Random thoughts on reviews, writing and Lord of the Rings...

Random thoughts on reviews, writing and Lord of the Rings...

A fellow writer friend of mine got their first one star rating on Goodreads a few weeks back. They posted about it and how it made them feel. They even apologised to the rest of us who may read their post that they *knew they were being silly to be worried or upset* (paraphrased to protect the innocent!).

How as authors are we supposed to feel? Can we not be upset without looking like we are idiots. The grown up adult side of us (you know... the side that we try to keep quiet underneath our attempts to stay young) learns something from each review. The grown up writer grows even more with each point they take on board that makes them better at what they do.

When I got my first 'one' I was devastated; my second made me contemplate stopping writing. Now? Now, I think one of my books isn't truly critiqued unless I get a one from someone somewhere. It balances the other reviews and now most of my books sit at or around 3.5/5. As the holder of a statistics degree I am happy that I fall on average above the 3 line. This to me means that, in the main, people *like* my writing. Also as an aside, anything above a three seems to convert to healthy sales.

Empire Magazine rate films on a star rating. I very rarely like the films they rate as a five. I often find these films boring (I am still recovering from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and The Constant Gardner). I tend to love the films that are rated as threes. The guilty pleasure films- Mission Impossible and the like (I must add that there are occasions we agree ... Return of the King, Shawshank etc!).

When One Night first hit the stands everyone on GRs appeared to hate it. It hovered at 2 point something for days... then I was lucky to receive a few fours and fives and suddenly *yay* my average popped above a three.



Still. I knew it - I was doomed. Throwaway may well have done really well for me a few months before, but reviewers were calling Heart of Texas *just a soap opera* and hated it...I even got into my one and only only row over a one star rating. It was an awful time. I hadn't seen proper sales figures for HoT and then One Night came out with the low ratings. One Night didn't have the perfect HEA, and it clearly wasn't what people expected from RJ Scott. I thought I had written hope and expectation when evidently I had just written complete shite. I had really fucked up on that AND All The Kings Horses. I was going to go back to Website Design.

Then... imagine the complete and utter shock when hubby informs me that One Night is selling well. Really well. Apparently. So... someone out there must like it... right? Nah. I told myself maybe people are buying it because they just read Throwaway and there wasn't anything else on the list that had come out at that time they fancied reading. They'd all read One Night and hate it... sales sharply dropping was a scenario that had all the inevitability of an inevitable thing.

Wait. It kept selling. So. How? Why? Because the reviews had been so SO bad. Even though my brain had known reviews are one person's opinion, my heart was still wrapped up in sending my baby out for people to read. My heart wanted so desperately for people to like it.

Slowly but surely (and this has taken me nearly two years) I am pulling myself away from relentlessly refreshing my screen for the first reviews, away from Goodreads. I am certainly nowhere near blasé about reviews from GRs and other sources but I am less prone to fall weeping to the floor. I don't have time; I am too busy using what they say that is good sound critique and making my next book better.

I think we all have to remember - reviews are a lovely thing to validate our writing and to help market ourselves but places like Goodreads are for readers and all readers are entitled to their opinion (me included). As long as I please the majority, and that majority buy my books, then I am happy. Right?

What do you think?

Some cool news from Silver Publishing

Some cool news from Silver Publishing

Silver Publishing introduces a VIP Loyalty Program to select customers starting on February 1st, 2012. 

Did you know you can get all of your favourite authors books sent direct to your kindle or othe reading devices from Silver?

I received this news from Silver about a new loyalty programme that Silver are offering from 1 February... Some of you buy so many books I reckon you'll be way up the list! Apparently when it goes live and you sign in you will see what level you are at.


"As a show of appreciation for your commitment to purchase directly from Silver, we are now offering a three tier VIP program to customers. Membership into this program is by invitation only and is based exclusively on your purchasing dedication on the Silver website.

Platinum Members:15% Discount on ALL purchases
On your birthday, Platinum members receive 5 free books.
Platinum members receive their pre-ordered books 36 hours before its official release date
100 Reward Points every December

Gold Members:10% Discount on ALL purchases
On your birthday, Gold members receive 2 free books.
Members receive their pre-ordered books 12 hours before its official release date
50 Reward Points every December

Silver Members:5% Discount on ALL purchases
On your birthday, Silver members receive 1 free book.
Members receive their pre-ordered books 6 hours before its official release date
25 Reward Points every December

Additional perks to all tiers:Special Contest for members only throughout the year
Exclusive discount coupons throughout the year

Free RJ Scott read at Cup o' Porn

Free RJ Scott read at Cup o' Porn

Loads of free reads from so many authors you wont believe it!

Go visit HERE and download the PDF of my story 'How much for the whole night'.

Josh is mid divorce, fighting for custody of his son and escaping a marriage built on lies. In a bar the night before final hearings he meets a hooker with a body made of sin. Just one night of being true to himself, one night of being held down and made to feel? Surely that isn’t too much to ask?

p.s. I also have this file in Epub and MOBI... just comment on the cupoporn website and leave your email address there...

Diane Adams is in da house...

Diane Adams is in da house...

Hi to Diane Adams!

Congratulations of your new release!

RJ: Tell me briefly what A Broken Light is about?

DA: It’s about fighting monsters. Not just the very real physical monsters that exist in the world Jace and Elias inhabit, but the monsters inside themselves as well. Prejudice, fear, pain and sorrow all the things that narrow their choices and make them something less than the heroes their outward actions make them seem.


RJ: A Broken Light is something that I know has consumed you for a very long time. Was it harder to write than your ongoing Making Of A Man series?


DA: Thanks RJ! A Broken Light is the most difficult thing I’ve written. It’s much different than the straight forward “slice of life” type romance I’ve written up until now. A Broken Light took nearly a year to finish.

RJ: Can you sum up the two main characters in three words each?

DA: Elias: Idealistic, self-sacrificing, lonely
Jace: Jaded, focused, lonely


RJ: The cover art is gorgeous - can you explain the significance of the tattoos or is that a closely guarded secret?

DA: Thank you Reese Dante did a fantastic job with the cover. If you saw my original “example of placement” art to her then you would really see what a genius she is.


Does Downey Jr do a Johnny Depp?

Does Downey Jr do a Johnny Depp?

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Holmes and Watson do what they do best. A loud quick and incredibly clever film.

4.5 stars


See the film entry on IMDB

The short answer to whether Downey does a Depp  is no...

Take the pirate films for instance... I may be the only one but I actually gave up on Pirates#4 because the first almost hour was *look at me I am Johnny Depp dressed as Jack Sparrow and this film is about me and aren't I funny*.

I loved Pirates #1, I love me some Johnny Depp, but gah, when an entire introduction to a film is him repeating stuff we have already seen with boring cameos I really lost interest.

I worried about this as I sat in the first half hour of the Sherlock Holmes movie as well...let me explain.


What's coming in 2012: West Thornhill

What's coming in 2012: West Thornhill


Hi, I’m West Thornhill, new author with Silver Publishing. Heck, I’m a first-time published author period. I’ve been writing for years just never had the moxie to attempt to publish anything. I went back to college in 2003 to finish my degree at a small woman’s college. While there, I had planned on obtaining a degree in English Literature but succumbed to the siren’s call of the Classics department. Personally I think Greek and Latin are amazingly fun languages to learn. (I need to brush up on them.)

I started writing M/M erotic romance mainly because that’s what I’d been reading for the last six or seven years and I am a huge fan of Yaoi anime and mange. I love Junjou Romantica and Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi. I attempted to write M/F story but the main characters weren’t working as well as I wanted them too. A minor character, who was very open sexually, started me on the path that became the very first early version of Transcend. Let’s say that the original and the current versions are very, very different.

On my blog I currently have two stories going – Spectral Surprise and Otherworldly Lover. The both have pages so, if you’re interested, you can read them in their entirety. I hope you’ll swing by and check them out as well as take a look at Transcend. Thanks, RJ, for giving the opportunity to play on your blog.

Coming Soon 

Fillmore Series: Transcend


When Gael Astley escapes life spent as a sadist's sex slave, his rescuer introduces him to a world he never knew existed. He quickly discovers he has the powers of telepathy and telekinesis, but is confused about what this means for this life. With the help of the one person he knows he can trust, Gael embarks on an intense training regime that ultimately leads to a new career as an agent for Fillmore, a top-secret paranormal group.

Jason Phillips, a member of the Fillmore team, has secrets of his own. Though he tries to keep his distance from Gael, the two men are drawn together like moths to flame. Will Gael overcome his own insecurities and see the possibilities offered or will his past come back to destroy him?

Warnings:

M/M sex, Incest (brother and sister, not shown in detail, and not main characters), Rape (main character in past, secondary character in present) Readers with a history of rape or sexual abuse may find elements of this story disturbing.


Grease Paint

details to follow...

In my head…

Fillmore Series: Rediscover plus three others in the series that don’t have titles yet

Rise – the Dragon and the Phoenix – this is a fantasy that I’m working on created from Chinese and Japanese myth

Spectral Surprise & Otherworldly Lover – my blog stories about two enforcers for the Seelie Court

Children of the Fallen: Ethan’s Quest – this is an LGBT YA story (almost half-way completed) and the sequels to this series are still in the planning stages

I have a ghost story I hope to finish this year and a contemporary that’s still in the development phase. I only know who one of the main characters is and he’s been very quiet lately. I’m also working on a super-secret project with two other authors. I’ll post an update on my blog as soon as I’m free to talk about it.

What's coming in 2012: Gale Stanley

What's coming in 2012: Gale Stanley




Coming Soon 

A Chance Encounter - Hybrids: 1

[MM Paranormal Erotic Romance]

Adam is a wolf hybrid, the result of a military research project, splicing animal DNA with human DNA, to create the perfect soldier. Somehow the genetic manipulation went too far and Adam can't control his beast. Slated for termination, a freak gas explosion provides the opportunity for his escape from the medical facility he calls home.

A hunted man, he expects to spend the rest of his life alone, but a Chance encounter changes everything.
Chance is unlucky in love and stuck in a job he hates. Then he meets Adam, his perfect man. But Adam is more than a man and involving Chance in his life could get them both killed.

Available at Silver Publishing:
http://spsilverpublishing.com/product_book_info/coming-soon-c-2/a-chance-encounter-ebook-p-712
Happy Reading!

What's coming in 2012: Victoria Blisse

What's coming in 2012: Victoria Blisse



Victoria Blisse is a Mother, Wife, Christian, Manchester United Fan andAward Winning Erotica Authoress.

She is equally at home behind a laptop or a cooker and she loves to create stories, poems, cakes and biscuits that make people happy. She was born near Manchester, England and her northern English quirkiness shows through in all of her stories.

Passion, love and laughter fill her works, just as they fill her busy life.


Coming Soon 


Coming from Total-E_Bound in July 2012 Point Vamp Book 3 : The Vampire's Choice.


LRC 2011 Nominee!

LRC 2011 Nominee!

Texas Winter was nominated in two categories and is up against some bloody brilliant authors so I am well chuffed (British for really happy!).

If you liked Texas Winter and you want to vote just click on the links below and comment to the post. Voting is now open apparently!

Best GBLT Book of 2011 Nominees... Texas Winter (Sequel to Heart of Texas)

Best Book of 2011 Nominees... Texas Winter (Sequel to Heart of Texas)

Hugs Rjx



What's coming in 2012: Sue Brown

What's coming in 2012: Sue Brown


Hello R.J. Thanks for giving me the chance to pimp my words to you on this sunny day. Yes, I know it is winter and by the time it’s posted it may be blowing a howling gale, but one can always hope.
So, what’s on the agenda for Sue this year?

Coming Soon 

I have two stories coming out within 4 days; Light of Day, the follow-up to The Night Porter. Yes, I can write happy endings… maybe. And The Layered Mask, part of the Masquerade series with Lisa Worrall and Patricia Logan.

Light of Day was written because readers wanted a conclusion to Max and Robert’s story. Oh, all right then. Robert gets married, has 5 kids, gets two Oscars and lives happily ever after. Max… doesn’t.
What do you mean that isn’t what you want to read? Oh, what you want to read is Robert doesn’t get married, doesn’t walk out the door, stays with Max and they jump each other’s bones? Is that better?
Um, no…


The Only Easy Day (Sanctuary #2)

The Only Easy Day (Sanctuary #2)

Sanctuary Series

Book 1 - Guarding Morgan
Book 2 - The Only Easy Day
Book 3 - Face Value
Book 4 - Still Waters
Book 5 - Full Circle
Book 6 - The Journal Of Sanctuary One
Book 7 - Worlds Collide
Book 8 - Accidental Hero
Book 9 - Ghost
Book 10 - By The Numbers

The Book

One dead girl, one scared witness, and two men trained as Navy SEALS. Whether searching for justice or revenge, the final showdown between them is the same—explosive.

Dale MacIntyre, former Navy SEAL, works for Sanctuary. He’s close to obtaining the evidence he needs to prove Elisabeth Costain's death was ordered by them… until someone gets in his way.

Joseph Kinnon, active Navy SEAL, is back on U.S. soil for the first time in months, and he’s told the tragic news that his stepsister is dead, gunned down in an alley by an unknown assailant. He’s determined to find out who murdered her…until someone gets in his way.

They both want the Bullen family brought to account, but one wants justice and the other wants revenge. What happens between them, however, has nothing to do with either.

Buy Links - e-Book

Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK) | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Smashwords | iTunes

Buy Links - Print Book

Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK)

Buy Links - Audio

Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK) | Audible | iTunes

Reviews - eBook

Joyfully Jay - 4.75/5 - "....What a great story! And the timing is perfect as SEALs are everywhere lately, from the movies to front page headlines. It has everything you could want in a action/adventure novel. Danger, murder, sexual heat, and intrigue, as well as a monumental clash of personalities...."

Click to enlarge print cover
Hearts on Fire Reviews - 5/5 - "....I enjoyed the scene in the Bullen mansion and the way things were left hanging there for the next installment in the Sanctuary series.  I recommend this fast paced series to anyone looking for some adventure with a HEA ending...."

MM Good Book Reviews - 4/5 - "....So I will recommend this to those who love danger, explosive car chases, hot sex, total alpha men, bloody rescues and a happy (for these men) ending...."


Rainbow Book Reviews - "....This book has thriller, mystery, and a high-tension character study all balled into one, and kept me on the edge of my seat. The links to Guarding Morgan, the first book in the series, were fascinating, and the overarching mystery as to why Elisabeth was killed moved a little closer to being solved. Not too close, though, there is plenty left for the next few books...."

Reviews - Audio

Prism Book Alliance - 4.75/5 - "....Both stories end with a happy-for-now because the author doesn’t take the easy way out and try to make the relationships insta-love. What we see here is the beginning of relationships, but that’s the case when you’re dealing with novellas. Some authors try to put too much in short stories, while others don’t put in enough. Scott includes just enough to leave you wanting more and rushing to read the next book in the series...."

Narration - 5/5 - "....The narration for both books are simply outstanding. It doesn’t get much better than this because Sean Crisden is one of the best in the field, if you ask me. He not only nailed the voices of all the characters he provided distinct ones for the many different people in the book. There was never any confusion about who was who and Crisden didn’t have to resort to easy tactics like lisps to create distinct voices...."

Open Skye Book Reviews - 4.5/5 "....Sean Crisden does another wonderful job with this narration. He excels at grumpy alpha voices and I loved it!"

Love Bytes - 4.5/5  "....I must confess that I jumped at the chance to review the Sanctuary audiobooks as a method of satisfying my need / want to re-read some old favorites. I liked the books when I read them originally, and I found that the audio performance added to my enjoyment, yet again. Crisden may not have a broad range of character voices, but what he does, he does well. Crisp, clear diction, believable emotion, and flawless production value make listening to his narration of the story a genuine pleasure."

Audio Excerpt for The Only Easy Day




Excerpt

Chapter 1

"Chief, locate for CAS." The shout was passed down the line, barely audible over the gunfire, and into Chief Petty Officer Joseph Kinnon's ear. The lieutenant was situated higher up the steep incline, pinned in that position. He was held down by the whine and thud of AK47 bullets that ripped and spat through the rocks of the mountain, but his message was loud and clear. They were trapped, and only close air support was going to solve this clusterfuck.

Joseph was by far the closest to the onslaught of Taliban forces and crawled on his belly to the viewpoint, only inches below an outcrop of rock and far too exposed for his liking. Gauging distance, he scrambled back to pass the intel.

"Danger close, five hundred," he reported succinctly, and slid sideways as some random shot snagged the rock to his left and gouged a path in the blackness.

Information passed upwards was fast, and the decision passed back just as quick. Despite the team locked down this close to the target, there wasn't another way out of this position. They had to call in close air support and chance getting decimated by friendly fire or killed by the large group of Taliban closing in. Joseph sent up a silent plea the pilot of the F-16 in this airspace was one hundred percent accurate. Bad timing had led a group of Taliban to the same path they traveled, and the small SEAL team was paying the price. No way back up the mountain, and no way forward, the journalist they were here to extract had pasted himself flat against the wall with horror across his face; they were stuck. One well-placed missile into the middle of the Taliban forces and it would be enough for the team of six and the journalist to make it the extraction point.

The terminal controller exchanged brief glances with Joseph. Dexter was his best friend, and their relationship went way back before SEAL training, commonly called BUD/s. Joseph nodded. He knew exactly what was going through his friend's mind as he called in the ten-digit grid reference to command. Joseph lip read as Dexter added detail to the "danger close", forces-speak for telling the F-16 pilot there was the potential to kill the good guys too. Dexter ducked as the Taliban concentrated their fire on the cluster of rocks behind him. They couldn't know exactly where he was, but even random firing was sending bullets too close for comfort. Joseph rolled to his side and focused his fire on the flashes from the forces below them. He just hoped it was enough to give Dexter the space to complete the message on the UHF radio.

Finally Dexter passed a message up and down the team, the LT nodded and indicated heads down. The missile would be there in three. Joseph didn't let up on his targeted shooting, and for a few minutes until "missile on target", he and the rest of the team would be ensuring focus was on them.

The reporter had been an easy extraction. Taken hostage by the Taliban, they'd been keeping him in a safe house in the mountains of Afghanistan. Intelligence had led the US to his location, and they had watched to establish a pattern for his captors. Pattern established, Joseph and his team were inserted three miles away, on the other side of a mountain ridge. It had been, in SEAL terms, an easy extraction, and the journalist had not only still been alive but was able to walk out fairly unhurt.

Then the shit hit the fan. With nothing more than bad timing, suddenly the team was pinned down by the sheer number of freaking Taliban coming at them with the barrage of small arms fire. They were fucked. Dexter signaled a "one" to Joseph and the others. This was it. This was win or fail spectacularly; what a way to go out. Fuentes sat on the journalist, their faces to the wall, hunkered down in a natural ditch formed by a crack in the earth between rocks. Dexter rolled and sheltered amongst the boulders strewn on the pathway. The LT and the rest of the team kept up fire until, one by one, they too took cover. There was no sense in letting the Taliban get any idea things were going down by giving out a ceasefire, and finally, it was only Joseph firing into the darkness in a random pattern. He glanced at Dexter, who held up a fist and then a five. Joseph counted down, and at one, he took final cover, curled in on himself with his head tucked low, every part of him sheltered by Afghan rock.

No noise indicated the targeting of a five-hundred-pound bomb, but when it hit the Taliban, it was deadly and quick. The pressure waves pressed Joseph's eardrums, and he involuntary closed his eyes. The air rent about them, and the sound of violent roaring thunder shook the earth. As it threw debris high into the air, the low-end noise of the pressure wave rolled over the SEAL team, but there was no time to sit and wait to see if the hit had found target. Joseph was first, closest to the insurgents, and weapon high, he slid down the crumbling mountainside. The missile had done its work, but Joseph didn't look for that. He wanted an all clear, and with only a few on target shots, he indicated back that the team could follow. There was still some small arms fire from the few remaining Taliban, but it was nothing the SEALs couldn't handle, dodging forces and jogging with the journalist at the center. Dexter called in final extraction, and when Joseph slumped into the CH-47 Chinook, he closed his eyes. It would be days before his ears were back to normal. The helicopter dipped then took a wide low path over the Afghanistan flatlands.

"So," Dexter started on a shout that broke through his team's fractured hearing, "I'm thinking of asking Emily to marry me."

And there it was. Normality after facing chaos and death. It was what SEALs did. They fought, they extracted, and they were the best. But, at the end of the day, they had survived and were alive. Listening as his best friend received advice from the team on how to propose, Joseph felt a twinge of something inside. The adrenaline inside him was trickling away and the reality of his life was replacing it in every single cell he had.

An empty apartment and a month of sleep. The sleep sounded good, but the empty part? That felt like shit.


* * * *


The deck of the C-17 was freaking freezing, and not for the first time in eight hours of hell, Joseph wished he had two sleeping pads under him and not just one. Ramstein Air Base might be five hours in the past, but that meant at least another two or three until landing at Oceana Naval Air Station on the east coast. He was supposed to still be sleeping—that was the only way this enforced downtime worked for him. The Ambien had apparently long since lost its ability to send him back to sleep, and he was now way past wide awake. Everyone wanted to go home, but it was at moments like this, he wished for some magic way to blink and suddenly be in his own bed. The imposed cramped space was necessary if he wanted to get home, but he was a man of action, and all the clichés applied to him in spades. He wasn't the man who sat still; he was the one who paced. He never walked; he always ran. Sucking it up until they landed was his only option. Still, he was tired enough to allow a small amount of self-indulgent misery at the cold and the smell and the aches that filtered through his determination to not complain.

His hip ached from lying on his right side as they crossed the ocean away from Basram to Germany and, with only a few hours break, onto the continental US. He was a SEAL, and his body had been through one hell of a lot, certainly more than the discomforts of sleeping in a C-17 cargo plane. The thought of what he normally put his body through and how much pain he could handle never failed to amuse him when all he could think of now was how freaking sore he felt all over. Thank goodness for small mercies that the vibration of the plane had lessened as soon as they hit cruising altitude. He hated the way the throbbing of the huge engines coursed through his body and rattled his bones. Twenty-six years old and his body felt like he was forty.

Cursing his inability to sleep, he half rolled to take the pressure off his hip and stopped only when he felt one of his team behind him. He couldn't even recall who had grabbed the space there, but by the snoring, he assumed it was Dexter. His best friend was always watching his six and had done until they passed out the same week in BUD/s. Gritting his teeth, and with the comfort of his best friend's breathing so obvious behind him, Joseph relaxed each muscle, resolutely ignoring the belt on his multi-cams digging into skin. He finally found the place inside him that allowed him to sleep perched on rocks or in caves with aerial assaults streaking the sky. He moved to that single and vital place where fighters in combat zones found themselves in, where they hoped they would be safe.

The changing quality of the engine noise was the first indication they were stateside, and he woke to a crouch in instant awareness. Clearly he had managed another few hours of shuteye, much to his shock. Expectation shot through him at the thought of standing on US soil again, and he stretched tall to work out some of the kinks. To sleep in a bed, eat food that wasn't out of plastic, and to catch a breath was what the next thirty days were about. Lonely or not.

"N'thuck." The words were mumbled in half sleep, and that was the first sign Dexter had pulled himself out of an Ambien and painkiller haze. Joseph moved as best he could to face his friend and blurted out a laugh at the sight before him. Dexter had taken a hit to the face by flying rocks, and the bruising was bad. The area around his friend's nose was swollen so badly his eyes were squinting and only half open.

"You look worse than shit," Joseph commented dryly.

"Thuck you," Dexter replied.

"Emily's gonna take one look at you and decide to marry me instead."

"Not your gay ass," Dexter countered.

Joseph laughed. His whole team knew about his preferences. It wasn't that he was out to everyone in the service, but SEALs had trust. Your team was your life and held your life. Not one person in the team judged him for anything less than his skills or the SEAL acceptance that one day they might die for each other. Around him the rest of the team started pulling together sleeping bags and packs, and Joseph cast a brief look over at Adams, who remained in the green stage of post alcohol/Ambien mixing but who somehow managed to sport a broad and blinding grin. As the C-17 banked for final approach, Joseph took his seat. The landing was smooth, the rocking motion as the brakes engaged jarring, but the actual stopping itself was heaven. The plane rolled to journey's end at just before zero one hundred, and then the small band of SEALs trudged tiredly from the plane.

When it came to disembarking, Joseph had never felt happier the SEALs never had to share a plane with anything other than a few combat support guys. Six guys getting off one plane made life a lot easier than a plane full of troops. As soon as his booted feet hit the blacktop, Joseph inhaled deeply of the fresh Virginia air. Everyone stood absolutely still for a few seconds, and Joseph glanced critically at each man. Apart from Dexter and his nose, the team of six men, by some luck and more than a little skill, had made it back largely unscathed. The way every man stood so utterly still meant he wasn't the only one to be glad they'd made it back alive.

The team's reactions to coming home varied from excited to resigned to way-too-exhausted-to-register. The night of landings was always the same. With unspoken agreement, the small group started the walk back to the main hanger where there would be some way of getting back to wherever the hell they all needed to go. Some, like him and Dexter, had apartments nearby; others had rooms in larger houses. All had to be within the one-hour recall when not on leave. He and Dexter walked side by side as the SEALs made their way from the immediate area to the regroup point.

"Fuck. Commander's here." The curse from Fuentes stopped him in his tracks.

Joseph startled at the pronouncement that spilled from the team's newest recruit's mouth. The words were tinged with newbie awe that the commanding officer was in attendance to their arrival home. Joseph was instantly watchful and tried to make out who the CO was looking at. The team usually had time to breathe before the official crap started, but the CO being here, standing silently and waiting for them to arrive, could mean only one thing. For one of the six in the team, there was bad news.

Something had happened while they were deployed, and for one of them, life had somehow changed when they were out of reach.

"Shit." Even with the broken nose, Dexter uttered that single word very clearly and with an edge of fear. Dexter not only had the long-term girlfriend but two living parents and five siblings with associated partners and children. Jeez. Not Dexter.

The lieutenant held up a hand to stop his team and then walked swiftly ahead to stand toe-to-toe with the CO. They talked briefly, and the lieutenant turned to face his men with a look of resignation on his face.

"Chief Kinnon," he started firmly. "Go with the CO."

The entire bottom fell out of Joseph's world, and he reached blindly to grip Dexter's arm. Dexter took a step forward to go with Joseph, but he pulled him to a stop.

"It's okay," he reassured Dexter, and tugged his arm free. It wasn't okay. It was far from being okay. He only had a few people outside his team that meant anything to him. Something had happened to his mom? It was the only thing he could think of, the only family he had, and that his CO was standing there waiting to tell him bad news was wrong.

He took the few short steps to the CO, a tall imposing man with a face carved from stone. Commander Finch hadn't gotten to be a CO of elite SEAL teams by being the nice guy. He was tension and passion and loyalty all wrapped up in one commanding presence.

"Chief Kinnon."

"Sir."

"Walk with me, son."

Only training and blind obedience kept Joseph from freezing in the middle of the freaking airfield refusing to move and demanding answers right the fuck now. They reached a door and passed through it into the shaded corner of a huge hangar. Dim lighting was enough to see compassion on the CO's face.

"I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, Joseph. While you were off radar, your stepsister passed away."


Chapter 2






"Elisabeth?"


Of course Elisabeth. He had only one stepsister. When his mom had remarried two years before, he had inherited both her and a stepdad, Harvey Costain. He didn't know them very well. He was never stateside long enough to form a real bond, but, jeez, his mom and Harvey must be devastated.


"You have my condolences."


"What the fu—hell happened? Sir." He added the belated sir on the end as his training kicking in with a vengeance.

"The police are conducting a murder investigation."

"Murder?" Joseph dropped his pack to the floor as any energy he had slid straight out of him. " How? Who?"

"If it's any consolation, it was quick, and she wasn't… harmed in any other way."

Consolation? Quick wasn't a consolation to any family. One day it might be. But now? Nothing made this easier to hear.

"She was coming to stay—we weren't close—but she wanted to spend time with me…" He was rambling. Why the hell was he telling all this to a man who didn't need to hear it? He could hear himself talking, but the shock weighed heavy on him, and suddenly the words just stopped. Emotion choked his throat. This leave was supposed to be him finally finding his role as a big brother, maybe even giving definition to his life. And from what she'd said, to Elisabeth's life as well. She had called him and left messages when he'd come back last time, said she needed a friend, a brother, said it had been too long since their parents married for them to connect. His CO was still talking in that tone only reserved for those who had to dispatch bad news on a regular basis. Soft and low and so damn understanding.

"Is there someone who can help you? I can assign someone from the family liaison—"

"No," Joseph said quickly. This was his family, and he didn't need liaison or support or any of that official shit. His shoulders were plenty broad enough to handle what life threw at him. This would be no different. Priorities. It was all about priorities to make sense of the buzzing in his head. Intel was first. A SEAL was nothing without the intelligence gathering to back up a mission. Phone his mom to find out when it had happened and why it had happened. Pushing back the flood of sudden grief that forced its way forward, he fell back on his training.

"Can you make sure Dexter sees a medic, sir? And tell the lieutenant I'll be back in the normal thirty days."

"I will. And Joseph? Between you and me, if you plan on—" He paused. "—doing anything then just be careful. Good luck, son."

It was a four-mile run to his apartment in Virginia Beach. Less than twenty minutes and he would be in his place. An hour and he could have showered Afghanistan from his skin, shaved his thick facial hair and packed. Three and he would be heading to Albany to find answers.


* * * *

His apartment was just as he had left it—empty and clean. In a daze he went through the motions of finding the man under the layers of grime. Shaving the beard that protected his skin beneath removed the persona of soldier a scrape at a time, and the shower water was cold before he exited the stall. This was ritual; this was normal, and for a few minutes, he found solace in the repetition of actions that grounded him to the here and now. He heard his cell but didn't answer it, just left it on charge as it was flat from its disuse and only showed one bar of charge. He knew Dexter was trying to contact him, but until he had his bags packed and he was on the road, he wasn't ready to answer questions. Dexter stopped calling; instead he texted a simple call me, which Joseph knew was his friend's way of offering unconditional support and showing he would back off and wait for Joseph to make the first move.

Dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and grabbing a jacket from his closet, he checked he had wallet, keys, and his bag. Locking the door and crossing to his old Jeep, he hoped to God the damn thing started after sitting for so long. The heap started on the third turn just as Joseph thought his luck might well have run out. Three thirty-five in the morning, and he was heading north on highway 13.

Shock was something he knew one hell of a lot about. The dead and dying and the ones who watched… He had seen the horror of it all, and as detached as he had to be, he could categorize every single nuance of disbelief and grief. None of what he knew was even halfway real when he remembered his stepsister. He pulled off at a gas stop for fuel and grabbed a protein bar and a bottle of water. He couldn't delay the inevitable any longer, and with a heavy heart, he dialed the number he knew by heart. His mom answered on the third ring. Proof that it didn't matter what time of day he called; she would have a phone close by.

"Joseph," she said calmly. "Did they tell you?"

"I'm so sorry, Mom. How is Harvey?" Joseph was a master at changing the subject, and his mom didn't call him on it.

"Devastated. Totally heartbroken. We've had newspapers calling for interviews and people stalking us, taking photos. It's only died down in the last month." The last month? Why the hell had it garnered so much attention? "We tried to let you know. Passed it on to the right people. They said they would let you know when you were back in the US."

That sounded about right. Joseph and the rest of the team were very often off radar and out of reach. It was standard procedure to make contact when it didn't jeopardize what the SEALs were doing.

"Will you tell him I am so sorry for his loss?" Joseph offered gently. He had a lot of respect for Harvey and felt grief for what the other man had gone through.

"I will… wait—"

Joseph heard the phone being passed to another; he assumed it was Harvey.

"Joseph?"

"I am so sorry for your loss." It felt wrong to say our loss. Harvey had lost a child, his daughter, and it must feel like nearing the end of times. Joseph had simply lost someone he'd begun to be friends with. It was a different world of pain.

"Where are you, son?" Harvey sounded exhausted, and Joseph didn't bristle at the term "son". He never had. When his mom had met Harvey, it was almost as if Joseph could finally let himself relax about who was looking after his mom. It felt real. Like a family. He had even received a readymade sister. Harvey had been more of a husband to his mom in two short years than Joseph's real father had been. He'd been nothing more than a sperm donor when his mom was sixteen. Should he lie? Tell Harvey he was on base or due to ship out? Would the man stop him from what he wanted to do if he actually admitted he was planning on looking into this murder? Harvey could well have already resolved his emotions about losing his daughter, probably in an arena that didn't include throwing himself in the middle of a murder investigation, as it did for Joseph.

"On my way to Albany on the 13," he finally admitted.

"What are you going to do?" There was tension in Harvey's voice, but no accusation or words to put Joseph's intended actions on hold. The line went quiet, and he wished he could see Harvey's expression. Had he put two and two together? Was the gentle man horrified or relieved Joseph was going to the place his daughter had been killed? Harvey and his mom living in Florida had never made Miami seem farther away.

"I'm going to find out why my stepsister died, sir," he said very simply.

Harvey exhaled noisily, and his mom was back on the phone in seconds. She had watched Joseph go into the Navy, become a SEAL, get ordered overseas. Every single time she had waved him off with a smile and a promise she would be there when he came back. She knew it was what he was trained for, and he was well aware this time would be no different.

"What are you doing, Joseph?"

"Going to find out who killed Elisabeth and why." He didn't expect her to stop him from taking this path, but he was aware she would have something to say on the matter.

"Please, Joseph… stay safe. This is a very different kind of evil than what you are used to."

"I'm always safe, Mom." He was good at reassuring.

"How can we help?" Trust his mom to cut to the chase. He wanted to ask more about the case itself.

"If it's not too hard, can you tell me what happened?"

"We don't know much more than what was in the papers. Elisabeth was murdered in an alley at the back of a hotel near her home, and the shooter was a lifetime cop with a family. No one knows why she was there at that time or why she was shot. The case has been closed because the cop… Gareth Headley… admitted what he had done and is now serving time for his actions. Harvey wanted to stay in Albany and find out why the cop risked everything he had to kill someone, but his heart…" His mom had met Harvey volunteering in the heart unit at the local hospital. He might have been only in his early fifties, but, as he put it himself, he was on enough medication to rouse the dead.

"It's enough for me to start."

"Will you call us when you have anything?"

"I will, Mom."

The call ended with the usual goodbyes. Whatever had happened to Elisabeth, he had thirty days to find the answer. Whoever had hurt his stepsister—killed her—wasn't going to get away with this. Justice would be done. That much he was sure of.


What's coming in 2012: Freddy MacKay

What's coming in 2012: Freddy MacKay



Hello everyone! Thanks for stopping by while RJ pimps me out. :)

Coming Soon 

Beginning Again: Finding Peace #1 to be released from Silver Publishing February 25th! Buy Link

Pain and loss are nothing new to David.  They were old friends who stayed too long.  Finally being able to full-fill a longtime goal by transferring to Capstone Ridge University, David McCourt was hoping to put his past behind him.  Even if it meant keeping his head down and staying away from his roommates and everybody else.   All David really wants is an honest chance to start over with a clean slate and a new life, complications he does not.

Short replies and avoidance were new to Bobby.  Everybody liked him.  Bobby Daniels didn’t want a robot for a roommate.  After seeing the hurt David carried around, Bobby made up his mind to help his awkward roommate come out of his shell.  Dragging David if he had to, with the help of friends and a nutty professor.

Being attracted to guys wasn’t anything for Jackson Black.  It was something he ignored and tried to change for years.  Thinking if he found the right women or she found him, Jackson would have his problem fixed.  What he wasn’t counting on was the intense stare of David McCourt.

Between friends, a one-night stand and Jackson, David has his hands full trying to figure life out.  When David gets hurt, will he be able to recover?  Or is it the final straw that sends him over the edge?  To keep David together, friends and lovers surround him trying to help close the wounds, but will it be enough?

Please Note: This title is a TBC and is a cross genre series, including m/m, m/f and menage relationships.

Incubation: Finding Peace #2 is being released in May of this year.

After David’s attack, the makeshift group that has become his friends, tries to form a protective cocoon round him. Holding him together. The problem is, they don’t know the whole story and David finds the constant noise a distraction instead of helpful.

Can this makeshift rag-tag group of friends make a family, or will old secrets bury them all? And how well will the community and campus react to David?


In my head…



Days Gone By: A Finding Peace Back Story  - currently being edited for submission


And the winner is...

And the winner is...

The competition to win every single RJ Scott e-book published in 2012 is now closed...

And the winner is...

...someone who left a comment on 8th Jan and who was picked by my hubby using randomising software...

...congratulations...

Marie! 

(m****@fsmail.net)

I will email you as soon as I can!!!

RJ XXXX

"You've failed, your Highness. I am a Jedi, like my father before me."

"You've failed, your Highness. I am a Jedi, like my father before me."


These words are the culmination of Star Wars IV, V and VI in the final battle between Vader and Luke.

It is the most passionate stirring scene in any film I have ever seen. It is the absolute certainty in Luke that he would rather die than turn to the dark side that makes the simple words he says so meaningful.

If they had made Jedi in 2012 it would have a complicated fight scene with stunts and flips and tons of explosions... but the almost simple (and I know I have used that word twice now!) way that the fight happens is redolent of sword fights in old black and white movies. It is intense. Added to which is the perfect William's music building to a crescendo.

What is your favourite scene in any film and why??

What's coming in 2012: Anna Marie May

What's coming in 2012: Anna Marie May



Hi, this Anna! Thanks to RJ for having me on her lovely blog! Here is what is coming up for me in early 2012:


Coming This Spring 


Being Human Release Date: Tentative date, 31 March 2012

Being (almost) human after his forced fall from heaven isn't quite turning out how Kai had pictured it. Still, there are perks. Like seeing Alex naked and for the frist time, being able to appreciate his friend's fine body.

But his newly found attraction is honestly the last of Kai's worries.  There is Lucifer, an old friend, who is free for the first time in Millennia and out to get reacquainted. And on top of everything, the world is about to spiral out of control with forces of good clashing with evil. But here's the tricky thing: how do you decide what is truly evil?

Ancient prophecies, cryptic archangels and really, is it any wonder Kai feels totally overwhelmed by the simple task of making a sandwich?

Can the newly formed love between Kai and Alex really conquer all? Or will their feelings doom not only them but the rest of the world along with them…

Over The Rainbow (#1 Watchtower Series)  Release Date: Tentative date: 05 May 2012

Missing: Prophesized warlock to the King. Has anyone seen him? Please contact your nearest guard station if you do find him.


What's coming in 2012: Nicole Dennis

What's coming in 2012: Nicole Dennis


Coming Soon 

A Family Found – Hamilton River Series Book 1 (January 21 – Silver Publishing)

A promising baseball star, Dimitri Michelakakis, left it all behind when his troubled sister called, begging him to raise her baby boy. Now a chef and a single father, he runs the successful catering arm of local bistro, Terra Verde. Dimitri never suspected that one of his catering jobs would lead him to a new love.

Since receiving a note about his son’s birth, millionaire Mason Harrison has done everything he can to find the baby and the man who raised him as his own. Could finding his son mean finding the family Mason has always longed for? Pre-order.

Ghost on a Wing – On a Wing Series Book 1 (February 25th – Silver Publishing)

Finding the nerve to meet his crush is difficult for accomplish high school senior, Anderson Saint John. Often, he stands outside Morgan Brookes’ store during his training runs to watch the older man. Shy and teased off the cross-country track, Anderson keeps to himself, his treasured artist mother, and his beloved animals. Hope always lingers in his heart for him to speak and kiss Morgan. Until the week of Halloween, when his dog initiates contact outside Morgan’s store.


Love Is In The Message

Love Is In The Message


Love is Series

Book 1 - Love is in the title
Book 2 - Love is in the hallways
Book 3 - Love is in the message

The Book

The hallways are a scary place for a new relationship -- with Eddie  targeting both Cameron and Luke every way he can and Mary Beth  stirring up trouble in the 'it' crowd.

It doesn't help one little bit when Ryan Kitchener, the boy who had attacked Luke when he was younger, pays a visit to Luke's house and leaves a message that could change the growing love between Cameron and Luke for ever.

Buy Links - eBook

Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK)Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Smashwords

Reviews

Rainbow Book Reviews - "Even though it has the most angst of the three volumes, this is my favorite book of the series. I would be proud to have these two brave, sensitive, caring young men as my sons. This isn't a standalone book. The series must be read sequentially in order to make sense, but it’s well worth it. I'd recommend it to everyone, especially to young adults and their families. RJ's message of being brave enough to be true to yourself is an important and timely one which applies not only to teens, but to us all. Thanks, RJ, for sharing Luke and Cameron's inspiring story with us. By the way, will we get to see how they fare in college and beyond?"


The Only Easy Day (Sanctuary #2)

The Only Easy Day (Sanctuary #2)

Sequel to Guarding Morgan

Joseph Kinnon is back on US soil after six months in Iraq. The Navy SEAL is looking forward to downtime and to reconnect with family. His CO is waiting for the team and tells Joseph that his step-sister sister, Elisabeth Costain, has been murdered.

Dale MacIntyre, Sanctuary operative, is helping Morgan Drake and Nik Valentinov to track down who ordered Elisabeth Costain killed. As an ex-SEAL he knows as soon as Elisabeth's brother comes home that the shit really will hit the fan. He expects a one man war to be waged by Joseph on the Bullen family and doesn't want any part of it.

However, when their missions collide, they have to work together to find the real reason Elisabeth died, and find a way to stay alive.



What's coming in 2012: LM Brown

What's coming in 2012: LM Brown




Coming Soon 


Hey, Baby (Gift of Love Anthology – 11th February 2012)

Can a wrong number lead to Mr Right?

Nick Davis’s life is stuck in a rut until a stranger starts leaving messages on his answer machine. Connor Hayes has mistaken Nick’s number for that of his boyfriend, giving Nick an idea of what it would be like to have Connor in his life. Connor seems like his ideal man and although Nick knows he’s not Connor’s ‘baby,’ he can’t stop himself wishing he were.

After the wrong number issue is resolved, Nick doesn’t expect to hear from Connor again. He's pleasantly surprised when he does. Unfortunately for Nick, Connor isn’t looking for a boyfriend. He already has one and now he wants Nick to help organise a surprise Valentine’s weekend for the couple.

Can Nick put his own feelings aside to make sure Connor’s Valentine’s Day plans go smoothly?

Between Heaven & Hell (Heavenly Sins – Book 1 – 3rd March 2012 (tentative release date)

What happens when an angel and a demon fall for the same mortal man?  Tristan is about to find out and it will change his life forever.

The ménage the trio forms is filled with jealousy and insecurities, passion and love.

Only time will tell if their relationship is forged in Heaven or Hell.


In my head…


The Heart of Eden (under revision for resubmission later this year)
Since the death of his wife Luke Eden has lived for two things, his son, Mike, and his garden centre.  Now his son is getting ready to fly the nest and Luke knows it’s time for him to come out and tell him why he has never remarried.  He doesn’t realise Mike already knows about his preference for men, and has plans of his own to find his dad a boyfriend.

Between Good & Evil (Heavenly Sins – Book 2)
It isn’t always easy to do the right thing, especially when you’re bound to a demon.  Sometimes people get hurt.  That’s when you find out it isn’t just the demons you need to worry about, because a wronged human can be far more dangerous.

My Boyfriend is an Alien (A Young Adult m/m story)
Ever wondered if your boyfriend was from another planet?  In Ashley’s case, it’s true.

Forbidden Waters 
Banished from the ocean because of his sexuality, merman Kyle finds a new life and love amongst humans.

The Life Not Lived
What if you got to relive your life and had a second chance with the one that got away?

Visit LM Brown online:


Website – http://lmbrownauthor.webs.com/
Blog – http://lmbrownauthor.blogspot.com/
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001471647696 
Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/lmbrown 

What's coming in 2012: Elizabella Gold

What's coming in 2012: Elizabella Gold


Coming Soon 

Hollow in My Heart
https://spsilverpublishing.com/product_book_info/hollow-in-my-heart-ebook-p-702

Giving it a Name, to be published by Dreamspinner Press in summer 2012

Submitted for Consideration

I’m working on a submission for Silver Publishing’s A Mind is a Sexy Thing anthology. *fingers crossed*
This year I hope to get a publication offer, somehow, someway, for a psychological/historical novel I’ve been working on. It’s been my cherished baby for a few years now, and I think it’s ready for the world.

In my head…

I’m hoping to write one or two m/f romances sometime this year, for a change, although m/m will always be my first and best love:-) I’m also hoping to write some more m/m historical fic.

Visit Elizabellaonline:


Twitter: @ElizabellaGold

Livejournal: http://elizabellagold.livejournal.com/

Blogger: http://elizabellagold.blogspot.com/

What's coming in 2012: Amylea Lyn

What's coming in 2012: Amylea Lyn


Coming Soon 



So far this is what I’ve got….

Love’s Crash Landing is scheduled to be released February 4th with Silver Publishing.


Gavin Howard lives a simple life on his farm; staying to himself and keeping under the radar due to his past military career. That is all changed late one night when a spaceship crash lands in his corn field. So what is a simple farmer to do when he finds an injured alien lying in his back yard? Take it inside and care for it until it can “phone home” of course.

But Prince Mi’Kel Ta’Rulen is not what Gavin expected. Beautiful, gentle, and on a mission to save his dying planet, Mi’Kel needs Gavin’s help for more than just his injuries. Can Gavin help Mi’Kel find the solution to save his people all while keeping the little alien safe from the Earth governments hunting him?

And when Gavin finds himself falling in love with a being from outer space, can he find it in his heart to let the little alien go when Mi’Kel’s ship is finally fixed? Or will Mi’Kel’s secrets drive them apart when the alien needs his farmer the most?


The Beast’s Promise, book 2 of my Outside the City series, is scheduled for release on March 24th with Silver Publishing.


Owen Sanders has a lot on his mind. Ever since being kidnapped from the City, he’s been trying to get back in order to rescue the twin baby brothers he had been forced to leave behind. The only thing stopping him is leaving behind his newly found mate, Maltok, and the feelings he has for the other man.

Katrian Co-Alpha Chief, Maltok doesn’t know why his human mate refuses to bond with him. When he finds out about Owen’s forgotten family, Maltok is hurt that the smaller man would keep something so
important from him. Maltok agrees to help retrieve the children on one condition; Owen must agree to mate him when they return to the Village. Owen reluctantly agrees.

The two men begin their journey and on the way learn that some misunderstandings must be resolved before they could have hope for their future. And when the City retaliates against their actions, the two men must make a decision that could save them all…

And possibly destroy the City forever.


There should be more *crosses fingers* at least I hope there will be… I’ll keep you all posted should anything else pop up!


Recently finished and under consideration:

Solid as Stone, book 1 of my new series called The Brotherhood.



In my head…


In order of most important… at least according to the characters living in my head…

Book 3 of my Outside the City series, tentatively titled Redemption of the Beast. (This is Sashan and his mate’s story. And no I wont tell you, it’s a surprise! *winks*)

Book 2 of The Brotherhood. (No name yet, but the basic outline is ready to be plotted. *sigh* I just need to quit procrastinating and do it.)

Whispered Secrets, Hidden Eyes. This is my weekly blog story.  So, while I’m working on edits and writing the other two stories, I’ll be busy working on this too. A new part is posted every Monday.

And lastly on the list there are of course…

Un-named series, book #1

  • Untitled story #1
  • Untitled story #2
  • Untitled story #3

And so on … and so on… eventually I’ll work on all the other outlines and random ideas bogging down my computer. LOL.

Eventually… *whimpers and hides from the unfinished projects*


Visit Amylea online:


www.amylealyn.webs.com -Amylea’s Website
www.amylealynromance.blogspot.com -Amylea’s Blog
You can also find me on Facebook!

What's coming in 2012: Edward Kendrick

What's coming in 2012: Edward Kendrick


Coming Soon 


Jan. 14th - 'Mage of Silence'

Castien, an elf mage who cannot speak except with the aid of a magical dagger, has been captured while on a mission. He is freed by his companion, the warrior elf Daeron, and returns with him to Daeron’s homeland. There they will join forces to rid the land of a Lord bent on the destruction of the elves.

Theirn, a young half-elf thief, attempts to rob Castien during his stay at an inn and is caught by the mage. Much against Theirn’s will he is enlisted into the group of rebel elves. But as Theirn's infatuation with Castien grows, he becomes more than eager to risk treachery, betrayal, and even death on dangerous missions just to be close to the man he is growing to love.

Feb. 4th - 'Shadow Men'

Agents Rafe and Steele are on the run after discovering their boss is a traitor. Single father, Grant, gets sucked into the intrigue and must elude capture with the help of Agent Anders until the information they hold can be given into safe hands.

The rest of the blurbs are unofficial at this point:

Mar. 3 - 'Melange'
When two vampires, one vampire’s ghoul, and a shifter fight to protect each other from a vicious creature bent on survival at all costs, unrequited love and new love are awakened in the process.

April 7 - 'Abstract Realism'
Tonio, an artist, is in self-imposed hiding after an attacker scars him both physically and emotionally. When the attacker reappears Tonio seeks help from the handsome bodyguard Jonam. It falls on Jonam’s shoulders to keep Tonio safe, and in the process teach him to live, and perhaps love, again.

May 5 - 'Phoenix Rising' - Book One of Phoenix Rising Series
Hex Phoenix, entrepreneur, businessman. Hunted because of what he is, the Phoenix. Assisted by his lover, Urbain, he escapes the most recent attempt to capture him. Resurrected as Conleth, he is again hunted, by the RIRA and the mysterious Giuliana. Mix in Urbain and Roger and fireworks will explode.

June 2 - 'Forbidden Fruit'
Theft and murder are all in a day’s work for PI Sam Young, as is protecting Jamie, a young man living in terror of his ex. Love however is another thing. Can he convince Jamie their growing attraction is real?

June 30 - 'We Are the Guardians' - Book Two of the Phoenix Rising Series
Mayhem and murder, Giuliana, Robin, and bitter foes Roger, who is gay, and Rico, who is straight, handle both. Recruited into the ‘old man’s’ clandestine organization, to which the others belong, Rico must deal with job gone wrong and his growing attraction to one of the other members of the organization.

July 21 - 'Weekends'
Over six holiday weekends can the developing friendship between confirmed forty-year-old bachelor Marcus and free-spirited twenty-three-year-old Demitri turn into more? Will Marcus realize it is possible for Demitri to love him or will he fight their developing May-December romance?

Aug. 25 - 'You Can't Change the Past' - Book Three of the Phoenix Rising Series. 
An assassin targets Conleth, going after his people to reach him. Policewoman Ginna Smith becomes involved and is recruited to join Vance’s team. As their attraction for each other grows he must stop a stalker before Ginna too is attacked.


What's coming in 2012: Lindsay Klug

What's coming in 2012: Lindsay Klug


Coming Soon 


Delila 2, The Reign of Delila Scheduled for release in 2012, not sure exactly when:

When you rule the vampires, you can expect a few hiccups here and there.

But Delila McAllister hardly expects to find newborn vampires wreaking havoc on her world. No one is sure where the little beasts are coming from, or why they’re not decimating unknowing human populations.

Even as she’s trying to figure out one problem, another arises. Her Alpha werewolf daughter, Ana, is torn between her loyalty to Delila and her pack’s desire for war.

Delila knows what she must do. But can she save herself, her daughter, and her race?


In my head…


Charlie, who must battle a demonic ex-husband bent on killing her while keeping the seductive new private investigator neighbor at bay.

Adelaide, the junkie who knows the secret behind a blast that rocked the world and brought democracy to an end.

Jonah, a soldier who must put his past behind him to love the woman standing in front of him.

Sloane, a young assassin in a post apocalyptic world who is told to kill the one man she loves.

Madeleine, haunted by ghosts and hunted by werewolves.

Chelsea, the widow of an Alpha wolf and unwitting ally to a rogue pack bent on taking over.


Visit Lindsay online:


Website: http://lindsaysbooks.webs.com
Email: lindsayktheauthor@yahoo.com
Twitter: @infidelqueen
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=673383650

What's coming in 2012: Silvia Violet

What's coming in 2012: Silvia Violet

Hi everyone! I'm Silvia Violet and I'm excited to have joined the wonderful list of authors at Silver Publishing. Thanks for having me here, RJ! Here's what's on for me this year….

Coming This Spring 

Abandoned 

Lark Zaccaro and Derek Carlson were partners and friends. Lark wanted more. Then someone at the Intergalactic Investigations Bureau sold them out to enemy aliens. Lark was forced to abandon Derek to the enemy, and Derek bought the IIB’s story that Lark betrayed them all.

When Lark’s deep cover mission and Derek’s new job in search-and-rescue collide, the desire simmering between them explodes. Lark needs Derek’s help to escape a new enemy, and Derek needs to discover the truth about what really happened on that alien planet. Can they overcome lies and betrayal and find the love and comfort they seek, or will their past forever keep them apart?

Submitted for consideration 


Finding Release
When Coleman Wilder inherits his grandparents' horse farm in Cranford, TN, he decides to run it himself even though the town isn't friendly to gay men or shifters, Cole is a half-breed werewolf, and though he doesn't change form like a full-blood, he feels constant tension between his human side and his werewolf instincts. The farm provides a welcome distraction, but one person in Cranford makes Cole's primal needs flare to life more than anyone else, Jonah Marks, an eighteen-year-old horse shifter who comes to Cole asking for a job. Cole turns him down, afraid he'll lose control around the boy. Then Jonah disappears, and Cole blames himself. Rumors has it Jonah's homophobic brother killed him, but no proof is found.

In my head…

Astronomical – an nearly finished m/m contemporary with an astronomy professor and a librarian

Deceived – the sequel to Abandoned

A Matter of Convenience – two FBI agents hook up whenever they are both in the same town, then a convoluted case brings them together long term complicating their relationship

Untitled - A Regency set m/m in which a former Naval officer finds romance in a brothel
An untitled contemporary m/m - a restaurant owner confronts his feelings for the friend he ran away with when they were both eighteen

Visit Silvia online:

Visit me: http://silviaviolet.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/silvia.violet

Twitter: http://twitter.com/Silvia_Violet

What's coming in 2012: Chris Quinton

What's coming in 2012: Chris Quinton


Welcome to my wonderful friend CQ AKA Chris Quinton for whom 2011 was a very good year!

Fool's Errand - Manifold Press - received an Honorable Mention in the Rainbow Awards of 2011.

Starfall - Silver Publishing - received an Honorable Mention in the Rainbow Awards of 2011.

Home and Heart, Game On Game Over, Fool's Errand and Fools Oath all have Silver Stars on All Romance eBooks.

AND Home and Heart is among the nominees for Love Romances Cafe's 2011 Best Contemporary Award, and I'm among the nominees for Best GLBT Author!

Coming Soon 

Fox Hunt - February 1st from Manifold Press
Rob is cleaning two Elizabethan portraits. But other people want them and one will stop at nothing to own both panels. Fox wants them back, and he, too, will stop at nothing. The inevitable clash will endanger Rob and his family, but as he grows closer to Fox, there's even more at risk for him - his heart. More here>>


The Soldier's Tale gets a Recommended Read on ARe

The Soldier's Tale gets a Recommended Read on ARe

The story opens in a British village with Daniel, a bomb-squad soldier back from Afghanistan and suffering great physical and mental trauma.

He is psychologically isolated, tormented by survivor guilt, and unable to adjust to civilian society. He also suffers pain from a wrecked knee but refuses to take his meds for fear of addiction.

(There is a gorgeous description of his eyes as "...deep mink brown and the lines of amber that specked to the centre.")

Daniel and his concerned and compassionate doctor Sean start a tentative relationship. However, Daniel has troubling dreams of a murder from medieval times that may have something to do with a curse upon a local family, the Fitzwarrens. When a psychic helps Daniel and Sean to piece together their connection to long-ago events, they must figure out what to do in the present to help break the curse. 

Festive Holiday Book Of The Year

Festive Holiday Book Of The Year

The Christmas Throwaway has won *Festive Holiday Book Of The Year* at Kelly's Place for Words...

Thank you so much Kelly...

See the full list here

Kelly said - "Total tear jerker, one of the best holiday theme books I've read in a long time."

Buy Link

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