The wonderful Catherine Dair made me this map of ancient Greece for my Apollo's Men series. It will be featured in A Tested Love, the sequel to A Spartan Love.
Words alone cannot say how much I love this.
Showing posts with label Dreamspinner Press. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dreamspinner Press. Show all posts
Monday, December 14, 2015
Saturday, September 19, 2015
Andreas and Theron's Tale Continues with Dreamspinner Press
Blurb:
Abandoned and once more alone on his homestead, Andreas goes
about his life trying to forget the seductive promises Theron made.
Theron is given his first kill list for the annual Krypteia.
Part way down the scroll, he finds Andreas' name. Someone must have seen them
together. Now that person wants to punish them both and test Theron's loyalty
to Sparta at the same time.
Sent to kill Andreas, Theron must find some way to come to
terms with his former attraction to the man, before it destroys him as well as
Andreas.
The third book in the Spartan arc, A Shared Love, is already in third draft stage. So I know what I'll be doing between editing and promoting A Tested Love.
Friday, November 21, 2014
A Spartan Love Blog Tour
Be sure to stop at every blog as they each have a different excerpt from the book. Plus comment to enter the raffle for an ARe Gift Certificate.
1-Dec Hearts on Fire
1-Dec PrismBook Alliance
2-Dec TheHat Party
2-Dec 3 Chicks After Dark
3-Dec LoveBytes
3-Dec BFDBook Blog
4-Dec MMGood Book Reviews
5-Dec RegularGuys, Hot Romance
5-Dec FallenAngel Reviews
6-Dec Parker Williams
7-Dec AmandaC. Stone
8-Dec MyFiction Nook
9-Dec WakeUp Your Wild Side
10-Dec Crystal’s Many Reviewers
11-Dec InkedRainbow Reads
12-Dec CateAshwood
12-Dec MollyLolly
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
A Spartan Love
Blurb:
Alone, Andreas toils on a remote farmstead for a Spartan
overlord. When a kryptes enters his world, Andreas fears for his life. The
dread warriors stalk and kill helots—like Andreas' father—as part of their
training.
Andreas sees only one way to save himself: he must tame the
fearsome warrior.
But what began as self-preservation develops into
attraction. Yearning for the company of someone other than his ferret Ictis,
Andreas decides to trust the Spartan warrior and risk the fate that claimed his
father.
Born to rule by the sword, Theron sees the world as his and
acts accordingly, taking everything Andreas offers and reaching for more.
However, love between men in Sparta is considered shameful and requires either
exile or suicide to redeem Sparta’s honor. Now, only the gods can save them
from the terrible price Sparta extracts from men who desire other men.
Friday, April 4, 2014
Taming Theron Has a Home
 |
| Apollo and Hyacinthus |
I just signed with Dreamspinner Press for Taming Theron. The
novel started life as a prequel to A Spartan Love, Apollo's Men II. However, no
matter what I did, I couldn't keep it under the 7K cap for the anthology Lust
in Time which contains another of my ancient Greek stories, 496 BC.
All the Apollo's Men stories take place in Greece during the
early 5th century BC. Alexios' Fate in Thrace. 496 BC on the coast
of the Aegean Sea. Taming Theron and A Spartan Love on the Peloponnesus. And
the final two in Delphi.
A Spartan Love is about a helot named Andreas and Theron, a
kryptes. This pair is made up of natural-born enemies. Helots are a class of
slave in Sparta that vastly outnumber their masters. Special elite warriors
known as kryptes are set to watch and summarily execute all helots that stand
out from the herd in any fashion, culling any possible rebels.
Taming Theron is the story of how Andreas, somewhat
unintentionally, befriends one of the dangerous kryptes and discovers that food
is the way to a man's heart.
Taming Theron is tentatively set for release at the end of
the year. Hopefully, by then I will be able to announce a release date for A
Spartan Love.
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Review of Leather+Lace by AB Gayle
★★★★★ Five out of five stars.
I literally couldn't put it down! For anyone interested in a great story, I can't recommend Leather+Lace enough.
I love, love, love Stevie. He is an irreverent smart ass with a wonderful sense of humor. He's been through Hell and it may have twisted him a bit, but it didn't break him.
Master D, or Don the Dom as Stevie dubs him, is a bad ass. Or is that bad ass wannabe? He may know his way around Harleys and leather, but he's no stranger to the softer side of life.
Stevie Tricks may be a female impersonator and Don may be a Dom, but the story is not about BDSM or drag queens. It is about learning to trust again. The elements of both drag and BDSM are very limited.
So leave your expectations behind and enjoy the journey. But be sure to get everything you need handy before you open that first page because I pretty much read it straight through. And at roughly 300 pages, it is by no means a short story.
AB Gayle also put together a Stevie Nicks Leather+Lace playlist on YouTube of all the chapter titles. Something to listen to as you read the novel.
Leather+Lace is available at Dreamspinner Press.
Leather+Lace is available at Dreamspinner Press.
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Friday, September 9, 2011
Steaming It Up With Steampunk
I’ve been fascinated with steampunk for as long as I can remember. I didn’t always call it by this name, but it’s been around in some form or another for many years. I love not only the historical aspect, but also the super sexy outfits! It is a perfect genre in which to set an erotic romance.
Officially, steampunk is s a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternative history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s that involves a setting where steam power is still widely used. (There are many resources for steampunk – I pulled this definition from Wikipedia). Although many steampunk stories are set in Victorian England, or similar setting, my story is set in an alternate western reality.
THE OUTLAW tells the story a Damian Junter – a Bringer who works for the Eastern Aristocracy. Damian’s job is to bring the guilty to justice. He is judge, jury, and executioner for those accused of violating crimes against the East. Damian’s mission takes him to the farthest reaches of the West. In Terra Noir, Damian discovers much more than he bargained for – the man he is sent to kill, Kell Laughlin, is innocent. Kell also stirs passions in Damian he has tried a lifetime to avoid – sexual feelings forbidden in the East.
Here’s an excerpt:
The steel beast floated just above the wooden tracks.
When the engine started, it sounded more like the bellow of a monster than the hiss of steam. The hull of the beast was coated with a three-inch layer of dark gray soot and had long ago lost its luster, the once-brilliant shade of red now completely obscured. Black windows kept onlookers from seeing who was riding the locomotive, no view from within or without.
That suited Damian Junter just fine.
“Are you coming aboard, sir?” The shrill voice of the conductor was enough to make Damian’s skin crawl. It seemed to Damian as if the conductor was trying to burrow straight through his Italian leather trench coat with those beady eyes. He eyed Damian suspiciously in an attempt to figure out Damian’s past, present, and future—all in a single glance.
Apparently the conductor had never seen a Bringer before. If he had, he wouldn’t be so skeptical of the hulking man boarding the train. Compared to the thin and lanky conductor, Damian was Herculean. Ripped in hard muscle from head to toe, Damian was a force to be reckoned with to anyone unlucky enough to be placed on his hit list.
The black leather, itself coated in a black dust similar to the soot coating the train, strained over Damian’s broad chest. His massive forearms bulged from beneath the tight sleeves, undulating with each movement he made. His thick thighs threatened to burst from the skin-tight pants.
“Yes.” He handed the scrawny man his ticket.
“Traveling far?” the conductor asked.
“Yes.” Damian was going to the outermost reaches of the west, to the Pacific coast, farther than he’d ever traveled. But he only gave single-word answers to strangers. It was better that way. The less they knew about his travels, the safer they’d be.
The conductor looked disgruntled by the lack of information but let Damian pass. With a paying fare, there wasn’t much the man could do. Refusing him passage would be tantamount to theft. Not that Bringers punished average eastern folks, even if they violated the law.
A Bringer’s purpose was far loftier.
Damian climbed aboard the steel ship. If he were wearing anything but black, the soot would have left a permanent mark. But black hid everything.
And not just dirt. Even though Damian’s clothes were stretched over his massive frame, they nevertheless obscured the weapons fastened to his thighs and ankles. Most Bringers hid the tools of their trade in their luggage when they traveled. Not Damian. He was too brash, too confident for that.
Damian was not like most Bringers. He considered himself to be the Bringer. The best.
Damian had exacted more justice and taken down more outlaws in his time on the force than all other Bringers. Combined. He’d been on the front line since he was old enough to hold a gun straight and fire.
How long had it been? Two decades? Three? He’d lost track. Days melted into months that melted into years. One job after another. Bringing justice to the world, one outlaw at a time.
Being a Bringer was a job Damian loved. Hell, he cherished it. In Damian’s eyes, he did more for the country than any of the politicians of the east. Officials passed laws, spoke on boxes, made promises. But Damian made the world a safer place. Only justice could do that.
And Damian relished bringing justice.
He moved quickly down the row of seats. His long, black trench coat whipped the sides of his legs with each step he took. His knee-length, metal-heeled leather boots clinked against the steel floor of the train. Passengers, already seated and ready for the beast to fly, looked toward him with fear in their eyes.
Unlike the conductor, these people knew a Bringer when they saw one. Even men who’d never made a mistake in their lives feared Bringers. They’d quake in their polished, patent leather shoes and wet themselves at the slightest hint that a Bringer might be coming their way.
The aura of dread that accompanied the presence of a Bringer was one of the key elements of their success. No one dared disobey the ones who doled out justice, lest they find themselves on the wrong end of a Bringer’s gun.
The metal monster roared to life, and spires of dark gray steam billowed through the air. Damian’s body lurched when the engine jutted forward. He grabbed the side of one of the seats to keep from falling over.
The woman next to him gasped and looked at him with her big, blue eyes. “Pardon me, my dear sir.”
“Sorry, ma’am.” He tilted his leather Stetson in her direction. He might be able to make a grown man cry, but Damian was still a gentleman.
She batted her eyes. “Would you like to join me?” The look of fear she’d shared with the other passengers just moments before melted away and was replaced by a look of lust.
Women always reacted to Damian that way. The combination of the panic he prompted and the power he exuded was more than the female mentality could withstand, especially when confronted with his ruggedly handsome good looks.
Every woman Damian had ever been with had commented on his long black hair and how they liked the way it smoothed over their skin when he fucked them. They would remark about his green eyes, often referring to their emerald appearance. They swooned over his muscular build.
Not that he cared. He’d never found a woman yet that caught his fancy. He fucked them, but he didn’t much enjoy it.
“Thank you.” He took the seat next to the window and stared at the countryside as it shifted slowly by. Dirty, black buildings gave way to green-grassed landscapes. The gray sky was replaced by blue. Soon, even the beauty of the eastern outlands would be gone, only brown rock and dirt in its place.
The metal beast glided easily over the rugged land, guided by the rails several feet below the unnecessary wheels. But the train did not move quickly enough for Damian’s tastes. He wanted nothing more than to get to the badlands and start his next assignment. The urge to bring justice was nearly overwhelming. He cursed under his breath.
One of the most common comments I received from readers is that they’d wished THE OUTLAW was longer – that the Damian’s and Kell’s story and their battle against the East had been more fully developed.
I had always intended on THE OUTLAW to be the first in a series. It may have taken me a while, but I’m super excited to reveal that the second novella in the series will be released soon by Dreamspinner Press.
Here is an unofficial blurb:
After months of hiding out in the badlands of the west with his lover Kell, Damian finally returns to the Outlander stronghold of Terra Noir to plan a war against the east. With the tide of pubic opinion turning against the corrupt Statesman Pauline, the Outlanders make the only move they can for peace – revolution.
Although both sides are equipped with steam-powered mechanical beasts – only one side will prevail. But more than a revolution against the Aristocracy is being fought. Damian must battle his own demons too. Damian must learn whether hot sex and battle are enough to keep him with Kell, forever.
I don’t yet have a cover to share – but as soon as I do Kayla will be the first to know!
Mahalo to Kayla for having me. Damian and Kell are my two favorite characters out of all that have come to visit me in my writing cave – I hope you enjoy them as much as me!
To learn more about the Bringer and the Outlaw, please visit my website: www.rebeccaleighromance.com
Monday, September 5, 2011
My First Taste of Steampunk Was Hot
This guy always reminds me of Rebecca's Damian. I think she says that he reminds her of Kell. Either way, one hot dude! Two hot dudes when Rebecca gets through with them. All worked up, hot and bothered...
"The Outlaw" is all about how these two hot blooded boys met. It covers what is obviously only the beginning of their story. I wanted more as I'm sure many others did as well.
And I must say that I was thrilled to be given the chance to beta read "The Revolutionary." Let me just say that these hot men continue to tear up the sheets, each other and anyone who stands in their way.
"The Revolutionary" is due to be released soon. I will update the release date as soon as I know what it is.
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