Wednesday 16 July 2014

Wednesday Briefs - Cyan Ch 13


This is an exciting Wednesday, because, after being on the market for almost 3 years, my house has now sold and we're moving in less than 2 weeks (one of which we're on holiday for) It's crazy around here, with packing and sorting and throwing lots of things away (I'm moving from a 3 bed big house, to a 2 bed cottage. I must be crazy) I probably won't flash next week because I'll be away, but I might not be able to resist taking my laptop with me.

In all the craziness I forgot which prompt I used, but it's in there somewhere.

The weekend was hell. Robin was on edge, unconsciously searching for Cyan. He didn’t see him, and wasn’t really surprised.

There were times when he almost went to Cyan’s house, but what would he say? He’d gone over and over what happened in his head, and got nowhere. At first, the kiss was the thing that dominated his thoughts. The kiss and the uneasy recognition he wasn’t repulsed by it. In fact, the more he relived it, the more he came to admit to himself he actually liked it.

However, as time passed, it was the expression on Cyan’s face that hunted him. He’d hurt Cyan when he was at his most vulnerable, and that made Robin feel really, really bad. He was such a bastard.

The feeling grew as Sunday came to an end, until he was in a fever about seeing Cyan the next day. What would he say? Sorry? For what? He rehearsed different speeches, over and over in his head.

I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to run, but you shocked me, andno, that made it sound as if he thought say it was Cyan’s fault.

Look, the kiss was great, but I’m not gay — No, that might give him false hope. It was false hope.

I really like you as a friend, but — too corny.

I was afraid they’d think I’m gay — too honest.

In the end he settled on I’m really flattered you feel that way about me, and if you’d been a girl I probably would have gone for it, but I’m not gay, and I ran away because I was confused and didn’t want to embarrass us both.

Even as he rehearsed it, he knew he wouldn’t be able to say it, when Cyan’s sad eyes were on him.

Robin slept badly on Sunday night. It occurred to him, when he got out of his car – the bus was out of the question for as long as there was any possibility of bumping into Gillian — that Cyan might not want to talk to him. It hurt when he imagined a cold look in Cyan’s lovely eyes. Wait. What?

There was no sign of Cyan, but why would there be? Why would Cyan wait for him at the gate today?
Cyan wasn’t in the common room, and neither did he turn up for the history lesson. Robin realised with a sinking heart, that he wasn’t coming in at all.

“Damn,” Aivah said when they hit the common room again. “I was hoping you’d have sorted it out by now, and you’d stop mooning around.”

“I am not mooning around, and I never will.”

“Sorry, mate,” Alex said, stifling laughter, “she’s right. You haven’t heard a word we’ve said for the last ten minutes, have you? And you’re eyes are glued to the door. Face it mate – he’s not coming. He’s obviously not in today.”

“You should go see him,” Aivah said.

“And say what? He probably won’t see me anyway.”

“So, what did happen?” Alex asked.

“I let him down, that’s all. He wanted something I couldn’t give.” He realised he’d said too much as soon as the words were out of his mouth.

“He did come on to you,” Alex said with a grin of triumph.

“So what?” Aivah said, elbowing him. “Cyan’s gay and you know it. He was in a state and it’s not surprising he reached out. You ran away, didn’t you?”

“Okay. Alright. Look, it wasn’t a big deal really. He kissed me, okay. He kissed me and I freaked out and ran away. Now I feel like a complete bastard.”

“You shouldn’t,” Alex said. “He knows you’re not gay, and he’s probably feeling just as bad.”

“You should go see him,” Aivah said. “He probably thinks he’s driven you away and you’re not his friend anymore.”

“Do you think so?” Robin was alarmed. Why hadn’t he thought of that? Suddenly, it was desperately important he see Cyan as soon as possible.

Robin made it to the end of the day, then headed straight to Cyan’s house.

Cyan’s mother opened the door. She looked tired and stressed.

“Robin,” she cried, and hugged him. “I’m so glad to see you. I was going to call but didn’t like to— Cyan told me what happened, and I didn’t know how you feel about it.”

“He told you?” Robin burned with embarrassment.

“He tells me everything. He had to do a lot of talking this weekend, and it was hard on him.”

“He did? It was?”

“Come in. Sit down. We need to talk.”

“Well… I came to see if Cyan’s okay. I should—“

“He’s not okay, Robin, not by a long shot. Please come in. I think you can help.”

“Okay.”

Cyan’s mother installed Robin at the kitchen table with a glass of Coke™.

“I don’t know where to start, really. Cyan’s always had trouble in school. I’ve changed half a dozen times, in hope he’d settle and find friends. Last time, we really thought he had. Then it came out he was gay and things changed overnight. He was teased and bullied, then the attack—

“I can’t begin to tell you how terrible it was. I was sure I’d lost him. We lost his father when he was fourteen, and he’s all I have left.”

She started to cry, and Robin had no idea what to do. He was acutely embarrassed, and wished he’d never come. He found his mind wandering, wondering where Cyan was. He almost jumped out of his skin when she touched his shoulder. Jumpy much?

“I’m sorry, Robin, you don’t need to know all this.”

“No, it’s alright,” he lied.


“After the attack, things were very bad for Cyan. He found it hard to rationalise what happened. At first he thought it was his fault, then he got afraid of everyone. It got so bad, he started to – hurt himself. We didn’t notice until he-he tried to kill himself – twice. I almost lost him again.

And now go read all the other wonderful authors who are flashing today.


Tuesday 15 July 2014

Nighttime Promises by M A Church


Nighttime Promises – book #3 in the Nighttime series

~I’m running a giveaway at my blog too. It runs until July 18th! http://machurch00.blogspot.com


Blurb:

Be careful what you wish for...

The first time Daroshi spotted Bryan, the Maz’Rarian warrior knew he wanted the small town sheriff as his mate. Things have been going downhill since. Daroshi doesn’t have experience dealing with humans, especially a very unhappy human male who’s just had his well-planned life jerked out from under him. Little does Daroshi know the changes Bryan will insist be made to help him adjust. But he also never dreamed someone would actually try to kill his mate.

The shocks just keep coming for Sheriff Bryan Coltrane. Finding out aliens exist was bad enough. Finding himself mated to one was definitely not on his to-do list. Wait, what? Did someone say tentacles? And if that’s not enough, a killer tried to poison him. Added to his misery, now he’s on his way to another planet—a planet that he hates on sight. How’s he supposed to survive in such a cold, ugly industrialized world? Can you take the country out of the boy without killing his spirit?

As Bryan struggles to adapt, a killer plots to end his new life... before it even begins.


Excerpt:

Daroshi watched Bryan leave the room, and then sighed. He dressed, then crossed over to the screen and called up Bryan’s measurements from the ship’s mainframe. Replicating clothes didn’t take long. There weren’t many choices in color. As he duplicated Bryan’s clothes, he thought back over the last few hours. The meeting with the Council went exactly as he thought it would, but that didn’t mean he liked it. Bryan didn’t seem too upset at the outcome, though. He was learning his human was more levelheaded than he gave him credit for. Maybe it was because he was a police officer back on Earth.

What really worried him was Bryan’s reaction to the planet he’d now call home. Bryan had been very careful to hide his feelings, and even more careful in what he said. But Daroshi knew his human well enough to know Bryan wasn’t happy. And wasn’t that an understatement? Bryan hated it all.

Granted, Earth was a beautiful planet with its endless blue skies, lovely green grass, and deep oceans. Earth contained so much variety and color, and his planet did not. He could see why Bryan was shocked, but this was his home, and now it was Bryan’s home. Would he ever be happy? 

Would he be as satisfied as he was on Earth? Daroshi knew Bryan considered himself a ‘country boy,’ whatever that actually meant. Daroshi thought it might have to do with Bryan enjoying the outdoors and being unafraid to get out there and get dirty in Earth’s lush soil.

Changing his home around to fit Bryan wasn’t a problem. He wanted Bryan to be happy. If that helped Bryan adjust, then Daroshi was more than content to let him. But Daroshi couldn’t alter his planet.

He heard Bryan approach and carefully blanked his face. “Clothes are there on the bed. Are you 
hungry?”

“Yeah, actually I am.” Bryan quickly dressed in the black pants and drab shirt laid out on the bed. 

“Do you have human food on the menu here?”

“I downloaded the things I saved on the starship’s mainframe, along with your clothing size, so there will be something you like. We might want to add to the menu though.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Bryan grinned. “Let’s go feed me.”


Nighttime series:



Buy Link:




M.A. Church bio

M.A. Church lives in the southern United States and spent many years in the elementary education sector. She is married to her high school sweetheart and they have two children. Her hobbies are gardening, walking, attending flea markets, watching professional football, racing, and spending time with her family on the lake.

But her most beloved hobby is reading. From an early age, she can remember hunting for books at the library. Later nonhuman and science fiction genres captured her attention and drew her into the worlds the authors had created. But always at the back of her mind was the thought that one day, when the kids were older and she had more time, she would write a book.

By sheer chance, she stumbled across a gay male romance story on the web and was hooked. A new world opened up and she fell in love. Thus the journey started. When not writing or researching, she enjoys reading the latest erotic and mainstream romance novels.

My links:
Facebook: M.A. Church: http://goo.gl/k4SbBI


Monday 14 July 2014

Damaged Package by S.A. McAuley


Blurb(s):

Forced into early retirement from his career as a SWAT officer for the city of Detroit, James Deacon knew that when he failed it would be a fall of epic proportions. He’s been living life by the tips of his fingers for over twenty years, and his new gig organizing a group of misfit military types into a functioning team—including his reluctant ex-fiancée—won’t return him to stable ground anytime soon.

Trevor Barrow has been on the move for the last seven years—hitting the road when relationships became too real or too much work. He’s home now, working in the hazardous world of bike messengers in the Motor City, and the only one of his eight siblings who knows he’s returned is his sister Cat. It’s not as if reconnecting with them matters anyway, because it’s likely he’ll be gone again soon.

Both men are lugging some heavy baggage, but when they chance upon each other in a dive bar it’s hard to deny their flaws are more like symbiotic quirks. Trevor’s backpedaling instincts and Deacon’s dance-dance party past may just be intersecting at a time when things are about to get explosive in Detroit.

Excerpt:

Deacon paid for their last-round of drinks and they stood at the bar as the lights clicked on. He reached out and swept back a lock of Trav’s fringe, letting his fingers linger against Trav’s sweat-slick skin.
“You gotta let me take you home,” Deacon said.
Trav scoffed and took a drink of his beer. “Worst pick up line ever.”
“I thought the worst was saying that I’d never seen you at Honest John’s before?”
“Yeah. You’re pretty bad all around.”
But instead of feeding Trav another line, Deacon made the conscious decision to give an honest reply. “Dating’s just not my scene.”
Trav tipped his head and studied him. “You know what? I don’t know if I’m supposed to believe you and be reeled in by how unconventional you are, or if this is all a game for you.”
He shrugged. Already he knew there was little he could do to sway Trav either way—Trav was perceptive. “I’ll give you time to decide that for yourself. In the mean time, though, I’m serious. Let me at least ride with you in the cab back to your place. I don’t live far from you and it will make me feel better to know you’re safe.”
“I ride a bike in downtown Detroit for a living, James. Pretty sure I can handle myself.”
Deacon’s lips curled into a smile at both Trav’s use of his first name and his brash confidence. “I’m positive you can.”
“Well, then… What? That doesn’t…” Trav pursed his lips together in a thin line and left the remains of his trailing thoughts unsaid. Trav took another swig from his beer, emptying the cup and setting it on the bar. “Whatever. Yeah, you can take me home. But I’m not inviting you up. Got it?”
Deacon would take it. He held out his hand and waited for Trav to decide it was okay to take this one small step. When Trav’s fingers curled around his after only a heartbeat of hesitation, Deacon worked through the lingering crowd to the front door, unable to wipe the triumphant smile from his face.
The ride back into the city didn’t take as long as it had to get out to Ferndale. The city became a ghost town after a certain time of night. And they’d passed that threshold hours ago. They rode in silence, with hands still touching if not intertwined, and when they pulled up to the Park Shelton, Deacon paid the cabbie and got out with Trav.
It took a moment for Trav to realize what had just happened. He watched the cab drive away, glared at Deacon, back down the road, then put his hands on his hips. “Whoa. Whatcha doing getting out of the cab? I distinctly remember not inviting you up.”
“Huh,” was all Deacon said as he pointed at the cab disappearing around a corner. “But there goes my ride.”
I’m not a first date slut.”
Deacon groaned playfully, but his heart skipped a happy beat to hear Trav considered this a date, too. “You're not going to make me count out dates or something like that, are you?”
Trav’s fingers drummed against hips as he seemed to be considering his options. Yet barely restraining a smile at the same time. “Just for that response? Maybe.”
Deacon dropped to his knees on the sidewalk, and raised his clasped hands to the heavens, pleading to Trav in an overly loud voice, "Please, Trevor Barrow! What do I have to do for you to let me up to your apartment, Trevor Barrow? I just want to watch the History Channel or maybe So You Think You Can Dance, Trevor Barrow. I promise I have nothing lewd or lascivious—”
A group of female college students walking by giggled at his display, providing a running commentary as they eyed the scene unfolding on the sidewalk. “Dude, Trevor Barrow, you should let him up.” Then, “He's cute. He can come back to my place.”
Deacon couldn't have planned his public begging session better.
Trav blushed and laughed out loud. “Alright. Off your knees.”
“At least for now!” one of the girls yelled as they turned the corner.
Trav sighed, offered his hand and pulled Deacon up toward the front entrance of his apartment building. “You're going to give me a reputation, Deacon.”
“I earn every reputation I give.” Deacon smirked and held the door open for Trav once he’d swiped his key card.
“Where did the tears suddenly disappear to? The histrionics?”
He shrugged. “I got my way.”
Trav stopped in the doorway and looked up at Deacon wide-eyed. “Holy shit. You really are certifiable.”
Deacon ran his finger along Trav’s jawline, wanting nothing more than to kiss Trav. But whether Trav wanted to believe it or not, what happened between them next was up to Trav. “Cat’s completely right. She just should have waited for you to find that out on your own.”
Trav shook his head, his voice laden with sarcasm, but his stunning eyes crinkled at the corners in silent laughter, “Yeah, like that would've taken me long.”


Sales Links

All Romance
S A McAuley Website
Author Bio: I sleep little, read a lot. Happiest in a foreign country. Twitchy when not mentally in motion. My name is Sam, not Sammy, definitely not Samantha. I’m a pretty dark/cynical/jaded person, but I hide that darkness well behind my obsession(s) for shiny objects. I’m the macabre wrapped in irresistible bubble wrap and a glittery pink bow, I suppose.

Author Links:


Cover Artist: Garrett Leigh
Publisher: Self-Published


Tour Dates: 7/14/14



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thursday 10 July 2014

Secrets of Neverwood Anthology by G.B. Lindsey, Diana Copland and Libby Drew


Publisher: Carina Press

Blurb(s): Three men with vastly different lives are called home to Neverwood, the stately Pacific Northwest mansion of their youth. The one thing they share is a promise to Audrey, the woman they all called mother—that upon her death, they would restore the house and preserve it as a home for troubled boys.

But going home is never easy.

Cal struggles to recover from past heartbreak, while Danny fears his mistakes are too big to overcome. Devon believes he may never break down the barriers that separate him from honest emotion. And a benevolent spirit lingers in Neverwood's halls, intent on guiding her foster sons away from the mistakes of their youth and toward true love.

On the path to brotherhood, they discover the old mansion holds more than dusty furniture and secret passageways. An old mystery stirs up a new danger, one that could cost the men far more than just the house.

Author Bios:

G. B. Lindsey was born and raised in California, where she earned her undergraduate degree in Literature and Creative Writing from UC Santa Cruz. Her first love has always been writing: as a child, she cultivated such diverse goals as becoming "a cowgirl and a writer" or "a paleontologist and a writer."

Aside from her salacious and ongoing affair with the horror genre, she loves to write sci-fi, romance, historical fiction, and short stories. Other hobbies include playing the piano, reading voraciously, the occasional period drama movie night, and devouring scary film after scary film. She recently moved back home from Newcastle upon Tyne, where she earned her Master of Arts in Creative Writing, and now lives in Sacramento.

Diana Copland began writing in the seventh grade, when she shamelessly combined elements of Jane Eyre and Dark Shadows to produce an overwrought Gothic tale that earned her an A- in creative writing, thanks entirely to the generosity of her teacher. She wrote for pure enjoyment for the next three decades before discovering LiveJournal and a wonderful group of supportive fanfiction writers, who after gifting her with a "Best New Author" Award encouraged her to try her hand at original gay fiction.

Born and raised in southern California, Diana moved to the Pacific Northwest after losing a beloved spouse to AIDS in 1995. She lives in eastern Washington with four obnoxious cats and her ninety year old Dad, near her two wonderful adult children.


Libby Drew glimpsed her true calling when her first story, an A.A. Milne /Shakespeare crossover, won the grand prize in her elementary school's fiction contest. Her parents explained that writers were quirky, poor, and often talked to themselves in supermarket checkout lines. They implored her to be practical, a request she took to heart for twenty years, earning two degrees, a white-collar job, and an ulcer, before realizing that practical was absolutely no fun.
Today she lives with her husband and four children in an old, impractical house and writes stories about redemption, the supernatural, and love at first sight, all of which do exist. She happens to know from experience.
Libby's STATE OF MIND received rave reviews for being fast, clever, and relentless and was nominated for a Bookie Award for Best M/M Novel of 2011. 40 SOULS TO KEEP, Libby's third novel, has been described as intense and heart-poundingly good and was praised by Publishers Weekly for maintaining a high level of suspense.
An avid supporter of gay rights, Libby donates her time to the Trevor Project and organizations that work to support marriage equality.


Tour Stops:

June 16: Kimi-Chan
June 17: MM Good Books
June 18: Iyana Jenna
June 24: Hearts on Fire
June 30: My Fiction Nook
July 1: Top2Bottom
July 3: Love Bytes
July 10: Nephylim
July 11: Amanda C. Stone

Sales Links:

Secrets of Neverwood: One Door Closes\The Growing Season\The Lost Year: 



The Growing Season:

One Door Closes:


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday 9 July 2014

Cyan Chapter 12












It is Wednesday again and here is another shot of Cyan. This week Robin panics and runs away, but is he having second thoughts?

I can't actually remember what prompt I used, but it's in there, I promise. I would have liked to use this one - just because it's cute



Or this one because I just love it



Robin never knew what Cyan had been about to say, because before he could finish his sentence, the door burst open to admit Alex and Mr Bartholomew, the PE teacher.

“Is everything alright?” he asked. He was a cool guy, amazing at getting the best out of his pupils on the sport field, or in the gym. Apparently, he was no better in these kind of situations than Robin was.

“Does it look alright?” Robin snapped.

“Okay, Robin, let be calm shall we?”

Calm? Robin thought. Calm? How the hell can I be calm when Cyan just kissed me? I mean – he KISSED me.

Robin took a deep, steadying breath. Cyan was still staring at him. Robin kept looking away and back. 
Cyan’s eyes never left him.

“Have you seen it?” he asked, his voice tight.

“Yes, I’m afraid I have. The headmaster’s telephoned your mother, Cyan. She’s on her way. Is there anything I can do for you until she comes?”

Cyan said nothing. He kept staring at Robin, and it was beginning to freak him out. It was as if Cyan was waiting for him to do or say something. That wasn’t going to happen; definitely not here and now.

It was clear Mr Bartholomew had no idea what to do or say, and neither did Alex, and there was an uncomfortable silence. Robin suddenly realised how it would look – him on his knees with Cyan - and he scrambled to his feet. Cyan’s eyes followed him. He started to get frustrated and annoyed by it. What the hell did Cyan expect from him? It’s not as if it would ever have happened if they hadn’t been in that situation. It wasn’t as if it was ever going to happen again. He glanced at Cyan again, and saw his eyes widen. He must have seen the way Robin felt from the expression on his face. Fresh tears sprang to his eyes.

Robin felt like an utter bastard, but angry at the same time. What the hell did Cyan expect? He knew Robin wasn’t gay. He wasn’t. He definitely wasn’t. He’d wanted to put his arms around Cyan and hold him because he hated seeing anyone so distressed. It had nothing to do with anything he might or might not be feeling about him. It definitely had nothing to do with the fact he could still feel the kiss tingling on his lips.

And yet, he was suddenly acutely aware of how absolutely gorgeous Cyan was, even when he was kneeling on the floor with tears and snot running down his face. Oh yes, he was very aware of that, and it totally freaked him out.

“I’d better…. I’ll go and….”

“It would probably be better if you stayed,” Mr Bartholomew said. “Cyan needs his friends around him.”

Robin didn’t hear the words, only sounds. His whole being was focussed on the expression on Cyan’s face, and the fact he’d flinched when Robin spoke. It was painful to see and Robin couldn’t bear it anymore. He wrenched open the door, mumbled something about having a class, and slammed it behind.

The rest of the day passed in a haze. Alex caught up with Robin at lunch and told him Cyan had gone home 
and still hadn’t spoken a word.

“What happened?” Alex asked, throwing himself into a chair. He had a handful of paper. All of them had been scouring the school for the newspaper article. Robin was horrified by how many of them there were. 

He was so grateful to his friends for helping him tear them down and take some of the weight off his shoulders.

“What do you mean?”

“Before I left the room you were all huggy and friendly. When I came back you seemed almost like you couldn’t bear the sight of him. Then you ran. What did he do?”

“Nothing.” Robin fiddled with the papers on the table next to him, and avoided looking at anyone.

“Liar,” Aivah said, taking up the baton. “You’ve got it all over your face.”

“Got what all over my face?”

“Guilt. Something definitely happened? Did he come on to you?”

Robin gasped and glared at her. “What the hell kind of question is that? He was in a state. No, he didn’t come on to me.”

Aivah narrowed her eyes. “He did something, though. I can tell. Did he try to kiss you?”

“Same thing Aivah. I’ve already answered the question so shut the fuck up.”

Flicking the papers across the table, Robin got to his feet. “I’m not sitting around being accused of…whatever. I’m going home. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon at Mikki’s.”

Neither Alex nor Aivah said anything and he slouched out of the room, simmering, and trying not to thing why he was so angry.

He almost literally bumped into Gillian, who was laughing and giggling with a group of friends. She stopped like she was turned to stone, and gazed up at him with wide eyes. She must realize how angry he was.

“I knew you were a bitch, but this….” Robing gritted his teeth, so angry he was unable to speak.

“I don’t know what you mean.” Gillian flounced but with an uncomfortable edge. She knew she couldn’t sustain a denial with him.

“Why? What the hell did you hope to achieve? Do you actually realize what you’ve done? You destroyed him.”

“I still don’t know what you mean.” She was more subdued this time, not so cocky.

“Well know this. We’re through. Completely. If you so much as look at me again there’s a distinct possibility I might punch you in the face. Don’t come near me. Ever.”

With a final glare he stormed off.

“What do you care anyway?” Gillian shouted after him. “You’ve changed since he came. You’re as gay as he is.”


Robin froze. For a moment he was tempted to turn back, but was too dangerous, so he continued along the corridor and out of the school.

Okay so now go see the others who all have awesome flashes for you this week