Hello Snippetteers! I hope everyone had a pleasant week. The heat is finally going away. To all of you in the path of Hurricane Laura, I hope you are safe. This week my snippet is from a book I released back in March, Scintilla. It's the first in an urban fantasy series, El Corazon. There is a romantic side to the plot as well as being a darker, edgier thriller. In this book, Raul is a werewolf and Brandon is a magical human known as a scintilla. He can manipulate electricity. “You’re done stealing children,” Brandon screamed and leaned toward Raul. The electric wave brightened and rippled faster. Behind Raul Janey said in a soft voice, “I’ll get a rubberized blanket.” He heard her leave the room. Raul nodded, keeping his eyes on Brandon. “I just want to get them home, to their parents. Safe. I want you safe.” He swallowed hard and continued. “I don’t want to get fried, but I’m not leaving you or these kids here.” He bit his lip and took another step toward Brandon. Raul nodded, keeping his eyes on Brandon. “I just want to get them home, to their parents. Safe. I want you safe.” He swallowed hard and continued. “I don’t want to get fried, but I’m not leaving you or these kids here.” He bit his lip and took another step toward Brandon. Brandon didn’t lower his hands, but he didn’t power up the wave more than it was. He gulped and slowly looked at the other people. Raul took another tentative step to Brandon. “You gotta power down, dude, or we aren’t getting anymore pitchers of sangria.” He was close enough to the wave the hair on his body stood up and he felt tingling. Scintilla is available from Amazon and is in Kindle Unlimited. Find more great snippets HERE. Fifty Shades of Gray pales in comparison to what Taren and Ian do behind closed doors. Ian loves his pleasure laced with sweet pain. Taren’s only desire is to give Ian everything he wants and deliver his fantasies. What better way to celebrate their love than a vacation to a BDSM resort that promises to satisfy their every sexual fantasy? Taren has brought titillating sex toys designed to tease, torture and delight. The icing on the cake is introducing Ian to one of Taren’s old, trusted friends, Kevin and including him in one of their sexiest scenes. With help from Kevin, Taren plans to double Ian’s pleasure.
Ian knows Taren’s past is a little more adventurous than his own. It’s something that’s always intrigued Ian about his husband and Dom. Now Ian comes face to face with a piece of that past. And Kevin’s glorious! Fantasy and reality collide when Ian is treated to the attentions of two skilled Doms. He’s never had a gay threesome and admits he’s a bit jealous. However, Taren makes sure Ian enjoys his time with another man while being the protective husband Ian loves and trusts beyond words. Renowned interior designer Fredi Zimmer is surprised when outdoorsman Max Greene, owner of Greene’s Outdoors, hires him to revamp Max’s rustic cabin in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Fredi is an out-and-proud Metro male whose contact with the outdoors is from his car to the doorway of the million-dollar homes he remodels, and to Fredi, Max is a typical straight man’s man. When Max blatantly and clumsily flirts with Fredi, Fredi’s stereotypical view of Max is shattered. Is this a build-up to a gay bashing? Cautiously believing Max is closeted and is trying to come out, Fredi decides he’s game to put a little spice into Max’s life, whether it’s in the colors and fixtures he’ll use to turn Max's dilapidated cabin into a showplace or over one of the many lunches and dinners they share talking about the remodel. Who can blame a guy for adding a little sensual pleasure as he retools Max’s life visually? Besides, Fredi has a backup plan if he’s wrong about Max’s intentions. Life would be all wine and roses if it weren’t for Max’s former friends and their conservative families. Alarmed with Max’s obvious infatuation, they make it their business to save him from sliding into hell. With the battle on, will Fredi and Max win the fight for a life of happiness together? During the recession at the beginning of the 21st century, many gays and lesbians moved from the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento to the Sierra Foothills. FLAG (Foothills Lesbians and Gays) was formed. This series was written for them. Other Books in the Series: What's In a Name | Redesigning Max | Behr Facts | When Adam Fell Giveaway Pat is giving away a $10 JMS Books gift card with this tour – enter via Rafflecopter: Direct Link: https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d47145/ Excerpt Designer Fredi and adventure guide Max go to lunch right after they meet: By the time we got to the Rock Bottom Cafe, I felt like I’d bottomed out. I was hungry, tired, and feeling the first twinges of a headache. Max hadn’t exaggerated about how much I’d hate the Rock Bottom’s decor. It was the worst of rural cafe: hellacious plastic flowers, grotesque plastic-covered booths, peeling gangrene-painted beadboard walls, pockmarked linoleum floor, and faded food-stained menus. It made the cabin look almost palatial, except it didn’t smell as bad. As Max slid into one side of a booth and I into the other, he said, “Food’s great here. Okay?” I glared at him, but I had to admit the odors coming from the kitchen wove seductively around us. After we’d ordered and had gotten glasses of iced tea, which I liberally dosed with artificial sweetener, Max leaned back in his side of the booth and blew out a little breath. “So guess here’s what you need to know about me.” He was looking at the tabletop. “I was an only kid when my folks died. Raised by my aunt and uncle with their four boys. I was the youngest and nobody cared what I thought, so I don’t talk much.” Oh dear. I wasn’t sure which of those statements I should answer, if any. My heart bled for the beautiful man in front of me who would give me a raging hard-on if I let my libido take control. His words and lack of self-pity made me want to create a unique space where he’d feel completely at home and that would soothe him when he needed it. I probably wouldn’t end up his BFF or someone he could unbend with, but I could create a warm cocoon to shelter and coddle the man or let him entertain his friends comfortably. The image of the young Max feeling like an outsider when he was thrust on his uncaring aunt and uncle to raise was banished by the waitress who put lunch in front of us. “Oh. My. God!” I nearly drooled into the chili and homemade bread as I tasted them. “This is incredible.” “What’d I tell you?” Max gloated. “Said you shouldn’t be put off by the decor. Some of us are more than our decor.” I spooned up a couple of bites, then looked at Max. “You really do think I’m a snob, don’t you?” Why was it so easy to get him to blush? I hadn’t a clue, but his quick, mercurial red cheeks had me intrigued. “No, no, I don’t think you’re a snob,” he protested. “I mean, you’re just so….” He waved a couple of fingers at me, but kept his elbows on the table as if protecting his bowl of chili. “I’m so what?” Max shrugged. “I don’t know. Beautiful. And fancy,” he added, ducking his head over his bowl. Ah, I understood now. Max was intimidated by my suit. “Look, you came to get me in the coffee shop. I was dressed to take a rich lady through her house later this afternoon. I can work in jeans and a T-shirt”—did Max think I wore suits every day?—“or anything I want. Pajamas even. You just caught me on a suit day.” Which, I didn’t add, was too often for even my overblown sense of style. Now Max was staring at me. “Yeah, right. You wear jeans,” he scoffed, but looked interested, intrigued. I shrugged. “Okay, not when I’m with a client. At home I’m way more casual.” I might have sounded a tad defensive. “Yeah, right,” Max muttered with a grin. I left it lying there. It wasn’t worth fighting about. But it bothered me that he saw such a divide between us. I was just a man, wasn’t I? Just like him, right? What was he going on about? Sheesh. Author Bio Pat Henshaw, born and raised in Nebraska, has lived on the U S’s three coasts, in Texas, Virginia, and now California. Before she retired, she held a number of jobs, including theatrical costumer, newspaper features reporter and movie reviewer, librarian, junior college English instructor, and publicist. She also loves to travel and has visited Canada, Mexico, Europe, Egypt, and Central America as well as almost all fifty US states. Now retired, she enjoys reading and writing as well as visiting her older daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren on the East Coast and playing havoc with her younger daughter’s life in NorCal. She thanks you for reading her books and wants you to remember that every day is a good day for romance. Author Website: https://pathenshaw.com Author Facebook (Personal): https://www.facebook.com/pat.henshaw.10 Author Facebook (Author Page): https://www.facebook.com/pathenshawauthor/ Author Twitter: https://twitter.com/HenshawAuthor Author Amazon: https://www.queeromanceink.com/mbm-book-author/pat-henshaw/ Hello everyone! This week my snippet is from Whiskey and Moonshine, a contemporary sweet with lotsa heat romance. “There’s a difference between liking someone you work with and getting too attached. You’re sharing a hotel room with him, and some people on the board are going to question that,” Jeffery pointed out. “I’m sharing a suite,” Mal shot back. “We’ll have separate bedrooms. Gwen is sharing the other one with Audrey and Marty. That place costs a fortune. I’d think the board would be happy I’m not a frivolous spender! And my personal life is just that. Personal. It’s never been a secret I’m gay—” “That’s not the issue, Mal. This guy is a vagrant you essentially took of the street. Yes, he works for your company, but the perks are unusual.” “So I should—what? Only make friends with the right credit score and family pedigree? Who have lived in certain neighborhoods?” Mal strode to the office door and gave it a shove, slamming it shut before he turned back to Jeffery. “There may be a board of directors and shareholders, but this is my company. Mine! If I choose to become friends with those who work here, it’s my decision. I like Colt, and it’s no one’s business what our personal relationship is.” Whiskey and Moonshine is available on Amazon in both eBook and paperback. It can also be read in Kindle Unlimited.
Read more great snippets on Rainbow Snippets. R.L. Merrill has a new MM rock and roll book out: "Brains and Brawn." And there's a giveaway! Billy “Brains” Brennan has achieved rock stardom in not just one, but two chart-topping bands, but events from his past have him convinced he’s living on borrowed time. Brains and his brothers-in-Hush are ready to take the last cross-country Warped Tour by storm...until the actions of two drunk dudes with bad attitudes set off a chain of events that leave him incapacitated...and face-to-face with a handsome stranger who inexplicably feels like home—and not the home Brains fled at sixteen. Chief Petty Officer Paul McNally has spent his 25-year career as a Navy Corpsman responding to emergencies and caring for wounded soldiers. When fate has him in the right place to provide aid to a fallen rock star, it sends his life spiraling on a trajectory he never planned for. Instead of concentrating on his impending retirement and a second career, he’s now playing nursemaid to a fascinating younger man…and falling in love—a fact he can’t seem to figure out how to explain to his adult son. A health scare, band drama, and pain from both of their pasts threatens to end Brains and Paul’s fledgling relationship. Fate brought them together. It will take trust, honesty, and hope to keep them together. Giveaway R.L. is giving away a $25 Amazon gift card with this tour – enter via Rafflecopter for a chance to win: Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d47143/? Excerpt Paul’s head whipped around when he heard the first scream. He watched in horror as the tent Bowie had just been standing in front of—Hush’s tent—collapsed and a crowd of people fell. Without hesitation, he ran for the tent. Then he spotted Bowie standing over some big guy. “You okay?” he yelled to him. Bowie nodded, his big blue eyes wide as he looked back at the disaster. Security began barricading the area around the tent and moving the screaming fans away from the scene. Adults attempted to pull the kids out of harm’s way. That’s when Paul saw the tabletop on the ground and a pair of black-clad legs sticking out from underneath. Oh God. Guys in bright yellow security shirts lifted and pulled the rest of the tent out of the way. Paul rushed toward the broken table and sank to his knees next to Brains. “Can you hear me? Are you with me?” Brains locked gazes with him, and Paul felt pain in his right hand. He looked down to see Brains squeezing the life out of it. “Please don’t leave….” Medical staff approached in blue cargo pants and polos and swarmed the members of the band and their staff, several of whom were on the ground. Two women approached Brains with medical kits, and Paul started to move back, but Brains’s grip grew tighter. “Please don’t leave me!” Brains said again, more insistently. He was panting, his face losing color, and Paul feared he was going into shock. He glanced at the table on his legs and at the staff who were preparing to lift it off him. Paul worried perhaps the worst had occurred, but the fact that Brains was still squeezing the shit out of his hand was a good sign. Brains coughed as he brought his other hand up to grasp Paul’s. “Please!” His appeals were growing in urgency. Paul leaned a little closer to his face and pressed his free hand to Brains’s cheek. “I’m not going anywhere, okay? But they’re going to lift the table now. You ready? Try not to move.” Brains nodded—another good sign—but Paul pressed a hand to his shoulder. “Stay still.” The staff guys counted to three, and then they lifted the table. Brains let out a guttural shout, and tears streamed down his face as he winced in agony. Paul breathed a sigh of relief to not see any blood or rips in Brains’s pants. He half expected to see a bone shard sticking out. But they weren’t out of the woods. “Brains, listen to me, okay?” “Billy.” Paul frowned. “Billy?” “My name is Billy. Please—” “I’m not leaving you, but these medics here are going to look you over, and they’re probably going to poke and prod you a bit.” He nodded to the young women in Rock Medicine shirts who stood by, hesitating to approach. Paul heard sirens in the distance, which meant better-trained professionals were on their way, but Brains—Billy—needed to be assessed immediately. “Sir, we need you to move—” “He’s not going anywhere!” Brains shouted at them. Paul addressed the one with the first-aid kit. “My name is Paul McNally. I’m a Navy corpsman, and I’m trained in triage and emergency medical treatment.” And I’m not leaving his side. The young women looked to each other and then crouched down next to Billy. One of them placed a hand on Billy’s arm. “I’m going to touch you, okay?” “He’s staying with me, you got it? He’s staying.” Billy’s chin quivered as he spoke to the medics. The two women looked at each other with eyes wide. Paul was losing circulation in his hand, but he wouldn’t have left Billy if the entire venue burst into flames. The way he was reacting… Paul had been through countless emergencies and could recognize when there was a psychological issue at work that needed attention. He looked around for Bowie and saw him with Dimples, watching from a distance. Relieved that he hadn’t been hurt and seemed to be doing okay, Paul turned his full attention on Billy. One of the women took Brains’s vitals, and the other ran her hands over his body, checking for injuries. She barely spoke to Brains, and Paul was perturbed at the way they were assessing him. “Billy, can you wiggle your toes for me?” Paul asked. Brains nodded, and then Paul looked at his Vans-clad feet. Thankfully, he saw movement on both. Paul smiled down at Brains. “You’re doing great. You know what today is?” “A fucked-up day? I had a bad feeling this morning….” “Seems like it was warranted.” Brains’s deep blue eyes fixed on Paul, and his breathing seemed to slow for just a moment. Paul hoped that meant he would maybe be able to relax-- “Sir, I’m going to need to put a collar on you.” Brains flinched when the medic touched him. “I’m fine, just let me up—” Paul placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, and it was enough to keep Brains from trying to sit up. “Billy? It’s important that you lie still and let them put a collar on you. With this sort of accident, they need to keep your spine aligned to avoid any further injury, okay?” Brains began to pant and tugged Paul’s hand as though he wanted to try to pull up, but when he tried to move his legs, only the right one moved, and he screamed in pain. “Look at me,” Paul said, getting closer to his face. He needed to distract him, to make Brains focus on him. “Brains, they need to take you to the hospital—” “No. No, no, no, please,” he whispered. “I can’t go, please, Paul, please—” “I’m not going to leave you. I won’t let them hurt you, okay? They need to take you in for X-rays to make sure nothing’s broken.” Brains’s voice sounded like that of a frightened child. Something was seriously wrong. He pulled on their joined hands again, and the medic placed a hand on Brains’s chest to keep him from moving. “Sir? You may have a spinal injury, so we have to place you on this backboard with a collar to protect you. If you won’t cooperate, we’re going to have to sedate you.” “Can you give us a minute?” Paul asked the medics, irritation clear in his voice. “We need to get him to the ambulance,” the medic closest to him said, and then was distracted by the band’s manager. She gave the medic Brains’s information and shot a worried look Paul’s direction. His full name was Billy Brennan. Paul ground his teeth together and took a breath to calm himself. “I understand. Will you give me a moment to speak to Mr. Brennan? I’d like to avoid the use of sedatives.” She nodded, and they stood and backed away a few feet to confer. Paul squeezed Brains’s hand and placed the other on his forehead. “Hey, man. The sedatives are a drag. This will all go better if you let them collar you and get you on the backboard. Hopefully everything is fine. The fact that you’re moving your toes and strangling my fingers leads me to think your spine is just fine, but it’s procedure. I swear I’m staying with you.” Billy swallowed hard, his eyes wild. “I know I’m acting crazy. There’s a reason, I just… please.” Paul smiled at him. “You haven’t seen crazy until you’ve got a wounded Marine pulling his pistol and pointing it at your face while you try to remove a sliver from his other hand.” Brains’s eyes bugged out. “A sliver?” Paul shrugged. “It was a four-inch piece of shrapnel, but I’d still call it a sliver.” He winked, and Brains barked out a laugh. Good, keep that smile. “You going to let them collar you and take you for a little ride?” Brains’s smile faded. “Just please stay with me. Can you? Will you?” If Paul hadn’t already been 100 percent in on this mission, he was now. Author Bio R.L. Merrill brings you stories of Hope, Love, and Rock 'n' Roll featuring quirky and relatable characters. Whether she’s writing about contemporary issues that affect us all or diving deep into the paranormal and supernatural to give readers a shiver, she loves creating compelling stories that will stay with readers long after. Winner of the Kathryn Hayes “When Sparks Fly” Best Contemporary award for Hurricane Reese, Foreword INDIES finalist for Summer of Hush and RONE finalist for Typhoon Toby, Ro spends every spare moment improving her writing craft and striving to find that perfect balance between real-life and happily ever after. She writes diverse and inclusive romance, contributes paranormal hilarity to Robyn Peterman’s Magic and Mayhem Universe, and works on various other writing and mentoring projects that tickle her fancy or benefit a worthy cause. You can find her connecting with readers on social media, educating America’s youth, raising two brilliant teenagers, trying desperately to get that back piece finished in the tattoo chair, or headbanging at a rock show near her home in the San Francisco Bay Area! Stay Tuned for more Rock 'n' Romance. Author Website: https://www.rlmerrillauthor.com Author Facebook (Personal): https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005746815103 Author Facebook (Author Page): https://www.facebook.com/rlmerrillauthor Author Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/rlmerrillauthor Author Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rlmerrillauthor Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9828914.R_L_Merrill Author QueeRomance Ink: https://www.queeromanceink.com/mbm-book-author/r-l-merrill/ Author Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/R-L-Merrill/e/B00PI6Q1LI Hello! We're finally getting some relief today from the heat here in Ohio. Among my favorite books I've written are those in The Sleepless City series. Last month Anne Barwell re-released the first book, Shades of Sepia and in a few day the second book, Electric Candle (written by me) will be re-released into the big wide world.
Today's snippet is from Electric Candle. Lucas pulled one of the chairs away from the table and nodded at it, then sat in one of the others. Blair sat, put both hands flat on the table and asked, “What can you tell me about how this bond works? Forge said you thought there was some kind of evolutionary benefit.” “I’d know a lot more if I could get these journals of Declan’s translated. Forge’s French isn’t that good, and mine is pretty much nonexistent. Declan has translated some, but not all of them.” “It seems everywhere I turn, I’m roadblocked by Declan, and I’ve never even met the guy.” Lucas laughed. “I’ve never met him either, but I’ve read enough to be impressed. He was a French aristocrat who abandoned everything to come to what was the new world, a place completely wild and unknown. He left so he could live a life where he didn’t have to hide who he was. Being gay wasn’t an option in sixteenth century France. He was a kid, something like fourteen when he got on a ship full of pirates to come here.” Read more snippets HERE. Vasquez and James Vol 2 These books are part of a series and with one exception noted later in this review, they should be read in order. Overall rating 4, but I’ll break it down by book for this this review. This book is actually two novels and a novella, so three compete stories in all. Part One is Saving Sonny James. Rating 4 Luki and Sonny are a wonderful couple! I love how they work together and don’t soft coat anything for each other. In this book, Sonny’s life is in danger. Luki is still suffering the aftereffects of a traumatic incident and is fighting through his PTSD. Sonny is offered an opportunity to teach and participate in a promotional tour in Europe. When he leaves their home in Washington state for France, Luki stays behind because of his mental state, feeling he needs more treatment before getting on an airplane and traveling to another country. While there, Sonny runs into some serious trouble and goes missing. The only problem is, Luki is really the only person who believes Sonny is missing and hasn’t disappeared on purpose. There is truly a great bit of detective work by Luki and his team, across two continents no less. Once in France how Luki enlists help in a county where he’s not a law enforcement agent, but a visitor with limited use of the language is a strong and entertaining part of the story. My only complaints about this book was that I felt the ending was rushed. I also would’ve liked to see more from Sonny’s point of view after he arrives in France. The little bit I did see made me want more details from his side. That was an itch that wasn’t satisfied. Those two complaints aside, this is a solid romantic suspense in an interesting location and enough roadblocks thrown in the characters’ paths to keep me turning the pages. Part Two is Yes. Rating 5 This book isn’t a suspense, I’m not even sure it qualifies as a romance. Yes isn’t the type of story I usually read or like, in fact, I only read it because of this review. When I got the end, I still can’t say it’s a story I enjoyed, or that I was glad I read it. However, that isn’t the fault of the author or the book and there are many people who do enjoy this type of story. If you are one of those people you’re in for a stunningly great treat! The story might very well be one of the most beautifully written stories I’ve ever read. It was impeccably thought out and researched. Yes is an accurate and heartfelt portrayal of what a family goes through when one of its members has a potentially life-threatening disease. As is often the case, the whole family is affected and in many different and unforeseen ways. My personal feelings aside, I couldn’t find a single flaw in Yes. When I came to the end, I was satisfied the story was complete. There were no loose ends I was left wondering about, and no questions were unanswered. If you’re like me and don’t enjoy a very angsty story, this part of Vol 2 can be skipped. Any information from it you’d need is in the third book. Caution to readers, do read the blurb to this story. If you’d like spoilers to how the story ends, you can find viable clues in the blurb to Because of Jade. Part Three is Because of Jade. Rating 3 The bones of this story and the basic premise make it seem as if it’ll be a good, timely suspense with entertaining twists and turns. However, this book simply isn’t up to the standards of Ms. Sylvre’s other novels I’ve come to expect from her as an author. I didn’t feel this book was as well thought out and researched as others in the series. In the book, Luki’s nephew and his wife die, and their child’s custody goes to Luki and Sonny. There weren’t many details about the parents’ deaths, only hints that left me to guess what happened. As a reader I would’ve like a few more facts about what happened to these people. This surprised me because normally Ms. Sylvre doesn’t shy away from or gloss over tragic events. There were a few other plot flaws, questions were left unanswered and in some cases details about characters were stated and then dropped with no real explanation. I was never quite sure what the bad guys’ motivation was, again I was left to guess. The suspense portion of the book only happens in the last third or so. Just when I felt I was getting to the good part and would see some real Vasquez action the story over too quickly with no real resolution or wrap up about why certain events happened. Not a bad book, but not a great book either. I was given a copy of Vasquez and James Vol 2 in exchange for a fair and honest review. I’m looking forward to reading the next series, Vasquez, Inc.! R.L. Merrill has a hot new MM Rock 'n Roll romance out, and we have the cover reveal: "Summer of Hush." Plus there's a giveaway! Hush is back… and it’s about to get loud. After two years grieving the death of his best friend, Silas Franklin is back on the road with his metalcore band, Hush. With a new member, a brilliant new album, and a headlining spot on the last cross-country Warped Tour, life couldn’t be better—unless Silas could meet the intriguing music blogger known only as the Guru. Silas has followed his blog for years and feels the Guru might be the only person who “gets” him. For years Krishnan Guruvayoor has reported on the metal scene as an anonymous blogger, and he’s just landed an internship on the Warped Tour as well as a potential position with a well-respected music magazine. His best friend arranges for him to meet singer Silas Franklin—but only as Krish the Intern. Their chemistry is instant, and Krish is thrilled to get to know the man behind the music. The rock star and blogger quickly go from meet-cute to cuddle session, but secrets, overprotective bandmates, meddling media, and a terrible accident all conspire against them. Can their romance survive the summer of Hush? This is a rerelease. Get It On AmazonGiveaway R.L. is giving away a $10 Amazon gift card with this tour. Enter via Rafflecopter: Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d47140/? Excerpt Krish’s finger hovered over the Play button. What if it’s not enough? Krish sat in his bedroom. His last final was this morning, meaning he’d unceremoniously finished college. He came straight home from school to start his new adventure. But before the insanity started, he had something very important to listen to—an album he’d been waiting two whole years to hear. The band was Hush. The album, Sunrise, was their fifth studio album since their founding in 2008. It would break his heart to give a negative review to his favorite band. His alter ego, the Guru, was known for his brutally honest metal reviews. He had a million subscribers on his YouTube channel, where he posted weekly animated shows, five hundred thousand Twitter users who followed his musical and political rants, and his blog posts were often mentioned on such popular sites as Metal Hammer, Loudwire, and even HuffPost. He owed his readers an accurate review, even if he was conflicted. What if losing their guitarist meant the end of Hush? He’d loved them since his brother introduced him to music—specifically metalcore—and though he loved them best, he tried to be impartial to all of the bands he reviewed, from live performances and new albums to whatever he felt the need to riff on. And then there were his posts about social issues, namely mental health and the LGBTQ community. Those tended to get really personal, and after Gavin West committed suicide, his love of music and his personal life intersected. The blog he wrote about Gavin’s death was his most viewed ever and the one he almost didn’t post. “Krish, darling, did you want anything to eat? You didn’t have lunch, sweetheart. I am worried about you.” Krish’s mom stuck her head in his room and found him in the same position—earbuds in, finger over the button, and holding his breath. “Is it the new album from Hush?” Krish nodded. “How is it?” “I’m afraid to play it.” His mom patted him on the shoulder. She knew how devastated he had been by the death of one of his favorite musicians nearly two years prior. She’d cried alongside him, just as she had a year before that when they lost his brother. “Whatever they’ve done, it will be beautiful. They’re talented boys.” Krish smiled up at his mom. How he managed to land the coolest Indian mom on the planet was a mystery he’d yet to solve. She indulged his every passion, from music to politics to books and his guilty pleasure, video games. Her own childhood had not been so free, so she was determined her boys would be able to do whatever they wanted with their lives. For Vivaan, that meant joining the Marines after college. For Krish, it meant a career in music journalism, and now that he’d finished his degrees, he was anxious to get started. “Have you finished packing?” she asked him. Krish swallowed hard. Warped Tour. The other benefit of his blog was that he’d caught the attention of Alt-Scene magazine. Their assistant to the editor in chief had arranged for Krish to join the tour. He’d remain anonymous and only the tour office manager would know who he was and why he was there. To everyone else he was just her intern. He’d post his blog as usual but also work on a piece for the magazine. If the magazine liked how he covered the tour, there was a full-time position waiting for him at the end of it. “Mostly. Jake’s not picking me up until Friday morning. That means I have one more day to stress over what I can and can’t fit into the one duffel bag I’m allowed to bring on the bus.” She smiled at him and tugged on his shaggy curls. “A whole summer on a bus. I hope you made room for air freshener and hand sanitizer.” “There will be women on the bus. I’m sure between them they’ll have something that smells nice.” “It’s been wonderful having you home,” she said, her voice softer. “I’m going to miss you.” “I’ll miss you too, but it’s only two months,” he answered. Krish had moved home when they received the devastating news about his brother, and he’d commuted to UC San Diego for the remainder of his time there, needing to be near his parents as they all worked through their grief. Now that he’d graduated, it was time to start the next chapter in his life, and he’d been given the opportunity of a lifetime. “The first two months of the rest of your life. This is an exciting time for you.” He heard the tears behind her voice. He couldn’t look at her or he’d be lost. “I wish he were here,” Krish said quietly. His brother should be having his own adventures while cheering on his little Guru. But Krish was on his own now, and it was time to think about not only starting a career and leaving the nest, but standing on his own without his biggest supporter. “I’ll come down in a second.” Krish hugged her waist and exhaled a shaky breath. “I’ll heat up some dinner.” “Is there any of that tandoori chicken left?” he called to her. “I’ll heat some up for you. Don’t get lost up here. Just push Play.” She totally understood him. “Thanks, Mom.” Author Bio R.L. Merrill brings you stories of Hope, Love, and Rock 'n' Roll featuring quirky and relatable characters. Whether she’s writing about contemporary issues that affect us all or diving deep into the paranormal and supernatural to give readers a shiver, she loves creating compelling stories that will stay with readers long after. Winner of the Kathryn Hayes “When Sparks Fly” Best Contemporary award for Hurricane Reese, Foreword INDIES finalist for Summer of Hush and RONE finalist for Typhoon Toby, Ro spends every spare moment improving her writing craft and striving to find that perfect balance between real-life and happily ever after. She writes diverse and inclusive romance, contributes paranormal hilarity to Robyn Peterman’s Magic and Mayhem Universe, and works on various other writing and mentoring projects that tickle her fancy or benefit a worthy cause. You can find her connecting with readers on social media, educating America’s youth, raising two brilliant teenagers, trying desperately to get that back piece finished in the tattoo chair, or headbanging at a rock show near her home in the San Francisco Bay Area! Stay Tuned for more Rock 'n' Romance. Author Website: https://www.rlmerrillauthor.com Author Facebook (Personal): https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005746815103 Author Facebook (Author Page): https://www.facebook.com/rlmerrillauthor Author Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/rlmerrillauthor Author Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rlmerrillauthor Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9828914.R_L_Merrill Author QueeRomance Ink: https://www.queeromanceink.com/mbm-book-author/r-l-merrill/ Author Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/R-L-Merrill/e/B00PI6Q1LI/
Queer Sci Fi's sixth annual flash fiction anthology is here - "Innovation" - and there's a giveaway too! IN-NO-VA-TION (Noun) 1) A new idea, method, or device. 2) The introduction of something new. 3) The application of better solutions to meet unarticulated needs. Three definitions to inspire writers around the world and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell. Here are 120 of our favorites. Innovation features 300-word speculative flash fiction stories from across the rainbow spectrum, from the minds of the writers of Queer Sci Fi. Giveaway Queer Sci Fi is giving away your choice of a $20 Amazon gift card OR a print copy of four of the other five flash fiction books in the series – Flight, Renewal, Impact, and Migration (US only unless you are willing to pay the shipping outside the US) with this tour. Enter via Rafflecopter: Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d47138/? Excerpts “The fields are overgrown, have been for years with all the Bios underground. The wind kisses the grass in serpentine patterns long forgotten, patterns the Bios couldn’t imagine anymore. My mechanical hand stores the seed envelope in the mechanical pocket in my androgynous torso. In these suits, there is no gender. Gender is, always has been, in the mind. And I am finally, unequivocally, female.” —Seed, by Val Muller “No one in the village knew what the Change would bring. They never saw it happen. They only knew what they had been promised: the Change would bestow three gifts.” —A New Way, by Rory Ni Coileain “The girl kissed her, hard. Then backed away, grinning, teasing, drawing her to the end of the hallway and a flight of stairs leading downward. She took two steps and gazed back up at Lilian, one hand outstretched. Her brilliant red lipstick wasn’t even smudged. Her skin glowed in the harsh white torchlight.” —The Thing With the Bats, by Mary Francis “Interspecies sex is outlawed on the Freespec Interplanetary Space Station. Politicians call it a safety measure. But I’ve been in the Medical Corps for half my lifecycle, and I call it criminally negligent prudery. Leaders would rather let innocents die needlessly—punctured by sperm darts and dissolved in sacks of voltaic pleasure mucus—than give them the knowledge to express their feelings safely.” — Are My Underwater Sperm Darts Normal?, Brenna Harvey “The bell’s brassy gong echoes through the flat; the walls blush crimson. See, see! He’s at my door. The live feed shows him sniff his armpit; cup his breath. He wants to impress, but I’m impressed already. His lips softly part; he brushes them with stubby fingers, as he waits. Ugly fingers. Ugly hands. Scrawny neck. Milky eyes. But those lips, see, they’re perfect, just perfect. Plump n’ pale, a slither of my future.” —Just perfect, by Redfern Jon Barrett “Lekke looked down over the valley, First People’s home for as long as any tales or dreams could tell. Now only Spirit Dreamer Manoot, neither he nor she but both, and Lekke, elder healer, were left. Lifetimes of Long-legs’ raids had driven First People to their deaths—or, some few, to the Way. If there truly was a Way.” —Going Back,” by Sacchi Green “Savinna limped into her lover's workshop, her hip still sore from tangling with the marabbecca which had knocked her into its well before she managed to kill it. Such was the life of a monster hunter. Not at all surprised to see Larissa hunched over her bench, hard at work tinkering with something, Savinna ghosted her hand over Larissa’s back.” —Those Who Hunt Monsters, by Jana Denardo “The baby cried as Freya lowered the bartering bucket into the wishing well. Many had come to the tree-shrouded clearing to make exchanges—a bushel of azure apples for a sword, a woven blanket for a day of rain. The well had been the final creation of a thousand-year-old inventor. But dead wizards often don’t anticipate how their gifts birth consequences.” —The Bartering Bucket, by Diane Callahan Author Bios 120 authors contributed stories for this volume:
M.D. Grimm has a new MM fantasy book out, A Warrior's Redemption book one: "Healing Lance." A baby’s laughter. A mind uncaged. Lance is known as Scourge, the warrior in the black armor, the dog of the warlord Ulfr Blackwolf. He was just a boy when Ulfr found him and molded him into the perfect weapon. He slaughters and pillages on command, merciless and numb, devoid of emotions. Then a baby girl laughs at him during a raid. And everything changes. When Gust, a talented healer, is out deer hunting and stumbles across a magnificent horse bearing a mortally wounded rider, he has no idea that his life is about to change forever. Gust applies all his skills to his patient, determined to save the rider’s life, and is rewarded when the man opens his eyes. As friendship, and more, bloom between warrior and healer, so does the danger over the horizon. Ulfr has not forgotten, and Lance must take his first steps on the long road to redemption. Giveaway M.D. is giving away a $10 Amazon gift card with this tour – enter via Rafflecopter: Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d47137/? Excerpt Chapter One The baby shouldn’t matter. But she did. He easily held her small body in his broad hands. He knew the baby was a girl because she was naked. She kicked her legs as if she wanted to dance, and her wide amber eyes gazed at him in seeming fascination. He stared down at her, wondering why she didn’t scream. Didn’t babies scream? Adults certainly did when they saw him. He didn’t like the sound. All he wanted to do was silence the noise. The baby stared at him a moment before her mouth curled up at the corners, and she laughed. He froze at the unusual sound. With eyes alight, she grabbed her feet and continued to laugh. It was… all the things foreign to him. It wasn’t cruel or dark but careless, showing a freedom he’d never known. She wiggled in his hands, her pale, pink body flush with life and potential. Battle roars and the cries of the dying met his ears again, in stark contrast to the little life he held. He wrenched his gaze away from her and looked around the charred hut and over the collapsed roof. The light from the fires consuming the village illuminated the destruction and the blood splattered on the walls and floor. It was a view he was accustomed to, one he understood. The weight of his sword was one he only noticed when it wasn’t there. He returned his gaze to the baby. This was something he didn’t understand. She was confusing. She laughed again as goosebumps broke out over her body. She was cold. He scanned the area and spotted a blanket that only had blood on one corner. He wrapped her as best he could, another thing unfamiliar to him, and his black armored gloves made the action awkward. Then he pressed her against his steel chest. He wanted her to survive. He didn’t know why—he just knew he didn’t want her to die. “Please….” A young woman lay on the floor at his feet, one he thought was dead. It appeared she had only been knocked out. She lay on her side, one arm stretched out to him, her normally golden skin sickly pale. Her dark brown hair was short, barely reaching past her ears, and one side of her head was caked with blood. The southern part of the kingdom of Grekenus didn’t seem too fond of hair as most of the men in the village were bald and beardless while the women grew hair no longer than their chins. “Please don’t kill her,” she said, dark eyes wide and dazed. “Don’t kill my daughter. Please, I beg you.” She spoke in Spart, the native language of the kingdom. He knew it well enough to communicate effectively. He looked at the baby and then back at the woman. If he wanted the baby to survive, she needed a caretaker. Since the woman was her mother, who better? He strode over to the woman where she struggled to rise and grabbed her arm. She winced at his grip as he tugged her to her feet. He shoved the baby into her arms before dragging her outside. “What are you—?” “Silence,” he said curtly. He observed the chaos through the smoke and beyond the fires. The broken dead littered the ground and fire ate everything it touched. A horse galloped toward them, one that belonged to the village since there was neither a saddle nor bridle on the beast. He let go of the woman and pointed to the ground. “Stay.” Then he strode in front of the horse and held up his hands. The beast reared on her hind legs, neighing in fright. Unlike with humans, he knew how to speak to horses. It wasn’t long before he’d calmed her and had her under control. He petted her neck and muzzle, whispering kind words. The frantic look in her eyes eased, and he led her over to the woman and the baby. She swayed on her feet and had stayed where he told her to, not that he’d doubted she would. The hope for escape let her trust him. He quickly found a length of rope and looped it around the horse’s nose and neck. “Get on.” She didn’t question him this time. She struggled to follow his command, and he realized the horse was just too tall for her to mount without help. He shoved her up, and she sat unsteadily on the horse’s back, her daughter clutched to her chest. She stared at him, and he noted the blood from her head now stained the side of her face and dress. She would see nothing of his face since his black armor covered every piece of flesh, and his eyes were barely visible through the narrow visor slit of the helmet. “Go.” He slapped the horse’s rear and the mare bolted. The woman leaned over the horse and let the mare lead them away from death. Another warrior, part of the warband, nocked an arrow and leveled it at her. He strode over and kicked the warrior’s knee, sending the man crashing to the ground with a scream of pain. The arrow flew wide. Another warrior was about to give chase on horseback, and he dashed over to grab the sword from his hand before shoving the warrior off the saddle. A few other attempts were made to stop the fleeing woman, and he stopped them all, causing various injuries and not caring in the least. He had no affinity to any of the warriors in the warband. He had no affinity to anyone… except the tiny girl. He still couldn’t figure out why. He wondered if he ever would. He stood there, on the muddy ground soaked with blood, staring after the woman. The smoke burned his throat and stung his eyes. The scent, the noise, the mess of battle he knew like he knew his name. He’d never been curious about anything beyond his current life. Now he did. He hoped she took good care of her daughter. “Lance!” He blinked and turned around. The warlord Ulfr, known throughout the Nifdem Empire as Mad Blackwolf, stalked over to him, expression like a thundercloud, his black, bushy beard and thick head of hair obscuring most of his ruddy face. He wasn’t as tall as Lance, although he was much broader, and there wasn’t a weak bone in his burly body. The quality of his black long-sleeved tunic, trousers, and boots showed a hard but fruitful life, and a few glistening red splatters indicated he didn’t leave all the fun to his warriors. A few of the warriors that Lance had attacked hobbled after their commander, scowling and muttering curses. All the men sported beards of one length or another. Lance remained clean shaven since the helmet made having a beard quite painful as it tugged on the strands and chafed his skin. “You will explain to me why you disobeyed a direct order!” Ulfr said when he reached Lance. He spoke in Taris, the official language of the empire. His clenched fists and tight jaw indicated his fury, and the rest of the men and women in their warband cowered at such a sight. Not Lance. He didn’t feel fear. Lance took off his helmet, long honey blond hair sticking to his face, pressed there by the constriction of the helmet and sweat glistening on his pale skin. Frosty blue eyes stared at Ulfr, eyes hollow from years of war and brutality. Yet, if Ulfr had looked closer, he would have seen a spark of life newly lit in the void. Lance tucked the helmet in the crook of his arm and smoothed back his hair, the armor grinding and clanking. “I didn’t want the baby to die.” Ulfr blinked. “What?” Lance frowned. He knew Ulfr had heard him clearly enough. “I did not want the baby to die,” he said, slower this time. “She couldn’t survive on her own, so she had to have her mother with her.” Men and women gathered around them, filthy warriors stained with the evidence of their raid and slaughter. Everyone wore trousers and tunics, though some of the women chose more form-fitting clothing that extenuated their feminine attributes. The ethnicities in Ulfr’s band were as varied as the colors of their wardrobes. Though none dared wear purple or, worse, silver and purple combined. A person could be killed for being so presumptions. Only imperial royalty wore those colors. Several men were retying their trousers, having violated their victims before killing them. Lance observed the crowd with a detached eye. He knew what would happen now. He’d known it the moment he made the decision to save the infant. “You disobeyed me!” Ulfr gripped the collar of Lance’s breastplate and yanked him closer until their faces were inches apart. “You showed mercy when I told you all to slaughter those who don’t give us tribute. These people spat on us as if they were better, and so they deserved their punishment. You’ve followed my orders before, Lance. Why not now?” “I told you.” Ulfr shoved him away. Lance stumbled back two steps before standing still, like an oak tree against a high wind. The complete slaughter of a village or town wasn’t what Ulfr usually did. He wouldn’t raid if they paid him. Normally, if they resisted, Lance would only kill one or two people to make a point, and then the villagers would hand over whatever Ulfr wanted to make him go away. This village had done that in the past, and yet they recently decided to fight back against Ulfr’s protection racket. They paid the ultimate price, an example to all who dared defy Mad Blackwolf. The village was close to the border between the kingdoms of Grekenus and Cairon, and mostly safe from the ravages of the civil war, since it was deep into the protective territory of one of the kings. And yet sometimes, like that day, warlords got through. Ulfr’s band had had scuffles with army units now and then over the years that gave Lance more of a challenge, but none recently. “You disobeyed me for a wench and her spawn?” “I did not want the baby to die,” Lance repeated. “You will go after her.” Ulfr pointed in the direction the woman had fled in. “You will redeem yourself and escape my wrath but only if you go now.” “No.” Every single man and woman there gaped, eyes wide. Ulfr’s eyes bulged and his face grew red. “You ungrateful maggot! Who raised you? Trained you? Who saved you from becoming crow food or sold into slavery? You owe me your loyalty!” Lance stared at Ulfr. Yes, all he said was true. But there was no way Lance could ever hold his sword over the neck of that baby and kill her. Her laugh echoed in his mind and seemed to unlock something. Something scarred shut. No, she would live. He dropped his helmet to the bloody mud, followed by his sword, which had taken countless lives without mercy or hesitation. He stood before the warriors, those he’d trained and slaughtered alongside. Despite living with them, killing with them, he didn’t know them at all. He never cared to. “I am done,” he said. Author Bio M.D. Grimm has wanted to write stories since second grade (kind of young to make life decisions, but whatever) and nothing has changed since then (well, plenty of things actually, but not that!). Thankfully, she has indulgent parents who let her dream, but also made sure she understood she’d need a steady job to pay the bills (they never let her forget it!). After graduating from the University of Oregon and majoring in English, (let’s be honest: useless degree, what else was she going to do with it?) she started on her writing career and couldn’t be happier. Working by day and writing by night (or any spare time she can carve out), she enjoys embarking on romantic quests and daring adventures (living vicariously, you could say) and creating characters that always triumph against the villain, (or else what’s the point?) finding their soul mate in the process. Author Website: https://www.mdgrimmwrites.com Author Facebook (Author Page): https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001710645622 Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=md+grimm Author QueeRomance Ink: https://www.queeromanceink.com/mbm-book-author/m-d-grimm/ Author Liminal Fiction (LimFic.com): https://www.limfic.com/mbm-book-author/m-d-grimm/ Author Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/M.D.Grimm/e/B00I0KZMY6/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0 |
Welcome to My World
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