Saturday, July 12, 2014

Friday, June 20, 2014

First Kiss Review!

Reviewed by Carissa (Love Bytes)

REVIEW:  
From the moment Brenn saw the man’s reflection in the looking glass, he knew that it was the man he was destined to love forever.  From the moment Brenn heard Joey’s laugh, from across the pub, he knew Joey was the man he wanted to love forever.  All he has to do now is convince Joey of the same thing.  It isn’t going to be too hard, though.  They are meant for each other.
Except Joey isn’t the man Brenn thinks he is.  Well…not for much longer.  He is dying and he probably won’t even last another month.  So no matter how ‘destined’ them might be, it is a destiny bound to end in heartache.  Still…Joey can’t help but be selfish in this one last thing.  Three weeks with Brenn’s smile, and body, and love–Joey thinks three weeks could feel like forever in Brenn’s hands.  And after that…well, he tries not to think about ‘after’ any more.
Sometime is hurts learning just how short ‘ever-after’ really is.
Ok, I am, right now, declaring a moratorium on all sad books.  I have spent the last three days crying my eyes out, and I am running out of Kleenex, dammit!  I don’t know where everyone is hiding all the fluffy stories, but I demand one be delivered to me, on the hour, or someone is going to pay.  Look, I know a story about a guy who only has three weeks to live is going to be sad…but this just wasn’t fair.  I am emotionally damaged already. My angst levels have hit critical, and I have been sniffling at the most ridiculous things in the last 24hrs.  I just need something to make the pain go away…
what’s that, you say? You are going to let them go at it like bunnies for almost the entire story?  Well…you might (might) be forgiven.
In all seriousness, I have been waiting for this sequel for a really long time.  I honestly didn’t think it was ever going to be written.  And I am thrilled that it was.  It is not the deepest story ever written, and yeah, healing thru the power of cock isn’t my favorite trope, but I enjoyed this story.  It did not slack off on the seriousness of Joey’s problems, but it did a good job of not making it all that Joey was.
Joey was strong, and stubborn, and so freaking brave.  But he was also scared.  Not that he was going to die, really, but that he was going to die and hurt this man that loved him.  So he tried not to love him–thinking stupidly, that if it was only one-sided, then somehow Brenn wouldn’t hurt quite so badly.  This made me want to shake him…but also try and wrap him up in all the blankets.
And while the whole sex thing was a bit too much here (for a dying guy, Joey sure does have the stamina of a teenager), I did enjoy reading it.  It was hot, while still taking into account that Joey couldn’t really do sex the ‘normal’ way.  The amount of time spent in naked-fun-time was a bit excessive, but it was also real enough that it helped the story (most of the time) instead of taking away from it.
By the end, when they are at the hospital and Brenn is holding Joey, I was a soggy ball of tears.  The resolution wasn’t exactly how I would have pictured it–and perversely I kinda wanted it to go the other way (even it would have scarred me for life)–but it did make all that pain worth it.
This was a good story, and I liked it as much as I did the first book, Choices.  Though if you haven’t read the first book, don’t worry, this one can be read as a standalone with no problem.  I do want Simon to finally get his man, though.  Poor dude needs to get laid, fall in love, and go somewhere when the furniture doesn’t predict the future (or if it does, get one that can give him the winning lotto numbers, or something (does Australia even have a lotto?)).
RATING:  4 Stars

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Cover Reveal "My Heart's Choice"

This is the new cover for my short stories that are FREE to read. I'm updating the old covers. I hope you like it. It was done by the lovely Jess Buffet

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

First Kiss (The Looking Glass # 2) Release Date

First Kiss (The Looking Glass # 2) is being released by Loose-id on 20th May. To celebrate Brenn and Joey's story, I'm giving away a FREE e-book. All you have to do is comment to go on the draw. I will pick the winner on the 21st May 2014. Good Luck.

Blurb:
The second Brenn saw Joey’s image in the magic mirror, he was hooked. The moment he saw him in real life, Brenn knew Joey was going to be his forever. Joey was flirty, and fun, and he had the most gorgeous smile, but then Joey told him he was dying. Though devastated, Brenn didn’t want to give up on Joey, so he offered to look after him and make his last few days as comfortable as possible, but was that going to be enough when all Brenn really wanted was for Joey to live?

 

Brenn was everything Joey could have wished for; strong, built, and with amazing eyes, and Brenn was in love with him. That would have given Joey something to live for, if it hadn’t been too late. He had about three weeks left, but that didn’t seem to matter to Brenn. Brenn wanted to take him home, and Joey was willing to go with him, but on two conditions. He wanted Brenn to make love to him before he died, but no kissing.

The first book in this series is Choices. You can purchase this book from here

Monday, April 28, 2014

Blog Hop...hop...hop...hop...hop



 

I've not done one of these before, but I suppose I can figure it out (by cheating and spying on the other's who have asked me to join). Basically I tell people about what I've been doing recently and how and why I do it. So, here goes:



Question 1 (deep breath) What am I working on?

I'm on my final edits (I hope) to "First Kiss" This is the second in The Looking Glass series which I started a couple of years ago. The first one "Choices" was well received, and a lot of readers said they wanted more, so I've tried to do exactly that.
 

It's all about a magic mirror that shows a special someone, who looks upon it's surface, their one true love. In Choices, Marc was shown a man. Marc was straight, so his journey in finding the man he was supposed to love and convince him of that was unusual to say the least.
 
In First Kiss, Brenn is shown Joey, but when he meets Joey, he finds out he's dying. All I can say is that love is the most powerful magic of all, but have your tissues handy.
 
Simon, who is the mirror's keeper, has his story, but not yet. He wants to find a love of his own, but thinks the mirror might not believe his love is good enough. You get a sense of what Simon is like in the Prologue and Epilogue of both books.
 
I'm also writing a new series called "Voodoo Dolls". Guess what they're about...










Question 2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

It's not as good?
 
I don't know, but I love my characters and what brings them together. I've been told I write emotional and flawed characters who develop within the short time we get to know them. I'm not a good plot writer, so I rely heavily on the men who make me put fingers to keyboard (what happened to pen and paper?). But I've started to add paranormal elements (see above question 1), and I think that gives me a little more scope to be creative.


Question 3. Why do I write what I do?


Because I must.
 
I know you've heard writers say they have voices in their head. Well we do, and they're so persistent that quite often we'd go mad if we didn't get the pen and paper (no, sorry, keyboard) out.

Writing itself is a compulsive, but writing m/m is an enjoyment. I first hit upon the m/m genre by accident, and once I'd ready my first book I was hooked. (All those lovely men kissing each other, why wouldn't I be). Jared and Kyle from Bringing Him Home was my first attempt at writing m/m, and though it didn't go right the first time, after a lot of head banging and re-writes (oh so many re-writes) Loose-id accepted it and I haven't looked back since. 



Question 4 (nearly there) How does my writing process work?

There's a process? Oops.
 
I know I start off with a scene, but I'm not sure who's in it or what comes next. I then get someone knocking on the inside of my skull asking to be allowed to play. Once he's established and I get to know him, someone else wants to join in, and if he's a good fit, and there's chemistry between them, then we have our guys. What comes next is a mystery to me, but the guys work it out, follow my lead (sorry, I was trying to get away with being clever), I follow their lead and let them do their thing. If it makes sense at the end, they yay for me.

So, that's it I guess. I hope you've learned a little bit about me. (If you haven't don't worry--you're not the only one).

 I'd like to thank Nic Starr for asking me to be a part of this. Here are some links of other's who have participated:

Suki Fleet
 
Renae Kay
 
Michelle Rae and  LV Lloyd
 
Beany Sparks



Next week you can hop over to these lovely people who were only too happy for me to twist their arm (I mean ask).

Barbara Elsborg

Jess Buffett

Thanks guys.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

First Kiss - Cover

This is the beautiful cover for First Kiss. This is the second in The Looking Glass series, so the magic mirror is being shown as a central feature. I love the images April Martinez has put together, and would like to thank her for her wonderful work.


Wednesday, March 26, 2014

First Kiss - Blurb - Would you read it?



Here's my blurb for First Kiss. Would you read it?

The second Brenn saw Joey’s image in the magic mirror, he was hooked. The moment he saw him in real life, Brenn knew Joey was going to be his forever. Joey was flirty, and fun, and he had the most gorgeous smile, but then Joey told him he was dying. Though devastated, Brenn didn’t want to give up on Joey, so he offered to look after him and make his last few days as comfortable as possible, but was that going to be enough when all Brenn really wanted was for Joey to live?

Brenn was everything Joey could have wished for; strong, built, and with amazing eyes, and Brenn was in love with him. That would have given Joey something to live for, if it hadn’t been too late. He had about three weeks left, but that didn’t seem to matter to Brenn. Brenn wanted to take him home, and Joey was willing to go with him, but on two conditions. He wanted Brenn to make love to him before he died, but no kissing.


This is in the novel (except for what's in italic - I've just added that to here)

Imagine knowing with absolute certainty that your life is going to be full and rich and with purpose. Imagine knowing that everything you do and say will be cherished and respected. Imagine then that you’re going to be able to spend that life with someone you love unconditionally. Imagine then, you find out he's dying.

Monday, February 17, 2014

First Kiss has been contracted!

Loose-id have contracted First Kiss, so I'm jumping up and down again. It's the second in the "Looking Glass" series. The first one was Choices and that was very well received, so I hope First Kiss will be too. Once again the magic mirror is doing its work, bringing two men together. Brenn falls in love with Joey the second he sees him, and can't help feeling that everything he's ever wanted is right there for him to take, but then Joey tells him he's dying.

Excerpt:
“What about sex?” Joey asked quietly.
Thrown, Brenn took a second to answer. “What about it?”
Joey’s gaze very slowly and very deliberately travelled down to Brenn’s groin, his lips turning up into a smirk. “Want to do the dirty with me?”
“Do the…?” Brenn guessed he looked like a deer caught in headlights right then, because Joey’s smirk turned into a grin, which disarmed Brenn even more. “Are you in any shape for that?”
Joey blinked then sighed. “Probably not, but that doesn’t mean I can’t suck you off.”
“Joey!”
“What? Don’t tell me you haven’t given it some thought.”
Brenn groaned, because he had given it a lot of thought, but he had more control than that. “I’m not going to do anything that can hurt you, Joey.”
“Going down on you is not going to hurt me.” Joey tipped his head to the side, his mouth twisting into a sly smile. “You can at least let me try.”
The idea of Joey’s full lips and tongue on him had Brenn’s cock filling and straining against the zip of his jeans. He bit back on a low moan, trying to hide his arousal, but guessing he hadn’t succeeded when Joey grinned again.
“Get in the shower,” Brenn growled before he changed his mind and agreed to Joey’s proposal.
“Coming in with me? A bit hard to soap me up otherwise.” Joey’s eyes were bright and filled with humor. Brenn had to suppress a grin of his own. If there was one thing he was quickly learning about Joey it was that he rarely let anything put him down for long, bouncing back with humor and his unending capacity to flirt. It was infectious, and Brenn was easily swayed.
“I’ll have to strip.”
“I know.” Joey’s smile was hot. “It’ll give me something to look at.”
Brenn wasn’t stepping over the line; he was jumping over it with a pole vault. Not even sure why he was doing this, knowing it was going to cause him more grief than pleasure, he quickly unbuttoned his shirt and slipped it down his arms.
Joey whistled. “Now that’s something worth looking at.”
Brenn didn’t need to inspect his body to know what Joey was talking about. Naturally big, he’d deliberately kept in shape making sure his muscles were well defined and his stomach remained flat. “You like?” he asked, not averse to using a little flirting of his own by running a hand over his chest and abs.
“Jesus, if I could get horny, I would.”
“You haven’t seen all of me yet.” Brenn undid the button of his jeans and slowly lowered the zip. It was probably mean to do this but Joey seemed to want it, and right then, Brenn was willing to do whatever Joey wanted. Sliding the denim down his legs he kicked off his shoes and socks then hooked his thumbs inside the waistband of his briefs.
“Sure?” he asked Joey who was watching him avidly. Joey made a flapping motion with his hand for Brenn to continue. Brenn grinned and got naked.
“Holy crap!” Joey’s eyes went wide and Brenn couldn’t help feeling a little smug.
A solid nine inches, thick and hard, Brenn’s cock stood out from a fine matt of blond curls. His balls felt heavy and full despite him having unloaded them a couple of hours before coming to see Joey.
“Can I touch?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Brenn backed up a step as Joey moved closer.
“Aw, come on, just a little one.”
“Get off and get in the shower.”
“Spoilsport,” Joey mumbled, but he did as Brenn asked and eased under the warm spray.