Monday 25 May 2020

Some of My Favourite Book - Not Fantasy


Having moved on from the fantasy section of my library, I was surprised to find myself with very empty shelves. I hadn't realised previously, but a huge percentage of my books are fantasy in some shape or form, from The Lord of The Rings, to Harry Potter, to Interview With A Vampire. I really had to think hard about this section.

Flowers in The Attic


I fell in love with this series at what was probably an inappropriate age. It had a huge effect on my developing mind and I can probably blame it for my love of all things gothic and macabre...and on the way I write many of my stories. It has everything from captivity, mental health issues, cruelty, murder and incest.



Blurb

At the top of the stairs, there are four secrets hidden—blond, innocent, and fighting for their lives…

They were a perfect and beautiful family—until a heartbreaking tragedy shattered their happiness. Now, for the sake of an inheritance that will ensure their future, the children must be hidden away out of sight, as if they never existed. They are kept in the attic of their grandmother’s labyrinthine mansion, isolated and alone. As the visits from their seemingly unconcerned mother slowly dwindle, the four children grow ever closer and depend upon one another to survive both this cramped world and their cruel grandmother. A suspenseful and thrilling tale of family, greed, murder, and forbidden love, Flowers in the Attic is the unputdownable first novel of the epic Dollanganger family saga.


The Dollanganger series includes: Flowers in the Attic, Petals in the Wind, If There Be Thorns, Seeds of Yesterday, Garden of Shadows, Beneath the Attic, and Out of the Attic.


Horrible Histories

This is the series that sparked my children's love for history. I have always been very much interested in history, but these books were pitched perfectly to capture the young imagination, presenting historical fact among hysterical comedy.

My love affair with history went back a long way. I joined the local historical society when I was about fourteen. We had exhibits in the museum proper, mainly trains to be honest as the people who ran the society were mainly middle-aged geeks. However, we had a fabulous collection of local history memorabilia which we took out on tour.

Later, I joined an Iron Age re enactment society and really indulged my love for history by living it.

Strangely, I have never enjoyed historical fiction.


Blurb

THE HORRIBLE HISTORY OF THE WORLD presents the foul but fascinating story of humans from brain-nibbling Neanderthals to terrified teenage soldiers in the twentieth century. You can discover why Alexander the Great banned beards, what smelly sport was played by samurai warriors and who tried to bump off her enemies with a cake made with poisoned bath-water.

It's all you ever need to know about the wicked world - all the gore and more!

This is just an overview. There are dozens of them covering specifics such as the Rotten Roman, Cruel Castles and Vile Victorians.


The Mabinogion (and other books regarding folklore and customs)

There are those who would say that this is another fantasy, but to them I would say "Pish". These are snapshots of a people, a community, a society and gives a peep into their psyches and what made them tick at a very basic level. It shows up their fears and insecurities, tells us about the way they live day-to-day, and in some of the old stories give us a roadmap to their religious beliefs.



Blurb

The Mabinogion consists of the earliest prose literature in Great Britain, the manuscripts of which originate in 12th century Welsh, with some dating earlier, to the oral tradition of the Middle Ages. Many of the stories in the Mabinogion would become famous anew thanks to the efforts of the translator. Rendered in modern English, the narratives of an era long-departed reflect the time - events such as war, the idea of chivalric romance, and the prevalence of sorcery and mystical goings on are common devices in the stories. 

Much of what is here was passed onto other, later authors - the notion of the Medieval era as one laden with strange beasts, magic, and valiant combat originates with tales like those in the Mabinogion. 

This edition of the ancient stories was translated by Lady Charlotte Guest, an English aristocrat who was most famous for this work. Accomplished with languages from a young age, she gathered from obscure archives the manuscripts, arranged and presented them in modern English.

I would also count under this heading just about anything involving with myths legends and cultures of Wales, England and Scotland. While much of it involves elements of the supernatural, the customs and history involved are fascinating. Ii tells us more about the people who wrote the stories than the people who inhabit them. Yet again, my love for the books arises out of my love for history.

That's about all I can think of, but it should be enough to give you a peek into what lies behind the scenes in making me the crazy human being I am today.

Monday 18 May 2020

Some of My Favourite Books - Fantasy Edition

I write reviews for Love Bytes, a reviewing blog that I am very proud to be part of. I get to read a lot of books-- good, bad or indifferent. I try to be honest, but kind, in my reviews and I'm not afraid to say if a book is good or bad. I thought that it might be fun, during a period, when we have more time than we know what to do with, if I shared some of my absolute, lifetime favourites with you. I hope you find something to interest and/or inspire you.

1. Terry Pratchett.

The first of his books that I read was Wyrd Sisters, of which more below. I read it because a friend had bullied me along to an amateur dramatic rendition and the story caught my attention. So, I read the book and it was like a drug. I couldn't get through them fast enough and I think I have every book in the Discworld series, or have at least read them.

How to describe the Discworld. Well, it's a perfectly flat world, carried on the back of four elephants standing on a turtle. It's a very, very big turtle.

The inhabitants are very ordinary, well apart from the clothes and the magic, and the story is told in such a matter-of-fact way you can sometimes forget how totally bizarre the facts are.

In some ways, the Discworld is much like ours. It has a postal service, banks, restaurants, a tyrranical patrician who is actually doing a pretty good job, a werewolf on the police force (they're very progressive) as well as a six foot adopted dwarf, a vampire a zombie and a golem. I told you it was progressive.

Many of the stories are familiar, but with a huge twist. Macbeth, Hamlet and Phantom of the Opera all get their own stories, while there nods to all kind of things everywhere you look.

One of the things I like best is the cutting wit that soaks every page, and the very precise way Pratchett describes the indescribably. The sheer breadth of background knowledge is staggering, from pagan religions, to folklore, to quantum physics, all there, side-by-side on the page. There are actually companion novels that twist your minds in knots explaining (brilliantly) some of the science involved.

Needless to say, I am a huge huge fan and this series is a must-read for anyone who like things different but recognizable, funny, sad, clever, multi-layered and that makes you feel like a crazy made up world is actually your home.

It says a lot when one of my favourite characters is Death. Well, a death (the Death of Rats is most amusing) who once worked in a curry house and likes kittens.

This is the first one. There are many more



Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk


2.  Anything by Storm Constantine

In my opinion Storm Constantine is a hugely underrated author. She has created an entire universe, including its own religion on which there are companion books, and a beautiful set of tarot cards. How none of her work has been turned into a film yet is beyond me. Maybe she wants to keep the integrity of her work.

The series that first got me hooked was the Wraeththu series. At that time, there were three books, now there are six in the main series, along with novellas and short stories (and the mythos and religion texts). She had her own press and is the only author I know who publishes Fan Fic alongside her own books, with, apparently, the same care and attention to detail.

The Wraethtu series is set in a not-too-distant future where a new breed of being is rising to replace humanity. It all started with a single person who developed magical powers and found that ingesting his blood would change others to be like him.

By and large this new breed, names Har, were less interested in taking over the world than by making sense of their own. There was no great war that wiped out humanity, although you can bet there was fighting when humanity kicked back. Instead their biggest struggle was to make sense of their new reality.

As humanity, who were now sterile, dwindled, hara built their own civilization, rising from the ashes of the old in an unruly, organic way. This was inevitable as the only converts were teenage males. After going through the transition, they found themselves with new powers and new bodies that were neither male not female but something entirely new that was all but immortal and eventually became able to reproduce among themselves. 

These new beings grew from a single frightened boy to a group of boys who didn't have a clue, to an entire civilization divided in regions, countries and continents each with their different flavour and attracting different kinds of people who, as with humans, tended to band together with those who were similar to themselves. They adopted tribal names and tended to live in communities, large and small, rather than cities.

This series was my first introduction to a world where men (kind of) loved other men (kind of) in a way that was entirely natural and barely worth mentioning among the literally world-changing events going on around them. Apart from a brief mention here and there it was a non-issue and it drew me into the world of m/m without the angst (although there was plenty of that in other ways) and not a lot of sex (none as we know it), which before had been my expectation from gay books, and why I had never really read them. In many ways, it's Storm Constantine's fault that I write the books I do 
today.



Amazon
Amazon.UK


The second series - The Grigori Trilogy had its feet more firmly on the earth, although some of those feet belonged to fallen angels. A lot of the background and imagery is drawn from Enochian myth and the Sumerian religion and the angels are nothing like those spoken of in Christian myth. Great powers are stirring and the Grigori have been watching and waiting. As ever, they can't resist involving themselves in human affairs and human lovers. This series has m/f, f/f, m/m, a/a and a/h relationships. (where 1=angel and h=human)

Amazon
Amazon UK



The Magravandian Trilogy - which is high fantasy on an epic scale.

Amazon
Amazon UK

Of the standalone books Burying the Shadow is my favourite, a sleek take on gothic horror that grabs you by the balls from the outset, burrowing deep into the darkness of the soul where...creatures lurk with beautiful, smiling faces.


3. Dragonlance Chronicles

This series holds a special place in my heart as it arose from a Dungeons and Dragons game. I am utterly obsessed with D&D and am currently involved in 4 games.

They follow a group of people, made up of fairly standard D&D characters on a classic adventure full of dragons, dwarves, wizards and a kender.



Amazon
Amazon UK


4. And finally for this time, Piers Anthony's Xanth Series



Amazon
Amazon UK

These books take place in a world where magic is everywhere, enthusing everything. From living in a cottage cheese, to plucking bread fruit (literally loaves of bread) from trees, everything is magic and everything is deliberately or accidentally funny. For pure escapism this series is perfectly delightful. The world is just as unique, but far less mind-bending as the Discworld, written in the same kind of no-nonsence, of course you know all about this already, style.

I have read every book and am so absorbed into Xanth lore, history and day-to-day life that I see absolutely no reason why a cottage cheese shouldn't be big enough to live in, or why I can't literally go to hell in a hadcart, or visit the zombie king and his ghostly wife in a castly badly run by zombies. Just lose yourself in simple joy with all the weird and wonderful characters and their even weirder world.

I'm exhausted after that, so we'll leave it there for today. Next time, I'll run over some great m/m books/series I've read.

Monday 4 May 2020

Not So Dark Fantasy

I have been sharing all kinds of things about the project I'm currently working on, which is more of a journey into epic fantasy than I have explored before. That's not to say I haven't written any fantasy but it's been more contemporary, set in "our world"

Although not taking influence from any particular fairytale, I would say that Fairies at the Bottom of the Garden is a modern fairytale with some very real issues that concern humans and fairies alike

NineStar Press
Amazon 

Blurb

All Keiron wants is a quiet life. Fat chance with a boyfriend like Bren. But if he thought Bren complicated his life, that was nothing compared to the complications that begin when he opens the door to what he thinks is a naked boy claiming to be his slave.

Draven is a fairy with his sights set on the handsome human who keeps a wild place in the garden for fairies. When Draven slips through a fairy gate into the city, he sets in motion a series of events that binds him to Keiron forever, and just might be the end of him.

While Draven explores Keiron’s world with wide-eyed wonder, Keiron does everything he can to keep Draven’s at bay, until the only way to save Draven and bring him home is to step into a world that should exist only in children stories.

Excerpt

“I wondered. Why humans don’t change, I mean. I kind of figured it’s because they can’t.” Now his voice was full of pity. Then he sniffed again at the coffee. “What’s that?”

“It’s coffee. A hot drink. Would you like some?”

Draven grinned at him. “Ooh yes, yes please.”

“Would you like sugar and milk?”

“Ooh, you have milk? I love milk. What did you milk? A cat? A stoat?”

“Draven, you can’t milk a cat.”

“You can’t?” He turned thoughtful. “Maybe I should tell them.”

“Tell who what?”

“The cats. Tell them they can’t be milked. They won’t like it. Neither will the High Lord. He likes cat milk and—”

“You milk cats?”

“Well…yes. I didn’t know you weren’t supposed to.”

“It’s not that you’re not supposed to; it’s just—” Keiron broke off. He could imagine the conversation. There just wasn’t any point. “It’s cow’s milk.”

“Cows?” Draven’s eyes went wide. “You milk cows?”

“Not me personally, but yes.”

“But they’re so…big.” His eyes were round, and his mouth hung open. Then he shook his head. “Of course. You’re big too. Ah. I suppose cats would be too small, huh? They don’t give very much, and only when they want to.”

“Will you stop talking about milking cats? Do you want milk in your coffee or not?”

“I’ve never tasted cow’s milk. I’d like to try.”

Keiron poured a cup of coffee while Draven watched, fascinated. He carefully poured in milk and handed it over. Draven closed his hand around it, then yelped and dropped it. “Ow, ow, ow,” he sang, dancing on the spot and clutching his hand. “It hurt me. It hurt me.”

“It’s hot, Draven. It’s made with boiling water. Of course it’s going to hurt if you hold on to it like that.”

“Boiling water? What do you mean? How do you make it hot?”

“It’s boiled in a kettle. Let me see that hand.”

Obediently, Draven held out his hand. It was red but there was no sign it was going to blister. Keiron led him to the tap and ran the cold water over his hand. Draven smiled and gazed up into Keiron’s eyes. His face was streaked with tears, which had already dried. He looked

Keiron dropped his hand and turned away. “You’ve made another mess.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. Let me clean it up.” Draven pushed past Keiron and started moving things out of the puddle of coffee. All he succeeded in doing was allowing the puddle to get bigger. The box of cereal was soaked and, as Draven lifted it, the bottom gave way, spilling cereal all over the table. Yanking back his hand, he knocked over the jug of orange juice and sent fruit rolling onto the floor.

“Oh. Oh, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’ll fix it. I’ll—” In his haste to try to catch the rolling fruit and stand up the jug and gather the cereal, his foot turned on a rolling apple and he fell backwards, landing on his bottom on the floor with the cereal in his lap and a puddle of spilled milk spreading from between his legs.

With a trembling lip and tear-bright eyes, Draven sat on the floor and stared up at Keiron, sniffing. He was dejected and so comical, Keiron just couldn’t stop himself from laughing. After a shocked look, Draven grinned and started to giggle too. Keiron held out his hand and Draven took it, hauling himself to his feet while trying ineffectually to brush himself down.

“I think it might be a good idea if you changed out of those wet clothes and leave the clearing up to me. Again.”

The giggling stopped and Draven looked crestfallen. “I’m sorry.”

Keiron grinned. "Don’t worry about it. Go get changed.”

As Draven skipped towards the stairs, dripping milk on the carpet, Keiron turned back to the mess that was his kitchen. He groaned. If he’d thought Bren’s friends were bad, this was so much worse. It was crazy. He couldn’t put up with it. All he wanted was a quiet life—to go to work, come home, and relax in a clean and tidy house with no hassles and the occasional forage out into Bren’s bright, exciting life when he felt up to it. He liked everything in its place, even the chaos. He had a feeling this chaos could never be put in any place other than right where it wanted to be.
As he cleaned up the mess, he decided that, as soon as Draven returned, he was going to find out how to get rid of him once and for all. It was bad enough having Bren around the house, but Draven was one step too far.

Sunday 3 May 2020

NEW RELEASE Full Moon Fever by Elizabeth Black


Thank you very much for hosting me here today. My name is Elizabeth Black, and I'd like to introduce you to my GLBT paranormal shifter romance, Full Moon Fever. Enjoy!



FULL MOON FEVER – BUY LINKS

Full Moon Fever Amazon

                            Barnes and Noble

                            eXtasy Books

                            – Kobo

                            Google Play


BLURB:

William Shakespeare said All the world’s a stage, but he hadn’t counted on shifters under a theater’s hot lights. Lovers Sam Hightower and Grant Newsome live for the stage. Although they have enjoyed the wanderlust of traveling theater for many years, each has grown tired of the road and wants to settle down. They also have a secret. As shifters and no part of any pack, they are lone wolves in every sense of the word. The full moon brings out the beast in them.

Even though their work as gaffers—lighting techs—puts them in contact with a large variety of willing, sexy men and women to share their love, they prefer men. They find a dancer, Luke Pearce, who makes their blood run hot, but Luke has a secret of his own to test them. Add scenic artists and lovers Charlotte and Lina to the mix, and you have a wild and sexy fivesome.

To spoil their fun and to their surprise, Sam and Grant discover another shifter in their midst, but this young person is so inexperienced and terrified she could expose them to the human hunters and get them killed. How can Sam and Grant protect themselves as well as the people they love?

EXCERPT

Sam Hightower tightened a Fresnel on a light tree as he watched the dancers warm up. He stood somewhat hidden in the wings, a position where he could observe the stage without being noticed. He preferred his life that wayout of sight, out of mind. He liked to blend into the shadows, keeping a safe distance, since his stay in the theater company was so fleeting.

At a height of six-feet-one inch and as lean as a whippet, Sam struck a powerful first impression. His thick blond hair fell to slightly below his shoulder blades. While he worked the lights, he wore it tied back and out of his way. Muscular and slim with an angular face and blue eyes, his Nordic features turned the heads of both men and women alike. 

Although he played both sides of the field, he preferred men. With each show, he and his partner, Grant Newsome, grew closer together, bonding with intensity only two men with deep secrets could. 

Sam feared their secrets could become their undoing on each leg of their tour, especially during the full moon. So far, they’d lucked out. No one had caught on to what they really were.

As was the nature of the traveling stage shows, his time in Portland, Oregon would not last long, even though they were in the same city as their home base. He and Grant had been among the few stagehands who traveled with the company for its North American tour. The remainder for each show was filled with local crews.
Sam could see the entire country and not make a commitment to stay in any one location. Jumping from city to city was also safer, since there was little to no danger of the locals finding out that they sought the moon each month.

He and Grant had jumped at the chance to tour the Pacific Northwest and immediately joined the tour to stay close to home. In all tours, relationships between crew, actors, and dancers grew quickly with great intensity, but once the curtain fell for good, some of the cast and crew would part ways, sometimes to never to see each other again. While the split at the end was always painful, Sam willingly chose that way. He thought it best he never became too close to anyone except Grant. Grant had been his bright island oasis, a refuge from day-to-day troubles. However, such solitude begot loneliness, so they liked to share their love with a third or even fourth partner on occasion, and Sam was on the lookout for one at that very moment.

The man who flowed across the stage with such little effort looked so much like Grant that Sam blinked his eyes to make sure his vision wasn’t playing tricks on him. His pulse raced at the sight of the dancer’s ripped abs, shock of dark hair, and tight thighs.

Who’s the god who has the rapt attention of every man and woman in this room?

Grant’s twin wore his hair shoulder length, thick and full, with tendrils falling in his shining green eyes.

Those eyes are emerald green, so green they glow like an aurora in winter.

His face bore a smoldering look of extreme concentration. Sam suspected this man would snap at him, turning on him in an instant if he interrupted his train of thought, much the same way Grant grumbled if Sam interrupted him. His grace could not hide the raw masculinity that moved with each muscle. Broad shoulders and muscular arms tapered to a narrow waist and an ass that threatened to slip out of the leotard he wore. Sam enjoyed gazing at that ass as the dancer soared across the stage. He preferred taut gluts to any other part of a man’s body.

The man’s resemblance to Grant intrigued Sam. Was he a tiger between the sheets the way Grant was? How could he approach him to find out? Considering the higher percentage of gays and lesbians in theater, there was a good chance the dancer would be amenable to a little male flirtation and maybe more. He wore the same dark and somewhat angry expression of intensity Grant wore when he concentrated on focusing lights. He smoldered like lightning in a crackling sky.

Each twist of the dancer’s hips enhanced the sensuality his meager leotard couldn’t contain. He strutted amid his shorter and less stellar-looking partners and brought a flush to Sam’s cheeks. He moved with grace befitting a dancer, and animal magnetism oozed from his every pore. Grant’s arms were fuller and stronger than the dancer’s from his years of experience hauling lights, but the resemblance between the two men could not be missed. Strong and majestic, the power of this man’s sexuality seeped from every pore, his potent form so beautiful it took Sam’s breath away.

A sultry and husky feminine voice jarred Sam from his daydream. 

“Sorry, luv, you’re a day late and a dollar short. We’ve already had him.” Charlotte stood before him with her arms akimbo and a hip thrust out, giving him a cheeky grin. Covered with splatters of paint befitting her job as a scenic artist, she brandished a brush in one hand.

Charlotte was tall for a woman. At five feet and ten inches and build like Wonder Woman on steroids, Charlotte could probably throttle Sam with those strong hands, but her slender body was not overwhelmed with bulk the way bodybuilders were. She was a nice combination of brawn and sleekness. Dressed in tight black jeans and a tighter black tank top that squeezed together her huge breasts, she twisted her bee-stung lips in an amused grin that told him she had once again bested him in the fucking department. “His name’s Leuker Pearce, and he’s a stallion in bed.”

“I’d love to pierce him,” Sam said.

“You might be able to,” Lina said.

Like Sam and Grant, Lina and Charlotte were lovers. The quieter of the two scenic artists stood behind Charlotte, her arms wrapped around the gutsier one’s waist. Although Lina was about two inches shorter than Charlotte, the two women could have been identical twins. What was it with the doppelgänger twins in this company? They wore their coffee-colored hair tied back, and their ponytails fell to the middle of their backs. Skin the color of espresso with a heavy dollop of cream, they stood out amid all the blondes, ordinary looking brunettes, and oddball blue and pink-haired in the crew. Their personalities offset each other’s, Lina’s air to Charlotte’s fire. Slow to excite, Lina often corralled Charlotte’s exuberance. She kept her fiery twin calm and somewhat sensible.
Quite the virago, Charlotte had thrilled Sam with her lusty nature on the few occasions they’d found themselves in bed together. Or in the back seat of his car. Or those two times in the catwalks when their groans had echoed throughout the theater. Charlotte preferred women to men, but Sam had enjoyed her touch and smell too many times to count.

He often teased her by sneaking up on her and grabbing her boobs. She retaliated by bursting unexpectedly from behind road boxes and squeezing his cock. Despite the sex play, they were buddies more than lovers.

Sam could never get away with such behavior with Lina. Quieter than Charlotte, she bordered on being shy, which made Charlotte’s vibrancy seem even more pronounced. She preferred to keep to herself while Charlotte played the social butterfly. Despite her standoffishness, her intensity of concentration and conversation often surprised those who didn’t know her well. It was a mistake to think of her as a shrinking violet.

Her physique was slimmer than Charlotte’s and made her seem shorter than she actually was. Both women had hourglass figures with an emphasis on their large breasts and rounded asses. Once again, Sam found himself attracted to their bottoms. These two women were perfectly proportioned, something he had not seen very often. They were nearly geometrically perfect.

Still amazed at how much the two women looked alike, Sam admired their sleek arms and hands, strong from years of painting sets. Charlotte and Lina had been traveling with the troupe since its inception. They had moved from the Calvert Beach apartments in Delaware to a suburb of Washington, D.C. to get in on the stage action and made no secret about looking for greener pastures in the northwest areas once the tour was finished.

Sam and Grant had met them after their third show. The women had joined the stagehand’s union at the same time Sam and Grant did, and they soon found themselves on many of the same tours together, which was unusual for traveling stage shows

While Sam could hoist a light and even design some lighting for sets, Charlotte and Lina were true artists. Their talent never ceased to impress him. Sam had seen them render flats into three-dimensional paintings. He had seen Charlotte turn an ordinary chair into a masterpiece of paint designed to look like wood with beautiful fabric seats for a show set in the late 1800s. She also painted portraits in her private time and sold them for a tidy sum. 

Lina sculpted from clay and bronze, mostly the human body, especially women with strong physiques. Rich people from around the country often commissioned her sculptures for their own private collections, and she brought in a mint with her impressive talent.

Sam knew he could never compete in the talent department with those two. He didn’t have an artistic bone in his body. Neither did Grant. Sam could barely draw stick figures. Watching Charlotte and Lina create beautiful paintings and sculptures from what seemed like thin air impressed Sam so much he constantly reminded them how talented they were when they were hard on themselves, which was often. Such was the life of an artist. Constant self-criticism.

Sam looked to where his lover’s twin writhed before him, making love to the stage as he twirled and leaped.

Imagine the threesome we could have. It would be like something out of a Penthouse letter.

“He swings both ways,” Charlotte said. “I can see a hot little threesome there—you, Luke, and Luke’s ravishing twin. You need to be adventurous. You know how much I love adventure.”

Should he expound on that fantasy ménage? No, not just yet. 

“So you noticed the resemblance, too?” 

Lust tingled the hairs on the back of Sam’s neck. That beautiful creature moved like a majestic buck in the Alaskan high country. “What kind of name is Leuker?”

“It’s Dutch. It’s also his middle name. Says his first name is horrible.”

“Leuker isn’t?”

Her deep, throaty laugh reverberated among the flats. “He goes by Luke. He told me Leuker is his mother’s maiden name. Says it means good-looking.”

Sam gawked at the tight ass and strong legs that sashayed across the stage. “Can’t deny that.”

AUTHOR BIO


Elizabeth Black writes erotica, erotic romance, speculative fiction, fantasy, dark fiction, and horror. Her erotic fiction has been published by Xcite Books (U. K.), House Of Erotica (U. K.), Circlet Press, eXtasy Books, Ravenous Romance, Riverdale Avenue Books, Scarlet Magazine (U. K.), and other publishers. 

She also enjoys writing retellings of classic fairy tales, including her two self-published fairy tales "Trouble In Thigh High Boots" (Puss In Boots) and "Climbing Her Tower" (Rapunzel). 

An accomplished essayist, she was the sex columnist for the pop culture e-zine nuts4chic (U. K.). Her articles about sex, erotica, and relationships have appeared in Good Vibrations Magazine, Alternet, CarnalNation, the Ms. Magazine Blog, Novelspot, The Erotic Readers and Writers Association Blog, Sexis Magazine, On The Issues, Sexy Mama Magazine, and Circlet blog.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS





Saturday 2 May 2020

Recommendations

I've been reading some good books recently so I thought I'd get them together and give you some ideas. If you want to see a review on any of the books head over to 

Link

Angel End Road

Sales Link 

AUTHOR: D. J. Manley
PUBLISHER: eXtasy Books
LENGTH: 139 Pages
RELEASE DATE:  3rd April 2020
Freelance journalist Colton West can’t wait to finally end it with the rich and shallow Martin. Their relationship had been a mistake from the beginning. But just when Colton feels that he’s made it clear to Martin it’s over and he can move on with his life and career, he gets a phone call that will change his world forever.
Whitfield, Vermont, is the sleepy little town where Colton grew up, a town he couldn’t wait to leave. It’s also the place where his best high school friend was found murdered years before, left on a road outside town that goes nowhere. The killer was never caught, although a stoic old man named George Hill, who lived with his young grandson in the only house on that road, was considered by many to be the prime suspect and passed away several years later.
But now, another boy has been found dead at the end of that same lonely road, with his body eerily laid out in the same disturbing manner as Colton’s best friend. And this time, the victim is Colton’s fifteen-year-old nephew.
With the original murder suspect deceased, Colton knows the killer of both teenagers is still on the loose, perhaps preparing to strike again, and Colton won’t rest in his investigation until he unearths the whole, ugly truth.

Seeker of Truth
(This is the latest in a long series and you should read the whole series. It is seriously awesome!!! For this one to make sense you should at least read the previous two books in Series Three)

Sales Link

AUTHOR: Jordan L. Hawk
PUBLISHER: Self
RELEASE DATE:  April 17 2020

Federal agent John Starkweather’s parents are dead. Or at least—the people he remembered as his parents. With his very identity in question, John must look elsewhere for answers.
The now-defunct Center for Loving Redemption may provide the clues he needs. But as John’s true memories begin to resurface, the answers prove worse than he ever imagined.
The Edge of The World

Sales Link
AUTHOR: Garett Leigh
PUBLISHER: Fox Love Press
LENGTH: 223 pages
RELEASE DATE:  16 Jan 2020

Shay Maloney is living his dream—on tour with his pirate/folk-rock band. But you can’t know where you’re going until you know where you’re from, and that’s where moody filmmaker and researcher Ollie Pietruska comes in.
The band’s management persuades Shay to let a television company film a documentary about his roots beyond his adoptive Irish family, and Ollie comes into his life knowing more about Shay than Shay’s ever known about himself.
But while Ollie holds the key to Shay’s past, he’s also hiding deep scars. Even as the hardships of the tour bring them closer, Ollie’s demons threaten the blossoming romance. They might both reach the breaking point before Ollie realises he’s been standing on the edge of the world for too long, and it’s Shay who holds the key to his future.
A friends-to-lovers, rock star, road-tripping romance, with a guaranteed happily-ever-after.

What Happens After

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AUTHOR: Dennis Abrams

PUBLISHER: Harmony Ink Press
LENGTH: 181 pages
RELEASE DATE:  31 Mar 2020

Collin and his best friend, Nate, are high school juniors living in a suburb of Houston, where the politically and culturally conservative attitude makes coming out beyond difficult. One night they decide it would be a bit of harmless fun to sneak into a gay club in the city—a chance to dance, check out guys, and meet others like themselves.
They couldn’t be more wrong.
In minutes everything Collin took for granted is destroyed when a shooter’s bullets tear through the club. Collin survives, but that’s only the start of his ordeal. In the aftermath he has to face the loss of his friend, survivor’s guilt, the pain of his wounds, and judgment when he’s outed on a national level. Making it through his last year of school feels impossible when life as he knew it will never be the same.

For What It's Worth
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AUTHOR: S M James                        
LENGTH: 380 pages
RELEASE DATE:  02 27 2020

Rory García is terrible at making choices.
Dating Micah has been the best decision Rory’s ever made. Micah calms his wild side by bringing Rory back down to earth. They’re perfect for each other.
But when Rory’s Australian crush randomly shows up to stay with him, Rory’s torn between the boyfriend he maybe loves, and the guy he thought he was over.
Micah Holtz is the most loyal boyfriend in history.
Since the day Micah first saw Rory, he fell hard. There’s never been a moment where Micah’s doubted his feelings and when they finally start to date, Micah plans to hold on with both hands.
But then Justin arrives from Australia and Micah finds his single-minded attention starting to slip…
Justin Anderson has a plan for everything.
Showing up on Rory’s doorstep is the most adventurous thing Justin’s ever done. He’s lowkey sick with nerves, but knowing Rory’s there makes it all worth it. Until he finds out Rory has a boyfriend. Which was never part of the plan.
Suddenly Justin’s back to his usual game of second guessing everything, including Rory’s flirting and Micah’s lingering looks.

When Micah’s childhood haunt is set to be torn down, the three of them join forces to try to save the historic building. But will the teamwork add cracks to an already unstable friendship, or bring them closer than they ever imagined?