Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Virtual Tour: M/M ~ When Will I Be Loved by Julie Lynn Hayes ~ (Author Guest Post, Excerpt + Giveaway)

Virtual Tour: M/M ~ When Will I Be Loved by Julie Lynn Hayes ~ (Author Guest Post, Excerpt + Giveaway)
Book Information:
Author Name: Julie Lynn Hayes
Book Name: When Will I Be Loved
Release Date: June 7, 2015

Buy The Book From Publisher

Blurb:

Miller Fenwick wants the kind of happy ending his best friend got, with the hunky werewolf of his dreams. Trouble is, there doesn’t seem to be a Prince Charming on the horizon, and casual encounters don’t cut it anymore. Now that Alexx and Raoul are engaged, Miller is becoming resigned to being the bridesmaid, never the bride. But a chance encounter with a sexy stranger at Charisma has his hopes soaring, and his heart is wide open to possibilities.

Holt Wynne is the head of Helios, the largest vampire organization in the country. He’s a very influential and wealthy man, with a deep-seated hatred of werewolves. His running into Miller at Charisma isn’t entirely accidental. He’d meant to wait, but his emotions got the better of him, and he couldn’t stay away. And now see what he’s done…

Wait until Miller finds out he’s sortof just gotten married to the sexy vampire who hates the people who are Miller’s best friends. Sparks are gonna fly—and not just in the bedroom. One thing for sure—life in Crescent Bay is never dull!

Pages or Words: Approximately 115,000 words
Categories: M/M Romance, Mystery, Paranormal

Excerpt:

Miller forced himself to take a breath, unaware until he did that he’d stopped breathing.
Quit being ridiculous. Wine going to your head already?
But he’d only had the one glass. And he hadn’t even finished that. He wasn’t such a lightweight, when it came to holding his alcohol, and he knew it.
He told himself it was just his imagination. But just to be safe, he began a slow cautious turn, looking around him, without appearing to be searching for anything—or anyone.
And there he was.

Standing a heartbeat away from Miller was one of the sexiest men he’d ever seen in his life. A man every bit as sexy as Raoul Marchand, although not in the same feral way as the werewolf.
This man was light where Raoul was dark. His hair was a honey blonde which stood out by virtue of being obviously natural, in a place where most blondes were either created by the sun or came from a bottle. He stood a little taller than Miller, exuding a presence that went beyond the merely physical, possessed of the bearing and mien of a veritable god.
But it was his eyes that drew Miller in and held him spellbound. Blue and green, like staring into tropical waves, flecked with bits of pure molten gold. And the way he was staring at Miller was sending the most delicious shivers traveling up and down his spine.
The man took a step toward Miller, his hand outstretched. Before Miller quite realized what had happened, he’d placed his own hand inside of the other man’s, and he found himself being drawn onto the dance floor.


Author Guest Post:



We are very excited to have a special guest, Julie here at Bayou Book Junkie today!

Hi Julie!


Thanks for being with us here today! Can you talk about what inspired this story?

Thanks for having me on your blog today!
When Will I Be Loved is the second book in the Crescent Bay Chronicles. When I wrote the first book, When Will I See You Again, I hadn’t thought of a name for the series, because there was going to be no series. It was meant as a single novel. End of story. No more to say. I thought I was done. Finito.
I mean, you can’t have two million different series, right? Sometimes a book’s just gotta stand alone, and be a single title.
Then a reader changed all that. Shorty asked me when I was going to write Miller’s story. Miller deserves to be happy too, she said. And I was rather flummoxed. Um… um… um… I hemmed and hawed, not knowing what to say. She very graciously said it was up to me, of course, but I felt bad, so I said maybe I can write a little Christmas story or something. I figured a short story for the holidays, something cute, right? And of course she was very nice and said that would be good.
But my Muse had other ideas. Despite my telling him no, and refusing to entertain the idea any farther, by the end of the next day, I had the plot for When Will I Be Loved in my head.
The first hero was, of course, Miller, who appears in the first book in an almost sidekick sort of way. He’s Alexx’s best friend, and he works at the Crescent Bay Chronicle as a receptionist. He served as a confidante, and, at times, as comic relief.  In fact, his last name, Fenwick, is a reference to the old Dudley Doright cartoons, named after Inspector Fenwick, Dudley’s boss, and his girlfriend Nell’s father. I thought it was funny,, not realizing he’d end up as a main character in a second book.
Then of course I needed his love interest, and I considered maybe one of Raoul’s pack. But then I remembered that I had mentioned vampires in the first book, but never did anything with them, as if they were no-shows at a class reunion. So I decided Miller would fall in love with a vampire, one who was certainly no friend of Raoul and the wolves, thus creating automatic drama. And Holt Wynne, head of Helios, largest vampire family in the country, came to pass. I can thank my daughter Sarah for the face of Holt Wynne, by the way, as she is obsessed with the TV show Lost. She suggested Josh Holloway, so I looked him up, and he was perfect! So picture him when you read about Holt. Isn’t he yummy?
Wait, did I actually answer the question?  I think I did. It was Shorty who inspired me to write the story, which originally was intended to be a short holiday story, but ended up as a 115k novel.
Thanks, Shorty, I owe you!
Thanks for having me on your blog today!
Thanks so much for being here!!

About the author:
Julie Lynn Hayes first began publishing short stories and poetry in the 1990’s, when it was a different ballgame altogether, and Ebooks hadn’t been dreamed of yet. That changed in 2010 with the acceptance of her first romance novel. She’s come a long way since that first book appeared, and is finding the journey a very educational one.

She lives in St. Louis with her daughter Sarah and her cat Ramesses. She often writes of two men finding true love and happiness in one another’s arms, and is a great believer in the happily ever after. She likes to write in different genres, to stretch herself in order to see what is possible. Her great challenge is to be told something can’t be done—she feels compelled to do it.

When she isn’t writing, she enjoys crafts, such as crocheting and cross stitch, needlepoint and knitting, and she loves to cook, spending time watching the Food Network. Her favorite chef is Geoffrey Zakarian. Her family thinks she’s a bit off, but she doesn’t mind. Marching to the beat of one’s own drummer is a good thing, after all. Her published works can be found at Dreamspinner Press, eXtasy Books, Wayward Ink Press, and Amber Quill Press.

Where to find the author:
Facebook: Facebook
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/ShelleyRunyon
Goodreads Link: My Goodreads
Publisher: Amber Quill
Cover Artist: Trace Zaber



Tour Dates & Stops:
7-Jun

8-Jun

9-Jun

10-Jun

11-Jun

12-Jun

15-Jun

16-Jun

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18-Jun

19-Jun

22-Jun

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1-Jul

2-Jul

Rafflecopter Prize: 1 copy of When Will I Be Loved and 1 copy of When Will I See You Again or if winner has that, another book from my backlist

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Excerpt Only Tour: M/M ~ Model Citizen by Lissa Kasey ~ (Exclusive Excerpt + Giveaway)

Excerpt Only Tour: M/M ~ Model Citizen by Lissa Kasey ~ (Exclusive Excerpt + Giveaway)

Book Information:
Author Name: Lissa Kasey
Book Name: Model Citizen
Release Date: June 22, 2015
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Garrett Leigh

Buy The Book:
DSP Print



Blurb:

Oliver “Ollie” Petroskovic’s life as an international supermodel was heading in the right direction. He worked part-time for his brother at his detective agency—Petroskovic Haven Investigations—and had just bought his dream house. But all that changed when he found his brother dead, a victim of PTSD-induced suicide.

Almost a year later, Ollie is trying to keep his brother’s business afloat, but can’t get his PI license. Then his brother’s best friend, Kade Alme, shows up, fresh from the battlefield after a close brush with death. Kade is looking for a new life, in more ways than one, and with PI license in hand, he’s exactly what Ollie needs to keep PHI running.

When one of Ollie's childhood friends gets in trouble, Ollie feels he has to help. Kade insists on investigating if only to keep Ollie safe. Neither realizes the danger they’re in as someone tries to tear them apart before they can find solid ground together.


Pages or Words: 82,000 words
Categories: Contemporary, M/M Romance, Mystery



Exclusive Excerpt:

Kade’s truck appeared first, sliding into the hotel lot without its lights. He got out of the truck and I waved at him to get down. He immediately dropped and motioned a question to where the shooter might be. I pointed up and made my fingers move like they were walking up stairs. He nodded and crept toward the stairway.
“No,” I hissed at Kade. “Don’t go up there. He’s got a shotgun.”
Kade pulled out a gun of his own, waved it at the top of the stairs, but didn’t stop moving.
Crap. The guy was working with me less than a week, and I was going to get him killed. That would be a new record even for me. Fuck.


About the author:
Lissa Kasey lives in St. Paul, MN, has a Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing, and collects Asian Ball Joint Dolls who look like her characters. She has three cats who enjoy waking her up an hour before her alarm every morning and sitting on her lap to help her write. She can often be found at Anime Conventions masquerading as random characters when she's not writing about boy romance.

Where to find the author:
Twitter: @parisbvamp
Website: www.lissakasey.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lissa.kasey
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Garrett Leigh


Tour Dates & Stops: June 22 – July 3, 2015
22-Jun
23-Jun
24-Jun
25-Jun
26-Jun
29-Jun
30-Jun
1-Jul
2-Jul
3-Jul

Rafflecopter Prize: $15 DSP Gift Card
a Rafflecopter giveaway


Monday, June 29, 2015

Book Blast: M/M ~ Brick by Brick by Cate Ashwood & L.J. LaBarthe ~ (ARC Review, Excerpt + Giveaway)

Book Blast: M/M ~ Brick by Brick by Cate Ashwood & L.J. LaBarthe ~ (ARC Review, Excerpt + Giveaway)
Book Information:
Author Name: Cate Ashwood & L.J. LaBarthe
Book Name: Brick by Brick
Release Date: June 29, 2015
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Bree Archer
Goodreads

Buy The Book:

Blurb:

They say that time heals all wounds, but losing Parley, his one true love, left Zach with a hole in his heart that no one else can fill. After forty-eight blissful hours alone together as teens in an abandoned house, Parley disappeared. Parley is what he is, and the pray-away-the-gay camp his parents ship him to won’t change that. However, finding the balance between accepting his true nature and not losing his family means tough sacrifices.
Sixteen years later, Zach is thunderstruck when Parley stands on the front doorstep of his house—the house that had been their refuge, which Zach restored. But Parley isn’t alone, and Zach wonders if he’s found Parley only to lose him a second time. If they can overcome the terrors of the past and the situation of the present, maybe they can build a new relationship just as Zach rebuilt the house—brick by brick.

Pages or Words: 62,000 words
Categories: Contemporary, Fiction, Gay fiction, M/M Romance

Excerpt:
ZACH FELT as if he was floating. He’d been planning this escape for weeks, but now that it was actually happening, it didn’t seem real. He chanced a quick look at Parley as they merged onto the highway. What could possibly be better than running away with his best friend?
He’d had his doubts that Parley would actually come with him. After being turned down the first time, Zach had prepared himself for disappointment, but now they were leaving together and Zach couldn’t have been happier.

“Where should we go?” Zach asked. He had some vague ideas in mind, but he wanted his friend’s input more than anything.

“I don’t know. Somewhere we can’t be found?” Zach was right on board with that.

“That’s a good idea. We’ll go for a bit on this highway, then we’ll exit and take some back roads, maybe head toward the interior.”

Parley dropped his head back against the seat. “Perfect.” After a time, he said, “I still can’t believe we’re doing this.”

“I still can’t believe you came with me,” Zach countered.

“I can’t either. I must be insane.”

“Or brilliant. It’s usually a fine line,” Zach teased.

“My parents are going to have an absolute meltdown once they’ve found out what I’ve done. They’re going to be so upset.”

Parley’s voice was quiet, barely above a whisper. Zach had seen him like this once before when he’d thought he’d lost his weird CTR ring with the spinner chain in the band.

“It’ll all be okay.” Zach tried to soothe him, to bring him back to the present, and rested a gentle hand on Parley’s knee. “Everyone flies from the nest sooner or later. We just did it in an unconventional way. I really do think this is what’s best, though, for both of us.”

Zach’s reassurance seemed to work. Parley blinked slowly a few times and then a somewhat disheartened smile crept onto his face. “I know, but my family is just… different.” 

Tracy's Review:

4 Stars

*copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by author/publisher via Pride Promotions in exchange for an honest review*

Parley and Zach meet in high school. Parley is a good academic student, very Christian and quiet.

Zach is the total opposite. He is loud and curses. He is into sports, but not doing so well academically.

Parley and Zach are thrown into one another's lives when Parley tutors Zach. Even though they are not alike, they find a common a ground and form a strong friendship.

Zach knows he'll never be good enough to go to college like his parents aspect him to, so he decides after his finals are all taken, he will run away. He asks Parley, his best friend to go with him. Parley says no at first, but quickly changes his mind. He is in love with Zach and can't see his life without him.

The two don't make it far before the beater Zach bought breaks down. They are eventually caught and brought back to their parents. Zach tries to see Parley, but his parents have sent him away, to a conversion camp. I'm going to stop right here and thank the authors. I have read The Pray The Gay Away series by Sara York, and when I got to this point in the book, I almost closed it. I can't take that. It tore me up more than almost anything I have ever read, when I read those scenes in Sara's series. Thank God, the authors skip ahead 16 years. We see none of the gory details.

After 16 years Parley shows up on Zach's door step. Zach has spent the past 16 years never giving up hope that he would find Parley. He has never given up on his one true love.

This was a good story, and I enjoyed it. It was well written and different. Different in the fact that usually we would start the story either as a prologue or in the present, but here we see things in real time, as they happen, until the point these young men are torn apart.

The characters had a good chemistry, and the relationship developed slowly when they were teens, but when they get together as adults, I felt things were a bit rushed. The authors didn't really take the time to have the characters get reacquainted, and get to know each other again. 16 years is a long time and experiences change people. I just wish the authors would have taken things a little more gradually in the second half of the book.

The relationship between the main characters was sweet and intense. The secondary characters of Zach's assistant, Tessa, and Parley's friend, Veronica and his Sister Emma, play a big part in this book. Sometimes with Veronica, almost too big of a part. I wish she would have been kept more as a background character, and more time devoted to Parley and Zach.

All in all this was a good story and I enjoyed it.



About The Authors:
About L.J. LaBarthe:
L.J. LaBarthe is a French-Australian woman, who was born during the Witching Hour, just after midnight. From this auspicious beginning, she went on to write a prize-winning short story about Humpty Dumpty wearing an Aussie hat complete with corks dangling from it when she was six years old. From there, she wrote for her high school yearbook, her university newspaper, and, from her early teens to her twenties, produced a fanzine about the local punk rock music scene. She loves music of all kinds and was once a classical pianist; she loves languages and speaks French and English and a teeny-tiny smattering of Mandarin Chinese, which she hopes to relearn properly very soon. She enjoys TV, film, travel, cooking, eating out, abandoned places, urbex, history, and researching.

L.J. loves to read complicated plots and hopes to do complex plot lines justice in her own writing. She writes paranormal, historical, urban fantasy, and contemporary Australian stories, usually m/m romance and featuring m/m erotica. She has won a Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention and another award for Best Historical Gay Novel.

L.J. lives in the city of Adelaide, and is owned by her cat.

Where to find L.J LaBarthe:
Twitter: @brbsiberia


About Cate Ashwood:
Cate Ashwood wrote her very first story in a hot-pink binder when she was in the second grade and found her passion for writing. Her first successful foray into romance writing came five years later when she wrote her best friend, who was experiencing a case of unrequited love, her own happily ever after.

Cate’s life has taken a number of different and adventurous roads. She now lives a stone’s throw from the ocean, just outside of Vancouver, British Columbia with her husband, her little boy, and their two cats. Her life is filled with family and friends, travel, and, of course, books.

Where to find Cate Ashwood:
Twitter: @cateashwood


Tour Dates & Stops:
Rafflecopter Prize: An e-copy of ‘Brick by Brick’

a Rafflecopter giveaway