TWO New Releases! Broken Blades, The Best Laid Plans

This week, I've got back to back releases!  On Monday the 15th, Broken Blades, written with Aleksandr Voinov. On Tuesday the 16th, The Best Laid Plans.

First, Broken Blades...

Amazon * AllRomance Ebooks * Kobo * Barnes & Noble

inktera * Scribd

(Paperback should be available within the next week)

They only had one night together—a stolen interlude at the 1936 Olympics. After Mark Driscoll challenged Armin Truchsess von Kardenberg to a good-natured fencing match, there was no resisting each other. Though from different worlds—an Iowa farm boy and a German aristocrat—they were immediately drawn together, and it was an encounter neither has ever forgotten.

Now it’s 1944, and a plane crash in hostile territory throws them back together, but on opposite sides of a seemingly endless war. Facing each other as opponents is one thing. As enemies, another thing entirely. And to make matters worse, Mark is a POW, held in a cold, remote castle in Germany… in a camp run by Armin.

They aren’t the young athletes they were back then. The war has taken wives, limbs, friends, leaving both men gray beyond their years, shell-shocked, and battered. The connection they had back then is still alive and well, though, and from the moment Mark arrives, they’re fencing again—advancing, retreating, testing defenses.

Have they been given a second chance? Or have time and a brutal war broken both men beyond repair? 

And The Best Laid Plans...

Amazon * Samhain Publishing * AllRomance Ebooks * Barnes & Noble

It’s a foolproof strategy...until the emotional balance shifts.

After yet another adoption falls through, Gabe is ready to give up, and Shahid isn’t far behind him. Apparently, being a gay couple—half of which is Muslim—is just one strike too many for the powers that be.

When their friend Kendra offers to carry their baby for them, both men balk at first, but gradually warm to the idea. Especially Gabe, whose bisexuality is open to the chemistry among the three of them.

The plan seems simple. Kendra and Gabe, foregoing the cold, impersonal IVF clinic, paperwork and red tape, will conceive the old-fashioned way. They’ll all share parenting responsibilities, and live happily baby after.

But as the heat flares between Gabe and Kendra, Shahid’s long-suppressed insecurities bubble to the surface. Then some unexpected news catches the trio off guard and derails their plans—and now one heart could be left out in the cold.

Warning: Authors subsist on the tears of readers. Please recycle your hankies by wringing out and reusing. We’d hate to be the cause of a worldwide shortage of Kleenex.

And on the 57,428th day, Rolex got a name.

Remember that time Aleksandr Voinov and I had this contest to name Rolex from Market Garden, but then real life decided to be a bastard and bring everything to a grinding halt for like six months? And then we kept everyone waiting forever for the results of that contest because OMG we just could not catch a break in 2014?

Yeah, me too.

First of all, thank you to everyone for your patience. 2014 was quite a roller coaster for both of us, and it really put a dent in productivity, concentration, etc. We haven't even co-written since July (up until today), so...yeah. Which meant dragging this contest out for MONTHS.  Sorry about that! :(

But blah blah blah, that's not why y'all are here. You want to know Rolex's name, right?

Well, wait no more.

Rolex has a name.

Yep, we finally found a first name.

And then we paired it with a surname.

And when we put them together, they worked pretty darn well.

So we said, "Yes, that is Rolex's name."

You ready for it?

You ready to find out what Rolex will be called?

OMG A hedgehog with a dinosaur! How adorable is that?

Right?

RIGHT? Just LOOK at how adorable it is!

Here it is again in case you missed it...

See? It's so--

OKAY OKAY I won't tease you anymore.

Rolex's name is:

Blake Raleigh.

Which also means that our contest winners are Kristie Sanchez and Antonia. If both of y'all could e-mail me at gallagherwitt (at) gmail, I'll get some prizes out to you.

So thank you again to everyone for your patience, and we really apologize for the huuuuge delay in wrapping up this contest. Rest assured that Rolex's story is in progress as we speak. Watch this blog and our Twitter feeds for release info.

Who Is Rolex? We're Asking You...

So Aleksandr Voinov and I are spiraling closer to writing the Market Garden book that we know a lot of you have been waiting for: Rolex's story.

We know his story. We know who we're going to hook him up with. (It's going to be hot, y'all. So hot.)

Yesterday, we were pondering what to call Rolex, since presumably his parents didn't name him after a luxury watch brand in hopes he would eventually become successful and develop a taste for the finer things in life. And it occurred to us that we could turn this into something fun for you, our readers.

So.

Here's how it works:

Rolex needs a name.  I guess in a way he's kind of like the childlike Empress in The Neverending Story. The story can't go on until he gets a name. Except he's not childlike, not an empress, and no fantasy worlds will actually fall apart if he doesn't get a new name. Though I suppose he does live in an ivory tower of sorts. (This is what happens when I write blog posts before I've had caffeine.)

Anyway. Where was I? Right. He's an American businessman, and his name could very well determine things about his background. We're hooking him up with a guy named Jason, so...we can't name him Jason. I mean, we could, but it would be really confusing, and Aleks and I are easily confused as it is. So no Jasons.

What's in it for you? A dedication in Rolex's book, plus a signed copy of If It Drives or Capture & Surrender (winner's choice) and an ebook off each of our backlists.

What do you have to do? Name Rolex. It's that easy. Comment on this blog with a name -- as many as you can think of -- and we'll select the winner. It's entirely possible that we might pick a first name from one entry and a surname from another, in which case both winners will receive prizes and a nod in the book. If there are a bunch of really awesome names and we remain undecided, we might even have y'all vote on the finalists! (And if you seen an entry you really like, feel free to comment to that effect!)

Deadline for entries: June 11, 2014.

Judges: Aleks and L.A., with the possibility of voting if there are numerous awesome entries.

Go forth, brave readers! Name the man we all know as Rolex!

NOW AVAILABLE: Hostile Ground

Hostile Ground, a suspense novel written with Aleksandr Voinov, is now available from Riptide Publishing!  Also available on AllRomance, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

After the deaths of three undercover cops investigating a drug ring in a seedy strip club in Seattle, Detective Mahir Hussain has been sent to finish the job. He joins the club’s security team in the hopes of finding enough evidence to bust the operation before the men in charge find a reason to put him in a shallow grave.

To protect the strippers, only gay men can work the club. Ridley, the cold and intimidating head of security, knows exactly how to test potential new hires—including Mahir. From the minute they meet, Mahir and Ridley engage in a dangerous dance of sex and mind games. Mahir needs to find his evidence before Ridley figures out he’s a cop—and before they both grow too close to betray one another.

As the game goes on, Mahir burrows deeper into the operation, where he learns there’s much more happening than meets the eye . . . and why every cop who made it this far has been silenced with a bullet.

So what's going on with Wilde's (aka The Distance Between Us)?

On Tuesday, the newest Wilde's story, No Distance Left to Run, will be released. I've had a few questions recently about how this book fits with the others in the series, what's going on with the series, etc., so I wanted to take this opportunity to answer them.

The Wilde's series, which is generally called The Distance Between Us series because it all started with the book by that title that was supposed to be a standalone but then... wasn't. A.J.'s Angel came along after that, and Kieran made a little cameo. And then he got his own story in The Closer You Get. And then recurring side character Dale got his own story in Meet Me in the Middle.  So as you can see, it kind of took on a life of its own.

      

  

Basically, the series has evolved into something not unlike Tucker Springs. They're all set in the same world (specifically in Seattle, with the night club Wilde's featuring heavily), and sometimes characters cross over into each other's stories, but aren't necessarily related outside of the night club. Wilde's actually made its first appearance in the standalone book, The Best Man, and I guess I was kind of attached to the place, so I keep going back to it. (What can I say? They have awesome Kamikazes...)

Which brings us to No Distance Left to Run, the first co-written Wilde's story, having been written with the other half of my brain, Aleksandr Voinov.

This book does have some cameos by previous characters. Liam is still the shift manager. Kieran is still tending bar. But Chris and Julien? They're new characters entirely. No Distance Left to Run is a standalone (though it will have a sequel), it just takes place in the Wilde's universe.

Will there be more? It's hard to say. Like I said, I keep gravitating back to Wilde's, and now that my co-author extraordinaire has joined me there, it's a safe bet that we'll revisit the place together.

Hopefully I didn't just make it even more confusing. LOL  I hope Wilde's fans will enjoy this newest installment and the new set of characters... and stay tuned for news about the sequel!

No Distance Left to Run is available May 13th from Samhain Publishing.

NEW RELEASES: If It Drives, Guarded, and For The Living

It's been a busy week -- three new titles launched! I didn't want to do a post for each release because that would just clutter everything up, so I've rounded them up for a single post.

Cat Grant and I are pleased to announce the release of our kinky rock star novel, Guarded, available on Amazon, AllRomance, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, and Smashwords.

 On the surface, rock star Jordan Kane has it all. No Rules is burning up the charts and headlining a world tour. His bodyguard doubles as his hot, kinky boyfriend who knows just how to push all his buttons. But behind the scenes, he’s suffocating. 

Jase never imagined he’d have a shot at bedding the larger than life rock star, never mind dominating him, but now he’s worried he’s in over his head. Jordan’s kinks run deep, dark, and sometimes dangerous, putting Jase’s desires to both pleasure and protect him at odds. 

They might have a fighting chance at finding the safe, happy medium between what Jordan needs and what Jase is willing to give, but there’s one problem: Daniel, Jordan’s childhood best friend, the band’s talented guitarist—and the volatile, hard-partying drug addict. Jordan is determined to save Daniel from himself, but Jase has been there, done that, and desperately wants to protect Jordan from the inevitable heartache of watching an addict self-destruct. 

When Daniel goes off the rails again, Jordan calls off the tour to get him help. Tension within the band skyrockets and pressure from the record label sends Jordan into a dark spiral. Now his band—and his life—are balanced on a knife's edge, and Jase is the only one who can pull him back... but only if the echoes of his own tragic past don't push him over instead.

Aleksandr Voinov and I have been busy too, and we're taking you back to Market Garden in the seventh book in that series, If It Drives, available from Riptide Publishing, Amazon, AllRomance, and Barnes & Noble.

If it flies, drives, or fornicates, it's cheaper to rent it. 

After driving James Harcourt, his wealthy banker boss, around for a year and a half, Cal isn’t surprised by much anymore. Not even James’s regular trips to Market Garden, London’s most elite gay brothel. 

But when James leaves the Garden alone one night and turns to Cal instead, Cal’s floored. After crushing on his boss for ages, it’s his wet dream come true . . . until the awkward morning after. Cal still has a job to do, but he wants to offer more. Yet James doesn’t take him up on it; he keeps Cal at arm’s length and continues his chauffeured jaunts to Market Garden. 

As Cal learns what James needs from the rentboys, he tries to fill that need himself. But there’s more to James’s penchant for rentboys than Cal realizes, and it may be one role that Cal can’t fill without overstepping his duty.

And finally, I've re-released my novel, For The Living, and it can be found on Amazon, AllRomance, and Barnes & Noble.

For the last year, Jay Warren has struggled to find the nerve to tell his wife he’s gay. Every time he gets the chance, though, he freezes up. He’s ashamed of hiding it all this time and he doesn’t want to hurt her, and the guilt has been almost unbearable. 

Then his wife dies suddenly, and Jay’s conscience threatens to eat him alive. 

Funeral director Scott Lawson deals with the bereaved every day, and he’s all too familiar with the inside of the closet. He offers Jay some much-needed compassion and understanding, and from that connection comes a friendship that quickly—perhaps too quickly—turns into something more. 

But are grief, guilt, and loneliness the only things tying them together? Or will Scott get fed up with being used as an emotional crutch before Jay realizes what he has? 

This book was previously published.

 Stay tuned -- Roped In (written with Marie Sexton) is out later this month, as is the seventh Tucker Springs book, It's Complicated!