Blog Tour + Giveaway: Bad, Dad and Dangerous Anthology by Various Authors

Welcome the Bad, Dad and Dangerous Anthology blog tour today! Authors T.A. Moore, Rhys Ford, Bru Baker and Jenn Moffatt join forces and created the paranormal romance anthology. Author Rhys Ford drops by to share a story inspired from her characters from the anthology! Read more and enter in the giveaway where you can win $10 from your choice of online retailer (i.e. Amazon, etc)!

 

Title: Bad, Dad, and Dangerous Anthology
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release: 6 October 2020
Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/Bad-Dad-Dangerous-Rhys-Ford-ebook/dp/B08G5FSM3Z 

Dreamspinner Link: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/bad-dad-and-dangerous-11769-b

Thanks so much for having me here! Since I revisited the world of Once Upon a Wolf for this anthology, I thought I'd drop back in on some familiar characters from that story for this blog tour. I hope you enjoy meeting them, again or for the first time!  

 

Hunting For Salvation - Part 1

“Last I heard, Dean didn’t want to see hide nor hair of you.” The retired Staff Sergeant spat in the dirt at Ellis’s feet, barely missing the toe of one worn boot. “Can’t say I’m too happy to see you either. How about if you crawl back into whatever hole you were hiding in and I’ll forget I ever saw you?”

Ellis hadn’t expected a warm welcome. Not after what he’d done back in a hell made of sand, blood and death but considering he’d been on the alleged right side of the line, he figured it would cut him some slack. Or at least enough of a courtesy to make the grizzled former Marine think twice about greeting him at the front door with a Glock aimed at Ellis’s gut but apparently not.

The wind coming off the shore stank of dead fish and tasted of salt when Ellis turned, licking his lips to bring some moisture back to them after the long hard ride down from San Francisco. The vintage Softail Deluxe he’d gotten from his cousin Levi was a brutal bone-shaker of a ride but the old girl hadn’t uttered a single complaint, rumbling down the highway with a growl throaty enough to remind Eli of an old blues singer in New Orleans and the good times he had with her son.

He’d followed the threads of his worn out connections to get to the sergeant’s house, not expecting much but hoping for a lead on Dean. Any nibble of information would be welcome, especially since the man seemed to have disappeared off the face of the Earth.

Much like Ellis had after their last deployment, limping home with a shell-shocked stare and the blood of innocents curdling on his tongue.

“What are you digging at him for anyway?” More spittle, this time with better aim. The splatter on Ellis’s boots was a faint splotch of moisture compared to the redolent humidity pouring up from the cliffs but he shot the old man a glare anyway. The Marine wasn’t cowed but spat again, clearing his throat once more. This time, the specks flew wide, dampening the bungalow’s wooden porch. “Hasn’t Dean done enough? Dragged you out of that sand pit and brought you home. After what you did…to him, to everyone there—”

“Unloaded everything they had on a bunch of kids who’d taken a wrong turn. Our kids,” Ellis growled softly. The wolf in him pressed against his chest, begging to be set loose but Ellis ignored the call to shift. He was done running and if it killed him, he would find the man who he’d run from.

He just didn’t know what he was going to do with him once he found him.

“Mistakes happen.” The force wasn’t in the man’s words when he spoke them and he looked away as Ellis’s gaze shifted towards his face. “They shouldn’t have been there. No need for a bunch of good men to lose their careers over a mistake no one could —”

“Know what happened. Was there, remember?” He closed his eyes, forcing away the rush of memories coming at him from the pieces of darkness he’d buried deep down inside of him. “Just want to find Dean. Make…amends. Have to.”

The old man stared at Ellis for a long time, watery eyes red around the edges from too many nights chasing nightmares with shots of cheap booze. He stank of cigarettes and muscle liniment, a lingering hint of fried foods and something dark eating away at his liver but Ellis didn’t have any way of telling the old man to go get himself checked out. Perhaps he already had and that led him into the closed end of the bottle.

“Could have killed him, you know? Dean, I mean,” The sergeant mumbled. “After you went back out after that boy… you should have left things alone. Too dangerous. Both of you… didn’t come back right after that.”

“Dean,” Ellis murmured, steeling himself for the ripple of wolf along his spine he knew would come as soon as he stepped clear of the porch. “Where?”

“I don’t know where but…” the old man trailed off, scratching at the white stubble along his fleshy jowls. “I know where his sister is at. Maybe she can help you. Or maybe tell you to go to the Devil. Either way, so long as I see the back of you, I’m good.”

Read the rest of the story tomorrow at Reading Reality!

Bad, Dad, and Dangerous Blurb: When the kids are away, the monsters will play.

School’s out for summer, and these dads are ready to ship their kids off to camp. Not just because their kids are monsters—whose aren’t?—but because they’re ready for some alone time to let their hair down and their fangs out. You see, not only are the kids monsters—their dads are too.

Even the most dangerous of creatures has a soft spot. These bad, dangerous dads love their kids to death, but they need romance.

Every year, for a few short weeks, these hot men with a little extra in their blood get to be who they truly are. And this year, life has a surprise for them. Whether they be mage, shifter, vampire, or changeling, these heartbreakingly handsome dads might be looking to tear up the town… but they’ll end up falling in love. All it takes is the right man to bring them to their knees.

WOLF AT FIRST SIGHT BY RHYS FORD

SFPD Lieutenant Joseph Zanetti has spent years protecting his city, and from the looks of St. Connal’s Pub and its bad-boy owner, Levi Keller, the place is a hotspot for trouble and violence. Joe’s problem? Levi is delectably hot, with secrets Joe can’t wait to dig into.

As a Peacekeeper for paranormals, wolf shifter Levi doesn’t need the complication of a hot cop sniffing around his pub when he’s just sent his teen son off to summer camp. He’s busy brokering a peace agreement between two warring factions. When Joe stumbles into Levi’s world, both plunge into a situation neither one of them was ready for—falling in love.

Tour:

1 Oct: Book Gemz - TA Moore
2 Oct: Paranormal Romance Guild - TA Moore
4 Oct: Boy Meets Boy - Rhys Ford
5 Oct: Reading Reality - Rhys Ford
6 Oct: Blogger Girls - Jenn Moffatt
7 Oct: Love Bytes - Jenn Moffatt
8 Oct: M/M Good Book Reviews - Bru Baker
9 Oct: Twinsie Talk - Bru Baker


Author Bio:

TA MOORE


TA Moore is a Northern Irish writer of romantic suspense, urban fantasy, and contemporary romance novels. A childhood in a rural, seaside town fostered in her a suspicious nature, a love of mystery, and a streak of black humour a mile wide. As her grandmother always said, ‘she’d laugh at a bad thing that one’, mind you, that was the pot calling the kettle black. TA Moore studied History, Irish mythology, English at University, mostly because she has always loved a good story. She has worked as a journalist, a finance manager, and in the arts sectors before she finally gave in to a lifelong desire to write.

Coffee, Doc Marten boots, and good friends are the essential things in life. Spiders, mayo, and heels are to be avoided.

| Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads |

RHYS FORD

Rhys Ford is an award-winning author with several long-running LGBT+ mystery, thriller, paranormal, and urban fantasy series and is a two-time LAMBDA finalist with her Murder and Mayhem novels. She is also a 2017 Gold and Silver Medal winner in the Florida Authors and Publishers President’s Book Awards for her novels Ink and Shadows and Hanging the Stars. She is published by Dreamspinner Press and DSP Publications.

She’s also quite skeptical about bios without a dash of something personal and really, who doesn’t mention their cats, dog and cars in a bio? She shares the house with Harley, an insane grey tuxedo as well as a ginger cairn terrorist named Gus. Rhys is also enslaved to the upkeep a 1979 Pontiac Firebird and enjoys murdering make-believe people.

| Website | Facebook | Facebook Group | Twitter | Amazon |

BRU BAKER

Bru Baker writes sophisticated gay romantic fiction with strong characters, real-world problems, and plenty of humor.

Bru spent fifteen years writing for newspapers before making the jump to fiction. Whether it’s creating her own characters or getting caught up in someone else’s, there’s no denying that Bru is happiest when she’s engrossed in a story. She and her husband have two children, which means a lot of her books get written from the sidelines of various sports practices.

 

 

| Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Bookbub | Pinterest

JENN MOFFATT

Jenn Moffatt is a proud nerd. Raised on Star Trek, Dark Shadows, The Wild Wild West, and James Bond, she learned not to be afraid of things that go bump in the night and to have hope for the future of humanity. She grew up wanting to be a member of the Addams Family or part of the crew of the USS Enterprise—and she still does.

She’s been soaked to the skin for Chinese New Year and walked in the fog in Frisco. Went to high school in Sin City, and no, she didn’t live in a casino. Lived on the slope of an active volcano, and used to snorkel between classes in college on the Big Island. Now she lives in San Diego where she gets to see the ocean and wildflowers in the desert on the same day.

Jenn was born disabled, which gives her a deep understanding of what it’s like to be different, but she’s never let it hold her back. It just means she gets pretty good parking.

| Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram |

Giveaway

 

$10 Giftcard for online retailer of the winner’s choice!

a Rafflecopter giveaway  

Giveaway ends October 11th 12AM EST. If chosen, please respond within 48 hours or a new winner will be selected.

Review: DSP Advent: Homemade for the Holidays Week 1

Choosing the right gift for that special someone can be the most daunting part of the holidays. In a sea of mass-produced items, why buy when you can DIY? The end-of-the-year festivities are the best time for crafts, whether they’re made from yarn, paper, flour, or even code. And with some love and luck, these special presents might inspire a romance that lasts an evening… or a lifetime. Nothing makes the season merry and bright like a gift handmade from the heart, and to bring smiles to the faces of the ones they care about, these guys are willing to get creative.

Tis the season once again and I, for one, am a happy, happy unicorn! We'll be posting reviews weekly of Advent stories and while this week is a bit behind (I'd like to know who's idea it was to make Thanksgiving a week late this year, I really hate when that happens), but December is here and it's time to let the love of the Christmas short story flow.

The Carpenter's Prince by Jayce Ellis

Sean Edwards would do anything for his nephew, including designing the props for a children’s version of the Nutcracker. He’s ready for the long nights and weekends in the workshop—they’re part of the job, especially given the short notice. The insanely sexy head ballerino is completely unexpected, however.

All principal danseur Keni Jackson wants is to surpass last year’s performance, blow people’s socks off, and cement his place in the studio. The last thing he needs is something to shatter his carefully held control—like a cuddly carpenter who favors jazz over Tchaikovsky.

Sean and Keni are drawn to each other, but not everyone is a fan of their relationship. When Keni’s position is threatened, they have to decide whether to walk away for good, or if what they’ve found is worth fighting for.

Ann - 3.5 Hearts

Sean makes this story for me. You know how, when you read about a character, and you fall for them in all the ways within the first bit of page time? That’s Sean. I mostly was down with whatever happened as long as my Sean got his happy ending. And he did, but there was a bit of minor manufactured drama that got in the way a bit.

That little nugget of a plot point didn’t make me super happy, but there had to be some sort of speed bump on the road to the HEA, and as far as speed bumps go it wasn’t terrible, but stilllllllll, Sean was unnecessarily sad and I did not like that one bit. Of course there was another MC, his name is Keni and he’s a dancer and he’s good and all, but he was onboard, albeit reluctantly, with the nonsense that hurt Sean, so that didn’t endear me to him a whole lot. Sean likes him so very much though and Keni does feel the same for Sean, but I need Keni to grovel some more and make sure Sean knows how amazing he is on the daily. In my head that all happens even after the story was done and they got their HEAs.


Christmas Ghosts by Jenn Moffatt

Dealing with the unexpected loss of his mother isn’t how carpenter Steve Browning planned to spend his Christmas. Hoping her costume jewelry can bring some happiness to others, he takes it to the local community theater, where he runs into his first love, Troy Baxter.

Troy’s trying to help his sister put on a gender-fluid version of A Christmas Carol, but no one on the cast or crew knows which end of a hammer to hold let alone use a power tool. Then a face from the past brings a present-day miracle… one that could lead to the happy future they both thought they gave up back in high school.

Ann - 2.5 Hearts

Christmas Ghosts had good bones to it, but the story never fully coalesced for me. There was a lot of info and relationships to get background on in a short period of time. I think because it was a second chance kind of romance, I needed to feel the love Steve and Troy had before and how it evolved and worked in the present. I was told about the love before, but I was told a lot of things and so I never had a sense of their connection and how it could have held together and rekindle over the years.

I liked Steve and I liked Troy and I wanted to feel moved by them, but there were too many distractions in the form of siblings and grief in a short story to give the guys the page time they needed to become fully fleshed out characters and in turn a romance worthy of a second chance.


Crochet My Heart by Carol Pedroso

Accountant Tristan plans to make a ton of crochet items for his local LGBT charity to sell at their holiday fair. His only problem? He can’t crochet.

Fortunately the community center offers a class, and it’s taught by Charlie, who is gorgeous and sexy and seems interested. At first. Can grandmotherly fellow classmate Ivy guide the clueless men to each other, or will it take something more serious to help them see the possibilities?

Ann - 3.5 Hearts

This story is just adorable. It has all the elements for a warm and fluffy Christmas story and the author delivered the fuzzy love very well. Tristan and Charlie have a super sweet homespun meet-cute and their banter was enough to feel the chemistry between them as they spent more time together. Tristan’s good intentions to the LGBTQ center he volunteers with have him overextended and needing Charlie’s help to meet his goal to provide handmade crocheted treasures for the holiday craft sale. So, already you know he’s a good guy. Charlie is also a good guy and so I couldn’t help but want to read about them getting their happy on.

There was some outside drama that provided the bit of bitter with all the sweet and the secondary characters kept Charlie in line when he veered off track in a moment of stupidity. Instead of being annoyed by the stupid, it actually made Charlie seem a bit more real because people do dumb things when they are falling in love and he redeemed himself quickly and in the end heroically.


An Elf to Myself by Emy Calirel

The last thing Wilhelm expects to find at Michaels, three days before Christmas and in search of a gift to make for his niece, is one of Santa’s elves—a cute one with a wicked, inappropriate sense of humor and a kinky streak. Alabastair may have been kicked out of Santa’s village, but he’s still a Christmas expert. And he’s determined to give Wilhelm and his family the best holiday he can.

With only two days to turn the Grinch’s house into a Christmassy wonderland, they have a lot on their plate. Among the glitter and the cheer, Wilhelm and Alabastair might find more than just the holiday’s magic. But will it be enough to keep Alabastair in Wilhelm’s bed and life when the North Pole calls him back?

Ann - 4 Hearts

I don’t know how, but the author made me suspend all my disbelief and by into elves as quickly as Wilhelm did. I should have been wanting more backstory and worldbuilding, I mean it’s an elf hanging out in Michael’s and he’s pretty open relatively quickly about who and what he is. But no, I was all “meh, it’s cool, these dudes obviously dig each other, let’s roll with it”. And roll with it, I did. 

I think it worked partially because the elves in question weren’t super magical, etc. They were, for the most part, regular people who just happened to work in the North Pole. I was fine with the modern twist the author put on Santa’s story, so I could pretty much forget about that and just wallow in the pepperminty sweet goodness that was Alabastair and Wilhelm. They both fell pretty hard and fast, but they had enough snark and attitude in their banter to balance the sweetness a bit and make their relationship seem possible for the long haul.


Evan Versus the Sharlotka by Chrissy Munder

Rumpled tech support Evan Carmichael has a crush on pristine programming supervisor Gavriil Cottan. The whole company knows it. Except Gavriil. As a closet romantic, Evan dreams of declaring his feelings with a grand gesture, something out of the movies he loves.

The company holiday potluck luncheon gives Evan a perfect opportunity. He finds out Gavriil’s favorite dessert and is determined to make an apple sharlotka just like Gavriil’s mother used to make. The only problem is, Evan is a disaster in the kitchen. Can he master the mystery of the sharlotka and the intricacies of the springform pan in time to both woo and wow Gavriil?

Ann - 4.5 Hearts

I look forward to Chrissy Munder’s stories every year. They are always amongst my favorites and she always writes characters I fall hard for. Evan is right up there as a guy I rooted for from page 1. He’s an everyman that can’t seem to catch a break and his mom is his biggest cheerleader. On paper, he may not seem like a romantic leading man type MC, but heeee isssssssss.

The story is told from Evan’s perspective and being inside his head is a little sad at times, but he’s forever hopeful. His crush on his co-worker Gavriil is so swoony as told from Evan’s view. While I didn’t get to know Gavriil well, he still felt fully fleshed out and I could completely understand why Evan was smitten. The author does a great job of making the time the MC’s spend together count and their conversations are the perfect vehicle to make the romance progress.

Evan’s attempts at baking Gavriil’s favorite dessert for the office Christmas luncheon was freaking adorable and about the sweetest thing I’ve read in a long time. Gavriil’s reaction made it even better and that had to be one of the most satisfying endings to a short story ever.


The Fairy Shop by Tara Lain

When Nate Hawthorne meets Asher Dane, the huge, tattooed hunk is the personification of Nate’s dreams. But Nate knows there’s no future, because Asher is also the personification of his beloved five-year-old daughter Delly’s nightmares. She’s frightened of big men. Things turn around for both of them, however, when Delly goes Christmas shopping at the Fairy Shop and begins her quest for a wand that will make her brave. Neither of them guesses that the Fairy Shop will be the source of far more than Delly’s courage. On Christmas Eve, under the influence of a very unusual fairy, Nate’s life will change forever.

Ann - 4 Hearts

The Fairy Shop is total Tara Lain reading candy for the holidays and I enjoyed every sweet little nibble. The author knows how to write super fluffy love stories that balance with a bit of drama to give a Lifetime feel that’s easy to dive into and get lost in. There’s a lot of story packed into this one, but everything seemed to balance out in the end.

Delly, Nate’s daughter really read like a little kid at first, but her vocabulary changed towards the end that made her seem like a little adult at times which was a little off putting, but not too bad that I was drawn out of the story.

The secondary characters added to the depth of The Fairy Shop and the only thing I would have liked, was more of Asher’s story. I don’t think that could have really been a thing in this case since it’s a short story and I know Asher’s story would be pretty involved. I really liked him though and while there wasn’t anything missing for him, I just wanted more because the author made me like and respect him so much.

**copies of the Advent stories were provided for honest reviews**