Many thanks to Twin Cities author Mia Watts for donating an ebook copy of her new scorching hot romance, FU!

When a screw-up by the Fullerton University (FU) Housing Office leaves Parker Galloway shacked up with four sexy men, Parker thinks four just might be her lucky number… as long as she can get Kei Yamamoto to join in the fun.

But will taking advantage of FU’s mistake end up getting all five roomies kicked off campus, or will it be the closest thing to heaven Parker has ever experienced?

Oh, special new Mia bio just for us! And one that’s sure to liven up my google hits.

Lover of all things Minnesota, Mia does enjoy eight months of winter and can’t understand the out of State drama that engenders. She is still looking for fearless takers in her personal life. Preferably men without frozen cocks stuck on front lawns, unless they are in a locked and upright position and attached to a warm body. Mia agrees to seatbelt accordingly.

She believes Canadian geese should stay in Canadia and idiots ski-doo-ing on half frozen ice deserve to fall through it. Available men may send complete resumes and headshots for further consideration, through Chris of Stumbling Over Chaos.

*ahem* Mia, you do realize I’ll weed out the good ones for myself, right?

Contest Rules

• To enter, leave a comment below stating that you are entering the contest. Leave your comments by 7 pm CST, Monday, February 15.
• Be careful how you word your comment. Mia will so take advantage of comments such as “enter me”.
• If you haven’t commented before, your comment will not be visible until after I moderate it. Please do not leave a second comment because your first doesn’t show up! The blog gnomes will decide your comments are spam and then only luck and counterintuitive espionage will salvage your entry…
• If your comment is actually an advertisement or if your CommentLuv link turns it into an advertisement, your comment will be deleted. (Most of you do not need to worry – this just refers to some pretty clever comment spam.)
• Winner will be selected by random number.
• You must leave a valid email address in the “Email” portion of the comment form.
• Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from stumblingoverchaos.com!
• If a winner doesn’t respond to my congratulations email within 48 hours, I will select another winner.
• If you win, please respect the author’s intellectual property and don’t make copies of the ebook for anyone else.
• This contest is open worldwide!

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“Whoa, big kitty, that ‘nip was tripindicular!” -Mayhem

“I wonder if Mom left any kitty treats out…” -Chaos

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Don’t forget to leave a comment on the contest post for your chance to win an ebook copy of Julia Rachel Barrett’s forthcoming romantic suspense, My Everything before 7 pm CST, February 11.

You have until 7 pm CST, February 11, to leave a comment on the contest post for your chance to win an ebook copy of Julia Rachel Barrett’s forthcoming romantic suspense, My Everything.

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I’d already been collecting covers of Crouching Guy when Janna sent me a few more covers and asked if I was going to do a Misadventures on him sometime. Great minds and all that.

While it’s nothing new for our stock photo guys to be a bit confused and indecisive, Crouching Guy’s confusion is a bit different. Should he follow his lupine nature?

Or his less noble canine nature, embracing his role as

and do it

? *ahem*

Or should he just keep

? After all, there’s his piscine nature to consider…

…at least as long as he’s careful and doesn’t take the

. (Fortunately, there’s always that old fallback, time travel, if he messes things up.)

But personally, I think he should embrace his feline nature…

and let his inner black kitty shine through!

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“Mom, why is this boy so confused? It’s obvious he should go with his black kitty nature. Duh.” -Mayhem

Many thanks to author Julia Rachel Barrett for donating an ebook copy of her forthcoming romantic suspense, My Everything, which comes out on February 12.

Security consultant Ben McCall is alone. His wife and unborn child are dead, victims of an assassination attempt meant for someone else. Grieving, he disappears. When his best friend is in danger, Ben resurfaces only to find his friend isn’t the target of a murderer, he is, along with his sister Angel. On the night of his return, Ben unexpectedly comes face to face with a woman from his past. She needs his help. He learns that he needs hers even more.

Grace Adams is one of the walking wounded. Her husband died two years ago. One night she is incapacitated. A man comes to her aid. He’s the man she fell in love with years before, Ben McCall. As the passion between them reignites, Grace too becomes a target of the madman who stalks Ben. She, Angel and Ben must use their wits to stay alive as they fight a man desperate for revenge.

Here’s a bit about Julie in her own words:

Who and what am I?  I kind of like to be or not to be, that is the question, better. Talking about myself is harder than writing a book!

I’ve done so many things in my life that sometimes it’s tough to keep memories in order… I’ve been pretty much supporting myself since the age of thirteen when I forged a work permit and began waitressing at a coffee shop below a motel that catered to prostitutes. Whew, managed to spit that out in one breath!

I’ve done stints as a bartender, a fry cook, a legal secretary, and worked as an editor in the English Department at the university I attended. I’ve spent early morning hours working as a pastry chef, been a personal chef and event planner, owned a catering company and a restaurant. I’ve roamed across this country with nothing more than a backpack and hitched my way around some parts of the Middle East – amazing and scary! Nearly got my ass stoned a couple times! Walked all over London, Rome and Paris because the best way to see those cities is to stay in cheap hotels and walk from one end to the other. Climbed mountains in Scotland and hiked across Costa Rica.

After a climbing accident sidelined me for an entire year, I returned to my first love, writing. I’m also a registered nurse so when you see the world from Grace’s point of view in My Everything, you’ll know she knows what she’s talking about. Grace is an RN, a pain-management specialist.

Twenty-five incredible years ago, I married the boy I fell in love with when I was fourteen. We have three pretty amazing children and a stable full of four-legged creatures – a couple two-leggeds (birds) and one lucky Koi. My Everything is my second release this year. Captured, a sci fi romance, came out with Siren on January 6th.

I love to hear from readers. You can reach me at Julia@JuliaRachelBarrett.net and please visit my website.
Thanks for stopping by and good luck!  julia

And as a little test to see how many people actually read through this, Julia’s holding a contest (announced in the comments of this post) in which you can win a copy of Mia Watts’ latest scorcher, FU. (Don’t despair – Mia will be giving away a copy of FU here next week.)

Contest Rules

• To enter, leave a comment below stating that you are entering the contest. Leave your comments by 7 pm CST, Thursday, February 11.
• If you haven’t commented before, your comment will not be visible until after I moderate it. Please do not leave a second comment because your first doesn’t show up! The blog gnomes will decide your comments are spam and then only luck and counterintuitive espionage will salvage your entry…
• If your comment is actually an advertisement or if your CommentLuv link turns it into an advertisement, your comment will be deleted. (Most of you do not need to worry – this just refers to some pretty clever comment spam.)
• Winner will be selected by random number.
• You must leave a valid email address in the “Email” portion of the comment form.
• Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from stumblingoverchaos.com!
• If a winner doesn’t respond to my congratulations email within 48 hours, I will select another winner.
• This contest is open worldwide!

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*sniff sniff sniff* “Huh. I wonder where the big kitty is? I don’t see his big butt sticking out anywhere.” -Mayhem

“Target acquired… Ready… Aim…” -Chaos

Congrats to Tracey D, who won the ebook copy of Keeping Promise Rock by Amy Lane! And thanks again to Amy for donating the book.

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Contests

• If you take this short survey on ebooks and ebook readers, you’ll be entered for a chance to win $250 toward ebooks or an ebook reader.

• Both Renee and Lea are giving away copies of Carolyn Jewel’s new historical romance, Indiscreet. Renee’s contest closes at midnight PST, February 5, and  Lea’s contest closes early morning, February 6.

• Seductive Musing’s giving away a copy of Beth Kery’s new erotic romance, Release. Contest closes 11:59 pm EST, February 6.

• Donna (Fantasy Dreamer) is giving away a copy of Jennifer Estep’s Spider Bite. Contest closes midnight CST, February 6.

• Anna’s giving away five copies of Larissa Ione’s newest Demonica novel, Ecstasy Unveiled. Leave a comment by February 9 for your chance to win one.

• CursingMama’s giving away a copy of Liza Palmer’s novel, A Field Guide To Burying Your Parents. Answer CM’s question in the comments by 10 am CST, February 10, for your chance to win.

• Book Junkie’s giving away a signed copy of Vampire Vacation by CJ Ellison – leave a comment by February 15 to enter the contest.

• SciFiGuy’s giving away a copy of Rachel Vincent’s new young adult paranormal, My Soul To Save. Contest closes midnight EST, February 15.

• If you mention Julie James’ forthcoming romance, Something About You, on your blog before 1o pm CST, February 28, you could win a $100 gift card or signed books. I really enjoyed her first two books and am looking forward to this one!

• Abigail of All Things Urban Fantasy has her list of 75+ urban fantasy/paranormal romance contests posted for the week.

Book & Reading News & Views

• The February edition of Jackie’s Escapist Newsletter is out and as full of information and contests as ever. Donna (Fantasy Dreamer) lists this week’s new urban fantasy and paranormal releases, along with assorted contests. And of course,SciFiGuy’s Urban Fantasy Weekend Report has all sorts of good tidbits in it, plus his overview of February releases will help you plan your book budget for the month.

• Janet at Dear Author wondered whether authors have ethical responsibilities beyond their books.

• The Amazon/MacMillan debacle distracted much of online booklandia over the weekend and beyond. As a result of that, Smart Bitches wonders whether you have brand loyalty to a publisher, or to the author?

• TeleRead has a discussion of the pluses and minuses of giving away free ebooks.

• Interesting comparison of six much-hyped ereaders.

• And a comparison of the various tablets coming out.

• Does the iPad cost too much, compared to other options?

• Liz Daly presents the “seven deadly sins of ebooks and how to fix them.”

• These clever bookcases make me wish I had some rafters!

• I’m a big fan of the journals that Oberon Designs makes, but I only recently realized that they make gorgeous ebook reader covers. They’re specifically sized for Kindles, Sonys, and the Nook. I’ve sent them an email to see which cover they think might work for my Hanlin V3/Astak EZReader…

• Top ten lies of the romance bookblogger.

• Kris has tossed out a challenge to m/m readers who might be in a reading rut to try an m/m style or sub-genre outside of your comfort zone, then write a review. The challenge ends March 17 and everyone who participates will be eligible to win a $20 All Romance eBooks voucher.

Learn

• Learn how to make your very own three-pendulum rotary harmonograph! (Remember spirographs? We had the Kenner version.)

• Or you could make your very own Snuggie…

• Is lack of computer access keeping you off your exercise equipment? Check out the DIY PVC laptop stand.

Things That Amused Me

• Want to cash in on the current craze for mashing up classic novels and paranormal elements? Paperback Writer introduces the Mash-O-Matic. (Am I the only one who thinks that maybe things have gone too far with Little Women and Werewolves?)

• The book on modern camping (1971) that Awful Library Books found gave me way too many flashbacks to childhood camping trips, although we were a lot lower tech.

• A wifi detecting bumper sticker?

• Technically humour, but I sure felt sad after reading this depiction of Spirit’s last days.

Cats

• Chaos would definitely do this to Mayhem.

• And I wish Chaos would heed this advice.

• Aw, the Knitting Princess’ kitty reminds me of Mayhem.

• Check out these very cool Swedish stamps featuring black kitties!

• Cute. Cute. Cute.

Reading Update
Keeping Promise Rock by Amy Lane. ebook. The only reason I didn’t spend half of this m/m romance sobbing my eyes out is because I took frequent breaks when I started to get wound up. Parts of it were gut-wrenching. And parts weren’t. As a whole, this was a powerful, excellent read that I highly recommend.
Quinn’s Hart by Cassandra Gold. ebook. Why, yes, this is the ebook I just won at Jessewave’s. This was a really nicely done m/m romance about two wildly dissimilar guys who get to know each other on a singles’ trip to Disney World.
Why, Why, Zed? by Leigh Ellwood. ebook short. Ok, having never flown into Toronto, I totally didn’t get the pun of this title until I read the quote from Neal Pert at the beginning. (Toronto’s airport being YYZ.) This was a so-so m/m romance, although I will confess that the ending surprised the heck out of me.
Footprints and Just Like in the Movies by Clare London. ebook shorts. For some reason, these short m/m romances (the first about two guys who are part of a counter-terrorism team and the second about two hostage negotiators) never fully engaged me – maybe it was the somewhat reserved first person narrative?
A Stranger’s Touch by Anne Brook. ebook short. I have to confess that this m/m tale about a prostitute and a mysterious stranger who delves into his psyche mostly just confused me.
Healing Doctor Ryan by Carol Lynne. ebook. Ok m/m romance about a cancer patient who asks his doctor out after completing treatment.
Lift Me Up by Rayne Auster. ebook. Cute m/m romance about an IT geek who ends up with a broken ankle when his cute neighbor trips over him in the hallway. I got a little frustrated with the dense language now and then, mostly because my brain was in the mood for fluff.
Thaw in Winter and Darling Brat by Kate Steele. ebook and ebook short. Thaw in Winter was agood m/m romance about Mark, an architect who saves Joe’s life when he’s injured while camping. Joe and Mark are attracted to each other… but Joe can’t remember why exactly he’s wearing that mysterious wedding band on his ring finger. I liked this one a lot, until the point at which the first book stopped abruptly, leaving unresolved a plot point that had been played up quite a bit. I then discovered that there was a short second book, which resolves that plot point. Grrr. I would’ve been happier for it to all be in one book… and maybe it was at one point.
Out of My Mind by M. L. Rhodes. ebook (reread). Well-done m/m romance in which a recently divorced police officer struggles with his growing attraction to his (work) partner/best friend.
Promises by Marie Sexton. ebook. Very good m/m romance about two guys, one gay and one not, in a small Colorado town who become close friends – this was all about letting your fears constrain your life and how good it can feel when  you finally stop doing so. Recommended.
JackMagic by Jillian Snyder. ebook short. Nicely done short m/m romance about a guy who gets dragged to a sexy magic show (part of his sister’s bachelorette party) and bumps into the magician outside between acts.
Private Property by Chloe West & Audra Beagle. ebook. So-so m/m romance about an author with writer’s block who takes a hate to a guy who shows up on his doorstep, claiming the house is his. I found the three main characters annoying and wanted to slap them all. That never makes for a happy reading experience… for me, at least!

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“That was really mean of Mayhem. This box doesn’t make my butt look big! This box rocks!” -Chaos

• Knitters who’ve given up in despair of me ever giving away a knitting-related book (even though there is knitting in Keeping Promise Rock – Amy reports that all of her books, except her short story, If I Must, include knitting)… Wait, where was I? Oh yeah, knitters who’ve given up in despair of me ever giving away a knitting-related book, hang in there a few more weeks! On February 25, Crazy Aunt Purl (aka Laurie Perry… or is it the other way around?) will be visiting SoC, plus I’ll kick off a giveaway of her new book, Home Is Where the Wine Is.

• Yay! It’s warm again here.

• Warm being in the mid-20s (F) during the day.

• No need to even zip my jacket.

• Of course, that also means it’s snowing quite regularly.

• And apparently all the weather changes are triggering sinus migraines. (Thanks for helping me put together the puzzle pieces, Debby!)

• On the plus side, while this is my pager/on-call week, I have yet to see the pager.

• The guy handing off the pager had some complicated vehicular crisis, so hasn’t been to work this week.

• This guy has so much bad vehicular luck that I sort of hate to park in the same ramp he does…

• Rumor has it my no-pager luck ends today.

• Still, as Jeanne pointed out, any missed pager time during pager week is good!

• That new laptop I might’ve purchased? *ahem* Is now mostly set up and running speedily.

• Thanks to Mandi of Smexy Books, where I won a copy of Ecstasy Unveiled by Larissa Ione!

• And thanks to Amber Allure and Reviews by Jessewave, where I won an ebook copy of Quinn’s Hart!

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“Hee hee! No one will ever find me. Best. Hiding. Spot. Ever.” -Chaos

“Hey, how’s it going under there, big kitty?” -Mayhem

“What?! How did she find me??” -Chaos

“Oh, and that box makes your butt look big.” -Mayhem

“…” -Chaos