L.M. Brown

Six Sentence Sunday

2012-03-11T00:01:00.000Z

It's six sentence Sunday time again and I have six sentences from a WIP I started a couple of months ago - before I got bogged down in editing and new releases.

It is from a contemporary paranormal short story I am working on for an open call. Looking at my notes I have a horrible feeling it will get too long but fingers crossed it won't. In the meantime, here are six sentences to give you a sneak peek at the story which is entitled Skin Deep. At least that is the title at the moment. It is the third title it has had so far so don't be surprised if I post more from it in a couple of months time with a different title entirely.

He flexed in front of the mirror. Just once was enough to freak him out. It was like looking in the mirror and seeing a stranger staring back. Everything about him was bigger. He glanced down at his crotch. Okay, not quite everything.

For more six sentences please click the banner below.

New Interview & Guest Blogger Amylea Lyn

2012-03-09T00:01:00.001Z

I am being interviewed today over at Shannon Leigh's blog . Do stop by and check it out.

While I'm away, Amylea Lyn is here to take over my blog instead. So please welcome her and leave her some love by way of comments.

First of all, would you like to introduce yourself to anyone lurking here?

Hello to everyone! LOL, even the lurkers. My name is Amylea Lyn and I’m a M/M romance author. I’ve been writing for a number of years and have been published for just over two years now.

What made you decide to get into romance writing?

I think for me, it was never a question what kind of books I’d be writing. I love to read romance, ever since I was a young girl. The first book I ever bought for myself was one of the books in Christine Feehan’s Dark Series when I was thirteen. I was hooked ever since.

Plus I love how romance can cross all genres; from paranormal to horror, and mystery to contemporary, there’s no genre romance doesn’t cross into. It makes each story exciting to write, since I never know where the characters are going to take me.

LM is now feeling extremely old since she is also a fan of Christine Feehan's Dark series and remembers buying the first book in the series, when it first came out, as an adult. You've got to love those Carpathians.

Oops, got distracted there for a moment. So, Amylea, where do your ideas come from?

LOL. Can I just say this question is an embarrassing one? My ideas come from everything and anything. I can be inspired by a TV program or the news, a simple conversation with a friend, or even a situation that happens during my day. The world is full of ideas just waiting for me to find them.

You can say it is an embarrassing question if you like. Though your answer would be very similar to my own. LOL

What kind of research do you do?

If my books take place in a certain city, especially if I haven’t been there, I research the city like crazy. The same goes for a certain disability or disease; for example I’m currently writing a story where one of the secondary characters is autistic. I did a lot of research before developing his character.

Fantasy is a little easier, I don’t have to do as much research then. But in my Outside the City series I did a lot of technology research to make “the City” seem more realistic.

Research is a normal part of the writing process for me and I do a lot of it while I’m plotting my outlines for my stories.

Which do you find easier to write: male/male or male/male/male?

I’ve written both, and in all honesty I really don’t have a problem with either. I think for me it depends on the story whether or not it evolves into a m/m or a m/m/m story. Writing a story is never easy, but my characters always seem to come together in the best way once the story is finished.

How easy or hard do you find it to portray the dynamics of a three way relationship?

It is difficult sometimes to write a three-way story, and it can be very hard to make the dynamics of a relationship of that sort equal for all characters. You have to balance the three separate personalities and make sure that everyone’s needs are met equally.

When I was writing Dream a Little Dream, my story with a three-way relationship I really had to focus on the characters separate desires, and that can be hard when you add another person to the mix in an already established couple like I did. But I took my time, and by the end of it I was very happy with the story I’d written.

What do you think makes for a good hero in male/male romances?

I think the biggest thing that makes a character a good hero in any story, not just m/m, is to make them human. A character needs to be flawed, needs to have his faults and troubles. It drives me crazy when I read a story where a character is so perfect and all knowing… it makes me want to go into the story and hit him. LOL. Characters in m/m romance sometimes seem to just be carbon copies of each other, so individuality is always a good thing too. Making a character unique and different is a must and I always believe it makes a character (and the story) more interesting.

How do you keep disciplined in your writing?

Schedule. Schedule, schedule, schedule. I have to plan the times for my writing around family obligations and my “day job” so I know when I finally sit down and write I have to get it done. I also write one chapter at a time, that way I don’t feel let down if I only get one chapter done in a week.

What are you working on at the moment, and what are we likely to see from you in the coming months?

At the moment I’m working on book 3 of my Outside the City series, and working on the outline for the sequel to my Love’s Crash Landing story. I’m hoping to by finished with my current WIP by the end of April and submit it for publishing, and then get to work on the sequel. After that I’ve got to work on book 2 of The Brotherhood, my newest series.

All the while I’m working on my weekly blog story, and once everything on my list is done, I’ll get started on book 4 of Outside the City. Maybe I’ll take a vacation around Christmas, that way I’m ready to start all over again next year. LOL

As for what’s coming soon, I’ve got book 2 of my Outside the City series due out on March 24^th! I’m so excited and for anyone who read the first book, You’ll all be excited to hear that this book is Owen and Maltok’s story. It’s now available for pre-order from Silver Publishing at https://spsilverpublishing.com/product_book_info/coming-soon-c-2/the-beast-s-promise-ebook-p-777. I’ve also got another book coming out in July, titled Solid as Stone, book 1 of my new series called The Brotherhood.

What are the best and worst things about being a published author?

For me, the best thing about being an author is seeing my books out there, and knowing people are reading them. I love hearing from my readers and when they tell me how much they enjoyed my books/ Well, it makes all the long hours worth it.

And I love it when people ask me what I do for a living, and I can honestly say that I am a published author. It’s such a wonderful feeling.

The worst part is that my books are out there and people are reading them. LOL. It breaks my heart when someone gives my books a bad review just because they may not like something my character does or says. I’ve learned to grow a very thick skin in such cases, but still it hurts.

And because I really want to know – what is this about a psychotic cat? :-)

LOL! Her name is Pistol and she runs my life with an iron fist…. :-)

I adopted her from the local animal shelter when I was eighteen and just moved out of my parent’s home. She’s a wild little thing and demands mommy’s attention at the most inopportune time. She’s been known to lie across the keyboard or even to stare over the top of the screen until I pay attention to her. Pistol likes to play fetch (yes, my cat plays fetch) and she’s been known to beat up on family members dogs just to prove she can.

I love her to pieces and she inspires many of my characters; Tom from Let’s Get Familiar, Peanut from Meant to be, and Pixie from my latest work Whispered Secrets, Hidden Eyes.

Please tell us about your latest book.

My latest release is titled Love’s Crash Landing and is available from Silver Publishing!

The story is about an alien prince, who crash lands on earth while on a mission for his dying planet. He is rescued by an ex-Marine turned farmer, the two fall in love while trying to stay under the radar of the government hunting them. There is also a fun twist in the story, and one I know many of the readers who read it have enjoyed so far. *winks*

Blurb:

What's a simple farmer to do when an alien crash-lands in his cornfield? Try to keep the little guy safe from the government, all while trying not to fall in love with his guest while he's at it. It may not be as easy as he originally thought.

Gavin Howard lives a simple life on his farm, keeping to himself and staying under the radar. That is all changed late one night when a spaceship crash-lands in his cornfield. So what is a simple farmer to do when he finds an injured alien lying in his back yard? Take it inside and care for it until it can "phone home," of course.

But Prince Mi'Kel Ta'Rulen is not what Gavin expected. Beautiful, gentle, and on a mission to save his dying planet, Mi'Kel needs Gavin's help for more than just his injuries. Can Gavin help Mi'Kel find the solution to save his people all while keeping the little alien safe from the Earth governments hunting him?

Gavin finds himself falling in love with the being from outer space, but can he find it in his heart to let the little alien go when Mi'Kel's ship is finally fixed? Or will Mi'Kel's secrets drive them apart when the alien needs his farmer the most?

Excerpt:

Gavin Howard jumped out of bed the moment he heard the sound of the crash.

He'd been sleeping soundly, exhausted after a day of planting crops in the field behind his small farmhouse, when a loud boom shook the house down to its foundation and a blinding flash of light lit up the entire room.

Jerked from a pleasant dream involving two male belly dancers and a lot of whipped cream, Gavin opened his eyes as his befuddled brain struggled to catch up. Glancing at the clock, Gavin groaned when he saw the glowing red numbers read 2:17am. Lights shone from his backyard, just visible through his bedroom bay window. The red and orange flickering moved hypnotically and beautifully. It took a long moment before he realized what he saw.

Was that--? Holy shit, my backyard is on fire!

Before he even realized he had moved, Gavin jumped out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans over his half-hard cock, not bothering to do up the buttons completely. He grabbed his shotgun and charged down the stairs like a herd of buffalo were after him.

Before he even reached the kitchen and back door that lead outside, Gavin heard his old Blue Heeler, Bo, going wild, barking like a demon-possessed hound. The dog threw itself at the screen door again and again, blocking him from getting to the backyard and only quieting his howls to whimpering and whining when he spotted his beloved owner rushing into the room.

Gavin grabbed a flashlight from below the sink, patting Bo's head as he went by.

"S'okay boy, I got it." He opened the door, then turned back to push Bo back into the house when the mutt tried to slip between his legs. "Stay, Bo. Stay!" he commanded, not wanting to put his dog in danger until the backyard was safe. He shut the door, taking a deep breath to ready himself to face whatever had disturbed his sleep so violently.

Gavin turned, prepared to face the issue at hand.

And promptly dropped the flashlight he held.

"No way..." he muttered, staring in disbelief at the scene before him. He couldn't reconcile what he saw with what his brain knew had to be possible. He looked around. Nope, no cameras or microphones anywhere to be seen. Bo still whined from inside the house. Gavin gave himself a little pinch on the leg with his one free hand and hissed at the sharp, bright pain blossoming on his leg. Well, he wasn't dreaming, which meant what he was seeing had to be real.

The scene before him seemed impossible, unbelievable.

Gavin just stood there, stunned, gun hanging from limp hands, mouth hanging open.

What the hell is going on?

No way could there be a crashed spaceship sitting in the center of his cornfield.

Pulling together his now-tattered courage, Gavin reached down to pick up the fallen flashlight, and then carefully started to approach the smoking wreckage, gun ready to shoot at the smallest sign of movement. Times like this, he was glad his military training gave him enough experience to keep himself safe as he approached a possible danger zone. His eyes were trained on the sky, for what, he didn't know--more ships maybe?

Because as much as he wanted to deny what he was seeing, there was no doubt about it; he was definitely looking at a large silver spaceship.

The ship didn't seem to be much taller than his tractor but definitely appeared wider; at least twenty feet across in an almost disk shape. The smooth sides shone silver, with an iridescent sheen that probably served as camouflage while the ship flew. He'd seen a weak rendition of just that type of thing years before while he'd been on special assignment in the Marines. Although, what he saw back then didn't even begin to compare to the stunning object before him.

The fallen ship gave off a thrumming feel, vibrating deep in his chest with a low hum, almost like when the next door neighbor played a bass guitar in his garage. Gavin could still remember those days from back when he lived on the base. He knew there was sound coming from the amplifiers, but it was too low for him to actually hear. He could feel the static energy and vibration on his skin, but no sound could be heard.

All of the sudden, Gavin realized that what he was seeing might be real. As a kid, he'd always been a comic book fan and loved the old Star Trek TV show. But never in his life could he have imagined something like this.

Hot damn! He had a real live flying saucer in his backyard.

Buy Link: https://spsilverpublishing.com/product_book_info/glbt-sci-fi-c-53_60/love-s-crash-landing-ebook-p-763

Where can we find you and your books on the web?

You can find me on my website: www.amylealyn.webs.com or on my blog: www.amylealynromance.blogspot.com. I can also be found on Facebook and Goodreads.

My books are available from Silver Publishing, Torquere Press, and Dreamspinner Press.

Silver Shorts - The Hard Way

2012-03-07T00:01:00.006Z

The Hard Way by L.M. Brown

Not so much a male/male story as a gay themed story.

"Hey, fag, where ya going?"

Owen's books fell to the floor and the loose pages of his report scattered across the corridor. "Fuck!"

"No thanks, fag. You're not my type."

Owen bent down to gather up his belongings.

"Look at that, the fag's sticking out his arse for you, Seth."

Owen stumbled to his knees as Bryce shoved him in the back. "Why don't you just fuck off and leave me alone?"

Bryce laughed loudly. "Ah, look at that. The little fag's crying. It looks like he needs a big, brave boyfriend to come rescue him. Are you sure you don't want the job, Seth?"

Owen didn't wait to hear the rest of the taunting. He picked up the last of his things and shot off down the corridor like a scared rabbit.

It was the third night running the nightmare had plagued his sleep. At least this time he was prepared, and he leaned over the edge of the bed to vomit into the plastic basin he'd borrowed from the kitchen.

Once he was sure there was nothing left in his stomach, he grabbed the cloth from the table and wiped his face.

The knock on the door startled him. "Mom says you need to get up or you're going to be late for school." His sister shouted her message through the door before disappearing into the bathroom opposite with a loud slam.

He didn't want to go to school today. He didn't want to go back there ever again. He was a coward and he knew it.

One kiss with his best friend.

One bad decision that he couldn't undo.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. They were supposed to be graduating in just a few weeks' time. How had things gone wrong so fast?

* * * *

"Seth, I've got something to tell you."

Seth looked up from his text book. "What's up?"

Owen continued to stare at the computer his parents had bought him for Christmas, nervously picking at the label on the edge of the tower. "I…"

It wasn't like Owen to be so jittery. Even as children, he had always been the more confident of the two of them. Seth was the one who tended to stumble over his own words whenever he had to speak in class. Suddenly, their roles had been reversed.

"What is it?" Seth prompted.

"Oh fuck. This is way harder than I thought it would be."

"What is?"

"This."

"This what?"

Owen stopped tearing at the computer label and ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm gay."

"Huh?"

"Fucking hell, don't make me repeat it. It was hard enough to say it once."

"You're joking right?"

Owen shook his head. "Are you going to be okay with it?"

Seth shrugged. "I guess. Why are you telling me now, though?"

"Because we're supposed to be going to college together, rooming together, and I thought you'd want to know before we got there."

"Okay."

Owen turned back to his computer and Seth returned to his text book. They worked away quietly for another hour until Seth yawned and declared it time to head home before his parents sent out a search party.

Owen stood up to walk him to the door. Seth was juggling his books when Owen leaned in and brushed his lips against those of his best friend.

The contact barely lasted more than a couple of seconds. Seth pushed him away roughly. "What the fuck?"

"I…"

"I guess it's true what they say about fags. They throw themselves at every guy they meet."

"Seth, no! It's not like that."

"Then what is it like? You just fucking kissed me."

"I didn't think. I'm sorry."

"Just stay the fuck away from me."

"You won't tell anyone, will you?"

"I think I should. After all, what if you decide to grope other blokes round the school? The least I can do is warn them about you."

"Seth, you can't!"

Only Seth had. He'd told all their friends and the news had spread through the school like wildfire. The students had turned on Owen like a pack of rabid animals, taunting him continuously for weeks. And Seth, Owen's best friend, had not only stood by and let them, he'd joined in and encouraged them.

"Honey, you're going to be late for school." His mother poked her head round his door and spied the basin immediately. "Again? Oh dear. Maybe you should stay home today."

"I can't. I need to go and get it over with."

"If you're sure?"

Nodding slowly, he forced himself to stand up without falling down and got himself ready to face the rest of the school.

* * * *

No one spoke to him as he walked down the corridors. Instead, everyone seemed to be whispering and pointing at him. He felt like a pariah. It was no more than he deserved.

His friends had deserted him, perhaps unwilling to be tainted by association. He supposed it should have been expected. It wasn't like he was particularly close to any of them. He had only really had one true friend throughout his time at school. Now he had none.

He grabbed his books from his locker and entered the classroom at the last second. He slipped into his seat with his head down, unwilling to meet the eyes of his classmates.

He spoke only to answer when his name was called, wishing the day was already over. Except it was only just starting and the worst was yet to come.

The entire student body filed into the auditorium immediately after the register had been taken. First period had been cancelled for the day. He would rather have been in class.

The principal stood at the podium and waited for everyone to settle down so he could tell them why they were there. As if the entire school didn't already know.

His mind wandered as the principal droned on.

* * * *

"Seth, can you come down here please?"

"I'm in the middle of something at the moment," he called back downstairs.

"Now, Seth!"

Seth sighed and quickly typed a 'be right back' message to the online buddy he was chatting with. From the tone of his mother's voice, it sounded like he was in trouble for something. He sluggishly made his way to the den.

"Seth, come sit down."

Seth frowned when he saw his mother's tear-stained face. "What is it? What's happened?"

"It's Owen."

Seth stood up and headed back towards the door. "I told you last week, we're not speaking at the moment. I know you see him like a second son, but I'm not going 'round there."

"Seth, please sit down."

"Mom, friends drift apart all the time. I'm going off to college soon and I'll make new friends there. Owen has his own life to live. He wants different things than me. It's for the best."

"Oh, Seth." His mother sobbed into her handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes. "Owen's dead."

Seth was sure he had misheard. "What?"

"Owen's father just called. He knew you'd want to know. You were like brothers."

Seth shook his head. "He can't be dead. I just saw him in school a few hours ago."

"I'm sorry, Seth. There's no mistake."

Seth slumped down into the chair. "What happened? Was it a car accident or something?"

"I'm sorry." Seth watched his mother break down into even more hysterical sobs than before. He could barely make out a word she was saying. Or maybe he just didn't want to hear the word that told him everything he needed to know.

Suicide.

* * * *

"…this tragic loss of a promising student, one who had his whole life ahead of him."

"Shut up!" Seth shot to his feet as he shouted at the principal, who was looking back at him as though he couldn't believe someone had dared to interrupt his speech.

"Do you have something to say, Mr Gardiner?" the principal asked.

Everyone in the school was staring at him. Seth, who never spoke out in class unless he was forced to, had the undivided focus of everyone in the school.

"Yes, I do," Seth finally replied. He squeezed his way past the other students and walked up to the podium. The principal looked unsure, but he stepped aside to give him the floor. Seth looked out over the crowd of students and teachers, unable to focus on any single person and instead concentrated on the small scratches on the podium itself. Finally, he gathered himself together to say what he had to.

"Some of you will already know that Owen was my best friend for most of our lives. He was the confident one, the one with the balls to go for what he wanted. I only ever saw him nervous once, and that was the evening he came out to me."

Seth could hear the whispering of the students as well as the teachers behind him. He cast a glare over his shoulder. Everyone already knew what had happened and why. There was no point in hiding the truth when it was already out in the open.

"I didn't lose Owen last Friday night. I lost him weeks ago. My only friend is dead and gone and I'm all alone here, trying to figure out what went wrong. Only, I know what went wrong. I'm a coward. I was afraid of what would happen if everyone knew I was friends with someone who was gay. I was scared they'd think I was gay too. So when Owen kissed, me I freaked out. Then I told everyone what had happened and helped to make Owen's life a misery. It's my fault he's dead, and nothing I can ever say or do will ever change that."

Seth glanced up at the students and saw some of his other so-called friends, not one of whom had bothered to call him over the weekend after the news had broken. None of them appeared particularly bothered about Owen's death. Bryce was whispering and snickering with Ivan on the end of the row. Why had he ever cared what their opinion was? Who were they to him? They weren't his friends, not really. Only Owen had really known him. He had known him better than anyone else. Seth knew that no one would ever know him like Owen did.

"Owen killed himself because of the way I treated him after he came out to me. I hope that, somewhere, he knows how sorry I am for what I said and did over the last few weeks. I know most of you won't care about my guilt and will think it's no more than I deserve, and you'd be right. I'm the one who'll have to live with this for the rest of my life and let me tell you, it's absolute hell."

Seth looked over towards his classmates, catching the eye of each of them in turn. "I wouldn't wish this particular hell on anyone, so I'm going to ask you all to do what I didn't, and take the time to think about what you're saying when you call someone a fag or a queer. When I look back on how I treated Owen, I'm ashamed of myself. He didn't deserve to be treated like that, and I sure as hell didn't deserve a great friend like him."

With that parting shot at Bryce and his buddies, Seth stepped away from the podium and walked off the stage, out the side door, and into the fresh air.

The Following Fall

"Hi, I'm Mitch, are you Seth?"

Seth looked up from where he was unpacking his clothes and cramming them into the set of drawers that had certainly seen better days. "Yeah. Are you my roommate?"

Mitch tossed his bags onto the second single bed. "Yes, unless you kick me out and demand a new roommate like the dick I was supposed to be rooming with did."

"Why did he do that?"

"I told him I was gay. Are you going to have a problem with that?"

Seth shook his head. "No, no problem at all."

Mitch, faking confidence just a moment before, looked visibly relieved at his response. Seth smiled and glanced at the photograph of himself and Owen taken during the summer of the previous year. Mitch followed his gaze. "Oh, are you gay too? Is that your boyfriend?"

Seth picked up the picture and lovingly traced the frame. "No, to both questions. I'm just a guy who learned to accept others the hard way."

"It sounds like there's a story behind that."

"Yeah, but not today. Today is a day for looking towards the future, not dwelling on the past."

The End

My apologies to those who were expecting a sweet or sexy romance here. But the prompt took me in a different direction. The story isn't one that's sweetness and light, it is (hopefully) one that is more reality based. Because in the real world not everything turns out right in the end and not everyone gets the happy ending they deserve.

For the full weekly package of Silver Shorts (five stories in total this week) please click here to visit the Silver Publishing site where you can download your free copy.

Who's Running the Show?

2012-03-05T08:00:00.006Z

Today I am blogging with Nicole Morgan where I am talking about pushy characters. I am sure any writers out there will know which ones I am talking about. Those which take over the story and lead you in directions you didn't intend to go.

Check out what I have to say on the subject and tell me about your own stubborn characters at Nicole Morgan's blog.

Are your characters adventurous in the bedroom?

2012-03-04T00:05:00.007Z

I am blogging over at Erotic Diaries where I am talking about how my characters are not exactly adventurous the bedroom, because they rarely seem to make it there.

For those who have come here via FB, sorry for the virtual pitstop on the way to Erotic Diaries, but FB apparently hates preview pics from Erotic Diaries or anywhere it seems that isn't blogger.

And don't forget to check out my Six Sentence Sunday post which is just below this one, before you leave.

Six Sentence Sunday

2012-03-04T00:01:00.007Z

Heavenly Sins Book 1

Between Heaven & Hell by L.M. Brown

A male/male/male paranormal contemporary romance

Available now from Silver Publishing

His hands clenched into fists, the silk sheets bunching between his fingers as his breath quickened.

Normally, when someone gave him head, he felt an overwhelming desire to thrust into the willing mouth with wild abandon. Instead, he now found himself sitting almost motionless and letting Tristan set the leisurely pace as he slowly paid homage to his pulsating cock.

Alastor took one of Tristan's wandering hands in his own and held him as tightly as he had previously held the sheets. "Don't stop," he hissed as Tristan took the head into his mouth and began to suck in earnest. "Please, don't stop."

For more six sentences please click the banner below

Between Heaven & Hell Release Day!

2012-03-03T10:30:00.025Z

Spring is in the air (I refuse to believe those forecasts of snow) and it is a time for all things new and fresh. Hopefully you'll find my new release an original fresh story and enjoy Tristan's journey with angel Machidiel and demon Alastor.

Yes, that means today is release day. I've been harping on about it for months now, but the day has finally arrived for my very first novel (as opposed to short story/novella) to be published.

I would also like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has taken the time and trouble to pre-order the ebook. I am truly touched by all those who have taken an interest in the story and have enough faith to purchase it in advance.

Angel Machidiel and demon Alastor have been denying the attraction they feel for each other for centuries because relationships between angels and demons are forbidden.

Things change forever when they both fall for the same mortal man and begin a relationship with him. Together with Tristan, the ménage they form is filled with jealousy and insecurities, passion and love.

Only time will tell if the relationship they have forged together is made in Heaven or Hell.

If the blurb has sparked your interest then here is the link to purchase directly from Silver Publishing. And don't forget, you can purchase Kindle and Nook editions directly from Silver Publishing.

What makes a book memorable?

2012-02-26T20:38:00.002Z

Today I am blogging with RC Bonitz and talking about what makes a book unforgettable.

Do stop by and share your own favourites and why they are so.

Link

(For the organisers of Six Sentence Sunday: My post is just below this one - please don't remove my link from the site as it is not right at the top where it usually is.)

Six Sentence Sunday

2012-02-26T00:01:00.001Z

Less than one week until Between Heaven & Hell is released (providing it isn't put back), so here is another little teaser from the start of the story.

Lawrence whispered the devil's movements in his ear. "He's watching us. We're turning him on. He's watching me grinding my cock into your arse and wishing it was his."

Tristan moved back against Lawrence as the other man's fingers slowly rubbed their way closer to his groin. He guessed that within five minutes the devil would be approaching him, just as they had planned.

Available for pre-order from Silver Publishing.

For more six sentences click on the banner below.

Guest Blogger - Ariel Tachna

2012-02-24T18:46:00.001Z

I get the occasional odd look when people realize I write gay fiction. Married woman in her early forties with two kids, no gay siblings or cousins or aunts or uncles or anyone in my immediate family as far as I'm aware. (There is a second cousin once removed, but I've never actually met him, just heard about him.) So what in the world am I doing writing gay fiction?

There's a couple of answers to that question, both lighthearted and serious. I like men. More men is better. That's the lighthearted part, but it's also true. I like the idea. It appeals to me. Does that make me a pervert? I suppose that depends on who you ask.

But it doesn't stop there. If it did, I'd just subscribe to gay porn sites and read the amazing books written by other writers in this genre. It's also, to me, a quiet form of social activism.

When I attended my first Cincinnati Pride Festival four years ago and ran a booth for Dreamspinner, the reaction I got from the men there left me reeling. Men of every age, size, race, and degree of flamboyant stopped at our table, picked up our books, and said, "These are about men like me?" I said yes because even if the specific book didn't mirror the specific man, the men weren't asking to that degree of specificity. "Books with happy endings?" "Well, most of them," I replied. "I didn't know there was such a thing!" Some of them bought books, some of them took cards, many of them hugged us, and all of them, every last one, thanked us for caring enough about them and their situation to write books about them as they were, living their normal lives, and looking for love.

This has played out numerous other times since then, at other events, in large groups and small.

But our audience isn't, and shouldn't be, just gay men. Our audience is wider than that. There's a funny story from the first year Dreamspinner had a booth at Book Expo America. We were giving out gift bags of books to pretty much anyone who came by. A woman probably in her sixties came to the booth and congratulated us for what we were doing, even though she wasn't sure she wanted to read the books herself. We convinced her to take a copy of Curious, since the whole point of that anthology was to provide an introduction to gay romance to women unfamiliar with the genre. She took the book finally. The next day she came back to the booth. "I read that book you gave me last night. It was really good. Do you have anything a little... spicier?" We sent her home with the full gift bag.

That woman may not be a regular Dreamspinner customer now. I have no way of knowing that. But I know she looks at gay couples with a more open mind for having read and enjoyed our books. How can she not? How can she read Checkmate or Tigers and Devils or any of the other eight titles that were given away that year and not look at them differently? Yes, our books, my books as an author, feature gay men, but the stories are bigger than that. They're about love. Period.

Alliance in Blood is being translated into French, to my utter delight, and the translator has corresponded with me several times since he started. The consistent theme of his e-mails has been how the love between the characters happens to be between two men, but the relationship they're building is universal. And isn't that what it's all about? Showing our characters, our men, as the guys next door or down the street or across town who want nothing more than to be able to love one another freely and without fear?

Maybe, just maybe, I'm doing a small part to contribute to the day when that will be reality, not a dream. If one person walks away from my body of work with a more open mind than when they arrived, I will have left a mark in the world that's worth being proud of.

Bio:

Ariel Tachna lives outside of Houston with her husband, her daughter and son, and their cat. Before moving there, she traveled all over the world, having fallen in love with both France, where she found her husband, and India, where she dreams of retiring some day. She’s bilingual with snippets of four other languages to her credit and is as in love with languages as she is with writing.

Visit Ariel's web site at http://www.arieltachna.com/ and her blog at http://arieltachna.livejournal.com/ or e-mail her at arieltachna@gmail.com.

Blurb:

Caine Neiheisel is stuck in a dead-end job at the end of a dead-end relationship when the chance of a lifetime falls in his lap. His mother inherits her uncle’s sheep station in New South Wales, Australia, and Caine sees it as the opportunity to start over, out on the range where his stutter won’t hold him back and his willingness to work will surely make up for his lack of knowledge.

Unfortunately, Macklin Armstrong, the foreman of Lang Downs who should be Caine’s biggest ally, alternates between being cool and downright dismissive, and the other hands are more amused by Caine’s American accent than they are moved by his plight… until they find out he’s gay and their amusement turns to scorn. It will take all of Caine’s determination—and an act of cruel sabotage by a hostile neighbor—to bring the men of Lang Downs together and give Caine and Macklin a chance at love.

Buy link

Excerpt:

It seemed like they’d just eaten lunch, but when they took a table in the Marsden Café there in the hotel, the delicious smell of dinner brought Caine’s appetite back full force. They ordered, Macklin getting a beer, so Caine did the same, then sat back to wait for their meals to arrive.

“Tell me more about my uncle,” Caine asked into the silence between them. “I knew him from letters, and everything I read fascinated me, but I never met him.”

“Michael Lang was one of a kind,” Macklin said with such a fond smile that Caine’s worries fell away for the moment. Whatever Macklin might think of Caine, that didn’t carry over to Caine’s uncle. “I was a kid when I showed up on Lang Downs, hungry and dirty and desperate for work of any kind. I figured he’d toss me off the station like everyone else had done, but he didn’t. He had the cook feed me dinner and then asked me where I was from. I gave him some made-up bit of nonsense about not being from anywhere. He raised one eyebrow at me, told me if I’d tell him the truth, I could stay, and then waited me out. That was twenty-five years ago.”

“So what was the truth?” Caine asked impulsively.

“If I tell you, I can stay?” Macklin retorted mockingly.

“I d-d-didn’t mean it that way,” Caine said. “I’m s-sorry. It’s n-none of my b-business.”

“No, it’s not,” Macklin said, his face as hard as Caine had seen it since they met, making him wonder what nerve he had hit by mistake. He resigned himself to another confrontation. “I’ve proven myself as Lang Downs’s foreman, so you can either accept that or fire me and hope you find someone else with a fraction of my experience who won’t rob you blind.”

“I t-told you already I n-need your help,” Caine reminded him. “I don’t know how else to p-prove it to you. You have a p-place at Lang Downs as l-long as you want it.”

“I’m sorry,” Macklin said again, scrubbing at his sun-darkened cheeks with his hands. “It’s been a rough few months, not knowing what was going on with the station and then hearing it went to a relative so far away…. Everyone was worried about what would happen, and you not knowing anything about sheep doesn’t help. You could make any decisions you want, and we’d have no choice but to go along, even if they were bad ones.”

“I get that,” Caine said. He wanted to reach for Macklin’s hand, to somehow impress his sincerity upon the older man, but he doubted that would be well-received. “I really do, but you have to give me a chance to prove that isn’t my intention. If you toss my inexperience in my face every time I ask a question, how am I going to learn? If every question is met with the surety that I’m going to change something or make some bad decision, how will we ever find if there are ways we could be doing even better? I’m not saying I have any answers, because I don’t, but I want to learn, and when I do, I might have something to add eventually. I want us to be a team, once I get to the point I can pull my own weight.” I want to get to the point that “pup” doesn’t fit me anymore.

“You can ask any questions about the station you want,” Macklin said. “You’ve the right to do that, I suppose, but that doesn’t carry over to people’s personal lives. Those are still personal and that trust doesn’t come just because you’re the new owner’s son.”

“Uncle Michael always wrote about working on the station,” Caine said, choosing to change the subject back to the one topic they seemed to be able to discuss without arguing, “but he was my mother’s uncle, which means he would have been nearly ninety when he died. Did he still work with everyone?”

“Not as much the last few years,” Macklin said, “and he complained about every minute he couldn’t be out in the paddock. He hated paperwork, although he’d never let anyone else do it either until he couldn’t write clearly anymore. He said working with the animals and the jackaroos kept him young.”

“If he was still working the station in his eighties, I’d say he was right,” Caine replied. “It’s such a different life here from what I’m used to. Not just the sizes or the seasons. Intellectually I knew to expect those. It’s the independence, I guess. All of my parents’ friends are retired, and they’re twenty years younger than Uncle Michael. They may still be active, but not like he was. And the idea of living out on a station, four or five hours drive from the nearest town, with power that could go out in a storm and everything else you’ve described to me… it just doesn’t even connect to my experiences.”

“Don’t take this wrong, but if that’s the case, why are you here?” Macklin asked.

“Because my life in Philadelphia was going nowhere,” Caine admitted. Macklin might not want to talk about his past, and Caine would respect that, but maybe if he shared some of his own story, Macklin would come to see how serious he was about his commitment to Lang Downs. “You’ve heard me talk. When I get nervous, I stutter. I’ve been passed over for promotions at least once a year since I took the job straight out of college.”

“Why didn’t you go to a different company?” Macklin asked. “Or do something that didn’t require you to talk a lot?”

“I was good in school, except for the speaking stuff,” Caine explained. “Everyone assured me I’d outgrow the stutter or learn to cope with it or that it wouldn’t be a problem. I believed them, and with the speech plan I had, I graduated near the top of my class and got a decent scholarship. College was a little harder since there was no speech plan at that level, but the professors were mostly willing to work with me. It never occurred to me I’d have a problem having a career, so I never learned a trade I could do instead. It’s hard to get a job in construction if you don’t know one end of a hammer from the other.”

“I can see that being a problem,” Macklin said, failing to hide his amusement completely. Caine didn’t take offense. It was humorous unless you were the one living with the situation.

“The job I had paid the bills,” Caine said. “It wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t going anywhere. I wasn’t ever going to get a raise or move up to a better standard of living. I had my own place, but I had to have a housemate to afford it, and since my housemate moved out a week before I found out about Uncle Michael, it just all seemed like a sign, a chance to learn something different, do something different, and maybe get out of the rut my life had become.”

“No Sheila to keep you there?” Macklin asked. “A nice-looking guy like you, surely you had a girlfriend.”

Caine laughed so hard he nearly choked on his beer. “No girlfriends,” he said with a shake of his head. “A boyfriend, but he’s the one who moved out. I’m apparently as bad in bed as I am in interviews.”

An odd look crossed Macklin’s face, too fleeting for Caine to pin down what it might have meant, but then he smiled. “Maybe that was the boyfriend’s fault, not yours.”

Caine rolled his eyes. “I appreciate the support, but I’m not getting my hopes up. So there you have it. My life in a nutshell. I sold my condo in Philadelphia and most of my furniture. My parents are keeping a few family pieces, but pretty much everything I own is sitting in that hotel room upstairs right now or in a box on the way here by mail. I don’t know how else to convince you that I’m committed to this path, but there’s no going back because there’s nothing to go back to.”

“Bloody hell, pup,” Macklin said with a shake of his head. “You don’t do things halfway, do you?”

“There wouldn’t be much point in that, would there?” Caine retorted, but he relaxed under the approving tone of Macklin’s voice. “Uncle Michael never talked about life in England in his letters, but I remember my grandmother talking about things and what they were like between the wars and then after World War II. My grandmother had it easy in a way because she married my granddad and moved to the US that way. She had him to rely on for shelter, food, and all. Uncle Michael didn’t have any of that. He sold everything and took the ship to Australia, hoping it would lead to a better life. It did for him. I thought maybe taking a page from his book would be good for me too.”

“I hope you’re right,” Macklin said. “I really do.”

The fact that the entire station would suffer if it turned out to be the wrong choice was understood, but Caine appreciated Macklin’s tact in not saying it aloud.

CONTEST

To be in with a chance to win a copy of Inherit the Sky just leave a comment to be entered into Ariel's draw.

Character Interview

2012-02-22T18:08:00.000Z

Being even more scatterbrained than usual, I totally forgot to schedule a blog post to let everyone know about the character interview which went live this morning.

In my defence, my Evil Day Job has been kicking my arse this week good and proper and I am right in the middle of final edits on the release these characters are from, but that isn't much of an excuse really when blogspot has that handy scheduling feature.

Anyway, since I am in the middle of edits and should be getting back to them asap, here is the link to Starla Kaye's blog where you can get to meet Tristan, Machidiel and Alastor (my human/angel/demon boys) in a character interview.

Available for pre-order from Silver Publishing

Release date (hopefully) 3rd March 2012

Silver Shorts - Certain Extras

2012-02-22T00:01:00.002Z

Certain Extras by L.M. Brown

A male/male short story

Patrick hovered outside of Cathy's Ice Cream Parlour, eyeing up his crush through the window. Even though the weather was freezing, the place was packed. He stood on the tips of his toes to spot Wade through the throng. Ah, there he was. With blond hair, blue eyes and a smile that could sell toothpaste to the toothless, Patrick had been drooling over him at every opportunity for nearly a month.

The bell above the door jingled and Patrick stepped out of the way of a gaggle of giggling girls.

"I can't believe you asked him out," the first girl said. "I'd never dare."

"I can't believe he's gay," a second girl replied. "What a waste!"

Patrick's ears pricked up at the conversation. They weren't necessarily talking about the object of his affection. They were probably gossiping about someone else. There were plenty of other blokes in the Parlour they could be talking about. It might even be someone else entirely.
The girls passed out of earshot, and Patrick turned back to the window. Although the place was still busy and crowded, the queue had thinned out and Wade was without a customer needing his attention.

Patrick toyed with the idea of going inside and striking up a conversation, hopefully one that consisted of a little more than ordering an ice cream and confirming whether or not he wanted sprinkles on it. There was just one problem; he was sick to death of ice cream. The thought of having his fourth for the week, and it was only Thursday, just turned his stomach.

The bell over the door rang again as a couple holding hands went inside.

Patrick couldn't stand outside all day. He had to either get in there and make a move before the place closed or go home and do something more productive.

Resolving to find something on the menu that wasn't ice cream, Patrick pushed open the door and walked up to the counter. The couple in front of him took their Banana Splits and found a table, leaving him the next in line.

"Hi. What can I get you?"

"Er, what do you have that doesn't include ice cream?"

Wade blinked as though he hadn't heard him correctly. Then he grinned widely. "You do remember this is an Ice Cream Parlour, right?"

Patrick's face heated up. "Yeah, I just fancied something different for a change. You can only eat so much ice cream in a week."

"Yeah, and this is, what, your third visit this week?"

Patrick ducked his head as he mumbled his reply. "Fourth. You weren't working on Tuesday." He couldn't believe he'd said that out loud. Wade would think he was some sort of stalker. Only, Wade didn't seem to mind his idiotic comment. He was laughing quietly.

Wade leaned across the counter and lowered his voice to a whisper. "How about a donut?"

Patrick looked up at the menu board on the wall behind the counter. "I don't see them up there. Do you sell them?"

"Not exactly, but I've got some out back if you want one. On the house."

Patrick nodded. "Okay, a donut and a coffee please."

Wade served him, charging him only for the coffee, and Patrick went to one of the vacant tables to eat his treat.

The minutes until closing time ticked away and the other customers gradually filtered out into the chilly evening air. He should be going too, but he'd come this far, surely he could pluck up the courage to take the next step?

At five minutes to closing time, Patrick was the only customer left. The donut had gone and what was left of the coffee was lukewarm at best.

"Was it good?"

Patrick looked up as Wade sat down opposite him and pointed to the empty plate. "Delicious, thanks."

"Glad it didn't go to waste. You can only get them in a pack of six and by the time you've eaten half of them, the rest are stale. One of the hazards of living alone."

"You mean it was one of your own?"

"Well, yeah. That's why I couldn't charge you for it. It was just out of my shopping bag. They are one of my guilty pleasures."

"One of?"

Wade licked his upper lip. "Donuts and ice cream, though not together."

"I guess it must be hazardous working here, then."

"Just a bit. They say if you work in a sweet shop, you lose the taste for candy. I thought working here might have a similar result. It didn't."

Patrick laughed along with Wade, and when Wade went to lock the front door, he didn't give any indication he wanted Patrick to leave.

"You want to go get something to eat?" Wade asked. "I've got to clear up and switch everything off, but it won't take me long."

Patrick nodded. "That'd be great. I'll help you finish up here if you like."

"You don't have to do that."

"I know, but the sooner you finish up here, the sooner our date can start, right?" Patrick held his breath as he waited for Wade to contradict him, to tell him it wasn't a date, and that Patrick had misunderstood his intention. The denial never came.

Between the two of them, they cleaned the tables in no time and then made a start on the washing up in kitchen at the back. As they worked through the stack of pots they chatted easily.

"What?" Wade tossed his dish cloth into the sink and turned to Patrick. "You don't even like ice cream?"

Patrick shifted uneasily. "Not really."

"How is that even possible?"

"I don't know. I just don't particularly like the stuff."

"You must have been eating the wrong sort," Wade teased. "Have you ever ordered anything here apart from the plain old three scoops of vanilla with sprinkles?"

"No."

Wade stepped away from the sink and grabbed a towel. He dried his hands as he went across the room to the freezer. "Let me see…"

"Isn't that stealing?" Patrick asked as Wade grabbed a spoon and a container of ice cream.

"The boss lets the staff help themselves as long as we don't take the piss and clear her out."

"You think force-feeding me ice cream will make me like it?"

"It's just a little taste test to see if we can find your flavour. Raspberry ripple? Nah. Double chocolate chip. Nope. How about mint chocolate chip?" Wade crooked his finger.

Patrick shook his head, put down the towel, and went to join Wade at the freezer. "Okay, let's try it."

"You could try to sound a little more enthusiastic. I bet if it was smothered over a guy's chest you'd lap it up in under a minute, no matter what the flavour."

Patrick's jaw dropped as the image of licking ice cream from Wade's chest flashed through his mind.

"Ah, I see you like that idea."

"Oh yeah."

Wade laughed. "I wouldn't normally suggest this on a first date, especially when we've not made it to the date part yet, but are you up for a little fun?"

Patrick's mouth was watering—over bloody ice cream!—as he nodded mutely.

Wade put down the ice cream and spoon while he took off his apron and shirt, tossing them onto the table. He then hopped onto a high stool and picked up the ice cream and spoon again. "I think this is going to get messy."

"It looks too frozen to melt."

"Are you saying I'm not hot enough?" Wade teased.

"No… I…" Patrick watched as Wade scooped a spoonful of ice cream out of the tub and rubbed it down the centre of his chest, leaving a thin green line of quickly melting ice cream.

"Would you like some ice cream?" Wade asked.

Patrick watched the ice cream dribble down the smooth, pale chest. Suddenly, he was craving ice cream like he never had before. The melting treat was heading towards the waistband of Wade's trousers. Leaning forward, his gaze flickered between the ice cream and Wade's gaze. Wade nodded once and Patrick ducked down to lick up the minty ice cream. His tongue traced its way up Wade's chest, gathering up every drop.

When it was all cleaned up, Patrick stood back and licked his lips.

"We're not done yet," Wade said as he scooped up a second spoon and brought it to his left nipple, smearing it all over the brown nub.

This time, Patrick didn't hesitate. He licked at the ice cream, his tongue flicking at the hardening nipple until it was completely clean, hard and pointed. The temptation was too much for him, and he bit it lightly.

"Oh fuck!" Wade gasped and dropped the spoon and tub to the floor. "This was a bad idea."

Patrick jumped back. "I'm sorry. I got carried away."

Wade shook his head and pulled him back roughly. "You just carry on with what you were doing. The bad idea was not waiting until I could get you home."

"Oh."

Wade didn't let him say anything else. He pulled him into a hard kiss that sent Patrick's heart racing and his cock rising.

When the kiss ended, he staggered back against the table.

"Can I tempt you with some more ice cream?" Wade asked as he gestured to his lap. Patrick could see the hard line of his erection and, just as Wade intended, he pictured himself lapping up ice cream from the other man's cock.

"Oh yeah," Patrick replied as he bent down to pick up the tub and spoon once more.

Wade gave him a mock innocent look. "I thought you didn't like ice cream?"

"I think I'm acquiring a taste for it when it comes with certain extras."

"And what extras would those be? Sprinkles? Syrup?"

Patrick shook his head. "You."

The End

For the full weekly package of Silver Shorts (nine stories in total this week) please click here to visit the Silver Publishing site where you can download your free copy.

Six Sentence Sunday

2012-02-19T00:01:00.004Z

I have another free read at Silver Publishing this week and here are six sentences from it to tease you.

Patrick watched the ice cream dribble down the smooth, pale chest. Suddenly he was craving ice cream like he never had before. The melting ice cream was heading towards the waistband of Wade’s trousers. Leaning forward, his gaze flickered between the ice cream and Wade’s gaze. Wade nodded once and Patrick ducked down to lick up the minty ice cream. His tongue traced its way up Wade’s chest, gathering up every drop.

The full story, Certain Extras will be available here on my blog on Wednesday and is available for pre-order at Silver Publishing in a package with all the other free flash fiction stories for the week.

For more six sentences, please click the banner below.

Guest Blogger - Nephylim

2012-02-17T00:01:00.002Z

My Friday guest this week is Nephylim, who is not only a writer, but also a talented artist.

First of all, would you like to introduce yourself to anyone lurking here?

Hmmm… how to introduce myself in a way that makes me sound interesting? I’m a vampire and the lover of fallen angels. How about that to get the attention?

In fact, I am a 47 year old mother of two kids and to cats, living in the Welsh mining valleys. I work as a solicitor part time, but don’t consider myself to be a lawyer. I’m a writer and artist.

I have a love for all things gothic and my home is designed with a castle theme. From my days in re enacting, I have a number of replica swords and spears. I also have horn drinking horns, leather pouches and bags, woven baskets, wooden chairs, spoons, bowls, etc. My home is a mixture of history and fantasy with 11 year old boy stuff thrown in to spice the mix.

I’m disabled from an accident a number of years ago when I broke my back. I’m not in a wheelchair although that lies in my future. It’s a kind of inspiration, keeping me on my feet and fighting. I have been prevented from driving for the past three years after developing epilepsy but have been stable for a year and can’t wait to get back behind the wheel so I can indulge my other love… travel. I have friends scattered all over the UK and there is little I like better than getting in the car and going on an adventure to visit friends.

I have rarely travelled outside the UK though, not only because I can’t afford it, but because I have a terrible fear of flying. That’s why I do all my flying inside my head.

I have been writing for most of my life. I adore books and my home is full of them. It has always been my dream to have my own book in my hand, and this has now been realised. I can’t believe how lucky I am to have two books out there, one of them actually on my bookshelf. It’s a feeling like no other

How did you get into male/male romances? What do you like about the genre?

First, I don’t think that m/m is a genre. Romance, is a genre and m/m refers only to the characters in the book. For me the sexual orientation of my characters doesn’t define my writing.

How did I get into writing characters who are gay? I can honestly say that I have absolutely no idea. One day I wrote a book that happened to have gay characters, and I liked it. My brother is gay and I spent a long time on the telephone discussing his sex life, and it fascinated me to take my characters through that adventure.

Since I have started writing m/m I have come to realise that there is a terrible hole in the market for young gay people looking for real stories that involve gay characters without having to read highly erotic or deeply romantic stories. My books are therefore (mainly) aimed at young people.

What sets your books apart from other male/male romances?

They’re not just romances. Yes, there are characters who fall in love, and go on adventures of exploration with their hearts and bodies, but the stories are a lot more than that. Everything I write, even when I am trying very hard not to, seems to be dark in one way or another. I think I might describe quite a bit of my work as ‘gritty’ with a fair amount of angst.

Some of them are aimed specifically at the younger audience, with very little sex and a lot of adventure, although others are far more explicit.

I have no fear about the areas into which I forage. I have written characters who are blind, disfigured, disabled, abused – mentally, physically and psychologically, and I will continue to explore, through writing anything and everything that interests me. I constantly strive to be different, to stretch myself, experimenting with different writing styles and formats.

Got a bit carried away there. Not entirely sure I’ve answered the question, or just went off on a mental jaunt.

Is there any genre(s) that you haven’t written yet which you would like to? If so, which genre(s)?

I don’t think there is. I have written vampires, werewolves, fallen angels, adventure, romance, horror, fantasy, sci fi, thriller, mystery… and some that don’t fit very well into any genre.

One thing I haven’t tried is history. I’m kind of lazy with my research and it seems to be too much hard work for me. You never know, though, stranger things have happened.

What do you enjoy most about writing?

Everything. Writing is like breathing for me. It’s the way I relax. I have a lot of pain, every day, but, when I’m writing it goes away for a while. I also have a lot of stress in my life… with work and my kids, making ends meet etc, and, again, when I’m writing it all goes away.

Writing is a passion. I get excited when I write. The story unfolds in my head, often writing itself as I go along. I get caught up in the story and it sweeps me away. I fall in love with my characters and they take over my life for the time I’m writing them. I speak to them, live as them, think of them all the time and it adds colour to my life, even when I’m not actually writing.

I suppose I write for the same reason a lot of people read… escapism.

What are the best and worst things about being a published author?

The best thing is the incredible rush of having my book in my hand, and of looking on a book site and finding my work there.

Actually the whole process, from sending the manuscript to the publisher and seeing the final product has been wildly exciting and one big rush. I’ve had a fabulous time, met wonderful people, and made friends.

The worst thing is the hard work. I thought that when the book was published that would be that. But then the terrifying word… blog, was brought up. I am SUCH a technophobe. The thought of setting up a blog absolutely scared the pants off me. I had no idea what I was doing, but I am now proud of the results.

Then there are the profiles at all sorts of places and the constant updating of them. Bleargh.

It’s fun, though. Really fun. Exciting too.

You are also a talented artist. Would you like to tell us a bit about that and maybe share one or two of your favourite pictures?

I don’t consider myself to be a talented artist, not at all. I paint for love. I can’t pain from memory. I have to have something in front of me, not to copy off, but… well okay, to copy off. I use lots of different pictures, photographs, paintings… all kinds of things, but I can’t put something together in my head, sketch it and then paint it. That’s what I consider to be true art. So I’m not a talented artist, just someone who’s good at copying and interpreting.

My absolute favourite painting is this one.

Closely followed by this

Which is a character in one of my books… Enigma II, a sequel to Enigma I which is already out on ebook

Who are some of your favourite artists?

My absolute favourite it a digital artist called Heise. She is inspired.

Closely followed by my good friend Maria Korte who has a totally unique style that I adore, as well as sharing a passion for my favourite male model, the most beautiful man in the world that she depicts so fabulously.

Last but not least is my amazing cover artist Mika Star who designed the cover for The Unfairness of Life.

What do you hope to achieve eventually when it comes to your artwork?

Absolutely nothing at all.

One of my paintings appears on the cover of Enigma !

And I hope that the rest of the series will also have my original art. Apart from that it’s just for me.

Do you have any other hobbies

A shed load. I don’t do re enactment anymore because of my physical condition although I dabble now and again, for example at Christmas I dressed in an Elizabethan ball gown to teach children how to make decoupage Christmas cards.

I do cross stitch.

I read… not so much as I used to but I still have a few books I keep going back to.

I read tarot cards, mainly for myself, but sometimes for others.

Apart from that I don’t really have time for any hobbies

What are you working on at the moment?

I’m working on two new novels, which should be out later this year.

The first one doesn’t have a title yet, but is about vampires and angels and a were panther… oh it has an unicorn in it too. Even for me, it’s dark, although, being aimed at young people it’s lighter than in might have been.

This one is m/f and a completely different style for me. It means a lot to me for all kinds of reasons, some of which too strange to talk about. It’s been written for a very very long time and it surprised me, when revising it, how much my writing has improved since then, and a basic edit turned into a serious re write.

After that is coming one of my favourite books ever. It’s called The Runaway, and is about an actor/model who runs away from the pressures of fame and meets a young man with no memory and no confidence. The wild boy, who dresses in kimonos and mini skirts is almost too much for the shy and serious young man but, somehow, they grow to understand and love each other.

Please tell us about your latest book.

My latest book is The Unfairness of Life, available at the locations below.

Blurb

Gabriel doesn’t believe in love. With a dark past and a history of disastrous relationships he has promised himself ‘no more’. Then Laurie bursts into his life and just won’t let go. When the past catches up, with terrifying and almost fatal consequences, will their love survive? Will they survive?

Long Description

When Gabriel was thirteen he was taken to a secret government research centre where he underwent horrific experiments and a brain implant attempting to awaken latent psychic abilities. Now, at twenty with a string of disastrous relationships and serious physical and mental problems, the implant is breaking down and he is unknowingly facing a desperate threat to his sanity and his life.

On the run from the government he finds himself falling in love with the tenacious Lurie who just won’t leave him alone; but he struggles with the belief that if he allows himself to love Laurie he will put him at risk.

When the government scientists catch up with him Elena persuades Gabriel to return to the facility so that the implant can be removed to save his life. The operation is successful but, without the dampening effects of the implant, Gabriel’s psychic abilities increase to the extent that any contact with other human beings is unbearable.

Elena takes Laurie and Gabriel to a remote cabin to train him to control his abilities. Laurie continues his attempts to woo Gabriel but Gabriel is convinced that it is only a matter of time before he is taken again and is torn between his feelings for Laurie and his fear for Laurie’s safety should he allow them to develop.

Just as things seem to be settling down the government scientists again track him down and it becomes a race against time to rescue him before he loses either his mind or his life.

Excerpt

When things start coming back they are... strange. I can tell instantly, even before I’m aware of my surroundings, that something’s really not right. For one thing there are voices, and I know they’re not in the room with me.

We’ve located the last one. There was a discharge of energy that should have torn him apart, but it’s been shielding him, so he must still be alive. I didn’t think that any of them would have been capable of that. We still can’t locate him through usual means, but a discharge like that should have killed him so it’s bound to have done some damage. We have been monitoring the hospitals in the area. The shield was very effective in... unusual ways, and we have only just received the intelligence. There’s a car on the way. He must be neutralised, or he will present a danger to us all.

Shit. I expand my awareness, not missing the fact of how easy and effective it is now. I feel Laurie close by and then, as I widen the scope, I sense lots of people, strangers. No, no, no. I sit bolt upright and get a startled exclamation from Laurie.

“What the fuck? Laurie, I told you... I TOLD you… not to bring me here. Fuck, Laurie...”

“Calm down. What do you expect? We’ve all been scared stiff. You’ve been out for more than two days.”

“Fuck. But I have to get out of here.”

Panic screams through every fibre of my being, and I’m half out of the bed before Laurie pushes me back.

“Woah, Gabriel. You can’t wake up from being unconscious for almost three days and walk straight out of here. You can't.”

“Like fuck I can’t! Laurie... you don’t understand. You just don’t understand. You just don’t... I’m in danger, Laurie. It’s not safe here, it’s not safe.”

“Of course it’s safe, Gabriel. It’s a hospital.”

I try to calm down, but it’s not easy. The panic is swamping me, consuming me. “Nowhere’s safe, here least of all. They’re coming. They know where I am. I have to get out of here.”

“Who’s coming? Who do you think is after you?”

“Not think. They’re coming Laurie, coming now. Please... I have to. I have to get out of here right now.” My head’s killing me and I can’t shut out the voices. Now they’re there, they won’t go away. If I concentrate, I can understand what they’re saying. If I don’t, they slide into the background, but they’re like an itch I can’t scratch, a background fizz that is always there and makes my head hurt.

“Look. I don’t know what’s going on, Gabriel, but you can’t just walk out of a hospital after being unconscious all this time.”

“Watch me,” I grind out, glaring at him.

“You’re naked Gabriel,” he says softly.

“Shit.”

Laurie presses gently against my shoulder, pushing me back. “Listen. I don’t pretend to know what’s going on here but that night, the night you kissed me and... Something, something happened. The world... changed. Because of that, I’m prepared to believe that there’s something deeply weird going on, and give you the benefit of the doubt. But you still can’t walk out of here Gabriel. You need to find out what’s wrong with you before... before...”

“I know what’s wrong with me.” I can’t look at him. I know he doesn’t believe me. He thinks I’m being stubborn. There’s an internal battle going on between the part of me that’s begging me to trust him and the part of me which is screaming... run, run, run.

“Gabriel...”

“No. It’s true, Laurie. I do know what’s wrong with me, and it isn’t something they can help me with here. I know I haven’t given you much reason to trust me but... but I... Look... I’ll give you all the information you want. I’ll tell you everything you want to know, I promise, only please... please believe me that we’re in danger, terrible danger, and it gets worse every moment we stay in this place. I have to get out of here.”

Laurie looks at me for a few minutes and I can see the conflict in his eyes. It’s nowhere near as bad as the conflict that’s ripping through my mind. The voices are buzzing like angry bees, and I know it’s because they’re discussing me. Every now and then I tap in and I know from what I feel and what they say that they’re getting closer. Some of the other things they’re saying are equally terrifying. People are dying, and if they get here before I leave, I’m going to be next.

Eventually he nods. “Alright, but you still can’t walk out of here naked. I have your clothes in the car. They gave them to me when they brought you in and I haven’t thought about them since. Damn, I’ve spent almost every moment here.” He stops, looking uncomfortable. “I’ll get them. Just don’t do anything stupid before I get back.”

Grinning with relief, I nod.

He should’ve known better. As soon as he walked out the door, the panic set in again. I tune in to the voices and check where they are... close. Too damn close. For the first time I realise that there’s the usual medical paraphernalia surrounding me. I know... it’s insane that I actually didn’t notice it all before. In my defence, all I can say is that the panic blinded me to everything.

Needless to say, once I start freeing myself, alarms start going off. I make sure that I deal with the non-alarmed stuff first, and by the time the first nurse comes bursting through the door, I’m standing clear of the bed and ready for a fight. I’m quite prepared to physically fight them if I have to, but I’d really rather not. The pain in my head’s blinding, and the adrenaline’s not going to do it any good at all.

I force myself to stay calm as a nurse built like the side of a house tries to manhandle me back to bed. I say very softly, but very clearly, “If you don’t take your hands off me right now, I’m going to call the police and have you charged with assault.”

Where can we find you and your books on the web?

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/120555 (The Unfairness of life)

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/110641?ref=redhaircrow (Enigma)

http://www.allromanceebooks.com/storeSearch.html?searchBy=author&qString=Nephylim (Both)

http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/the-unfairness-of-life/18838315?productTrackingContext=search_results/search_shelf/center/1 The Unfairness of Life Paperback

http://1placeforromance.com/romantic-fiction/the-unfairness-of-life/prod_6606.html (the Unfairness of Life)

http://1placeforromance.com/romantic-fiction/enigma/prod_6653.html (Enigma)

You can also find details on my blog

http://nephylim-author.blogspot.com/

Valentine's Tour - Day Five

2012-02-16T18:01:00.000Z

The Gift of Love Anthology

Including

Hey, Baby by L.M. Brown

Available from Silver Publishing

Order now

Today is the final day of my Valentine's Celebrations Tour.

I am blogging with Lindsay Klug today about some of the more unusual Valentine's Traditions through the ages.

I hope you will stop by and take a look.

Blog Hop Winner!

2012-02-15T07:42:00.000Z

There were 23 entries into the contest and numbers were allocated on the order of entries.

1.    Cornelia Feb 11, 2012 09:09 AM
2.    RANDYW Feb 11, 2012 09:18 AM
3.    Sylvie Feb 11, 2012 09:35 AM
4.    Savannah Chase Feb 11, 2012 10:28 AM
5.    K-lee Klein Feb 11, 2012 11:28 AM
6.    Norma Nielsen Feb 11, 2012 12:43 PM
7.    Sarah Feb 11, 2012 02:41 PM
8.    Romance Reader Enthusiast Feb 11, 2012 04:56 PM
9.    Nancy Feb 11, 2012 09:55 PM
10.    Debby Feb 12, 2012 04:59 AM
11.    Erica Pike Feb 12, 2012 06:19 AM
12.    AJ Feb 12, 2012 08:40 AM
13.    Rain Feb 12, 2012 10:47 AM
14.    Unknown Feb 12, 2012 12:44 PM
15.    ~Ley Feb 12, 2012 01:53 PM
16.    Cinderella Feb 13, 2012 06:55 AM
17.    Juliana Feb 13, 2012 07:12 AM
18.    Donna Feb 13, 2012 09:48 AM
19.    Shannon Leigh Feb 13, 2012 12:23 PM
20.    PaParanormalFan Feb 13, 2012 04:34 PM
21.    Desitheblonde Feb 13, 2012 07:15 PM
22.    Midia Feb 14, 2012 02:24 AM
23.    shadow_kohler Feb 14, 2012 09:00 PM

I used random.org to choose a winner and as you can see from the image below the winner was number 19, Shannon Leigh.

Congratulations Shannon! I will be emailing you shortly and I hope you enjoy your ebook.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone and I hope you all were lucky enough to win something during this blog hop.

Valentine's Tour - Day Four

2012-02-14T10:00:00.004Z

The Gift of Love Anthology

Including

Hey, Baby by L.M. Brown

Available from Silver Publishing

Order now

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Welcome to day four of my Valentine's Celebrations Tour.

Today I am blogging with Silvia Violet about birds and Valentine's Day traditions. Come on over and see just which birds you need to be looking for to get the ideal man.

Remember, if you have not done so already, comment on my Blog Hop post from the 11th February to be in with a chance to win a copy of the Gift of Love anthology. The contest ends tonight at midnight.

Good luck everyone!

New (to me) Review for Driving Me Crazy

2012-02-13T00:01:00.006Z

Since I am a bit of a chicken I don't generally go trawling round looking for reviews of my books so this one from last July had completely slipped by me.

Tina at Two Lips Reviews gave Driving Me Crazy 4 lips and had some very nice things to say about the short story.

Driving Me Crazy by L.M. Brown is a cute and funny read....I smiled and laughed a lot when I was reading this one. I would look for more of Ms. Brown’s stories in the future to see what adventure I would be taken on next.

Read the full review here.

Valentine's Tour - Day Three

2012-02-12T11:15:00.001Z

The Gift of Love Anthology

Including

Hey, Baby by L.M. Brown

Available from Silver Publishing

Order now

Welcome to the third day of my Valentine's Celebrations Tour. I hope you are enjoying this look at Valentine's Days of the past.

Today I am blogging with Gale Stanley about just how an old fashioned Valentine's tradition may work in this modern day and age.

I hope you will stop by and check it out.

And don't forget to see my earlier post where you can enter my Blog Hop Contest to win a copy of the Gift of Love anthology.

Six Sentence Sunday

2012-02-12T00:01:00.002Z

Gift of Love Anthology

Including Hey, Baby by L.M. Brown

Available now from Silver Publishing

In celebration of my latest book which was released yesterday at Silver Publishing here are six sentences from it as a teaser.

"What are your plans for Valentine's Day?" Mel asked. "Got a hot date?"

"Nah, I thought I'd avoid the crock of shit this year."

"Spoken like a bitter, single guy who needs to find a boyfriend."

Nick nodded and laughed. "You said it."

Click on the banner for more six sentences.

Don't forget to enter the With Love, Valentine's Day Blog Hop Contest to be in with a chance to win a copy of the anthology.

Release Day & Blog Hop Contest

2012-02-11T00:01:00.056Z

Gift of Love Anthology

including

Hey, Baby by L.M. Brown

Today is the release date for the male/male Valentine's anthology Gift of Love, which includes my short story Hey, Baby.

Blurb

Can a wrong number lead to Mr Right?

Nick Davis’s life is stuck in a rut until a stranger starts leaving messages on his answer machine. Connor Hayes has mistaken Nick’s number for that of his boyfriend, giving Nick an idea of what it would be like to have Connor in his life. Connor seems like his ideal man and although Nick knows he’s not Connor’s ‘baby,’ he can’t stop himself wishing he were.

After the wrong number issue is resolved, Nick doesn’t expect to hear from Connor again. He's pleasantly surprised when he does. Unfortunately for Nick, Connor isn’t looking for a boyfriend. He already has one and now he wants Nick to help organise a surprise Valentine’s weekend for the couple.

Can Nick put his own feelings aside to make sure Connor’s Valentine’s Day plans go smoothly?

Available from Silver Publishing and many other ebook distributors.

14 Days of Romance

In celebration of the new release I am going to be blogging with Amber Leigh Williams today and talking about my own favourite romance novels. Do stop by and check it out.

But not before you check out the contest below.

With Love Valentine's Day Blog Hop

How would you like to win an ebook copy of the Gift of Love anthology?

Just comment on this post and you will be entered into the With Love Valentine's Day Blog Hop Spot contest. Please remember to leave contact details/an email address so I can get in touch with you if you are the lucky winner.

If you are in difficulty in commenting (I understand blogger is being tempermental) please email your entry to me at lmbrownauthor at gmail dot com with the subject "With Love Valentine's Day Blog Hop Spot Contest Entry".

The contest will close at midnight on the 14th February 2012 and a winner will be chosen via random.org.

For lots more exciting contests, click on the button below and see who else is taking part in the blog hop.

Valentine's Tour - Day Two

2012-02-10T07:16:00.000Z

The Gift of Love Anthology

Including

Hey, Baby by L.M. Brown

Coming 11th February 2012 from Silver Publishing

Pre-order now

Just one more day until the Gift of Love anthology is released.

I am blogging today with Victoria Blisse about the Pagan tradition of Lupercalia and how it relates to our modern Valentine's Day celebrations. Do come by and check it out.

Valentine's Tour - Day One

2012-02-09T21:20:00.000Z

The Gift of Love Anthology

Including

Hey, Baby by L.M. Brown

Coming 11th February 2012 from Silver Publishing

Pre-order now

In two days time my short story is due to be released from Silver Publishing as part of the Gift of Love anthology. In celebration of the release and of Valentine's Day itself, I am doing a short blog tour with a Valentine's theme.

This is the first day of the tour (you can see the full schedule in the post I made on Monday) and I am blogging about the origins of Valentine's Day with Raine Delight. I hope you will stop by on this, the first day of my tour to take a look.

Between Heaven & Hell Available for pre-orders

2012-02-09T20:29:00.003Z

So, in the midst of all my squeeing over Reese's amazing cover, I managed to completely miss noticing that it was also live on the web site now and available for pre-orders.

*bangs head against desk*

I also have an official blurb for the novel.

Angel Machidiel (Mac) and demon Alastor have been denying the attraction they feel for each other for centuries because relationships between angels and demons are forbidden.

Things change forever when they both fall for the same mortal man and begin a relationship with him. Together with Tristan, the menage they form is filled with jealousy and insecurities, passion and love. Only time will tell if the relationship they have forged together is made in Heaven or Hell.

Between Heaven & Hell Cover Art

2012-02-09T18:37:00.001Z

Do I even need to say anything besides my squeeing over the amazing job Reese Dante has done in putting together the cover for my first novel?

ETA: And for those that are interested, I just realised that whilst I was squeeing over the cover, I failed to notice it is now available for pre-order as well. Just click on the cover if you are tempted. :-)

Silver Shorts - By Any Other Name

2012-02-08T00:01:00.003Z

By Any Other Name by L.M. Brown

A male/male short story

Kim opened the closet and swore under his breath.

"What's up?" Ashley asked from where he was clearing some space in the chest of drawers.

"This closet ain't big enough for the both of us," Kim quipped as he judged the pile of business suits on the bed and the tiny space he was supposed to be able to squeeze them into.

Ashley joined him at the closet and yanked out several hangers and tossed them aside. "We'll manage."

"It's going to be a tight fit until we get the rest of the place fixed up." The house they had bought together was a renovation project they had hoped to work on over at least six months before moving in together. Unfortunately, their plans had gone pear-shaped when the recession had hit and they had taken the decision to sell their individual flats and move into their dream home earlier than planned. The only problem was that most of the house was still uninhabitable, including the master bedroom.

Kim continued to put things away as he considered another closet they had issues with, this one the figurative kind.

"What have you told your parents?" Kim asked as they made up the bed they would be sharing.

"Just that I was moving into the house this weekend with a roommate."

"A male roommate?"

Ashley looked away as he answered. "I told them your name when they asked."

Kim snorted and shook his head. "And they assumed I'm a girl, right?"

Ashley looked sheepish for only a moment. "Have you forgotten the Christmas card your parents wrote last yet?" he asked. "It mentioned looking forward to meeting Ashleigh."

Ashley sighed. That was the problem with having names that were used for both boys and girls, sometimes people mistook them for a member of the opposite sex. Of course, they only had themselves to blame for not correcting their respective parents in their assumptions.

"Maybe we should just invite both our parents to dinner on the same day and get it over with once and for all."

Kim's suggestion was certainly one to consider, and Ashley found himself reaching for his mobile phone before he could change his mind. At least if things went badly, they were both going to be in the same boat.

* * * *

Kim paced the hallway as he checked yet again for any sign of their parents arriving for Sunday dinner. Ashley had kicked him out of the kitchen an hour ago, telling him he was driving him up the wall and to get out from underfoot.

"It'll be okay," Ashley said from the kitchen doorway. "Even if they all hit the roof, it won't make any difference to what we have together."

Kim knew it was true, but he still couldn't get rid of the sick feeling in his stomach at the idea of telling his parents he was living with another man.

Ashley tossed aside his 'kiss the cook' apron and approached Kim cautiously. "It won't make a difference to me," he said. "If my parents don't like it, then it's their loss, since they'll never get to know how great a guy you are."

Kim folded his arms across his chest. "Easy for you to say. You said yourself, you think your mum might suspect you're gay anyway."

"You don't think maybe one or both of your parents isn't already suspicious and wondering why you don't bring a girl home?"

"They think you're a girl, though. Just like your parents think I am. Maybe we should just phone them and cancel."

"No."

"How about we pretend we're not home? The house needs so much work, they might think the place is still empty."

"No."

"We could send them a photo of us together and let them find out that way."

"No!" Ashley laughed as he pulled Kim into his arms. "They'll be here any minute and it's long past time they knew about us."

Kim rested his head on Ashley's shoulder and sighed deeply. "I'm sorry. I'm just scared."

"I know. But just remember we're in this together, and even if all our parents disown us, we've still got each other."

When the doorbell rang a few minutes later, Kim jumped back from Ashley with a panicked expression on his face. "Who do you think it is? Yours or mine?"

Ashley shrugged and walked towards the door. "Only one way to find out."

Kim hopped from one foot to another as he contemplated bolting from the room and hiding under the bed like he used to do as a child when he knew he was in trouble. The only problem with that plan was his mother would no doubt find him in under five minutes.

"Bloody British Rail," a male voice boomed from the doorstep. "Couldn't run a piss up in a brewery!"

"Hi Dad," Ashley said. "Was the journey that bad?"

Kim was still poised to flee when he realised his own parents were on the doorstep too.

"Oh don't mind him," Ashley's mum said as they all crowded into the hallway. "The train was only fifteen minutes late."

"Ours was more than thirty minutes later," Kim's dad chimed in. "Nearly missed the connection altogether."

Kim ignored his father's grumbling. His eyes locked on his mother, wondering what she would have to say about Ashley now she knew he was a man. His mother didn't seem inclined to put him out of his misery any time soon. Instead, she seemed to be swapping recipes with Ashley's mother, who likewise didn't seem too bothered about the fact her son was living with another man, or maybe she just hadn't seen him yet. He was practically hiding in the shadows after all. Maybe he should just let them carry on until the penny finally dropped.

"I'll email you my recipe for lemon sponge cake as soon as we get home."

"That'd be wonderful. I'll have to see if I can find my mum's old cookbook as well. She had some great recipes, more than even I've tried."

"Then we had to wait nearly fifteen minutes for a taxi."

"Good job we'd all met up on the train and decided to share one. Is there only one taxi driver in this town?"

"I don't think he knew where he was going either."

"My specialty is casserole. Ashley makes a pretty good one too."

"Kim doesn't really like to cook. Can't get him in the kitchen at all."

"Have you got that car running yet, or will we need to book a taxi back this evening?"

"We've only just got here, dear."

"I'm just thinking ahead."

"Well, don't be rude. I'm sure we'll manage to make it back to the station."

"Not if we have to rely on the taxi driver that brought us here. We'll probably end up in Birmingham."

"Oh, don't exaggerate."

"Ashley, aren't you going to take your dad's coat?"

"How's the renovation going on the place?"

"I think it's starting to rain. You don't have any washing out, do you?"

"Dinner smells delicious. What are we having?"

"Is everyone here blind?" Kim yelled when he didn't think he could take another minute of the general chatter.

"Don't you raise your voice to your mother," his father scolded.

Kim took a deep breath as Ashley moved to his side. "Are you okay?" he murmured.

Kim shook his head and leaned back against the wall. "Did I just step into the twilight zone or something? Our parents are here and they're talking about trains and taxies and cooking and the bloody weather. Does this seem like a normal reaction to you?"

Ashley didn't have time to say anything before Kim's father stepped forward.

"Son, we met up with Ashley's folks on the train. They saw us running across the platform and got the conductor to hold the door for us. We decided to sit together for the journey and the four of us have spent the last hour talking about how proud we are of our boys, and how pleased we were about them settling down with a couple of nice girls. Only, the more we talked, the more obvious it became that my son's girlfriend, Ashleigh, was in fact our rescuers' son, Ashley. And their son, Ashley's girlfriend, Kim, was you."

Ashley's mother nodded her agreement. "We all thought perhaps it was our fault for not realising our mistakes. Though, from your outburst, I suspect it wasn't quite the case. Ashley?"

Ashley rubbed his reddening nose as he struggled to meet his mother's gaze. "I knew you hadn't realised Kim was a man. I should have told you. I'm sorry."

Kim nodded at his own parents. "I'm sorry too. I know you thought Ashley was female, and I was too scared of your reaction to correct you."

"Scared?" Kim's mother shook her head. "Oh, Kim, surely you know we just want you to be happy."

Kim looked over her shoulder for his father's reaction. "Dad?"

"Listen to your mother," his father ordered, which was apparently his last word on the matter.

Ashley's own mother had wrapped her son in a hug while his father looked thoroughly embarrassed by the displays of affection.

"Are we going to be eating soon?" he asked. "Only, I seem to remember someone promising to feed us if we came all the way out here into the middle of nowhere to visit you two."

Ashley laughed and let go of his mother to go and check on dinner. "Give me ten minutes."

Kim directed their parents into the dining room with a sigh of relief. On reflection, he didn't think coming out to their parents could have gone any better than it had. Of course, it did help that neither he, nor Ashley, had really had to say much at all. Their gossiping parents had done the work for them.

The End

For the full weekly package of Silver Shorts (ten stories in total this week) please click here to visit the Silver Publishing site where you can download your free copy.

And don't forget to check back in the coming weeks for more free read anthologies. I will not be contributing every week but there will be plenty of Silver authors who are.

Valentine's Day Celebrations

2012-02-06T00:01:00.008Z

The Gift of Love Anthology

Including

Hey, Baby by L.M. Brown

Coming 11th February 2012 from Silver Publishing

Pre-order here

In celebration of Valentine's Day and also the release of the Gift of Love anthology, which contains my short story Hey, Baby here is what I have lined up over the next two weeks.

9th February - I am blogging with Raine Delight about the origins of Valentine's Day.

10th February - I am blogging with Victoria Blisse about Lupercalia.

11th February - The Gift of Love anthology is released and the With Love, Valentine's Day Blog Hop begins with a contest to win an ebook copy of the anthology.

And if that isn't enough, I'm also blogging about my own favourite romance novels for 14 Days of Romance with Amber Leigh Williams.

12th February - I am blogging with Gale Stanley about the Valentine's tradition about the first man you see on Valentine's Day.

14th February - Valentine's Day and I am blogging with Silvia Violet about the bird related Valentine traditions. The Blog Hop will finish today as well.

15th February - Since I will not be pulling an all nighter - this is when the winner of the Blog Hop will be announced.

16th February - I will be blogging with Lindsay Klug about some of the more unusual Valentine's traditions through the ages.

I hope you will stop by the blogs and join in.

Six Sentence Sunday

2012-02-05T00:01:00.003Z

In honour of the launch of Silver Publishings' new Silver Shorts Free Reads here are six sentences from my first story which will be available here on my blog and via Silver Publishing this coming Wednesday.

Kim continued to put things away as he considered another closet they had issues with, this one the figurative kind.

“What have you told your parents?” Kim asked as they made up the bed they would be sharing.

“Just that I was moving into the house this weekend with a roommate.”

“A male roommate?”

Ashley looked away as he answered. “I told them your name when they asked.”

For more six sentences from your favourite authors please visit the official Six Sentence Sunday site by click here.

Win a Copy of the Gift of Love Anthology

2012-02-04T15:00:00.000Z

Thanks to a fortuitous misclick, or more accurately a too slow click, I found myself on the ebook Friday Frenzy contest page at Silver Publishing (instead of the VIP program details I was aiming for).

I spotted a familiar cover there.

This weeks ebook Friday Frenzy prize is a copy of the Gift of Love anthology.

Go and enter the contest now to be in with a chance to win.

Link

Good Luck to everyone.

The contest ends on 10th February. But don't be too disappointed if you don't win, because my blog hop contest will be starting on the 11th February so you will get a second chance then.

Guest Blogger - Lindsay Klug

2012-02-03T00:01:00.004Z

My guest blogger today is Lindsay Klug, who is here to talk about the fascination many of us seem to have with the bad boys.

Why do we love the bad boys?

I’ve often pondered this question while penning stories. Mostly because my good guys are bad boys. Inevitably, my protagonist lead male will be something of an asshole, something of a rebel. But he’s kind to the lead, without fail. This is the epitome of a bad boy:

Bad enough to be sexy, good enough for us.

Too bad it doesn’t work that way in real life. In my Delila series, we see several bad boys, from werewolves to vampires and in the newest one, even a human. *gasp* But Delila, the lead vampire who tells the story, finds herself in a precarious position with Finn, her vampire cohort. He’s charming and charismatic, and just rebel enough for us to swoon at. All around, he’s the kind of guy women drool over.

Here’s the blurb, and an excerpt from the Reign of Delila, scheduled for release March 10, 2012. Thanks for having me over, LM!

Blurb:

When you rule the vampires, you can expect a few hiccups here and there.

But Delila McAllister hardly expects to find newborn vampires wreaking havoc on her world. No one is sure where the little beasts are coming from, or why they’re not decimating unknowing human populations.

Even as she’s trying to figure out one problem, another arises. Her Alpha werewolf daughter, Ana, is torn between her loyalty to Delila and her pack’s desire for war.

Delila knows what she has to do. But can she save her race, herself, and her daughter?

Excerpt:

The impatient drumming of my fingertips on the cool wooden tabletop echoed around the chamber of nervous men as they shifted uncomfortably under my glare. Flickering light from the candles set in odd intervals on the wall created a quite unnecessary theatrical effect, and one which only served to make my irritation that much worse.

"Gentlemen," I said suddenly, making the entire room start in surprise, "surely your leader knows I have much better things to do with my time than sit here and stare at you, lovely as you all are."

A man to my right stood and bowed deeply. "Of course, Delila. Please excuse me. I'll seek him out immediately." He left with a swoosh of his robe and the room fell silent once more.

I glanced around the room again, taking in the vampires who were staring at me. "Would anyone care to give me an inkling of what's so important here?" No response came. "I receive a cryptic letter in the mail, imploring me to come see you in the middle of the frozen tundra, and no one can speak?" Irritation gnawed at me. I had much more important things to deal with back home, namely helping my adopted daughter, Ana, bring her werewolf pack under control.

My cell phone vibrated in my pocket, making a man nearby leap from his seat. His chair tumbled backward, the crash echoing off the cavernous ceiling.

I stared at him with aplomb. "Really, Lucius. It's just a cell phone." Shaking my head, I pressed a button and spoke into the mouthpiece. "Hello?"

"Hello, Delila," said Ana, the very werewolf I was just thinking of. I stood and walked out of the room to talk privately.

"Hello, darling. To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"

"Not a pleasure, I'm afraid. My pack has found a dead wolf on my land. It appears he was the victim of a vampire attack."

My anger flared as I stared at a hole in the cement wall across from me. Attacks on werewolves unless provoked were expressly forbidden under my rule, and this was on Ana's estate in Texas. "I see," I replied. "I'm out of country right now, but I'll be back tomorrow, I anticipate. We'll talk then."

"All right. You should know the pack isn't happy with this. And when they're not happy, neither am I." The line went dead before I could say anything else, and I stared at the phone as though it had sprouted tendrils. What was that all about? I returned to the room to find the men talking nervously in low tones. They immediately stopped and sat up when I entered.

"Don't stop on account of me," I said, smiling.

No sooner had I sat down than the vampire who'd left came sweeping back in with a tall man in tow. His hair, spiked and standing on end, brushed the top of the archway as he entered, and dark green eyes shone out from his pale skin. I rose and extended my hand, which he took and kissed the knuckles while bowing deeply. "Delila," he said in a reverent tone. "It is an honor to be in your presence."

I rolled my eyes before he glanced up. "You must be Otto."

"Yes, I am Otto. Shall we?" He indicated the chair I had just been occupying, so I settled into it and watched him closely. He reminded me of the former Elder vampire Micah, and that was not a good thing. Micah was a cheat and a liar, and left me with a hot, sticky mess.

"For what purpose am I sitting in this dank dungeon?"

"I am afraid," he said, shaking his head, "that someone has been creating vampires in the villages on our outskirts."

This vampire was no more than two hundred years old. Why he was speaking as though he were from the dark ages was beyond my understanding, and thoroughly annoyed me. "Pardon? You summoned me all the way from the United States on a regional concern?" He sputtered for a moment, sensing the mistake. "Do I not have enough responsibility on my shoulders, Otto? Is this a matter you could not have handled on your own?"

"My lady," interjected Lucius, an old friend of mine. "This is not an average vampire. We believe him to be a half breed."

I looked at Lucius from under my eyelashes. "What exactly do you mean by half breed?" The atmosphere changed as the vampires glanced between each other, nervous and hesitant. "Would anyone care to tell me what this half breed vampire is so I can kill it?" I slammed my hand on the table with the last phrase, bringing their attention back to me.

"We—We're not sure," Otto murmured.

I rubbed my eyes on a sigh. "You're not sure. Have you seen it?" I received a chorus of shaking heads. "So all you have are newborn vampires rampaging through your villages."

"They're not rampaging. They're making new vampires," Lucius told the floor. Obviously, he didn't want to look at me.

My chair flipped backward and the candles behind me snuffed out with the wind as I launched out of my seat. "What did you just say?" I asked in a controlled voice. My fists were balled on the table. "How long has this been going on right under your nose?" No one answered.

A muscle in my jaw clenched as I grabbed Otto by the throat and slammed him against the wall. His feet were dangling from the ground as he kicked and struggled. My nails dug into his flesh, drawing blood and a gasp of pain from him. "How long?"

"Three months," he managed before I sent him flying across the room and into a rack of wine bottles, my fangs down and a thirst for blood surging through my veins.

Thanks for visiting Lindsay. L.M.

And here are the links for those who want to visit Lindsay or check out her other novels.

The Life And Times of Delila

Wednesday Briefs - Save the Last Dance for Me

2012-02-01T00:01:00.008Z

Save the Last Dance for Me by L.M. Brown

A male/male story

Miles stood across the road from the club staring at the men and women slowly filing in past the bouncer. It didn’t look so different from the other clubs he had been to. From the outside he’d never have guessed it catered to the homosexual community.

His eyes darted up and down the street as the queue disappeared inside. Once he was sure there was no one in sight who would recognise him, and there were only a handful of people left waiting to go in, he dashed across the road and joined the end of the queue.

Inside things didn’t seem so different either. At least until you looked at the couples on the dance floor.

Miles was transfixed by the vision of male bodies pressing against each other in the heat of the club. There were women there too, but he only had eyes for the men.

His mouth watered as two particularly talented men began to grind together in a rhythm that should probably be illegal.

Tearing his eyes away he made a beeline for the bar and ordered a beer.

Perched on a bar stool, Miles sipped his drink as he watched the dance floor. Damn, he wished he could move like the other clubbers. He had two left feet and never knew where to put his arms. He could never look as graceful as the couples who held his attention.

He had been watching them nearly an hour when he spotted one particularly talented man dancing in the middle of the floor. He twisted and gyrated and rubbed up against his dance partner with moves that would have had Miles coming right there on dance floor.

Miles couldn’t take his eyes off him.

The dancer didn’t stick with one partner. He danced with several different men over the course of the next hour and Miles wondered briefly what it would be like to dance with someone like that. Then he remembered his lack of talent on the dance floor. He’d probably break the poor man’s foot if he was his partner.

Miles was on his third beer of the night when the dancer suddenly caught him staring. He smiled widely and winked at him before twisting around in the arms of his current partner.

The music changed and the dancer left the floor, waving a hand in front of his face and gesturing towards the bar. His partner nodded and turned to dance with someone else.

Miles shifted nervously on his stool as the dancer weaved his way through the crowd towards him.

The dancer waved over the bartender before turning to Miles. “Thirsty work, dancing.”

Miles smiled and nodded, even though he hadn’t set foot on the dance floor himself.

“I’m Seth.”

“Miles.”

Seth gulped down his Coke and put the glass on the bar. “You want to dance?”

Miles was torn between wanting to know what it would be like to dance with someone like Seth and fearing making a complete fool of himself. “I don’t think so.”

Seth looked disappointed. “Oh. Sorry, I thought you were watching me because you wanted to join in.”

“I… um… It’s just… I…” Miles stumbled over his words, feeling like an idiot.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll leave you to your beer. Nice meeting you.”

Miles cursed his total ineptitude as he watched Seth return to the dance floor. He’d blown his chance completely.

* * * *

The next day Miles was in one of the local internet chat rooms, the same one he had heard about the club in, waiting for any of his friends to come online. Maybe they would have some advice for him. The room was pretty empty, just four other members in it and none of them posting. Suddenly a new message popped up on the screen from Will.

Seth, where did you disappear to last night?

Miles immediately recognised the name as the dancer’s. Could it be the same person?

A minute later another message popped up, this time from SBates.

Hey man. I went home.

With who?

No one.

Are you sure?

No. I was so drunk I may have got lucky and forgotten.

I thought you were drinking Coke.

I was being sarcastic. Yes, I was alone.

What happened with the bloke you were eyeing up half the night?

Nothing.

Liar! I saw you talking to him at the bar. Are you sure you didn’t go home with him?

Drop it Will.

He couldn’t take his eyes off you.

William!

As your cousin I have the right to know when you get lucky.

I already told you, I didn’t. He knocked me back.

WHAT?

Miles felt uneasy reading the discussion. Were they talking about him?

I asked him if he wanted to dance and he said no. End of story.

Sorry cuz. I know how much courage it took you to go ask.

It doesn’t matter.

Sure it does. I’ve been telling you for years, if you had as much confidence off the dance floor as on it you’d get a bloke in no time.

Miles wasn’t entirely sure they were talking about him, but he had to know. He quickly found a photo of himself on the computer and sent it to Seth with a private message.

Seth, was it me you approached last night?

The reply was several minutes in coming.

Yes.

Just one word. Nothing else.

Miles felt like a complete git. From the online discussion it was obvious Seth possessed far more courage than he did. It was time for that to change.

I wanted to say yes. I just don’t know how to dance.

Seth’s next reply was quicker.

I can teach you if you like?

Miles suspected lessons wouldn’t make any difference, but he wasn’t going to blow his chance a second time.

As long as you save the last dance for me.

The End

Special thanks to Chris Quinton, Cinderella and Genevieve for giving my characters names for this one.

Also Flashing this week

Sara York m/m

AJ Jarrett m/m

Victoria Blisse m/f

Nephylim m/m

RC Donitz m/f

Scarlett Knight m/f

Pender Mackie m/m

Lily Sawyer m/m

Julie Lynn Hayes m/m

To join the Wednesday Briefs group please contact Julie Lynn Hayes.

New Review for Touch of a Ghost

2012-01-31T20:28:00.000Z

Just got a lovely new review over at Goodreads for my first novella, Touch of a Ghost.

Leaundra rated it 5 stars and left this glowing review.

I loved this book. It was great from the beginning to the end. I loved Andy and Benji together. It was a sweet book.

Full review here.

Thank you so much Leaundra, and also thanks for letting me know it was there, since I am dreadful at checking Goodreads and would probably not have noticed it for months. :-)

Six Sentence Sunday

2012-01-29T00:01:00.007Z

It's been a few weeks since I joined in this as I have been rather busy with edits and getting ready for my two upcoming releases.

But I snagged six sentences from the in the middle of being edited manuscript of Between Heaven & Hell, my March release, to post today.

Alastor shook his head. He couldn't be saved. He was a demon without a single redeeming quality. What did one angel know about his crimes?

They were at a standoff and eventually Mac withdrew, flying off the battlefield once more. Alastor watched him go silently.

Heavenly Sins Book One

Between Heaven & Hell

A Male/Male/Male Paranormal Contemporary Romance
Coming from Silver Publishing in March 2012

For more six sentences from your favourite authors please click here.

Guest Blogger - Silvia Violet

2012-01-27T00:01:00.002Z

It's time for another Friday guest, so please welcome Silvia Violet who is here to tell us why she writes m/m fiction.

Why am I writing m/m?

I’ve been reading m/m romance for years. One of my first publications was an m/m/f where the initial relationship was between the two men. I’ve written plenty of m/m/f since, but until last spring I’d never written an m/m book. So why the change?

I’ve been reading a lot more m/m in the last few years, and I'm certain that influenced my muse. I also tried my hand at first person in an m/f story, Protect and Serve: Savage Wolf, and realized how much I love being in deep male POV. I had so much fun getting into the thoughts of my hero that I decided to write another book in that series. I started outlining, and my hero laughed at me as I tried pair him with a female vampire. He couldn’t believe I hadn’t figured out that he was gay. And thus my first m/m, Sex on the Hoof, was born. I’ve since written several more m/m stories, including another Protect and Serve titled Paws on Me.

Along with enjoying writing from the male perspective, I think my muse headed in this direction, because I love to be challenged by what I’m writing. Love it or not, writing solely from a male POV is challenging. I have to remember that in general men use different speech patterns from women, and a man would likely approach a budding relationship differently than I would. Then there’s the challenge of thinking like a man without falling into male stereotypes. My recent writing has forced me to consider issues about gender and sexuality from new vantage points. I’m being challenged creatively and intellectually.

I enjoy creating sci fi or paranormal settings in which sexual orientation is not an issue. I have several m/m/f stories set in this type of world, and I recently wrote a sci fi m/m in which the fact that my characters are men who love men is not an issue. Relationships are enough of a challenge without the burden of prejudice or the need to hide. Wouldn’t it be nice if we lived in such a place? Writing sci fi m/m lets me live in this pleasant fantasy world for awhile.

In the world of the Protect and Serve series, strides have been made against homophobia though it is far from extinguished, but fierce prejudice exists against shape-shifters and vampires. All shifters and vamps are judged by the worst examples of their kind. In Paws on Me, tough police lieutenant, Seth Morrison, has learned to judge a man by what he does rather than his genetics.

Protect and Serve: Paws on Me by Silvia Violet
Available at Changeling Press
Available at Are

Blurb:

Lieutenant Seth Morrison loves being a cop, but with budget cuts and crime both on the rise, he’s stopped making time for anything but his job.

On the outside, Brandon Lord is an easy-going, flirtatious club owner. On the inside he’s a man trying to overcome a difficult past.

When a murder investigation brings the two men together, passion roars to life. They’re both willing to break the rules to be together. Because as mismatched as they might seem, each man is exactly what the other needs.

Excerpt:

I’m Seth Morrison. I’m a cop, a police lieutenant to be precise. I’ve been on the force more years than I want to think about. I’ve seen good men get killed, turn dirty, lose themselves in the bottle, lose their fucking minds, but I’m still here doing what I do. I don’t know any other life. People tell me I need a break, a vacation, to relax. I don’t want to fucking relax. I just want to do my job and keep this city from falling apart.

I park my car, grab my coffee from the cup holder, and charge up the front steps of the station. I could take the side door, it’s closer to my office, but I love the chaos of the bullpen. When I open the door, I breathe deeply, enjoying the variety of smells: coffee that’s been on the warmer far too long, the sickeningly sweet smell of candy and doughnuts, pine-scented cleaner from the scrubbing the janitors gave the floors last night, and something unnamable that simply smells like cops and hard work. I shake my head as I try to imagine not being here nearly 24/7. This is where I belong.

My stomach rumbles. I should’ve had dinner, but after pretending an afternoon nap was a night’s sleep, I’m running late. I’ll grab something from the vending machine while I dream about a juicy burger and thick home fries. It sure would be nice to have someone cook for me. I don’t seem to get along with stoves. Years ago, I tried being married. That worked for about 30 seconds. My wife wanted me to work shorter hours. I wanted her to talk less, or maybe never.

Friends tell me I should make an effort to date, but I’m more comfortable at a gruesome homicide scene than making small talk at dinner with a woman or a man. Yeah, I like both. I stopped going out with men when I entered the academy. I just couldn’t deal with the shit the guys would give me. Now, I don’t advertise what I like, but I pick up a guy now and then. I’m discreet, but if somebody finds out, I’ll deal.

One-night stands I can handle, but relationships are beyond me. People think police work is draining, but I’d rather spend all day in the field and all night at my desk filling out fucking paperwork — and often I do — than try to decode relationship signals. I inevitably screw things up and never understand why.

Sex I need. Romance I don’t.

My phone rings. I pull it out of my pocket hoping the call will save me from the mountain of paperwork on my desk. It’s Drew Danvers, detective and vampire. That’s right, a vampire who works for the good guys. We’ve got a werewolf in homicide too. And he’s a damn fine cop.
I remember when the shifters came out of the closet, scaring the hell out of us humans. One by one other monsters made themselves known. Most people assumed they were all assholes who wanted to eat us, but I quickly learned not to judge a man because he sucked blood or turned into a wolf. I judge men based on how they treat others.

I answer the call. “What’s up, Detective?”

“Two dead werewolves found in a closet at Shift. Hacked up pretty bad. The scene’s a circus. Jenkins called in sick. I’m on my own, and –”

“I’ll be there in ten.”

“Thanks, sir.”

“No problem. Murder scene or paperwork, which would you choose?”

* * *

I step inside the club. A crime lab team is there and several uniformed officers are talking with employees. I spot Drew in the entryway of an office. He’s frowning as he questions a tall hairy hunk of a man. I’ve seen this man around the area several times, and just like every other time, he makes my cock sit up and take notice.

Our most recent encounter was a week ago. When I want to grab a beer and be left the fuck alone, I go to Mitch’s, a dive just down the street from Shift. Last time I spent the evening there, he sat next to me at the bar and came on strong. I was in a shitty mood. I wanted him, and it pissed me off. He’s not my type. He’s young, hip, and outrageously flirtatious. I walked away, but I regretted it later that night when I couldn’t stop fantasizing about him.

The man looks my way and catches me staring. His grin says he knows the direction my thoughts are going. Fucking bastard winks at me. Drew scowls.

I turn to face him. He grins down at me, that same cocky-as-fuck little smile he’d given me earlier, making me even more aware of how close we are and how big he is. At 6’2″, I’m hardly small, but he’s got several inches on me. And while I’ve got a rather thick pelt, the fur visible above the vee of his t-shirt is astounding.

He smiles mischievously. “You gonna cuff me if you take me in?”

“Impeding a murder investigation will get you thrown in jail.”

He rolls his eyes. “I found two dead guys in my closet when I came to work tonight. My business is shut down, and I’ll be losing money every minute that you’re here. But at least I have a sense of humor.”

“Well, I don’t.”

He shakes his head. “Are you taken too?”

I take another step back. “You’re making a lot of assumptions.”

I look over at Drew and realize he and Jason are grinning like loons. Fuck. All I need is the two of them ragging me.

I glare at Drew. “Detective, do you think you can question this man without killing him?”

“Probably.”

“Fine. Fleetfoot, head back to the lab. Take my car. I’ll get a ride with Danvers.” I throw him my keys, and he snatches them out of the air as he gives Drew’s hand a final squeeze. Jason is better in the lab than any tech we have. We only send him into the field when we’re desperately short-handed. I run a hand through my hair, wishing I knew how I’m going to hold the homicide division together if we don’t get more funds.

He holds out his hand. “I’m Brandon Lord. I own Shift.”

“Lieutenant Morrison.” I shake his hand. His skin is surprisingly smooth, his grip tight and warm. I want to feel those big hands running over me. I want to rub his furry body with my own. Fuck! I should assign someone else to this case right now and get the hell away from him. But some crazy restlessness he’s dredged up in me makes me fight my instincts.

“Nice to meet you, Lieutenant.” His voice is low and rich. And his grin lets me know he’s well aware of my body’s reaction to him.

I need to get away. His smell alone is making me hard. “I’m not here to play games. Drop the act and treat this case seriously, or I’ll find an excuse to throw your ass in jail.”

He grins. Fuck, he knows he’s got me rattled. “I’d never kill anyone, Lieutenant. I’m just a cuddly teddy bear.”

The bear shifter and the bear. Ridiculous. I need to leave now. This man is no cuddly toy. I don’t think he’s our murderer, but he’s far smarter than he wants me to believe and likely far more dangerous. “I know what cuddling leads to.”

Brandon laughs, a deep, infectious sound. I can’t help but respond. Now I want him more than ever. Taking this case was a supremely stupid idea, staying on it now is unprofessional.

But I won’t walk away.

Protect and Serve: Sex on the Hoof by Silvia Violet
Available at Changeling Press
Available at Are

Blurb:

Deer shifter Jason Fleetfoot has turned his life around. After years of taking chances, he's got a job as a crime lab technician, and he's determined to forgo the risky behavior of his past.

Then he meets Drew Danvers, the only undead detective in the city. Jason hates vampires, or does he? Drew defies all the stereotypes of his kind and something about him has taken hold of Jason and won't let go.

Will Jason take a chance on a man others would label a risk to his health if not his very life?

Excerpt:

I’m Jason Fleetfoot. I’ve made a lot of stupid mistakes in my life. The stupidest of all was taking a job with some assholes intent on manufacturing illegal chemical weapons.

My sister, Natalie, lost her job when her company folded, and I lost mine because my fucking boss was a bastard. I’ve got authority issues. And control issues. Alright, I’m seriously fucked up, but I wasn’t going to let my sister starve because I couldn’t keep it together.

So I made a deal with the devil and damn near got myself and Natalie killed. She saved me, she and her cop boyfriend, Wolf. The name’s not a joke. He’s a werewolf. Did I mention we’re shifters, Natalie and I. Deer shifters. If you think my human form is impressive, you should see me as a ten point buck. So yeah, a werewolf and a deer shifter. Somehow they’re making it work.

As much as I hate being beholden to Wolf, I wouldn’t be where I am now if it wasn’t for him. Once the cops cleared me, Wolf helped me get a job in the crime lab where I can use my knowledge of chemistry and computers for the good guys.

As the newest hire, I work nights, babysitting the equipment and working on what comes in during the wee hours. For the most part, I like it. It’s quiet and I get a chance to play around with new techniques and do a bit of programming. There’s only one problem, Detective Drew Danvers.

He works nights too. Not because he’s new, because he’s a God-damned vampire. They say he was Changed against his will. But what the hell was he doing picking up a vampire at a bar? I certainly have no intention of fucking a vampire. No matter how damn fuckable Drew is. Yeah, I like men, what of it? And Drew is a fine specimen of a man, like some Viking warrior. He’s at least 6’3” with sculpted arms and pecs that make him look like he could lift a truck one-handed. Considering he’s a vamp, he probably can.

Getting involved with Drew would be stupid on too many levels to count. And I’m finished with making stupid decisions. So why does my body want so desperately to be impaled on him – his cock, his fangs, anything he’d like to stick in me. Natalie’s right, my dick really doesn’t communicate with my brain. I don’t just want to fuck him, I want to be taken by him, and I never want that. Like I said, I have control issues. But with Drew . . . No, there’s never going to be anything with Drew.

I hear the buzz that signals someone entering the lab. I glance around from behind the mass spec machine. Shit! Speak of the devil or in this case his undead minion.

My pride will not let me hide even though I want to. I’m not afraid of him, even if I should be. I’m just afraid my unruly cock will give away my interest.

His gaze slides up and down my body. He’s looked at me like this before. But I have never been sure whether it’s sexual interest or him salivating over me like I’m a piece of the lush chocolate cake my grandma used to make on Sundays. “You alone in here, Fleetfoot?”

Shit, maybe he does mean to make a meal out of me. No point in lying though. He probably already knows the answer. Aren’t vampires supposed to be damn near omnipotent? “Newton called in sick, and everyone else is out in the field.

“Good.” Danvers smiles, still eyeing me like I’m prey. If I was in deer form I’d bolt, white tail flagging danger. But I’m a man and his ice blue gaze has me glued to the spot. God above, he’s gorgeous when he smiles. My cock is starting to get uncomfortable in my jeans.

My heart pounds as I try to interpret his response. Does he mean “good I’m going to give you to the best fuck of your life” or “good I’m going to drain your blood and leave you for dead”.

You can learn more about Silvia’s writing at her website and blog (http://silviaviolet.com) or chat with her Facebook (http://facebook.com/silvia.violet) or Twitter (http://twitter.com/Silvia_Violet).

Thanks for Silvia for taking the time to visit here today. I am a huge fan of shifter stories myself and think it is great to see some shifters who aren't the regular old wolves. Will certainly be checking these out.

Guest Blogger - RC Bonitz

2012-01-20T00:01:00.000Z

I hope everyone is having a great Friday and looking forward to the weekend. To start off the weekend right, let's welcome R C Bonitz here to answer questions and tell us about his latest book.

First of all, would you like to introduce yourself to anyone lurking here?

I'm a busy writer these days, with two books coming out in short order. Writing began as a hobby, sort of, but even in the beginning I thought it would be nice to be a successful author. Like many of us, the dream of writing a novel was there early on, but I could never come up with a story. Then one night I had a vivid dream that stayed with me after I woke up. That dream is now the first chapter of my first book, A BLANKET FOR HER HEART, which is coming out in February.

My current book, A LITTLE BIT OF BLACKMAIL began as a short story, but soon grew into a novel. I enjoyed writing every minute of it. I often scribble off a small piece just for fun when I'm working on a novel, but this is the first to "grow up" as it has.

I just finished a sequel to A LITTLE BIT OF BLACKMAIL with Ike and Jessie as the protagonists, but it still lacks a title so I can't tell you what it's called yet. We'll get there, my story and me. After that it's going to be Book Three in the series I guess, though I have a couple of other books in mind too.

I spent much of my early working life in the phone company, but resigned in a fit of insanity one day and bought a contracting business. Next I became a psychotherapist for a few years and now I write. I've never worked harder in my life or enjoyed myself more. I'm also a member of a wonderful supportive group of professional writers- CTRWA (Romance Writers of Ct.). If you're a would be writer, I can't urge you strongly enough to find a RWA chapter in your state and join up. RWA's mission is to get you published.

On the private side of my world I love bass fishing in a canoe and used to live (or so it seemed) on a sailboat. Guess you could say I like water. My wife and I have five "kids" and eleven grandchildren who keep us busy with soccer games and field hockey and concerts and crew and….you name it. It's a great life.

What made you decide to get into romance writing?

I attended a presentation by Suzanne Brockmann at our local library. She spoke glowingly of how easy it was to be published in romance. So, I did some research and decided she was right, which suited mne just fine since most of my writing consisted of love stories.

What do you think makes for a good hero and heroine in romance novels?

My heroines are soft and sweet, but brave and troubled women who figure out solutions to their problems and go forth boldly to meet their heroes. They are smart and sweet and strong and always muddle through. The heroes are sometimes clumsy with their feelings and leave the heroine uncertain, but when the chips are down they come through with love and empathy and courage of their own. The heroes must always be there for the heroine.

Is there any genre(s) that you haven’t written yet which you would like to? If so, which genre(s)?

I have complete manuscripts in a number of genres, but thus far have sold only contemporary romance and mainstream. If I could have my wish I'd write comedy, but other than brief bursts of quiet humor in my books that genre escapes me. My favorite romance authors are Jennifer Crusie and Kristan Higgns, who both crack me up.

What do you enjoy most about writing?

Ah,there's a question I love. I'm a compulsive writer, have been ever since I started. The best times are when I'm into a scene or a character and the words just seem to flow. I'm like a junkie on a high when that happens. And when I have a scene with high emotion I'm in it as the words are flowing. It's a high that's hard to beat, except maybe when That letter comes that says, "We want to publish your book."

Where do your ideas come from?

My starting idea for a book always appears as a scene in my head, don't ask me why or how that happens. But, as I write some ideas spring forth unbidden while others are th eproduct of thought and planning. When something has to happen in the plot I have t othink of options and consciously choose the best one.Still, the options come from somewhere in the air as if by magic.

What are the best and worst things about being a published author?

The worst thing is easy- having to spend my time marketing my books. The best though comes from that- when someone tells me they enjoyed my book or love my character. There's another high.

Who are your favourite authors when reading for inspiration?

I mentioned two already- Kristan Higgins and Jennifer Crusie when it comes to romance.I've learned a lot from Debbie MacComber too and love her books. Another of my favorite authors is Barbara Kingsolver. Anyone who wants to learn to write well should read her "Prodigal Summer." Her words flow like music to me.

What do you like to do to relax when you aren’t writing?

As I said, I'm a compulsive writer. Writing is like play for me. But, summer days on a lake in my canoe come in a close second. I was a sailboat racer at one time and loved going out when the wind was howling. That was in my younger days though, so the canoe has taken its place.

What are you working on at the moment, and what are we likely to see from you in the coming months?

I'm doing the first edit of the sequel to A LITTLE BIT OF BLACKMAIL, and have a contest on my blog to find a name for it. I also have another book, A BLANKET FOR HER HEART, not part of the series, coming out in a few weeks. We're in the midst of editing that one for final publication.I just got my first look at the proposed cover designs today.

Please tell us about your latest book.

Here are some details about :

A LITTLE BIT OF BLACKMAIL
By RC Bonitz
www.rcbonitz.com
A sweet romance published by Silver Publishing
ISBN # 9781920501778

Links:

Follow me on Facebook

A LITTLE BIT OF BLACKMAIL is available

From Silver Publishing in all eformats.

At Amazon

or Barnes and Noble

Blurb:

A LITTLE BIT OF BLACKMAIL

When some creep plasters nude photos of Diane's kid sister on the internet, Diane plans a little revenge: seduce the guy until his clothes come off and take his picture. Then it's blackmail time. But has she targeted the wrong guy?

Brian's no stranger to the wiles of beautiful women. Most want him for his money, but Diane has a different objective: to trash his reputation. Furious, Brian resolves to teach her a lesson… until he learns the truth and loses his heart to this daring woman. But to win her trust and convince her he's not the villain, he has to best her at her own game.

Here is an excerpt from CHAPTER 1:

CHAPTER 1

'"Hi beautiful. Waiting for somebody?"

She had watched him approach and wondered if he'd try to hit on her. He was a good-looking guy, with a smile that could light up the bar. Was he the right one though?

She sent him her best smile. "Sort of, but then again…"

"Ah, well, may I?" he asked, pointing to the empty chair across the table.

"Actually, that depends." He was tall and dark and handsome, but he had a bit of a beard. Not a bushy one, more like a country music singer's, small and close trimmed. That didn't quite fit Jessie's description, but he could have grown it in the last two weeks.

He grinned. "You're waiting for someone special?"

She sighed. How many times had this happened? "I am, sort of, but I haven't met him yet. I'm kind of on a blind date, you know?"

"That lets me out then," he said easily, "I'm nobody's blind date tonight."

"Oh, too bad. What's your name?"

"Jason. But if your guy stands you up give a wave. I'll be around."

Diane smiled again, silently regretting her mission of the moment. He was cute. If only the timing were different. Not tonight, though. She watched him weave his way between the tables to join two other guys. Dumb—she could have gotten his phone number for future reference. Who was she kidding? Things never worked out easily for her, though if she could do this tonight she could probably make anything work.

The bar of the Hotel Lauren was crowded with people, the noise of conversation and clinking glasses almost drowning out the piano player in the corner. Diane let her eyes wander over the place again, taking in the warm wood paneling of the walls and the paintings that adorned them. Unusual decoration for a bar. Prints by Renoir, Matisse, and other Impressionists made the place look a little bit like an art museum. Somebody in charge liked fine art. Or else they were trying to impress.

The place was cozy though, more homey than anything else. The chairs were comfortable and candles glowed on the tables, though the room wasn't dark the way some bars were. Not that she hung out in bars a lot. Actually, she didn't care for them very much, which was probably why she almost never met any hot guys.

She tugged at the hem of her dress and pulled the strap up higher on her shoulder. Again. Why had she bought such a skimpy dress? The black sheath was tighter than her skin, way too short, and way too low in back. And in front. She'd never revealed so much cleavage in her life. But, if you were going to seduce a man, prim and proper wasn't likely to get you anywhere. Whatever, she was totally uncomfortable. Jessie better appreciate this someday.

Her sister's humiliation would end tonight—or maybe tomorrow—once the creep understood what she'd do to him.

That was if she found him, and could seduce him and get the pictures she needed without her boobs falling out of the stupid dress before she finished. And if she got away from him in one piece. Five foot seven if she stretched a bit, with long dark hair and hazel eyes, her one hundred and thirty-six pounds of woman would be no match for a big man who wanted to grab her. Strong and healthy she was, but if he tried to hurt her she might end up in serious trouble. Everything would be fine, though. She was going to help her little sister. On the other hand, she could wave to Mr Jason Whoever and forget the whole thing.

She studied a new guy as he entered the bar. With his dark, thick hair, broad shoulders, and that fabulous chiseled chin, he was one good looking guy. No beard, clean-shaven; he fit Jessie's description of the creep to a T.

If only Jessie had come with her tonight. All she had to do was identify the guy. After that she could have ducked out and left the rest of the deal to Diane. But of course, Jessie was working nights again this week and neither of them could afford to give up a paycheck. And her little sister wanted to forget the whole thing. Just turn her life upside down and let the creep humiliate her without even trying to fight back. Of course, if anyone but her big sister tried to help she might even listen. Jessie acted like such a rebellious teenager sometimes. Well, someday she'd grow up, hopefully, and in the meantime someone had to protect her.

Diane sighed. She'd already picked the wrong guy twice this evening. If she approached every guy in sight someone might take her for a hooker trying to heat up a little business. The bartender had already given her the eye. Apparently, the man took a serious interest in the posh reputation of the hotel. Ha. The creep she was looking for could give him an earful on that score.

This new guy looked like he knew his way around the place. He said something to the pretty young waitress and drew a laugh. Pleased with himself apparently, he smiled as he greeted Mr Worrywart Bartender, who was setting a drink on the bar as if he'd expected the guy.

The creep lived in the hotel. The staff seemed to know Mr Handsome, so that fit. He had to be Mr Brian Smith. What a shame. A guy who looked like he did should be a dream. Not a pervert.

Trembling with excitement and more than a touch of fear, she downed a hefty gulp of wine and almost choked. Her throat was as tight as the stupid dress. Palms suddenly slippery with sweat, she set the wine down before she dropped the glass. If she were going to go through with this, it was time to move.

She gave one last tug at the dress. Abandoning the Chardonnay, she began to drift through the crowd, heading for the empty bar stool next to Mr. Creep.

"Is this taken?" she asked, struggling to keep her voice from breaking. Cool, Diane, the secret word is cool. You have to come across as sexy-sultry, not a ditzy drip.

Where can we find you online?

Check out my blog at http://www.rcbonitz.com In addition to the details of my name the Sequel contest it has links to Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Thanks for having me LM.

Wednesday Briefs - Anything

2012-01-18T00:01:00.012Z

Anything by L.M. Brown

A male/male story

Jayce sank to his knees on the damp grass.

“I’m not leaving all my friends to go live in some hell hole at the other end of the county!”

“Manchester is hardly a hell hole. It’s a great opportunity for me.”

“And what the fuck would I do up there?”

What was he going to do now? This wasn’t how it was meant to be. They were supposed to have been together forever.

“You’d find a new job. You’d make new friends. You’re not even giving it a chance. You’ve made your mind up already that you’re going to hate it.”

He hated this. He hated being alone. It wasn’t the same without Harry.

“And you’ve made up your mind it’s going to be so bloody marvellous. You’re not thinking about me at all.”

“I’m thinking about us and our future together. You’re the one that’s being selfish. You know what, stay here. I’ll go to Manchester without you. You can do what the hell you like.”

“Fine with me. Fuck off there and don’t bother coming back.”

Jayce reached out to trace the lettering on the cold hard stone. The tears in his eyes prevented him from reading the epitaph. It didn’t matter; he knew exactly what it said.

He’d give anything for the chance to put things right, but it was too late now. A stormy day and an out of control lorry had seen to that.

If he could have that one final day over again Jayce knew he’d do things differently.

“I’d give anything to have the chance to do things differently.”

* * * *

Jayce woke up on the sofa, the same sofa he had slept on since the night of their argument. After Harry had left for Manchester the next day – and Jayce’s world had turned into Hell – Jayce had not been able to bring himself to sleep in their bed. It was too big for just him. Too cold without Harry’s warmth wrapped around him. Too lonely to sleep in.

The sound of something clattering in the kitchen had Jayce shooting to his feet in moments. Was he being burgled on top of everything else?

Jayce ran to the kitchen, his socks sliding on the tiles as he skidded to a halt. His jaw dropped as he watched Harry pour himself a bowl of cereal.

“Harry?” he whispered.

Harry glanced over his shoulder but didn’t reply.

It didn’t matter. Jayce rushed forward and enveloped Harry in his arms. “Oh god, I can’t believe it, you’re here.”

Harry struggled to push Jayce away. “Not for much longer.”

Jayce stepped back a little. “What are you talking about?”

“Playing dumb now, are we? Or do you expect me to believe you’ve forgotten I’m leaving for Manchester today?”

Jayce leaned back against the counter. What had happened? Had he dreamt the last two months? Or had he got his graveside wish?

Harry sat down at the table and started on his cereal.

Jayce didn’t intend to waste any more time wondering what was going on. Real or not, he had had a taste of what his life would be like without Harry in it and he didn’t like it one bit.

“I’m sorry.”

Harry looked up from his breakfast, his eyes wide.

Jayce pulled out the chair next to Harry. “I don’t want to lose you.” Harry opened his mouth to say something but Jayce held up his hand to stop him. “And if you’re really moving to Manchester, then I’d rather be there with you than here on my own.”

Harry didn’t exactly jump for joy. In fact he looked downright suspicious. “What brought about this sudden change of heart?”

“I guess you could say I realised what my life would be like without you.”

“Just like that?”

Jayce didn’t like the way this conversation was going. Was it too late? Maybe their harsh words couldn’t be forgotten so easily. “Unless you don’t want me any more?”

Harry smacked him on the arm. “Idiot! Of course I want you to come with me. I just don’t want you changing your mind half way up the motorway.”

The first time around Harry had left right after breakfast. He’d been dead by lunchtime. Jayce would make sure this time was different.

“I’m not going to change my mind. I’ll pack this morning and we can leave right after lunch. We can go to Shelby’s for lunch if you like.”

“Our first date,” Harry commented, as if Jayce needed the reminder.

* * * *

The motorway stretched long into the distance. Their new life was ahead of them, the old one behind.

Jayce was taking his turn at the wheel of the car while Harry navigated. They had been holding hands for the last thirty miles.

Life was good.

“We need junction nineteen, then the M6,” Harry advised as they passed the sign.

Jayce nodded and steered them into the right lane.

The driver of the lorry wasn’t so quick in getting it right and he cut in front of them.

Harry’s hand slipped from his own as Jayce struggled to avoid the collision.

What would you give for a second chance?

The car spun out of control.

For the opportunity to put things right?

Harry’s scream echoed in his ears.

To have another day with the one you love?

He could hear the sounds of metal being crushed and glass breaking. Harry was no longer screaming. Jayce knew without looking it was too late. He reached out blindly for Harry’s hand and grasped it tightly.

What would Jayce give for the chance to do things differently?

Then everything went black.

Anything.

Also Flashing this Week

Male/Male

Male/Female

Want to join in the fun?

Contact Julie Lynn Hayes for details on joining the group.

Guest Blogger - R J Scott

2012-01-13T00:01:00.010Z

I was searching for a subject to blog about and ended up clicking on a cool link that led to another wicked link which finally led me to another.

Improving my writing is an ongoing battle (as my editor will attest!) and when I stumbled on Edit Minion I had to smile. The site has a clever tool to analyse your writing in its most basic form. I remember using it when I first started to write and freaking the shite out of myself. I had so much red and purple on my screen that I couldn’t see the text underneath!

So you can see how it works I have taken the raw first page of The Only Easy Day, the sequel to Guarding Morgan and run it through the Edit Minion process. It wasn’t quite as bad as I was expecting but the usual RJ Scott draft errors were there. Mostly passive voice that needs to be eradicated… because passive voice is WEAK!

For example: 'They were trapped and only close air support was going to solve this clusterfuck.'

'WAS GOING'! FFS… When am I going to learn!

Changing this sentence to: 'They were trapped. Only close air support would solve this clusterfuck' makes it a snappier sentence.

Or how about the sentence - 'Taken hostage by the Taliban, they were keeping him in a safe house in the mountains of Afghanistan.'

WERE KEEPING… WOOLY!

I will probably reword that to 'Taken hostage by the Taliban, he was imprisoned in a complex high in the Afghan mountains'

Who thinks that sounds better?

Anyway, Edit Minion can be found at: http://editminion.com/ it doesn’t have all the answers but it is a cool thing to play with.

COMPETITION

My website can be found at www.rjscott.co.uk. I am running a competition to win every single e-book I write in 2012 and that can be found here: http://rjscottauthor.blogspot.com/2012/01/2012-and-all-that-jazz-oh-yes-and.html

NOTE FROM LM - Clicking on the image "should" take you to a larger image at the photobucket account. I am afraid blogspot shrinks it down a little.

Gift of Love Anthology

2012-01-09T20:36:00.002Z

Gift of Love Anthology

including

Hey, Baby by L.M. Brown

The Gift of Love anthology is now available for pre-orders on the Silver Publishing website.

Hey, Baby by L.M. Brown

Blurb

Can a wrong number lead to Mr Right?

Can Nick put his own feelings aside to make sure Connor’s Valentine’s Day plans go smoothly?

Buy now from Silver Publishing.

Happy New Year Everyone!

2012-01-01T21:06:00.000Z

Honestly, if I can't even manage to post my new year resolutions here on time is there any chance of my keeping them?

I sincerely hope so.

My resolutions for the new year are pretty standard, at least for writers so here goes...

1. To write 500 words a day on any of my projects. I figure this is easiliy doable and while I will no doubt write more on a regular basis, on the days when I am just not feeling in a writing mood this figure is small enough not to be daunting. Only excuses for not writing are no computer (sorry, I really don't do handwritten), illness and edits. Since the latter involves writing anyway it isn't like that is counted as slacking off.

2. Do more to try to promote my books. Get into a routine and keep to it.

3. Get the first sequel to Between Heaven & Hell finished and submitted to the publisher this year. Or, at the very least get the first draft done.

4. The obligatory lose weight - which never seems to happen but I'll sling this one in there anyway.

How about your resolutions?