“I love Matty & Rob. This is such a wonderful story. A must read.” 5 stars! 😀
via Goodreads | Gina’s review of Training Complex.
author. human. working hard to become stellar at life.
by Leta
“I love Matty & Rob. This is such a wonderful story. A must read.” 5 stars! 😀
via Goodreads | Gina’s review of Training Complex.
by Leta
“I admit that when I heard about this book coming out, I was excited. The first one rocked my socks off and I couldn’t wait to get more Matty & Rob. When Training Complex was released yesterday (surprise!) I couldn’t buy it fast enough.
…It was so beautiful I wanted to cry.
So read it (assuming you’ve read Training Season. If you haven’t, go read that one and then read Training Complex). Just read it. Be ready for an emotional journey, but I promise it will be worth it.”
via Amazon.com: Jewel Cardwell’s review of Training Complex (Training Season Series B….
by Leta
Twice Cut
Part of writing is cutting the parts of the book that you may like but don’t serve the plot or pace of the story. As a book, Training Complex, the sequel to 2013’s Training Season, contains a lot of sex, but at one time it contained even more. In fact, four sex scenes were cut from the final book and I will be sharing them on various blogs over the next couple of months.
This scene was actually written for Training Season back in 2013 but was cut from that book for various reasons. I loved it so much, though, that I tried to work it into Training Complex. I made editorial changes to the setting and the situation, but, for the most part, it’s the same scene. I probably spent six hours reworking this, though, and so it hurt a little when once again it ended up on the cutting room floor.
But I present it to you now in hopes that you may enjoy it just a little and get a taste of some of what might be offered in Training Complex itself.
CLICK ON THROUGH TO CRYSTAL’S MANY REVIEWERS TO READ THE SCENE!
by Leta
“A must read for anyone who enjoyed “Training Season”. Leta took us on an emotional journey that was at times heart breaking. In my opinion, doing a wonderful job of dealing with some pretty heavy issues.
Rob and Matty are one of my favorite book couples. These men aren’t perfect. They both make mistakes. My heart broke for them both throughout parts of this book. I love Matty very much but at times I just wanted to knock some sense into him. But their love for each other is undeniable and absolutely breathtaking!
It was wonderful to see Matty getting healthy and both of them getting happy, both individually and as a couple. The battle is always worth it in the end!
Their ending couldn’t of been more perfect! I honestly can’t remember feeling this happy and content after reading a book. It was just PERFECT!
I am a huge fan of Leta Blake. If you haven’t read any of her books, you really should give her a try!”
read more via Amazon.com: Leda Helgeson’s review of Training Complex
Click for reviews and praise for Training Complex!
ARe|Amazon|Smashwords|Barnes & Noble|iTunes.
by Leta
Training Season is bringing home so many nominations! I am just overwhelmed and shocked by the number of categories this book has been nominated for! Thank you so much to every reader out there! Y’all are the absolute best! No matter the outcome, I know how unbelievably lucky I am just to have readers who love the book enough to nominate it! Sending out my love to all of you!
I have no idea how to vote for Training Season or any other book, but feel free to go to Goodreads HERE and figure out how to vote for you favorites! LOL! 😀
And guess what, guys? This book is currently on sale for 99 cents through the end of November. So, if you haven’t checked it out? Now is a great opportunity! Thanks so much for everything!
by Leta
Just a reminder that Training Season is available for 99 cents through the end of November! Only at Amazon!
“Does Training Season by Leta Blake live up to all it’s crazy hype? IT SO DOES!” – Breann, Boy Meets Boy Reviews
“A tale told with such flair and tenderness, and with such insight into the two main characters that I will read it over and over again.” – Susan Mac Nicol, The Romance Review Site
“If you are looking something real with passion that leaps off the pages, read this book. Now. You will NOT be disappointed.” – Mama Kitty Reviews
“I am stunned. I am shocked. What did I just read? A wonderful story? A gorgeous tale of love, hope, loss, acceptance, forgiveness? All of the above? You bet your sweet ass.” – The Risque Redhead Reviews
“I loved it in pretty much every way it’s possible to love a book and its characters.” – Lisa, The Novel Approach
“I’m emotionally drained after finishing Training Season by Leta Blake! Nothing better than a story that keeps you thinking of the characters when you aren’t reading. And now that I’ve finished, I want to go back and reread it.”- Lady McNeill, Ms. Condit and Friends Read Books
“Highly recommended with 5+ glittery hearts and one unforgettable North Star!” – Wendy, Hearts On Fire Reviews
“I feel like I could talk about this book forever. It took me on an emotional journey that was really wonderful and I highly recommend it.” – Joyfully Jay, M/M Romance Reviews And More
“This book is the epitome of perfection.” – Yuki, Read Me to The End of the World
“A memorable story so sweetly told that it’s a real hardship when the story ends and you realise that even though Rob and Matty have their Happily Ever After, you don’t because you want to keep on reading!” – Susan Mac Nicol, The Romance Review Site
via Training Season – Kindle edition by Leta Blake. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com..
by Leta
Writing M/M gay romances are not easy as new author, Jamie Lake is the first to admit but when I connected with him, he told me his secret to the success of his book series ‘Bad Boy’ and what his writing process was in creating it.
For those who aren’t familiar with the Bad Boy series, tell us about it. It’s the story of a really hot teacher who becomes desperate for money when his hours are cut and the only choice he has is to moonlight as an erotic masseuse for men. The problem is, he has to keep is profession a secret from the school and it’s right when he meets the guy of his dreams, who happens to be not only one of his student’s dads but also a cop.
If you could be any of your characters in Bad Boy for a day, who would you choose and why? I’d say Chip cause he’s so hot. I’d touch myself all day. Haha. And also cause he’s a parent and I’d love to be a dad one day soon. I think I’d love a daughter but I’m open to whatever God blesses me with.
How long did it take you to write Bad Boy? The first Bad Boy book, I think might have taken me a few weeks. I can write a book in a week or less but by the time it goes through editing and copyediting, it can take a few weeks, sometimes longer.
How do you plan your writing day? Well, I get up first thing in the morning and after taking a leak and walking the dogs and procrastinating, I’ll try to write in 20 minute sessions. I usually, that early in the morning, manage to do a couple of sessions before I take my morning nap and then I wake up and try write at least until 3pm with those 20 minute sessions. If I have any drive left after that, I try to write more. I go to bed between 7:30pm-10pm every night but I always get up at 4am either way. Sometimes I’ll watch a TV show on Amazon Prime before I go to bed.
Writing so many different series from The Trainer, Boyfriend for Rent, Marked for Love, Stay Always and Bad Boy, do you ever get the characters mixed up? No, because I focus on just one book series at a time. I could juggle two probably, like write one in the morning and the other in the afternoon, but I prefer not.
What m/m books other than your own do you recommend people to read? I’m a big fan of what Kindle Alexander and River James are doing. And I love Sara York. They’re all awesome people.
What are some of the biggest misconceptions that you think people who don’t read m/m have about the genre? Many people assume the books are all about sex and that seems to be the consensus of what a lot of people think about gay relationships. They are so focused on the sex part, they don’t stop to think about the relationship. Many of my straight male friends talk about the exact same relationship problems with their girlfriends that I’ve experienced with my boyfriends.
Where can we get a copy of Bad Boy? You can get it exclusively on Amazon or email me at JamieLakeNovels AT gmail.
by Leta
Jenni Lea’s breathless review of Training Season will never not make me happy! 🙂
“After reading everyone else’s reviews I know there is no way I can put it as eloquently and intelligently as those so I’ve decided to just tell you how this book made me feel. Filters off, this is gonna be real and raw.
Ready?
Ahem.
*deep breath*
OH MY GAWD YOU GUYS THIS BOOK IS SO AWESOME I CAN’T BELIEVE I GOT TO READ SUCH AN AMAZING STORY I LAUGHED AND CRIED AND LAUGHED SOME MORE I LOVE MATTY I LOVE ROB I LOVE BEN I LOVE MATTY’S MOM I WANT HER TO BE MY MOM TOO SO I CAN CALL HER DONNA I WANT TO MARRY ROB AND HAVE HIS BABIES HE’S SO HOT I WANT TO LICK HIM ALL OVER I WANT TO FEED MATTY AND MAYBE TRY HOT WATER WITH BITTERS EVEN THOUGH IT SOUNDS AWFUL I’M SAD ABOUT THEIR STORY BUT HAPPY TOO I HATED THE PAIN THEY WENT THROUGH IT TORE MY HEART RIGHT OUTTA MY CHEST AND STOMPED ON IT AND CAN I PLEASE HAVE THEIR BABIES I WANT THEM TO LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER AND BE A PART OF THEIR LIFE I WANT TO BE A GAY BOY FIGURE SKATER TOO AND FALL IN LOVE WITH A SEXY RANCHER MOUNTAIN MAN AND CAN THIS PLEASE BE A REAL THING I WANT TO MOVE TO MONTANA AND ICE SKATE ON A FROZEN LAKE I WANT A RUSSIAN SKATING COACH AND TO DO A TRIPLE AXEL I WANT TO HAVE SEX LIKE THEY DO OK MAYBE NOT SOME OF IT BUT I WANT TO FEEL WHAT THEY FELT AND CAN I PLEASE HAVE A FEW DAYS OFF FROM WORK SO I CAN DEVOUR THIS BOOK AGAIN I NEED FOR LETA BLAKE TO WRITE MORE STORIES HOW HAVE I NEVER HEARD OF LETA BLAKE BEFORE THIS IS GOING ON MY BEST OF THE FREAKIN BEST SHELF CAN I PLEASE HAVE MORE LIKE YESTERDAY I WANT TO FEEL THIS KIND OF LOVE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.
Whew!
Got it? Good.”
via Goodreads | Jenni Lea (Alpharetta, GA)’s review of Training Season.
by Leta
“Well-written. Heartbreaking. Funny. A journey that is a testament to the drive of the human spirit.”
“This book takes you on a wonderful journey!”
Amazon.com: Island Lover’s review of Training Season.
by Leta
“A+ Would sit home on a Saturday night to read again!”
Goodreads | Carly (The United States)’s review of Training Season.
by Leta
Reading a gay erotic romance novel, you’d never know that anal sex between men wasn’t clean, easy, and fuss-free. However, as the following videos with Davy Wavy attest, that’s not always (or possibly even often) the case.
[youtube=http://youtu.be/EzH5kIEGmBk?t=2m27s]
[If the above YouTube video isn’t cued to the right place, it’s at 2:27.]
It’s interesting that in the video above they are discussing the tendency of the porn industry to also present anal sex as totally poop free. From that, I think we can all concur that lots of poop on dicks isn’t considered an ideal turn-on for human beings in general. There’s a reason it’s left out of porn and erotic romance scenes.
But, as Davy points out, it does happen. That’s why many gay men douche or use enemas to try to keep it from interfering as much as it might otherwise. It’s one reason, I think, that not a single gay man who has reviewed my book Training Season has made any noise at all about the scene where one of the MCs uses an enema as part of a non-sexual BDSM scene with his boyfriend. [Perhaps that’s another topic for another day: BDSM scenes are not always sexual.] Many straight female readers, however, have really clutched their pearls over that scene.
I can’t say that surprises me. When the characters started that scene when I was writing it, I said, “Hey, guys, readers are going to hate this. Stop.” But they didn’t stop. So I wrote it. And then editors didn’t hate it. So, we left it in, and went with it. I’m glad that we did. I feel like it’s something that is real and isn’t seen in every book out there.
I remember when I was in college an older friend said to me, “You know you’re with a man who really loves you if you can take a shit in front of him and he still finds you attractive later.” At the time I pondered that comment a lot, but I do think she was on to something there. I appreciated the characters in the book going to a place that few people seem entirely willing to even think about going. The scene was intimate and intense, but not sexual, and advanced the story in an important way.
Anyway, yes, shit happens during anal sex. Porn and the erotic romance might not want to show those realities very often, but I think that there is something almost fetishistic about refusing to contemplate the potential realities associated with a certain act. And I think the fact that gay male readers haven’t found the scene problematic speaks rather clearly to the fact that they’re cool with enemas and other preparation for anal sex that might include the dreaded poo. It’s straight female readers, who often aren’t as familiar with anal sex or the prep that goes with it, who are reacting so negatively to a preparatory scene, and, well, I think that says something interesting, too. Something worth mentioning and thinking about.
Anyway, below is Davy Wavy giving some life tips from his bedroom. Two are applicable to this post: when it doubt douche it out, and shit happens so don’t buy white sheets.
[youtube=http://youtu.be/KdifTiEzXaE]
by Leta
“It seemed every new chapter exposed the reader to new facets of their lives and every one of them was interesting!”
“I would highly recommend this book to anyone loving m/m romance with one hot alpha male and his sexy princess figure skater!”
“4.5 Amazing Stars!”
Goodreads | Ann’s review of Training Season.
by Leta
Humiliation #kink–getting the appeal #bdsm #amwriting #mmromance.
Amelia has many interesting things to say about humiliation kink and also a few things to say about Training Season in her above linked post. Love it. She’s a smart one.
***
by Leta
No foolin’ this time! It’s the real deal!
TRAINING SEASON IS AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK!!
I got that whole back cover thing fixed right up, so go forth and pick up your copy!
(Though, hey, nothing’s perfect, and apparently it might take a few days for the change to reflect on the Amazon site itself, but any books sold will have the correct blurb!)
AND I’m giving away two signed copies to two folks who comment here on my blog. I’ll use the random number generator thingy from the interwebs to choose from the comments and contact you. Oh, and the end date for signing up for this little drawing will be on February 3rd!
If you’d like to be considered for this giveaway, please leave a comment below!
Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed and loved on Training Season! You guys, I never imagined this book would be so well loved! THANK YOU! And thank you again! And again! AND AGAIN!
by Leta
“TRAINING SEASON is a tale told with such flair and tenderness, and with such insight into the two main characters that this is a book I will read over and over again.”
“A memorable story so sweetly told that it’s a real hardship when the story ends and you realise that even though Rob and Matty have their HEA, you don’t because you want to keep on reading!”
via The Romance Reviews (TRR) – Training Season
Read more of Susan MacNicol’s gushing review of Training Season at the link above and click below to buy a copy of your own!
by Leta
“Does Training Season by Leta Blake live up to all it’s crazy hype? IT SO DOES!”
— Breann, at Boy Meets Boy Reviews
Read more of her glowing review at: Boy Meets Boy Reviews: Review: Training Season by Leta Blake.
by Leta
I am giddy over this new review! Thank you so much Ninjakitty! 😀
Review: Training Season by Leta Blake | Mama Kitty Reviews.
To quote:
“If you are looking something real, and passion that leaps off the pages, read this book. Now. You will NOT be disappointed.”
“This book felt like a real relationship, crazy hits of jealousy, moments of exasperation and the very real knife of sometimes making decisions that suck. This is the only time I have ever, and I mean EVER, emailed an author halfway through reading a book to exclaim how much I loved it.”
“What if you were madly in love, and your love treated you terribly? Abused you, mocked you, crushed your dreams and didn’t even kiss you before it screwed you? What if sometimes that love sent you flying, touching the edges of greatness and sending you away with love pouring from every particle of your body? No, this is not an episode of Teen Mom or even the latest and greatest BDSM novel. This is figure skating, and just because you might wear eye shadow doesn’t mean you get cry like a girl.”
Rating: 5 Stars