Posts Tagged With: Dreamspinner Press

Honorary Blogger Caitlin Ricci – A Talk with Caitlin Ricci + Giveaway!

The Blogger Girls: Hear yee, hear yee! Today we are happy to have Caitlin Ricci on TBG who’d like to share a little of her inspiration with our lovely viewers. Everyone give her a warm welcome and don’t forget to check out the giveaway at the bottom! Take it away, Caitlin!

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Hello! Thank you for stopping by and wanting to spend a little time with me, Caitlin Ricci. Today I wanted to talk about where my inspiration comes from when I’m writing a book.

I love music even though I can’t play anything, barely passed when we had to play the recorder in class, and can’t sing a single note correctly. Music gets me into the right mindset for the story and I’m one of those people that can listen to a single song for a month straight while I write in order to finish a novel. I just did it with another story where I listened to nothing by Counting Stars by OneRepublic.

I have plenty of ideas and the characters are always talking and I haven’t always been this way but once I find that song that clicks with me and with the story its hard to listen to anything else. This is because nothing else quite makes the story work the same. For Rescuing Jack that song was Elements by Lindsey Stirling. I enjoy a lot of her work and many of my short stories have been inspired by her songs but for this novel Elements clicked the most. Generally the songs I listen to are instrumental but they aren’t usually classical because the flow often isn’t the same. Apocalyptica is a decent example of this idea too and they are my go to band to listen to when I’m fleshing out ideas.

Instrumental music works for me more than songs with words in them because sometimes I start writing out what the people are saying. It’s also why I can’t have the TV on while I write. I doubt anyone wants to read an episode of Judge Judy in the middle of one of my books but it will probably happen if the TV is on and I’m trying to do anything creative.

Editing is completely opposite. I need the words because if I don’t have it I can’t be objective and analytical about my story and just start reading for pleasure instead of doing what I’m supposed to be doing. Counting Stars doesn’t fit into that idea but for some reason it worked last month while I was writing a book.

Thank you for hanging out with me today. My new novel, Rescuing Jack, comes out from Dreamspinner Press today, February 7th. I’m excited because this is my first novel with them but also because these characters are ones that really stood up and grabbed my attention right away. I knew I had to write about them and in a short amount of time this novel came to be.

I’d love to know what you thought of it. Feel free to email me at authorcaitlinricci@gmail.com or visit me online at www.caitlinricci.com. blogger_bee_trans

About Rescuing Jack

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Werewolves are real. Marius enjoys the irony that everyone calls him a dog whisperer, not just because he’s a werewolf, but for his work at the local animal shelter. He has a unique talent for pairing families with their perfect pets upon first meeting them. But he’s still looking for acceptance and a forever family of his own. Then Jack comes into the rescue looking for a big, mean dog. To prevent Jack from making the wrong choice, Marius convinces him to adopt a needy spaniel mix instead. But when Marius learns Jack is tormented by horrible memories while at his apartment, he opens his home to the sweet, scared man. As their relationship grows, Jack feels comfortable telling Marius about the horrors he suffered. Marius hopes his steady presence, protection, and love can help Jack reclaim the pieces of himself broken on that terrible night.

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Don’t forget about the Giveaway!!

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In honor of Caitlin Ricci’s newest release, Rescuing Jack, she’s graciously offered to give away an ebook copy of a reader’s choice from her backlist to one lucky winner!

The giveaway starts now and will end next Thursday, February 13th, 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 Friday, February 14th, 2014, to see if you’ve won.

Rescuing Jack is now available for purchase at Dreamspinner Press. Check out JustJen’s review to see what she thought of it.

Good luck!

Categories: Giveaways, Honorary Blogger Post | Tags: , , | 8 Comments

Book Review: Rescuing Jack by Caitlin Ricci

Reviewed by JustJen

Title: Rescuing Jack
Author: Caitlin Ricci
Heroes: Jack/Marius
Genre: M/M Paranormal
Length: 200 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: February 7, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Werewolves are real. Marius enjoys the irony that everyone calls him a dog whisperer, not just because he’s a werewolf, but for his work at the local animal shelter. He has a unique talent for pairing families with their perfect pets upon first meeting them. But he’s still looking for acceptance and a forever family of his own. Then Jack comes into the rescue looking for a big, mean dog. To prevent Jack from making the wrong choice, Marius convinces him to adopt a needy spaniel mix instead. But when Marius learns Jack is tormented by horrible memories while at his apartment, he opens his home to the sweet, scared man. As their relationship grows, Jack feels comfortable telling Marius about the horrors he suffered. Marius hopes his steady presence, protection, and love can help Jack reclaim the pieces of himself broken on that terrible night. Continue reading

Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2014 | Tags: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Shaking the Sugar Tree by Nick Wilgus

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: Shaking the Sugar Tree
Author: Nick Wilgus
Heroes: Wiley Cantrell and Jackson Ledbetter
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 304 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: January 31, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Wise-cracking Wiley Cantrell is loud and roaringly outrageous—and he needs to be to keep his deeply religious neighbors and family in the Deep South at bay. A failed writer on food stamps, Wiley works a minimum wage job and barely manages to keep himself and his deaf son, Noah, more than a stone’s throw away from Dumpster-diving.

Noah was a meth baby and has the birth defects to prove it. He sees how lonely his father is and tries to help him find a boyfriend while Wiley struggles to help Noah have a relationship with his incarcerated mother, who believes the best way to feed a child is with a slingshot. No wonder Noah becomes Wiley’s biggest supporter when Boston nurse Jackson Ledbetter walks past Wiley’s cash register and sets his sugar tree on fire.

Jackson falls like a wet mule wearing concrete boots for Wiley’s sense of humor. And while Wiley represents much of the best of the South, Jackson is hiding a secret that could threaten this new family in the making.

When North meets South, the cultural misunderstandings are many, but so are the laughs, and the tears, but, as they say down in Dixie, it’s all good. Continue reading

Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2014, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Book Review: Dumped in Oz by Andrew Grey

Reviewed by Susan65

Title:  Dumped in Oz
Author: Andrew Grey
Series: Tales from Kansas #1
Heroes: Lyle Powers and Roger Kypers
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 164 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: January 15, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Because of an opportunity he’d be a fool to turn down; Lyle Powers transfers to his company’s warehouse in central Kansas. The last thing he expects is to meet another gay man in the small town, let alone one who captures his interest.

Roger Kypers is a recovering alcoholic with a twelve-year-old daughter he only gets to see for part of the summer. Neither Lyle nor Roger is looking for a relationship, and they fumble at the start, yet emotions build as Roger shows Lyle the landmarks of Oz.

But when Roger’s wicked witch of an ex-wife threatens to take his daughter away for good if he doesn’t act “normally,” he’s faced with the challenge of letting her get away with it, or fighting to accept himself and standing up for what he knows is right. Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2014, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Fall by Kate Sherwood

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: The Fall
Author: Kate Sherwood
Series: The Fall #1
Heroes: Scott Mackenzie & Joe Sutton
Genre: M/M Contemporary Romance
Length: 214 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: December 16, 2013
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Every relationship leaves something behind. Dumped by his sugar daddy, part-time model Scott Mackenzie somehow ends up owning an abandoned church in rural Ontario. He dreams of using it for gay weddings, even if he’ll never have one of his own.

Joe Sutton is trying to keep his family together after his parents’ deaths. Between the family ranch, his brother’s construction company, and commitments around town, he doesn’t have time for a relationship. But Mackenzie is hard to ignore.

As both men fight their growing attraction, challenges to Mackenzie’s business threaten their relationship. If he can’t make it work, he’ll have to crawl back to the city in defeat. But the only solution involves risking the ranch Joe loves, and each man has to decide how much he’ll sacrifice for the other. Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Legally Wed by Rick R. Reed

Reviewed by Susan65

Title:  Legally Wed
Author: Rick R. Reed
Heroes: Duncan Taylor and Peter Dalrymple
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 216 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: January 3, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Love comes along when you least expect it. That’s what Duncan Taylor’s sister, Scout, tells him. Scout has everything Duncan wants—a happy life with a wonderful husband. Now that Seattle has made gay marriage legal, Duncan knows he can have the same thing. But when he proposes to his boyfriend Tucker, he doesn’t get the answer he hoped for. Tucker’s refusal is another misstep in a long line of failed romances. Despairing, Duncan thinks of all the loving unions in his life—and how every one of them is straight. Maybe he could be happy, if not sexually compatible, with a woman. When zany, gay-man-loving Marilyn Samples waltzes into his life, he thinks he may have found his answer.

Determined to settle, Duncan forgets his sister’s wisdom about love and begins planning a wedding with Marilyn. But life throws Duncan a curveball. When he meets wedding planner Peter Dalrymple, unexpected sparks ignite. Neither man knows how long he can resist his powerful attraction to the other. For sure, there’s a wedding in the future. But whose? Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2014, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Rare by Garrett Leigh

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: Rare
Author: Garrett Leigh
Series: Roads #2
Heroes: Ash Fagin and Pete Adams
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 240 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: January 17, 2014
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Paramedic Pete Adams lived through the year from hell watching his lover, Ash, fall apart, and the precarious balance between work and home is becoming more strained. His heart is always home, with Ash, but the dark side to his job is weighing him down.

Tattoo artist Ash Fagin is recovering from a nervous breakdown triggered by revelations about his traumatic childhood. His battle with mental illness is far from over, but with Pete by his side, he’s feeling good again, so good he doesn’t notice something missing until it walks right into his living room.

Ash believes he’s had enough coincidence in his life, but when a voice from the past comes looking for him, it takes the devastating injuries of the one he loves most to convince him to let a ghost become the family he never knew he wanted. Continue reading

Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2014, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mary Calmes Week Review: Old Loyalty, New Love

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Old Loyalty, New Love
Author: Mary Calmes
Heroes: Quade Danas & Roman Howell
Genre: M/M Paranormal Romance
Length:  246 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: December 13, 2013
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: When jackal shifter Quade Danas was banished from his pack for being gay, he spent years in the military escaping his father’s prejudice before returning to civilian life as a bodyguard for Roman Howell, the teenage son of a very rich man. After Roman is in an accident that leaves him physically scarred and emotionally distant, Quade is the only one who can get through to him. As Roman becomes a man, he realizes what he wants—his bodyguard by his side and in his bed. Unfortunately, Quade can’t seem to see past the kid Roman once was to the man he has become, certain Roman’s feelings are merely misplaced gratitude. But Roman knows a lot more than Quade realizes, and he’s used to persevering, no matter how many impediments life throws his way. He wants the chance to prove to Quade that he’s strong enough for a jackal alpha to call mate.

Despite the decades Quade has been away, and the heartache of his father’s rejection, his inborn loyalty to the pack remains, and his abrupt departure left the jackal shifters without an alpha heir. As a psychopath shifter staking claim as alpha draws Quade back home, and Quade feels compelled to heed the call, he may be forced to make a choice he never anticipated. But doing so means he must leave Roman behind… unless somehow they find a way to make loyalty and love work together. Continue reading

Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Author Week, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Mary Calmes Week Review: Again

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: Again
Author: Mary Calmes
Heroes: Dante Cerreto and Noah Wheeler
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 96 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date:  July 13, 2011
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: Six years ago, Noah Wheeler went to meet his boyfriend, Dante Cerreto, at the airport, and his world ended. Dante was kissing someone else and claimed to be in love. So Noah took his heartbreak-and the sonogram pictures of their surrogate child-and closed the door on the big picture of what he thought his life would be, focusing instead on the piece of the dream he got to keep, being a father.
Now on vacation in Las Vegas, Noah accidentally runs into the Cerreto family, and then the man himself, and learns that not only was he deceived, but Dante was as well. Now Dante wants to make up for lost time, six years’ worth, and to do that he needs Noah, the only man he’s ever loved, and Grace, the daughter he didn’t know he had, to give him a chance at happiness. Dante’s going to have to take a crash course in communication and seduction, though. Noah’s not going to fall in love just to be broken again Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Author Week, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2011, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Mary Calmes Week Review: Steamroller

Reviewed by Heather C

15807197Title: Steamroller
Author: Mary Calmes
The Heroes: Vincent Wade & Carson Cress
Genre: M/M Contemporary Romance
Length: 34, 288 words
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: May 7, 2012
Available at: Dreamspinner PressAmazonAll Romance eBooksBarnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf at: Goodreads Booklikes

Blurb: About the last thing Vincent Wade expected was for Carson Cress to ask him out. Vince is a dedicated biology student and a bit of a loner. Superstar quarterback Carson is larger than life, and he lives under a public microscope. There’s no way they should work. But Vince is learning that sometimes people just come steamrolling into your life and all you can do is hang on for the ride or lose your heart in the process. If their relationship can survive the fallout when an injury derails Carson’s future plans, maybe Vince can finally find something to believe in. Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Author Week, Book Review, Heather C's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2012, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment