Sunday, June 1, 2014

*kermit flail Monday*-- June's releases!

Wow.  

So, it's been something of a month, right?  But when I put out calls for *kermit flail Monday* I got a lot of really awesome responses.  

This first one, from Eisabeth Staab is right up my alley-- or rather, my Urban Fantasy alley.  Elisabeth writes a really amazing vampire series called the Chronicles of Yavn , and I've read the first two (MUST. READ.) and right here is the third one, and WOOT!  Elisabeth is a friend-- friendly enough to put up with Mary and I cutting up during her panel at RT (Sorry, Elisabeth!) and to do it with grace.  I also really loved her books-- and the trip back to Urban Fantasy, which, as you know, is my original home.  So it's a pleasure to be able to pimp this on my blog… watch me kermit flail over


YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!


She wants out
Party girl Alexia Blackburn is only hanging around the vampire compound until her best friend—the queen—has her baby. After that, nothing is going to stop Alexia from getting back to daylight, safety, and feeling like a normal human being. But leaving the vampire world has one big catch

He needs her to stay
Head of vampire security Lee Goram has hated and distrusted humans for centuries. Feeding on vampire blood has kept him strong...but now it's killing him—and he's horrified to discover that Alexia may hold the key to his cure. He'd rather die defending his king than admit his weakness, but time is running out for the great vampire warrior...

Links:
Comes out June 3rd:
Amazon Pre-order: http://goo.gl/ZM3pVs
Apple Pre-order: http://goo.gl/iL0AhP
B&N Pre-rder: http://goo.gl/kNLOa2
Add to Goodreads: http://goo.gl/QTzn6U


Okay-- I haven't read this next one, but here's a first.  I put out the prompt for *kermit flail Monday* and suddenly, six of this author's fans asked if I could post it.  I had to tell them that he needed to ask me himself, and his PA sent me the email and I was thrilled.  See, Dan Skinner may have just really started his writing career, but his photography career has graced some of your favorite covers of mine.  The Locker Room, Truth in the Dark, Clear Water, Gambling Men, and Bolt-Hole all feature Dan Skinner covers, and I'm thinking "Hey-- anyone with the thoughtfulness and sensitivity to create such resonant photos and photo-real covers is going to be able to find beautiful words when he puts his creativity to work."  So I am not surprised that people loved this book so much they wanted to see it get some serious love-- and I'm honored to be able to recommend it on my blog.  

Let's here it for  The Price ofDick by Dan Skinner, YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!

His name is Richard but he'll say, "Call me Dick." He's a big, butch, brainy guy in an executive suit, hotter than spit on a skillet. The type of guy you can see fully dressed and imagine buck naked in the throes of an orgasm - every six-feet-two, muscular, sexually intoxicating inch of him. He's an ambitious freshman in a prominent brokerage firm who's figured out he can use more than his smarts to get ahead. He's perfected a surefire method to drive home a hard deal. No one can resist him. And he's got one really big secret. But that will cost you.

For photographer J.J. Johnstone, the price of Dick just might cost him everything.



Now, this next one is by Skylar M. Cates, and you know those people on the internet who always say nice things when you need to hear them?  Skylar M. Cates makes it a point to greet all the new DSP releases on FB with a link and a shout-out and a really positive excitement.  So I'm more than happy to do the same for 

The Only Guy by Skylar M. Cates--YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!

 Aaron Weiss knows how to escape. Years ago, he ran from a romantic disappointment and impulsively joined the Army. Now, he’s forced to take a medical discharge and readjusting to life at home proves a challenge.
 Jesse Ross knows how to hide. He realizes he’s an oddball, and that he’s an outsider within his own family. He also knows his secret love since childhood, Aaron, only wants his good-looking, favored older brother. Yet Jesse could never completely abandon his intense feelings for Aaron. Over the years, Jesse was a faithful pen pal to him. Still, he's shocked to his core to find Aaron on his doorstep.
 As long-buried secrets and past hurts take center stage, the two are overwhelmingly drawn to each other. But it’s their future that may force them to risk everything.



Okay-- so, I'm at the Dreamspinner Press Writer's Conference at Portland, and this striking, regal, stunning woman with an impish sense of humor and a reputation for writing M/M historical (a sub genre which leaves me in complete awe because it needs to be accurate and the ability to capture the mood needs to be spot-on) is talking to me at the cocktail party.  She is funny and witty and interesting and, most odd, willing to let me blather on, you know, the way you do when you're talking in a social setting and nobody is willing to say "Stop talking, Amy, for the love of the sweet Goddess, you're embarrassing yourself!"  

Well, turns out, this woman is Rowan McAllister, and she's a fan of the blog.  And I'm humbled-- you sort of have to talk to her, and, like I said, be aware of her reputation for writing amazing historical literature to understand my amazement.  "You actually read me?"  I almost cried.  

So when she said she had a book to pimp for *kermit flail Monday* I was STOKED!!!  Psyched, excited, woot-happy, whatever the kids are saying these days.  Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce to you, 

Never a Road Without a Turning by Rowan McAllister, YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!

A Spin-off of A Devil's Own Luck
When unapologetic rake Phillip “Pip” Stubbs takes a position at Greer cottage, he’s only thinking of a new village to explore, new chits to woo, and hoping for another distraction from the growing restlessness inside him. But when the new master arrives, Pip ends up more unsettled than ever. 
Major Astley McNalty is a wealthy retired surgeon, soldier, and world traveler. Despite the injury that has left him lame, the gentleman has everything a common servant like Pip could ever wish for, and yet he spends his nights in drunken brooding and his days in solitary melancholy. He’s a mystery to Pip, so when the major defies convention and asks Pip to read to him at night, Pip gladly accepts for a chance to spend his winter evenings by the library fire and perhaps satisfy his curiosity. Until one night, while thoroughly drunk, the major kisses Pip and changes everything between them.
Fear of discovery, fear of repeating the past, and secrets on both sides threaten their burgeoning connection. They must learn to trust one another if they have any hope of finding a safe path to a future together.rom the growing restlessness inside him. But when the new master arrives, Pip ends



So you know how there are people you see in certain situations that make your day just much happier?  K-lee Klein is one of those.  We are frequently seated at least near each other at signings, and she is almost always working very hard to be as optimistic, happy, and excited to be there as a person can be.  

And she gives astounding hugs.

So I was so excited when she responded to the prompt for new releases.  It gives me great happiness to recommend K-Lee Klein and her new release,

Tabby's Pride-- YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!

 
~~Levi is ready to do anything to make his rock star—and hopefully, personal—dreams come true.

Levi Tabberton has dreamed of being a rock star ever since his brother's best friend, Alexander, showed him his guitar when he was young. But becoming a member of his boyhood crush's band, Lion's Pride, is even more important.

Growing up, Levi emulated Alexander Morrison and, years later, his feelings remain unchanged when he auditions for the band. Xan is laid-back, caring, gorgeous, and takes Levi under his wing—paw. But Levi's guilt and insecurity hold him back from letting Xan see the real him.

Levi needs to prove himself worthy of the band and deserving of Xan's attention, but the lengths he's gone to have left him reeling with anxiety and exhaustion. Levi's not sure how much longer he can pull off the charade he's been acting out to reach his goals and to keep Xan's affections.

Has he made the right choice or will his dreams fade in a catastrophe of lies and uncertainty?~~



(And have I mentioned my love of fan art?  K-Lee has some fans who put together some of those wonderful fan-art memes that I adore so much, and when she sent them, I just had to include them. Enjoy!)

Okay-- so I have to admit, I badgered this last participant. I was like, "Oh Annnndreeeeewwww!!!  Remember when you wanted me to post your Oz book on my blog, and I did, and I decided to do that for all my friends, just because I loved you enough to break my rule against doing it on a regular basis? How come you're not pimping your newest release on my blog, Andrew? Huh?  Huh? Huh? Huh?"

And because he loves me, just a little, he sent me the press kit for his newest release.  Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you

Love Means… Patience by Andrew Grey, YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!

Years after his discharge from the Marines under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” Cody Culver lives in a PTSD-induced world all his own. On a mission, under misconceptions that Geoff and Eli are the enemy, Cody breaks into their farmhouse but is quickly brought back to his senses by a frying pan to the head. After receiving much needed help in the hospital, Cody has nowhere to go. Luckily, kindhearted Eli knows just where to turn.
When Eli asks former Marine Brick Hunter to help, Brick isn’t sure he wants to get involved. But Brick has worked through his own PTSD, and like it or not, he owes Eli a favor. With Cody struggling to rejoin the real world and Brick agreeing to take him in, they discover they have more in common than either of them thought possible.

Though Cody tries to stay in the here and now, he sometimes flashes to unexplainable traumatic events—events that don’t fit his usual war zone delusions. As the “delusions” grow more frequent, it becomes apparent they might not be delusions at all. Cody may have actually witnessed a murder.





Oh-- and for Amy news, don't forget to check me out next Monday, June 9th, at 9:00 am on Capital Public Radio (my husband assures me that this qualifies as NPR, which sort of flips my switch only because I've heard of that, and I don't hear of much) on Insight hosted by Beth Ruyak.  The lovely and entertaining Kim Fielding (who, by the by, got us this gig) will be there, and we are going to raise hell and count bodies later on the radio.  Without saying the F-word, which, as you know, will be my biggest challenge.  So be sure to tune in then!  (And if you miss it, I believe the links I gave you were the cache pages, so you can listen in later when it's over.)  I'll be REALLY NERVOUS before then, just sos you knows.

And that's it for *kermit flail Monday*-- I think we did her proud!

Out!

5 comments:

  1. OMIGAWRSH, AMY!!! I think we need to mark THIS Monday as some sort of holiday! (No caffeine yet, so names escape me....maybe "Advent Avalanche" because of the landslide of great reads coming down...)

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  2. Thank ya thank ya Amy for mentioning my new one The Price of Dick! You're a sweetheart! Big Big smooches! Please let everyone know as they read this they can feel free to leave their comments and feelings in a new discussion group called The Price of Dick that Tina Marie formed on FB!!

    Again, big hugs and kisses!
    Dan Skinner

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  3. Thanks Amy for including Dan in this awesome group of books!

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  4. Thanks AMY for mentioning my new book THE PRICE OF DICK!! You're the best. Big hugs and smooches. Please let everyone know if they have questions or even want to discuss it with me, Tina Marie formed a group on FB called The Price Of Dick. Just join and ask away!

    again big kisses and hugs!!

    DAN SKINNER

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  5. You're so welcome, Dan :-) Thanks to you guys for letting me include it :-)

    Amy

    ReplyDelete