Comment to Win a Copy of Back to Black by A.J. Llewellyn

Hi everyone!  Today we have a treat with AJ talking about his novel, Back to Black.  One lucky commenter will win a copy of the book. So come on out and start talking, people!  Share some love for a fantastic author and guy!

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First of all I would like to thank Jadette for this opportunity. I am excited to talk about my new release, Back to Black, now available at eXtasy Books.

I was heading to Honolulu a few weeks ago for a vacation with a few close friends. I have a home there I share with my two best friends and I try to get back there as often as I can since most of my books are set there, plus, it feeds my soul.

When I arrived, the house was in bad shape and unlivable due to extensive termite damage. At this moment, it's being tented for termites, but this was how the idea for Back to Black came to me.

It was funny...before I left Los Angeles I read an article about thieves targeting homes tented for termite eradication. Not only is it cruel to the homeowners but downright dangerous. These chemicals are toxic.

As a writer, I learned from Mary Higgins Clark at a seminar she taught many years ago that a good story idea can be gained by newspaper articles and I've adopted her approach ever since.

I mulled over her checklist: who, what, where, how, when...why?

On the flight to Hawaii I had a little over five hours to think about these questions and then bingo! It all fell into place. The targeted homes in Los Angeles were in a depressed area called Inglewood.

The day we arrived in Hawaii to stay at a resort we found online I was appalled how dingy and depressing it was. It was in Makaha Beach, which itself is a lovely beach except that a half mile to the left is a two-mile stretch of beach called Tent City that is filled with hundreds of homeless people, mostly local families. The area is experiencing economic hardship...needless to say, we moved to a different hotel, but still, this experience came in very handy for my book!

As the pieces of my story puzzle started to fit, I wrote Back to Black in record time, recording my feelings about the starving dogs outside the hotel and the idea of thieves targeting poor families.

Why would they do this? You'll have to read the book to find out why!

As I began to write, the hero, homicide-robbery detective Quinn Novak and his spunky partner, Jackie Howe, came to me. Quinn is a persuasive muse who even provided me with a paranormal angle...here are the synopsis and blurb:

Honolulu detective Quinn Novak has to enter another realm to find scorching hot sex...but how far does he have to travel to find true love?

Quinn is working an unusual case. A string of robberies have taken place in homes tented for termites in the economically depressed town of Makaha Beach. A gang of thieves appears to be trailing pest control units, then breaking in...so Quinn is assigned watching over a particularly important dignitary's home late one night. Quinn has a problem however. He's afraid of the dark.

He's never told a soul and seems to be coping with his phobia until he spies two men breaking in and follows them in, in spite of the dangers of the pesticide - and the dark.

Once inside the house he appears to enter another realm...one filled with hot men who all want...him. Quinn has the most incredible threesome of his life, but then must leave the house. How the heck does he get back in? And can he? Now suddenly he wants to get back to black...back to the dark and the two men he left inside the house...can he ever find them again?

Hot eXcerpt:

“Somebody’s here,” the second man said. I turned and ran. I went back to the room I’d entered from and heard them close behind me. I grabbed my stun gun and turned, ready to fire, but ahead of me, oddly was an open window. How did that get here? Had I lost my sense of direction? I didn’t remember a window being here. The room went black and I thought I would choke. It was hard to breathe. I felt hands at my back, pushing me. I resisted but fell through it. When I toppled over the other side, I wasn’t in the garden of the house in Makaha Beach.

No. I was on a weird-looking street, with tall, angular buildings. Everything was steel-grey, sleek and odd looking. I felt as if I’d stepped into a nightmare world of an H.R. Giger painting. It was a freakish dreamscape and I had the strange sense of being in some kind of tunnel. Everything turned circular. My head was spinning and I fell to the ground, a stream of funny little vehicles whizzing past me.       

Man, that’s some fast-acting bug spray. I’m really wiggin’ out here!

I felt as if I were underwater, drowning. One of the little vehicles just missed running over my outstretched hand. Somebody grabbed me from behind and I felt my body lift off the ground.

“Gotcha,” a deep, male voice said as he turned me around. Before I could speak or think, his mouth clamped down over mine. There isn’t a gay man alive who doesn’t fantasize about being taken by a handsome stranger. For it to actually happen was pretty damned weird. I pulled myself away from the guy and saw the most handsome face I’d ever seen, in real life anyway. I was certain this was a beautiful mirage. I’d have to buy me some termite spray and sniff the stuff all day long if guys like this came into my mind.

He grinned at me and pulled me back toward him by the neck of my T-shirt.

“Don’t run,” he said. “We’re just getting started, babe.”

All righty then!

He could have been a movie star or model and his electric green eyes did weird things to my hoo-hoo. This beat the creepy dreams I got when I took morphine after getting shot in the back a few years ago. Speaking of my hoo-hoo, it was having a party to which the rest of me badly wanted to be invited. The stranger’s hands were all over my crotch, one hand rubbing my bulging boner, the other trying to fumble with the button-down fly on my jeans.

Had I been inhaling too many fumes? I couldn’t tell, but I did not want to die until I saw what he had in mind.

He shocked me by getting to his knees, taking my cock out of my now-open fly, wedging it out from the top of my squashed-down boxer briefs. He kissed the head, gazed up at me and grinned, then swallowed me, his mouth a seductive O around the shaft as he moved his lips up and down, back and forth, his tongue glancing off the leaking head each time he pulled back.

This was the sweetest blow job I’d ever had in my life.

Purchase Link: http://bit.ly/nkl4cH

Author's Website: www.ajllewellyn.com

Elizabeth Noble - Together Bound

Apocalypse: a drastic change often brought on by some cataclysmic natural disaster.

The world of the Sentries series evolves because of an apocalypse. In this case I chose the Wyoming Super Volcano. The story of Todd and Nick Ruger begins three hundred years after its eruption changes not only the geography of North America, but the society, the people, and how they live and interact with the rest of the world.

Their world has electricity provided by solar panels, but no electronic devices. There is steam transportation, but most people use horses. From the ashes of an apocalypse rose a society different from the one before in many ways.

It’s a mix of the old and new. I try to drop in details they’d see or know about the world in the centuries before their time, just as we would today. Holdovers such as roads and books are sprinkled throughout the stories. Archeological evidence of what went before.

Together Bound is second in the Sentries series and picks up about eighteen months after the beginning of the first book, Marked Yours. In the first book they face the challenges of a new relationship, men getting to know one another and forging a life together.

While I was writing Together Bound I had definite goals in mind for the story, plot and characters. Their story is one that will, hopefully, be told over the course of six books, so lots of gradual character development and exciting situations for them to experience.

In Together Bound they face, separately and together, inner and outer forces that threaten who they are as individuals and as a couple. Todd learns about some aspects of his personality he’d rather stay buried and never see the light of day. For Nick, he’s faced—for the first time in his life—with having to function on his own and make his own choices.

This story is about change, choices and staying the same while growing. All people, all couples go through ups and downs in life, an owner and slave would be no different. I wanted to move the characters forward in their lives. They needed to face obstacles neither would expect, ones that would ensure they’d mature as individuals and a couple.

Nick’s change is particularly significant. He starts the book still on the precipice between boy and man, sheltered and protected by Todd. By the time the book ends he’s very much a man and Todd’s true partner in all aspects of their life together. He’s given the chance to make choices, ones that affect him, Todd and him as a couple, and other people.

Todd has plenty of decision making to do as well. He’s Nick’s owner, his protector, responsible for every part of Nick’s life. More than anything Todd wants a mate. He wants Nick and him to be a family. Todd needs to learn letting go is sometimes the way to hang on tight.

 
Just as an apocalypse sets in motion creation of the society Todd and Nick live in, one changes their lives. Each man must make decisions on his own that affect them both as a couple, creating their own personal apocalypse and changing the course of their lives forever.

Together Bound (book #2 of Sentries)

by Elizabeth Noble

 

Blurb:

Sequel to Marked Yours

Todd and Nick Ruger have settled into their life and work, the master/slave bond in New Colorado tying them together in a sacred rite of service, protection, and—in their case—love. But out of the blue, Todd receives a letter from the vice-chancellor of New Colorado threatening their bond, demanding ownership of Nick under eminent domain.

It turns out Vice-Chancellor Clarke desperately needs the help of the sentries, especially Nick, to investigate a problem involving the Chancellor. With New Colorado on the verge of war with West Caldera, a rift in the government would be disastrous. Todd and Nick agree to help, and Nick enters the orphan slave compound while Todd joins the Estate security force.

They don’t expect the danger they discover. Now the target of an unimaginable threat, Nick and Todd will face terrors that lead to murder, imprisonment, and the threat of separation forever as the hopeless battle escalates into full-scale war.

Excerpt:

Geoffrey Clarke wasn’t expecting his guests to particularly like him. He stood and stepped around his desk to greet them, motioning to the chairs, making a point to indicate both chairs. “Please, gentlemen, have a seat.”

When the older of the two simply stopped halfway through the room and politely informed him they were just fine where they were, Clarke knew this was going to be rougher than he’d thought. Taking the coward’s way out he retreated to the far side of his desk.

He knew the slave was young, barely more than a boy, his age being listed in the public sale records. The kid’s master was another story. It seemed there’d been two parties involved in the boy’s purchase. The fact that this man was the obvious owner and not much older than his slave confirmed Clarke’s suspicions they’d been bound as children. Ever since he’d arrived at his office earlier this morning and read the message from Todd Ruger, Clarke had been having second thoughts. Seeing the two of them now fueled his doubts.

The boy dropped to one knee behind and to the left of his master. Clarke saw how the kid curled the fingers of one hand into the hem of Ruger’s pants.

“I’m Geoffrey Clarke.” He purposely left off his title.

“I know who you are and I don’t care, you can’t do this.” Ruger’s left hand dropped onto his slave’s head. Clarke doubted the man even realized he’d done that.

“I understand this is—”

“Hard for me?” Ruger snapped. “He’s…my…mate.”

“I was going to say—”

“He’s my mate.” Todd repeated the words, voice softening. “Do you have a family Mr. Clarke?”

Nodding, Clarke said, “Yes. I have a wife and two daughters.”

“How about you just hand over your wife to me for whatever I want to do with her?”

Clarke winced. The guy had a very valid point. “Look, I’m sorry, but I needed…I asked around and your name came up over and over again as the best sentry…I don’t know much about…shit.”

“So, you wanted to hire a sentry and figured the way to win me over was threaten my mate?” Ruger was spitting words at him again. The man looked positively frightening. His slave scooted farther to the right so he was more behind his master than not.

 “It’s a complicated matter, I needed someone who could get the job done, but who I could trust would follow the instructions to never talk about it. Your slave is the only one I could find who had any sentry skills and he does have a special talent.” Leaning his hands on his desk he let his weight shift forward. “I guess I didn’t think this through very well. I’m sorry. I never should have sent that letter. You’re both free to leave.”

Todd’s face softened and his shoulders relaxed by a small fraction. He glanced down for a beat, his slave glancing up, their eyes locking before the slave ducked his head down again. “What do you need a sentry for?” Clarke watched a slow smile spread over the slave’s face, an expression of pride replaced what had been apprehension.

Dropping his gaze to the boy kneeling behind Todd, Clarke waved one hand up and down, “Son, stand up, get off the floor.”

The kid looked up at Todd who tilted his head and nodded. He let his hand slide from the boy’s head to rest against his hip as his slave rose and stood behind him.

“What’s your name, boy?” For the life of him he couldn’t pull the name on the kid’s records out of his head.

“Nick.”

Clarke straightened. “Nick, I’m sorry. I had no way of knowing what sort of relationship you have with your master, I’d heard stories that sentries only took slaves to use as weapons.”

“Nick hunts, he doesn’t kill.” Todd said. Clarke couldn’t help the feeling that every sentence the man uttered was some sort of challenge. “I kill.”

Why didn’t Ruger’s last statement surprise him? “As I said, I didn’t think things through very well.”

“No, you didn’t.” Todd was snarling again, not that Clarke could blame him for being angry.

“Please, sit down.”

Todd crossed his arms over his chest and glared.

Shifting so he could look Nick in the eye, Clarke asked, “Is your master always like this?”

The boy, Nick, smiled. It was soft, affectionate and incredibly kind. “Only when it comes to me.”

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=55_42

Bio

Elizabeth Noble started telling stories before she actually knew how to write and her family was very happy when she learned to put words on a page. Those words turned into fan fiction that turned into a genuine love of M/M romance fiction. Being able to share her works with Dreamspinner is really a dream come true. She has a real love for all things sci-fi, futuristic, supernatural and a bit of an unnatural interest in a super-volcano in Wyoming.

Elizabeth has three grown children and is now happily owned by three mutts, a foster mutt and two cats. She lives in her native northeast Ohio. When she’s not writing she’s working as a veterinary nurse, so don’t be surprised to see her men with a pet or three. When at work she meets all sorts of interesting characters that often find their way into some story or another.

Chris Quinton - Game On Game Over

Game On, Game Over started out as a short story written for friends in response to a whole rash of stories involving cutesy-fluffy-kitten-living-with-two-dangerous-men, and/or cutesy-child-winning-hearts-of-two-dangerous-men. Okay, it started out as an AU fanfic using characters from a very old TV show *g*.

Because I'm a cynical bitch, I wanted to write a story with a Real Cat in it, and a Real Child. So the Game Over part was born. I can't say too much more or it'll give away too much of the plot *g*.

Then a while ago a friend suggested I should change the names of my two heroes and submit it to my publisher. Which seemed like a good idea at the time. Of course, it's never that simple. Fanfiction is often written in a kind of shorthand. The readers know the characters, their backgrounds, what drives/haunts/motivates them without having it spelled out for them. They know what they look like, their lovers and their friends. The writer doesn't have to the usual character-construction groundwork - if the TV show/film/book has done its job properly, it's already been done.

I needed a setting, and I needed a plot with jeopardy [love that word!] and a place where my two guys could have their first meeting. One of my great loves is archaeology, and I thought an archaeological dig would make an interesting set. The jeopardy could come from where the dig was - the current unpleasantness in Afghanistan affects the countries around it, so I decided on Tajikistan. That gave me the chance to use the famous Silk Roads, so I invented the ruined caravanserai near the border. The dig itself would be a good cover for an MI6 agent, allowing him to contact and meet with the local tribal elders to negotiate their cooperation with the West.

The Silk Roads have fascinated historians and journalists for years, and road trips with photos and purple prose make great coffee table books. So a photographer trailing along with a journalist ends up at the dig, photographer meets undercover MI6 agent, and - bingo. I have my two heroes set up.

But the course of true love/lust does not run smooth, and I can't say more without blowing the plot.

Blurb:

John Jones, aka Aidan Whittaker, a negotiator with MI6, is currently on assignment in Tajikistan, close to the Afghanistan border. Overtly on a University-run archaeological site, he's covertly brokering a deal with local tribal leaders. His undercover mission is complicated by the arrival of a couple of Americans; journalist Brent Babcock and his photographer Scott Landon. The two men are there to document the ancient Silk Road, but when Babcock gets wind of a hot news story, he starts asking awkward questions.

Scott Landon is a different kind of trouble for John. Fourteen years John's junior, gay and single-minded, he wants into John's bed. Not being prepared to jeopardize his operation, John rejects him, despite being drawn to the younger man. But then events around them spiral out of control.

Excerpt:

Doctor Jones led him away from the site, up the dusty track to the apology of a road, then stopped and turned to gesture back down to the site. And started talking.

This was literally the overview. Scott expected minimal information, a sketchy description of the site and its history. Instead he received a full-blown lecture on medieval trade routes, politics, sponsors, and banking that left him in something of an information-overloaded daze. John Jones obviously intended to bore the bejesus out of him, but he failed. The man possessed a natural talent with words and his love of his subjects came through in every phrase. A lot of the historical minutiae sailed over Scott's head, but the deep, expressive voice held him spellbound, and enough facts lodged in his overheated brain to let him ask some reasonably intelligent questions. At the same time, he was framing shots in his head, noting the way the caravanserai fit into the landscape, how the westering sun and the lengthening shadows painted the ruined walls and the irregular checkerboard of trenches, how the colorful tent village on its plateau looked almost medieval in its own right. But one more question burned on his tongue.

"I don't get it," Scott blurted. "I mean, I know why Brent's doing the Silk Roads. We've spent the last couple of months traveling some of the shittiest roads I've seen, staying in places I wouldn't stable a goat, and eating crappy food. At the end of it he'll have a book guaranteed to hit the best sellers' list and make him a load of cash. I went to Peru with Felipe Hermanes—he's a journalist and into conservation—because he wanted to explore and record what he could of the rainforest before the loggers obliterated it, and use his book to raise enough awareness so there'd be more of an effort to stop the destruction of the rainforest. So, okay, I understand the difference between commercialism and protecting the planet. But you, these kids, you're out here in a strange land, living in tents with basic amenities, no real freedom to come and go, watched over every now and then by the army. Just to dig holes in the ground. Why? What's the point of it?"

"Why?" John rounded on him ferociously, taking Scott's breath away. "Do you think we live in a vacuum? That present and future are the be-all and end-all of two-dimensional lives? The point is, Mr Landon, you, me, those postgraduates, the lecturers, the cooks and drivers, are linked to the past as surely as we are to the present. We are no different to the people who traveled the Roads and stayed in the caravanserai. We are no different from the Roman soldier on Hadrian's Wall who wrote home to his mother asking her to send him more socks. And yes, before you ask, he's genuine. Every minute fragment of the past found in excavations enriches the present. Every translation of newly discovered writing expands our knowledge and strengthens the links to our past. Human nature has changed very little in the millennia we've walked upright, and we're faced with the same choices today as our ancestors were. The only differences now are our enhanced abilities to create and destroy."

The words seemed to sear themselves into his brain and take root. Scott gazed at John, mouth parted, eyes wide, completely ensnared by the man's passion and not a little turned on by it. "Wow," he breathed. John's color rose and he turned away, his mouth in a thin, uncompromising line. "You give one hell of a speech." The archaeologist didn't answer, just strode on down the track, leaving Scott to trot after him.

"Can I see some of the finds?" he asked as they returned to the excavations, more interested in prolonging the time he spent with the man than a desire to see the excavated stuff.

"I suppose so," John agreed reluctantly, and detoured to the building.

Buy Link: https://spsilverpublishing.com/product_book_info/coming-soon-c-2/game-on-game-over-ebook-p-639

Bio:

Chris started creating stories not long after she mastered joined-up writing, somewhat to the bemusement of her parents and her English teachers. But she received plenty of encouragement. Her dad gave her an already old Everest typewriter when she was ten, and it was probably the best gift she'd ever received – until the inventions of the computer and the worldwide web.

Chris's reading and writing interests range from historical, mystery, and paranormal, to science-fiction and fantasy, writing mostly in the male/male genre. She also writes male/female novels in the name of Chris Power. She refuses to be pigeon-holed and intends to uphold the long and honourable tradition of the Eccentric Brit to the best of her ability. In her spare time [hah!] she embroiders, quilts and knits. Over the years she has been a stable lad [briefly] in a local racing stable and stud, a part-time and unpaid amateur archaeologist, a civilian clerk at her local police station and a 15th century re-enactor.

She lives in a small and ancient city in the south-west of the United Kingdom, sharing her usually chaotic home with an extended family, two large dogs and sundry goldfish.

Her websites are: http://chrisquinton.com and http://chrispower.me.uk

Chris is on FaceBook here  - Manifold Press is here
Silver Publishing is here - GLBT Bookshelf Wiki is here

Love those Boots! Xara X Xanakas

Thank you, Jadette, for having me. I’m happy to be here today, especially since it’s the official release day for the book I’m going to talk about, Snakeskin Boots. That’s my long-talked about, finally published wereboa story.

I fully expect a number of comments asking, to varying degrees, “Wereboa? WTF?” After all, most shapeshifter stories are about mammals. Wolves and big cats form the vast majority, with a few others sprinkled around. Reptiles? Birds? Arachnids? Not so much.

Just where do wereboas come from? I was inspired while browsing the NSFW Photos section of the M/M Romance group at Goodreads. Yep, a dirty picture led me to writing a story of a wereboa constrictor. Well, the picture led me to the smart-ass thought that you would need to be able to unhinge your jaw for certain sex acts with the (most likely photoshopped) man in question. From there, it was a simple leap to a wereboa constrictor. I wondered why no one really writes weresnakes, or lizards, or most other animals. Why not? Just what would a weresnake be like?

It turns out he’d be snarky, self-depreciating, and a bit fed up with all the wolf worship going around. After all, no one wants to cuddle with something cold and scaly when you can snuggle up to something warm and furry. Everybody loves the wolves. Jeff turns out to be no exception, despite how hard he fought the attraction.

What’s next? I’ll be at GayRomLit in New Orleans next week, and I’ll have trading cards, and some other treats with Brad and Jeff, to hand out. I have a holiday story celebrating No Pants Day set to come out next year–on No Pants Day. It’s the first Friday in May, which falls on Star Wars Day next year, so mark your calendars and find your Darth Vader underoos. May the 4^th be with you.

And Jeff has friends. They all want me to tell their stories too. Aaron, the spider monkey is almost done. After that, I’ll answer the question “why did the werechicken cross the road?” and there’s a cat in the library stacks lining up to take over my brain for a while. A whole were menagerie is waiting, including a lemming, a scorpion, and even a liger named Napoleon prowling about.

I guess it does sound kind of silly when you say it that way.

~xxx~

BLURB:

Jeff Cordata has always known wolves can be dangerous. Not that his luck with snakes has been any better. It's not easy being a wereboa constrictor in a world that worships werewolves.

When the customer he's been watching for months turns out to be an interested wolf, his first instinct is to flee, but his attraction to Brad Cannidy is undeniable despite the strained relations between their families. Then Jeff’s anaconda ex-boyfriend re-enters his life as a pair of snakeskin boots, the hunt begins for the murderer who is turning weres into accessories, and Jeff will have to decide if a boa and a wolf can really mate for life.

EXCERPT:

“ISN’T Edward dreamy?”

I’m starting to get a migraine from rolling my eyes so much. Maybe I should work on that. I know she’s just yanking my chain. She’s tired of the hype too.

“Or Jacob? Werewolves are so sexy!”

Really? Think so? Know any? ’Cause all the ones I know are assholes. Everybody wants the werewolf. “Ooh, they’re so protective and nurturing.” No—that’s called “possessive” and “controlling.” They’re jealous and territorial, and they think they’re the gods’ gift to shifters. They look down their snouts at the rest of us. Granted, I may be a bit bitter, but the wolves just make me want to shed a skin. No one ever says, “Wereboas are so sexy.” I’m not even poisonous, but they’d still rather cuddle with a wolf, with his big eyes and teeth.

“Come on, Jeff. You’re gay. You should love this.”

I stare at her. Did she really just say that? “Kim, do you have any idea how heteroist that sounds?”

“I’m sorry. I just thought—”

“No, you didn’t think at all. That’s the problem.”

At least she has the good sense to blush and look apologetic. She’s usually not like that. And I’m not just making excuses for her. Really. I know she’s just kidding around—she thinks she’s funny.

“I’m really sorry, Jeff. I didn’t mean it that way.”

“I know you didn’t, but the next guy might not. Try to curb that, will you?”

“Yeah, I know. My mouth has a mind of its own sometimes. I’m going to do returns. Besides, eggplant’s here.” She starts off, giving me a wink and sly grin.

“I know. I saw him.”

I watch her walk off with a stack of books. Out of the corner of my eye, I see him again. He’s facing the cookbooks, but his eyes are cut toward me. It looks like his eyebrows are knit together, like he’s confused.

How could she think I didn’t notice him? I’m tall—six-two—but he’s even taller. He’s got to be six-six at least. And he’s everything I’m not. Wavy, black hair, pale-blue eyes, built like a brick wall. I bet he’s got muscles in places I don’t even have places. Dark hair peeks out of the V-neck of his tight, lightweight, navy-blue sweater. Not in a ’70s swinger way, though. On him, it looks rugged and masculine. And, damn. There’s the eggplant he’s got to be smuggling in those jeans. I would love to coil around that.

Guys like that never go for guys like me. Hell, they hardly ever go for guys to begin with, let alone tall, rail-thin, monochromatic freaks like me. I’m copper. Head to toe. Straight, copper hair, copper skin, copper eyes that sit a little too far apart from my flat, copper nose. I look very much like the boa I become when I shift.

I’m sure he’s heard our conversation. He was smirking earlier. I can sense the warmth of his body from here. Yes, it’s a snake thing. I can tell when someone’s hot; they’re just never hot for me.

I watch him as he selects one of the Bobby Flay cookbooks to look at. Hey, if he’s into redheads, maybe I do stand a chance. A customer rips me from my musing.

“Excuse me. Can you tell me where Twilight is?”

Fucking really? You just passed a life-size cutout of Edward brooding and Bella sulking, to ask me where Twilight is?

“Just behind you, to the right,” I reply through my pasted-on smile.

“Thanks! Isn’t Edward dreamy?”

Eggplant laughs out loud at that one.

“Well, he’s certainly a fan favorite.” Some days I really hate working in a bookstore, especially the customer-service counter.

She makes her way back to the huge display she passed to get to me, and eggplant saunters up to my counter. Guess with that basket, he doesn’t really have a choice. It’s like adding a rudder to guide a kayak. And now I’m staring at it. And now he’s noticed me staring at it. Crap.

“Not a vampire fan, I take it?” he comments, those damn powder-blue eyes sparkling. Fucking sparkling. Can you believe that?

“It’s not that at all, sir. How can I help you?”

“So you’re just not into Edward? How about Team Jacob?” Does he look hopeful at that?

“No, I’m an adult, thank you.” That earns me a look that goes straight to my dick.

“Yes. Yes, you are,” he says in a rumble from deep in his chest. Being a snake, I can feel the vibrations through the air, but I would love to feel that directly through my skin. Preferably through my back, with him pressed up against me. Naked. My cock throbs at that thought.

“Is there something I can do for you?” I ask, my voice a little lower than usual. Yeah, I know. It’s cheesy, but the view is damn nice, and I’m inclined to throw a little innuendo out. He’ll either play, or not.

“So, Jeff.” His eyes linger on the nametag pinned to my chest. “I was going to go get some coffee.”

“The coffee counter is upstairs, in the front-left corner of the store.”

“I know where it is. I’m in here a lot.” Don’t I know it? Last week, he was here in an exquisitely tailored suit, looking like a politician. I was restocking the shelves, and he seemed very interested in the Ramona and Beezus books near where I was. The Thursday before that, he looked like a lumberjack. The time I was in computer books, he seemed interested in learning a new language. Oh, yeah. I’ve noticed he’s in here a lot.

“I was planning on having company,” he says.

Wow. Right between the eyes with that one.

“Well, I’ll make sure your date knows where to find you when she arrives.” Smooth, huh. Almost sounds helpful.

He chuckles. “My date wouldn’t be a woman.”

Bonus! My jack-off catalog explodes.

“Well, if anyone asks, I’ll make sure they know where to find you, Mister—?”

“Cannidy. Brad Cannidy. When do you take your break, Jeff?”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Cannidy. I’ll make sure Kim knows you’re expecting someone when she covers for me.”

He chuckles. “No, Jeff. You misunderstood. I want to know when you go on break, so I know when I can expect you to join me.”

BIO:

In high school, Xara X. Xanakas shunned typing class assignments in favor of writing cliffhangers that would drive her friends nuts. She's been toying with writing ever since. More than twenty years later, she has finally found her inspiration. A wide cast of characters, including a menagerie of shapeshifters, keeps pressuring her to write their stories, telling her about themselves at some of the most inopportune times.

Her fine arts degree has been absolutely no help in the IT job she uses to pay the bills. She lives in Texas with her biggest fan and two cats.

She writes M/M Romances. You can probably tell by her initials (~xxx~) that her stories trend toward the very graphic, NSFW, not for minors category.

When her muse Spunky is not feeding Xara more ideas, you might find her on her website at http://xaraxanakas.com/, her blog at http://xaraxanakas.blogspot.com/, or on Goodreads at http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4563850.Xara_X_Xanakas. She tweets as @xaraxanakas sometimes too.

To purchase Snakeskin Boots, visit Dreamspinner: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=2539

Here's Em Woods and Flying High!

Hello everyone! First, I would like to thank Jadette for having me here to indulge my inner narcist. I do love talking about my boys…a lot. *grin*

When Jadette invited me to talk about one of my stories, I immediately wanted to talk about what the Story Orgy has coming up this month! And of course, I thought this would be the perfect time to introduce you to Tate and Cain from my blog story, Flying High. You know us writers, we can pull a story from anywhere…and this one came from this picture right here… 

I can’t decide if it’s sexy or…humorous. LOL.

Either way, Tate was born, and I nearly fell over myself trying to get his details down. Shifter (definitely!), the only one in his family that looks like he does- black hair, black eyes, muscular. Friendly but not trusting right out of the gate.

Can’t you picture it? That poor little butterfly shifter all on his own…(yeah, right). Imagine my surprise when Tate Palmer turned out to be a Halfling…with his dad being a Fae tribe leader. *sigh* Of course, they’re from California originally but our darling Tate has now moved to Michigan and started his own business there. He is trying to deny the infinitely dark side of the Fae that causes him to lose control, preferring instead to enjoy his butterfly heritage from his mother’s side.

Cain Howell is a local, rare lynx shifter who just wants everyone to leave him alone…until he nearly takes a bite out of Tate when he playfully nips at a passing butterfly. The lure of the tiny shifter is a shock to Cain but he’s willing to see where it leads. And while they don’t rush into the mating bond, they are given a hard shove by Tate’s dad when Cain is kidnapped. 

Tate and Cain have to find a way to calm family turmoil, solidify their bond and keep the Fae Leader from showing up on their own doorstep unannounced. Can they do that and stay in one piece? We’ll have to wait 

and see, won’t we? *grin*

I must admit this story is a little out there, even for the shifter realm, but I think these two are telling a spectacular story. Here is the best part…you can find these guys on my website right now as part of my Story Orgy Monday blog posts! 

I know you’ve heard of us, right? The Story Orgy Group… Em Woods (that’s me!), JR Boyd, Hank Edwards, Havan Fellows, Lee Brazil, and Jade Baiser. We take a variety of prompts (sentences, dialogue, words, pictures) and write a story every Monday for that prompt. Talk about a challenge! But if you ever want proof that no writer will write the same story…come check it out. You’ll love it.

Sometimes it is paranormal (the whole month of October!), sometimes contemporary or romantic suspense…but it is always M/M romance…and always on Mondays. J

EXCERPT

A gentle breeze buffeted his skin, lifted him higher over the field where he was stretching his wings. The grass was long, reed thin, void of any wild flowers for him to enjoy. Sure, it wasn’t his first choice of a home, but it would do until he decided to migrate south. If he went.

Like other Monarch butterfly shifters, Tate Palmer hated the cold winters but this year he might just tough it out. He had invested in the local florist shop when he’d first arrived so that he wouldn’t have worry about finding steady work. Simply because his parents assumed he would only last a couple months without them, didn’t mean he had to prove them right.

He was half Fae after all. Stubborn was a way of life.

Tate drifted down, letting the wind carry him closer to the woods that bordered the northern edge of the open land. Ooh. A glimmer of yellow caught his eye and he angled to get a better look. As he neared, he realized too late it was a reflection.

Two reflections.

Shit. He shot upward as the animal leaped from its crouch, its jaws open partially, snapping at him.

Fluttering like mad, he regretted not having better control over his magic. For sure if ever there was a need to curse a cat’s balls off, nipping at an innocent butterfly was it, right?

Heated breath buffeted him from the right. He doubled his focus and energy, sending himself sailing toward the sky with strong strokes of his wings. Once he found himself over the tops of the trees, he slowed, calmed his racing heart.

What kind of animal was that?

BIO

I am a mother of two highly energetic little boys, married for fourteen years to the most understanding man on the planet, and I’ve held just about any (legal) job you can think of. My dad was Army so I have the “moving” bug, which means I rearrange the furniture a lot now that I’ve grown roots. I currently live in southeast Michigan but I’ve lived in three out of four corners of this wonderful country. It’s amazing how eclectic I am! LOL. I currently write for Total-e-Bound Publishing and very soon will be adding Breathless Press to my resume. J

LINKS:

http://authoremwoods.com

http://facebook.com/emwoodsauthor

http://facebook.com/SOGroup

http://twitter.com/emwoodssauthor

http://goodreads.com/emwoods

Total-e-Bound Publishing Author Profile:

http://www.total-e-bound.com/authordetail.asp?A_ID=144

My latest release:  Jack’s Way:
Buy link: http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=1297