Wednesday, 24 July 2019

Book Blitz - Revving It Up Box Set by WS Long




Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | JMS Books

Length: 60,751 words

Publisher: JMS Books

Blurb

The best-selling gay romance trilogy by W.S. Long is now available in a box set! Contains the stories:


Starting His Engine: Athletic and handsome, Florida boy Caleb Youngblood has always wanted to race stock cars like his father and his brother. When Caleb falls in love with Sebastian Rush, a sports writer, he knows he must make a decision. Will he stay in the closet and follow his dream, or can he make a life with Sebastian and follow his heart?


Too Tough to Tame: Caleb and Sebastian are inching towards their wedding day. But as they plan for their special day together, Caleb is drawn back to stock car racing and Seb is being pulled into another direction by a former lover. Is their love strong enough to overcome these issues? Or is their life together too tough to tame?


Crossroads: With the prospect that he cannot return to racecar driving, Caleb worries about the future as Sebastian presses to have kids. Cujo has always wondered what would have happened if he wasn't afraid of being with another man. When Cujo meets Tristan, Caleb and Sebastian's roommate, can he overcome his fears to find love in a new way?



Excerpt from Starting His Engine

Garrison didn’t say anything until Joan and Earl left the room. Caleb moved closer and hugged his brother. “Glad you’re okay, man.”


“Thanks. What’s in the paper bag?”


“Clothes. I figured you needed to borrow a fresh shirt and shorts. Joan suggested I stop by your place and get you some clean clothes, but I wanted to come over right away without stopping at New Smyrna so I just grabbed you some of my clothes.”


Caleb handed the bag to Garrison who peered inside.


“What’s this?” He lifted a pink muscle tank top. “Holy shit! I’m not wearing this!”


“What about the shorts I brought?”


Garrison took out the blue shorts and eyed them. “These are girl’s shorts.”


“No. They’re male shorts, just a really, really, really short pair, meant to highlight posterior assets.”


“I’m not wearing these. My balls would be hanging out of them!”


Caleb snorted while Garrison threw the clothes at him. “You’re never appreciative of the things I do for you.”


Garrison mouthed the word asshole and then laughed.


“Did you expect anything less?”


“I guess not, little brother. Where have you been, by the way? You’ve been MIA for like two to three weeks.”


“Dad and I, well, I don’t know how to explain it,” said Caleb.


“Joan told me. She said dad wants Youngblood racing to focus on one driver for marketing and endorsements.”


“I guess that’s one way to put it,” said Caleb as he walked toward the window. “I asked him why, you know. He said he didn’t have to explain himself. That’s when I told him I didn’t want to ever talk to him again.”


“Dramatic much?” laughed Garr.


Caleb turned away from the window and sat next to Garr. “If he never wanted me to race the majors, why would he even let me drive period?”


“I don’t think we ever had a choice did we? I mean this is the family business. At least I didn’t have a choice -- not like I’d want to do anything else. But you? You shouldn’t have dropped out of college. I know you came back because of Mom.” Garr patted Caleb’s thigh. “I’ll talk to Dad and see if I can talk some sense into him. I don’t know what’s going on lately. I know Joan and he like to keep the business side of things to themselves, but we all need to know why Dad is doing what Dad is doing.”


“You’re the better driver, Garr.” Caleb paused. “If he just came out and said, we’re going with Garrison because he’s the better, I’m fine with that. But to just say, I’m not racing anymore, especially the majors? I’m not ten years old. Dad should just give me the reasons why, not just say, I’m out. I’m done.”


They both sat in silence for a moment before Garrison spoke. “So what have you been doing lately? Bob says you show up in the shop and check out the cars when Dad’s not there and then leave.”


“I’ve been trying to send out feelers here and there about Formula racing and maybe racing for another team.”


“Does Dad know this?”


Caleb shook his head. “Nope. And don’t tell him either.”


“Joan said you’re dating a new guy?”


“That’s old news. We’ve been dating for more than a little over six months.”


“And you’ve never introduced him to me?” Garrison raised his shoulders and shrugged, and gestured for more information with a wave of his hands. “And?”


“I like him.”


“What’s his name?”


“Seb.”


“Seb?”


“Short for Sebastian?”


Garrison’s eyebrows arched. “Sebastian?”


“He doesn’t like to use his middle name, Harry.”


“Last name?”


“Rush.”


“Okay. Are we going to do very short answers, now? I’m your brother. You don’t have to be secretive around me.”


Caleb exhaled. “I know.”


About W.S Long


Lawyer by day, writer by night. When I'm not lawyering during the day, I'm often reading or writing gay fiction involving men who desire a happily ever after. I'm happily married to a mild-mannered college professor, who likes to escape to the Orlando theme parks, or to a faraway place. You can often find me on social media, sometimes talking about books, but many times mouthing about TV, movies and other geeky stuff involving superheroes. Oh, and I use a pen name to protect the innocent.




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Tuesday, 23 July 2019

Review Tour - Cold Pressed by Alison Temple




Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal Link - Exclusive to Amazon and Available to Borrow with Kindle Unlimited

Length: 80,000 words approx.

Cover Design: Cate Ashwood Designs

Seacroft Series

Book 1 - Top Shelf - Amazon US | Amazon UK

Blurb

No strings attached is all Oliver can offer. He's hiding a broken heart that holds him back from diving into a new relationship, but he'll go on a blind date to make his family happy. Just one date, though; he doesn't have time for love to derail his plans.

Divorced and demoted to the night shift, Nick has his own problems. He's got an ex-wife who needs him and a kid with one foot in juvie. The last thing Nick needs is to butt heads—or other body parts—with a tempting hipster who wears a sad smile on their blind date.

Their chemistry can’t be denied, though, in an argument or in bed. No strings sex is uncomplicated and that's what Nick and Oliver need. But getting into bed together is one thing. Staying out of each other’s hearts soon becomes so much more complicated than either one imagined.

Cold Pressed is an 80k contemporary MM romance. It features a smoldering bisexual single dad, a broken-hearted hipster with a thing for beet juice, and a friends-with-benefits arrangement that blooms into the HEA you've been looking for.


My Two Pennies Worth

This is the second book I've read by this author and I've thoroughly enjoyed both.

This deals with Ollie, Seb's brother, and his life change from hotshot lawyer to juice bar hipster. Add in a hot bisexual former firefighter and now disillusioned dispatcher and a no-strings sexual relationship that neither of them can adhere to and you have an excellent romance.  I adored Ollie with his man-bun and ratty shorts and felt so hard for Nick, living with his ex wife because of a teenage son under house arrest. The romance developed so well and naturally and I was really cheering for the guys to make it through all the problems they faced.

Great to see Seb and Martin again.


An absolutely lovely romance and I'm glad we're not done with Seacroft yet. Next up Avery.







Allison Temple has been a writer since the second grade, when she wrote a short story about a girl and her horse. Her grandmother typed it out for her and said she’s never seen so many quotation marks from a seven-year-old before. Allison took that as a challenge and has gone on to try to break her previous record in all her subsequent works.


Allison lives in Toronto with her very patient husband and the world’s neediest cat. She splits her free time between writing, community theater stage management, and traveling anywhere that has good wine. Tragically, this leaves no time to clean her house.


Newsletter (get two free shorts right now): https://allisontemplebooks.com/newsletter

Facebook Reader group: https://facebook.com/groups/allisonsalist

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B07B7P5591

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/allison-temple

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17490635.Allison_Temple

Twitter: https://twitter.com/allitemplebooks

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allisontemplebooks/


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Monday, 22 July 2019

Book Blitz - The Positions Of Love Collection by JM Snyder





Length: 99,966 words.

Publisher: JMS Books 

Blurb

When Matt diLorenzo gives his lover, Vic Braunson, a copy of the Kama Sutra for Gay Men as a Christmas gift, they find it doubles as a handy reference guide to Vic's super powers. All they have to do is test out the positions to see which one gives him what ability ...


Contains the stories:


The Positions of Love: When Vic’s boss asks him to play Santa at the company Christmas party, the enticement of more time off sweetens the deal. It might be a wonderful holiday season after all ... if he can only find the perfect present for his lover.


Two Pillars Position: Some mornings, Vic stops by the gym to bench-press a few thousand pounds, show off for his fellow bodybuilders, and spend some time with his lover before he has to start his day. A quickie in the pool showers seems like a good way to get the blood pumping ...


Clasping Position: Though Vic had difficulty finding a suitable gift for his lover for Christmas, Matt has the perfect evening planned for Valentine's. He's made reservations at an expensive steakhouse for the two of them, and hopes the intimate dinner is a prelude to a night of love. But things get a little frisky before they leave for the restaurant.


Hammock Position: Spring is in the air, and Matt convinces Vic to join him for a little rest and relaxation on the sunny banks of the James River. What's more enticing than sex on the rocks by the river's rapids?


Two Dogs Position: Doggy style brings out the animal in Vic, literally. He finds out the hard way, when Matt invites friends over for a party. Vic's heightened senses reel from the sights and sounds, and he locks himself away in the bathroom just to get his latest superpower under control. But what he hears in the apartment above puts the party on hold.


Cowboy Position: Matt diLorenzo has a secret fetish -- he loves to watch a man eat. When Vic finds out, he suggests they share a quiet, indoor picnic. Something sinfully sexy, for just the two of them. On the menu? Whipped cream, fresh strawberries, and chocolate syrup drizzled over Matt's bare skin for Vic to lick off.


Kneeling Butterfly Position: It's a rainy Saturday and Matt wants to spend it at the mall. And what Matt wants, he gets. There's only one little problem. He loves shopping; Vic does not. Still, the promise of sex in the dressing room sparks Vic's interest.


Pillar and the Ivy Position: One of Matt’s favorite sexual positions, but he doubts his ability to support Vic’s weight as they make love standing up. He’s not the one with super strength, after all. Vic thinks maybe they could pull it off ... in the gym’s swimming pool.


Tripod Position: It's Vic's birthday, and Matt wants to do something special. When he discovers his lover has a leather fetish and used to be into clubbing, Matt thinks it'd be fun to go out as a couple to celebrate his special night. But while Matt looks sexy in boyshorts, Vic isn't the only one watching.


Lotus Position: When Vic has a few days off from work, the two visit Wildwood, New Jersey, a tourist town Matt used to frequent as a child. Though Vic isn't keen on crowds and would prefer to spend his downtime at home, Matt entices him with the offer of sex on the beach ... and he doesn't mean the drink, either.


The Arc Position: It’s Halloween, and Roxie is having a party. Matt wants to dress as policemen but Vic’s latest power creates a costume all his own.


Sideways Position: For Thanksgiving, Matt takes Vic home to meet his parents. The diLorenzos aren’t quite sure what to make of their son’s lover. Matt’s Nonna tends to lapse into her native tongue without realizing it. Imagine everyone’s surprise when Vic answers her in flawless Italian.


Author Bio


J.M. Snyder is a multi-published author of gay erotic romance who started writing fanfic (specifically, boyband slash). She has worked with several different e-publishers, including Amber Allure Press and Torquere Press, and has short stories published in anthologies by Alyson Books, Cleis Press, eXcessica, and Lethe Press. In 2010, she started JMS Books LLC to promote and publish her own work as well as that of other authors she enjoys.


For more information, please visit jmsnyder.net.


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Book Blitz - All I Want - Home For The Holidays by Posy Roberts




Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal Link - Exclusive to Amazon and Available to Borrow with Kindle Unlimited

Length: 18,000 words approx.

Cover Design: Olive Us Designs

Cal squeezes every ounce out of his last holiday in his childhood home and shares family fun with Philip. This holiday season is one of endings, but can it be the start of something even better?


All Cal wants is a little privacy...



Cal isn’t enjoying the Christmas holiday, stuck in an overcrowded house with his huge family. His only solace is that Philip will soon arrive.


He’s worried introducing Philip as his boyfriend rather than his roommate could put a damper on the holiday season, but his dad drops a bigger bomb: the family home will be sold.


Derailed from coming out, Cal makes it his mission to squeeze every ounce out of his last holiday in his childhood home. But there’s no way to disguise his love for Philip.


This holiday season is one of endings, but can it be the start of something even better?


Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal Link - Exclusive to Amazon and Available to Borrow with Kindle Unlimited 

Length: 17,000 words

Cover Design: Olive Us Designs

Ethan has been telling lies. Deep down he longs for a deeper commitment, but Toby is allergic to marriage. He must find a way to accept what he has or risk losing Toby entirely. But there might yet be hope for a Christmas miracle.


All Ethan wants is more time…


Ethan has been telling lies. He says he’s happy with the status quo, but deep down he longs for a deeper commitment with Toby. So spending Christmas Eve at his sister’s vow renewal is the last thing on his wish list.


Witnessing everything he wants up close and personal makes him ache for more, but he knows Toby is allergic to marriage. Ethan has to decide: admit he wants more and risk losing Toby or find a way to live with what he’s got.


But there might yet be hope for a Christmas miracle.


Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Cover Design: Olive Us Designs

Prefer paperbacks? Both Feathers From the Sky and Analog to Digital in printed in All I Want: Home for the Holidays.


Heading home for the holidays is stressful enough, but pile secrets atop carefully wrapped presents, and it’s enough to turn anyone into a Grinch. But as the year comes to a close, surprises might spell new beginnings.


Family time, winter fun, and romantic surprises.




Posy Roberts started reading romance when she was young, sneaking peeks at adult books long before she should’ve. Textbooks eventually replaced the novels, and she somehow existed without reading for fun. When she finally picked up a romance years later, it was like slipping on a soft hoodie . . . that didn’t quite fit right. She wanted something more.


She wanted to read about men falling in love with each other. She wanted to explore beyond the happily ever after and watch characters navigate the unpredictability of life and create a happy home. So Posy sat down at her keyboard to write the books she wanted to read.


Her stories have been USA Today’s “Happily Ever After” Must-Reads and Rainbow Award finalists. When she’s not writing or editing, she’s spending time with loved ones and doing anything possible to get out of grocery shopping and cooking.

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Sunday, 21 July 2019

The Spotlight Series boxed set by Lilah Suzanne

Title: Spotlight Series Boxed Set           

Catalog: General Trade

Publication Date: July 16, 2019

ISBN (EPUB): 978-1-945053-86-3

Price: 8.99

Country music superstar Grady Dawson meets celebrity stylist Nico Takahashi: The romance Kirkus Reviews called "witty, touching, nuance—and very sexy" is now is now available in one pitch perfect bundle with a special bonus story starring Grady's musical partner in crime, Clementine Campbell. This set includes: Broken Records, Burning Tracks, and Blended Notes, and two Spotlight “B-Sides,” series short stories written exclusively for this boxed set!


BROKEN RECORDS: Los Angeles-based stylist Nico Takahashi loves his job—or at least, he used to. Feeling fed up and exhausted from the cutthroat, gossip-fueled business of Hollywood, Nico daydreams about packing it all in and leaving for good. So when Grady Dawson—sexy country music star and rumored playboy—asks Nico to style him, Nico is reluctant. But after styling a career-changing photo shoot, Nico follows Grady to Nashville where he finds it increasingly difficult to resist Grady’s charms. Can Nico make his peace with show business and all its trappings, or will Grady’s public persona get in their way of their private attraction to each other?

BURNING TRACKS: Gwen Pasternak’s got it all. Or so it seems…

In the sequel to RT Book Reviews’ Top Pick Broken Records, Gwen’s life looks perfect: She has a job she loves as stylist to the stars; a beautiful wife, Flora; and a house in the heart of Nashville. But the more she works alongside country music’s dynamic princess Clementine Campbell, the less Gwen is certain of her commitment to a life of domestic bliss.

Meanwhile, her business partner Nico Takahashi is happily settled down with reformed bad-boy musician Grady Dawson. But when Nico questions the permanence of their relationship, Grady retreats into some dangerous old habits. Will Gwen ruin the life she’s built with Flora for something new and exhilarating? Can Grady be convinced of Nico’s devotion before it’s too late? Burning Tracks is a story of tough choices, taking risks, and the pressures of living life in the spotlight.

BLENDED NOTES: Grady Dawson’s future looks bright. He’s at the top of his country music career, has a close-knit group of friends who have become his Nashville family, and has found solid ground in his personal life as he plans his intimate, private wedding with Nico, his stylist-turned-lover, turned love of his life. It seems Grady has finally left his difficult childhood and tumultuous youth behind. That is, until his past shows up on his doorstep, news of his upcoming nuptials is leaked to the media, and his record company levels demands that challenge his integrity as an artist and as a person. The foundation of Grady’s new life begins to crumble, and fast. Will he be forced to make the ultimate choice between a private life with Nico and the public demands of his career?

My Two Pennies' Worth

Oh my, Grady is adorable.
A really well written tale of a 'normal' person falling for a star. The sex is hot and plentiful which is appropriate because sex is the driving force in the start of the relationship while Nico attempts to cling to every moment before the relationship falls apart. Nico has a tendency to run away from heartbreak and that made me want to give him a smack or two.

Can the two of them make it? Well, I hope so considering their tale continues as bit players in book 2 and the main event in book 3.


BUY LINKS:
IP Web Store: https://store.interludepress.com/products/the-spotlight-series-boxed-set-by-lilah-suzanne
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2wadjVc
Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-spotlight-series-boxed-set/id1454319905
Barnes & Noble:https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-spotlight-series-boxed-set-lilah-suzanne/1130682105?ean=9781945053863

AUTHOR BIO:
Lilah Suzanne is a queer author of of bestselling and award-winning romantic fiction. Their 2018 novel Jilted was named a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award and a Foreword INDIES Award, and won a Bisexual Book Award for romantic fiction. Their critically acclaimed Spotlight series included the Amazon #1 bestseller Broken Records, along with Burning Tracks and Blended Notes. Lilah also authored the romantic comedy Spice, the novellas Pivot & Slip and After the Sunset, and the short story Halfway Home, from the holiday anthology If the Fates Allow. A writer from a young age, Lilah resides in North Carolina and mostly enjoys staying indoors, though sometimes ventures out for concerts, museum visits, and quiet walks in the woods.

Release Day excerpt

From Burning Tracks, Book 2:

“The key to a long-lasting relationship,” Gwen says, hunched over on her knees to crawl beneath the gossamer folds of Clementine’s dress, “Is that you have to think of yourselves as a team.” She grasps Clementine’s ankle to secure the silk ribbon of her peep-toe five-inch cork wedge shoes, just over the delicate protrusion of bone. “You have the same goals. You’re working together, not against each other.”
Gwen sits back on her haunches and hauls more of the dress over her head; the world goes a muted red there with silky gossamer fabric sliding and shimmering and catching with static on her neatly coiffed platinum blonde hair. A garter belt strap dangles loose on Clementine’s long, toned thigh. Gwen read once that Clementine’s legs are insured for three-hundred k per leg, but she’s never gotten more than a dismissive laugh in response to her questioning.
They are quality legs. Certainly worthy of at least a general liability policy, protecting those at risk from the tight knot of her calves and the lithe power of her thighs. Gwen clips the first strap to her sheer thigh-highs, reaches around behind her to grab blindly for the second one.
“Thank you, oh relationship guru,” Gwen hears clearly from under the dress; no amount of silk is enough to muffle Nico’s sarcasm.
“Now wait a sec,” Grady drawls in response. “I kinda like that. Sorta like a tandem bike ride?”
Gwen moves to the other leg, clips one strap, the other. Fights her way out of the dress. “More like... A three legged race, I think.” She quickly combs through her short hair, runs a finger under both eyes to check for any bold black liner smudging. As she stands she adds, “There’s a dirty joke in there somewhere, I just know it.”
“Spare us,” Nico snipes, and next to him on the plush king-sized bed, Grady grins.
They’re gathered in a room in one of the high-rise hotels downtown; hair and makeup people have gone leaving behind a vacuum of sounds and smells and gossip. Just a few final touches left on Clementine’s outfit before her manager bangs down the door. Gwen nods to the mirror for Clementine to see the final product, then helps herself to some pistachios from one of the baskets on the table.
Clementine spins in front of the mirror; the dress flares out in a trumpet shape; her caramel-colored hair cascades in glossy waves over her exposed shoulders and down her back. When she walks, the folds of fabric part in a slit designed to go high up on her thigh and reveal the garter belt. Just a peek. A tease. An invitation to look, but not for long.
“Perfect.” Gwen decides. “Nico?” She took the lead on Clementine’s look for her new album and the upcoming tour’s launch party concert, but Nico has such a keen instinct for what works. It’s why she wanted to go into business with him in the first place; she may have the knowledge—years and bookshelves full of it—but Nico has vision. That can’t be taught.
Nico doesn’t reply. Clementine makes a face at them. Gwen turns and—
“Should have known better than to let them on the bed.”
Nico and Grady are reclining now, dropped sideways in the center of the bed with their bodies curled and curved together and kissing: soft pecks with smiling lips that would be cute, sweet even, if it weren’t for the location of Grady’s left hand. Gwen exchanges a bemused look with Clementine.
“Hose ‘em down or leave ‘em?”
“The ice bucket would probably work,” Gwen says. Then a pounding boom comes from the door. Nico and Grady spring apart.
“Showtime, Ms. Campbell.”

Release Blitz - How To Run With The Wolves by Eli Easton




Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal Link - Exclusive to Amazon and Available to Borrow with Kindle Unlimited

Cover Design: Reese Dante


Howl At The Moon Series


How To Howl At The Moon (Book #1) Amazon US | Amazon UK

How To Walk Like A Man (Book #2) Amazon US | Amazon UK

How To Wish Upon A Star (Book #3) Amazon US | Amazon UK

How To Save A Life (Book #4) - Amazon US | Amazon UK


Blurb 

Zeus loves his job on the Mad Creek Search & Rescue team, and his inner Saint Bernard is finally being used to his full potential. When he sees a mysterious and wild-looking quickened—a dog shifter—at an earthquake site in Alaska, Zeus is compelled to investigate. Zeus falls hard for the primal beauty of Timo and of Alaska itself. Both call to his deep canine soul. But the Qimmig pack’s laws are as harsh as the Alaskan winters, and Timo is out of his reach.


Timo’s pack of dog shifters left their Inuit village generations ago and have lived wild ever since. Not trusting the “one-skinned,” and with their numbers dwindling, the Qimmig are on the verge of extinction. Timo is shocked to discover a whole group of “two-skinned” working as a rescue team, and he is particularly fascinated by Zeus, a gentle giant. He senses what Zeus feels for him… but it’s forbidden.

Can Mad Creek save this lost quickened clan? Perhaps—if they can learn how to run with the wolves.

Exclusive Excerpt


Chapter 1 - Fault Line

August

Anchorage, Alaska

Zeus



“All right, guys. Remember: stay in your section and stay with your partner. No matter what. And make sure your radios are on so I can contact you. Check them. Are they on right now?”


Zeus knew his radio was on, but he obeyed Matt and checked it anyway, as did the other eight quickened in the Mad Creek Search and Rescue team. Yup, the red light was illuminated.


“Mine is on!” Sammy called out with barely suppressed excitement. Other voices rang out too. The team was eager to get moving, Zeus included. His skin itched with the need to run, sniff, find.


But their team commander, Matt, didn’t release them just yet. He had his hands on his hips and was giving them all a stern look. His glower was all for show, Zeus knew. You could see the pride behind it, wanting to break out. Matt was a good leader. He was a full-blooded human, so he was less likely to get distracted by the job than the rest of them, and he knew just how to coordinate with the other human relief crews at a disaster site. And if people thought the Mad Creek group was weird, Matt dealt with it somehow, keeping the secret of the quickened, well, secret.


“All right, team.” Matt clapped Sammy on the back. “Go save some lives!”


They scattered, everyone running. They looked like orange confetti, Zeus thought, with everyone wearing the Search and Rescue uniform—heavy neon orange canvas pants, orange T-shirts, black heavy-duty hiking boots, and small gray vest and packs with first aid gear and tools. Blood pumped hard in Zeus’s veins. Since joining Mad Creek Search and Rescue, Zeus and the team had been deployed three times, once to a flood and twice to help with wildfires. And even in his brief stint with the group, Zeus had found a sense of purpose and usefulness he’d never felt before.


He was born for this! And it felt incredible to let that part of him operate to its potential.


Zeus and his partner, Sammy, headed into the section Matt had assigned them. From their command post in Delaney Park, they ran north on G Street. They had the area from 3rd to 9th streets to the north and south and H to C streets west to east. Some of the street signs were down or hidden in rubble, but Zeus could still see the map in his mind, and he knew where to go.


The 7.5 earthquake had hit near Anchorage eight hours ago. It had struck just after nine in the morning when the downtown buildings and streets had been full of people. Since then, the city had been rocked by several large aftershocks. Roads were cracked and split apart, becoming stairsteps. Shattered glass was everywhere from windows that exploded under the pressure of buckling walls. Rubble made haphazard mounds that spilled into the street. Tall brick buildings had gaping holes that looked like missing teeth, and a couple had lost their heads entirely. The landscape was uneven, a building here and there in ruins while others stood tall and straight, unaffected or missing only a few panes of glass. And there were so many smells! There were dangerous smells like oil and smoke and sad ones like blood and fear and even death.


For a moment, Zeus hesitated, looking down G Street. Where to start? He wanted to go everywhere at once. A loud siren pierced the air, hurting Zeus’s sensitive ears, but he was too focused on the job to care.


Sammy stepped up beside him and pointed to a field of rubble on the right between two taller buildings. Big cement slabs stuck up and jagged ends of rebar were exposed like broken bones. A triangular slab stood into front of the pile, one pointed end buried in the asphalt as if it were a memorial statue. “Look, Zeus! I bet that was a parking garage. And I bet people are trapped in there. Let’s see if we can help.”


“Okay!” Zeus agreed, and the two of them ran toward the rubble. His blood sang in his ears. Find them, find them, find them.


They scrambled over cement and dust. Zeus could smell people here, people trapped under the collapsed parking garage—one, two, at least four people. The scent drew a mind map in his head of where they were located, how deep, how far from him in 3D. He sniffed around and around, moving in a circle, skin thrumming, every sense on alert. Yes, here, and here, far down.


Zeus pointed and rattled off his finds, interpreting the scent-pictures for Sammy, giving him distances and head count. Sammy wrote numbers on the little flags, planted them where Zeus said, and relayed the news to Matt over the radio. There were two older people, a man and a woman together, probably in a car. There was blood with them, but not much, and their heartbeats were strong. They calm one another, Zeus thought, an idea that entered his head and flittered away again with so much to smell and others to help.


A short distance away, he found two bodies both ten feet down. Near them he detected the faint smell of old urine, like you might find in a stairwell. Face sad, Sammy set a black flag with a “2” written on it.


Zeus sniffed around the perimeter he’d set for himself, three times, four, to be sure he’d caught everything, that the little flags matched the map in his head.


Sammy signed off the radio call. “Matt’s gonna let the fire department know. They’ll bring the big machines. It’s so sad. The ones who are alive, are they scared? I bet they’re scared.” He took a crowbar from his tool belt and banged on a piece of rebar sticking from the cement near the yellow “2” flag. “We’re here! We’re here and we will come for you! Don’t be afraid!”


Don’t be afraid. The words echoed in Zeus’s head. Don’t be afraid.


“Oh, those poor people. I wish we could dig! I wish we could dig right now! Are you sure they’re too far down?” Sammy leaned down close to a flag to sniff and listen.


Zeus just grunted. He was sure.


He loved many things about the Mad Creek Search and Rescue team.


He loved that everyone on the team—except for team-leader Matt—was a quickened and thus had a dog’s keener sense of smell and hearing and doggie instincts.


He loved that his teammates had boundless energy and enthusiasm.


He loved their compassion and can-do attitudes. They never got cranky and they never complained. Zeus had been born quickened, but he’d worked with many humans over the years, so he appreciated those traits.


He loved the sense of pack he was developing with his S-and-R brothers and sisters. The Mad Creek Search and Rescue team was made up of Sammy, a young chocolate lab, Goldy, a pretty and bouncy golden retriever in her twenties, a middle-aged German shepherd named Bacon, a somber young bloodhound named Watson, and a tough pit bull named Lola Blue who was thick and stocky with a square face, small gold eyes, grayish brown skin, and short hair the same amazing shade of blue-gray as her dog fur. Georgia and Roscoe, both mixed breeds, rounded out the team. Matt was the only human in the group. All together there were nine of them.


In short, Zeus loved this job. If Mad Creek had become too crowded to take, the S-and-R crew was small enough for Zeus to bear. Even if he sometimes felt he would never really be one of the Mad Creek quickened.


Zeus continued, picking his way over the rubble, scrambling on his hands and feet when the way got rough. The heavy steel-toed boots on his big arched feet enabled him to step anywhere, testing each foot-place for stability before settling his considerable weight on it. Despite his large size, he felt light and nimble with the adrenaline coursing through his veins.


He had Sammy place several more yellow flags. And then….


“Here!” he told Sammy, huffing the rich scent. “There’s a man buried right here. We can get this one. He’s not far down at all.”


Sammy sniffed the ground, his face lighting up. “He’s alive.”


“He’s alive,” Zeus agreed. He went down on his knees and began to dig with both gloved hands.


A scree hill of gravel and powdered cement had landed here, next to a fallen piece of wall. Zeus’s hands were faster than his tools for small material like this, and his heavy gloves were nearly as good protection as the thick pads of his paws in his dog form. Sammy joined in, and the two of them scooped out the loose material and pulled away small chunks of cement and metal, finally clearing a hole under the piece of wall.


The hole was dark for a moment as the cloud of debris settled. Then fingers reached up. They were a man’s fingers, rough-hewn and covered with gray dust.


“Hello,” came a voice, then a cough. “H-hello? Are you there? Help me, please?” His voice had an accent Zeus had never heard before.


“Hello!” Sammy called out, his voice happy. “Yes, we’re here to help you. Are you hurt?”


More coughing. “Oh, thank fuck. I’ve felt better. I think I’m okay, but I would like to get out now.”


“We’ll get you out. Don’t worry!” Sammy enthused, while Zeus examined the situation. They had to be careful, because they didn’t want to cause the rubble to collapse. But the piece of wall on top of the hole felt stable when Zeus tested it. It wasn’t going anywhere. With some more digging—the man helped from inside with his bare hands—they managed to enlarge the hole. Sammy shone his light inside and they saw the man’s face. He was a young man, maybe in his twenties, and he had skin deeply tanned by the sun, eyes with a slight epicanthic fold, black hair covered in dust, and a lop-sided grin. Zeus thought he might be Inuit.


Sammy passed the man a bottle of water, and he unscrewed it and drank it thirstily, water making tracks in the dirt down his blue T-shirt.


Zeus sat back on his heels. The man was not badly hurt. He and Sammy could pull him out and send him on to the hospital. Then they could keep working. There was so much work to do. So many more to find! And hopefully they’d find more survivors, like this one, maybe even more they could dig out on their own. It was so satisfying to see them climb out of the earth like newborns, to know he had saved a life. Zeus would never tire of it in a million years.


As he waited for the man to finish drinking, Zeus’s gaze scanned ahead over the field of rubble. They could probably scramble over most of it and….


And that was when Zeus saw him.


About thirty feet away, standing on the flat roof of a small building, was a man.


The sun was behind him, his form outlined in the glowing light. He was average in height but taut and whip lean in faded, low-slung jeans, wide belt, and a short-sleeved T-shirt that was molded to his muscles. His brown hair gleamed red where it was struck by the sun and was incredibly thick, straight, and long, falling to his waist. Strands floated around him in the cold breeze. His eyes looked pale, though it was hard to tell from this distance.


Zeus sniffed, catching the barest tease of a new scent. It broke through the cloying, heavy aroma of dust and oil and smoke as though someone had opened a window in a stale house. The new scent was fresh, like the wind off a glacier, and there was something wild in it, too, wild and free, like deer or elk or… or…


Wolves?


Zeus couldn’t see the man’s face very well, backlit as he was, but something about him took Zeus’s breath away. His posture was agile and proud. And he was staring at Zeus. Right at him. His body was rigid, and Zeus could swear he was scenting him too.


Why the sight should strike him so deeply, Zeus didn’t know. But the man didn’t look like a rescue worker. He didn’t look like an office worker. He didn’t look like anything Zeus had ever seen before. He seemed to be a mirage, like something pulled up from the buried depths of Zeus’s own mind.


There was a grunt and a scramble next to him. Zeus turned to see the Inuit man dusting off his shirt.


“Are you okay?” he asked.


“You have blood on your pants,” Sammy said worriedly. “Is your leg hurt? You can lean on me.”


The man shook his leg and stomped his foot twice. “Nah, I’m good. Just a scratch.”


Zeus looked back to where he’d seen the strange man—but he was gone. There was nothing there now but an empty roof and the bright glare of the afternoon sun.


“Did you see him?” Zeus asked Sammy and the rescued man. He pointed at the roof. “There was a man. Right there.”


Sammy looked confused. “Huh? I didn’t see anyone, Zeus.”


But the dark-skinned man grimaced, his face knowing. “Qimmig,” he muttered.


“What?”


The man coughed, then wiped his mouth. “It’s a tribe. They’re around. They work on the big buildings. Construction, you know? Hey, thank you guys for finding me. My name’s Aput. You saved my life, dudes!”


Aput gave Sammy a hug, which Sammy was happy to reciprocate. Then Aput turned to Zeus, his arms held wide. Zeus wasn’t much of a hugger with strangers, but the man’s grin was infectious, so Zeus hugged him too.


“I have a wife and three little ones back in my village. They’ll want very much to thank you! Man, I thought I was going to die in there.” He wiped a hand across his sweaty brow, smearing dirt. And despite all his brave words, his hand was shaking.


Well, of course it was. It would be terrifying to be buried for—Zeus checked his watch—nearly seven hours since the earthquake struck.


“We’re so happy you’re alive!” said Sammy. “Are you sure you don’t need to sit down and rest?”


But Zeus was anxious to keep moving, anxious to find more people to help, maybe anxious to see that Qimmig again too. “There’s first aid and food and water at the convention center. Do you know how to get there?”


“Yeah, I do. Hey, where are you guys from?” He looked at Sammy curiously, then up at Zeus. “Not Alaskan, huh?”


“Nope, we’re from Mad Creek!” said Sammy proudly. “That’s in California. We’re the Mad Creek Search and Rescue.” Sammy turned around and pointed to his back where the name was printed in black on the bright orange T-shirt. “I’m Sammy and this is Zeus.”


“Well, Sammy and Zeus. I’ll look for you again. Okay?”


“Okay!” Sammy said. “Be careful walking to the first aid station. Watch out for glass! You wouldn’t want to fall on your ass. Ha ha.”


Man, Sammy’s jokes. Zeus didn’t find them funny, but in this case, he was pretty sure he wasn’t the only one. He moved ahead, shutting out everything but the rubble under his feet.


About Eli


Having been, at various times and under different names, a minister’s daughter, a computer programmer, a game designer, the author of paranormal mysteries, a fan fiction writer, and organic farmer, Eli has been a m/m romance author since 2013. She has over 30 books published.


Eli has loved romance since her teens and she particular admires writers who can combine literary merit, genuine humor, melting hotness, and eye-dabbing sweetness into one story. She promises to strive to achieve most of that most of the time. She currently lives on a farm in Pennsylvania with her husband, bulldogs, cows, a cat, and lots of groundhogs.


In romance, Eli is best known for her Christmas stories because she’s a total Christmas sap. These include “Blame it on the Mistletoe”, “Unwrapping Hank” and “Merry Christmas, Mr. Miggles”. Her “Howl at the Moon” series of paranormal romances featuring the town of Mad Creek and its dog shifters has been popular with readers. And her series of Amish-themed romances, Men of Lancaster County, has won genre awards.






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Release Blitz - What Lies Beneath by RJ Scott




Length: 67,000 words approx.


Cover Design: Meredith Russell

Blurb

In the hottest summer on record, Iron Lake reservoir is emptying, revealing secrets that were intended to stay hidden beneath the water. The tragic story of a missing man is a media sensation, and abruptly the writer and the cop falling in love is just a postscript to horrors neither could have imagined.


Best Selling Horror writer Chris Lassiter struggles for inspiration and he’s close to never writing again. His life has become an endless loop of nothing but empty pages, personal appearances, and a marketing machine that is systematically destroying his muse. In a desperate attempt to force Chris to complete unfinished manuscripts his agent buys a remote cabin. All Chris has to do is hide away and write, but he’s lost his muse, and not even he can make stories appear from thin air.


Sawyer Wiseman left town for Chicago, chasing the excitement and potential of being a big city cop, rising the ranks, and making his mark. A case gone horribly wrong draws him back to Lancaster Falls. Working for the tiny police department in the town he’d been running from, digging into cold cases and police corruption, he spends his day's healing, and his nights hoping the nightmares of his last case leave him alone.


USA Today bestselling author RJ Scott writes stories with a heart of romance, a troubled road to reach happiness, and most importantly, a happily ever after.


RJ Scott is the author of over one hundred romance books, writing emotional stories of complicated characters, cowboys, millionaire, princes, and the men who get mixed up in their lives. RJ is known for writing books that always end with a happy ever after. She lives just outside London and spends every waking minute she isn’t with family either reading or writing.


The last time she had a week’s break from writing she didn’t like it one little bit, and she has yet to meet a bottle of wine she couldn’t defeat.


She’s always thrilled to hear from readers, bloggers and other writers. Please contact via the links below:




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