked to the future to study Political Science with the hope of going to law school when she moved to Texas.

To make her way in the world she got wrapped up in the field of nursing when she got a job as a C.N.A. and soon even her dream of law school was forgotten. Strangely, thanks to an injury she was at home recuperating and was bored when she remembered her love for writing. Never thinking she would ever get published she began.

It was writers like Rob Colton, Mann Ramblings, and Alicia Nordwell that inspired her creativity. She found GayAuthors.org and after some encouragement she decided to post her first story. With the enthusiasm of readers her confidence grew and she took the step to send off her first story to be published. It was with great delight when she was offered her first contract. Hopefully, the first of many.

Where to find the author:

||  Website & Blog  || Facebook  ||  Facebook Page  ||  Twitter  ||  Email  ||

Giveaway!

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Review

*Spoiler Alert*

Title: Uncommon Valor

Author: Rachel Ravenheart

Genre: Contemporary

Length: Novel (167 Pages)

ISBN: 978-0-99467-731-0

Publisher: CoolDudes Publishing (July 22, 2015)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts

Reviewer: Lisa

Blurb: Jason has just buried his brother, Sam, who was also his confidant. No one, other than Sam and Jason’s best friend, knew Jason is gay and, after the funeral he meets Sam’s superior officer Lt. Chase Johnson, who has a letter for him.

In the next few days after the funeral, Chase’s platoon is reassigned to Miramar and he invites Jason to Jason to their new abode to meet a few members of the platoon to which Sam had been assigned before he died. Jason approaches Chase with Sam’s letter because he can’t bring himself to read it without coming to tears.

But, Chase has had feelings for Jason ever since Sam had been assigned to his platoon and has little hope of anything coming from it. He finally decides to take a chance to see if maybe his feelings will be returned.

Then Jason is hit with the news that he is about to be a father from a night he doesn’t even remember and the girl is intent on forcing Jason to marry her. Chase supports Jason when his father demands he marry the mother even though he doesn’t love her, and when Jason refuses, he is disowned immediately.

Out of spite, the angry woman outs Jason to his father. Chase continues to show his compassion by being there for him. But will Jason stand by Chase when he is blackmailed to get him out of Jason’s life.

Realizing that Jason wants nothing to do with her, Tina places the baby up for adoption, but Jason blocks her plans by filing his own papers declaring that he is the father and he has paternal rights.

Product Link: http://www.cooldudespublishing.com/uncommon-valor/

Review: Wow, this book was amazing. I took one look at the title and figured military which is extremely hot. Men in uniform so damn sexy. Then I read the blurb and my attention was caught. It is told by each character basically. You get Jason’s point of view, then Chase’s and some of the others. I was fascinated from the moment I start reading and can tell you that I could not put the book down.

Jason was best friends with his brother Sam. Sam knew everything about him, including the fact that he was gay. So when Sam was killed serving his country, Jason felt that he had lost a part of himself. Then he met the men Sam had worked with. One in particular caught his attention and he wanted to know more about him. To top it off Sam had left him a letter giving his last words. It was sad to hear and I can see the feelings in him come out better. To top it off it would seem Chase’s was just as captivated with him.

Chase was a marine all the way but his time was soon ending in that part of his life. He wanted a future with Jason. Then light comes out that Jason was going to be a dad, which for most is going to be a bit hard. It would seem he had gotten drunk and had sex with her, but not remembering any part of it. Suspicious is all I have to say about that. Then there is Jason’s father’s reaction to Jason, not marrying the dumb bitch, and to his being gay. With a father like that I wouldn’t have said a word either. To top it off his own best friend tries to blackmail Chase, in to giving up Jason.

There was no way in hell that would happen.

I had a blast reading this and look forward to reading more by this amazing author. If it had been possible to give it more than five hearts I would have. It has so much feeling flowing through it that I felt like I was on a roller coaster. I would definitely recommend reading this. It is told in a serious tone but there is just a touch of humor that makes it perfect.

This story gave me everything I could want in a story and so much more. My attention was caught from the moment I started reading and kept it all the way to the end. What a great first read for me by this author. She has made it to my top ten favorite stories.

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