Elin Gregory

Rainbow Snippets

December 12, 2015 by Elin Gregory

Week 2 of the snippetry and here’s a little more of Calon Lan – an historical MM romance set during the Great War and told from the POV of the sister of one of the lovers. Here Bethan and Nye continue their conversation about Alwyn’s letters.

“They went through a lot together. It must be good for him to have someone who understands.”
“You’d think he’d sooner forget the bloody war.” Nye’s mouth was full of boiled ham and potato but Bethan heard the swear word clearly.
“Nye Harrhy, I’ll wash your mouth out,” she said. “I won’t have language like that in my house.”

Posted in Excerpt, Six Sentence Sunday | 11 Comments »

Cover Reveal – Shades Champion

December 11, 2015 by Elin Gregory

Author Name: Cheryl Headford

Book Length 214 Pages

Release Date: 18th December 2015

Publisher: Wayward Ink Publishing

Cover Art by: Kellie Dennis: Book Covers by Design

Posted in New Release | 2 Comments »

Book Blast – The Right Kind of Woman by Voss Porter

December 10, 2015 by Elin Gregory

Book title: The Right Kind of Woman

Author: Voss Porter

Series: Southern Lesbians

Book Number: One

Words: 79,450

Blurb:

Just when free-spirited farm girl, Cara Spencer Holloway, feels the regulatory world of her closeted, Southern enclave will swallow her whole, her three miscreant brothers team up to carelessly throw her together with regimented, Northern software designer, Dre Martin, on a misguided stop en route to Florida. One steamy stop leads to another and soon the two women will learn more about what the right kind of partner can bring to life than they had ever suspected, but can Cara Spencer move forward and out of the pain of her past, or will she succumb to the doubts that have plagued her romantic life from its very inception?

Excerpt:

In the mirror over the pedestal sink, she saw Cara Spencer, hands on her hourglass hips, skimming the half-inch of exposed flesh just below her navel. The scent of lavender and yellow jasmine hung in the air around her and her stare was intense, however intense did little to describe the feeling of being nailed with her almond, obsidian black eyes. Severe? Critical? Daring?

Her deep and even breaths stole the air from the room and Dre put her hands to her own throat, heart racing.

What was it with this woman? It was like she’d never really been attracted to anyone before, never fully had any appreciation or desire for a woman’s body until the moment she laid eyes on the dominant female standing in the lone stall doorway with a paper towel in her hands.

“Hello?” Cara Spencer tittered. “You can’t possibly be that blind.”

“Blind?” Was something on her face? Shit, was she blushing? Shit, shit, shit…

“They’re all smitten with you, honey. All of the Holloway boys…Like you’re the last steak on the savanna.”

Gross. Dre didn’t want to be anyone’s steak, least of all the steak any man wanted to sink his teeth into. The one male experience she’d had, back at Northwestern, had been far less than satisfying, not that it was any of his fault. Greg was his name, Greg Fillman. The only guy dumb enough to think the girl who shaved her head and dressed in men’s pants would ever want to be his girlfriend. Nope. It had been the one time in her life that Andrea had convinced herself to try a penis and see if the sensation was one she could live with… Hadn’t gone well. Had gone laughably unwell. Had necessitated ringing up Tris in the middle of the night, after she’d driven Greg home.

“Your brothers aren’t really my… Type.” She slurred.

Cara Spencer winked. “Ya don’t say…” Her hips swayed past and she put her hand on the door. “And what is your type?”

“You are.” FUCK why had she said that? Why had Dre said something so stupid?

Fuck this was embarrassing.

Dre had never so much as approached a woman like this for a quarter at a pay phone (were pay phones even a thing anymore?) and here she was, doused with liquid courage (how many beers had she had now?), and flinging about pick-up lines in a public fucking bathroom. What the fuck?!

Thankfully, and by the grace of God, Cara Spencer laughed, and not in a mocking way. Not at her, but with her. Like it was a good attempt, not a corny attempt. Like it was a real pick-up line. Like she was really, in fact, picking her up and it wasn’t wholly unsuccessful.

Buy Links:

<a href=”http://www.amazon.com/Right-Kind-Woman-Voss-Porter-ebook/dp/B018ZMG10M/”>Amazon US</a>

<a href=”http://www.darkhollowspress.com/#!voss-porter/c1a01″>Dark Hollows Press</a>

<a href=”http://www.amazon.co.uk/Right-Kind-Woman-Voss-Porter-ebook/dp/B018ZMG10M/”>Amazon US</a>

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New release – Bitter Springs by Laura Stone

December 9, 2015 by Elin Gregory

Author Name: Laura Stone

Book Name: Bitter Springs

Release Date: December 3, 2015

Pages or Words: 302 pages

Categories: Fiction, Gay Fiction, Historical, M/M Romance, Romance, Western/Cowboy

Publisher: Interlude Press

Cover Artist: Collen M. Good

Blurb:

In 1870s Texas, Renaldo Valle Santos, the youngest son of a large and traditional family, has been sent to train with Henry “Hank” Burnett, a freed slave and talented mesteñero—or horse- catcher—so he may continue the family horse trade. Bitter Springs is a sweeping epic that takes themes from traditional Mexican literature and Old Westerns to tell the story of a man coming into his own and realizing his destiny lies in the wild open spaces with the man who loves him, far from expectations of society.

Excerpt:

The day before the wedding, a visitor arrived at Vista Verde an entire week early. Renaldo, ready to wash up and eat dinner after a long, hard day—his side ached from roping cattle as a part of Paloma’s training, his hands were full of bits of raw hemp from the stock lassos, and one of the calves had kicked him high on the thigh—walked back from the barn using his hat to slap at the dust on his chest and thighs. He noticed a tall, striking young black man standing at the door to their home speaking with their father. They didn’t see many black men this far from civilization—with the Civil War ending so recently, many were staying close to where they’d been forced to live, were heading far out west where there were more opportunities to make a new life or were going north seeking less hostile society. Who he could be?

He was about as tall as Renaldo, maybe an inch or two more, broad-shouldered and whip-thin, dressed in well-worn, simple clothes. He had a close-cropped beard, but instead of hiding the shape of his jaw, it accented its sharpness. His light eyes, almost luminescent even at this distance and glowing like amber, were ringed with thick lashes, nearly to the point of being girlish, but there was nothing feminine about the man. With his lean but strong-looking chest, muscular arms and curved backside, he managed to carry himself with a confident air while standing idly; his body was still, but in a way that made Renaldo think of a raptor sitting on an abutment, watching and waiting.

“Oh, here he is,” Estebán said, motioning for Renaldo to join them, saying, “Señor Burnett, allow me to introduce to you my son, Renaldo.”

This? This was the legendary mesteñero, Henry Burnett? He couldn’t be much older than Renaldo, who realized his jaw had dropped. He closed his mouth quickly and moved toward them as if drawn like metal shavings to a magnet.

Burnett, however, looked amused, as the edge of his mouth quirked up. “Pleased to meet you,” he said, his voice deep and husky.

Renaldo couldn’t look away, shocked that his expectations couldn’t have been more wrong. This was a vibrant young man. But… this was the man he would be alone with on the prairie for months? His stomach twisted at that thought, and at how unexpected it all was, causing his heart to race and face flush. Yes, it was unexpected. That Burnett had come so much sooner than they’d expected had to be why Renaldo couldn’t find his voice and felt so upended.

“Mijo,” his father said sharply.

Renaldo shook himself slightly, and then nodded, saying, “Señor Burnett, it’s very good to meet you, finally. Please forgive my shock, as I don’t believe we expected you so soon.”

Burnett laughed, a rolling, melodious sound, and replied, “Well, then just imagine my shock when I come here all the way from Nacogdoches expecting one Valle man, only to find him gone and you in his place.” He smiled. “Your padre seems to think you’re a better match, so that works for me.”

That smile, bright teeth framed by full lips, eyes crinkled at the corners, helped lessen some of Renaldo’s shock and, if he was being honest, some of the worry that he carried about spending a lot of time with a hard, taciturn man Renaldo knew he would be unable to please. At the realization that this was who he would be with on the plains, just the two of them with no one else for weeks on end, Renaldo became excited, finally looking forward to this task. A young man with an infectious grin wouldn’t be such a chore to be stuck with after all.

Buy the book:

Interlude Press Web Store: store.interludepress.com

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1Ybi7Ab

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bitter-springs-laura-stone/1122753096?ean=2940152391107

Apple iBooks Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/bitter-springs/id1046777460?mt=11

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/582322

Meet the author:

Laura Stone is a born and bred Texan, but don’t hold that against her. She’s a former comedian, actress and Master Gardener, and currently keeps busy as a media blogger, ghostwriter and novelist when not busy raising her three children. They’re not fully raised, but then, neither is she.

She lives in Texas as proof that it’s not completely populated by hard-line right-wingers. And because that’s where the good tamales are. Her first novel, The Bones of You, was published by Interlude Press in 2014 and was named a finalist for two Foreword Reviews IndieFab Book of the Year Award. Laura Stone at Laura-Stone.com and on Facebook at facebook.com/9LauraStone

Where to find the author:

Facebook: facebook.com/9LauraStone

Twitter: @stoneyboboney

Tour Dates & Stops:

Rafflecopter Prize: Grand Prize: $25 Interlude Press Gift Card, First Prize: One of five e-copies of ‘Bitter Springs’ – either click the copter to enter or visit one of the following links for more opportunities.

3-Dec: MM Good Book Reviews, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Velvet Panic, It’s Raining Men, Hearts on Fire

4-Dec: Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My, Gay Book Reviews, Divine Magazine

7-Dec: Two Chicks Obsessed With Books and Eye Candy, Unquietly Me, Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings, Bayou Book Junkie

8-Dec: Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves, My Fiction Nook

9-Dec: Elin Gregory, TTC Books and More

10-Dec: Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Michael Mandrake, Love Bytes

11-Dec: Inked Rainbow Reads, Jessie G. Books

14-Dec: Dawn’s Reading Nook, QUEERcentric Books, Happily Ever Chapter

15-Dec: Cheekypee Reads and Reviews, Emotion in Motion

16-Dec: BFD Book Blog, Prism Book Alliance

Posted in contest, Excerpt, New Release | 6 Comments »

New Release – The Beary Best Holiday Party Ever by B G Thomas

December 8, 2015 by Elin Gregory

Title: THE BEARY BEST HOLIDAY PARTY EVER
Author: B G Thomas
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Pages: 76
Cover Artist: Catt Ford
Available: NOW

Blurb:

Before he discovered the Heartland Bear Clan, Ron Corbin figured no one could ever love a “fatass” like him. But the big group of big men accepts him, and likes him just the way he is. Having finally found a place he belongs, he works hard to get elected president of the club—and wins. He’s the happiest he’s ever been.

But Paddy Brennan, a sexy bear cub who blew into town and became Mr. Popular overnight, is elected vice-president. Ron doesn’t think Paddy has earned the honor, and now he’ll have to work shoulder to shoulder (and belly to belly) with the guy for a year.

Ron will do what’s best for the club even if that means setting his personal feeling—that Paddy is a jerk—aside. But then as the two men get to know each other, Ron reluctantly finds he not only likes the guy, but is growing more and more attracted to him.

Deep down, Ron still worries he isn’t good enough, but maybe Paddy can show him there’s a beary happy ending waiting for them after all.

~~~~~~

Excerpt:

JULY

WHEN RON Corbin heard his name announced as the new president of the Heartland Bear Clan, he could hardly contain himself. He bellowed a loud, “Yowza,” which made everyone laugh. It was only by the grace of God that he kept himself from whooping out, “I’m king of the world.” After all, hadn’t nearly everyone thought it a very egotistical thing for James Cameron to shout when he won his Oscar for best director?

Ron had never understood that. It seemed like a logical thing for the Titanic filmmaker to shout. Perfect, actually. The Leonardo DiCaprio line was one of the most famous from the movie. And it was how Cameron must have felt when he won the Academy Award.

It was certainly how Ron felt when Mel Gunter, the man who had run the club for well over a decade, stood up in front of everyone and declared him as his successor. Ron really did feel like the king of the world. Or at least his world—and his world was the Kansas City bear club.

There was nothing more important to Ron than the Heartland Bear Clan. In many ways the social group had saved his life—at least he felt that way. He’d been one big old depressed bear when he’d been introduced to the group of men. In fact, once upon a time he’d hated the fact that anyone thought of him as a bear in the first place. Bears were fat. And fat was bad, right? Men who couldn’t stop eating, right? Who couldn’t stick to a diet? Who refused to take care of themselves? Who had no self-pride?

That’s what he’d thought. What he’d been told over and over and over again.

“I do not know how you can be a child of mine!” came the voice of his mother.

“Fat! You’re a fatass!” came the voice of his father. “My son—my son—a fatass!”

But the Heartland Bear Clan had changed all of that. Had changed his life. Okay, so he was a bear. Yeah, he was a bit chunky. But not ugly. He’d worked quite a bit to find his style, as well. He kept his brown hair almost military short and his full beard trimmed fairly tight. Yeah, a bear. And a pretty good-looking one. And now, as president of the club he’d devoted so much of his time to, he couldn’t be happier.

Until he found out who was going be his vice president.

~~~~~~

Buy Links:

Dreamspinner Press: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=7192

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Beary-Holiday-Party-Advent-Calendar-ebook/dp/B018RVC1NW/

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beary-Holiday-Party-Advent-Calendar-ebook/dp/B018RVC1NW/
Barns & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-beary-best-holiday-party-ever-bg-thomas/1123051116?ean=2940157929145

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/the-beary-best-holiday-party-ever

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thebearybestholidaypartyever-1937324-149.html

~~~~~~

Meet the Author:

B.G. is a novelist and blogger. For the past year he has made and entry every day in his blog “365 Days of Silver,” where he finds something every day to be grateful for. You can find it right here: https://365daysofsilver.wordpress.com/

B.G. loves romance, comedies, fantasy, science fiction and even horror—as far as he is concerned, as long as the stories are character driven and entertaining, it doesn’t matter the genre. He has gone to conventions since he was fourteen years old and has been lucky enough to meet many of his favorite writers. He has made up stories since he was child; it is where he finds his joy.

In the nineties, he wrote for gay magazines but stopped because the editors wanted all sex without plot. “The sex is never as important as the characters,” he says. “Who cares what they are doing if we don’t care about them?” Excited about the growing male/male romance market, he began writing again. Gay men are what he knows best, after all. He submitted his first story in years and was thrilled when it was accepted in four days.

“Leap, and the net will appear” is his personal philosophy and his message to all. “It is never too late,” he states. “Pursue your dreams. They will come true!”

Visit his website and his author blog at http://bthomaswriter.wordpress.com/ where you can contact him. He loves to hear from readers and is always quick to respond.

Posted in Excerpt, Guests, New Release | Leave a Comment »

New snippetry group – Rainbow Snippets

December 6, 2015 by Elin Gregory

I don’t know about you, but I miss Six Sentence Sunday. I made an image to use for it and everything. Here is its:

It was a huge group with a very diverse set of authors, some of whom absolutely rocked and some of whom I still follow. But eventually it folded and the group diverged into special interest groups. Most of the MM ones had words like “sexy” in their titles and I never really felt I fitted in there when posting six or however many sentences about whatever – loading a Long Nine, shoeing a horse, taking cavalry over rough ground, supplying an army in a harsh winter. But I still missed the weekly posts, the reasons to show up and display whatever I was working on. So I’m very pleased to be part of a brand new group started on Facebook by Charley Descouteax and Rian Durant. Here’s a new picture to go with the posts:

And here is my snippet for this week. It’s from a short story called Calon Lan, set in Wales during the Great War, and it’s a MM romance told from the point of view of the sister of one of the protagonists. These are the first few sentences of the story:

Bethan put the plate on the table and craned her neck to peer past her husband and through the window. The farmyard, still misty even though it was past noon, was empty apart from a few fowls.

“He’s run down the lane.” Nye picked up his knife and fork. “We saw the post cart. Beats me what Alwyn and his pals find to write about.”

Posted in Six Sentence Sunday | Tagged snippets | 16 Comments »

Squeee

November 30, 2015 by Elin Gregory

I’m so excited *chair dances* and I just can’t hide it!

This month I have written more than in the past 2 years put together. Now I just need to consistently do a bit each day.

Anyhow – excerpt – this is the bit where I hit 50k:

Mal looked at Gary’s collarbones, which were level with his eyes, and tried to get his head round the idea that this immense, intimidating, inarticulate and very straight man was trying to facilitate his gay best friend’s love life. It was one of the sweetest things he’d ever seen.

Posted in Excerpt | Tagged nanowrimo, the bones of our fathers | 2 Comments »

Cover Reveal – New Lease of Life by Lillian Francis

November 30, 2015 by Elin Gregory

Hi, Lillian Francis here, and I’ve popped in to show off my amazing cover for my novel, New Lease of Life, coming soon from Dreamspinner Press.

But first the Blurb.

New Lease of Life

Phillip used to laugh a lot, back when his friends called him Pip. However the good deed that left him hospitalized not only marred his body, it stripped him of his good humor too. Ever since, he has pushed his friends away and shut out the world. Donating his vintage clothing to a charity shop should have been the final act in a year-long campaign to sever the links with the man Pip used to be, but the stranger on his doorstep awakens feelings in Pip that he hasn’t experienced since the incident that left him angry at the world and reliant on the cold metal of the hideous hospital-issue crutch.

Colby forces his way into Pip’s life, picking at the scab of his past. Colby isn’t interested in Pip’s money or his expensive address. He has only one goal: to make Pip smile again. With every moment in Pip’s presence, Colby chips away at the walls Pip has built around himself. Pip knows it’s impossible to fight his attraction with Colby’s sunny disposition casting light into the darkness in his soul.

Drum roll please.

Presenting
Cover art by Paul Richmond.

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Almost there

November 29, 2015 by Elin Gregory

I’m feeling quietly chuffed. 48534 words for Nanowrimo!

I never thought I’d manage that. The story is almost finished too in the sense that I’ve got it’s skeleton laid out, I just need to add some muscle and connective tissue and some glandular oomph – all the usual stuff including the bits where I’ve typed [add sex scene here].

Anyhow, here’s an excerpt. Everyone else has had the flu, now it’s Mal’s turn:

Twenty minutes later he was regretting ever moaning about wanting his Mum. Betty was no substitute for the soft handed angel of his daydreams. Brusquely she reorganised his room, opening the window to let an excruciating blast of cold air waft through the place because, she said, “smells like something died in here”, plumping pillows with sharp angry punches and banging a bottle of Lucozade down on his beside table with enough force to make it impossible to open unless he wanted his ceiling to be dripping.
“Um, Betty, it’s not that I don’t appreciate you coming but you don’t seem to be very happy.”
“Of course I’m not happy.” Betty put her hands on her hips and glared at him. “First off you went to Sharon to whine about being ill. Just because she’s all cuddly and mumsy and shit doesn’t mean that I’m not perfectly capable of giving you comfort, capische? Secondly, I’ve had to rush over here in my lunch hour in the rain because Elspeth is giving us both a hard time and Sharon doesn’t really want to be left on her own in the museum with her. Fuck sake, she’s a grown up, she could just tell Elspeth to piss off like I do but no she’s scared of losing her job and doesn’t seem to think that you’ve got our backs even when lolling there on your bed of pain, which I think you have really in your own wussy way, and – and – where was I? Yeah thirdly what have you done to Rob you wanker?”
“What do you mean, what have I done to Rob?” Mal had been expecting Rob to be mentioned but had assumed something a bit more specific. “I haven’t done anything to Rob. I haven’t seen him?”
“You haven’t?” Betty’s eyebrows rose. “Uhuh, so why did he tell me you and he were going out Monday night, and why has he had a face like a bulldog chewing a wasp ever since while you’ve been wandering around in a daze snapping left right and centre. And now, boo hoo, you’ve taken to your bed.”
“I’m fucking ill.” Mal hadn’t meant for his voice to rise but it did and his voice caught and he dissolved in a bout of painful coughing. Betty reached for the still too lively Lucozade, swore and fetched him a glass of water instead.
“There you go, though I don’t know why I bother. You were the best thing that’s happened to Rob, you know. Jeez, he’s had some rough years but … well, I guess it might be for the best.”
“Shall we agree not to interfere in each other’s love lives?” Mal suggested once he could speak again. “Otherwise I could make some comments about how friendly you seem to be getting with Gary.”
“Hey, lay off Gary,” Betty raised a warning finger. “Gary might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, though I reckon he might surprise us all yet, but he is good at one particular thing and that’s making me happy. Who do you make happy, Mal? Give that some thought, all right. Shit is that the time?”

Posted in Excerpt | Tagged nanowrimo, the bones of our fathers | Leave a Comment »

November 21, 2015 by Elin Gregory

I haven’t much else to talk about at the moment. I’ll be back in work on Monday, pretending I want to be there, so for now I’m making the most of my writing time.

I’ve just broken the 35k mark