Tag: Guest post

Cover Reveal | The Hunted and the Hind by A.L. Lester

~ Ofelia Gränd ~ Leave a comment

Cover-Reveal

We’re gonna take a short break from the holiday stories – there’s a life after Christmas after all – because today, A.L. Lester is here to show off the cover of her coming release. I love it. So pretty!

Hello there everyone and thank you so much to Ofelia for inviting me to visit today! I am popping in to bring you the cover of The Hunted and the Hind and tell you a bit about it, and the Lost in Time universe.

Hunted is the third in my Lost in Time 1920s London trilogy, although as you may gather from the cover, at least some of it takes place elsewhere! The Lost in Time Universe is based around an old green book. It’s definitely not a book of magic. It’s simply a book of instructions. Instructions to use energy to make things happen. To get what you want.

Be careful how you use the book. Because everything you do comes with a price.

The universe gets it name because the first book I wrote begins with a magical accident that results in one of the main characters getting pulled back from 2016 to 1920. Everything else sort of went on from there! You can read more about the universe and the order of the books on my website.

Hunted jigsaw

At the end of book number two, Shadows on the Border, poor Sergeant Will Grant got sucked through the border after Fenn, who returned to their home in the Outlands with the murderous creature they’d finally captured with the help of Will’s police team. It took me ages to work out what I wanted to write in Hunted because I never actually set out to write a trilogy–this is one of the downsides of discovery writing, which I have now rather learned to my cost. There were so many loose ends I wanted to tie up to feel that I’d satisfactorily ended the series, for both readers and for myself. It took me three rewrites to get the story knocked into a shape that I feel happy with.

Without further ado…here’s the cover (and the blurb!) for…

TheHuntedendtheHide3

The Hunted and the Hind

Inadvertently tumbling through the border after Fenn and then thrown into the middle of the internecine political disputes of their people, Sergeant Will Grant of the Metropolitan Police has spent three months in prison in the Underhalls of the Frem. When Fenn comes to free him and return him home through the border, he has very little time to work out what’s going on before the sudden appearance of Fenn’s missing younger sibling Keren throws Fenn for a loop.

Instead of returning them to London as planned, the trio step through the border to the Egyptian desert. Once they work out where they are, it’s a two week trip back to England with the possibility of pursuit both onboard ship and when they reach home.

Will the journey give Fenn and Will time to resolve the feelings they have been dancing around since the day they met? How will they keep Keren from recapture by the faction who tried to persuade Fenn they were dead? And has Will’s friend Alec forgiven Fenn for lying about their motives when they first traveled to London four months ago?

Preorder from the publisher, JMS Books!

About A. L. Lester

Ally Lester is a writer of queer, mostly paranormal, historical, romantic suspense, usually set in the Lost in Time universe. They live in the South West of England with Mr AL, two children, a badly behaved dachshund, a terrifying cat and some hens. Likes gardening but doesn’t really have time or energy.  Not musical. Doesn’t much like telly. Non-binary. Chronically disabled. Has tedious fits.

Find all my links at my lnk.bio page

Guest Post | The Sir by Marco May

~ Ofelia Gränd ~ 5 Comments

Guest-Post

Throughout December, I will have a few author friends drop by to tell you about their holiday books. First out is Marco May who is here to share an excerpt from his book The Sir – a May-December, BDSM, M/M (MMM+) story.

The Sir is part of the 2020 Top Ten Gay Romance anthology from JMS Books that will be published on December 30th

Excerpt:

“Consider it at the very least. And don’t let me catch you staring at me like a horndog again, you hear me?”
I gave him a rushed nod. “Yes, Sir.” As soon as he loosened his grip, I was out in no time. I exited the gym and shivered my way toward my cheap car in the vast parking lot of the shopping plaza. My teeth chattered, and I couldn’t wait to get home.
I revved the engine until the car wouldn’t start. I tried again and again and again, and I slammed my fist on the steering wheel at the fear of my cheap-ass car dying on me again like last winter. “Fuck, not this shit again! Arghhh!” I rested my forehead against the wheel and blew a hard, visible breath. So much for trying my hardest to be independent. Why this all of a sudden? And why now? I just wanted to get home and go about my day as usual.
As soon as raindrops fell in thuds against the slightly cracked windshield, I knew now that my life grew a middle finger and waved it at me. Freezing rain. Of course this was happening. Of course, of course, of fucking course—
A hard knock on the driver’s window startled me.
I was taken aback to find Nicholas standing there with a large black umbrella over his head. He gestured for me to roll down my window, and I did. I let out a breath and tried to smile, but I wasn’t in the mood to give a detailed explanation. “My car just died again.”
“I see that. I take it you need a ride?”
I sniffled. “Please?” I didn’t care how tacky it was to take advantage of his offer so quickly. There was no way I was walking so many blocks home while the bus system wasn’t always reliable.
“Come on, Jacques.” He led the way.
I got out of my car and followed him without minding that I was getting rained on. Jacques, though? How had he known that? “Hey, how did you know my French name?”
“You made a big stink about it months ago at the front desk.”
Oh. That. It’d been the last time I’d made the request and had given up ever since. To be fair, my snobby coworkers had mocked me over it and assumed I was being pretentious. I might have gotten a bit defensive.
I sniffled and formed a stronger smile at Nicholas while hopping inside his warm luxury sedan, also in black. He called me Jacques, though. He called me that when he could’ve ignored it and called me Jack, instead. I sensed I’d never forget it for the rest of my life.
Nicholas revved the engine and remained quiet for a moment. He gave me his usual serious look. “Now, before I drive to where you live, would you like to see the job offer, or would you rather me take you straight home?”
“So…this job…you said it pays more?” I was intrigued and wondered if it was actually a good idea to check it out. I had nothing better to do than to hang out at home. Theresa would probably go out with her friends at some point.
“Much more.”
“But, like, how much?” I closed my legs just a tad to avoid showing my growing bulge. He drove me nuts so fast, it was unreal.
“What you make in a year, you could easily earn in a few paychecks.”
My eyebrows flew up, and I suddenly realized there was no way it could’ve involved cleaning or cooking. Yet he was still being rather obscure about this. “What’s the actual job, though?”
“You’ll know when you’re there, hence my question. I’m a very private person, so you’ll have to see for yourself.”
Nicholas was a regular at the gym and had even been offended by my treating him like a hot piece of meat. I imagined he was far safer and tamer than the jerks I’d met before.
I drew in a deep breath and blew gently. The idea of no longer having to work in cleaning for what could be a big chunk of my life was the most appealing part of the offer. I looked at him and offered a small smile. Always the type to let intrigue take control of my decisions, I gave him a nod. “Let’s see the job, then.”

the sirTwenty-year-old Jacques fantasizes about being with much older men. All the guys he’s been with around his own age just didn’t cut it, and the one man he’s been with who was older wasn’t old enough. He wants a true silver fox, and he’s more than willing to seek out one who attracts him the right way.

That’s when he meets Sir Nicholas, who might as well be a reimagined Santa stud. After an awkward encounter at the gym where Jacques works, Nicholas offers him a job that pays far more than his janitor position. He’s to be a kept sex slave to serve Nicholas — and whomever else the sexy Sir wants him to serve. Jacques eagerly accepts. After all, Nicholas is exactly the man he’s waited so long to find.

But the more he spends time with Nicholas, the more Jacques wants exclusivity. He’s determined to win his sexy silver fox over to monogamy. Will he manage to get what Nicholas doesn’t seem willing to give? Or will he be just another temporary toy?

About Marco:

Marco May has been a passionate writer since he was a teenager. Inspired by his past homoerotic drawings, he started writing erotica secretly not long after he’d started writing overall. He took a long hiatus to focus on his non-erotic works. He tried getting back into writing erotica, but he wasn’t inspired anymore. It wasn’t until 2017 when he wrote his first picfic, “Touchlessly Touched”, that drove him to continue writing erotica to a more dedicated level.

He started with Wattpad as a testing ground and did great there. He managed to write his biggest hit with The Hookups of Hickeyhook Hall, along with his second-biggest hit, Tamely Told. His third Wattpad release, an anthology of picfics titled Passionately Pictured, also did well. The stats of these works were what led him to believe he had a chance in the publishing world. He still writes non-erotic fiction, but he doesn’t mix them under the same pen name.

Aside from writing, Marco May also enjoys designing book and album covers, studying European languages, making electronic music, reading on his Kindle, and playing The Sims.

Regaining Trust by Nell Iris

~ Ofelia Gränd ~ 1 Comment

Today, we have a guest! Isn’t it awesome? Two guests in one month, I’m quite proud. Nell Iris is here to talk about her story Regaining Trust that is released today. Take it away, Nell! LOL

Regaining Trust banner

“Once a cheater, always a cheater.”

I’m sure you’ve heard the expression unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last hundred years or so. Law, one of the MCs in my new release Regaining Trust, certainly has, long before he was in a situation where it mattered to him.

But when the book opens with Law walking in on the aftermath of his fiancé Frankie cheating on him, he has reason to reflect on it. Is there any truth to the saying or is this a myth perpetuated over the years by all the wronged partners in the world?

While Law doesn’t research it in my book, I did. Of course, I did, I’m a writer, that’s what we do.

In a study named “Once a Cheater, Always a Cheater? Serial Infidelity Across Subsequent Relationships” (link: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-017-1018-1) published 2017, a team researches this old saying. What they found is that those who were unfaithful in one relationship were three times more likely to cheat on their next partner compared to the non-cheaters. One possible reason for this is that lying becomes easier the more we do it. The first time someone is unfaithful, they usually feel bad about it. The next time it happens, the guilt lessens which makes it easier to cheat again.

So, there seems to be some truth to the statement.

Furthermore: those who suspected their partner of cheating in their first relationship were four times as likely to suspect their next partner to cheat.

What does this mean for Law and Frankie?

The event that starts off the book is Frankie’s first offense, but Law is of a distrustful nature. Will that mean that Frankie’s actions have doomed their relationship, or will their deep love survive their difficulties? Will they be able to save their relationship?

Regaining Trust

When workaholic Lawrence Weller walks in on the aftermath of his fiancé Frankie cheating on him, his world shatters. Frankie’s the love of his life, the only person he’s ever trusted, and the betrayal leaves him devastated.

Franklin Ennis makes a huge mistake that he regrets deeply before it’s even over. He pleads for a second chance, willing to do whatever it takes to save their relationship.

A love that deep doesn’t just stop, so Lawrence agrees to try. But mistakes don’t happen in a vacuum. Are they both willing to own up to their part? Will their love be enough to repair what was crushed? Can trust once broken be rebuilt?

books2read.com/RegainingTrust

Regaining Trust in the JMS-shop (20% off in new release sale)

Nell Iris Bio and social media links:

Nell Iris is a romantic at heart who believes everyone deserves a happy ending. She’s a bona fide bookworm (learned to read long before she started school), wouldn’t dream of going anywhere without something to read (not even the ladies room), loves music (and singing along at the top of her voice but she’s no Celine Dion), and is a real Star Trek nerd (Make it so). She loves words, bullet journals, poetry, wine, coffee-flavored kisses, and fika (a Swedish cultural thing involving coffee and pastry!)

Nell believes passionately in equality for all regardless of race, gender or sexuality, and wants to make the world a better, less hateful, place.

Nell is a bisexual Swedish woman married to the love of her life, a proud mama of a grown daughter, and is approaching 50 faster than she’d like. She lives in the south of Sweden where she spends her days thinking up stories about people falling in love. After dreaming about being a writer for most of her life, she finally was in a place where she could pursue her dream and released her first book in 2017.

Nell Iris writes gay romance, prefers sweet over angsty, short over long, and quirky characters over alpha males.

Find me on social media:

Webpage/blog: http://www.nelliris.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nellirisauthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nell_iris/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nellirisauthor/
Facebook profile: www.facebook.com/nell.iris.12 
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/nelliris
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/nell-iris
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.se/nelliris/

Excerpt:

Regaining“You never told me you were lonely,” I say.

“I did!” His protest is loud and takes some of the defeat from his body. “I’ve told you a thousand times. How I miss you when you’re always working late and wish we could do more stuff together.”

I knit my eyebrows together, trying to think back and remember. He’s right. He always hugs me tightly and tells me how much he’ll miss me when he knows I’ll work late. Or how he wishes we could do something together, even if it’s only watching a show while cuddling on the couch.

”I thought that was your way of showing me how you feel about me. You being sweet and caring. Not once did I think it meant ‘I’m so fucking lonely I’ll suck someone else’s dick.’ Was it even your first time?” The question is a pained scream, hurting my throat, my head, my soul. I don’t like yelling, so I take a deep breath and start counting to ten in my head to calm down, but I’m interrupted before even reaching three.

“Of course, it was the first time,” he roars. “I’m not a cheater.”

His words are a thundercrack in an otherwise dead silent apartment, and I rear back, scramble off the couch, and turn to leave.

“No. Please.” He’s pleading now, voice cracked and bleeding out on the floor. “Please don’t leave me, Lawrence. I’ll do anything. I love you so much, don’t leave me.”

I’m frozen on the spot. Undecided. The hurt, overly-dramatic part of me wants to storm off in a huff, throw some stuff in a bag, and retreat somewhere to lick my wounds, and rage and scream and curse the treachery, while wailing out my broken heart. But the other, more rational part of me won’t let me move, the part that still remembers how much I love him, still remembers his loving kisses, his devotion. His passion.

So I sink back down on the couch. Rub my palms over my face and swallow. “I don’t know what to do here, Frankie. I’m hurt and betrayed, but at the same time I just can’t turn off my feelings for you. But how can I be with you if I can’t trust you?”

“You can trust me. You can.” He’s so sincere, so heartfelt, leaning forward—hands twitching so he shoves them between his knees—begging, willing me to believe him. And I want to. I really do.

“How?”

“I’ve never done anything like this before, never kissed anyone, hardly ever looked at anyone like that. It was a huge mistake and I regret it. So, so much. I know I can’t prove it, but I was going to tell you. That’s what I was worried about when you walked in. How I would tell you. How you’d react. If you’d hate me.”

I must look skeptical because he hurries to continue. “I know. It’s easy to say when there’s no way of proving intent. But I’m not a liar. You know I’m not.”

“Do I?” I push out the question around the lump in my throat.

He slides to his knees on the floor in front of me, sits back on his heels, and tries to catch my gaze. I give in to his silent pleas and meet his eyes.

“You know me, Lawrence. You know you do. You know what kind of person I am. I’m only human and make mistakes like everyone. This one was huge and more stupid than most, I know that. I’m not perfect, but I’m not a liar. I’m not disloyal. And I own my mistakes.” His face is open. He blinks away tears, but his gaze never falters. His hands rest on his knees, palms open and turned up, and everything about him invites me to see the honesty in his heart.

And maybe I can see it. The slight tremble of his hand and the pulse fluttering visibly in his neck betrays his anxiousness, but he doesn’t move. Doesn’t squirm or fidget, doesn’t look away from me. Nothing indicates that he’s lying.

There’s no way he’s that skilled a liar. He’s always been open and honest and prone to blurting his emotions as soon as he experiences them. That thought deflates me and I fall back against the couch.

“Yeah, I know. I believe you.” And I do. At least my head knows. I’m not sure about my heart. Or my gut, rather.

His eyes well up and a tremble racks his body, but it’s the sight of his wobbly chin that finally cracks me. I hold out my hand, unable to not touch him anymore. “Come here.”