New Titles for Pre-sale!

I know I’ve been quiet–current job and home needs have been keeping me away from the Internet most of the time. But I’ve got some exciting news. In May, Riptide will be publishing not one, but two of my full-length novels:  on May 14,  Forest of Thorns and Claws, a m/m weretiger stand-alone which is much more than a shifter romance, and then on May 29 the second book of the Oddities series, Fraud Twice Felt, will be released.

Both are now available at the Riptide Publishing at the following links:

Forest of Thorns and Claws

Fraud Twice Felt

Look for cover reveals for both of these books coming soon!

Also, I’m working on writing the blog posts for the promotional tours. I’ll go ahead and ask it here: is there anything you’d like to know about me or the books? (or the world of the Oddities series, etc.)

I’m still hard at work on final editing tasks and writing the 3rd Oddities book.

Last day of the blog tour and giveaway!

Today’s the last day to comment to one of the blog tour stops for a chance to win a $20 Riptide gift card!  Lots of good stuff over at Riptide that you may want to check out.

Since I didn’t post yesterday, here’s the roundup of posts from Thursday and Friday:

Man2Mantastic

My Fiction Nook (Interview)

Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents (Guest Post–favorite characters)

MM Good Book Reviews

Butterfly-o-meter

Sinfully Gay Romance (Guest post–Day in the Life)

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

And over on Goodreads, don’t forget about the giveaway for a signed print copy!

Meanwhile I’m rushing through some more developmental edits on that m/m weretiger novel . . . more news to follow soon.

Thanks to everyone for their support. I really appreciate it.

 

Guest Post: To Love and To Cherish

I’m helping to announce tomorrow’s release of Addison Albright’s contemporary gay romance, To Love and To Cherish! Albright is a member of the mmromance critique group I belong to, and I’m very excited about her new book.

Title: To Love and To Cherish

Author: Addison Albright

Publisher: JMS Books, LLC

Release Day: eBook Nov. 12, 2016 & Print Nov. 30, 2016

Genre: MM Contemporary Romance

Length: (Novel) 201 Pages/63,504 Words

 

Buy-Links

JMS Books, LLC – EPUB, MOBI, PDF, HTML

Amazon Kindle – Kindle Format (AZW)

All Romance eBooks – EPUB, MOBI, PRC, PDF, HTML

OmniLit – EPUB, MOBI, PRC, PDF, HTML

 

Author’s Website Info Page for To Love and To Cherish

https://addisonalbright.wordpress.com/my-publications/series/vows/to-love-and-to-cherish/

Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32609751-to-love-and-to-cherish

Tagline and Blurb

Will Nash find love again? Of course he will. Will he go about it in the usual manner? Now that’s another story entirely.

Jilted by his fiancé two weeks before their wedding, Nash Marino’s outlook on life in general, and love in particular, is jaded. After months of couch-surfing, Nash is fed up. He’s sick and tired of his living conditions, worn out by the demands of his nursing job, and despairs of ever finding love again. In fact, he doesn’t think he’s capable of true love. Monogamy, commitment, companionship, and regular sex…that’s all he wants, and the sooner, the better.

When Nash crosses paths with a like-minded man who’s also in need of a live-in nurse for a beloved relative, Nash figures all his problems are solved. Matters are complicated by a freak accident and amnesia. When Nash’s marriage of convenience scheme is muddied by notions of love after his memory reboot, will their plans go awry, or will Nash’s new outlook on life be just what the doctor ordered?

 

Excerpt

 

“Fuck dating. Let first impressions rule. I could’ve saved myself a world of hurt and heartache if I’d done that over the years. I don’t know why I stuck it out with some of my shitty boyfriends either. Wishful thinking, I guess. But you’re right, I knew practically instantly that my husband was going to be the love of my life. So yeah, don’t bother dating…simply ask him to marry you five minutes into the conversation. I’m sure it won’t scare him off or anything.” She accompanied that final instruction with a cocked eyebrow and one of her trademark smirks, as if the scornful tone she’d used wasn’t enough to keep the sarcasm from going over his head. Subtlety wasn’t Angela’s strong suit.

“Sage advice.” He raised a spoonful of soup in salute, then brought it toward his mouth.

Someone bumped his chair from behind. Nash rocked forward, and soup spilled down his chin.

Angela stifled a snicker, and a male voice he recognized said, “Sorry about that.”

Nash snatched up his napkin to wipe his face, and turned. “No problem, Dr. Burlingham.”

Although it was, of course. He felt like a fool with chicken noodle dripping down his neck. Dr. Burlingham stood there looking at him with an odd intensity. Probably thinking Nash had a screw loose or was some kind of man-whore if he’d overheard much of Nash’s rant. Whatever, it was none of the man’s business, and Nash would hopefully not be working at this hospital—where the doctor’s opinion would affect him—for much longer anyway.

After gazing at him for an uncomfortably long couple of seconds, Dr. Burlingham turned back to Dr. Gilbert Wilson, a friendly and outgoing pediatrician whose close friendship with Dr. Burlingham had long stymied the hospital grapevine. Dr. Wilson gaped at Dr. Burlingham with his own less-squinty version of Angela’s earlier side-eye. Except Dr. Wilson’s version was accompanied by a comical upturn to one side of his mouth, indicating his enjoyment of the scene—rather than concern for his friend’s mental health, as Angela’s countenance had implied.

As soon as the two doctors walked around the corner, Angela burst into a fit of the chuckles that would have been better suited to the set of Dumb and Dumber.

“Hardee-har-har,” was the best he could come up with in reply. Nash grabbed her napkin and crammed it down the front of his uniform to mop up the rest of the soup drippage.

“Did you see the look on his face?” Angela managed to gasp between giggles.

“Which one? The repugnance on Dr. Burlingham’s or the glee on Dr. Wilson’s?”

The guffaws coming from across the table intensified and drew some curious glances as well as several censorious glares. “Seriously, Angela, you’re going to give yourself a hernia. It wasn’t that funny.”

He nudged her bottle toward her and she took the hint, a couple deep breaths, and a slug of water. “Wasn’t repugnance,” she wheezed.

“What are you talking about?”

“The look on Dr. Burlingham’s face. It wasn’t repugnance. Closer to yearning.”

“Don’t even.” Nash froze. “Right now your position on the hospital grapevine is scaring the shit out of me. Don’t. Even.”

She held up a hand. “I wouldn’t. Calm down, sweetie. I’m stating facts, is all.”

“There’s nothing remotely factual about that statement, so don’t start with me. And so help me, don’t even hint at joking about something that stupid on the pediatrics floor where Dr. Wilson might get wind of it.”

She pointed a finger—or rather the finger—at him and bit out, “I’m not a fucking idiot.”

No, she wasn’t. Nash eased back in his seat. And she was a good friend. He sighed. “Sorry. I know you wouldn’t. Just put it down to the stress, okay?”

She gave his hand a squeeze and the tightness that had appeared in her shoulders visibly relaxed as well. “I’m sorry, too, sweetie. I shouldn’t tease you right now. I promise I would never start or feed any rumors about you, stupid or otherwise, but there truly was something in his look. I just want you to have a heads-up on that.”

Nash closed his eyes and took a deep, cleansing breath. It was doubtful, and so not a complication that would be appreciated right now in his life.

 

About the Author

Addison Albright is a writer/author living in the middle of the USA with three peculiar cats. Her stories are gay (sometimes erotic) romance, and tend to be sweet man-love in contemporary settings. Her education includes a BS in Education with a major in Mathematics and a minor in Chemistry. Addison loves spending time with her family, reading, popcorn, boating, french fries, “open window weather,” cats, math, and anything chocolate. She loves to read pretty much anything and everything, anytime and anywhere.

Connect with Addison

Website/Blog | Facebook Page | Facebook Profile | Twitter

JMS Books | Loose ID | Amazon | ARe | B&N | iBooks

GoodReads | eMail

Review: Faery Reel

Book: Faery Reel

Author: Arielle Pierce

Genre: Paranormal Gay Romance

Publisher: Self-published (Part of the “Don’t Read in the Closet” event from the mmromance group on Goodreads.com)

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

 

This story felt authentic, which makes sense when I read that Arielle has lived in Wales. I really liked the main character’s voice, which was a combination of snark and dispirited hopefulness, especially when it comes to his love life. Osian encounters a member of the Sidhe (Fae) while visiting Ireland and badmouthing their folk music. While Conall might succeed at physically seducing Osian, it takes quite a bit more before he’s willing to let his heart open up.

This was a novella and it ran through the story in a fairly quick and straightforward way, but the voice and the attention to detail is why I give this story four stars. Plus I like that the Fae were slightly dangerous and that there was a feeling of danger in whether or not to succumb to their charms.

A Race to the Finish–WIP progress

Ah, September!  Finally an end to the 100 degree nights that is summer in Arizona. Nevermind the 100 degree plus days. Those won’t end until October. But at least the nights are starting to be bearable.

September also means something else–that I have less than one month left to finish, edit, and turn in the 2nd Oddities book, Fraud Twice Felt. I originally estimated it would be 90k, much like the first Oddities book, but my villain proved stronger than I anticipated, the climax much larger and more complicated, and so I find myself now sitting at 91k, going, “Crap! I need to get this thing finished!!”  I estimate about three chapters to go in order to finish the thing. Editing?  Ergh. May not have time for much of that.

So here’s where all the works in progress currently stand:

 

Current WIPs:

1. Fraud Twice Felt (The Oddities Book 2, paranormal M/M suspense), now at 91,682 words, NOW estimated to be about 100k. ACK!  Due to publisher by October 1.

2. Fae Fortunes (YA M/M paranormal), currently at 45,563 words, estimated 65k.

3. Deena and the Professor (Trudy Judd, BDSM romance), Seven out of 10 parts written, first 7 parts published, currently at 2862 words on Part 8 (estimated to be 8k).

4. Forest of Thorns and Claws (weretiger M/M). Received the notes back from the publisher, will work on developmental edits as soon as the 2nd Oddities book is done and turned in.

5. Fantasy novel currently at 81,675 words, total will be 110k. Right now this one is the lowest of my priorities.

 

Cover Reveal: Just a Week, by Jena Wade

Doing a cover reveal for the wonderful Jena Wade, one of the writers in the “House of Manlove” mmromance critique group that I belong to. Enjoy!

Just A Week

By Jena Wade

Release: July 14th, 2016

Publisher: Loose Id

Blurb:

Just a week is not enough time to fall in love, but Fate doesn’t care. Seth’s carefully crafted plan for how his life will go doesn’t include falling in love with a guy in his horrible hometown. He wants to start a new life anywhere but at home. Until Maddox storms in with his multi-colored hair and carefree attitude.
Long distance relationships don’t work and Seth isn’t into gambling with his future. But the more time he spends with Maddox, the more he’s willing to throw caution to the wind. Now his plan for the rest of his life has been turned upside down and seems to include things Seth never thought possible, including a lifetime of happiness in his hometown.

 

Excerpt:

I headed out the door and grabbed the book I started a few days ago out of my car. In high school I would always go to the park and read when it was nice out. My parents were happy knowing I got fresh air, and I was happy just to get lost in the world of whatever book had captured my attention.
I found my usual bench unoccupied. Thank goodness. It sat underneath a giant oak tree that provided a good amount of shade. About a hundred feet away sat a set of playground equipment for kids. Since it was Sunday evening, there weren’t many kids around.
The screech and clicks of skateboards on metal had me looking around like I’d just entered a parallel universe. What the hell?
Where there used to be old basketball hoops with raggedy nets, there now stood a half-pipe and other random obstacles used for skateboarding tricks. A half dozen teenagers and young adults whizzed around each other. Some on boards, others on rollerblades. All of them moving at high speed.
There was a lot of laughing, and every so often someone shouted, “Check this out,” before trying some stunt on the rail, usually resulting in a fall or stumble.
Squealing kids on a swing set I could drown out. But this, I wasn’t so sure about. It was new. And distracting.
One young man in particular stood out. Mostly because he had bright orange hair that spiked in every direction, possibly looking like it could impale a person if they were to touch it. Like a cactus. He also looked a bit older than the teenagers that surrounded him, which might explain why they all seemed to look up to him like he was a god.
He wore a black zip-up sweatshirt, though it was warm enough to go without, and jeans that were skintight.
Once I started watching him, I noticed that the other skaters watched him too. He had talent. He kept his balance well, and his moves seemed effortless. While the other skaters floundered and wobbled as they zoomed around, he kept calm and collected.
I didn’t understand the appeal of skateboarding, especially on a half-pipe. What was the purpose of putting yourself in harm’s way like that? Might as well throw myself down a flight of stairs if I wanted to break a bone.
Orange-haired Guy stood on the deck of the half-pipe. He stared down the slope below, his face unreadable. He didn’t call the others to gather around and watch, though I had a feeling they would anyway.
He took a deep breath and hopped on his board.
I held my breath, like I was the one up there. I watched in wonder as he gained momentum, back and forth, up and down the half-pipe. Once he had enough speed he began his flips. It looked amazing to me. Him flipping in the air, his feet staying on the board as he spun, then landing perfectly to do it all over again. I guess I had never bothered to watch any skateboarding before. Maybe I would have if they had looked like this skateboarder.
My nose pressed against the chain-link fence that surrounded the skate park before I even realized I had walked closer. At least I started breathing again.
He stopped just as quickly as he started. Landing back on the deck of the half-pipe, like he hadn’t just done something incredible. And maybe it wasn’t to him; maybe that was just another day in the life. To me it was pretty cool.
The other skaters around cheered and gave him high fives as he made his way through the park. Just like that, he left. He hit the sidewalk and hopped back on to his board, flying down the street like it was made for him.
I snapped out of it. What the hell just happened? I don’t gawk. I never gawk.
I rushed back to my regular bench, picked up my book, and headed home, no longer in the mood to read. At least not outside. At home inside my room there wouldn’t be any distractions. Visions of the orange-haired guy floated through my head, and I couldn’t shake them. I blamed the jet lag.
Never mind the fact that I didn’t fly home. Nor did I go through any time zones. Traveling had tired me out, and I wasn’t thinking straight.
Just a week. Then I would be back where I belonged and where things were normal. Routine. The way I liked it.

Bio:

Jena Wade began writing in January of 2013 as a New Year’s resolution and so far she has stuck to it.
She lives in Michigan with her husband, two dogs, and one brand new baby boy. By day she works as a web developer and at night she writes. She was born and raised on a farm and spends most of her free time outdoors, playing in the garden or tending to her landscaping.

Links:

The Jena Wade: www.thejenawade.com

Loose Id: http://www.loose-id.com/authors/erotic-romance-authors-g-k.html?cat=699

Twitter: thejenawade.twitter.com

Busy times and delays

It’s been a very busy year so far.

In my day job, I’ve been working very hard to develop a pilot training program for oral health, to teach community health workers so that they can teach low-income parents about good oral health practices. It’s been frantic and exhausting at times. Then on top of that, I’ve been helping my partner manage several health issues, among them pain management, diabetes, and anxiety. And I’ve been working on my own issues of ADHS.

Add to that my first book which has been going through a grueling editing process–developmental, line, etc. and also me working on the next book plus the other books I’ve been writing?

Yeah, it’s been busy.

Thanks in part to this, and also to editors with busy lives as well, Riptide has decided to change the release date for my mm paranormal suspense novel, Murder First Seen. They want time to finish the edits and get out the advanced reading copies (ARCs) to libraries, magazines, etc. for reviews and marketing. My publicist is pretty excited about the book, so that’s a good sign.

So the new release date will be December 12.

I’m partially bummed that I have to wait longer, but on the other hand, I agree that the book should get the full time needed for more traditional magazine reviews and marketing. Plus, this puts it right in the Christmas season, which could be a very good thing.

So yes, mark your calendars. Murder First Seen will be released December 12, 2016.

Pre-order page on Riptide: http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/murder-once-seen

(This news is so new, they haven’t even changed the date on the pre-order page yet, but expect that soon.)

Thanks for everyone’s support!

Cover Reveal and Pre-Order!

now available for pre-order I’m very excited to announce that my first full length novel, Murder Once Seen (Oddities Book 1), is now available for pre-order on Riptide’s site! In addition, I can finally share the cover, created by Kanaxa. This paranormal mmromance will be coming out September 26.

Blurb:

In the city of Nis, things often aren’t what they seem.

Derwin is a bounty hunter gifted with the Oddity of superhuman strength and agility—perfect for hunting down fugitives and demons who roam the streets. One killed his boyfriend two years ago, and Derwin won’t stop until he finds out who. Police suspect it was someone he sent to prison, but he can’t shake the idea that they’re missing something.

Elliot is a rentboy who’s been living on the streets since his parents disowned him. He mistrusts everyone and, given his uncontrolled ability to Read Objects and a client list that includes a major gang boss, despairs of ever having a normal life.

Derwin and Elliot meet in a storm of lust. Derwin’s Oddity is fed by the pain of others, but he only wants what’s freely given. Elliot loves pain, but needs safety and a way off the streets before he can allow it. They may be able to solve each other’s problems . . . if they can survive long enough to work together.

 

(and for followers of my blog, I’m a complete dork. For some reason I had stuck in my head that the final title would be “Murder First Seen.” So know that this is the same book, featuring Derwin and Elliot, that I described way back when I started writing it. The book has been through several titles, but I’m very happy with the cover and the depictions of the characters.)

Where does the time go? Progress Report

I think it’s telling in the fact that I forgot to post a monthly WIP report for April and May. My day job has been insane lately, and on top of that there have been a lot of medical issues to deal with on the family side. I’m hoping that we’re riding the wave now rather than being drowned by it.

Anyways, here’s an update. I’m also wrapping up my line edits for the first Oddities book, Murder First Seen. This book will be up for pre-order soon–look for an announcement!

Current WIPs:

1. Forest of Thorns and Claws (weretiger M/M), Finished at 62,857 words, submitted to publisher.

2. Fraud Twice Felt (The Oddities Book 2, paranormal M/M suspense), now at 58,437 words, estimated to be about 90k. Due to publisher by October 1.

3. Fae Fortunes (YA M/M paranormal), currently at 41,256 words, estimated 65k.

4. Deena and the Professor (Trudy Judd, BDSM romance), Six out of 10 parts written, first 6 parts published, currently at 4203 words on Part 7 (estimated to be 8k).

5. Fantasy novel currently at 80,535 words, total will be 110k. Right now this one is the lowest of my priorities.

A bit late–March WIP wrapup

Real life was crazy last week, so I didn’t get up my monthly work in progress post. So here that is, and then later this week I’ll talk about some new characters I’m developing for the Oddities Books 4 through 6. (What are the Oddities books, you say? You’ll find out in September, when the first one comes out!)

Just to give an update on things, lately I’ve been working on edits to my weretiger novel I just finished, Forest of Thorns and Claws. I should hopefully finish that this week, and by the end of next week I expect to have it submitted to my editor. Meanwhile, I just received the line edits for Murder First Seen (The Oddities Book One) so I’m making my way through that as well. I’m more than halfway through writing the second Oddities book, which is why I’m trying to look forward and figure out how I’m going to finish Derwin and Elliot’s plot and romance arcs by the end of Book 3, and where I’ll need to be at that point for the world’s story arc. (Which brings me to the pairing who will carry books 4 through 6. But I’ll talk about that later. It’s pretty neat stuff.)

So anyways, here’s the latest on my current WIPS, as of today:

1. Forest of Thorns and Claws (weretiger M/M), Finished at 62,857 words, four more chapters left to edit.

2. Fraud Twice Felt (The Oddities Book 2, paranormal M/M suspense), now at 50,475 words, estimated to be about 90k. Due to publisher by October 1.

3. Fae Fortunes (YA M/M paranormal), currently at 39,507 words, estimated 65k.

4. Deena and the Professor (Trudy Judd, BDSM romance), Six out of 10 parts written, first 5 parts published, currently at 826 words on Part 7 (estimated to be 8k).

5. Fantasy novel currently at 79,747 words, total will be 110k. Right now this one is the lowest of my priorities.