Blog changes

Hi, everyone.

Over the next couple of weeks I'm going to be making some changes to the blog.

The first change is already complete. The 'Kinda-sorta-maybe-weekly book reviews' has been changed to 'Book / Story Reviews'. I had originally planned on doing a book review each week. However, that was just not possible. Too ambitious a project. Also, the blog title now indicates that there will be stories (unpublished) as well as books.

Look for more changes to come.

Thanks to everybody who visits my blog.

Wednesday briefs - Love Across Time chapter 45

Chapter 45 of my Wednesday briefs story, Love Across Time is now up. You can read it by clicking here.

If you have just come across my blog and would like to read the entire story, you can click here to get to the Wednesday briefs page.

Here is a sneak peek at what you'll find in chapter 45:

“…you are suspended for thirty days without pay. However, since you haven’t been reinstated to your original position within the TPC, I can’t very well impose that on you, can I?” A huge sigh of relief escaped when Ethan saw the smile on Duncan’s face. “I’d really like to have you back with us. You have been an incredible asset to us.”

Ethan’s mouth open so wide there was room to drive an 18-wheeler into it, turn it around and drive it back out again. He never expected to be asked to come back to the Timeline Preservation Council. He actually expected to be sent back to his own time. Obviously this wasn’t going to happen. "I-I-I'd like that," he stammered.

"Good. It's all settled. Be here at your regular time tomorrow to resume your duties, and please tell Chris that his training is ready to be resumed tomorrow morning also."

"Thanks so much, Duncan. I'll see you tomorrow." Ethan practically floated out of the room. He was so caught up over what just happened he ran straight into Ryan. "Sorry baby.  I wasn't watching where I as going. Great news. Duncan wants both me and Chris back!"

"That's awesome news! Let's go home and celebrate."

Wednesday brief - Love Across Time chapter 44

Chapter 44 of my Wednesday briefs story, Love Across Time is now up. You can read it by clicking here.

If you have just come across my blog and would like to read the entire story, you can click here to get to the Wednesday briefs page.

Here is a sneak peek at what you'll find in chapter 44:

Ethan knocked on Duncan's door. "Come in and have a seat. What can I do for you, Ethan?"

"Well," he began, "as you know, Ryan and I are going to be married."

"Yes, I know. Congratulations."

"Thank you. I was wondering if it would be possible to bring my brothers Chris and Troy, and my sister Alicia forward to attend the wedding."

"Honestly Ethan, I don't know what effect it will have on the timeline. If I recall correctly, Chris has been here before, but Troy and Alicia have not. Let me think about this and talk with Liam. He knows more about the timeline and what causes the aberrations than anyone. I'll let you know either this afternoon or tomorrow morning."

Story review: Shermin Heights Shorts by Night Tempest

The Shermin Heights shorts are not published work, unfortunately as they are excellent stories, which are setset in the fictional town of Shermin Heights, Kentucky, a place I would definitely love to live in.

These Four stories, written by Night Tempest, revolve around the lives of the Pierson brothers, Noah and Mason, and their best friends, the Olivette brothers, Sam and Perry, and their families. Night Tempest weaves a wonderful tale of a magical southern town filled with wonderful, caring people, whose lives you cannot help but get involved with. The four stories, which should be read in order are:

• On My Mind
• Made Up My Mind
• Read My Mind
• Out Of My Mind

These can be found on Night Tempest’s blog http://nighttempest.blogspot.com/2012/06/my-stories-complete-list.html?zx=89c73cc6347b9d03, approximately half-way down the page.

On My Mind blurb (taken verbatim from Night’s blog)

Shermin Heights, Kentucky had always chugged along at a slow pace, with good fishin, and a nice cold beer at the end of the day. Although as of late, things had not been so smooth for Noah Pierson or his family. After his daddy lost his battle with Alzheimer’s, Noah picked up the slack, and began to care for his broken mother, younger brother, and his crazy granny Ella Mae. Lost and without purpose, Noah threw himself into cleaning up what his daddy had left behind, love the last thing on his mind.

Jamie Ford was a corporate misfit with father issues of his own. Working for his step-father and his heartless mother, he was trained as a professional pain in the ass. So, when he was sent to Shermin Heights, Kentucky, acquiring twenty acres for the oil company from one Noah Pierson seemed like a cake walk. Never in his life had Jamie been so wrong.

When city meets country, things heat up in Shermin Heights.  Locals get nosey, boys will be boys, and the food is good for the soul. Jamie starts to see himself in a different light, not to mention the sexy Noah who is the reason for the change. Noah falls hard for the stubborn Yankee, but when Jamie’s parents arrive in town after a phone call throw down, will love be enough? Or will Jamie betray the man he’s grown to care for? Funny, sexy, with a whole lot of southern charm, On My Mind is good for the soul.

Made Up My Mind blurb (taken verbatim from Night’s blog)

Mason Pierson was fed up with his life.  He didn’t have a job, a house of his own, or anything that amounted to squat and living with Jamie and Noah was getting tiresome. Things go from bad to worse when Noah’s business partner and friend, Matt Every comes to live with them for the summer, causing Mason’s heart to stir in all the wrong places.  Or so he thinks.

Matt Every was just a simple glass blower, with a simple crush on Noah’s little brother, but all that simplicity was about to get really complicated when Mason throws up a hell of wall between the two of them. Hiding his feelings while trying not to hurt Matt’s is almost impossible for Mason and a series of events breaks the two apart. When Matt has finally had enough of Mason and his heartbreaking behavior, he agrees to a date with Todd Paola, Noah’s ex-boyfriend. In true Shermin Heights fashion, the town bands together once again to see their boys happy once more, but are they too late to undo what’s already been done?  Another tale to make you sigh, make you cry, and make you laugh.  Welcome back to Shermin Heights, kick your feet up, and stay a while.

Read My Mind blurb (taken verbatim from Night’s blog)

Online gay magazine blogger, Adam Jackson, hears rumors of his boyfriend Todd's escapades with other men.  Pissed off and out of options, he makes a visit to Shermin Heights to confront the bastard, face to face, and give him what for.  What starts off as a bad breakup, almost costs Adam his life.

Country boy, Perry Olivette, doesn't take kindly to people talking crap about his friends. Using his fists instead of his words gets him into a scuffle with his arch nemesis, Joe Mayfield, who just so happens to be the son of a local gay bashing religious group preacher.  When Perry makes it out the fight, barely conscious, he and Adam are thrust together by sheer luck and whole lot of family drama.

When Joe Mayfield's father leads an all out, gay bashing protest, with the Leighton Assembly against Shermin Heights, Adam decides to take a stand for himself and for all of his readers.  Through heartache and honesty, Perry and Adam form a bond that no one else understands, until it's made clear for the whole world to see.

Out Of My Mind blurb (taken verbatim from Night’s blog)

Casey Belgard flees his hometown of New Orleans to escape his abusive cop father after he comes out, leaving his loving mother behind.  With some help from his cousin Adam, Casey lands at the New Heights Haven in Shermin Heights with an offer of work and a roof over his head.

Link Stevens works the front desk at the haven for Adam and  Perry.  Like Casey, he ran away from his past, but he's a little better at hiding his sadness behind his loud and proud exterior.  Link finds himself opening up to the new kid, connecting on a level much deeper than the string of sexual memories other men have left behind.

As the two men start to lean on each other, helping to mend old wounds and start something new, old ghosts begin to surface, leaving both Casey and Link in grave danger.

The characters seem very real and easily identified with, the story lines plausible and believable. You get to know the characters. Yes, there are plenty of sex scenes, but they’re not the be-all and end-all of the stories. That being said, the stories themselves are very well-rounded. Kudos to you, Night!

 I have found myself many times ending a stressful day curling up with my tablet and reading one of these stories. They are witty and charming and sometimes they make you laugh and cry. One point that made me laugh so hard that I almost peed my pants was reading about how Perry kept calling Jerry ‘Franken-dick’. You’ll have to read them all to find out what I’m talking about. You won’t regret the time spent reading (and re-reading) the Shermin Heights short stories. I also found myself wanting to cut Joe Mayfield’s dick off, stuff it and shove it up his ass! The same with Casey Belgard’s father.

Word of warning – don’t get between Noah and his mother’s apple pie. You will not come out of the encounter unscathed!

On a scale of 1 to 10 I give these stories a 9.5. I would be the first one in line to buy these stories, should they be published. It would be great if Night Tempest would get them published as an anthology.

While you’re at it, after you finish the Shermin Heights stories, keep going down Night’s blog page and read Almost Human. It’s an interesting twist on an old tale and a good read. And after you're done with that, take the time to read the rest of her excellent works.

 All blurbs copyright (c) Night Tempest, all rights reserved.

Book review: The Harvest by M.A. Church

The Harvest:  Taken by M.A. Church, published by Storm Moon Press © 2013.Blurb: 

Blurb:

In the year 2050, humanity finds out they are indeed not alone.

Massive space ships appear without warning above the capital cities of all major nations. The planet Tah'Nar is dying. Chemical warfare has reduced the once-intersexed warrior race to sterility. They need fresh DNA in order to reproduce and have an idea for a harvesting program... and so they turn to Earth.

Earth governments negotiate a lottery, and Dale Michaels assumes he's safe since he's under the Harvest age limit. How wrong he is. He's illegally harvested and claimed by Tah'Narian starship captain Keyno Shou. From the moment Keyno sees Dale, he knows he must claim the spirited human male for his own. What he doesn’t expect is a spitfire with a mind of his own—and a deadly disease that will require a risky procedure to cure.”

Excerpt:

The year was 2020 when humanity found out that it was, indeed, not alone in the universe.

They appeared without warning over the capitals of all major countries. These huge, menacing, and completely unresponsive space ships dominated the skies, and sent the media into a tailspin. The governments of our worldargued and debated back and forth on what to do, but did nothing. First contact came within hours of the sightings.Whatever these aliens wanted prompted emergency meetings that were held at NATO.

The media speculated endlessly while the closed-door meetings continued. These talks lasted for two days whilethe world watched. Early in the morning of the third day, a news conference was held and details were released to thepublic.

 

Author bio:
M.A. Church is a true Southern belle who spent many years in the elementary education sector. Now she spends her days lost in fantasy worlds, arguing with hardheaded aliens on far-off planets, herding her numerous shifters, or trying to tempt her country boys away from their fishing poles. It’s a full time job, but hey, someone’s gotta do it!

When not writing, she’s exploring the latest M/M novel to hit the market, watching her beloved Steelers, or sitting glued to HGTV. That’s if she’s not on the back porch tending to the demanding wildlife around the pond in the backyard. The ducks are very outspoken. She’s married to her high school sweetheart, and they have two children.

She was a finalist in the Rainbow awards for 2013.

I have long been a fan of Science Fiction literature, holding fast to the belief that today’s science fiction could very well end up being tomorrow’s science fact. I’ve also long believed that since there are other suns out there in the universe just like ours, the possibility of life out there exists. Their technology may be light years ahead of ours, or light years behind. Who’s to say?

Before The Harvest:  Taken was published, I had the privilege of reading it on Literotica. At first I thought it was going to be a typical hostile aliens abduct human women to bear their offspring. Boy was I wrong! Try this on for size:  typical hostile aliens abduct human MALES to bear their offspring. My first reaction to this was “give me a (expletive deleted) break”. I never expected to be drawn so fully into the story that I could actually empathize and identify with the main characters, Dale, and his alien counterpart Keyno. Masterfully written, it is one of those books that are truly difficult to put down once you begin to read it. It deviously draws you in. You don’t even realize it at first.

I felt horrible for Dale, torn from the only life he knew and put down in a completely alien one. I felt Keyno’s frustration as he deals with Dale’s anguish, fear, stubbornness and down-right bratiness (is that even a word?). In fact, a lot of Keyno’s sentences start with “Damn it, Dale”.

The original Literotica version has actually been split into two books, The Harvest:  Taken (available through stormmoonpress.com, amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and other outlets, in print and ebook versions) and The Harvest:  Journey’s End (completion of The Harvest story, publication date unknown). There’s even a sequel that I have read, A Tah’Narian Christmas (publication date unknown).

In The Harvest:  Taken we find out why the Tah’Narians require fresh DNA, how the mating and young-bearing process works, and follow the relationship between Dale and Keyno from distrust and fear from Dale and frustration from Keyno to a very loving, equal relationship.

When Dale comes to Tah’Nar as Keyno’s mate, his life is altered in many ways, sometimes profound ways. What no one, even the King of Tah’Nar realizes what impact Dale’s presence has on the very cultural essence of Tah’Nar itself. Is it for the good of the Tah’Narian race? Read the best-selling The Harvest:  Taken for yourself. You won’t be disappointed.

On a scale of one to ten, I give this book a solid 10 and put it on the 'you have to read this book!" list.

Cover art, blurb, excerpt and author bio (c) M. A. Church, all rights reserved.

Wednesday briefs - Love Across Time chapter 43

Chapter 43 of my Wednesday briefs story, Love Across Time is now up. You can read it by clicking here.

If you have just come across my blog and would like to read the entire story, you can click here to get to the Wednesday briefs page.

Here is a sneak peek at what you'll find in chapter 43:

The celebration was cut short as security guards entered the control room and quickly surrounded Ryan. “Ryan Edwards, you are hereby ordered to report to the tribunal immediately,” one of the guards said with a sneer on his face. You could hear the proverbial pin drop in the room; the silence broken only by Liam’s muttered “here we go again.”

As Ryan was escorted out, everyone followed in the wake; Liam pausing momentarily to lock down the travellator control systems with a security password known only to Duncan, Colin and himself.

With a repulsive grin on her face, the Chief Magistrate stood. “Ryan Edwards,” she began with a bone-chilling tone in her voice, “you were warned that if you ever returned to this time the death sentence would be reinstated. It is so ordered. Guards, restrain him.”

The feeling of horror was so thick in the room it was almost palpable as everyone assembled in the room watched the Chief Magistrate opened a case and removed a syringe. Everyone knew that the contents of the syringe would bring Ryan’s life to a slow, agonizing death. “At last I shall have my revenge,” she whispered.