The Silence of Lightning by Marie S. Crosswell Release Blast, Excerpt & Giveaway!

The Silence of Lightning

Author: Marie S. Crosswell

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: October 19, 2020

Heat Level: 3 – Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 73800

Genre: Contemporary, LGBTQIA+, contemporary, bisexual, ace, interracial, Wyoming, rodeo, cowboys, in the closet, outing, family, HFN

Add to Goodreads

Synopsis

Former pro-rodeo champion Smith Rose and his cousins Cooper and Christa Boone live a quiet life together in the town of Cody, Wyoming—until the summer of 2015 shakes them to their foundations.

Stuck in an unhappy rut since his retirement from the rodeo five years prior, Smith is forced to reckon with his past, present, and future when his former friend and lover John Henry Walker shows up at Smith’s bar. Meanwhile, the Boone sisters face a threat they never would’ve predicted when an out-of-town stranger begins to stalk Christa after meeting her at a party. While trying to support her sister and their cousin, Cooper secretly agonizes over her fears of their little family splitting apart and where that would leave her.

When Smith, Cooper, and Christa’s problems converge in a dangerous confrontation, will the three of them survive?

Excerpt

The Silence of Lightning, Marie S. Crosswell © 2020, All Rights Reserved

Cody, Wyoming
Summer, 2015

The three of them sit sprawled in a booth: Smith, Cooper, and Christa. Their table’s littered with beer bottles and the shucked off metal caps. Smith’s got a cooler on the floor alongside his seat because this is his bar and he can do whatever the hell he wants. He opens each beer with the bottle opener on his key ring. His cousins got a pretty good buzz going on, the two of them pink-faced and smiling, leaning into each other. Smith is mellowed out, not drunk. He doesn’t watch the saloon or Georgeanne filling in for him at the bar, just nurses his drink and considers his cousins.

“There is no way in hell I’m riding fifteen hundred miles on the back of a motorcycle,” says Christa.

“Why not?” Cooper whines. “Labor Day weekend, it’ll be beautiful. We won’t see weather that good in between here and Austin until next spring, which is almost a year from now.”

“I wouldn’t go in the spring either. I’m not traveling that far on a bike. Period.”

“You don’t even have to worry about the bike. I’m the one handling it. All you have to do is hold on and enjoy the scenery.”

“I wouldn’t be enjoying anything, Cooper! I’d be terrified the whole way. What’s fun about that?”

“I wouldn’t even go fast!” Cooper says. “I’ll cap it at five above the speed limit; I promise.”

“Eighty miles an hour on a motorcycle is still enough to kill you!”

“Okay, first of all, it would be seventy half the time, and second of all, why don’t you trust me? I’m not some reckless yahoo looking to cheat death taking a corner too fast, and even if I was, I would never gamble with your life.”

Christa gives her sister an indulgent smile. “It’s not about you. It’s about all the things you can’t control. My fear included.”

Cooper sighs in defeat and blinks at Smith sitting across from her. “Will you go with me?”

Smith pauses. “Might follow in the truck.”

Cooper rolls her eyes. “Forget it. I’ll go on my own.”

“You’re not making that trip alone, Cooper,” says Christa, sipping on her beer.

“Well, I wouldn’t have to if you’d come with me.”

Cooper’s been restoring a 1966 Triumph Bonneville T120TT all year, tinkering with it in her spare time at the garage where she’s an auto mechanic. She reckons she’ll be finished with it by the time September rolls around, and she’s been pestering her sister about a long road trip to Texas.

Christa ignores Cooper’s pouting and gives Smith a pointed look. “You coming to the rodeo with us?”

“No, ma’am,” he replies and draws on his beer. He’s sitting in the interior corner on his side of the booth, and he’s got his left arm stretched out along the top of the seatback behind him. He might be hiding a little, from the rest of the room.

“Smith. Come on.”

“Every year, you two go out there, and every year, I don’t. I figure that’ll never change.”

“Why can’t you just suspend your boycott for one night and spend some time with us?”

“I’m spending time with you right now. I’ll follow you anywhere, except the damn rodeo. Why don’t you skip the rodeo and do something else with me? We could take the motorcycle course at the DMV and get licensed.”

Christa makes a face at him. “Very funny.”

“Well, we’re going tomorrow night, with or without you,” Cooper says to Smith. “And I’m betting whoever places first in bronc and bull riding won’t come anywhere near your records, like I always do. Then I’ll be proven right like I always am. At least half a dozen people will recognize me and Chris as your family, ask us how you’re doing, and then recount some memory of your glory days we’ve both heard about a thousand times. We’ll smile and nod and agree you were the best in the West, shake hands, and go home.”

“Clearly, I’m not missing anything,” says Smith, his face shaded under the brim of his cowboy hat.

“If you hate the rodeo so much, why did you decide to live in Cody?” Christa asks. “You could’ve gone back to Rawlins or Cheyenne. Left Wyoming altogether.”

“Cody ain’t a bad place to live.” Smith flicks his eyes past his cousin and gives the saloon a once-over. “You two are here.”

“We’re here because of you,” says Cooper.

Smith glances at her but doesn’t respond, draining his beer bottle instead.

Purchase

NineStar Press | Amazon

Meet the Author

Marie S. Crosswell writes long fiction, short fiction, and poetry. Her novellas Texas, Hold Your Queens; Lone Star on a Cowboy Heart; Alchemy; and Cold, Cold Water are available online wherever digital books are sold. Her short fiction has appeared in Thuglit, Betty Fedora, Plots with Guns, Tough, and other indie crime fiction publications. She’s a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College where she studied creative writing. She lives in the American West. Find out more about Marie on her Website.

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Button 2

The Hunt by Sarah Elkins Release Blast, Excerpt & Giveaway!

Sarah Elkins - The Hunt RB Banner

Hi peeps, we have Sarah Elkins popping in today with her new release Psychic Underground: The Hunt, we have a great excerpt and a brilliant $10 NineStar GC giveaway, so check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤️ ~Pixie~

Sarah Elkins - The Hunt Cover mzk8dj

The Hunt

(Psychic Underground 02)
by

Sarah Elkins

The Facility is undergoing repairs after a chaotic failed escape attempt by several psychic test subjects some months ago. Neila and Henry’s mission is to locate potential psychics for the scientists at the Facility to study, but they have other ideas.

Neila can’t shake the idea of Nikola Tesla from her mind, and it’s getting worse as bizarre things start happening to herself and Henry. As they hunt for more about Neila’s possible past life, they aren’t sure if they will find answers or if they will become the hunted.

Things are not peaceful back at the Facility as troubling secrets come to light, and the Psychic Underground may never be the same.

Warning: Body horror, description of the torture of an animal

.•.•.**❣️ NineStar | Amazon US | Amazon UK | Smashwords | B&N | Kobo ❣️**.•.•.

Continue reading “The Hunt by Sarah Elkins Release Blast, Excerpt & Giveaway!”

Human Enough by E.S. Yu Release Blast, Excerpt & Giveaway!

E.S. Yu - Human Enough RB Banner

Hi guys, we have E.S. Yu stopping by today with her new release Human Enough, we have a great excerpt and a fantastic $10 NineStar GC giveaway so check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤️ ~Pixie~

E.S. Yu - Human Enough Cover 45hjrf

Human Enough

by

E.S. Yu

When Noah Lau joined the Vampire Hunters Association, seeking justice for his parents’ deaths, he didn’t anticipate ending up imprisoned in the house of the vampire he was supposed to kill—and he definitely didn’t anticipate falling for that vampire’s lover.

Six months later, Noah’s life has gotten significantly more complicated. On top of being autistic in a world that doesn’t try to understand him, he still hunts vampires for a living…while dating a vampire himself. Awkward.

When one of Jordan’s vampire friends goes missing and Noah’s new boss at the VHA becomes suspicious about some of his recent cases, what starts off as a routine paperwork check soon leads Noah to a sinister conspiracy. As he investigates, he and Jordan get sucked into a deadly web of intrigue that will test the limits of their relationship.

Warning: Ableism, graphic violence, allusions to past emotional abuse, abduction, hate groups

.•.•.**❣️ NineStar | Amazon US | Amazon UK | Smashwords | B&N | Kobo ❣️**.•.•.

Continue reading “Human Enough by E.S. Yu Release Blast, Excerpt & Giveaway!”

Diamond Heart by M.A. Hinkle Release Blast, Excerpt & Giveaway!

M.A. Hinkle - Diamond Heart RB Banner

Hi guys, we have M.A. Hinkle stopping by with her new release Diamond Heart, we have a great excerpt and a brilliant $10 NineStar GC giveaway so check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤ ~Pixie~

M.A. Hinkle - Diamond Heart Cover

Diamond Heart

(Cherrywood Grove 02)
by

M.A. Hinkle

Gareth has a problem. He got expelled. Now he and his twin brother, Morgan, have to start over at an artsy new private school, and it’s all Gareth’s fault. Not to mention Morgan’s crippling social anxiety and Gareth’s resting jerk face aren’t making them any friends, and their father is furious with him. Gareth could live with this, but Morgan’s mad at him too, and Morgan is the only person alive who can make Gareth feel guilty.

Good thing Gareth has a plan. Cute, bubbly Felix, a student at their new school, has a crush on Morgan, and they both want to act in their school’s production of Midsummer Night’s Dream. Gareth figures it’s the perfect way to help Morgan come out of his shell and set him up with Felix. Then, maybe Morgan will forgive him, and Gareth can go back to not caring about anything or anyone.

But Gareth has another problem. He’s been cast as Oberon, and Felix is Titania. Oh, and Morgan doesn’t like Felix back. And maybe Gareth is enjoying the play and making new friends and having a good time at his new school. And maybe—just maybe—he’s got a crush on Felix. Can Gareth keep up his tough-guy act long enough to repair his relationship with Morgan, or will Felix get caught in the fallout of Gareth’s dumb schemes?

Warning: grieving and the discussion of suicide and the previous death of a family member

.•.•.**❣️ NineStar | Amazon US | Amazon UK | Smashwords | B&N | Kobo ❣️**.•.•.

Continue reading “Diamond Heart by M.A. Hinkle Release Blast, Excerpt & Giveaway!”

Lucky Cowboy by Liz Borino Release Blast, Excerpt & Giveaway!

Liz Borino - Lucky Cowboy RB Banner

Hi guys, we have Liz Borino popping in today with her new release Lucky Cowboy, we have a great excerpt and a brilliant $10 NineStar GC giveaway, so check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤ ~Pixie~

Lucky Cowboy

(Ace Cowboy 01)
by

Liz Borino

Childhood friends and lost loves.

A former horse trainer turned stockbroker, Ryder Christensen planned to spend the rest of his life with Sal—the man he had grown up and fallen in love with. But nowadays, Ryder only has two things in that make him happy: his daughter, and his poker-playing. One night, he comes home to find his daughter dead. Then the loan sharks come knocking.

Back to square one…

Salvatore Lewis has spent the last six years running his late parents’ ranch in Tryon, North Carolina. Between work on the ranch and helping his brother recover from an accident, Sal has almost gotten his old boyfriend out of his head. So, the last thing he needs is Ryder strolling back into his life. Sal tries to stay away, he really does. But the magnetism between the two men is undeniable.

Danger closes in…

Within a month, Ryder’s taking care of Sal’s horses, and the ranch-owner can’t believe they’re getting a second shot at happiness together. But there’s more to Ryder’s sudden return than he’s letting on. As Ryder and Sal’s relationship blossoms, Ryder’s past in New York comes back to demand more than he has to give. Will Ryder be able to protect his new life from the threat that destroyed his old one?

Warning: scenes of violence and references to the death of a child

Continue reading “Lucky Cowboy by Liz Borino Release Blast, Excerpt & Giveaway!”

Blood-Bound by Kaelan Rhywiol Release Blast, Excerpt & Giveaway!

Kaelan Rhywiol - Blood-Bound RB Banner

Hi peeps! We have Kaelan Rhywiol stopping by today with xyr new release Blood-Bound, we have a great excerpt and a fantastic $10 NineStar GC giveaway, so check out the post and enter the giveaway!  ❤ ~Pixie~

Blood-Bound

(Ace Assassin 01)
by

Kaelan Rhywiol

Rhian is content in her life. As a pwca, a Welsh shapeshifter, she is bound to the Dark God Arawn as an assassin. So when he assigns her as ambassador to oversee Ontario for him, it’s a shock.

Her new job? To find out who murdered her predecessor and bring them to justice, as well as to oversee the otherkin and clean up their messes before the humans find them—all to preserve the illusion that magic and supernatural creatures do not exist.

The problem? One of the otherkin she’s supposed to oversee is her estranged husband, Kai, the only person Rhian never regretted having sex with, and the only one she can’t forgive.

Continue reading “Blood-Bound by Kaelan Rhywiol Release Blast, Excerpt & Giveaway!”

Mercs! by Dorian Dawes Release Blast, Excerpt & Giveaway!

Dorian Dawes - Mercs RBBanner

Hi peeps! We have Dorian Dawes stopping by today with their new release Mercs!, we have a great excerpt and a brilliant $10 NineStar GC giveaway, so check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤ ~Pixie~

Mercs!

by

Dorian Dawes

Famous bounty hunter Talisha Artul is not having a good day. A hostile alien planet full of bandits and refugees, an entire group of mercenaries all told to kill her and take her armor, and it’s barely even noon. All she wanted was to earn a paycheck and make her mother proud. They’ve barely shared a kind word since she came out of the closet as trans and took her mother’s name.

Now she’s travelling with an android cowboy with split-personality issues and an eight-foot-tall warrior woman to beat a group of vengeful pirates and the galactic federation’s military forces to uncover an ancient alien temple. Talisha soon learns that despite her legal standing, there is little that separates her from these marginalized cutthroats and outcasts. They’re all victims here, all pawns in their shadowy employer’s game.

Continue reading “Mercs! by Dorian Dawes Release Blast, Excerpt & Giveaway!”

What It Seems by Sydney Blackburn Release Blast, Excerpt & Giveaway!

Sydney Blackburn - What It Seems Banner

Hi guys, we have Sydney Blackburn popping in today with her new release What It Seems, we have agreat excerpt and a fantastic $10 NineStar GC giveaway, so check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤ ~Pixie~

What It Seems

by

Sydney Blackburn

Michael’s straight and infatuated with a woman he worked with one day, over a year ago. But when he finally sees her again, he’s astounded that the woman of his dreams is a man in drag.

Darcy is ace and not interested in dating anyone, so he and Michael just hang out. A lot. When he needs to do an on-screen kissing scene, Michael is the best person to ask for help.

Michael soon discovers he isn’t as straight as he thought he was, and Darcy likes kissing him a little too much for someone certain he never would. Those are a lot of changes to accept, but they just might be worth it.

Continue reading “What It Seems by Sydney Blackburn Release Blast, Excerpt & Giveaway!”

The Facility by Sarah Elkins Release Blast, Excerpt & Giveaway!

Sarah Elkins - The Facility Psychic Underground RB Banner

Hi peeps, we have Sarah Elkins popping in today with her new release Psychic Underground: The Facility, we have a great excerpt and a brilliant $10 NineStar GC giveaway, so check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤ ~Pixie~

The Facility

(Psychic Underground 01)
by

Sarah Elkins

Being psychic is just another aspect of life for Neila Roddenberry. So are dreams of a past life as Nikola Tesla. She’s sure that last part is the result of reading the wrong mind at the wrong time without realizing it. Neither are things she talks about much. Her friends know she’s psychic, but no one knows about the dreams. She’s twenty-three, asexual, and unemployed with ambitions to become a freelance artist and writer.

On the way home from visiting friends, Neila gets caught up in a terrorist attack, then wakes up in an underground psychic testing facility. Raised by a doomsday-prepper father, Neila is unusually prepared for the possibility of being whisked away to a secret lab somewhere. When she is faced with the choice of working for the scientists studying psychics at the facility, she takes the job as both an agent and a test subject.

But not everyone in the facility wants to be there.

Continue reading “The Facility by Sarah Elkins Release Blast, Excerpt & Giveaway!”

Once Upon A Rainbow Vol One Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway!

Anthology - Once Upon a Rainbow Banner

Hi guys! We have NineStar Press stopping by today with their newest anthology Once Upon A Rainbow, there’s eight authors with some fantastic stories in the collection and NineStar Press is sharing an exclusive excerpt and having a brilliant giveaway to celebrate the release, so guys, check out the post and enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~

Once Upon A Rainbow Vol 01

by

Sydney Blackburn, K.S. Trenten, Riza Curtis, A. Fae, Dianne Hartsock, J.P. Jackson, Donna Jay, A.D. Song, Mickie B. Ashling

Morning Star

by Sydney Blackburn

Tariq is a devoted apprentice to his master, even stealing a perfume jar for Malik, the man he secretly adores, with only a twinge of guilt. But when Malik seeks to use the Jinni bound to the stolen jar, Tariq learns what love is—and isn’t. Ridha has given Tariq five wishes, two of which remain, and the one Tariq wants most, he cannot have. Or can he?

Fairest

by K.S. Trenten

All of my life, I’ve been haunted by her dark eyes. At birth, she cursed me to prick my finger on the spindle and sleep for a century. She appears in my dreams, my reflections, shaping my desires. Who is she? My guardian has only revealed a few enigmatic words as to her identity, the fairest of them all. Follow me into the lonely Forest of Tears where the dwarves dwell, walking where she once walked. Gaze into the depths of the magic mirror, which reveals her secrets. For I refuse to fear her, even if I should.

Gingerbread

by Riza Curtis

When a dozen gay men go missing, the Supernatural Investigations team is brought in.

With the trail running cold, werewolf Detective Erik Stuart is sent undercover with fellow officer Noah Coleman to investigate exclusive gay club Gingerbread. As their friendship blossoms into romance, danger puts their very lives at risk. Are they powerful enough to survive and bring justice for the missing men?

Sleeping Beauty

by A. Fae

Two royal births: one born into the body of a prince and the other a princess, bodies betraying their true identity. They grow to be inseparable, both deciding to become their true selves as soon as they are able. But an ugly curse by a wicked godmother brings them to the brink of disaster. And only through true love’s kiss can they be united.

Little Match Girl

by Dianne Hartsock

Christian can’t help himself. He’s fallen in love with the sweet, sometimes effeminate guy who’s been coming into the sandwich shop for the past several months. But Dani is also the Little Match Girl, the ragged queer selling candles on the street corner Christian’s been avoiding all year, going so far as to cross the street to avoid walking by him. Ashamed, he wonders if Dani can ever forgive him.

Losing his mother to cancer, Dani has spent the last year in a haze of grief and loneliness, selling Mother’s candles like they always had, giving himself to any man who can pay, saving him from having to go home to his father’s brutality. Desperate for a place to belong, he sets out with Christian to find his mother’s family. Christian helps, wanting Dani to be happy, though the cost might be losing his sweet lover forever.

Hood’s Ride is Red

by J.P. Jackson

Harkin Ross, otherwise known as Hood, hasn’t exactly had a happy childhood. His mother died in childbirth and his older brother perished in an unusual accident on the family farm. Hood’s father hasn’t coped well over the years and he’s spiraled into a black hole of anger, alcoholism, and abuse.

But when Kenneth Lowell is hired as the family farm hand, Hood’s life vastly improves. Kenneth earns Hood’s trust, and friendship while teaching Hood some basic mechanics skills, helping Hood get his red Dodge Dart up and running.

Kenneth, however, is hiding a violent and primal secret of his own. When Hood’s father discovers the Hired Hand is doing more than just yard work, the weekly trip to Grandpa’s house goes all to hell.

The Gingerbread Woman

by Donna Jay

Looking forward to a weekend of solitude, Candace heads to her country cottage hoping the peaceful surroundings will help to get her creative juices flowing. Never in her wildest of dreams could she have envisioned the events that unfolded.

White Roses

by A.D. Song

One night in the dark woods, a faerie attacks Lady Iliana and curses her to slumber forever. Lady Iliana finds herself kissed awake by Lord Alexios. When Iliana meets Adara, Alexios’ sister, Iliana finds herself torn between the man who saved her and the woman who hides secrets about Iliana’s awakening. When Alexios turns on Adara, they discover Lady Iliana is stronger than anyone thought. She does whatever she has to do to save Adara…even if it means killing her again.

Once Upon a Mattress

by Mickie B. Ashling

Crown Prince Sebastian of Sendorra has shied away from his obligations to marry and produce the requisite heir. He wants a love match—complicating an already difficult situation—and insists on finding the right man; someone willing and able to carry his child with medical intervention. The Royals throw a ball and invite eligible bachelors from all over the world.

Errol Maitland, a famous sculptor who lives in the small Principality, is tired of random hookups and relationships that fizzle out before they get started. He’s intrigued by the Prince’s invitation and decides to attend the ball.

Sebastian’s mother belongs to a clan of powerful witches. She’s convinced that a touch of magic will ease the selection process. Placing a spell on an ordinary pebble, she tucks it underneath Sebastian’s mattress. The right choice will voice a complaint. Will Errol spend a miserable night and prove his worthiness or will Sebastian have to keep on looking?

Continue reading “Once Upon A Rainbow Vol One Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway!”