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Anniversary Shenanigans: Author Visit & Giveaway - Lisa Henry






Visiting today to help us celebrate is the industrious and highly accommodating Lisa Henry! We kinda last minuted her and she still came through. Like a champ!







Stupid Hot
by
Lisa Henry 



Fuck Jay Porter. Seriously fuck him.
(Calvin wishes.)
He’s just this…ugh. This arrogant fucking asshole who won the genetic lottery and walks around with a smug grin on his stupid hot face every single day because of it. Calvin is probably going to have to drown himself in the resort pool before the end of the shift to put himself out of his misery.
Because six hours of sitting beside Jay Porter every day, watching him slathering sunscreen on his glorious fucking abs, is torture, okay? It’s torture, and torture is against the Geneva Convention or something. And what’s even worse torture is watching pretty much every single resort guest between the ages of fifteen and ninety-seven shamelessly flirt with Jay while he just laps the attention up like a lazy fucking cat. A hot, glistening, coconut-oil scented cat.
No, wait, ugh. That analogy doesn’t work at all.
The heat has fried Calvin’s brain. Either that, or all the blood that should be operating stuff up there has migrated south to his dick ever since he laid eyes on Jay.
This is going to be the longest summer of Calvin’s life.
It’s not just Jay’s hot-as-fuck abs, okay? Calvin isn’t that shallow. Well, okay, he totally is, because it’s also Jay’s hot-as-fuck tattoos, and those hot-as-fuck yellow and white striped Speedos. Calvin wants to lick his tattoos. And what’s underneath those Speedos.
Longest. Summer. Ever.
Calvin glares at the pool and counts down the minutes until their shift ends. Beside him, Jay is effortlessly chatting with some girl in a bikini. Some stupid hot girl. Seriously, her and Jay should run away together and have stupid hot babies.
The girl even bought him a Popsicle. Because he looked hot.
Calvin is pretty damn sure that if he tried a line that cheesy, he’d shrivel up and die of shame. But of course this girl pulled it off.
(Not the only thing she’s looking to pull off in this scenario.)
Oh. Oh, and now she’s inviting him to a beachfront party tonight. Of course she is. Standing there with her hip jutting out, twisting a length of her perfect platinum hair on her finger.
Ugh.
God. Isn’t it time someone started to drown so Calvin could actually get away from this torture? Calvin’s suddenly so struck with worrying about the horrible person he’s become for wishing near-death on a stranger that he almost misses Jay’s response to the girl.
“No, thanks. You’re really nice, but I’m not looking to hook up. I’m gay.”
Excuse me?
Ex-fucking-scuse me?
The girl retreats with a smile and a shrug, leaving Calvin staring at Jay.
“What?” Jay licks his Popsicle. “You didn’t know?”
A drop of sweat slides down the back of Calvin’s neck.
“Dude,” Jay says, his tongue sliding over his bottom lip. “I’ve been flirting with you for weeks.”
What?
“Um, no,” Calvin says, scowling at him. “You’ve been flirting with everyone else in the world for weeks.”
Jay cocks an eyebrow, and Calvin wants to punch him in his stupid hot face. “Are you always this oblivious? I mean, we can pretend nothing happened, or when our shift’s over I can blow you in the locker room. Your call.”
Calvin gapes at him, and wonders if hallucinations are a symptom of heat stroke.
Jay grins at him and offers him his Popsicle.
Calvin takes it, and bites the top off, and feels a burst of courage. “I would very much like to go with the second option.”
“Cool,” Jay says, and licks his lips again.
Calvin tears his gaze away from Jay with difficulty and watches the pool again.
This is going to be the Best. Summer. Ever.  

I, personally, want to thank Lisa for this fic. Many of you knew Loki who unexpectedly died earlier this year. Loki was a lover of hotness and an all around incredible person. The inspirational pic for this fic was one she left on my wall and Lisa just happened to choose it out of the bundle I sent her. I think Loki would be tickled with the results. Be sure to let Lisa know your thoughts in the comments!

Author Bio:

Lisa likes to tell stories, mostly with hot guys and happily ever afters.

Lisa lives in tropical North Queensland, Australia. She doesn't know why, because she hates the heat, but she suspects she's too lazy to move. She spends half her time slaving away as a government minion, and the other half plotting her escape.

She attended university at sixteen, not because she was a child prodigy or anything, but because of a mix-up between international school systems early in life. She studied History and English, neither of them very thoroughly. 

She shares her house with too many cats, a green tree frog that swims in the toilet, and as many possums as can break in every night. This is not how she imagined life as a grown-up.




To enter to win an ebook of your choice from Lisa's backlist, please leave a comment with some means of contacting you (e.g. email, Twitter handle, link to Goodreads account, etc.)

The giveaway is open until 10 PM PST November 28, 2015. Shortly thereafter, we will contact a winner whom we will select using a highly scientific "names in a hat" method (or, you know, an internet randomizer). Please respond to the winning notification within 48 hrs or we will choose another winner.

Anniversary Shenanigans: Giveaway - Rhys Ford



It's a bird! It's a plane! Neigh...it's...Rose Dainty Moon aka Rhys Ford!!




The unicorns are super excited because the writing powerhouse has dropped off the best treats for everyone to enjoy! Wanna guess?



No. (Though some unis are salivating just watching) 
Try again!



Nope! Cheeky. We like you!

Once more...

The post title is a BIG hint.

G.I.V.E.A.W.A.Y. for 2 lucky readers! Any digital copy from Rhys Ford's backlist! 

Oh the possibilities!

The unicorns thank Rhys for the gracious giveaway!

About the author:

Rhys Ford was born and raised in Hawai’i then wandered off to see the world. After chewing through a pile of books, a lot of odd food, and a stray boyfriend or two, Rhys eventually landed in San Diego, which is a very nice place but seriously needs more rain.

Rhys admits to sharing the house with three cats of varying degrees of black fur and a ginger cairn terrorist. Rhys is also enslaved to the upkeep a 1979 Pontiac Firebird, a Toshiba laptop, and an overworked red coffee maker.

Blog
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There will be two winners for this giveaway! Good luck!

To enter to win one ebook of the winner's choice from Rhys Ford's backlist, please leave a comment on this blog post and let us know your name and a means of contacting you (e.g., email, Twitter handle, link to Goodreads account, etc.)

The giveaway is open until 10:00PM (Pacific time) on 11/28/15. Shortly thereafter, we will contact a winner whom we will select using a highly scientific "names in a hat" method (or, you know, an internet randomizer). Please respond to the winning notification within 48 hours or we will choose another winner.

Anniversary Shenanigans: Pride Publishing Giveaway!


An easy, peasy giveaway sponsored by Pride Publishing!



Would you like a chance to win a $7.50 gift voucher from Pride Publishing?



To enter to win a $7.50 Pride Publishing gift voucher, please leave a comment on this blog post and let us know your name and a means of contacting you (e.g., email, Twitter handle, link to Goodreads account, etc.)

The giveaway is open until 10:00PM (Pacific time) on 11/27/15. Shortly thereafter, we will contact a winner whom we will select using a highly scientific "names in a hat" method (or, you know, an internet randomizer). Please respond to the winning notification within 48 hours or we will choose another winner.




 Keep your eye out for another Pride Publishing giveaway later this month!

Anniversary Shenanigans: Author Visit & Giveaway - Cari Z.




Cari Z. is in da (club)houzz today with her magical words. Are you ready to be amaZ.ed? <--clever, huh?






You Know Me Better Than My Name
by
Cari Z.

As soon as two of Krylov’s men walked through the door of my apartment, I knew I had won.
It didn’t look that way on the surface, but I could feel it, triumph thrumming through my body and making it hard to keep a smile off my face. I felt it in the way the men who came to get me hesitated at the door, the way they never quite managed to point their guns at me. I felt it in how one man’s hand hovered over a shirt thrown across the back of my chair, ready to offer me that courtesy even though he had no reason to. I felt it in the way they handcuffed me, waiting for me to put my own hands into position, their skin never quite touching mine as the metal rings slid closed.

It was cold outside, the wind bitter enough to freeze you solid like every winter in Moscow, but the car I was taken to was still warm. The only time one of Krylov’s enforcers dared to lay a hand on me was to protect my head as I slipped into the backseat, leaving me leaning comfortably against the heated leather despite the position of my hands. No one spoke on the drive over, but I didn’t need to hear their words to know what they were thinking. They had been polite. They had been gentle. The rest was up to Krylov, which meant that within another hour I would either be strung up from a hook in a meat locker missing half of my limbs, or I would be in his bed, giving him what no one else in his life could. They had laid their bets, these men. They had bet on me. 

Smart guys.

The walk into Krylov’s nightclub took a little longer than the walk from my own apartment to the car, and I was shivering by the time I got inside. It didn’t matter. I wouldn’t have taken a jacket from anyone now if they’d filled its pockets with diamonds. I looked exactly how I wanted to.

We skipped the main floor and walked around the mezzanine level, back to Krylov’s office. People moved automatically out of our path, bodies mindlessly twisting to the beat but brains still recognizing the need to cede the way. It wasn’t the men with guns; you didn’t come to this club without expecting the army that kept this place as much a castle as a club, its ramparts well defended against incursions. They moved for me. How much of it was Krylov’s reputation and how much was my own presence? I didn’t care. It didn’t matter, when I was the one to benefit.

Two guards waited outside Krylov’s office, stoic, silent men who did their job and got out of the way as my escorts led me inside. 

He wasn’t alone. Men like Krylov were never alone if they could help it; they fed on the admiration of others, soaking up the attention like the modern, blood-soaked aristocrats they were. When he saw me, though, his eyes went wide, and his mouth went silent. And I had him. Victory was a sweet rush that warmed me better than a bottle of the finest vodka.

“Leave.”

They did as he said, his cutthroat clique, men and women any sane person would go out of their way to avoid. Instead they avoided me, skirting me on either side as they left the darkened room. It was just me and Krylov now. I smiled, and watched his eyes go from ice blue to black in the space of seconds.

He swallowed. “I know who you really are,” he said hoarsely, but there was no anger left in his voice, all of it burned away with the first flare of desire.

I pressed my advantage, walking over to him and sitting on the edge of his desk, right across from his chair. I liked being higher than him, liked being able to wrap my feet around his armrests and pull him in closer to me. “You know,” I murmured, bending down toward him. He leaned into me like I had wrapped my hand around his heart and pulled. I pressed the tip of my nose, still a little chilled from the arctic weather outside, to his temple. “But do you care?”

His sudden kiss, a desperate clash of lips and teeth and sharpening, never-ending want, was all the answer I needed.



I don't know about you guys but I'd like more of this story. Be sure to let Cari know what you thought in the comments!

Author Bio:


Cari Z. is a Colorado girl who loves snow and sunshine. She has a wonderful relationship with her husband, a complex relationship with the characters in her head and a sadomasochistic relationship with her exercise routine. She feels like Halloween should happen every month, which is why you get this picture of her, and hopes that you enjoy reading what she's put out there as much as she enjoyed writing it in the first place.

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To enter to win a ebook of anything from Cari Z.'s backlist, please leave a comment with some means of contacting you (e.g. email, Twitter handle, link to Goodreads account, etc.)


The giveaway is open until 10 PM PST November 27, 2015. Shortly thereafter, we will contact a winner whom we will select using a highly scientific "names in a hat" method (or, you know, an internet randomizer). Please respond to the winning notification within 48 hrs or we will choose another winner.

Blog Tour & Giveaway: One Step Too Close by KA Merikan


K.A. Merikan are here and they're talking about their newest release, One Step Too Close. It's book 6 in their (amazing) Sex & Mayhem series and there's a GIVEAWAY!


We are proud to present our newest book, One Step Too Close. It is the #6 in our biker-themed series, Sex & Mayhem, and for the first time, both of the main characters will be actively involved in the outlaw lifestyle. Members of the same club, big, strong, and yet very lost in what they feel for one another. The fact that they had been raised as brothers, despite not being at all related, doesn’t make things any easier.

We came up with the two MCs while writing our previous release, Guns n’ Boys: Swamp Blood, where they fill in the roles of secondary characters. One Step Too Close, is going to be all about them. Jed and Ryder will have to face long-held secrets, fierce jealousy, a love that shouldn’t have happened, and a threat that could cost them both their lives. Loyalty to their motorcycle club will clash with a forbidden love affair. Jed’s daredevil, self-destructive attitude will clash with Ryder’s ambition, and controlling nature. They will both have to learn how to compromise instead of butting heads. Oh, but the compromises will be most delicious!

RELEASE DATE: 11/18/15

If you want to see our inspiration photos for this book, check out the One Step Too Close Pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/KAMerikan/one-step-too-close-sex-mayhem-6-by-ka-merikan/

*****

--- One love. One motorcycle club. Two stepbrothers. ---

Ryder. Controlling. Ambitious. Protective.
Jed. Self-destructive. Trapped. Lonely.
Their love? Forbidden. Taboo. All-consuming.

For Jed, the Coffin Nails Motorcycle Club is family. With them, he learned how to think, what to enjoy, and how to fight, but there is one thing he knows his friends can’t find out about. They would never accept him as gay, and so his life is a constant struggle with desires that fill him with despair. Only there is a much darker secret lurking in Jed’s heart. His feelings for his stepbrother, Ryder, go far beyond brotherly. Trapped with a yearning that can never be fulfilled, Jed spirals out of control and unwillingly puts the love of his life in danger.

Ryder is climbing up the ranks. Recently promoted to sergeant-at-arms, he has it all: drive, respect, and the love of his biker family. When his stepbrother gets into trouble with the law, Ryder decides to take the blame and save him from a long sentence. Deep inside, he knows there is nothing he wouldn’t do for Jed, but through a desperate attempt to suppress his own hidden desires, he might irreversibly break the man he secretly loves.

But finding out what they feel for each other will test their loyalty to the Coffin Nails MC and change their lives forever.


POSSIBLE SPOILERS:

Themes: Outlaw motorcycle club, criminal activity, forbidden love, stepbrothers, blackmail, homophobia

Genre: M/M dark romance, suspense, drama

Length: 135,000 words STANDALONE novel

WARNING: Adult content that might be considered taboo. Explicit sexual content, strong language, violence. Reader discretion advised.


*****

Excerpt:

When Jed walked past Ryder, he accidentally brushed him with his shoulder, triggering a warmth that trailed all over Ryder’s body. He took a deep breath. He only needed to remind himself that Jed was his brother, and it would be fine. Everyone struggled in those situations, in proximity of beautiful bodies they shouldn’t want to touch, but just like most people, Ryder had enough self-control to limit his true interest to the right gender. Girls were lovely. Soft, their bodies so different than his own, interested in things Ryder never paid attention to. With men, the camaraderie was much closer, so no wonder that he sometimes found himself breaking boundaries, even if just in thought.

Ryder sighed, lowering his eyes when Jed pulled off his jogging bottoms. “You shouldn’t have gone in the first place. You had no sensation in your hand minutes before that race, and I’m not letting you kill yourself.”

Jed turned the water on, and Ryder tried not to think about the way Jed’s tan buttocks clenched when the cold stream hit his body. He was lucky no one had access to his brain, or he’d never finish explaining himself. He’d first truly noticed the dimples in Jed’s buttocks at nineteen, when they went skinny dipping with a group of friends. Everyone else went right in, but Jed got thigh-deep, kept complaining about the cold, and clenched his goosebump-covered ass. Ryder had to go over and give him a gulp of tequila for Jed to finally take the plunge.

“I was bored. I wanted to do something fun. Racing gets me all pumped up.” He actually grinned back at Ryder, as if this was a happy subject.

Ryder swallowed hard and looked up at Jed’s face, now sprayed by warm water. “And that’s what I get. Trouble with my woman, and having to deal with cops. And as for Ripper’s attack? He might have had it coming considering what he eats and how much he smokes, but what happened didn’t help either.”

*****

About KA Merikan:

K. A. Merikan is the pen name for Kat and Agnes Merikan, a team of writers, who are mistaken for sisters with surprising regularity. Kat’s the mean sergeant and survival specialist of the duo, never hesitating to kick Agnes’s ass when she’s slacking off. Her memory works like an easy-access catalogue, which allows her to keep up with both book details and social media. Also works as the emergency GPS. Agnes is the Merikan nitpicker, usually found busy with formatting and research. Her attention tends to be scattered, and despite pushing thirty, she needs to apply makeup to buy alcohol. Self-proclaimed queen of the roads.

They love the weird and wonderful, stepping out of the box, and bending stereotypes both in life and books. When you pick up a Merikan book, there’s one thing you can be sure of - it will be full of surprises.

e-mail: kamerikan@gmail.com

More information about ongoing projects, works in progress and publishing at:
K.A. Merikan’s author page: http://kamerikan.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KAMerikan
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KA_Merikan
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6150530.K_A_Merikan
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/KAMerikan/


To enter to win an ebook copy of One Step Too Close, please leave a comment on this blog post and let us know your name and a means of contacting you (e.g., email, Twitter handle, link to Goodreads account, etc.)

The giveaway is open until 10:00PM (Pacific time) on 11/26/15. Shortly thereafter, we will contact a winner whom we will select using a highly scientific "names in a hat" method (or, you know, an internet randomizer). Please respond to the winning notification within 48 hours or we will choose another winner.

Anniversary Shenanigans: Author Visit & Giveaway - Mel Bossa


Mel Bossa is partying with the unicorns today! And if you've never heard of her, stop reading this (actually read this first, check out her visit and then go run to Split) It's been CANDYLAND THUNDERDOME approved! We honored to welcome Mel to the stable! So stick around to learn about her talents (someone is like a famous character of theirs) or love of dragons and much more.



BMBR: What are your favorite M/M themes?


I do love those books that are character driven. Stories with simple plot lines featuring complex relationships between the main characters will keep my attention. Now, as far as genre goes, I have a slight preference for contemporary romances, but I'll read horror, historical, and fantasy MM stories too. 
 


BMBR: What books do you consider Desert Island Keepers?


Dream Boy by Jim Grimsley. That was the book that inspired me to write gay romances. It's haunting, stark, sensual and unforgettable. I'd love to have a copy of The Outsiders with me because, hey, Sodapop Curtis was my first crush. I'd need a little something to remind me of home, so why not pack my first great love, Au nom du père et du fils by Francine Ouellet. (In the name of the father and the son), which tells the epic love story of a French Canadian doctor who falls for an Algonquin woman during the time of Quebec's colonization. I'd need a little humor too, so I'd have to have A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole with me, and lastly, for erotica, I'd need me some of that Special Forces juice by Aleksandr Voinov.


BMBR: What's your go-to tasty beverage?


I'm a wine drinker. Californian Cabernet Sauvignon wines being my favorite. If that doesn't do it, I'll have a little brandy and for those special nights, a shot of Jameson whiskey will do just fine, thank you.


BMBR: Do you have any secret talents? Inquiring minds want to know.


I'm a good singer. I used to be in bands when I was younger and left for New Orleans to pursue that career, but life had other plans for me. These days I just karaoke my heart out when I can. I do a mean Janis Joplin. Also, I was a chef before I started writing full time. Thus the Nick Lund character in my debut novel Split. I was actually in pro cooking school when I was writing Split.:-)


BMBR: If you had to choose to be one magical beast, what would it be and why? (you don't have to say unicorn...but we won't say neigh either)


In Chinese astrology I'm a Dragon. So I think I'd be comfortable with that. But I'd be the Dragon who spends her days in her cave reading books and who doesn't have to blow fire because people don't mess with her much anymore. A Dragon with a reputation:-) Of course I'd be having an affair with the cute elf boy who lives in the forest and be the lover of the Queen of Shadows too. I'd be the bisexual dragon with the great wine and book collection, yeah.


BMBR: Who's your favorite porn star?


I don't watch porn. But my favorite erotic scene in a movie is definitely when Lestat sucks Louis's neck in Interview with the Vampire. Hey, I'm a 90s girl.


BMBR: Do you have author envy? Whose words do you read and think, "GAH, I wish I wrote that!"?


I wish I'd written Bastard out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison. Anything by William Burroughs always makes me think, "Wow, this guy can murder language in one sentence and then resurrect it in the next." But in the MM genre, I'd have to say that Eric Arvin has my admiration, among many others of course.


BMBR: Any new projects you're currently working on?


I'm always working on something because if I don't write I make everybody nuts, including myself. Right now I'm writing a novel about two best friends who move in together after one of them gets dumped. Of course Sebastian and Jack are both confident that they can have sex together and keep their hearts out of the equation, until a third beautiful stranger is thrown in the mix and forces the two friends to confront their true feelings about each other. Contrary to most of my novels, this one will be lighter and showcase a side of me I rarely show in my work; my dark and caustic sense of humor. The novel will be called You don't know Jack! 
 
Thank you for this chance to talk a little about myself. And thanks to all my readers—you're the best out there! I love you guys!

BMBR thanks Mel Bossa for stopping by! Anyone who loves dragons, wine, can cook and sings Janis Joplin is always invited to the stable anytime!

Mel Bossa's Website
Goodreads



Would you like a chance to win Mel Bossa's latest, Sawdust and Berries?

To others, Liam Stokes is a confirmed bachelor, content with his job as a foreman and satisfied with his quiet life. Liam's friends and family don't suspect that under his calm surface a storm is gathering.

Liam has had it with living a lie, but can't summon the courage to come out as gay until faith takes charge of that. One morning, his back gives out and Liam is forced into getting a massage.

Inked and pierced, Kieran is a young massage therapist with a healing touch and audacious smile. From the moment he sets his hands on Liam, Liam knows this will be unstoppable. But as their relationship evolves, both men are surprised at how much they have in common despite their age difference.

Could this be more than a physical connection? And if so, how far can they take this love before someone else tries to end it?



To enter to win an ebook copy of Sawdust and Berries, please leave a comment on this blog post and let us know your name and a means of contacting you (e.g., email, Twitter handle, link to Goodreads account, etc.)

The giveaway is open until 10:00PM (Pacific time) on 11/26/15. Shortly thereafter, we will contact a winner whom we will select using a highly scientific "names in a hat" method (or, you know, an internet randomizer). Please respond to the winning notification within 48 hours or we will choose another winner.

Review: Exchange of Hearts by N.R. Walker

Eighteen-year-old Harrison Haddon has grown up alone. Surrounded by wealth, nannies, and material things, all he craves is the approval of his father. Sent away to the boarding school his father and grandfather attended, it’s assumed he will follow in their footsteps from Sydney’s prestigious Ivy League school straight into medical school.
 

But Harrison doesn’t want to be a doctor.
 

He dreams of music and classical piano. His only true happiness, his escape from the world expected of him, is dismissed by his intolerant and emotionally detached parents.
 

Levi Aston arrives from London for a three-month student exchange program. Free-spirited and confident in who he is and what he wants to do with his life, Levi convinces Harrison not give up on his dreams.
 

But convincing Harrison not to give up on his family might not be so easy.


N.R. Walker is one of my go-to authors for a light, sweet, comfort read. She creates such endearing characters that I can't help but love. Harrison and Levi perfectly fit the bill!

Harrison's a student at a private boarding school where he was detached from the other students and teased. According to him, things were only getting worse when he found out that the foreign exchange student was going to be his new roommate.

That student ended up being Levi. Then Harrison and Levi proceeded to have the cutest meet-cutes of all time. Eeeee! N.R. Walker, I'm telling you, knows how to make me squee with delight. These guys were everything I love about YA. Tentative touches, secret kisses, fumbling first times... just cuteness all around!

They met, they hit it off, they were pretend boyfriends for a bit to make Harrison's ex jealous... then moved towards the real deal. They were adorable and sweet and supportive of each other. I especially loved Levi and how much he encouraged Harrison so do what makes him happy.

Harrison was under a lot of pressure from his father to follow in his footsteps and be a doctor. But Harrison was a talented pianist and his dream was to go to school for music. He had a hard time with this, since he didn't want to disappoint his father, who never seemed to give Harrison his approval. But Levi really pushed him to do what made him happy. He was a bit relentless and I liked that about him.

There was very little angst in the relationship. They really got along wonderfully and had all the chemistry. They were just great together.

The problems with Harrison's father were solved a little too easily, but I think sometimes parents are misguided and think they're doing what's best. When they find out they're not? Well, they try and fix it. Even if it was an easy fix, it felt genuine to me and I was happy with how things ended.

Sweet, light, loving, cuteness overload... all topped with a mushy-gushy epilogue. *dreamy eyes* Perfection.


A copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Anniversary Shenanigans: Author Visit & Giveaway - Suki Fleet



We just love keeping the party going here at BMB Reviews. No sleep for unicorns! And today we're joined by the lovely Suki Fleet who has delicious treats for your...eyes. Come gather round the stable doors and see what she has up her sleeves. We promise you're going to enjoy it.


Brighter Than Any Dark
by 
Suki Fleet


One day last summer we saw two boys kissing in Central Park. You ran your hand through your neatly shorn hair, looking shy as you pointed out how bold they were, how brightly their love burned. I glanced away, pretending I couldn’t look—too afraid to tell you how I felt. 

A few months later I hurt you again. We were walking home one night after you worked late, you gripped my hand because the darkness scared you, and I never wanted to let you go. But instead, when some kids came by and looked at us too closely, I stepped away, making you feel what we were doing wasn’t right. 

Now I know you’re falling in love with someone else. 

I sent you a text tonight saying I was in Times Square thinking about you and what might have been. You haven’t replied. I know it’s too late. 

You light up my dark and I lost you. Ironic that losing you is what finally made me unafraid. 

“Ben?” 

Your voice—at first I think I’m imagining it but then I look up and see you, hardly daring to believe it—my Alexander.

“What are you doing sitting on the curb? It’s so busy tonight,” you say. 

You’re so lit up. I wonder if she’s with you.

“Watching people’s feet. Waiting…” I say, glancing at the cigarette butts and rubbish strewn across the ground.

You hold out your hand. I take it, your skin warm against mine, and let you pull me to my feet. 

“Waiting for me?” you ask, dipping your head in the unsure way that you do, but keeping your gaze holding mine like it’s important, like you can’t let it go. 

You bite your lip and that’s when I know you’re every bit as scared as me right now. I don’t want you to ever be scared.

I nod. “It’s too late though, isn’t it?” I don’t let go of your hand. In fact I hold it tighter. 

If I can’t have you, I’ll have this—this one moment where I held out my heart. It’s yours, anyway. It always was.  

“I’m sorry,” I say.

You shake your head. I don’t know what that means, but you’re smiling.

Stepping closer, you take my other hand. You pull our arms into the warm space between our bodies. We’re so close I can feel the wet heat of your breath on my cheek.

My heart is pounding. My only thought is—I want to kiss you—I want to try to catch a hold of this desire swirling around us, as delicate and ephemeral as tendrils of smoke. I’m terrified this isn’t real.

“I’ve wanted this for so long,” you whisper, your lips brushing against mine. 

I tilt my head. I feel like I’m falling, but if I am, I no longer think I’m falling alone. I’m falling into place, falling into you. 

Closing my eyes, I kiss you again, and we are illuminated. Brighter than the electric lights of Times Square. Brighter than distant stars. As bright as those boys in Central Park.

No longer afraid of the light inside us, we burn brighter than any dark.

OMG so good, right?! Let Suki Fleet know what you thought in the comments! BMBR humbly thank her for sharing her talent for all to enjoy. Oh and also for the extra bits below!

Author Bio: 

Suki Fleet grew up on a boat and as a small child spent a lot of time travelling at sea with her family. She has always wanted to be a writer. As a kid she told ghost stories to scare people, but stories about romance were the ones that inspired her to sit down and write. She doesn’t think she’ll ever stop writing them.

Her novel This is Not a Love Story won Best Gay Debut in the 2014 Rainbow Awards and is currently a finalist in the 2015 Lambda Awards.

You can contact Suki at sukifleet@gmail.com she’d love to hear from you.

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To enter to win one ebook of the winner's choice from Suki Fleet's backlist, please leave a comment on this blog post and let us know your name and a means of contacting you (e.g., email, Twitter handle, link to Goodreads account, etc.)

The giveaway is open until 10:00PM (Pacific time) on 11/25/15. Shortly thereafter, we will contact a winner whom we will select using a highly scientific "names in a hat" method (or, you know, an internet randomizer). Please respond to the winning notification within 48 hours or we will choose another winner.