Book Blast + #Giveaway - Toy Soldiers [When We Were Young, bk 2] by Maggie Blackbird @BlackbirdMaggie #youngadult #mmromance @gaybookpromo

BOOK BLAST

Book Title:  Toy Soldiers 

[Book 2, When We Were Young series]

Author:  Maggie Blackbird

Publisher:  Devine Destinies

Cover Artist: Martine Jardin

Genre/s: Contemporary M/M Romance, young adult, multicultural, LGBT

Trope/s: Friends to lovers

Themes: Coming of age, coming out

Heat Rating:  1 flame   

Length: 70 349 words/ 244 pages

It is NOT a standalone book.  Book 1 needs to be read first.

Goodreads

Buy Links 

Amazon US |  Amazon CA |  Amazon UK | Amazon AU

Publisher | Kobo | B&N |  iBooks

Google Play | Smashwords |

 Once a thief, always a thief, and if he can’t win the heart of the boy he loves, he’ll steal it.

Blurb

Billy Redsky’s made one of his biggest dreams come true, but there’s a problem. Even though the boy he loves is mere footsteps across the hall from his bedroom, they might as well live a country apart because claiming René Oshawee’s heart is more difficult than Billy anticipates.

Much to Billy’s disgust, René can’t accept his true self, so he’s incapable of loving someone else. And all he cares about is living a life the chief and his wife foresee for their youngest son.

If Billy is to finally have what he truly desires, he must stop René from running away from who he really is and face the man in the mirror, or what they share will never blossom into true love

Excerpt

Stuart lived past the recreation center. Billy huffed down the road. Sure, he’d be interrupting dinnertime, but big deal. He couldn’t stay in Castle Oshawee any longer.

The boiling heat of anger beneath his clothing stopped him from freezing under the clear, cold sky. Darkness was fast approaching. The sun on the horizon was bursting with colors of mauve, scarlet, and pumpkin.

The big door at the recreation center opened. Billy’s old buddies, Lonn and Dylan, strolled outside to probably have a cigarette. When they strutted away from the doors and beelined for the road, Billy stiffened. They knew he could beat their asses—especially since he outweighed them by a good fifteen pounds now.

“’Sup?” Lonn called out, slyly grinning.

“Not much.” Billy stopped. He wasn’t going to keep walking like a coward afraid of the neighborhood bullies. “Heard you both got kicked out.” Because neither rode the school bus anymore.

“No biggie.” Lon shrugged. “Y’know we were bailing when we turned the big one-six.”

A direction Billy had been heading before dumb ol’ René had turned him into one of The General’s toy soldiers in Oshawee Army.

Splashes of rebellion bubbled under Billy’s skin. He might’ve blown off telling Mr. and Mrs. O where he was going tonight, but he’d been heading for Stuart’s, and later going home right on the button of his curfew time, like a good little grunt.

He folded his arms. “What’re you doing?”

“What else? Heading for the old house.” Lonn dropped another sly smile.

Dylan nodded, also grinning.

When Billy had used to party there, they’d burned stuff in the woodstove to keep warm during the winter.

“You coming, or are you still hanging with the geek twins?” Lonn elbowed a chuckling Dylan.

“Sure, why not?” Nobody at Castle Oshawee had given a flying fuck Billy had left the house. As for René, screw him. All he cared about was following the rules and obeying the orders coming from everyone seated in the living room.

About the Author

An Ojibway from Northwestern Ontario, Maggie resides in the country with her husband and their fur babies, two beautiful Alaskan Malamutes. When she’s not writing, she can be found pulling weeds in the flower beds, mowing the huge lawn, walking the Mals deep in the bush, teeing up a ball at the golf course, fishing in the boat for walleye, or sitting on the deck at her sister’s house, making more wonderful memories with the people she loves most.

Author Links

 Web Site | Facebook Page | Twitter 

BookBub | Linked In | Amazon Author Page 

eXtasy Books Author Page | Newsletter Sign-Up

Giveaway 

Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win

a $15.00 gift certificate from eXtasy Books/Devine Destinies

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Hosted by Gay Book Promotions

Follow the tour and check out the other blog posts and reviews here

Tales from The Edge Series by @LMSomerton The End is a New Beginning + #Competition

Tales from The Edge series blast

Please welcome back, special guest, LM Somerton

New beginnings

There’s a line in a song by rock band The Editors, “Some things should be simple; even an end has a start”, which has resonated with me recently as I come to the end of a book series. Tales from The Edge consists of eight books and four free short stories and began almost four years ago with Reaching The Edge. The main characters, Olly and Joe, have inhabited my head ever since and letting go has proved anything but simple. I wish they were real – they’d make really good friends and I think a night out with them might be an adventure!

I didn’t want to write a never-ending series where readers forget what the whole premise was about and characters become formulaic caricatures. That’s boring for the reader and the writer. But, I never imagined how involved readers would become with the fictional lives of a group of kinky, loving men who overcome their problems with the help of friendship, perseverance and a healthy dose of snark.

Whilst writing Tales from The Edge, I frequently found myself accidentally creating characters with the potential for stories of their own, so I may have to indulge in a few more short freebies when the urge takes me! In the meantime, the final book in the series sows the seed for a new set of stories I’ll also be starting this year. So the end really is a start. Thanks so much for hosting me. xx

To celebrate the final book in the series, you can enter a Rafflecopter prize draw here. Five lucky winners will receive an ebook of their choice from my back list. (Draw open Jan 10 – Jan 31 2017)

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Driven to The Edge

"So, fans of the Tales from The Edge series, buckle up. Here is the next story that you’ve been waiting for. And those new to the series, it’s never too late to start. You won’t be sorry. This is one of my favorite m/m, BDSM series. Enjoy!" Becky Condit for USA Today.

Scorched Edges

"The characters are intelligent, spirited, and needless to say smoking hot. Between danger and drama Scorched Edges has it all. This series consistently gives readers smoldering, sensual, and engaging stories to enjoy. Scorched Edges is another must read." Joyfully Reviewed.

Rough Around the Edges

"The sex…HOLY COW! I love how Harry takes charge – his Dom juju made my heart beat faster." Inked Rainbow Reads

A Double-Edged Sword

“This pair have love, respect and honesty to help them through and ‘contract’ their new relationship. The story was real, the secondary characters important and the sex was sizzling!" Prism Book Alliance

Dancing on the Edge

"Sensual dominance rules the day in Dancing on the Edge where desire sets the standard in tasteful erotic love play." Joyfully Reviewed

Living on the Edge

“Living on the Edge is Yummy! This quick read is loaded with great characters, sizzling M/M sex, and engaging twists." Jeep Diva

Reaching the Edge

“Oh, and Olly? My favorite character. God he’s just a freaking dervish. He’s like a Gremlin. Don’t feed him sugar. EVER. You’ll see.” Mrs Condit & Friends

Series Blurb

The Edge is a training company with a difference. It’s weekend clients come for classes in bondage and domination, not team building and problem solving. The management, staff and customers of The Edge do not lead boring lives. In fact they have a habit of getting themselves into all kinds of trouble. Put dominant, possessive alpha males together with bratty, loveable submissives and sparks are bound to fly. Tales from The Edge are their stories.

Blurb for Binding the Edges (Book #8 in the series)

Never let go of the one you love.

After recent traumatic events, Olly is finding it hard to get his head around what happened. While he tries to deal with a maelstrom of emotions, renovations at The Edge are in full flow, alongside preparations for tenth anniversary celebrations. Joe, his Dom, recognizes Olly’s delicate state of mind and does his best to reassure him. A trip to the New Forest with their friends, Aiden and Heath, helps the healing process.

Returning home, Olly and Aiden focus on preparations for the party. When Aiden is called away, Olly takes a walk to clear his head, keeping his eye on a brewing storm. To his horror, he discovers Mark Vickery, an old enemy, has landed on the island by boat and is out for revenge.

With Olly missing and the storm raging, Joe, Heath and Aiden set out on a rescue mission that unfolds in a way none of them expected. Can the storm wash away the past or will Olly and Joe’s future be destroyed by a twist of fate?

 

Excerpt from Binding the Edges

Olly tilted his head back to get a proper look at Joe’s face. Joe’s expression gave no indication of remorse or guilt, just his usual serene certainty that everything was under control. His control. He pressed a finger against Olly’s lips preventing him from forming them into a pout.

“Who knows what’s best for you, sweetheart?”

Olly ducked his head, escaping Joe’s finger. “You do, Sir.” In Olly’s mind, nothing was more certain. Joe only ever acted in Olly’s best interest, even to his own detriment. “But you don’t have to worry about me.”

“That’s for me to decide, Oliver. After everything you’ve been through recently I didn’t want you to be on your own.”

“Because you’re a psychologist and you were analyzing me?” Olly asked.

“No, because you needed a friend. I know what you’d do if you had too much time on your own to think. You’d mull over every detail of what happened and start to blame yourself, wish you’d handled things differently. Then you’d start worrying about all the what ifs with that creative imagination of yours, and end up having nightmares for weeks.”

“You know me too well, Sir.” Olly nuzzled against Joe’s chest, absorbing his warmth.

“I have better things to do with you in bed than watch you toss and turn in your sleep.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“So no sulking with Aiden. He’s a good friend.”

“The best. Now I understand why he didn’t run away when I interrogated him about what he and Heath got up to last night. I think you did me a favor, Sir.”

“That grin is far too wicked. I suspect you need to be punished.” “Ooh, yes please!”

“But you have packing to finish because we need to get on the road if we’re going to make it to Hampshire in time for dinner.”

“You’re no fun, Sir.” Olly was torn between wanting to play with Joe and his curiosity about their destination. He would also get to see Carey and Alistair. Maybe some of his other friends, too. “What do you want me to take?”

Joe gave him a curious glance. The press of Joe’s fingers under his chin tilted Olly’s head back. “This isn’t like you. Usually you’d have two enormous suitcases stuffed to bursting by now. What’s going on?”

“Sorry, Sir.” Tears that seemed to come all too quickly stung Olly’s eyes.

“Hey, now. None of that.” Joe kissed away a tear. “Are you having a tough time making decisions at the moment?”

Olly nodded. He worried that if he spoke he’d have a full-on nuclear meltdown. “Well, it’s a good job you have me, isn’t it?”

Olly bobbed his head, feeling a bit like a nodding dog toy. His head felt too heavy for his neck and a wave of exhaustion washed over him. He wanted to grab a pillow, one that smelled of Joe, hug it tight and drift off to sleep.

Buy Links for Binding the Edges
Pride Publishing

Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon Canada

Bio

LM lives in a small village in the English countryside, surrounded by rolling hills, cows and sheep. She started writing to fill time between jobs and is now firmly and unashamedly addicted.

She loves the English weather, especially the rain, and adores a thunderstorm. She loves good food, warm company and a crackling fire. She's fascinated by the psychology of relationships, especially between men, and her stories contain some subtle (and some not so subtle) leanings towards BDSM.

LM is winner of the National Leather Association’s Pauline Reage Award for best novel and the 2016 Golden Flogger Award for best BDSM novel in the LGBT category. She has received multiple Honorable Mentions in the Rainbow Awards and won the Action and Adventure category of Divine Magazine’s Book Awards in 2015. You can track her down online here:

Pride Publishing page

Website

Blog

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Amazon Author Page

Mini NEXT WEEKEND Book Blast with @noellekeaton, @kay_jaybee and @Nancyadams_A #naughty #excerpts

For the last few days, thanks to my very good friends, I've been on an a mini Book Tour with my latest release, Next Weekend and sharing some steamy excerpts along the way from this extremely mild D/s story. 

Today I'm visiting with the lovely Noelle Keaton

Thursday, if you missed it, I was at the fabulous
 Kay Jaybee's

And Wednesday, I stopped by Fancy Nancy Adam's place.

Hope you'll check us out. 

I also woke up this morning to a delightful surprise, a notification from Manic Readers, Next Weekend has been reviewed! A lovely 4 ★s from

Drue's Random Chatter's Reviews

Thank you Barb! 

There is also a fantastic 5★ review from MG/YA author and reviewer, Robin Leigh Morgan on Amazon! Thanks, Robin Leigh!

Evernight     Amazon     All Romance     BookStrand
 Smashwords

 Miranda and Jordan Lang cordially invite you to their divorce...

Jordan is not completely surprised when Miranda suggests they separate. Their marriage had been deteriorating from the moment they took their vows. Although heartbroken things didn’t work out with the woman he expected to spend the rest of his life with, he doesn’t contest her decision.

The only thing holding up the final divorce decree is the sale of their get-away cabin. In a weak moment, Miranda heads there for the weekend knowing full well that Jordie will also be there. Accidentally—on purpose, she seduces him and leaves an open invitation for another naughty weekender.

But the next time they meet, Jordie’s anger over the entire situation has kicked in and he finds himself being rough and commanding with her. And even more surprising, his ex likes it.

Follow Jordie as he finds and embraces his dominant side and Miranda her submissive self. Will it be enough to save their doomed relationship or will the issues that drove them apart remain more than they can overcome?