Release Blitz + Giveaway: There’s Something about Flying (There's Always Something #3) by Schuyler L'Roux

Author Schuyler L'Roux and IndiGo Marketing celebrate the release of There’s Something about Flying! Learn more today and enter in the $10 NineStar Press credit giveaway!

Title: There's Something about Flying

Series: There's Always Something. Book Three

Author: Schuyler L'Roux

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: January 7, 2019

Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 13100

Genre: Contemporary, Contemporary, Second chance, HEA

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Synopsis

After walking away from Gerry, Thom is back home in Minnesota living his best life. He’s flying through the air, embracing the sexual power he reclaimed in a lonely dungeon with Gerry. Yet when Gerry arrives unannounced and full of inexplicable hope, Thom has another choice to make. Does he let Gerry go and finally close the book on their tryst? Or does Thom open up his heart to the reality of their past and the potential of their future? The third and final chapter of the There’s Always Something trilogy stays true to form: there’s always an ending.

Excerpt

There’s Something about Flying
Schuyler L’Roux © 2019
All Rights Reserved

Chapter One: Falling
Thom gave a thumbs up and fell face first to earth.

His hands gripped his parachute harness as he tipped forward. He could feel his tandem partner behind him let go of the plane, because suddenly they went from the relative safety perched on the edge of the plane, as safe as you get 12,000 feet high, to emptiness.

The surge of adrenaline was pure ecstasy. At least, that’s what Thom told himself since there was nowhere to run and nothing to fight. All he could do was enjoy the coursing flood of hormones and blood as he ripped through the sky, succumbing to gravity.

Thom did remember what his instructor told him to do fifteen minutes ago when they were still earthbound. The tall, skinny, dark-skinned man was standing in front of him, the large parachute pack in between them.

“When we’re first out of the plane, I need you to arch your back and lean your head into my chest. You’re going to want to look down, but you need to resist that urge, OK?”

“Sure,” Thom said, ridiculously aware of the overlarge blue and orange wind suit he was wearing. “But if my head’s back, how will I see anything?”

The instructor smiled and slapped Thom lightly on his shoulder. “My man, when the parachute goes out, you’ll have all the time in the world to see what you’re going to see. But for free fall it’s all about feeling, not seeing. Now when we fall, are you into spinning or would you like me to keep it stable?”

“You mean, outside the falling?” The instructor, who looked far more attractive in his red, formfitting wind suit than Thom felt in his trash bag aesthetic, laughed and nodded. “I’m here to fall out of a plane,” Thom said. “Anything else you want to do, I’m game.”

“Good man.” He picked up the heavy pack, hefting it to one shoulder. “Then let’s get hooked up.”

“Careful what you promise,” Thom said with a smirk, at ease with his newfound ability to flirt.

“Oh, I know what I said,” the instructor said over his shoulder. “And call me Tay, all right?”

Thom arched his back and pressed his head into Tay’s collarbone as they dropped. The wind roared in Thom’s ears, filling his body with a pressure he’d only ever experienced on the inside, not out.

Even though the wind was deafening, Thom could still hear Tay’s loud voice telling him they were going to spin around before popping the parachute.

Thom didn’t have a chance to reply before Tay took them on a dance through the light-blue sky. Thom’s stomach did lurch, but that was the only moment of hesitation, and after it passed, there was a nothing but lightheaded giddiness. Thom flew past everything on the ground, however momentarily, and he rejoiced.

Tay tapped him on the shoulder. Thom struggled but finally saw Tay was trying to show him the red altimeter. The needle was dropping fast, steadily approaching the 2,500 feet mark, which was where Tay had said again and again they’d open up the parachute. Thom nodded as best he could, quickly trying to prepare for the sudden rush to be over.

He didn’t want it to end. Not after the summer he’d had—the strange amazingness and awfulness of Gerry. Thom wanted to be stuck in the clouds, falling and flying with nothing waiting for him and nothing to run from. It was a ridiculous wish, but it’s what he wanted. And Thom was trying to be OK with accepting what he wanted. Wanting Gerry. Not wanting him. Walking away. Forgetting Gerry.

Struggling to forget. If he’d been successful, Thom doubted he would’ve been hurtling through an almost empty sky right now, strapped in with a stranger. A handsome stranger with a beautiful smile but still a stranger.

Thom squeezed his shoulder harness hard, anticipating the sudden pull of his parachute. But he wasn’t ready for the jarring stop. His head snapped forward, wanting, Thom was sure, to fall off and continue the headlong drop toward earth. But his head stayed attached, and he remained tethered to Tay.

The parachute unfolded above them with a massive sound, like a giant shaking out the wrinkles of a flat sheet before making a bed. Once the chute opened, Thom’s free fall shifted effervescently out of control to a moderate forty miles per hour rush back to earth.

The wind still raged, but the inevitability of catastrophe was gone, and with it went Thom’s giddy peace. All of a sudden, the same problems and turbulence Thom thought he left back on the plane came back to him. It was disappointing, though at least he had found sixty seconds of peace in the free fall.

And then Tay tapped him on his shoulder. “Smile for the camera,” he shouted.

Thom looked to his left. He’d forgotten Tay was wearing a GoPro on his left hand. It snapped Thom out of his depressive reverie. He smiled and meant it. He wasn’t going to let what was waiting for him influence his experience of this magical thing.

This floating. This flying.

Thom let out a yell as he looked out onto the flat, patchwork earth beneath him. Rivers crisscrossed roads and farms and fields filled with either cars, buildings, or animals. He could see all of it, imagining all those lives and experiences carrying on beneath him. His imagination gave Thom a titanic feeling like he had old power in the seconds that were trickling out of his hands like the sands of time.

Thom whooped again, this time Tay joining him. The adrenaline, almost threatened by the dam of worry, was still there. But so was the joy. His voice was already hoarse after the two yells, so he gave away to grinning stupidly.

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Meet the Author

A Southern boy deeply proud of his Welsh heritage, Schuyler L’Roux is a writer who passionately believes in the power of sex—funny, world-changing, scratch-the-hell-out-of-my-back sex. He’s a new author and cannot wait to join the world of erotica with his own brand of thoughtful characters engaged in meaningful interactions and entertaining situations. With lots and lots of sex, of course. When he’s not traveling, Schuyler currently calls Germany home.

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Release Blitz + Giveaway: Tea (A Cup of John #1) by Matthew J. Metzger

IndiGo Marketing and author Matthew J. Metzger promote his latest, Tea (A Cup of John #1)! Learn more today and enter in the $10 NineStar Press credit giveaway!

Title: Tea

Series: A Cup of John, Book One

Author: Matthew J. Metzger

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: January 7, 2019

Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 76800

Genre: Contemporary, contemporary, British, trans, gay, age gap, blue collar, disability, ableism, body dysphoria, PTSD/mental abuse/self-image issues, family issues, #ownvoices

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Synopsis

John only went into the cafe to have a brew and wait out the storm. He didn’t expect to find love at the same time.

And it really is love at first sight. Chris is like nobody John’s ever known, and John is caught from the start. All he wants, from that very first touch, is to never let go. But John is badly burned from his last relationship and in no fit state to try again. When Chris asks him out, he ought to say no.

But what if he says yes instead?

Excerpt

Tea
Matthew J. Metzger © 2019
All Rights Reserved

Chapter One
“Fark this,” Rhodri said, “fer the ace o’ farking spades.”

John grunted, busy watching a Facebook slanging match unfolding on his phone. It had started to snow, which—despite Sheffield getting snow on a regular basis in the winter—ensured everyone promptly forgot how cars worked.

A fact that Rhodri backed up by leaning out of the van window and bellowing, “Who taught yer to farking drive, yer daft cunt!” at a middle-aged man in a BMW.

John snorted, grinning, and squinted out of the slush-smeared windscreen. They were nearly at the high street.

“I can walk from here,” he said. “Turn around and use the ring road, if you don’t want to be here all night.”

“Fark the ring road,” Rhodri grumbled in his thick, garbled accent. “It’ll fark the suspension.”

“You mean it’s not already?”

Rhodri snarled a defence of his beloved, twenty-year-old death trap of a van, but John firmly stuck by his assertion as the rust bucket was hauled over to the side of the road, and the handbrake screeched like a banshee in an opera house.

“Monday for the renovation?” John asked as he curled his coat collar up.

“Yeah. Gazzer’s looking fer a spring sale.”

“Have a good weekend, then.”

“Fark off.”

John grinned and slammed the passenger door on the pseudo-affectionate dismissal. The day Rhodri Campbell started talking nice to his friends was the day hell froze over.

Mind you, John thought, squinting at the black sky, that might not be too far off.

He was supposed to meet his older sister for dinner, but she’d be at least another hour. Grimacing at the weather, John decided to find a café and settle in to wait out the snowstorm. Hunching his shoulders, he broke into a jog, aiming for the first sign he saw, and soon shouldered his massive bulk through the glass door of a tiny, heavenly warm coffee shop.

It was busy inside. Everyone else had had the same idea. The floor was crowded with shopping bags, a buggy thoroughly blocking one aisle. John’s absurd size earned him some dirty looks that were hastily wiped away when he glanced back. Even the barista, when he asked for a large tea, sighed and popped her gum like it would be an enormous bother to cover her wide-eyed stare. The prickle of unease rose under his skin, and he forced it back down.

“Keep the change,” John told her as he handed over three pounds and folded his arms to wait, knowing that—even in Sheffield—a man with biceps like the steel ropes on a suspension bridge was not going to be left waiting for long. Especially if he folded his arms.

That was when he messed up.

He stepped back to glance around for a table, and in doing so, bumped the one directly behind him. A cup banged. Someone swore. And John felt the hot flush of shame flood his face, even as he spun on his heel to try to fix the damage.

“I’m so sorry. I—”

“It’s all right. I think it missed me.”

“Here, let me get you another—what was it?”

And then the man looked up from patting down his jeans and T-shirt with a napkin and smiled right into John’s face.

And John just stopped.

Staring.

The way the man smiled was…breathtaking. Literally. The air caught in John’s chest, his lungs seizing for a brief moment, when a crooked smile spread across narrow features, creasing a pale face from good-looking into gorgeous. It was like the sun bursting over a still sea, like the car dashboard when the ignition was first turned in the dark. A sudden spark lit behind an attractive face to make it utterly beautiful, and John stared.

The stranger was tall and lean, with a halo of messy black curls that surrounded his face and threw the ethereal beauty of that smile into sharp relief. The smile itself was formed out of the most ridiculously kissable mouth John had ever seen. And the face. God. It blazed with the brilliance of that beam, and above it lay the burn of eyes the colour of an endless summer sky.

Damn.

“A mocha with peppermint and a double shot of espresso.”

“A…what?” John asked, still staring stupidly.

The man chuckled, and John died. His soul ascended into heaven on the back of that sound. Jesus. Holy goddamned Jesus.

“Just ask for Chris’s regular.”

“T-that’s you, then?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Um. John. Nice to—nice to meet you.”

The touch of his hand was like a cattle prod. John felt it all the way up to his brain, and the most inappropriate parts of his brain too. He had to learn how to breathe again. His heart was pounding. He wanted—desperately, stupidly, urgently—to reel Chris in and kiss him as if they were the only two people in the room.

He didn’t.

Obviously.

He let go and ducked back into line to ask for the guy’s regular. Tipped double. And when he took it back to the table, John knew for his own sanity and safety he should apologise once more, take his tea, and go.

Instead, he said, “Mind if I join you?” and instantly hated himself for it.

And then didn’t, when Chris smiled a little wider and said, “Please.”

“I am sorry about that. I’m not usually that clumsy.”

“Just an accident. It sounds busy in here.”

“It…is,” John said slowly and frowned.

Then it clicked. That brilliant blue was as vacant as a summer sky too. And he’d never once looked John quite in the eyes. John glanced about. There was a cane leaning up against the table. A glint of a gold medical bracelet around one thin wrist. And the way Chris slid his hand across the table, heels together and fingers spread, until he found the coffee cup…

“Are you sheltering from the weather too?”

“Uh, yeah,” John said, snapping out of his reverie. “It’s snowing. I’m supposed to meet my sister for dinner later, but I’m stupidly early, so…here I am.”

“Lucky me.”

John blinked.

“What?”

“Sorry, sorry.” Chris waved a hand. “Ignore me. Big important family dinner, is it?”

“No, not really. She probably just wants to have a whine about our mum. Mum’s—well, Mum.”

“Let’s pretend for a minute I don’t know your mum…”

John chuckled, ducking his head. “Mum’s…she loves us, she wants the best for us, but her best and our best doesn’t always mesh, you know?”

“Ah, one of those. Yes, I know.” Chris raised his cup in a saluting gesture. “To parents running interference.”

“She’s very practical,” John said. “Very—you know, we ought to all marry well-off, well-educated folks with careers and good ankles. And Nora—my sister—she’s cocked that up a bit.” Then he winced at his crass phrasing and started to apologise.

Chris talked right over it. “Cocked it up how?”

“Well, she’s currently divorcing her well-off, well-educated, well-ankled husband for a bloke who makes sandwiches.”

Chris snorted and laughed. The coffee cup wobbled dangerously before he set it down to put a hand over his mouth and laugh a little harder, and John curled his toes in his boots. A warm flush spread from head to toe. God, he wanted to touch that. Wanted to reach out and curl his fist into that wild hair and kiss him like the world was ending.

John wanted him.

“Well,” Chris said when he’d recovered, “if your sister has a voice anything like yours, then that’s the luckiest sandwich man in the world.”

“Uh—”

“What about you? Ditching your missus for the maid?”

John’s stomach twinged. “There’s no missus.”

“Or mister?”

What?

“I—no.”

“Sorry,” Chris said again. “I guess I’m being a little too hopeful.”

Hopeful? What?

“I—are you…flirting with me?”

“Yes.” Chris raised both eyebrows. “Don’t tell me that doesn’t happen often.”

“Well…it’s been a while,” John admitted. “And not usually in coffee shops.” Or from men. John wasn’t exactly good-looking, and in his experience, it was mostly women who were into the huge and hulking thing rather than men.

“Where does it usually happen? I could always try doing it there, if you like.”

John barked a startled laugh. “Er—well—clubs. Here’s—here’s nice though. Here’s fine.”

“I refuse to believe it doesn’t happen often.”

“It doesn’t.”

“Really? Hm. Local clubbers need to open their ears, then.”

“I—thank you?”

“I’m making you uncomfortab—”

“No,” John interrupted quickly. “I just—I’m…not used to this.”

Chris turned the coffee cup around in his hands, biting his lip.

“You sounded…I don’t know. You sounded like you saw something you liked. And I felt something when you shook my hand.”

“You…you don’t want to be trying me out,” John said carefully.

Chris smiled.

It wasn’t the bright, beautiful smile. It was a slow smirk, devious and dirty. And John’s cock swelled fiercely in his jeans. His dick didn’t care about Daniel and his damage. His dick just wanted to have that incredible body around it, and to hell with the risks. Oh, God. That was a dirty trick, and judging by the way Chris lounged in his chair, pure sex, he knew it.

“You have a voice,” Chris said, “like the hot afterburn of whiskey.”

“I—”

“Smooth, liquid, and so easy to bask in. Like being drunk and not caring.”

John swallowed again. He was half hard. Chris spoke so slow and soft, so very deliberately, that it was turning him on even though he wasn’t saying anything filthy at all.

“I’m a dumb idea,” John croaked.

“So am I.”

John wanted to look away. But he felt incapable of not looking. He was spellbound, completely captured by this stranger’s wide smile and fluttering hands. They were large hands, but thin. John wanted to call them spidery. Long fingers, but narrow palmed. He wondered wildly what they felt like. John’s hand were rough from his trade, but Chris had a completely smooth paleness to his skin tone, and his face was impossibly young, not weather-beaten and wind burnt. His hands, John decided, would be just as smooth. They would be cool, too, like refreshing water against John’s calluses.

And then they slid over the table and hooked casually over John’s thumb.

John’s heart hiccuped and clenched again, and the flood of pure want was so powerful that his vision flexed, like a fisheye lens homing in on this stunning man. He wanted to kiss him, hold his hand, say yes, something. And yet he felt paralysed—moths to flames, deer to headlights, whatever. He was caught.

“If you’re really not interested, then that’s fine,” Chris said. “But—”

“That’s definitely not it,” John muttered.

“So—you want to get dinner sometime?”

The smile softened into something sweeter. More hopeful. More—

John’s dick softened. Because his heart tightened, his stomach clenched, and his throat opened.

He should say no.

He was still a mess from Daniel, still wounded after nine whole months, still unable to so much as flirt on Grindr without questioning himself, his motives, how he came off. There was no way this was a good idea. Not with anyone, and least of all this brilliant, beautiful, blind guy.

After all, if Daniel were right—

If Daniel were right, if there had been any truth in the things he’d said, then John was the last person who should be going out to dinner with a blind man.

John should have said no.

But he said yes instead.

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Meet the Author

Matthew J. Metzger is an ace, trans author posing as a functional human being in the wilds of Yorkshire, England. Although mainly a writer of contemporary, working-class romance, he also strays into fantasy when the mood strikes. Whatever the genre, the focus is inevitably on queer characters and their relationships, be they familial, platonic, sexual, or romantic.

When not crunching numbers at his day job, or writing books by night, Matthew can be found tweeting from the gym, being used as a pillow by his cat, or trying to keep his website in some semblance of order.

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Giveaway + Blog Tour: The Athlete and the Aristocrat by Louisa Masters

Celebrate the recent release of The Athlete and the Aristocrat with author Louisa Masters and Dreamspinner Press. Find out more about this contemporary romance and read an exclusive excerpt! Be sure to enter the giveaway of a swag bag from the author too! Good luck!

Exclusive Excerpt: The Athlete and The Aristocrat 

With his feet propped on Lucien’s coffee table, Si closed his eyes and leaned back in the extremely comfortable chair that was twin to the one in Lucien’s apartment in Monaco. “If I thought I could get it past the security guard, I’d steal this chair,” he muttered.

Lucien chuckled nearby, and a moment later Si’s hand was lifted and wrapped around a cold bottle. He cracked his eyes open and saw that it was his favorite brand of beer and that Lucien was taking a seat on the sofa, a glass of white wine in hand.

“How’d you know I like this one?” he asked, letting his eyes close again even as he lifted the bottle to his mouth.

“I pay attention,” Lucien said. “That’s also how I know that something upset you today.”

Si shrugged. “I was just being stupid,” he said. “It wasn’t important, and I’m over it now.”

“Are you sure? If moving to Paris is going to be a real—”

He opened his eyes fully, sitting up and putting his feet on the floor. “No. It’s nothing to do with that, or the program. I was just… um, well… it’s stupid. I feel like a fool for even thinking it.”

Lucien looked at him expectantly, and Si sighed, his eyes firmly fixed on his beer bottle. “I was jealous. Marie was being all flirty with you, and it’s stupid because we’re just casual, but I was jealous. And then I started wondering if maybe I assumed too much by not booking a hotel, and… it just got dumber from there.”

Laughter pealed through the room, and Si looked up, surprised. Lucien was laughing so hard, he had to put down his wineglass. Si reluctantly allowed a smile to tug at his own lips. A happy Lucien was impossible to resist.

“Are you laughing at what a dolt I was?” he asked, and Lucien shook his head and swiped moisture from his eyes.

“No,” he said finally. “I’m laughing because Marie was flirting with me only because you don’t speak French and she doesn’t speak English. She was trying to convince me to act as intermediary between you.” He picked up his wineglass and sank back into the sofa.

Si’s jaw dropped. “What? Really? But she barely looked at me the whole time!” He felt even more ridiculous now.

Lucien shrugged. “I believe she was starstruck at first, but once she’d finished her sales pitch on the office suite, all she spoke about was you. She even asked me what your favorite food was.” He smirked, and Si chuckled.

“I once said in an interview that I was looking forward to pizza at a friend’s house that evening, and for the next week, I had pizzas delivered to my apartment night and day,” he confided. “I really hope you told her you didn’t know, because I don’t think it would look good for the program if she started turning up at the office with food.”

Shaking his head, Lucien huffed a laugh. “I do not know what your favorite food is, and that is what I told her. However”—his tone turned gleeful—“I did tell her that you are a fan of music that features whale song.”

Si choked on the sip of beer he’d just taken. “You what?” he wheezed. Lucien merely smiled wickedly and sipped at his wine. “Cheeky bugger,” Si groused, but it was kind of funny. Or it would be, as long as Marie didn’t show up at the office with a whales of the south seas greatest hits compilation or something.

The Athlete and The Aristocrat:

Sometimes love takes balls.

Newly retired championship footballer Simon Wood is taking on his next challenge. His plan for a charity to provide funding for underprivileged children to pursue football as a career has passed its first hurdle: he has backers and an executive consultant. Now it’s time to get the ball rolling.

Lucien Morel, heir to the multibillion-euro Morel Corporation, is shocked—and thrilled—to learn his father has volunteered him as consultant to a fledgling football charity. Better yet, the brains behind it all is heartthrob Simon Wood, his teenage idol and crush.

Although Simon and Lucien get off on the wrong foot, it’s not long before they’re getting along like a house on fire—sparks included. But with the charity under public scrutiny, can their romance thrive?

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About the Author:

Louisa Masters started reading romance much earlier than her mother thought she should. While other teenagers were sneaking out of the house, Louisa was sneaking romance novels in and working out how to read them without being discovered. She’s spent most of her life feeling sorry for people who don’t read, convinced that books are the solution to every problem. As an adult, she feeds her addiction in every spare second, only occasionally tearing herself away to do things like answer the phone and pay bills. She spent years trying to build a “sensible” career, working in bookstores, recruitment, resource management, administration, and as a travel agent, before finally conceding defeat and devoting herself to the world of romance novels.

Louisa has a long list of places first discovered in books that she wants to visit, and every so often she overcomes her loathing of jet lag and takes a trip that charges her imagination. She lives in Melbourne, Australia, where she whines about the weather for most of the year while secretly admitting she’ll probably never move.

Website: http://www.louisamasters.com

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And don’t forget to Enter the giveaway through the link below to win this swag bag from the author!

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Release Blitz + Giveaway: My Fake Canadian Wife by M. Hollis

Welcome author M. Hollis and IndiGo Marketing to the blog as they celebrate the release of My Fake Canadian Wife! Learn more about the fake marriage romance and enter in the $10 NineStar Press credit giveaway today!

Title: My Fake Canadian Wife

Author: M. Hollis

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: January 7, 2019

Heat Level: 2 - Fade to Black Sex

Pairing: Female/Female

Length: 25600

Genre: Contemporary, LGBT, lesbian, student, waitress, photographer, holidays, immigrant, Brazil, Canada, fake marriage

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Synopsis

When Dora receives a letter from the immigration service in Canada saying she will be deported soon, as her visa is expiring, a friend suggests she marry a woman. Since she doesn’t currently have a girlfriend, faking a relationship might be her only option since she can’t muster the desire to return to school for advanced photograph studies.

Abby is a reserved librarian who seems enthusiastic about helping with the marriage plan. As the two girls get to know each other through dates in snowy Toronto and meeting Abby’s family for Christmas, Dora starts to wonder how much of this relationship they are faking and how much is real.

Excerpt

My Fake Canadian Wife
M. Hollis © 2019
All Rights Reserved

Chapter One
My hands shook around the letter, the words blurring before my eyes. This couldn’t be happening. Not to me. Almost two years living in Toronto, without any complications, and now I received notice I was going to be deported. Thrown out of the place I was learning to love as my own. And honestly? I was to blame for missing the expiration date on my student visa.

Now, I had to race against time to legalize my immigrant status, or I’d have to go back to Brazil. To a home I barely thought about anymore.

I sat on the couch, letting the letter fall to my lap. I was screwed. Completely screwed.

My roommate, Julie, came out of her room, stopping in her tracks to give me a curious glance. “Geez, you look like someone died,” she said. “Don’t you have to go to work?”

When I didn’t say anything, Julie gave up and walked to the kitchen. I heard mugs being moved around and cupboards opening and closing. A few seconds later, she came back, a small frown creasing her forehead.

Julie was a cute tomcat bisexual girl who was into indie movies, the ones with barely any dialogue, where one watched people live through a vintage faded screen. Some of them were actually nice, if one was in the right mood to understand its meaning behind the many layers of subtext.

Technically, the apartment we shared belonged to her. She was the rich kid of a famous Canadian producer, and her mother was a well-known director in the Toronto film community, so her family paid for most of her expenses. Or, well, now our living conditions. I couldn’t really complain since I had a bedroom to myself, a cozy living room, and a kitchen large enough for more than two people to move around comfortably.

What more could a girl like me ask for in life?

Right, citizenship.

“Okay, please tell me no one actually died,” Julie said, her bangs falling in front of her dark eyes.

I shook my head, finally coming back to myself and jumped from the couch. “I need to go to work.”

“Well, you can still get there in time.” And then Julie was back to her morning coffee rituals.

I had a life to take care of. This situation wasn’t going to fix itself if I sat around, missed work, and stared at this letter all day. I moved quickly, shoved the letter into my backpack before grabbing my keys and my bike helmet.

“Have a good day!” Julie said from the kitchen as I opened the door. “And be careful with the traffic.”

I rolled my eyes at her worry. Julie had been struck by a car last year when she was biking around the city, and now she believed bicycles were monsters from hell, instead of realizing drivers can be the real assholes. She even tried to get rid of my red beauty, but I obviously didn’t let her touch my baby.

“Don’t worry! You have a good day too,” I said as I closed the door behind me.

Racing down the stairs, I almost tripped over someone. I took a step back, cursing to myself when I caught a glimpse of dark blonde hair. It was our neighbor from downstairs, Carol.

“Hi, Dora,” Carol said with a sly smile. “Haven’t seen you in a while.”

She played with her hair in a flirtatious way, leaning closer. I tried to get past her, but she was quicker and trapped me against the wall.

So maybe I had slept with our super-hot neighbor when I had just moved in and desperately needed to get laid. I still regretted the decision. Not that the sex was bad, but Carol didn’t seem to get the message that casual sex with her wasn’t something I was going to make a habit of.

I pushed past her to gain a little breathing space. “You know how it is. Super busy with work and life.”

Carol’s mouth formed a little pout. “If you ever have free time, you know where to find me. I’m right under you.” She winked at me and waved before saying, “Bye, bye,” and walked the last steps to her floor, swaying her hips suggestively.

I blinked a few times, trying to bring myself back to reality. Work. I needed to get to work. I ran the last steps, opened the garage door, grabbed my bike, and left the building.

Purchase

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Meet the Author

M. Hollis could never decide what to do with her life. From the time she was a child, she has changed her ideas for a career hundreds of times. After writing in hidden notebooks during classes and daydreaming during every spare moment of her day, she decided to fully dedicate herself to her stories. When she isn’t scrolling around her social media accounts or reading lots of femslash fanfiction, you’ll find her crying about female characters and baking cookies.

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Review: Walking in A Winter Wonderland by Claire Castle

Colton Dawson is miserable this holiday season. Those he’d loved the most are no longer in his life. With one disappointment after another, how can he possibly get into the Christmas spirit? Maybe a change of scenery—a new place to put down roots—is just what he needs for a second chance to find some happiness.

Winterbourne Vale is only too happy to help his much-loved aunt and uncle run their café in Canada while on his short December break—even if it means leaving his home in the United Kingdom. After a defeated-looking Colton walks into the café, Winter is determined to lift his spirits.

Can Colton and Winter’s Christmas happiness continue long after the gifts are unwrapped and the decorations are stowed away? 

Walking in a Winter Wonderland is holiday treat filled with special ornaments and glistening snow, hot tea and cold-weather kisses, along with some sexy shenanigans and plenty of holiday cheer.

The premise to this story was fodder for a deliciously adorable holiday tale. All the ingredients were there; a heartbreaking coming home story, a lumberjack looking MC with an ACCENT, small town quaintness and peppermint bark. Why 2 hearts then? The execution of all those elements just didn’t come together for me.

The MC’s were pretty flat overall, some depth to them would have gone a long way. Telling me they have this amazing connection doesn’t make me believe it’s an actual thing. Colton starts out very broken for a myriad of reasons. He’s inherited his Grandma’s house and is devastated by her death, he’s coming off a bad breakup and figures moving to the small town where his Grandma lived will be a good fresh start. He has a meet cute with Winter who works at the cafe in town to help out his aunt and uncle while he’s visiting from across the pond. Sounds great huh?

Frankly, I didn’t care for Colton. He was incredibly dramatic and rude when he was “broken” and then when he and Winter started flirting his personality changed completely and I was expected to chalk it up to the aforementioned connection they shared. Since I had a hard time with the connection, I had a hard time with the personality shift.

The conversations weren’t fluid they just sounded awkwardly stilted and many times made no sense and were hard to follow. When Winter gets up the nerve to ask Colton to the Christmas Fair, it goes like this (words in parentheses are my inner dialog): 

 “So, I was going to ask you.” He swirled the ice in his drink. “Do you want to come to the Christmas Fair at the weekend with me?” 
(Nice and sweet, first date stuff. Sounds adorable. Note the “with me” at the end there, that’s going to matter.) 

 “I’m already going.” 
(Wow. Rude.) 

Frowning, he looked over and pulled his hand away. “Ah . . . . oh, okay . . . . sure. Whatever,” he mumbled. 
(Poor dude, shot his shot and then got shot down.) 

“No! No, I just meant Carol at the store said I should go. I would love to go with you though. That’s a much better proposition.” I bit my lip and smiled. 
(What the actual fuck? Is that flirting? If it is, please stop.) 

So that may seem like a nit picky example, but that’s how so much of the dialog was. Weird roller coasters of conversation with no direction are just frustrating and took me out of the story after a very short while.

For instance, Colton started to tell Winter about his last conversation with his Grandma, but broke down without finishing and then claims he poured his heart out to Winter, even though he left out the most important part of what happened. At one point they are kissing and rubbing junk and in the next breath they are talking about snowglobes with no segway from boners to Christmas, I need a segway. Winter’s aunt says to Colton, “You are feeling now, though. When I first saw your sad eyes, there was no emotion.” What? Last I heard, sadness was still an emotion.

Basically, what my rant is getting at, is that the words lost their meaning because they didn’t seem to have much motivation to them. So many of them were just “there”.

The basic bones of Christmas gold were in the story. The author’s premise had a lot of potential. The setting was ideal for a love story between two men with Colton’s and Winter’s backgrounds. Unfortunately the tale lost its way in amongst the unfocused dialog and overly dramatic/unwarranted reactions. Which was really too bad because I wanted to like this story so much.

The issues are all mine though, and if you read this review and think, “Damn, Peach, chill.” then definitely download the sample and check it out yourself, hopefully you’ll have a better connection than I did.

**a copy of this story was provided for an honest review**

Warmest Wishes Advent 2018: Week 6

It's the final week of the Warmest Wishes Advent Stories! We've had a lot of fun this year and hope you have too. This week we're featuring stories from T.J. Nichols, Charles Payseur, Quincy Cameron, Beth Laycock and Kim Fielding!

ICYMI: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5

The Legend of Gentleman John by TJ Nichols

Banyn, a fae, escorts the souls of children to Magh Meall, but one Christmas, he comes for a lad who isn’t quite dead, and he breaks a rule rather than wait while John fights a battle he’ll ultimately lose. So begins a long-running affair that crosses the border between life and death, the human and fae realms, and even oceans to strange countries with different gods and rules.

John Rourke renounced a religion that had no place for him and returned to the old ways. Convicted of theft, he is sentenced to transportation and suffers brutal punishment—until he escapes to live on his own terms as a bushranger. When vengeance against his tormentor consumes him and threatens his life, John finds he has only one holiday wish—to see his fae lover one last time.

Ann - 4.5 Hearts

The Legend of Gentleman John is a bleak and harsh story on the surface, but the depth the author achieved in this short tale is really amazing. The non-linear story telling reveals John’s backstory in pieces that paint a picture that is hard to read and even harder to realize the truth that is John’s life and its representation of trans life in history. It’s heartbreaking and the paranormal element turned The Legend of Gentleman John into a fairytale of the highest caliber.

True fairytales often start as horror stories and what John lived through qualifies as horrific in my estimate and the appearances of Banyn throughout his life offered that little light that kept John going. The glimpses back in time that tell John’s story and his interactions with Banyn were bittersweet and their conversations were poetic.

The inevitable ending that John met was also a sweet release and I absolutely loved how the author ended this story. It’s truly worth a read and a reread.

Hero for the Holidays by Charles Payseur

A Spandex and Superpowers Story

Cody travels from Metro City to the Caribbean island lair of Dr. Devious to look after the place while the supervillain is in space for the holidays… and maybe to mend his broken heart. With Christmas fast approaching, Cody is desperate to avoid reminders of his recent disastrous breakup, and a few weeks of sun and relaxation sound perfect—until a drunk (but very cute) superhero crashes the party by literally crashing onto the beach.

And that’s just the start of Cody’s problems—angry shark-men, mysterious lava creatures, and a malfunctioning AI all make his holiday getaway anything but relaxing. Amid the chaos of his adventures in lair-sitting, though, Cody might find just what he needs—a new chance at love.

R *A Reader Obsessed* - 4 Hearts

My favorite of this series!

Poor Cody. He just wants to forget his cheating ex for the holiday, and he’s ready to settle in on Dr. Devious’s (from How the Supervillain Stole Christmas) tropical island, expecting his job of nefarious lair sitting to be a piece of cake. What could possibly go wrong?

Um… try a flashy superhero crashing on the beach ready to kick some villain ass and carrying his own set of woeful baggage.

As per the blurb, throw in an off the rails and unhelpful artificial intelligence, a group of shark men who are up to no good, and a mysterious lava man obsessed with a werewolf soap opera. Cody and Sonny definitely get way more than the bargained for!

Again, I enjoyed this world Payseur has created and expanded upon. This was funny, entertaining, and sexy, and I look forward to more!

Ann - 4 Hearts

Ok, this was a total kick and completely different than any of the other offerings in this years Advent Calendar. Superhero stories can easily veer off into ridiculous cheesiness, but when done right, the cheese is superhero level superfun and that’s exactly what Hero for the Holidays was.

There is a lot going on and a lot to learn to make the story work, but the author presented all of the descriptions and backstories organically and made the different arcs easy to follow so I could stay focused on the charms of the characters and their ridiculously entertaining scenes.

Since this is part of a series, I’m going to go snatch up 1 through 3, this is an addictive holiday treat.

Haste Ye Back by R. Quincy Cameron

The situation seems ideal: a month off work and a sweet deal to extend his stay in an unexpected paradise. Needless to say, Aaron is thrilled to snag an extra few days in Scotland after his work conference to soak up the magic of the country.

However, his plans to tourist his way around Edinburgh before his January 1st flight home are thwarted by a strange influx of people into the capital. Add in trains that don't run on New Year's, fireworks, first-footing, and running into the same gorgeous stranger as he exits every other shop, and Aaron really should have googled what “Hogmanay” was before he found himself whisked into the whirlwind of Scottish revelry and the impossible draw of that sexy stranger who tastes like scotch and, impossibly, already feels like the beginnings of home.

R *A Reader Obsessed* - 2 Hearts

Perhaps the spirit of the holidays and the prospect of a new year was thought to be enough to lend a seemingly happy conclusion, but it was not enough.

Too short a short, this finds Aaron in the midst of the chaotic Scottish holiday Hogmanay and figuratively and literally, he’s lost. Good thing he runs into Connor a few times where the connection is lightning quick and thoughts of love even quicker.

The writing didn’t quite capture me like I wanted it to. This barely touched on all I need in a romance, and I was left wanting despite the hopeful ending.

Ann - 3 Hearts

The setting and celebrations were a treat to read in Haste Ye Back. The author did a really good job of putting the reader into the setting and the descriptions took me to Hogmanay with the MC’s. Being a holiday junkie, I appreciate reading about the celebrations that take place in other countries and cultures.

Haste Ye Back had likable characters and a meet-cute I could totally buy into for a holiday story. It was charming and realistic and Aaron’s inner dialog was spot on for someone in his situation and personality. The charm continued on to the bar where Aaron and his handsome stranger, Connor spent time with some cocktail fueled banter and eye boning.

I was fully onboard with everything that was going on, but the insta love took a fast track, even for insta love, and I felt a little left in the dust with the romance. I’m fine with insta lust and where that can lead, but I do enjoy some buildup that was missing here. The ending left the reader with a hopeful HFN, which I did believe, but considering the insta love, I did expect more at the end.

This would make a great full length story to be able to explore a fully developed relationship between Aaron and Connor.

Miracle on Three Kings’ Day by Beth Laycock

Levi’s family knows he needs to find a way out of his funk and be a part of the world again. His brother, Jesse, invites Levi to join him in sunny Spain for the holidays, but a delay at the airport finds Levi at Jesse’s home while his brother is stranded in Scotland. Luckily Alejandro—Alex—is on hand with a key, a friendly smile, and a willingness to keep Levi company. He might even manage to draw Levi out of his shell for some mutual flirting.

Levi surprises himself when he accepts an invitation to spend New Year’s Eve with Alex at Alex’s café, but is he ready for more when it means jumping back into life feetfirst? Besides, with an ocean between them and Alex hiding a part of his life that Levi isn’t sure he can handle, they’ll need their own Three Kings’ Day miracle to stay together.

Ann - 4 Hearts

The author managed to pack a lot of story into 44 pages and the balance she struck worked really well for every branch of Miracle on Three King’s Day. It also made me want to book a trip to Spain and stay in Alex’s brothers place.

The author also managed to make miscommunication work in this short, probably because it was more assumption than miscommunication, but the short life of the confusion was perfect for me, it gave Levi and Alex a little conflict and the push that Levi needed. Levi’s insecurities were relatable rather than grating (as insecurities can sometimes be) so he was a flawed character, but in a realistic way.

Alex was a dream and I fell for him just as much as Levi did. He was exactly what Levi needed and vice versa. There’s a promise of more for them and I would have loved to read it. An epilogue would have been awesome, as the ending was a smidge abrupt considering the buildup. But there was enough foundation for me to believe in Levi and Alex together for the long haul.

Exit Through the Gift Shop by Kim Fielding

Alex’s traditional family Christmas Compromise means spending the holiday at a second-rate theme park, Poseidon’s Planet, but Alex doesn’t mind. He enjoys the rides and the company of his family, and it’s a good break from his going-nowhere existence back in Indiana. Then he meets a certain sexy employee in a pirate costume, and Alex’s vacation gets even better. But thrill rides last only a short time, and sooner or later everyone has to return to real life. Alex long ago gave up on marrying a handsome prince—will he have to give up on his pirate as well?

R *A Reader Obsessed* - 4 Hearts

Seriously sweet and heartwarming!

Alex is on his annual Christmas trip with his family and of course, he never expects to find the promise of love while enjoying oceanic themed amusement park rides. However, when mutual attraction sparks between him and employee Rory, these two connect in a really genuine way.

This might not seem like there's much to this little story, but it really delivered on the sentiment and all the good familial and romantic feels! A total advent win!

Ann - 4 Hearts

Kim Fielding is really gifted at giving short and adorable holiday interludes and Exit Through the Gift Shop is especially so. Alex’s family tradition is a fun change from the usual holiday shenanigans and the family dynamic is sweet with just enough snark to keep them realistically likable. I’m a Die Hard Disneyland Fiend (notice the Caps) so I get Alex’s love for all things amusement park related.

His run ins with Rory are adorkably adorable and I liked reading the two of them together. As Christmas gets close and Alex spends time with Rory solo, the story got its depth as Rory told his life tale and I fell for him just as hard as Alex did. Christmas day was oozing with holiday charm and I lapped up every word.

Sure, the HEA was entirely too convenient and easy, but honestly, by the time the end came around I really didn’t care about reality, I was too onboard with their HEA to be bothered with the nonsense that is realism in my Christmas stories.

Review copies were provided by the publisher in exchange for honest opinions.

Blog Tour + Giveaway: Shadowing the Light (The Bearer of Truth #1) by Miranda Turner

Author Miranda Turner and Vibrant Promotions visit on the Shadowing the Light (The Bearer of Truth #1) blog tour! Learn more about the urban fantasy and enter in the $10 Amazon gift card giveaway!

SHADOWING THE LIGHT

The Bearer of Truth Book 1

MIRANDA TURNER

GAY URBAN FANTASY

RELEASE DATE: 12.17.18

Cover by Lou Harper

BLURB

“Everybody has their own agenda. Everybody.”

Hunted for the unique blood that runs through his veins, half-angel, half-demon Gabriel Sinclair lives without expectations. On the run from forces on both sides of an ancient conflict, he searches for strength and peace in a world which only seeks to use him.

When Gabriel is forced to stop running, assigned a team—and a mate—he doesn’t want, and reluctantly tasked with a mission, he must overcome obstacles both real and imagined. Otherwise, the world as he knows it, and the mate he’s reluctantly come to care for, may cease to exist.

“I will do as the Creator bids me. Always.”

Evander Ryan is special, and he knows it. The final handcrafted immortal warrior for the light, he is the Creator’s greatest masterpiece. For fifty-eight years, he’s lived his life in black and white, coddled by his Maker, while leading his team to countless victories against their enemies. Those fights were easy. Working with a new, uncooperative mate who sees the world in shades of gray? Less so.

As Evander’s eyes are opened to the existence of light warriors who are not good, dark warriors who are, and the wider world of supernatural beings, he learns nothing is as he thought it was, and his mate isn’t who he thought he was either. Maybe there’s something to be said for not always following the rules. . .

http://a.co/d/7yULzrg

EXCERPT

A presence warmed his back, and Gabriel stiffened as the delicious scent of his sodalis vita rolled across his senses. With the fight and not enough rest, he was mentally weak, too weak to fight this stupid need to be close to Evander. Maybe he could just stand near him without touching him or taking it further and hope it would be enough? Because it was all he could willingly get from Evander, and he’d never take what wasn’t offered freely.

Evander cleared his throat. “I want you to know that I did and will continue to take care of the Luc issue. He won’t be bothering you again.”

Gabriel scoffed. “Sure he won’t.”

“Are you questioning my leadership?” Evander glared at him.

“More like your faith in Luc’s ability to control himself. But now that you mention it…”

Evander’s entire body stiffened. Rigid as a plank, Evander seethed. “It’s been dealt with. I know how to handle my men.” Uh-oh, someone didn’t like to be doubted. Gabriel mentally shrugged. His doubt was justified.

Gabriel barked out an abrupt laugh. “You do? Since when? Because I seem to remember someone trying to beat the shit out of me not too long ago, and no matter how gingerly he may be moving right now, his first instinct is still to attack me. I can tell you all the lashes in the world won’t fix the actual problem, so how are you going to handle it?”

Evander immediately deflated, his eyes darting around the room nervously. He’d probably never had anyone besides Gabriel say more than boo to him in his entire life. He had no idea how to behave if everyone didn’t fall in line.

“See, this is your problem. You have no clue how to deal with the situation here. Have any of your men stepped out of line before now? I feel pretty confident saying no. The proof of a good leader isn’t if his men will listen to him when things are good, but how they behave when the chips are down. How are your men behaving, Evander? You’ve been an effective leader because you’ve had obedient men who are also leaders in their fields. With your power levels outranking every other Bellator and the fact that you are a decent strategist, of course men will follow you. But can you actually be what they need when they get out of line? So far, I’d say no.”

Evander slowly turned redder with every word that came from Gabriel’s mouth, but instead of exploding, he seemed to wilt, collapsing into himself. Quickly shaking it off, he stood to his full height and grit out, “Like I said, I’ll handle it.” And Gabriel grudgingly dipped his chin, letting it go because there was no use arguing with someone who wouldn’t, or maybe couldn’t, see the truth. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Miranda Turner is a single mom of eight living outside a small, hippie town in the middle of Ohio. She's surrounded by children, chickens, and one temperamental editor kitty who is silently judging her on a daily basis. She is a voracious reader and an editor who decided she had different stories to tell. She firmly believes a happily ever after is there for everyone, but she likes to make her characters earn it.

Amazon Author: https://amzn.to/2UOn6ew

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authormturner/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/author.miranda.turner/

Email: author.miranda.turner@gmail.com

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