Showing posts with label Funeral Director. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Funeral Director. Show all posts

Release Blitz + Giveaway: Kraken My Heart (Sucker For Love Mysteries #2) by K.L. Hiers


Author K.L. Hiers and Gay Book Promotions return with a promotions for their latest release, Kraken My Heart (Sucker For Love Mysteries #2)! Read more about the paranormal release and enter in the $25 Amazon gift card giveaway!

RELEASE BLITZ

Book Title: Kraken My Heart (Sucker For Love Mysteries Book 2)

Author: K.L. Hiers

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Cover Artist: Tiferet Design

Release Date: May 18, 2021

Genre: Paranormal Gay Romance

Trope/s: Closed Circle Mystery, Guilty Until Proven Innocent, Hemipenes Loving, Finding Love After Heartbreak 

Theme: Love Conquers All

Heat Rating:  5 flames  

Length: 60 000 words/ 191 pages

It is a standalone story, but the author recommends reading the first one.

Add on Goodreads

Buy Links

Amazon US    |   Amazon UK 

It’s just Ted’s luck that he meets the love of his life while covered in the blood of a murder victim.

Blurb

It’s just Ted’s luck that he meets the love of his life while covered in the blood of a murder victim.

Funeral worker Ted Sturm has a foul mouth, a big heart, and a knack for communicating with the dead. Unfortunately, the dead don’t make very good friends, and Ted’s only living pal, his roommate, just rescued a strange cat who’s determined to make his life even more miserable. This cat is more than he seems, and soon Ted finds himself in an alternate dimension… and on top of a dead body.

When Ted is accused of murder, his only ally in a strange world full of powerful magical beings calling for his head is King Grell, a sarcastic, randy, catlike immortal with impressive abilities… and anatomy. The two soon find themselves at the center of a cosmic conspiracy and surrounded by dangerous enemies. But with Ted’s special skills and Grell’s magic, they have a chance to get to the bottom of the mystery and save Ted. There’s just one problem: Ted’s got to resist Grell’s aggressive advances… and he isn’t sure he wants to.

Excerpt 

Carefully, like Ted was navigating through a minefield, he tried to sneak back to his room. Despite his diligent and precise pace, his foot collided with a very large ball of fur just as he walked around the edge of the couch.

Mr. Twigs yowled in protest and promptly bit Ted’s ankle.

“You stupid cat!” Ted growled in pain, his leg jerking and sending the cat stumbling into the wall. His heart dropped in instant regret, and he hurried to turn on a lamp. “Shit! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to, little dude! Are you okay?”

Mr. Twigs was glaring at Ted over his sunglasses and growled loudly. A portal suddenly opened up in the living room floor with flashing bright lights and whipping winds.

Ted froze, staring stupidly at the giant black void in the apartment floor. Being able to create a portal was a very rare skill, and he’d never seen one in person before. “What the…?”

As if the swirling hole wasn’t crazy enough, Mr. Twigs transformed into a very tall, very skinny, and very naked young man. He flashed a smile full of pointed teeth, hissing, “Oh, that’s the last time you kick me, asshole.”

“I didn’t kick you!” Ted argued indignantly. “It was a fucking accidennnnnttt!” he screamed as Mr. Twigs pushed him and sent him toppling headfirst into the portal.

It was like… going down a water slide filled with pudding.

Ted didn’t feel air around him, not exactly, but it was something thick and suffocating. The light all around him was so bright that he couldn’t see, and he thought he had to be dying.

His stomach dropped as if he was falling, but he couldn’t see anything to track his descent. He grunted when he smacked into something solid and wet, the wind knocked right out of his lungs. He wheezed, trying to draw in oxygen and staring up at a high vaulted ceiling.

Ted watched the portal close above him, and he weakly lifted his head to see where he was. He was lying in a puddle of something sticky, and the room was reminiscent of an old castle throne room.

Big ceilings, lots of stained glass, fancy throne….

He was also completely surrounded by monsters.

Giant scaled things with tentacles, humanoids with spiraling horns jutting out of their foreheads, twisted feline creatures with sharp teeth, and fishlike worms were all around him.

Ted scrambled to stand up, but he slipped in the sticky mess beneath him. He could feel the goo all over his back and hands, sliding around as he struggled to get out of it. He bumped into something cold and whirled around to find a dead body.

It was one of the feline creatures, its eyes lifeless and milky, soaking in a puddle of….

Oh God.

It was blood.

“Pardon me, coming through!” a deep voice growled, echoing throughout the massive chamber. “Stand aside! This is official royal business, so move your ass!”

Ted was nauseated, staring up at a human figure pushing his way through the crowd of monsters.

He was short but broad, thick in stature, and sporting a nasty smile full of pointed teeth. Otherwise, he looked quite normal. His hair was jet black, cut close to his scalp, with a well-groomed beard streaked with silver, and his eyes were a spectacular shade of gold, looking over Ted like he was a tasty piece of meat.

He wore a three-piece suit, but it was a much flashier ensemble than Ted would have worn for his job at the funeral home. The jacket and pants were black, but the tie was an obnoxiously bright purple, and he could see a glittering watch chain hanging from the man’s matching purple brocade vest.

“Well, aren’t you just a pretty little thing?” the man greeted. “What’s your name, darling?”

“I’m, I’m…,” Ted stammered, looking around frantically as the monsters backed away. Whoever this man was, he was definitely in charge. There was something about the way he was looking at Ted that made him blush and his heart beat a little faster.

“I’m Ted…. My name is Ted,” he managed to choke out. He wondered if he was dead or if this was some sort of nightmare. His mind was having trouble processing that any of this was real. “Where am I? What is this?”

“Welcome to Xenon, darling,” the man replied. “I’m Thiazi Grell. I was voted most likely to get detained for illegal activities by my primary class, very avid Tetris player, and reigning Miss Pretty Petunia Pageant champion for the last two hundred years. Oh, and King of Xenon. Obviously.”

“Huh?” Ted squeaked.

“Would you like something to drink?” Grell offered. “Something strong. Help you calm down, put some more hair on that luscious chest, come to terms with the murder charges….”

“With the what?”

About the Author 

K.L. “Kat” Hiers is an embalmer, restorative artist, and queer writer. Licensed in both funeral directing and funeral service, she’s been working in the death industry for nearly a decade. Her first love was always telling stories, and she has been writing for over twenty years, penning her very first book at just eight years old. Publishers generally do not accept manuscripts in Hello Kitty notebooks, however, but she never gave up.

Following the success of her first novel, Cold Hard Cash, she now enjoys writing professionally, focusing on spinning tales of sultry passion, exotic worlds, and emotional journeys. She loves attending horror movie conventions and indulging in cosplay of her favorite characters. She lives in Zebulon, NC, with her husband and their children, some of whom have paws and a few that only pretend to because they think it’s cute.

Author Links

Blog/Website  |   Facebook  |  Instagram  |   Newsletter Sign-up

Giveaway 

Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win

a $25 Amazon Gift Card

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions

Follow the tour and check out the other blog posts and reviews here

Guest Review: The Last One to Let You Down by K.L. Hiers

Thomas Hill is a lonely embalmer who's in some big trouble – his ex-boyfriend has been forcing him to illegally sell dangerous chemicals with no signs of stopping, and Tom doesn't know what to do. His situation gets even more complicated when Cypress Holmes, a smoking hot local florist, walks in on Tom making a deal. Cypress agrees to keep quiet, but his silence comes at a price.

Dinner and watching movies together is a strange price to pay, but Tom loves spending time with Cypress. As they grow closer and feelings begin to blossom, they discover that Tom's ex-boyfriend might be into more than just drugs – he might also be a murderer.

Author’s Note: This book includes intense sexual scenes, rough spankings, and depictions of death and embalming as they relate to the funeral industry. If this material offends or may upset you, please don’t read this book.




Reviewer: Annery

If you’re looking for something different, off the beaten path, you're in good hands with K. L. Hiers and in this offering she doesn’t disappoint.

Thomas Hills is an embalmer, a perfectionist of his craft, with perhaps too much empathy for his clients, the dead and the living. As a result he finds himself at thirty five (35) as lonely as a dog without his master. Luckily there is one not too far away.

Cypress Holmes is that master. He’s forty one (41) the owner, florist, and current delivery person of Doyle’s Flowers. His frequent trips to Crosby-Ayers Funeral Home has fostered admiration between him and Thomas, though self-effacing, shy, low self esteem Thomas thinks it’s one sided. It’s not.

There’s lots to love in this story. I’ll start with that.

Here’s a description of Thomas: “He was quite pale with chin length mousy brown hair, and his big blue eyes gave him an owlish appearance.” (Made me think of the late David Foster Wallace). He has no washboard abs or eyes to drown in. He’s not rich or possessed of any superpower save that he’s good at his job and proud of it.

Cypress is a Black man living in America today. He comes from a good and loving family, is the proprietor of his own business and has no back story of misery & woe. He is smart, self sufficient, knows who he is and what he wants. Who he wants is Thomas. He wants to watch Tom come apart and fly under his tender ministrations. Yes, this is a BDSM romance, some pain to bring you pleasure, and pleasure was had by those involved. I confess to being fastidious about Doms but I generally liked Cypress. He treats Tom as the adult he is, confining their bedroom dynamics to that, the bedroom. He never tries to manage Tom’s professional life, showing only the logical care and concern any romantic partner would.

Usually I’m leery of BDSM as a substitute for therapy, but that wasn’t the case here. What Cypress gives Tom is a way to channel the grief he bottles up after dealing with the dead & the bereaved, guidance to structure his time, and something to look forward to after long hard hours of soul crushing work. If this “help” comes in the form of sexual bliss Tom’s not complaining.

I would certainly recommend this for those wanting a romance rooted in an adult relationship between recognizable modern humans, inhabitants of a diverse society. I loved that aspect and Tom & Cypress as a couple. Their square pegs fit in each other's round holes.

What I didn’t like were things that I think can easily be remedied by stricter editing:
*** The perhaps excessive rendering of mmhmm & hmm was distracting
*** IMO the side plot shenanigans at the funeral home weren’t what brought Tom & Cypress together, nor were they central to the story. Maybe less about them.
*** The author is an embalmer, and it shows in the meticulous, detailed, and knowledgeable way she describes Tom’s work. I greatly appreciated the accuracy but I also feel that some of it, when it’s a reiteration, could’ve been scaled back. It would tighten the story and allow it to hone more sharply on Tom & Cypress’s relationship where it deserves to be.

Recommended. Enjoy. xoxo

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



Release Blitz + Giveaway: The Last One to Let You Down by K.L. Hiers


Author K.L. Hiers and Gay Book Promotions host today's release blitz for The Last One to Let You Down! Read more about the BDSM romance and enter in the $25 Amazon gift card giveaway!

RELEASE BLITZ

Book Title: The Last One to Let You Down

Author: K.L. Hiers

Publisher: Self-Published

Cover Artist: Covers by Jo 

Release Date: November 13, 2020

Genre/s: Contemporary M/M Romance, BDSM Romance

Trope/s: Funeral Director/Florist Romance, Blackmail Leads to Love, BDSM Virgin

Themes: Personal Growth, Dealing with Death, Difficult Jobs,

Learning to Love Yourself

Heat Rating: 5 flames

Length: 102 000 words

It is a standalone story.

Goodreads

 

Buy Links - Available on Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US   |   Amazon UK 

 

  

Blurb

Thomas Hill is a lonely embalmer who's in some big trouble - his ex-boyfriend has been forcing him to illegally sell dangerous chemicals with no signs of stopping, and Tom doesn't know what to do. His situation gets even more complicated when Cypress Holmes, a smoking hot local florist, walks in on Tom making a deal. Cypress agrees to keep quiet, but his silence comes at a price.

He wants Tom to do exactly as he says and to give him complete and total control over his body at all times. Tom now has no choice but to obey Cypress's every command to stay out of jail. But when Cypress starts spanking him and tying him up, he realizes he doesn't mind the rough treatment at all. With or without the threat of blackmail hanging over his head, he likes what Cypress does to him... and he doesn't want it to stop.

Author’s Note: This book includes intense sexual scenes, rough spankings, and depictions of death and embalming as they relate to the funeral industry. If this material offends or may upset you, please don’t read this book.



Excerpt

Tom was an embalmer, and he’d been working at Crosby-Ayers Funeral Home in Mayfield, North Carolina, for over ten years. He’d done his apprenticeship there after graduating mortuary school and had stayed on once he’d gotten his license. The funeral home was busy enough to support him working solely as an embalmer, and he didn’t have to meet with families like Aaron, who was a funeral director.

Aaron had the right look for it. He was handsome, olive skinned with curly black hair and a confident smile. He could offer sympathy with ease and wore a suit well.

Tom… not so much.

He felt like a silly kid playing dress-up when he wore a suit, and they were always too tight no matter how much he tried to lose the stubborn weight he carried around his stomach and thighs. He was only wearing one today because he thought he was going to have to help out on a funeral.

They hadn’t needed him after all, which was fine by Tom. He didn’t do well with the living, and he’d been told more than once that he came off as creepy.

He was quite pale with chin length mousy brown hair, and his big blue eyes gave him an owlish appearance. He thought it made him look startled or afraid, not quite right for instilling confidence in a family that he was going to help them through their difficult time.

It also didn’t help that he was painfully shy.

Fortunately for Tom, his embalming talents usually kept him in the preparation room and away from families. His specialty was restorative art, repairing those who had suffered traumatic deaths so that their families could see them again.

The woman he had just finished was a Mrs. Jan Winslow, who had died on a Friday, and her body was not found until Monday. During that time, her beloved Pomeranian, Mister Doodles, had eaten the entire right half of her face.

“Walk me through it,” Aaron asked eagerly. “Like, tell me how you do it?”

“Well, you can’t do anything really until after you’ve embalmed them.” Tom stood up and stretched, peeling off his gloves and dropping them into the biohazard trash. “Makeup and the wax we use doesn’t stick that great to unembalmed skin. Slides right off if you’re not careful.

“The next step is cauterizing all of that exposed tissue. Embalming helps dry it out some, but you really wanna make sure it doesn’t leak so we use other chemicals, cauterants like Dryene, to help. Once the skin is good and dry, then we start filling.”

“What do you fill it with? I mean, I saw her before. There was a lot… missing.”

“You can use a bunch of different things depending on how big the wound is,” Tom replied, pulling open the prep room door and ushering Aaron out into the hallway.

It was often full of freshly delivered caskets, stretchers, and bags from the linen service, and today was no different. Tom had to carefully navigate around two caskets and a stack of towels, trying to lead Aaron back out to the offices to continue their conversation.

“Old school embalmers would use newspaper or cotton,” Tom went on, grabbing his suit jacket off the rack by the office door. “These days, they actually make compounds called ‘wound filler’ to well, fill wounds. And then—” He paused when he heard a loud slam, glancing back over his shoulder to see what it was.

At the other end of the hall were three doors. The one on the right led into the walk-in cooler, the one directly opposite the office door was an exit that led into the side parking lot, and the one on the left connected the hallway to the garage. The coaches and limos were stored there, and there was a special door in the corner for flower deliveries.

All of the doors for employees required a code to enter except for that one, and it stayed unlocked during business hours for flower deliveries. Someone could get inside the garage to drop off arrangements, but they wouldn’t be able to get into the hallway.

The hallway door to the garage had been left propped open, probably from a casket being delivered earlier, and the sound Tom had heard was the flower delivery door slamming inside the garage. As his heart began to pound in anticipation, he forgot all about Aaron.

HFG might be here.

Hot Flower Guy.

“Hey, where are you going?” Aaron protested.

“Just go to the office!” Tom called back, already halfway back down the hall. “I’ll meet you in there!”

“Okay,” Aaron replied reluctantly. “Then you’ll finish telling me about wound filler stuff?”

“Scout’s honor!” Tom slowed down as he approached the open door, putting his jacket on and trying not to appear too eager as he stepped inside the garage. He broke into a huge smile when he saw it was HFG in all of his bulging glory.

HFG was black, tall, and broad with thick shoulders and an even thicker beard framing his dark brown face, and Tom had daydreamed about running his hands all over his body. They had barely even spoken more than a few words, but Tom had a definite crush.

The funeral home hours didn’t give Tom much freedom and being on call almost every night killed any chance of an active social life. After a nasty breakup followed by a disappointing string of one night stands through dating apps, he’d committed to staying single until the funeral home hired more help.

In the meantime, he’d grown quite fond of HFG’s deliveries. He didn’t even know his name, but he’d been trying to find out for weeks. HFG was always in and out too quickly to ever strike up a conversation, and Tom wanted a name to go with that gorgeous face.

It didn’t matter that HFG was painfully out of his league—unless he happened to be into pasty white brunettes who had never grown out of their baby fat with big chins and an awkward little gap between their front teeth.

Tom had been cruelly teased about his smile since he was a little kid, no doubt the root of his introverted nature, but he was too excited about seeing HFG to care for once. As he stepped into the garage, however, his joy instantly faded.

HFG was there, but he was arguing with the assistant manager of the funeral home, Gerald Ayers.

Gerald was a prick.

No, he was the absolute king of pricks.



About the Author

K.L. “Kat” Hiers is an embalmer, restorative artist, and queer writer. Licensed in both funeral directing and funeral service, she’s been working in the death industry for nearly a decade. Her first love was always telling stories, and she has been writing for over twenty years, penning her very first book at just eight years old. Publishers generally do not accept manuscripts in Hello Kitty notebooks, however, but she never gave up.

Following the success of her first novel, Cold Hard Cash, she now enjoys writing professionally, focusing on spinning tales of sultry passion, exotic worlds, and emotional journeys. She loves attending horror movie conventions and indulging in cosplay of her favorite characters. She lives in Zebulon, NC, with her husband and their children, some of whom have paws and a few that only pretend to because they think it’s cute.

Author Links

Blog/Website  |   Facebook  |  Instagram  |   Newsletter Sign-up

 

Giveaway   

Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win

a $25 Amazon Gift Card

or

one of five e-book copies of The Last One to Let You Down.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

   

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions

 

Follow the tour and check out the other blog posts and reviews here

Cover Reveal + Giveaway: The Last One to Let You Down by K.L. Hiers

Author K.L. Hiers and Gay Book Promotions reveal the beautiful cover for upcoming contemporary BDSM romance, The Last One to Let You Down! Read more about the romance and enter in the giveaway where you could win: a $25 Amazon Gift Card or one of five e-book copies of The Last One to Let You Down! 

COVER REVEAL

Book Title: The Last One to Let You Down

Author: K.L. Hiers

Publisher: Self-Published

Cover Artist: Covers by Jo 

Release Date: November 13, 2020

Genre/s: Contemporary M/M Romance, BDSM Romance

Trope/s: Funeral Director/Florist Romance, Blackmail Leads to Love, BDSM Virgin

Themes: Personal Growth, Dealing with Death, Difficult Jobs, Learning to Love Yourself

Heat Rating: 5 flames

Length: 102 000 words

It is a standalone story.

 

Buy Links - Available for Pre-Order

Amazon US   |   Amazon UK 

 




Blurb

Thomas Hills is a lonely embalmer who's in some big trouble. His ex-boyfriend has been forcing him to illegally sell dangerous chemicals with no signs of stopping, and Tom doesn't know what to do. His situation gets even more complicated when Cypress Holmes, a smoking hot local florist, walks in on Tom making a deal. Cypress agrees to keep quiet, but his silence comes at a price.

He wants Tom to do exactly as he says and to give him complete and total control over his body at all times. Tom now has no choice but to obey Cypress' every command to stay out of jail. But when Cyprus starts spanking him and tying him up, he realizes he doesn't mind the rough treatment at all. With or without the threat of blackmail hanging over his head, he likes what Cypress does to him... and he doesn't want it to stop.

Author’s Note: This book includes intense sexual scenes, rough spankings, and depictions of death and embalming as they relate to the funeral industry. If this material offends or may upset you, please don’t read this book.



Excerpt

“What do you want? Money?” Tom scoffed, huffing in frustration.

“Well,” Cypress said, “you did just take a very serious stack of cash. I am a pretty big fan of money.”

“I can’t give you that! It’s for—” Tom stopped before he said too much, quickly correcting himself. “It’s not even mine, okay? I can’t do that. I don’t have any money to give you. There has to be something else.”

“Right. How about you just drop down on your pretty knees right now and suck my dick then?” Cypress rolled his eyes.

Tom’s loins were assaulted by a sudden surge of heat, and he stared at Cypress’ crotch as his mouth reflexively watered. He’d heard Cypress say that before, to Gerald of all people, and Tom knew he was probably joking.

But if that’s really all it would take...

“Fine,” Tom muttered through gritted teeth. “I’ll do it.”

“Come on,” Cypress was still chiding him, apparently deaf to Tom’s offer. “You really don’t expect me to believe that you don’t get some kinda cut from that—”

Tom raised his voice, snapping, “Hey! I said, I’ll do it!”

“What?” Cypress blinked.

“Suck your dick,” Tom replied, already starting to kneel before he could change his mind. He’d had some pretty rough one night stands before. This wasn’t so different. He could do this, get Cypress off his back, and stay out of jail.

“Stop,” Cypress said, his thick hand grabbing Tom’s shoulder.

“What?” Tom was instantly embarrassed. Oh, this was such a stupid idea. He should have never even tried it. As Cypress held him in place, the very air around them felt charged. He looked at Cypress’ lips, felt the heat of his grip, and he knew something had shifted between them.

Something was happening.

Tom’s face was getting hot, and he gasped when Cypress pulled him in for a fierce kiss. He didn’t even care how it made his busted mouth sting, its burn lost in the passion of their colliding lips. He was actually kissing Cypress, right there in the hallway.

The brewing energy ignited instantly, and Tom was helpless in Cypress’ powerful embrace. He gave himself over completely, groaning loudly when Cypress’ tongue slid inside his mouth. The kiss was deep, hot, and it sent all the right signals to every inch of Tom’s body.

“You’re not sucking me without at least first fuckin’ kissing me,” Cypress murmured, his fingers raking through Tom’s hair and holding him firmly. “You got it?”

“Yeah,” Tom said, panting hard. The way Cypress was so boldly taking charge had no right to be this exciting. Tom had had some bossy lovers before, but no one could compare to the dominance that Cypress was exuding right now.

His reserved attitude had been swallowed up by a hard gaze and an unrelenting aura. Impossibly, he seemed taller than before, and no one had made Tom’s knees quake like this with just a kiss.

“Now,” Cypress said firmly, “you’re going to suck my cock and swallow down what I give you. Do you understand?”

“Yes.” Tom gasped sharply when Cypress’ grip tightened in his hair.

“Yes... what?” Cypress challenged expectantly.

Tom wasn’t sure how, but he knew immediately what to say, shivering as he replied:

“Yes, sir.”



About the Author

K.L. “Kat” Hiers is an embalmer, restorative artist, and queer writer. Licensed in both funeral directing and funeral service, she’s been working in the death industry for nearly a decade. Her first love was always telling stories, and she has been writing for over twenty years, penning her very first book at just eight years old. Publishers generally do not accept manuscripts in Hello Kitty notebooks, however, but she never gave up.

Following the success of her first novel, Cold Hard Cash, she now enjoys writing professionally, focusing on spinning tales of sultry passion, exotic worlds, and emotional journeys. She loves attending horror movie conventions and indulging in cosplay of her favorite characters. She lives in Zebulon, NC, with her husband and their children, some of whom have paws and a few that only pretend to because they think it’s cute.

 

Author Links

Blog/Website  |   Facebook  |  Instagram  |   Newsletter Sign-up

 

Giveaway   

Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win

a $25 Amazon Gift Card

or

one of five e-book copies of The Last One to Let You Down.

a Rafflecopter giveaway 


   

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions