Ebook giveaway: Raising the Rent by JL Merrow [CONTEST CLOSED]

Many thanks to JL Merrow for donating an ebook copy of her forthcoming m/m romance, Raising the Rent, for a lucky commenter to win! Raising the Rent will be released by Samhain Publishing on October 14.

Never fall in love with a customer – especially if it’s sex you’re selling

Rent boy Nathan’s determined to get an education and get off the streets for good. But when he turns up for his first day at college he’s horrified to find his English teacher is one of his regular customers: Stephen, the one Nathan dubbed The Voice because of his educated, honeyed tones.

Stephen’s just as shocked to see Nathan sitting in his class, not to mention terrified he’s about to be exposed as having paid for sex with a student. This could mean public humiliation and maybe the loss of his job. But when Nathan shows he’s only interested in getting his A Levels, not in blackmail, Stephen realises there’s more to the nineteen-year-old than meets the eye.

Nathan still has to earn a living, though – and when a customer turns ugly, he finds himself unable to work and homeless as well. Stephen steps in to help, and Nathan starts to think they could have a future together – but Stephen’s guilt and lack of trust could end this back-to-front romance before it even starts.

Warning: Contains unfashionable haircuts, unreasonably long words and a May-December romance between a not-so-streetwise rent boy and an erudite English teacher.

Note: a much shorter version of this story first appeared in the Sindustry Volume 1 Anthology, now out of print.

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About JL

JL Merrow is that rare beast: an English person who refuses to drink tea.  Having grown up by the seaside, she also loathes fish and chips.  She read Natural Sciences at Cambridge, where she learned many things, chief amongst which was that she never wanted to see the inside of a lab ever again.  Her one regret is that she never mastered the ability of punting one-handed whilst holding a glass of champagne. She writes across genres, with a preference for contemporaries and the paranormal, and is frequently accused of humour. You can find out more about JL at her website, blog, Facebook, Goodreads, and Amazon.

Contest Rules

  • To enter, leave a comment stating that you are entering the contest. Contest closes 7 pm CDT, Monday, October 13.
  • By entering the contest, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • 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 ritual dust bunny sacrifice 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 refers to some pretty clever comment spam.)
  • Winners 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!

*feedmefeedmefeedmefeedmefeedmefeedmefeedme” -Chaos

Misadventures in Stock Photography: Part the 213th (The return of the return of the Boys on the Beach)

Welcome to another edition of the Misadventures in Stock Photography! Today we’ll be catching up with the Boys on the Beach.

Although it wasn’t on the list of the

,

were trying to track down the

, especially the guy who’d been described as “

“, which sounded like

to them – they planned on going in

and

where they’d be

to act out their

the best of their ability.

Pretty sure no one’s worried about these making sense anymore…


*giving THE LOOK* -Mayhem

Linkity wishes the Chaos Kitty a happy 11th birthday on Sunday

Randonymity

Contest(s)

Bookity

Think, Do, Learn, Make

Cookity

Gluten Free

Crafty

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

LOL

Teh Cute

Reading Update
London Falling (Shadow Police #1) by Paul Cornell. Very good urban fantasy about three police officers and an analyst who find themselves able to see the unseen as they pursue something murderous throughout London. It took me a couple of chapters to get drawn into this, in part because it starts so mundanely and with a lot of names to suddenly remember. After that, I was immersed – so immersed that I didn’t even realize it was written in third-person omniscient until well past halfway.
The Severed Streets (Shadow Police #2) by Paul Cornell. Pretty good urban fantasy, but not nearly as good as the first book – this was definitely a sophomore effort, suffering some times from self-consciousness and at others from trying too hard. While I enjoyed Neil Gaiman’s initial brief appearance in the book as a clever cameo, I found his reappearing and having a significant part to play in the narrative much less enjoyable. It felt as if a line was crossed, if that makes any sense.
Thicker than Water (Felix Castor #4) by Mike Carey. Good installment of the series in which Felix finds out altogether more about demons than he really bargained for. Very intense read, this. Definitely reading the fifth and presumably last book (since it was written five years ago) immediately.
The Naming of the Beasts (Felix Castor #5) by Mike Carey. I believe this is the final Felix Castor book, unless the author decides to begin a new story arc in the future. Felix ends up roughly where the series began, trying to fix what he broke three years ago. Many of the faces will be familiar from the previous books, as everything swirls down to a final confrontation.
Hard Spell (Occult Crimes Unit Investigation #1) by Justin Gustainis. Ok urban fantasy from the point of view of a cop in the Scranton, New Jersey, Police Department’s paranormal division.
Evil Dark (Occult Crimes Unit Investigation #2) by Justin Gustainis. Ok addition to this series about a cop who investigates paranormal crime in New Jersey. These are an enjoyable enough distraction, but not exactly involving or compelling reads.


“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Chaos

Misadventures in Stock Photography: Part the 212th (WiHG is back yet again)



Congrats to Loren, who won With Wings (The Dark Angels #1) (2nd ed) by Z Allora!

Congrats to Tracy G, who won How to Train Your Dom in Five Easy Steps by Josephine Myles! How to Train Your Dom in Five Easy Steps will be released by Samhain Publishing on Tuesday, September 23.



Welcome to another edition of the Misadventures in Stock Photography! Today we’ll be catching up with Wind-in-Hair Guy (WiHG)… for the ninth time.

,

was a

, but also one of

(

) – no

was he, but an

who was, strangely, also

who’d

to the

so he could dance beneath the

on

.

Well then.


*radiates disappointment* -Mayhem

Linkity regrets to inform you that it’s Talk Like a Pirate Day



Congrats to Yvette, who won Love Comes Around (Senses #4) by Andrew Grey! Love Comes Around is being released today by Dreamspinner Press.

Congrats to Loren, who won With Wings (The Dark Angels #1) (2nd ed) by Z Allora!



Randonymity

Bookity

Do, Make, Think, Learn

Cookity

Gluten Free

Crafty

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

LOL

Teh Cute

Reading Update
The Grendel Affair (SPI Files #1) by Lisa Shearin. Ok paranormal romance about a seer who works for a secret non-government agency devoted to keeping the existence of the magical world secret. Since I never got invested in the POV character, I don’t believe I’ll be reading more of this series.
Stray Souls (Magicals Anonymous #1) by Kate Griffin. Good urban fantasy about a London barista who discovers she’s a shaman and somehow has to rescue the missing spirit of the city. I enjoyed the unusual premise, but struggled a bit with the style – although that got better as I became more used to it. Plus I think this could’ve been trimmed down a bit, as bits of the middle seemed to drag.
The Devil You Know (Felix Castor #1) by Mike Carey. Good London-based urban fantasy about an exorcist who’s been on hiatus but takes an innocuous sounding job because he desperately needs money. I tried reading this 18 months ago and quit at 1/3 because I couldn’t get into it – no such problem this time!
Vicious Circle (Felix Castor #2) by Mike Carey. Good continuation of this urban fantasy series as Felix tries to do right, but things get terribly screwed up in the process.
Dead Men’s Boots (Felix Castor #3) by Mike Carey. Good continuation of this series in which Felix finds himself helping the widow of another exorcist, who killed himself. Of course, nothing’s as it seems and everything gets much more complicated. I did catch a couple of continuity errors, which I always find distracting.


“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Chaos & Mayhem

This picture requires a bit of explanation. 🙂 Mayhem’s side is in the foreground – you can kind of see one of her ears to the left of Chaos’ head, between his head and his tail. She’s sleeping with the top of her head smooshed up against Chaos. He started to hiss at her (I think she was making happy paws on his throat), but fell asleep mid-hiss.

Ebook giveaway: How to Train Your Dom in Five Easy Steps by Josephine Myles [CONTEST CLOSED]



Congrats to Little Bear, who won Encore (The Replacement Guitarist #4) by Lori Toland!

Congrats to Ineztey G, who won A Twist and Two Balls by Clare London!



Many thanks to Josephine Myles for donating an ebook copy of her forthcoming m/m romance, How to Train Your Dom in Five Easy Steps, for a lucky commenter to win! How to Train Your Dom in Five Easy Steps will be released by Samhain Publishing on September 23.

Sometimes the little head really does know best.

Jeff White’s needs are simple. All he wants is a submissive to help him explore the dominant side that his ex-girlfriend couldn’t handle. Problem is, inexperience in both dating and domming has resulted in a string of rejections.

What he needs is an experienced sub willing to show him the ins and outs of controlling a scene. Unfortunately, the only one willing to take him on is male, and Jeff is straight. One hundred percent, never-gonna-happen straight.

Easygoing painslut Eddie Powell doesn’t care that Jeff is younger, working class, and shorter. Eddie likes a bit of rough, and Jeff fits the bill perfectly. The trick will be convincing him to follow Eddie’s five-step training programme – which would be easy if Eddie wasn’t starting to have feelings for the rough-around-the-edges landscaper.

Once Jeff lays his hands on Eddie, things definitely get out of hand. But it’ll take more than hot, sweaty, kinky sex to persuade him to come out of the closet – especially to himself.

Warning: Contains a happy sub, a confused Dom, a high ratio of sex to plot, misuse of root ginger, and a suitcase of kink. Written in Jo’s usual exceedingly “English” English.

Excerpt (scroll down and select tab)

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About Jo

Eccentric Englishwoman, absent-minded mother, proud bisexual, shameless tea-addict, serial textile craft hobbyist, iconoclastic logophile and writer of homoerotic romance – Josephine Myles is all these things at once. She has held down more different jobs than any sane person ever should, and is fundamentally rebellious, preferring the overgrown yet enticing path rather than the wide and obvious one.

Jo once spent two years living on a slowly decaying narrowboat, and was determined that she would one day use the experience as fodder for a novel. It may have taken a few years, but she got there in the end. She usually does.

She lives in rural Somerset, in the West Country of England, with her husband and four year old daughter. Currently self-employed, she gave up a career teaching English Literature to look after her daughter, who has Down’s Syndrome. When she isn’t working, writing or spending time with friends and family, she bakes cakes and attempts to finish off some of the textile projects she has started, with varying degrees of success. She can occasionally be spotted wearing her creations, as no one else will.

In her short stories Jo is particularly interested in exploring how characters react in the heat of the moment, and what they reveal about their deepest desires and insecurities. She most enjoys writing contemporary tales about unconventional men overcoming their fears through love, but ventures into sci-fi and paranormal when her muse insists. He can be a right difficult bastard at times.

Contest Rules

  • To enter, leave a comment below stating that you are entering the contest. Contest closes 7 pm CDT, Monday, September 22.
  • By entering the contest, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • 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 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!

“Sure, you can tell me all about your petty little problems that I won’t care about.” -Chaos

Misadventures in Stock Photography: Part the 211th (Blond Guy with a Vacuous Stare [BGWAVS])



Congrats to Neene, who won A Matter of When by Eden Winters! A Matter of When is being released today by Dreamspinner Press.



Welcome to another edition of the Misadventures in Stock Photography! Today we’ll be meeting Blond Guy with a Vacuous Stare (BGWAVS). 🙂

A

whispered, “

even if you can’t pay the

” as it finished

, looking forward to

and

after it overcame

of

and successfully

.

I’m as surprised as you are where that ended up!


“If I refuse to look at the naughty boys, are they actually there?” -Mayhem

Legitimate linkity is legitimate



Don’t forget to enter the contest for With Wings (The Dark Angels #1) (2nd ed) by Z Allora! Closes  7 pm CDT, Friday, September 19.


Congrats to Neene, who won A Matter of When by Eden Winters! A Matter of When will be released September 15 by Dreamspinner Press.



Randonymity

  • Probably you should brace yourselves for today’s reading update… I took a reading vacation (ie, a vacation to hang out and read) and added some things to my usual hockey fic reading diet.
  • Alas, the latest version of WordPress made putting nice blank lines between each Linkity bullet point something that requires a lot of time-consuming manual coding. It ain’t happening. Sorry.

Contest(s)

Bookity

Think, Do, Make, Learn

Cookity

Gluten Free

Crafty

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

LOL

Teh Cute

Reading Update
Life & Spectrum: A Revealing Look at High Functioning Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome by CG Meloy. So-so collection of first-person vignettes about how one man experiences his life with high-functioning autism.While I could definitely relate to some parts of the book, a lot of his experiences didn’t particularly relate to me. At the end, I was thinking mostly about skimming through Aspergirls: Empowering Females with Asperger Syndrome again, because Life & Spectrum reminded me how different the male and female experiences of autism can be.
I Am Special: A Workbook to Help Children, Teens and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders to Understand Their Diagnosis, Gain Confidence and Thrive by Peter Vermeulen. I read the first several chapters, then skimmed the rest of the book. The workbook format didn’t really work for me – the whole thing (probably unsurprisingly) felt rather distant and academic.
Midnight Riot (Rivers of London #1) by Ben Aaronovitch. Very good urban fantasy mystery set in London about a young police constable who becomes the apprentice of the one-man magical department and is caught up in a swirl of ghosts, theater, murder, and revenge. It took me a bit to get immersed in the first-person Britishness, but once I did I was hooked.
Moon Over Soho (Rivers of London #2) by Ben Aaronovitch. Very good second installment in the Rivers of London series as Peter continues his magical training and things go awry, as per usual.
Whispers Under Ground (Rivers of London #3) by Ben Aaronovitch. Very good continuation of the Rivers of London series as Peter is joined by a second apprentice. I really can’t put these darn books down – they’re very compelling and immersive.
Broken Homes (Rivers of London #4) by Ben Aaronovitch. Very good urban fantasy thriller continuing the story of Peter Grant, apprentice wizard and London constable. I couldn’t put this down and was completely unprepared for the plot twist. I need the next book NOW. At least there’s no chance of me forgetting what happened in this book before the next book is released…
Crimes Against Magic (The Hellequin Chronicles #1) by Steve McHugh. Immersive dark urban fantasy about a thief who woke up tabula rasa ten years ago. As he takes jobs that are not at all what they seem, his memory begins to return… but it might not return fast enough to save him and those he must protect.
Fated (Alex Verus #1) by Benedict Jacka. Good urban fantasy about a London mage whose power is divination. He’d be perfectly content to be left to quietly run his magic shop, but things never work out that way.
Cursed (Alex Verus #2) by Benedict Jacka. Good continuation of the series in which things get complicated as Alex tries to handle an enchantress, a monkey’s paw, and mages who are never up front about what they actually want. I’m enjoying these, but they’re pretty standard UF fare.
Taken (Alex Verus #3) by Benedict Jacka. Good addition to the series in which Alex tries to figure out why apprentices are disappearing. The series is growing on me, bit by bit – I mostly kept reading the first one just to be reading something, but each new book is drawing me in more.
Chosen (Alex Verus #4) by Benedict Jacka. Another good addition to the series. This time Alex has to face parts of his past he’d rather not remember as he’s hunted by someone who wants vengeance. Bit of a niggle at the very end – not a cliffie, really, but it was a deliberate tease for the next book. I’m not fond of those.
Where Countries Come to Play: Celebrating the World of Olympic Hockey and the Triple Gold Club by Andrew Podnieks. Ok nonfiction book that first summarizes the careers of the 26 Triple Gold Club winners (meaning hockey players or coaches who’ve won the Stanley Cup, plus gold in the World Championships and Olympics), then summarizes each of the Winter Olympics through 2010. Perhaps the most surprising thing I learned is that Great Britain has won a gold and a bronze Olympic medal for ice hockey.
Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies: On Myths, Morons, Free Speech, Football, and Other Absurdities by Chris Kluwe. Kluwe is a smart guy. Unfortunately, this book feels as if he spends most of his writing time flexing his vocabulary so we don’t forget that he’s a smart guy. DNF at 14%.


“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Mayhem

Ebook giveaway: With Wings (The Dark Angels #1) (2nd ed) by Z Allora [CONTEST CLOSED]

Many thanks to Z Allora for donating an ebook copy of her freshly rereleased m/m romance, With Wings (The Dark Angels #1) (2nd ed), for a lucky commenter to win!

The lights go down and stage lights up. The Dark Angels have arrived. With his come-hither voice and body made for sin, lead singer Angel Luv draws lovers like a magnet. And when he caresses and taunts shy guitarist Darius Stone on stage, well…it’s an act, right? But every touch lights a fire, and every flirtatious glance chips away at Dare’s certainty that he’s straight. No one else has so captured his imagination.

Temptation beckons. It’s hard not to notice the want in Dare’s eyes, the way he stares when he thinks Angel’s not watching. One wrong move might scare him away, but a work trip to exotic Bali might be the perfect place to let Dare explore his sexuality, with none to be the wiser. But their “friends with benefits” pact has an expiration date, that just might sour their friendship.

Excerpt

Other Books

About

Every one deserves a happy ending… (and I make sure they get one). I have written about hot rockers, sexy zombies, and Thailand club performers. My stories are about love, romance and are tied together with erotic sex. I utilize my time overseas and my travels to bring you to places you’ve yet to visit. I introduce you to cultures you’ve yet to explore. But with every word I write I hope to convey love is love. I look forward to hearing from you, my Pretties! Facebook. Blog. Website.

Contest Rules

  • To enter, leave a comment stating that you are entering the contest. Contest closes 7 pm CDT, Friday, September 19.
  • By entering the contest, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • 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 ritual dust bunny sacrifice 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 refers to some pretty clever comment spam.)
  • Winners 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!

“Ha! I’m so tall now… oh, what’s up there?!” -Mayhem

Ebook giveaway: Love Comes Around (Senses #4) by Andrew Grey [CONTEST CLOSED]

Many thanks to Andrew Grey for donating an ebook copy of his forthcoming m/m romance, Love Comes Around (Senses #4), for a lucky commenter to win! Love Comes Around will be released by Dreamspinner Press on September 19.

Dan was a throwaway child and learned to take care of himself in foster care. As an adult, he devotes his life to the business he started and his heart to raising children no one else wants. Dan has already adopted six-year-old Lila, who walks on crutches, and then decides to adopt eight-year-old Jerry, who suffers from MD and is confined to a wheelchair.

Also abandoned as a child, Connor ended up on his own and retreated into himself. He works as a carpenter and woodcarver and is the perfect man to ensure Dan’s home becomes wheelchair accessible.

When Dan hires Connor, neither of the men are ready to open their hearts to the possibility of love. As they learn how much they have in common, both of them must weigh the possibility of family and a future against the risks of getting hurt again.

Other Books

About Andrew

Andrew grew up in western Michigan with a father who loved to tell stories and a mother who loved to read them. Since then he has lived throughout the country and traveled throughout the world. He has a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and works in information systems for a large corporation. Andrew’s hobbies include collecting antiques, gardening, and leaving his dirty dishes anywhere but in the sink (particularly when writing). He considers himself blessed with an accepting family, fantastic friends, and the world’s most supportive and loving partner. Andrew currently lives in beautiful, historic Carlisle, Pennsylvania. You can find out more about Andrew and his books at his website and his blog.

Contest Rules

  • To enter, leave a comment stating that you are entering the contest. Contest closes 7 pm CDT, Thursday, September 18.
  • By entering the contest, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • 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 ritual dust bunny sacrifice 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 refers to some pretty clever comment spam.)
  • Winners 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!

“Mooooooooooooom!!!! I’m hungry!!!!!!!!!” -Chaos