Honorary Blogger Post

Honorary Blogger Max Vos: The Ramblings From a Mad Gay Man + Giveaway

Posted on May 7, 2014 by thebloggergirls

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The Ramblings From a Mad Gay Man

by Max Vos

First, thanks for letting me drop in and bend your ear a bit.

Hmm, what inspires me? There are all kinds of things that inspire me to write. Sometimes it is something on the news, which was the case for P.O.W. Or something I overhear at the grocery store. All kinds of things can give me an idea. Small things can really turn into something special.

The start of college football season and the upcoming Olympics was all I needed for inspiration for My Hero. Seeing a guy on a Harley and a conversation with a friend of mine who is an elementary school teacher was all it took for Hawk ‘n’ Harley. So, you see, just about anything can set my mind to whirling about with a possible story line.

As for what drives me crazy? I admit, it is a very short drive. I’m already pretty nuts. I think what really goads me the most is when women write reviews saying that some of my sex scenes aren’t possible. My first response is “Lady, when you grow a dick, you let me know and I’ll give you instructions on how to use it!”

It sometimes amazes me how little people in general know about the lifestyle of gay men. The whole insta-love thing for instance. Hell, I’ve seen guys show up for a second date towing a U-Haul trailer! Yep, it does happen. I’ve seen it over and over again. Of course that doesn’t mean it ends up with a HEA, but it does occur. All the time.

Commas. Commas drive me insane. I never seem to get them right. Thank the powers that be for good editors. When I’m writing, the characters take over and they could care less about grammar. I’m constantly have to go back over what they’ve had me write and do corrections. It’s a total pain, but I’ve learned to deal with it. They have the control, which of course, drives me crazy.

Of course, I’ve gone into both of these subjects in depth on my blog. Go take a look and you’ll see the mad ramblings of a gay man on the edge.

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About The V Unit

The V UnitOnly a select few in the human world knew of the existence of the V-Unit, a small group of highly trained Marines – who happened to be vampires.

And it would have stayed that way.

But when events in the vampire world, threatened the stability of the human world, the powers that be called for the unit’s specialized services.

An intrepid war correspondent, Bronson Rudan, who’d seen more than his fair share of fighting, stumbles across the unit by accident, and is drawn into their world.

Bronson has no problem with that, given that he gets to spend time with a hunky Marine Lieutenant, Sarge. Although he won’t remember any of this when they’re through.

At least, that was the plan…

Available at: Amazon & All Romance eBooks

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About Max Vos

Max Vos is a classically trained chef with over 30 years of food service experience. After retiring in 2011, Max found himself with time on his hands and was urged to turn his talents to writing. ‘Cooking English’, a short story, was his first published work, and since then Ravenous Romance have published five more of his short stories. His first novel, P.O.W. was released October, 2013 with MLR Press. His second novel, My Hero was a best seller and has just been recently been released in French.

You will find everything in a Max Vos story. From sweet and sexy, even raunchy, to powerful, raw and gritty—something for all tastes.

You can find Max at Facebook.

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The prize in this blog tour is an ebook copy of The V Unit. Just click the link below to enter!

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Please be aware that the only way to enter the giveaway is to click the Rafflecopter link above. Any comments on this post will not count towards entering the giveaway but are still be welcome anyway.

Don’t forget to check out JustJen’s review of The V Unit to see what she thought of it!

Good luck!

Categories: Book Promo, Giveaways, Honorary Blogger Post, LGBT | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

Honorary Blogger Joanna Chambers: A Very Scottish Romance + Giveaway

Posted on May 4, 2014 by thebloggergirls

Heather C:  We are just a few days away from the release of Joanna Chambers new book Enlightened…the highly anticipated conclusion of her Enlightenment Trilogy.  Joanna is here at TBG today for her first stop on the Enlightened Blog Tour and talking about how her stories are a different sort of Scottish Romance.  Be sure to get your entries into the Rafflecopter giveaway for a chance to win ebook copies of all three books in the Enlightenment series and a $10 All Romance eBooks gift card.

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A Very Scottish Romance?

by Joanna Chambers

When I tell people that my Enlightenment trilogy is based in Regency Scotland, it tends to conjure up a whole pile of assumptions. Scottish historical romances are so commonplace (in het romance anyway) that they’ve practically become a sub-genre all of their own.

The covers usually feature a burly guy with long hair, a bare chest, a kilt and a massive sword looking all brooding and fighty. He’ll say things like “Doona fash yersel’ woman!” and dislike English people, or “sassenachs”, as he’ll call them. He’ll prefer to spend his time roaming the purple hills and green glens inhabited by his clan, but will occasionally be forced to put on satin and lace and dance with “simpering English misses” in ballrooms in London whose tightly fastened gowns he’ll tear apart with his bare hands on the way back to Gretna Green.

I’m afraid my Scottish-set books bear no resemblance to this whatsoever. I have a rather different view of Scotland, and specifically, my Scottish characters.

David Lauriston, through whose point of view all three books are written, is a lowlander who would never consider wearing tartan. What’s more, he’s a post-Enlightenment Scot with roots that are modest but not poverty-stricken. He is educated and about as socially mobile as someone might be in the 1820s, a man on the way up. He is far more concerned about universal human questions – the inequality between rich and poor, men and women – than in any parochial argument between nations. He may be a Scot, but he sees himself primarily as a citizen of a new, modern world.

Lord Murdo Balfour is something else entirely. Murdo comes from old money, old power. A Scottish aristocrat’s son, he is intimate with the corridors of power of Great Britain. Cynical, self-serving, hell-bent of wringing every bit of pleasure he can out of life, Murdo knows as well as David does that the world is changing. He sees that the power of aristocrats like himself is waning and that a new class – a merchant class – will be the power of the future. That money and markets will replace land as the currency of power.

Like David, Murdo sees himself in far more universal terms than those bare-chested, claymore-wielding heroes from “Scottish romance” books. David and Murdo are Scottish, but that’s very far from being everything that they are. They are men of a new, changing nation, part of a union—Great Britain—that is on the cusp of becoming the greatest empire in the nineteenth century world. They are part, too, of a post-Enlightenment society that will, over the next hundred years, transform, as the suffrage is gradually extended and women’s rights are slowly recognised.

It was important to me, in these books, to try to write about Scotland and Scottish characters in a way that strips away the tartan and claymores and shows that underneath the layers of nationality and culture and class and all that stuff, people are pretty much the same all over.

But I’ll let readers be the judge of whether I’ve managed to do that.

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About Enlightened

EnlightenedCoverFive months ago, David Lauriston was badly hurt helping his friend Elizabeth escape her violent husband. Since then, David has been living with his lover, Lord Murdo Balfour, while he recuperates.

Despite the pain of his injuries, David’s time with Murdo has been the happiest of his life. The only things that trouble him are Murdo’s occasional bouts of preoccupation, and the fact that one day soon, David will have to return to his legal practice in Edinburgh.

That day comes too soon when David’s friend and mentor takes to his deathbed, and David finds himself agreeing to take on a private mission in London. Murdo is at his side in the journey, but a shocking revelation by Murdo’s ruthless father leaves David questioning everything they’ve shared.

As tensions mount and the stakes grow higher, David and Murdo are forced to ask themselves how far they’re prepared to go—and how much they’re prepared to give up— to stay together. And whether there’s any chance of lasting happiness for men like them.

Series: Enlightenment #3

Pages: 230

Publisher:   Samhain

Release Date: May 6, 2014

Purchase Links: Samhain

Check out Heather C’s review.

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About the Author

Joanna Chambers studied law, became a litigator, married and had two sons before she began writing. She knew she wanted to write since she was eight years old but never seemed to get beyond buying notebooks and sharpening pencils. Fortunately, after about twenty-five years of sharpening pencils, Joanna found her muse when she rediscovered her love of the romance genre.

Joanna lives in Scotland with her family. When not working, cooking, cleaning, packing schoolbags or writing, she can be found with her nose buried in an ebook.

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

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For a chance to win all 3 ebooks of the Enlightenment series and a $10 All Romance e-Books Giftcard, enter by clicking the Rafflecopter ling below: 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Categories: Book Promo, Giveaways, Honorary Blogger Post | Tags: , , | 24 Comments

Honorary Blogger KJ Charles: The Reluctant Action Heroine + Giveaway

Posted on May 3, 2014 by thebloggergirls

Heather C: The wonderful KJ Charles is here on the blog talking about her new M/F romantic suspense thriller Non-Stop Till Tokyo and her breakdown of the action heroine.  Plus, there’s a giveaway!  Take a minute to tell us your favorite action heroine, book, TV or movie and get a chance at winning a free ebook copy of Non-Stop Till Tokyo.

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The Reluctant Action Heroine
by KJ Charles

For a romance writer, I watch an awful lot of action movies. I like action adventure. I’ll watch anything – anything – with Vin Diesel or Jason Statham in it. I like things that go bang.

As an aficionado of these movies, I have noticed that women tend to divide into three groups. 

Deathtastic. Whacking through the body count as happily as the men. Best ever: Helen Mirren in RED, aged 65, whipping round a machine gun like other ladies of a certain age have a handbag.

Useless. At best, hiding under the bed crying. At worst, manifests as: ‘Oh, we’re running for our lives from the mob? Let me put on stilettos and insist we go back for my pet chihuahua!’ 

Useless becoming deathtastic. Rachel McAdam in Red Eye starts off as a mild mannered hotel manager, and scales the dizzy heights of action till she stabs Cillian Murphy in the throat with a pen. Possibly all hotel managers fantasise about stabbing someone in the throat with a pen. Best to keep it nice at reception.

I’m sure we’ve all vaguely wondered what we’d do if caught up in an action adventure plot. Would you hide under the bed crying? Run away? Hand over the secret formula right away because, yeah, stuff this for a game of tin soldiers? Use your Girl Scout expertise to construct a range of booby-traps and improvised explosive devices? (If you’d insist on going back for the chihuahua and wearing heels, please get help.)

I thought about it a lot writing my romantic suspense thriller Non-Stop Till Tokyo. In this, our heroine Kerry is in no way equipped for action. She works at a hostess bar. She has never held a gun, has no fighting skills, and demonstrates as little physical courage as any normal person. When she finds herself the target of a yakuza gang, for reasons she doesn’t understand, she is quite unashamed to run like hell. Being an action adventure is just about the last thing in the world she wants to happen. 

Unfortunately, she’s stuck in Japan, with the yakuza on her tail, and the two people she loves most under threat. And now she has to try and keep them all alive, which may well mean doing exactly what the bad guys tell her. Because Kerry’s afraid, really afraid, just like I’d be (I fall very firmly in the ‘useless’ category), and she stays afraid because she has no secret ass-kicking skills to call on. 

She has some advantages, of course. A way with languages; some very odd friends; and, eventually, a 6’7 Samoan American ex-sumo wrestler with a foul temper as her bodyguard. (She’s not sure at first how much of an advantage this is. I think it’s fair to say he grows on her.)

But in the end, if Kerry’s going to find a way out for all the people she cares for, it’s not going to be by using her fists and feet, let alone guns. It’s going to require brains, fast talking, and, most importantly, a bit of heart.

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About Non-Stop Till Tokyo

10335775_1505447299678427_48886844_nA man with a past is her only hope for the future.

Kerry Ekdahl’s mixed heritage and linguistics skills could have made her a corporate star. Instead, she’s a hostess in a high-end Tokyo bar, catering to businessmen who want conversation, translation and flirtation. Easy money, no stress. Life is good—until she’s framed for the murder of a yakuza boss.

Trapped in rural Japan with the gangsters closing in, Kerry doesn’t stand a chance. Then help arrives in the menacing form of Chanko, a Samoan-American ex-sumo wrestler with a bad attitude, a lot of secrets, and a mission she doesn’t understand.

Kerry doesn’t get involved with dangerous men. Then again, she’s never had one on her side before. And the big, taciturn fighter seems determined to save her life, even if they rub each other the wrong way.

Then her friends are threatened, and Kerry has no choice but to return to Tokyo and face the yakuza. Where she learns, too late, that the muscle man who’s got her back could be poised to stab it.

Product Warnings
Contains graphic violence, swearing, and implied sexual abuse.

Non-Stop Till Tokyo is out now from Samhain Publishing. 

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KJ has generously offered up a free ebook copy of Non-Stop Till Tokyo to one lucky winner!

The giveaway starts now and will end next Saturday, May 10th, 2014, at 11:59 pm EST. After which the lucky winner will be randomly picked.

All you have to do is tell us your favorite action heroine, book, TV or movie to be entered into the drawing for a free copy.

Be sure to give us your email address or we won’t know how to contact you.

Make sure to follow the blog for the winner’s announcement post or check back next Sunday, May 11th, 2014, to see if you’ve won.

Don’t forget to check out Heather C’s review of Non-Stop Till Tokyo to see what she thought of it!  You can also buy your own copy at Samhain Publishing, Amazon, All Romance eBooks or Barnes & Noble.

Categories: Giveaways, Honorary Blogger Post | Tags: , , , | 6 Comments

Honorary Blogger Rie Warren: Who’s On Top? + Giveaway!

Posted on May 1, 2014 by thebloggergirls

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Who’s On Top?

by Rie Warren

Who loves switch stories? Me! Me! By ‘switch’ I refer to male-male stories in which both characters top and bottom. Yes, I’m talking about sex, one of my favorite topics. With a good switch story you have double the pleasure and double the fun.

Writing a hot, romantic tale of two lovers who give as well as receive provides its own set of complexities in terms of both getting all those manly body parts where they’re supposed to go and pumping up the eroticism and emotional connection.

How do I decide which character tops first? What’s the turning point when the slightly more dominant man decides to let his lover inside . . . inside his body, heart, and soul?

I find it’s mainly out of my control when it comes to making these decisions. It’s up to my characters because one or the other of them always has a deep-rooted reason for being more aggressive in the sack. That isn’t to say his partner is lacking in the talent department. Not at all. The first sex scene is inevitably scorching on-fire hot! Their first clash of bodies is an uncontainable, uncontrollable Holy Hell experience from start to finish. And probably another couple times because I’m generous like that.

But somewhere along the way, a massive shift occurs, and I’m not just talking about my guys adjusting themselves *wink*. This happens as their emotional bonding grows; as their relationship deepens into more than a raw sex sesh into the awwww I love yous.

I love writing these sex scenes in particular! (Okay, I’m pretty much a huge fan of writing all the sex) But in this instance, the wow happens. The explosive attraction is combined with emotional connection. This intimate interlude is still just as powerful, perhaps even more so because the relationship between my gorgeous men has developed into the long-lasting bond true love stories are made of.

And that, my friends, is when the top becomes the bottom. Talk about an amazingly jaw-dropping, heart-stopping moment.

Of course, that isn’t the end, because then we have all those good things like black moments (another fave of mine—I dig the angst), more danger, then ultimately the fought-for HEA every reader and character deserves.

Now, to talk about the particulars of nailing the sex down? Let’s follow the bouncy balls, shall we? I like my M/M sex graphic. I like it visual. I like it believable. I love it squirm-in-your seats hot. My lovers aren’t squeamish or timid, but take control and fuck-like-you-mean-it men.

I think there’s nothing sexier than a man committing his body and heart to his lover, so I like to do that times two. Bigger might not be better (seriously, I’m not sure who coined that phrase . . .) but more is PHWOAR.

Who read Lover At Last by the lady of the BDB, JR Ward? Oh, me too, you can be sure of that. Remember toward the end, when Qhuinn finally, truly opened himself up—in all ways—to Blay when they were in the clinic? That visceral impact is what I’m talking about. That’s what I’m creating with my own stories.

I also get off on forbidden love stories, which describes mine in the Don’t Tell series. Due to the restricted world my men live in, homosexual relationships are outlawed. If I let myself love you, I could die. This sentiment is true with In His Command and In His Sights, adding the perfect ingredient of impossible love.

In both In His Command and In His Sights, you’ll meet two pairs of formidable men who are also loving, romantic, giving. And of course, highly sexed for the one they’re partnered with. And while one character is slightly dominant in each story (at least in his own mind), the other is sure as hell gonna get his turn on top.

You can see me put words into action by checking out my latest release in the Don’t Tell series, In His Sights. Don’t worry if you start there; the novella contains no series spoilers and is a nice way to get your feet wet…among other things.

Tell me about a switch story you can’t get enough of! I’ll go first with two of my favorites: The Cut and Run series, because helloooo. Ty Grady and Zane Garrett with danger, sex, love, sex, cowboy hats and guns? Yes. The other story I want to highlight is one you may not have heard of (and this novel comes with a warning—it has some pretty intense, violent scenes not suitable for all readers because it takes place between two enemy spies in Afghanistan during the Cold War), Special Forces: Soldiers by Marquesate. That particular novel I read three times in a row.

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About In His Sights

In His Sights (Don't Tell, novella)These sworn enemies have everything to lose and each other to live for. 

At the outset of the Revolution against the oppressive Company regime, Hawke is a freedom fighter on a mission. Infiltrate Alpha Territory, kick some Corps ass, and stay alive. His plans unravel when he’s captured by the enemy on his first sortie. Waiting for death by the soldier sworn to kill him, all his training couldn’t have prepared him for what happens next.

A corporal in the Company’s military branch, Mayce is a hard-liner intent on ridding his city of the insurgent threat. Yet one look at the gorgeous Freelander named Hawke and years of yearning and unrealized desires change his course permanently. If discovered, he’ll be branded a traitor and a homosexual—and sentenced to death.

Mayce and Hawke act on their intense and immediate attraction. But amid the escalating war their dangerous trysts come at the risk of their own lives.

Available at: Amazon

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About Rie Warren

Rie is the badass, sassafras author of Sugar Daddy and the Don’t Tell series–a breakthrough trilogy that crosses traditional publishing boundaries beginning with In His Command.

A Yankee transplant who has traveled the world, Rie started out a writer—causing her college professor to blush over her erotic poetry without one ounce of shame. Not much has changed. She swapped pen for paintbrushes and followed her other love during her twenties. From art school to marriage to children and many a wild and wonderful journey in between, Rie has come home to her calling. Her work has been called edgy, daring, and some of the sexiest smut around.

You can find Rie on her Website, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Goodreads & YouTube!

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Rie has graciously offered up an ebook copy of BOTH books in the Don’t Tell series, In His Command AND In His Sights to one lucky winner!

The giveaway starts now and will end next Wednesday, May 7th, 2014, at 11:59 pm EST. After which the lucky winner will be randomly picked.

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below with your email address and you’re in!

Make sure to follow the blog for the winner’s announcement post or check back next Thursday, May 8th, 2014, to see if you’ve won.

Don’t forget to check out JustJen’s review of In His Sights to see what she thought of it! You can also buy your own copy of In His Sights at Amazon.

Good luck!

Categories: Book Promo, Giveaways, Honorary Blogger Post, LGBT | Tags: , , , , | 26 Comments

Honorary Blogger Shiloh Saddler on Country Crush + Excerpt & Giveway

Posted on April 28, 2014 by thebloggergirls

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by Shiloh Saddler

In Country Crush Blake Bonner rides the rodeo circuit as a team roper, a header to be exact. I grew up around rodeo events and terms. Everyone loves a cowboy, right? Not everyone is familiar with rodeos though. So here is some team roping basics. Team roping is the only team event in rodeo. Team roping grew out of the ranch chores of the past. Larger cattle would have to be immobilized for branding and doctoring by two ropers due to their strength and size.

Header and Heeler

The two cowboys involved in team roping have a specific job to do thus their name. The first, known as the header ropes the head of the cattle. The other cowboy, known as the heeler, ropes the heels or legs.

And the Event

The team ropers start from the box. The header is the first out trying to rope the head as quickly as possible without breaking the barrier. As with other roping events the cattle must get a head start. Once the catch is made the header dallies and turns the steer left. This gives the heeler room to do his job and rope the legs. The clock is stopped when there is no slack in both ropes and the horses face each other.

Timing and Penalties

If the barrier is broken a 10 second penalty is added to the time. Also, if the heeler manages to catch only one leg, then a 5 second penalty is added. In addition to these penalties there are only 3 legal catches that the header can make. These are:

both horns

one horn and the head

the neck

After a car accident Blake has been competing with a paralyzed leg. He cowboyed up and continued on the rodeo circuit as soon as he was cleared to ride again. However, getting back into the dating scene took him a little longer…

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About Country Crush

CountryCrush_MEDCountry singer Will Conrad is afraid coming out will tank his career. Being a celebrity makes it difficult to pick up a man and keep things secret. A gay one night stand online dating site is his salvation. While he is performing in Las Vegas he agrees to meet the real cowboy with whom he has been corresponding.

A car accident left championship team roper Blake Bonner with a paralyzed leg and a wounded heart. Now fully recovered, he is ready for a relationship, but will his blind date want to be topped by a cripple and will he treat him like a whole man?

When Blake finds out his date is Will Conrad he can’t believe it. He’s been his country crush since he hit the country music scene. But when the paparazzi catch them together will their burgeoning relationship be able to brave the media storm?

Purchase Country Crush at: Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes & Noble

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Excerpt from Country Crush

“He is expecting you,” she said, and then disappeared around the corner without another word.

Heart hammering his rib cage, Blake rubbed his sweaty palms on the sides of his jeans. There was nothing to be nervous about. It wasn’t like his national title was on the line—just his pride. The young woman hadn’t said his date was waiting for him, but he could tell by the look in her eyes and her knowing smile he was. Finally he was going to meet the man he’d been emailing and texting and calling for months. His middle squeezed.

Accepting his disability online was one thing, in person it was a totally different matter. There were still days when Blake woke up and cussed out his useless leg. Here goes nothing.

Taking a deep breath, he opened the door wider and found himself face-to-face with Will Conrad.

Blake’s mouth dropped open, but no words came. There had to be some mistake. Maybe everyone with a backstage pass got to meet Mr. Conrad.

The country music singer’s gaze swept over him, and he stuck out his chest, his nipples stiffening under the scrutiny. Blake instantly felt the heat between them. Conrad’s eyes held appreciation, lust, and steamy sensuality with a hint of submissive. Dear God, his celebrity crush was gay.

Conrad’s gaze swept lower and Blake’s cock hardened all the way. Conrad eyed the bulge and licked his lips. After a second, his head snapped up and he met his eyes, offering his hand. “Name’s Will Conrad.” A playful grin spread across his face. “Of course, by the twinge of shock in your eyes I think you knew that.”

Blake gave his hand a firm shake. “You’re Cowboy66?” he choked out.

“Uh-huh.”

Conrad walked past him and shut the door. “I saw you sitting in the front row. You looked like just how you described.”

Blake’s cheeks burned. “Complete with crutches,” he muttered.

Conrad laughed. “You look all man to me.”

Blake’s blush spread down his neck. “Thank you, Mr. Conrad.”

“Call me Will.” He pressed his hand against Blake’s chest. “After tonight we’ll know each other intimately.”

A lump formed in Blake’s throat and had difficulty swallowing or finding words.

“Uh, and I’m Blake.”

Will pushed Blake’s hat back farther on his head. Their lips were close and for a moment Blake’s pulse skidded. Was he going to kiss him?

“I get ogled by women all the time,” Will said, “but I seldom get such a heated gaze from a man.”

Will stepped back, breaking contact with him.

Damn the man was a tease. The way his cock throbbed he didn’t need much foreplay to be ready.

“I gravitated to your side of the stage just so I could get a better look at you.”

“I thought…oh.”

“Your dark brown eyes roaming my body made me hot all over. I’m glad I was under the stage lights to hide my fever. The way you looked at me, Blake, I really liked it.”

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About Shiloh Saddler

ShilohShiloh Saddler likes to do research for her steamy romances first hand. She has invented a time machine and travels back to the 19th century on a regular basis. There are experimental settings on her time machine which could propel her into the future and even other worlds. She believes love and a good book makes anything possible.

Shiloh’s Social Media Links: Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon Author Page

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Shiloh is generously offering up an ebook copy in any format of her other M/M cowboy romance, Perfect Ride, to one lucky winner. (About Perfect Ride: Retirement looms for professional bull rider Garrett Anderson, but he refuses to quit. He rolls into Sheridan, Wyoming, hoping to ride Spitfire, and finds the bull’s handler irresistible. Can Garrett give up what he wants most to save the man he loves?)

The giveaway starts now and will end next Sunday, May 4th, 2014, at 11:59 pm EST. After which the lucky winner will be randomly picked.

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below with your email address and you’re in!

Make sure to follow the blog for the winners’ announcement post or check back next Monday, May 5th, 2014, to see if you’ve won.

Good luck!

Categories: Book Promo, Honorary Blogger Post | Tags: , , | 11 Comments

Honorary Blogger JB Sanders: Inspiration for Glen & Tyler + Giveaway

Posted on April 27, 2014 by thebloggergirls

Nikyta: If you’ve been following along, you’ll have noticed that I’ve been catching up on my Glen & Tyler books. If you haven’t read them yet, well, shame on you because they’re a lot of fun and very fast-paced! In honor of the third book, Glen & Tyler’s Paris Double-Cross, coming out in audiobook soon, JB Sanders has stopped by today to talk a little about the boys and his inspiration towards them…

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Inspiration for Glen & Tyler

by JB Sanders

The inspiration for the Glen & Tyler stories comes in three parts.

The first part is in the form of a couple of guys I stumbled across on FaceBook, amateur hockey players, who had made their relationship status “married”. I suspect it was some kind of sophomoric stunt, or perhaps a prank on each other, but it gave me an idea for a story.

The second part has been a long time percolating. I’ve read a lot of gay literature, running the gamut from mainstream fiction to indie-published stuff, and an even larger amount of regular “straight”fiction. Time and time again, I read stories where the gay characters have a relationship that invariably ends in tragedy. I call this the Gay Doom, and at the point where I start writing the Glen & Tyler story, I nearly threw the book I was reading across the room. It had a prime example of the Gay Doom, made especially painful because the book itself was (otherwise) so well written, and the author had made characters that I really cared about.

Anyway, I rode that anger into a short story, which morphed into a book.

The third part is a little more upbeat than the other two. It has nothing particularly to do with gay or straight relationships. It has everything to do with married couples, and how so many books I read, in any genre you care to mention, have two main characters who dance around each other romantically, but never quite get there. We never see them in a long-term stable relationship solving crimes, saving the galactic empire, or stopping Doc Evil. Quick, how many married couples can you mention who have had their own TV show or movie (sitcoms don’t count)? Other than “Hart to Hart”, a show from the 80’s which helps me show my age, I’m pretty hard pressed to name even one.

So the third part is actually a big part of the Glen & Tyler books. They’re a happily married couple, going out there and having adventures. It really strikes me as odd that there isn’t more of that out there. I mean, the possibilities for comedy are huge!

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About Glen & Tyler’s Paris Double-Cross

Glen & Tyler's Paris Double-cross (Glen & Tyler #3)

Glen and Tyler are young, in love, and the wealthiest human beings on the planet.  But when Glen’s brother calls from a jail in Paris, you guessed it, they’re off to France to tangle with spies, neo-Nazis, evil world-spanning conspiracies and French gangsters. Plus they have a romantic dinner, and find long-lost treasure. Really, it’s a fun-filled non-stop romp.

In this third installment of the Glen & Tyler series, we meet up with our heroes a couple of years after their Scottish Troubles, a little more world-weary, a little wiser and no less sarcastic.

Available at: Lulu, Amazon & Barnes and Noble

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About JB Sanders

JB SandersThe author lives with an imaginary cat, and works in computer support (you know, the day job), all in Upstate New York. He divides his time between writing humorous suspense novels, reading science fiction and urban fantasy, absorbing too much British TV (or as his roommate would say “those crappy BBC mysteries”), pondering why he didn’t write a scifi or fantasy novel, and his various hobbies. No, reading isn’t a hobby. It’s more like a vocation. The author also wonders how people get away with talking about themselves in the third person this way. It’s awkward. [cough]

You can reach JB and his books on his Website, Blog, Amazon, Lulu, Facebook or Goodreads.

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With the third installment of Glen & Tyler coming out in audiobook, JB Sanders has graciously offered to give away an eBook set of the Glen & Tyler novels to one lucky winner (three books in total)!

The giveaway starts now and will end next Saturday, May 3rd, 2014, at 11:59 pm EST. After which the lucky winner will be randomly picked.

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below with your email address and you’re in!

Make sure to follow the blog for the winner’s announcement post or check back next Sunday, May 4th, 2014, to see if you’ve won.

Don’t forget to check out Nikyta’s review of Glen & Tyler’s Paris Double-Cross to see what she thought of it! You can also buy your own copies of the Glen & Tyler series at Amazon.

Good luck!

Categories: Book Promo, Giveaways, Honorary Blogger Post, LGBT | Tags: , , | 8 Comments

GRL Blog Tour: Zathyn Priest – My GRL Challenges for 2014

Posted on April 25, 2014 by thebloggergirls

TBG:  We are proud to welcome the one and only Zathyn Priest here on our blog today as the first of many special guests we will have for you along the GRL Blog Tour.  If you haven’t already heard, Zathyn will be popping his GRL cherry later this year when he joins us all in Chicago!  Woot!  Please, everyone, take a moment and offer Zathyn a bit of support and encouragement…we want to make sure he GETS ON THAT PLANE!  Zathyn has also just released his new book Amara: The Rebirth at MLR Press.

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My GRL Challenges for 2014
 by Zathyn Priest

When I decided to register for GRL in Chicago, I knew if I was one of the lucky few who scored a spot that I would then have to face several challenges. I had considered attending GRL in Atlanta, but it never eventuated and, in hindsight, this was for the best. I hadn’t written a novel for God knows how long and the only thing I had to offer was the re-release of The Curtis Reincarnation and a short story entitled The Statue. This year I have new novel with MLR Press – Amara: The Rebirth – due for release in April, so it obviously makes more sense for me to attend GRL in 2014.

But I’m not going to talk about the new book because I want to talk about GRL, what it means to me to attend, the hurdles I have to overcome to get there, and the challenges I’ll face once I am there.

Firstly, I have to leave Australia and make my way to the other side of the world to the USA. To do this means climbing aboard one of those hellish flying machines that will rip my feet off the earth’s surface, suspend me from a great height over huge oceans, all the while expecting me to sit comfortably without freaking out. Not only do I have a morbid fear of flying, I also am terrified of heights. Terrified of heights! I’m talking I can’t stand on a ladder without breaking into a sweat and shaking. I have the same panic reaction merely thinking about boarding a plane. Quite frankly, I’m pretty sure someone will have to drug me up to the eyeballs just to get me into the airport. God help the flight crew who’ll have to deal with me. I can see it now, as clear as day…

Flight Attendant: You’ll be fine Mr Priest, flying is safer than driving a car.

Me *Crying, gripping the nearest thing to stop them dragging me onto the plane*: No it’s not! I watch Air Crash Investigation… I’m going to die in a fiery crash, or a terrorist attack, or pilot suicide, or… *Drops to the floor in a faint*

Moving along and assuming I make it to the US without dying in a fiery plane crash, the GRL hotel decided to get in on the act of challenging my phobias with glass elevators. What sadistic prick invented glass elevators? Fear of heights is one of the most common phobias and hotels think glass elevators are a great idea? I’m not kidding when I say I saw a photo of the hotel’s glass elevators and immediately had a meltdown. I posted on Facebook… because possibly someone on my friend list had the power to remove the glass elevators, or at the very least paint the glass black. Hey, I was desperate! One lovely person came to my rescue, called the hotel, and I’ve since been assured I’ll be given a ground floor room and can use the stairs. At least my legs and butt will look good from all the stair climbing.

Flying and heights phobias aside, my next major challenge is in regards to my hearing. Due to an illness, I lost 46% of my hearing about eighteen months ago. Hearing aids are next to useless in noisy environments, in fact they make matters worse because they amplify everything. Given that fact, I don’t wear them often and rely on lip reading. My lip-reading skills are pretty good, but not 100% reliable. If I don’t respond to someone trying to talk to me, I’m not being rude, I simply haven’t heard. Tap me on the shoulder, wave at me, walk a little closer and try talking to me again. If you receive an acknowledgement but a vacant expression with no reply, this means I haven’t understood you. There could be a few reasons for this. It could be a strong accent, which makes lip-reading difficult. It could be you weren’t looking directly at me when you spoke, or you spoke too fast, you covered your mouth with your hand or with something else, or I was momentarily distracted, etc. Just remember, blank expression = pardon? Unless it’s 3.00am, we’re at the bar, and it could just be that I’m drunk!

There are quite a few personal challenges and anxieties I have to overcome to get to GRL and to work through once I am there. If I over-analysed them there would be a good chance I’d talk myself out of going. What do I hope to gain from GRL on a professional level? The reality is that I’m not attending GRL for that reason. Sure, promotion is a part of the experience, but for me it’s about meeting the people who have stayed loyal to me over the time I’ve not released any books.

When I gave up on myself as a writer due to major performance anxiety (Which I still battle with), and nearly threw in the towel altogether, I never stopped receiving encouraging emails from readers. I was never dismissed from the m/m writing community as a has-been, and always other authors and editors have been there for me with words of support. If not for them, Amara: The Rebirth would not have seen the light of day, and my other WIPs would not have been started.

That’s why I’m attending GRL in 2014. To say thank you to everyone who has stood by me. I’d also like to thank The Blogger Girls for letting me be their guest.

I look forward to meeting everyone in Chicago and having a GREAT time there!

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About Amara: The Rebirth

21946427Legendary vampire, Emrys Amara, changes Matthew’s destiny when he’s thrown into a world of kidnap victims, werewolves, deceit, and the rebirth of the greatest vampire clan in history.

Matthew and his husband Dean are slayers, trying to end a chokehold Amara half-breed vampires put on Nottingham and kill the leader, Amdis. A diary supposedly written by legendary Emrys Amara is sent to them, yet they doubt the orphaned vampire could have survived the demise of his clan.Meeting Emrys proves them wrong. Matthew falls deeply; Dean’s jealousy takes a sinister turn.

A chain of events involving kidnapped children and werewolves follows as Amdis teams up with another vampire clan.Can Matthew and Emrys save the children while rebuilding the Amaras as the greatest vampire clan in history?

Released April 2014 by MLR Press

Available for purchase at MLR Press | Amazon | All Romance eBooks | Barnes & Noble

 

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About Zathyn

Zathyn Priest is an Australian writer/artist with severe vampiric tendencies. Absolutely convinced the sun could turn him to a pile of ash, he prefers to write under the cover of darkness. This serves two purposes, with the first being the afore mentioned sunlight danger, and the second being the fact that night means no annoying phones ringing or people knocking at the door.

Zathyn has written four published novels using this strange moonlight technique. The Curtis Reincarnation, The Slayer’s Apprentice, Liquid Glass, and Amara: The Rebirth. He has also written three short fiction works. The Statue, Left of Centre, and One of Those Days.

Zathyn lives with two greyhounds named Chrissy and Eldon, a cat named Fran, and a duck named Charlie.

Website | Blog | FaceBook | Twitter | Scarlet Tie Designs

 

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Check out TBG’s GRL Blog Tour Schedule

Categories: Book Promo, Honorary Blogger Post, LGBT | Tags: , , , , | 32 Comments

Honorary Blogger KC Burn: Favorite Romantic Heroes + Giveaway!

Posted on April 21, 2014 by thebloggergirls

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A zombie, a vampire, and an alien walk into a bar…

Who would you want to read about getting their heart ripped out (figuratively) and put back together with a happily ever after?

Zombies as romantic heroes… hmmm. I love zombies. I adore zombie movies (I was even an extra in a funky little movie called Enter, Zombie King). Generally, though, the zombies are villains and any heroic hotness belongs to the humans trying to survive. A zombie as romance hero might qualify for one of my absurd, yet insurmountable mental blocks. Because in my mind, zombies = rotting flesh and I’m pretty sure I know which parts are going to be immediately vulnerable.

That’s right. Noses.

Okay, you got me. I was thinking of other bits, but it’s not my fault! We’re talking romance and sex is often a big factor. Of course, that does give me an idea for a bittersweet tragedy about a zombie eunuch… I’m sure there are some good books with zombie heroes out there, so if you’ve read some, let me know!

On to vampires. I certainly get the dark, broody, angsty appeal of vampires. But sometimes I have a hang-up with vampires as the romantic hero. They’re dead, ergo – no heartbeat. No heartbeat means no blood flow to some very important places, unless you’re interested in platonic, erectile-ly challenged love affairs (and generally, I‘m not). Yet somehow, vampires have done the wild thing with just about every species of supernatural being out there. Maybe not zombies. Talk about clash of the failing body parts! But seriously, vampires have done everyone and everything. Despite all the issues, I do love me a good vampire hero, probably because they have such potential to be inhuman and evil, and yet they’re still damn sexy.

Aliens have their own host of issues as romantic heroes. First, they need to be appealing, sexually, to humans. The odds of that happening are astronomical – no pun intended! But even assuming you have mutual zing, the bits that are supposed to feel good when rubbed up against another… well, they have to match up to some degree. Hooks or spikes or claws of any description could be an issue, as could bodily fluids that are caustic or otherwise incompatible with human physiology. Aliens are tricky as romantic heroes. You can’t get away with the original Star Trek grease-paint aliens anymore. I like aliens though. The challenge of developing an appealing alien hero is tempting both as a romance author and a sci-fi geek.

So tell me, what is your favourite? And you don’t have to limit it to these three. Cowboys, cops, werewolves, mermen, demons, Navy SEALS… all are welcome. What’s the one type of hero that will get you looking twice at a book, or will get you to buy a book regardless of anything else about it? For me, if the hero is blind, well, I don’t usually even read the blurb – it’s an easy sale. I don’t even know why I like blind heroes, but I do and I want them to get their happily ever after.

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About KC Burn

KC Burn has been writing for as long as she can remember and is a sucker for happy endings (of all kinds). After moving from Toronto to Florida for her husband to take a dream job, she discovered a love of gay romance and fulfilled a dream of her own — getting published. After a few years of editing web content by day, and neglecting her supportive, understanding hubby and needy cat at night to write stories about men loving men, she was uprooted yet again and now resides in California. Writing is always fun and rewarding, but writing about her guys is the most fun she’s had in a long time, and she hopes you’ll enjoy them as much as she does.

You can reach KC at her website, on Twitter or on Facebook.

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And to feed your TBR list, KC will be giving away a $20 gift certificate to Amazon or All Romance eBooks (winner’s choice)!

The giveaway starts now and will end next Sunday, April 27th, 2014, at 11:59 pm EST. After which the lucky winner will be randomly picked.

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below with your email address and you’re in!

Make sure to follow the blog for the winners’ announcement post or check back next Monday, April 28th, 2014, to see if you’ve won.

And don’t forget to stick around this week to see what we think of a few of KC’s books!

Good luck!

Categories: Author Week, Giveaways, Honorary Blogger Post | Tags: , , | 43 Comments

Honorary Blogger Alina Popescu: Pulling an Adele + Giveaway

Posted on April 15, 2014 by thebloggergirls

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Pulling an Adele

by Alina Popescu

One of the first things people ask about my book, The Edge of Hope, is what inspired it. It’s easy, I did what a lot of people do, use my creative outlet – writing – to exorcise my demons. I will probably never forget the moment this book started to come alive in my head. It was a personal lowest point, and we tend to remember those.

It was a very hot spring day, early afternoon, I had my MP3 player blasting in my ears, and I was rollerblading in my favorite park in Bucharest. I had my shades on, cause it’s not nice to cry and have people see you. I took a break on one of the park benches and started thinking about what was happening and as I was trying to sort it out, the feeling taunting me started to take shape, the state I was in being perfect for a character in a book.

Alexa, the main character, already existed, but she was part of a different story that I had abandoned. So I picked her up, dusted her off, and told her to hang on tight, cause there was a lot of struggle and heart ache coming her way. She facepalmed and sighed, but knew it couldn’t be helped.

What I thought at that point was the lowest turned out to be only half way down the hole and it took a bit more hits for me to hit bottom on an emotional level. I dealt with it through Alexa, writing her story and seeing how she was handling everything.

I’m certainly not alone in having my heart shattered and thrown back at me. I was lucky enough to turn it into something that people seem to like while healing. And here is where Adele comes in. Every step of the way, I thought I wanted to deal with my pain as she did, turn it into something inspiring and that people could relate to. The awards weren’t bad either! I consider my good reviews my awards and I am deliriously happy whenever I get one.

In a sense, Alexa’s story is mine. In another, it’s so different I tend to forget it was my experience that created her. She’s certainly a fighter, and she stubbornly gives love chance after chance. Deep down she’s a hopeless romantic, I suspect.

The moral of the story? Sometimes the darkest times lead to the most amazing experiences. Frankly, writing this book and then deciding to publish and promote it led to the most amazing friends during the past few years. Some I met in NaNoWriMo forums, some I met on Facebook. Writers, bloggers, readers, musicians, designers, more readers. They have all become part of my extended online family and inspired and motivated me to go further. And so I did, pushed through whatever personal mishap occurred, I had reconnected with my writing and I’m never letting go.

Over to you: how do you deal with your low points? Which is your outlet?

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About The Edge of Hope

The Edge of HopeWhen tall, dark, and gorgeous shows up on your self-prescribed emotional recovery vacation, some would call it fate smiling down on you. If he also happens to be interested in your work and ready to make all the room you need in his life, it starts to sound too good to be true. Alexa skips the doubts and jumps right in, only to be thrown into the mysterious world of vampires.

The secrets of their origin and their very existence are far more important than her life to some of her new acquaintances. They are ancient, they are powerful, they have unlimited resources, and they are keen on controlling what the world knows of their kind. As Alexa discovers their complicated, blood feud bound world, she tries to better understand herself, heal old wounds and give love chance after chance. Will she survive the journey?

Available at: Smashwords, Amazon & Barnes and Noble

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About Alina Popescu

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Writer, traveler, and coffee addict; Alina Popescu has been in love with books all her life. She started writing when she was ten and even won awards in local competitions. She has always been drawn to sci-fi, fantasy, and the supernatural realm, which explains her deep love for vampires and is also to blame for this trilogy.

You can find Alina on her Website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Google+ and Amazon

 

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This giveaway is going to be a little different because you’ll have TWO chances to win prizes.

Alina is having a tour wide giveaway where one winner will win a signed paperback copy of The Edge of Hope and THREE winners will win an ebook copy. If you’re interested click the link below and enter the Rafflecopter giveaway!

Rafflecopter Giveaway

BUT don’t leave just yet! You’ll have ANOTHER chance to win an ebook copy of The Edge of Hope right here on The Blogger Girls!

The giveaway starts now and will end next Monday, April 21st, 2014, at 11:59 pm EST. After which the lucky winner will be randomly picked.

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below with your email address and you’re in!

Make sure to follow the blog for the winners’ announcement post or check back next Tuesday, April 22nd, 2014, to see if you’ve won.

You can still purchase The Edge of Hope from Amazon and don’t forget to check out JustJen’s review to see what they thought of it!

Good luck!

Categories: Book Promo, Giveaways, Honorary Blogger Post, M/F | Tags: , , , , | 1 Comment