Monday, February 13, 2017

Wish You Were Here - Asta Idonea

Wish You Were Here

Asta Idonea

Dreamspinner Press

8 February 2017

Novella/Contemporary/Paranormal

Heat Rating: 1

The death of Oakley’s sister has left his family broken and buried beneath their grief. In an attempt to get out from underneath their pain, they rent an isolated cottage in the Cotswolds. For Oakley, it’s an exercise in futility. He doesn’t see much hope for things to get back to the way they used to be, and he’s bored and restless as he waits out the time until he can return to the city and university. All of that changes when he meets local boy Bobby, and the connection between them is instant. Within a few days, Oakley is ready to walk away from everything to stay with Bobby. However, Bobby has problems of his own, and they might be more than the budding romance can survive. But they might also give Oakley a new perspective on his own situation.

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Excerpt

Summer passed England by that year, as if it shared his family’s grief and refused to intrude upon such solemn days with unwanted sunshine. A cool, wet July turned into a blustery August, and now a dismal September loomed. From the window of their rented cottage, there was nothing but gray skies as far as the eye could see. The fields spread out in a patchwork of shortbread and moss. Plentiful rain meant the grass stood tall, but the lack of light filtering through thick, heavy clouds dulled its various shades of green. And this bleak scene was supposed to make everything better?

Oakley sighed and turned to the sink. He poured himself a glass of water from a spluttering, corroded tap and took a sip. Despite the dubious appearance of the fittings, the water was clean, tasteless, and refreshing. He supposed he should at least be thankful for that. It was likely to be the only pleasant thing this vacation would provide.

Giveaway:

Prize: 1 x e-copy of my MM Sci-Fi novella Fire Up My Heart

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Author Bio & Links

Asta Idonea (aka Nicki J Markus) was born in England but now lives in Adelaide, South Australia. She has loved both reading and writing from a young age and is also a keen linguist, having studied several foreign languages.

Asta launched her writing career in 2011 and divides her efforts not only between MM and mainstream works but also between traditional and indie publishing. Her works span the genres, from paranormal to historical and from contemporary to fantasy. It just depends what story and which characters spring into her mind!

As a day job, Asta works as a freelance editor and proofreader, and in her spare time she enjoys music, theatre, cinema, photography, and sketching. She also loves history, folklore and mythology, pen-palling, and travel, all of which have provided plenty of inspiration for her writing.

Blog: http://www.nickijmarkus.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NickiJMarkus

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NickiJMarkus

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nickijmarkus/

Google+: https://plus.google.com/+NickiJMarkusAstaIdonea

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4567057.Nicki_J_Markus

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolamarkus

Amazon Author US: http://www.amazon.com/Asta-Idonea/e/B00RMGGVYO

Amazon Author UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asta-Idonea/e/B00RMGGVYO

Monday, January 30, 2017

Four dangerously dark and delicious stories that will awaken your dirtiest fantasies.

Introduction by USA Today bestselling author Jenika Snow.

NOT ONE NIGHT by D.C. Stone:

One night of pleasure isn’t worth losing a lifetime of friendship. Or a reputation. Or a career. A spot in the social standing. That irritating innocence. Or the always-so-present pride.
...
But it is worth losing her heart.

REDEEMER by Kastil Eavenshade:

His family has the wealth and power to give him anything … except approval.

Gianni Bencivenni marks his time in lines of cocaine. One lover is the same as the next within the walls of addiction—until his family puts a contract out on his life. On the run with the last man he wants to be in close quarters with, Gianni has to decide whether his yearning for acceptance and love can overpower his need for a drug-filled haze.

Johnny “Butcher” Mascagni marks the black sins he commits. Death is his profession and ghosts of the dead haunt his waking moments. His penance for the dark life he’s led. Through all the men who have shared his bed, love is a promise that eludes him. When a former lover becomes his last assignment, Butcher must decide if he can set his demons free and open his heart again.

SLICK by Lea Bronsen:

Ex-convict Luke has been fortunate enough to land a small job as a kitchen assistant, but he’s lonely and crippled by baggage from the past.

CEO Roman Spencer also has his share of problems. It doesn’t help that a tough and hot-headed kitchen worker begins to plague his mind…and body.

The more Luke runs into Roman, the more his dark fantasy turns into attraction. If he surrenders, his thug pride will effectively go down the drain.

ADDICTIONS by R. Brennan:

Alexis Harrison is a mess. She’s managed to blow out her knee, lose her scholarship, and get hooked on pain killers. Now she’s playing mule to her dealer, who is her only friend, to support her ever increasing habit.

If something doesn’t change soon, her addiction is going to cost Lexi more than just everything.

BOOK TRAILER

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyz1oxk7QTM

BOOK LINKS

Amazon.com / Amazon.uk / Kobo / Barnes & Noble / iTunes / Smashwords / Inktera / 24 Symbols

Paperbacks can be purchased at CreateSpace

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

D.C. “Desi” Stone is a best-selling romance author and full-time fraud investigator. She lives in California with her incredibly supporting husband, two kids, and the ever-growing family of cats. After serving eight years of service with the United States Air Force, she went on to transition into the world of financial crimes and became a lead investigator for many years. Reading has always been a passion of hers, getting lost in a good, steamy romance is one of her favorite past times. She soon after discovered her own love for writing and recreating stories and characters in her head. Her writing concentrates on romantic with specifics in paranormal, suspense, and erotica. Now, when she isn’t trying to solve a new puzzle in the world of fraud, she is engulfed with coffee, her laptop, and all those crazy characters in her head.

Find her on D.C.Stone.com

Kastil Eavenshade is a multi-published author pandering her romantic shenanigans. When not catering to the whims of three rescued kitties, she's dreaming up her next heart-beating tale. No period in history—past, present, or future—is safe from the clutches of her muse. Her passions beyond writing are drawing, cooking, and watching Pittsburgh Penguins hockey. She credits her parents for her free spirit as they've always supported her in every aspect of her life. Without them, she wouldn't be here. She finds pleasure in writing anything from fantasy to romance-which sometimes parallel each other.

Find her on Kastil.com

Award-winning author Lea Bronsen likes her reads hot, fast, and edgy, and strives to give her own stories the same intensity. After venturing into dirty inner-city crime drama with her debut novel Wild Hearted, she divides her writing time between psychological thriller, romantic suspense, and erotic dark/contemporary romance.

Find her on LeaBronsen.com

R. Brennan is a subbie brat with a bitch streak, an IT geek for the state of New York, and reformed gaming addict living in the rolling hills of Upstate NY. (You know, where it takes a ten minute drive to buy a gallon of milk, and the smell of cows lingers on the breeze.)

Find her on BexBookNook.com

FREE READ

Have you read Lea Bronsen's latest release, the erotic romance short story Play with Me?

It's FREE on Amazon.com / Amazon.uk / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / Smashwords / iTunes

Exchange student Myra runs to get away from the heavy class load. When she lands in a male dominated world – a rugby practice in South Wales – and asks to play with the team, she has to prove she’s qualified, in more ways than one.

Thursday, January 19, 2017

Pieces of Me

Title: Pieces of Me

Series: Spectrum Nights, Book 1

Author: Melanie Hansen

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: January 16th

Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 89800

Genre: Romance, Photographer/photojournalist, hurt/comfort, step brothers, friends to lovers, model (ish), reunited, family drama, angst

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Synopsis

Deep in the heart of the Florida Panhandle, Scott Ashworth’s bleak life stretches out before him with not much hope for the future. His hardscrabble days are brightened by the arrival of a new stepbrother, Rylan Mahoney, who quickly becomes the friend Scott so desperately needs. Their relationship has just started to deepen into more, when during the course of one terrible night, what Scott overhears sends him fleeing from his home, never to return. Flash forward six years, and Scott is now the hottest club host on the Phoenix gay scene. He takes what he wants, does what he wants, and does whom he wants. It’s a good life, but the journey to local popularity and fame wasn’t an easy one.

For all that Scott’s looks are a blessing, at the same time they’re a curse—the source of his alcoholic mother’s inexplicable hatred. Rylan dreams of photojournalistic glory. He’s in Phoenix looking for the story of a lifetime, but the project isn’t coming to fruition. Needing rent money, he accepts a gig at Phoenix Pride hawking lewd lollipops and edible condoms…all while wearing gold lamé hot pants and a matching bow tie.

When Rylan’s house keys and street clothes go missing after his shift, he’s desperate, until a stranger in a convertible stops to help. The man is absolute sex on legs, and Rylan is jolted when he recognizes him—his stepbrother Scott Ashworth, long missing but suddenly larger than life. Reunited after six years apart, Scott and Rylan are determined to put their past behind them, but fate intervenes and leaves their future in jeopardy once again.

Excerpt

Rylan trudged to the bus stop, and after an uneventful thirty-minute ride, he stood in front of Spectrum Nights, gazing around in awe.

Within sight of the glitzy stadiums and high-rise condos of downtown Phoenix, Spectrum was housed in an old-style movie theater. Rylan couldn’t help but pull out his camera and photograph the stonework of the building, the retro-looking marquee with flashing colored lightbulbs around the edges proclaiming Fantasy Friday! The hottest night in the Valley of the Sun!

Velvet ropes held the teeming queue at bay, and inside an old-fashioned glass ticket booth under the portico, a fabulous drag queen held court, taking patrons’ cover charges and stamping hands while delivering comical insults. Beefy-looking, shirtless bouncers flanked the entrance, and each time one of the heavy padded doors swung open and shut to admit a new arrival, the thumping bass of the house music floated out and washed over the senses.

Fully clothed male and female go-go dancers worked the crowd in line, moving with fluid grace up and down the sidewalk, dancing alone and with each other to the sound of the music, keeping everyone engaged while they waited for admittance.

Rylan was captivated. While he was in college, he’d spent quite a bit of time in Miami’s South Beach, but the vibe here, the energy, rivaled anything he’d seen there. It was obvious that Spectrum on Friday night really was the hottest place in town.

Eyeing the long queue, Rylan slung his camera around his neck and strode past them, right up to the ticket booth. The queen inside stared at him with narrowed eyes, waving her hand at him, flashing an immaculate manicure and several large, ostentatious rings.

“Way to make friends and influence people, darling,” she drawled, sarcasm dripping from her husky voice. “Around here, cutting the line is verboten and a good way to get that cute little ass kicked. Away you go.” She made a shooing motion, but Rylan stood his ground; journalism school didn’t make for a shrinking violet. He held up the Nikon.

“Scott Ashworth invited me here to take pictures―”

Rylan must have said the magic words, because the drag queen widened her eyes and pursed her lips up in a sexy moue. “Oh my God, darling! Why didn’t you say so?” She looked him up and down. “Scott told me to expect a little photographer boy tonight, but he didn’t tell me you would be so cute! Mmmm, sexy baby with glasses. I love it.”

Rylan couldn’t help but blush, and she winked. “Tell me, picture man, do you have a long, hard lens, just for me?” She put the tip of her finger to her bottom lip and peered up at him through her eyelashes.

Rylan grinned, held up his camera, and leaned in close, letting his voice drop to a growl. “The longest and hardest of lenses is right here, beautiful. All for you.”

Purchase

NineStar Press | Amazon | Smashwords

Meet the Author

Melanie Hansen has spent time in Texas and Florida prisons…for work. She’s been in a room with a 17-year-old mass murderer who was also one of the most soft-spoken and polite teenagers she’s ever met. After a 13-year career as a court reporter, she can tell many stories both hilarious and heartbreaking. She grew up with an Air Force dad, and ended up marrying a Navy man. After living and working all over the country, she hopes to bring these rich and varied life experiences to her stories about people finding love amidst real-life struggles. Melanie left the stressful world of the courtroom behind and now enjoys a rewarding career transcribing for a deaf student. She currently lives in Arizona with her husband and two sons.