Queer Eye for Sci Fi -- the booklist

So...

I went to RavenCon this weekend -- a smallish, book and science fiction/fantasy convention with the prerequisite dealer's room, author GOHs, filkers and panels.

I had a good time, got to see some musicians I liked (Blibbering Humdingers, Jonah Knight), a band I hadn't seen before (Positronic Cats) and a band I used to like and don't like anymore (Paradox Machine)

I met my favorite authors (Steve Miller and Sharon Lee) and got autographs and got to listen to a reading of Chapter Seven from their upcoming novel Alliance of Equals, due out sometime this summer...

I also got drafted by Nickie Jamison to help her with a panel; Queer Eye for Sci Fi...

Which is a cool panel name, and I approve 110%.

Which is how I ended up essentially reciting my reading list over the last two years to a fairly large group of strangers (there were, I think, about 30 people there for the panel, which made me really nervous right up until I actually opened my mouth,,,)

Last year, 2015, was the year of No White Men for me, as far as reading went. I made one exception, any white male whose books I was already reading (Jim Butcher, the above mentioned Steve Miller, Rick Riordan, etc) I would read IF they had books come out in a series that I was already invested in. But if not, I wanted to make sure I read women writers and persons of color writers only.

Not entirely unbelievably, I got epic amounts of shit for this decision, mostly on Facebook, but I had one particular guy who cared enough to track down my email address and send me like 30 or so obscene photographs and threats. (We're not even talking about just dick pics, but actual torture porn, because that's sure to change my mind...) You know, my $40 a month book allowance going entirely to women is going to make some white guy starve to death. Absolutely. I take full responsibility for that.

Anyway, I was asked where I got my reading lists from -- obviously some science fiction is m/m romance or erotic romance, which is a growing, but still not main-stream market -- and honestly, it's kinda a grab bag. The nicest -- and worst -- thing about having a kindle is that I can impulse buy the shit out of books.

PEOPLE

Mary Anne Mohanraj -- Author of The Stars Change, which is a Circlet Press novel -- talks a lot about science fiction, romance, polyamory, race, sexuality, and a general amount of geekery. Also, she has cute kids and interesting stories about her life as a college professor. She's posted several books to her facebook page that I've bought and enjoyed, as well as her own work. I believe she does the con-circuits out in the mid-West from time to time.

Laura Antoniou -- Lamda Award Winning Author of The Killer Wore Leather -- is a nerdy sort, altho her books are not in genre (or at least, if there are, I haven't read them. The stuff I've read is hard core BDSM) That being said, her page has been a great place for me; she posts some book lists from time to time and there are always interesting discussions there. She's not taking friend requests at this time, but you can follow her.

BOOK LISTS

Goodreads Best Science Fiction with a Gay Main Character
I obviously haven't vetted everything on this list, but I do check it out from time to time.

Gay and Lesbian Science Fiction that Doesn't Suck

Best Science Fiction Books.com Gay list

Specific Books (Listed in no Particular Order)

Dark Space -- Lisa Henry -- This book contains explicit material, but is completely fantastic. Love it. I own, but have not yet read, the sequel, Darker Space.

The Forever War -- Joe Haldeman -- no explicit material and the LGBT stuff is toward the end of the book, but has some interesting ideas of how sexuality might evolve...

The Liaden novels -- Steve Miller and Sharon Lee -- several bisexual characters and characters that have gay relationships, including Theo Waitley, the main character in Fledgling, Saltation, Ghost Ship and Dragon Ship, and Priscilla Mendoza from Conflict of Honors and several subsequent novels. There are 18+ or so books in this series, but well worth the read. The books don't carry the theme of being LGBT, but they treat it as very normal.

The Left Hand of Darkness -- Ursula K. LeGuin -- not explicit, an interesting look at a gender-swapping society. My copy of this book is so battered from multiple re-reads. Every time I read it, I find something new in there

Ascension, a Tangled Axiom novel -- Jacqueline Koyanagi -- this book is a checklist of diversity, we've got characters of color, we've got characters with a chronic illness, we've got lesbians, and we've got a damn good story. By far my favorite read from last year.

The Gumshoe, The Witch, and the Virtual Corpse -- Keith Hartman -- I have not actually read this yet, but it's been recommended to me about 80 times now, so there's that.

Ash -- Malinda Lo -- Young adult lesbian version of Cinderella. Brilliant and a finalist for a lot of awards... Absolutely, you should read this.

Dreamships -- Melissa Scott -- gay cyberpunk story...

Percy Jackson -- Rick Riordan -- this is a 10 book series and the one (two?) gay characters aren't actually outed as gay until book 9 and is a side character at best, so... a lot of emotional investment in a book series, but they are fun, and they do treat being gay as an ordinary sort of thing.

The Mortal Instruments -- Cassandra Claire -- Young adult books with a gay supporting character, as well as his love-interest and quite a lot of parental issues about it.

In the Mother's Land -- Elisabeth Vonarburg -- Translated from French, which sometimes makes the sentence construction a little odd, but bear with it, because this book is brilliant, but very hard to get a hold of. It is the sequel to The Silent City, but I didn't actually read that one.

The Handmaiden's Tale -- Margaret Atwood -- really, this should be recommended reading for just about everyone.

Marion Zimmer Bradly came up during the conversation, and I may mention her work with some caveats, the first of which is, I've never personally read anything she's written and two, her real-life stuff is problematic for me, given the accusations of child molestation. Her backlist profits are currently going to charities to help abuse victims, so if you haven't read her before, the money you give toward those books will help. At the same time, I feel very uncomfortable recommending her books, so take away from that what you will.

For those of you wanting the title of that South African novel I mentioned, I'm sorry, I can't FIND it. It was a loaner and I gave it back when I was done. I'm trying to remember who lent it to me so I can ask them. The problem with reading as many books as I do is that sometimes books and titles just slip out of my mind and I can't recall...

Guest Post, LaQuette...

Protected Heart: Queens of Kings: Book 3

by LaQuette

Publisher: Hot Ink Press

Release Date: June 25, 2015

Buy Link: http://smarturl.it/ProtectedHeart

Blurb:

When trust becomes a matter of life or death…

Heart Searlington, captain of the seventy-fourth precinct in Brooklyn, New York, has everything she could ever want. The sexy as sin husband, the perfect house, and the perfect addition to their family, four-month-old Amare.

But when a senseless act of violence threatens the lives of two people she loves, Heart does what comes natural to her…she protects what’s hers.

Kenneth Searlington, billionaire real estate tycoon, is living the ultimate dream—family, friends, and wealth. Life couldn’t be more perfect, until trusting the wrong friend puts his life on the line.

When he can’t trust friends or family, Kenneth takes matters into his own hands. Who should Kenneth trust? The wife who lied, or the friend and family who betrayed him? Maybe the only person he can trust is himself? When protecting the heart she loves forces Heart to omit certain truths about herself and those she loves, can Kenneth see past her betrayal long enough for her to keep him alive?



Excerpt: The subtle touch of fingers so familiar to his skin he could confuse it for his own grazed the slick skin of his shoulder until it slid down his back as smoothly as the droplets of water raining down on him. “You okay?” she asked softly into his ear. “I was afraid today was too much for you. You’ve only been back home a handful of days.” He nodded his head, eyes still closed to the streaming water saturating the thick strands of his hair. He felt her hand crawl back up the length of his back, the movement making the muscles that rested just beneath her digits twitch in anticipation. Heart was right, he had returned from the hospital several days before, but in that time the two of them had barely spent any alone time together. They’d both been physically present, and usually that was all it took to stoke the embers that always seemed to be on a low simmer just waiting for an excuse to fan the flames to full blaze. But since his release there had been something there, something that was keeping them from being them. Kenneth turned his head slightly toward the sound of her voice. He opened his eyes just enough to see the water-sprinkled vision of her standing to the side of him. He pulled her into his embrace and pinned her back against the wall between his outstretched arms. There was nothing like the sight of his wife naked and waiting for him. No matter how difficult things were between them they’d always had this. It baffled him that he’d allowed whatever this was between them to fester to the point where he hadn’t touched his wife in days. The knowledge that she’d kept something so important from him fucked with his head in a way he hadn’t anticipated. Truth was he really hadn’t even given serious thought as to why her omission of the facts about Bryan and Justice impacted him so much. But to deny himself this, this connection, this reassurance that his world was grounded, that they were whole, what the fuck was he thinking? He positioned her directly under the spray of water and watched the fullness of her hair flatten against her scalp and back. She would bitch at him later about having to go to the hairdresser, but the thought of that conversation alone was pulling up the corners of his mouth into a wicked smile. He allowed his fingers to rest at the base of her head, fingers caressing her nape in just the right way to make her fall into his touch. His heart tightened slightly. They’d been stressed and their connection strained, but underneath all the bullshit, it was still there and he was grateful for it. Their connection is what kept his soul intact, what kept him sane enough to deal with the rest of his life when dealing with the craziness that wealth brought. “We have a lot to discuss, Heart.” “Kenneth I—” He leaned down and pressed a hard kiss to stop whatever it was she was about to say. Words weren’t what they needed now. He giggled to himself. If their shrink could hear his thoughts she’d be jumping up and down screaming her opposition to his line of thinking. Kenneth wasn’t against therapy. It had definitely worked to get the two of them back on track, and he definitely wanted them to sign up for a session or two after this latest fiasco, but this wasn’t something that needed fixing. This was the one way that their communication was perfect and they were absolutely in sync. He plunged his tongue inside the warmth of her mouth and savored the sweet hint of apple juice that danced on his taste buds. He pulled back just a moment to give them each a chance to breathe. “I’m not avoiding the conversation we need to have, and as soon as we’re finished in here we’re going to throw on some clothes and go downstairs in the kitchen and hash this shit out over a cup of coffee. But right now, I just need to feel my wife.”


  Author Bio Amazon: http://smarturl.it/LaQuetteonAmazon Facebook: Http://www.Facebook.com/LaQuetteTheAuthor Twitter: @LaQuetteLikes Website: http://www.LaQuetteLikes.com 2015 Georgia Romance Writers Maggie Award Finalist in Erotic Romance, LaQuette, a native of Brooklyn, New York, spends her time catering to her three distinct personalities: Wife, Mother, and Educator.

Writing--her escape from everyday madness--has always been a friend and comforter. She loves writing and devouring romance novels. Although she possesses a graduate degree in English Lit, she'd forego Shakespeare any day to read something hot, lusty, and romantic. She loves hearing from readers and discussing the crazy characters that are running around in her head causing so much trouble. Contact her on Facebook, Twitter, her website, Amazon, and her Facebook group, LaQuette's Lounge.

Other Titles by LaQuette

 Divided Heart: Queens of Kings: Book 2 Blurb: The last two years of Heart MacKenzie Searlington’s life have been a constant forward motion of change. She’s been promoted to NYPD captain of the seventy-fourth precinct in Brooklyn, a job she never wanted, but is slowly finding her way through with the help of a dedicated second in command and a house full of exemplary officers. Married to the sexy and powerful mogul, Kenneth Searlington, Heart is living all of the dreams she never knew to ask for before she fell in love with the man that stole her heart. Although Kenneth bathes her in his love and devotion, insecurities from the past still haunt her and cast a dark veil over their union. Kenneth Searlington knows only one thing, he worships his wife. He has a singular purpose: to love her as hard as he can for the rest of their lives and to neutralize any threat that dares to come up against them. But how does he protect them when that threat comes from the woman he loves? Thrown by a devastating loss, Heart allows pain and despair to drive a wedge so large between them they may never be able to recover. Pushed beyond his limits, excluded and taken for granted, Kenneth has to decide whether to allow darker urges to control him, or to use his rage to fight for the one thing he adores, Heart. Can they mend the rift, or will a divided heart end their legendary love? Available on Amazon

Heart of the Matter: Queens of Kings: Book 1 Blurb: Heart “Mac” MacKenzie is a tough police lieutenant in the NYPD servicing the rough streets of Brooklyn, New York. She’s a strong leader who doesn’t mind getting in the trenches with the men and women she leads at the seventy-fourth precinct. Her house, her people, and her family—both blue and blood—are the only things that matter. She would live and die for the blue wall that shields her from a traumatic past. When her captain assigns her a high-profile kidnapping case that she doesn’t want, and insists she allows the missing girl’s irritatingly sexy uncle to tag along during the investigation, her blood boils. Mac has no choice but to do what she always does when things get out of control, lay down the law—her law. Kenneth Searlington is a rich playboy from the Upper East Side of Manhattan. With stunning looks and an unlimited source of wealth, he’s used to being the center of everyone’s attention, especially the women that he comes in contact with in high society. His life is fun and carefree until his niece, Merridith is kidnapped, and he’s forced to seek out the help of his godfather an NYPD police captain, David Porter. Afraid and frustrated, Kenneth defers to his uncle’s expertise and his promise that he’s putting his best cop on the case, Lieutenant MacKenzie. When Kenneth discovers “Mac” is actually a sexy as sin lady cop with a fiery temper to match, he decides mixing a little business with pleasure might be just the thing he needs to distract him from long-standing family issues that are trying to crawl their way back into the forefront of his life. Each used to having their own way, can these two work together long enough to bring an innocent child home? Or will they settle their differences and unyielding attraction in a more carnal way and get right down to the heart of the matter? Available on Amazon    




 My Beginning Blurb: Genesis Lawrence left her home and family in Brooklyn, New York ten years ago and never looked back. When you've spent your entire life protecting yourself from the ones that are supposed to love you, running to the other side of the country seems like the best idea ever. Emotionally bankrupt, she begins rebuilding her life after failed familial connections and a broken marriage leave her too raw to ever believe happiness exists for her. Work as a Physical Therapist in her rehab clinic is all she knows and all she wants. Drew Marrack has spent the last year of his life trying to end the soul-searing pain of losing his mother by any means necessary, even if that means ending him—literally. After a tragic accident and a r resulting disability that devastates the tattered remnants of his world, only one name can give him a brand-new start: Genesis. Pain, heartache, secrets, and tragedy from the past bring them together, and then fight to tear them apart. Is new love strong enough to give them the fresh beginning they both need, or is this simply the beginning of their end? Available on Amazon

Goals for the Upcoming Year and Some Reviews

I really don't like New Year's resolutions...

There's no particular reason to wait for a certain date to get something done, and I'm never really sure the intense pressure a lot of people feel about New Years does them any good at all...

Also, plans are what you make while life happens;

But, going forward:

First off, I plan to review every single book that I read. (I may or may not review books that I've previously read and am currently re-reading, since I do that a lot, too...)

Second, I have two novels to write this year; Blues, the sequel to Roll, and Howling Bitch, the sequel to Blood Sight. Since I did Blues as my NaNoWriMo project and I'm 54,000 words into the novel thus far, I plan to have it completed by the end of February. I'm guessing I have a little less than 10,000 words to go on the project, so it shouldn't take me that long.

Howling Bitch is going to be about the same length, so if I start writing it in March, I'd like to aim to have it done by the end of August. Mostly because I don't intend to try another NaNoWriMo-type-push... guestimating about ~700 words a day, four days a week, I should finish in six months... seems reasonable, right?

Third; Liz and I are finally finished writing and editing our collection of short stories, which underwent a project title change recently, and is no longer "Promptly" but now "Whetting the Appetite" which might be better if I could spell Appetite correctly the first time. Which I cannot. So, we're going to wait a week or so, then both do another complete read through it, make sure we didn't miss any typos and then submit it by mid-January... wish us luck.

Fourth; I also have several other side projects I want to work on. My friend Jonah's working on a collection called Local Magic and I'm hoping to get this ghost project together by January 15th for him. I also have several shorts I want to write and submit for some other collections. I have a ton of story ideas that got abandoned for other projects. Alive and Kicking, Leaving her Marke, one of these days I'm going to write the Wormwood Trade, a steampunk romance that I've had brewing for a while. (Amazing how I seem to only have one front burner, but 500 "back burners".)

I wrote a couple of reviews today, kicking off that particular goal....

Four Stars All I want for Christmas - V.L. Locey

 Let's start off with the fact that I love Locey; she's funny and sweet and her stories are intensely emotional. if I am ever disappointed in a Locey book, it'll be because I went off my medication.

Alex and Cooper are another mis-match to start, attracted to each other but each with preconceived notions that turn out all wrong. One surly painter, one optimistic do-gooder and a pair of quirky cats turn their worlds upside down.

Again, bravo!

Five Stars The Wicked - Thea Harrison

Great add on piece

I love the Elder Races, and this one was pretty fun! Great supplement to the main stories... hot grouchy alpha male, puzzled, exasperated intelligent female. Good mix.

Five Stars Dragos Takes a Holiday - Thea Harrison

More Dragos, More Pia,  and a little bit of Peanut on the side...

Cute story and every bit as fun as the rest of the series; I love the Elder Races...

Five Stars Kinked - Thea Harrison

Best one yet! I've been reading the Elder Races since the beginning, but I really liked this one a lot. Clears up some old mysteries left over from Dragon Bound and brings new life to side characters that have gotten very little attention up til this point. Also, continues to answer questions about the world, tying all the stories together. Marvelous!

Four Stars - No Good Duke Goes Unpunished - Sarah MacLean

Emotional Rollercoaster of a novel

I admit the premise is a bit weak; I spent a LOT of the book going "oh, COME ON... really?" but the love story is good, the sex is hot, and the characters are fairly typical of MacLean, which is to say tough women and tougher men.

(Note: I have not read the other books in this "series" so maybe I would have liked it more if I knew the side characters better...)

Gingerbread Palace, a Review

Honestly, I shouldn't have bought this book. (Before you recoil in horror from that comment, allow me to explain....)

It's two weeks until Christmas, and I'm firmly in what my family refers to as my No-Buy zone, where I'm not supposed to buy anything for myself. Also, I'm on a fairly strict book budget... so, I wasn't supposed to buy the book. That being said, I managed to pull in some extra cash to my paypal account, and this was the first thing I bought with it.

So, enough about me;

The Book.

First off, I love firemen. My grandfather, my uncle, and two of my cousins are firemen, and I am both pleased at having them represented and impressed with the amount of research that went into the story.

Second, I'm a big fan of cooking and baking, so we have two of my favorite professions in the same story... also awesome.

And then there's the enemy to lover trope which is one of my favorite things, too...

Well done back stories. Enough details to keep us sympathetic without the rubbing-it-in-your-face sort of descriptions that seem a little too present in a lot of "abused kids" stories...

The writing was elegant and provocative, sweeping me into the story right away and continued to live up to an excellent start. If you're an easy crier (I am) prep a tissue ready for the last two chapters...

Buy Link

Description:

A Novella in the Delectable Series

A week before Christmas, Alex Bancroft’s bakery goes up in flames. When he runs back inside after a dog, firefighter Kevin Flint has to rescue Alex—and Quincy—from the smoldering building, endangering them and inflaming Kevin’s resentment.

Now Alex can’t create the elaborate gingerbread house he donates to a foster-kids charity each year. Fire Station 7 again comes to his rescue, offering their kitchen and their manpower.

Everyone but Kevin Flint, that is. A third-generation firefighter, he’s fearful of stepping too far out of the closet. So when his powerful physical attraction for Alex ends in a sizzling secret encounter in the firehouse, Kevin can’t push Alex far enough away, and Alex returns the cold shoulder.

After a change of heart, Kevin risks his life to prove he’s worthy of Alex’s affection, but without a Christmas miracle, their chances at sweet romance might go up in smoke.

Restricted Release; The Not Quite a Blog Tour by Sommer Marsden

Can you see me now?

I recently wrote a blog for Tabitha Rayne about the voyeurism in my new novel Restricted Release. Funny thing, though, I guess I felt the need to be fair because I put a little exhibitionism in my book to balance things out. In fact, the large (ceiling to floor) windows in the houses featured in Restricted Release could almost be considered a fourth in the sexual ménages found within its pages. They're almost another willing partner in the sexual situations.

Clara never considered herself a voyeur, but she also never figured herself for an exhibitionist...until Nadia and her toys showed up. Then all bets were off. Clara found her inner exhibitionist.

(Warning NSFW)

“How about you make her feel pretty, Nadia?” Matt said, his voice smoke and vapors.

It was in my head, his voice. In my gut and in my cunt and winding its way steadily into my heart. My soul perked up when he spoke, and when I thought of him touching me, it soared.

It was a dangerous thing, my connection with him. Too much, too fast, and yet—I craved it when I was honest with myself.

“I can do that,” she said. Her pretty slim hand found its way into my pants and she slid her finger along my slit. I was still wet from earlier and the rich musky scent of my previous orgasm filled my head.

“In fact I have just the thing if you’re game. I want you to put your hands up there on the glass. Both of them.”

I did it and prayed no one was on the roof looking down. It was really the only way for anyone to see me but for Matt. He could see all of me but for the window frame that cut the glass in half. He could see her pushed up tight against me. Her hands in my pants. The look on my face. And I could see all of him. Handsome him pulling a tall-backed stool up to the windowpane and taking a seat to watch.

“Actually, raise your hands like you’re under arrest,” she said loud enough for him to hear.

I did it.

She slipped my tee over my head, mussing my hair. It fell in a crazy halo around my face. I was bare and chilled and then she pressed my palms flat to the window again.

“Check out those perky pretty tits, Matty,” Nadia said and left the room.

I was breathing like I might cry.

“Just be calm, Clara. They really are perfect. You worry too much. You are so…spectacular.”

And then I did cry because I wanted so badly to believe him but it felt so much like a lie to me.

Aren't you glad I decided to be fair? :)

Much like I said in my voyeuristic blog, if you asked me about exhibitionism as turn-on, I'd tell you it doesn’t really work for me. Not my thing. Not for me. But when I wrote that particular snippet...I gave it a second thought.

I might have to change my opinion on the whole being seen scene.

XOXO

Sommer

An Excerpt From: RESTRICTED RELEASE
Copyright © SOMMER MARSDEN, 2013
All Rights Reserved, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.


We sat in the center of his box-cluttered living room floor on a large blanket. Around us was scattered some leftover takeout, cheese, crackers, a box of lemon cookies, mixed nuts, olives, pickles and a bottle of wine.
“This should be disgusting,” he said, eating a pickle with a piece of cheese on a cracker.

“But it‘s so, so good,” I said, eating my own cracker with cheese. I ate it in small nibbles because my stomach was electric.

“Really?” He cocked his head. “Because you barely seem to be eating.” He touched my leg with his bare foot. He was warm.

“I‘m eating.” I pulled the sweatshirt he‘d draped over me close to my body. Besides his sweatshirt, I wore my white slouchy socks and we‘d located my panties.

He held out a box of cookies. “I’m good,” I said.

Matt studied me. “I‘m not as dumb as I look, you know.”

I ate the rest of my cracker and took a sip of wine. It was nice. It had that whiskey aftertaste I usually hate and yet I didn‘t this time. There was enough of a fruity burst in it to temper the oak. “I don‘t think you look dumb at all. I think you look really smart,” I said.

I hoped he didn‘t hear the mixture of annoyance and anxiety in my voice. I wanted to get past the food thing.
“So tell me, mysterious neighbor. Why do you seem to be a person who sticks very close to home? Why do you seem so…gun-shy? Is that a good description?”

I tried to nod but my head barely moved.

“I know why I‘ve been a monkish man for almost a year. Why have you been Sister Clara Barrett?”
I cleared my throat. “I don‘t know.”

He cocked his head and then cut his eyes away. He tried to make it look nonchalant, but I knew what he was doing. He was giving me a moment to consider the situation.

“Really?”

“I…”

Matt held up a hand, looking me right in the eye so I felt totally naked. For a crazy moment I felt as if there were no barriers between what was inside of me and what was inside of him. He said, “You were bold enough this morning to straight up tell me you wanted to have sex with me.”

I opened my mouth but he kept that silencing hand up and I shut my mouth with an audible snap. His fingers slipped beneath my sock, circled my ankle and he said very softly, “Please let me finish before you throw up your security fences and barriers.”

My throat was tight. I nodded.

“You were bold enough to watch me in my bathroom. When I probably could have spotted you at any time, and I sorta kind of did at the end there. And…” He squeezed my ankle and the pressure went right to my pussy. “You were bold enough to come over here on a…” He chuckled. “Booty call.”

I made a small noise of protest but then laughed. Our laughter mingled and I felt a rightness I couldn‘t remember feeling. It scared the shit out of me.

“But you won‘t tell me what your history is, Clara?” He didn‘t say it to belittle me. I could tell he wasn‘t angry. It was simply a question to help him understand. And that made me tell him.

I finished my wine in three big gulps and leaned back on my hands, keeping my legs in crisscross-applesauce fashion.

“I was married.” I picked at a loose thread on my sock and then looked at him. His eyes were amazing. Gorgeous and kind and deep—if they were the windows to Matt Millen’s soul, his soul was a wonder of the Universe.

“I‘m going to say this in one big breath and get it over with, okay?” I said, feeling my eyes sting a little. I willed myself not to cry. I could not cry. That would be stupid. That bad part of my life was over. I needed to move past it.

“Okay,” Matt said. His hand stayed around my ankle, loose but comforting. He wasn‘t eating or drinking, but he wasn‘t poking or prodding either. He was waiting. Listening. Paying attention.

“I was married to a man who wasn‘t…nice.” I shrugged but it felt like I was being blasé about something that was anything but. So I stilled my body and went on, willing myself to be strong. “He didn’t beat me or anything. But he carved me up emotionally. My sister Cat once said it would have been better if he had beaten me.” My voice had gotten small. My stomach hurt.

His eyes flashed with anger but he kept his face schooled. “And why is that?”

I blew out a shuddery breath and whispered. “She said that if he‘d left bruises on me—broke bones—I‘d have known that it was wrong. But as it stood, he got inside my head and…” I tapped my temple. “Fucked with me. He played on my biggest fears and weaknesses to control me. It‘s like in those books where you read about demons and possession and Hell,” I laughed. “He infiltrated my brain and he trapped me with my own fear.”

Matt sighed and popped an olive in his mouth. “I‘m going to go out on a limb here, slim lady, and say one of your issues is food and body image?”

My cheeks heated and I nodded, saying nothing at all. I had to fight the urge to cover myself with his sweatshirt. To pull it down over my knees and hide myself in it. It was a war I still waged most days, even thought I was alone about 80 percent of the time.

He watched me. He was waiting.

Blurb:

Clara is the recovering anorexic who’s nearly become a shut-in after the end of her emotionally abusive marriage. Matt is the new boy next door. Graphic artist, nice guy, funny…accepting of Clara.  She wants him, he wants her—but Clara is afraid.

Nadia is the stand-in—Matt’s idea, Clara’s challenge to accept. A longtime friend of Matt’s, she’s a sexual surrogate intended to guide Clara until she’s not afraid of Matt’s desire for her or hers for him. Twosomes become threesomes, watching becomes touching and lust becomes love.

When Matt moved in next door, lust was the last thing Clara expected. Two lovers never crossed her mind. And the need to make a choice was something she thought she’d never encounter. But she’s bolder now, healing, and everything has changed. And a choice must be made, no matter how hard.

Inside scoop: Clara’s healing includes a hot woman who wants to show her how desirable she is, as well as f/m/f menagés.



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Bio

Sommer Marsden’s been called “…one of the top storytellers in the erotica genre” (Violet Blue), “Unapologetic” (Alison Tyler), “…the whirling dervish of erotica” (Craig J. Sorensen),and “Erotica royalty…” (Lucy Felthouse).

Her erotic novels include Restricted Release, Restless Spirit, Boys Next Door, and Learning to Drown. Sommer currently writes erotica and erotic romance for Xcite Books, eXcessica, Ellora’s Cave, Pretty Things Press, Resplendence Publishing and Mischief Books. The wine-swigging, dachshund-owning, wannabe runner author writes work that runs the gamut from bondage to zombies to humor.

Sommer’s short works can be found in well over one hundred (and counting) erotic anthologies. Her short stories have also been included numerous adult and romance magazines–both in print and online.Visit her at Unapologetic Fiction

Coming Together: With Curves

Coming Together: With Curves, edited by Victoria Blisse and Lucy Felthouse

Curvy girls and the men (and women!) that love them is the theme of this charity anthology, edited by Victoria Blisse and Lucy Felthouse.

From Zumba classes to Burlesque dancers, all kinds of big and beautiful women are portrayed between the pages of this book. Read about birthday surprises, smut at the gym, horse riders, lusty couples, naughty neighbours, skilled bakers, rope bondage and misunderstandings from some of erotica’s best authors.

Sales proceeds benefit Parkinson’s UK.

Contents: Six Lengths of Red Hemp (Tilly Hunter), Cross Trainer Number Four (Lily Harlem), Bella Buxom, Just Squeeze Me (JoAnne Kenrick), Captivated (Elizabeth Lapthorne), Red Rag to a Bull (Victoria Blisse), Girl Next Door (Bella Blake), Lush Buns (Sommer Marsden), The Big Reveal (Giselle Renarde), The Wrong End of the Stick (Lucy Felthouse), Riding School (Bella Blake), Flesh For Fantasy (Lexie Bay).

Available from:http://lucyfelthouse.co.uk/published-works/coming-together-with-curves/

*****

Bonnie stifled a sigh. He was doing it again. Staring at her, as he had been every day that week. She was on a fortnight’s training course through work. She was the only one from her office who’d been sent. As a result, she knew no one and ended up sitting alone in the college’s cafeteria at lunchtimes. She’d had a couple of invites from kindly people also on her course, but she’d turned them down. It wasn’t that she was being rude or anti-social, she just hated people to see her eat. She was a big girl—that was putting it politely—and when people saw her eat, she could feel the judgment rolling off them in waves, the thoughts that she was fat because she ate so much.

It wasn’t true. About what she ate, that was. She was fat, and there was no denying it. But it certainly wasn’t her doing. She’d been born to large parents, and despite a healthy diet and plenty of exercise, she was still overweight. All she ever managed to shift was a pound or two here and there, and that was hardly noticeable, particularly on a woman her size. She kept at it, though, resigned to being a larger lady, but determined not to get any bigger.

Because she’d always been big, she was used to the snide comments, the dirty and derisive looks, the open stares. So it didn’t upset her any more, but she still got irritated when people simply gawped at her. Surely one glance was enough for them to ascertain that yes, she was a shapely girl, and then move on. In most cases it was, particularly if she glared at the person in question. But not with this guy. She was sure he was trying to be subtle, because he often averted his gaze as she trained hers on him. But even if he’d looked away, she could tell by the position of his head and body that he’d been peeking at her. Again.

Now, on day seven, she was almost at boiling point. What the hell was his problem? Had no one ever told him it was rude to stare? She was on the verge of doing just that.

Eating her lunch was an unpleasant task, knowing she was being observed. If she hadn’t been so damn hungry, she’d have left it. But she’d been running late that morning and had committed that mortal sin—missing breakfast. So her chicken salad—with no dressing—was absolutely necessary to avoid making herself feel ill, or passing out, so she devoured every last morsel. She ate faster than she normally would, not because she was being greedy, but because the sooner she finished eating, the sooner she’d stop feeling so damn self-conscious about the guy across the room watching her.

She decided to give him one last chance. When she’d finished her lunch, she’d drink her carton of apple juice, then sit for a few seconds, doing nothing. If he continued to look at her, she was going to stomp over there and give him what for. If he didn’t, then she’d carry on with life and do her best to forget about him and his rudeness.

Deep down, she knew she was going to have to go over and say something to him. After seven days, he wasn’t going to suddenly amend his habits. She was just being a bit of a wimp, really, hoping to find some way of getting out of confrontation, because she didn’t like it, not one bit, and it was absolutely a last resort. Unfortunately, she couldn’t think of a single other way of stopping him from doing it. Perhaps she could put up a sign in front of her saying “Please stop staring at me.” But if he couldn’t take the hint when she’d glared at him, he wouldn’t take any notice of a piece of paper.

Several minutes later, her salad was gone and she moved onto her drink. With a sinking feeling in her gut, she saw he was just as interested in her now as he had been when she’d been eating. Damn, confrontation it was then.

Draining the carton, she gathered her plate, cutlery and other rubbish onto her tray, stood up and slid it onto the rack nearest her. Then she returned to her table, grabbed her bag, pulled in a deep breath through her nostrils and marched over to the Peeping Tom. She slid out the chair opposite him and sat down on it.

*****

Editor sites:

http://victoriablisse.co.uk

http://lucyfelthouse.co.uk

Guest Post: Jacqueline Brocker

 Well, say hello to my guest today, Jacqueline Brocker...

An incredibly neat writer's desk... 

What are your greatest challenges in your writing career?

You mean apart from 'writing'? ;) I do find the act of writing itself a challenge, making myself do the work of getting my stories onto the page rather than just letting them sit in my head where they can remain perfectly formed without having to risk failing to get it right for someone else to understand. That I suppose is the creative challenge. The more practical challenge is navigating my way through the publishing landscape. When I was thinking about being a writer, this was a long time before the eBook boom, so my head is in many ways geared to thinking about publishing in those terms, especially with regards to promotion, distribution, etc. Now a writer can have so much more control and involvement in not just the writing but the production and release of their work, that it can be a bit intimidating and mind-boggling. But I think I'm up to the challenge.

When did you find out that you wanted to be a writer? What inspired you to put pen to paper?

I've always been making up stories in my head, acting them out when I was younger (and able to get away with it!) but it never occurred to me to be a writer as  'thing' you could do until I was 11 or so, and I wrote a story for a school assignment. My teacher wrote that it was one of the best she'd ever read by a student, and that set the wheels in motion.

Of your published works, do you have a favorite? Why?

This is a HOT cover, don't you think?

I'm incredibly proud of Body & Bow (which I'm promoting here today), but I'm also very fond of two short stories, one which is an m/m story called 'Storms of Ancient Gods', inspired by Slavic mythology published in Erotica Apocrypha (which is unfortunately no longer available as the publisher shut down) and I'm also still very happy with 'Ripe Fruit'.

I like 'Storms' because it pushed me to go darker than I had written before, and 'Ripe Fruit' feels, to me, amongst the most 'real' of the stories I've done, and the writing still feels good even after writing a while ago.

Do you ever want to go back and edit an older story?

Yes! I see an older work and wince at how I've written sentences and know that I'd do it so differently now and just wish I'd known then what I know now... the usual kind of quite useless beating onself up, rather than accepting that it's all part of a learning process, and really, if it was so bad, they wouldn't have accepted it in the first place.

How do you decide on character names?

Sometimes a name just comes to me and feels perfect and I go with it - sometimes even an unusual name will inspire the story in the first place! Beyond that, if I'm looking for names, I head for a baby name website and look for ones based on meaning, and choose one for what I feel is important about the character, in terms of their personality or role in the story.

In the case of Body & Bow, I can't quite remember whose name came first of the cello/violin duo - I think Leonard, which then made think of lions, which itself became a small theme in the novella as Leonard gets called 'the lion of the cello.' It made sense then for Marco to be named thus, as Saint Mark's symbol is the lion (which in turn is why Marco is Venetian). Klarissa Archer came from two definitions: 'clear, bright' (Klarissa - which even sounds a little like 'clarity'), while archer should be obvious, so she is a music critic who writes like an archer taking clear aim.

How much of your life and the people you know end up in your work?

Not so much. Little aspects creep in - observations I've made to myself for instance. I've started though writing more stories based on places I've actually been, which I think helps adds a sense of location and setting. I will say that I have used people I know or have met, at the very least for a visual reference, for my writing, but not their personalities or character traits as much.

What projects are you currently working on? Are you willing to share a small excerpt from a work in progress?

One project that I'm thoroughly enjoying writing at the moment is my daily serial A Night in a Year, an erotic adventure set in Cambridge, UK, over the course of one night, told over a year through daily updates.

Other projects include a m/m novel featuring a doctor and a cage fighter, and my usual crop of short stories that are on the boil. Here is an excerpt of another ménage story that I'm yet to finish:

The first time we met Eric, Harry and I both wanted to fuck him. 

Really, how could we not? Slip of a thing with milky skin, all of 19 years, a head of blue-black loose curls, and big saucer eyes that stared at us as we passed him in the halls of residence, Harry's hand draped across my hip, my hand bag on his other arm. The outward appearance of the perfect gentleman.

Harry and I had managed to tweak the room draw system well enough so we had rooms right next to each other, with the one to the right of mine empty for a first year. At first, Harry had rolled his eyes, fearing some annoyingly perky kid with grand ambitions and the desire to make their mark at our university, and, heaven forbid, the world. Such...naive hope for the future.
But when Eric arrived at his room, carrying a box almost larger than himself, teetering this way and that, his expression nervous but determined, so deliciously sincere, Harry and I, arms around each other in my door way, decided on just a shared look that we'd both have him.

Luckily for us, we also rather enjoyed sharing.

Tell us three things about you that are interesting.

* When I'm not writing or at the day job one of the things I can be found teaching or doing is Scottish Country Dancing.

* In 2009, I left Australia and moved to Cambridge, UK without a job or a place to live lined up. I picked Cambridge because I wanted to keep doing university administration, and also I'd been living on Cambridge Street for two years in Sydney.

* I have lived in several very different places in my life; the teeming city Jakarta, a small coastal city on the east coast of Australia, and the university town of Cambridge.

Excerpt from Body & Bow

Blurb and where to buy

Upon reading Klarissa Archer’s scathing review of their latest performance, cellist Leonard Sanderson and violinist Marco Lambrosini have very different reactions. Leonard is filled with rage. Marco invites Klarissa for drinks. Pleased that she has so upset the arrogant Sanderson Klarissa accepts Marco’s offer, unaware that he has something in mind for her, Leonard, velvet ropes and the bows of cello and violin. (M/F/M)
Body & Bow can be bought from Forbidden Fiction

Biography

Jacqueline Brocker is an Australian writer living in the UK. She has published several short erotic stories with various publishers, and also self-published several works. Her first erotic novella, Body & Bow, is published by Forbidden Fiction, from whom she has two short stories forthcoming later this year. When not writing, or Scottish Country Dancing, she can be found reading by the banks of the River Cam.

Website
Twitter: ms_jacquelineb
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I have a special board for Body & Bow too!
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Book Review; Road to Tomorrow

Sometimes, I swear, if I didn't have my head super-glued to my neck, it would just fall off... I'd agreed to do this review and posting, but somehow, the email thread got deleted and I completely forgot about it....

But that was mostly ok, since I ended up really sitting down and enjoying the book, since I didn't have very long to read it, in order to get this done. Which is really really nice. I read through the whole thing in a few hours, enjoyed every minute of it, and plan to buy the first two books as soon as my book-allowance rolls over. As a note, this appears to be book three, but it's a portal book and you can just jump right in... if you read the other books first, I believe you'll get the full stories for Carol and Jennifer, characters that have cameos in Road to Tomorrow.

The book covers a number of difficult story lines. First, an abusive husband and inevitably all the people in the victim's life who don't believe her. There were times when I was actually flinching by the "You know you should just stay out of his way when he's angry" that she got from her brother. Yowch.

Secondly, it deals with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and traumatic brain injuries. I also found the military's reaction to abuse coupled with PTSD to be fairly accurate and again, painful. The military - in my personal experience - wants bad press the way it wants holes in the head. I don't want to use the word conspiracy, but there's a lot of "well, let's just pretend this never happened" pressure on military wives. It makes situations like Andrea's even more difficult than they need to be, since the help that the military is supposed to provide often isn't there.

That being said, I really enjoyed the book, was happy with most of the resolutions, and enjoyed the interactions of Andrea in her new town with her new life. Especially if you love animals, romance, and realistic happy endings, this is the book for you!

4 stars.

About the Book - About the Author - Prizes!!!

About the book: Andrea Garrett is trying to escape her abusive marriage. Fearing for her life, she leaves her two small children with her twin brother and flees her home the day before her husband is due to arrive back from a tour of duty. After falling asleep at the wheel and landing in a ditch, her life takes on a new direction when strangers step in and introduce her to a life she could only have imagined and one that could save her soul and give her children the future they deserve. Get Road to Tomorrow through Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

About the author: Mary Metcalfe lives in the foothills of the Laurentians, northeast of Ottawa, Canada with her husband, three cats and a very large dog. Love of writing runs in the family. Their daughter is a published literary non-fiction author. Clarion Review described Mary’s debut novel as a “sparkling debut… readers will love being swept along by Winds of Change.”Road to Tomorrow is her third novel in the Look to the Future series. Connect with Mary on her website, blog, Facebook, GoodReads, or Twitter.


About the prizes: Who doesn't love prizes? You could win one of two $50 Amazon gift cards or an autographed copy of  Road to Tomorrow! Here's what you need to do...

1. Enter the Rafflecopter contest
2. Leave a comment on my blog.

That's it! One random commenter during this tour will win the first gift card. Visit more blogs for more chances to win--the full list of participating bloggers can be found here. The other two prizes will be given out via Rafflecopter. You can find the contest entry form linked below or on the official Road to Tomorrow tour page via Novel Publicity. Good luck! Ener the Rafflecopter giveaway!


I received this book free from Novel Publicity Blog Tours as part of their Book Review Blogger program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Promo For Under My Skin by Sommer Marsden

Nothing creepy about that, no...

Today, I bring to you my special guest, Sommer Marsden. (Check back here in a few weeks for some more personal time with Sommer... ) Her new book, Under My Skin, has just come out and wow, it sounds fantastic! I love Sommer's stuff, although she writes so much faster than I can read, so I have only made small dents into her production pile. But her werewolf series, Big Bad and Long Lost are excellent, and I so much adore the Zombie Exterminator series... I really like Urban Supernatural stuff. It's the orsumest!

Back Cover/Blurb

House bought for a steal online when it turns out there’s a damn good reason—check.

Malicious ghost with a body count to his name—check.

Sad, lingering female spirit pining for her still living (but currently dying) fiancé—check.

What’s a widowed medium to do when a departed soul asks to ride piggy back in her body?

To share her space and get under her skin? Juliet Bale does the only thing she can do—with her twin sister’s good counsel—she lets Lanie share her body to help her dying beloved Elijah cross over. The problem is that with all the reuniting, and sharing one body, things get seriously intimate and Juliet can’t help but see exactly why Elijah Rivers was so beloved.

It’s so wrong to sorta kinda fall for a dying man, and yet—check.



Excerpt from Under My Skin 
© Sommer Marsden

“I’m telling you, Minnie, it feels off.” I tucked the phone under my chin and tried not to trip on the damn thing. My brand new kitchen had a way-old phone. It actually had a cord, for goodness’ sake.

“Off how? Off is relative when it comes to you, twin sister, dear.”

I snorted, and Minnie made a high-pitched sound that said she was laughing at me. “Har har.”

I slipped my silverware—triple wrapped in plastic—into my freshly washed and tidied drawer. I had just spent three hours wiping down the room and cleaning everything. I wanted it as spic and span as possible for me and my own energy. Most people don’t realize when you move in a new home, along with other people’s dirt, you get other people’s emotions.

“I mean, what is off, Juliet? Is the paint too bright or the window too small or…what?” My sister was mocking me.

“The energy,” I said, pushing a stack of brightly colored cake plates into a small side cabinet. “Don’t play dumb, Min. You haven’t just met me. You know, your sister…the sensitive. Resident psychic medium,” I chuckled, making a joke at my own expense.

I swore I heard her smile over the phone line. I could picture my sister in my mind. Same long unruly dirty blond hair as mine. Same startling blue eyes that could turn gray with mood, weather or depending on what color we wore. But we weren’t identical, we were fraternal. She was shorter and curvier than me, her nose just a bit sharper. And her tongue.

“Juliet, let’s face it, any place is going to be off to you, right? Any place you go is going to be steeped in someone else’s emotions and past, yes?”

“Yes,” I agreed, wiping my hands on my shirttails and leaning against the giant butcher block island in the center of the room. “True story.”

"Well, then, just deal with it. There is no clean space for you, really. Unless you build a brand new home from scratch and not a single worker has a bad day or an illness or any of that.”

I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. She was right.

“So take this new home and treat it as your own. Smear your own energy all over the place.”
I snorted, eyeing my shirt. It had been Justin’s. My heart crimped up at seeing it. Three years had not dulled my loss, and despite being psychically sensitive and talking to spirits more often than not, I had yet to see or talk to him. I wondered if it were somehow taboo for us to speak or if he thought it would be too painful for me to see him.

“Hello?” my sister sighed.

“Sorry, I hear you. You’re right. Though I don’t know about smearing my energy all over the place. Kind of makes me sound like a monkey—”

“Juliet!” she snapped, knowing where I was going with that analogy. “Onto other things. How are you doing? I mean…how are you doing?”

She meant moving out of the former home that Justin and I had shared before he died. She meant on my own. She meant finally embracing the fact that I was single and maybe moving on with my new life. Montgomery House was that chance. I mean, how often do you get to buy a house with a name? And I’d gotten it for a song. Which worried me, but…

“I’m fine,” I lied. “No worries.”

“I’m coming to see you soon,” she threatened, and I smiled.

“You’d better.”

* * * *

He was big—big and looming. But he was also thin. The kind of build that made the mind pull up images of a praying mantis or some ungodly sea creature trapped in the darkness near the ocean floor. Just seeing him turn his muddy eyes to me made my heart thunder.

“You’re here,” he said and smiled.

The smile was the most frightening aspect of his appearance. It twisted his face in such a way that it reminded me of a molded rubber mask that had gone askew. Almost as if his skin didn’t quite fit on his bones the right way.

I turned to run, and when I did, his long arm shot out to plant a big, strong hand on my shoulder. Being touched by him was like experiencing the most sudden and all-consuming emptiness imaginable. A sob ripped out of me.

“I thought three was my lucky number,” he said, his voice gravel turned under a tire. Sand scraped across stainless steel. It made my head hurt, and my heart followed suit.

I pulled against his strength, knowing I’d never break free until I awoke. I knew by the energy I was trapped in a dream. Knew he couldn’t really hurt me…not yet. But I also knew that as long as I slept, I was his. This was the secret my new house held. This energy. And this was where I’d be until I could drag myself back up to my conscious mind.

“Three what?” I managed, stalling.

“Three girls before you came.” The cadence of his words stirred goose bumps along my skin.

The fine hairs of my scalp prickled with dread.

“You killed them?”

“I consumed them,” he said. “Their essence.”

The urge to scream was overpowering. The urge to weep even stronger. Instead, I did the only thing I could do. I turned into his grip to face him. He looked surprised for a moment, his long rubbery face and his sick brown eyes showing shock. But then he smiled, and that hole seemed to open in my stomach again. I studied the face. The old-fashioned brown suit. The proper white buttoned-down shirt. Cufflinks, a tie clip, wingtip shoes and close-cropped hair.

Then I bit my tongue as hard as I possibly could and tasted blood. His face lit up when the coppery taste flooded my mouth. Maybe he could smell it. But then he realized what I’d done and frowned at me.

“You’ll be back,” he said. “I’m here all the time.”

I woke up.

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