Diverse Reader

Monday, October 26, 2015

Promo Post: Banished Sons of Poseidon by Andrew J. Peters #Review #Giveaway

Author: Andrew J. Peters

Publisher: Bold Strokes Books

ebook publication date: October 19, 2015

Length: 240 pages

Buy Links

Amazon

B&N

Indie Bound

Add on Goodreads

Blurb

A new fantastical adventure by the author of The Seventh Pleiade. After escaping from a flood that buried the aboveground in seawater, a fractured group of boys contend with the way ahead and their trust of an underground race of men who gives them shelter. For sixteen-year-old Dam, whose world was toppling before the tragedy, it’s a strange, new second chance. There are wonders in the underworld and a foreign warrior Hanhau who is eager for friendship despite Dam’s dishonorable past.

But a rift between his countrymen threatens to send their settlement into chaos. Peace between the evacuees and Hanhau’s tribe depends on sharing a precious relic that glows with arcane energy. When danger emerges from the shadowed backcountry, Dam must undertake a desperate mission. It’s the only hope for the Atlanteans to make it home to the surface. It’s the only way to save Hanhau and his people.

Review

For me this book was about reaching deep within yourself and pulling the best version of who you are, fighting for it, and being proud.
Strength, power, intensity, and adventure are the four words that best describe Andrew J Peter’s book Banished Sons of Poseidon.
Hundreds of people, including Dam and his cousin Aerander, are fleeing their flooded city of Atlantis. Most of the people who perished in this massive flood seem to be parents. So most of the survivors are boys.
Aerander and Dam (cousins) once upon a time were quite close and what I really really loved was; this story was about adventure and finding a new home, it was also about reconnecting and finding oneself.
Now, there is a love story between Dam and Hanhau, one of the underworld’s native warriors. But this is truly a story about an epic (and I mean EPIC) adventure.
AJ Peters knows how to write edge of your seat excitement. FABULOUS plotting, flow, and character development!!!
This is the first Andrew J Peters book I’ve read but it will NOT be the last!
WONDERFUL!

Author Bio

Sons of Poseidon. He grew up in Amherst, New York, studied psychology at Cornell University, and has spent most of his career as a social worker and an advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth. Andrew has written short fiction for many publications and has been a contributing writer for The Good Men Project, YA Highway, GayYA, La Bloga, and Layers of Thought among other media. While writing, Andrew is an administrator at Adelphi University's School of Social Work. He lives in New York City with his husband Genaro and their cat Chloë.

Giveaway

Andrew J. Peters will gift one person a copy of Banished Sons of Poseidon

Simply enter the rafflecopter below. Contest will end November 1st.

Winner will be contacted via email so please check your spam.

Thank you and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Book of the Week: Borrowing Trouble by Kade Boehme #Review

Author: Kade Boehme

Published: October 15, 2015

Length: 232 pages

BUY ON AMAZON

BLURB

After an amicable divorce, Jay Hill decided to move back to his rural hometown with his teenage kids. Being on good terms with his ex-wife and in laws has made the transition into single life pretty smooth. Things were good and uncomplicated. Then Landon Petty walked into his life.

Landon didn’t expect to still be stuck in his hometown working at his dad’s sawmill at this point in his life. Being an openly gay truck driver was as awkward in practice as in description. When Jay came to take over managerial duties at his dad’s business, Landon was surprised to find a friend. When Jay turns out not to be as straight as he thought, things get complicated.

When feelings for Landon shine a light on how much Jay’s life has been actually half lived, he’s forced to decide if he’ll jump in with both feet or if he’ll let Landon slip through his fingers.

REVIEW

Whenever I start a Kade Boehme book I prepare myself for a few things. 1. that I'm going to hurt a bit in my wee little heart. 2. I'm going to fall in love with the characters and be sad to see them go. And 3. I'm going to have a book hangover. With Borrowing Trouble all of that happened.

The second Landon hit the page I shook my head and muttered, "I'm gonna love this man." And I did. What a gorgeous character he is. From the gentle giant thing he had going on to his radiating love for Jay.

Where Landon and Jay live, an open love like theirs is extremely difficult. Kade does an exemplary job of showing us that. That was where my heart hurt the most. A love like theirs shouldn't be hidden. We need more happy, more real and true love in this world.

Now Beth (Jay's ex) I liked her, then hated her, and settled on being happy just to never speak of her again. LOL. I got where she was coming from. The not understanding, but on a personal level I wanted to smack her upside the head.

What I took away from this book was, you have to live your life. YOURS. You owe it to yourself to be the best part of you. It affects those around you to see you so blissfully happy. The world won't always embrace it, but you need to live for you and not for the world. And you need to let your someone love you and return that. It's the most powerful thing in the world.

This is another breathtaking and wonderful book by Kade Boehme.

Blog Tour: Island Captives by Fossbrook & Cole #Giveaway

ISLAND CAPTIVES

Fossbrook & Cole

Release Date: October 19^th, 2015

Cover Designer: J.C. Clarke

Genre: Erotic Adventure Romance

Goodreads TBR

BLURB

Mollie Wan-Chu, pretty and academic University Student, wins a place on the reality TV show "Shipwrecked Survivor." Filled with gleeful excitement she prepares for her time in the exotic sunshine of Potomac Island.

When she first arrives, the idyllic vision that has existed in her mind's eye becomes the reality, however the desire that builds in C4TV cameraman Pete and her co-islander Neil, ensures that the perfection soon gives way to a game of sexual domination in which Mollie becomes the unwitting subject.

Will Mollie survive the attempts to humiliate and hurt her or will she break down and be sent home in shame ...

Island Captives Book Trailer

Purchase Link

Facebook Release Day Party

Island Captives Party

AUTHOR’S COMBINED BIO

Fossbrook & Cole are a writing duo comprised of a mystery man only known as Fossbrook and NJ Cole. Residing in the UK, Fossbrook enjoys writing the darker side of life. NJ Cole, author of over half a dozen erotic books, has an eclectic writing style. When Fossbrook & Cole get together is a combination of fire and ice. Only it’s hard to tell which is the fire and which is the ice.

STALK LINKS

NJ Cole

Twitter

Facebook

Website

Amazon

Fossbrook

It’s A Mystery

Hosted by

Alpha Book Club, PR

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Saturday, October 24, 2015

Saturday Author Spotlight~ Indra Vaughn #Interview #Giveaway

Indra Vaughn, author of amazing books such as Fated, and Fragmented is my Author Saturday Spotlight today. I am thrilled! When I finished Vespertine (co-authored with Leta Blake) I had to have her on my blog!! She is an outstanding writer and after the interview I can easily say a wonderful person as well!

Let's take a look at some of her work, the interview, and the terrific giveaway!!

Two towns flank the looming Shadow Mountain. A dark myth of the Predator drifts through the dense trees, a tale Police Lieutenant Hart never paid much attention to. When one unresolved death follows another—some people dying without discernible cause while others are clearly, and often brutally, murdered—he can't ignore it any longer. Truth may lie in myth, but this one is spread to deceive everyone. The Predator exists, but he's not entirely human. Hart will have to find the connection between the mysterious figure and victims with only one thing in common: a faint tattoo on the backs of their necks, a mark left when someone healed their incurable diseases.

Isaac Lasko has been in love with Hart since he moved in across the street seven years ago. He’s been helping Hart renovate his home, and their friendship grows more intense with the years, but Isaac can't help wishing for a deeper bond. When he finally breaks through the lieutenant's armor, the mystery surrounding the Predator threatens them both. Help will come, but at a price.

Pastry chef and bakery owner Jason Wood bakes a mean chocolate soufflé, yet his love life keeps falling flat. He’d blame his past if he wasn’t trying so hard to avoid it.

When his family’s farmhouse burns to the ground, he’s summoned to identify a body found in the ashes. Jason returns to Hancock, Michigan, and reunites with a childhood friend, small town vet Henry McCavanaugh. After fifteen years apart, their rekindled friendship soon develops into much more. But Jason’s baggage threatens their blossoming romance, and he leaves town unannounced to escape his feelings—and Henry’s feelings for him. He has learned the hard way if something seems too good to be true, it’s best to run for the hills. Jason stress-bakes more confections than he knows what to do with before wondering if he’s running in the wrong direction.

Can a priest and a rock star obey love's call?

Seventeen years ago, Jasper Hendricks and Nicholas Blumfeld's childhood friendship turned into a secret, blissful love affair. They spent several idyllic months together until Jasper's calling to the Catholic priesthood became impossible to ignore. Left floundering, Nicky followed his own trajectory into rock stardom, but he never stopped looking back.

Today, Jasper pushes boundaries as an out, gay priest, working hard to help vulnerable LGBTQ youth. He's determined to bring change to the church and the world. Respected, admired, and settled in his skin, Jasper has long ignored his loneliness.

As Nico Blue, guitarist and songwriter for the band Vespertine, Nicky owns the hearts of millions. He and his bandmates have toured the world, lighting their fans on fire with their music. Numbed by drugs and fueled by simmering anger, Nicky feels completely alone. When Vespertine is forced to get sober, Nicky returns home to where it all started.

Jasper and Nicky's careers have ruled their lives since they parted as teens. When they come face to face again, they must choose between the past's lingering ghosts or the promise of a new future.

INTERVIEW

Thank you, Indra, for being here today as my Saturday author spotlight! I am fairly new to your books

But have quickly come to love your style. I have some questions for you today and I hope you don’t find them to be too terrible.

Thank you so much for inviting me on your blog! I’m glad you like my style *smooths cravat*

I’m going to start with Vespertine. I’m curious how you came up with that name for the title and the significance you feel it has on the story?

It’s odd how words sometimes jump out and stick with you, isn’t it? I first read about ‘Vespers’ in Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose when I was twelve or so, and always thought it sounded so pretty. Then years later I loved the song Vespertine by a Belgian singer called Ozark Henry. When Leta Blake and I came up with the plot for this book, we agreed it would be a very fitting title.

Co-Authors always intrigue me. How does it work? For example do you each write one character and then kind of sew it all together? Or is there something else to it?

There are several ways to co-write, but the way we did it was I wrote Jasper’s POV and then Leta more or less followed with Nicky’s POV. Sometimes she’d get ahead of me and I’d fill in the gaps, and visa versa. It worked really well, actually. I think our styles mesh well enough that we gave the characters distinct voices without it being jarring.

You have a talent for unrequited love. Before you wrote was this a major trope that you were always drawn to, or was it that you wanted more of it so you said, “I’m just going to rock this trope.” ?

I adore UST and unrequited love. It’s one of my favorite tropes, probably because I love angst so much :)

It all starts with a plot bunny. With your process how does it go from start to finish?

It really depends on the book. With Vespertine Leta and I brainstormed a LOT. We have enough backstory to pour into another book, maybe two, and an additional plot bunny that has nothing to do with Nicky or Jazz anymore. The characters grew along with the emails, as did their troubles, their worlds, and their loved ones. It very much began with the idea of “priest and rockstar” though. While sometimes a character will just pop into my head that needs a story, or sometimes I’ll have a perfect setting and the book will grow from there.

What’s the most frustrating and the most rewarding part of being an author?

The writing and the writing :D.

Your series Shadow Mountain, will there be any more books to this series? If so do you have a number lol.

There will be a third book but it might take a while because real life is happening. I also have one third of Julian and Mauro’s story, and a spin-off with Teddy from the second book. So that’s three more books so far, and who knows what happens after that!

What are some of the biggest risks you take as an author and do you feel those risks have helped your writing and your career?

It feels like a risk just to start a book. It’s a huge time investment and juggling family life and day job makes time a precious commodity. There is no guarantee the book will work out, or that a publisher will want it if it does get finished, or that readers will like it/buy it if it does get published.

There’s the emotional risk too, I think. You pour pieces of your heart into every story and just letting it loose on the world feels like a big chance to take.

Can you tell us what you are currently working on?

I am editing a book called Patchwork Paradise with Riptide Publishing, which should release some time in April, and then there is another project I’m tinkering away on which involves a farmer and a hipster in Louisiana. I also have a Christmas Novella coming out in November!

Are you going to be attending any conferences this year or in 2016?

Oh I wish, but I just changed jobs and they won’t let me take any vacation *pouts*

I’m going to try to get away for the UK Meet, but I’m not sure it will work. I’m hoping for either GRL or RT in 2017 though…

How can your readers follow your books and your career? Twitter, Facebook, Website…

Sure! I’m on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/indra.vaughn.7) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/VaughnIndra). I have a website but it’s, err, very very not up to date *hangs head* (www.indravaughn.com)

Thank you, Indra. It’s been a wonderful pleasure!

Thank you for having me!

GIVEAWAY

Indra Vaughn will gift one person any one of her ebooks.

Simply enter the rafflecopter below. Contest runs until

October 30th! Winner will be contacted via email.

Thank you to Indra for being here today!!!

Good luck all!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, October 23, 2015

Release Day Blitz: DOMINQUE by Nicole Colville

Dominque

Knights to Remember

Cover Designer: Kellie Dennis from Book Cover by Design www.bookcoverbydesign.co.uk/

Model: David Lurs

Photographer: Sasha Kosmos

Release Date: October 23, 2015

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1LFMVkH

Blurb

What does it cost to sell yourself? Your body? Your heart? Your soul?

At eighteen, with no job, no money, and a young sister to care for, becoming an escort seemed the perfect answer, but by the age of twenty four, Dominque is left wondering how he can break free of his ‘short term’ solution.

Jacob is at the top of his profession, leaving him with no time or desire for a relationship. Caring for another person full time isn’t on his agenda, but that soon changes when fate steps in and offers him the chance of something more.

Unable to forget the intriguing brunette after their first date, Jacob is enticed to spend more time with Dominque, seeking to put the pain of the past behind them, and bring peace to the wounded bird who captivated him so easily.

It’s not just the clients who pay

EXCERPT: Jacob pressed his face into the messy tumble of hair in front of him, smelling the unique sensual scent of Dominque, trying to ignore the need inside him to pull him backwards and cage him in his arms while he ground his cock into those firm cheeks. “Jacob.” Dominque’s silken voice purred into the otherwise silent room. “Dominque.” Jacob smiled. “I missed you last night.” Jacob moved closer, draping an arm over Dominque’s stomach and splaying his fingers out over the taut, smooth flesh beneath them. “Well, that makes being apart from you much more bearable. To be missed by you, to know you lay here thinking of me, wanting me to be with you, it makes the unpleasant act of not being beside you more tolerable.” He placed a soft, barely there kiss on the flawlessly smooth flesh found just under Dominque’s ear. “Would it make you happy if I told you all I could think about was you, about returning to this room and taking you into my arms, holding you while I kissed every inch of this marvellous body of yours until you were lying limp and breathless in my arms, unable to voice how much you needed me to stop?” He placed a deeper kiss in the same spot, this time licking the sweet skin before continuing. “How every breath I took was wasted because you weren’t there to share it. How every beat of my heart only reminded me how useless it was to continue without having you beside me.” “Jacob…” Dominque glanced over his shoulder, heavy lids half covering the seductive wide brown eyes beneath them, black lashes curling, tickling his skin as he blinked, centering his alluring gaze on Jacob. “You're making it difficult to keep to our no sex rule.” “I’ll think you'll find—” He placed an open-mouthed kiss to the same spot under Dominque’s ear. “—it’s you who is making things very hard to ignore that particular rule.” His cock was rigid and aching, pulsing against Dominque’s cheeks. “I hurt I want you that much. It physically pains me to be this close to you and not have you.” “Then take me,” Dominque breathed out. “Please. I want you too, Jacob.” He pressed backwards, rocking onto Jacob’s cock, making him groan deep and long against his supple skin. Jacob moved his hand lower, finding the band of Dominque’s shorts and toying with them before he worked his palm further, finding his cock was just as stiff as his. “Dominque… Jesus.” “I need you. Please.” Jacob couldn't stop years of lust from filling him up. The man he’d been waiting for all his adult life was laid beside him, begging him to touch him. How could he refuse such sweet words?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Welcome to the home of bittersweet M/M romances which will leave

you craving more

Nicole Colville was born and currently lives in Leeds, England. She is a wife to her very understanding hubby and mother of two young girls who somehow manages to fit in being a full time author of m/m romance and erotica into her busy home life. She loves writing complex characters in bittersweet romances which will leave you addicted and craving more from her men. Although best known for her popular series, Hidden and Knights to Remember, she also enjoys writing with friend, and fellow author, E.M. Leya. Together they have published two books in their Sinful Temptation Collection with more planned. Her new ménage collection based in the popular city of Manchester, England is her first solo full length novel outside of The Hidden Series and has three books planned for release in 2015 & 2016.

Facebook

www.facebook.com/The.Hidden.Series.Nicole.Colville

www.facebook.com/nicole.colville.the.hidden.series

Amazon: www.amazon.com/Nicole-Colville/e/B00C75T3R2/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_2

Twitter: twitter.com/NikkieColville

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/7045302.Nicole_Colville

Contact: Nicole.Colville@yahoo.com

Blog Tour: Aspect of Winter by Tom Early #Review #Excerpt #Giveaway

Title: Aspect of Winter

Author: Tom Early

Publisher: Harmony Ink Press

Cover Artist: Sadie Thompson

Length: 260 pages

Release Date: October 15, 2015

Blurb: It’s hard enough being gay in high school, but Fay must also deal with hiding his magical ability—powers he barely understands and cannot possibly reveal. His best friend Sam is his only confidante, and even with her help, Fay’s life is barely tolerable.

Everything changes when Janus University, a college for individuals with magical capabilities, discovers the pair. When the university sends a student to test them, Fay and Sam, along with their classmate Tyler, are catapulted headfirst into a world of unimaginable danger and magic. Fay and Tyler begin to see each other as more than friends while they prepare for the Trials, the university’s deadly acceptance process. For the first time, the three friends experience firsthand how wonderful and terrible a world with magic can be, especially when the source of Fay’s power turns out to be far deadlier than anyone imagined.

AS IT turned out, being wedged into the small space below the math wing staircase was exactly as uncomfortable as I’d imagined. Now, I was in there of my own choice, sort of. I held still and listened, letting out a sigh of relief when I heard the boys’ voices fading. I decided it was safe and did my best to wriggle out.

Groaning, I brushed myself off and realized that I’d somehow managed to cover the majority of my backpack in a thick layer of dust. Rumor had it that years ago the staircase used to be green. Now it was gray. I looked at my backpack in disgust and let out a breath, concentrating. The dust glittered as a layer of frost covered it. When I hoisted my bag onto my back once more, the dust slid right off, the frost preventing it from clinging.

Clean backpack in hand, I trudged up the stairs, across the hall, and walked into the classroom. I took my customary seat in the back next to the poster detailing the derivative rules of calculus, feeling a flash of pity for Ms. King as I watched her try to get anyone to listen, and grabbed my book of the day as the front row began its usual antics. Today they asked Ms. King about her love life, which, while incredibly rude, was extremely successful in throwing her off-balance.

I would never understand high school, even after nearly four years of it. It seemed barely tolerable for everyone involved, including the people who fit in. I didn’t fit in, and so every day was a new chapter in the purgatory of hiding what I could do.

I sent a grateful prayer to the high school gods as class was interrupted by an announcement saying we needed to go to the nurse’s office for a new immunization or something. Ms. King pulled us out of the truly thrilling world of integrals and sent us down one at a time. I was one of the last to go.

Stepping back into the hallway, I prayed that I wasn’t going to run into any of Logan’s crowd again on my way down. The number of times I’d heard “fag” muttered under someone’s breath was already too high.

The school had two hallways running between the faculty area and the math wing, and most people took the lower one. I chose the glass hallway because it was usually empty (this surprised me as well, but apparently using stairs was just too much for many of my classmates), and it was pretty cool to be able to see the entire campus from what was effectively its highest point. I trailed a finger across the glass as I walked, leaving behind a fractal line of frost in the warm September air.

I smirked. For as long as I’d been at Owl’s Head High School, there had been, in the eloquent phrasing of high schoolers, “spooky shit” in the fall and spring where kids would come across ice or cold areas in warm weather. I knew I needed to keep my head down, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t have a little fun.

This YA story packs one hell of a punch! WOW! Fay, oh that boy! I just love him to pieces. He’s bullied in high school only has his best friend Sam to keep him company. Oh yeah and he’s super powerful. Then you have Tyler…. Well, he’s just something else! The three of them set off on a magical adventure of shadow wielding monsters, rips in the veil, storms, snow, and crazy magic. It seemed like they were in constant danger.

This was like Harry Potter in a sense but with a lot more crazy… the good kind I swear! There were so many twists and turns and quite the little mystery/surprise.

I am hoping this is a series and that I will see more of Fae because there are still so many questions that seriously need answers.

This is everything you look for in a paranormal story… and then some!

Harmony Ink Press

Amazon US

Amazon UK

All Romance eBooks

Tom Early is currently a student at Tufts University who probably spends more time than is wise reading and writing instead of studying. More often than not, he can be found wrapped in a blanket on the couch forgetting most of the things he was supposed to do that day.

When not writing, Tom can be found either reading, gaming, drawing, scratching his dog, or bothering his friends. He also frequently forgets that it’s healthy to get more than six hours of sleep a night, and firmly believes that treating coffee as the most important food group makes up for this. If you show him a picture of your dog, he will probably make embarrassingly happy noises and then brag about his own dog. He’s always happy to talk about any of his previous or current writing projects, because people asking him about them reminds him that he should really be writing right now.