Leta Blake

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

mmromance

Fan Favorite The River Leith is on iTunes Now! #gay #mmromance #amnesia

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Click on the pic to go to iTunes!

Memory is everything. After an injury in the ring, amateur boxer Leith Wenz wakes to discover his most recent memories are three years out of date. Unmoored and struggling to face his new reality, Leith must cope anew with painful revelations about his family. His brother is there to support him, but it’s the unfamiliar face of Zach, a man introduced as his best friend, that provides the calm he craves. Until Zach’s presence begins to stir up feelings Leith can’t explain. For Zach, being forgotten by his lover is excruciating. He carefully hides the truth from Leith to protect them both from additional pain. His bottled-up turmoil finds release through vlogging, where he confesses his fears and grief to the faceless Internet. But after Leith begins to open up to him, Zach's choices may come back to haunt him. Ultimately, Leith must ask his heart the questions memory can no longer answer.
Memory is everything.
After an injury in the ring, amateur boxer Leith Wenz wakes to discover his most recent memories are three years out of date. Unmoored and struggling to face his new reality, Leith must cope anew with painful revelations about his family. His brother is there to support him, but it’s the unfamiliar face of Zach, a man introduced as his best friend, that provides the calm he craves. Until Zach’s presence begins to stir up feelings Leith can’t explain.
For Zach, being forgotten by his lover is excruciating. He carefully hides the truth from Leith to protect them both from additional pain. His bottled-up turmoil finds release through vlogging, where he confesses his fears and grief to the faceless Internet. But after Leith begins to open up to him, Zach’s choices may come back to haunt him.
Ultimately, Leith must ask his heart the questions memory can no longer answer.

Opportunities to get The River Leith for free! #mmromance #gay

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I’ve been sick with a fever and tummy issues, so I’m a little behind! Sorry!

First, there are opportunities to win a copy of The River Leith at the following blogs:

1) Stumbling Over Chaos

2) The Novel Approach

3) Smut Book Club Raffelcopter at end of the lovely review post.

Second, I also did a guest blog at The Novel Approach.

And, lastly, The River Leith became an ARe Bestseller!!

BestsellerIcon100X100

Thanks to Chris, Lisa, and Solange for the wonderful help getting The River Leith out there!

Memory is everything. After an injury in the ring, amateur boxer Leith Wenz wakes to discover his most recent memories are three years out of date. Unmoored and struggling to face his new reality, Leith must cope anew with painful revelations about his family. His brother is there to support him, but it’s the unfamiliar face of Zach, a man introduced as his best friend, that provides the calm he craves. Until Zach’s presence begins to stir up feelings Leith can’t explain. For Zach, being forgotten by his lover is excruciating. He carefully hides the truth from Leith to protect them both from additional pain. His bottled-up turmoil finds release through vlogging, where he confesses his fears and grief to the faceless Internet. But after Leith begins to open up to him, Zach's choices may come back to haunt him. Ultimately, Leith must ask his heart the questions memory can no longer answer.
Memory is everything.
After an injury in the ring, amateur boxer Leith Wenz wakes to discover his most recent memories are three years out of date. Unmoored and struggling to face his new reality, Leith must cope anew with painful revelations about his family. His brother is there to support him, but it’s the unfamiliar face of Zach, a man introduced as his best friend, that provides the calm he craves. Until Zach’s presence begins to stir up feelings Leith can’t explain.
For Zach, being forgotten by his lover is excruciating. He carefully hides the truth from Leith to protect them both from additional pain. His bottled-up turmoil finds release through vlogging, where he confesses his fears and grief to the faceless Internet. But after Leith begins to open up to him, Zach’s choices may come back to haunt him.
Ultimately, Leith must ask his heart the questions memory can no longer answer.

Whoot! Free Copy of The River Leith at Stumbling Over Chaos! #free #ebook #mmromance

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Just click on over using THIS LINK to comment for a free copy of The River Leith!

Memory is everything. After an injury in the ring, amateur boxer Leith Wenz wakes to discover his most recent memories are three years out of date. Unmoored and struggling to face his new reality, Leith must cope anew with painful revelations about his family. His brother is there to support him, but it’s the unfamiliar face of Zach, a man introduced as his best friend, that provides the calm he craves. Until Zach’s presence begins to stir up feelings Leith can’t explain. For Zach, being forgotten by his lover is excruciating. He carefully hides the truth from Leith to protect them both from additional pain. His bottled-up turmoil finds release through vlogging, where he confesses his fears and grief to the faceless Internet. But after Leith begins to open up to him, Zach's choices may come back to haunt him. Ultimately, Leith must ask his heart the questions memory can no longer answer.
Memory is everything.
After an injury in the ring, amateur boxer Leith Wenz wakes to discover his most recent memories are three years out of date. Unmoored and struggling to face his new reality, Leith must cope anew with painful revelations about his family. His brother is there to support him, but it’s the unfamiliar face of Zach, a man introduced as his best friend, that provides the calm he craves. Until Zach’s presence begins to stir up feelings Leith can’t explain.
For Zach, being forgotten by his lover is excruciating. He carefully hides the truth from Leith to protect them both from additional pain. His bottled-up turmoil finds release through vlogging, where he confesses his fears and grief to the faceless Internet. But after Leith begins to open up to him, Zach’s choices may come back to haunt him.
Ultimately, Leith must ask his heart the questions memory can no longer answer.

Editing Woes: Leith & Zach’s Deleted Texts #mmromance #extras

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Whenever I pay to have something edited, the rule I set for myself is to always take the editor’s advice on what to cut, even if it makes me sad. In The River Leith there were a few lines that got cut that I liked a lot, and an entire scene that I’ll post at another date, but there was a specific text interaction that I’d really loved and it was especially hard to cut that one.

It was short. It was sweet. And it probably only makes sense in the context of the book. But here it is. The first text is from Leith, the second from Zach.

***

Today, my psychiatrist compared my mind to a map of the universe.
The reply from Zach took only a few moments.
My God! It’s full of stars!!!!

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Yep, that took me about thirty minutes of fretting to finally cut. It was the right choice, though. That’s what we pay editors for, my friends!

Memory is everything. After an injury in the ring, amateur boxer Leith Wenz wakes to discover his most recent memories are three years out of date. Unmoored and struggling to face his new reality, Leith must cope anew with painful revelations about his family. His brother is there to support him, but it’s the unfamiliar face of Zach, a man introduced as his best friend, that provides the calm he craves. Until Zach’s presence begins to stir up feelings Leith can’t explain. For Zach, being forgotten by his lover is excruciating. He carefully hides the truth from Leith to protect them both from additional pain. His bottled-up turmoil finds release through vlogging, where he confesses his fears and grief to the faceless Internet. But after Leith begins to open up to him, Zach's choices may come back to haunt him. Ultimately, Leith must ask his heart the questions memory can no longer answer.
Memory is everything.
After an injury in the ring, amateur boxer Leith Wenz wakes to discover his most recent memories are three years out of date. Unmoored and struggling to face his new reality, Leith must cope anew with painful revelations about his family. His brother is there to support him, but it’s the unfamiliar face of Zach, a man introduced as his best friend, that provides the calm he craves. Until Zach’s presence begins to stir up feelings Leith can’t explain.
For Zach, being forgotten by his lover is excruciating. He carefully hides the truth from Leith to protect them both from additional pain. His bottled-up turmoil finds release through vlogging, where he confesses his fears and grief to the faceless Internet. But after Leith begins to open up to him, Zach’s choices may come back to haunt him.
Ultimately, Leith must ask his heart the questions memory can no longer answer.

Yessss! The River Leith Now Available on Barnes & Noble! #mmromance #gay #amnesia

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Initial reviews for The River Leith are looking pretty good!

“I cannot even begin to express just how much I loved The River Leith. I tore through the book in a few hours because it captured me from the first page and did not let me go.” – Erika, Goodreads

And now it’s available for purchase at Barnes & Noble as well!

Memory is everything. After an injury in the ring, amateur boxer Leith Wenz wakes to discover his most recent memories are three years out of date. Unmoored and struggling to face his new reality, Leith must cope anew with painful revelations about his family. His brother is there to support him, but it’s the unfamiliar face of Zach, a man introduced as his best friend, that provides the calm he craves. Until Zach’s presence begins to stir up feelings Leith can’t explain. For Zach, being forgotten by his lover is excruciating. He carefully hides the truth from Leith to protect them both from additional pain. His bottled-up turmoil finds release through vlogging, where he confesses his fears and grief to the faceless Internet. But after Leith begins to open up to him, Zach's choices may come back to haunt him. Ultimately, Leith must ask his heart the questions memory can no longer answer.
Memory is everything.
After an injury in the ring, amateur boxer Leith Wenz wakes to discover his most recent memories are three years out of date. Unmoored and struggling to face his new reality, Leith must cope anew with painful revelations about his family. His brother is there to support him, but it’s the unfamiliar face of Zach, a man introduced as his best friend, that provides the calm he craves. Until Zach’s presence begins to stir up feelings Leith can’t explain.
For Zach, being forgotten by his lover is excruciating. He carefully hides the truth from Leith to protect them both from additional pain. His bottled-up turmoil finds release through vlogging, where he confesses his fears and grief to the faceless Internet. But after Leith begins to open up to him, Zach’s choices may come back to haunt him.
Ultimately, Leith must ask his heart the questions memory can no longer answer.

Also available at:

Amazon

Smashwords

All Romance Ebooks

and Barnes & Noble!

Early Release Day! The River Leith Available Now! #mmromance #gay #ebook

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The River Leith is now available!

Amazon

Smashwords

All Romance Ebooks

and Barnes & Noble!

What is the reason for this early release? Well, see, I’d originally planned to release the book on the 18th, my husband’s birthday, as a sort of, “Hey, happy birthday, babe! In your honor I released a book!” But, uh, apparently he’d rather I spent his special day actually, you know, paying attention to him and not messing around with getting files loaded, dealing with glitches, messing with blog posts and announcements, and all that jazz. Can you believe that? I mean, so demanding, right? 😉 Seriously, though, obviously that release-day/birthday thing wasn’t the best plan in the world. Luckily, I resolved that and now…*drumroll*…the book is available several days early! Hooray! Go forth and buy! *bounces* *bites nails* Hope you enjoy!

Memory is everything. After an injury in the ring, amateur boxer Leith Wenz wakes to discover his most recent memories are three years out of date. Unmoored and struggling to face his new reality, Leith must cope anew with painful revelations about his family. His brother is there to support him, but it’s the unfamiliar face of Zach, a man introduced as his best friend, that provides the calm he craves. Until Zach’s presence begins to stir up feelings Leith can’t explain. For Zach, being forgotten by his lover is excruciating. He carefully hides the truth from Leith to protect them both from additional pain. His bottled-up turmoil finds release through vlogging, where he confesses his fears and grief to the faceless Internet. But after Leith begins to open up to him, Zach's choices may come back to haunt him. Ultimately, Leith must ask his heart the questions memory can no longer answer.
Memory is everything.
After an injury in the ring, amateur boxer Leith Wenz wakes to discover his most recent memories are three years out of date. Unmoored and struggling to face his new reality, Leith must cope anew with painful revelations about his family. His brother is there to support him, but it’s the unfamiliar face of Zach, a man introduced as his best friend, that provides the calm he craves. Until Zach’s presence begins to stir up feelings Leith can’t explain.
For Zach, being forgotten by his lover is excruciating. He carefully hides the truth from Leith to protect them both from additional pain. His bottled-up turmoil finds release through vlogging, where he confesses his fears and grief to the faceless Internet. But after Leith begins to open up to him, Zach’s choices may come back to haunt him.
Ultimately, Leith must ask his heart the questions memory can no longer answer.

“Leta Blake knocks it out of the park with delicious angst and drama.” | Keira Andrews’s review of The River Leith #mmromance

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“Amnesia is one of my very favourite tropes, and Leta Blake knocks it out of the park here with delicious angst and drama. Leith and Zach’s struggle to come to terms with the new reality where Leith can’t remember knowing Zach at all — let alone being madly in love with him — is gripping. My heart broke for both the characters and I rooted hard for their happy ending.

The book is told from Leith’s POV, but Blake uses vlog transcripts as a clever device to give us insight into Zach’s perspective as well. His anger, confusion and hurt comes across vividly. I loved that Zach and Leith are flawed people who make mistakes, and that there are no easy solutions to their predicament. I also loved that the slow burn of UST isn’t rushed. If you’re looking for mindless sex from the get-go, this isn’t the book for you. But when the sex does happen after a long buildup, it’s so much more meaningful — and smokin’ hot!

The supporting characters, especially Arthur and Dr. Thakur, are quirky and well drawn. Also, the author includes a note at the end of the book saying that she downplayed the medical realities of head injuries and amnesia for the sake of having fun with a time-honoured romance trope. I certainly have no problem with that, and was able to settle in for the ride with no concerns about the realism of head injuries (which, let’s face it — don’t make for very good escapism!).

Full disclosure: I worked as the editor on this book. The first time I read it, I’d opened the file to just take a glance. I ended up spending the new few hours gobbling up the story in one gulp! It was completely captivating. Two thumbs up!”

via Goodreads | Keira Andrews (Toronto, ON, Canada)’s review of The River Leith.

Memory is everything. After an injury in the ring, amateur boxer Leith Wenz wakes to discover his most recent memories are three years out of date. Unmoored and struggling to face his new reality, Leith must cope anew with painful revelations about his family. His brother is there to support him, but it’s the unfamiliar face of Zach, a man introduced as his best friend, that provides the calm he craves. Until Zach’s presence begins to stir up feelings Leith can’t explain. For Zach, being forgotten by his lover is excruciating. He carefully hides the truth from Leith to protect them both from additional pain. His bottled-up turmoil finds release through vlogging, where he confesses his fears and grief to the faceless Internet. But after Leith begins to open up to him, Zach's choices may come back to haunt him. Ultimately, Leith must ask his heart the questions memory can no longer answer.
Memory is everything.
After an injury in the ring, amateur boxer Leith Wenz wakes to discover his most recent memories are three years out of date. Unmoored and struggling to face his new reality, Leith must cope anew with painful revelations about his family. His brother is there to support him, but it’s the unfamiliar face of Zach, a man introduced as his best friend, that provides the calm he craves. Until Zach’s presence begins to stir up feelings Leith can’t explain.
For Zach, being forgotten by his lover is excruciating. He carefully hides the truth from Leith to protect them both from additional pain. His bottled-up turmoil finds release through vlogging, where he confesses his fears and grief to the faceless Internet. But after Leith begins to open up to him, Zach’s choices may come back to haunt him.
Ultimately, Leith must ask his heart the questions memory can no longer answer.

“If you read only one M/M Romance this spring, Training Season would be an excellent choice.” 5 stars | Queer Town Abbey

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“If you read only one M/M Romance this spring, Training Season would be an excellent choice.

If Training Season author, Leta Blake, is predisposed to a swollen head, then I am about to add to her cranial inflation by awarding Training Season five stars. Quite simply, Blake’s complex, compelling saga of an emotionally and physically injured ice skating star seeking redemption and Olympic Gold, is a completely realized and entertaining work.”

via Training Season By Leta Blake | Queer Town Abbey.

 

trainingseason
Click the picture to buy at Amazon. Also available at Kobo, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, and many other ebook retailers!

On May 18th, He Won’t Remember to Forget Him. #mmromance #gay

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Coming May 18th!

Memory is everything.

After an injury in the ring, amateur boxer Leith Wenz wakes to discover his most recent memories are three years out of date. Unmoored and struggling to face his new reality, Leith must cope anew with painful revelations about his family. His brother is there to support him, but it’s the unfamiliar face of Zach, a man introduced as his best friend, that provides the calm he craves. Until Zach’s presence begins to stir up feelings Leith can’t explain.

For Zach, being forgotten by his lover is excruciating. He carefully hides the truth from Leith to protect them both from additional pain. His bottled-up turmoil finds release through vlogging, where he confesses his fears and grief to the faceless Internet. But after Leith begins to open up to him, Zach’s choices may come back to haunt him.

Ultimately, Leith must ask his heart the questions memory can no longer answer.

Memory is everything. After an injury in the ring, amateur boxer Leith Wenz wakes to discover his most recent memories are three years out of date. Unmoored and struggling to face his new reality, Leith must cope anew with painful revelations about his family. His brother is there to support him, but it’s the unfamiliar face of Zach, a man introduced as his best friend, that provides the calm he craves. Until Zach’s presence begins to stir up feelings Leith can’t explain. For Zach, being forgotten by his lover is excruciating. He carefully hides the truth from Leith to protect them both from additional pain. His bottled-up turmoil finds release through vlogging, where he confesses his fears and grief to the faceless Internet. But after Leith begins to open up to him, Zach's choices may come back to haunt him. Ultimately, Leith must ask his heart the questions memory can no longer answer.
Click to add the book on Goodreads! Due out May 18th!

Review of Black Dog (Bannon’s Gym) by Joder at Amazon.com #gay #mma @CatGrant2009

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Black Dog by Cat Grant is available at Amazon! Click to read more reviews and buy!

“Along with these realistic and immensely appealing cast of characters comes the vividly depicted world of fighting. I could feel the energy and excitement and became completely immersed in the heartpounding fight scenes drenched in sweat. Ms. Grant perfectly combined action with romance all the while emphasizing this testosterone-filled world featuring lots of sweaty and sexy men who wore their hearts on their sleeves.” — Amazon.com: J. Faltys “Joder”‘s review of Black Dog (Bannon’s Gym).

“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?

Romance Lives Forever: Character Interview: Matty Marcus from Training Season @LetaBlake #RLFblog #LGBT

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Romance Lives Forever: Character Interview: Matty Marcus from Training Season @LetaBlake #RLFblog #LGBT.

Today I’m over at Romance Lives Forever doing a character interview with Matty. He was in a subdued mood when answering the questions, apparently, but hopefully he’s still interesting! 😛 Click the link above to read the interview!

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?

“My perceptions were completely altered [by this book] & that’s pretty powerful.” Review: Training Season | The Book Nympho #mmromance #gay

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“My perceptions were completely altered [by this book] & that’s pretty powerful.”

“Matty forced me out of my comfort zone with respect to m/m romances. He’s effeminate, dresses outrageously and wears makeup, leaving no question as to his sexual orientation. I was unsure if I could connect with him and here was the power of the story.”

 “I’m thrilled that the author created Matty and wrapped this wonderful story around him.”

Read more of Jonette’s wonderful review here:  Review: Training Season by Leta Blake | The Book Nympho.

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?

#Free Recipe, Books, Gift Cards, and More! – Indra Vaughn: The House On Hancock Hill #ebook #mmromance

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HouseonHancockHill[The]_headerbanner

Pastry chef and bakery owner Jason Wood bakes a mean chocolate soufflé, yet his love life keeps falling flat. He’d blame his past if he wasn’t trying so hard to avoid it.

When his family’s farmhouse burns to the ground, he’s summoned to identify a body found in the ashes. Jason returns to Hancock, Michigan, and reunites with a childhood friend, small town vet Henry McCavanaugh. After fifteen years apart, their rekindled friendship soon develops into much more. But Jason’s baggage threatens their blossoming romance, and he leaves town unannounced to escape his feelings—and Henry’s feelings for him. He has learned the hard way if something seems too good to be true, it’s best to run for the hills. Jason stress-bakes more confections than he knows what to do with before wondering if he’s running in the wrong direction.

Available now at Amazon, ARe and Dreamspinner!

HouseonHancockHill[cover]
Available now at Amazon, ARe and Dreamspinner!
Today, Indra Vaughn is here on my blog to share a recipe from her upcoming book, The House on Hancock Hill. She’s also running a giveaway and has provided a wonderful excerpt from the book! Let’s welcome Indra! And check out her book!

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On the morning after Jason ends up staying at Henry’s house (completely platonically… for now), he makes some amazing French toast. Now, this recipe isn’t entirely the same, but let’s just say in the meantime Jason has discovered Henry’s love for all things Nutella 🙂

Nutella & Banana French Toast

What you will need:

• Tablespoon of oil or cooking spray
• 4 big bananas, the riper the better
• 8 slices of bread, whichever you prefer making French toast with
• Nutella
• 1/2 cup milk (you can use heavy cream if you don’t care about the calories)
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• cinnamon to taste (I always think less is more when it comes to cinnamon, but I know some people like lots of it!)
• Optional: Powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat the cooking spray or oil in an oven proof skillet over medium heat.
3. Pair up your slices of bread, spread Nutella on all of them, and banana mash on half of the slices. Then make closed sandwiches out of them.
4. Whisk the milk, eggs, vanilla and cinnamon in a bowl.
5. Dip the bread in the bowl until it’s nice and soaked. (If the bread is very absorbent, you might have to make a little more of the mix.)
6. Cook the bread in the skillet for 2 minutes on either side, then place all the slices in the oven on an ungreased baking sheet for 8 minutes, keeping an eye out so there is no burning.
7. Sprinkle a little powdered sugar on top of the toast to make it look pretty if you like, then serve up and enjoy!

Note: If you don’t like bananas or for variety’s sake, you can skip those, just add the Nutella, and decorate with strawberries or a fruit you do like at the end!

Time for the Giveaway!

The prizes:
1. A signed copy of The House on Hancock Hill + a choice of my backlist + a $25 Amazon GC + a selection of Swag!
2. A signed copy of The House on Hancock Hill + a $10 Amazon GC + a selection of Swag!
3. An e-copy in the format of your choice of The House on Hancock Hill + a $5 Amazon GC

Follow the link to participate –> a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you would like to get in touch with me in the meantime, you can find me on:
Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads
Tumblr (which is NSFW)
Livejournal

Now go forth and indulge in something yummy.

Excerpt:

Since the bakery had closed two hours ago, I considered not going inside the shop to check who it was, but the knock came again. I couldn’t remember any other time anyone had tried to get in at this hour, so I stuck my head through the kitchen door. A man was pressing a hand to the window and peering in. I didn’t need to turn on the light to see who it was. That build—those strong shoulders and narrow waist, sharp cheekbones and a well-defined jaw. An exquisitely tailored three-piece suit.

It was Tom.

If he hadn’t spotted me then, I’d have hidden in the kitchen and waited for him to leave. Swallowing hard, I wiped my hands on a clean towel, snatched off my chef’s hat, and quickly looked down. There was chocolate on my apron, a smear of marzipan on my sleeve. I had butter under my nails.

Well, he’d arrived unannounced, he’d have to take it or leave it. I unlocked the door and stepped back, pulling it open. On the threshold, Tom smiled at me in a way that used to make my heart swell.

“My God, Jason.” Tom said nothing else, and I couldn’t help it: it thrilled me to see him look at me like that.

“Tom.” I faltered. What could I say? Good to see you? I wasn’t sure it was. He grinned at me, and it was so familiar, it ached somewhere inside me even after all these years.

“I sent you an email a couple of days ago to say I was in town, but I gather from the look on your face you didn’t get it.”

“It’s been really busy.” With an apologetic little wave, I indicated the yellow and green Easter decorations, the chocolate ducklings arranged in a row according to size, the huge halved chocolate eggs filled with smaller sugar eggs.

“Well that’s great,” he said, smiling a warm, white-toothed smile. “I’m pleased. Is this a really bad time? I’d love to take a look around your bakery.”

“I—yeah, sure.” I stepped aside and let him in, locking the door again so no one else could wander in. At the back of the shop, I flicked the lights on and then watched Tom look around.

To see him here was surreal. He was part of a life that had been over for so long, I didn’t know if I was comfortable with him in my bakery.

Who was I kidding? Of course I wasn’t comfortable. Tom looked like he’d walked off the front cover of Forbes magazine, and I probably had flour in my hair. To be fair, he peered around with real interest. When he spotted the marzipan animals in every color imaginable, I thought he was going to press his face to the display window like a kid. Tom didn’t have much of a sweet tooth, but I remember marzipan being his Achilles’ heel.

“Those look amazing,” he said on cue, and I laughed. “Did you make all this yourself?”

“I do the confections and Alice does the bread.” Tom beamed at me, and I rolled my eyes. “Yes, you can try one.” I stepped behind the counter and plucked a little pink piglet off the tray, handing it over with a smirk.

“Thanks, Jason. I’ll pay you.”

“No need. Go on, try it.”

Tom bit off the nose. For some reason I knew he’d do that. “Mmmm,” he went, closing his eyes and making a dramatic blissful face. “Oh my God.” He ate the rest of the piglet and licked his fingers. “That article wasn’t lying.”

I frowned at him and took off my stained apron, draping it over the cash register. “What article?”

With a dismissive wave of his hand, Tom explored the rest of the display. “Just something I read awhile back. I can’t remember where, but it’s how I found out you owned your own bakery. Oh.” He straightened. “It was about opening a second one in Detroit and how it was quickly becoming a household name or something.” I hadn’t read the article, but I couldn’t say it didn’t please me to hear it. “Who was it that opened the other one? Denny Sherwood or something?”

“Sheridan. Denny Sheridan. Sherwood is the name of the bakery.”

“Right, of course.” He looked at me out of the corner of his eye. “Got to be tough to have a long distance thing going.”

Laughing at the badly hidden snooping, I said, “He’s married with two kids.”

Tom headed back my way and grinned at me with an open affection I wasn’t used to from him. “It’s so good to see you. I didn’t give you a hug. Can I hug you, or are you still allergic to affection?”

A sudden lump rammed its way into my throat when I thought about how I’d kissed Henry in front of his clinic, visible to all and sundry. I shoved the image away. “I guess not.” It was still awkward to hug him. Maybe because it’d been so long since I’d seen Tom, and he’d just appeared out of nowhere. Or maybe I was forever going to be unable to adjust to holding someone shorter.

“You look good,” Tom said, and I let him go.

“You too.”

After a silence that had me look away first, Tom said, “Is there anywhere we can get dinner at this hour, or does everything close at eight?” He laughed, but for some reason his attitude grated on me. Traverse City wasn’t that small.

“I’m actually in the middle of making a chocolate Easter bunny. I can’t leave it overnight.”

“Can I watch?”

That was the last thing I wanted, but I didn’t know how to say it without being rude, and I doubted very much the request would’ve bothered me if it had come from Henry. “Okay. Yeah, sure.”

The Easter bunny broke in two when I took it out of the mold. Tom was perched on the clean worktable behind me, and he laughed. It took me a good minute before I could turn around without showing moisture in my eyes. Tom slid off the counter and put his hands on my arms, rubbing them up and down, so I probably hadn’t hidden my dismay very well.

“Come on,” he said. “Let me take you to dinner.”

“I’ll go grab my coat.” I went into the small office. It had a little mirror behind the door, and I quickly checked my hair. It did have flour in it. Ah well, at least the scar on my chin was slowly beginning to fade.

Available now at Amazon, ARe and Dreamspinner!

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Click to buy at Amazon!

“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?

“Enjoyable Fun Read” – 5 Stars -Brad’s review of Training Season #mmromance #gay #ebook

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“I don’t write many reviews but this one for me deserved a shout-out. The characters were fun to get to know and the HEA was a good ending.”

Read more of Brad’s 5 star review here: Amazon.com: Brad’s 5 star 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?

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?