Wednesday 29 September 2021

Bangkok Burning by Robin Newbold @rmnewbold #giveaway

BOOK BLAST

Book Title: Bangkok Burning

Author: Robin Newbold

Publisher: The Conrad Press

Cover Artist: Charlotte Mouncey

Release Date: January 2021

Genre: Gay Thriller

Tropes: Coming out story

Themes: Good against evil fight 

Heat Rating:  3 flames    

Length: 80 000 words/305 pages

It is a standalone book and does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads 

Buy Links

Amazon US  | Amazon UK

Foyles  |  Queer Lit 

How far would you go to get what you want?

Blurb 

Bangkok Burning is a brilliantly unsettling thriller about the dark side of desire. It is also something of a warped love letter to a place teeming with a rogues’ gallery of characters, for this is not just about one man’s struggle but a portrait of a whole city on the brink.

Closeted forty-year-old Graham Floyd, trapped by anxiety issues and an abusive marriage, finally escapes, running away from his lifeless existence on a smile and a whim, swapping dreary south London for the brutal chaos of Bangkok. He soon finds himself prey not only to Natasha, the transsexual nightclub schemer he loses his heart to, but in thrall to the slimy American millionaire Svengali who owns her. In a place where Graham is at last true to himself, will he triumph in a fight to the death to get what he really wants?

Excerpt 

 Graham knew he only had seven days, just a week to get what he craved – a new life.

A cacophony of voices in pidgin English broke him out of his trance, the grabbing, everywhere hands accosting him as he neared the entrance. He was back, the tawdry plywood exterior looking even poorer than he remembered illuminated by the tacky red neon sign announcing Christie Cabaret Show. Greeted by the same throbbing Thai pop music, beating in time to his heart, the gutter stink of cheap perfume, the place looked much smaller and far more decadent than it had in his mind’s eye over the last few weeks. In his dreams he’d expected to walk in and find her, poised, as if she’d been waiting for him, but Graham felt cheated as he looked around frantically at the other ladyboys. Though how he hated that word, the fact he could possibly be desperate for one of their ilk. Staring out at the braying red-faced punters, Thai girls curled serpent-like around bovine white men, their eyes calculating every move, brains computing every sentence uttered he saw a kind of hell and of Natasha there was no sign. 

‘God,’ he said to himself, feeling his muscles tense, mouth desert dry, palms leaking sweat, chewing at nails so destroyed blood was oozing out of them.

‘Can I help you, Sir?’ said not a divine being but a heavily made-up boy.  

‘Where’s Natasha?’ he said, wheeling around, scanning the bar again.  

‘Natasha?’ said the boy with a shrug.   

He flopped down at a bar stool overlooking the ramshackle stage, sighing as the first strains of Whitney Houston’s ‘I Will Always Love You’ – one of wife Sheila’s favourites – struck up and a ridiculously elaborately dressed ladyboy appeared, lip-synching in all the wrong places. 

‘Beer, please,’ said Graham to the boy who’d continued to hover and he was gone with a practised and unnecessary shake of his arse. 

‘All right, babe. As one alcoholic would say to another, you look like you need a drink,’ said a man to his right, fruity voice cutting through the din, a gnarled hand seemingly weighed down by a worrying amount of gold jewellery enveloping his arm. ‘Great this, ain’t it.’

‘Graham, what’s yours? Though everyone calls me Gray as in Mr Gray. Like my life,’ he said, turning to look at his new best friend, taking in the yellowing skin which was the hue of old newspapers, the gin-coloured hair.

‘Nigel… Nigel Monroe.’

‘Good to meet you, Nigel Monroe.’ 

‘You can live like a king ‘ere, dear,’ he said, voice a shouty amalgam of Cockney and camp, raising a glass unsteadily with one hand, patting the boy’s arse with the other. ‘These girls, you see, know what they want and how to get it.’

‘Do you know Natasha?’ 

‘Let’s see, I’ve been here since 1990, so that’s twenty years now. Twenty bloody years man and boy…’

‘Where were you before?’

‘Before? Was there a before?’ he said, looking out into the middle distance. ‘All over. And you?’

‘South London.’

‘Don’t sound like it.’

‘I don’t have a strong accent. Guess you could say I’m well read. Like my crosswords and that. But, come on, what have you been doing here?’ 

‘Ah, the first rule of being an expat, never ask that question ‘ere,’ he said, shakily raising a hand. ‘People get offended. But, you know, this and that…’ 

As he tailed off, Graham sensed regret, his companion staring off beyond the nonsense on stage and into the darkness beyond, as though wondering how he’d ‘lost touch’, so the phrase went, with friends and family, with his roots, with who he actually was, traded it all in for a seat in a dive bar in a city halfway around the world. He didn’t want to bloody end up like that.

About the Author 

Robin Newbold is a Hove-based journalist and freelance travel writer, having returned to England after six years living in the Far East. His work has appeared in Time Out, the South China Morning PostBangkok Metro and Gay Times. This is his third novel. Bloody Summer was published in 2012, while Vacuum-Packed came out in 2014. He is a Crystal Palace fan.

Author Links

Blog/Website  |   Facebook  |   Twitter

Instagram  |   Amazon Author Page  |  Goodreads Author Profile Page  

Giveaway

Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win 

one of five copies of Bangkok Burning paperbacks, badges and stickers

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions

Tuesday 28 September 2021

The Yakuza Path: One Thousand Cranes by Amy Tasukada

BOOK BLAST

Book Title:  The Yakuza Path: One Thousand Cranes

Author: Amy Tasukada

Publisher: ‎ Macarons & Tea Publishing

Release Date: December 12, 2017

Genre: Gay thriller (not a romance)

Tropes: Bad boys, tragic hero 

Themes: Mafia, betrayal 

Heat Rating: 1 flame    

Length:  130 pages

It is book 3 in The Yakuza Path series and can be read as a standalone but it's worth reading the previous books to follow the ongoing storyline.

This book does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

Buy Links 

Amazon US  | Amazon UK

Kobo  |  Apple Books  |  B&N  |  Google Play  |  Books2Read  

When a body goes missing, a young Yakuza’s life hangs in the balance…

Blurb 

Aki Hisona’s latest promotion is a cause for celebration. But because his new job is working as the personal secretary for the Yakuza's Kyoto-based godfather, it’s also a cause for dangerous envy. He takes an invitation from a friend for congratulatory drinks, but Aki never thought the night would end with a deadly knife fight…

Aki is tasked with disposing of his friend’s corpse, but there’s one problem: the body is missing. As body parts surface around town, it’s only a matter of time before the police piece together the clues. But keeping one step ahead of the cops may not matter if Aki can’t solve the mystery before his cold, unforgiving godfather boss does…

One Thousand Cranes is a pulse-pounding thriller in the ongoing series of Japanese mafia stories. If you like gritty settings, page-turning whodunits, and accurate portrayals of Kyoto traditions, then you’ll love Amy Tasukada’s gripping tale. 

The Yakuza Path Series

BOOK 1 - Blood Stained Tea

BOOK 2 - Better Than Suicide

BOOK 3 - One Thousand Cranes

BOOK 4 - The Deafening Silence

BOOK 5 - Flowers of Flesh and Blood

BOOK 6 - Releasing in November

Excerpt 

Shoda squeezed Aki’s arm. “Don’t think you’re getting out of buying me a beer that easily, Mr. Hot Shot Secretary.”

“We got to find a place first.”

“There should be one up another block.”

The streets were quiet, except for trash workers, but they avoided even glancing toward Aki and Shoda. Even without the inward-facing arrows of the Matsukawa crest pinned on their shirts, they could never lose their yakuza swagger.

“I’ve been trying to suck up to the ward leader in the redlight district,” Shoda said.

“You think the ward leader will move you there when your apprenticeship is over?”

“I think so, but who the fuck knows. I do everything they want, and I still feel like I haven’t gotten anywhere.”

“It hasn’t gone unnoticed. There have been a few times Father Murata talked about how he wished all the recruits were as dedicated as you.”

Shoda tugged on his ear. “I just gotta spend another six months cleaning toilets. Then probably another doing the same thing at one of the Kyoto wards. I joined the yakuza, not a maid service.”

Aki laughed. “I felt that way, too. It takes time. People have to learn they can trust you before they hand over bigger duties.”

“Is that so?”

“Wherever you go, I wish you the best. You’ll make a name for yourself.”

Even with the good wishes, Shoda’s face remained tight. “It was easier for you.”

The two passed through a narrow alley reeking of rotting fish and piss. The yellow trash bags took up so much space they had to walk single file.

“Maybe if I’d taken it up the ass, too, I would’ve gotten a cushy job answering phones by now,” Shoda said.

“I don’t just answ—”

“So you still have to suck his dick, too? Maybe we could both take turns. The fag might want some variety.”

Aki’s mouth slackened. “Shoda, you’re drunk.”

“And more clearheaded than ever before.”

Shoda snatched a handful of Aki’s chin-length hair and jerked him back. The world spun, and the first of the sun rays blinded Aki. Then Shoda’s fist connected with the side of Aki’s

face, and he fell onto the stuffed trash bags.

“Shoda!” Aki cried out while all the hours of training he put in at the boxing gym fluttered away like a paper trapped in a whirlwind.

“B-but we’re friends,” Aki managed to say. “Why? Why are you doing this?”

Shoda grunted and drew his arm back again. “Huh? High school grad can’t figure it out? You think you’re better than the rest of us, don’t you?”

Aki held up his arms, covering his face, but Shoda delivered a blow to his wrist that sent a shock wave of pain throughout Aki’s body. But it didn’t hurt as much as their breaking friendship.

“No! I never thought that,” Aki pleaded.

“I’m going to fuck you up so bad Father Murata won’t want to look at you. You two-toned freak!”

Another punch landed on Aki’s stomach. The beer sloshing in his gut churned up his throat. His thoughts swirled as he slid down the trash bags and vomited. It splashed back onto his white hands.

Shoda kicked him in the ribs. A trail of acid followed the rest of the contents of Aki’s stomach. Even with the copper taste of blood mixing with acid in his mouth, Aki knew the scuffle had to be a misunderstanding. They were best friends. Shoda just got a little hotheaded.

Aki wiped his mouth as Shoda stumbled back. Sure, Aki trained on a punching bag, but he never sparred with an actual person, let alone struck his best friend.

“Sho…”

About the Author 

International best-selling author Amy Tasukada writes thrilling times of crime, love, and gore. Readers who crave diverse characters, unique settings, and edge-of-your-seat action will devour her Yakuza Path series. Readers who seek less blood and more love will swoon over the Yakuza Path Romance and Would it Be Okay to Love You? Series. Amy is an atheist, queer author who enjoys drinking tea, Japanese street fashion and visual kei music.  Her calico cat, O’Hara, is never far from her side. Amy lives in North Texas, but is always planning her next trip to Japan.

Author Links

Blog/Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |    Instagram   

 Newsletter Sign-up  (FREE chapter of an exclusive story sent every month)

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions

Sunday 26 September 2021

New Release - Relevant Law by Janice Jarrell #kindleunlimited

RELEASE BLITZ

Book Title:  Relevant Law (The Fearless Heart, #2)

Author: Janice Jarrell

Publisher:  Self-Published

Cover Artist: Janice Jarrell and Robin E. Vuchnich

Release Date: September 25, 2021

Genre:  Contemporary M/M Romance

Tropes: Hurt/Comfort

Themes: Suspense, Angst, Abduction and Rescue

Heat Rating: 4 flames

Length:  91 638 words/ around 215 pages

It is part of a series but can be read as a standalone.

Goodreads 

Buy Links - Available in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US  |  Amazon UK

Sometimes love is defined by fear.

Blurb

They’d been through it all and emerged victorious. Now they stood on the very brink of a whole new life bursting with possibilities and renewed hope for the future. Colin will take the bar exam and begin his promising career as an Assistant Commonwealth Attorney for the city of Charlottesville. Joshua receives his second Ph.D. and adds Forensic Psychologist to his list of achievements. What could possibly go wrong?

And then: 

Three students are abducted from the University of Virginia campus. All three are recovered alive but have been sexually assaulted and brutally beaten. From his new position as Assistant Commonwealth Attorney, Colin partners with both campus and city police in a combined task force determined to solve these horrific crimes and put the perpetrator behind bars. But can they succeed before the ‘campus abductor’ strikes again?

The abusive and volatile husband of one of Joshua’s patients threatens his life. Suddenly Joshua is under siege as he is stalked both at work and at home by an unstable assailant.

Entangled in both these life-threatening situations, Colin struggles to protect both the university he loves and the man he adores. But...

“Oh god, Josh, my sweet love, if anything’s happened to you...” his voice trailed off, unable to voice the unthinkable.

 “NO! Joshua’s mind shrieked. I can’t give up! I won’t give up! Colin will come! He’ll come!”

Warning: This novel discusses sensitive material which may be distressing to some readers. Relevant Law explores themes of abduction, physical violence, and non-graphic sexual assault. 

Excerpt 

Colin surged to his feet and strode toward the front desk just as Ray, the desk sergeant entered. He grabbed Colin’s arm and drew him toward the door. “A friend of yours found Joshua’s car by the Culbreth.” He shoved Colin toward the door where several uniformed officers waited. “Go with the guys!”

Without uttering a sound he moved through the station house door and into the darkness beyond. He felt the cool night air touch his face and as he lurched to a halt his heart jackhammered against his chest. “Oh, sweet Jesus, no!” he whispered, feeling his insides twist with horror. “NO!” As he reached the squad car, he felt a strong hand grab his arm and guide him into the vehicle.

“Just take it easy, Colin. We’ll find him.”

When the squad car approached the street where the Culbreth Theater was located they were nearly blinded by the spinning flash of police and ambulance lights. The area was already surrounded by law enforcement and Colin spotted both campus and city police cars parked at random angles, blocking off the street forcing them to stop where they were.

He bolted from the car and ran to where several police officers were gathered. Some were bending to examine the ground, and the beam from various flashlights darted here and there as others examined every inch of ground, sidewalk, bushes, and street.

“Colin!” a voice called, and he spun to see Lenny striding toward him. “Ray called me,” Lenny said, grabbing Colin in a tight embrace. “We’ll find him, Colin. I promise you. We’ll find him.”

He saw flashing police lights in the parking lot across the street and sprinted across the busy avenue to join them. He spotted Joshua’s car at once, surrounded by several uniformed police and moved toward it. As he approached, one of the officers grabbed his arm. “Colin, don’t touch it! We want to check it for prints or other evidence.”

Colin nodded but gave no response. He turned away and blindly stumbled back across the street to the theater. For a moment he stood, surrounded by the flashing lights, hearing the murmur of somber voices, feeling himself teetering on the edge of collapse. “Josh,” he moaned. “Oh god, this can’t be happening.”

He felt Lenny take his arm and lead him to one side. “Take it easy, buddy. Just let the guys work. They’ll figure it out. We’ll find him, Colin. We’re searching his car now, looking for anything that might help us. We can’t find his cellphone anywhere.”

Colin lowered his head and nodded without fully understanding, then spun as the sound of heartbroken sobbing reached his ears. He saw David kneeling on the ground, embracing someone who was bent over, clutching a cloth garment, rocking back and forth as if in pain. He moved to where David knelt and fell to the ground beside him. The voice was Nate’s.

“I heard him!” Nate choked out, shaking with sobs. “I heard him cry out, but I ignored it. Thought I was imagining things! It’s my fault! He brought me my jacket and it’s my fault! Oh god, oh god, oh god! Josh!” He lifted his head and his tear-streaked face twisted in pain when he saw Colin kneeling beside him. “Oh god, Colin, forgive me!”

About the Author 

 My name is Janice Jarrell. I am a retired grandmother who lives in Seattle, WA.  I have two children and three grandsons. I’ve been writing gay romance since I was twelve years old, only back then it wasn’t called ‘gay romance’. In fact, it had no name at all. It was the fifty’s, and it was worth your life to admit to being gay, let alone confess to being a girl who constantly fantasized about relationships between gay men. Hell, I didn’t even know what a homosexual was. I lived on a farm out in the sticks in a tiny Michigan village and I’d never, to my knowledge, even heard the word. I just knew I loved the thought of boy-on-boy romance. I just knew that there was something hot going on between Tom Corbett and his Space Cadets and all those guys on ‘Combat’.

I wrote slash fanfiction for 30 years, writing over 337 stories, some as short as 100 words (a drabble), some as long as a series which was over 119,012 words. I enjoy writing my stories. I enjoyed the feedback I received from my readers. It was a creative release I’d been searching for my entire life and I blessed the Internet for leading me to this artistic oasis for my spirit.

Love’s Magic was my very first step into writing my own characters. I will always be grateful to the slash fanfiction community for nurturing the budding author until she was ready to blossom into a fully realized novelist. It’s been an amazing thing to watch the gay community’s growth over these past twenty years. My own journey has echoed theirs in many ways, and I’m grateful to all those gay activists who fought to give the gay community the rights and privileges they always deserved. Love’s Trials, Love’s Glory, and Love’s Lawyer were the second and third, and forth books in the series and all four books are available in audio format on Audible.

I’m also grateful to the gay romance community, readers, authors, publishers and promoters, who are making these, my retirement years, the most creative ones of my life. When I'm not writing, I'm traveling, walking, hiking, knitting, crocheting, and weaving.

I'm very excited about the upcoming release of my fifth contemporary gay romance novel, Relevant Law. Those of you who fell in love with Joshua and Colin in the four previous books in this series are in for a bit of angst in this latest episode. A dark and sinister cloud hangs over the University of Virginia after three students are abducted, raped and beaten. Colin works with both campus and city police to catch the perpetrator, but his hard work and effort proves futile when Joshua turns up missing!

Despite their struggles there are still many passionate, loving moments and the friends they treasure will be there to help them find their way.

Social Media Links

Audible Profile  |  YouTube

Blog/Website  |  Instagram  |   Facebook  |  Amazon Author Page  

Goodreads  |   Twitter   |  Pinterest

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions

Caught (A Balance of Magic #1) by Jackie Keswick #giveaway

RELEASE BLITZ

Book Title: Caught (A Balance of Magic #1)

Author: Jackie Keswick

Publisher:  Jackie Keswick

Cover Artist: Jackie Keswick

Release Date:  September 24, 2021

Genre: M/M Fantasy

Tropes: love vs. duty, cinnamon roll death god, soul mates, found family, worlds in peril, two against the world, hurt/comfort

Series Themes: the world is fragile, short-term decisions have long-term consequences, gifts are given for a reason

Heat Rating:  3 flames    

Length:  52 000 words

This is book #1 in the series. The romance ends on a HFN. The main story arc continues across all three books, and Tenzen and Rakurai will get their HEA at the end of book #3.

Goodreads

Buy Links

Universal Link  |  Amazon US  |  Amazon UK

Apple Books  |  B&N  |  Kobo

Blurb

Rakurai hunts demons. He doesn't consort with gods. Until he meets Tenzen.

Tenzen cares for souls. He despises the callous, self-absorbed Yuvine. Until he meets Rakurai.

A rescue and a sacrifice make a death god and a hunter fall in love, but a life of bliss is not on the cards. Someone is disturbing the balance of magic, leaving two worlds in danger. And while desire draws Rakurai and Tenzen together, duty, assassins, and clan politics keep them apart.

Who will Tenzen and Rakurai save in the end? Two worlds or each other?

Caught starts a new mm paranormal romance series, A Balance of Magic, featuring mortals and immortals from both sides of the veil, old promises, new revelations, and a bloody fight between love and duty. It is the first book of a trilogy and ends with a HFN. The characters will get their HEA in the final book.

Excerpt

He walked through the mists, gaze scanning the trees and bushes lining the path. Judging by the colour of the leaves and the bounty of fruit, the seasons still aligned on both sides of the veil, though the time of day did not. He’d left the human realm in the late afternoon, yet here it appeared to be early morning. And something—or someone—called to him.

There were no words, just a powerful tug on his awareness. A tug that made him want to follow the path, walk faster, run—

He stopped.

Breathed.

The tug eased a fraction, but didn’t disappear.

“Who are you and what do you want?” The trees swallowed Rakurai’s question and returned no answer. Could this be the rafeet’s doing? Did it have the power to make Rakurai rush headlong into a trap? He’d never read of such a skill.

He took a careful step forward.

The tug eased a little more.

He took a step back the way he’d come.

The tug grew stronger.

“Understood,” he said, irony strong in his voice. He had to find the rafeet, but he could spare some time to see what other creature had need of him.

He followed the path, watching the bark of the trees, the grass, and the rushes underfoot for signs of the rafeet’s passing. There weren’t any now. The demon wouldn’t hunt on its own turf, and it would take care not to lead a hunter to its lair. 

It grew warmer as Rakurai walked, and the sun had passed its zenith when he topped a ridge overlooking a manor house set in a neat pattern of fields. The dwelling looked much like his own: three wings of rooms arranged around a courtyard, dark wooden beams on foundations of rough stone, with a veranda edging each wing, and shoji screens hiding the interior from view.

Servants passed back and forth, and Rakurai saw people tending the fields. He thought about approaching openly, like a traveller looking for a place to rest, but finally dismissed the idea. Instead, he slept the afternoon away, up on his ridge, then slid through the fields under cover of dusk, found a sheltered spot beside the house, and waited for full darkness.

The statue in the courtyard had drawn him here, he realised as he came closer. Shaped like a tall man with long flowing hair, it stood on a plinth surrounded by water. The artist had caught each swirl of robes and hair with precision, as if the figure walked in a light breeze and was just about to take the next step. It was an exceptional work, worthy of an emperor’s court, and Rakurai wondered who had stolen it, and why. 

He waited until a cloud dimmed the moonlight, then crossed the courtyard to get as close to the sculpture as he could.

The statue regarded him from glowing violet eyes, and the moment their gazes connected a voice, deep and commanding, rang in Rakurai’s mind.

Get me out of here!

Rakurai recoiled so hard he almost landed on his arse. He’d not had another’s voice in his mind since Naomi’s death and the sudden command—and command it had been—came as a shock. He wrapped himself in mist, hoping to hide his hasty movements, and heard a chuckle.

I can still see you, Yuvine.

I wasn’t hiding from you, Rakurai thought, using the same pathways he’d have used to talk to Naomi. It didn’t feel as strange as he’d expected.

You don’t need to try so hard, either. I’m not deaf.

What are you?

Can’t you tell? The sculpture shot back, its eyes flashing violet.

Only death gods, Shinigami, had violet eyes. Rakurai had never met a death god. Or thought that they stood frozen on plinths, surrounded by water.

And then it all came together.

A demon trap.

Yes. The voice held so much sorrow that tears gathered in the corners of Rakurai’s eyes. It caught me as I was returning from a soul collection.

Rakurai could fill in the rest for himself. If the Shinigami had gathered souls that had died in fear and pain, he’d have appeared like a walking banquet to the rafeet. It wants the souls.

It will not have them, the god said. Even if it keeps me trapped here for the rest of my years. Are you hunting the rafeet?

I am. 

Then you can help me escape this prison and we can defeat it together. 

Why would I do that?

Because if you try it alone, you will fail. This rafeet isn’t like the others.

Rakurai hesitated. It was common knowledge that Shinigami valued truth and honour above all other traits. Despite that, his teachers had warned him to mistrust the gods and never to do their bidding.

Help me out of this trap and I will grant you a boon of your choosing, the Shinigami offered as if he had heard Rakurai’s thoughts.

Rakurai stared into the glowing violet eyes and recalled the hint of mirth when the god had first spoken to him. Any being capable of mirth while caught in a rafeet’s trap deserved his respect and his help. He drew a deep breath. I am Yamakage Rakurai, hunter for the Custodia, he offered. And gathered all his courage. Will you honour me with your name?

The impression of a smile came to him first, comforting like a cool wash of summer rain on parched ground. Then the Shinigami’s chuckle sent shivers rippling over Rakurai’s skin. You are a brave man, Yamakage Rakurai, to trust me with your name. Such bravery shall not go unrewarded. Again, Rakurai felt the smile. My name is Tenzen.

About the Author 

Jackie Keswick was born behind the Iron Curtain with itchy feet, a bent for rocks and a recurring dream of stepping off a bus in the middle of nowhere to go home. She's worked in a hospital and as the only girl with 52 men on an oil rig, spent a winter in Moscow and a summer in Iceland and finally settled in the country of her dreams with her dream team: a husband, a cat, a tandem, a hammer and a laptop.

Jackie loves unexpected reunions and second chances, and men who write their own rules. She blogs about English history and food, has a thing for green eyes, and is a great believer in making up soundtracks for everything, including her characters and the cat.

And she still hasn't found the place where the bus stops.

For questions and comments, not restricted to green eyes, bus stops or recipes for traditional English food, you can find Jackie Keswick in all the usual places:

Social Media Links

Blog/Website   |   Facebook group   |   Facebook page  

Twitter   |   Instagram   |   Newsletter Sign-up

TikTok   |   Patreon

Giveaway

Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win a

$10 Amazon gift card + ebook of choice from the author's backlist

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions

Friday 24 September 2021

LGBT ROMANCE GIVEAWAY from 30 GRL RETREAT AUTHORS

GIVEAWAY

LGBT Romance Giveaway - 41 separate stories from 30 authors

Free books from some of the Registered Authors of the GRL 2021 Retreat

The Giveaway runs from

September 1 - October 31

Genre: M/M Romance

Contemporary, paranormal, mystery, fantasy, shifter, historical, sports...

Various themes, tropes and heat ratings. 

See individual stories.

These stories are written by authors attending the GRL Retreat, the must-attend event for people who create and celebrate LGBTQ romance. Discover new authors, new books, and new series—and find new favorites!

While all of the authors with stories in the giveaway will be attending the GRL Retreat 2021, there may also be additional authors who were unable to participate.

Claim your free downloads here

Participating Authors 

Gail Z. Martin   Merry Farmer   Jacqueline Gray   Kris Jacen

Eliot Grayson   Kaje Harper   Shea Balik   Neil Plakcy

Charity Parkerson   Anna Kensing   Andrea Hughes   BL Maxwell

Jenny FitzGerald   Drea Roman   Miski Harris   Shane Morton

Jamie Lynn Miller   Rain Carrington   Eden Winters   Luna David

Morgan Brice   AJ Sherwood   Nicole Dennis   Debra Sutton

Charlene Newcomb   Hank Edwards   Riley Long   Patricia Logan

Beth Bolden   LA Bryce

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions

Thursday 23 September 2021

New Audiobook - Leap of Faith by C F White 

AUDIOBOOK TOUR

Book Title: Leap of Faith 

Author: C F White

Publisher: C F White

Narrator: Piers Ryman

Release Date: August 14, 2021

Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance

Tropes: Age-gap, enemies to lovers, slow burn 

Themes: Found family 

Heat Rating: 4 flames   

Length:  9 hours and 13 minutes

It is a standalone story, although the story continues as a web serial on my website with the first chapter available to download for free in audio after signing up to my newsletter.

The book does not end on a cliffhanger, although there is a possibility of continuation as mentioned above. 

Goodreads

Buy Links

Audible US  |   Audible UK   

Amazon US  |   Amazon UK

Sometimes all you need is a little push 

Blurb 

Running from his shattered gymnastics career, Charlie Avrill’s one hope for redemption is the strange and colourful world of the circus. His skills should make him a good fit for seasoned performer, Darius Lungo. But Darius won’t compromise his high stakes act for just anyone.

Still mourning the loss of his performance partner who unexpectedly abandoned the show, Darius’s heart can’t take another temporary filler. No matter how perfect Charlie might seem at first glance. But the circus is dying, and Darius owes his bosses a stellar act to sell.

Putting their differences aside to recreate the star attraction, Darius and Charlie grow closer with each rehearsal. But Charlie’s only in the ring for a one-night-only performance and the circus is due at its next stop—off the island and into Europe.

Can Charlie push aside his fears and take the leap of faith to change his entire life? And, if he does, will Darius still be there to catch him?

Leap of Faith is a standalone age-gap, enemies to lovers, mm romance where the twists and turns don’t only happen in the ring.

About the Author

Brought up in a relatively small town in Hertfordshire, C F White managed to do what most other residents try to do and fail—leave.

Studying at a West London university, she realised there was a whole city out there waiting to be discovered, so, much like Dick Whittington before her, she never made it back home and still endlessly search for the streets paved with gold, slowly coming to the realisation they’re mostly paved with chewing gum. And the odd bit of graffiti. And those little circles of yellow spray paint where the council point out the pot holes to someone who is supposedly meant to fix them instead of staring at them vacantly whilst holding a polystyrene cup of watered-down coffee.

Eventually she moved West to East along that vast District Line and settled for pie and mash, cockles and winkles and a bit of Knees Up Mother Brown to live in the East End of London; securing a job and creating a life, a home and a family.

After her second son was born with a rare disability, C F White’s life changed and it brought pen back to and paper after having written stories as a child but never had the confidence to show them to the world. Now, having embarked on this writing journey, C F White can’t stop. 

So strap in, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.  

Author Links

Twitter @CFWhiteUK  |  Facebook  |  Blog

Instagram  |  Newsletter Sign-up

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions

Monday 20 September 2021

When We Were Young Series Tour by Maggie Blackbird #giveaway

SERIES TOUR

Series Title:  When We Were Young by Maggie Blackbird

  I thought I saved you, but maybe you saved me too.

Series Blurb

 At their Ojibway community, Billy Redsky, a drug-dealing punk, and René Oshawee, the chief’s haughty son, must walk the “red road” to finally confront their biggest fears:  conquering the self-imposed obstacles in their path, if they are to have what they long for above anything else—to finally be together.

The stories need to be read in order.  None of the books are standalones.

BOOK DETAILS

RECENT RELEASE  - BOOK 4

Book Title: Real Warriors

Author: Maggie Blackbird

Publisher: Extasy Books

Length: 77 760 words/273 pages

Release Date:  August 13, 2021

Genres: New Adult, multicultural, contemporary, LGBT romance

Tropes: First Time, Embracing Your Culture,

Themes: Coming out, coming of age, forgiveness

Heat Rating: 3 flames

Goodreads

Read an excerpt from Real Warriors here

The courage of a warrior is a must on their new path, or they’ll never grasp their happily ever after.

Blurb 

Just when eighteen-year-old Billy Redsky believes he’s holding his happily ever after in the palm of his hand, he must practice what he’s learned in ceremony to face two more tests—share with the world his love for René, and let go of the past.

But that’s not so easy. René is terrified of exposing their secret to anyone but his family. As for Billy’s brother, he has no intention of changing his criminal ways.

Only a miracle can help Billy reach his final destination on the “red road” his Ojibway ancestors once walked. For his dream to come true, he must look deep inside himself and trust the creator he follows.

Buy Links  

Extasy Books 

Amazon US  |   Amazon UK  |   Amazon CA  |  Amazon AU

Kobo  |   Barnes and Noble  |  iBooks  |  Google Play

 

There's 40% off Maggie's Backlist right now,
including Two Princes, Toy Soldiers, and Knight Moves.

BOOK 3

Book Title: Knight Moves

Publisher: Extasy Books

Length:  75,000 words/269 pages

Release Date: April 16, 2021

Genre/s: Young Adult, New Adult, multicultural, contemporary, LGBT romance

Trope/s: Break His Heart to Save Him; Long Distance Love’ Tortured Heroes; Family Disapproval; Friends to lovers

Themes: Coming out, coming of age, forgiveness

Heat Rating: 2 flames

Goodreads 

Although they’re torn apart, they still hold a piece of each other’s heart.

Blurb

After receiving his grade twelve diploma and marking his eighteenth birthday, René Oshawee cannot fight the temptation seventeen-year-old high school junior Billy Redsky blatantly offers now that what they share has become taboo.

When their secret romance is blown into the open, Billy’s foster parents send René to Toronto to complete the last of his schooling under the supervision of a family friend, leaving Billy behind at their Ojibway community.

Now Billy and René must make the biggest decision of their lives—fight for the true love they know they’ll never find with anyone else, or go their separate ways.

Buy Links

Extasy Books

Amazon US  |   Amazon CA  |   Amazon UK  |   Amazon AU

Kobo  |   Barnes and Noble  |   iBooks  |   Google Play 

BOOK 2

Book Title: Toy Soldiers

Publisher: Extasy Books

Cover Artist: Martine Jardin

Length:  70,349 words/244 pages

Release Date:  October 2, 2020

Genres: Young Adult, multicultural, contemporary, LGBT romance

Tropes: Friends to Lovers; Forbidden Love; First Love; Betrayal

Themes: Coming of age, self-discovery

Heat Rating: 1 flame

Goodreads

Once a thief, always a thief, and if he can’t win the heart of the boy he loves, he’ll steal it.

Blurb

Billy Redsky’s made one of his biggest dreams come true, but there’s a problem. Even though the boy he loves is mere footsteps across the hall from his bedroom, they might as well live a country apart because claiming René Oshawee’s heart is more difficult than Billy anticipates.

Much to Billy’s disgust, René can’t accept his true self, so he’s incapable of loving someone else. And all he cares about is living a life the chief and his wife foresee for their youngest son.

If Billy is to finally have what he truly desires, he must stop René from running away from who he really is and face the man in the mirror, or what they share will never blossom into true love.

Buy Links 

Extasy Books  

Amazon US |  Amazon CA |  Amazon UK | Amazon AU

Kobo  |  B&N |   iBooks  |  Google Play | Smashwords 

 BOOK 1

Book Title: Two Princes

Author:  Maggie Blackbird

Publisher:  Extasy Books

Cover Artist:  Martine Jardin

Length: 67 345  words/235 pages

Release Date:  Friday, June 12, 2020

Genres: Young Adult, multicultural, contemporary, LGBT romance

Tropes: Rich boy, poor boy; Popular boy, outcast; musician and artist

Heat Rating: 1 flame

Themes: Coming of age, self-discovery

Goodreads

To win over the chief’s haughty son, a drug-dealing punk from a dysfunctional family must risk the only two things he has: his reputation and freedom.

Blurb

Billy Redsky, a rebellious punk who loves art and nature, is saddled with a welfare-leeching, alcoholic mother and criminal older brother who are the joke of their Ojibway community. Sick and tired of being perceived as a loser, Billy deals drugs for his older brother to earn quick money. He hopes if he buys a dirt bike, he’ll finally impress the chief’s popular and aloof son, René Oshawee.

When the two are forced to serve detention together, a friendship blooms, but much to Billy’s frustration, René keeps putting him on ice. To make his biggest dream come true if he finally wants to call René his own, Billy must make a huge decision that could cost him everything.

Buy Links

Extasy Books

Amazon US  |  Amazon CA  |  Amazon UK  |  Amazon AU 

    Kobo  |  B&N  |  Apple |  Google Play |  BookStrand  

About the Author

An Ojibway from Northwestern Ontario, Maggie resides in the country with her husband and their fur babies, two beautiful Alaskan Malamutes.  When she’s not writing, she can be found pulling weeds in the flower beds, mowing the huge lawn, walking the Mals deep in the bush, teeing up a ball at the golf course, fishing in the boat for walleye, or sitting on the deck at her sister’s house, making more wonderful memories with the people she loves most.

Author Links

 Web Site  |  Facebook Page  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads 

BookBub  |  Linked In |  Amazon Author Page 

eXtasy Books Author Page  |  Newsletter Sign-Up

Giveaway

Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win

a $15.00 Gift Card from Extasy Books

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions