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Rainbow Snippets: Self-righteous and Smug May 7-8, 2016

It’s Saturday, and this is the first one since October when there’s been nothing going on. I missed last week’s snippets because I was a tiny bit busy watching my kid steal the show as Scar in The Lion King Jr. If you enjoy a bit of proud parent bragging, you can check out my post on it here.

I also had a book launch May 1 for my latest novel, An Act of Devotion. The link is on the right sidebar (or at the end for anyone reading this on mobile). I’ll be sharing snippets of it for the next several weeks.

Last time, I introduced you to the deliciously gorgeous AJ, through Adam’s eyes. This time, you can see how AJ reacts to Adam.

AJ watched Adam walk out of the campus health center then waited a few minutes to make sure he was gone for good. He’d rarely met anyone with such an entitled attitude. It made no difference that he was also ridiculously adorable, with his unruly red-orange hair, his lanky frame, and his handful of freckles. He was like an oversized elf. If he hadn’t been so damn self-righteous and smug, AJ would have liked to get to know him better. He’d eyed AJ up and down and then styled himself as God’s sex gift to humanity, which left a bad taste in AJ’s mouth.

Rainbow Snippets is a safe and welcoming space for LGBTQIA+ authors, readers, and bloggers to share 6 sentences each week from a work of fiction—published or in-progress—or a book recommendation. Feel free to join in!

Guest Post: What About Me?

Guest Post

It’s the last day of my launch week blog party, and I’m closing it out with a guest post from a new friend. I met Denarii through a Facebook group, and honestly, I wish I didn’t live hours away because I really, really want to go grab a cup of something and a yummy treat and chat with her. She’s an aspiring screenwriter, which I think is a first for me (most of my writerly colleagues are authors and editors). I love her style; it’s warm, personable, and makes me feel like I’m right there in the room with her.

What About Me?

It’s almost 1:30am on a Sunday night (technically Monday morning, but…). I’m trying to be productive after a weekend of unproductivity. (Is that a word? MS Word says it’s not. There’s a red squiggly line under there.) I’ve been off my meds (antidepressants) for a few weeks now. Even though I was diagnosed with seasonal affective disorder, I seem to need them year-round. (I also have PTSD; maybe that’s why.) I had a really great energetic stride as I approached a screenwriting competition deadline a week ago, so I figured that maybe I was okay. It was amazing. Intense and exhausting, but amazing. This past week, however, has proved that I’m not okay. Despite the changing, beautiful weather, I haven’t been outside. I haven’t been cooking or cleaning. It feels like December all over again.

After being unemployed for two years, I finally got a job at the end of 2015. And not just any job, but my first full-time job with benefits – a job that does work important to me. Then I was let go ten days later. Three months later and I’m still devastated. Mostly because I’m broke and right back where I started. I’m trying to make this freelance writer and screenwriter thing work, but that takes time and effort. I need money now. Alas, I’m still doing it. I take my job loss as a sign that maybe I’m supposed to be focusing on this. I try to find the silver lining in things.

I had to move back in with my mom last summer. Regrettably (and as much as I love her), I’m still here, my plans to move back to Brooklyn dashed by that job loss. We live in the projects (read: government housing populated predominantly by fellow Black folks). It’s not so bad really (except that I don’t have my own place). Sometimes neighbors are loud, but that’s pretty much everywhere.

I have lots of friends, but I don’t get to see them. I can’t afford to go anywhere, so I’m stuck here with my dog. His name is Dog. (Well, his name is Mr. Mack, but his name is Dog. I call him Dog. And that’s that.) I love him very much. He’s 75% Chihuahua, 25% Rottweiler. My mom got him in February 2015. I was still living in Brooklyn at the time, with a funny cat named Chloe (my roommate’s cat, who I miss very much). Since moving back home, he’s become my dog. Sometimes his touch triggers my PTSD panic attacks, but that’s not his fault. I’m really good at hiding those attacks; you wouldn’t know I was freaking out unless I told you, contrary to the image conjured up in popular imaginations about what a panic attack is supposed to look like.

Honestly though, even if I didn’t have friends, I like going to places by myself a lot. Restaurants, concerts, and movies are all fair game. But again, I can’t afford to go anywhere right now. Sometimes I can’t even afford the $5.50 to get to Central Park.

Sigh.

Thankfully I have Netflix.

Oh! I forgot to introduce myself.

My name is Denarii. It rhymes with canary, like the bird. I’m 29, born in 1987. I’m a Pisces. I live in New York, as you may have guessed, and I’m Black (African-American specifically), cisgender woman, openly bisexual, multiply disabled (I use a cane!), (proudly) fat, kinky, and polyamorous. My favorite band is Hanson (yes, that Hanson) and actor/director/painter/awesome person Matthew Gray Gubler is my favorite person ever and I hope to marry him some day.

Yes, I’m serious.

I have an eclectic taste in music, with my favorite genres being rock, R&B, blues, and jazz (in no particular order). Haagen Dazs is my favorite ice cream brand. Purple is my favorite color; green comes in second. I love red wine and Stevie Wonder. Okay, now that that’s out of the way, back to what I was saying.

Most of my days consist of waking up and then bumbling around doing fuck all. I dunno…

Honestly I have no idea what I’m doing, and so, we finally come to my point.

What the hell happened? That’s what I’m forced to ask myself every time I get up in the morning. I’m 29 years old, no job prospects (believe me I’m looking and applying), lost the job I did have, I live with my mom, I’m broke as hell, perpetually single, can’t afford to travel and engage with life the way I’d like to, and there are no signs that success is coming around the corner.

And I know I’m not alone. I have friends (and there are countless strangers) in a similar spot. It’s a combination of personal choices, individual circumstances, varying levels of oppression, and just damn luck. We’ve all been there (well, almost all).

But I can’t help but look at my friends (and strangers) who do have what I want: a fulfilling job, love, the ability to actually go out and enjoy things, from the big to the seemingly insignificant, and then I read the first five paragraphs of this essay and I wonder, What about me?

I don’t have the answers to that question, to be honest, but I often think that this is the fated course of my life, that I’m meant to be where I am in life, right now. I recently applied to the PAGE International Screenwriting Awards and the 2017 January Sundance Screenwriters Lab; I can’t help but get the feeling that, after 2 ½ years of seriously pursuing screenwriting, just maybe, this is finally it. I keep looking back over my life, particularly over the last few years; while the last couple of years have really sucked financially, professionally, mentally, and romantically, it’s building to something. There’s something out there – I call it God, you can call it whatever you like – that is guiding me to where I am, to show me things. Perhaps to turn me into the storyteller that I am meant to be.

All week, I’m celebrating my own book launch by featuring guest posts, book reviews, promotions, and more. Keep reading, and check back every day this week to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway.

Rafflecopter Prizes:

eBook bundle of An Act of Devotion plus 2 bonus companion short stories
Signed print copy of An Act of Devotion plus a package of Sorrento Italian hard candies and a package of assorted condoms

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can also enter every Monday from now until June 20 on these blogs:

2-May: MM Good Book Reviews, Book Lovers 4Ever, My Fiction Nook, Happily Ever Chapter

9-May: Iyana Jenna, Jessie G. Books, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews

16-May: Prism Book Alliance, Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings, The Novel Approach

23-May: Dawn’s Reading Nook, Three Books Over The Rainbow, Bonkers About Books

30-May: Full Moon Dreaming, Oh My Shelves, Unquietly Me

6-Jun: Alpha Book Club, Bayou Book Junkie, Inked Rainbow Reads

13-Jun: Molly Lolly, BFD Book Blog

20-Jun: Love Bytes, Sassygirl Books, Outrageous Heroes

Cover Reveal: Naughty Cupid by Deanna Wadsworth

Books, Covers

Author: Deanna Wadsworth

Title: Naughty Cupid

Release Date: June 6, 2016

Pages or Words: 75,000 words, 178 pages

Categories: Alternate Universe, Erotica, Fantasy, Humor, M/M Romance, Paranromal, Romance

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4264579.Deanna_Wadsworth

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Cover Artist: Paul Richmond

The name’s Lio, and you may have read the beginning of my story in A Cupid’s Wager. Well, hold on to you hats, because there’s more to tell about your favorite cupid working in the Gay Division of the Inter-Dimensional Association of Cupids.

Remember Ethan? That Aztec god of the winds who busted me shooting a closeted human with a gay lust arrow? Yeah, I haven’t been able to forget him either. Even though I have a rule against getting it on with other supernaturals—especially ones working for the Straight Division—my magic is drawn to Ethan and all his tattoos and piercings in a way I cannot control.

But after that night of mind-numbing sex, now I gotta face my evil ex-boyfriend and a suspension by the IDAC for “misplacing” arrows. They took my quiver, and I have to figure out how to get my arrow privileges back before they’re taken forever.

Ethan seems to think he can help me, but I don’t know how anybody can make this cupid believe in love again.

“You know the lust arrows only work if the person’s mind is open to it. I shot Raymond with a Class 4 gay lust arrow. They only have a little more juice than a few tequila shooters. They can’t make a straight man gay.”

“But that is what you are trying to do,” Ethan shot back.

“You know it doesn’t work that way.”

To prove my point, I materialized one of my long purple arrows.

Without warning, I stabbed Ethan in the heart with it.

“Oww!”

The arrow exploded in a burst of light and glittering purple dust, the blast blowing our hair back.

When the magic cleared, the stunned expression on Ethan’s face cracked me up. “Now, do you spontaneously wanna suck my cock?”

He gaped at me like I’d lost my ever-lovin’ mind. “What did you do that for?”

“Don’t get your panties in a wad. Class 4G lusts can’t make someone gay. You’re born that way. There’s even a Lady Gaga song to prove it.”

His big hand rubbed where I’d hit him. “You should not have done that, Lio. You have no idea what you just did.”

“I already shot an unauthorized arrow tonight, what’s one more? Besides, unless you’re gay, it won’t affect you.” I waggled my brows. “So what are you so worried about? Got sumthin’ you wanna confess?”

He actually growled at me.

“Build a bridge,” I told him. “If anyone has a right to be pissed off here, it’s me. The gaydar says Raymond is gay, yet you asshats over in SD decided to shoot him and a woman with true love arrows. Talk about a douche move. Forcing the man to lie to himself and everyone about who he is. And how is that fair to do to the girl? She’s a victim too!”

“The IDAC does not consider a gaydar to be a reliable source of information,” he said, completely ignoring the more-than-valid complaint.

Humans were born with a variety of sexualities, but there were only a limited variety of arrows to complement the IDAC’s narrow-minded ideas on sexuality. In a nutshell, there were gay arrows and the naturally more powerful straight arrows. Don’t get me started on the complexities of targeting anybody not gay or straight. I was glad not to be assigned to those fledgling subdivisions of GD because they often had to work with the jerks in SD. However, both primary divisions had arrows for love (red) and lust (purple), each with four different strength ratings—one being the most potent. In other words, the Class 1S love Ethan had been using was the highest strength straight love arrow—aka the most powerful of all arrows.

Hence his being so pissed at me.

“I’m not gonna sit here and argue politics with you. We both know I’m already in trouble for an unauthorized arrow launch. Make that two,” I amended, gesturing to his chest. “Why the fuck do you think I don’t have love arrow privileges anymore? Hell, the sparks our collision set off will raise questions too. I’m already busted. Fine! I’m ready to face whatever comes my way. When I set out to do this, I knew there were risks.”

“Set out to do this?” he repeated, looking utterly appalled. “You mean you have done this before?”

I swallowed, feeling like a child being scolded. “Only on unattached people.”

“I cannot believe you would do that to someone! A person’s decision to come out is deeply personal. You have no right, Lio! None!”

Yeah, but the Fates did, I supposed. Who put those bitches in charge, anyway?

I didn’t know what Ethan’s big fat beef might be—besides the one in his pants—but I had to get my ass out of this sling. “Like I said, I’m already busted. If you think Raymond isn’t gay, let’s just follow them”—I pointed to my unauthorized mark and the guy with him, both of them deliberately brushing hips and shoulders as they walked down the street—“and see what happens. If he changes his mind, I’ll admit the gaydar is inaccurate, I’ll turn myself in for interrupting your mark, and you won’t even get in trouble.”

He glared. “And if your arrow works, I suppose you get to walk?”

“If I’m right, and those two dudes get their freak on, you can do what you want with me.” Too bad that wouldn’t be those full lips around my dick. “But you give me back the gaydar and you don’t tell anyone I have it or that I was here.”

Ethan looked at the device in his hand as if it would explode or jump up and bite his cock off. His expression would’ve been funny if this weren’t so serious. He seemed to be weighing something in his mind, and I felt his anger retracting. Still, an aura of incredible danger and masculinity wafted about him. My heart thumped wildly, both from nerves and the exotic spiciness of his skin. Knowing his ferocious appearance was tempered with an innate goodness made me a little hot.

Okay, a lot hot.

Though it went against every rule I made for myself, I couldn’t stop picturing Ethan naked. Sure, I was as horny as any cupid, but something about this Aztec amplified all of my senses far more than usual—especially the ones below the waist.

“I cannot believe I am saying this,” Ethan said slowly. “But I will give you one chance. One. But if you ruin that man’s life, your ass is mine.”

“Talk dirty to me,” I purred.

He lowered dark brows. “You are not funny.”

“I think I’m a really fun guy. Especially when I’m naked.” I couldn’t help myself and gave him a suggestive wink. “And whoever said a little dick up the ass would ruin a man’s life? Ever try it? The orgasms are un-fucking-believable.”

Ethan curled his lip and growled at me like an angry cat.

“Jeesh, sorry I mentioned it.”

He seized my arm in a viselike grip. “Come.”

If I’d known going with Ethan would turn my world upside down, I would’ve grabbed my gaydar and run, taking my chances with my boss, the IDAC, and even the Fates. Because I wasn’t prepared for what was coming my way.

Not at all.

Deanna Wadsworth might be a bestselling erotica author, but she leads a pretty vanilla life in Ohio with her wonderful husband and a couple adorable cocker spaniels. She has been spinning tales and penning stories since childhood, and her first erotic novella was published in 2010. She has served multiple board positions at her local RWA chapter and with Rainbow Romance Writers of America. When she isn’t writing books or brainstorming with friends, you can find her making people gorgeous in a beauty salon. She loves music and dancing, and can often be seen hanging out on the sandbar in the muddy Maumee River or chilling with her hubby and a cocktail in their basement bar. In between all that fun, Deanna cherishes the quiet times when she can let her wildly active imagination have the full run of her mind. Her fascination with people and the interworkings of their relationships have always inspired her to write romance with spice and love without boundaries.

Website: http://deannawadsworth.com

Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/deanna.wadsworth.9

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/deannawadsworthauthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DeannaWadsworth

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/deannawadsworth/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4264579.Deanna_Wadsworth

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deannawads/

Amazon Author Central: http://.www.amazon.com/author/deannawadsworth

Parker Williams, Divine Magazine, BFD Book Blog, A.M. Leibowitz, Velvet Panic, MM Good Book Reviews, Bonkers About Books, Alpha Book Club, Charley Descoteaux, Bayou Book Junkie, The Dark Arts, Happily Ever Chapter, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, My Fiction Nook, Outrageous Heroes, Unquietly Me, Ogitchida Book Blog, Gay Media Reviews, V’s Reads, Oh My Shelves, Dawn’s Reading Nook, Havan Fellows, For The Love of Bookends, Louise Lyons, 3 Chicks After Dark, Book Lovers 4Ever, Making It Happen, Full Moon Dreaming, Jessie G. Books

Rafflecopter Prize: A print copy of Naughty Cupid

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Cover Reveal: Soaring Hearts by A.L. Boyd

Books, Covers

Title: Soaring Hearts

Author: A L Boyd

Release Date: October 2016

Genre: MM Romance, Contemporary

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30039749-soaring-hearts?from_new_nav=true&ac=1&from_search=true

Will hearts soar when pigs fly?

Alex’s job working for his family-owned radio station once took him all over the city reporting on major events—until the accident. His scars, both physical and emotional, cause him to withdraw into a self-imposed, semi-reclusive lifestyle. When his dad requests that he go to the world’s largest hot air balloon festival, he has to find the courage to break his isolation. Now he needs to find the courage to trust and love again.

Jeff had already been planning a move to Albuquerque when he lost his home, parents, and dog to a wildfire in California. To begin his new life, he agrees to help his sister and brother-in-law with their balloon at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. Now he’s seen pigs fly and bees kissing, but will he find the love he’s been searching for?

A cartographer by day, A.L. Boyd spends most of her free time with her horses, gardening, or reading. She never intended to be a writer, but stories like this one sometimes just pop into her head. The writing came about as a way to get the stories out. Her first story for the Goodreads M/M Romance DRitC event Crest Ridge Vacation was expanded to the novella titled Crest Ridge.

Other works include:

Crest Ridge (Novella): Amazon

The Dawn of Darkness (Free Short Story): Amazon

And a short story included in the Anthology Kickass: Amazon

(written and donated to help fellow author Eric Arvin with his medical bills).

Goodreads | Facebook

Book Review: Reasons to Love a Nerd Like Me by Becky Jerams

Books, Reviews

Author: Becky Jerams

Title: Reasons to Love a Nerd Like Me

Length: 508 pages

Release Date: October 2015

Publisher: Becky Jerams

Categories: YA, gay fiction

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26828797-reasons-to-love-a-nerd-like-me

Scotty Williams is the nerdiest 17-year-old at Havensdale College – and proud of it. However being a nerd can have its downsides, particularly when you’re constantly being targeted by the school bully Taylor Raven and his cronies. As Scotty tries to navigate his final college years with the aid of his best friend Olive, he also finds himself on the radar of the mysterious and intimidating Vincent Hunter, toughest guy in the Sixth Form. Is Vincent really as bad as he seems? Will Scotty’s darkest secret ever be revealed? Can he ever just finish his last few college years in peace? But most importantly… will any guy ever find the reasons to love a nerd like him?

The Wattpad hit Reasons To Love A Nerd Like Me by Becky Jerams comes to Kindle for the first time in a new and improved edition. With over 2.5 million reads and counting, the first draft has resonated with readers across the world and been compared to authors such as John Green and David Levithan. Recommended for fans of teen drama and unconventional romance.

I’m a big fan of YA, and I often like the associated tropes in a good young adult contemporary romance. This book hits all the high points for me: Opposites attract, a bullied kid who’s stronger than he knows, a bad boy with a heart of gold, and best friends who meddle just the right amount. There’s a collection of quirky, interesting side characters, a Really Big Secret, and a happily-for-now ending. There are dozens of reasons to love this book and its nerdy hero.

Virtually anything I say about the plot might spoil the fun of discovery. Everything is told through Scotty’s eyes, which could easily lead to the narrative being entirely slanted in his favor. Yet because of who he is—someone who cares deeply about other people—it never feels like he sees himself as blameless. He shows a lot of growth over the course of the story. Through the crushing weight of his secret, the torment at the hands of the only other person who knows, and the inevitable explosion when everyone discovers the truth, he eventually learns both to forgive and to make things right. He’s everything a good teenage narrator should be.

Some readers may not connect to this story for a number of reasons. It’s not a traditional romance, but it does have a love story. I’m a fan of books which straddle that line, but some readers do prefer clearer genre lines. It’s also long, which again, was not a problem for me but might put some readers off. There’s a part at the end involving one of the adults which is a bit over-the-top and probably isn’t realistic—it’s only there to provide motivation to revive the romance, and even so, there’s still more drama to come. Speaking of which, there’s a lot of drama and a lot of people not talking to each other or poorly explaining themselves. That’s part of the charm, and without it there would be no story, but some people might think it’s a bit much.

I fell hard for Scotty right from page one, and I couldn’t put the book down. The writing is superb and flawless in style, and the story flows well. I loved all the clues about how the reveal of Scotty’s secret would happen, but I didn’t find it predictable. All in all, this was a well-written, engaging story which delivers a full range of emotions.

For superior writing, a stellar cast of characters, and a story which left me wanting more, this gets 10/10 fountain pens.

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reasons-Love-Nerd-Like-Me-ebook/dp/B015VL47M4/

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Reasons-Love-Nerd-Like-Me-ebook/dp/B015VL47M4

Becky Jerams (born June 26th, 1987) is a writer and musician from Portsmouth, UK. Reasons To Love A Nerd Like Me is her debut novel and has been featured on the website Wattpad where it has gained many loyal readers and over two million hits. After receiving such an overwhelming response for her writing, she recently released the new and improved edition of her story as an official eBook through Kindle Direct Publishing.

She lives with her boyfriend in a little flat near the sea and splits her time between fiction writing, songwriting sessions, performing acoustic gigs and working in a student art shop. Her songs have been featured internationally on various shows and adverts, and her stories have been read by thousands of young people across the world gaining her fans from UK, US, Spain, Philippines, Nigeria, France, Egypt, Jamaica, Australia, India and beyond. Her pacey, emotional style of writing aimed for a young adult audience has been compared to the likes of John Green, David Levithan and Jenny Downham.

Becky is currently working on the spin-off sequel to Reasons To Love A Nerd Like Me titled Could You Love An Apple? which will be available on Kindle in the near future. She hopes to continue writing about the characters she has created for as long as people want to keep reading about them.

Website: www.beckyjerams.com

Twitter: @beckyjerams

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

Tumblr: beckyjerams.tumblr.com

Youtube (Featuring Book Trailer): https://www.youtube.com/user/beakyboo123

All week, I’m celebrating my own book launch by featuring guest posts, book reviews, promotions, and more. Keep reading, and check back every day this week to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway.

Rafflecopter Prizes:

eBook bundle of An Act of Devotion plus 2 bonus companion short stories
Signed print copy of An Act of Devotion plus a package of Sorrento Italian hard candies and a package of assorted condoms

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can also enter every Monday from now until June 20 on these blogs:

2-May: MM Good Book Reviews, Book Lovers 4Ever, My Fiction Nook, Happily Ever Chapter

9-May: Iyana Jenna, Jessie G. Books, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews

16-May: Prism Book Alliance, Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings, The Novel Approach

23-May: Dawn’s Reading Nook, Three Books Over The Rainbow, Bonkers About Books

30-May: Full Moon Dreaming, Oh My Shelves, Unquietly Me

6-Jun: Alpha Book Club, Bayou Book Junkie, Inked Rainbow Reads

13-Jun: Molly Lolly, BFD Book Blog

20-Jun: Love Bytes, Sassygirl Books, Outrageous Heroes

Book Tour: Kellen’s Awakening by Bellora Quinn & Angel Martinez

Books

Author: Bellora Quinn and Angel Martinez

Title: Kellen’s Awakening

Series: AURA

Book: Three (Series should be read in order)

Release Date: May 3, 2016

Pages or Words: 69,000 words

Categories: Alternate Universe, Contemporary, Gay Fiction, Paranormal, Romance, Urban Fantasy

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29245467-kellen-s-awakening

Publisher: Pride Publishing

Cover Artist: Emmy Ellis

The staff at AURA has had a busy summer. Between chronic understaffing, dealing with warring goblin factions and an unusual number of hazardous Events, everyone is overworked. Sinistrus the incubus, newly hired as an AURA medic, actually enjoys his busy new life of responsible employee and faithful lover to his gorgeous police sergeant, Ness the centaur. Life would be perfect, except for a niggling suspicion about a colleague. Everyone else seems to disagree, but Sin’s certain something’s not right with that pixie.

Kellen, a pixie crossover, loves his job working in AURA medical, even if he is something of an outsider. His job and the friends he manages to make are happy spots in an otherwise dark and secretive life. As the rest of AURA tries to discover the root of the inexplicable rise in violence and large scale Events, Kellen fights to preserve his own life and what dignity he has left.

These two unlikely heroes must put their differences aside and navigate tragedy and ever-escalating disaster together in order to stop the sinister forces that hold Kellen in thrall.

Buy the book: https://www.pride-publishing.com/book/kellens-awakening

“Before Kai gets lost in regaling you with wedding details…” Tenzin settled, then grunted as several flower fairies immediately popped into view around his head to land on his shoulders. “Our lovely Sin, now that we’re among friends and not at work, can you tell me why you insist on tormenting Kellen so terribly?”

“Oh, I dunno.” Sin picked up a spicy fried mushroom with his claws and popped it in his mouth. “I think I’m pretty good at tormenting him.”

Ness nudged him. “Be serious, love. Why do you pick on him? Even I’ve seen it.”

“Look, I just don’t like everyone, okay?” Sin spread his hands when everyone gave him side eyes. “Took me a bit to warm up to Val, right?”

“You had good reason to be angry with Val,” Ness said as he reached for an oat muffin. “I don’t think Kellen ever actually caused you harm.”

Sin heaved a dramatic sigh. “Fine. He’s absolutely useless as a paramedic.”

“Not everyone is suited for emergency field medicine,” Tenzin said gently.

Ness leaned over to kiss the top of Sin’s head. “You are because you’re brave and don’t stop to think.”

“Hey!” Sin swatted at an equine flank.

“Oh, dear. I didn’t mean it that way.” Ness flushed darkly while the others laughed. “You don’t overthink. When someone needs help, you just do instead of overanalyzing. Not everyone can be that sort of heroic.”

“Good recovery.” Sin grinned up at his flustered lover. “Yeah, I get it. He’s not the first responder kind. But the little guy’s just sneaky. He doesn’t look people in the eye. He flinches at the weirdest times. I don’t trust him.”

Tenzin frowned as he ladled vegetable panang onto a plate and set it in front of Kai. “Eat, beloved, before you waste away. About Kellen. I believe it’s deep-seated trauma, something so terrible that he doesn’t want to have to talk about it, since that would mean acknowledging it.”

“Tenzi’s so often right about these sorts of things.” Kai took up his fork, toying with his food rather than eating yet. “But this time, I have to disagree. There is something uneasy about him. Something beyond old fears.”

“You hardly see him thirty seconds out of any week,” Tenzin protested. “What could you possibly base this on?”

“Ah, love. A drow knows deception. There’s something not quite right about that pixie.”

Angel Martinez

The unlikely black sheep of an ivory tower intellectual family, Angel Martinez has managed to make her way through life reasonably unscathed. Despite a wildly misspent youth, she snagged a degree in English Lit, married once and did it right the first time, (same husband for almost twenty-four years) gave birth to one amazing son, (now in college) and realized at some point that she could get paid for writing.

Published since 2006, Angel’s cynical heart cloaks a desperate romantic. You’ll find drama and humor given equal weight in her writing and don’t expect sad endings. Life is sad enough.

She currently lives in Delaware in a drinking town with a college problem and writes Science Fiction and Fantasy centered around gay heroes.

Bellora Quinn

Originally hailing from Detroit Michigan, Bellora now resides on the sunny Gulf Coast of Florida where a herd of Dachshunds keeps her entertained. She got her start in writing at the dawn of the internet when she discovered PbEMs (Play by email) and found a passion for collaborative writing and steamy hot erotica. Soap Opera like blogs soon followed and eventually full novels.

The majority of her stories are in the M/M genre with urban fantasy or paranormal settings and many with a strong BDSM flavour.

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/amartinez2

https://www.facebook.com/groups/angelmartinez/

https://www.facebook.com/bellora.quinn

Facebook Author Page:

https://www.facebook.com/Angel.Martinez.author

Twitter:

@BelloraQ

@AngelMartinezrr

Pinterest:

https://www.pinterest.com/angelwritesmm

Today I’m welcoming Bellora Quinn to chat about writing, life, and their current project. Welcome! Let’s talk a little about Kellen’s Awakening.

What inspired you to write this story?

When Angel Martinez and I wrote the first book in the AURA series we didn’t have a series in mind, but by the time we got to the end, we were already seeing possibilities. One of those possibilities was Sinistrus. I wanted to know more about him and what made him tick, and he had to have his own story. While we were thinking about what Sin had to say, I stumbled across Kellen, our Pixie crossover.

Is there a character you feel especially connected to? Why?

I suppose saying all of them is a cop out. I do love how Kellen grows throughout this book. At the start he’s just doing what he has to do to survive, and by the end he’s decided he needs to do the right thing, and I think that’s when we really start to see who he is.

What was the hardest part of writing this?

I can’t say too much here without getting into spoilers, but this story is very much about grief and loss and how we see the characters overcome those tragedies. Writing a big action sequence where not everything turns out happy was challenging.

Choose a favorite line or short passage. What do you like about it?

There’s a part where Kellen is talking to Flax, who’s shocked that a troll lives in Kellen’s building. Kellen tells him that Tok is a reformed troll, he likes to fix things rather than be destructive, and the only thing he won’t do is put WiFi in the building. I love this little play on Internet trolls and real trolls.

Tell us a little about any upcoming projects.

Right now Angel and I are working on ideas for book 4 in the AURA series and I also have a book coming out written with another Co-Author, Sadie Rose Bermingham. It’s a detective series based in London and the main characters have certain psychic abilities. The first book in the Elemental Evidence series is called Breathing Betrayal and comes out June 7^th 2016.

Are there any types of scene you find hard to write (action, love, death, etc.)?

I find fight scenes difficult sometimes. I get caught up in the outcome and rush to get there, so I have to slow down and make sure I’ve remembered to write who’s doing what and where. I find it kind of stressful.

What do you do when you feel stuck (writer’s block)?

Eat cheese puffs and berate myself while promising my co-writers not to be such a slacker.

How do you handle a story that doesn’t go as you planned?

I don’t think I’ve ever written one that went ‘as planned’. They all sort of do their own thing. I start with a general idea, sometimes even an outline and plans for certain scenes but half the fun of writing is going down little unexpected paths. I don’t force myself to adhere to anything too rigid while I’m writing or I think my creativity would go on vacation without me.

Word Sprints!

Coffee or tea? Tea – Chai Latte
What’s your favorite ice cream? Chunky Monkey
What’s your favorite movie? Aliens
What genre (other than your own) do you like to read? Horror
Do you have any pets? 2 goofy Dachshunds, an elderly Cocker Spaniel, and a kitty