Theory Unproven Re-released

I'm so happy that the story of Eric, Tyaan, and the elephants is available to buy again after three months off the shelf. If you're wondering there have been no changes to the content. Only the publisher has changed.

For anyone that doesn't know what I'm talking about, here's the lowdown.

Theory Unproven

Artwork by Meredith Russell

Working with elephants in their natural habitat has always been Eric Phillips dream. Getting what he’s always desired introduces him to Tyaan Bouwer, the bush pilot that flies in his supplies, and Eric discovers the allure of South Africa goes beyond the wildlife and the scenery.

But in an area where bushveld prejudices and hatred bleed across the borders, realising their love will be a hard fought battle. Keeping hold of it might just kill them.

* * * * *

An unexpected job offer finds zoologist Eric Phillips transported from the elephant house at a zoo just outside London to the wildlife reserves in the South African bushveld. Being able to work with his own herd of elephants, and analysing their behaviour, more than makes up for the remote nature of the research station. The one bright spot on the horizon, quite literally if the sun hits it at the right angle, is the silver freight plane that brings his supplies and half an hour in the company of Tyaan, the gorgeous but taciturn pilot.

With wide open spaces and clear skies, Tyaan Bouwer is never be happier than when he’s flying over the bushveld, the landscape beneath him a changing vista of colour and texture. It’s that view and the freedom to be able to climb in his plane and fly that’s kept him in the small town where he was born and raised. South Africa might be a rainbow nation but in the northern regions where neighbouring countries are far from liberal minded, prejudices and hatred bleed across the borders. Tyaan’s not in the closet, not really. Get him to the city and with his strong, silent routine he can pull a guy without even trying. He’s fine with that as long as they don’t press him into trying to see them again. It’s not like he wants a relationship. And just maybe when he gets home he’s hovering in the doorway of that closet, but he’s never met anyone worth taking the risk for.

The day he’s sent to Limpopo to collect Eric that all changes. He tries to bury the feelings of want that Eric conjures in him, but he can’t resist the bonds of friendship that forms between them.

As a zoologist Eric likes to think that he’s adept at anticipating how a creature will react in any given situation, and they don’t come any more beautiful and skittish than Tyaan. Despite Tyaan’s jittery behaviour Eric has a theory they could be good together but when things go catastrophically wrong it appears their relationship will remain a theory unproven.

Second Edition 

Publisher: Finally Love Press

Released: January 2017

Buy Links

Universal Amazon link myBook.to/TheoryUnproven_LF

Payhip // Smashwords // Kobo // B&N

Reviews for Theory Unproven (first edition)

5 elephant review from Bike Book Reviews.

The opening line is a cracker in itself.

OH MY GOODNESS, I AM REALLY EXCITED FOR US TO BE HOSTING A BOOK BLAST FOR THIS EPIC, WONDERFUL, MASTERFULLY WRITTEN LITERARY ENTREE KNOWN AS 'THEORY UNPROVEN' BY LILLIAN FRANCIS! 

Okay, I'm blushing (and grinning, just a little bit) and we haven't even got to the review yet. Right off the bat she hits on a point that I'm already concerned will deter readers... the length.

When I started this book and realized how many pages it had, I said to myself, "How in the world is this book gonna hold my interest for this long, it has to be a dang good one", (but I needn't have worried) let me assure you my friends, it is a dang good one and more!

And a few more choice quotes:

...a wonderful passionate story 

Get this book and get ready for passion, devotion, and yes suspense all rolled up in a nice package! 

Thank you Lillian, for making me realize it isn't the length, long or short of a book, it is the heart of it that matters!

Read the review in full here.

Another 5 star review from MM Good Book Reviews.

The passion between Eric and Tyaan is both sweet and explosive. 

...the first half of the book is rather light hearted and relaxed before really going into the action.

There is a lot of sweetness to be had set in an amazing landscape with some pretty damn intelligent animals. In fact, a couple of the elephants are minor characters in their own right and thoroughly enjoyable.

Read the full review here.

Former reviewer Tina gave Theory Unproven 4.5 stars. Check out her review in full here at Leafmarks.

"Both characters are just wonderfully elaborated, and they have this freaking hot chemistry, despite all the things popping up to mess with them. Lillian Francis did a wonderful job of conveying the heart and soul of these two guys, and when the heat turns up, it gets damn hot! It’s either slow and romantic, rough and steamy, or smoking hot and passionate."

"Lillian’s writing is powerful, gripping, emotional and captivating, she creates enticing characters and a sexy, emotionally charged story line."

"I lived within the story, I felt the South African heat, smelled the elephants and tasted the dust on my tongue, I laughed, smiled and cursed with the guys. How they managed to overcome their challenges to form a deep and everlasting love and build such a strong relationship touched me deeply."

"Highly recommended for those who share my love for the beautiful African continent... and want a well done, sweet, funny, suspenseful and delicious romance without too much angst."

A 4.25 star review at scatteredthoughtsandroguewords.

With a zoologist, Eric Phillips, as one half of the main couple, I loved the realistic way his life and work with the elephants was portrayed.  Dirty, all consuming, and soul satisfying…the readers understands through the many passages what it must be like to have that deep connection with another species. 

All good characters, all people the reader will want to spend time with.

Tyaan is a character that will draw conflicted feelings among the readers.  I thought his was a character grounded in the reality of the changing times in South Africa...Got it, you understand him even if you don’t like his actions, it makes him human.

While I was reading it, I was hooked on the elephants, Eric and Tyaan’s attraction for each other and strained journey towards a relationship.  

This is a long book yet most of the time I spent reading it flew by.  And I could easily book a flight back to this universe.  

...this story is so lush, so vibrant in feeling and scope that I am still so very much in love with Theory Unproven weeks later.

I recommend this story for all who love romance, foreign lands and a landscape of adventure where the search for love can be rough, affectionate, and hard won.  

Read the review in full here.

A 5 heart review from Hearts on Fire reviews

...the story was well paced, with great main characters and secondary characters...

The chemistry between the two main characters has a great build up, with compassion for Tyaan..., and hope for Eric that he won’t get his heart broken, since you love him pretty much from the start of the story!

If you like animals, you are going to love these two characters! (Jack and Ianto, the elephants)

I would recommend this book for romance lovers who really enjoy the development of the story as much as the romance and hot scenes...

Read the full review here. 

Theory Unproven returning to a virtual bookshelf near you

I'm pleased to confirm that after a brief hiatus Theory Unproven is to be re-released under my publishing label, Finally love Press. 
Nothing has changed in the book, and it even retains its gorgeous cover, thanks to RJ and the generosity of LLB. (Eagle eyed readers may notice the change of logo but that is it.)

Release is scheduled for 31st January and with that in mind I am offering ARC copies of the ebook in exchange for an honest review. I appreciate that many of you that come here may already own the book but for those who don't the offer is there.

The requirements (such as they are): 

ARC Reviews to be posted within two weeks of release (31st Jan). Reviews to be posted on Amazon and where possible Goodreads (and any other places that take your fancy). If you post reviews in your blog please let me know. I'll be sending the book out via email. Please leave a note in comments below if you are interested or email me on lillianfrancis (at) rocketmail (dot) com with the subject line ARC request.
If any review sites are interested please contact me separately and I can arrange to send a promo pack.

The book:

Working with elephants in their natural habitat has always been Eric Phillips dream. Getting what he’s always desired introduces him to Tyaan Bouwer, the bush pilot that flies in his supplies, and Eric discovers the allure of South Africa goes beyond the wildlife and the scenery.
But in an area where bushveld prejudices and hatred bleed across the borders, realising their love will be a hard fought battle. Keeping hold of it might just kill them.

Fiction Friday

Not much to report this week. I had one DNF, but I only read it for half an hour before deciding the book wasn't for me. Which reminds me, a comment from anon asked why I don't reveal the books I didn't like. I'm going to pretty much steal my own response and stick it here.

The reason I only list my favourite reads is multilayered. I want to spread the love for books I enjoyed. If you buy just one of the books I've mentioned then I'll be happy for that author. Writing is a joy but selling books is hard and for some authors it is their only means of support. Stories I don't necessarily enjoy or rate highly are quite often loved by others. People's mileage on writing quality and plots vary, so who am I to say you shouldn't read it. I have a two star review at Goodreads that claims Lovers Entwined is 'boring', there's not much else to the review but that. The fact that you follow this blog probably means that you disagree, afterall Lovers Entwined is one of my most popular books.

I've taken to marking my DNFs as dnf on my Goodreads shelf so you can see the books I really couldn't finish. If I've read something and not rated or reviewed it then it's probably somewhere between a one and a three. I do have notes on some reads, so if you're wondering whether to buy something and you really want to know what I thought of a particular book that I haven't reviewed, PM me and I'll see if I have anything in my notes to help you make an informed decision.

Anyway, back to the stuff I enjoyed. As you may recall I had interrupted my reading plan to read a few books because the sequels were on sale. One of those books was Him by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy. It's classed as new adult, I have no idea what that signifies; the MC's are under 25 and there is a lot of sex, maybe those are the over-riding factors. The story centres around ice hockey, a sport I know nothing about despite RJ Scott's posts appearing on my FB page. It's dual first person POV and written in the present tense. I should have hated this book. But I couldn't. It was so good. The sport didn't matter to me because this book was all about the characters and the pair of them carried the story on their broad muscular shoulders with ease. My first hockey book and all the others in my TBR pile now have an impressive marker to reach. All the stars!

Then I took a comic break, continuing with the next collection in the All New X-Men series that I'm reading, Battle of the Atom. Not my favourite collection by a long shot, way too Jean Grey focused, and WTF did they do to Deadpool! But you guys aren't here for the comics, so onward :)

The other book I interrupted my schedule for is Jack of Thorns by Amelia Faulkner and I'm still reading it. It's slow going, not because I not enjoying it (I am) but because I know there is no magical HEA (both characters have 'issues' that are not going to be solved over night) at the end of this book. This is an ongoing series and the HEA is going to have to be worked for, by both the characters and the readers, and while other books in the series are available, the relationship isn't finished as the releases stand at the moment. So I'm not rushing. I'm taking a few chapters at a time and savouring the story and breaking it up with other books.

I finished off the week with Hazel Takes Over by Sue Brown. I mean, how can you resist that face. This story is the third book in the Lyon Road Vet series and it features Peter and Evan from book 1. They are settling down together, getting to grips with being a family with all that entails when one partner already has children, and Peter is still finding his feet with other people's perception of his attraction to Evan. Throw a new puppy into the mix, friends old and new, and an ex-wife with a secret and you have an enjoyable read that starts off light and fun and then whips you in a frenzy by the end. These books have been getting more emotionally charged as the series progresses (saying something since it started with the death of a dog) and I know the final book, Stormin' Norman, is gonna be a kick in the guts story. I can't wait to read it.

A missing review

I say a missing review because I totally missed it at the time it was published.

A four star review from Lucy at Hearts on Fire.

"I love how they are together, funny and sweet. They tease each other and it’s lovely. The cows, especially, made me laugh. And Mal’s endearment in Punjabi, so charming."

"Kudos... for providing a Muslim character who is human, not villainized or made perfect. Mal has given up a lot to be true to himself (his family, his church) and I loved that he kept his connection to his religion despite it all. He is a man of faith and that faith shows through. I loved him."

"I thought this was a lovely book with characters who were willing to wait and be there for each other. Recommended."

Fiction Friday

Welcome to the first Fiction Friday post of 2017.

This Christmas I received a shiny new notebook from my Secret Santa. What does this have to do with Fiction Friday? Well, I’ve decided to use it to keep a written reading journal. This way I’ll be able to keep a log of not just what I read but why I picked that particular book at that particular time. It’ll also give me somewhere other than my extensive TBR shelf at GR to list books I stumble across that I ‘really want to read NOW’ and then promptly forget about by the time I’ve finished my current read.

So what’s graced the first page? 

My reading plan for January. Excuse my scrappy writing…

And the first book I read in 2017 was…

Murder Between the Pages by Josh Lanyon. Yes, I know it doesn’t meet any requirements of my reading plan but, hey ho. It's historical and a mystery (of the golden age variety) with two antagonistic leads. Why wouldn't I read this? I can't wait for this to be released in audiobook. 

Back on track:

Romancing the Wrong Twin by Clare London. Oh, I loved this. The humour, the writing, the characters. I mean, who can resist a gruff adventurer type. And the secondary characters were a delight as well. I’d love a ficlet/short where Simon gets his man. I’m desperate to get this in audio but I’ve already listened to the sample and it’s an American narrator for two British characters. Dreamspinner, why do you do this to us? I will buy the audio anyway because, Clare London! But there must be British narrators working in the States.

Alpha Barman by Sue Brown. Testosterone Central. A team of Alphas. A rundown bar. Revenge. And a jilted lover as protector. I enjoyed the story and pacing. However, I had a few issues with Jake but I loved Mitch and I think he should have made Jake work at that apology.

The two books I was determined to read finished in the first week. Excellent. Next up…

A book by Megan Derr. And the one I picked was actually something quite different to her fantasy/fairy tale stories. Locke and Key is a collection of three stories set in the same ‘verse connected by the family of hunters. Locke and Key was probably my favourite, the gruff Locke and Key, his partner in everything but sex (although not for want of trying on Key’s part), slaying the low level vamps in perfect harmony until Locke throws a hissy fit.  Sharing stars Locke’s brother Preston, who is less vampire hunter and more in charge of diplomatic relations to the top vamps. But three of his charges are interested in relations of a different kind. I felt this was the start of a longer story. I was intrigued by the relationship and curious how Preston’s family would react. The Housekeeper stared Richard, a top vamp from the previous story, but is told from the POV of his housekeeper, Trevor, who has been pining over his boss forever. I had a tear in my eye while reading this at one point. Overall a great little collection. 

An Admirer by Megan Derr. Now this is what I would call typical Megan Derr. Sweet secret admirer story with magic. Endearing characters and world building that never intrudes on the story.

I've made a decision this year not to purchase a new book in a series unless I have at least read/started the first book. So I've broken off from my reading challenge three times already this month to read stories that aren't on the list. Twice I've bought the new book, the other time I saved myself the price of the next two books in the series. It may only have been a saving of $2.40 but that's two other sale books I can buy and, more importantly, two less books on my TBR pile. I'll let you know about the two books where I bought the follow ups in my next post.

Sorry for the delay

Real Life got in the way, and that means I'm still working on the newsletter. So if you want to sign up for the first issue (and get a free copy Waiting for a Spark, now with the bonus ficlet When the Boat Come In) there is still time. I anticipate it being ready to go by Friday.

Subscribe to my newsletter

So pleased.

I'm stoked to announce that Resistance has been named as one of Hearts on Fire's favourite reads of 2016.

Universal Amazon link: myBook.to/Resistance_LF

And Payhip 

Payhip

My self published books will now be available on Payhip for those of you that don't like Amazon.

Here's the link to my Payhip storefront.

At Payhip the ebook is available in epub, mobi, and pdf. 

I get paid the moment you buy the book so there is no chance of ruthless types absconding with my royalties.

The pricing is slightly higher than Amazon but if you share your purchase on social media I'll give you a 20% discount. (I don't quite understand how the site does this so if you try it you could share the information with me at lillianfrancis (at) rocketmail (dot) com)

Resistance

If you don't like to buy from Amazon, Resistance can now be found at Payhip.

...

December Reads

December is always my month for reading Christmas stories. This year I bought the Dreamspinner Advent. I don't always buy it because I find I can be very hit and miss with the stories and I've yet to finish the entire set. This year I managed to read 25 of the 31 stories.

These were my favourites: 

Analog to Digital by Posy Roberts - Very cute Christmas story. I knew where things were heading early on but the getting there was cute as hell.

Teddy Bears by Brandon Witt - Adorable and nerdy bears. And how many Christmas stories are set in a bathhouse?

How the Supervillain Stole Christmas by Charles Payseur - If you watched the kids cartoon Phineas and Ferb then you know what I was thinking when I read this. A different take on a Superhero story.

Cursed Miracles by Meg Harding - This short story could have been heartbreaking as a longer novel.

Popcorn Garlands by Ariel Tachna - A cute story that truly reflects the sentiment of the season.

Krampus Hates Christmas by Andi Van - Loved Karl, the Krampus that needed to find his holiday spirit.

Simple After All by Yolande Kleinn - As sweet as gingerbread men, even zombie ones :)

Ranger Station Haven by SA Stovall - I'm not normally one for established couple stories but I love a grumpy MC and this has one of the grumpiest, yet most endearing that I've read for awhile. Adorable, funny, and achingly sweet in the best way.

Bite Night by Clare London - Clare London has a way with certain phrases that just make me howl with laughter. This was a funny short story set on Christmas Eve, when 22 year old Benny walks in on Santa's little helpers dropping off some presents around the tree. Only this isn't Santa, or elves, or even reindeer. Have you heard the one about a vampire, a werewolf, and an alcoholic sprite walk into...

For me the rest of the stories ranged from okay to instantly forgetable to meh. Not a great rate of success for the money spent but equally there are stories that I loved in the list above that I wouldn't have looked twice at if I'd been picking and choosing what to buy.

I didn't get to read much else (that wasn't a comic) but I did read a Josh Lanyon I'd had hanging around for several years that I didn't even realise was a Christmas story: The Dickens with Love. Rare books, a mysterious backstory, shady characters, an ocelot, the threat of snow in LA, a descendant of a Dickens character. It's all going on behind a beautiful love story. My only complaint is the sex scenes are a touch OTT (and all the more obvious when you listen to the audio, which I did after I'd finished the read through). As usual with Josh's books the ending it quite abrupt (85% if you're wondering) but there is a glorious coda on their website.