Elin Gregory

Book Blast – KC Wells’ A Bond of Three

January 19, 2015 by Elin Gregory

Blurb: In the kingdom of Teruna, the red-cloaked Seruani teach the Terunans the art of love. Taken from their homes at seventeen to be trained, they are shunned as outcasts by society and considered the lowest of the low. So when Prince Tanish falls in love with the Seruan Feyar, the man who took his virginity and the only one to share his bed, he is not about to declare that love. No one can ever know, because the consequences would be too painful to consider for both of them.
When the king of Vancor visits Teruna, he promises that his son, Prince Sorran, will marry Prince Tanish to solidify the alliance between the two kingdoms, with the proviso that the virginal Sorran is instructed in the art of pleasing his husband-to-be. When Tanish’s father chooses Feyar to be this instructor, the lovers decide Prince Sorran must be taught that this is to be a marriage in name only….

A resentful prince, unwilling to share his lover.
A resentful Seruan, unwilling to share his prince.
And the shy prince whose very nature sparks changes in the lives of all those around them.
Teruna is about to change forever.

~~~

K C Well answers some questions:

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?

You know? I have no idea!

How do you relax at the end of a stressful day?

Curl up on my couch on my blanket with a glass of wine. But it’s rare to have a stressful day nowadays – go back to when I was teaching and that’s another matter…

Don’t forget to visit Pride Promotions for a chance to enter a contest.

Posted in New Release, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

New Release – Dirty Laundry by Paula Sophia

January 16, 2015 by Elin Gregory

Dirty Laundry
By Paula Sophia
From Etopia Press

Blurb

Nobody gets away clean.

The remarkable short works collected in Dirty Laundry explore the unraveling of lives at their most intimate moments, the uncomfortable starkness of truth, the unmasking of lies. Whether a cop on the make, a seminary student, or a college kid trying to stay pure, nobody avoids the soil of circumstance. Some try to hide from themselves, others embrace who they truly are. But nobody gets away clean.

Buy Links:

Amazon US
Amazon UK
Kobo
Etopia Press
Barnes and Noble
Omnilit

Bio

Paula Sophia writes short stories, novels, and poetry. Her work has appeared in numerous literary magazines including The Molotov Cocktail, The Bicycle Review, and Red Fez. She is a veteran of the National Poetry Slam and frequently appears at Spoken Word events in Oklahoma City and surrounding states. The National Public Radio show, Snap Judgement, featured her spoken word story “Tough as Nails” in 2012. When not writing, she is riding, finding balance on two wheels, leaning into the curves, and finding peace on the backroads of Oklahoma. You can visit her at PaulaSophia.com.

Social Media Links:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Paula-Sophia/128085550614457

https://twitter.com/?lang=en

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

Cover reveal – Gyrfalcon by Anna Butler

January 14, 2015 by Elin Gregory

COMING SOON FROM

18 February 2015

Blurb:

Earth’s dead, dark for thousands of years. Her last known colony, Albion, is fighting an alien enemy that no one has even seen.

In Gyrfalcon, the first of the Taking Shield series, Shield Captain Bennet is dropped behind the lines to steal priceless intelligence. It’s a dangerous job, and Bennet doesn’t need the distractions of changing relationships with his long-term partner, Joss, or with his father—or with Flynn, the new lover who will turn his world upside-down.

He expects to risk his life. He expects the data will alter the course of the war. What he doesn’t expect is that it will change his life or that Flynn will be impossible to forget.

Extract

All the warning he got was the slightest prickling of the hair on the back of his neck, then someone or something forcibly connected with his legs and brought him down. The impact had that foul-smelling air whooshing out of his lungs.

“Stay down!” hissed Bennet in his ear. “Two drones. Right behind me.”

Flynn tried to catch his breath. Bennet, arms and legs wrapped around him, rolled them both into the shelter of the rock that he’d evidently been hiding behind. For an instant they lay in the warm darkness, wrapped together. They were in deep shadow, and Flynn had to feel for Bennet’s face to touch it, to make sure that the Shield captain was really there. His hand found Bennet’s mouth, felt it curve into a smile, and he smiled himself.

Bennet disentangled himself, so that Flynn was undistracted again. Huh. Shame. Bennet had felt pretty good. He inched up to peer carefully around the rock. The two drones were about fifty feet away and marching towards them.

Bennet was breathing hard. “One each, then let’s get the hell out of here. Take the one on the right. On my count: three, two, one.”

They rolled in opposite directions from behind the rock. Flynn fetched up on his knees, bringing up the laser and firing several sharp short bursts. His drone staggered and fell onto its back, dropping the laser rifle it was holding, its circuitry fried by a plasma bolt to the head. The remaining one stood rigidly still, sparks shooting out from its chest circuitry. In an awful travesty of a human reaction, its hands were clawing at the hole in its chest. It toppled slowly over onto its face.

“Shit,” Flynn said. “What an exciting life you lead! Any more of them?”

Gyrfalcon will be available as an ebook from Wilde City Press from

18 February

About Anna

Anna worked for many years as a communications specialist in the UK government, working in a range of central government departments on everything from marketing employment schemes to running an internal TV service. She now spends her time indulging her love of old-school science fiction featuring handsome heroes running about shooting lasers. She doesn’t claim to be a romance writer – that her laser-wielding heroes are gay and their relationship is a real one are both integral to her Taking Shield series, but not the reason for it. When she isn’t writing, she looks out at her garden thinking that she really should get out there and tackle the weeds, but is easily distracted into building up the biggest collection of tiara images on Pinterest instead. She lives in London with her husband and Molly, the cockerpoo.

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Book Blast – H Lewis Foster

January 13, 2015 by Elin Gregory

Book Name: A Valet’s Duty (New Edition)

Author Name: H. Lewis-Foster

Pages or Words: 29 pages

Publisher: Amber Quill Press

Cover Artist: Trace Edward Zaber

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

Blurb(s):

At the turn of the twentieth century, Henry Simpkins is a valet at Taverslow, the Earl of Wayshaw’s Somerset home. When the Earl’s younger brother, Rafe, arrives from his villa in Italy, Henry is given the task of caring for his mischievous dogs, Pepe and Paolo. As part of his duties, he also goes to Rafe’s room each night to tidy away his clothes.

One night, Rafe tentatively asks Henry to go beyond his valet duties to relieve Rafe’s sexual tensions. Henry enjoys their increasingly intimate encounters, but he’s soon disturbed to find he feels more for Rafe than mere physical attraction.

Now, Henry faces a difficult decision. Can he remain in the same house as Rafe if his affections are not returned?

Excerpt:

The next few nights passed in a similar way, with Henry nodding and smiling, and sometimes laughing, when Rafe talked of his life in Umbria. Falling to sleep each night in his narrow bed, Henry found himself dreaming of orange trees and vineyards. Sometimes he even dreamt of Rafe wandering among them in the Mediterranean sun, but on the fourth night when Henry went to Rafe’s room, something had changed.

Rafe seemed on edge as he opened the door, and he sat on the sofa in silence as Henry carried out his tasks.

Henry started to leave, when Rafe spoke at last, an unfamiliar tension in his voice. “Simpkins, could I ask you something?”

“Of course, sir.”

Rafe gazed intently at his fingernails, giving Henry no clue as to what he might ask. His eyes remained lowered as he made his enquiry.

“Simpkins, are you—are you the same kind of man as Oscar Wilde?

Tour Dates: January 13, 2015

Tour Stops: Parker Williams : Rainbow Gold Reviews : Prism Book Alliance : BFD Book Blog : Bayou Book Junkie : Molly Lolly : Amanda C. Stone : Tara Lain : Andrew Q. Gordon : Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents : Love Bytes : My Fiction Nook : Christy Loves 2 Read : Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews : Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings : MM Good Book Reviews : Inked Rainbow Reads : Velvet Panic : Havan Fellows : Elin Gregory : The Hat Party : Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words : Fallen Angel Reviews : Nephylim : Dawn’s Reading Nook

Sales Links:

Amazon US

Amberquill

B&N

The author has provided a Rafflecopter giveaway. Click on the link for a chance to win an E-copy of ‘A Valet’s Duty’

Author Bio: H. Lewis-Foster lives in the North of England, and has always worked with books in one form or another. As a keen reader of gay fiction, she decided to try writing herself, and is now the proud author of several short stories and her debut novel ‘Burning Ashes’.

H.L. likes to create characters who are talented, funny and quite often gorgeous, but who all have their faults and vulnerable sides, and she hopes that you’ll enjoy reading their stories as much as she loves writing them

Author Contact: Twitter

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Promo: Readers and Writers Historical LGBTQ Yahoo Group

January 11, 2015 by Elin Gregory

A brand new group for readers and writers of historical LGBTTQ fiction and its not a promo group! I’m SO there!

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New Publisher

January 11, 2015 by Elin Gregory

It’s always exciting to see a new publisher diving into the market for LGBTTQ themed stories and I think that this one will bear watching.

This brand new press is headed by Louis J Harris, backed up by several experienced industry professionals with a team of technical experts/designers/editors to help out.

They are currently seeking submissions so if you fancy joining their stable of authors click on the graphic to be taken to their website. Or you can follow them on Facebook.

They are celebrating their launch by releasing a brand new New Adult romance by Cheryl Headford, Draven’s Gate.

Blurb:
All Keiron wants is a quiet life. Fat chance with a boyfriend like Bren. But if he thought Bren complicated his life, it was nothing to the complications that begin when he opens the door to a naked young man who claims to be his slave.

Draven is a fairy with his sights set on the handsome human who keeps a wild place in the garden for fairies. When Draven slips though a fairy gate into the city, and Keiron’s world, he sets in motion a series of events that binds him to Keiron forever, and just might be the end of him.

While Draven explores Keiron’s world with wide eyed wonder, Keiron does everything he can to keep Draven’s at bay, until the only way to save Draven and bring him home is to step into a world that exists only in children stories and animated movies – doesn’t it.

Available by clicking the cover or from Amazon UK or Amazon US.

Excerpt:

Something flashed at the window and he looked up sharply. There was nothing there, but there had been. In that fraction of a second between his head beginning to move and his eyes orienting on the window, there had been something or someone looking in. Someone with a small pointy face. Shit.
Take it easy, he thought to himself. If something was there he didn’t want to frighten it away before he found out what it was.
He took up the uneaten pizza, making a show of putting it onto a plate and into the fridge. The back door was open to let in the summer warmth, and the bin was next to it, out of sight of the window. He folded the pizza box, and headed for the bin – only he wasn’t going to the bin at all. He lifted the lid, so the sound carried out into the garden, but before he let the lid drop he dived for the back door.
Nothing was there, but there had been. There had been someone crouching under the window, peeping in. It was someone with long white hair, a pointed face, and unnaturally blue eyes. It was all seen in the blink of an eye, and after he’d blinked there was nothing there, and no sign there ever had been.
“I know you’re there. I’ve seen you three times now,” he called into the silence. “I know what you are.” Why had he even said that? It couldn’t have been anything but a figment of his imagination. Human beings couldn’t move that fast, and it was certainly no animal. Then what? A fairy? Hah.
Smiling at his own foolishness, he went back into the house and closed the door.
He was half way through the remaining pizza, drinking his third bottle of beer, and feeling pretty mellow, when there was a soft tapping at the back door. This surprised him very much. No one ever knocked on the back door. Why would they? How could they? They’d have to be in the garden, and there were only two ways into it, the door at which they now tapped, or a tiny gate right at the bottom which would have necessitated them traipsing right through the garden. Who would do that?
With a frown, gripping the bottle in his hand like a weapon, he walked through the kitchen to the door. He could see a vague form through the frosted glass. There was definitely someone there. He wondered if they’d disappear by the time he opened the door. He laughed at himself for the foolish thought.
When the door opened, Keiron froze. He’d never seen anything— anyone remotely like the creature who stood on his back door-step.

Author bio:

Cheryl was born into a poor mining family in the South Wales Valleys. Until she was sixteen, 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, kept 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 wants to believe that it’s still there, somewhere.
In present times, Cheryl lives in a terraced house in the valleys with her son, one hamster, two black cats, and a crazy dog. Her daughter has deserted her for the big city, but they’re still close.

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

Saturday Recommendations

January 10, 2015 by Elin Gregory

I’ve been burning the post-midnight oil again. With a brain whose Hamster Wheel of Doom has been taken over by lemmings, 3 am is a time to catch up on reading.

Traditionally the first post of the New Year should be a round up of my favourite reads of the year but there have been so many of them – books written by boys or by girls , by dear old friends, by people of whom I’m in far too much awe to presume to call them friend and by people who, frankly, I have no idea who they are – and, ya know, I don’t really care! Oh I wish them well whoever and wherever they are, but most of all I’m grateful that they have written such fucking brilliant fiction. If ever I’m lucky enough to meet them I’ll go pink and mumble hello and wish I could give them a huge hug without being viewed as inappropriate or pushy [I’m a lot braver on paper or online than I am in person] then file them away in my head as “This is XYZ, who wrote A, B and C, and a really lovely person”.

Anyway, where was I? Yes, yes … I’m not looking back, I’m looking forward.

I’m looking forward to reading the next in Sue Brown‘s Sapphire Ranch shifter series, and to reading about the next Melusine’s Cats book from Chris Quinton. Aleksandr Voinov has finished ‘the Bird Book’, a bit of which I was lucky enough to see a year or so ago and which I have been waiting for with fingers crossed. I can’t tell you anything about it until he’s ready to talk more about it but OMG I’m looking forward to the finished article so much. K J Charles‘ Jackdaw, where the obnoxious antagonist from Flight of Magpies becomes the protagonist, is out in February!! Not long to wait. J P Kenwood is cracking on with her next raunchy Roman story, The Lion of the Lucky Fourth, and I don’t even have to wait too long because sh’s posting bits on Tumblr!! Jordan L Hawke has started a new series of historical paranormals – first one called Restless Spirits – that I’m looking forward to starting. It’s not on my Kindle yet but it soon will be. There will soon be a new Thirds Book from Charlie Cochet. Alex Beecroft has a new series of crime novels coming out from Riptide! I’ve just bought A King Undone by Cooper Davis – looking forward to that too.

These are all new or recent things, but I need to catch up on some classics. Dorien Grey‘s Dick Hardesty novels are being re-released over the next year or so and I have some catching up to do there. I’ve read the first 3 of the Rifter series by Ginn Hall and they were terrific so I plan to read those as well.

Those are all things to make my heart soar, but there will also be all the unexpected treats, the authors as yet unknown to me whose books will delight and astound and inspire me, just as I have been delighted and inspired by people like E E Ottoman, Angel Martinez, Bey Deckard and Alexis Hall, and I’m looking forward to those just as much.

What are you looking forward to reading this year?

Posted in Saturday Recs | Tagged sat recs | 2 Comments »

New Release – Liberty and Other Stories by Alexis Hall

January 8, 2015 by Elin Gregory

Liberty and Other Sttories
by Alexis Hall

Blurb:

For the delight and edification of discerning readers, we present diverse stories concerning the lives, histories, and adventures of the crew of the aethership Shadowless.

Lament! as an upstanding clergyman falls into the villainous clutches of a notorious criminal mastermind.

Question your sanity! as a dissolute governess confronts blasphemies from beyond creation.

Wonder! at the journey of the dashing skycaptain Byron Kae across sapphire oceans, through smog-choked streets, and to the depths of the sky itself.

Gasp! at an entirely true and accurately rendered tale of pirates, cavalrymen, aethermancers, scientists, and a power to unmake the world.

Plus, hitherto unseen extracts from the meticulous and illuminating journals of Mrs. Miranda Lovelace, rogue scientist and first of the aethermancers.

This collection includes:

– Shackle (A Prosperity Story)
– Squamous with a Chance of Rain
– Cloudy Climes and Starless Skies
– Liberty

Buy Links:

Amazon UK : Amazon US : Riptide

Author Bio

Alexis Hall was born in the early 1980s and still thinks the 21st century is the future. To this day, he feels cheated that he lived through a fin de siècle but inexplicably failed to drink a single glass of absinthe, dance with a single courtesan, or stay in a single garret. He did the Oxbridge thing sometime in the 2000s and failed to learn anything of substance. He has had many jobs, including ice cream maker, fortune teller, lab technician, and professional gambler. He was fired from most of them.

He can neither cook nor sing, but he can handle a 17th century smallsword, punts from the proper end, and knows how to hotwire a car.

He lives in southeast England, with no cats and no children, and fully intends to keep it that way.

You can visit Alexis’s website here.

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

Cover Reveal – Jess Buffett’s “Always Been You”

January 7, 2015 by Elin Gregory

Click below to see the cover

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Z A Maxfield’s New Years Progressive Dinner

December 31, 2014 by Elin Gregory

Welcome to the first annual New Year’s Eve M/M Authors’ Progressive Dinner! (Maybe the last too, haha!)

You can “choose your own dining adventure” from appetizers to soup, salad, main dish, and dessert, but those of you who visit and comment at each and every blog will be entered into a drawing for one of three (3) $35.00 gift cards to the venue of your choice: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or All Romance Ebooks.

Dinner starts on 12/31/14 at 12:00 p.m. (noon) Eastern. Winners will be chosen randomly Jan 6, 2015. Only those who comment on EVERY blog will be chosen for the drawing. If I mistyped a link, please let me know, ASAP!

You are cordially invited to click on the author’s name below to link directly to their blog!

Appetizers:

Soups:

Salads:

Main Dishes:

Desserts:

Welcome to my little part of Z. A Maxfield’s New Year’s Progressive Dinner!! A progressive dinner is one where one goes from place to place finding good food, both for the belly and for thought. In this event, you’ll find links to follow to many blogs and websites where authors of all genres are offering recipes to gladden the stomach and presents to gladden the heart and stimulate the mind. Comment to every single blog post and your name sill go into the pot for a chance to win the BIG prize.

Me? Well, I’m offering a recipe that is one of my favourites at this time of year. Once the party is over, the guests have departed and you look around at the debris and think “I can’t bear to throw all this away. What can I do with it?” And as an individual I’m offering a suitably medieval prize – a copy of my book A Taste of Copper. Here’s the recipe:

Leftover Soup

Cooking is a big adventure for me at the moment because I’ve been without a kitchen since August – the old one had water running through the roof and the electrics were iffy – and I only got into the new one to start making proper meals on 23rd December. Coming to terms with a new hob and oven is always edgy but to my delight this one will actually simmer instead of boiling everything to a crisp. Simmering is what you need for soup!

I made my version of this on St Stephen’s Day and used leftover veg saved from Christmas lunch – potato, brussells sprouts, peas, carrots and parsnips – the turkey carcass, leftover stuffing, a handful of chestnuts and the skin of the piece of gammon I was baking that day. In addition to this I got some sticks of celery, a leek and a large onion and chopped them up roughly. I have a huge old stock pot and melted butter in the base of it to fry up the raw veg.

I deliberately let it get a bit too hot so the onions and leeks would singe – it’s reassuring to be able to taste the fire a little, plus if my other half can smell an onion frying he’ll assume all is right with the world and leave me to it! Once there was a bit of brown on the bottom of the pan I added the turkey carcass, broken roughly into pieces, the cooked veg, gammon skin, a couple of bunches of fresh herbs tied up with thread, two smashed garlic cloves and three pints of water. Then I remembered I had a jug of gravy in the fridge and slung that in too.

Lid on, temperature down to a sprightly simmer, and I settled down with a cup of tea, my cat on my knee and a gay lit novel to beta [very interesting, I hope it’ll be out next year some time]. I checked the pot about every twenty minutes to make sure it wasn’t sticking at the bottom, gave it a good stir and left it to bubble.

About three hours later, it had reduced and smelled gorgeous. I fished out the bones and this would be the time I’d have used one of those little hand held whizzy blender things, if I have been able to find it. I couldn’t so I used the spud masher, which works just as well if a bit chunkier. Then, because it was Christmas and I wanted to be decadent, I added a few tablespoons of left over cream and a large glass of tawny port wine.

This isn’t my soup but it looked a bit like that. I do like a soup that you can eat in heaped spoonfuls. We had it with freshly baked bread and butter.

Comment below for a chance to win one of the very generous main prizes offered by Z.A Maxfield, and you also have a chance to win a copy of my book, A Taste of Copper, a medieval tale of mud blood and lard in funny places. You have until 6th January to get around all the blogs so get hopping.

Posted in contest | 40 Comments »

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