Rainbow Awards: Current Submissions (431-440)

431) Todd Gregory - Sweat
Paperback: 264 pages
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books (June 5, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1602826692
ISBN-13: 978-1602826694
Amazon: Sweat: Gay Jock Erotica
Amazon Kindle: Sweat: Gay Jock Erotica

Their sweaty, gym-hardened bodies do battle in the arena for our entertainment and admiration. They are gladiators fighting to be the best at their chosen sport, putting their muscles on the line for the cheers of the crowd. And once the battle’s done, they strip down and get down to the serious business of giving and receiving pleasure. They are modern day gods to be worshipped, admired, touched, and loved. Here are their stories—stories of desire, lust, passion, and raw, animalistic pleasure that will blow your mind and stimulate your libido. You will never look at an athlete the same way again.

432) Carsen Taite - Slingshot
Paperback: 264 pages
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books (June 5, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1602826668
ISBN-13: 978-1602826663
Amazon: Slingshot
Amazon Kindle: Slingshot

Who says crime doesn’t pay? Luca Bennett makes her living looking for people, but her sights aren’t set on lost children separated from their parents at a busy mall or elderly Alzheimer’s patients who wandered from the nursing home. She’s a bounty hunter paid to apprehend fugitives on the lam. Luca caught her latest job from new-in-town, criminal defense attorney, Veronica “Ronnie” Moreno. Ronnie’s client, seedy local businessman Jed Quitman, failed to show up for court, and Ronnie’s boss, who secured the bond, wants him found right away. With Jed’s mug smiling from dozens of billboards and low-budget, late night television commercials, Luca figures finding him will be a breeze. It doesn’t take long for Luca to realize there’s nothing simple about this job, from a stranger threatening her to stay away, to the fiery hot woman who has Luca looking for more than the usual one-night stand. The hunt for Jed quickly turns complicated, and the pursuit is fraught with danger, as is her attraction to the elusive Ronnie Moreno. In a case loaded with twists and turns, can Luca find everything she’s looking for?

433) P.J. Trebelhorn - Missing
Paperback: 264 pages
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books; First Edition edition (June 5, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1602826684
ISBN-13: 978-1602826687
Amazon: Missing
Amazon Kindle: Missing

Olivia Andrews is a team leader on an FBI Child Abduction Rapid Deployment team. With the goal of trying to erase the void left in her life by her tumultuous childhood in the foster care system, Liv has dedicated her professional life to reuniting kidnapped children with the parents who want and love them. The problem is, more kids have turned up dead lately than alive. Sophie Kane is a new member of Liv’s team and has training in hostage negotiation. She grew up in an ultra-conservative family and was shunned when she came out to her parents at the age of sixteen. A child abduction case in rural Pennsylvania brings the two women together, and they find themselves trying to deny the mutual attraction they have while working together to stop the kidnapper. But the ghosts of the past, and the kidnapper himself, threaten to derail their budding relationship before it can even begin.

434) Ken O'Neill - The Marrying Kind
Paperback: 264 pages
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books (June 5, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1602826706
ISBN-13: 978-1602826700
Amazon: The Marrying Kind
Amazon Kindle: The Marrying Kind

Wedding planner Adam More has an epiphany: He has devoted all his life’s energy to creating events that he and his partner Steven are forbidden by federal law for having for themselves. So Adam decides to make a change. Organizing a boycott of the wedding industry, Steven and Adam call on gay organists, hairdressers, cater-waiters, priests, and hairdressers everywhere to get out of the business and to stop going to weddings, too. In this screwball, romantic comedy both the movement they’ve begun and their relationship are put in jeopardy when Steven’s brother proposes to Adam’s sister and they must decide whether they’re attending or sending regrets.

435) Benjamin Kelly - Guardian Angel
Publisher: Breathless Press (June 7, 2012)
Amazon Kindle: Guardian Angel

In a world with more than six billion people, a perfect partner exists for everyone. Katherine waited years to find hers, only to discover she has two. Unfortunately, her handsome, filthy rich, suitor isn't one of them. When she spurns his advances, nothing can save Katherine and her soul mates from his wrath.

436) Elizabeth Noble - Chained Hearts
Paperback: 200 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (June 8, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1613725418
ISBN-13: 978-1613725412
Amazon: Chained Hearts
Amazon Kindle: Chained Hearts

Sentries Series Book Three Sequel to Together Bound Todd and Nick Ruger are alive and on the run in the Yellowknife Protectorate, but maybe not for long. After narrowly escaping New Colorado, where they were implicated in the assassination of Chancellor Shaffer, they're running out of steam: Todd is gravely ill and Nick's injured. Just when it seems like the harsh winter will get the best of them, they find refuge with a doctor in the isolated town of Elk's Ridge. On the surface, Elk's Ridge seems the ideal place to rebuild their lives. Nick begins training as the doctor's apprentice, and Todd works in a lumberyard until they're recovered enough to return to their duties as Sentries. They make friends, forge a new life, and most importantly, there's no sign of anyone from New Colorado. They should have known it was too good to be true. Victor Raleigh, the new Vice Chancellor of New Colorado, knows all about Nick's psychic abilities, and he wants them in his corner. When Nick is betrayed and captured, Todd sees no alternative but to head back to the war zone to rescue him. But will Nick be the same man Todd loves after Raleigh's pet psychic vampire is through with him?

437) Ethan Day - Second Time Lucky
Paperback: 380 pages
Publisher: MLR Press (June 8, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1608206971
ISBN-13: 978-1608206971
Amazon: Second Time Lucky
Amazon Kindle: Second Time Lucky

Second chances aren't easy to come by but for Luke Landon and Owen West, sometimes the best things really do come back to you. Luke Landon and Owen West already had a once upon a time. They burned hot back in college yet still managed to lose their way. It's been fifteen years since they drifted apart and while a lot has since changed, they've discovered that some things still feel the same. While one calls it fate, the other dumb luck, second chances aren't easy to come by. Putting the ignorance of youth and life's baggage aside, they just might find that sometimes the best things really do come back to you.

438) Z. Allora - Finally Fallen
Paperback: 248 pages
Publisher: MLR Press (June 8, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1608206955
ISBN-13: 978-1608206957
Amazon: The Dark Angels: Finally Fallen
Amazon Kindle: The Dark Angels: Finally Fallen

Dusty Davis achieved the rock and roll dream but he didn't have the one thing he craved. Someone with whom he could share it. J seems to be that person. Though a few hours in a dark club and four months of intense online communication, how well did he really know the person? Appearances are deceiving but J is exactly what Dusty needs. Now after he accused his would be lover of deception, Dusty's got to win J back. In order to do that he'll have to fight both of their demons. But now that he's Finally Fallen will it cost him his brothers?

439) Murray Sexton - Deranged
Perfect Paperback: 180 pages
Publisher: Lethe Press (June 9, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 159021160X
ISBN-13: 978-1590211601
Amazon: Deranged by Murray Sexton: Twenty Song Parodies for Gay Cabaret

Poking fun at twenty of the best songs ever, Murray Sexton s cabaret-style song parodies (or derangements ) are by turns hilarious, clever, precise, gay, leathery, sentimental, deep and whimsical. Sexton leaves no sacred cow unmilked as he takes unflinching aim at love, jealousy, open relationships, loan sharks, the Red Velvet Armadillo Groom's Cake from Steel Magnolias, and what folks call beer goggles (or as he phrases it, the Cosmopolitan Eye ). Also: celebrities who died of drug overdoses (provided their names rhyme).

440) Rachel Haimowitz & Cat Grant - Power Play Awakening
Paperback: 262 pages
Publisher: Riptide Publishing (June 11, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 193755144X
ISBN-13: 978-1937551445
Amazon: Power Play: Awakening (Volume 2)
Amazon Kindle: Power Play: Awakening (Volume 2)

Give me six months, and I'll give you the world. Brandon McKinney is a man reborn. Newly awakened to the notion of consensual power exchange and the submissive urges inside him, he begs for a second chance from the man who opened his eyes to this world: Silicon Valley superstar Jonathan Watkins. But no birth is absent pain, and Brandon’s is no exception. He fears he’s not strong enough to see it through. Jonathan knows better. He’s seen the iron core inside his new submissive, and the wounded heart inside him too. He means to teach Brandon to heal the one with the other. They have five months left on their contract, after all, and Jonathan has done more with less before. It’s tough to stay objective, though, when you’re falling in love. Shame Brandon doesn’t feel the same. He’s only there for the three-million-dollar payout at contract’s end—a fact that Jonathan, nursing his own wounded heart, reminds himself of each day. For even as Brandon’s barriers break and his mind expands, even as he grows to love his place at Jonathan’s feet, he’ll never love life with a sadist—especially one who cannot escape the public eye.

Rainbow Awards: Current Submissions (441-450)

441) A. Scott Boddie Bundle: Down Low Players, Uninvited, My Erotic Valentine, Bloody Murder by A. Scott Boddie
Paperback: 144 pages
Publisher: T-Tocs Books LLC (July 3, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1938211065
ISBN-13: 978-1938211065
Amazon: A. Scott Boddie Bundle
Amazon Kindle: A. Scott Boddie Bundle

Down Low Players: Zion Marque Williams becomes an orphan with the untimely death of his parents. He finds solace in the game of basketball and in the arms of his many male lovers. He is engaged to a New York socialite, and his erotic affairs with men go unnoticed until he meets a soccer player. Lies and betrayals surface and friendships are tested. Down Low Players, tackles the urban themes of love, loss, identity, the power of sexual urges, and the backlash of homophobia prevalent in urban communities.

Uninvited: The Departments of Justice statistics show 5000-8000 home invasions are reported daily. At any given moment, anyone could enter a home and terrorize its occupants with the intent to murder. Explore your worst fears imaginable, an uninvited man subtly and quickly enters the family home of three creating a tense atmosphere. During a freak blizzard on Thanksgiving night, a man slyly enters the family home of three in Queens NYC. The family is his family, but like strangers, this Schizophrenic gay homeless man, John, is there with the intent to murder his father and make him pay for the emotionally disconnected crime he has committed against him and others. Follow this violent tale, as told by John, as the layers peel back and the truth surfaces.

My Erotic Valentine: Adventures of Maxwell Hunter resume, and it is Valentine's Day. Maxwell is not in his usually chipper mood. He is dateless and sexless. He loathes Valentine's Day as a rule, and plans to spend the night in his apartment. While out shopping, he is surprised to receive an invitation to a Valentine's Day Party; however, it is not your average white and red cutesy party with punch and heart decorations. It is a wild, hip-hop, drug infested, male only sex party. All the down-low, married, and gay men of color frequent sex parties at night, unbeknownst to their girlfriends, wives, and partners. Maxwell decides to go to the sex party and get some new ass. The nature of a full on, man on man, men of color and those who love them, sex party--will shock, tantalize, and horn you up.

Bloody Murder: Charles is an average gay man, full of hope for finding a boyfriend he can call his own, but he's riddled with insecurities about his weight. When he meets a hottie named Terry at a local bar in the gay Mecca of New York City, he's surprised and pleased at the sudden attention. But Terry has an ulterior motive in hooking up with Charles, one which has nothing to do with sex.

442) sbr martin - pig
Paperback: 286 pages
Publisher: The Artists' Orchard, LLC (August 7, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0985701420
ISBN-13: 978-0985701420
Amazon: pig
Amazon Kindle: pig

A troubled woman sits alone on a couch in a crowded funeral home, in wake of her husband's "accident." In her right hand, she holds a scrap of paper she refuses to reveal, and, in her heart, she holds a lot of secrets, including a big one she's keeping from herself. As the familiar faces of funeral home patrons stir in her a lifetime of memories, her story and her secrets unravel in a narrative of domestic abuse, sexuality, reflection, and loss. What does it take for a troubled woman to finally let go? How did her husband get in that box? And what is she holding in her hand? Step into Lily's past to answer the present questions. But don't expect to be pleased with everything you learn. Some stories just aren't meant to have happy endings.

443) Rowena Sudbury - The King's Heart
Paperback: 220 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (June 11, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1613725450
ISBN-13: 978-1613725450
Amazon: The King's Heart
Amazon Kindle: The King's Heart

Sequel to The King's Tale In thirteenth century Cornwall, a fierce king must have a strong partner, and that is what King Christopher of Lysnowydh has in his handfasted mate. Or had before rival King Warin kidnapped and tortured Dafydd to the point that, months later, he is still afraid to leave the castle. Christopher longs for Dafydd to accompany him to the other strongholds in his kingdom and to London to pay tribute to Henry III, but Dafydd is not ready. Christopher begins to wonder if Dafydd will ever recover. Dafydd hates to disappoint his lover, but he is not sure what to do. Since he will not leave the keep, he renounces his position as king's marshal, vowing to focus on the healing arts instead. Though Christopher continues to pressure him to travel, Dafydd staunchly stays at home-until his second sight shows him he could lose Christopher if he cannot face his fears. Determinedly, Dafydd sets out to prove he can master them. When Christopher returns home to find Dafydd gone, he knows exactly what Dafydd must have seen. As he once promised he would, he follows his heart across his kingdom-but even if he finds Dafydd, he may not be able to heal the rift between them.

444) L.C. Chase - Riding with Heaven
Publisher: Loose Id LLC (June 5, 2012)
Amazon Kindle: Riding with Heaven

When his flight home for his brother’s birthday is canceled due to a Category 5 hurricane on the Eastern seaboard, art major Evan McGrath places an ad on Craigslist for a rideshare from Colorado to South Carolina. He hadn’t expected an immediate reply, nor had he expected to fall head-over-heels for the handsome and mysterious driver, Lucas Briscoe. As the miles disappear behind them Evan grows more and more attracted to the enigmatic Lucas, and the desire is mutual. The only problem is that a serial killer dubbed “The Domino Slasher” has just escaped a federal prison transfer, and funny little coincidences keep pointing toward Lucas -- who looks like Heaven incarnate, but who could be the Devil in disguise.

445) Kari Jo Spear - Silent One
Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: Prizm (June 13, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1610403231
ISBN-13: 978-1610403238
Amazon: Silent One
Amazon Kindle: Silent One

Gareth's life is violent, frightening, and lonely. Abandoned by his parents and left to a series of harsh foster homes, he becomes as tough as the scar on his cheek. Death and destruction follow him. Sometimes, it actually seems like people are trying to kill him. By the time Gareth is in high school, friends are a luxury he can do without. But deep inside, Gareth is tender, compassionate, and very gay. The only living soul Gareth lets into his heart is a silent young man who keeps saving his life. Every time Gareth gets a good look at his guardian, the man mysteriously vanishes. Does he even exist? Gareth isn't sure, until the day at school when his world implodes. Teachers suddenly know way more about him than they should. His secret guardian lies wounded on the darkroom floor. Before Gareth knows it, he and his guardian are on the run. Not only is Gareth more important than he ever dreamed, but the future of an entire planet depends on him. It's going to take all the courage and love Gareth has to face his destiny.

446) Lou Harper - Last Stop
Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Samhain Publishing (May 7, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1619211343
ISBN-13: 978-1619211346
Amazon: Last Stop
Amazon Kindle: Last Stop

When love drifts into his life, danger isn’t far behind. Sam Mayne’s life is as dull as the dishwater in his small-town Montana diner, and that’s just how he wants it. Quiet, uneventful, safe from his shadowy past. The breezy young drifter who answers his help-wanted ad makes him uneasy in ways he dare not examine too closely. Except he can’t help but be pulled in by Jay Colby’s spunky attitude, endless stories, and undeniable sex appeal. Fresh off yet another romantic disaster, Jay doesn’t understand his attraction to the taciturn line cook, but there’s no fighting the chemistry that lands them in bed. Sam’s subtly dominant streak takes command and Jay delights in discovering the pleasures of his submissive side. Safe in the assumption their relationship is temporary, neither lover holds back when the heat is on. Until Sam’s deadly past catches up with them with a vengeance, forcing him to drop the life he’s built, pick up his lover, and run. As danger cuts closer to the bone, Sam and Jay are forced to face the truth. About themselves, about the depth of their love—and the newly forged bonds that are about to be tested to the limit.

447) L.A. Witt - Where Nerves End
Paperback: 180 pages
Publisher: Amber Quill Press, LLC (June 15, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1611249120
ISBN-13: 978-1611249125
Amazon: Where Nerves End (A Tucker Springs Novel)
Amazon Kindle: Where Nerves End (A Tucker Springs Novel)

Welcome to Tucker Springs, Colorado. Population, 70-something-thousand. Home to beautiful mountain views, two respected universities, and a ridiculously high cost of living. Jason Davis can handle a breakup. And an overwhelming mortgage. And a struggling business. And the excruciating pain that keeps him up at night, thanks to a shoulder injury. But handling all of it at once? No, not so much. When his shoulder finally pushes him to a breaking point, Jason takes a friend's advice and gives acupuncture a try. Acupuncturist Michael Whitman is a single dad struggling to make ends meet. When a mutual friend refers Jason as a patient, and Jason suggests a roommate arrangement to alleviate their respective financial strains, Michael jumps at the opportunity. But for Jason, living together would be easy if he wasn't so damned attracted to Michael. The temptation to act on his feelings might just be too much if not for the fact that Michael is straight. Or at least, that's what their mutual friend claims...

448) Bonnie Dee - Loving Peter
Paperback: 160 pages
Publisher: Amber Quill Press, LLC (June 15, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1611249139
ISBN-13: 978-1611249132
Amazon: Loving Peter
Amazon Kindle: Loving Peter

All children except one grow up.--Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie......Peter Woods is a young man who's content to live a gadfly life, darting from one experience to the next with no thought of the future. But his father has cut the purse strings and soon Peter may have to make a drastic change. Wendell Rhodes is a stable, sober banker who has only recently discovered the underground gay nightlife in turn-of-the-century London. At a secret club, Ever Lads, Wendell meets Peter and flint meets tinder. But the journey from lust to love is never easy. Peter's father is determined to make a man of his son at last. When Wendell is threatened, will Peter sacrifice his freedom to save the man for whom he's grown to care deeply, or is there another way clever Peter can save the day.

449) Justin Hernandez - Inside the Vortex
Paperback: 148 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (June 15, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1475190468
ISBN-13: 978-1475190465
Amazon: Inside the Vortex
Amazon Kindle: Inside the Vortex

What if the foundation of your life was based on abuse, denial, cover-ups, and secrecy? How would that affect your decision making process? These are the questions Justin Hernandez asks himself as he reflects upon his existence. From his upbringing in New York to a cross-country move to Los Angeles for a dance career, every tumultuous episode of his life is examined in this confessional memoir. Inside the Vortex is the story of one man's journey that is filled with deception, abuse, addiction, sex, and stripping. At times, all the elements intersect. Other times, they collide.

450) Elyan Smith - Portside
Publisher: Riptide Publishing (June 16, 2012)
Amazon Kindle: Portside

Life on the dole in a dying town is defined by drinking when you can, smoking to pass the time, and, if you’re gay, going down to the barracks at the old port to get some. Iwan’s got the cigarettes and the booze down pat, but he lacks experience, so he sticks to online porn and watching the lads portside. Everyone else seems to have learned how to get what they want, yet Iwan can't get past everything that could go wrong. He knows who he is, regardless of labels. But no matter how often his best friend tells him to just go for it, he doesn’t trust others to see past his mismatched body. Paying for what he’s afraid to get for free may seem absurd, but it’s better than just watching, and it’s better than porn. It may not change the world he lives in, but with luck, it will change him.

Rainbow Awards: Current Submissions (451-460)

451) Shira Anthony & Venona Keyes - The Trust
Paperback: 234 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (June 18, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 161372554X
ISBN-13: 978-1613725542
Amazon: The Trust
Amazon Kindle: The Trust

Eight years ago, Jake Anders was a college kid from the wrong side of the tracks. Then Trace Michelson recruited him into The Trust, a CIA-backed agency whose "executives" eliminate rogue biotechnology operations. Trace was everything Jake ever wanted in a man: powerful, brilliant, and gorgeous. But Jake never admitted his attraction to his mentor, and Trace always kept Jake at arm's length. Now Trace is dead and Jake is one of The Trust's best operatives, highly skilled and loyal to the organization. But the secret agent has his own secret: six years ago, before he was assassinated, Trace designed a Sim chip containing his memories and experiences-and now that chip is part of Jake. It's just data, designed to augment Jake's knowledge, but when Sim becomes reality, Jake wonders if Trace is still alive or if Jake really is going crazy like everyone claims. He doesn't know if he can trust himself, let alone anyone else. To learn the truth about Trace and the chip, Jake embarks on a dangerous mission-except he's not the only one looking for the information. Some of the answers are locked in his head, and unless he finds the key, he'll be killed for the technology that's become a part of him.

452) Charlie Cochet - The Auspicious Troubles of Chance
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (June 19, 2012)
Amazon Kindle: The Auspicious Troubles of Chance

Chance Irving is a young man with a gift for getting into trouble—not surprising, as trouble is all he’s ever known. After losing everything he held dear one fateful night, he decides to leave New York and his past behind, and joins the French Foreign Legion. But even in Algiers, Chance can’t seem to shake his old ways, and he ends up being transferred to a unit made up of misfits and rabble-rousers like him—a unit he finds just in time to be captured and thrown into a cell with his new commandant, Jacky Valentine. A highly respected commandant with a soft spot for hard luck cases, Jacky is the kind of guy who would go to war for you, and the three equally troubled youths from his unit he’s more or less adopted feel the same way about him. Suddenly Chance starts to think that his life doesn’t have to be as desolate and barren as the wastelands around him. But even after their escape, with the promise of a future with Jacky to buoy his spirits, or maybe because of it, Chance can’t stop making mistakes. He disobeys orders, lashes out at the boys in Jacky’s care, and blazes a trail of self-destruction across the desert—until someone makes him realize he’s hurting more than just himself.

453) Joely Skye - Running Wild
Paperback: 200 pages
Publisher: Samhain Publishing (May 7, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1619211378
ISBN-13: 978-1619211377
Amazon: Running Wild (Northern Shifters)
Amazon Kindle: Running Wild (Northern Shifters)

The road to believing can be one wild ride. A Northern Shifters book. Seamus O’Connor thought his friendship with Zachariah Smithson was just that—a relationship born on one horrific night seven years ago. He never thought he’d end up inheriting the old man’s farm. Tons of chores and hard work are nothing new for Seamus. The farm comes equipped with all he needs—and something he didn’t expect. Unsettling, late-night visits from Zachariah’s grandson Ri, a man who appears and disappears like a ghost. Ri has had little contact with the outside world, with good reason. Horse shifters aren’t any human’s idea of normal. Plus, he’s wary of being the next target of the werewolves who took his twin brother. Trust his matchmaking grandfather to give him a reason to come home—Seamus. As Seamus gradually learns the truth of Ri’s life, their relationship tentatively grows—and danger grows closer. For it was Ri who rescued Seamus on that terrible night long ago. Seamus is about to realize he’s had his own encounters with werewolves. He just doesn’t know it—yet.

454) John H. Ames - Surviving Elite High
Publisher: Imperial Pride: Imprint of Dare Empire eMedia Productions (June 18, 2012)
Amazon Kindle: Surviving Elite High

John Henry Ames is a sixteen-year-old boy from a small New Jersey town. John is humble, shy and studious. He lives as an outcast in the shadows of an elite high school where he is tormented by two psychopathic bullies. On the verge of dropping out of school due to overdue payments, a teacher enrolls him in a tutoring program where he meets the school’s star quarterback and hero, Nick Anthony Hawking. Since he was doing poorly in several subjects, Nick needs John's help to pass and graduate high school. As John becomes closer to the jock, he develops a strong affection towards him even though Nick has a strong reputation of sleeping around with a lot of women. Nick becomes his friend and protector in school. Their sincere friendship helps to bring out the best in each of them. Several tragedies, like a school shooting, threaten to change their young lives forever. Will they follow their own voice or return to the safety of their own shadows? Surviving Elite High is a breathtaking saga that illustrates a flourishing same-sex love, family, and friendship.

455) Jennifer Lynne - Aphrodite Calling
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Amazon Kindle: Aphrodite Calling (Gods of Love)

A modern-day transsexual woman and a mythological god is an unusual pairing, but the alluring power of Aphrodite works in the most mysterious ways. Sometimes it takes the power of the gods to reveal the woman within... Thirty-two year old Gina is forced to confront her fears when she attends a high school reunion. Born within a male body, she spent her childhood and teen years living as a boy, and has only now returned in an effort to put the past behind her so she can begin to live life without the continuing fear of loneliness and rejection. Himeros is one of the erotes, an aspect of Eros, and as such it is his duty to answer the call of sexual desire whenever a human needs him. But he has been living among mortals too long and his energy has waned. When he decides to accept one last call he finds a woman who is unique. A woman who answers his own call and offers everything he desires. A woman who understands the whole human experience, from every perspective. Has he finally found the one with whom even a god of desire could find fulfilment? Forever, after all, is such a long time to be alone.

456) Marie Sexton - Saviours Of Oestend
Paperback: 362 pages
Publisher: Total-E-Bound Publishing (August 13, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1781845123
ISBN-13: 978-1781845127
Amazon: Saviours of Oestend
Amazon Kindle: Saviours of Oestend

Life on the prairie has never been easy, but now Oestend itself seems bent on destruction. Banished from the BarChi by the man he loves, Dante Pane must find a way to rebuild his life and heal his broken heart. Unable to love women, afraid to love men, Dante wants only to find some peace. But peace is hard to come by in Oestend. Dante’s new home reeks of death, he can’t keep his ranch hands in line, and his new cook is taking over his house. As if that’s not enough, strange occurrences plague the prairie—dead animals, unnatural weather, and voices riding wind. Dante is determined to persevere, but it soon becomes clear there’s more at stake than his ranch. All of Oestend is at risk, unless somebody can set things right. With the help of his faithful ranch hands, Frances and Simon, and the combined strength of friends, both old and new, Dante will fight for his life, his home, and the heart of the one he loves.

457) Clancy Nacht & Tuesday Euclid - Celibacy NOW
Publisher: Loose Id LLC (June 26, 2012)
Amazon Kindle: Celibacy NOW

In order increase his commission on a condo sale, realtor Marshall Albright accepts a bet that he can bed Luke Withers, a computer programmer and evangelizing member of a “true love waits” singles group. The group, called Celibacy NOW, is led by Eric Jones, a shady older man who Marshall thinks is abusing his position in the group to date Luke. It doesn't take long before Luke finds out about Marshall's bet, but by then Marshall wants more than a one-night stand. His jealousy toward Eric leads him to uncover that the man Luke trusts most may be dealing drugs to kids. Even if he's blown his chance to be with Luke, Marshall worries for his safety. Can Marshall find a way to make things right and rescue Luke from Eric?

458) Cherie Noel - Incongruent Angel
Publisher: The Rooster & The Pig Publishing (July 9, 2012)
Amazon Kindle: Incongruent Angel (Liquid Sin)

Travis and Aaron share a terrible sorrow in the form of Timothy—brother to one, best friend to the other, tragically taken from them. One man struggles with an overwhelming guilt, convinced he is solely at fault. The other wrestles with a burning desire to protect his fellow band-mate that leaves him caught between an abyss of never ending sorrow and the shining hope of a forever kind of love. Teetering on the brink of discovering that everything they always thought they knew about one another is nothing like the truth, these two men live through a handful days that will redefine the shape of their lives.

459) Kaje Harper - Into Deep Waters
Paperback: 172 pages
Language: English

Two young men stand in the riveted steel doorway of a ship. The one inside the doorway is young and classically handsome, hatless, with wavy dark hair falling over his forehead. His eyes are narrowed against the sunlight and a small smile hovers on his lips as he braces himself in the doorframe. The man in front of him is younger still. His attractiveness is more the flush of youth and good health than perfection of features. He grins, squinting in the brightness, dressed in the white hat and shirt of the WWII US Navy. Although the two men stand only casually close together, the sailor in front has one hand raised, over his shoulder, to keep a firm grip on the shirt of the man in the doorway behind him.

460) Amy Lane - Sidecar
Paperback: 270 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (June 29, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 161372568X
ISBN-13: 978-1613725689
Amazon: Sidecar
Amazon Kindle: Sidecar

The year is 1987. The boys wear pink Izod shirts, the girls wear big hair, everyone has a stash box, and AIDS is just an ugly rumor rumbling like a thunderstorm from the cities. A teenage runaway wanders the side of the road, a heartbeat away from despair, and is rescued by a long-haired angel on a Harley. But that's just the beginning of their story. Josiah Daniels wanted peace and quiet and a simple life, and he had it until he rescued Casey from hunger, cold, and exhaustion. Suddenly Joe's life is anything but simple as he and his new charge navigate a world that is changing more rapidly than the people in it. Joe wants to raise Casey to a happy and productive adulthood, and he does. But even as an adult, Casey can't conceive of a happy life without Joe. The trouble is getting Joe to accept that the boy he nurtured is suddenly the man who wants him. Their relationship can either die or change with the world around them. As they make a home, negotiate the new rules of growing up, and swerve around the pitfalls of modern life, Casey learns that adulthood is more than sex, Joe learns that there is no compromise in happy ever after, and they're both forced to realize that the one thing a man shouldn't be is alone.

Event: Sam Starbuck blog tour for Warriors of Rome collection

Hello everyone! I'm pleased to be hosted by Elisa today (thanks so much, Elisa!) for the kickoff of my blog tour for The City War, my first novella to be released with Riptide Press.

I hope you all will enjoy the series I'm doing on the process of becoming involved with the genre of romantic historical fiction. To thank you, I'm offering a chance to win $10 in credit with Riptide Publishing; every comment you leave on one of my blog tour posts all week long enters you to win!

I wanted to start out this series by talking about history in general, the study of it and the ways of seeing it. To me, there's something very sexy about history, at least if you do it right. A lot of students of history are interested in the big picture: the histories of whole countries and cultures, political movements, wars. There's something to be said for the way that provides us with a greater understanding of the human condition, but I've always preferred to study individual history: the stories of everyday people, their quirks and the minutiae of their lives. I mean, what must it have been like to live in a culture where there was a national holiday in which naked young men ran around blessing women with fertility?

It's one of the cultural aspects of Rome I explored in The City War:

“Waiting for the luperci to run past, Tiresias?” Brutus asked, leaning through the window next to him. Tiresias started, then gave him a shy smile. “Marcus Antonius is running this year. They say the women who normally line up to receive the blessing are lining up just to see him run naked through the street.”

The ancient world is full of personal narratives; a lot of the surviving documents we have from the days of the early Roman Empire are personal biographies of emperors and notable figures. As historians, we use these to deduce information about the culture, because they're pretty much all we have -- no photographs, no newsreels, few paintings, and the line of oral history from ancient Rome to modern anywhere was broken a long time ago.

The charm of personal history is twofold: it's often where you find buried treasures, deeper layers of knowledge that indicate greater ramifications for the culture as a whole. There's a thrill of discovery, finding new tidbits of information, and on occasion a little thrill of voyeurism as well. Studying history means witnessing private acts which were recorded during life but may never have been intended for revelation after death. Retelling history through people makes it more real, and can often impart that sense of revelation to one's readers as well. We remember narratives better than we remember facts -- even when the facts are embedded in the narratives.

It's one reason I like writing historical fiction -- but that's a topic for tomorrow, when I'll be posting at Scattered Thoughts.



Bio: Sam Starbuck is a novelist and blogger living in Chicago because he enjoys trains, snow, and political scandals. By day, he manages operations for a research department at a large not-for-profit, and by night he is a pop-culture commentator, experimental cook, advocate for philanthropy, and writer of fiction. He holds two degrees in theatre, which haven't done much for his career but were fun while they lasted. His love of ancient cultures and art crimes makes him a very strange conversationalist at parties. His novels include Nameless, Charitable Getting, and Trace, published independently, and The City War, published with Riptide Publishing. He blogs here, and you can check out his writerly accomplishments here.

Blurb: Senator Marcus Brutus has spent his life serving Rome, but it’s difficult to be a patriot when the Republic, barely recovered from a civil war, is under threat by its own leader. Brutus’s one retreat is his country home, where he steals a few precious days now and then with Cassius, his brother-in-law and fellow soldier—and the one he loves above all others. But the sickness at the heart of Rome is spreading, and even Brutus’s nights with Cassius can’t erase the knowledge that Gaius Julius Caesar is slowly becoming a tyrant.

Cassius fears both Caesar’s intentions and Brutus’s interest in Tiresias, the villa’s newest servant. Tiresias claims to be the orphaned son of a minor noble, but his secrets run deeper, and only Brutus knows them all. Cassius, intent on protecting the Republic and his claim to Brutus, proposes a dangerous conspiracy to assassinate Caesar. After all, if Brutus—loved and respected by all—supports it, it’s not murder, just politics.

Now Brutus must return to Rome and choose: not only between Cassius and Tiresias, but between preserving the fragile status quo of Rome and killing a man who would be emperor.

You can buy The City War or read an excerpt here.