Spotlight Post | Reluctant Rockstar by Frances Fox

August 1, 2023July 27, 2023 ~ Ofelia Gränd ~ 1 Comment

Rockstar

Frances Fox is sharing a little about Reluctant Rockstar which is out today! 🥳 It’s the first in a new contemporary M/M romance series about rockstars – in case you missed the rockstar part 😉 If you grab it today, you’ll get it for $0.99, but tomorrow the price will increase.

RELUCTANT ROCKSTAR

Reluctant Rockstar Book #1 of a new series
Author: Frances Fox
Editor: Lourenza Adlem
Release: 1st August 2023
Price: $2.99
ISBN: 9798223337904
ASIN: B0C4R8Y6ND
KU: No
Wide: Yes
Series: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C4Q8WZYZ
Amazon: https://a.co/d/dh2pc3b
UBL: https://books2read.com/ReluctantRockstar
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/152004756-reluctant-rockstar

KEYWORDS

MM, Rockstar, Contemporary, British, Hurt-Comfort, Opposites Attract, Spicy.

TAG LINE

The first book in an exciting new contemporary MM series! A tired rock star and a judgemental gardener…what could possibly go wrong?

BLURB

The Purple Lizards are a rock world phenomenon, but lead singer Martin’s tired of his rock-and-roll persona. He’d rather be at home with his garden. When he gets home from tour he finds his gardener has had a heart attack and Simon, his grandson, is helping him out. Simon’s different to Fred. He talks, for a start. Martin and Fred have a perfectly functional friendship based on long silences and discussions about heritage vegetables. Simon talks about personal things as well. It makes Martin prickly.
Simon’s at a bit of a loss. He stepped up to help his grandfather whilst he was in hospital despite his misgivings about the absent Martin. But Fred clearly likes him, which is unusual for a start. Fred prefers plants to people. That he actively likes a rock star who used to smash up hotel rooms is really strange. Simon’s reserving judgement. Apparently the band have a break in their tour coming up. He’ll see whether he can work for the man once he’s spent some time with him.
A tired rock star and a judgemental gardener…what could possibly go wrong?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

o_1h46i0m3318pm1v3jfc71lnsj41c Frances Fox writes contemporary MM romance. The Rockstar series is a new eight-book series of novellas following the musicians, stage-crew and friends of Heggarty’s Bow. If you like to read spicy MM stories about vulnerable guys looking for love, she’ll have you covered.

Website: https://francesfoxbooks.co.uk
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/francesfoxbooks
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/frances-fox-e6fb0220-5282-4101-8467-cb11684c9176
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0C4SY2W4S
Newsletter: https://subscribepage.io/He2jKq

EXCERPT

Chapter 1: Martin

Martin was exhausted. He’d been hoping the Green Room was empty so he could sit in the quiet for a while and not have to think or engage with anyone. He really wasn’t up for any sort of argument.
However. The sound of a raised voice that penetrated into the corridor through the not-quite-shut door gave him the heads up that his solitary break wouldn’t be happening. He stood with his hand on the door handle, listening. It was Ken, he thought. He couldn’t make out the other voice.
He switched on his phone’s record function and held it to the crack in the door.
“I’ll go to the papers,” Ken was saying. “They’ll be interested to know the great Pete Heggarty is fucking a bloke!” He was slurring a bit. He did that a lot these days.
Heggarty…Martin presumed it was Heggarty…said something too quiet to hear. Ken’s voice got even louder. “You’ll sign up if you know what’s good for you. I’ve given you enough time to bring those dip-shit band members of yours round. Else everyone will know.”
Martin sighed and pushed open the door. “That’s enough,” he said quietly, with as much authority as he could summon. He stepped into the small room. “Ken. You’re fired. Get your things and leave. I’m emailing the agency now saying you’re no longer our manager. I’m citing bullying and intimidation.”
Ken opened his mouth to reply, but Martin held up his phone. “I recorded you. Out.” He jabbed at the open door into the corridor behind him with a vicious thumb.
Ken opened his mouth to reply, took another look at Martin’s expression, and shot out the door, muttering under his breath.
Martin looked at Pete Heggarty, sat in one of the saggy armchairs of the Green Room. He looked irritated, but not distressed. “How long’s that been going on?” he asked him, closing the door behind him and then flopping loose-limbed and tired into the neighboring armchair. He rested his head back against the chair cushions. God, that was good.
Heggarty sighed, brushing his hair out of his eyes. “A couple of months,” he said. “Since we started the tour, more or less.” He paused and then added, “Thanks. I was getting to the stage where thumping him was beginning to look like the only way to shut him up. He wouldn’t leave it.”
“My pleasure,” Martin said, trying to cover up his exhaustion with the whole situation. Not just today…but the whole tour. His whole professional life. “Arsehole. I’ve not been happy with him for months…he’s got a coke habit that would put a member of parliament to shame and I think he’s started gambling. I stopped trusting him when someone came round last year debt collecting for some online casino. No loss. Although now I need to find us a new manager. I’ve been putting it off, that’s all.”
“He wanted me to sign us up with them on a ridiculously prescriptive contract,” Heggarty said, coming alive a bit and sitting forward in the chair to put his elbows on his knees. “It’s not just me that makes choices for Heggarty’s Bow though—even if I cared that he’d out me to the press as bi. Try that blackmail shit with Lindy and he’d end up with a broken nose.”
Martin stifled a snort. “I didn’t think you were exactly closeted anyway,” he said.
“Well no. I just do my thing,” Heggarty said. “You’re right…he must have been permanently high as a kite not to notice it wasn’t the lever he thought it was.”
He paused.
“I haven’t had the chance to thank you for picking us up as your support on this tour,” he finally went on slightly more awkwardly, rubbing his hands on his jeans-clad knees. “Er. I…we…we really appreciate it. It’s our big break.”
Martin shook his head, uncomfortable with the thanks. “No,” he said, “that’s all right. Don’t thank me. It’s mutually beneficial, after all. Lots of fans are buying tickets to see you, rather than us. Another couple of years and you’ll be headlining and we’ll be supporting you.” He grinned at Heggarty reassuringly. “That’s the way these things go.”
Heggarty nodded, accepting the brush-off gracefully. “You’re right,” he said. “But still. We’re having a great time. It’s a whole new world for us; we’ve not worked with anyone as big as the Lizards before. Quite the eye-opener.” He grinned at Martin. “Even if the wild-boys reputation doesn’t seem to be all it’s cracked up to be.”
Martin laughed. “Maybe when we were younger,” he said. “But these days…after we lost Dave…the rest of us decided to rein things in a bit.”
Heggarty nodded. “I can see that,” he said.
Martin shivered, remembering. Dave had like to party. Drowning in a swimming pool whilst high had made him a footnote in the annals of rock history and landed the Purple Lizards with a reputation for wild behaviour that still followed them fifteen years later.
“These days…” Martin said. “These days it’s a job more than anything. We’re all about the music. And in between, I like to go home and look after my garden.” He shot Heggarty a tired sideways grin. “Don’t tell the press, though,” he said.
Heggarty laughed. “Your secret’s safe with me,” he said. He looked at his watch. “I need to go and find the others,” he said. “I suppose we should actually talk about getting a manager at this point, rather than sorting things out ourselves.”
Martin sighed. “Yeah,” he said. “I did find it freed up quite a bit of space in my head when we handed the booking and admin over to someone else. That’s a conversation I need to have with Ginny and Pin and Crow as well now.” He pulled a face. “We were already kicking a change around… I was going to get Steve Petrie over for a chat at some point. No time like the present. Do you want a chat with him too?”
“Steve Petrie? He’s a bit high-powered for us I should think.”
Martin shook his head. “Nah, mate. Don’t sell yourself short. No harm meeting him and sizing him up. He’s a nice guy—he’ll tell you straight whether he thinks you’re a good fit.”
Heggarty nodded. “If you don’t mind, then yes please,” he said. “I’ll go and tell the others. Hopefully Ken will have got enough of a head start that Lindy won’t be up on charges for assault.”
Martin chuckled quietly as the other man left the room. He hadn’t spent much time with the members of Heggarty’s Bow, but they seemed like nice kids. They did appear very much like kids to him though…a good fifteen years younger than Martin’s colleagues, mid-twenties at the most. Not the crazy rock-and-roll stereotypes the Purple Lizards had been at that age. He shuddered. He didn’t ever want to go back to that. It hadn’t been a good time.
He was looking forward to this break in the tour before they did the Japanese leg. Three weeks home with his garden and the soothing company of Fred his elderly gardener was just what the doctor ordered to get over his irritation with Ken and the impending exhaustion that inevitably came with a long tour. And this was a big one. It was true what he’d told Pete Heggarty…Heggarty’s Bow were crowd-pullers, with a large and growing fan base. The Lizards had been lucky to get them as a support band. In another couple of years they’d be headlining this sort of tour.
Martin wished he wasn’t so permanently fed up with it all. All the time he was on tour he craved the peace and quiet of his home; and when he was at home he dreaded going out on tour again. Anyway. It was what it was. He just needed to put one foot in front of the other. He got out his phone and messaged his fellow band members concisely. Just found Ken blackmailing Pete Heggarty. Sacked him. Shall I ring Steve Petrie? I’m in the Green Room. Want to go for a coffee somewhere and discuss?
There, that should put the cat among the pigeons. He stood by for the first irate text, but Pin beat Ginny to it and rang him. He grinned as he picked up the call. “Coffee?” he said.
“Yeah, you bet,” Pin said. “That man was always an arsehole and he’s only got worse over the last couple of years. Crow and I are in the coffee shop over the road from the venue. Want to meet us there? I’ll message Ginny.”
“Sure,” Martin said. “I’m on my way.”
No solitary time for him today.

Guest Post | Panther’s Luck by Holly Day

July 30, 2023July 30, 2023 ~ Ofelia Gränd ~ 1 Comment

Hiya!

I’m here as Holly today 😁 Did you know that there is a sale over at JMS Books? No? Well, there is. All ebooks are 50% off through the 31st. And do you know what else? Yesterday, Panther’s Luck was released 🥳 which means you can grab it for half price if you act quickly!

JMS Books is celebrating thirteen years in business, and to make the birthday month extra special, there was an in-house call for Lucky 13 stories. We could write any pairing, any subgenre, and were asked to keep the stories below 70k. What all stories had to have was some form of the word luck in the title, though.

So if you hop on over to JMS Books and check the new releases, keep an eye out for books with any form of luck in the title.

My contribution is a 187-page-long paranormal story about a human man named Romeo and a panther shifter named Ciar. The world it takes place in is pretty grim. The supernatural population grew tired of humans and their ways and wiped out the majority of them. What’s left are small settlements where the humans do their best to survive.

Romeo is no longer able to stay in his settlement and sets out to move to an old wilderness resort that has been uninhabited for thirty years. He and his siblings inherited it from his uncle, but it’s outside the settlements, which means Romeo is fair game.

In this world, shifters can be of any animal and there are crows and eagle-owls, panthers and wolves, bears and ravens. But some of them can’t turn into a fully human shape. And there are vampires.

Romeo befriends a bear boy who isn’t human-passing. It’s his first interaction with the supernatural world, but he soon realises there are supes around every corner and some want to keep him, and some want to eat him.

What works in Romeo’s favour is that he can read. The supes haven’t gone to school, and while some of them know how to read, the majority do not. Romeo is lucky, because he finds thirteen boxes of paperback books (Lucky 13 😆).

Books are banned, but for once being outside the borders of the settlements is a good thing since the supes are more interested in hearing the stories than reporting him to the authorities. The books become a sort of currency. In order to hear the stories, the supes offer Romeo favours.

And the more time Ciar spends in Romeo’s company, the more reluctant he is to leave his side. So when danger approaches, he stands with Romeo.

This story took over my life, or I disappeared into it when I wrote. It’s heavy on survival and there is some found family, but most of all, I just love my characters. I’m pretty sure I want to revisit The Moonlight Ranch and Last Hope. Who doesn’t want to revisit a place named Last Hope?? 😆

Panther’s Luck

panthersluck

Humans off the paved road are nothing but shifter food.

Romeo Gallo has to flee town. The problem is that the only place he can think of going is an old ranch he’s inherited from his uncle, and it’s off the paved road. Humans are fair game if they’re off the paved road, and being eaten by shifters has never been on the list of things Romeo wants to experience.

Ciar Moonlight is a panther shifter, perfectly happy living a laidback life on the ranch. He wants nothing to do with humans. But one night, one moves into the house, and Ciar finds it hard to stay away.

Romeo soon learns he isn’t the only one living on the ranch. Shifters and vampires keep popping up, and since no one has eaten him yet, he’d go as far as to call a few of them his friends. And there is a panther reluctant to leave his bedroom, so maybe one is even more than a friend. Ciar might not have wanted to get to know a human, but now when Romeo is living in his territory, he’s Ciar’s to keep, right? So if someone tries to get rid of Romeo, it’s Ciar’s right to defend him. Right?

Buy links:

Paranormal Gay Romance: 50,259 words

JMS Books :: Amazon :: books2read

Excerpt:

Romeo waited for some sort of response from Ciar. His heart was beating fast, and he feared he’d throw up any minute.

“Wonder why Armelle is here.” Ciar opened the door before Romeo stopped the car. In a blink of an eye, he was out of his seat, and Romeo watched as he approached the huge female. She looked like Humbert. There was no way she’d pass as human with her bear eyes and ears, and he wondered if she kept the same size in both her shapes because he’d never seen a person who was as big as she was.

He slowly got out of the car and almost dove back in again when her gaze focused on him.

“Hi.” He waved and walked closer. “I’m Romeo.”

She dipped her head. “I know. Humbert won’t stop talking about you.” She took a deep breath. “The crows caught him in your house, and I’m here to apologize and allow you to set the punishment.”

The world stopped. “What?”

She scrunched her nose. “The crows noticed Humbert inside your den when everyone knew you were in Last Hope with Ciar. You don’t enter anyone’s den without permission. You set the punishment.”

Humbert’s gaze was glued to the ground, but Romeo turned to him. “What were you doing in the house?”

He winced and shrunk. “When we were looking at the terrible-weather box, I saw the room next to it was filled with boxes. I wanted to see what was inside.”

Curiosity would be the death of this boy, or Romeo hoped it wouldn’t, but he got into trouble regularly. “And what was inside?”

“I didn’t have time to look before the crows informed Mom.”

Romeo chuckled, which earned him a glare from Armelle. “Sorry.”

“You’re not to say sorry, Humbert is, and you’ll give him a punishment so he’ll learn.”

Romeo wasn’t sure he believed in punishments. He didn’t want people running around in his house when he wasn’t there, but… “Right. I need you to build a chicken coop right away.”

“A what?” Humbert met his gaze for the first time, and confusion was written all over his face.

“House for chickens. There will need to be a couple of boxes where they can lay eggs, and they need something to sit on when they sleep, a stick that isn’t too thin and not too thick. You need to make sure no predators can get in during the night, and it has to be big enough for them to be able to move around.”

Humbert looked from Romeo to Armelle to Ciar. “Why?”

“I have chickens in the car, and I need to let them out before they die of heatstroke. They need a place to live, they need water, and eh… food.” He looked at Ciar. “What do chickens eat?”

Humbert made an excited sound, which had Armelle growling.

“What do I use to build?” Humbert was moving around, trying to see into the car despite standing too far away.

Romeo had no idea. “Maybe there is something in the cabins you can use?”

One second, there was a clear blue sky, the next a shadow fell over them. Romeo stumbled toward Ciar, but before he could make a fool out of himself by trying to hide behind him, a huge eagle-owl landed next to them, and soon a naked Draven stood there. “What are you doing?”

“We’re gonna build a chicken den.” Humbert was buzzing with excitement.

“You are.” Armelle glared at Humbert, and she didn’t sound pleased. “It’s punishment.”

Draven widened his eyes and looked between them. “Oh… maybe I should—” He gestured at the sky.

“No, wait!” Romeo reached for him without touching. “What do chickens eat?”

Draven tilted his head as an owl would. “They’re not birds of prey.”

“No, I know.”

He shrugged. “They eat grass and plants and bugs and worms and stuff. They scratch around.”

“So I can let them out?” There was plenty of ground they could peck on.

Draven stared at him, but before he could reply, Humbert grabbed his arm. “How big do I have to build, Draven?”

Draven looked at Romeo. “What’s going on?”

“I bought five chickens. They’re in the car. They need somewhere to live and nesting boxes.”

Draven moved toward the car, and Humbert and Ciar followed. Armelle stared at him. “Punishment isn’t supposed to be fun.”

Romeo nodded. “I’ll have him dig me a garden bed when he’s done.”

She gave a small nod. “He’s always sneaking out.”

Romeo lowered his voice, since he didn’t think she’d want Humbert to hear what he said. “It’s not a problem. I mean, I don’t want people running around in the house when I’m not there, but he’s a great kid.”

She narrowed her eyes, harrumphed, and lumbered off.

Romeo went to the car where the others were talking about how to build a chicken coop, and he almost didn’t notice Draven being naked. Almost. And since he didn’t want to be lynched, he did his best not to stare at his ass, even though it was a nice ass.

Grabbing the crate with the chickens, he lifted it onto the ground, then he reached for the groceries and carried them into the house, using the open kitchen door. He huffed. How had Humbert opened it? He was pretty sure he’d locked it before he left.

He placed the milk in the refrigerator and headed for the basement since the trapdoor was open. Walking into the cool air, he could see where Humbert had been. There were several boxes stacked on top of each other, and he’d put one on the floor, but it didn’t look like it had been opened. There was a thick layer of dust on the lid. Someone had written Horror on it with a black pen and Romeo’s hands shook as he reached for the lid. Horror. Who wrote horror on a box? It wasn’t a big box—square, cardboard, the perfect size for a human head. When he heard footsteps on the stairs, he snatched his hands back.

“Romeo?” Ciar came down the stairs. “What are you doing?”

“Who writes horror on a box? And more importantly, what do you find in a box marked as horror? You don’t think there’s a sawed-off head in there, do you?”

Ciar stared at him as if he was insane—he most likely was.

“There is nothing dead in here.”

“You think it’s something alive? Like a snake or a spider or something? A box full of bats.” Romeo was being ridiculous, but what could be in a box of horrors?

“There is nothing living either.” Ciar reached past him and opened the lid. Romeo stared. Books. There were paperback books, several of them.

“Shit!” He put the lid back on and stared at Ciar. “What do we do? We’ll go to jail if they find these.”

“Jail?”

Romeo shook his head as panic set in. Fuck. “They’ll kill us on the spot. There is no room in the jails. No one is allowed to have books.”

“No one is coming here.”

Romeo stared at him and then looked at the other boxes. Twelve other boxes. Mystery, sci-fi, young adult, romance, paranormal, children, and non-fiction. Mystery, paranormal, and romance had more than one box, as did non-fiction. “Holy shit. It’s a library. We’ll swing for this. I’ll swing for this.”

“Swing?”

“Hang. They’ll kill me.”

Ciar growled and sharp teeth peeked out from underneath his upper lip.

“Look.” Romeo got to his feet and tapped the paranormal box. “These have to be old, from before humans knew supes were real. I bet you’d find these hilarious.”

“Why?”

“They were written before we were aware you existed, so they’ll be making things up about how shifters and vampires were, making up their own rules and such.”

Ciar studied him. “And you can read them?”

Romeo pursed his lips. He believed he could. Grabbing the upmost paranormal box, he put it on the floor and opened the lid. There were a lot of huge bare-chested men holding on to petite women, but also a few with women dressed in battle gear, one with a woman with long red hair holding a sword, one with a woman in a pointy black hat and a cauldron with some glowing green liquid in.

Blowing out a breath, Romeo stared. Only looking at the cover was fantastic. Art wasn’t allowed. “This is amazing.”

There was one with a black panther stalking a barely dressed woman tied to a tree, and Romeo laughed. “Look.” He held it up for Ciar to see.

Ciar frowned. “Is he gonna eat her?”

“I doubt it. Not the way you mean it at least.” He chuckled.

“You can read these?”

Romeo opened the first page of the next book, one with a woman dressed in black leather on the cover and read the first sentence out loud.

Ciar stared at him and then made a motion for him to continue.

“Let’s get the chickens sorted, and I’ll read a chapter after.”

Ciar nodded. “Yeah, the others will want to hear, too.”

The others? Nervousness spread in Romeo’s chest. He could read, but he wasn’t the best at reading out loud, and the fewer who knew they had books, the better.

About Holly Day

According to Holly Day, no day should go by uncelebrated and all of them deserve a story. If she’ll have the time to write them remains to be seen. She lives in rural Sweden with a husband, four children, more pets than most, and wouldn’t last a day without coffee.

Holly gets up at the crack of dawn most days of the week to write gay romance stories. She believes in equality in fiction and in real life. Diversity matters. Representation matters. Visibility matters. We can change the world one story at the time.

Connect with Holly on social media:

Website :: Facebook :: Twitter :: Pinterest :: BookBub :: Goodreads :: Newsletter :: TikTok

Read Around the Rainbow | Seasonal Reads

July 28, 2023July 28, 2023 ~ Ofelia Gränd ~ 6 Comments

ReadAroundTheRainbow

It’s Read Around the Rainbow time!!! 🌈 On the last Friday of every month, we’re a bunch of authors who get together and share our thoughts on a specific topic, and this month we’re talking seasonal reads – if we read summer books during summer and winter books during winter, or if we’re rebels who read whatever we want whenever we want 😁

You’d think since I write stories for holidays all year around (as Holly Day) I’d read according to seasons/holidays, but I don’t. I might be more likely to pick up a Christmas book during winter, but then we have the whole Christmas in July thing, so might as well read them throughout the year 😆

I think a key aspect is that I’m not very observant when I pick up a book. I tend not to read blurbs, and I don’t really investigate unless I’m on the hunt for something specific. Christmas books, you can often tell by the cover that it’s gonna be a holiday story, but most often I read a book because I think the cover is pretty or because I’ve read something by that author before and liked it.

So do I read summer books in the summer?

Who wants to read summer books at all?! It’s warm and sweaty in the summer, and I don’t want to be there if I don’t have to. If I can tell by the cover it’s gonna be an autumn or winter story, I’ll pick that over a summer image every day of the week. If there’s a beach on the cover, I’m not likely to read it, unless it’s cold and windy and deserted. If it is, I’m there! LOL

That being said, I write books all around the year. Now. When I only wrote as Ofelia, most of my books took place during autumn unless I wrote it for a specific call or there was something in the plot that demanded it being spring or summer.

When I write as Holly, I write the month the holiday takes place in, and I stick to the Swedish climate and daylight hours.

It’s easier to write a summer story in the summer, which of course never happens. I’ve had years when I’ve listened to Christmas music in the middle of summer because the Christmas deadlines are coming up. Whatever gets you in the right mood, right?

So short answer – no I don’t pick my books depending on what season I’m in, but I’m more likely to read a Christmas story in the winter half of the year.

Check out what the others have to say!

Summer/Winter

ninestones

The only thing worse than having a hot neighbor you’re too intimidated to talk to is accidentally hitting his cat with your car. Felix Lane was perfectly content to spend the rest of his days with Sunny, his canary life companion, in their quiet little corner of the suburbs. But then Kirk Shoo with his unusual eyes moved in across the street, and Felix’s carefully constructed life is starting to unravel. When your every bad-boy fantasy lingers at the mailbox, stands too close and smells too damn good, what’s an under-appreciated administrative assistant to do? Besides sneak out the backdoor to go to work? But when Kirk’s cat runs out in front of Felix on his way home, he has no choice but to face the music and his dream man. Unless … What starts as a tragic accident turns into something far more bizarre. And when Felix’s backyard begins to look like a pet cemetery, he has no choice but to come clean. That is, if he can manage to find his sexy neighbor at all.

24dates

When Victor Hill bought a house with his boyfriend, Jian Kouri it was a dream come true. But now, two years later, instead of living their happily ever after, they hardly see the other awake. With Jian out the door before Victor gets up in the morning, and asleep on the couch nearly as soon as he walks in the door, the life Victor imagined couldn’t be further from reality. They don’t talk; they don’t touch, and Victor fears he and Jian have already drifted too far apart. The holiday season is a time for hope, but when Victor comes home to find Jian with a plan to woo him for Christmas, is it too little, too late? The dates are great, and there are filled with Christmas fun to get Victor in the right spirit for the holiday, but are they enough for the two of them to fall in love again? Or is there just too much in their relationship that needs fixing?