Release Blitz: Heat: An ABCs of Love Novel by T.L. Travis

Author T.L. Travis and Gay Book Promotions celebrate new release, Heat: An ABCs of Love Novel! Find out more about the contemporary romance today!
 

RELEASE BLITZ

Book Title: Heat: An ABCs of Love Novel

Author and Publisher: TL Travis

Cover Artist: Nicole Blanchard

Release Date: May 26, 2022

Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance

Tropes: Opposites attract, forced proximity

Themes: Coming out later in life, small town romance

Heat Rating:  3 - 4 flames

Length: 175 pages

It is a standalone story and does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

Buy Links - Available in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US  |  Amazon UK

Can two opposites in forced proximity learn to play nicely or will one wind up in an iron grave?

Blurb 

What do you get when you throw a burly blacksmith and the town’s poster child for clumsiness together?

A whole lot of swearing and a threatening use of duct tape.

And the need to construct a sign that reads, “DO NOT LET CAMPBELL NEAR THE FORGE!”

Alabaster Falls’ local blacksmith, Daughtry Blackburn, was satisfied with his reclusive status. He had iron to bend and orders to fill but he knew he needed something to take the business to the next level. His father had fought taking their business into the twenty-first century, but since he’d passed, it was up to Daughtry to keep things forward moving and he knew there was no way to do so without being on the World Wide Web. Metalworking, he got. Computers, not so much.

Campbell Jenkins was desperate to be accepted by his peers in the little town he’d called home since birth. Problem was, he was accident-prone. Not just in the sense of an occasional break here or there, but in a can’t walk by glass without it shattering – even when it seemed he was a mile away type of thing. No matter how hard he tried to fit in, this curse led to failure. Forced to stay stuck inside the walls of the home his grandmother left him, he spent his time learning all he could about computers and social media. His online friends never cast him aside—too bad the real world wasn’t as kind.

When he answers an ad in the local paper for online marketing assistance, he wasn’t sure what to expect. Least of all, the brawny man answering the door to a log cabin that had seen better days.

Can two opposites in forced proximity learn to play nicely or will one wind up in an iron grave?

Excerpt 

Daughtry

Life is iron.

Iron is life.

Nothing makes me happier.

Then why am I so danged frustrated?

I slammed the hammer down on the flaming red piece of steel I’d just pulled from the forge, and laid across the anvil, and tirelessly pounded on it. Another horseshoe, I could make the damn things in my sleep. The sound of metal striking metal echoed through the shop. I get lost in my work for hours on end, just as my pops had, just as my granddad before him had too. Blackburn Iron Works had been in the family for generations. We were born to forge. You can spot our work from Alabaster Falls, Virginia to North Dakota. Folks come from far and wide to purchase our wares. How they heard about it is all word of mouth though that’s something I’m aiming to change. Just need to find the right internet guru to get it up and running for me.

Back to my current predicament. Lately, I’ve found myself wound up tighter than a skeeter in a bug zapper. I don’t know what my deal was. Only thing that came to mind was my thirtieth birthday was nearing, not that it matters much, but the restlessness was becoming harder to ignore. I never was one to celebrate. I’ve got a lot of acquaintances but not many friends so nowhere to go, no one to go be with. I ain’t never been one for bars and I don’t date. Never done much of anything outside of mold metal into what I wanted it to be. Yeah, I need to get out more.

Shortly after I was born, my momma up and took off. Told Pops this wasn’t the life she wanted for herself, and she was tired of being trapped in this godforsaken town. I never saw Alabaster like that, not sure why she did. Folks are plenty nice ‘round here. Pops was heartbroken though, loved her more than life itself. Well, not more than he loved me, but that’s a different kind of love. He called me his pride and joy, the best thing that ever happened to him. Pops and I, we were close. That’s why when he had that heart attack that took him a couple of years back, I was pretty broken up over it, still am if truth be told.

I tossed the horseshoe into the finished pile for Mr. Parker and buried myself in the orders I had for a couple of gates for a local cattle rancher which would be easy to finish in no time. Just kept busy and pushed through whatever this was going on with me. I’ve done some ornate work here and there down at City Hall, made a new balustrade to line the entry steps. Most of the stuff I make on the side, locals call it my fancy stuff, is just collecting dust in Pops’ old office. Folks around here in Alabaster Falls are pretty simple, and I like it that way but they don’t do ‘fancy’. Nobody gets in my business, well, outside of trying to find me a wife. I hear the rumor mill, so I know what’s going on around town and it seems everybody’s focus was on lining up willing females for me. As long as I don’t make any waves, ain’t nobody gonna send any my way or at least that’s how it’s been, and I hope it stays that way.

About the Author 

TL Travis is the published author of a plethora of LGBTQ+ and contemporary romance and erotic musings that have earned her a “Best-Selling Author” flag in the US as well as Internationally.

In her spare time, when she’s not weaving steamy webs, she enjoys spending time with her family, fishing, wine tasting and people watching. Everyone has a story to tell, half the fun is dreaming up with what it is.

TL’s surrounded by her 4-legged rescue family, her sons and adorable grandkids.

She will continue saving furry friends in need for as long as she breathes. Tl would like to remind you to “Adopt, not shop.” Saving that lost soul may very well save yours.

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Guest Review: The Blacksmith and the Ex-Con (Farthingdale Ranch #2) by Jackie North

“If anybody ever needed him, Ellis did. Ellis was broken. Jasper liked to fix things.”

Jasper has the perfect life. He’s a blacksmith at a small guest ranch in Wyoming. The last thing he needs is to have that perfect life interrupted by a shifty-eyed ex-con, but the ranch needs the tax benefits the ex-con program will bring.

Traumatized by his time in prison, Ellis can barely speak. He’s about to be offered parole. He knows he will hate working on the guest ranch, but what other option does he have?

It’s not love at first sight. It’s not hate at first sight, either, but something in between.

A gay m/m cowboy romance with age gap, hurt/comfort, opposites attract, forced intimacy, emotional scars, trauma leading to mutism, grumpy/grumpy, and baths. A little sweet, a little steamy, with a guaranteed HEA.

Reviewer: Annery

This is the second book in the Farthingdale Ranch series and while reading Bk.1 is absolutely not necessary it kind of does set the tone for the theme(s) of the story and the world it inhabits: redemption and acceptance. Perfectly admirable and yet … I was underwhelmed?

Jasper is thirty-two (32), outwardly the curmudgeonly blacksmith/farrier of the Farthingdale Ranch but in fact harbors a heart of gold, one with strong caretaker tendencies. That’s a lucky break for Ellis Bowman, twenty-four (24), a recent parolee whom the ranch has taken on as part of a work release program which awards tax incentives which the ranch sorely needs. Ellis arrives at the ranch exhibiting a kind of selective mutism, unable to speak due to recent trauma suffered in prison and his personal life. Fortunately, he’s assigned to be Jasper’s apprentice/helper and Jasper, having been in the army and seen this kind of PTSD in colleagues, quickly grasps a way of communicating with Ellis and allowing him space to breathe.

I really liked these aspects of the story, the care and sense of comfort Jasper readily provides for Ellis, an absolute stranger. It may be Utopic, thinking that humans can and do deal with each other in such a way, but one can dream. Also, this being a romance, there is an attraction but it’s not a thunderbolt & lightning immediate thing. In fact IMO the sexual part of the relationship between Jasper & Ellis starts off as more of a comfort thing for Ellis, something he learned to do in prison to make himself feel better while keeping the peace with fellow inmates. No spoilers but Ellis does have a bit of an oral fixation. Jasper, though surprised, is willing to accommodate him. I enjoyed their carnality quite a bit. They were a good match.

I liked that Ellis, at least in his own mind or the author’s narrative, isn’t ashamed or shy about admitting to the sexual encounters he had while in prison, that some were involuntary but necessary for survival, and that, right or wrong, he came to crave these “relationships”. I also liked that there was no “Ellis was wrongfully convicted for a crime he didn’t commit” aspect. I appreciate the honesty.

What didn’t work so well for me:*maybe slightly spoilerish?*

Ellis’s whole journey from teacher to convicted drug dealer to parolee having served two years in prison seemed to be a lot for someone who’s only just twenty-four. The timeline doesn’t bear any kind of scrutiny.

Like the first book everything happens in a week which is way too brief a time for all of what transpires in the book relationship wise for Jasper & Ellis and everyone else in the ranch.

There’s also an unnecessary debacle with the town villain which adds nothing to the story save maybe to show that the ranch will go to bat for Ellis which is fine, but going back to the narrative time thing, I don’t know that he’d earned that yet.

If you’re not fussy or just want a warm, cuddly, “there’s good in the world & everyone finds their person/place” read this could fit the bill quite nicely. Just squint a bit.

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

Tag Team Review: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Amy Rae Durreson

A workaholic teacher and a cranky blacksmith investigate a haunted orphanage in the remote Scottish Borders. What they find together might help them heal the wounds of their pasts… if they survive.

When the charity Leon works for inherits the orphanage, he travels north to see if the site is suitable for a new school. But Vainguard is a place of dark secrets, and Leon unearths a mystery about four children who died there in 1944—a tragic tale with an uncanny connection to the death of Leon’s parents.

Still bitter and guilt-ridden over his daughter’s death, farrier Niall joins Leon in uncovering Vainguard’s cruel history, including not just abuse but a tale about a vengeful spirit preying on local children. As the orphanage’s disturbing past comes to light, another child goes missing.

Niall and Leon know they don’t have long before the child falls victim to a legend straight from the Borders’ blood-soaked past.

4.125 Hearts average

Adam - 3.75 hearts


Amy Rae Durreson always manages to get the right mix of romantic and downright spooky!

Leon is sent to the remote Scottish Borders to explore an opportunity to open a new charitable school in the region. He receives a less-than-happy welcome from Niall, the local farrier.

But even more unsettling is the forbidding building, Vainguard, that Leon was sent to investigate - and it becomes even more so as the days pass.

I’ll admit that I don’t handle paranormal suspense/thrills that well. I will flail at jumpscares. But what really gets to me is atmosphere.

And this book nailed atmosphere with a dark and brooding tension that slowly builds.

Consider me appropriately creeped out!

The story follows Leon as he discovers the horrifying details of Vaiguard and the surrounding area’s past. And how it all connects to him, with past and present colliding.

I really liked Leon. He has some serious blinders on when it comes to his adoptive family, but his heart is always in the right place.

Niall, for his part, is a bit of a cranky asshat at first. But once he looks past his own anger and sorrow, he can’t help the gruff affection he develops for Leon.

This isn’t a steamy book at all, but the connection between Niall and Leon is palpable.

The romance between the two men builds gradually, with many ups and downs. They’re both skittish and have a lot of baggage.

Leon still deals with the anxiety and flashbacks caused by the childhood car accident that killed his parents, while Niall’s sorrow for his deceased daughter is more fresh.

And yet the draw is undeniable. They become each other’s shoulder to lean on, and heal together.

Their relationship grows in tandem to their discovery of the secrets of Vainguard. And with that discovery comes the realization that their own sad stories are intertwined.

I won’t give away the plot, but I will say that it was creepy enough to make my heart pound at times. Nothing like murderous spirits to really get the blood pumping.

The resolution was wildly entertaining, and gave Leon and Niall the happy ending they deserved!

If you’re looking for a paranormal MM thriller, I’d definitely recommend ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’!


Ann - 4.5 Hearts

This book was full on atmosphere and a half, I got sucked into the world of wicked right away. I do love me a creepy ghosty story and Something Wicked This Way Comes delivered. There were MCs I connected to, a haunted orphange, likable secondary characters, some light horror and some optimistic romance.

The mystery that surrounds Vainguard is fascinating and not overdone. By that I mean, it’s balanced with good character development and a fully fleshed out tale beyond just the mystery of what happened to the orphans. And the author tied it all together in a way that made the story flow so well, I didn’t want to put it down. You know how sometimes, you’ll be reading a book and it shifts gears in either time or plot and you get a little bummed because you were just immersed in that particular plot point and you had to refocus? That doesn’t happen here, it just, well, it just flowed. The author struck a balance among all the elements that just plain worked from start to finish.

Leon and Niall are opposites on paper in just about every aspect, but they were the good kind of opposites that complement one another and appreciate their differences. I liked them both separately, even in Niall’s grumpiest of states, but I got even more out of my enjoyment when they started falling in more than just lust. They really brought the best out of one another and they showed me how they felt, I didn’t feel like I was being told about a romance.

The mystery was heartbreaking and just supernatural enough to keep me on edge, but not so much that the humanity was lost along the way. There was a hopeful air that made me look forward to keep on, keeping on to see what happened to the orphans, what the hell happened to Niall, and how was Leon going to make Vainguard work for the kids (being that it was haunted and evil and whatnot).

The resolution of all the things was satisfying and not so neat that it brought down the mystery that had been built. Niall and Leon deserved every bit of HEA they worked for.

Blog Tour: Making the Holidays Happy Again by Pat Henshaw

Pat Henshaw and Other Worlds Ink share info today about holiday romance, Making the Holidays Happy Again! The short story can be found from Dreamspinner Press 2019 Advent Anthology! Learn more today!

Pat Henshaw has a new MM holiday romance out: "Making the Holidays Happy Again."

Blacksmith Butch has secretly loved his best friend, science nerd Jimmy, since grade school. Now their shops in Old Town Seven Winds, California, are only doors from each other.

They’re about to turn thirty, and Butch refuses to wait another day to make a decision: propose to Jimmy and start the family he’s always wanted or forget his dream to avoid risking their friendship.

Why can’t the choice be as easy as creating decorative ironwork in his forge?


Dreamspinner | QueeRomance Ink | Amazon | Amazon UK | B&N | Google Play

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Excerpt

“Okay, what’s up?” I sat on the bench with my back against the bricks at the Old Time Pub. “You’ve been pissed since last week.”

My best friend and secret love of my life Jimmy glared but didn’t answer. We’d known each other for so long that I waited him out like usual. I crossed my pumped arms and sat back, smelling my sweat-soaked T-shirt in the AC blowing around us.

The past summer in Seven Winds, once a Gold Rush town in California’s northern Sierra Nevada mountains and now a tourist trap, had been brutal. A record number of days over one hundred degrees had turned a lot of the shop owners into snarling dogs.

As the resident blacksmith, I took the heat as business as usual. So I was hot and sweaty? I was always hot and sweaty. The day I ain’t I was either sick or dead.

I figured Jimmy’s problem was more than the heat though. He’d been acting funny lately. Like he had something caught in his craw but he couldn’t spit it out.

Jimmy wasn’t looking at me, but down at his hands. They was long and thin, completely different from mine. I had a collection of burns and scratches, scars from the forge and the tools and all.

His hands was pale white with a bunch of freckles that went with the freckles all over the rest of his body. When we was kids, the tiny red hairs on his arms stood out almost more than his carroty hair. The bright red had changed as he got older and was now more muted. Me? I’d stayed hairy brown all over.

I tapped his hand with my blunt fingers.

“Whatever it is, you know you can just spit it out.”

He stared at me, and I swear his green eyes got darker. He was making me uneasy. What the hell was wrong?

“You ever look at your life, Butch, and ask yourself, ‘Is this all there is?’” He sighed. What the fuck? What had gotten into him? “Don’t give me that look. You’ve got to know what I’m talking about.”

“Sure. But you know me. Something’s wrong, I make it right.” Takes me time but I figure it out eventually. “So, uh, what’s wrong with your life?” I wanted to make a joke and laugh, but he was too damned serious. And Jimmy’s never this serious.

“I mean, look at us. We work all day in our shops. We make good money. We got nothing to spend it on but ourselves. We go out drinking with the guys on the weekends. Or we go into the city to a game. Or we go fishing, camping, riding around.” He shook his head. “But in the end, what have we got?”

“Fun. Friendship. I don’t know. Life?” It wasn’t much of an answer. I knew where he was coming from. I figured it was because we was about to turn thirty after Christmas and it was time for us to grow up. I’d been thinking on it a lot lately.

“Don’t you want something else, Butch? Something more? Something better?” He sounded desperate, like he was drowning and I wasn’t saving him.

“Yeah, sure. I guess. I mean, I want a husband, a house, a dog, you know, stuff like we talked about when we was kids.” I’d had it mostly planned out. I’d been saving my money.

I was surprised Jimmy hadn’t already figured it out. He was usually two steps ahead of me in everything. “Okay, I gotta ask. What brought all of this on? What happened?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve been sitting around thinking lately. And mom’s been on me to move out.”

His mother Hazel’s a character. She’s an old hippie with graying auburn hair and grass green eyes. Her face is a roadmap of lines cuz she spends so much time outdoors. And she worries. She thinks we need her to run our lives. We mostly let her think that even though it’s not true.

“She says she wants me to move out of the farmhouse.” Jimmy said it like it was a death sentence.

“So? Isn’t that what you always wanted to do?”

He shrugged, then nodded, reluctant like. “I guess.”

“Jimmy, you’ve always talked about living in your own place.”

Once I thought me and him would get together, and, you know, live happily ever after. But then he became a doctor of chemistry and natural medicine. I never finished high school.

“Yes, I know. You’re right. I’ve wanted to move out for a while now.” Jimmy sighed. “But this feels like her trying to push me out. I don’t like to be pushed.”

“I don’t get the problem. You know what you want already.”

He laughed. “I don’t like to be pushed by my mother.”

“So the Apple Festival is coming up, and I’m making some changes,” I said, moving on to another subject.

“Yeah? What’s up? Whare are you doing?”

“I wanna make the shop more family friendly.”

He looked at me weird.

“I don’t get it, Butch. This isn’t like you.” He ran a hand through his shaggy hair. “You’re making me nervous. First my mother, now you. Why is everybody so hot to change suddenly?”

“It’s like you said.” I hunkered down, putting my elbows on the table and spreading out my hands. “I took a look at my life. I figure if I don’t do something to get settled, it ain’t gonna just fall in my lap. The Big Three Oh is the first step to the rest of my life. If I don’t get my shit together, nobody’s gonna hand my life to me. I may not know everything, but I know it’s up to me to do it myself.” I shot him a frown. “And you know it too.”

He nodded and looked like dog meat.

I may not have solved his problem of moving out or nothing like that, but maybe we was finally on the same page. Maybe.

I was making changes. He had to decide on his own life.

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Author Bio

Pat Henshaw:

1. Is a she, not a he.
2. Writes MM romances.
3. Has interviewed Arlo Guthrie, Big Bird, Fred Rogers, Liberace, and Vincent Price.
4. Has lived and worked on all three US coasts and in the middle of the country, too.
5. Has been a reviewer, costumer, librarian, and teacher.
6. Has ridden an elephant, touched the pyramids, and stood at the edge of a volcano.
7. Believes love is essential to everyone's happiness.

She wants you to remember: Every day is a good day for romance!

Author Website: http://www.pathenshaw.com

Author Facebook (Personal): https://www.facebook.com/pat.henshaw.10

Author Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/phenshaw

Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6998437.Pat_Henshaw

Author QueeRomance Ink: https://www.queeromanceink.com/mbm-book-author/pat-henshaw/

Author Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/e/B00BPDEDEA