MLissaLou
I've
sent Chris your email address! Congrats on winning the giveaway. J Hope you enjoy the book.
~M
Monday, May 20, 2013
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Welcome Chris T. Kat and a giveaway!
Hey guys! Come on in and join us. :) Looks like summer is here in the South, lol. Today I have my good friend Chris T. Kat here on the blog! She's talking about the importance of book covers, and she's doing a giveaway of her latest release from Dreamspinner called The Caveman and the Devil.To enter the giveaway: Leave a comment saying which you prefer: Drawn covers or photo stock covers. Make sure to leave me an email address too! The giveaway will end May 20th, and I'll announce the winner here, on FB, and Twitter.
Why are book
covers so important?
Michelle, thank you very much for
having me on your blog! I'm excited to share my new release The Caveman and
the Devil, with you and your readers. Dreamspinner Press published
it on May 1st.
Hello, my name is Chris T. Kat, and
I'm addicted to fantastic book covers. We all have a preference for certain
book covers and drawn covers hook me most easily. I can't explain why; maybe
because I loved reading mangas and enjoyed their style, maybe it's because
these covers are always unique, or maybe it's because drawn covers can
illustrate whatever scene I have in mind.
Of course I've bought books with
photo covers but what really catches my eyes are the drawn ones. I'm lucky
enough to be published with Dreamspinner Press, who have some amazing cover
artists. Paul Richmond created the cover for The Caveman and the Devil.
The book cover is the first thing a
potential reader will see and since there are so many books published every day
it's hard to get noticed. A lot of books in our genre (m/m) display naked
torsos and maybe have some kind of background. This can be very appealing but
these covers don't do a thing for me. Like I said above, it's all about
preferences.
So, what do I want the cover to
show? So far most of my book covers have shown the two main characters and
maybe an important secondary character or an animal that plays an important
role in this particular story. I'm not a fan of overly dark colors, which is
why I don't want much black on them. Again—this is just my preference.
The cover artists I've worked with
so far (Anne Cain, Shobana Appavu, Paul Richmond) have always conveyed the
atmosphere of the stories. The covers for Seizing It and the sequel Too
Good to be True? show very romantic scenes. The cover for A Purrfect
Match shows the main characters Jim and Andrew together with Andrew's son
Tony and conveys a very tender, loving scene.
I could go on and on but I'll
concentrate on The Caveman and the Devil's cover. I wanted a rather
domestic scene for this book but I also wanted it to convey how at ease Paul
and Noah with each other. The lion cubs are the dot on the i and lend the scene
a touch of tenderness and cuteness. But judge for yourself:
This is a
continuation of Paul and Noah's story “Cuddling Up”, which is included in
Dreamspinner's Animal Magnetism Anthology.
Blurb:
The animals at the Philadelphia Zoo
brought zookeepers Paul and Noah together, but now they might tear them apart.
When a bloodthirsty lioness stalks her cubs, Noah charges into her enclosure
without regard for his own safety. Luckily, a coworker catches his mistake and
saves the day. It’s not the first time Noah’s rushed in on impulse, and he
still carries scars from the last time.
Paul can’t pretend nothing happened. Frustrated, he tries to comfort Noah, but he can’t get past his anger. As head keeper of the big cats, Paul must report the incident and figure out how to keep his reckless lover safe. Somehow he has to make Noah see that his carelessness could cost him his job or his life—and maybe Paul too.
Excerpt
from Chapter Three:
Once inside the bathroom I inspected
my reflection in the mirror. I looked exhausted but also ready to pop a vessel.
Since the sight wasn't all that inviting, I turned away. I hadn’t even opened
the first button of my shirt when the bathroom door opened. It was all I could
do not to snap at Noah. Was it too much asked to have some alone time so I
could calm down? I hoped he'd get the hint if I didn’t stop with my task at
hand.
Noah, being Noah, either didn't
understand the silent treatment or ignored it. If I would bet I'd put my money
on the second option. He walked around me until he stood in front of me and
since I didn't trust my voice, I chose to glower at him.
“Hey, Caveman, are you mad at me?”
“Me?” I asked, feigning surprise.
“Whatever gave you that impression?”
“You are mad.” He wrinkled
his nose as his searching gaze flitted over my face. He was clearly puzzled by
my behavior. “Why?”
“Why? Why? Seriously? You’re
seriously asking why I’m mad at you?”
“Yes, dear almighty Caveman, I’m
seriously asking why you’re mad at me! I didn’t do anything wrong!”
Utterly baffled, I forgot all about
what I was doing or what I had intended to do. I stared down at Noah, my lover,
the man I’ve loved for almost a year now. Incredulous, I croaked, “You didn’t
do anything wrong today? Is that right?”
The light bulb slowly went on for
Noah. Of course, he immediately lunged into defense mode. “I just wanted to get
the cubs out of there!”
“You went into Kiara’s compartment
without waiting for the inner door to be locked! She had just killed two of her
cubs and was in the process of killing the other two!”
“She had walked into the other
compartment!” Noah protested.
“But the separating door wasn’t
closed yet!” I shouted, eventually losing the fight with my emotions.
“He locked the door right after I was
inside.”
“Yes, and she came back and jumped
against it, roaring. What if Trent hadn’t managed to lure her away?”
“But he did. Don’t be such a
nitpicker all the time.”
I could hardly breathe. The memory
of Noah crouching in Kiara’s compartment, cooing at the two surviving cubs in
the middle of a bloodbath, raised the hairs on my arms again. Nausea rolled
through me, sweeping me up. It could have been over today.
Chris
T. Kat
Chris T. Kat lives in the middle of
Europe, where she shares a house with her husband of many years and their two
children. She stumbled upon the M/M genre by luck and was swiftly drawn into
it. She divides her time between work, her family—which includes chasing after
escaping horses and lugging around huge instruments such as a harp—and writing.
She enjoys a variety of genres, such as mystery/suspense, paranormal, and
romance. If there's any spare time, she happily reads for hours, listens to
audiobooks or does cross stitch.
Links:
GoodReads:http://www.goodreads.com/ChrisTKat
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ChrisTKat
Friday, May 17, 2013
Goddess Fish Tour - Cream by Zenobia Renquist
Goddess Fish Promotions is organizing a Virtual Super Book Blast Tour for CREAM by Zenobia Renquist, an Erotic Vampire Romance, Urban Fantasy, Interracial available May 3, 2013 from Ellora's Cave Publishing. The Super Book Blast Tour will take place on Friday, May 17, 2013.Please follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chance of winning. The tour dates can be found here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/02/virtual-super-book-blast-cream-by.html
Zenobia will be awarding a $25 Starbucks
GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.
CREAM
by Zenobia
Renquist
BLURB:
What do a four hundred-year-old vampire and a mid-level necromancer
have in common? Money. Jeliyah needs it to pay off the people who trained her
and Teaghan enjoys killing to get it. Together they hunt rogue
vampires—assuming Teaghan can focus on something other than getting her in bed
and Jeliyah doesn’t put a bullet in him first.
The uneasy partnership promises to be lucrative until Teaghan and
Jeliyah get on the wrong side of a feud. Jeliyah is forced to use forbidden
magic and finds herself bound to a man she should hate—but whom she can’t stop
fantasizing about.
EXCERPT:
First chapter online
(link goes live 03 May): http://drb1stchp.com/2013/05/cream-by-zenobia-renquist/
Teaghan kicked the room door shut behind him and then laid her on
the nearest bed. “At least this time you’re not glowing. Let’s not make a habit
of this.”
“I feel the same.”
“Then again…” His gaze wandered to her breasts.
Images of Teaghan running his hands over her breasts and teasing
her nipples entered her mind. She reared up and smacked him at the same time
she brought her other arm up to guard her chest.
Teaghan didn’t react except to grin at her. “You’re flushed,
necromancer. Your heart rate jumped too. My little idea get you all hot and
bothered?”
She glared at him.
“No? How about this one?”
A mental picture of Teaghan yanking off her panties so he could
run his tongue over her clit invaded her mind. The detail was so vivid Jeliyah
felt her pussy twitch in anticipation. Damn the man and this stupid mental
connection. It might be one way, but she had access to his thoughts and now he
wasn’t trying to hide them. “You can’t do that without an invitation.”
“So invite me.”
“Shouldn’t you be going to sleep? The sun is up.”
“Sun’s got nothing to do with me.” He moved closer, planting his
hands on either side of her legs and leaning into her. “Invite me.”
Jeliyah scooted back off the bed and away from him. Once on her
feet, she said, “Don’t get all cocky just because I took some of your blood,
vampire. I told you that was a one-time thing and not to get ideas.”
“Yeah, I heard you but,” he hopped the bed and crowded her against
the wall, “here’s the thing. You could have gotten the same results by asking
me to open a vein. A simple prick to the finger for a few drops of blood would
have sufficed. You kissed me, necromancer.”
“It was a split-second decision. Back off.” She clutched the
necrome at her throat and said, “Shield.”
Teaghan laughed as the shield expanded to include him. “Forget
something important, did you? Your necromes recognize me now. I’m not a threat.”
Shit. She’d forgotten one of the major side effects of Recognize.
Her necromes—and any others made from her blood—no longer worked against
Teaghan. There was no way to deactivate Recognize either, just like an
invitation once given.
She shoved at his chest but he kept leaning forward until his lips
were close to hers.
He said, “Let’s talk about that kiss.”
“It was spur of the moment. It meant nothing.”
“Care to test that theory?”
“You can’t. I haven’t invited you.”
“Kissing is the one thing I don’t need an invitation to do.” He
pushed his lips against hers as he forced her hands over her head and pressed
his body closer.
Jeliyah couldn’t turn from the kiss, though she tried. This wasn’t
fair. Vampires needed permission to enter a person’s body. Why didn’t that
extend to kissing? And why was she giving in to his kiss?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Zenobia
Renquist lives in her imagination. When not traveling through her fantasy
worlds, she can be found in Hawaii living with her husband and two cats.
She is an Air
Force brat turned Air Force wife, which means she’s accustomed to travel and
does it whenever possible (so long as she doesn’t have to fly). Her favorite
pastime is torturing her characters on their way to happily-ever-after for the
enjoyment of her readers.
On the few
occasions her muse flees the scene of the crime, Zenobia likes to read (comics,
manga, and romance), go to the movies, play a few levels of whichever puzzle
game has hijacked her interest or experiment with a new chain maille weave.
website - http://zenobiarenquist.com
Buy Links:
Ellora’s Cave - http://www.ellorascave.com/cream.html
ARe (coming 03 May)
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia
In honor of International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (May 17th) the Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia (HAHAT) was created last year to
spread awareness of homophobia and transphobia, and as a way to stand together as a
writer community against discrimination of our works.
Last year I talked about my kids and the good friends they've lost to suicide due to homophobia. This year I'd like to touch on something a little more postive. I want to talk about a boy my youngest has been friends with since 4th grade choir. They both graduate this year. As a matter of fact, in just two weeks.
Her friend was kicked out of his house at the beginning of his senior year. His parents are very religious and couldn't handle the fact he's gay. This boy I've known for years. He's a sweet, talented kid who made great grades. He's part of my kiddo's choir and his voice is amazing. The kid has some serious talent. He also was very active in his church.
I'm going to keep this short since there are so many taking part in this hop, but her friend moved back home at the beginning of this year. His mom and dad had a huge wake-up call. They still aren't thrilled with his being gay, but know what? They found out being gay is one thing.
Being dead is another.
That really makes things final.
There was a horrible car accident. Three out of four died in that wreck. I saw what was left of that car and to this day I can't tell you how her friend survived with barely a scaratch. By the grace of God is the best thing I can come up with and it sure made an impact on his parents.
Her friend and his boyfriend were just over here a couple of days ago. Yes, his parents know he has a boyfriend and accept both boys. Everything is fine on the homefront, I'm glad to say. :)
The only sad thing is it took death to wake those parents up. Some parents, and many kids, don't get that second chance.
I'm picking three people to give a book from my backlist to, readers choice. :) Just leave a comment, can be about anything, and an email address. I hope you'll follow my blog, but it's not necessary. :) The hop ends late on the 27th and I'll announce the winners on the 28th.
~M
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Wednesday Briefs
Welcome to the Wednesday Briefers flash
group. The short stories have a maximum of a 1000 word count plus links at the
bottom to the other flashers. The prompts for this week are:
“He's staying with...”
or show one of your MC’s as disappointed
or use: pizza, frigid, date
or: sex on a carousel
or use a key party
or use leftovers in an interesting way.
use a cardinal - either the bird or the cleric
All
That He Desires #19
“Indeed
you do, so I will… How did you say it? Behave, dammit.”
Jules
slowly lay back down, Anslee’s arm coming around him once more. Satisfied he’d
made his point, he tried to go to sleep… again.
He
was just drifting off when Anslee whispered in his ear, “For now.”
Yup,
he was in big, big trouble.
* * * *
As
disappointed as he was, Anslee reined himself in. Now was not the time to let
his dick rule him. He’d actually made some strides with Jules tonight and
didn’t want to ruin that progress, even as tempted as he was to push. He was in
bed with his human, Jules wasn’t trying to brain him with something, and Anslee
had learned a very important lesson—when stressed, Jules resorted to sarcasm as
a defense. The kid had a naturally smart mouth on him, but it was worse when
Jules felt threatened; and he threatened Jules, of that Anslee had little
doubt.
The
soft snores brought a smile to Anslee’s lips. Jules had finally gone to sleep,
it seemed. Anslee smoothed Jules’ hair back from his neck. Too bad he was wide-awake. Anslee snorted… Maybe
he should count sheep. Of course, that made him remember his comment about
counting orgasms, and Anslee found himself wishing Jules would wake up. Not
that it would change a damn thing. Jules wasn’t ready to be sexually… well, anything…
and Anslee found himself puzzled as to why he cared one way or the other.
“Damn
humans,” he whispered. They did nothing but stir up trouble and had from the
very beginning. Okay, that wasn’t historically correct. A certain female had been tempted.
Anslee
shifted closer, and the fragrance he was coming to recognize as Jules’ own
unique scent wafted up to him. His cock hardened and he tightened his grip. The
urge to thrust against Jules’ ass was driving him crazy. Even with several
layers of clothes between them, his human’s body gave off enough heat to scorch
Anslee… and make him yearn.
Anslee
buried his nose against the soft skin at the back of Jules’ neck and inhaled
deeply. He was driving himself slowly insane, but he couldn’t help it. He
wanted this human in a way he’d never wanted another. And, of course, the one
he desired was busy holding him at arm’s length. That simply must change.
Anslee kissed the back of Jules’ neck, silently promising that it would change.
By
all that was holy or not, Jules would need like he did.
A
soft murmur sounded from Jules and he shifted backwards, his ass rubbing
against Anslee’s groin. Anslee closed his eyes, soundlessly praying for
patience as he tried not to thrust against that firm ass snuggled so temptingly
against him. A displeased grunt from Jules drifted back to Anslee. Anslee
exhaled slowly and opened his eyes. At least when he was asleep, Jules sought
him out… and wanted him. Now all Anslee had to do was find a way to make Jules
lower his guard while awake.
“I’d
better be getting points for good behavior, little one,” Anslee whispered,
slightly amused at himself. Jules had told him to behave and he was—astounding
as that seemed. “What would my fellow Lords think if they could see me now?”
They’d
think he’d lost his mind, that’s what they’d damn well think. With dawn
approaching, he contemplated his situation. Thing was, he wasn’t sure he could
argue with them. None of them would understand why he didn’t just take what he wanted. They wouldn’t understand
why this small human was any different from all the others. He wasn’t sure,
either; he just knew Jules was. This fragile being played an important role in
his life. Now he had to figure out what that role was, dammit. He’d been told
this was his last chance and not to mess it up. Dire words, certainly.
Anslee
closed his eyes again. Enough of this,
dammit. I’m tired, daylight is coming, and I need to rest. God knows I need my
wits around me to deal with Jules. Tomorrow is a new day and we will start off on
a new foot. Or is it we got off on the wrong foot? Maybe I’d better go to sleep
so I won’t be so tired tomorrow I stick
my foot in my mouth. Ah God, listen to me. I’m giddy from lack of sleep.
Anslee
yawned and stopped thinking.
* * * *
Jules
lay in the dark, not moving, and barely breathing. Anslee’s talking to himself
had woke him up. He’d felt the erection nestled against him, and the insane
urge to do something about it had
nearly gotten the better of him. Things were changing… no, no, that wasn’t
right. Anslee was changing, and what was he going to do about that?
As
he lay in the dark, listening to Anslee, one thing became clear to Jules—Anslee
needed him. Anslee, his dear Fallen Angel, needed to learn the meaning of love
and somehow, someway, he’d been chosen as the one to show Anslee. Jules let
sleep take him over again now that Anslee had settled down. He was going to
teach a Fallen Angel to love… to love him.
No
problem.
While
he was at it, he’d solve the conflict in the Middle East, end world hunger, and
bring about world peace. Those would probably be easier than what he was about
to undertake.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
On The Coming Soon Page At DsP - Pure
Blurb:
Zygi Wyatt is an intimidating dom, but he yearns for love just like the next man. However, finding a partner who isn’t scared of his size is no easy task. The easygoing Mo seems like the answer to his prayers.
Love is the stuff of dreams. Ask the god Morpheus—he knows all about it. Mo wants Zygi in a forever kind of way, but he has to be sure of Zygi’s love before he claims him for his mate and reveals his true self.
Unfortunately, Zeus is growing increasingly unhappy with Morpheus, and Ares is determined to throw a monkey wrench into everything. Zygi and Mo will have to brave the wrath of the gods to make their dreams come true.
Excerpt:
Zygi took a sip of his beer. “It’s just
out of character for Jeff to put on that kind of show. He’s usually very
controlled.”
“I can tell you now, Cam isn’t. He does
try, though. But when he gets mad, everyone around knows it.” Mo shuddered.
Boy, was that an understatement.
Zygi shrugged, unconcerned. “I guess
love will make you lose your head. Then there was Brad, and that one would make
a saint lose his temper. No-good bastard.”
Mo sipped his drink through a straw. Again,
he didn’t understand what Zygi meant. “You don’t like Brad much.”
“No. I have no time for liars and
users.” Zygi checked his watch and missed the pained look that came into Mo’s
eyes. “Damn, I guess time really does fly when you’re having fun. We better
call it a night—I have to work early in the morning. You got a way home?”
“No, I don’t. I don’t have a car.” Mo
couldn’t tell Zygi that his normal mode of transportation was to appear in a
swirl of smoke.
“Then how did you get over here?” Zygi
signed the ticket the waitress had left and stood up.
“Grabbed a taxi.” Mo wanted to scream as
he added yet another lie to the growing pile he was knee-deep in already, remembering
the remark Zygi had made about liars.
Zygi frowned. “You’re staying with Cam,
right?”
“Um, yes.”
Zygi grabbed Mo’s hand and turned to
leave the cabana. “I’ll take you home. No point in wasting money on a taxi.”
Mo jerked when Zygi touched him. Once
again that tingle raced up his arm. “O-oh, okay, if you’re sure you don’t
mind.”
Zygi stopped as he made his way through
the crowded dance floor and turned back to face Mo. “Believe me, I don’t do
anything I don’t want to do.”
Mo shivered. Oh yeah, he believed the
big man. Silently, he followed Zygi to the private garage for employee parking.
Zygi walked Mo to his jacked-up 4x4 Chevy truck. Mo looked up, then up, then up
some more until he located the door handle. Bewildered, Mo turned and looked at
Zygi.
“Ah, is there a ladder? Maybe a rope,
something I can use to get into this thing?”
Zygi laughed, unlocked the truck, and
opened the passenger door. Why point out the running boards under the door if Mo
hadn’t noticed them? Besides, it gave him another excuse to touch Mo. He placed
his hands around Mo’s slim waist and lifted. Again electricity shot up both
arms as soon as he touched Mo. Yup, same
reaction as before.
“Grab the handle above the door and pull
yourself in.” Zygi’s voice was husky as his hands flexed around Mo’s waist. He gave
Mo a boost by placing his hand flat on that tight, sexy ass and pushing. He
hardened when he heard Mo’s startled squeak. Zygi stepped back. Before the door
closed, he caught a quick glimpse of wide blue eyes and teeth nibbling a tender
bottom lip.
Mo squirmed in the seat, trying to
convince his hard-on to go down before Zygi got in the truck. He looked at his
lap—no such luck. One touch and he was all but jumping out of his skin. Mo
nibbled his bottom lip imagining what it would feel like when Zygi did more
than just touch his ass. He moaned
and his wayward dick throbbed from the thought.
“Go down,” Mo whispered to his dick, one
hand clutching the door handle as Zygi opened the driver’s door.
A smirk crossed Zygi’s face. He’d heard
Mo, and the Dom in him demanded he call Mo on it. But he wrestled that side of
himself back. Mo looked like he was ready to leap from the truck as it was, and
Zygi knew there was no way the boy was ready for that kind of… play.
“You okay?” Zygi asked, then frowned as
the word “boy” circled in his mind. Mo certainly was no boy. He looked to be
middle thirties at the very least, and all that gray hair made him look a bit
older, but “boy” fit.
“Ah, yeah, why?”
“If you want the window to go down,
you’ll have to wait for me to turn on the truck.” Zygi watched as a slight
blush worked up Mo’s neck. Okay, so maybe he didn’t have that side of him completely under control. “That is what
you wanted to go down, right?”
“Oh. Oh yeah, right.” The noise Mo made
was close to a hysterical giggle. He cringed at the sound and blushed harder.
Mo’s unease made Zygi want to fold him
in his arms. He was surprised by the urge to protect Mo, coddle him, until he
calmed down. Then he wanted to work him back up by putting Mo over his knee and
spanking that tight ass until Mo begged him to stop.
There was such an untouched quality to him that stirred every primitive
instinct Zygi possessed. He knew
there was no way Mo was untouched, not at his age, but still. He wanted to take
that sweet innocence and…. What? Certainly not destroy it, or even taint it. So
what then? The Dom in him knew exactly what he wanted; he wanted to claim him,
brand Mo as his, and dare anyone to look at what belonged to him. What he
wanted was to see his collar around Mo’s neck, and that shocked him. It had
been a long time since he’d felt the urge to collar someone, and Mo was nowhere
near ready for that.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Sexy Snippets
Hey everyone! Welcome to Sexy Snippets. This is seven sentences, taken from a work in progress, or published book, and brought to you every Sunday. For this week, I thought I’d do something from my WIP called Wrapped in Leather. This is the first book in what will be a three book series, and all will be over 60K. I'm at the 40K mark right now. Surprisingly, lol, this series is contemporary BDSM. I tend to write more scifi/nonhuman. ;)
~ ~ ~ ~
Damn, what a sound. Stopping to look, Toshi noticed a well-built man on a Harley hunting for a parking place. His helmet had a blacked-out face shield and he wore a black leather jacket. Toshi watched as the guy parked and swung a leg off the bike, jeans tightening across what looked like a fine ass.
Now that was some fantasy material. The guy stood next to the bike—oh, he was tall too. The helmet, along with the leather jacket and biker boots, gave the stranger a mysterious, dangerous look with a strong side of kinky thrown in the mix.
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