New Release Blitz: Conviction by M.D. Neu (Excerpt & Giveaway)

Title:  Conviction

Series: A New World, Book Two

Author: M.D. Neu

Publisher:  NineStar Press

Release Date: March 25, 2019

Heat Level: 1 – No Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 103900

Genre: Science Fiction, LGBT, Space travel, aliens, politics, grief, interspecies romance

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Synopsis

A little blue world, the third planet from the sun. It’s home to 7 billion people with all manner of faiths, beliefs and customs, divided by bigotry and misunderstanding, who will soon be told they are not alone in the universe. Anyone watching from the outside would pass by this fractured and tumultuous world, unless they had no other choice.

Todd Landon is one of these people, living and working in a section of the world called the United States of America. His life is similar to those around him: home, family, work, friends and a husband.

After the attack on San Jose, Todd is appointed to Special Envoy for Terran Affairs by the nentraee, a position many world leaders question. Undeterred Todd wants to build bridges between both people. However, this new position brings with it a new set of problems that not only he, but his new allies Mi’ko and Mirtoff must overcome. Will the humans and nentraee learn to work together despite mistrust and threats of more attacks by a new global terrorist group, or will the terrorists win? Will this bring an end to an already shaky alliance between nentraee and humans?

Excerpt

Conviction
M.D. Neu © 2019
All Rights Reserved

“I believe this should be adequate.” Mi’ko checked his datapad to ensure all the proper requisitions had been finalized. He glanced around the room again with a pleased smile.

“Do you think he’ll enjoy living here?” Mi’cin asked.

They were here to inspect the quarters he had selected for Todd in the secured area of the speaker’s ship. He could have left it up to Vi-Narm or one of his other aides, but this was important and he needed to handle these details personally. Todd was important, and he wanted to make sure everything was perfect. Plus, it was an opportunity to spend more time with Mi’cin.

“Mister Todd Landon was adamant about staying in his own home and commuting, but it’s not practical.” Mi’ko ran a hand over the desk, then checked his fingers for dust. “And with the rise in protest against us across the planet, it’s not safe. Even though his government insists it is.”

“If you say so,” Mi’cin said. “He didn’t strike me as very logical after our brief meeting.” He went to one of the windows and opened it. “It would be nice to have quarters like this for myself. Does he need all this space? He’s one male.” He inhaled deeply and viewed the park below. “It smells like home. But it’s a replica, not the real place.” His nose crinkled.

“Mi’cin, don’t sulk. Our living situation isn’t that bad, and you are not a child.” Mi’ko put a hand on his son’s arm and squeezed. “I know you hurt. We all ache for our home, but these ships are our home, for now. It’s a pain we all share. By working with the humans, especially Todd, that pain and the loss of our home will lessen.”

Mi’cin’s expression fell. “Assuming the humans will work with us.”

“Please be supportive.” Mi’ko frowned. “I understand you have your misgivings, but please.” He inhaled, smelling the damp trees. “And since when have you not enjoyed the ship’s gardens?” He looked out to the woodland where several tall trees, paths, and waterways ran in countless directions.

The grounds were replicas of some of the famous parks on Benzee and her satellites. The ship’s builders gave as much space as feasible to allow people the chance to enjoy the open space. The artificial light that mimicked the day-night cycle of Benzee had gradually been adjusted to the length of Earth’s day.

“He does, indeed, have a better view than us, but that’s all right.” Mi’ko grinned and thought.

This new position for Mi’cin will help focus him. Give him a chance to interact with the humans and learn about them.

“A view of space would have been equally nice,” Mi’cin said, “but I doubt he’d be used to such a thing.” He turned back to the window. “Such a waste.”

“I assure you it’s not a waste.” Mi’ko ran a hand over the soft fabric of the chair. “Considering the nature of this position. Plus, I thought a view of nature and all the fresh scents would make him feel more at home. It will give him a sense of what Mentra Park was like.”

Mi’cin clucked his tongue.

“What?” Mi’ko questioned. “That was one of your favorite parks on Mentra. You made me take you there whenever we went to visit my parents. You loved the views of Benzee.”

Mi’cin said nothing.

“Mi’cin, please.”

“As you wish, Father.”

“I’d like to ask you to assist Mister Todd Landon to help him acclimate,” Mi’ko said. “It’s going to be hard for him at first. Even though he’s been studying our language and culture—”

Mi’cin’s sigh muted his father. “Of course. I’ll do my best. You have my word. Besides, isn’t that what your aide is supposed to do?”

“True, but this is the first time I’ve had an aide who’s my son.”

“Well, Vi-Narm can’t do it all, and your other aides are busy,” Mi’cin said. “I can use the experience, as you and Mother both keep telling me.”

“I can think of no one better to support me.” Mi’ko focused on his son. “You know, you’re both very quizzical, so you will be good for each other. I hope you can become friends.” He reached out and gently touched Mi’cin on the cheek.

A soft chirp came from the door. It opened to reveal Vi-Narm. Her tightly braided hair had a few wisps out of place; her breathing was heavy.

“Vice speaker, there is a problem with the Envoy position. General Gahumed, with the support of General Fanion, is calling for a special session in the council chamber.”

“What now?” The muscles around Mi’ko’s eyes twitched and the tips of his ears started to warm. It had been like this for several weeks. These continued issues with his own people were taking far too much of his time.

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Meet the Author

M.D. Neu is a LGBTQA Fiction Writer with a love for writing and travel. Living in the heart of Silicon Valley (San Jose, California) and growing up around technology, he’s always been fascinated with what could be. Specifically drawn to Science Fiction and Paranormal television and novels, M.D. Neu was inspired by the great Gene Roddenberry, George Lucas, Stephen King, Alfred Hitchcock and Kim Stanley Robinson. An odd combination, but one that has influenced his writing.

Growing up in an accepting family as a gay man, he always wondered why there were never stories reflecting who he was. Constantly surrounded by characters that only reflected heterosexual society, M.D. Neu decided he wanted to change that. So, he took to writing, wanting to tell good stories that reflected our diverse world.

When M.D. Neu isn’t writing, he works for a non-profit and travels with his biggest supporter and his harshest critic, Eric, his husband of eighteen plus years.

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Series Tour: Memory of Scorpions by Aleksandr Voinov

The Memory of Scorpions series is a gritty military fantasy featuring a very diverse, very queer cast of characters.  Political drama, court intrigue,  love, loyalty, betrayal and a plot driven story line that will keep you guessing right up to the very end.  The beautiful covers were created by Anna Sikorska.

Scorpion, Book 1

You learn your wisest lessons from your enemies. Assuming, of course, you survive the encounter.

Kendras is a casualty of war: injured, penniless, and quite possibly the last surviving member of the only family he’s ever known—the elite fighting force known as the Scorpions. When a steel-eyed stranger offers him medicine and shelter in exchange for submission and a secret task, Kendras has no choice but to accept. He is a Scorpion; he’ll do whatever it takes to survive.

But his true goal is to rebuild the Scorpions. Neither Steel’s possessive nature nor Kendras’s shattered foot can keep him from finding the last of his brothers… or the mysterious leader of the Scorpions, a man who held Kendras’s heart long before Steel tried to take it for himself. The goal is simple, the situation anything but. To rescue his leader and escape from Steel for good, Kendras must fight through a morass of politics and intrigue, where enemies are allies and even allies have hidden agendas.

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Lying with Scorpions, Book 2

If you lie with scorpions, you’d better have a taste for poison.

Now that Kendras’s lover Adrastes has claimed the throne of Dalman, Kendras is tangled deeper than ever in politics and intrigue. As the new leader of the Scorpions and Adrastes’s one true friend, he and his men stand between Adrastes and those who wish him dead.

And many do. Adrastes openly challenges the ocean priesthood for power while establishing himself at court and brokering with the realm’s various factions. He means for the Scorpions to become a fearsome legion again, but Kendras must first learn how to be a good officer and recruit to replace the fallen. His choices will determine the future of a group steeped in hundreds of years of history and tradition.

As both Kendras and Adrastes settle old scores, a new enemy arises in Commander Graukar, a war hero loyal to the old order. In his formidable mountain fortress, Graukar may hold the balance of power. But while Adrastes aims to either rule or destroy Graukar, Kendras finds himself doubting Adrastes for the first time, and sharing more with Graukar than he ever thought possible.

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A Taste for Poison, Book 3

Even the hand of a king is stung when it reaches for the scorpion.

After barely surviving an assassination attempt, King Adrastes is a changed man—one who mistrusts even his allies and friends. He readies his empire for war against an enigmatic enemy, the Elder of Vededrin, but not everyone approves. While courtiers dare only to whisper dissent, an outrider called Death foments rebellion in the mountains, aided by a prophecy that promises he’ll stop the Black King.

Kendras—former lover to Adrastes and leader of the Scorpions—is sent with his elite mercenary force to bring Death to justice. But when Kendras learns who’s hiding behind the mask, he must choose between his lover Graukar, newly appointed general to the king—and King Adrastes himself.

With no man to call master, the Scorpions could flee the danger and intrigue. But Kendras cannot abandon the man he once loved—or the man he’s growing to love—without first uncovering the real threat to the Empire.

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Meet the Author

Aleksandr Voinov is an emigrant German author living near London, where he works as an financial editor, writing coach, and complementary therapist. At 43 years of age, Voinov has written more than two dozen novels and published five novels with German publishers. After many years working in the horror, science fiction, cyberpunk and fantasy genres, Voinov is now primarily writing queer fiction.

Described as a “workaholic speed-writing freak” by fellow writers, a “creative writing class drill sergeant” by his writing ‘padawans’, Voinov is a self-confessed geek and has enlarged his days by 12 secret hours in return for the sacrifice of ten albino virgin pygmy hippos.

Voinov’s style has been called “dynamic to the point of breathlessness” and “disturbingly poetic” by publishers and literary agents. A recurring theme in his fiction is “the triumph of the human spirit” or an individual rising to challenge the status quo in a world gone bad.

Intellectually, he is drawn to the dark side of human nature and history. As a trained historian, he is fascinated by wars, religion and the conflict between the individual and society.

Interests at the moment include WWII, medieval siege warfare, William Marshall, the Golden Age of Piracy, and whale-hunting. These interests are subject to change from one day to the other, and Voinov single-handedly sustains two bookshops in London.

Public Contact Email: vashtan@gmail.com
Website: http://www.aleksandrvoinov.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aleksandr.voinov.12
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vashtan
Goodreads Author Profile: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3074905.Aleksandr_Voinov
Tumblr: http://aleksandrvoinov.tumblr.com/
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aleksandrvoinov
Newsletter: https://us3.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=0648aab5d3675b949f1329b38&id=eae6814f9c

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New Release Blitz: Time Taken by C.B. Lewis (Excerpt & Giveaway)

Title:  Time Taken

Series: Out of Time, Book Three

Author: C.B. Lewis

Publisher:  NineStar Press

Release Date: March 18, 2019

Heat Level: 3 – Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 124900

Genre: Science Fiction, LGBT, science fiction, time travel, historical, action adventure, intercultural/interracial, bisexual, demisexual, British, Muslim culture, illness

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Synopsis

Time travel is a precarious business at the best of times, but when Qasim El-Fahkri’s mission to the past ends in violence, it has a ripple effect through every level of the Temporal Research Institute.

Rhys Griffiths finds himself caught in the wake of the disastrous jump, his own career uncertain. With the Supervisory Board breathing down his neck, operatives demanding answers to baffling questions, and life outside of work bearing down on him, his only respite comes from Qasim’s company. As the professional slowly becomes the personal, they must confront the echoes of their own pasts to try and move forward in the future.

But another past is waiting for Qasim, and there may be no coming back from this one…

For full enjoyment, it is recommended to first read books 1, Time Waits, and 2, Time Lost.

Excerpt

Time Taken
C.B. Lewis © 2019
All Rights Reserved

The rain had finally stopped. The cobbles gleamed in the hazy moonlight, dappled with the warmer glow from the windows of the houses. It was late enough for the streets to be deserted, and the marketplace was silent.

Booted feet tramped by through the streets.

Half a dozen Janissaries. Members of the Sultan’s elite guard. All armed with swords and guns. In better days, they would have been a comforting sight. Now, they were the reason people shuttered their windows and closed down their shops at night. With tensions rising across the city, it was better to stay out of their way.

In the shadows between the stalls, a dark figure crouched out of sight.

It wasn’t the best idea.

Less than three feet away, there was a broad gutter cutting through the road ankle-deep with the waste of the day. Even with the breeze from the Bosphorus, it stank.

A donkey turd bobbed by.

Qasim El-Fahkri made a face, leaning further back into the shadows and away from the gutter.

It was going to be a relief to get back to the twenty-first century, a time with better hygiene and less danger.

Something brushed against his shoulder.

Only a few years earlier, Qasim would have screamed like a kid, fallen over, or added a sample of his own to the gutter. Thankfully, he’d been on enough missions to know how to control himself, even if his heart was slamming against his ribs and he’d snapped his mouth shut so hard he’d gashed his lip.

There were no shouts and, whatever it was, it didn’t have fingers or a grip on him or a knife at his throat.

He twisted around.

A cat was standing on the cobbles, within arm’s reach, glowering at him as if he had mortally offended it for getting in its way. Standard cat, then. Relieved, he turned his attention to the soldiers. They were at the edge of the market now. He just had to stay out of sight a little…

The cat yowled.

Qasim whipped around. “Shh!” he hissed. “Please, shh!”

The cat either didn’t speak panicked human or didn’t care and yowled again. The soldiers weren’t leaving. Their footfalls had turned, coming back, approaching.

Qasim glanced around wildly. There were only two exits from the marketplace, and one of them was definitely not available, on account of the swords and the men attached to them.

The cat wasn’t shutting up either.

Some part of his brain must have been operating because he grabbed the sodden creature and shoved it down the front of his robe. It squirmed but, mercifully, didn’t remember it had claws. Qasim wrapped his arms over his chest and held his breath.

The footsteps came closer, paused, then moved away again.

Qasim exhaled, closing his eyes.

Too close. Far too close.

Cautiously, he slid closer to the edge of the market stall and peered around it. Between the other stalls, he could see the soldiers heading for the gate. All five of them were marching briskly, and he waited until they were out of sight, then slipped out from behind the stall and straightened up.

Maths. Bollocks! Always a weakness, but he’d never failed to count to six before.

The lingering Janissary—sneaky bastard—grabbed at him.

Everyone thought Qasim was cool in a crisis, which was frankly hilarious. He was the proverbial swan: majestic on the surface, paddling like mad underneath.

Still, there was always a bit of him that seemed to know what it was doing, and it dinged the man hard across the head, hard enough to send him reeling and crashing into the nearest stall.

The cover on the stall gave way, taking one of the support beams with it. The silence shattered as wood and canvas and a full-grown, fully armed man crashed down on the cobbles.

Qasim turned and ran. Behind him, the fallen soldier was yelling. There was some very vulgar Turkish in there, nearly beyond Qasim’s vocabulary, but enough for him to feel offended on behalf of his mother and goats.

The streets were a labyrinth—one he’d memorised as much as possible in the weeks leading up to the mission. Just in case, Dieter and Gulshan had both insisted, and as Qasim ducked down a passage and skidded around a corner into a broader alleyway, he wanted to kiss them both.

There was a wail from inside his robe, and the cat wriggled against his chest, but there was no time to stop or release it. “Shh,” he panted as he vaulted over a staircase wall and dropped into the alley below. He ducked under the stairs to catch his breath.

From the street above, the shouts of the men chasing him rang out.

For once, he appreciated the curfew. The drama at the Hippodrome had people on edge. It wasn’t official, but with Janissaries raising arms, people preferred to take refuge indoors. A political storm was about to break. No one wanted to be caught in it. It also meant no one would flag the guards down and let them know where he was. Problem was he was out in the dark with roaming bands of Janissaries and had a rendezvous point at least a half a mile away.

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Meet the Author

C.B. Lewis is small, Scottish and writes pretty much anywhere, any time. She loves to travel and tends to bring home at least four new plot bunnies from every trip she goes on. She’s very excited to continue the adventures of the Out of Time series.

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New Release Blitz: The Perfect Shine by J.K. Hogan (Excerpt & Giveaway)

Title:  The Perfect Shine

Author: J.K. Hogan

Publisher:  NineStar Press

Release Date: March 18, 2019

Heat Level: 3 – Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 81600

Genre: Contemporary New Adult, LGBT, contemporary, new adult, romance, friends to lovers

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Synopsis

Jackson Meade was a shy, awkward kid just trying to survive a high school with too many bullies and too few friends. Now that he’s in college, his eyes have been opened to a whole world of possibilities, especially those regarding love and sexuality. However, he can’t enjoy any of it since he’s been separated from his best friend.

Blake Renault has been in love with his best friend almost since they first met. After escaping a bad family situation, he lived with Jackson and his mom for the last two years of high school, which made it much harder to keep his feelings a secret. Graduation brings lots of changes for the boys, including Blake moving to a different city to apprentice with a tattoo artist and Jackson going off to college.

Being forced apart after high school leads them to new revelations about themselves and their relationship. While Jackson questions whether his attachment to Blake is normal for best friends, Blake decides to risk everything and tell Jackson the truth. Jackson and Blake must figure out what they want from each other while the future of their deep friendship hangs in the balance. Will they find love, or lose everything?

Excerpt

The Perfect Shine
J.K. Hogan © 2019
All Rights Reserved

Jackson

Savannah, Georgia—2014

The foam ball made a blunt thud as it bounced off the drop-ceiling tiles above me. My dorm room was like an acoustic black hole—it pulled everything outside into it, then trapped it here. Every sound I made inside was muffled and dull, and every sound from outside came right to my ears, clear as a bell. It was maddening as hell, and not very conducive to productivity, but perfect for brooding.

It was my first week at Arden College. My first week alone… It had only been a few days since my best friend Blake dropped me off. He’d somberly helped me haul my crates of crap up the stairs to my brand new-old room. The elevators had been shut down because maintenance had believed the strain of carrying all the belongings of all the residents up and down in one day would cause them to break. So up and down we all had walked…grudgingly. Repeatedly.

Blake leaving had felt like my right arm being torn from my body. We were that close. We’d only known each other for a fraction of our lives, but Blake had lived with my mom and me during the last two years of high school, so we were rarely ever apart. And then graduation happened. And college.

I wasn’t going to go alone; I’d told him I wouldn’t. He’d begged me, and finally resorted to threats. Said he’d disappear and never come back, so I’d be staying for no reason anyway. I knew he wouldn’t do it, but it let me know how serious he was about me not fucking up my future for his sake. He could be stubbornly paternal sometimes, when it came to stuff like that—we’re working on it. So we’d packed my meager possessions into my too-janky-to-be-real pick-up truck and driven to Arden.

When we’d finally finished, and it was time for Blake to leave, because the school didn’t allow overnight guests during the first semester of a student’s freshman year. I struggled not to cry at first, but he’d just pulled me into one of his patented giant bear hugs and held me close while I sobbed all over his favorite Saints jersey. He was the only one in the world besides my mom who was allowed so close to me, who was able to touch me like that. And he was leaving. What would I do now?

Letting the stupid ball fall to the floor, I dashed my hands across my wet cheeks and cursed a blue streak that was promptly absorbed by the cinderblock walls. How the hell was I going to do this by myself, without my other half? I felt like I was slowly dissolving, becoming a shell of myself that drifted through life, waiting to be blown away by a stiff breeze.

Suddenly the thick walls of the tiny room felt like they were closing in on me. My chest constricted with claustrophobia, and I knew I had to get out of there before I went crazy. My data structures and algorithms class started in about an hour, so I could just leave early. I dressed quickly and threw on a light jacket before grabbing my backpack and bolting out the door. The thought of being inside the elevator made my skin clammy from imagined claustrophobia, so I took the stairs two at a time.

I practically spilled out the front door of my dorm, and it was all I could do not to roll around in the grass because I was so happy to be outside. I’d always had anxiety, but the claustrophobia was newer. I walked through the Arden quad, alone in a sea of students streaming down the sidewalks on their way to class. It was a different kind of invisible than I’d been in high school. Back then, I was invisible because of who I was, or more accurately, who I wasn’t, and how I just didn’t rank on the high school scale of importance—although I’d never quite figured out the criteria for that system. No, being invisible on a college campus, where everyone was doing their own thing, worrying about their own lives instead of what people were wearing or where they lived or who they were friends with, was wonderfully freeing. It was like I could finally breathe after being strangled for four years.

But I was still unbearably lonely without Blake. I wasn’t putting my whole self into this college-life thing because all I really wanted was to drive to Atlanta and camp out on Blake’s couch. The saner part of my brain knew I had to be responsible and shit, get an education so I could do what I wanted with my life. The childish part of my brain made me want to stomp my feet and cry. Either way, I wasn’t meeting people or going partying, all the things people expected to do at college, because I was spending all my time wishing I was somewhere else.

Lost in thought, I rounded the corner of the comp-sci building on my way to the front door, and I ran smack into someone. I fell hard on my ass and was showered with books and papers, presumably from whomever I hit. On the grass in front of me was a pretty Asian girl with shoulder-length, wavy, dark hair and a severe slash of bangs across her forehead.

And she was glaring at me like she could explode my head by sheer force of will. I hastily stood and held out a hand to help her.

“I’m so sorry. I was a million miles away.”

Once she was back on her feet and brushed off, I started collecting her books and papers. Then I noticed the spilt coffee seeping into the ground from the paper cup she’d been carrying—oh, hell, coffee foul.

“Shit, I’m doubly sorry. I’ll get you a new coffee,” I said, handing the stack of books back to her and silently wondering why she didn’t use a backpack.

When she took her things, I picked up the empty coffee cup and tossed it into the recycling, then stuffed my hands in my pockets and faced her. Though she barely reached my shoulders, she was kind of intimidating somehow.

She sighed and shifted her books to her left arm. “It’s fine, no harm done except to my caffeine level.” Her bright red lips turned up in a small smile.

“I meant what I said… If you’ll tell me where the coffee shop is, I’ll get you a new one.”

She glanced at the computer science building, then back at me. “You have class here?”

“Yeah, but I’ve got a little time.”

“Okay, we can go together. It’s this way.”

I followed her obediently, happy she hadn’t punched me for slamming into her. She was actually really pretty in a kind of nerdy, eclectic way, with her cat-eye glasses and baggy sweater over leggings that looked like paintings of a galaxy.

“I’m Jackson, by the way. Jackson Meade.”

“Daisy Chen,” she tossed over her shoulder. “Nice to meet you, Jackson Meade. I think we’ll be friends…assuming I’m properly caffeinated soon.”

It was kind of presumptuous of her, considering I hadn’t felt at all like making friends since I got to school, but I got the feeling it might happen whether I liked it or not.

“What’s your major?” Daisy asked as we walked back toward the computer building from the coffee stand with lattés in hand.

“Um, comp-sci for now. I’m not entirely sure yet. You?”

“Same, minus the indecision,” she said in a censuring tone.

I ducked my head and looked away. Who said I had to have everything figured out first semester of freshman year?

“So what class are you going to now?” she asked.

“Data structures.”

“Oh, me too! With Howell?”

“Yep.” Wow, I was a stunning conversationalist.

“I guess we’re in the same class then.”

I could feel her gaze on my profile as she studied me. It made me vaguely uncomfortable, like an animal behind glass at the zoo. My sweaty hands tightened on my backpack straps.

“You’re kinda cute…” she finally said, making me choke on my coffee. “We should go on a date.”

Who was this creature and why was she so embarrassingly direct? “Um…”

“How about tomorrow night?”

I tried to drum up some enthusiasm for finally being asked out, but all I could feel was that same empty ache.

“I can’t tomorrow. I have a… Well, it’s my best friend’s night off, and since he lives in Atlanta, we always talk on the phone when he’s off… I…sorry.”

She shrugged like she hadn’t a care in the world. “That’s okay. How about Friday night? We can go to the campus movie theater. It’s really cheap.”

I couldn’t think of a good reason or a polite way to refuse. “Okay. That sounds okay.”

“Don’t die of enthusiasm or anything,” she said in a voice as dry as toast, but she didn’t sound offended.

I laughed and opened the door for her, and we headed to our class. As we made our way to the second-floor lab, I wondered how in the hell I’d ended up with my first college date.

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Meet the Author

J.K. Hogan has been telling stories for as long as she can remember, beginning with writing cast lists and storylines for her toys growing up. When she finally decided to put pen to paper, magic happened. She is greatly inspired by all kinds of music and often creates a “soundtrack” for her stories as she writes them. J.K. is hoping to one day have a little something for everyone, so she’s branched out from m/f paranormal romance and added m/m contemporary romance. Who knows what’s next?

J.K. resides in North Carolina, where she was born and raised. A true southern girl at heart, she lives in the country with her husband and two sons, a cat, and two champion agility dogs. If she isn’t on the agility field, J.K. can often be found chasing waterfalls in the mountains with her husband, or down in front at a blues concert. In addition to writing, she enjoys training and competing in dog sports, spending time with her large southern family, camping, boating and, of course, reading!

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New Release Blitz: Breaking the Ice by K.R. Collins (Excerpt & Giveaway)

Title:  Breaking the Ice

Series: Sophie Fournier, Book One

Author: K.R. Collins

Publisher:  NineStar Press

Release Date: March 11, 2019

Heat Level: 1 – No Sex

Pairing: No Romance

Length: 82100

Genre: Contemporary, LGBT, Contemporary, new adult, sports, ice hockey, teammates, rivals, draft, friendship, Russian, rookie, demisexual

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Synopsis

Sophie Fournier is the first woman drafted into the North American Hockey League. Playing hockey is something she’s done all her life, but she faces new challenges as she finds her place on the struggling Concord Condors. She has to prove herself better than her rival-turned-teammate, Michael Hayes, and her rival-turned-friend, Dmitri Ivanov, and she has to do it all with a smile.

If she’s successful then she opens the door to other women being drafted. She can’t afford to think about what happens if she fails. All she knows is this: if she’s not the best then she doesn’t get to play.

No pressure, though.

Excerpt

Breaking the Ice
K.R. Collins © 2019
All Rights Reserved

Today, she makes history.

As Sophie Fournier takes her seat among the other prospects and their families in the Denver, Colorado stadium, soft boos reach her ears. A glance at the large screen behind the stage shows the cameras are trained on her.

She keeps her expression neutral. Many of the athletes here blame her for the lockout that ground last season to a halt. The North American Hockey League had other things to discuss than whether or not women should be permitted to play, but she makes an easy target.

The boos grow louder, and Sophie squares her shoulders to absorb the abuse. This time, however, the cameras are directed at the Commissioner as he steps up to the podium at center stage.

Someone they hate more than me, she thinks as the Commissioner approaches the microphone. He’s a stout man whose face is shiny under the bright lights. His hair is greased and styled like a hockey player but that’s as close as he’s ever come to being one. He spends his days behind a desk and tells the players how they should act, how much they’re allowed to be paid, how many years they’re allowed to sign for and then demands they be grateful for his interference.

It’s no wonder he isn’t popular.

Her only crime is daring to be good at hockey. There were other paths she could’ve taken—the burgeoning NAWHL, one of the European leagues which already accepts women—but she wants the NAHL.

And she’s too talented for them to keep her out.

If it weren’t for the stupid rules, she could be drafted first overall today. As it is, the Concord Condors are the only team eligible to draft women. As a concession to team owners who thought the Commissioner stretched the limits of his authority by granting women access to the League, teams had to apply for co-ed status.

And because hockey isn’t known for its risk-taking, only Concord applied for that status. The consensus is they don’t have anything to lose. Everyone’s attention will be on Concord this season and the Sophie Fournier Experiment. If it goes well, then other teams in the League will draft women.

If it doesn’t, then Sophie will have the dubious honor of being the first, and only, woman drafted into the NAHL.

Seattle’s management files on stage to make the first selection of the 2011 draft, and she’s forced to listen as they select Eldon Carruthers. He’s a center, same as her, selected by a team in desperate need of a franchise player.

It could’ve been me, she thinks as Carruthers pulls on the blue and green jersey of the Seattle Seafarers. It should’ve been me. But another woman will have the honor of being drafted first overall. All Sophie can be is the first.

As Seattle files off the stage, Sophie sits up straighter in her seat, because Concord has the second overall pick at the draft. They’re a team in need of someone to step in and turn them around. She’s been a difference maker all her life. They’ll select her, give her a chance at her dreams, and in return she’ll bring them the Maple Cup for the first time in franchise history.

Martin Pauling, the owner of the Condors, leads the procession onto the stage. When he steps up to the podium, Sophie’s breath catches in her throat. This is what years of hard work have come to. This is the moment which makes every bag skate, every bruise, and every nasty hit worth it.

“With the second pick of the draft, we proudly select, from the Weston School, Michael Hayes.”

Sophie’s expression freezes.

Hayes?

They’ve been rivals for the past four years while she played for Chilton Academy, and she’s beaten him every year in the scoring race and in the playoffs. She’s better than him.

And Concord picked him instead of her.

Next to her Colby, her brother, nudges her knee, reminding her to breathe. She claps politely in case there are any cameras on her and reminds herself the day is far from over. Concord has a pick in the second round and two picks in the third. There’s still time.

Concord doesn’t select her in the second round.

They don’t select her with their first third round pick.

They don’t select her with their second one either.

The first day of the draft ends without her making history. There’s still tomorrow, she tells herself. It should’ve been today. Doubt creeps in, insidious and poisoning her thoughts. What if she isn’t drafted at all?

What if the production made of this draft has been part of an elaborate setup? What if all the media attention and hype focused on her has been to make an example out of her? Don’t hope. Don’t dream. Women aren’t allowed.

“Hotel,” her dad says, gruff, once the draft is officially over for the day.

Tomorrow, rounds four through seven will take place for a total of two hundred twenty-four prospects selected. She’s no longer sure she’ll be one of them.

“I’ll meet you there,” Sophie says. She stands and smooths imaginary wrinkles out of her suit. As much as she wants to wash off her makeup and mess up her hair and hide out in her hotel room, her responsibilities aren’t over. There are cameras to smile for and reporters to talk to even if the conversation they’re about to have is far from the one she was hoping for this evening.

She hugs her parents and then her older brother, clinging to him for an extra moment. Colby is the reason she started playing hockey in the first place. He’s a goalie and, like any older sibling, drafted her into helping him be better. He was the one who taught her to skate, shoving her feet into a pair of his old skates when she could barely walk. A couple of years later, he taught her to shoot then made her practice on him over and over.

She’s improved more than he has over the years, but he never resented her for it. He’s always been there for her, and he’s here for her now, steady and strong, lending her the support she needs to make it through the next hour.

“We could sneak you out,” Colby offers. “Just like old times, eh?”

More times than she can count, Sophie has put on a fake jersey and jammed a baseball cap over her French braid to avoid people after a game; the other team, pissed they’d lost, parents angry their sons were beaten by a girl, sometimes even parents of her own teammates who thought she was stealing the spotlight from their sons.

Sophie laughs and squeezes her brother’s shoulders as she steps back. “I thought we said no more of that.”

“Text me when you get back to your room, and we can watch shitty TV.”

It’s a sign of how rattled her mom is by the draft that she doesn’t scold Colby for his language. Sophie leaves her family to make their way back to the hotel before she takes them up on their offer to sneak her out.

She heads out to the concourse. During the season, this area will be full of fans looking to see the Denver Boulders play. Right now, it’s packed just as full but with prospects in suits and their parents and reporters being trailed by their cameramen and women.

The National Sports Network is the first to spot her. A man whose press credentials hang from a “NAHL DRAFT 2011” lanyard thrusts his microphone in her face. “Are you worried you won’t be drafted? In all the buildup, people forgot there’s no requirement for co-ed teams to have a girl on them.”

Sophie’s fingers hook in the pockets of her suit. She wants to shove them all the way in, to hide in whatever small way she can, but her mom’s voice echoes in her ears. Don’t slouch, sweetie. Stand tall and proud. You never back down on the ice, don’t back down off it either. And her mom is right. Sophie has faced guys trying to end her career with a big hit or a vicious slash to her wrists. A man with a microphone isn’t someone to cower from.

“I’ve presented my résumé to the NAHL. They’ve seen my video, my stats, and, like the other top prospects, I went to the Combine. There’s nothing for me to do but wait and see.”

“How do you feel about the Condors selecting your long-time rival Michael Hayes in the first round instead of you?”

“Hayes is a two-way forward who’s strong on the puck. He can contribute on the power play and the penalty kill.” Sophie leaves out how he always had an extra check or slash for her when they played each other. She doesn’t say she outscored him in all four years they competed against each other or that she won three Werner Cups to his zero while she played for Chilton Academy.

She doesn’t say how much it stings to see him picked ahead of her. She has the numbers to prove she’s the better player and she was still passed over. What more does she have to do to be taken seriously?

Carol Rogers from After the Whistle sees Sophie and hurries over, her cameraman in tow. After the Whistle is on following every Canadian broadcast to break down the game. Sophie grew up watching Carol interview players and dissect their games and point out how they could be better. She watched and she learned, adjusting her own game based on some of the things Carol saw.

And now Carol Rogers stands in front of her and asks, “Is it true Concord is exploiting how they’re the only co-ed team to draft you later than you were projected?”

Sophie, normally unfazed by the media, is caught off guard by the question. She flounders long enough that four other reporters flock to her, sensing a headline if not an entire story.

“I’m sorry, what?” Sophie asks.

Carol pushes closer, battling for space. “No other team is allowed to draft you. Can you comment on the speculation that Concord will use it to their advantage?”

Could they? Of course they could. Hockey is a business. Sophie’s thoughts threaten to spin away from her. She wants to cling to the hope being offered—they’re biding their time, she will be drafted even if wasn’t today—and she wants to stomp her feet at how unfair it is.

Instead, she smiles, bland and practiced, the expression giving nothing away. “I can’t comment on that. I’m not privy to the decisions made by Concord’s management.”

“You haven’t been assured of your place on the team?” another reporter asks. “It would be anti-climactic for the first draft with a woman to end without the first woman being drafted.”

“There are no guarantees in hockey. If you’ll excuse me, I need to head back to the hotel now. Enjoy the rest of your evening.”

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Meet the Author

K.R. Collins went to college in Pennsylvania where she learned to write and fell in love with hockey. When she isn’t working or writing, she watches hockey games and claims it’s for research.

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New Release Blitz: A Harmony of Fire and Earth by Antonia Aquilante (Excerpt & Giveaway)

Title:  A Harmony of Fire and Earth

Series: Elemental Magicae, Book Two

Author: Antonia Aquilante

Publisher:  NineStar Press

Release Date: March 11, 2019

Heat Level: 3 – Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 86500

Genre: Fantasy, LGBT, Romance, fantasy, trans, magic, elements, court intrigue, mpreg, demisexual, bisexual, royalty

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Synopsis

Prince Edmund of Thalassa and Prince Arden of Aither are eagerly anticipating their upcoming wedding, but the danger to their kingdom hasn’t lessened. They have a plan, but they won’t be able to carry it out alone: they need a strong wielder of each Element, whom they can trust implicitly, to carry out the magic.

Rhys is a commoner and wielder of Earth magic. He and his sister have made a living from the use of their magic for years and have become highly respected in scholarly circles, though he prefers a more simple life with his plants. When a message from Prince Arden reaches them asking for their help, they don’t hesitate. They stop only to request that Gaz, a strong Fire wielder and the man Rhys has long been enamored of, accompany them on the journey to Thalassa’s royal palace.

What no one knows is that Gaz was once known as Prince Gareth of Thalassa and is Edmund’s younger brother, long believed dead. He fled his home after his Fire Affinity made itself known and put him in danger, and he had no intention of ever going back. But he can’t keep himself from going to his brother’s aid, despite the risk of discovery and of the weight of his secrets potentially crushing his fledgling relationship with Rhys.

Working against time, they must find a way to come together in a magical working the likes of which none of them has ever imagined, or their homelands will surely burn.

Excerpt

A Harmony of Fire and Earth
Antonia Aquilante © 2019
All Rights Reserved

“Your brother is alive?” The words burst from Arden without thought. Shock wasn’t allowing him to think.

Prince Gareth of Thalassa was alive?

And this wasn’t something Edmund had chosen to tell Arden before now? They were going to be married in the morning, and Gareth was Edmund’s younger brother, whom everyone had thought dead for years.

“Yes, he is,” Edmund said quietly.

Arden shook his head, more in disbelief than in denial. “How?”

Edmund glanced around the empty library, then back to Arden. “Can we speak of this in private?”

He wanted to protest, wanted to demand Edmund tell him now, but doing so would just be petulant. “All right.”

Arden took the time to gather up his things, leaving some books for the librarians to replace and taking the rest with him. His notes couldn’t be left lying around. When Edmund had found him, Arden had been doing research—as he had most days since Tycen had attacked Thalassa with magic, setting fires and menacing people along the border the two countries shared. He was determined to find a solution that would protect his new home, and the kingdom of his birth as well, since Tycen had begun doing the same to Aither. The army and the magic wielders on the border could do no more than hold back the worst of it, and too much was being lost to the flames. Until they could stop Tycen entirely, they needed a way to protect themselves.

King Torin, Edmund’s father and ruler of Thalassa, had tasked his magic wielders with finding a solution. Arden wasn’t counted among the group due to his position, but he’d studied magic his whole life—he could help. He’d found something he thought might work that very day. He still had a lot of details to figure out—more than details, really, but the theory was sound. What he already knew was they would need a strong magic wielder of each Element to perform it. Arden could take the Air portion, and Thalassa had plenty of strong Water wielders. An Earth wielder wouldn’t be a problem if Arden could convince one he knew to travel to Thalassa. The Fire Affinity was the problem, and that was when Edmund had shocked Arden by telling him not only was his brother alive, but he was a Fire wielder as well.

How?

Arden walked silently at Edmund’s side through the corridors of the palace. The attention of the people they passed registered only dimly—they always garnered attention. Shock and a creeping sense of betrayal might be fogging Arden’s mind, but no one would ever know—no one could. There could be no hint of discord or distance between him and Edmund for anyone to see.

He didn’t want them to exist between him and Edmund at all.

The silence was probably bad enough. He and Edmund were seldom entirely silent when walking together. People would notice, and they would talk.

Arden cared about the appearances—he had to—but he cared more about him and Edmund.

They passed the whimsical fountain that marked the entrance to the wing where Edmund had his rooms. It was tiered and tiled in mosaics of glittering blue and green glass. Arden thought it beautiful, his every glance showing him something new. If he wouldn’t look bizarre, he’d stand and study it, trying to tease out all the little details. The art of the mosaics, so common in Thalassa’s royal palace, was breathtaking. But this palace on the sea was so different from Aither’s airy, soaring castle perched in the mountains. If Arden thought too hard about the differences, about how very far from home he was, how unlikely it was he’d ever see the castle or the house he’d bought for himself again, his head would spin.

He wanted to be where he was—he wanted to be with Edmund, which meant being in Thalassa. Edmund would be king someday, and Arden would stand beside him as his consort. But it was best if he didn’t think too hard about leaving behind everything he knew. Especially because he wasn’t really—Ciaran and Larkin were here. The twins were his closest friends, outside Edmund now, and had always worked with him—his secretary, his eyes and ears, his spies. For the moment, the twins showed no desire to leave.

Aither would be a difficult place for them these days. Their uncle had betrayed Aither and all of them, conspiring with Tycen to attempt an assassination of Arden’s sister, the queen, and to frame Edmund for it. Ciaran had helped Arden rescue Edmund and fled with them. Larkin had followed them to Thalassa with her husband and infant son, and though Merrick was one of Hollis’s councilors, even he didn’t seem to be in a hurry to return. At some point, Arden would have to talk to them, but something always seemed to be more pressing. And, really, he wanted them to stay. He loved Edmund and already liked Edmund’s sister very much, but he wanted his friends—his family—too.

Ciaran likely wouldn’t want to leave anyway since he’d fallen in love with Edmund’s secretary, Peregrine.

Edmund opened the door to his rooms for Arden and followed him inside. Arden had been given rooms of his own, but he hadn’t spent a single night in them. From the first moment they’d arrived, they’d stayed in these rooms together—perhaps out of some lingering fear from their flight across Aither or perhaps just because they loved one another and they could. Perhaps both. The servants knew, of course, and some might talk, but Arden couldn’t bring himself to care, not about this one thing. After the wedding tomorrow, it wouldn’t be an issue anymore.

Edmund’s—their—rooms were comfortable and decorated beautifully in Thalassan style with patterned tiles on the floors and luxurious fabrics in jewel tones, mostly greens. They very much looked like Edmund’s too, but the first full day he’d been here, Edmund had told him they could change anything to make Arden more comfortable. To make this place theirs.

“Arden.”

He turned to face Edmund who stood a few steps behind him. “Edmund…your brother is alive?”

Edmund lifted his hands and let them drop helplessly. “Yes.”

“And he has a Fire Affinity?”

“Yes.”

“How?” Arden asked again. “There wasn’t even a trace of rumor. Everyone thinks he’s dead. And a Fire Affinity?”

An Affinity for Water ran strong in Edmund’s family, and the generations before Edmund seemed to do all they could to keep it that way, only marrying those with a matching Affinity. Some families were much stricter about the practice than others. A strong Affinity for Air ran in Arden’s family, producing Arden himself, but they’d married outside it in past generations, which had resulted in a few children with Water or Earth Affinities—none had ever inherited the throne, but that was more a matter of chance of birth order than anything else.

For Gareth to inherit a Fire Affinity, there had to be one in the line somewhere, and Edmund’s family seemed too rigid in their adherence to marrying Water Affinities to marry outside—Arden was certain King Torin would not have approved of Edmund’s marriage to him if not for the necessary alliance it would bring. And a Fire Affinity? Fire and Water were opposing Elements, and Edmund’s family traditionally had something of a prejudice against Fire, though Edmund himself didn’t.

So how would a Fire Affinity make its way into the bloodline? Unless…

Arden looked up at Edmund and bit his lip, unsure how to put what he was about to say delicately. “Your mother…”

Edmund raked a hand through his shoulder-length dark hair. “I haven’t asked her—I couldn’t ask her—but she and Father have been estranged ever since we found out what Gareth’s Affinity was.”

If the queen had taken a lover—who either had a Fire Affinity or carried the potential for it—it would explain how her second son had ended up with his Affinity. And why Queen Senara lived apart from her husband and the court, returning only sporadically to fulfill the duties required of her. “She might not have…maybe it came from somewhere further back in the line.”

Edmund’s smile was sad. “Thank you for saying it, but I think we can both agree how unlikely that possibility is, knowing my family’s feelings on the Fire Element.”

“It doesn’t mean it can’t be true. Perhaps the potential has been there for a long time and just came out with your brother. Perhaps it came from somewhere back in your mother’s family, not your father’s.” Arden’s instinct to comfort Edmund was undeniable, even with his own emotions still in turmoil.

Edmund shrugged. “I don’t know. She didn’t deny anything. She just acceded to Father’s wishes.”

Could she have done anything else? Arden had no way of knowing what the dynamics were at Thalassa’s court and within its royal family so many years ago; he’d barely begun to get a grasp of them now. “Will you tell me what happened?”

Letting out a long sigh, Edmund nodded. He went to a chair near the fireplace and dropped into it. The fire crackled cheerfully, driving back the chill of the rainy winter day. Snow was probably deep on the ground in Aither’s mountains, but here they’d only had icy rain so far. Arden crossed the room to sit beside Edmund in the chair that had become his—when they weren’t snuggled up on one of the couches.

“Gareth was thirteen when he woke up one morning and the ends of his hair were bright red.”

Arden blinked once, then again. No wonder Edmund thought Gareth might be powerful. In most people, the use of magic caused changes in hair or eye color, but in some very powerful people, the changes came first. Arden had looked in the mirror one day when he was twelve and seen the first icy blue-white streak in his copper curls; the magic had followed, and constant use of it had streaked Arden’s hair liberally. Edmund’s use of his Water magic had added threads of green through his dark eyes.

Gareth would have known what it meant—they were all taught what to expect; they’d all seen it on others—and he must have been terrified to see red instead of the green he’d expected.

“What happened?” Arden asked quietly, dread edging out every other feeling.

“He cut it off, but it came back almost immediately. So he did it again, and the same happened.” Edmund closed his eyes. “Then Father found out.”

The dread intensified until Arden was sick with it. “Edmund, what did he do?”

Edmund didn’t open his eyes. “He was furious. Enraged. But careful to keep everything among only us—Mother, me, Kerenza, and Gareth. You know what happened to Mother. But Gareth…when he realized there was no hiding Gareth’s Affinity, he locked Gareth away, put it around that he’d taken ill and then died. There was nothing any of us could do or say to change his mind.” Edmund went quiet for a moment. “I don’t know that he wanted to look at Gareth anymore.”

Arden swallowed hard. How could a father do such a thing? Even as he thought it, his more cynical side told him exactly how. “Where is he? Has your father had him locked away all these years?”

Edmund shook his head sharply. “He got out, escaped somehow. His bodyguard helped him, and they ran. I gave him all the money I could; so did Kerenza even though she was just a child. I wish we could have done more.”

The last sentence came out in a ragged whisper. Arden’s heart broke. He reached out and took Edmund’s hand, holding it tight. “Do you know what happened to him?”

“No. Father had a few trusted men search, but they never found him. I think they assumed he ran for the Tycen border. But he was going to go to Mother’s family first, hoping they’d hide him or help him.”

Gareth had been so young. How had he survived? Had he? Arden wasn’t sure he could have at that age, out in the world on his own when he’d only known the sheltered world of the castle. He hoped Gareth was all right, hoped his mother’s family had helped. Hoped Gareth was out there somewhere, alive and well.

“I can ask them if they know anything about how we can find him.”

Arden didn’t want to ask this. “If we can find him…will he help? I wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t want to have anything to do with Thalassa ever again.”

“I wouldn’t either. But I hope he still has some feeling for the kingdom and for me and Kerenza, if not our father.”

“And what about your father? What will he say if you bring Gareth back?”

Edmund looked at him bleakly. “I don’t know.”

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Meet the Author

Antonia Aquilante has been making up stories for as long as she can remember, and at the age of twelve, decided she would be a writer when she grew up. After many years and a few career detours, she has returned to that original plan. Her stories have changed over the years, but one thing has remained consistent—they all end in happily ever after.

She has a fondness for travel (and a long list of places she wants to visit and revisit), taking photos, family history, fabulous shoes, baking treats (which she shares with friends and family), and of course, reading. She usually has at least two books started at once and never goes anywhere without her Kindle. Though she is a convert to e-books, she still loves paper books the best, and there are a couple thousand of them residing in her home with her.

Born and raised in New Jersey, Antonia is living there again after years in Washington, DC and North Carolina for school and work. She enjoys being back in the Garden State but admits to being tempted every so often to run away from home and live in Italy.

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New Release Blitz: Hearts of Fire by Kay Doherty (Excerpt & Giveaway)

Title:  Hearts of Fire

Series: Chevalier, Book One

Author: Kay Doherty

Publisher:  NineStar Press

Release Date: March 11, 2019

Heat Level: 3 – Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 40100

Genre: Paranormal, LGBT, wolf shifters, dragon shifters, bonded mates, Elementals, businessmen

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Synopsis

Luca Duray has been quite happy living a solitary existence for decades. But when a steel trap around his leg catches him when he’s weak and hungry, his life is irrevocably changed. He knows the wolf shifter who offers him assistance is more than he appears and immediately makes plans to keep the pup close.

Disowned by his pack for being gay, Tanner McBane is forced to become a lone wolf. While on a hunt, he stumbles upon an injured dragon shifter and provides aid. It’s not easy surviving on his own and when money gets tight, he finds himself face-to-face with the dragon shifter once again during an interview. Tanner isn’t sure a wolf should be working for a dragon, but he accepts the job and unknowingly creates a bond to his new boss. Soon, Tanner learns Luca isn’t just his boss—he’s his mate.

The mating of a wolf and dragon shifter is uncharted territory for both Luca and Tanner, but they are determined to make it work despite widespread prejudice, death threats, and the untraditional pack Tanner finds himself leading. Tanner only hopes that the bond he forms with Luca will prove to be unbreakable.

Excerpt

Hearts of Fire
Kay Doherty © 2019
All Rights Reserved

Chapter One
TANNER

Tanner McBane ran hard, expertly leaping over rocks and dodging trees as he pushed his body to maximum speed. His paws dug into the ground, kicking up the leaves and dirt of the forest floor behind him. He wasn’t on the hunt. He wasn’t trying to outrun an enemy. The demons chasing him were internal. Tanner was the McBane-pack-Alpha’s son, or at least he was until a week ago.

He had been raised to be the pack’s next leader. He had believed the pack would always be there for him; that they’d have his back. He’d certainly expected his mother to stand by him, but the good Alpha mate she was, she’d remained silent about everything as she stood at his father’s side. His mother’s docile nature annoyed him. Tanner was determined to find a mate who wasn’t afraid to speak up.

Pack bond, loyalty, and respect were solid as long as Tanner had remained exactly like them. As soon as he’d stood up to his father, told him he was gay, and he wanted a male to mate, he’d been disowned. The entire pack turned their backs on him. He was hurt, afraid, and pissed as hell. He was also very much alone with no one but himself to rely on. Tanner learned he liked that. He made his own rules, did his own thing, and he was happy. All he needed was someone to share his life with. Now that he was officially a lone wolf, he could search for the mate he truly wanted, not just settle for whomever his father chose.

Tanner’s need for a mate had been the catalyst for his disownment. He’d announced his sexuality so his father would stop choosing female shifters for him. His father had wanted to find him a mate the minute Tanner had turned eighteen, but Tanner managed to hold him off for a few years. Apparently, twenty-two years old was the limit his father tolerated. He’d been set up with a new female almost weekly until Tanner finally had enough and announced his homosexuality. He no longer needed to worry about his father’s erroneous choices.

A loud, resonating roar of pain ripped through the night. Tanner skidded to a halt, claws digging into the dirt, nose in the air, and ears pricked to the sky. Pinpointing where the scream originated from in the dense forest was tricky. The breeze carried only silence and the faintest scent of smoke and blood. Tanner followed the scent, picking his way silently over the undergrowth, careful not to disturb anything. Heavy breathing interrupted by a growl that rapidly escalated into a roar of frustration once again echoed through the night and led Tanner closer.

Tanner stopped and hunkered down when he came within sight of the scream’s owner. A man struggled on the ground with a large bear trap clamped around his calf. A few inches lower and the massive metal teeth might have severed the man’s foot at the ankle. The scent of blood was strong, but what was noticeably missing was the scent of fear. The man was angry. He was frustrated. But he wasn’t afraid, and that intrigued Tanner. He moved closer, keeping his attention locked on the stranger. His paw landed on a pile of dried leaves, and the man’s head swung to face him. Pain twisted the man’s handsome features, but his gaze was fierce as he stared at Tanner.

Tanner blinked but remained absolutely still. This man…he wasn’t human. He didn’t smell human, and he didn’t act human, but he was amazingly beautiful. Dark-blond hair hung limply over his tanned forehead and curled slightly at his ears. Dark-brown eyes zeroed in on Tanner and narrowed menacingly.

“Come here, pup,” the man growled through elongated fangs.

The man’s voice rumbled, coming from deep within his chest. Tanner took a step back. This man shouldn’t need his help. He was another shifter, and worse, he was a dragon shifter. From his disheveled, fatigued appearance and the fact the bear trap’s teeth were still snuggly buried in his leg, he was a substantially weakened dragon, but still dangerous. Knowing just because the dragon shifter had a steel trap on his leg didn’t mean he was helpless, Tanner backed away without breaking eye contact. The dragon slowly disappeared from view as Tanner moved deeper into the surrounding trees. Once out of sight, Tanner turned and ran.

“Come back and help me, or I will hunt you down and eat you for dinner, you pathetic dog,” the dragon yelled.

The insult was cut off by an agonized scream that filled the night. The shifter must have moved the wrong way and jarred the trap. Tanner wasn’t strong enough in human form to remove the trap, and as a wolf with paws, instead of fingers, he was useless. If the dragon was stronger, he would be able to free himself. Helping a dragon shifter regain his strength was a dangerous proposition. All paranormals knew dragons and wolves didn’t get along well. Tanner often wondered why and considered asking his father on several occasions, but he’d never followed through. Ethan McBane was not one who enjoyed being questioned.

Tanner located the herd of deer he’d been following and hunting over the past week. Dragons weren’t picky eaters, especially when in such a weakened state. Tanner wasn’t all that educated when it came to other shifters, but he vaguely remembered being told dragons preferred their prey be alive until they ate it. With that in mind, he took down a female deer that smelled sick, making sure the wound was debilitating, but not fatal, and dragged her back to the dragon.

Tanner tugged the heavy deer through the trees into the small clearing where the shifter lay. It had been more than an hour since he’d left to hunt for food for the man. The dragon appeared even more weakened by the time Tanner returned, no doubt from the continuous blood loss he was suffering. The man rolled his head toward Tanner and licked his lips as the scent of blood reached him. He pushed up onto his elbows, teeth elongating and eyes swirling gold, as Tanner pulled the still-struggling deer closer.

“You brought me dinner. Aren’t you a good pup,” the dragon shifter said.

He latched onto the deer’s leg with surprising force and pulled the animal closer to himself. Tanner growled, deep and low, baring his teeth as he backed away. Even in a weakened state, this dragon was powerful and dangerous. Plus, Tanner didn’t like being called pup. He was a young wolf shifter, twenty-two years old, but he was far from a puppy who needed protecting. The fact he was capable of sustaining himself and feeding an injured, bleeding dragon was proof enough.

The dragon wrapped a strong arm around the deer’s body while the other gripped the head. The animal struggled as the shifter sank his teeth into the neck, snapping it in a swift death blow, and then began to feast. Tanner backed away another few feet, well out of reach, and wondered if he should leave now or wait. He knew, once the dragon had fresh meat to strengthen him, he’d pry the metal trap from his leg on his own. Tanner wasn’t sure he wanted to be anywhere nearby when the man was free, especially after seeing him tear into the deer carcass as if it were paper. When most of the deer meat was gone, the dragon pulled away, blood dripping from his fangs and covering his chin and neck.

Tanner watched from his crouched position among the trees as the dragon closed his eyes, turned his face upward, and the blood soaked into his skin. When the shifter’s eyes found Tanner, they shined a brighter gold and not a drop of blood marred his perfect skin. The dragon pushed the remainder of the carcass away and turned his attention to his leg. Gripping the thick, saw-toothed edge of the trap, he forced it open as he let out a loud roar.

Tanner jumped to his feet, ready to run at a moment’s notice, as the man steadily pulled the sharp teeth from his skin and removed his leg from the iron. He threw the trap into the woods, and Tanner heard the thud as it landed dozens of feet away, testament to the dragon’s renewed power. Tanner’s gaze was glued to the dragon’s leg as the wounds knitted themselves back together. Tanner had an accelerated rate of healing as well, but the wounds the dragon had suffered would have taken Tanner days to heal, assuming he’d been able to free himself in the first place. Tanner lifted his gaze to the dragon’s face. His eyes had returned to their deep, rich brown, but his hair was damp with perspiration, the curl more pronounced, hanging wetly around his face. The man had incredible strength, but the effort of removing the trap had taken a toll.

Distant voices floated on the breeze and Tanner’s ears pricked. The dragon’s acute hearing picked them up as well. He rolled to his knees into a crouch, ready to pounce, his fangs once again elongating, preparing for a fight. Tanner flattened his ears to his head and tucked his tail, his lips curling up to reveal fangs of his own. He bent his knees, the muscles in his legs ready to launch him whichever direction was required. Three men burst through the foliage, rifles in hand.

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Meet the Author

Kay lives in Colorado with her husband and their animal children. Family is important to her so there are weekly visits to her parents and frequent text messages with her brothers. She has a severe addiction to coffee and Mexican food. She loves to read and write and can easily become consumed by it for hours, much to the dismay of the husband and dogs. On occasion, she can be convinced to venture out into world of the living.

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Book Blitz: Forlorn by Elvira Bell (Excerpt & Giveaway)

Title: Forlorn

Series: Wavesongs #2

Author: Elvira Bell

Publisher: Self-Published

Release Date: March 9, 2019

Heat Level: 4 – Lots of Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 97300 words

Genre: Romance, age gap, historical, pirates, adventure, m/m romance, gay

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Synopsis

Nick Andrews is back in England. He is a broken man, living on the streets and trying to cope with everything he’s been through. Nick thinks that his life is over, but then Tom comes along. Tom, who is handsome and wealthy and intent on making his acquaintance.

Nick ends up as Tom’s valet, a position that brings him to the remote estate of Ravensleigh. At Ravensleigh, he soon realizes that Tom and his family have a past laden with shadows. Nick regrets coming there, but at the same time finds it harder and harder to resist Tom’s advances.

Then one night, a stranger arrives at Ravensleigh. And Nick’s world is turned upside down once more.

Warning: This book ends with a cliffhanger. The series as a whole will have a HEA ending.

Please note that the books in the Wavesongs series should be read in chronological order!

Excerpt

Two nights later, Arlington returns to the coffee house. He doesn’t show up until late—half an hour before closing he saunters in and sits himself down close to the fireplace. He takes a long look around the room, removing his hat and straightening the black ribbon holding the curls of his wig together at the neck. There’s only one other customer left, so Nick isn’t busy. He has no excuses.

“Just a little,” Arlington says as Nick starts pouring him coffee. “Too much of this late in the evenings and I get no sleep until morning.” He smiles. “How about you, Mr. Andrews? Is coffee to your taste?”

Nick looks down at his hands. “No.”

“How expected!” Arlington chuckles. His fingertips run over the brim of the cup, tracing the edge. “Have you tried it? Surely Mr. Goodall has offered you some?”

“Don’t want to,” Nick mutters, and hurries away. When he enters the back room with some dirty dishes Goodall is there, rummaging for something in a cupboard. The room is dim, and so small that there’s barely space for both of them.

“No good, that one,” Goodall says under his breath. As if Nick didn’t know already that Mr. Arlington is no good.

“Why?”

Goodall is quiet for a moment. “Oh, it’s rumors,” he says at last, getting to his feet. “Nothing for a young boy like you to hear.”

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Meet the Author

Elvira Bell lives in Sweden and spends most of her time writing, reading or watching movies. Her weaknesses include, but are not limited to: vintage jazz, musicals, kittens, oversized tea cups, men in suits, the 18th century, and anything sparkly.

Elvira writes m/m fiction with a touch of romance and has a penchant for historical settings. She adores all things gothic and will put her characters through hell from time to time because she just loves watching them suffer. It makes the happy endings so much sweeter, after all.

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New Release Blitz: The Sun and Moon beneath the Stars by K. Parr (Excerpt & Giveaway)

Title:  The Sun and Moon beneath the Stars

Author: K. Parr

Publisher:  NineStar Press

Release Date: March 4, 2019

Heat Level: 1 – No Sex

Pairing: Female/Female

Length: 82700

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy, LGBT, YA, Fantasy, F/F, Sweet Romance, Adventure, Sword and Sorcery

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Synopsis

After being orphaned and forced to work as a palace slave, fifteen-year-old Rasha decides to end her life, but when she plunges a knife into her chest, she doesn’t die. Instead, a strange, icy power possesses her. The last time it took over, someone got hurt, and Rasha can’t let that happen again.

But she’s got bigger problems. Her twin brother is alive, yet held captive by Solaris, a powerful sorcerer. When Rasha runs into Adriana, the selfish princess she once served, they discover Solaris is a common enemy since he destroyed the palace and kidnapped Adriana’s parents.

Together, Rasha and Adriana set out on a rescue mission. Personalities clash and tempers flare, but other feelings surface as well, feelings neither girl could have predicted.

And with the help of a ragtag group of companions, they might just be able to succeed on their quest…until an ancient evil emerges to wreak vengeance on their world.

Excerpt

The Sun and Moon Beneath the Stars
K. Parr © 2019
All Rights Reserved

Chapter One
Rasha’s knife glinted in the moonlight, sending a reflective beam skittering across the waves. The Sea of Mishal crashed to shore and tugged at her skirts while her feet remained buried in the silt. She didn’t register the cold of the water, nor the grittiness of the sand, and though her gaze was fixed on the horizon, her focus remained on the knife quivering in her grasp.

Eight years ago to the day, Rasha had washed ashore on this very beach and begun her new life as an orphan, an outsider.

And now was the perfect time to end it.

A salty breeze tossed black hair into her eyes, and she blinked away the stinging strands. Her cloak and dress flapped, heavier at the hems where water soaked through. She tightened her hold on the knife, though the calluses on her hands prevented her from feeling the smooth ivory or polished silver. She’d spent most of her life washing utensils for the royal family, and it’d been easy to smuggle this one into the pocket of her servant’s uniform.

In the distance, Rasha imagined the twinkling lights of her homeland, the island of Kcharma. Even though her people had cast her out, she refused to waste her last breath among those who reviled her simply for being Numenarkan. Eight years of punishment was enough. She’d served her penance and would join her family in the afterlife. She prayed whatever gods existed would allow her that much, at least.

Rasha tilted the knife so the tip pressed beneath her sternum, angled up toward her heart. She inhaled a shaky breath and drew back the weapon, visualizing the arc from air to flesh. She couldn’t miss.

She closed her eyes. The waves crashed.

She plunged the knife into her chest.

For an instant, blinding, searing pain screamed through every nerve in her body.

And then…nothing.

Rasha opened her eyes. The hilt of the knife protruded from her chest, but no blood pooled, as if she’d stabbed a doll, only she couldn’t breathe.

An icy sensation started in her toes, and the tingling numbness spread up through her calves, then her thighs. The cold froze her pelvis and stomach and locked her arms to her sides. She trembled and fought the feeling, envisioning warmth, but it was too late. The ice darkened her vision, and she remembered.

When the ice first claimed her long ago, she and her family were banished.

Now, right before the cold wormed its way into her mind, her last thought was fear over who she would hurt this time.

Princess Adriana ven Kerrick slept fitfully. She tossed and turned on silken sheets but couldn’t get comfortable. Her nightgown bunched beneath her, and she smoothed it with a quick tug.

Tomorrow she turned sixteen, and her father would officially name her heir apparent. All her training prepared her for this, but doubt still rankled, not at her own performance, but at her father’s approval. Over the years, he’d displayed obvious disappointment over the miscarriages of her siblings, yet spared little more than a nod to his only living child. Did he not want Adriana to succeed him?

Queen Estelle, who had only a few hours ago plaited Adriana’s long, white-blonde hair into a loose braid, assured Adriana her fears were unfounded. King Romulet loved his daughter and was proud of all she had accomplished in her studies. She would make an excellent ruler.

Adriana shifted onto her back and let out a frustrated sigh.

Strange thunder crashed, causing her whole bedframe to quiver. Adriana shot up, wide awake. The palace rumbled and shook on its foundation. The candles the servant lit before bed flickered eerily against the stone walls of her room. The glass windowpanes rattled in their frames.

She shivered in the abruptly still air. The commotion was probably an earthquake, or perhaps an accident in the kitchens. Unless…

Adriana threw off the sheets and pulled on slippers. Just as she stood, her bedroom door flew open. Queen Estelle marched into the room, breathing hard. Her own white-blonde hair flew about her face, and she wore a thin robe over her nightclothes.

“Adriana, come. We must hurry.” The queen grabbed Adriana’s hand and dragged her into the corridors. Servants scrambled around in confusion, their voices low.

“What’s going on?” Adriana demanded as they darted through the halls.

“It’s Solaris. He’s finally attacked.”

Adriana gasped. Distantly, people screamed, and metal clanged. Smoke billowed in the corridors and lodged in her throat. She coughed at the burning sensation.

Queen Estelle pushed through the throngs of people toward the western wing, where the guest suites were located. They were empty now, as they had always been. The smoke thickened around them, black and roiling.

“Head down,” the queen said.

They ducked beneath the smoke, their footsteps muffled on the carpeted floors. Scuffles broke out far behind them, back near Adriana’s room, and shouts echoed.

Adriana trembled. Her eyes stung with smoke. The torches were sporadically lit, many having burned to the last nub from neglect. In the darkness, the walls closed in on her, and her gaze jumped from shadow to shadow, wary of attackers.

At another concussive explosion, Adriana fell forward into her mother, who steadied them both against the wall beneath a dying torch.

“What’s happening?” Adriana asked again.

Queen Estelle wound an arm around Adriana’s shoulders and squeezed. She spoke in a quiet yet firm voice. “Solaris is a mage.”

“But how? I thought the war eliminated them.”

The weak torchlight accentuated the hollows on the queen’s face. “Magic was lost, but not gone.”

“But Solaris—? The rumors are true?”

Was Solaris Numenarkan, then? No matter what Adriana’s people did, the Numenarkans would never lift their ancient grudge, and now they had a powerful mage on their side.

The queen shook her head. “We don’t know if he’s Numenarkan.”

“Then how do you know he’s the one attacking us?”

“Because he said he would.” Her jaw clenched. “Your father crumpled up the missive and threw it into the fire.”

“What does he want?”

Her mother’s eyes shone. She shook her head. “There’s something I should’ve told you a long time ago, but I was too afraid. And I wasn’t sure…” She inhaled a bracing breath. “It didn’t work on your siblings—they were born without life. I couldn’t give them what they’d never had.”

“What are you talking about?”

The queen gripped Adriana’s hands. “Magic runs in your veins, Adriana. Strong magic. But to use it, you will need to make a choice.” She paused. “And you’re not ready to do that yet.”

A shiver of fear lanced down Adriana’s back, even as confusion crowded her mind.

The queen said no more and turned on her heel. Adriana could do nothing but follow her down the dark, winding corridors. The booms increased until the whole palace quivered. The floor rolled like the ocean, and Adriana staggered on unsteady legs. At the far western corner, Queen Estelle pressed a tiny, diamond-shaped knob on the wall. A slab of stone shifted to reveal a secret staircase.

“You must go.” She pushed Adriana toward the opening. “The stairs will lead you to a tunnel you can take to Veltina Forest. When you get out, run.”

Adriana drew up short, feeling cold. “You’re not coming with me?”

“I need to protect your father. He doesn’t know about his gift, and Solaris will do anything to claim it.”

“What gift?” Adriana’s voice was faint, like it wasn’t her own. “No, please. Don’t go.”

The queen smiled tightly and stroked Adriana’s face. “You come from strong bloodlines on both sides.” She leaned forward to press a kiss to Adriana’s forehead. “I need to know you’ll be safe.”

“No!” Adriana fisted her mother’s robe in her hands, but the queen pried her fingers loose.

“We will meet again. I promise.”

They both tensed at the nearby clatter of metal.

“I love you. Now go!” Queen Estelle shoved her, and Adriana fell backward into the opening. She yelled just as the slab pressed closed, sealing her in absolute darkness.

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Meet the Author

K. Parr earned her MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University in 2017. She currently works as a youth services librarian in Rhode Island, where she writes romances celebrating love in all shapes and forms.

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New Release Blitz: Horizon Points by Harry F. Rey (Excerpt & Giveaway)

Title:  Horizon Points

Series: The Galactic Captains, Book Three

Author: Harry F. Rey

Publisher:  NineStar Press

Release Date: March 4, 2019

Heat Level: 3 – Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 46400

Genre: Science Fiction, LGBT, sci-fi, futuristic, war, space, war of worlds

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Synopsis

The problems of the Outer Verge are stacking up for Ales, now a commander of the Union fleet. From rebellious priests on Jansen to terrifying rips in space sucking matter out into the unknown, not to mention jealous lovers scattered across space, Ales is pulled in infinite directions. Disrupting the Galactic Balance isn’t so simple, and Admiral Turo is also a hard man to please.

While trying to secure a crucial trade deal on the heterosapien world of Nelu, Ales struggles to ignore the stark inequalities cutting through life in the galaxy. If he’s not fighting for a future free from the horrors that blighted his past, what’s the point of living?

With the Outer Verge bitterly divided and factions readying for war, the new horizons Ales dreamed of feel galaxies away.

Excerpt

Horizon Points
Harry F. Rey © 2019
All Rights Reserved

I woke with a stretch, trying to catch the fraying edges of a hot, summery dream about my lost home-world, Teva. Then the straining sensation of my cock pushing against its citanium cage kicked in, a daily reminder of my submission to Turo, and to the Union for which he stands. Swapping my freedom to save the frozen world of Jansen had made me an accomplice to Turo’s attempts to bend the galaxy’s Outer Verge to his green-eyed will.

The cage has some give; it flexes when I’m soft and relaxed, so much so that I can barely even feel it when walking around. But in the mornings, when the curse of male biology hits, I’m reminded of its presence. Turo might be on the other side of the Outer Verge, or the other side of the galaxy for all I know, but part of him is always with me. Reminding me, he’s in control.

Even when I’m not caged, I act as if I am; not touching the area, not sleeping on my front; imagining my own relief coming only from subservience to others. Admiral Turo constantly reminds me I’m nothing but a receptacle. A hole for his pleasure, a slave to his desires. Although when I’m not chained up in his private quarters on the ship, like today, I’m Commander Ales of the Union, tasked with difficult negotiations on the heterosapien world of Nelu. We need their minerals for our STAR drive, but their planet is still stubbornly aligned with the Trades Council. Simply being here could get me killed. Get us killed, as my security guard Yovnan kept reminding me.

“Commander, are you ready?” Came the sound of Captain Yovnan’s voice accompanied by a knock on the wooden door.

“One minute,” I called back; although it was hardly a door, he could probably see right over it if he stood on his tiptoes. See me lying here naked on the soft rugs piled on the wooden floor, a silvery metal cage around my cock, in contrast to my night-black skin, a still unusual sight in the cold worlds of the Verge. It wouldn’t be a bad thing if Yovnan saw me; in fact, I’d rather hoped to turn that stiff, professional, former-corporation-turned-Union officer into one of the small but growing number of men in Union-blue uniforms who were happy to use me. Although the time I had to turn him was quickly running out.

I reached over to the pile of clothes on the floor and grabbed my wrist-tech. The thin silvery metal melded to my wrist, coming alive with a flurry of updates and messages.

I checked the news bursts. Turo’s upcoming negotiations hadn’t even made the top story headlines.

Memorial service for Premier Forden planned on Matraenus Majora

Vexta Corporation considering abandoning moon base due to ongoing economic crisis

Trades Council and Union to open fresh round of talks aimed at resolving crisis

I tapped the third one.

The bitter dispute between the Trades Council and upstart Union that has crippled the Vergian economy is to be the focus of high-level discussions in the coming days. The Union of the Outer Verge, which previously provided security services for the Trades Council, seized control of the Jansen system a year ago. Since then, nearly half the systems in the Outer Verge have fallen under its orbit, precipitating the most serious political and economic crisis for the Outer Verge in living memory.

I closed the story, about all the Standard Galactic I could read at once. More messages from Franx:

Ales, he’s not come home in 2 days. What’s going on?

Ales, I’m worried. Can you answer me already? Why are you ignoring me???

Answer me!!

I swiped the messages away, pushing the problems on Targuline to the back of my mind. I eyed my black trousers and thin white T-shirt, more than enough for the sweltering Neluian heat. They were the clothes I used to wear, all that time ago before putting on the blue tunic. On this mission, though, we were incognito. Trades Council spies could be anywhere, and although the Vexans were allegedly interested in switching sides, the presence of two brazen Union officials on Nelu would shatter the uneasy truce between the Union and the Trades Council and most likely plunge the Outer Verge into all-out war.

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Meet the Author

Harry F. Rey is an author and lover of gay themed stories with a powerful punch with influences ranging from Alan Hollinghurst to Isaac Asimov to George R.R. Martin. He loves all things sci-fi and supernatural, and always with a gay twist. Harry is originally from the UK but lives in Jerusalem, Israel with his husband.

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