Welcome to #FeatureFriday! Today I have an author I’ve worked with for several years now, and on several very varied stories! It’s a special post, too, since it’s an anniversary! Happy 3rd year anniversary, Grace!
Tag Archives: Dreamspinner
Guest Post: Lex Chase
Welcome to #FeatureFriday! Today we have the lovely Lex Chase talking cosplay! It’s a great way to bring your book to life, give it even more character, and interact with fans on a unique level. Have a look below and see what you think!
Guest Post: C.S. Poe
Hello friends! My name is C.S. Poe, and I will be your train conductor today.
That’s not true.
I’ve never been a train conductor. Although I have ridden many trains.
I was happy to write a guest post for Trish’s blog, then realized afterward I had no idea what to talk about. So let’s look at topic options.
I have a new short story being released February 24th with Dreamspinner Press, as part of their anthology, Simmer. Its theme is men and food and happily ever afters. My piece is “Kneading You,” and features a super cute librarian, an equally sexy, tattooed repairman, and lots of bread baking. (Not a euphemism.) So I could talk about cooking, but really, I don’t like cooking. I do it only under duress. For someone who talks about food so much in her writing, you’d think it was my favorite hobby. I love eating. The work prior to— not so much.
So instead I’m going to talk about music and movies in books.
Didn’t expect that, did you?
I really enjoy adding these little tidbits to my writing. The mention of a television show or a particular song can, when used correctly, set a tone to the story without the author detailing it through additional or unnecessary words. There are pieces of art that are widely known, that move us as an audience, where just the mention of it subconsciously changes the reader’s mood.
An example of this is from one of my all-time favorite series, The Adrien English Mysteries by Josh Lanyon. Now and then there are mentions of songs by Rufus Wainwright, (particularly in one of the codas), which for those familiar with his music, you know what I mean. How his voice and melodies set the somber tone that matches Adrien’s mindset. I get shivers thinking about it! Heidi Cullinan is another excellent example of an author who knows how to use media in writing. Carry The Ocean focuses heavily on the film, The Blues Brothers, and that sense of hope and humor from the movie is deeply engrained in the novel.
In “Kneading You,” I mention a film and make reference to a particular scene, but it’s such a widely known moment in cinema that many readers will undoubtedly understand both the sexy suggestion, as well as how it can be found funny. Ghost, I admit, is one of my favorite movies. The love story is very powerful and beautiful, but it isn’t without its moments of hilarity. It was the perfect film to reference in “Kneading You,” because like I said, while there isn’t any pottery being done, there is quite a bit of dough kneading. If you can’t wait until release on the 24th, I will be sharing an exclusive excerpt to my newsletter followers! You can sign up for that here: https://tinyletter.com/cspoe
So what about you? Are there any books that mention songs or movies that changed the mood for you? Please share them with me!
Thank you for stopping by! Please feel free to friend me on social media. I love talking about cats, coffee, books, and meeting new people. I hope you’ll stick around as my releases roll out this year. May you always find love in the end!
C.S. Poe
Bio:
C.S. Poe is an author of gay mystery and romance. She lives in New York City, but has called a host of different locations home in the past, most recently being Ibaraki, Japan. She has an affinity for all things cute and colorful. C.S. is an avid fan of coffee, reading, and cats, in no particular order. C.S. Poe can be followed on her website, www.cspoe.com, for more information.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/c.s.poe1
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cs_poe
Tumblr: http://cspoe.tumblr.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cspoe/
Blogger: http://authorcspoe.blogspot.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13832392.C_S_Poe
Website: http://www.cspoe.com/
Dreamspinner Press: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/AuthorArcade/cs-poe
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/C.S.-Poe/e/B00YNHOV4W/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1452981229&sr=1-1
New Release: Broken Bones
Happy Release Day to Deja Black! Her newest novel, Broken Bones, introduces readers to a type of paranormal they don’t often see — Sandmen!
Blurb:
Dan Tolliver, the adopted son of alpha pack leader Jeremiah Tolliver, has suffered his last moment of abuse by his lover Keith Mulligan and finds himself in the hospital. There he meets dark and sharp-tongued Dr. Aiden Kavanaugh, who believes Dan needs some of his straightforward kind of medicine. Still, there is something different about the doctor.
Aiden is a sandman, a weaver of dreams, and has been on earth far longer than even he knows. He’s at the end of his time, ready to transition, and needs a human mate to keep him connected to the world he’s grown to love. Only he hasn’t found a special person who makes him want to stay. He doesn’t despair, because not every sandman has the chance to choose, but he knows if he doesn’t find a partner, he will soon lose his physical form and exist only in dreams.
When Aiden realizes Keith is a far greater monster than Dan has any idea, they grow and work together using the support of the pack—and Dan’s inner strength—to overcome impossible odds.
Publisher Link:
https://www.dsppublications.com/books/broken-bones-by-deja-black-120-b
Bio:
Deja has always had fantasies of men loving men, men who felt strongly, loved hard, and needed a hero. Then, one great day she came across a book, and she discovered the world of m/m writing, happened upon others who shared her obsession as much as she did and found her world where she could be not only be accepted for the lives and loves she envisioned, but she could create them, too. So, why not?
Why not take the stories that she would write and throw away as a teenager, grow them, dream them and make them a reality where she could know her own characters, live their story and make them real for someone else?
And, she did. Now, with the support of her hubby and some intense time management she is learning to balance her family of two children at home and the many others she teaches each and every day with her passion, writing what she loves to read.
New Release: Turning His Life Around
Hello and welcome back to the Turning His Life Around blog tour! I am doing something a little different with this tour and, I’ve put together a running short story. This story happens a couple of years before Turning takes place, when Ian is learning he’s in love with Kane but hasn’t quite accepted what all that means for him yet, since Kane doesn’t return that love.
The story goes for all nine tour stops! You can start it at Charley Descoteaux’s blog and follow the rest of the tour from the link at the bottom.
Be sure to catch each one because everyone who reads all nine and can answer a scavenger hunt questionnaire based on the story will be entered to win $25 a Dreamspinner Press!
New Release: The Geek and His Artist
Today I’d like to welcome Hope Ryan, author of The Geek and His Artist! I have a great interview with Hope below, plus a giveaway. I hope you enjoy Hope! 🙂
Blurb:
![GeekandHisArtist[The]FS](https://triciakristufek.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/geekandhisartistthefs.jpg?w=200&h=300)
Simon Williams spends his lunch periods drawing his geek and trying not to think about the terrors waiting for him at home. He needs to get away from his abusive father before he suffers the same grisly fate as his mother. Because he’s learned the hard way running away doesn’t work, he’s counting the days until his eighteenth birthday.
Jimmy Bennet should be spending his lunch studying so his senior GPA is good enough to get him into college, but he can’t seem to focus thanks to his distracting artist. When he’s given the opportunity to tutor Simon in Trig and discovers Simon’s home-life nightmare, he wants nothing more than to get Simon out of danger. This need becomes more urgent when Simon comes to school the Monday after their first date with bruises, but it takes a broken leg before Jimmy can convince his boyfriend the Bennets really want him.
But the danger Simon thought was past shows up at the most unexpected time, and he must stand up to the fears he’s held so long to protect not only himself, but the man he wants to spend his life with. Continue reading New Release: The Geek and His Artist
New Release: Threefold Love
Hello! I’m Ki Brightly. It’s absolutely lovely of Tricia to have my book on her blog. (Thank you!) Threefold Love was a fun book to write. I fell in love with the characters, and as accomplished as I felt when I finally typed the last word, I was kind of sad to be done with the book. Xavier was fun to write because it hurt, in a good way, to watch him opening up to Andrew, and then Duncan. Andrew was a mess when he realized he wanted Xavier, and then again when he realized he wanted the man in his life for keeps, not just because he was sexy. Andrew was fun to write because he’s smart and kind of geeky, but in a cute way. I liked Duncan because if he hadn’t been the man he was, this entire book could have turned into a red, hot angsty mess that no one could have scraped off the floor, not even with a squeegee and a bucket and ten gallons of Mr. Clean. Plus, he has an enduring love with an evil cat.
I think, all said and done, one of my favorite characters from this book is someone not mentioned on the back cover-Curtis. He’s Andrew’s little brother and he’s a ball of miserable anger. Really, he’s not happy until he’s upsetting someone else, which doesn’t sound very endearing, but there’s obviously something going on beneath the surface there. Since I couldn’t stop thinking and dreaming about these characters he’s going to be front and center for the next book, but before I get there with him, I hope you enjoy Threefold Love. Happy reading!
New Release: Americana Fairy Tale
Americana Fairy Tale (Fairy Tales of the Open Road #1)” By Lex Chase
Americana Fairy Tale
(Fairy Tales of the Open Road #1)
by
Lex Chase
Blurb:
Modern fairy-tale princess Taylor Hatfield has problems. One: He’s a guy. Two: His perfect brother Atticus is the reincarnation of Snow White. Three: Taylor has no idea which princess he is supposed to be. Four: Taylor just left his prince (a girl) at the altar. Despite his enchanted lineage, Taylor is desperate to find his Happily Ever After away from magic, witches, and stuffy traditions. Regrettably, destiny has other plans for him. Dammit.
When word reaches Taylor that Idi the Witchking has captured Atticus, Taylor is determined to save his brother. He enlists the help of rakish and insufferable Corentin Devereaux, likewise of enchanted lineage. A malicious spell sends Taylor and Corentin on a road trip through the kitschy nostalgia of roadside Americana. To save Atticus, they must solve the puzzles put forth by Idi the Witchking. As they struggle, Taylor and Corentin’s volatile partnership sparks a flash of something more. But princesses have many enemies, and Taylor must keep his wits about him because there’s nothing worse than losing your heart… or your head.
Cover Reveal: Americana Fairy Tale
Americana Fairy Tale
by Lex Chase
Genre: M/M Fairy Tale Urban Fantasy
Length: Novel, 340 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Blurb
Modern fairy-tale princess Taylor Hatfield has problems. One: He’s a guy. Two: His perfect brother Atticus is the reincarnation of Snow White. Three: Taylor has no idea which princess he is supposed to be. Four: Taylor just left his prince (a girl) at the altar. Despite his enchanted lineage, Taylor is desperate to find his Happily Ever After away from magic, witches, and stuffy traditions. Regrettably, destiny has other plans for him. Dammit.
When word reaches Taylor that Idi the Witchking has captured Atticus, Taylor is determined to save his brother. He enlists the help of rakish and insufferable Corentin Devereaux, likewise of enchanted lineage. A malicious spell sends Taylor and Corentin on a road trip through the kitschy nostalgia of roadside Americana. To save Atticus, they must solve the puzzles put forth by Idi the Witchking. As they struggle, Taylor and Corentin’s volatile partnership sparks a flash of something more. But princesses have many enemies, and Taylor must keep his wits about him because there’s nothing worse than losing your heart… or your head.
New Release: Chasing Sunrise
Chasing Sunrise (The Darkmore Saga: Book One)
By Lex Chase
Release Day Blitz
July 25, 2014
Blurb:
On the Coastal Bend of Texas, a hidden kingdom called Darkmore lies in ruins, and King Sevon Maraté is trapped. Using Sevon as a mouthpiece and a scapegoat, Lord Dominic rules from the shadows. Born of royal verkolai blood and as beautiful as he is lethal, Sevon possesses the ability to part the Veil separating his world from hundreds of others. His gift is his chance to escape, but Dominic refuses to relinquish his tool for power. Dominic forges an ambitious plan to invade the prosperous land of Priagust. Only a select few know the mythic kingdom of shifters exists. Sevon is out of options for his people’s survival, and cooperating with Dominic is his only chance.
On their foray into Priagust, Dominic’s men kidnap and interrogate a shifter named Jack. Even under torture, Jack’s loyalty to his kind never wavers. But as Jack’s knowledge about Darkmore’s king and its history unsettles Sevon, a curious bond begins to form. Despite Sevon’s mistrust, Jack is determined to tame Sevon’s wild heart and perhaps earn his freedom. As invasion looms, Sevon wonders if trusting Jack will lead him into another trap or if he should forget about chasing the sunrise and remain Dominic’s compliant prisoner.
Genre: Vampires, Werewolves/Shapeshifters, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Fantasy
Musings of a Writing Reader 