Guest Blogger ~ AKM Miles: Something MORE for Santa

Blurb:

While on a break at Martin's Department Store, Derek Campbell, aka Santa, wishes aloud for a little something for Santa and he gets it, and more.

Derek Campbell loves his job as Santa at Martin's, but finds himself wishing for a little something for himself. He's surprised when an elf hears his request and answers him. Derek gets more than he bargained for when he meets young Michael and then Max, who just happens to own Martin's. He falls in love with both of them and they him, but something happens, something bad. But, they're strong, together, and they have a good Christmas. But then, even worse things happen. What now? What follows is a wonderful holiday story filled with love, adventure, fear, hope, and kittens.

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Short Bit about it:

Once upon a time there was a sweet young man who worked as Santa during the season. One day, while on a break he was lamenting the fact that he had no one to love and wanted someone perfect for him, he was overheard by an elf. Well, it was really a boy. The little boy, Michael, wanted Santa to help his father, who had a migraine, _(main headache). Derek, (Santa) went with the boy to the main offices of the department store and did, indeed, help the boy's father, Max. Then wonderful and horrible things started to happen. The two men fell in love, both loved the boy greatly, but there was ugliness even at Christmastime. Someone did something bad to Michael and when they got that cleared they had a great Christmas with Betsy Ross and Sara Lee.

Not long after that something horrible happened to Derek, who now worked more closely with Max, who just happened to own that department store chain. Who would want to kill someone as sweet as Derek? You know there's a happy ending, but it takes some work to get there. But, of course, it's all worth it.

I loved writing this story and always in the back of my mind I wanted to revisit these people. They were all three so lovable.  When I decided to place it with MLR I added enough that it doubled in size. I really like where it went and how I ended it. (I really wanted them to go on that cruise!) I know a lot of people liked the first book and I added MORE to the title so they would know it was the same only more. I hope everyone loves the rest of the story as well.

~AKM Miles

***love is love***

Excerpt:

Derek closed his eyes and sighed. He needed the rest, there was no doubt of that. He felt like he'd run a marathon and he'd just been talking.

"Daddy, look at the bag. Derek peed a lot!"

"Shh, Michael." Derek could hear the humor in Max's voice. He didn't want to think about the catheter, but well, it wasn't like he could get up. He waited until they were sitting beside the bed and then he said,

"Where's my hug? And quit looking at my pee."

"Daddy! He said something. Did you hear him? He said 'where's my hug?'. Do you think he means me?" Michael was no longer using his quiet voice. His surprise and happiness had him back to the Michael that Derek knew.

"I bet he does. Okay, you still have to be careful, okay? He might be awake, but he's still in pain. No moving around," Max said and Derek could hear him lift Michael up and put the boy beside him. He sighed. He tried to bring his arm up to hug Michael, but his shoulder screamed out in pain.

"Michael, be careful, honey."

"No," Derek said, his voice still raspy, "it was me. I tried to hug him back but my shoulder hurts." He opened his eyes and Max's face was right there. Max leaned down and touched his lips gently, making Derek sigh in complete happiness.

"Daddy, don't move him too much. You don't want to hurt him, do you?" Michael said, all serious.

"You're right, I don't. I'll be careful." Max turned away and Derek nearly whimpered, but he saw that Max was bringing the chair closer. He sat and took Derek's hand and held it in his, squeezing gently. That touch, that light squeeze, said so many things. It said, "I want to hold you, I love you, you scared me, we were worried, we're here for you."

"I know." He answered all the unsaid statements and Max didn't even question it.

Michael asked, "Are you going to stay awake now, Derek?"

About AKM:

I love to read M/M books. It’s hard to find me without my Kindle in my hand. I never want to lose an opportunity to read and have so many authors that I enjoy. The idea of being an author that readers enjoy fills my heart. I’ve wanted to write since I was in high school and I did. I wrote a short story for the school newspaper. Hooked.

I wrote three mainstream novels and got rejections and just kind of lost interest. Then along came Brokeback Mountain and I ordered the movie and got the script with it. Loved it. Then I went on line to see if there way anything else like it. I found Cowboy Up from Torquere Press. It was an anthology and had such good stories. I was more than hooked. I wanted to do this. I wanted to write a story. Soon after that I went to a drag show in my little town, heretofore unheard of, and watched these two guys dance. That scene is in my first novel, Smart Alex. I couldn’t stop then.

You will find that I like to have my characters meet, have feeling for each other, start a relationship, and then face some kind of conflict together, instead of it being about whether they really like each other or not. That’s just the way I like it. I want them as a unit facing whatever comes. I also like to do series. I try to populate my books with wonderful side characters that just beg for their own stories. Life is full of side characters, right? Sometimes they just need their story told, too. (And then you get to revisit the first couple and see how things are going!)

I now write for four different publishing houses and love being an M/M author. Want to know what I like most about it? Oh, I love getting good critiques from places who specialize in that, but it’s the readers who blow me away. I can’t believe the response I’ve gotten to some of my books. They inspire me and make me want to do more and better. I love love some of the connections with people in the industry.

Through ups and downs this career has kept me going with the warmth I’ve received from other authors, publishing people, and fans. I’m excited about future books that are swimming in my head right now. I hope you love them, too.

Find AKM Here

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Guest Blogger ~ Christopher Stone: Sweet Homo Alabama

Release Date: December 19, 2014

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Blurb:

Cameron Cody, one of the biggest-ever gay adult film stars, returns to his small-town Alabama roots during Christmas season, intent on coming out to his sharecropper parents.

December 23, 2003 Enterprise, Alabama Cameron Cody, a principal character in MLR's Frame of Reference, returns to small-town Enterprise, Alabama, just before Christmas, intent on coming out to his sharecropper parents, now that he has found The One - namely Frame of Reference's Grant Jackson. But how do you come out to a father who thinks of homosexuals and lesbians as "those queers," and to a naive mother who has little, or no, background with sexual orientations beyond heterosexual? Understandably, Cam approaches this revelation, His Own Private Alabama, with apprehension and anxiety. The saving grace: Waiting at home, come what may,is Grant Jackson, the love of his life.

Excerpt:

Tuesday, December 23, 2003

Enterprise, Alabama

7:37 p.m.

Cameron Cody's tightly muscled physique was slouched on his parents' lumpy sofa, the same one he used to sink into during his school days. Since that time, tatters, wear and fading had been added to the sofa's lumpy nature. It was incongruous that his lounged body was the very same physique that thrilled countless horny fans each and every time it appeared nude and in sexual situations in Hottie International theatrical and home video gay adult films. But here in Enterprise, Alabama, in his parents' modest home, it, and he, were nothing special.

In truth, until puberty had its unpredictable way with Cameron Cody, transforming him from an odd-looking duckling into the handsomest of swans, he had only been known as Fred and Bev's beanpole kid-the boy with the freaky gold-flecked lavender eyes-the one who wore the scoliosis brace in grammar school.

More recently, fame, time and California living had compelled him to reassess that small-town Alabama upbringing. The longer Cameron Cody lived in Los Angeles, the shabbier his childhood home, as well as his hometown, seemed. And this mental downgrading wasn't just his imagination running away with him; nor was it the result of his becoming a spoiled celebrity. Pretty much everything in Enterprise, Alabama, as well as in his folks' house was in decline.

Cam reflected on the truth of the matter: Growing up, he hadn't really been aware of his family's modest means, nor the town's nowhere special status. Back then, no one he knew had anything better, or newer, than what he saw at home, or in his hometown.

Of course, even in grade school, Cam had been aware of the big houses, the mansions on Cherokee Street, and the even bigger estates with acreage, off of Shellfield Road. But his sharecropper family hadn't known anyone who lived on that side of the tracks-the wealthy side.

Television and movies had shown Cameron Cody a world of big cities, where beautiful people lived large. But growing up in Enterprise, they had seemed as far away from his reality as the moon and the stars.

And, even though the Cody family lived on the poor side of town, Cam had come into adolescence feeling blessed-more blessed than many of his childhood peers-the ones who lived in mobile homes. At least, the Cody's house was not on wheels. And it had been large enough to comfortably accommodate him, his parents, and even his paternal grandparents, during their final years.

As for his folks, Fred and Beverly Cody had always made ends meet, if barely. The family's bills had always been paid in a timely manner. There had never been a bill collector at their door, or calling on the phone.

Slouching further down into the sofa, Cam smiled to himself. It was a secret, sly smile. In conversation with his parents, he always called them, Mom and Dad. But when Cam thought about them, the small voice in his head - the voice with a naughty sense of humor - always morphed their first names, Fred and Beverly, into Food and Beverage. Sometimes, in conversations with friends, and even with some of his cousins, that's what he called them. "Of course, Food and Beverage would have none of it," he might tell Cousin Linda. Or, to a high school friend, he might quip, "You can just imagine how Food and Beverage felt about my coming home three hours after curfew, and with a snootful."

But despite his frivolous nicknames for them, Cameron Cody loved and respected his parents.

Yes, Food and Beverage Cody never had bill collectors knocking on their door, or calling them on the phone. But there had never been money to upgrade to things new, and one bad crop could bring financial disaster. That's just the way things were for small-town Alabama sharecroppers. At one time, Cam had believed that was how it was for most everyone, until, at age twenty, he had moved to Los Angeles.

Over the past five years, Cam had done very well financially, and he had tried repeatedly to help his parents. But his father, a proud man, had torn up, and then returned, every check he had sent. When he had bought them a new freezer to replace their broken old one, his dad had refused delivery of the appliance.

Truth be known, just last week, on the telephone, Cam and his dad had gotten into a verbal scuffle about things financial. When Cam had insisted upon renting a car at the Montgomery airport for the drive into Enterprise, Fred Cody had argued that it was a waste of good money. "Your mother and I will be happy to pick you up."

But, for once, Cam had prevailed. He wouldn't have his parents driving the seventy-seven miles to Montgomery, not when he could well afford the rental. And not when they, and everyone else, were extra busy in advent of the Christmas holiday.

Cam shifted uneasily on the uncomfortable sofa. He ran a hair through his coarse blond hair, cut to a crew for his upcoming role in a 1950s-set, sex romp, The Seven-Year-Bitch. And no, he wasn't playing the lead role-not this time. That part had gone to an eighteen-year-old, raven-haired boy, Cal Fontenla, who had literally walked off Hollywood Boulevard and into the offices of the adult entertainment conglomerate that had made Cam a star.

About Author:

Born in Bronx, New York, and raised in Fresno, California, Christopher Stone’s early years were dominated by school, watching television and motion pictures, bicycling, skating, and reading avidly. Summers were spent swimming, and doing whatever it took to survive the oppressive San Joaquin Valley heat. But he also remembers fondly the yearly summer trips to New York, to visit family and friends – and to see Broadway shows.

Christopher left Fresno, for Hollywood, California, during his college years after being accepted into the Writers Guild of America’s Open Door Program, a two-year, scholarship, training ground for aspiring screen and television writers. As it happened, rather than a teleplay or screenwriting gig, his first professional writing job was in journalism – as the Los Angeles Editor for Stage Door, at that time, Canada’s equivalent of the U.S. entertainment trade weekly, Variety.

Christopher would later use his Writers Guild of America training to co-author and sell the original screenplay, The Living Legend, with Jon Mercedes III, to the Erin Organization, and later, and also with Mercedes, to write two seasons of The Party Game, a Canadian TV game show.

As a young freelance entertainment journalist, he contributed to many Los Angeles-based publications, among them The Advocate, for which he wrote a breezy film column, “Reeling ‘Round,” and the Los Angeles Free Press. During this time, he became a member of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle.

Christopher dipped his toes into the world of motion picture advertising and publicity, as assistant to the West Coast Director of Advertising and Publicity for Cinerama Releasing Corporation, in Beverly Hills. At the same time, he also did special advertising and publicity projects for 20th Century-Fox. Christopher went on to become an Account Executive for David Wallace & Company, a public relations firm specializing in entertainment accounts – and located on West Hollywood’s legendary Sunset Strip.

Returning to his first love, writing, Christopher became a full time freelance contributor to national consumer publications including Us, Good Housekeeping, Family Circle, McCall’s, In Cinema, and The National Enquirer, among others. Many of his stories were syndicated worldwide by the New York Times Syndication Corp.

Another important area of endeavor for Christopher Stone was Re-Creating Your Self. A Blueprint for Personal Change that he first developed for himself, the journalist went on to teach the principles and processes of Re-Creating Your Self to others – first, in private sessions, later, in workshops and seminars, and, finally, for California State University Extended Education. Eventually, one of his students suggested he write a book version.

Re-Creating Your Self was first published in hardcover by Metamorphous Press, and subsequently published in a trade paperback edition by Hay House. It has since been published in Spanish, Swedish and Hebrew language editions.

When not writing, Christopher used his longtime interest in, and study of, metaphysics, to teach meditation and psychic development classes – first in Beverly Hills, then later, in Manhattan Beach.

He went on to co-author, with Mary Sheldon, four novellas for a Japanese educational publisher, and then, also with Mary Sheldon, the highly successful The Meditation Journal trilogy of hardcover books. Subsequently, he returned to journalism, this time, contributing hundreds of print and online entertainment features, columns and reviews to magazines and websites. For eight years, Christopher was the Box-office Columnist for MatchFlick.com, a popular online motion picture site.

In his private life, Christopher Stone met David M. Stoebner on May 17, 1994, and they have been together ever since. 
In 2008, they were married in Los Angeles.

They share a home with their three pets in Coastal Los Angeles County.

In 2013, Christopher’s pet project has been transforming their rarely used kitchen table area into a killer, retro 1950s Diner Nook, complete with a 1952 Seeburg Table Top jukebox, a neon diner sign, and a malt machine.

Christopher’s first novel, Frame of Reference was e and print published, in fall 2012, by MLR Press. A short story, Sweet Homo Alabama was published by MLR Press, December 19, 2012.

Stone spent much of 2013 writing Frame of Reference 2: The Dark Side of Stardom, a sequel novel to Frame of Reference, as well as, Abracadabra, and a short story, published at Halloween. But the indefatigable scribe also found time to contribute weekly reviews, columns and interviews to Queer Town Abbey.

As 2014 begins, Christopher looks forward to the publication of The Dark Side of Stardom, and he is developing a short story, Camelot Conundrum, as well as a metaphysical mystery novel, Going and Coming.

Find Christopher Here

Christopher Stone Books

Guest Blogger ~ Nic Starr: More Than A Superstar

Blurb:

Sam Miller’s dreams are simple—to give back to the aunt who supported him since his mother's death and to have a family of his own. He focuses on making a success of their catering business Poppy's Pantry, and his close group of friends. However, when Aunt Poppy ends up in the hospital, it's a stranger Sam meets in the corridor who gives him the support he needs.

Rob Taylor is a man with secrets. His life in the public eye has taken its toll, and now he lives with the repercussions. When he finds himself falling for Sam, he knows things are finally going his way.

But just as Sam and Rob find their happiness, another secret threatens to tear them apart.

Buy Links
Amazon
Dreamspinner Press
All Romance eBooks

If you are thinking of purchasing through Amazon and haven’t already signed up for Amazon Smile, do consider it. Amazon Smile lets you nominate a charity (I’ve chosen Lost N Found Youth) which will receive a small % from your purchase. Every little bit helps!

From The Author:

Hi everyone, I’m Nic Starr and I’m thrilled to be here to visit with N.J. Nielsen. Thank you so much for having me.

I wanted to share with you a little about my current release, More Than a Superstar. More Than a Superstar is the story of Sam and Rob. It’s a story of dealing with the challenges life throws in your path and realising what is important.

Family and friends are the most important thing for Sam. His dreams are simple—run his small business, spend time with his friends and take care of his aunt. Sam has a big heart and lots of love to give.

Rob lives an entirely different existence in a world very different to Sam’s. It’s a life that sees him being judged for his actions and hiding himself away. He unintentionally causes pain to others and his guilt results in him punishing himself.

Now I need to let you know that this book deals with secrets. Rob keeps secrets to protect himself. He keeps secrets to protect Sam. So if you detest secrets in your stories, this might not be the book for you. J But secrets are a part of life. We all keep secrets. We don’t want to hurt those we love, or maybe we don’t want to expose a part of lives that we don’t think people will understand. For Rob, he wants to be loved for who he is inside, not the persona that is displayed to the world and he doesn’t want to be a burden on the man he has grown to love.

I hope you enjoy Sam and Rob’s story, as they both find their happy ending.

~Nic xx

Excerpt:

He wished he knew what Sam was thinking as he looked wordlessly at him, his expression neutral. But even as he watched, he saw Sam’s eyes fill with tears that Sam tried valiantly to hold back.

“Rob, I don’t think I can do this.”

“Sure,” Rob replied. “I understand. It’s been a long night, and it’s a lot to take in. I’ll leave, and we can talk tomorrow.”

“No. You don’t understand. I mean I don’t think I can do this.” He waved his hand back and forth pointing to the two of them. “I mean us. I don’t think I can do us.” With his last words, the tears that had been threatening finally started slipping down his cheeks.

Rob stood and reached for Sam, but he held his hands up, almost like warding off an attacker. “Just go, Rob. Please.”

He stepped back. He didn’t want to leave. He wanted to stay and plead his case, to make Sam understand. To let him know that he was really the same Rob he had come to know. He didn’t want to leave until he was sure he hadn’t lost him. But he knew it wouldn’t do any good, at least not tonight, but there was always tomorrow.

“I’m sorry, Sam. So very sorry,” he whispered as he left the room and closed the door behind him.

About Nic Starr

Nic Starr lives in Australia where she tries to squeeze as much into her busy life as possible. Balancing the demands of a corporate career with raising a family and writing can be challenging but she wouldn't give it up for the world.

Always a reader, the lure of m/m romance was strong and she devoured hundreds of wonderful m/m romance books before eventually realising she had some stories of her own that needed to be told!

When not writing or reading, she loves to spend time with her family-an understanding husband and two beautiful daughters-and is often found indulging in her love of cooking and planning her dream home in the country.

You can find Nic on Facebook, Twitter and her blog. She'd love it if you stopped by to say hi.

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Guest Blogger ~ Angel Martinez: A Christmas Cactus For The General

Gender Cues and Christmas

Maybe this seems like an odd inspiration for a story at first. But I become more aware of societal gender cues, some deeply ingrained and some enforced by rabid marketing, at this time of year. When I pick out presents for my nieces and nephews, I’m struck between the eyes continually with notions of what are “appropriate” gifts for girls versus boys. I want to run screaming from certain aisles because they offer only a monsoon of pink and from others because they place too much emphasis on violent, mechanical things.

In television ads, we get to watch young women cooing over diamonds and going starry eyed over the new cars their male protectors have purchased for them. Real women want shoes and makeup. Real men want trucks. Colors must be appropriate. Clothing styles rigidly separated along gender lines. Oh, and girls just want to get married from a very young age I’m reminded in an ad where two kids Skype Santa.

It annoys me at times and frightens me at others, how gender cues are rammed down our throats, so the idea for this story wasn’t such a huge leap. A being comes to this planet, forced to stay here because he has no way back, and none of our gender cues make sense to him. In fact, many of them are so turned upside-down for him that he simply can’t adopt them and remain sane.

And General Teer was born—elegant, effeminate in our eyes, graceful and proud and “A Christmas Cactus for the General” is the story of how he comes to live on this strange, confusing planet of ours.

A Christmas Cactus for the General

From the Chestnuts Roasting Anthology

Mischief Corner Books

Buy Links

Amazon

All Romance

Blurb:

Exiled to Earth for perhaps the worst failure in Irasolan history, General Teer must assimilate or die. Earth is too warm, too wet, too foreign, but he does the best he can even though human males are loud, childish louts whom he can't imitate successfully. When a grieving seaplane pilot strikes up a strange and uneasy friendship with him, he finds he may have been too quick to judge human males. They are strange to look at, but perhaps not as unbearable as he thought.

Excerpt:

So much water. General Teer checked the boards again, but he had read his instruments correctly. In the entire vast universe, there were bound to be planets such as this one, but his Irasolan brain refused to accept it. So much water.

Granted, much of it was saline, but those huge salt-laden expanses drove weather patterns. There would be rain more than once every few years. Enough rain that plants grew on the surface, huge plants in some cases, the likes of which he could not have imagined in dreams.

Oxygen levels ran a bit high, the average temperature too warm for comfort. I have only two choices remaining, though: acclimate or die. Perhaps it would be better…

No. His Exalted Keeropness had taken that from him. Denied an honorable execution and sent into exile, his last shred of honor would burn in the winds of this alien sun if he took his life now. No one would know, of course. Still, the idea was too repugnant to entertain for more than a moment.

Teer tapped into the record pod to send his final message home. "I, General Teer of the Second Horath, hero of the Violet Day Offensive, acknowledge my arrival in orbit around the planet of exile. I confirm that I have no knowledge of this system's coordinates. My stasis sleep remained uninterrupted throughout transit. I failed you, Karet. For that, I am deeply sorry. For the good of the people and the Keerop, I resign myself to this uncharted gravity well. May the mother of seeds have mercy on me."

With a sharp hiss, the landing pod closed around him, molding to his body so tightly he felt he would suffocate until the inner membrane began to feed him oxygen in little sips, just enough to keep him alive. The edges of his vision darkened. It was better to make these pod flights half-conscious.

The words of an old spacer's prayer whispered in his head as the pod launched. I step out of the great night into the unknown. May the gravity pit's clutching embrace leave me breath and bone.

About Angel:

While Angel Martinez is the erotic fiction pen name of a writer of several genres, she writes both kinds of gay romance—Science Fiction and Fantasy. Currently living part time in the hectic sprawl of northern Delaware, (and full time inside the author's head) Angel has one husband, one son, two cats, a changing variety of other furred and scaled companions, a love of all things beautiful and a terrible addiction to the consumption of both knowledge and chocolate.

Find Angel Here

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Guest Blogger ~ Piper Vaughn: The Working Elf Blues

Holiday Traditions

Hi, all! Thanks to NJ for having me on her blog today. :)

In my upcoming Christmas novelette, my main character, Wes, has a tradition of escaping to his secluded mountain cabin every December to spend the holiday season alone with his four sledding dogs. On Christmas Day, he cooks himself dinner, watches “Miracle on 34th Street,” and falls asleep in front of the fire. After growing up mainly in foster care, he has no family to speak of, and his tradition is a lonely one that Garnet, the elf in love with Wes, wishes to finally break by joining Wes for Christmas this year. Garnet literally crashes into Wes’s life and shakes everything up, inspiring him to start some new traditions, and bringing love and magic into his life at the same time.

My family’s traditions have changed over the years, as people moved away and others got closer. Typically we would gather at my parents’ house on Christmas Eve with various relatives for dinner, music, drinking, and some early gift-exchanging. In recent years, my mom started the tradition of buying the entire family coordinated pajamas and making us where them on Christmas day. We put them on, exchange our gifts, munch on food, watch movies, and just laze around the house all day. My mom does attend some church activities, but that isn’t something we do as a family. Mostly our family gatherings revolve around food. Which, hey, I’m not complaining. I’m a fan of good food. :D

Speaking of traditions, a personal one of mine is actually gorging on as many holiday-related stories as I can every November thru January. Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year’s Eve, Thanksgiving. If it takes place on a winter holiday, I can’t wait to get my hands on it. I’ve already read several, and I look forward to indulging for the rest of the month. 

Do you celebrate any holidays this time of year? If so, what are your traditions? Do you travel? Gather at a specific relative’s house? Take turns hosting? I always like hearing about what other people do. :)

~Piper

 

BuyLink

Less Than Three Press

ARe

Amazon

BookStrand

Blurb:

Garnet Evergreen has never heard of an elf abandoning the North Pole for a human, but he yearns to be the first. Ever since he saw Wes, the boy with sorrowful eyes, Garnet felt an undeniable kinship. Over the years, he’s watched that boy grow into a man, and now he’s determined to give Wes a Christmas he’ll never forget. If only Garnet had thought to test his father’s sleigh before leaving…

Orphaned as a child, Wes spends every Christmas alone at his cabin. When he’s woken by a suspicious boom and finds a wrecked sleigh and an unconscious elf, he doesn’t know how to react. Wes isn’t fanciful. He doesn’t give much credence to the stories about Santa Claus and flying reindeer. But a part of him wants desperately to believe when Garnet promises forever, even if life has taught him that no one ever stays…

Author Bio:

Piper Vaughn wrote her first love story at eleven and never looked back. Since then, she’s known that writing in some form was exactly what she wanted to do. A reader at the core, Piper loves nothing more than getting lost in a great book—fantasy, young adult, romance, she loves them all (and has a two thousand book library to prove it!). She grew up in Chicago, in an ethnically diverse neighborhood, and loves to put faces and characters of every ethnicity in her stories, so her fictional worlds are as colorful as the real one. Above all, she believes that everyone needs a little true love in their life…even if it’s only in a book.

Visit Piper at

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Guest Blogger ~ K-lee Klein: Unwrapped Hearts Giveaway

Unbreak My Heart #3

Today is the release day for Unwrapped Hearts, an Unbreak My Heart story, so I thought I'd expound a little on one of my favorite men, Mr. Brett Taylor.

I can't speak for all writers, but sometimes I think characters pop up into our heads and hearts and demand more attention than others. They're the characters that don't leave us even after a few a stories. They might go dormant for a little while, but they always reappear with demands, and they won't accept being used as secondary characters in someone else's book.

Brett Taylor is one of those characters for me. He's bossy and mouthy, but can also be sweet as pie and heart-wrenching as hell. I love all my characters & Brett's partner, JT Campbell is no exception, yet Brett stands out in my mind as both an emotional disaster and a true accomplishment.

When I wrote Unbreak My Heart, Brett took me on an impassioned ride. There were times I had to put him away, so to speak, because all the emotions I was putting into him were coming straight from me, and were destroying me at the same time. I went through the gamut of feelings, and it was all worth the pain because once the book was published, I discovered readers went through some of the same emotions that I did. I think that's the ultimate compliment for any author.

This is the third story in the Unbreak My Heart universe and it was the easiest to write. Brett was in a good mood when he kept kicking up a ruckus in my head. And since Unwrapped Hearts is a Christmas story, I'm glad it turned out as sweet as it did. We all deserve a little calm in the sea of drama and angst, and Brett & JT are no exception. I hope you enjoy it.

Thanks for stopping by and make sure you leave a comment to be entered in the draw for an ebook copy of Unwrapped Hearts. The giveaway will be open until December 20. Thanks for having me NJ and happy holidays, everyone!

Unwrapped Hearts will be available only at Amber Allure until after the holidays and they have every format to suit your needs. 

~K-lee

Blurb

Brett Taylor and JT Campbell have been together for over a year, and Brett is like a little kid when it comes to Christmas morning. He has plans for the two of them to have some quiet time, open gifts, and maybe even share some sweet loving before relatives descend on them for dinner.

Brett has on his Santa hat and his sexy surfer-boy lover right where he wants him, until a certain whirlwind of a pup takes matters into his own hands. Whiz isn’t about to be left out of the Christmas celebration, and he’ll do whatever it takes to demand his daddies’ attention...

Author Bio

K-lee Klein has lived in one part of Western Canada or another for her entire life. She’s a doting mother of three now-grown kids, and has had characters and plots running around her head for as long as she can remember. Her days consist of planning her next tattoo design for her growing collection, and fighting off an abundance of fabulous gay men, large and small, bouncing off the walls of her skull, competing for their turns to tell their stories.

Among her favorite sub-genres to read and write are rock stars, cowboys, shifters, and opposites-attract relationships. But to be honest, she’s open to almost anything if it involves messing around in the heads of her characters. She’s also big on series—because she has a hard time letting her characters go—and is usually working on a handful of stories in various stages of completion all at the same time. 

Places to find K-lee.

Website, Chaos In The Moonlight,

Twitter, Facebook,

Facebook author/reader group.

Guest Blogger ~ Chris McHart: Grenzen [Love In Germany]

Publisher: MLRPress

Length: 24000 words

Genre: Contemporary, BDSM, Holiday, Outside US

Blurb:

What do you do if the Dom you love is half a world away?

When work requires Ryan to leave behind warm and sunny Arizona for cold and snowy Germany, he decides to visit the famous Nuremberg Christmas Market where he meets sexy Julian.

But Julian isn't an average guy, he's a Dom. And he wants Ryan to be his sub.

That's something Ryan has dreamt of, but never admitted to anyone, not even himself. With Julian it suddenly becomes possible.

But what happens once Ryan has to go home, especially since he's developing feelings for Julian?

There isn't a future for a relationship if you're half a world apart...

Buy links:
MLRPress, All Romance ebooks,

Amazon, Amazon UK,  Amazon DE,

Barns & Noble, Bookstrand

Excerpt:

I stared at the busy market in front of me. A lot of people wandered in and out, like bees in a hive. I took a deep breath, the rich aroma of caramelized sugar, along with cinnamon, wine, and sausages tickling my nose. Saliva collected in my mouth, and my stomach rumbled. I could definitely find something to eat here where all these delicious odors were coming from.

Nuremberg showed itself from its best side, everything sparkling and blinking. My German coworkers hadn’t exaggerated when they told me I needed to visit the market. They had even offered to accompany me, but after a day of hearing “Ryan, here”, and “Ryan, take a look”, I wanted nothing more than to not see any more of them. Even if they were quite friendly. The only exception was David, but we hadn’t been getting along before we came here to work as well. I hadn’t expected this to change just because we were abroad. But I wouldn’t think about him now, the evening was too nice for that.

Night had fallen about two hours ago, and by the time I left the office and arrived at the Christmas Market, the city was illuminated by the lights of the booths and the huge Christmas trees. A carol echoed over the place—Silent Night, if I wasn’t mistaken. It was in German, so I wasn’t completely sure, but the refrain sounded like the famous title.

Lonely snowflakes swirled around me and added a layer of magic to the breathtaking scene. I watched a few melting on my parka as soon as they landed, then shoved my hands deeper into my pockets and walked over the slightly slippery cobblestones to the entrance.

Masses of people meandered through the narrow alleys between the huts. I just mingled with them, letting the other visitors take me with them past the stalls. I didn’t have to hurry, just followed the flow. When something really caught my eye, I tried to slow down, but it was sometimes impossible. Too many bodies pushing forward, and it would have cost me a certain amount of power to break free. Energy I didn’t want to use. So I didn’t, and just went from booth to booth.

One sold the hot wine my coworkers had told me about, the cinnamon scent being more prominent up close. I craved all the different sweets on the next stand, while some strong smelling herbs cut off my hunger a bit at another one. It was all simply beautiful.

A sausage seller’s stall caught my eye. Or rather, the seller did, and then the aroma hit me. My mouth watered just thinking of tasting some of the delicious smelling sausages roasting in front of him. This time, I wriggled through the crowd, determined to take a closer look at the guy preparing the food. He was young, about my age, with dark, tousled hair and a sexy smile.

The line wasn’t too long, and before I had time to figure out what exactly to say with my limited German vocabulary, it was my turn.

“Hallo. Was darf’s sein?”

I was pretty sure the guy had asked what I wanted to eat. “Hello. Ein—” What the hell was that word? I searched for a price chart. Bratwurst. Great. That helped a lot. Was it spoken the same way as in English? I had no idea.

“Oh, you speak English? You want three sausages in a roll?” he asked in good, although slightly accented English.

“Uh, yes, please.” Heat crept up on my face. The guy grinned at me and prepared my food. Up close the aroma of the sausages was even better, a tantalizing grilled scent mixed with something I couldn’t define. I could almost taste them before I even had my order.

Author Bio:

Chris McHart is from Germany and while an accountant, writing is Chris’s real passion. Chris likes to spend time with family and has way too many animals that demand constant attention. Chris also enjoys landscaping and cooking.

Whenever Chris has a free minute, it’s spent writing on a laptop, a cup of coffee in hand, deeply lost in the world Chris’s muses have created.

When coming up for some air, you’ll find Chris on a lot of social networks. Check out Chris’s website to see where you can find out more. Chris looks forward to hearing from you!

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ChrisMcHart

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