Special Guest - Rhys Ford

We are here today to celebrate the release (finally!) of Whiskey and Wry!!

Super excited to have the fabulous author Rhys Ford in our hot seat today! We came up with a couple questions for the author in question!

What inspired you to write the Sinners Gin series?

Oh that’s a good question. And one I can’t really even answer.

I supposed what started it all was the character of Miki. He actually started off a lot more “together” than he ended up. Kane was a difficult character because I had to fit this man around this musician. Miki sort of devolved into this street rat and Kane evolved into this alpha-cop from a sprawling family.

I knew going in that Damien was still alive. Damien’s counterpart, Sionn, wasn't as hard to manage as Kane was but he was close. Damien’s a bit more focused than Miki, ambitious in some ways but still, drawn a bit off by the music. Sionn had to fit into that.

Another couple formed in this series really is Miki and Damie. They’re a bromance beyond anything else. There’s no question about loyalty or friendship. There’s never been any probing at their relationship. One is to the other as breathing so by taking Damie off the board for Sinner’s Gin, I could show Miki’s vulnerable nature. When Kane meets him, he’s kind of a sea urchin, nearly immobile and prickly.

Damien on the other hand is driven to find his steady footing. Sionn matches that in him. Damie reaches for things. He actually doesn't need to be famous but he certainly likes it. It’s the music that drives Damie. Miki will go wherever Damie goes.

I wanted to depict the chosen family and the blood family ties in the Sinner Series. Damie and Miki compared to the Morgans. Each has their own language and quirks but both are fierce in how they love one another. So ultimately, the series is about finding love of all kinds.

For those of us lucky to be friends with you on the internet we get to see your daily man candy posts (thank you by the way) Do you find it is easier to write a character when you have a strong visual of what they look like?

Ah, you are welcome for the posts. It actually started off just as a once in a while thing and now it kind of has become daily. I try to be tasteful because well, you know… peen doesn't need to be wagging about.

I actually have the characters forming in my head. The bitch of it comes when trying to find faces for the book covers. Because there’s only so many faces out there and they’re not going to fit the images in my head all the time.

Writing a character I've got a strong image of does help. Usually it’s if I've got the character’s personality fully developed that helps the most. It takes the second-guessing out of what their reaction would be to a situation. Helps. Not necessarily perfect but helps. *grins*

How long have you been writing?

Way too long. I wrote my first book when I was twelve. On a typewriter. Manual. Like a Royal typewriter. I got it a garage sale for a buck or something. I can’t even remember what it was about. But years.

Mostly I was told I sucked at writing and I’d never make a living at it and all kinds of oh-so-encouraging things from parents and others. All I can say to someone who wants to write, just write. Please.

Are you done with book 3 yet? >.<

No! I finished Fish and Ghosts, Clockwork Tangerine (a steampunk novella) and I’m working on Dirty Deeds, the fourth Cole McGinnis book. Tequila Mockingbird, book 3 of the Sinners series is after that. Wish me luck on it.

Do you judge a book by its cover?

Oh yes. I do. Sadly. There are some books I have to force myself past the cover art but the blurbs usually persuade me. And auto-buy authors. Which is funny because really in the age of ebook, I rarely see a cover once I buy it. *grins*

But see there are some GORGEOUS covers out there. Kinda makes me wish I’d had a device to display covers but I have a trusty third gen kindle I love.

Cover art is so subjective, really. I also like sparkly things so my tastes can’t be trust. My favourite colour is black but oooooo glitter. No reasoning with my brain.

Thank you for having me. Really, I appreciate you taking the time to read the books and hosting me here. Thank you again, love. 

We are happy to have you any time! As long as you bring the guys too lol.

Don't forget to check out our review of Whiskey and Wry here!!

To Catch a Fox by Raven McCallan

Eleanor may be a lady, but even she knows that there's more than one way to catch a fox...

When Eleanor was told the foxes had returned to Wilderwood, she wondered and hoped it wasn't just any old foxes. She'd spoken to no one of her week of passion with Alexander and Stanford Foxxe. The Foxxe brothers had warned her about their other lives, but Eleanor had been skeptical until that magical night where they had showed her their true selves. They shifted from human to animal; howled at the moon, and mated with her. Now six years later, the foxes were back. Had they come for her? If they had, would her changed circumstances alter all their plans? How would they cope with what she had become?

It was really fun to see a different type of shifter. So many times we see wolf, or even the big cats. While those are super awesome it was cool to have something new. This story has some really good potential. The interactions between the three of them were great, it would have been cool to see a little more back story between them to really see what happened leading up to this. If you enjoy historical romance then give this a try!

3 smooches for To Catch a Fox!

You can find To Catch a Fox here!

On the Right Track by Sam Kadence

Ryunoski “Ru” Nakimura knows all about the trappings of fame. Expelled from a boy band for coming out as gay, he still wants to continue his career in music. Too bad his ex finds nothing better to do than exploit their relationship in the press, so Ru leaves California behind to lie low in Minnesota for a while.

Adam Corbin attends a Minnesota high school and wants to coast through as a typical student. He’s friends with an openly gay student, Bas Axelrod, but while Adam plays football, he also stays away from much socializing. Blending in and not outing himself has been easy because he’s never really been seriously interested in any of the guys he’s encountered.

When Adam meets Ru in a library, Adam begins to think he’s found that special young man who might make it worthwhile to just be himself. And for Ru, Adam looks like someone he might trade his fame for, if they could be together. Ru and Adam will both come to realize that courage and love must go hand in hand if they are to have a future.

I Luuuuuuuuurve this book. Seriously, these are my boys! I really enjoyed the dynamics between the two guys. Adam is so sweet and shy and I want to just gobble him up. Ru is trying to break out of someone else's mold and be himself. They have some struggles along the way, secrets that can't be hidden, and hearts to heal. These two seem so different from each other, the just came out rock star, the good boy next door who's scared to be out. Neither of them really sure how this budding relationship will work, especially when jealousy from outsiders comes into play. I loved every minute of this, and hope you do too. It's a really well written story who helps you look a little deeper at how things go. Everyone deserves to be happy! I hope this gets out there, especially to the kids that need it. So that they might have a little more hope that everything can get better.

5 smooches for On the Right Track and a desperate plea for a story for Bas. <3 Pretty please!!

You can find On the Right Track here! Also go check out Sam's facebook page so you can see what else is out! :-)

Kindred Kraze - Shadowed!

We finally come to an end of our Kindred Kraze week. I hope you enjoyed this week as we went from beginning to end of Evangeline Anderson's Brides of the Kindred series. I have to say this is one of my new favorite series. Hot hunky aliens, feisty females, adventure, danger and steamy sex, what's not to love! This entire series was such a wild ride. Not only do you get to know so many great characters but you stay with them, following their story as you meet new ones along the way and fall in love with them too. Evangeline sucks you in and keeps you glued to the pages every time!

Now, I'd like to say, I read a LOT. One of my favorite things in a book is really connecting to the characters. When there is a female lead, do I relate to her? Can I see a little bit of me in this story? Luckily, women are complex creatures. We cannot be defined in a single word. We can be sweet, shy, goofy, stubborn, prideful, determined, sassy,  proud and terrified. And that's just one woman. So that makes it a little easier for me to connect to all these widely different characters. Every single one. When the author writes the characters so well that you can look into the story and picture yourself there, that is a good book. As this week has gone by and you've seen each story in this series, I hope you see a little of you. Pick them up, get sucked in. If you like something a little out of this world, this is a series for you. I enjoyed it so much and I can't wait to see what she has next!

Now on to our last (but hopefully not last) book in this awesome series!

Nina is normal Florida girl with a job and a life and a grandmother she adores. But lately she’s been having disturbing dreams. Dreams of a man with a shadowed face—a man filled with pain and need and desire only she can slake. She fears him but at the same time, the dreams leave her breathless with need. Who is this dark stranger and what does he want of her?

Reddix is a Touch Kindred with an inverted Touch Sense—he can’t touch with his mind like others of his kind. Instead, he is doomed to endure their emotions like a physical invasion every time he’s around anyone. Desperation drives him to kidnap Nina—the girl he has been dreaming of. But he doesn’t take her out of love but as a sacrifice to one who claims she can cure his affliction.

Snatching Nina from her job, Reddix takes her on a journey to the stars that ends in disaster. Now, marooned on a strange planet they will have to learn to work together in order to survive. Can Nina forgive Reddix’s attack and gain his trust enough to heal him…or will his fate remain forever Shadowed?

Okay, so as a married individual, there are times where I wish I could tell what my Hubs was feeling. That would be super helpful right? Unless you couldn't turn it off. Which is exactly the problem Reddix has. Constantly feeling everyone's emotions like a physical force no matter what. So he becomes a man with a plan, a slightly skewed messed up plan, but a plan all the same. Enter Nina, our Native American sweetheart. She's been dreaming of the dark, brooding, slightly creepy hooded guy. What a shock when he comes and kidnaps her, literally and they crash on some random planet. They have so many obstacles to overcome to be together, including a hard headed Touch Kindred. 

Witches, old fashion politics, alien dino people, and a love that wants to win. All of these exciting things and more in the latest of the Brides of the Kindred series by Evangeline Anderson. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Absolutely 5 smooches for Shadowed by Evangeline Anderson. Check it out here! And make sure you go back and see the reviews for the first 7 Kindred books.

Kindred Kraze - Exiled

A timid priestess turned Mistress…
A proud warrior posing as her slave…
Will their love blossom on the savage world where domination, submission, and kinky sex are the order of the day?
Or will Lissa be Exiled from the one male she loves above all others?

Lissa is madly in love with Saber and it seems he returns her feelings but she has a problem. She and the man of her dreams both come from the same clan of the Touch Kindred. By the archaic laws of their people, they are too closely related to be bonded. Which means that even though there is no blood tie between them, they are doomed to remain apart.

But their personal dilemmas will soon be the least of their worries. Sacred scrolls, vital to the defense of the Kindred people, have been stolen and sold to a collector on the barbaric slave planet, Yonnie Six. To retrieve them, Lissa and Saber must go undercover as Mistress and slave on the savage world where domination, submission, and kinky sex are the order of the day. Will the love between them survive this trial by fire? Or will Lissa lose everything and be Exiled from the one person she loves above all others?

Oh the sweet innocent darling!!! Okay first I have a side note, I have to say I love the male character's name because one of my best friends actually goes by Saber. I had quite the enjoyable time telling him he was a slave in a book. I really enjoyed this book for a couple big reasons. One, it's kinky ;-) I loved the way she completely flipped the society standards to women being on top for a big change of pace. Can you imagine living in a world where women are completely in charge and men are merely pets or slaves. Not that I could be like that, but a girl can day dream right? Two, I loved that despite their love being taboo, they overcame the stigma and did what felt right. More people should do that. For reals. Plus there was the big prank played on everyone, I can't tell you what it is, cause that's cheating. Go read it. Just remember, it doesn't matter who's on top, as long as you have fun together. >;-)

5 smooches for Exiled!! You can find it here!

Kindred Kraze - Pursued!

Elise is fractured inside, stained by a past she refuses to remember.

Merrick is scarred both inside and out, a half-breed with a brutal background, at home nowhere in the universe.

Now they are tied together by an unstable bond which could kill them both.
Their journey will take them to the lawless planet of Rageron—the wildest of all the Kindred worlds. There, in the deep blue jungles of an alien world, Elise must bare her soul and relive the horror that nearly killed her. Can she and Merrick make each other whole or will Elise run from her pain?

If she does, Merrick cannot help but chase her…Elise is being Pursued.

Love it!! I would have never thought of a hybrid Kindred. Which makes sense since I'm not writing these lol. This story ripped me up though. The background of both characters and what they had to go through made me want to smother them with hugs and kick someone's ass. She took two terribly scared individuals, and bonded them together, even if it was unstable. Awesome fights, cute animals, and terrible things make up this awesome story. 

5 smooches to Pursued!! You can find it here!

Kindred Kraze - Revealed!

We made it to day 5!!! I am so loving this series!

Nadiah has the Sight—the ability to see into the future. But the one thing she can’t see is how she’s ever going to be free of the blood bond her parents forced her into when she was only six. Her fiancée is an evil bastard who delights in torturing her and her only way out of a loveless marriage is for a Kindred warrior to challenge the hated bond. But Nadiah has no warrior to challenge for her—she just has Rast.

Adam Rast doesn’t know why he feels so protective and possessive of Nadiah, only that he’s willing to kill or die to protect her. When the chance to set her free arises, he takes it without hesitation, even though his lack of Kindred blood could mean his defeat or even his death. But Rast has a secret, one even he doesn’t know he possesses. When he undertakes Nadiah’s quest, the truth comes out in a strange and provocative way.

Can Nadiah and Rast live through their ordeal? Will the truth about Rast set them free…or kill them?

Weeeeeeee, Okay book five here we go! I was so glad that it was Nadiah cause when you meet her you're like oh she's cool! I hope she gets saved from being surrounded with all the jerks. Not that Rast isn't a big grumbly guy lol. I wasn't sure how I was going to like Rast, he's all cantankerous and grumpy and such, but turns out he has a good reason. And holy cow, I want to tell you his secret! Cause it's awesome, but I won't! Cause I think you should go see for yourself. They have some big challenges though. Even five stories in we still get to keep track of how things are with our earlier relationships are going. 

Revealed gets 4 1/2 smooches! You can find Revealed here!