BOOK BLAST: “Earnest Ink” by Alex Hall

BOOK BLAST

Book Title: Earnest Ink

Author: Alex Hall

Publisher: Nine Star Press

Published: October 14, 2019

Cover Artist: Natasha Snow

Genre/s: Queer Spec Fic, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Thriller/Suspense

Trope/s: Found family

Themes: Mystery/adventure

Heat Rating: 1 flame

Orientation: Asexual, Pansexual

Identity: Cisgender, Trans

Warning: Depictions of Trauma, Blood, Violence, Murder,

Eating disorders, Body hatred, Transphobia, PTSD, War

Length: 72 100 words/244 pages

It is a standalone book.

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Blurb

While twenty-year-old FTM Hemingway is making an excellent living as a tattoo artist in a near-future version of Hell’s Kitchen, the rest of the country is splintered and struggling in the wake of a war gone on for too long. Technology has collapsed, borders rise and fall overnight, and magic has awakened without rhyme, reason, or rule, turning average unwitting citizens into wielders of strange and specific strands of magic.

Hemingway’s particular brand of magic has made him a household name. Not only is he a talented artist, but his work comes to life. Literally.

When NYC’s most infamous serial killer—the East River Ripper—abducts Hemingway’s best friend, Grace, he has only days to save her. Hemingway teams up with his stoic cop roommate to hunt for the killer and rescue Grace before she becomes the Ripper’s latest victim. But as the duo chase clues to the serial killer’s identity, Hemingway begins to fear the magic he and the Ripper share might eventually corrupt him too.

Buy Links

NineStar Press | Amazon US | Amazon UK

Smashwords | B&N | Kobo

Excerpt

Earnest Ink

Alex Hall © 2019

All Rights Reserved

I work without speaking because that’s the way I prefer it. The vibration of my machine, the softer buzz of the fluorescent lights overhead, the tap of my foot on the pedal—it’s the best music in the world.

When I hit a ticklish spot, the girl I’m working on gasps, jolting in my chair.

“Don’t move,” I say. And then, with a salesman’s false cheer: “Almost done!”

The girl is sweating down the crook of her neck. She’s got silver glitter paint on her eyelids and cheeks, a new fashion trend I just can’t quite get behind. Under my lights the mix of perspiration and makeup looks like a blurry constellation.

She wanted a bee inked onto her collarbone, one of those tiny honeybees you find on good tequila bottles. Easily done, and she met the cash requirement. She’s eager, nervous, and breathing in and out in little puffs.

I can’t remember her name, but that’s fine. Customer relations is Eric’s job.

There’s another kid leaning over my glass counter, watching eagerly as I work. “Does it hurt?” he asks. “When the magic happens?”

The bee’s fat yellow thorax wriggles from side to side as it begins to wake, fighting the pressure of my needle, hungry for life.

“It looks like it hurts,” the kid says. I ignore him.

One minute more and—thanks to my peculiar magic—this bee will fly free.

I’m perched on a swivel stool, a wet paper towel in my hand to wipe away ink. It’s too hot in my studio, even with the industrial fans whirling overhead and the door propped wide open. Evening light slants in through the door and the north-facing, floor-to-ceiling window panes that look out onto West Forty-Sixth. It’s muggy, too warm for New York in October, and all of Hell’s Kitchen is wilting, including my client.

“What does it feel like?” the kid demands. He’s leaving greasy fingerprints on the surface of the glass as he strains to get a better look at what I’m doing. I study him out the corner of my eye, wiping sweat off my nose with the back of my wrist before it drips on my customer. He looks like one of the street punks who have taken to running in packs near the cruise terminals, sleeping in old, abandoned cargo containers and panhandling up and down the marina.

He’s skinny and tall, hair dyed an unsettling violet and styled into spikes all over his head. He’s got a silver ring in his septum and more hoops in his ears; his eyelashes are coated with purple mascara to match his hair. Green glitter paint sparkles on his lids. His T-shirt and jeans are torn and dirty, and he’s got a pack of black-market cigarettes rolled into one sleeve against his upper arm.

About the Author

Sarah Remy/Alex Hall is a nonbinary, animal-loving, proud gamer Geek.

Their work can be found in a variety of cool places, including HarperVoyager, EDGE and NineStar Press.

Author Links

Blog/Website| Twitter: @sarahremywrites

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RELEASE BLITZ: “Space Fox” by L.M. Brown

RELEASE BLITZ

Book Title: Space Fox (G-Force Federation Book 1)

Author: L.M. Brown

Publisher: Self-published

Cover Artist: Fantasia Frog Designs

Release Date: January 31, 2020

Genre/s: M/M Sci-fi Shifter MPreg romance

Trope/s: MPreg, biological urge to mate

Themes: Sacrifice for the one you love, forced together

Heat Rating: 4 flames

Length: 54,000 words

This is part of a shared universe series and Space Fox is the first to be released.

It is a standalone story.

 

Buy Links – Available on Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US | Amazon UK

 

 

Protecting his shifter from threats is easy, but can he protect him from his own ambition?

Blurb

As part of the G-Force Federation, gargoyle Jude is a newly promoted pilot eager to prove himself on his first solo assignment. Unfortunately, his plans go awry when his craft is shot down, leaving him stranded in the desert.

Kirby is a fennec fox shifter on the desert world of Cairo. When Jude’s ship comes under attack he races to help him, and after the crash he offers to guide him back to the base.

Their journey across the harsh desert is fraught with dangers, one of which is the lure of Kirby’s scent as he goes into heat for the first time. Jude’s protective attitude towards him pushes all the right buttons with Kirby, and it doesn’t take much for him to persuade the gargoyle to be his first lover.

When Kirby discovers he is pregnant they know one of them will have to make a sacrifice if they want to raise their baby together, but can either of them give up everything they have ever known?

 

Excerpt

Jude almost tripped over Kirby when the young shifter did a sudden about-face, darted through his legs, and crouched behind him.

“What is it?” He kept his voice low. Something must have startled Kirby, and he trusted the shifter’s hearing to be far more acute than his own.

He took a few steps, cautiously scanning their surroundings.

By keeping a close eye on the direction Kirby appeared to be focusing on, he was ready for company. The two fennec foxes were larger than Kirby and had a haggard appearance that told of fights and rough living.

Kirby growled and hunched lower.

Jude crouched and placed a hand on Kirby’s furry back. “I don’t like the look of them either,” he whispered. “Do you want me to carry you?”

Kirby hesitated for a moment, before shaking his head and shifting back to human form.

The two newcomers did likewise. The change didn’t improve their appearances. They were older than Kirby, perhaps in their thirties. The larger of them leered at Kirby. “It must be our lucky day. Such a ripe little treasure crossing our path.” He sniffed loudly. “Ah, yes, and untasted. There’s nothing like being the first.”

Jude didn’t like the sound of that, and from Kirby’s shiver, neither did he. He took a step in front of Kirby. “Back off.”

“Stay out of this, human.”

Jude felt Kirby’s hands on his arm, the grip tight. “Don’t worry Kirby, I won’t let them hurt you.”

“You hear that, Sandy? He thinks we want to hurt him.”

Sandy laughed and shook his head. “No, we’re going to make him feel good. I mean, it might hurt him a little, since it’s his first time, but he’ll get over that quick enough.”

Kirby whimpered and Jude reached behind to give him a reassuring pat. “You won’t touch him.”

Sandy smirked. “Do you think you can stop us? His scent is a beacon, drawing us to him—along with every other fennec fox for miles around.”

Jude glanced over his shoulder. Kirby’s expression was one of fear and… guilt? “What is it, Kirby?”

The shifter hung his head. “I’m sorry. I hoped we would make it back to my den before I went into heat.”

“You mean you didn’t realise it was so soon?” Jude asked. He had been able to tell how close Kirby’s heat was from the day they’d met. How had the shifter not realised?

Kirby nodded. “Back on Earth, my kind used to go into heat at certain times of the year, but on this world the seasons are different and it’s hard to tell when one finishes and another starts. Predicting your first heat is kind of hit and miss.”

Sandy coughed to get their attention. “As nice as it is that you’re educating the ignorant human, I’d rather we just get down to business. Right, Flick?”

Flick nodded. “Who gets the honour of going first?”

“You went first last time, so it’s my turn,” Sandy replied.

“But last time it wasn’t such a fresh piece as now. Who went first the last time it was one like him?”

Jude backed up a little, urging Kirby along with him. Maybe they could make a run for it while the two of them were arguing.

They made it about five meters before Sandy noticed.

In a flash the shifter pounced towards them, Flick right behind him.

Jude pushed Kirby out of their way and altered his stance, ready to take on the two shifters. He might not know everything about shifters and their heats, but he knew more than enough about fighting to protect the innocent to handle this pair of would-be rapists.

He concentrated his energy and hardened his body, letting Sandy hit him just as he turned his chest to stone. Other than a slight tearing of the seams of his shirt, the partial shift didn’t cause too much damage to his clothes. The same could not be said for Sandy’s fist.

The shifter screamed and clutched his hand to his chest. “What are you?”

Jude grinned. “I’m one charged with protecting the inhabitants of this world. And Kirby is under my protection.”

Sandy glared at him. “You’re not human or shifter.”

“No, I’m not.”

Flick, who had stalled his assault at the last moment, drew near. “I think I know what he is. There were stories, from back on Earth, about his kind. Hideous creatures of stone, who had the ability to take human form. They were even rarer than shifters. They were known as gargoyles.”

Jude wondered briefly what the stories said about his kind. From the look of hesitation on Flick’s face, he suspected not all of them were flattering. Not that the reputation of the gargoyles mattered to Jude, in fact it helped to have a fearsome reputation.

 

 

About the Author

L.M. Brown is an English writer of gay romances.

She believes mermen live in the undiscovered areas of the ocean.

She believes life exists on other planets.

She believes in fairy tales, magic, and dreams.

Most of all, she believes in love.

When L.M. Brown isn’t bribing her fur babies for control of the laptop, she can usually be found with her nose in a book.

She loves hearing from readers and can be contacted

via her website or by email at lmbrownauthor@gmail.com

 

Social Media Links

Website| Facebook

 

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RELEASE BLITZ: “Fight For This” by Suki Fleet. Rafflecopter Giveaway Included! See entry below:

RELEASE BLITZ

Book Title: Fight For This

Author: Suki Fleet

Publisher: Suki Fleet

Cover Artist: Natasha Snow

Release Date: January 31, 2020

Genre/s: M/M Paranormal Romance (fairies)

Trope/s: Friends to lovers

Themes: Admitting feelings, in denial, saving the world (sort of)

Heat Rating: 3 – 4 flames

Length: 60 000 words

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Buy Links – Available on Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US | Amazon UK

A fairy who can’t control his glamour, and the growly Guardian who adores him, must stop the Veil that protects all fairy-kind from being detected in the human world from being destroyed.

Blurb

Grey and Si have been dancing around one another for months.

Grey’s helpless attraction to fairies (and one fairy in particular) is a source of endless frustration—but as his energy can damage a fairy’s glamour, he can’t let himself get close.

Si is different to other fairies and he’s wearing down Grey’s defences. When Si discovers the Veil is thinning around the school where they both work—putting the students and teachers there at risk from detection—he needs Grey’s help to fix it.

Problem is, Si isn’t a true fairy, he’s just a magical mistake. For as long as he can remember all his glamour has done is messed up and broken stuff. Though Grey maybe older and wiser about a lot of things in the human world, he’s pretty clueless about all things magical. He doesn’t even know the Veil exists until Si knocks himself unconscious trying to save Grey’s reputation after a night out.

But it’s funny how mistakes work out. Even funnier how trusting one another can help even the most impossible events turn out all right.

Excerpt

Barely supressing a shiver, Si let the full rush of his glamour flood through him. Nothing else felt like this, the giddy flare of it as exhilarating as diving off a high rocky outcrop into a breathtakingly cold sea. Admittedly, he was probably a little addicted to the rush—magic in all its forms was notorious addictive. But more than that, for a brief second, Si was connected to everything—plugged into exactly the right place—powerful enough to affect change in the world, and unlike every other second in his life, he felt like he knew just what to do.

This was the good bit, the bit that convinced him that this time it wouldn’t go so horribly wrong.

Opening his eyes, he scrunched his toes against the soft threadbare strands of carpet and steadied himself.

Grey’s presence hummed comfortingly near. When fairies were in love, they could share their glamour, heal one another with it, share energy and connect with each another in a way that sounded so similar to the mating Grey longed for that Si wondered if it wasn’t the same thing. And the sex when you were connected was supposed to be fucking mind-blowing.

Si shook the thoughts from his head. He needed to focus.

Across the room, Greene’s eyes began to widen comically. Probably he could feel the ripple of Si’s magic as it charged the air around him, but Si didn’t care; there was nothing in his contract that said what he could or couldn’t do. And unless Greene transported him from the room somehow, there was nothing he could do to stop him either.

The urge to dramatically clap his hands together was strong. But good magic didn’t announce itself, as Levi, his mentor, used to say.

Si took a deep breath, then murmured as softly and as clearly as possible, “Let the truth be known.”

For an instant, the air shimmered, filled with the scent of dying leaves, oranges, freshly brewed black tea.

The world seemed to expand. Details became richer.

The truth was known. Si was certain of it, even if the details of how it was known eluded him.

A giddy, joyous feeling that whatever he’d done had worked danced in his chest, a feeling so at odds with the shocked expressions of everyone in the room. But it didn’t matter how they were staring at him. It had worked. He had worked. His glamour wasn’t some cosmic joke for other fairies to laugh at. It was useful. He was useful.

So why was all the air being sucked from his lungs? Why was the happy feeling disintegrating? Why was the world beginning to blur? But before he could come up with any answers that made sense, Grey’s carpet tilted towards him with the unexpected speed of a rollercoaster, and all the warm light suddenly drained from the room.

About the Author

Suki Fleet is an award-winning author, a prolific Reader (though less prolific than they’d like), and a lover of angst, romance and unexpected love stories.They write lyrical stories about memorable characters and believe everyone should have a chance at a happy ending.
Their first novel This is Not a Love Story won Best Gay Debut in the 2014 Rainbow Awards, and was a finalist in the 2015 Lambda Awards. Their novel Foxes won Best Gay Young Adult in the 2016 Rainbow Awards.

Social Media Links

Blog/Website| Facebook| Twitter @SukiFleet

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a choice of one of 5 ebooks from Suki’s backlist

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Continue ReadingRELEASE BLITZ: “Fight For This” by Suki Fleet. Rafflecopter Giveaway Included! See entry below: