Saturday Author Spotlight: Dakota Storm #Interview #Giveaway #Review

Dakota is a fairly new author in this genre but I've found her books to be full of romance and happy endings. There's never enough of those in this world if you ask me. She has a new book out called Rescued. We are going to take a look at that book and her other, Hunter. I have a review, there's an interview, and a giveaway at the end. So, sit back and enjoy.

Dean Montgomery loves his ranch and his family, but something is missing. When he sets out on a road trip to purchase land to expand his ranch, he finds himself stranded in a snowstorm.

When the sexy and gruff Colt James, a tracker and rescue worker, rescues Dean, both of their lives are turned upside down. Attraction sizzles, and hearts race. But then trouble brews, and Dean is needed back home. Can these two make their new relationship work?

Review

Two words that come to mind with this story is sweet romance. The title of this book is Rescued and I have to tell you that there was a lot of rescuing in this book. You think it’s just Dean that gets rescued but as the story progresses you realize that’s not it at all. Let’s just say a lot of people get lost in this. But the biggest rescue of this book was for Colt and Dean. They rescued each other in a way no first responders ever could. And that is where the sweet and romantic comes in.

There’s a bit of suspense in this book when it comes to saving lives. Not a lot of romantic suspense but that was fine because the author does a good job of making you sweat for other reasons.

Rescued is the type of book you read when you’re not looking for something massively deep but are looking for a good romance that will literally warm your heart. It’s about family, friends, and love.

Coop was such an outstanding kid and you can’t help but smile whenever he’s on page. He’s a breath of fresh air and there’s no doubt you’ll love him.

I recommend this book to people who love love. People who crave happily ever afters, and appreciate books that leave you with a smile.

Also by Dakota Storm

Sexy-as-sin bounty hunter Hunter Jones lives, eats, and breathes his next case. He's always been content to live his life on the road with no attachments and no one to answer to. Love is for other people. But when he stops in a small town for a little R&R and meets up with a fellow bounty hunter to review a case, he runs into the man of his wet dreams. Hunter isn't ready for love, but Van turns his head and heart upside down.

Donovan “Van” Madsen has it all: a lucrative business, a close-knit family, and a best friend. But something is missing. Van always dreamed of finding the "one," but never thought it would happen ... until Hunter.

The mutual attraction is instant and intense between the two men. Neither can say goodbye.

When trouble brews and Van is kidnapped, Hunter realizes life is too short to not take what he wants. In this action-packed romance, both men’s lives are on the line and their love might not be enough to save them.

Interview

Thank you, Dakota, for being here today as the Saturday Author Spotlight!! We’re going to be talking about your new book Rescued and a little about you as well. You’re a busy bee even when you’re not publishing books and I want everyone to know.

So when you’re not publishing what are you doing within the LGBTQA community and outside of it?

I read and review for many LGBT authors and hype their books. I also started a LGBT books and More newsletter that comes out twice a month. Usually the 1^st and 15^{th of}  each month. I spotlight authors, their books and share buy links and interview them as well. Outside of work I have a very demanding more than full time job which takes a lot of my time and energy but I make time to write or edit or hype my books each day. The weekends are when I get the majority of my writing in.

Rescued is a very apt title for this book. Colt is quite an amazing tracker. Was there inspiration for him somewhere?

I went back and forth of the name and thought Rescued fit the best, thinking not only is Colt a tracker and rescue worker but they rescued each other. There wasn’t any specific inspiration behind Colt; I just like to write about gruff and tough guys who have huge hearts and do amazing things . The story brought me in a different direction than what I originally thought and I loved every second of it.

I love kids in books. Coop is so outstanding. Add a dog and you’re on your way to full on sweetness. What was your favorite part about writing Coop and Dog?

I have read many books with kids and dogs in them and I am a huge fan. I love kids in books, they lighten the moment or make a moment more special. I love Coop because he’s got a huge heart like his uncle, he’s sweet and so considerate and so damn funny at times. I think he fit in the story bringing it to a new level and added lots of sweetness and loving moments. Coop shows even though he had crappy parents you can still make a life of happiness for yourself.

You address “bad fathers” in this book often. Alcoholic and abusive. Why was this such a prominent subject?

My dad is an amazing father so I didn’t get any of that from him. I just hear so many stories about how kids were mentally or physically abused and sometimes kids follow in their bad parent’s footsteps or become a mirror image of them. I wanted to show that although all three of the main characters had shitty fathers they made a life for themselves and became successful and loving people that want a better life for their kids.

Dean craves family. He meshes right in with Colt and Coop. When writing Dean what sort of mental image did you have for him and does he have any parts of you in him?

I love animals and love the outdoors so some of his love for those things came from me. I saw in Dean a lonely type guy who has so much to offer but he didn’t necessarily put himself out there to see what was out there for him. I also saw a guy who had a hard life but always craved a family and wanted to give love and be loved. I think his brother and sister-in-law had a lot to do with him wanting a family and seeing although he had a shitty upbringing you could have a family and be happy. He loved his grandparents for taking them in and showing them love.

I have to ask this because people will wonder. Will there be a sequel?

At first I wrote it as a stand-a-lone but I want more of these characters and feel they have more to offer. I am thinking of Rusty the ranch manager as being my next main character and building off that bringing Colt, Coop and Dean back.

Can you tell us what you are currently working on or projects in the future?

I have so many books that I have wanted to write for a long time. Some I already started and put aside and others are waiting to begin. My WIP is about a Café owner who is an artist both in drawing and photography. He opens a Café bringing his creativity to life by creating sweet treats and specialty coffees, he’s funky and sweet and an all-around good guy. In walks a sexy musician who is on a break from his band, trying to figure out what’s next for his life. They first become friends and then……

What are you hoping your readers take away from Rescued?

That love is love and sometimes you have to go out and find it but it’s there….Also that even if you’ve had a shitty upbringing you can make your own happy in life, make your own way and show the world I can do it. Lastly family comes in all shapes and forms, family is what you make it.

How can your readers follow you in social media: Twitter, Facebook, Website etc…

Author Links:

Facebook/Nanee McGee (I use the majority of the time hyping Dakota Storm)

Dakota Author Page FB

JMS Books

Amazon

twitter : @naneemcgee (will be starting a new one soon for Dakota)

FAST FIRE QUESTIONS:

Beer or Wine? Neither I am a Latte drinker or flavored water

Day or Night? I want to say Night (hubs and I used to stay up to the wee hours of the morning writing and watching movies or listening to music but mostly with my day job I get up at 4:30 am so I go to bed early now.

Favorite color? Dark stormy blue

Favorite time of day? When I get out of work and relax with hubs and write

Dogs or cats? Dogs!

Summer or winter? Summer..I hate Winter

Favorite Smell? Fresh cut wood or grass and of course freshly brewed Latte!

Thank you so much for being here today!

Giveaway

Enter the giveaway to win a copy of the ebook Rescued

This will be gifted to you through Amazon.

Contest ends June 30th

Thank you to Dakota for being here today!

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Promotional Post: Hunter by JM Dabney #Excerpt #Giveaway #Review

Author: J.M. Dabney
Book: Hunter
Series: Brawlers #4
Self Published
Publication date: June 13, 2017
Length: 160 pages

Reviewed by Meredith


Synopsis

Welcome to Brawlers Bar…

If there was a way to completely destroy his life, Hunter Black would do it. He was a catastrophe waiting to happen. Survival was his only priority and having to leave his old life behind that meant a job of the legal variety. He’d found one as a bartender at Brawlers Bar and a safe place in a huge house with the rest of the bar crew who quickly became the family he’d never had. The one thing Hunter didn’t need was his old life tracking him down.

Deputy Wren Gramble hated his job and his weekend assignment of staking out a bar in the middle of nowhere waiting for drunks. Although he’d heard the homophobic and racist jokes going around about the crew and customers, he kept his head down and stuck to his job and nothing else. He despised being driven back into the closet, but he’d reached the end of the line and what he’d do if he earned another transfer he didn’t know.

Linus Trenton was considered the normal one in his family and according to the weird ones that meant he should be punished on a daily basis. He never came out one way or another, if he found someone attractive he was attracted. His life was complicated enough having a crush on the sweet and awkward Hunter but now he had to throw Wren into the mix. Linus didn’t have time for dating or romance, most of the time he didn’t even think about having a sex life, although, Wren and Hunter were ruining his calm.

Hunter was in lust with the handsome deputy the minute the man pulled him over, but a man like that wouldn’t give him the time of day. His friend, Linus, was another matter all together. Hunter wanted both. His bosses made it work with their man, why couldn’t he? Could Hunter prove he wasn’t as much of a screw up as he appeared or would he have to call in backup to claim his men?

Buy Links

Amazon

B&N

Review

I am a huge J.M Dabney fan. No secret there! I've read all her books from her Twirled World Ink books all the way over to her Brawlers books. I will read long after this one too. I know people say you can read these as standalones, and while I sort of agree with that, I encourage you to read this in order. Each book deals with a new couple, or throuple. But the secondary characters are important. We see them throughout both series and they add something to the story. So while you can grab Hunter and read it alone you'll feel so much more if you read them together.

If you read Scary (JM's Twirled World Series) you know she can write ménage. In Hunter we have another one of those precious gems. Our characters are Hunter, of course, you've seen him in the other books. Super accident prone. You want to wrap him in bubble wrap and walk with him everywhere you go to keep sharp objects away from him. Deputy Wren is another MC. The deputy part tells you what he does for a living. He's the new guy on the force and not there to make trouble with the guys at Brawlers. He attracted to Hunter and it's adorable watching Hunter try and understand why. And the third guy in this throuple is Linus.... Lucky's brother (From Twirled World Ink) See what I'm saying about characters entwining? Anyway, He's rough and tough and can't seem to tell Hunter how he feels.... until he sees Wren scooping in.

Now I thought for a bit this was going to be a polyamorous situation. Nothing wrong with that just that Linus didn't seem to like Wren very much but the common denominator was Hunter and neither wanted to give him up. But, nope in this case it's an enemy of my lover is also my lover situation.

Really an awesome addition to this already fabulous series. Lots of action, hilarity, amazing characters! Seriously, that's my favorite part of all of JM's books. Her characters are just outstanding!

Excerpt

1 Did You Just Trip Over Air?

Hunter Black opened his calendar app and inputted his accident list of the day. His large hands quickly tapped the screen.

Accident 1: Stabbed himself with a corkscrew

Accident 2: Squirted lemon juice into my eye.

Accident 3: Possible concussion from tripping over air.

Fourth and Final: I walked into a brass knuckle enforced punch thrown by his coworker Psycho.

He was a fuck up, he knew it, and everyone else did too. He straddled his bike in the empty parking lot of Brawlers Bar where he worked. All he wanted was one damn day where he didn’t attempt to kill himself. From the moment he took his first step it was downhill from there. By the time he was five, his medical record was an inch thick. Burns, broken bones, accidents big and small. Inside the manila folder didn’t always give the truth. Not all his wounds were accidents. His parents loathed the odd child they had been cursed with, and they showed him just how unwanted he was.

All he had wanted was their love. Instead, he received pain and fear. When his I.Q. was tested, he had become more of an oddity. At sixteen, he’d graduated from high school and headed to college, homeless.

He turned his phone off and slipped it into his jacket pocket. Hunter raised his hands and slipped his reading glasses off. He didn’t want to remember, that wasn’t this life anymore, and he had new family and friends. A home he wouldn’t have to worry about losing. Warm and never hungry. He shook his head and glanced around the parking lot.

Scary and Tank’s bikes were still parked in their reserved spots, their husband Elijah was inside with them. Everyone else already left for the night. He picked up his helmet where it was balanced between his thighs and lifted it to pull it on.

The Sheriff’s cruiser was still parked across the street. Local law enforcement loved to give them shit, but he’d noticed the same deputy assigned every weekend for at least the last year. Crave said the guy seemed cool and didn’t give them shit, the only people he’d pulled over were visibly drunk when they started their vehicles. He closed the visor and started his bike, he pulled out slowly and headed toward home.

He slowed even more as he passed the deputy. The interior of the car was dark so he couldn’t see what the guy looked like. He didn’t know why he cared. He had another two years of probation, he didn’t need to be fucking with cops—even friendly ones. Once he was far enough away, he accelerated, and the deep growl of his engine brought a smile to his face.

It was the one place he felt free. He wasn’t Hunter Black the fuck up ex-con. When he’d been sixteen, a crew approached him. It was a simple hack job. They just needed a few alarm systems deactivated. He could do that shit in his sleep. The money was easy, and he never went inside, just shut down the systems, and the crew took care of the rest. Except for the last job that went from bad to worse.

First degree Grand Theft charge on his eighteenth birthday. He’d taken one step into the building, one, Hunter hadn’t touched anything, and nothing was found on him except his laptop and phone. None of that mattered when the crew removed almost two hundred thousand in diamonds from a safe.

It was an old fucking cliché, eighteen and in his third year of college. Kid from a bad neighborhood making good, but his scholarship only went so far, and he had to live. The full academic ride didn’t pay for a place to live or food. He fucked up like he always had and he’d paid for it with five years and another five years’ probation.

He liked the Brawlers Crew. He had a nice room and a job that paid well. Hunter wanted more, but what that was he didn’t know.

His headlight hit a set of eyes in the middle of the road, so he swerved to avoid hitting whatever it was. Which he learned was a mistake as flashing lights, and a siren rose above the sound of his engine.

Shit, his stomach had started twisting as he slowly pulled to the side. He kicked down the stand and removed his helmet. Just stay cool, Hunter, just explain—holy fuck, he turned his upper body almost completely around as he’d caught sight of the deputy. His compact body shown off in the uniform. The shirt strained across a broad muscled chest, and the short sleeves barely contained the mass of large biceps.

He must live in a gym. Hunter was big but genetics attributed to that, and he also sported a bit of a belly. His arms were covered in hair, but the deputy’s skin was smooth. The few men he’d hooked up with since his release complained about his hairy body. Why the fuck was he thinking about that? He was probably getting ready to be arrested.

“Sir, do you know why I pulled you over,” the deputy’s voice a soothing baritone.

Really, was that in the handbook to ask at every traffic stop? Don’t say it, Hunter, he ordered himself.

“I swerved.” He kept his answer short and to the point. If he learned one thing over his life, it was to keep his mouth shut around anyone with a badge.

“And why did you swerve?”

“My headlight caught on eyes in the middle of the road. I tried to avoid it.”

“Have you been drinking tonight, sir?”

“No, I was working, and I don’t drink.”

The deputy stepped closer and strong, broad features came into view. If not for the beard the guy looked young, maybe a few years older than his twenty-six.

“Can I see your license and registration?”

“Sure, I gotta reach into my backpack.”

“Go ahead.”

He tensed as he noticed the subtle move of the deputy repositioning his left hand on his sidearm.

Hunter swung his pack off his shoulders and pulled it around to his lap. He opened the zipper and reached inside for his wallet. He took out the cards and handed them to the deputy. The man used the flashlight to check the information.

“Mr. Black, I’m going to let you go, but be careful. These back roads aren’t exactly safe this late.”

He was surprised the deputy didn’t call it in, but he wasn’t going to complain. The man would look closer at him if the deputy knew his background.

“Thank you.” He reached out to take his cards back and slid them back into his wallet then his bag. Hunter zipped it and slipped his arms back into the straps.

“Have a good night, Mr. Black.”

“You too, be safe.” He didn’t know what made him say it, but it was already out, and he restarted his bike.

Hunter took off, speeding up to the limit and hoped to get home without another stop. Next time by a cop who wasn’t as friendly as the one he’d just pulled away from.

It was only another ten minutes before he pulled into the yard of the farmhouse. The porch light was still on, and he noticed a few lights burned dimly. Bull was probably just curling up with his husband, Gregory. Crave and Twitch would be trying to break their bed as they did every night. At least Psycho didn’t live in the house anymore. He was getting damned tired of listening to everyone get laid but him.

He didn’t want to think about how long since he’d been in a man’s bed. It wasn’t like he hadn’t tried. He’d even gone out on a few dates, but with his friends, background and jobs, it didn’t work out.

He parked and dismounted. Hunter stood back staring up at the house. Maybe he should just crash in the barn since it was quieter, and he wouldn’t get jealous of the happy couples.

He quietly jogged up to the porch and then inside, locking the door behind him. No one was around, but he heard Crave trying to make Twitch break glass with his screams. Bull and Gregory weren’t far behind.

He pulled his earbuds from his pocket and shoved them into his ears, then started his music as loud as he could stand. Hunter headed to his room at the back of the house. He closed the door and locked it.

Carefully, Hunter set his bag on his desk and started to strip, he walked toward the bathroom to wash off the scents of stale beer and alcohol. The night couldn’t be over fast enough. In the bathroom, he removed his earbuds, then the last of his clothes and looked into the mirror.

Hunter pinched his love handles, then cupped his stomach giving it a little shake. He didn’t have an issue with his body, but he hadn’t really found anyone who liked it. Thoughts of the gorgeous deputy filled his head, and he groaned. Not going there, he spun away from the mirror. 

He quickly started the shower and stepped beneath the slowly warming spray.

“Tomorrow will be a better day,” he repeated in a whisper and didn’t believe a damn word he said.

Giveaway

Enter the giveaway to win a $20.00 Amazon GC!

Contest will end on June 28th!

Thanks!

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