11/09/2024

A Taste of Danger: A Subparheroes book by Morgan Brice

NEW RELEASE 

Book Title: A Taste of Danger: A Subparheroes book

Author: Morgan Brice

Publisher: Darkwind Press

Cover Artist: Dianne Thies

Release Date: September 5, 2024

Pairing: MM

Tense/POV: third person, past tense, alternating POV.

Genres: Romance, Mystery/suspense, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy

Tropes: Superhero with minor psychic abilities, odd superhero employment agency, craft brewer, secret agent, shifters, supernatural mobsters, fish out of water, small town

Themes: Learning to trust, balancing love and career

Heat Rating: 4 flames    

Length: 65 000 words

It is a standalone book and does end on a cliffhanger.

It’s part of a multi-author, shared world series Subparheroes, and it also connects to my Fox Hollow series. 

Goodreads

Buy Links - Available in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US   |   Amazon UK 

An unlikely rookie superhero and a dog shifter beer enthusiast team up to stop a nefarious supernatural plot.

Blurb 

Food reviewer Scott Dixon didn’t just lose his job—he started getting premonitions linked to random tastes, a new ability he’s not sure how to manage. When an interview lands him a position using his visions to help people and stop criminals, Scott finds himself chasing bootleggers who create beverages specially formulated to control people with psychic abilities. The trail leads to upstate New York, where he meets a sexy craft brewer who takes his breath away, but might be more than he appears, testing Scott’s trust.

Craft brewer and Belgian Malinois shifter Gage Merrick never fit in with his law enforcement family. He loves beer and spent years developing brews designed to taste good to different types of shifters. When he meets Scott, sparks fly. But Gage’s passion for paranormally optimized beverages raises Scott’s suspicions, threatening their chance at happiness.

Will Gage be the love of Scott’s life, or will their affair leave a bitter aftertaste?

A Taste for Danger is a feel-good paranormal super-powered hero MM romance romp filled with secret agents, found family, good beer, quirky humor, sexy shifters, soulful psychics, and supernatural skullduggery!

This book is part of the multi-author MM Romance SubParHeroes series and is also linked to the Fox Hollow series.

Excerpt 

“Ninety-nine, one hundred,” Scott Dixon counted out loud as he checked two more failed job applications off his spreadsheet. He sighed and took a drink of his now cold coffee. “Maybe one hundred and one is the charm.”

Getting laid off from his job as a food reviewer for Taste of the Rainbow magazine, which specialized in reviewing LGBTQ-owned and friendly restaurants, was bad enough. Receiving the notice via text two weeks ago was doubly awful.

Dear Scott—

We regret to inform you that due to declining advertising revenue, your position as a full-time food reviewer has been cut. You are free to re-apply to submit work-for-hire articles on an ad hoc basis at our freelance rate. Your keycard and network access have been deactivated. The contents of your desk and cubicle will be boxed and mailed to you. If you had personal items elsewhere, please let us know, and we will include them in the box. Please do not return to the office as you will not be permitted to enter. We wish you well in your new endeavors.

Since Scott had been in charge of hiring freelancers, he knew how their rate compared to his salary. Even if I freelanced the whole damn magazine issue, it wouldn’t pay what I’ve been making. He muttered several extremely impolite descriptions of his former boss as he got up to refill his cup. “Text messaging toadie. ’Fraidy cat fucker. Anti-social asshole.”

To add insult to injury, his car needed repairs, putting a dent in his emergency stash. The unexpected expense of buying a new shirt and jacket for in-person interviews drained his funds further, even though he had found them at a consignment store.

Scott cut every subscription except his e-book and inventoried his cupboards and freezer for cheap meals so he could skip grocery shopping. Despite that, and even if he picked up some other freelance gigs to tide himself over, he couldn’t go more than a couple more weeks without a real job.

Scott didn’t want to sleep in his car or beg friends to let him couch surf, but that possibility loomed large unless something showed up real soon. He had less than thirty dollars in his wallet, and there wasn’t enough left on his credit card to pay rent.

A fast-food gig wouldn’t pay the rent, and it would eat up time I could use to job hunt. He hated the idea of pawning any of his gaming equipment—that was a last resort.

His phone rang, and he didn’t recognize the number. “Hello?”

“Scott Dixon? This is April from SPAM. We received your resume and are very impressed. I’m calling to offer you a full-time, salaried position with very generous health benefits and paid vacation. We’d like you to start immediately, and there’s a signing bonus to ease your relocation to Albany.” She named the salary and bonus. Scott nearly swooned at the amount, a hefty upgrade from his most recent salary.

“SPAM?” Scott’s mind whirled, trying to remember if he had sent a resume to Hormel. Even if he hadn’t, he had heard good things, and the offer had everything he needed. “Albany? I mean, yes, thank you. Sure. I just need to pack. Thank you.”

“How quickly can you come for orientation? We have a project we’d like you to head, and it needs someone to take over in a few weeks.”

“I can be in Albany in two days, just need to wrap up some things here in Rochester.” Scott was still reeling from the sudden reversal of fortune. “Can you please send me something in writing?” he remembered to ask, wary because he had heard about hiring scams.

“Of course,” April said. “I’ll have a confirmation letter out to you this afternoon. Congratulations, and welcome to SPAM.”

Scott stared at his phone for a few minutes after April hung up. I have a job—and a raise. I’m moving to Albany. Holy shit—I’ve got a job!

About the Author  

Morgan Brice is the romance pen name of bestselling author Gail Z. Martin. Morgan writes urban fantasy MM paranormal romance, with plenty of action, adventure and supernatural thrills to go with the happily ever after. Gail writes epic and urban fantasy, with less romance, more explosions.

All of the modern-day Morgan Brice and Gail Z. Martin series crossover, so characters from one series appear in cameos and on page in important secondary roles in books from other series. Each book can be read as a standalone, but the more you read the more the expanded universe of friendships and connections becomes clear. 

Morgan and Gail believe that paranormal elements make any story even better, and her worlds are full of ghosts, psychics, shifters, creatures, vampires, monster hunters, and magic. 

She's also a huge fan of the TV show Supernatural. (Chibi art by Kamidiox)

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10/09/2024

Happy Holidays! The Charlie Barnes Experience, Volume 1 by C.R. Barnes

BOOK BLAST

Book Title: Happy Holidays! The Charlie Barnes Experience, Volume 1

Author: C.R. Barnes

Publisher: Beach Book Press

Release Date: July 11, 2024

Genre: Humor/Satire with M/M romance

Tropes: Fake relationship, Lovers to enemies 

Themes: Irreverent Humor, Friendship, Loyalty, Moral Ambiguity, Writer’s Block

Heat Rating: 2 flames (the main characters do have sex a few times but there are no graphic descriptions)

Length: 54 000 words/167 pages

It is a standalone story and does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

Buy Links

Amazon US  |    Amazon UK  |   Universal Link

Available anywhere books are sold, as well as digital library services.

How I Went from Failed Writer to Drug Mule, and Back, Without Really Trying

Blurb

After a shocking event on Halloween night, Charlie Barnes is back in the news for all the wrong reasons. On the bright side, he meets handsome cop Luke. Luke of the blue eyes, perfect nose, beautiful butt cheeks, and, unbeknownst to Charlie, ulterior motives.

Even bad publicity can be good for book sales, according to Charlie's publisher, who promptly moves up the deadline for his next book. A book he hasn't started due to a crushing case of writer's block. Or perhaps he's just lazy, it’s hard to tell with Charlie.

He's got a month to write his next book, decide if Luke is for real, and figure out what to do about the suitcase full of drugs he abandoned at the airport. The pressure is on and the ride is about to get bumpy.

Excerpt 

Lying on a beach, soaking in warm summer sun and cool ocean breezes. It’s heaven, until a wave rolls in and crashes on top of me. Next thing you know, I’m gasping for air and choking on my own bath water. Not dreaming anymore.

            Or am I? Is Detective-Too-Good-To-Be-True in my kitchen? Did he draw this bath, light these candles, and leave me in peace long enough for me to drown in my tub? A gentle knock on the door. He must have heard me doing the breaststroke. Before I say come in, he comes in. Not dreaming, not this part.

            “You doin’ okay in here?” He asks with such sweetness I feel guilty for thinking it’s too much. But it is. We’ll work on this later.

            “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Seeing how much water I can get on the floor before the tub falls through it.”

            “Might not sit well with the neighbor.”

            “He’s a bitch. Always complaining about how loud I walk. Fuck him.”

            I toss my hands in the air and give him my best ‘who gives damn’ face and end this part of the conversation with “If he wanted quiet, he should have bought the penthouse.”

            “Since when is the fifth floor of anything the penthouse?”

            Not sweet. This is better.

            “If it’s on the top, it’s the penthouse. Prove me wrong.”

            “I’d rather feed you.” He hands me a towel. He doesn’t leave. A dare.

            I take the dare. I stand up, hang the towel over a hook, and grab my shower handle thing, what is it called? Shower handle, maybe? Whatever it is, I spray myself down, sending water everywhere. He gets wet and starts laughing. As God is my witness, his buttons will be pushed. He can’t take everything in stride.

            When I step out of the tub the room spins. He grabs me by the shoulders and guides my butt onto the toilet, which, thankfully is closed and does not have a candle on it.

            “Sit still,” he commands.

            What? He takes the towel and starts drying me off. I know where this is going, at least for me. I have to stop this. I don’t want to stop this. But I have to. We can’t have sex, there’s lasagna to be eaten. Lasagna is better than sex. But if you’re going to have sex, having it before eating lasagna is better than after.

            We are not having sex. Not tonight. And when we do, I won’t talk about and I certainly won’t write about it. I might mention it, I might even brag, but there won’t be any details. This is neither porn nor erotica. Some things have to be private.

            “I can handle it from here.”

            Disappointment flashes across his face. It didn’t last long, but it was there. Good. He puts a hand on my cheek. His hand is warm, and soft, and big. He kisses me on my damp forehead and says “Then hurry up, I’m hungry.”

            Laughing hurts my ribs and makes me stop. Then he laughs at me, which makes me laugh again. It’s a hot mess of pain and happiness and arousal, and all sorts of other things running around inside my body and banging around my brain. Yes, yes, yes, a million times yes. This is the man for me.

            “Get out before you kill me.”

            He pulls the towel over my head and walks out, still laughing. Quick as I can, I get dry, get dressed, and meet him at the table. There’s a salad, the aforementioned lasagna, a bottle of wine, flowers, and candles. He must have gone shopping because none of this stuff came from my pantry. I’m not even sure I have a pantry. He pours the wine, lifts his glass, waits for me to lift mine and says, “Welcome home Charlie.”

            I pull my glass back “You said that already. Come up with something new.”

            “Geez, Charlie,” he pretends to be annoyed. He’s not annoyed. He’s challenged and he likes it.

            “Here’s to not dying in a Dorothy costume in the parking lot of a seasonally gay nightclub.”

            That’s more like it.

About the Author 

C.R. "Charlie" Barnes studied literature and journalism in college and went to work for a global news organization immediately after graduation. During his time there, the team won a pile of awards and Charlie was on his way to a low-paying, high-stress career in a business he didn’t love. He now spends his time writing fiction because the news was never good, and one thing Charlie likes is a good time. Or at least not a bad time. 

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