Old Favorites and New reviews

I was so lucky to get linked up with JMS books, a great outfit devoted to LGBT fiction where several of my favorite gay romances are now available again and a new one also found a good home. There will be more of both in the coming months.

Anyway, the first of my work they released was The Mule Man, last summer. It was followed the next month by a new spin-off, A Mule for a Princess. Both these stories received glowing reviews . I was just thrilled to pieces. Here is a snippet from each and a link to them.

This from Gay Guy Reads by Diane.

http://ggr-review.com/the-mule-man-by-deirdre-odare-book-review/

"If you like westerns in a contemporary setting, if you love city and country going head-to-head, if you love anything of the long-eared persuasion, you are going to adore this novella. The ending is realistic and definitely upbeat. I know my heart did a wee flip at the end.

I’m giving The Mule Man two enthusiastic thumbs up, five stars and a recommended read."

And for A Mule For a Princess, same source:

The narrative skips across time, never lingering long on any phase, and that is where I would find fault because—quite simply—the author’s enchanting style and knowledge about her subject matter begs for leisurely dallies with the mules and the men who tend to them with such love and devotion.

Yes, it is a fairytale, you must suspend disbelief about certain steps in getting from point A to B, but the outcome is never really in doubt and the ending, though on the vague side, is still sigh-worthy.

This is a solid Four Star read that begs for a follow-up. I simply must know what happens to Bobby and Doyle and the precocious young girl Fiona who gives them all purpose.

Another tale that is close to my heart which JMS released this past fall, is A Cop and A Con. It was reviewed by Kenna at Joyfully Jay.  http://joyfullyjay.com/2016/11/review-a-cop-and-a-con-by-deirdre-odare/

"The final quarter of the book was filled with suspense and action. I was completely caught up in the story, and once again, I wis A Cop and A Con could have been longer, simply to explore the bad guys a bit  more.

I highly recommend this novella if you have about an hour to spend and you're looking for something exciting and sexy. Also...the last few paragraphs were awesome. I won't give them away, though. Just read it!"

And here are the yummalicious covers of all three books! You can order any of the books here: http://www.jms-books.com/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=191

A "Yule Tied" tale

Okay, I promised and here I am! I think the first thing is to tell you about my holiday story at Changeling. They do a special group or series each December at the rate of several each week and have a super giveaway in conjunction with it. This year the title for the group is Yule Tied and of course when you give a bunch of authors a theme and turn them loose the results can be a real mixture! Although unlike some of my publishers, Changeling does the whole gamut of erotic romance tales from regular m/f to all sorts of ménage and other groupings and of course m/m and f/f.  Being kind of used to doing the gay guys for my main characters, that was what I wound up with here.

There is just one cover for all of the stories with the title and author’s name the only difference so that’s a good marker at their website and elsewhere to grab one of these—or a handful if you are so inclined! Here is the link to the Changeling site and the cover.

Link: http://www.changelingpress.com/

 

My tale is titled Gift of Love. For a variety of reasons, I just can’t seem to write a real “Christmas” story so this one is a Yuletide story (as opposed to Yule Tied!) and centers around a group of Wiccans and their celebration of this midwinter season. Here is the blurb and then I will give you a short PG-13 excerpt although the story is hot.

Blurb:

Scarred by an abusive stepfather who destroyed his confidence and faith, Rob is adrift. Trying to live on the street, he falls under the domination of Daniel, an older man who is only marginally kinder to him. This man, self-proclaimed leader of a Wicca coven, is very arrogant and self-centered. Through this mentor , Rob obtains a job in a book store. He also serves as an assistant to Daniel in rites and ceremonies, albeit living in fear of making mistakes. At a sabbat gathering, he meets Sean

Sean grew up in a Wiccan home and only left following his parents’ death in an accident. He has floundered along alone and now works as a nurse. Seeing a notice of a coven meeting in his new home town, he attends a sabbat gathering. There he meets and is instantly drawn to Rob, seeing the gentle, truly good soul behind his shyness. Sean recognized he must woo the other man carefully and win his trust before they can begin a real relationship. Daniel stands in the way. When Daniel’s overbearing ways finally create a rebellion in the group, Sean sees a chance to step in. Will he manage to show Rob that sex can be about caring, trust and love instead of domination and harsh control? Can Rob accept a yuletide Gift of Love?

Excerpt: This is Rob's and Sean’s first meeting:

(After he saw the notice in the news)  Sean decided he’d go. He was off the next day and even as he went about his small personal chores,  he felt a building excitement. Maybe it would be good to be among people who shared at least some of his background, who spoke and acted in ways familiar and once well-loved. Maybe he would even find some real friends among the group. Hope seemed an alien emotion but it felt good, all the same. 

            Sean made sure he arrived early. Only a few people were there when he entered the room. One couple came over to greet him and then two guys who seemed to be alone as he was approached to introduce themselves. Good start so far.

Right after he met Mike and Sam, everyone turned toward the doorway. A tall man with iron gray hair down to his shoulders swept in, trailing a heavy purple cape. Clearly used to attention and perhaps even servility, he nodded to everyone but did not smile.

“Hey, Daniel, good to see you.” That was Mike. The man frowned slightly at the casual address. “Hello Michael. I see you decided to join us again.”

The female half of the couple smiled as she said, “Well met, Arch Mage. I’m glad to see you’re feeling better after missing our last gathering.”

At that point, Sean’s attention wandered as another man appeared, almost as if he had stepped out of Daniel’s shadow. Slender and fair, he held himself with a kind of diffidence as he carried in his arms a bundle of furnishings for the ceremonial part of their gathering. With exaggerated care, he approached the table that clearly served as the alter and juggled the armload as he tried to extract the cloth from around the bundle and spread it out.

Sean hurried over. “Here, let me help you. You’d need five hands to do this all by yourself. I’ve set up altars before, maybe a little differently than you do it here but I can at least help hold things so nothing falls on the floor.”

The fair man looked up, a flare of gratitude in his pale blue eyes. “Oh, thank you. That’s so very kind. It would be terrible to drop something.” His gaze cut quickly to the caped man but the “Arch Mage” seemed to be occupied, greeting other arrivals. “I—I’m sure it will be all right even if you are a visitor. Just so we do everything to Daniel’s exacting specifications…”

The blond man seemed almost fearful, which struck Sean as odd, but up close, Sean could see he was very nice looking. He had a quality Sean could only term sweetness about him, something almost childlike and clearly eager to please. Sean’s fingertips brushed the other man’s hand as he took the athame and two candles from him to hold for a moment. A quick tingle of energy zipped up his arm. From the other man’s sudden tension, Sean felt sure he had sensed the same thing.

Together they soon had the altar arranged and ready. “I guess I should introduce myself,” the fair man said. “I’m Rob Cantwell. I—I’m kind of an understudy or assistant to Daniel Costeau, the Arch Mage. He has such a huge responsibility that he needs someone to do the grunt work. I try to do the best job I can because it’s all so very critical, so essential. I just wish I was more capable.”

Sean smiled. “I’m Sean Cassidy. It’s been awhile but I grew up in a coven with my folks. They weren’t the leaders but senior members and had a share in the sabbats and ceremonies.  It looks to me like you have the set-up all down to the gnat’s eyelash.”

Rob sighed. “I try. I often mess up but I do try. I want so much to learn and become reliable, error-free. I think I’m just a natural klutz and fuck-up though.”

“Hey, don’t put yourself down like that. If you didn’t grow up in a coven or circle how could you expect to know everything right off? I take it you’re not a life long Wiccan?”

Rob showed a rueful grin as he shook his head. “Oh no, my stepfather was a fire-eating Baptist preacher. I’ve just been–well, Daniel took me under his wing a few months  ago.”

Sean wanted to reach out and give the other man a hug. Something told him Rob had endured a lot of tough times and brought a heavy load of bad baggage into his adult life. Although he was no expert, Sean saw abused children and teens in his medical work and Rob displayed many similar cues.

Maybe that was why he seemed younger than his apparent age. Sean guessed Rob was about twenty-five, no more than a couple of years younger than he was, even though the fair man acted about sixteen. Despite that, he found Rob very attractive and a strange desire to protect him had emerged almost at once.

Catch Up Time

The last time I posted here I was about to head off to Alaska. I did and I've been back for some time but it has been a wild ride both for the country and for me personally with many disruptive things going on. I'll try to get caught up in the next few days with the latest releases, some great reviews, and looking ahead to the future. Meanwhile I apologize for being very scarce for three months!!

Alaska was great. You can read about it at gwynnmorganalaska.blogspot.com if you are curious. If not, check back tomorrow and I will do my best to update you all on Deirdre's plans, new and rereleased books and similar stuff!!

Two releases, one out and one coming!

This may be my last chance to post for awhile since I will be out in the wilds of Alaska for something between 45 and 90 days as a "working guest" at an expedition and mid-range racing  sled dog kennel. They are 'off the grid' but do have some internet access. I am sure  my time will be limited though. Anyway, here is the latest scoop:

Out tomorrow and ready for  pre-order already (It's up at ARE!!) This is a  revised and lightly expanded version of the first of my Thin Green Line stories, then called Beyond the Shadows. The new version is retitled Crossing Borders with a lot of layers of meaning in that title. Here is the blurb and the buy link at Changeling.:http://www.changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=2512

Blurb: First year Border Patrol officers Rhys Davis and Liam Malone have been friends since second grade. When their new assignment puts them on the front lines in tracking down a vicious and inhuman killer along the southern border, they must call on every resource at their disposal.

The most potent of these turns out to be memories from a life they shared two thousand years ago in the British Isles, one in which they were partners in every way, forming an eternal bond that allowed them to defeat this same enemy in that life. Will crossing the line from friends to lovers in this life destroy their friendship or build on it?  Will it allow them victory over the “Soul Eater” before the monster destroys them both?

Then, coming on October 22 from JMS books is a reissue of my story A Cop and A Con. It has not been revised but I'm pretty sure a lot of readers have not gotten their copy yet. It is a very special story to me, covering a lot of issues and situations that I've been on the periphery of and wanted to bring out in the venue of a powerful and unusual love story. It will be up for pre-order very soon and of course discounted the week of its release. So if you missed this at Amber Quill the first time around, get it this time!

Here's the link for it: http://www.jms-books.com/index.php?main_page=coming_soon 

It will be up there in a few days, moving closer to the top as the release date approaches. 

Here is a blurb and the great new cover.

Blurb: When a cop and a newly released convict cross paths, few cons can expect anything positive. Struggling toward a home he knows no longer exists, Ike Hernandez meets a cop who seems different. He isn’t sure he can believe the kindness, but he wants to learn to trust again and regain his lost self respect.  

Perry Parker became a law enforcement officer to help people. He learned there wasn’t much he could do, but now and then he found someone he could help. Would the lost man with the little dog that he picked up one stormy night be one of them? 

Pursuing tales about a new drug dealer, Perry starts to doubt the man he’s befriended but something inside still feels Ike is a decent person. When the real dealers take advantage of the convict’s past, Perry, his unofficial canine partner Badger and the little stray Ike adopted save the day. Can a cop, a con and two dogs make an unorthodox family? 

So enjoy these reads and I will see you again, at the latest shortly before the Winter Holiday Season gets into high gear!

Out today--with PG-13 excerpt (m/m)

Smoke and Spots is back on the market. Another one of my previous best sellers, it is now available--on sale the first week--at JMS Books.  If you missed this one in the past, it has a loveable dog, an endearing little boy and a couple of great fire fighters who get quite a blaze going between them. I wrote it to honor the volunteer fire fighters who serve in many small rural communities which otherwise would not have local fire protection and often not nearby EMT or first aid support.

My late hubby and I were involved with such a group for four years while we lived in Falcon, CO and I pay tribute in this story to a couple of people who were there when we were. There was a Judy who was small and spunky; her name was not Diaz but otherwise my description is not far off. She had a daughter who was one of our daughter's friends. The others I touch in composite.

Here is the cover, a link to the page at JMS and then a short excerpt.
http://www.jms-books.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=29_94&products_id=1872&zenid=pjnTLuS1WxS1FGlb4IjVK0

Excerpt:
Grady managed to keep the hose steady until Sully reached him. Together, they shot water into the nearest edge of the fire, watched the flames flicker and fall, but the upper reaches continued to burn and there was no way they could spray the water that far.
“I hope Sandy got through to the Forest Service. If they can hit the upper ridges with slurry before it gets too widespread, we can nip this sucker.”
Sully grunted his assent, twisting the valve to shut off the water, which had dwindled to a trickle.
They’d emptied both trucks. Grady knew he should send the
smaller one back for more water, but the fire had moved far enough
he doubted they could get water on it now. In a minute, they’d
gather tools and trudge up the hill to help Judy and her partners.
They dragged the hoses back to the truck and loaded them.
That chore done, they paused for a minute, assessing
their next move as they took a short break. The two of them
stood there, feeling the weight of frustration. Grady glanced
across the hose, met Sully’s keen hazel gaze and felt an electric
jolt all the way to his toes.
“We’ve actually got a lot in common,” Sully said after a
few tense seconds. “I’m thinking maybe we should bury the
hatchet. I’ll go first because I know I’m the one who’s made this
harder than it had to be. When you got the job I wanted worse
than anything I ever hoped for at Christmas, I was mad as a
scalded skunk and about as mean. I’m sorry. I realize now you’re
a lot better suited to be the chief, a real leader, than I’ll ever be.”
“I started to realize what the problem was,” Grady
responded, “so no hard feelings. I probably would’ve been just
as cantankerous if things were reversed. You’ve helped me a lot
in spite of everything, and I appreciate it. You’re a man I’m glad
to have at my back—anytime.”
Dropping his heavy glove, he held his hand out to meet
Sully’s. The next thing he knew he was enveloped in a hug, an
awkward one because of their bulky protective gear, but no less
evocative. He was a bit the taller of the two of them, but stood a
step farther downhill, which put them face to face. Sully’s
freckled mug was suddenly right there—close enough their
helmet brims clashed, close enough…
“I reckon the connection worked, eh?”
Ambrose came chugging up the track. Thank all the
powers, he yelled before he rounded the tanker. Otherwise, no
telling what he might have witnessed. As it was, Sully jerked
back like he’d been hit with a cattle prod, while Grady fumbled
with the handle on the nearest toolbox, needing anything he
could use to distract himself. Still, his voice sounded odd when
he answered the old man. “Yeah, it did. You and Bob did good,”

Coming Soon!

We have a cover for Smoke and Spots! It will be available at JMS books http://www.jms-books.com/ on September 3. This is a perfect date, too. That was my wedding anniversary and my late DH and I were very active in the volunteer fire department of Falcon,  Colorado some years ago. That experience was a huge inspiration in writing this story.  In fact it is dedicated to that group, many of whom are no longer with us..

Falcon is much larger now but then it was quite rural with no real "town" and had only a volunteer fire department, A Colorado Springs fire department officer was the chief. I borrowed some of the people and mixed and mingled them to create the secondary characters in Smoke and Spots. Grady and Sully are pure imagination, though, as is Jamie, Grady's nephew/recently adopted son. And so is Lottsa Spots, Jamie's new canine buddy.

Fires have been in the news a great deal lately, especially forest and wildlands fires, with the drought in the western regions and their tragic and destructive result. I also wrote Red Tails in the Sunset to celebrate the brave pilots who fly the slurry bombers and water transports and I will try to get it released again soon. For this story, I just chose a couple of incidents from things I had experienced or heard about in the past to showcase how such a department operates and let readers get to know the real character of the two heroes. As usual, I fell in love with both of them and would happily take either one. Almost sorry they are gay ;-) but this is their story, not mine!! I had my years with my hero fire fighter, policeman and former Marine so I cannot complain, There is a bit of him in all my heroes, too.

I can't speak for other writers, but I find I put somethiug of one or more of my life's heroes into just about every one of my good guys, a bit of me into the heroines when I write hetero stories, and now and then "honor" a non-friend but weaving him or her into a villain! From conversations with other writers, that is not too unusual, really!

Check back in the next couple of days for an excerpt and a bit more about this story! Meanwhile the Canine Cupids initial trio is coming along and so is Crossing Borders. There should be a cover for it soon.

More News!

My canine cupids stories which have always been my best sellers have found a new home and will be coming out about three at a time with two reissued tales and a new one in each collection. The publisher is Loose Id who is well known in ebook circles and has been around for quite a long time so appears to be pretty stable and a sure thing--as much as any can be these days.

The first group will be out in September or early October and consists of the new tale, A New Leash on Life and reissues, The Maltese Terror and Rescued by Love. The second group will be titled Cops and Canine Cupids and will feature the new story, Dog Jacked along with reissues Schnickelfritz in Love and Saved by Sam. No dates on this one yet but it is in the works. Actually  I am putting the finishing touches on Dog Jacked right now.

Meanwhile JMS will be re-releasing Smoke and Spots in September while a somewhat revised version of Beyond the Shadows, the first Thin Green Line tale will be coming from Changeling as Crossing Borders. I will do my best to get covers and more details up as soon as I have them.

A warning, though, I will be in Alaska working at a sled dog kennel for 60-90 days or possibly even more  starting in mid September doing deep research for my non-fiction book, Women Whun With The Dogs about the ladies who race their teams in the long distance races in Alaska and Canada. It is likely I will have very limited time, both internet access and composing time since those kennels are very labor intensive. But I will keep in touch as best I can. So do stay tuned!!