Sunday, December 3, 2023

Heart First New Release Blitz #IndiGo

Title:  Heart First

Series: Hudson Valley Murder Mysteries, Book One

Author: S.B. Barnes

Publisher:  NineStar Press

Release Date: 12/05/2023

Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 90800

Genre: Contemporary, contemporary, gay, mystery, murder, campus, town/gown, professors, auto mechanic, family drama, classism, class difference

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Description

Daniel Rosenbaum leads a predictable life. He’s a professor at Lobell, a small liberal arts college in the Hudson Valley, where he spends his days teaching classes and doing research alongside his friends and fellow professors, Colette and Mario. The biggest change Daniel’s routine has seen in years is when car trouble leads him across the Hudson and into an unexpected romantic encounter with local mechanic Tony.

When tragedy strikes in the form of Mario’s murder, Daniel’s orderly life is thrown into chaos. Not only is his friend dead, it seems Mario was keeping secrets that could cause rifts in Lobell’s close-knit community. At first, Daniel’s intensifying relationship with Tony is the only way he can find solace from his grief and confusion. But all too soon, the trail of Mario’s secrets leads Daniel to the same place he’s been seeking comfort: Angel Automotive, the auto repair shop run by Tony’s family.

Before long, Daniel is forced to question everything: his friends, his job, the way he lives his life, and the relationship he’s not even sure he’s in yet. Only one thing is for sure: Daniel is falling heart-first—in love or into mortal danger.
Excerpt

Heart First
S.B. Barnes © 2023
All Rights Reserved

Hello?” Daniel calls out into the seemingly deserted garage. “I, uh…I brought my car in?”

He winces at himself. Of course he brought his car; it’s an auto repair shop. What else would he have brought? A tricycle? There’s something about places like this that make him acutely self-conscious of his own ignorance. There’s probably nothing seriously wrong with his car, and he’s already bracing for some guy with a mustache and a baseball cap to tell him condescendingly he could have easily fixed it himself.

“Just a second,” a voice calls back, much closer than Daniel expects. He flinches and looks around, trying to find the source.

There’s a clanging noise, like someone dropped a tool on the floor, immediately followed by the sound of wheels scraping over asphalt. From beneath the sleek black car parked to the left, a guy in a pair of washed-out jeans and a stained white tank top emerges.

He has a mustache.

Daniel called it.

Granted, he also has a beard, which makes the mustache less out of place, but still.

“Hi,” Daniel says and waves awkwardly.

“Hey,” the guy says. “Wasn’t there someone at the front office?”

“There was.” Daniel bristled a little. “She told me to come here.”

The guy rolls his eyes and pushes a strand of hair out of his eyes. The rest of it is in a short ponytail at the back of his head, with the once close-shaved sides grown out a bit. With the mustache, it’s an intense look.

“Fuck,” the guy says. “Uh, sorry. I’m guessing she didn’t give you any paperwork?”

Daniel shakes his head. Mostly, the goth girl at the front desk snapped her gum and said “Uh-huh” when he tried to describe the sound his car started making this morning on the drive over from Rhinebeck. When he finished, she pointed him wordlessly toward the garage. She didn’t look up from her phone once during the interaction.

“I wish I could fire her,” the guy mutters to himself, wiping sweat off his forehead with his forearm.

It gives Daniel an unobstructed view of his arms, which are really nice.

Not the time, he chastises himself. Hitting on a mechanic in an auto shop in a dinky little town in upstate New York sounds like a neat way to get himself in trouble, and anyway, making a move on someone while they’re at work is just bad manners. Besides, that mustache is really something, and while it does suit the man’s face, Daniel’s not sure how he feels about it.

“Sorry, I’m Tony. I should probably have led with that.”

Daniel grins. “Hi, Tony. I’m Daniel, and I’m having trouble with my car.”

“Well, you’re in luck. I happen to be a mechanic.”

“Wow, what are the odds?”

Tony shrugs and gestures to the rows of different-size chains hanging on the wall. “You walk into a setup like this, it’s an even split—mechanic or sex worker.”

It shocks a laugh out of Daniel. He gets the impression he doesn’t need to worry about homophobia here if Tony’s using respectful language, which is a relief.

“So, what’s wrong with your car?”

Daniel winces. “It’s been making this weird noise all morning. Like a kind of irregular clunking?”

“All the time or just when you go over a bump?”

“Um…” Daniel considers. The roads are pretty shitty between Rhinebeck and Lobell College anyway, so he wasn’t exactly sure how frequent the noise was. He didn’t hear it much on the better-paved way into Kingston, but he was also focused on finding the garage and wasn’t really paying attention.

“Your muffler might be loose,” Tony tells him when he fails to answer the question.

“Okay,” Daniel says slowly. “And that’s…bad?”

Tony blinks. “Not a car guy, huh?”

“No,” Daniel says quickly. “Computers guy. Classic literature guy. Fourth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer guy. Very much not a car guy.”

A frown line draws tight on Tony’s forehead. “That’s a really bad season, which, okay, no one’s perfect. Here’s what we’ll do. Technically, we’re booked totally full today, but you’re here now, and I don’t feel great about sending you away when we don’t know for sure what’s wrong with your car. I’m gonna take a quick look at it to see what’s wrong.”

“That would be amazing,” Daniel says. “Thank you so much. I’m sorry to put you out.” It figures they’d be busy. He chose this place because it’s the only auto shop in a twenty-mile radius that takes walk-ins, and he couldn’t quite work up the motivation to call somewhere. He’s probably not the only one.

Tony waves a hand. “Don’t worry about it. Just don’t tell my boss or Mrs. Cooper when she comes to pick up her car in an hour.” He nods toward the car he’s been working on, and Daniel taps the side of his nose.

For a long moment, they grin at each other widely. Tony has really nice eyes. Daniel’s always thought brown eyes exuded warmth, and Tony has exceptionally long eyelashes. There’s something kind in there, in the crinkles around the corners. He must laugh a lot.

Purchase

NineStar Press | Books2Read

Meet the Author

S. B. Barnes attended college in the Hudson Valley, studying English Language and Literature and Anthropology (although unlike her characters, her time there was not interrupted by crime-solving). She grew up split between the USA and Germany, attending university in both countries before eventually settling in Germany. Today, she works as a teacher and lives with her husband and two cats in an apartment with too little shelf space. Fiction has always been one of her greatest loves, as a reader, as a teacher, and as a writer. While S.B. has been writing for most of her life, this is her first foray into publishing her work.

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Giveaway

One lucky winner will receive a $50.00 NineStar Press Gift Code! 


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Saturday, December 2, 2023

A Very Changeling Christmas Celebration #IndiGo

‘Tis the season of giving! That means it’s time for our 20th Annual A Very Changeling Christmas Celebration

Are you on Santa’s naughty list? Worried you won’t receive presents this year? Well, at Changeling Press we’ll be giving gifts to some lucky readers.

 

Want to know more? 

Naughty Nights of Christmas:
  • Twelve Changeling recipients will receive one e-book download of your choice from ChangelingPress.com
Free Books For A Year:
  • Three Christmas 2023 recipients will each receive one e-book download of your choice per month from ChangelingPress.com -- Three recipients, twelve e-book downloads each for 2024 from ChangelingPress.com.
  • Two Christmas 2023 recipients will each receive one e-book download of your choice per week from ChangelingPress.com -- Two recipients, fifty-two e-book downloads each for 2024 from ChangelingPress.com.
No entry form. All you have to do is buy any Christmas themed book at ChangelingPress.com between November 24th and December 30th, 2023. The Not So Fine Print:
  • Naughty Nights of Christmas gift recipients are eligible to receive more than one Christmas Gift.
  • Christmas Gift recipients will be chosen randomly from purchases of books in the Christmas Theme at ChangelingPress.com made between November 24th and December 30th 2023 and will be announced December 31st on the Changeling Bar and Grill (changelingpress.wordpress.com/), and the Changeling Facebook Page (facebook.com/changelingpress/).
  • Weekly and Monthly Christmas Gift e-book downloads will expire if not used within 30 days.

Shop For Christmas Books HERE

 

Friday, December 1, 2023

Friday Book Blogger Hop Special: The Touch

       


Book: Beautiful Darkness 2

Story: The Touch

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CC6ZFCL3

Publisher: Dragon Soul Press

Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 30, 2023

Anthology Genre: 
Horror
(various sub-genres)

Story Genre:
Post-apocalyptic

Buy Link:

Ebook Price:
$4.99

Paperback:
$24.99

Book Blurb:

In a world where so many dark things go bump in the night, terror awaits around every corner as these authors take horror stories to the next level. Discover ghosts, demons, and your worst nightmares. Read at your own risk.

Featuring stories by Stephen A. Roddewig, Warren Benedetto, Barend Nieuwstraten III, Dylan Roche, Edgar Mahaffey, Toni Mobley, C.L. Hart, and J.E. Feldman.

About the Author:

Currently residing in Los Angeles, Toni was raised in Australia and Japan. She spends her free time worshipping her two cats, who she can't disprove aren't vengeful deities. She has several short stories that have been featured in anthologies, and is the author of two novels: Accolades of Wolves and A Winged Embrace. When not lost in her daydreams, most of her days are spent reminiscing about what rain looks like. 

Author Links


Learn more at www.tonimobley.com


The First Line/Book Beginnings



With my nose pressed against the living room bay window, I peered between the wooden slats adhered to the outside, eager to see a glimpse of that white truck.

The Friday 56

We both knew there was nothing that could be done now. Even though I had yet to glimpse the telltale symptom, the one thing that would confirm it wasn’t just a terrible cold.

Book Blogger Hop



1st -7th - Do you read multiple books at once? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)

Sort of. I might be reading one book and also reading stories from an anthology while making these posts.

IT'S HERE!


C. L. Hart will give away one copy of the 2022 Deathlehem anthology to a lucky winner.


Link to Author Signup: 
 
Link to Dangerously Dark Darlings Facebook Group: 


 

No Escape Release Blitz #rabtbooktours

 

Axel Blaze Thriller Book 6


Thriller

Date Published: December 1, 2023

 

 

When dreams and nightmares collide, there’s no place left to run.

Dawn breaks over Bison Creek, a sleepy little Wyoming town, to reveal a scene of mayhem. Two bodies lying inside the police station. Both brutally killed. One of them a cop. A man covered in blood sprawled on the steps outside. Conscious but disoriented. Beside him, a gun and a stained Ka-Bar knife.

It’s an open-and-shut case. Every shred of evidence points to Ex-Marine Staff Sergeant Logan Davis, pushed over the edge by his acute PTSD. Logan knows no lawyer can prove him innocent. He calls the only man he knows will move heaven and earth to get to the truth: Axel Blaze.

A bloody trail leads Blaze to a cult leader with ties to rogue pharmaceutical company, preying on the vulnerabilities of troubled veterans, using them as pawns in his nefarious game. These power players will do anything to bury the truth. But they underestimate one thing—a relentless adversary who will go to any lengths to expose them.

 

The Axel Blaze Thriller Series:

 

Blaze Returns

Axel Blaze Thriller, Book 1

 

Lethal Force

Axel Blaze Thriller, Book 2

 

Hard Target

Axel Blaze Thriller, Book 3

 

Mean Streets

Axel Blaze Thriller, Book 4

 

Unchained Fury

Axel Blaze Thriller, Book 5

 

No Escape

Axel Blaze Thriller, Book 6

 

Amazon

 

About the Author

Bill Runner worked as an investigative journalist before turning to writing novels. He grew up on a regular diet of western novels and movies about lone rangers, which influenced the shaping of Blaze. Bill is an experienced mountain climber and has been a lifelong student of martial arts. Working the crime beat and studying the art of fighting helped make him the author of thriller novels, which are known for well-executed action sequences.

 

Contact Links

Website

Facebook

Twitter

 

Purchase Link

Amazon


RABT Book Tours & PR

Sophia Freeman and the Winter Behemoth Release Blitz #rabtbooktours

 

Middle-Grade Fantasy Mystery

Date Published: 12-01-2023

Publisher: Rise Publishers


 

A STRATEGIC PLAN WAS IN PLACE…

POWERFUL ALLIANCES WERE FORMED…

BUT NOTHING COULD STOP THE GREAT WAR.

 

After Tim Charnal was captured by Allen Chan and the ruthless iron-masked guards, Sophia Freeman has no choice but to follow their orders and meet them in the Forbidden Land to free their Master, Tombermon, an ancient tree giant. The release of great evil leads to broken promises, countless sacrifices, and an inevitable war. As the islanders face a losing battle, an unexpected machine army comes to their rescue. But is it enough to stop the enemy and their threatening new era of darkness once and for all?


About the Author

Thuan Doan is an award-winning author of the Sophia Freeman series. He conceived his first middle-grade fantasy novel, Sophia Freeman and the Mysterious Fountain, during a trip to Gabriola Island, British Columbia in the summer of 2013. Then he took his work and settled in a small town of Enderby, where it’s peaceful and quiet.

Thuan is writing under a pen name of T.X. Troan. “X” stands for Xu, his grandmother’s name who passed away. And “Troan” is a combination of his parents' names.

“No matter how this turns out, I want my family to be a part of this wonderful journey.”

T.X. Troan married Sarah, his original fan and longtime love, in 2016. They live in Enderby with their pack dogs!

 

Contact Links

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

Instagram

 

Purchase Links

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Walmart

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway 


RABT Book Tours & PR

'Tis the Season Release Blitz #rabtbooktours



Passages, Book 1


Holiday, Gay, Romance, New Adult

Date Published: December 01, 2023

Publisher: Changeling Press


 

Is it possible to be both a good Jew and a gay man? Jonah Dillon doesn’t think so. He can’t reconcile his faith with his attraction to men so he turns his back on Judaism. Away at college for the holidays, he plans to lose his virginity to Christian, the blue-eyed, blond, goy of his dreams.

But fate intervenes when Jonah meets Aaron Beck, an observant Jew, and they end up celebrating Hanukkah together. Aaron tells Jonah they're beschert—meant to be. Jonah’s not sure he believes it, but he's lonely and welcomes Aaron's company even if he has to celebrate Hanukkah to get it.

Can Aaron bridge the gap and convince Jonah to take a leap of faith? Or will they have to give up their desire for a future together?

 

About the Author

Gale Stanley grew up in Philadelphia PA. She was the kid who always had her nose in a book, her head in the clouds, and her hands on a pad and pencil.

Some things never change.

 

Contact Links

Blog

Facebook

X (Twitter): @GaleStanley

Goodreads

Pinterest

Instagram

 

Purchase Link

 Amazon

Publisher


RABT Book Tours & PR

Thursday, November 30, 2023

Danje Release Blitz #rabtbooktours

 

Horror, Psychological Thriller, Occult, Thriller, Paranormal, Fiction

Date Published: November 30, 2023

 

 

In a small Louisiana Bayou town during mid-September 1965, Albert Gilly frantically prepares his family's fishing store for an impending hurricane. Amid the chaos, he notices Adonis, a drifter, lying motionless on the street. With the wind raging and debris swirling violently around them, Albert's mind is consumed with thoughts of his family and their dependence on him as the sole breadwinner. Knowing that they would be destitute without him, he makes the painful decision to prioritize his own safety over rescuing the stranger. As Albert stands in his shop's doorway, the weight of his guilt is almost suffocating, causing him to hesitate before locking himself inside. He shouts one last time, urging the young man to seek shelter in his late father's houseboat at the end of the pier. Adonis is startled awake by his words, his mind still hazy, as he struggles through the strong winds until arriving at the floating sanctuary. However, his relief is short-lived upon discovering the sinister secrets concealed within the old wooden walls.

About the Author

Brigitte, "Gitte," Tamar was born in a small rural Oregon town. Growing up, she was enthralled by scary tales featuring poetic tones and consistently gravitated towards writing darkened narratives. In the different storylines, Brigitte explores the harsh realities of social issues faced by today's generations. This includes the dark outcomes brought on by peer pressure, addiction, homelessness, mental illness, childhood trauma, and abuse. She feels it is essential to share narratives that refrain from sugarcoating the topics society tends to shy away from.

 

Contact Links

Website

Instagram

Twitter

Facebook

Goodreads

Bookbub

 

Purchase Link

Amazon


RABT Book Tours & PR