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Audiobook Review: Bishop: A True Lover's Story by A.E. Via

At only thirty-two, Bishop Stockley has lived a hard-knock life. After doing five years in a federal prison, Bishop is back at his dad's trailer and working for his landscaping company, thrust into a legit world where he's no longer the alpha-a world where a criminal record is the least of his disadvantages, because Bishop can't read or write.

Bishop already had the deck stacked against him, but he wasn't afraid of hard work to change his situation, and he did want to change. Especially after he encountered Edison Scala, a kind-spirited office manager who didn't hesitate to come to his defense . . . a man that saw past Bishop's grass-stained coveralls. A man who wasn't intimidated by his stern features and his silence.

Bishop knew Edison was off-limits. He'd made personal vows to himself when he was released from prison, ones that he never intended to break. But, when Edison asked him about providing landscaping services at his home, there was no way he could refuse. He hadn't expected Edison to feed him, praise him, encourage him, and look at him the way he did-as if Bishop was somebody.

Narrator: Tor Thom
Listening Length: 13 hours and 10 minutes


Reviewer: Shee Reader

Bishop has made some terrible decisions in his life, most of them not his fault, but he is determined to put all that behind him, leave his life of crime and gangs and be the man he always knew he could be. He works with his dad and his crew doing landscape gardening.

Before he has really gotten started on recreating himself, Bishop meets Edison, a lovely quiet man who manages an office (and reads and cooks) who turns Bishop’s head even though a man like Edison would never look twice at a man like Bishop. Until he does!

Oh the set up is delicious, and we are not disappointed! Bishop and Edison are so perfect for each other if they can both get over their own insecurities. A.E. does her alpha heroes so beautifully and a flawed hero is just what the doctor ordered in this book!

Edison is kind of sad and definitely lonely, but he is a delightful character with a lovely strong will, who can be just what Bishop needs if only he’ll let Edison in.

The sleazy bad guy is pretty awful, but he gets what he deserves, as do our two heroes.

Tor Thom is a new-to-me narrator and I found his voice to be a delight! Deep and rolling, he gave such a depth to Bishop and the aching loneliness of Edison was so tangible I could almost taste it. I’ll definitely be looking out for more books performed by him in the future!

This is the first in a new series I hope and I cannot wait for the second installment, Bishop’s best friend’s story…

Highly recommended.

I was given a free copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.




Release Blitz: Love’s Lawyer by Janice Jarrell


Check out today's release blitz for Love's Lawyer! Author Janice Jarrell and Gay Book Promotions host and share more info contemporary romance!

RELEASE BLITZ
Book Title: Love’s Lawyer
Author: Janice Jarrell
Publisher: KDP Amazon
Cover Artist: Janice Jarrell and Robin E. Vuchnich
Release Date: May 11, 2020
Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance
Heat Rating: 4 flames
Length: 269 pages

Buy Links - Available on Kindle Unlimited


Would law school do what a drug lord’s bullet could not?


Blurb

Colin Campbell had been a champion all his life. Nothing had ever beaten him, not even a drug lord’s bullet. And he approached law school the same way he approached everything in life, with cocky confidence fizzing through his veins like ginger ale. He had it all. He had the looks, the brains, the experience, the know-how and he also had the love of his life at his side. He couldn’t be defeated.

But he hadn’t counted on the gravitas of law school, the reading, the preparation, the cases, the competition, the Socratic Method, the concepts, the grading curve, the expectations, the finals, memos, study groups, outlines... all of it piled and heaped upon those preparing for a career as an attorney until it wasn’t surprising that some of them simply imploded under the weight of it all.

Suddenly Colin was scrambling to keep up and rarely ever seeing Joshua. His grades slumped as he tried desperately to balance the opposing forces in his life, but his only solution was stretching himself thinner and thinner, until he feared he’d be torn in two. Joshua pleaded with him to slow down, but Colin refused to lighten his load and the path before them grew darker and darker.

They’d been through so much and survived. Would law school be the storm they could not weather? Would it do what a drug lord’s bullet could not and hand Colin Campbell the bitter defeat he never believed he’d have to face?

Or would the man he loved find a way to draw him back from the abyss.






Excerpt

Joshua nodded again, then turned to face his husband, his jaw clenched tight. “I know all about this kind of study, Colin,” he hissed out. “I’ve done them myself. Two credit hours equals out to at least six or eight hours a week of research, analysis, and in your case, detailed legal writing.”

He leaned toward Colin and when he spoke, his voice was a hoarse grate in his throat. “And just where the fuck are those hours supposed to come from, Colin? I never see you as it is! And now what little time we did have together will be sucked down the drain because of this… this…” he hissed out a disgusted breath and slapped at the papers in Colin’s lap, spilling them onto the floor.

He shot to his feet and stalked toward the kitchen, then spun back to face Colin, who gathered the wrinkled pages into his hands. “I can’t imagine why you thought I’d hate this,” he said. “Why would this bother me? It’s not like I give a flying fuck about ever spending any time with the man I married! I enjoy living alone.” His voice cracked with barely controlled emotion, and his hands suddenly balled into fists. “Goddamn it, Colin!” he cried out in anguish. “How could you do this?!”

“Josh, listen to me!” Colin cried, rising to his feet. “I can say no. I don’t have to…”

“Oh God, Colin, just shut up!” Joshua spat out, spinning away from him to stride toward the kitchen. “If you were going to say no, you would have done so, and I never would have heard about this goddamn project. Every fiber of your being is leaping with joy about it. You think I can’t see it? You think I don’t know you well enough to…” He shook his head, his teeth clenched in frustration. “Fuck it,” he said. “I’m done. I’m not saying another word.” He careened into the kitchen and fell against the counter, leaning on his elbows. His hands lifted to cover his face. “Fuck it,” he said again, his voice husky. “Just fuck it all!”

Colin came up behind him and stretched out a tentative hand to touch his back. “Josh, please. Just talk to me for a second.”

“Why?” Joshua asked. “Why bother? Your mind is made up, and you damn well know it.” He turned to face his husband. “Don’t play me, Colin,” he demanded. “Just don’t fucking do it.” Joshua’s face was damp with tears, and Colin bowed his head against a storm of pain and guilt.

“Josh, okay. I understand why you’re upset. I do. But we can talk this through. It isn’t going to be the way you… the way you described it just now. I promise you.”

Joshua’s laugh was a sob in his throat. “Right.”

“Josh, I promise!”

“Stop saying that!” Joshua cried out. “Stop making promises you know damned well you can’t keep!”

“I-I can make it work,” Colin said. “I can!

Joshua stared at him, his huge brown eyes misty with tears. “You can’t make the schedule you’re on now work, Colin,” he whispered, his voice strangled. “We pretend it’s working, or rather I do by not complaining about—” He stopped, and his voice trailed off. He shook his head, staring silently down at the floor beneath their feet.

“Josh, please talk to me,” Colin begged. He grabbed Joshua’s wrists and tried to draw him into his arms, but Joshua jerked away.

“Not now, Colin,” he replied, moving away. “I can’t right now.” He stumbled toward the stairs, his hand gesturing back at Colin as if dismissing their conversation. “I’m done. I’m going upstairs.”

“Josh, please,” Colin implored, stretching out his hand.

“Do what you want,” Joshua muttered, his voice leaden. “You will anyway.”



About the Author
My name is Janice Jarrell. I am a retired grandmother who lives in Seattle, WA. I have two children and three grandsons. I’ve been writing gay romance since I was twelve years old, only back then it wasn’t called ‘gay romance’. In fact, it had no name at all. It was the fifty’s, and it was worth your life to admit to being gay, let alone confess to being a girl who constantly fantasized about relationships between gay men. Hell, I didn’t even know what a homosexual was. I lived on a farm out in the sticks in a tiny Michigan village and I’d never, to my knowledge, even heard the word. I just knew I loved the thought of boy on boy romance. I just knew that there was something hot going on between Tom Corbett and his Space Cadets and all those guys on ‘Combat’.
I wrote slash fanfiction for 30 years, writing over 337 stories, some as short as 100 words (a drabble) some as long as a series which was over 119,012 words. I enjoy writing my stories. I enjoyed the feedback I received from my readers. It was a creative release I’d been searching for my entire life and I blessed the Internet for leading me to this artistic oasis for my spirit.
Love’s Magic was my very first step into writing my own characters. I will always be grateful the slash fanfiction community for nurturing the budding author until she was ready to blossom into a fully realized novelist. It’s been an amazing thing to watch the gay community’s growth over these past twenty years. My own journey has echoed theirs in many ways, and I’m grateful to all those gay activists who fought to give the gay community the rights and privileges they always deserved. Love’s Trials and Love’s Glory were the second and third books in the series and both Love’s Magic and Love’s Trials are available in audio format on Audible.
I’m also grateful to the gay romance community, readers, authors, publishers and promoters, who are making these, my retirement years, the most creative ones of my life. When I'm not writing, I'm traveling, walking, hiking, knitting, crocheting, and weaving.
I'm very excited about the upcoming release of my fourth contemporary gay romance novel, Love's Lawyer. Those of you who fell in love with Joshua and Colin in the three previous books in this series are in for a treat because they are in rare form in Love’s Lawyer. Colin takes on way too much, and his obsessive drive to succeed proves almost as deadly to their relationship as a drug lord’s bullet. But despite their struggles there are still many passionate, loving moments and the friends they treasure will be there to help them find their way.

Social Media Links









Exclusive Tour + Giveaway: Marc Jillson & The Gazebo (Love Inscribed #2) by Anyta Sunday


Anyta Sunday and A Novel Take PR visit with an exclusive and giveaway for the author's latest new adult romance, Marc Jillson & The Gazebo (Love Inscribed #2)! Find out more from today's EXCLUSIVE and enter in the giveaway: 3 lucky people will win a e-bundle of the Love Inscribed series (Book #1 - LIAM DAVIS & THE RAVEN and Book #2 - MARC JILLSON & THE GAZEBO) Good luck!

Marc Jillson & The Gazebo by Anyta Sunday

Series: Love Inscribed #2

Book 1: Liam Davis & The Raven

Publisher: Anyta Sunday (self-published)

Release Date (Print & Ebook): May 14th, 2020

Length (Print & Ebook): ca. 50,000 words / 200 pages

Subgenre: Marc Jillson & The Gazebo is a sweet, sexy M/M romance with humor and a definite HEA. This New Adult, college, redemption story can be read as a standalone.

Warnings: mentions of past violence against one of the MCs (not on page)

Order now: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087WP31LG

Book synopsis:

Want true, heart-throbbing romance? Put down the Cheetos, and stop being a jackass.

The question is, can I do it?

I’ve been an epic dick to my friends, my uncle. Him.

Travis Hunter. Photographer, econ-student, paraplegic. Can I redeem myself? Apologize? Make a fresh start?

Hunter seems to think so. Even roped me into saving his favorite gazebo from the bulldozers.

The confidence of this man amazes me. He’s no bullshit where I’m all bullshit. I throw up walls where he knocks them down.

He’s beautiful, too. Strong arms inked with hummingbirds, a wide teasing mouth, and blue eyes that read me like an open book.

He looks at me, and I look away.

These shivery feelings I have for Hunter? They can’t happen. I don’t deserve him.

Where did I put those Cheetos?
~ ~ ~
Marc Jillson & The Gazebo is a sweet, sexy M/M romance with humor and a definite HEA. This New Adult, college, redemption story is book two in the "Love Inscribed" series.
The books in the Love Inscribed series are standalone romances, and can be read in any order.
LIAM DAVIS & THE RAVEN: Liam & Quinn's story
MARC JILLSON & THE GAZEBO: Marc & Hunter's story

What author Anyta Sunday says about this release:
I want readers to enjoy a good, steamy romance with a sex-positive, strong MC (Hunter) who helps the other MC (Marc) come to terms with his past, and accept himself as worthy of love.


Exclusive:

He opened his seat belt. “Marc?”
“Yeah?”
His hands locked onto my shoulders, sure and firm. A rush of giddiness stole my breath and I yielded, folding toward him.
His warm breath slipped over my nose, my jaw. His quiet expression surged into me full of gentleness and warmth and wanting.
I trembled as his thumbs rubbed reassuring circles up my neck. He leaned in, tips of his thumbs under my ears, fingers curling around my nape, and he kissed me.
Just the brush of his lips. Then he pulled back, met my eyes, and kissed me again.
The moist press of his lips shot shivers through me. I insisted I kiss him back, but my brain short-circuited and all I could do was swallow the fresh taste of him.
I rubbed my mouth, pulsing from his gentle kiss. “Hmm, yeah. Okay.”
A laugh bubbled out of me, verging on hysterical, and I clambered out of the car.
“Marc?” Hunter called after me, baffled.
I lifted a hand, a weird-ass acknowledging wave, because I couldn’t look back.

About the Author:

A bit about me: I'm a big, BIG fan of slow-burn romances. I love to read and write stories with characters who slowly fall in love. Some of my favorite tropes to read and write are: Enemies to Lovers, Friends to Lovers, Clueless Guys, Bisexual, Pansexual, Demisexual, Oblivious MCs, Everyone (Else) Can See It, Slow Burn, Love Has No Boundaries. I write a variety of stories, Contemporary MM Romances with a good dollop of angst, Contemporary lighthearted MM Romances, and even a splash of fantasy. My books have been translated into German, Italian, French, and Thai.

Contact: http://www.anytasunday.com/about-anyta/
Sign up for Anyta's newsletter and receive a free e-book: http://www.anytasunday.com/newsletter-free-e-book/
Join Anyta’s Facebook group to chat all things Slow Burn Romance:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/SlowBurnSundays/

You can also find Anyta here: www.anytasunday.com

For information about new releases and freebies, follow me on BookBub:
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/anyta-sunday

Giveaway: 

To celebrate the release of Marc Jillson and the Gazebo, Anyta Sunday will be giving away 3 e-bundles of “Liam Davis” & “Marc Jillson”! Must be 18 to enter and win; open internationally.

Enter here: a Rafflecopter giveaway


Direct Giveaway Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/88d45f03133/

Release Blitz: A Share In A Secret (County Durham Quad #5) by Jude Tresswell


Author Jude Tresswell and Gay Book Promotions host today's release blitz for A Share In A Secret (County Durham Quad #5)! Find out more today!

RELEASE BLITZ
Book Title: A Share in a Secret
Author: Jude Tresswell
Publisher: Self-published on Amazon KDP
Release Date: April 18, 2020
Genre/s: LGBTQ crime and mystery
Trope/s: Sexual/asexual relationship; gay polyamorous relationship
Themes: Compromise, trust, honesty
Heat Rating: 2 flames
Length: 63 000 words/ 227 pages
It can be read as a standalone, although it is Book 5 of the County Durham Quad series.
Background information is included for new readers.

Buy Links

Sooner or later, secrets will out…


Blurb

Mike, Ross, Raith and Phil are a gay, polyamorous quad who live in County Durham, North-East England. Mike’s nephews visit, and launch the quad into a tale involving inclusivity and investment scams, false arrest, and a desperate attempt to keep a dangerous secret hidden.

Meanwhile, Nick Seabrooke is now living and working in the village. Can the quad navigate the complexities of a sexual-asexual relationship? They would risk their safety for each other. Are they willing to do so for Nick?

This is the fifth County Durham Quad story. As always, background information is included for new readers.



Excerpt

Here is the start of the story. It’s a typical exchange between the four men…

Late afternoon in ‘Cromarty’, a normally quiet home in Tunhead, County Durham. Phil and Mike were seated in the living room. Phil stopped typing the article he was preparing for a medical journal and looked in the direction of the kitchen. Mike stopped skyping his brother, looked up too and, not really expecting an answer, asked, “What the fuck’s he up to now?”

The ‘he’ was Raith, Phil’s husband. Raith was a successful artist and ceramicist, but he sounded like someone intent on demolition not on creation.

“I thought all our kitchen units were the easy-glide, silently-closing variety,” Phil commented as another cupboard drawer slammed shut.

“They are, but the manufacturers hadn’t met Raith, had they? Nuthin’s Raith-proof, is it?”

The banging stopped and voices took their place. Ross, Mike’s civil partner, had come into the kitchen from the garden. He walked through to the living room and met Mike’s and Phil’s enquiring eyes.

“He’s made a chart. He was looking for something to stick it up with,” Ross explained.

Stick it up? It sounded like he was hammerin’ it up,” said Mike.

“A chart?”

“Yes. He’s fixing it on the wall now. It’ll either amuse you or horrify you. I’m not sure which. Possibly both. He wants us to discuss it before Nick comes round for his tea.”

“I thought we were involving Nick in all our discussions,” Phil remarked.

“Yes, but not this one. You’ll see why in a minute. Come on.”

Mike, Ross, Raith, Phil—and Nick. By their own definitions the first four men were four sorts of poly. Polydomestic: they shared the household duties. Polypecuniary: they shared their incomes too. Polydemocratic: they had equal say in decisions and tossed a coin if the vote was evenly split. And fourthly, they were polyamorous: they loved each other deeply, although Ross only had sex with Mike. Nick was Tunhead’s most recent inhabitant. He shared most of his meals and much of his spare time with the quad, but although he now lived in the village, he didn’t live in Cromarty. There were reasons for the need for a little separation. Hence Raith’s chart. Nick might be romantically and emotionally attracted to men or, rather, to one man—Mike—but he wasn’t attracted to anybody sexually. In fact, he was revolted by the thought of an intimately physical relationship.

Ross stood aside and ceremoniously waved Mike and Phil through to the kitchen. In place of the whiteboard that, ten minutes earlier, had indicated the week’s household duties list, there was a large sheet of cartridge paper divided into two vertical columns. The left hand column comprised extremely realistic drawings. The other, narrower one was partially filled in. It contained some ticks and some crosses.

“Are you plannin’ expandin’ into illustratin’ porn?” asked Mike as he studied the drawings. “That’s you, Phil! Bloody hell. That’s me!” he added, and pointed to a portrayal of two men indulging in frottage.

“Yes, I’ve already put a cross by that one,” Raith said. “I knew Nick wouldn’t like it.”

“Looks like you two liked it though,” Ross commented as, curious, he took a close look.

“So this is… what, exactly? And I’m not talkin’ about the drawin’s themselves. I can see what they are.”

“Well,” said Raith, “I thought it would save us a lot of future problems if we sorted out what we were allowed and not allowed to do when Nick’s in our home instead of in his place.”

“And you figured that a bloody big explicit poster starin’ at him over his tea was the best way to do it?”


About the Author
I’m married, I’ve grown-up children, I’m asexual (although a different sort of ace from Nick) and I do enjoy writing stories that aren’t constrained by hetero-norms.
The plots are always stimulated by something on the news – in this instance, the homophobic reaction of some people and groups to the UK government’s decision to introduce lessons on inclusivity into the school curriculum.
I enjoy writing light dialogue as well as dealing with serious issues, though, and I hope that some of the quad’s interchanges will make readers smile.
I talked about myself and my books on Brad Shreve’s Gay Mystery Podcast (an episode entitled Four Times As Much Mystery) in April, 2020. (Link below)

Social Media Links
(Audio version contains 200 photos of scenery)





Guest Review: Rules to Ignore (Davey's Rules #7) by Susan Hawke

Davey’s Revised Rule #1: A good Daddy will love his boy with all his heart.

Davey Hendrickson doesn’t mind being forever single when he’s got his bestie at his side. It’s not that he wants to be single. He’s spent most of his adult life searching for his own perfect Daddy. Even if he’s not naturally submissive, someone that fabulous is obviously meant to be a boy… right? Over the years, he’s dated every type of Daddy imaginable but not one of them could come close to meeting the requirements from his ridiculous list of rules.

After losing his husband, Sammy Robustelli has learned to be strong while raising two children on his own. No matter what life has thrown his way, nothing seems too hard with his best friend and roomie Davey at his side. When the two friends learn that people believe they’re a couple, they can’t help but laugh. The very idea is a big joke... until it isn’t.

It only takes a few wake-up calls before Davey wonders what happens if a guy might be in love with the best friend he can never have. It could never work for a pair of boys in need of a bossy top, right? Except… maybe Davey doesn’t know himself—or Sammy—as well as he thinks.



Reviewer: Shee Reader

As a reader of the whole series that precedes this book, I was so ready for Davey to get his very own daddy, or maybe his perfect HEA isn’t quite what Davey has always thought?

Davey and Sammy are BFFs that house share and work together to give Sammy’s two kids the stability and love they need to grow and flourish after the loss of their father. Sammy has had one great love of his life (and a wonderful Daddy) but he’s ‘okay’ going it alone if he has his best buddy with him. Then he decides maybe he could start dating, and living his life again.

How odd that people often think Sammy and Davey are a couple! They can’t really be a couple if they are both looking for their perfect Daddy, or can they???

This is such a fun read and I was so, so ready for Davey to find his perfect guy, even if that wasn’t quite what he’d always thought.

Davey and Sammy are so cute together that my teeth hurt. It was such a sweet and funny voyage of discovery and I enjoyed every word.

The writing is engaging, funny and so adorable, it was just what I needed to get me over a reading slump. The dialogue is cute and the characters are just so adorable it was just great.

I was given a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review
.



Release Blitz + Giveaway: Awakening (Darklight #1) by Connal Braginsky and Sean Ian O’Meidhir


Join authors Connal Braginsky and Sean Ian O’Meidhir, along with IndiGo Marketing, as they celebrate the release of Awakening (Darklight #1)! Discover more about the new paranormal release and enter in the $10 NineStar Press credit giveaway!


Title: Awakening
Series: Darklight, Book One
Author: Sean Ian O’Meidhir & Connal Braginsky
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: May 11, 2020
Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 93100
Genre: Paranormal, LGBTQIA+, immortal, psychic ability, therapist, vampires, paranormal

Add to Goodreads

Synopsis

Nathen was recently diagnosed with autism, and he’s a newly created vampire. His maker, a multinational corporation with its finger on the pulse of the technology industry, has recruited him to stop a terrorist plot. In the process, he meets Cameron, a telepath and psychologist, who has a troubled past he keeps locked up in the shadows of his psyche.

Nathen is confused by social cues and Cameron can barely block out the thoughts of others.

Together, they find common ground, and with the help of their friend Syn, they work out the secrets of the terrorist group and learn that the plot is far greater than they could have imagined.

Excerpt

Awakening
Sean Ian O’Meidhir & Connal Braginsky © 2020
All Rights Reserved

Nathen

Sterile. That was the name for a room like this. Brightly lit, the room had a mirrored wall reflecting the enormous, white, tempered glass-topped board table surrounded by at least forty, comfortable, white chairs. Sitting across from Nathen was a middle-aged, nondescript albeit impeccably dressed, man in a dark pin-striped suit that cost more than most people pay in monthly rent. He was sitting impossibly still with a demeanor of infinite patience and calm, observing Nathen with an unreadable expression. Behind him was a paper-thin monitor mounted on the wall that reflected the back of the man’s balding head, and Nathen. They were alone in the room, and there were two doors leading out on the side of the room opposite the mirror. What looked like an original Pollock hung between them, the only color in the room.

“Oh good, Mr. Hale. You are with us. Welcome to your new…position.” The man’s voice was as boring as his appearance, though there was something strange about the way he spoke. Nathen couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He even sounded blasé, as if he had given this speech a hundred times before. “It is good to have you as the newest member of the Impetus family.”

Impetus? Nathen knew that company. He may have only been twenty-two years old and more concerned about playing World of Warcraft than following Fortune 500 companies, but he knew that corporation had its hands in just about everyone’s pots. He became distracted by his reflection in the monitor and thought his raven hair, which was usually unkempt, looked uncharacteristically styled.

The man held up a finger as if to silence, though Nathen had not made a sound. “You have been recruited for an extraordinary purpose. And while I am certain you may have questions, please hold them until I am finished. Here is your on-boarding packet.” He referenced a single sheet as he pushed a small pile of papers across the table, sitting a mahogany Montblanc pen atop them.

“I will need you to read through this stack of papers and sign where there is highlighted space…” Nathen considered the huge stack of papers, then shook his head. Wait…he had spaced out again. How much did the man just say he was going to be paid?

“…As long as you remain with the Company, we will see to all of your needs. Of course, you are welcome to hunt as you see fit, as long as it does not reflect poorly on the Company. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Please, read and sign, and we will move to the next step. I will explain everything you need to know about your first assignment. Oh, and what being a vampire means.”

A whole slew of thoughts and emotions went through Nathen’s mind as he adjusted his glasses. The sheer amount of information was overwhelming, and because he didn’t have time to process it all. The only things he had paid attention to were the money figures and the fact they had mentioned benefits for his family. How did I get here? I didn’t sit for an interview, did I? Did I even apply for this job? And what is it about that man’s speech? He sat still for a long minute, sorting and retracing his steps after leaving the office of the psychologist. He had been there that morning after two days of testing the previous week, only to have the diagnosis of Autism confirmed, which he had not yet fully processed. The short of it was that he had a social communication deficit and didn’t pick up on everything in social interactions. It explained why he was confused when people were supposedly being sarcastic, and he never had been able to tell if someone was flirting with him. His doctor had told him he saw things as black and white, but missed the rainbow. It had made Nathen laugh at the time, though the doctor hadn’t laughed with him, so he stopped. But he had found it funny that he was missing rainbows. Nathen’s eyes darted as he was sorting his visual memory.

Finally, he admitted, “I’m sorry. I’m confused as to how I got here. And I don’t remember applying for the position you are offering. Um…what is it that I’m getting hired to do?”

As the words left his mouth, he noticed something strange about how his teeth and tongue moved, as if there was something new, though he couldn’t place what was different. He reached up to his chin feeling it for pain. Maybe he had been knocked out with a punch?

The man arched one eyebrow almost imperceptibly and stared at Nathen, speaking slowly, “You are being hired for your computer prowess, Mr. Hale. We are aware of your unique abilities to find your way into just about any system you attempt to enter, either legally or illegally. You will be putting your talents to work for us, and for the greater good if I may be so bold. Your first assignment will be to assist us in defeating those who are currently threatening children and their families, a story I am certain you have heard about. I will tell you more once you have officially accepted the position.” The man tapped the on-boarding paperwork that he had pushed over moments before. “And, you did not apply. You are being drafted.”

“I don’t know what you mean by ‘illegal,’” Nathen protested, his mind racing as he tried to figure out if he had done anything to worry about with his latest online endeavors.

Quickly trying to cover up, Nathen explained, “I’m paid to find vulnerabilities in systems, hired by companies to discover and report. And how did I get here? The last thing I remember before waking up here is leaving the doctor’s office.”

Nathen picked up the forms and started reading them, then glanced back up as his thoughts replayed what the man had been saying. It sometimes took him a few minutes to catch up if he wasn’t paying strict attention. “And what do you mean by ‘Vampire?’ Is that the internal project name I’ll be working on?”

The man fixed Nathen with a stern glare. “Do not play games, Mr. Hale. You are what is known by many as a ‘hacker’ and engage in a number of extracurricular activities I am certain you do not wish everyone to know about. But we do know. And that skill set makes you valuable. Please sign, and I will move forward with explaining everything else.”

Nathen thought about it, reasoning that it was a competitive salary for California and appreciated that his family would be covered. Because his mother was an attorney, Nathen knew never to sign a contract without reading it first. Trying to be polite, Nathen asked, “Do you mind if I read over the contract so I know what I am getting into?”

The man waved his hand, a gesture of patient permission, with a slight inclination of his head as a way of acknowledgement. One of his hands gently came to rest on the other, both folded in front of him atop the leather portfolio as he stared ahead, returning to a state of perfect calm.

Purchase

NineStar Press | Amazon | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Meet the Author

Connal Braginsky is a software engineer who lives in San Diego, California. Diagnosed with high functioning autism, Connal sometimes struggles in social situations, but has an inner world that is always incredibly rich. With an insatiable thirst for knowledge about many esoteric things, Connal brings a lot of personal philosophies and interests to writing.

Sean Ian O’Meidhir is a psychologist who lives in San Francisco, California. Sean is a hedonist who believes in living for today, living every day to the fullest, and enjoying as much as possible. Sean has been gaming since adolescence and has written about and played hundreds of lives, reveling in the chance to take on new personalities, dramas, even disorders.

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Release Blitz + Giveaway: Finding Fisher by M.J. James


M.J. James and IndiGo Marketing host today's release blitz for Finding Fisher! Learn more and enter in the $10 NineStar Press credit giveaway!


Title: Finding Fisher
Author: M.J. James
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: May 11, 2020
Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 62600
Genre: Contemporary, contemporary, dark, family drama, hurt-comfort, reunited, tearjerker

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Synopsis

When Ian Fisher walked away from his life a year ago, he had no plans to ever return to where he grew up. However, after a run-in with the cops, he’s forced to move in with his sister Rachel—in his dead parents’ house.

Back home, Ian can’t stop thinking about his ex, Sam. He still loves him and knows Sam loves him too, and he will stop at nothing to convince Sam to face his true feelings. But Sam has moved on. He has a fiancé, and he rejects Ian’s repeated attempts to fix their relationship. Ian deals with those rejections by getting lost in the bottom of a bottle, refusing to face how messed up his life truly is.

After weeks in the hospital—the victim of a viscous hate crime—and learning of Sam’s upcoming wedding, Ian has no choice but to fix his life to show Sam that he can be the man he needs. But rehab changes Ian, and he just might be ready to say goodbye to Sam forever.

Through addiction, violence, and self-preservation, Ian must learn to accept himself if he hopes to win back the man he loves.

Excerpt

Finding Fisher
M.J. James © 2020
All Rights Reserved

Waking up in your own vomit sucked. For Ian Fisher, sleeping facedown in the previous night’s dinner was more the norm than not. He had lost count months ago how many times he’d been jackknifed over a toilet as the sun came up, regurgitating the pain of the day before. Every single time, he remembered exactly how shitty his life had become and how bad he had fucked everything up. As last night’s brew rumbled in his gut and he started to come around, things sure as hell smelled like any other day.

The rancid stench of stale beer that had stewed in stomach acid all night; the sour smell of piss-soaked pants, still warm against his crotch; the chalky taste of God knows how many different drugs clinging to the walls of his mouth. The all too familiar odors crept up his nose and down his throat, and Ian pulled himself off the floor. He stepped over people he didn’t even know as he hugged the wall to the bathroom, ignoring the merry-go-round he could never get off. He had to piss. And puke. No time to choose so he did them both at once. Warmth snaking down his leg and the putrid stink slapping him in the face only made him heave harder into the toilet. Chunks of—shit, what had he eaten?—something plopped in the grungy bowl, the rot and funk watering his eyes. He shut off his brain like always, letting his body fend for itself until the torture ended. After emptying his gut, he slid to the floor and curled into the fetal position; the tiles cool against his skin.

What the fuck am I doing?

He had asked himself the same question before, hundreds of times over the past year or so. Each time, no answer. Just silence. This time, if he closed his eyes tight and blocked out the nausea and the pain and listened close, he could hear a faint voice, a whisper, repeating over and over in his head:

Stop, stop, stop.

He opened his eyes. The carnival ride that had become his life had begun its last revolution, the spinning slowing to a manageable speed. He gripped the bowl he’d just poured his guts into and pulled himself up. He rested against the rim, the chill of the porcelain blanketing his back in goose bumps. He wasted a quick second wondering where his shirt had disappeared to before shaking the thought from his head. No doubt the shirt was trashed, sopping wet with his own sick.

Though he took longer than last time, Ian somehow managed to stand. His newborn-like legs threatened to give him one last fuck you as they shook and wobbled. He braced against the vanity, eyes focused on a half-squeezed toothpaste tube, an old Tampax box, a couple of empty condom wrappers, anything to stop the urge to say “fuck this” and dunk his head in the toilet again. Once he had his center of gravity back on track, he raised his head.

Big mistake.

His reflection in the scum-streaked mirror hanging over the sink scared the hell out of him. He had aged well beyond his 24 years. Like something straight out of The Walking Dead. Like he had been rotting for, well, a year. Because he had. A slow, painful one. A deliberate one. A rot from the inside out. The decay had started deep, quiet and stealthy and hidden, but had begun to show around the edges, reaching the surface so others could see what he had known all along. He couldn’t ignore this anymore. Time to choose: stop the rot, or let death consume him.

He slid achy hands over the faucet and gave the chrome fingers a slow turn before scooping up the cool water and drenching his face. Over. And over. And over. More water. Deluges of water. His eyes burned like a son of a bitch, but he kept up the onslaught. He scrubbed and scrubbed as he splashed, more desperate than ever to be clean. He needed a shower.

Nope. A shit idea if ever he had one. The room still spun like a top, and his legs were itching to give out on him. He kept drowning his face at the sink instead until his brain worked again. Well, as good as possible since he still floated in a cloud of crap left over by whatever the fuck he had ingested last night. A couple more handfuls of water before he picked up a towel and pressed the cotton against his face. He lingered over his eyes, scared to see his haggard reflection again. Every cell in his body wanted to turn around, walk out, and get drunk again. High again. Mind-numbingly wasted again.

No. Fuck that. Do it.

He dropped the towel and stared at himself. Stared hard at his reflection. The deep-set, blackened eye sockets. The sunken, pocked cheeks. Chapped lips. Greasy hair.

“Fuckin’ loser,” he eked out, his voice a jagged rasp, wedged between a whisper and early morning smoker’s growl. He punched the mirror. Again. Again. Over and over until glass crawled deep under his skin and pushed blood from his veins.

He couldn’t do this anymore.

Shit. He couldn’t remember the last time he had thought those words. Not in the past year, for sure. He hadn’t wanted to think dick in the past year. Just get drunk. Stay drunk. Get high. Stay high.

But now…

Ian shook his head. Crammed his hand in his pocket and pulled out salvation.

“Fuck it.” One last glance at himself as the drug-of-the-moment skated over his mind and wiped out thoughts of fixing anything.

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Meet the Author

I’ve always wanted to be a writer (like most writers, I’m sure) but not until the last few years have I taken it seriously. I was always told growing up that I had to get a job and “earn my keep,” so I pushed my dream of writing a book to the back of my mind and entered the workforce. Fast-forward many, many years and here I am, trying to make a go at it.

I stumbled across Blogger in 2010 and my world of writing exploded. I have met (via the web) so many amazing writers and industry professionals and book bloggers that have passed on their wisdom and experience and successes and failures. So many, in fact, that I have no excuse to sit down and write out the stories living in my head. Which is what I’m now attempting to do.

I enjoy reading more than most other things (well, except maybe for writing. And TV. No way am I giving up my TV) . OUT OF THE ASHES is my first foray into the world of adult m/m and I am loving it!

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Release Blitz + Giveaway: Out in Spring (Out in College #6) by Lane Hayes


Author Lane Hayes and IndiGo Marketing celebrate the newest release, Out in Spring (Out in College #6)! Find out more about the new adult hockey romance and enter in the $25 Amazon gift card giveaway today!


Title: Out in Spring
Series: Out in College, Book 6
Author: Lane Hayes
Publisher: Lane Hayes
Release Date: May 8, 2020
Heat Level: 4 - Lots of Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 28k
Genre: Romance, New Adult, Bisexual, Jock and Nerd, College romance, Hockey, Humor

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Synopsis

The jock, the nerd, and a little spring fever…

Ned-

I don’t understand hockey at all. Or any sport. Attending a team party with my best friend might be a mistake. As an out and proud geek, I admit that hanging out with a bunch of jocks and their admirers isn’t my idea of fun, but getting kidnapped by a sexy hockey player who claims to have a crush on me is definitely a highlight. And finding out that Logan St. James is bisexual makes everything more interesting.

Logan-

Keeping my big bi secret hasn’t been easy. I have a couple of months of college left and one more game to play. I’m determined to make the most of it and spend as much time as possible with the sexy guy I’ve had a crush on since freshman year. I don’t want this to be over. There must be a way to come out in spring.

Out in Spring is a low-angst MM, bisexual awakening staring a hunky hockey player, a sweet-natured geek, and a little college fun. This story is part of the Out in College series, but each book can be read as a stand-alone.

Excerpt

“Let’s see how many times we can go across the monkey bars without stopping. In other words, go to the slide and back until your arms give up on you. Winner chooses the next contest and—”

“Hold on. That’s not fair. We both know you’re going to win.”

“Yeah, that’s true. I’ll collect the first prize. Something easy…like you have to answer a truth or dare question. Ready?”

“No, you already owe me, remember?”

I did a quick trip across the bars, then dropped to my feet and brushed my hands off. “You’re right. What would you like?”

“Uh…I don’t know.”

“Come on. Think of something. It has to be reasonable, though. I don’t have a million bucks or a year’s supply of M&M’s in my truck,” I warned.

Ned lifted a brow. “Really? You have T-shirts and sweatshirts. Why don’t you have M&M’s?”

“That’s a genius question. I need to fix that ASAP. Truth is, I live out of my truck. Not literally, but I’ve got a lot of necessities…shoes, socks, water, a first aid kit, lube, a box of condoms.”

He wrapped his arms around himself and shivered. “How about a blanket?”

“Yep. Wait here. And watch out for fairies.”

I ran to my SUV, pulled a wool plaid blanket from the trunk, and hurried to find Ned sitting on the pirate ship with his legs dangling off the edge. I climbed the short set of stairs and draped the blanket over his shoulders.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Cozy up, ’cause this could take a while.” I flexed my knuckles and started to reach for the first bar, but paused instead. “Or do you want to go first?”

“No, thanks. I’m not good at anything that requires coordination. And those bars are germy. I have Purell in my pocket, but when I fall—”

“I’ll catch you,” I intercepted. “YOLO, Nedster. I don’t want to go back to that party, and I don’t really want to go home. And you don’t either.”

“I don’t?”

“Nope. You’d rather hang out with me.” I waggled my brows comically.

I jumped from the pirate ship before he could argue, then pointed at the bar above me and motioned for him to get moving.

“What about the blanket?” He chuckled when I rolled my eyes. “Okay, fine. But I want to change the rules. If I get to the other side without falling, I should get another prize.”

“Another one? That seems kinda greedy, but all right,” I teased, crooking my forefinger.

“Here goes nothing.” Ned sighed as he stood, glancing from the row of bars to me and back again. He clutched the first one with both hands…and immediately fell.

I caught him around his waist and held him closer than necessary, so he brushed my chest before his feet hit the ground. I didn’t let him go. I stared at his mouth and licked my lips. “It’s okay. Try it again.”

“Um…all right.” Ned let out a nervous chuckle as he set one hand on my shoulder and the other on the bar.

I let go when he gripped both hands around one bar, then reached for the next. And the next. At the halfway mark I cheered him on with a loud whoop, pumping my fist in the air and counting down the bars left. Five, four, three, two…

He dropped like a lead balloon…and sure, I caught him again. But let’s get something straight. Ned wasn’t a small person. Sure, he was on the skinny side, but he was at least six feet tall. I didn’t exactly “catch” him. It was more a matter of pulling him against me and holding on. I fully admit that my maneuver was premeditated. But my goofy, off-the-cuff quest to steal a few more minutes with my crush backfired big time. I didn’t count on my body’s reaction.

I swallowed hard and brushed my sleeve over my nose. “Maybe we should, um…”

He nodded, but he didn’t move. And neither did I.

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Meet the Author

Lane Hayes is grateful to finally be doing what she loves best. Writing full-time! It’s no secret Lane loves a good romance novel. An avid reader from an early age, she has always been drawn to well-told love story with beautifully written characters. These days she prefers the leading roles to both be men. Lane discovered the M/M genre a few years ago and was instantly hooked. Her debut novel was a 2013 Rainbow Award finalist and subsequent books have received Honorable Mentions, and were winners in the 2016, 2017, and 2018-2019 Rainbow Awards. She loves red wine, chocolate and travel (in no particular order). Lane lives in Southern California with her amazing husband in a newly empty nest.

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Release Blitz + Giveaway: Hungry for Love by Rick R. Reed


Hungry for Love is out from NineStar Press! Join author Rick R. Reed and IndiGo Marketing in today's festivities! Learn more about the contemporary romance and enter in the $10 NSP credit giveaway!


Title: Hungry for Love
Author: Rick R. Reed
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: May 11, 2020
Heat Level: 2 - Fade to Black Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 63300
Genre: Contemporary, LGBTQIA+, romance, author, dating sites, dishonesty, duplicity, best friends

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Synopsis

Nate Tippie and Brandon Wilde are gay, single, and hoping to meet that special man, even though fate has not yet delivered him to their doorstep.

Nate’s sister, Hannah, and her kooky BFF, Marilyn, are poised to help fate with that task by creating a profile on the gay dating site, OpenHeartOpenMind. They are only exploring, but when a face and body are needed for the created persona, they use Nate as the model.

When Brandon comes across the false profile, he falls for the guy he sees online. Keeping up the charade, Hannah begins corresponding with him, posing as Nate.

However, real complications begin when Brandon wants to meet Nate, who doesn’t know he’s being used in the online dating ruse. Hannah and Marilyn concoct another story and send Nate out to let the guy down gently. But when Nate and Brandon meet, they feel an instant and powerful pull toward each other. Cupid seems to have shot his bow, but how do Nate and Brandon climb out from under a mountain of deceit without letting go of their chance at love?

Excerpt

Hungry for Love
Rick R. Reed © 2020
All Rights Reserved

Brandon Wylde faced the form on his iMac screen with something akin to terror. Or maybe the emotion causing his mind to go blank and his heart to beat more swiftly could more rightly be called performance anxiety.

What was causing this fear of failure and quickened breath was the registration page for a gay dating website called OpenHeartOpenMind. Brandon had been all over the Internet, searching for a site that would put him in touch with other gay men looking for romance and the promise of something lasting and not for hookups. Now, there was no shortage of the former—the hookup sites were rampant, and as much as Brandon felt that “to each his own” was a motto worth living by, these sites were not his own. A close-up picture of an asshole (in the literal sense) or a hard dick might be titillating to some, but to Brandon it was simply a bore. How could one tell if one wanted to even “hook up” when seeing only a faceless body part? The idea gave Brandon the creeps. Did we have sex with genitals alone? No, we had sex with entire human beings, for Christ’s sake. No matter how big and thick the dick was or how open and inviting the asshole (literal, again), Brandon couldn’t imagine a meeting of any sort with simply a body part.

His “pickiness,” as his man-whore friend Christian always said, was what kept Brandon alone and yearning at age twenty-nine. “Just go online. You can have a hot guy delivered to your door within an hour, like a pizza, a delicious, mouthwatering pepperoni pizza. Hold the cheese!”

Christian was no stranger to the embraces of many men, culled from sites like Manhunt, Adam4Adam, or Craigslist (or as Margaret Cho referred to it—the Penny Saver of dick) and, more lately, Grindr and Scruff. Christian swore by these electronic connections and, as far as Brandon could tell from their happy-hour conversations, took advantage of their charms on an almost daily basis.

Brandon shook his head and wondered if what Christian was shopping for online was more a fix than a human connection.

Brandon knew what he himself was, what he had, and the condition was incurable.

He was a romantic. As much as his hormones told him that all he really required in this world was a warm place to bury his dick, his more developed senses begged to differ.

Brandon wanted someone with whom he felt a special connection, someone with whom there was that magical spark he read about in the gay romance novels he devoured with increasing frequency, to fill the void missing in his life. Brandon wanted chocolates and flowers. He wanted love poetry. He wanted surprise weekend getaways to remote mountain cabins or quaint bed-and-breakfasts. He wanted someone to curl up next to on the couch, falling asleep together to some old black-and-white movie.

He wanted someone with whom he could share not only his body, but his life.

Christian told him, “You’re never going to find the man of your dreams, unless you bring some of those wet dreams you’re still having at your advanced age to life! Just get laid! No man’s going to buy the merchandise without a free sample.”

Really, Christian? Really? And why are you still alone, then? Brandon knew Christian spent almost all of his free time online. Hell, Brandon could even count on Christian to be on his phone, on Grindr or Scruff, when they were out to dinner or one of the clubs. Brandon would twiddle his thumbs with Christian nearby, oblivious and texting furiously, always on the prowl for his next hookup, who usually lurked somewhere nearby.

Why was the man never satisfied?

Brandon had a secret, one which he had never shared with anyone, especially Christian.

He was almost a virgin. He had only two pathetic sexual experiences on his résumé. First, there was an embarrassing, guilt-ridden “affair” back in high school that had lasted for all of two weeks (although Brandon wished for more). And the one time, back in college, when he had met his second paramour in the basement men’s room of King Library on the Miami University (Ohio) campus. The guy wanted Brandon simply to kneel down between the stalls so he could blow him, but Brandon was far too fearful to engage in such an act and even then, he wanted more—like to see his cocksucker’s face. Besides, Brandon wasn’t even sure why the guy kept putting his hand under the stall, not knowing then it was a signal for him to kneel on the floor. So Brandon, romantic at heart that he was, simply grasped the signaling hand and held it.

This prompted his tearoom trick to flee the bathroom—and Brandon followed him outside.

Somehow, in the stairwell outside the men’s room, Brandon convinced his bathroom suitor to take him home, to an off-campus apartment where the two young men quickly and furtively got one another off, worried about the imminent arrival of the guy’s straight roommate.

That experience, sordid and unsatisfying as it was, left in Brandon a desire to chase windmills, if that’s what his idealism could be called. Brandon was not going to settle. If he couldn’t have the whole enchilada (the enchilada being a relationship that was satisfying not only on a physical level, but also on an emotional one), he wanted none of it.

Unfortunately for Brandon, he had come of age during a time when Internet and even smartphone connections made hooking up fast and efficient. Brandon conceded those connections might possess those benefits, but they were not for him.

He was interested in both of a man’s heads, thank you very much. And he would not settle for less.

He believed a man who thought the same was out there. Somewhere.

Which is what brought him, right now, to the registration site for OpenHeartOpenMind. When he had finally landed upon the dating website, he was thrilled to find their mission statement on the home page, one that dovetailed with his own inclinations.

It read:

We here at OpenHeartOpenMind believe in old-fashioned romance. If you’re looking for impersonal, easy sex and lots of it, there are plenty of other sites that cater to your interests. Go for them.

OpenHeartOpenMind is for the man who wants to date, who knows that sometimes delayed gratification can make the rewards all the sweeter.

OpenHeartOpenMind is for gay men who think the road to love is paved not just with physical attraction (although we’d be lying if we said that doesn’t play a big part!), but with mutual respect, shared interests, and the common goal of wanting more than just merging genitals, but merging hearts and minds as well.

Good luck on your dating journey!

Below the mission statement were icons that urged the potential user to sign up and the current user to sign in.

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NineStar Press | Amazon | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble | Kobo


Meet the Author

Real Men. True Love.

Rick R. Reed is an award-winning and bestselling author of more than fifty works of published fiction. He is a Lambda Literary Award finalist. Entertainment Weekly has described his work as “heartrending and sensitive.” Lambda Literary has called him: “A writer that doesn’t disappoint…” Find him at www.rickrreedreality.blogspot.com. Rick lives in Palm Springs, CA, with his husband, Bruce, and their fierce Chihuahua/Shiba Inu mix, Kodi.

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