Leta Blake

author. human. working hard to become stellar at life.

Ranching

99 cents in November! Fan Fave Training Season by Leta Blake. #sale #99cents #gay

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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..

free ebook: A Superior Slave Ganymede Quartet Book 0.5 | @Darrah_Glass #mmromance #gay

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“I’m pleased to share the first story in the Ganymede Quartet, a gay coming-of-age historical fantasy. The fantasy aspect involves a version of Gilded Age New York City that is quite recognizable except that slavery exists in a form that differs in significant ways from historical slavery.

There are four books in the main series thus Quartet and there will be several side stories in addition to this one. While this is not required reading to enjoy the series, it’s FREE, and it offers an in-depth introduction to one of the main characters.”

via free ebook: A Superior Slave Ganymede Quartet Book 0.5 | Darrah Glass.

I beta read the books in the series and absolutely loved them! The entire series is one of my all-time favorite reading experiences. I adore Darrah’s writing style and her characters! The depth of emotion that I felt in just reading this short, the loss, the excitement and anticipation, the anxiety for the outcome were overwhelming. It was intense and delightful. In this free short book, you get to meet Martin, the slave who goes forward into the rest of the four main books. It’s available for FREE on Smashwords and for .99 on Amazon. (Hopefully it will be free on Amazon before long too, too. But unfortunately Amazon hasn’t price-matched yet.) Coming soon to Barnes & Noble, iTunes, and more.

BUY LINKS:

Amazon

Smashwords

PRE-ORDER THE FIRST FULL-LENGTH BOOK OF THE SERIES! A MOST PERSONAL PROPERTY! ON AMAZON!

“I absolutely adored this book!” 5 Stars! Training Season | Live Your Life, Buy The Book

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“I absolutely adored this book! Definitely one of my favourite ‘feel good’ books. Ever!! It was perfect. Just perfect ♥ Normally I don’t particularly like swishy MC’s but Matty swished his way right into my heart! He and Rob were just delicious together.”

read more of the review at Training Season | Live Your Life, Buy The Book.

 

trainingseason

 

“Well-written. Heartbreaking. Funny. A journey that is a testament to the drive of the human spirit.” Review of Training Season #gay #ebook #romance

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“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.

cover-web-copy
Training Season can be purchased at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, ARe, and Smashwords. And also on iBooks.
Unquestionably talented figure skater Matty Marcus is willing to sacrifice everything for his Olympic dream, but his lack of discipline cost him the gold once before. Now the pressure’s on. He needs a coach who can keep him in line, but top coaches don’t come cheap, and Matty can’t afford to stay in the game no matter how badly he wants to win.
When a lucrative house-sitting gig brings him to rural Montana, Matty does his best to maintain his training regimen. Local residents turn out to be surprisingly tolerant of his flamboyant style, especially handsome young rancher Rob Lovely, who proves to be much more than a cowboy stereotype. Just as Matty requires a firm hand to perform his best on the ice, Rob shows him how strong he can be when he relinquishes control in the bedroom. With new-found self-assurance, he drives himself harder to go straight to the top.
But competition has a timetable, and to achieve his Olympic dream, Matty will have to join his new coach in New York City, leaving Rob behind. Now he must face the ultimate test. Has he truly learned how to win—on and off the ice—during his training season?

“A+ Would sit home on a Saturday night to read again!” Carly’s review of Training Season #mmromance #gay #kindle

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“A+ Would sit home on a Saturday night to read again!”

Goodreads | Carly (The United States)’s review of Training Season.

cover-web-copy
Training Season can be purchased at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, ARe, and Smashwords. And also on iBooks.
Unquestionably talented figure skater Matty Marcus is willing to sacrifice everything for his Olympic dream, but his lack of discipline cost him the gold once before. Now the pressure’s on. He needs a coach who can keep him in line, but top coaches don’t come cheap, and Matty can’t afford to stay in the game no matter how badly he wants to win.
When a lucrative house-sitting gig brings him to rural Montana, Matty does his best to maintain his training regimen. Local residents turn out to be surprisingly tolerant of his flamboyant style, especially handsome young rancher Rob Lovely, who proves to be much more than a cowboy stereotype. Just as Matty requires a firm hand to perform his best on the ice, Rob shows him how strong he can be when he relinquishes control in the bedroom. With new-found self-assurance, he drives himself harder to go straight to the top.
But competition has a timetable, and to achieve his Olympic dream, Matty will have to join his new coach in New York City, leaving Rob behind. Now he must face the ultimate test. Has he truly learned how to win—on and off the ice—during his training season?

“Highly recommend this m/m romance with one hot alpha male & his sexy figure skater!” Ann’s review of Training Season #ebook #gay #figureskating

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“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.

cover-web-copy
Training Season can be purchased at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, ARe, and Smashwords. And also on iBooks.
Unquestionably talented figure skater Matty Marcus is willing to sacrifice everything for his Olympic dream, but his lack of discipline cost him the gold once before. Now the pressure’s on. He needs a coach who can keep him in line, but top coaches don’t come cheap, and Matty can’t afford to stay in the game no matter how badly he wants to win.
When a lucrative house-sitting gig brings him to rural Montana, Matty does his best to maintain his training regimen. Local residents turn out to be surprisingly tolerant of his flamboyant style, especially handsome young rancher Rob Lovely, who proves to be much more than a cowboy stereotype. Just as Matty requires a firm hand to perform his best on the ice, Rob shows him how strong he can be when he relinquishes control in the bedroom. With new-found self-assurance, he drives himself harder to go straight to the top.
But competition has a timetable, and to achieve his Olympic dream, Matty will have to join his new coach in New York City, leaving Rob behind. Now he must face the ultimate test. Has he truly learned how to win—on and off the ice—during his training season?

Love and Praise from Satin Sheets Romance! Training Season Review! 4.5 Stars! #mmromance #gay

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Nanee at Satin Sheets Romance has a lot of love for Training Season!

“Wow! This book was a pleasant surprise, I’m not into figure skating but you don’t have to be. I cried, I laughed and I fell in love with these characters!”

Read more of her review at Satin Sheets Romance!

cover-web-copy
Training Season can be purchased at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, ARe, and Smashwords. And also on iBooks.
Unquestionably talented figure skater Matty Marcus is willing to sacrifice everything for his Olympic dream, but his lack of discipline cost him the gold once before. Now the pressure’s on. He needs a coach who can keep him in line, but top coaches don’t come cheap, and Matty can’t afford to stay in the game no matter how badly he wants to win.
When a lucrative house-sitting gig brings him to rural Montana, Matty does his best to maintain his training regimen. Local residents turn out to be surprisingly tolerant of his flamboyant style, especially handsome young rancher Rob Lovely, who proves to be much more than a cowboy stereotype. Just as Matty requires a firm hand to perform his best on the ice, Rob shows him how strong he can be when he relinquishes control in the bedroom. With new-found self-assurance, he drives himself harder to go straight to the top.
But competition has a timetable, and to achieve his Olympic dream, Matty will have to join his new coach in New York City, leaving Rob behind. Now he must face the ultimate test. Has he truly learned how to win—on and off the ice—during his training season?

Training Season Out In Paperback! Comment to Get Yer Signed Copy Here! #mmromance

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No foolin’ this time! It’s the real deal!

TRAINING SEASON IS AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK!!

Here is a copy sitting on our piano bench! IT IS A REAL BOOK, Y'ALL! I'm giddy! Giddy, I say!
Here is a copy sitting on our piano bench! IT IS A REAL BOOK, Y’ALL! I’m giddy! Giddy, I say!

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!

cover-web-copy
Training Season can be purchased at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, ARe, and Smashwords. Coming soon to iBooks.

Montana Cowboy College, Or Everything I Know About Ranching #research #writing #extras

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I would say the most helpful online resource when writing about Rob’s ranch in Training Season was the site Montana Cowboy College. It is full of fantastic information like Lessons in Ranching, which gives information on calving (needed for a scene that was deleted).

Another helpful page was the ranch hand job description. (Did your dirty mind read that the wrong way, too? No? Just me? Typical.) Which allowed me to figure out what would be some realistic activities for Rob and hands.

In addition, the Photo Gallery is full of amazing ranching and Montana pictures. Have a look to see some really cute pics of cows, some cool shots of ranchers, and some lovely scenery.

The absolute most helpful part, though, was the blog associated with the page, Millenium Cowboy . Basically, it helped with forming really realistic ideas of what a day of ranch work looked like, felt like, and, most especially, what terms were used in discussing the cattle or the work itself, because ranching, like all specialties, has it’s own little language.

Oh, and look at that, a new update on that blog shows there was knee deep snow on October 4th of this year! So, hooray, the snow in my book is possible! *gives self high five* I definitely made the right choice in changing the setting to Montana! *does a boogie*

Those of you looking into writing a book about ranching in Montana, definitely check out these links and buy his book! Extremely good stuff!

cover-web-copy
Training Season can be purchased at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, ARe, and Smashwords. And also on iBooks.
Unquestionably talented figure skater Matty Marcus is willing to sacrifice everything for his Olympic dream, but his lack of discipline cost him the gold once before. Now the pressure’s on. He needs a coach who can keep him in line, but top coaches don’t come cheap, and Matty can’t afford to stay in the game no matter how badly he wants to win.
When a lucrative house-sitting gig brings him to rural Montana, Matty does his best to maintain his training regimen. Local residents turn out to be surprisingly tolerant of his flamboyant style, especially handsome young rancher Rob Lovely, who proves to be much more than a cowboy stereotype. Just as Matty requires a firm hand to perform his best on the ice, Rob shows him how strong he can be when he relinquishes control in the bedroom. With new-found self-assurance, he drives himself harder to go straight to the top.
But competition has a timetable, and to achieve his Olympic dream, Matty will have to join his new coach in New York City, leaving Rob behind. Now he must face the ultimate test. Has he truly learned how to win—on and off the ice—during his training season?

“One of my favorite ‘feel good’ books ever!” Training Season Review | Live Your Life, Buy The Book #mmromance #gay

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“I absolutely adored this book! Definitely one of my favourite ‘feel good’ books. Ever!! It was perfect. Just perfect!”

“Beyond the MC’s are some wonderful side characters! Sooooo many great characters!”

“The descriptive writing is so beautiful too – I hate when authors are so heavy handed and verbose that I zone out – Leta Blake got the balance just right.”

Read more of Barb’s review at Live Your Life, Buy the Book’s Site:

Training Season | Live Your Life, Buy The Book.

cover-web-copy
Training Season can be purchased at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, ARe, and Smashwords. Coming soon to iBooks.

Gay Guy Reading – Review: “Truly a story you won’t want to put down.” – Training Season| #mmromance #gay

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Scott at Gay Guy Reading Review (GGR-Review) has the following to say about Training Season:

“It is truly a story you won’t want to put down.”

and

“I should receive a quick kick to the arse for not reading this [book] earlier.”

and

“I can only recommend that you follow what I did (only don’t wait as long as I did to read it). Just open it up and start reading.”

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Read the rest of his enthusiastic review here:  Training Season | GGR-Review.

cover-web-copy
Training Season can be purchased at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, ARe, and Smashwords. Coming soon to iBooks. 

What Does A Cowboy Do Anyway? – Research for Training Season #ranching #mmromance

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As you might have guessed, I don’t own a small cattle ranch in Northwestern Montana. So, when it came down to making Rob’s rancherly duties more realistic, I needed to do some research. Luckily, as usual, the internet doth provide! All praise the internet!

I’m not sure if you guys know about WikiHow, but it is a really awesome and fascinating website that has pages on how to do just about anything in the world. How to tie your shoelaces. How to castrate bulls. How to open a bakery.

And…dun, dun, dun…how to run a cattle ranch!

SONY DSC

Reading over that page gave me some general ideas about what activities Rob and his ranch hands would be getting into on the ranch, and gave me a few talking points, too. Such as, did you know:

Be aware that for most North American (especially those in Canada and northern USA) and European ranches winter feeding is the biggest source of financial loss in a ranch operation. It is often what makes or breaks the ranch as a business, so requires very careful management with an eye to absolutely no waste

This is especially true in Northwestern Montana where the winters can be brutal and a small cattle ranch is tough to keep up. There was another site that was helpful to me, also, when developing ideas on what Rob might do with his day on a ranch, how he would talk about his activities, what terms he’d use, etc. I’ll post about that on another day.

In the meantime, if you want to know about how to run a cattle ranch, click on the above link!

cover-web-copy
Training Season can be purchased at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, ARe, and Smashwords. Coming soon to iBooks.