Love's Trials by Janice Jarrell - 99c Book Blast

Book Title: Love's Trials (Revolutionary Heart, Book 2)

Author: Janice Jarrell

Publisher: Self-Published 

Release Date: October 12, 2018

Length: 78,333 words/224 pages

Genre/s: Contemporary Gay Romance

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Blurb 

After half a lifetime spent in short-term liaisons that allowed no intimacy, charismatic Irish police officer, Colin Campbell, found the love of his life. Dark-eyed, steady Joshua Abrams burned through Colin’s emotional barriers and taught him to look at life through new eyes, eyes that made room for the love and closeness he had always denied himself. Deeply in love and completely happy, their life together remains idyllic and their fiery passion for each other seems limitless.

They survive the Charlottesville 'Unite the Right' riots, though not without scars. But later that month Colin’s position with the campus police force places him in charge of an informant program designed to crack a dangerous drug ring. Fully aware of the risks, he swears to Joshua that he will oversee the program without becoming directly involved. But Colin's promise begins to crumble when he becomes the only one who can save a young Nigerian exchange student from a deadly drug lord.

Video - Colin and Joshua's Story



Excerpt

Colin drew in a breath. He released Joshua, then took his hand and drew him toward the couch. "Sit with me a minute. I need to tell you something."

Joshua shook his head as he fell onto the couch beside Colin. "You're going to do it," he said. "You're going to be part of the drug investigation."

Colin's eyes widened. "Lenny! That jackass called you?"

Joshua chuckled and shook his head. "No," he said. "C'mon! Lenny would never do that. No. I was expecting it." His fingers tightening on Colin's. "I knew you couldn't say 'no' to them. Once they started waving the students in front of you it was a done deal."

"You mad at me?"

"Oh, hell no! Are you serious? Why would I be?"

"I know this whole operation worries you."

Joshua looked past Colin to the windows of their house, past which the Rivanna river flowed. "You can't base the way you do your job on what might or might not make me nervous," he said. "You have to do what you think is right." He turned back to Colin. "And I know you always will."

Colin leaned in and kissed him. "I didn't tell you the best part! David's going to partner with me. They want us to develop a set of prerequisites for the students' participation. It's…," he shrugged and wrinkled his nose, "it's paperwork. It's grunt work. It's no big deal."

"I see," Joshua said. "So there's absolutely no chance that you'll end up involved on a deeper level. Zero. None. Nada."

Colin lifted Joshua's hand to his lips. "Josh…," he began, then stopped. It no longer surprised him when Joshua seemed to read his thoughts and often even his fears, and since he couldn't bring himself to lie, Colin was now left with little choice. He sighed and looked somewhat sheepishly into Joshua's dark eyes. "Well…," he began.

"Yeah," Joshua interrupted. "That's what I figured."

"I promise you this," Colin said, pulling him closer. "I swear to you that I will resist any attempt to get me into the field. I will absolutely handcuff myself to my desk."

Joshua's face twisted with doubt, as he returned Colin's gaze, then he shook his head in resignation. "Colin, I believe you. And I truly believe you'll hold to that—"

Colin nodded.

"—right up to the moment when one of them says the words ‘student in danger’."

Colin's eyes fell.

"And thirty seconds after that," Joshua said, "there'll be a white streak where Colin used to be."

"Josh—"

"Don't bother denying it," Joshua said. He leaned in to press his lips to Colin’s then sat back, his eyes locking, once again, with the honey-green eyes of his lover. "You're the Man of La Mancha, Colin. You hear the call of glory and off you go. You don't even think about consequences to yourself. You never have. You only care about doing what's right." As he spoke this last his dark brown eyes closed and his head dropped.

"Josh, please..,"

"You are who you are, Colin," Joshua continued. "That's why you're the man I love."

Colin touched his cheek.

"And no matter how this thing turns out," Joshua continued, "I would never, ever want that man to change."

About the Author

My name is Janice Jarrell. I am a retired grandmother who lives in Seattle, WA. I have two children and three grandsons. I’ve been writing gay romance since I was twelve years old, only back then it wasn’t called‘gay romance’. In fact, it had no name at all. It was the fifties, and it was worth your life to admit to being gay, let alone confess to being a girl who constantly fantasized about relationships between gay men. Hell, I didn’t even know what a homosexual was. I lived on a farm out in the sticks in a tiny Michigan village and I’d never, to my knowledge, even heard the word. I just knew I loved the thought of boy on boy romance. I just knewthat there was somethinghot going on between Tom Corbett and his Space Cadets and all those guys on ‘Combat’.

I wrote slash fanfiction for 30 years, writing over 337 stories, some as short as 100 words (a drabble) some as long as a series which was over 119,012 words. I enjoy writing my stories. I enjoyed the feedback I received from my readers. It was a creative release I’d been searching for my entire life and I blessed the Internet for leading me to this artistic oasis for my spirit.

Love’s Magic was my very first step into writing my owncharacters. I will always be grateful the slash fanfiction community for nurturing the budding author until she was ready to blossom into a fully realized novelist. It’s been an amazing thing to watch the gay community’s growth over these past twenty years. My own journey has echoed theirs in many ways, and I’m grateful to all those gay activists who fought to give the gay community the rights and privileges they always deserved.

I’m also grateful to the gay romance community, readers, authors, publishers and promoters, who are making these, my retirement years, the most creative ones of my life. When I'm not writing, I'm traveling, walking, hiking, knitting, crocheting, and weaving.

I'm very excited about the upcoming release of my second contemporary gay romance novel, Love's Trials. Those of you who fell in love with Joshua and Colin in Love's Magic are in for a treat because they are the STARS of Love's Trials, though they may not thank me for it given the very difficult 'trials' they are about to face.

Social Media Links: Blog/Website | Facebook Reader's Group

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Love Times Five by Lily G Blunt - 99c Book Blast

Title: Love Times Five

Author: Lily G. Blunt

Cover Art: Jay Aheer at Simply Defined Art

Release Date: January 19, 2018

Genre/s: paranormal, gay romance, contemporary, polyamory

Length: 77, 000 words

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Blurb

There’s safety in numbers and plenty of love to go around.

When Colin searches for his missing colleague and buddy in the hills of northern England, his life is changed forever. Not only does he find Shaun living in a cabin with the mysterious and undeniably gorgeous Zach, but he also discovers the reason Shaun went AWOL in the first place. Colin wants to draw his friend away to safety, but Zach soon mesmerises him, and he’s happy to stay in his company, for now.

Passing hikers, Wes and Dane, need some assistance, and the three men are willing to oblige. Thus begins a friendship that develops into much more.

The five men each have their own secrets. Some are shared, others are kept hidden. It’s only a matter of time before they are exposed and the consequences could change everything for them all.

 

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Read Excerpt #1 HERE

Excerpt #2

Colin yelped and stumbled back. The penknife fell from his grip as he connected with the solid ground and landed on his arse.

“What the fuck?” Colin gaped at the wild beast in front of him, not five feet away, and apparently protecting Zach, who stroked the wolf’s back as if he were petting a huge dog.

Colin blinked, hoping to clear his vision. Had he knocked his head? Was he dreaming? Had he been drugged too?

The wolf sniffed the air and pawed the grass, its tongue now lolling to the side of its mouth. Teeth, sharp and white and scary, distracted Colin from the animal’s other features. The scent of damp fur and woodland soil filled his nostrils, and warm panting breath ghosted over his face.

The wolf was real enough. No vision. No dream.

“What the fuck?” Colin said, keeping his eyes fixed on the animal as it slunk away to the trees. His heart pounded and his mind was a whirl of confused thoughts. He tried to swallow around a thick lump in his parched throat. “What the fuck just happened?”

Zach said nothing but offered a hand to Colin, which after a few seconds pause, Colin grasped. Between the two of them, they easily hauled his bulky frame to standing. He scanned the grass for his knife, relief racing in his veins when he spotted it nestled among two nearby clumps of greenery.

Colin glanced away from the knife in the direction the wolf had headed. Could it really be Shaun?“I don’t understand.”

“Of course, you don’t.” Zach’s mouth curved into a warm, genuine smile. His eyes glimmered, and some of the tension lifted from Colin’s shoulders. “You must be Colin. Shaun’s sexy boss. He’s told me all about you.”

“What?” Colin’s pulse still pounded, and confusion turned his thoughts to sludge, but his heart fluttered at the hope those words kindled. What the hell was happening? What was this arsehole saying? Shaun had never tried anything on with Colin, not even when they’d been drunk. And had Shaun really… turned into a… what the actual fuck?

“You didn’t think he was interested in you?” Zach arched an eyebrow, and his eyes sparkled. Again.

Before Colin could commit himself to an answer or ask any questions about the precarious state of his sanity, there was movement to his side.

Shaun stood naked, his hands cupped over his groin, a little unsteady on his feet. “Chuck us your T-shirt, Zach,” he rasped, not making eye contact with Colin, his cheeks scarlet.

Without hesitation, Zach shed his top and threw it at Shaun, leaving his own fine torso on display. Smooth, defined, firm—perfect. No wonder Shaun had hooked up with him. Colin wouldn’t stand a chance with this guy in the picture, even if Shaun had liked him once upon a time.

Why was he even thinking about such things right now? He’d just seen Shaun turn into a wolf, and now he was back again as himself. And shortly before that, this ridiculously handsome man had been sucking on his neck and was now acting as if he knew things about Shaun that Colin didn’t even know. Was he losing his mind?

Colin dragged his gaze back to Shaun, his chest and nakedness now hidden from view by the oversized T-shirt. He staggered closer to Colin, his legs unsteady as if he were drunk. Shaun collapsed into Colin’s arms, maybe a deliberate move rather than an uncontrolled stumble. As much as Colin wanted to hug him to his chest, he needed answers. Anger bubbled to the surface and exploded. Colin gripped Shaun by his biceps and held him back at arm’s-length.

“What the fuck is going on? What did I just see?” It took all of Colin’s willpower not to shake the answer out of Shaun. “And what’s this fucking guy been doing to you?”

Shaun trembled beneath his touch, and his voice was hoarse and uneven, not its usual sweet timbre. “It’s okay, Col. I promise you, I’m okay now.” He placed his palm on Colin’s shoulder. “I know it’s a lot for you to take in all at once. I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to explain before.”

His words didn’t tell Colin anything. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me you were leaving and where you were going? I’d have listened… and helped you.” What the fuck could Colin have done to help if Shaun was a—?

Zach cleared his throat, distracting them both. He moved closer, running his long fingers down those taut abs of his until they came to rest on the waistband of his perfectly clinging jeans.

Shaun gazed at Zach, over his body, the renewed flush of arousal evident in his eyes. Colin’s heart sank but gave a hopeful flip when Shaun looked back at him with that same darkened expression. “Hey, how about we go inside? I can get dressed, and then explain what’s been going on with me.”

For a moment, Colin feared he might be overpowered or drugged or something like that once they got him inside the cabin, perhaps in the same way Shaun might have been. He eyed his knife lying on the ground, tempted to bend down and scoop it up for some protection.

Zach chuckled, and in a smooth yet swift motion slid past Colin. “I think you dropped this.” His mouth nestled close to Colin’s ear, his voice deep, his breath cool. A curl of interest coiled its way around Colin’s groin at the closeness of the man. Zach gripped Colin’s hand, turning his palm face-up, and placed the missing knife softly against his skin.

Colin couldn’t help but let out a gasp. He hadn’t witnessed the knife being retrieved from the ground. Whoever this man was, he was fast. He would probably dodge any knife or fist that Colin hurled his way. No way was Colin walking from this meadow without finding out who this man was. He pocketed the knife, despite his doubts about its usefulness now.

Zach glided away, entwined his fingers around Shaun’s hand, and pulled him towards the cabin. With an encouraging look over his shoulder, Shaun waved his free hand behind him. “Come on. We need to talk.”

Colin really had no choice, so he followed them. He needed to find out what had happened to Shaun and what the hell was going on between him and Zach.

 

Review

Love Times Five turned out to be a most wonderful surprise. It was my first book in which five men come together in a relationship, so there was that. But it was also one of the first times I read a book in which the supernatural creatures and humans not only interact without any obvious issues, but also fall for each other without any need or expectation for the humans to also transform. I love books that manage to surprise me because they’re unlike anything I’ve ever read before and Love Times Fivecertainly was such a book.

The story starts slowly, although not with a fair amount of nail biting tension. But the slower pace is necessary. Since the book has five main characters, it is important that the reader gets introduced to each of them thoroughly first. As it was, I still felt I got to know Zach, Shaun, and Colin better than Wes and Dane, but I can’t say it lessened my reading enjoyment or left me with unanswered questions.

I loved that the author didn’t use the usual (and by this stage probably done to death) stereotypical representations of werewolves and vampires. Of course there were one or two ‘facts’ about these creatures that couldn’t be omitted, but overall, this felt like a fresh and therefore very interesting, approach.

While this is certainly a very sexy story, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that the sexy-times overwhelmed the story. Quite the opposite in fact. From the start of the story there’s an undercurrent of danger, and while the reader has a good idea what form the threat takes, the actual moment when it all came to a head still managed to shake me. I loved that.

If I’m sorry about anything, it is that the ending of the book left me with some questions relating to the future of this fivesome. Not that it made the book feel incomplete as a result; the characters haven’t figured it all out for themselves yet by then. But that’s the entire point, I would love to have discovered how they would eventually reconcile the differences between them … or not. Maybe there’s a sequel to look forward to?

Overall this is a wonderful read for anyone who enjoys sexy men, the supernatural,  the paranormal, and a romantic read with an edge of danger. 

About the Author

Lily G. Blunt enjoys writing contemporary gay romance and paranormal stories. She loves to explore the relationship between two or more men and the intensity of their physical and emotional attraction. Angst often features in her stories as she feels this demonstrates the depth of feelings between them. Lily is often inspired by the lyrics to songs and is forever writing imaginary scenes and plots in her head. Only a few of these ever make their way to the page. Lily reviews for several blogs and has recently launched Gay Book Promotions, an online book promotion service for authors of LGBT+ romance and fiction. She loves to hear from readers and other authors.

Author Links: Amazon | Amazon UK | Blog | Facebook

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Closer by F.E. Feeley Jr - Release Blitz

Book Title: Closer

Author: F.E. Feeley Jr

Publisher: Beaten Track Publishing

Cover Artist: Emma Bonath

Genre/s: Gay Fiction, Horror, Urban Fantasy

Length: 118,000 words/346 pages

Release Date: March 1st, 2018

Blurb

Maplewood, Vermont is a picturesque town filled with unique shops, unique homes, and a quaint familiarity all centered around a lake with an unusual history.

Legends, old as well as Urban, float around like the mist that hovers above the lake at break of dawn.
But they're just stories, right?

Hayden Moore's life was destroyed when his husband, Malcolm, was murdered. Giving up his job as an assistant district attorney in Boston, Hayden moved to the little burg of Maplewood to recover.

A new life.

A fresh start.

However, something underneath the water is stirring. Something rotten. A deadly secret wakes underneath the black waters of Lake Veronica so disturbing it haunts the nightmares of the local residents.

It's coming closer...

    

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

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 Excerpt

She had fallen asleep at the side of his bed, her head resting on the back of her chair, and her feet propped up on an ottoman. She awoke to the sound of water running. Audrey let her eyes open slowly, her fatigue surprising her a little. Her son was still asleep in the bed and she checked her watch, it said six thirty. The little bedside lamp was still on and she watched as her son’s chest rise and fall in medicine induced slumber. The water running in the bathroom stirred her and forced her to get up; she noticed steam coming in from under the bathroom door.
Sleep vanished from her mind as she crept slowly to the bathroom door, the hair on the back of her neck and on her arms stood straight up. The door was slightly ajar, and she heard movement inside the bathroom, she stopped. Looking around the bedroom she found her son’s baseball bat in the corner along with a mitt and baseball. Tanner, a friend of Jake’s and a few other guys were on an after-work baseball team, The Hornets. She picked up the bat and held it tight in her hands, she was going to walk straight into the bathroom and beat to death whoever was in the house. She used the bat to push the door open; the mirror over the sink was fogged up with steam. Her heart thudded in her ears as she rounded the corner towards the shower; someone was standing behind the shower curtain, the silhouette of a man. With an unsteady hand she reached for the curtain and jerked it back, raising the bat high above her head. The man, having heard the curtain slide jerked around, soap in his face and screamed, sliding backwards.
“Jesus Christ Audrey!” her ex-husband bellowed, trying to catch his balance.
“Daniel!” she cried out, slumping backwards and settling her behind down on the toilet, breathing hard. She looked up from where she sat, at her naked husband who had lost the extra twenty-five or so pounds that he had gained during their marriage. He was rubbing the soap out of his eyes and rinsing his face cursing and carrying out. She started to laugh and laughed so hard she almost fell off the toilet. She clutched at her midsection as tears rolled down her face.
Daniel stopped cursing and given the awkwardness of the situation chuckled himself.
“If you wanted to see me naked Audrey, all you had to do is ask,” he said, sliding the curtain back closed.
“Oh… Oh, Daniel. You wouldn’t believe the day I’ve had. I thought you were a ghost,” she said. He pulled the curtain back and looked at her strangely. His handsome face lit up in a quizzical way, a few more lines around his eyes than she remembered. His grey hair plastered to his head, but his eyes were as blue as she remembered. She felt a tug deep inside her heart for the slightest second, remembering what could have been, what should have been.
“A ghost huh?” Daniel asked, grabbing for the towel.
“Yeah. Never mind. When did you get here?” she asked as he stepped out of the shower. He had been working out, his shoulders broader and his chest tighter. She kept her back to him as he towel dried off.
“About thirty minutes. The front door was unlocked and Jake and you both were sound asleep. I tried calling on the phone, but you didn’t answer. I was worried something had happened,” he said.
“Yeah. I gave him a Xanax, so he could sleep. You should have seen him Daniel, he was so sick and besides himself. I was afraid he was going to die from grief,” she explained, handing him his underwear and t-shirt from the sink, her back still turned to him.
“Did the police say anything else?” he asked as he slipped into his underwear. He talked to his ex-wife’s back, frowning. She looked great; she always had, if it hadn’t been for that last miscarriage they wouldn’t be apart like this. He wasn’t surprised that she came in at him with a bat; she loved and protected her Jake with fierceness. He wouldn’t ever accuse her of being a bad mother.
“You can turn around now,” he said as he buckled his blue jeans.
She did just that, looking up at him.
“Daniel, you should have seen him,” she said, putting her head in her hands.
“That bad huh?” he asked buttoning a short sleeve golf shirt that his friends bought for him.
“Yeah. I didn’t know he was having an affair with…that woman. I knew he was staying out late, and I knew that he was seen out, but, with her?” She exhaled sharply. Jessica had a bad reputation in town for being a heart-breaker, and then she married the single wealthiest man, a lead accountant for a computer firm, she was labeled a gold digger. Now she was dead, and the law was looking at her son.
“We will take care of this. How about you? How you feeling?” he asked, concern in his voice. She had dark circles under her eyes, and her face looked strained.
“I’m hanging in there. Daniel, how bad can this get?” she asked.
“That depends really. I mean, if he didn’t do it, he didn’t do it. We just must make sure that we can account for where he was and when he left. You said they were at a motel? Good. That means he had to check out at some point,” he said, the gears in his head turning.
“Daniel, there has been some other stuff happening in this area. This makes the third drowning in the past week,” she said, standing up. “He’ll be glad to see you.”
He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders and she leaned into him letting him hold her. He let her go and stepped out of the bathroom, taking the baseball bat with him as he went. His son’s light was on above his bed and Daniel stopped dead in his tracks. Standing two feet away from the sleeping boy was a scantily clad woman. She was wearing nothing more than a t-shirt and a pair of panties, but something was wrong, her color was all wrong. Her bare legs were almost blue they were so pale.
“HEY! Get away from him!” he screamed, raising the bat up. The woman spun around, one of her eyeballs had exploded and hung limp on her face, her matted wet hair stuck to her head. Behind him he heard his ex-wife scream.
Daniels muscles bunched up and he leapt forward, bringing the bat up, his instincts taking control. The woman screamed, a gargled disjointed sound, and when the bat hit her square in the head, she exploded. Water sprayed him, soaking the front of his shirt, and their sleeping son, who woke with a start.
“What the fu…Dad?” The bleary eyed and confused son watched in astonishment as he wiped the water off his face. Audrey rounded the side of Daniel and reached for Jake to get up. Daniel turned his head to the open door and saw wet footprints. His body shook, his breathing was labored, and his curiosity piqued. While he left his son and Audrey waiting in the bedroom he followed the trail to its source.

About the Author

F.E.Feeley Jr is a poet and the author of six published works – four full length novels, two short stories featured in anthologies, and a good deal of poetry. 

Married to the love of his life, John, he came to the writing world about four years ago where he fell in love, again, with the written word.  

 

Social Media Links: Blog/Website | Facebook  | Twitter

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