Elin Gregory

book blast – P D Singer

February 10, 2015 by Elin Gregory

Book Name: A New Man

Release Date: February 9, 2015

Author Name: P.D. Singer

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Cover Artist: Reese Dante

Pages or Words: 276 pages

Categories: Contemporary

Blurb(s):

Senior year of college is for studying, partying, and having fun before getting serious about life. Instead, Chad’s days are filled with headaches and exhaustion, and his fencing skills are getting worse with practice, not better. Then there’s his nonexistent love life, full of girls he’s shunted to the friend zone. Is he asexual? Gay?

Grad student Warren Douglas could be out clubbing, but his roommate is better company, even without kisses. He’s torn up watching Chad suffer, gobbling ibuprofen and coming home early on Friday nights. If Chad weren’t straight, Warren would keep him up past midnight. They’re great as friends. Benefits might answer Chad’s questions.

A brief encounter with lab rats reveals Chad’s illness—he needs surgery, STAT, and can’t rely on his dysfunctional parents for medical decisions. Warren’s both trustworthy and likely to get overruled—unless they’re married. “You can throw me back later,” Warren says, and he may throw himself back after his husband turns out moody and hard to get along with, no matter how much fun his new sex drive is. Surgery turns Chad into a new man, all right…

…but Warren fell in love with the old one.

Excerpt:

On his feet now, Chad looked a little shaky. For a silent moment he stood, though it wasn’t clear whether he was forcing his body to behave or thinking.

“Uh. You’re a scientist…” Why did Chad make that sound like a question? Unless it was part of his medicine head. “I need some data.”

Oh. Oh!

Warren didn’t flinch or pull away when Chad leaned in. Both his hands rested on Warren’s upper arms, which didn’t keep him from lurching forward so fast Warren thought he’d get hit in the face. But no, he stopped short and came in slow for the last inch. Eyes open and questioning, he met Warren’s mouth in a smooth, gentle kiss. Lips not quite parted, he brushed against Warren, searching, not demanding.

What had gotten into him? Warren kissed back, not too startled to respond in kind, adding nothing that might frighten Chad away. He wouldn’t lift his arms, he wouldn’t offer tongue, but he would meet Chad’s mouth for as long as he was offered it. He had to tip his face up slightly and fight to stay in place when he wanted nothing more than to step forward into Chad’s arms, to plaster himself against that inviting chest, and thrust his tongue into the depths of Chad’s mouth.

Chad’s eyes were blue drowning to black, his pupils dilated widely. Questions, but not fear, dwelled behind his irises, questions that Warren wanted to answer for him. Yes, you like this, yes, you want more, yes, you want it with me. Yes.

We asked PD a few pointed and pertinent questions:

You meet a time traveler who will take you ‘anywhen’. Do you go to the past or the future?

The future, please. I’m inclined to meddle and the past doesn’t tolerate that.

Cake or pie?

Pie has a lot of good associations, but I don’t actually like the crust. Cake, please.

Tour Dates: February 9, 2015

Tour Stops:

Parker Williams, Bike Book Reviews, My Fiction Nook, Kimi-Chan, Inked Rainbow Reads, Prism Book Alliance, Molly Lolly, Bayou Book Junkie, BFD Book Blog, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Kristy’s Brain Food, Cate Ashwood, Fallen Angel Reviews, Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Queer Town Abbey, MM Good Book Reviews, Wicked Wolves and Dreaming Dragons, Inked Rainbow Reads, Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings, Kristy’s Brain Food, Because Two Men Are Better Than One, Nic Starr, Velvet Panic, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Nephylim, Multitasking Mommas, Elin Gregory

Sales Links:

Dreamspinner – http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6025

Rafflecopter Prize: 1 copy of ‘A New Man’ plus one copy from P.D. Singer’s backlist

Author Bio:

P.D. Singer lives in Colorado with her slightly bemused husband, two rowdy teenage boys, and thirty pounds of cats. She’s a big believer in research, first-hand if possible, so the reader can be quite certain Pam has skied down a mountain face-first, been stepped on by rodeo horses, acquired a potato burn or two, and will never, ever, write a novel that includes sky-diving.

When not writing, playing her fiddle, or skiing, she can be found with a book in hand.

Where to find the author:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pd.singer.9

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/PDSingerbooks

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PD_Singer

Blog: http://PDSinger.com

Posted in New Release, Uncategorized | Tagged new release | Leave a Comment »

New Release – Trowchester Blues by Alex Beecroft.

February 9, 2015 by Elin Gregory

Title: Trowchester Blues
Author: Alex Beecroft
Publisher: Riptide
Available: 9th February, 2015
Pages: 273
Category: Contemporary crime and romance

Blurb:

Michael May is losing it. Long ago, he joined the Metropolitan Police to escape his father’s tyranny and protect people like himself. Now his father is dead, and he’s been fired for punching a suspect. Afraid of his own rage, he returns to Trowchester—and to his childhood home, with all its old fears and memories. When he meets a charming, bohemian bookshop owner who seems to like him, he clings tight.

Fintan Hulme is an honest man now. Five years ago, he retired from his work as a high class London fence and opened a bookshop. Then an old client brings him a stolen book too precious to turn away, and suddenly he’s dealing with arson and kidnapping, to say nothing of all the lies he has to tell his friends. Falling in love with an ex-cop with anger management issues is the last thing he should be doing.

Finn thinks Michael is incredibly sexy. Michael knows Finn is the only thing that still makes him smile. But in a relationship where cops and robbers are natural enemies, that might not be enough to save them.

New books from Alex Beecroft are always a huge treat, especially when you can get them early by ordering the whole collection.

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A Whole Lotta Love – A Valentine’s Day Blog Hop

February 9, 2015 by Elin Gregory

Many many thanks to D P Denman for organising this blog hop to celebrate love in all its forms and fashions. Below you will find links to all the terrific authors who are taking part and also a link to a major Rafflecopter giveaway – enter it and you can win not only a Kindle but a whole load of ebooks to put on it.

Now I could just cut to the chase and provide the links to save the readers who are just here for the giveaways from having to scroll but nope! If you want to win a Kindle you can use that scroll bar, and for the people who stick around and read my post I’ve got a smaller private giveaway just for the fun of it.

First of all, a picture.

Not very impressive, is it? Until you consider that this is the oldest known depiction of two humans making love [or the oldest known piece of pornography if you have the kind of mind that insists on looking at everything that way]. This pebble has been painstakingly chipped to show the entwined limbs of lovers. It is thought to be over 13,000 years old, dating from the Ice Age, and was found in a cave in a desert area of Judea. Click the picture to go to the BBC website for more information on the carving and what it may represent.

What it represents to me is that the meeting of hearts, minds and sometimes of bodies, too, has been a major preoccupation for human beings since there WERE human beings. Lovers of all types, shapes, sizes and sexes have pledged to each other, sometimes fleetingly, for the heck of it, just for an hour, and sometimes with deep and abiding commitment.

This image dates to 500BC and shows part of a ceremony of union described by Herodotus at about that time, by Lucian in 50AD and, astonishingly, by Gerald of Wales writing of Ireland in the 12th century AD. Here is Lucian’s account of the ceremony in the words of a participant:

We consider appropriate to [these relationships] what you do in regard to marriage – wooing for a long time and doing everything similar so that we might not fail to obtain the friend, or be rejected. And when a friend has been preferred to all others, there are contracts for this and the most solemn oath, both to live together and to die, if necessary, for each other, which we do. From the point at which we have both cut our fingers and let the blood run into a chalice, dipped the tips of our swords in it, and both drunk it together, there is nothing that could dissolve what is between us.

Gerald’s account is, naturally, scathing because he was a devout churchman and anything involving the letting and consuming of blood was considered to be a pagan mockery of communion. But even in Catholic France during the 16th century it was possible for lovers to make a life together through the legal act of affrèrement – ‘brothering’. Originally designed so that two brothers or other close relations could share a house and property equally, it was also applied to men who were not related to each other but who wished to become legal and equal partners. The new “brothers” pledged to live together sharing ‘un pain, un vin, et une bourse’ — one bread, one wine, and one purse. There are many historians who pooh-pooh any suggestion that some of the people who signed contracts might have been lovers but honestly! If there was a way to make your lover your heir, to live with him as a partner, both in business as well of the heart, wouldn’t you take it?

Buccaneers certainly did, changing the name of affrèrement to matelotage and settling areas of the Caribbean and Spanish Main in colonies of same sex couples with locally recognised and approved rights of inheritance and fidelity. Until death do us part was as important to them as to the men of Scythia or the people today who choose to marry.

There have been good times, bad times, times of acceptance and times of persecution but I believe things are getting better and I hope that they continue to do so.

Okay you’ve been very patient so here’s the link to the Rafflecopter and for those of you who’d like to enter the private giveaway please comment below with the name of the century in which affrèrement was practised in France for a chance to win an ebook from my backlist, and a unique sheep related product!!

Happy Valentines and don’t forget to follow the links below.

Kendall McKenna	Anne Barwell	Elin Gregory
Jennifer Wright	Morticia Knight	Ethan Stone
N.J. Nielsen	Tara Lain	Tali Spencer
Stephen del Mar	Cecil Wilde	H.B. Pattskyn
C. J. Anthony	Catherine Lievens	Karen Stivali
Lisabet Sarai	TM Smith	Lily G Blunt
Christopher Koehler	Tracey Michael	Sibley Jackson
Alexa Milne	L M Somerton	Megan Linden
Draven St. James	Charlie Cochrane	Eva Lefoy
Thianna Durston	Aidee Ladnier	M.A. Church
Brandon Shire	Sue Brown	Jessie G
David Connor	Hayley B James	J.M. Dabney
Julie Lynn Hayes	April Kelley	Elizabeth Noble
Amanda Young	DP Denman	Bronwyn Heeley
Annabeth Albert	Neil Plakcy	Shiloh Saddler
A.J. Marcus	Kazy Reed

Posted in contest, History | Tagged blog hop, contest | 17 Comments »

Saturday Recommendations

February 7, 2015 by Elin Gregory

It’s been a slow week for reading due to a heaping helping of the winter blues. Do you get those? On top of my normal mind set it means a huge withdrawal from social media and reading my comfort reads where I know I’m safe. But it seems wrong to miss out on promoting other people’s excellent work so I’ve delved back though my “OMG that was brilliant folder” to find one of the books where I tossed a coin and something else got the mention for that week.

It was quite easy to choose when I gave it some thought because there’s a sequel coming up soon and I think people might appreciate reading the first book in preparation.

I’m talking about Santuario by G B Gordon.

This fabulous book has received somewhat mixed reviews but I think that’s because it’s often viewed as a M/M romance when it’s actually far more than that. I’d categorise it was a science fiction mystery with a gay romance component, and as such it was exactly my kind of book.

The premise is that long after the Human Diaspora a ship load of immigrants crash landed on a planet that had already been colonised. The previous inhabitants, all of Scandinavian origin, did not welcome the Hispanic arrivals but kept them segregated in an island colony where they live in poverty and are subject to the over rule of criminal overlords. There is a government and a police force that does it’s best to tackle crime but it’s only petty criminals that they dare catch and punish.

After 200 years of oppression, a new Skanian government decides that the rules about segregation should be relaxed and the borders opened, but only under strictly controlled circumstances. At the height of negotiations a body is discovered and Bengt, a Skanian policeman is sent to lead the investigation. His attraction to his new partner, Alex Rukow, is immediate, but Alex who knows far too much about conditions on the island to dare show his feelings keeps him at arms length.

The story is an absolutely excellent mystery with a lot of meaty and satisfying world building. The romance element is important but takes a lesser role, and I think that may be why some readers have felt a little let down. But as a sci fi mystery it’s supreme and I can’t recommend it enough. The sequel, The Other Side of Winter, where Alex joins Bengt in the chilly but luxurious north, will be available from Riptide in March.

Posted in Saturday Recs | Tagged sat recs | Leave a Comment »

New Release – The Next Call by Sue Brown

February 4, 2015 by Elin Gregory

The Next Call

~SUE BROWN~

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

COVER ARTIST: Christy Caughie

RELEASE DATE: 4^th February 2015

LENGTH: 169 Pages

BLURB: Mark Grayson volunteers for an LGBT helpline, the same one that helped him through his teenage years. One day he takes a call from “Ricky,” a suicidal man being forced into a marriage he doesn’t want. For weeks Mark talks to Ricky and provides support, but he’s frustrated by the lack of information Ricky provides and the decisions he’s making. In the meantime, Mark starts a relationship with another volunteer. Then tragedy strikes and Mark takes time away from the helpline, but when he comes back, Ricky is waiting. Mark realizes Ricky is stronger than before and their relationship changes, but Mark isn’t sure what their future holds if their relationship is destined to be at the end of the phone.

BUY LINKS:

Excerpt:

May 2009
“NOT TODAY, please not today. I haven’t got time.” It wasn’t true. Mark Grayson had all the time in the world today as he had a day off from his IT job, but some days he just didn’t want to take on the world’s problems. Today he’d promised himself a drive in the countryside and a pint at a pub.
There was no reason for the man to attract Mark’s attention. It wasn’t unusual to see people staring over the valley, and the view was spectacular—rolling, verdant hills in the foreground bisected by a long, rambling river. The road went over the river and then followed its path on the other side before it reached the next village.
Mark lived on the outskirts of Greater London, but he worked forty miles from home and preferred traveling by the country roads rather than sitting in endless traffic jams on the M25. He used the bridge on his way to work and bypassed tourists nearly every day, sometimes almost knocking over oblivious ones as they stepped back to take photos.
As Mark drove past, the man was standing stock-still, but he wasn’t looking at the view. He had his hood pulled up, so Mark couldn’t see his face, but the man had leaned forward and peered down at the forty-foot drop to the river and jagged rocks below, and that alone made the hairs stand up on the back of Mark’s neck. The temptation just to drive by was strong, to avoid making it his problem, but Mark was never one to pass on the other side. He sighed and parked his car close to the barrier, considerate enough to allow other cars to pass by. He walked back to where the man stood, not wanting to startle him and force him into a hasty decision.
The man didn’t glance up, didn’t acknowledge Mark’s existence until they were five feet apart. “Go away.” His voice was raw and strained. He wasn’t ordering—he was begging.
Mark stayed where he was, but he didn’t retreat. The instinct that had made him stop the car was screaming at him even louder this close to the man. He recognized the slump of the guy’s shoulders, the set resolve in his voice. He sounded so young. Twenty? Twenty-one? Too young to be standing there.
“I don’t think I can do that,” Mark said softly.
“It’s not your business.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. It’s very much my business.”
“Just drive on and forget you ever saw me.” The man drew in a shaky breath. “In a few minutes, it won’t matter anyway.”
“How long have you been standing there?” Mark asked.
“An hour.”
“That’s a long time to be making a decision.”
“I made it a long time ago.”
Mark shook his head. “I hate to disagree with you, friend, but if you’d really made it, you would have jumped by now.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yes, I do.”
The man turned to look at Mark for the first time, but the hood and large sunglasses obscured his face. “I’m going to do it. It’s the only choice I have.”
Mark didn’t bother to argue or tell him he always had options. When you were that far down the road, you really didn’t care. “What is your name?”
“Richard. My name is Richard.”
He still cared enough to have an identity. That was a good sign. Some of the people he dealt with had lost everything, including their souls.
“Richard, I’m not going to stop you jumping.”
“You’re not?”
Mark shook his head. “I’ll stay so I can call the emergency services. It’s not fair that some poor soul has to find what’s left of you.”
“Do you think they’ll find me? Won’t I be washed out to sea?”
“Not this far up.” Mark smiled a little. “Let me take care of you.”

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

Because two of her book tours (for The Next Call and Stolen Dreams) are going to run simultaneously, we have decided we would have a common giveaway for both the tours! It makes for an awesome giveaway as you’ll see 😀

There will be FIVE winners chosen from this contest:

First Winner will get a $20 Amazon Gift Card.
Second Winner will get a paperback copy of Stolen Dreams. (The contest is open for everyone and not limited to a specific region!)
First Runner up will get e-copies of The Next Call and Stolen Dreams
Two Second Runners up will win an e-copy of either The Next Call or Stolen Dreams.

Contest Begins: 26^th January, 2015

Contest Ends: 28^th February, 2015

CLICK HERE TO ENTER

AUTHOR BIO: Sue Brown is owned by her dog and two children. When she isn’t following their orders, she can be found plotting at her laptop. In fact she hides so she can plot and has gotten expert at ignoring the orders.

Sue discovered M/M erotica at the time she woke up to find two men kissing on her favorite television series. The series was boring; the kissing was not. She may be late to the party, but she’s made up for it since, writing fan fiction until she was brave enough to venture out into the world of original fiction.

AUTHOR LINKS:

Website: http://www.suebrownstories.com/
Blog: http://suebrownsstories.blogspot.co.uk/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/suebrownstories
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/suebrownstories

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New Release – Escaping From Him by Liam Livings

February 3, 2015 by Elin Gregory

Title: Escaping From Him

Author:Liam Livings

Publisher: Manifold Press

Word Count: 51k

Available: NOW

Blurb:

Darryl’s on the run – from controlling boyfriend Chris, an air-conditioner called Dave (deceased), an intolerable, claustrophobic situation and a person he just can’t be any more. The trouble is, he doesn’t have a plan – or any money – and all he knows is he needs to get away from everything. That’s where a lucky lift to Glasgow comes in, which turns out to be just the beginning of a whole new life …

Who was your favourite character to write in Escaping From Him?

I enjoyed writing all the characters, that’s like asking to pick a favourite child or pet! Oh well, if I must, I must…

Darryl was good fun to write as he finally got the courage and gumption to escape from his life with Chris. I enjoyed writing about how he literally rebuilds himself when he gets to Scotland, a new group of friends, a new job, a new place to stay, and a boyfriend too. Writing about how he integrates himself into the new world of the clubs and pubs in Scotland was fun, how he gradually gets more confidence as he’s away from Chris for longer.

Lena was enjoyable to write too, I liked how she’s so matter of fact, and doesn’t pull any punches when she gives people her opinions. She’s also a very confident and driver person. In my mind she was a cross between Robyn and P!nk, a sort of no nonsense go getter in bondage gear with a savage creative streak, and a wonderful sense of fun. I enjoyed writing her friendship and love and support for Darryl, how she really cares for him and his happiness. I suppose that’s all anyone wants from a friend really.

*hiding behind his hands* I feel bad, but Chris was actually quite fun to write. There was something quite fun about writing how vile opinions and things he had said to Darryl, I quite enjoyed. I think it’s because it’s so not me in any way at all. He epitomises the sort of person who doesn’t *get* creativity at all. Why would you take pictures for a living and own cheap car when you could work doing something much higher paid and afford the latest Mini Cooper or BMW? He’s the sort of person who’d pick up a painting and question its price, while happily spending almost that much money on a meal to celebrate his latest sales target. Before everyone comes down on me like a tonne of bricks, I’m not anti estate agents or sales targets or people working for money because that’s what makes them happy, what I’m anti is people who think that’s the *only* way to be. People who can’t understand how someone else won’t be happy by buying the latest new electronic gadget, and would prefer to paint a picture or go for a walk in the forest instead.

EXTRACT – Darryl and Lena talk about Chris and how Sweden has one of the highest rates of suicide in Europe

Lena slapped my shoulder. “All these Swedish people throwing their lives away, but at least they make a decision to actually throw it away. Some people live their life, by half living it, and they are not happy. So which is the worst, ending it, or carry on live it and not live it right”

I smiled at her slightly broken English, but I got her point. Her carefully enunciated words put my West Country burr to shame.

“Darryl, I love you. You know this. But every time it is the same thing. Chris this, Chris that. And every time I ask you why you do stay with this man? And you tell me you love him. But me, I do not think you d.”

Buy Links:

Amazon UK ~ Amazon US ~ All Romance Ebooks

Author Bio

Liam Livings lives where east London ends and becomes Essex. He shares his house with his boyfriend and cat. He enjoys baking, cooking, classic cars and socialising with friends. He escapes from real life with a guilty pleasure book, cries at a sad, funny and camp film – and he’s been known to watch an awful lot of Gilmore Girls in the name of writing ‘research’.

He has written since he a teenager, started writing with the hope of publication in 2011. His writing focuses on friendships, British humour, romance with plenty of sparkle.

Posted in New Release, Uncategorized | Tagged brit author, new release | Leave a Comment »

Book blast – Cheryl Headford

January 28, 2015 by Elin Gregory

Mini Blog Tour – Memories of Forgotten Love by Cheryl Headford

Title: Memories of Forgotten Love

Author: Cheryl Headford

Publisher: Featherweight Press

Genre: Young Adult, Gay Romance, Mystery

Length: Novella (135 pages)

Synopsis

After waking from a coma, Noah discovers that memories are tricky things and sometimes blissful ignorance isn’t such a bad thing.

Noah wakes from a coma with no memory of who he is. As his memories return they become stranger and more sinister at every turn. He begins to suspect the accident in which he was injured wasn’t an accident at all, and refuses to accept what everyone is saying that he threw himself off his balcony in a suicide attempt. It just doesn’t feel like something he would do. Struggling to come to terms with the shocking story he gradually uncovers, he’s helped by his friends. Yet, his best friend, Luke is acting strangely, leaving Noah to wonder just what exactly he isn’t telling him.

Buy links:

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PAX6FYW/

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00PAX6FYW/

Featherweight Press: http://www.featherweightpublishing.com/BookStore.php?YA=CH_MEM_OF_FL

Excerpt:

“I’m not doing it.”

“Is there nothing I can say to change your mind?”

I stared at him, my mind in a whirl. How on earth would he ever even begin to think that I would do that? I thought he must have been insane…and he was, just not in the way I was thinking. “You know there isn’t. I’m not going to lie for you.”

“I thought you might say that. What about Luke, Noah? Would you lie for Luke?”

“For Luke? What do you mean?” I was even more of the opinion that he was crazy, especially when he smiled, took out his mobile, and dialled. I watched him suspiciously as he listened for a moment and then spoke into the phone.

“You ready? Get on with it then.” He waited for a while, then grunted and handed the phone to me.

I shook my head. “What’s going on?”

“I think you are going to want to take this call, Noah.”

Suspiciously, I took the device out of his hand and pressed it to my ear. At first, I heard nothing, then something that sounded like a slap in the background, followed by a low moan, and then nothing but strange, heavy breathing.

“What the hell are you playing at? What is this?”

“No…ah?” The voice sounded strange, distant and breathy, but there was no mistaking who it was.

“Luke? What’s going on? Where are you?”

“Noah…Noah, I…I…”

“Luke? What’s wrong?”

A voice that I didn’t recognise spoke in the background. “Say nighty night to Noah, beautiful. Time to go beddybyes.” Luke groaned, and then the strange voice spoke again, closer, into the speaker.

“Hello, Noah.”

“Who the hell are you? What are you doing to Luke? Let me speak to him again.”

“Sorry, sweetcheeks, but Luke’s not feeling too good right now. Don’t worry; we’ll take good care of him.”

“You bastards…what the fuck!?”

“Now, now, there’s no need for that. We won’t hurt your boyfriend—at least as long as you are a good boy and listen to Daddy.”

“Fuck you! I swear to God you hurt him…you harm him in any way and I’ll take you apart.”

“Calm down, Noah. Didn’t I tell you that we won’t hurt him? We’ll have a great time together. We’ll warm him up nicely for you. Now, be a good lad and put Daddy back on the phone, will you?”

About Cheryl Headford

Cheryl was born into a poor mining family in the South Wales Valleys. Until she was 16, the toilet was at the bottom of the garden and the bath hung on the wall. Her refrigerator was a stone slab in the pantry and there was a black lead fireplace in the kitchen. They look lovely in a museum but aren’t so much fun to clean.

Cheryl has always been a storyteller. As a child, she’d make up stories for her nieces, nephews and cousin and they’d explore the imaginary worlds she created, in play.

Later in life, Cheryl became the storyteller for a re-enactment group who travelled widely, giving a taste of life in the Iron Age. As well as having an opportunity to run around hitting people with a sword, she had an opportunity to tell stories of all kinds, sometimes of her own making, to all kinds of people. The criticism was sometimes harsh, especially from the children, but the reward enormous.

It was here she began to appreciate the power of stories and the primal need to hear them. In ancient times, the wandering bard was the only source of news, and the storyteller the heart of the village, keeping the lore and the magic alive. Although much of the magic has been lost, the stories still provide a link to the part of us that still wants to believe that it’s still there, somewhere.

In present times, Cheryl lives in a terraced house in the valleys with her son, dog, hamster and two cats. Her daughter has deserted her for the big city, but they’re still close. She’s never been happier since she was made redundant and is able to devote herself entirely to her twin loves of writing and art

Social Links:

Blog: http://cherylheadford.blogspot.co.uk/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SevenPointStar

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Nephylim.author

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7376318.Cheryl_Headford

Click HERE for a chance to win free books or a gift card with Rafflecopter.

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Blog Tour – Come to My Window by Mia Kerick

January 26, 2015 by Elin Gregory

Book Name: Come to My Window

Author Name: Mia Kerick

Pages: 182 pages

Release Date: January 2015

Publisher: Mia Kerick

Cover Artist: Reese Dante

Categories: Contemporary, Fiction, Lesbian Romance, Romance, Young Adult

Series: No

Blurb:

Justine Laraby and Kemina Lopez are intimate acquaintances yet they have never exchanged so much as a single word. For months, high school senior Justine, and famed model, “Kemina, the Baby Vixen” of Nightingale Lingerie, have been peering at each other across a narrow alley between brownstones in the Upper West Side of Manhattan. This mutual observation soon turns into the exchange of handwritten messages on signs they hold up whenever they come to their bedroom windows. Via this “sign language,” a friendship grows, and Justine learns that Kemina is, like her, a high school senior, but with a controlling mother and a modeling career that requires her to maintain an unnaturally thin physique. And through the window, she also witnesses her new friend exercising fanatically, hoarding food, and being physically and emotionally abused by her ambitious mother.

Window messages evolve into clandestine meetings and soon a tentative romance blooms. But Justine must come to terms with her own “mommy issues,” as well as accept her gender identity and sexual orientation, before she can provide Kemina with the support she needs to survive a family life that resembles a ruthless business transaction.

Will Justine be strong enough to throw open the window so Kemina can escape society’s suffocating expectations?

Buy Links:

Amazon US

All Romance Ebooks

Barnes and Noble

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24407247-come-to-my-window

Excerpt:

But it’s not until the screen fills with the image of this baby seal,
all white and fluffy with dark vulnerable eyes that we both gasp a
little bit and then turn to look at each other. I can feel her breath on
my lips and my nose is nearly touching hers, and, well, I don’t know
about Kemina, but I’m all kinds of spellbound by this moment. She
reaches up and touches my jaw, just below my ear, with this soft
brush of her fingertips, and I have no choice but to lean down and
kiss her. Not that I was looking too hard for another option. Cuz I
wasn’t.

I kind of thought that my first kiss would be like an electric
shock or the sharp poke of cupid’s dart or fireworks exploding in a
dark night sky, but it’s not like any of those things. The way it feels
when my lips touch Kemina’s is soft and gentle and tender. It’s a
yielding of her mouth to mine, and then mine to hers. It’s an intimate
moment that’s breathy and warm and sweet and just ours.

“Ummmm….” She lets out this sound that makes me think of
how it feels to sink into a hot bath after a long afternoon of ice
skating in frigid temperatures. “That was my first real kiss.”

“Real kiss?” I ask. Our lips are only about an inch apart. I have
a strong feeling that her second real kiss is only a moment away.

Author Bio:

Mia Kerick is the mother of four exceptional children—all named after saints—and five nonpedigreed cats—all named after the next best thing to saints, Boston Red Sox players. Her husband of twenty-two years has been told by many that he has the patience of Job, but don’t ask Mia about that, as it is a sensitive subject.

Mia focuses her stories on the emotional growth of troubled young people and their relationships, and she believes that physical intimacy has a place in a love story, but not until it is firmly established as a love story. As a teen, Mia filled spiral-bound notebooks with romantic tales of tortured heroes (most of whom happened to strongly resemble lead vocalists of 1980s big-hair bands) and stuffed them under her mattress for safekeeping. She is thankful to Dreamspinner Press, Harmony Ink Press, and CreateSpace for providing her with alternate places to stash her stories.

Mia is a social liberal and cheers for each and every victory made in the name of human rights, especially marital equality. Her only major regret: never having taken typing or computer class in school, destining her to a life consumed with two-fingered pecking and constant prayer to the Gods of Technology.

Where to find the author:

Blog: http://www.miakerick.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mia.kerick
Dreamspinner Author Arcade: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/AuthorArcade/mia-kerick/bio/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6474518.Mia_Kerick
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MiaKerick

Tour Dates/Tour Stops:

26-Jan

The Fuzzy, Fluffy World of Chris T. Kat

Elin Gregory

Kimi-Chan

27-Jan

Molly Lolly

Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

Inked Rainbow Reads

28-Jan

Full Moon Dreaming

Bayou Book Junkie

29-Jan

Book Reviews and More by Kathy

Prism Book Alliance

30-Jan

Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents

Cate Ashwood

Amanda C. Stone

31-Jan

Love Bytes
Click here to enter a Rafflecopter giveaway to win a $25 gift card.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Sunday Recommendations.

January 25, 2015 by Elin Gregory

Happy St Dwynwen’s Day! Also known as National Cwtch Day in this neck of the woods so today I’ve decided to offer cwtches to some authors who have brightened my week.

New books in the offing from K J Charles [Jackdaw will be available from Samhain on 17th February], Alex Beecroft [Trowchester Blues will be availale from Riptide on 9th February] and Sue Brown [there are lots so watch this space] and Dorien Grey is having all his old Dick Hardesty mysteries rejigged and released anew over the next year or so.

But today I want to squee a bit about a new series, kicked off in fine style with Restless Spirits by Jordan L Hawke.

This book is genuinely scary – for my tolerance of scariness – with masses of plot and a slow burn romance. I think it’s set in the Widdershin’s universe but has a different set up, the business of the protagonists being the careful guiding of the spirits of the dead from post-death limbo to the afterlife. Ghosts are REAL, and potentially dangerous, so ghost hunter is a profession that is regarded, if not highly, as essential.

Henry Strauss is the first protagonist – an earnest young scientific type of a progressive turn of mind. Despite being thrown into poverty by a fraudulent psychic, he has taken in his cousin, a young woman of colour [one of my favourite characters], which has put him at odds with the rest of his family. She assists him with his experiments to build a machine capable of catching and dismissing ghosts. He has absolutely no time for pyschics, all of whom he regards as fakes, and is desperate to prove that science is the way to go. Offered a substantial sum of money to prove the worth of his machinery he accepts the invitation of a millionaire to exorcise a haunted house. The only problem is that he will be competing with a ‘genuine’ psychic, Vincent Night. Vincent is a very troubled young man due to a terrible event in his recent past, with a whole bunch of secrets and an immediate attraction to Henry.

There’s a good cast of supporting characters – Gladfield the millionaire, his niece, Elizabeth, Vincent’s partner – offering tensions between male and female, divisions of class and race and, of course, the pervasive sense of self righteousness felt by the straight and narrow for those of a different orientation in that Victorian age. The author doesn’t spare us any of the verbal nastiness of which people of that time were capable, and I applaud her for that, while wincing at the terms used.There’s a lot of discussion about updating historicals so that the horrors of the past don’t appear on the page, and it’s very tempting to give ones historical heroes a modern and politically correct mindset and turn of phrase, but then you wouldn’t be writing historicals. I don’t know what you’d call it? Historical Fantasy? Anyhow, this strikes the right note with me in that while the sentiments are expressed, we are left in no doubt that they are repugnant and should not have been said.

The romance is edgy – Henry is very deep in the closet and Vincent, while freer, knows he has to be careful, plus they are very much on opposite sides until put in a position where they have to join forces. As I’ve said the scary bits are scary, the antagonists – and just about everyone is an antagonist at some point – pose believable threats within the context of the world.

I loved it and can’t wait until the next instalment. Highly recommended.

Posted in Saturday Recs, Uncategorized | Tagged paranormal, sat recs | Leave a Comment »

Guest Post – Izzy Van Swelm dipping a toe in the publishing pool

January 21, 2015 by Elin Gregory

First of all I would like to thank Elin very much for allowing me to do my first guest post as Izzy van Swelm. The imminent release of my first book is much in my mind, so I want to talk a little about my experiences with the process thus far.

This post also comes at a time when in the LGBTQ romance community, we have witnessed what is generally called ‘author’s behaving badly.’ If I had been as new to social platforms, as I am to publishing, I may well have thrown my hands up and said ‘I don’t want to be a part of this’. It has been very saddening and disheartening.

My experience of authors while working towards being published couldn’t have been more different. I have always wanted to write, but I wanted my first novel to be the one that changed the world…the one that made people love each other…ended famine…helped world peace and was a literary masterpiece. A pretty tall order and it kept me from seriously writing for a very long time.

I have been blogging and reviewing with Prism Book Alliance under my own name for some time and I attended UKMeet in 2014 as a reviewer and blogger. I offered my services to one of the organisers Charlie Cochrane, as a volunteer on the registration desk to combat any initial shyness. I let slip that I had an outline and first chapter for a novel… if I found the courage could I approach the publishers attending the Meet? Charlie became my fairy godmother from then on and arranged meetings with three publishers who would be attending. She also stopped my doubts and firmed my purpose. I couldn’t have wished for a better motivator…

While I was at UKMeet and preparing to see publishers, in between enjoying a lot of alcohol, dancing and meeting fascinating people…I was in email contact with another author, whose work I greatly admire, Alexis Hall. Every evening we would email each other, and he kept me grounded while I floated around on overenthusiasm, but shared my squealing over my small successes. I had so many people wish me luck and share in my happiness. That weekend will always stay with me as a total joyous memory.

Once I received my contract another author, Clare London, read over it for me and advised me on things to look out for and clauses to check before I signed it. In fact back at the Meet, over breakfast, my pen name was discussed between myself, Clare, Jordan Castillo Price and JL Merrow…I nearly became Snowy Durham!

Once I had the contract the real hard work began…actually delivering the written words you have promised. It can be hard work on days when words won’t come or you are tired maybe hungover, but on the days when everything is easy, writing is a joy. Then there is a lot of waiting…content edits…waiting…line edits…waiting…galley proofs sometimes unavoidable delays affecting release dates very frustrating. Then of course once it is released promoting your newborn!

I am on the promotion part whilst writing the sequel it can be confusing and I seem to spend all my day thinking of answers to strange questions….but it is all part of the process. If anyone asked me when I got really excited…I would say I had three real ‘delicate scream’ moments. First when I was offered a contract…second when I was emailed the first mock-up of the cover and the third at this time I am still waiting for…release day!

I wanted to write this post to give an example showing that for every argument on Facebook there are many comments…messages and emails of support and motivation. For every ‘Catfish’ there are many true souls who will donate money, and offer real help to friends in need who they may never meet in ‘real life’. For every example of hatred or insult there are written words of love, romance and hope from the many authors who truly wish to make a difference to your day, in some small way.

~~~

Soul Mate for SIN

by Izzy Van Swelm

Release Date 28th January 2015

Blurb:

The effects of an attack on SIN, a twenty-nine year old University lecturer, reach out further into his future than SIN could ever imagine. In a story, which seems doomed to start with an end, SIN learns about the forever kind of love, and how family is not just biological. ‘Soul-Mate for SIN’ shows how twists of fate can take a loving, but ordinary family, from a small market town in England and turn them into something extraordinary.

Buy Links
http://www.wildecity.com/books/gay-romance/soulmate-for-sin/#.VKQlxCusXOU

Social Media Links
https://www.facebook.com/IzzyvanSwelm – Author Page
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007247866404 – FB Account

Izzy van Swelm (aka Beverley Jansen)
Bio
Izzy van Swelm is English, but took her Mother in Law’s maiden name as a pen name. Izzy dreams of a world where all sentient species have rights and respect. A world where LGBTQAI lovers and friends, old and young, can walk holding hands meeting nothing more than the occasional affectionate eye roll. A world where intelligence, gentleness and compassion are the overwhelming attributes of politicians, and religion is practiced by those who believe, but never forced on those who do not.
Izzy is a romantic, a dreamer, a vegetarian and just a little eccentric. Izzy writes because she loves to tell stories, and she hopes that her stories will bring happiness, enjoyment and maybe to some…a little hope.

Posted in New Release, Uncategorized | Tagged brit author, guest post, new release | 4 Comments »

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