book tour

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Title: Let Me Just Say This

Author: B. Swangin Webster

Genre: Family drama

Length: 232 pages

Publisher: Intrigue Publishing LLC

Publication Date: August 1, 2014 (first edition January 12, 2009)

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22816245-let-me-just-say-this

Cheryl Goldman is a stay-at-home mother of two: a boy, and a girl.  Her husband, Kevin, is a successful businessman who owns his own marketing firm.  From the outside, all looks perfect.  Too perfect, perhaps.  When we scratch the surface, we find Cheryl wearing too much makeup on some days and rather overlarge shades that make her look every bit the fierce diva.  Yet, she’s not.

Cheryl allows the unthinkable to happen more and more in her life.  Her children watch her.  Her BFF watches her.  Her parents watch her.  Yet, no one steps in…not even Cheryl speaks up for herself.  Her daughter is disgusted.  Her son is angry at both of his parents.  Her father knows Cheryl’s not trying to make any waves.  Cheryl’s mother?  Thinks the world rises and sets on Kevin.

Will Cheryl wake up and realize she shouldn’t be the object of abuse because someone else is having a rough go of it?  Will her children forgive her?  Or, simply walk away from it all?

Go behind the scenes of this upper middle-class African-American successful family and see how the foundation of things was set and how it all slowly unraveled.

A pair of disclaimers: First, I received a copy of this in exchange for an honest review and a stop on the blog tour. I love promoting the work of other authors, so I was happy to pitch in. Second, I’m not an expert on urban fiction, nor am I a Black woman. I can’t speak to either of those things from personal experience, and anything I say from here on out should be read with that in mind.

This is a really absorbing story and a raw, painful look inside the world of a woman who is beaten down by life (and literally beaten by her husband). It provides a glimpse into the many reasons someone might stay in such a situation. The characters, even the abusive husband, are complex and deep. They are what make this story worth reading.

What especially stood out to me was that while Kevin’s horrific treatment of Cheryl is never glossed over, he’s not one-dimensional. For whatever reason, he isn’t capable of being the man Cheryl needs, but he doesn’t appear to have the same issue with the woman he’s been seeing behind her back. It’s easy to paint men like Kevin with a broad brush and assume they will behave the same way in every situation, but that’s often not the case, and I loved that nuance even while hating what he did to Cheryl.

Cheryl, too, is complicated. Once again, it would be easy to see her as a victim and a pushover, wondering why she hadn’t left Kevin years before. But she’s strong, a survivor, and we see glimpses of that throughout. She frequently stands up to Kevin, even when it leaves her more broken than she was before. She knows in her head she deserves better, but her heart needs to catch up. Although I know the story continues in the next part, I think this one ended perfectly with Cheryl’s realization about what she needs.

The secondary characters were also fantastic. Dee is the kind of friend every person needs, and I adored her from the first time she appeared. Rebecca, who would be so easy to paint as a villain, was actually likable. I found myself wanting to know more about Cheryl’s kids, too, and more about her high school life and relationships, of which we only had glimpses.

This is a novel worth taking the time to read. Although it’s written for and about a particular kind of experience, there are some good universal talking points, and I guarantee many readers (especially women) will be able to relate to and understand the challenges presented here.

For complex characters, deep themes, and family drama that feels real enough to hurt, I give this 8/10 fountain pens.

Amazon; http://www.amazon.com/B.-Swangin-Webster/e/B0039NQEIW/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_6?qid=1454079575&sr=8-6

Short Link Code to Amazon (Let Me Just Say This book): http://ow.ly/XKoE7

Barnes and Noble; http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/b+swangin+webster?_requestid=167886

B. Swangin Webster is the mother of five grown children and the “Nina” of nine grandchildren.  She continues to write because if she didn’t, she believes she would stop breathing.  Live Life with passion is her motto.  This is something she does every day.

She has recently embarked on an additional career as a radio talk show host on WLVS Radio: Radio You Can Watch.  She has become one of their leading hostesses.

When B. Swangin Webster isn’t writing, you can find her reading one of her 300+ novels.  Or, taking cooking classes.  When she isn’t doing either of the above, you will find her at grandchildren’s football games, or watching her favorite football team: The Dallas Cowboys (who, unfortunately, are not playing in the SuperBowl).

A key factoid to note. B. Swagin Webster loves shoes that are 5” high, or taller. She wears a smokin’ hot pair each and every day!

Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/AuthorB.SwanginWebster/?ref=hl

Twitter; https://twitter.com/BSwanginWebster and https://twitter.com/webswanginshow

Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

Yes, I had a high school assignment and thought here is my chance to write a great story. Bad thing was it was only supposed to be one page. Mine was 8 pages and the teacher was NOT impressed. She loved the writing but failed the paper because “I didn’t follow directions.” But at the bottom she told me I had a great narrative and should finish the book and I did. But the book didn’t get published until now. More than 20+ years AFTER the initial paper was written.

What inspires you to write and why?

I don’t think I could live if I couldn’t write. It’s an obsession. Some people smoke, I write. Same thing…if I stop writing, I’ll probably gain 50 pounds! SO I have to keep writing.

Who or what influenced your writing once you began?

E. Lynn Harris was a big influence. He wrote about things that people didn’t want to talk about. He wrote about things that people didn’t want to see in the main stream but the public loved it! And I figured I should be able to do
Who or what influenced your writing over the years?

What do you consider the most challenging about writing a novel, or about writing in general?

The most challenging this about writing for me; is not to let other characters take over. I have a really bad habit of writing one book when in walks someone from someplace else that says, “Look can you hurry up, you need to write my story.” Who am I to not do that? So as soon as there is a break or my ‘current’ character goes on vacation, I call up the new character and begin their story.

How did you come up with the title?

The title is something I always say and one day at my ‘regular’ job; I said it and the secretary said, “if you ever write a book, that has GOT to be the name.” Thanks Crystal Hall for that.

Can you tell us about your main character?

My main character is Cheryl. A woman who suffers from low self-worth who marries a man that was knight in shining armor until he took the armor off and she found out that he was the devil on earth. She allows her ‘dreams’ of happily ever after to take over her ability to leave behind what is NOT good for her.

How did you develop your plot and characters?

Honestly I didn’t really develop the characters or plot. They kind of grew organically. I sat down and just started writing and the story merged from that.

What do you look for in a cover?

I want the book cover to tell the story but not the main story. I want it to give a glimpse into what the story ‘could’ be about.

What genre of books do you read, or do you stick with the genre you write in?

I read everything from cozy mysteries to dark thrillers. I never want to be a one trick pony! Now remember this is only my opinion. If I only read what I write, my craft would suffer. But you can’t limit yourself in your writing because main stream is not limited in what they are reading; why should I limit myself in my writing.

Are you a pantser or plotter?

PANSTER all the way. I tried doing an outline once and I swear I was pulling out my hair trying to keep it on the line that I had created. When I just ‘free’ write, the story grows into itself and then I go back and fix what is needed when I’m done.

Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)?

I don’t HAVE to travel but I LOVE to travel. I will travel where ever a reader of mine wants me to. I have been to at least six cities while promoting my novels and can’t wait to travel more.

Have you ever considered anyone a mentor?

Yes, my mentor was E. Lynn Harris. I my book was first published; I wrote him an email and he answered it. I still have it to this day. The best thing he told me was , “Congrats and welcome to my world. You have been given the most precious gift and you should make sure to always use that gift. No matter what someone tells you; it is your gift.” And he gave me his phone number and we chatted for about three months, every Saturday morning. When I found out that he had died, it crushed me! I couldn’t function because it was like I had lost a best friend, even though we never met; we became friends via phone.

What projects can we expect from you in the future?

Currently I am working on a romance and a mystery. I love both of them and during the recent “Jonas” snowstorm, I began writing a book about an unconventional relationship. I am loving the way it is turning out.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

In five years, I WILL be a full time writer. Playing with my grandchildren and buying shoes! I will also have a full time radio show! Yep; that’s the plan

How do you deal with rejection letters?

I neatly place them by date of rejection into a 3 ring binder and every time I get another sale; I look at them and smile. You know the saying…revenge is best served cold…or something like that.
Are there any new authors that have sparked your interest and why?

What are some of the best tools available today for writers, especially those just starting out?

The best tools available are going to conferences. It amazes me the number of authors that don’t go to these conferences. They think that we just sit home and churn out books. Just like dentists, lawyers and doctors have to continue their education by staying on top of the latest technology; so do authors. We are doing ourselves a dis-service by sitting behind a computer and not getting out there and meeting the authors that are doing it well. You can learn a lot from a NY Times best seller but you won’t learn it if you never go out to meet them.
What do you believe contributes to making a writer successful?

Your writing space: neat or messy?

My space is neat. I have turned a small closet; into a cute little reading/writing space. So it has to stay neat or something might get lost.

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Author: Victoria Sue

Title: The Promise

Series: Sirius Wolves

Book: Four (Best read as a series.)

Release Date: January 14, 2016

Pages or Words: 53,000 words

Categories: M/M Romance, Ménage/Poly, Paranormal, Shifters (wolves)

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28487054-the-promise

Publisher: Dark Hollows Press

Cover Artist: 3 Rusted Spoons

The time of Anubis is at hand. Working together against him, the goddess Sirius and the god Orion have helped mankind prepare by uniting Blaze, Conner, Darric, and Aden to fight the evil in the world. But in the war to come, the werewolves will need more allies, and this will extend beyond werewolf kind.

Marcus, an ex-Marine who’d lost both his legs in a landmine accident, is now Human Liaison Officer for Blaze’s pack. Having lost his lover too when the man couldn’t bear to live with a cripple, the last thing he expected was that he’d fall in love again, let alone with the werewolf Kellan who seemed to be universally hated by the pack.

The Winter Circle is moving, and a psychopathic pastor has abducted Nate, one of the wolves from Hunter’s pack. For once the wolves cannot rescue him — it has to be a human — and now Marcus must save the wolves from their biggest threat: one of their own.

If Marcus succeeds, he will bring in a new era in mankind’s battle against the power of evil, starting with a simple promise and ultimately mending four broken hearts.

http://www.amazon.com/Promise-Sirius-Wolves-Book-ebook/dp/B01ADKA0LA/ref=sr_1_9

(Amazon US)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Promise-Sirius-Wolves-Book-ebook/dp/B01ADKA0LA/ref=sr_1_1 (Amazon UK)

https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thepromise-1965643-145.html (all romance)

Marcus inhaled appreciatively as he eventually made it to the top of the steps. He loved Aden’s pack house. The upstairs floor was Aden’s and his mates’ living quarters. He was incredibly lucky to be here, and one of the only humans who had been trusted to live with werewolves. Not just any werewolves, thought Marcus with a grin at his own joke. Blaze, Conner, and Darric were the Supreme Alpha triad who had been blessed by the goddess Sirius when they were born over seven hundred years ago. Marcus grinned to himself — didn’t that just roll off the tongue! It was one of those things that even when he’d seen it with his own eyes — first with his buddy in the army, and then here — it was still a truly fucking incredible thing. Werewolves. Thinking of every film in the movies, none of them came even close to how amazing it was, and how goddam lucky he was to be here.

It had only been because of his dad’s friend, Bud Mason, that he’d gotten this gig in the first place. Marcus was a newly washed up Marine with two bum legs. Career finished. Then Bud — Senator Mason — had called him. He knew Marcus was aware of werewolves. Marcus and his unit had been out on patrol, eyes on a swivel as always, but it had been quiet for days. Craig was scouting up front where he liked to be and a sniper had taken him out first.

Marcus had thought he was done for, until the most incredible thing Marcus had ever seen happened in front of his eyes. Craig shifted into a wolf as he lay on the ground.

Marcus had kept his cool, and even though the firefight grew up in earnest, and had pulled Craig to safety. Craig had later explained everything — how werewolves were known about by the government, but not in the main by the general public; that he had shifted because when injured it’s a natural thing for wolf shifters to heal themselves. Marcus had been enthralled. Unfortunately, Craig had been sent home by panicked generals who didn’t realize it wasn’t Craig’s training so much as his incredibly strong shifter sense of smell that was locating the landmines and keeping their asses safe.

The next day after Craig had gone, their Humvee rolled straight over one. Three Marines lost their lives and Marcus lost his legs. The left one above the knee and the right below.

A few of the wolves glanced up smiling as Marcus limped into the café area at the front of the pack house. Friendly guys, and girls. Lilly greeted him. “Morning, Alpha.”

Marcus had wanted to die of embarrassment when she’d first called him that. Apart from the obvious fact he was a human, he was pretty sure it was against some wolf protocol or something. In fact, Ricoh was standing with Aden one of the first times last year when Lilly had called him that, and he’d seen the shock on Ricoh’s face.

Aden though had explained Lilly meant it as a mark of respect as Marcus had ended up being one of their biggest supporters, and Blaze certainly didn’t mind. Marcus supposed if it didn’t offend their Supreme Alpha, he didn’t need to get all bent out of shape about it.

Victoria Sue has loved books for as long as she can remember. Books were always what pocket money went on and what usually Father Christmas brought. When she ran out of her kids’ adventure stories, she would go raid her mom’s. By the age of eight she was devouring classics like Little Women, and fell in love with love stories.

She especially loves writing gay romance because as far as she’s concerned the only thing better than one hot guy, is two of them.

www.victoriasue.com

@vickysuewrites

Victoriasueauthor (fb)

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Victoria Sue, author of The Promise

Hi, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about your current book.

The Promise is the fourth book in the Sirius Wolves series. The series is based upon a legend that the goddess Sirius would create werewolves to save mankind. This book is the first one to feature a human, a bilateral amputee combat veteran, as a main character.

What’s the best line you ever wrote?

Chapter One! It’s the best line any writer does. It starts them on a crazy journey that you never know where it will end.

Do you listen to music while writing? If so, what kind?

No, and I’m totally jealous of those that can. I have to be a hermit, total silence.

If your book were made into a movie, what actors would you like to see star?

Chris Hemsworth absolutely definitely – Especially when he wields his, um, hammer.

What genres do you write in?

Paranormal mainly. Some contemporary, and I’ve just published my first historical The Innocent Auction.

Where and when do you prefer to write?

In my cupboard that the realtor jokingly referred to as an office.

8-Feb

Up All Night, Read All Day, Jessie G. Books, Louise Lyons, Havan Fellows, Love Bytes

9-Feb

The Blogger Girls, A.M. Leibowitz, Inked Rainbow Reads, Wake Up Your Wild Side, Emotion in Motion, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

10-Feb

Happily Ever Chapter, Kirsty Loves Books, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Let’s Get Ready To Romance, Open Skye Book Reviews, BFD Book Blog

11-Feb

Bayou Book Junkie, MM Good Book Reviews, Velvet Panic, Mikky’s World of Books, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Divine Magazine

12-Feb

Full Moon Dreaming, Book Lovers 4Ever, Molly Lolly, Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings, Butterfly-O-Meter,

My Fiction Nook, Cheekypee Reads and Reviews

Rafflecopter Prize: Choice of an e-book from Victoria’s backlist.

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Author Name: Christopher Stone

Book Name: Going and Coming

Series: The Minnow Saint James Metaphysical Adventures

Book: One

Release Date: January 22, 2016

Pages or Words: 80,000 words

Categories: Contemporary, Gay Fiction, Mystery, Paranormal, Thriller, Humor, Metaphysical

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/278963.Christopher_Stone

Publisher: MLR Press

At forty, Dr. Minnow Saint James, “Minn” to his friends, is a gay, metaphysical sleuth who, through Past Life Regression therapy, spans time, space, dimensions, and the entirety of God’s Creation, to discover the past, or future, life origins of his patient’s most challenging present day problems.

But Minn is also a bestselling nonfiction author. His book, In a Past Life, I…. is an international publishing sensation.

Going and Coming is the story of how Dr. Minnow Saint James became the person he is today.

In chapters that alternate between 2007-2008, and 2015-2016, we learn exactly how “Minn” transitioned from an atheist who is a slave to his five physical senses, into a professional metaphysician with a true belief in the Divine Mind we call God.

Readers may find themselves mesmerized as Dr. Saint James hypnotically regresses Ramona Burford, a student volunteer at the UCLA’s Parapsychology Lab, to a past life where, she describes everything that happens from a person’s physical death in one life, until they are reincarnated in a new body. Many readers will be surprised to learn that Pearly Gates, Judgment, Heaven and Hell, have nothing to do with what really happens.

In addition to reincarnation and the eternal nature of the personality, readers, along with “Minn,” explore metaphysical concepts including Simultaneous Time, and the erroneous physical beliefs in sickness, sin, and death.

Along the way, Going and Coming may just shatter your strongest beliefs about the very nature of reality.

MLR Press: http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=CSGOCOME

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Going-Coming-First-Minnow-Metaphysical/dp/1944770011/ref=sr_1_1_twi_pap_1

Who am I?

My name is Dr. Minnow Saint James. My family and friends call me Minn. To everyone else, I am Dr. Saint James.

I was born and raised in Beverly Hills, California, amid swimming pools, movie stars, and private schools. My parents are Sheila and Russell Saint James. Father owns and operates Saint James Cadillac, six highly successful Cadillac dealerships in the San Fernando Valley. Mother, known simply as She to one and all, is Lady Bountiful to Beverly Hills at large, conceiving and coordinating many of its most prestigious charity events.

Want someone to coax an antisocial celebrity into hosting a Republican fundraiser? Mother is your go-to gal.

A youthful forty, I now live and work in Hermosa Beach, California, one of Los Angeles County’s loveliest South Bay beach cities.

Minnow, now there’s a moniker you don’t hear every day. That is, unless you happen to be me. Jokes about my first name haunted my school years. But these days, when people speak of Dr. Minnow Saint James, there’s no mention of his quirky first name. They talk about my professional achievements: You see, nowadays, I have a wildly successful practice as America’s leading Past Life Regression therapist, and I’m also the founder of the Institute for Mental Health Through Past Life Regression Therapy, -now an international organization – with my friend and former professor, Dr. Adrian Finkelstein, as the Institute’s CEO.

But what exactly is a Past Life Regression therapist? I am in the business of going and coming – that is, going into my patients’ past, and sometimes future, lives through hypnotic regression, and coming back with the other life origins of their present life challenges.

My work is cutting edge and evolutionary. Let me put it this way: medical marvels such as artificial limbs, Titanium plates and other metal joints, and pacemakers, have already transformed humans from biological organisms into creatures that are biological and technological hybrids.

Similarly the science of psychology, will soon come to understand the necessity of treating the individual’s entire mental gestalt – including what we think of as past, and even future, lives – in order for the person to achieve mental health.

In my practice, I’ve been treating that entire gestalt for the past seven years. I’m the future of good mental health; science’s better way and brighter tomorrow. But to Psychology Today, and to most of the mental health community, the jury is still out on past life regression therapy, and so they claim my work is not science based.

Nonetheless my success rate, in excess of eighty-five percent, not only speaks for itself; it is the envy of the “scientifically sound” therapies. My services are sought out by people from all walks of life, and from all over the world. My private practice has a six-month waiting list.

Quite simply, while Mother is the go-to woman for Charitable Beverly Hills, I’m the guy ya gonna call when you believe the challenges of your current life may be rooted in a past, or future, one. Often my therapy represents the last, best hope of patients who have tried and failed to achieve mental health through traditional treatments.

The profession has many perks. For one, it is much easier dealing with other people’s issues than with your own. I have a good excuse, if not a good reason, for leaving my own challenges and shortcomings unexamined.

That is how I’m able to avoid pesky questions. Questions such as: Why, at forty-years-old, am I without a spouse, a boyfriend, or even the steady hook-up? I like to think the lack of romance in my life, and the absence of booty in my bed, are products of the spiritualization of my thought, gained in the eight years since my personal transformations. That is what I like to think. The truth may vary.

Born in Bronx, New York, and raised in Fresno, California, Christopher Stone’s early years were dominated by school, watching television and motion pictures, bicycling, skating, and reading avidly. Summers were spent swimming, and doing whatever it took to survive the oppressive San Joaquin Valley heat. But he also remembers fondly the yearly summer trips to New York, to visit family and friends – and to see Broadway shows.

Christopher left Fresno, for Hollywood, California, during his college years after being accepted into the Writers Guild of America’s Open Door Program, a two-year, scholarship, training ground for aspiring screen and television writers. As it happened, rather than a teleplay or screenwriting gig, his first professional writing job was in journalism – as the Los Angeles Editor for Stage Door, at that time, Canada’s equivalent of the U.S. entertainment trade weekly, Variety.

Christopher would later use his Writers Guild of America training to co-author and sell the original screenplay, The Living Legend, with Jon Mercedes III, to the Erin Organization, and later, and also with Mercedes, to write two seasons of The Party Game, a Canadian TV game show.

As a young freelance entertainment journalist, he contributed to many Los Angeles-based publications, among them The Advocate, for which he wrote a breezy film column, “Reeling ‘Round,” and the Los Angeles Free Press. During this time, he became a member of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle.

Christopher dipped his toes into the world of motion picture advertising and publicity, as assistant to the West Coast Director of Advertising and Publicity for Cinerama Releasing Corporation, in Beverly Hills. At the same time, he also did special advertising and publicity projects for 20th Century-Fox. Christopher went on to become an Account Executive for David Wallace & Company, a public relations firm specializing in entertainment accounts – and located on West Hollywood’s legendary Sunset Strip.

Returning to his first love, writing, Christopher became a full time freelance contributor to national consumer publications including Us, Good Housekeeping, Family Circle, McCall’s, In Cinema, and The National Enquirer, among others. Many of his stories were syndicated worldwide by the New York Times Syndication Corp.

Another important area of endeavor for Christopher Stone was Re-Creating Your Self. A Blueprint for Personal Change that he first developed for himself, the journalist went on to teach the principles and processes of Re-Creating Your Self to others – first, in private sessions, later, in workshops and seminars, and, finally, for California State University Extended Education. Eventually, one of his students suggested he write a book version.

Re-Creating Your Self was first published in hardcover by Metamorphous Press, and subsequently published in a trade paperback edition by Hay House. It has since been published in Spanish, Swedish and Hebrew language editions.

When not writing, Christopher used his longtime interest in, and study of, metaphysics, to teach meditation and psychic development classes – first in Beverly Hills, then later, in Manhattan Beach.

He went on to co-author, with Mary Sheldon, four novellas for a Japanese educational publisher, and then, also with Mary Sheldon, the highly successful The Meditation Journal trilogy of hardcover books. Subsequently, he returned to journalism, this time, contributing hundreds of print and online entertainment features, columns and reviews to magazines and websites. For eight years, Christopher was the Box-office Columnist for MatchFlick.com, a popular online motion picture site.

In his private life, Christopher Stone met David M. Stoebner on May 17, 1994, and they have been together ever since. 
In 2008, they were married in Los Angeles.

They share a home with their three pets in Coastal Los Angeles County.

In 2013, Christopher’s pet project has been transforming their rarely used kitchen table area into a killer, retro 1950s Diner Nook, complete with a 1952 Seeburg Table Top jukebox, a neon diner sign, and a malt machine.

Christopher’s first novel, Frame of Reference was e and print published, in fall 2012, by MLR Press. A short story, Sweet Homo Alabama was published by MLR Press, December 19, 2012.

Stone spent much of 2013 writing Frame of Reference 2: The Dark Side of Stardom, a sequel novel to Frame of Reference, as well as, Abracadabra, and a short story, published at Halloween. But the indefatigable scribe also found time to contribute weekly reviews, columns and interviews to Queer Town Abbey.

On December 11, 2015, Christopher will introduce readers to the Past Life Regression therapist, Dr. Minnow Saint James, the subject of his new series, The Minnow Saint James Metaphysical Adventures, in the Christmas short story, Shaking the Holiday Blues Away, MLR Press. Going and Coming: The Minnow Saint James Metaphysical Adventures, Book 1, will be released by MLR Press, January 22, 2016.

Website: http://christopherstonebooks.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/bigboxoffice

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/12208025-christopher-stone

Randal Pierpont Sherman

By Christopher Stone

In my new novel, Going and Coming: The Minnow Saint James Metaphysical Adventures, Book One, Randal Pierpont Sherman is both the handsome and rich First Son of Hermosa Beach, and a young man who becomes essential to the career of Dr. Minnow Saint James, the book’s leading man.

Although Minn has many times seen Randal’s picture on the Society Page of Easy Reader, the community’s weekly newspaper, and he has pleasured himself while ogling the lad’s nude calendar photos as Mr. February, in the “Hunks of Hermosa” Calendar, he doesn’t meet the twenty-five-year-old First Son until after he is appointed to the Hermosa Beach Citizens Advisory Committee, of which Randal is a charter member.

Attending his first meeting of the committee, Minn is peeved because the Mayor Pro Tem and the City Council members are late in arriving. Making matters worse, no one has called, texted, or emailed to explain the lateness.

Dr. Saint James is a stickler for punctuality, and so he’s fuming over the unexcused, unexplained tardiness of his city’s officials until –

“I turned my attention to the impossibly handsome face and pistol hot form of young Randal Sherman, my fellow committee member, and the First Son of Hermosa Beach.

“Tis a pity that Randal is straight, and probably fifteen years my junior. The youth is irresistible. Just look at him: tight white jeans setting off his tanned, smooth skin, raven black hair cut into a perfect Modern Pompadour, a straight Greek nose, startling sapphire eyes, and full lips. I call such lush buds ‘Come catch me, kiss me, lips.’ Each time they lift into a smile, dimples form on the First Son’s cheeks. And you already know I’m a pushover for dimples.”

But as he continues waiting impatiently for the MIA Mayor Pro Tem and council, Minn also remembers something else about the divine Randal:

“He really was really something else. Other than living in the family mansion, and living off of the Sherman fortune, he is somewhat of a mystery.

“Rumor says that he is a desperately unhappy young man. As the history of the world has shown us, a life of comfort and privilege, beauty and charisma, can’t buy you happiness, and in Randal’s case, disillusionment had come early.

“Last summer, Hermosa’s First Son had been rushed to Torrance Memorial Hospital as the result of an alleged, failed suicide attempt.

“Of course, his mother had pooh-poohed all talk of a suicide try, waving off her son’s hospitalization as nothing more than ‘an appendicitis attack.’”

But in the weeks and months following Minn and Randal’s first introduction at an ill-starred Citizens Advisory Committee meeting, Hermosa’s First Son, the object of Minn’s lust, will become far more important to America’s premier Past Life Regression therapist than either one of them could have imagined.

It makes for compelling, sexy reading in Going and Coming.

22-Jan: Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Love Bytes, BFD Book Blog

26-Jan: Molly Lolly, The Novel Approach

28-Jan: MM Good Book Reviews, Happily Ever Chapter

2-Feb: Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings, Hearts on Fire, Divine Magazine

4-Feb: Velvet Panic, Prism Book Alliance

9-Feb: A.M. Leibowitz, My Fiction Nook

11-Feb: Lee Brazil, Inked Rainbow Reads, Bayou Book Junkie

16-Feb: Book Lovers 4Ever, Havan Fellows, Emotion In Motion

Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of Going and Coming: The Minnow Saint James Metaphysical Adventures

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Book Name: Anchored In Stone

Series: Chronicles of an Earned

Book: One

Release Date: November 1^st, 2015

Pages or Words: 373 pages, 106,985 words

Categories: Contemporary, Erotica, M/M Romance, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14588017.Meraki_P_Lyhne

Publisher: Extasy Books

Cover Artist: Carmen Waters

The easiest heist in Alex Rhoden’s career is also the most dangerous of all.

As a child, Alex Rhoden’s talent as a thief was recognized by a rich art collector. He has since then been schooled and trained to become one of the best art thieves in the world. While on the easiest heist of his career he finds himself running with the artefact in his possession, followed by an unknown adversary. But they are not the only ones interested in the artefact—so is an ancient race of demigods called Earned. Cornered and out of options, Alex has to make a difficult decision that will turn his life upside down no matter what he chooses.

The young demigod, Kaleb, is reborn into servitude, but he is a freak amongst his own kind—the forbidden unity between an Earned and a witch. Other than finding himself, learning to control his powers, and balance high school as a senior, Kaleb must earn the trust of his pack and family. But Alex is in danger and the young demigod struggles to keep up.

http://www.amazon.com/Anchored-Stone-Chronicles-Earned-Book-ebook/dp/B017GGC45Y

http://www.extasybooks.com/Anchored-In-Stone/

Alex made his way down the corridors, watching out for the guard. This one he found leafing through a magazine with his feet up and his back turned to the staircase. Alex stopped, breathed in deeply, and let it out slowly, reminding himself that a fat guard’s dumb luck was what caught his cat burglar mentor. No matter how carefully one builds a card house, a gust of wind can bring it all down.

So Alex took his time and focused all his expertise on getting past this guard as if he were from the agency itself. Finally in the basement, he made his way to the crate, pushed it open, and sought out the stone first. He found it and put it in a bag, which he in turn put in his thigh pocket, before stuffing another bag with whatever his pricey education had told him was worth the most on the black market.

Happy with his find, he turned, but something seemed to have a hold on the pocket with the stone in. He turned and found himself face to face with a big, mean-looking ghost. He gasped and clasped his left hand over his mouth to catch the scream he couldn’t stop, and clutched the stone with his right.

And then he ran. He didn’t even care if the guard saw him. He made it past the guard, who was nowhere in sight, and exited through the service entrance.

Alex didn’t stop until his body threatened to vomit out his heart. He stopped and by sheer exhaustion, his body chose to empty his stomach anyway. He took the stone out and stared at it. It felt almost as if fine electricity danced between it and where it touched his skin.

“What the hell did you have me steal, Mr. Henry?”

Meraki P. Lyhne is a Danish author with a love for the paranormal and space opera. She has been writing space opera since 2007, but paranormal erotic romance is a newer love. Closing the door to her writing-den, she delves into elaborate stories and research ancient religions, mythologies, and arts of the world to be inspired, so she can create new creatures of the paranormal.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007309787353

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/Meraki-P-Lyhne-1550012798597078/

Twitter: @MerakiPLyhne

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

Other: https://merakisworld.wordpress.com/

Today I’m welcoming Meraki P. Lyhne to chat about writing, life, and their current project. Welcome! Let’s talk a little about Anchored in Stone.

What inspired you to write this story?

I had an idea of playing with good and evil. Dualism. A short google search and my plot fell to pieces, but my curiosity was awoken. 8 years later spent on researching world religions, legends, myths, esoteric knowledge, mysticism, and alchemy and the story stepped forward once again. Especially the Mesopotamian god Enki inspired this one.

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

Alex Rhoden is a character so unlike anything I have ever written. The guy and I have maybe one thing in common, yet he has come so natural to write. He is neither my type nor shares my type in men, but he stepped forward fully formed. That doesn’t happen often, so he’s very special to me.

What was the hardest part of writing this?

The fact that the world grew so huge so fast. Sometimes it seems overwhelming to a point where I feel the need to step back to breathe. But it’s also what I love the most about this series.

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

He had mentioned another ten once. Mumbled it as I pulled him from a pile of trash and he smelled of vomit and blood.

“If you ever have to run in your life, son, then run faster from the ones you owe money than anyone else.”

When reaching adulthood and having to stand on your own two feet, it’s nice to have a collection of wise words from your old man and… this is what I got.

I wrote this the first day I sat down to begin whatever was bursting to come out. I had no idea the impact it would have on me later on in the writing process, and I’m not even sure why I like it so much. Maybe because this was when Alex Rhoden stepped forward so clearly that I could almost smell him in the room next to me. Which is one of the reasons he’s so special to me.

Tell us a little about any upcoming projects.

I always work on more than one project at a time. Working title on the next series I hope to publish is Roughnecks & Butterflies. It’s a sci fi series (Ore 5) about a shy accountant and a promiscuous male strip-club owner on a mining planet.

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

That depends on my mood. Sometimes love scenes can be difficult, so I write NOT DONE and skip it for when I’m in the mood. I don’t do it often, though. Things are usually pretty straight forward.

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

I do something creative. Draw, paint, embroider, but I’ve found that fountain pens are a wonderful tool to get warm writing again. It’s like the focus on writing beautifully and slower helps open the gates.

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

Man plans and God laughs. For authors it’s something like Authors plan, and the characters laugh. So I let them take me to where they want to go. And then we debate it in the rewrite.

Word Sprints!

Reusable or disposable grocery bags? Reusable. Nature is important to me.

What are you currently wearing? Leather pants, white dress shirt, and a lot of glitter (it’s 3 am New Year’s morning)

Do you have any pets? Two dogs, two cats, and two birds.

Morning person or night owl? Definitely a night owl!

What’s the best part of the day? Morning coffee enjoyed with a book.

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Rafflecopter Prize: PDF copy of Anchored in Stone by Meraki P. Lhyne

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Author: Jay Northcote

Book Name: The Law of Attraction

Release Date: February 5, 2016

Pages or Words: 62,000 words

Categories: Contemporary, M/M Romance, Romance

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28365986-the-law-of-attraction

Publisher: Jaybird Press

Cover Artist: Garrett Leigh

When a professional relationship turns personal, it’s impossible to resist the law of attraction.

Alec Rowland is a high-flying lawyer in a London firm whose career is his life. He doesn’t have time for relationships and his sexuality is a closely guarded secret. After picking up a cute guy on a Friday night, Alec’s world is rocked to its foundations when his one night stand shows up in the office on Monday morning—as the new temp on his team.

Ed Piper is desperate to prove himself in his new job. The last thing he needs is to be distracted by a crush on his boss. It’s hard to ignore the attraction he feels, even though Alec’s a difficult bastard to work for.

Both men strive to maintain a professional relationship, but tempers fray, passions ignite, and soon they’re both falling hard and fast. If they’re ever going to find a way to be together, Alec needs to be honest about who he really is because Ed won’t go back in the closet for anyone.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01B6NSXD0

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01B6NSXD0

Universal Amazon link: http://mybook.to/TLOA_JayN

His companion was still watching him, seemingly waiting for him to make his move. Alec felt irrationally irritated. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. Even though he only did it occasionally, picking up men was easy for Alec. Buying a drink was more than he usually bothered to do for the twinks he hooked up with when he was in the mood for a warm body to fuck. Alec was well aware of his own attractiveness and used it to his advantage. A crook of a finger, a tilt of his head, or even just a look was usually enough to make them come running.

But this guy didn’t seem to know the rules of the game.

“Strong, silent type, huh?” He suddenly grinned at Alec, all neat white teeth and dimples. “You could start by telling me your name. Mine’s Ed.”

“Alec.” He handed a note to the barman as he came back with their drinks. “Keep the change.”

“Cheers, mate.” The barman winked as he pocketed the tip.

Ed’s eyebrows lifted. “Change from a twenty? You must have money to burn.”

“Something like that.” Alec let his gaze rake deliberately down Ed, examining him from the front this time. His arms were still folded over his chest and his T-shirt had ridden up enough to expose a feathered line of hair on his belly, leading down to a nice-looking package in obscenely tight skinny jeans. “I hope you bottom?”

Ed blinked and choked on his mouthful of rum and Coke. Alec suppressed the urge to grin, enjoying the fact that Ed had momentarily lost his cool.

“I’ve been known to,” Ed replied, rallying. He licked his lips.

“Good.” Alec held his gaze, noting with satisfaction that Ed’s pupils had blown wide and his lips parted as Alec looked at them. God, he had a pretty mouth. Alec lifted his glass and downed his drink. The burn of the whisky tore through him and made his nerves tingle with anticipation. He needed a good fuck; it had been too long. “Drink up, then.”

Jay lives just outside Bristol in the West of England, with her husband, two children, and two cats.

She comes from a family of writers, but she always used to believe that the gene for fiction writing had passed her by. She spent years only ever writing emails, articles, or website content. One day, she decided to try and write a short story–just to see if she could–and found it rather addictive. She hasn’t stopped writing since.

www.jaynorthcote.com

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Author: Alysia Constantine

Book Name: Sweet

Release Date: February 4, 2016

Praise for Sweet by Alysia Constantine from Publisher’s Weekly: http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-941530-61-0

Pages or Words: 246 pages

Categories: Contemporary, Fiction, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Romance

Goodreads Link: http://www.goodreads.com/AlysiaConstantine

Publisher: Interlude Press

Cover Artist: C.B. Messer

For Jules Burns, a lonely baker, it is the memory of his deceased husband, Andy. For Teddy Flores, a numbed-to-the-world accountant who accidentally stumbles into his bakery, it is a voyage of discovery into his deep connections to pleasure, to the world, and to his own heart.

Alysia Constantine’s Sweet is also the story of how we tell stories—of what we expect and need from a love story. The narrator is on to you, Reader, and wants to give you a love story that doesn’t always fit the bill. There are ghosts to exorcise, and jobs and money to worry about. Sweet is a love story, but it also reminds us that love is never quite what we expect, nor quite as blissfully easy as we hope.

Interlude Press

Amazon

ARe

“Speakerphone.”

“What?”

“Speakerphone. Put me on speaker so you can use your hands. You’re going to need both hands, and I won’t be held responsible for you mucking up your phone. Speaker.”

Teddy set his phone on the counter and switched to the speaker, then stood waiting.

“Hello?” Jules said. “Is this thing on?”

“Sorry,” Teddy said. “I’m still here.”

“It sounded like you’d suddenly disappeared. I was starting to believe in the rapture,” Jules said, and Teddy heard, again, the nervous chuckle.

Their conversation was awkward and full of strange pauses in which there was nothing right to say, and they focused mostly on how awkward and strange it was until Jules told Teddy to dump the almond paste on the counter and start to knead in the sugar.

“I’m doing it, too, along with you,” Jules said.

“I’m not sure whether that makes it more or less weird,” Teddy admitted, dusting everything in front of him with sugar.

“It’s just like giving a back rub,” Jules told him. “Roll gently into the dough with the heel of your hand, lean in with your upper body. Think loving things. Add a little sugar each time—watch for when it’s ready for more. Not too much at once.”

Several moments passed when all that held their connection was a string of huffed and effortful breaths and the soft thump of dough. Teddy felt Jules pressing and leaning forward into his work, felt the small sweat and ache that had begun to announce itself in Jules’s shoulders, felt it when he held his breath as he pushed and then exhaled in a rush as he flipped the dough, felt it all as surely as if Jules’s body were there next to him, as if he might reach to the side and, without glancing over, brush the sugar from Teddy’s forearm, a gesture which might have been, if real, if the result of many long hours spent in the kitchen together, sweet and familiar and unthinking.

“My grandmother and I used to make this,” Jules breathed after a long silence, “when I was little. Mine would always become flowers. She would always make hers into people.”

Teddy understood that he needn’t reply, that Jules was speaking to him, yes, but speaking more into the empty space in which he stood as a witness, talking a story into the evening around him, and he, Teddy, was lucky to be near, to listen in as the story spun itself out of Jules and into the open, open quiet.

When the dough was finished and Jules had interrupted himself to say, “There, mine’s pretty done. I bet yours is done by now, too,” Teddy nodded in agreement—and even though he knew Jules couldn’t see him, he was sure Jules would sense him nodding through some miniscule change in his breathing or the invisible tension between them slackening just the slightest bit. And he did seem to know, because Jules paused and made a satisfied noise that sounded as if all the spring-coiled readiness had slid from his body. “This taste,” Jules sighed, “is like Proust’s madeleine.”

They spent an hour playing with the dough and molding it into shapes they wouldn’t reveal to each other. Teddy felt childish and happy and inept and far too adult all at once as he listened to the rhythmic way Jules breathed and spoke, the way his voice moved in and out of silence, like the advance and retreat of shallow waves that left in their wake little broken treasures on the shore.

Only his fingers moved, fumbling and busy and blind as he listened, his whole self waiting for Jules to tell him the next thing, whatever it might be.

Alysia Constantine lives in Brooklyn with her wife, their two dogs, and a cat. When she is not writing, she is a professor at an art college. Before that, she was a baker and cook for a caterer, and before that, she was a poet.

Sweet is her first novel.

Blog: www.Alysiaconstantine.com

Twitter: @ConstantAlysia

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alysia.constantine.1

Tumblr: http://alysia-constantine.tumblr.com

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Alysia Constantine, author of Sweet. Hi, Alysia, thank you for agreeing to this interview.

What is the biggest thing people think they know about your subject/genre that isn’t so?

If the subject is stories themselves, then I think we all take a lot of pleasure in knowing how a story is going to go and having our expectations fulfilled (I knew she was going to end up with that person!). Maybe this comes from the disappointing talent I seem to have at guessing the entire plot of a film after the first 15 minutes… I hate knowing. I guess I find it more interesting when you have expectations, the story seems to be aware of what your expectations are, and then resists fulfilling them. I think a lot of our reactions to stories (fulfillment, suspense, disappointment, pleasure) have to do with whether or not—or how—a story fulfills our expectations.

What are some references you used while writing this book?

My recipe box, for sure! When I originally wrote Sweet, I did so by basing each chapter on a recipe, and originally I had included the recipes at the end of each chapter. In the end, that seemed too much like Like Water for Chocolate, which did that so beautifully, so there was no need for Sweet to do it. But the trace left behind by the recipes (the flavor, the style, the sweetness or bitterness or richness) remains in the chapters, I think.

Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

I absolutely don’t. Both my parent had been language teachers, and I was never very good at math, so writing became my thing. I remember in fourth grade being admired by my peers for my poetic ability. Boy, I could rhyme anything. I wanted to be the next Shel Silverstein. I do know that what was originally fun and easy for me became more important to me because other people started calling me a “writer” and asking me to write things. Then, as I got older and had a bit of publishing success, I got scared and stumped by all the pressure I put on myself about it. Now, I’ve managed to get back to the fun part.

What do your plans for future projects include?

Right now, I’m working on a new novel that takes place in the circus, among circus performers and sideshow folk. I’d say more, but I really don’t know much more than that right now, except that the novel starts with one character’s parents, who are trapeze artists, disappearing midair during their act. And I know that it’s two women, one who is an aerialist and contortionist, and one who is a “danger eater” (she swallows swords and eats fire). So, in a sense, they are both people who have had to train their bodies to behave in abnormal and uncomfortable ways. They are both, in a certain sense, contortionists.

Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

I feel like when I was young and being scolded into apologizing for some Bad Thing I had done, and an adult would say, “And what do you want to say to this lady, whose toes you just trod on?” I’m sorry? No, that seems wrong in this situation. I think whatever I’ve been interested in saying, I’ve tried to say it in the novel. Except thank you to anyone who’s invested themselves in the book. Writing can be so solitary; it’s really nice to know that people are reading what one wrote.

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Rafflecopter Prize: $25 Interlude Press gift card to one winner, e-copies of Sweet to five additional winners

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