200 posts and counting… It’s February 2016! #Contest

It’s already February in a new year… Beginning of February. Well, five days in. 🙂

Wow. 200 likes. Keep it up. 🙂 Maybe I should do a contest. Would everyone like that? Read on and see what you need to do…

Been working, mostly. The last week has been especially brutal. I have been editing a story for one submission call. I may or may not make it’s deadline, depending upon if I have time to finish it before the end of the month. If not, I will see about other places. Lots of publishing places out there… I found a couple more submission calls that my story might fit. That is nice. 🙂  Baby steps. Breathe. (I can never remember which spelling is which… I swear I sat here and deleted and added that last ‘e’ like 3 times. I’m a writer not a speller…)

Because of work, I haven’t done much with blog tours, reviewing, and other sundry stuff. Reading has fallen by the way side as well. I’m kind of unhappy about that…

Oh, if you like a bunch 300-word of shorts in the M/M Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Paranormal world, checkout my guest post for Romance A-Z and contest for Discovery with SJD Peterson’s Blog. It’s a paperback and contains my Platypus story I wrote for the QSP contest, so US only entries please.

Thank you for those that have visited and liked my blog, social media, etc recently. I try to post something once a week but I work full time and she’s a demanding diva. Someday, I’ll be as brave as TJ Klune and write full time. 🙂

And now… for bed. And turn around to work more tomorrow…today. Story of my life.

-Eloreen

Oh, I mentioned a contest for getting 200 likes. Hrm. Sure. $10 Gift Certificate to the eRetailer of your choice (ARe, Amazon, B&N, BookStrand, Dreamspinners, Riptide, wherever GC are sold… I almost sound like a commercial or something. *grin*). Comment on this post with what you would like to do to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Even if you don’t celebrate, post a comment. Contest ends 2/15/2016 at 11:59 PM EST. I’ll announce the winner here and email within a couple of days. Random.org will choose the winner.

NOW I’m really done… (Note: I’ve extended the deadline because I forgot to sticky the post… Oops. BTW, ARe has a 50% off rebate sale going on now…)

@Eyes_on_Books #CoverReveal: “The Breaking of Bonds” by @alina_popescu #Romance #Excerpt #Amazon

 

Synopsis

A human sacrifice throws vampires of two worlds, trueborn and baseborn, into an escalating conflict. One side pushes for revenge, the other for freedom. The trueborns stubbornly hunt for Anthony and Louis, pushed by Hesrah’s desire to avenge her human best friend, Alexa. The baseborns are divided between rallying with those challenging the rule of Ankhsis and obeying the trueborns.

What emerges from the portal between Earth and Ankhsis in the middle of the turmoil rocking both worlds is more dead than alive. Neither human, nor baseborn, and certainly not trueborn. This new being will either damn them all or be their race’s most powerful weapon. Will they trust it not to destroy them, or will Ankhsis decide putting it down is the only solution?

In the end, who is guilty? Who will pay? Will anyone survive its wrath?

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Pre-order Links

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Excerpt

Hesrah was growing impatient; she wanted to return to the portal, so she decided she needed to push them to finally share their information with her.

“What is it that you have discovered that needed my immediate attention?”

Anhubis took out an envelope from the inside pocket of his jacket and threw it on the table. She reached out to it and found a few photos in it. Louis, strapped down to a chair, all bloody and beaten. Good for him!

“What is this?” she asked, looking at Anhubis from under knitted eyebrows.

“One of our baseborn friends – we still have a few of those – followed Anthony after the events in Juliana Park. He managed to send these over before being caught.”

“Do you know where he was?”

“Yes, but they are long gone.”

“Why would Anthony do this to his partner in crime?” she asked, tilting her head.

“God knows,” Anukh stepped in. “Maybe they were never partners. Maybe he found out who Louis really was.”

“Can you find them again? Or do I have to bring an Inner Sanctum squad over here?”

“Don’t you dare!” Anhubis said in a thundering voice, pointing a threatening finger at her. “The Inner Sanctum will not meddle on Earth. I will find them again.”

“Make sure you let me know the moment you do,” Hesrah said, her eyes boring into him.

“Won’t you be too busy guarding the portals, waiting for your precious human friend?”

His mocking smirk, more so than his sarcastic words, got to her and in a blink of an eye her fist raced through the air, connecting to his face. As he fell to the ground, she lunged and got on top of him, her fangs piercing the skin of his neck. Her nostrils flared at the spicy cologne he was wearing and she managed to squeeze a few drops of his blood before Anhubis threw her off of him. The fight would have surely escalated if Anukh wouldn’t have stepped in to stop them.

“Are you both crazy?” he hissed, a deep frown line marring his forehead. “Anhubis, you are the head of the High Council. Surely you can tell how ill-advised being inconsiderate towards humans is. And you, Hesrah! You are a part of the Inner Sanctum and your mother’s daughter. You should both be ashamed.”

When they moved away from each other, Anukh, with a half sad, half disgusted smile, said a hurried good-bye and left the room.

“If you ever talk about her like that, I will kill you with my bare hands,” Hesrah said through clenched teeth. To her, that was not a threat, it was a promise, and she suspected Anhubis knew it, as he nodded quickly and took a step back.

The Edge of Hope (Bad Blood I) by Alina Popescu

Everyone she loved betrayed her. She felt lost and broken. Getting away from the pain and embracing a new path, Alexa decided to leave her old life behind and chase a long forgotten dream in Malta. There she met a gorgeous man, bearing the scent of fresh love. He led her to a new city to explore, Amsterdam. Is the tall, dark, and delicious man a dream come true or just a risky gamble?

Alexa chose hope and new beginnings over fear and warning signs only to be brutally dragged into a world she never really thought existed. Vampires, their feuds, and her future held tightly in their hands.

Trapped in a mysterious world, Alexa gives love chance after chance. Following her quest of self-discovery in a blood bound world, will she survive the journey?

Ebook

Take advantage of the sale for book 1 – 99c on Amazon.

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Paperback

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About the author

Writer, traveler, and coffee addict, Alina Popescu has been in love with books all her life. She started writing when she was ten and even won awards in local competitions. She has always been drawn to sci-fi, fantasy, and the supernatural realm, which explains her deep love for vampires and is also to blame for this trilogy.

Social Links

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@Eyes_on_Books #BookTour: “Moment of Clarity” by @karenstivali #LGBT #Romance #Excerpt @dreamspinners

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The last installment of Karen Stivali’s Moments in Time series, Moment of Clarity, has just been released. At the same time, the paperback Moments in Time that contains all three novellas in the series has also been published!

Title: Moment of Clarity

Author: Karen Stivali

Length: novella

Genre: gay romance, contemporary, new adult, college.

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Synopsis

Spending the summer together on Fire Island brought Collin and Tanner closer than ever, but back in their conservative college town, challenges confront them at every turn.

Moment of Clarity hires

As they search for their new normal in their old environment, Collin’s brother Sean surprises them with help when they need it most. But when word about their relationship gets out, trouble erupts with friends and family. When Collin’s relationship with Tanner becomes an issue in his brother’s custody battle and Tanner struggles with his feelings for a heartbroken Wendy, Collin wonders if everyone he cares about would be better off without him in the picture.

In order to save them both, Tanner must make it clear to Collin that their love for each other is all that matters.

Buy Links

Amazon US | Amazon UKDsPAReB&N

Excerpt – Moment of Clarity

It took me four hours to finish writing my paper, probably in part because I kept stopping to check my phone. I’d been hoping for an update from Sean even though I knew that wasn’t likely. It was the weekend, and any more info from his lawyer probably wouldn’t arrive until Monday. I also kept thinking maybe we’d hear something from Housing, but so far, silence.

After I’d saved my document, I went in search of Tanner. He’d finished his work an hour earlier and said he’d be reading in one of the lounges. I found him in one of the alcoves, sprawled on a big couch under one of the heavily leaded windows. An open book lay tented on his chest—Dostoevsky’s short stories. His eyes were closed, those thick black lashes casting shadows on his cheekbones.

I approached slowly, wanting the time to keep looking. Tanner hadn’t had a haircut in weeks. Silky dark bangs fell across his forehead, begging for my fingers to sweep them off his face. Perfect lips, ever so slightly parted, looking desperately in need of a kiss. My gaze passed lower, taking in his long strong fingers as they rested on the book, his narrow waist, slim hips. I struggled to swallow. My cock enjoyed the show with me, not so silently encouraging me to climb on top of Tanner, toss that book aside, grind against him….

Tanner’s eyelids fluttered open, and he shook his head, craning his neck to look around. He yawned and stretched as he sat up. “What time is it?”

“Little after ten.” I sat next to him, needing to be close to him. He smelled warm and sweet. I breathed in, taking in as much of his scent as possible. God, I missed that. Sleeping apart for two weeks had me waking in the middle of the night craving him—his touch, his smell, his taste—all of him.

My thigh knocked into his, and he pressed back against me. “You wanna get out of here?”

I nodded, wanting to be anywhere as long as he was there too.

A light rain had started to fall, so we half jogged to the Towers.

“What do you suppose is going on in Wendy’s room?” I asked as we rode the elevator.

Tanner brushed rain droplets off his backpack. The elevator dinged and opened. “Guess we’re about to find out.”

Wendy’s door was open. Music and voices filled the hallway, and as we approached the room, a purple bra came flying out, followed by the sound of drunken laughter and cheering.

Tanner caught the elevator door just before it closed. “What do you say we go for a drive instead?”

“I say that’s the best offer I’ve had in weeks.”

Moments in Time – Series Paperback

Contains books 1, 2, and 3 – Moment of Impact, Moment of Truth, and Moment of Clarity.

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MomentsinTimeFS

Haven’t read books 1 and 2? Then hurry up as Moment of Impact and Moment of Truth will be on sale for 99 cents for a limited time (May 5 -18).

Moment of Impact

Outside Collin Fitzpatrick’s dorm room is a dangerous place. Beyond his door the students of his small, conservative college think he’s straight, as does his Catholic family who’d disown him if they learned the truth. Inside, he’s safe with his incredibly sexy roommate Tanner D’Amico. Their room makes a perfect place to hide away and fall in love. The moment they cross the line from roommates to lovers, Collin becomes caught between their heavenly passionate encounters and the hellish reality that someone might find out and destroy everything. Tanner’s not used to being so confined, and wants to show the world how much he loves Collin. But Collin’s not sure he’s ready for the impact stepping outside will make.

Buy Moment of Impact

Dreamspinner Press | Amazon US | Amazon UKAmazon AUARe

Moment of Truth

Collin expected to spend another summer fixing cars and working at the college pizzeria. Instead, he’s living in a beach house on Fire Island, waiting tables at a hip seaside restaurant and, for the first time since he and Tanner got together, they can publicly be known as boyfriends. Being “out” takes some getting used to, but with the help of new and old friends, Collin is happier than he ever imagined. And more in love. But newfound freedom brings unexpected challenges, and when friends get flirty, old insecurities arise. Moments of doubt and jealousy threaten their happiness, and Collin and Tanner must confront the truth or risk losing it all.

Buy Moment of Truth

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Want more? Moment of Silence and Moment of Fate, featuring secondary characters in Collin and Tanner’s story, will be released in late 2015 and early 2016.

About the author

Karen Stivali is a prolific writer, compulsive baker and chocoholic with a penchant for books, movies, and fictional British men. She’s also the multiple award-winning author of contemporary and erotic romances. Her lifelong fascination with people has led her to careers ranging from hand-drawn animator, to party planner, to marriage and family counselor, but writing has always been her passion. Karen enjoys nothing more than following her characters on their journey toward love. Whether the couples are m/f or m/m, it’s guaranteed that Karen’s novels are filled with food, friendship, love, and smoking hot sex—all the best things in life.

When Karen isn’t writing (and often when she is), she can be found on Twitter attempting witty banter and detailing the antics of her fruit-loving cat, BadKitteh. She loves to hear from readers (and other writers), so don’t hesitate to contact/follow/like her at:

TwitterFacebookWebsite 

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