Tag Archives: Anna Mayle

Contests, Reading

Ebook giveaway: My Soul To Keep by Anna Mayle [CONTEST CLOSED]

22 Comments

Congrats to Maya, who won Under the Stars by Geoff Laughton!

Congrats to Ashley E, who won Trapped in Oz (Tales from Kansas #3) by Andrew Grey!

Many thanks to Anna Mayle for donating an ebook copy of her forthcoming paranormal m/m romance, My Soul To Keep, for a lucky commenter to win! My Soul To Keep will be released by Resplendence Publishing on October 29.

Bound by more than simple leather, the journal of a nameless soldier has languished on shelf after shelf since the final days of WWII. In its pages, the trials, heart and soul of one man. Forgotten, until small, calloused fingers lifted it from its perch, until world weary eyes began to read…

Now Allan is trapped in a storm of dreams from a war he is too young to remember. Haunted by the specter of a soldier he cannot forget. While worlds meld in a confusing vortex of fear and lust, Allan struggles to find the soldier’s name and the key to setting his restless soul free.

By the time he finds it though…will he be willing, or even able, to let his soldier go?

Other Books

About Anna

I grew up in the woods and wild, in a place almost forgotten by time, I learned that the best moments in our existence are the ones filled with the spirit of the earth when you are surrounded by family. Even now, thirty years into my life, I find there is nothing more important than family and nothing more soothing than a quiet forest and softly flowing water.

Currently I make my home in Lansing in a place surrounded by trees and gardens and affectionately called The Nest. While work, writing and family take up much of my days, I also enjoy a variety of pastimes. Some are as mundane as reading, video games, working in the gardens, singing, dancing, sketching and swimming. Others such as medieval reenactments and various other forms of live role play might seem more exciting.

All in all, I’m a geek with a love of words surrounded by the comfort and affection of a close family and a tight knit group of friends. Life hasn’t always been easy, it never will be, but it is the adversity, as well as the caring in our days, that shapes who we are and will be.

In the end…no worries.

You can find out more about Anna on Goodreads and Facebook.

Contest Rules

  • To enter, leave a comment below stating that you are entering the contest. Leave your comments by 7 pm CDT, Tuesday, October 28.
  • 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!

“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Mayhem

Sorry, got a little carried away with filters there. The maple tree’s leaves aren’t pink at all, but I liked the effect.

Contests, Reading

Ebook Giveaway: Daybreak for a Stolen Child by Anna Mayle [CONTEST CLOSED]

30 Comments

Congrats to Tailtiu, who won The Luckiest (Lucky Moon #2) by Piper Vaughn and M.J. O’Shea! The Luckiest is being released today by Loose Id.

Many thanks to Anna Mayle for donating an ebook copy of her forthcoming paranormal m/m romance, Daybreak for a Stolen Child (Stolen Child #4), for a lucky commenter to win! Daybreak for a Stolen Child will be released on April 4 by Resplendence Publishing.

Nearly a year since the nightmare at the cabin. Life for Daniel and Leinad hasn’t gotten easier, but at least there is something to say for familiarity. They fight, they threaten, but they love each other and in the end, that should be enough.

It isn’t.

When the shadows start stealing closer, and the past begins catching up to them, how long will the two lovers have before the Fae in Daniel emerges, and before Leinad has to face his own demons once again? Until the harsh light of reality engulfs the fragile world they’ve built for themselves?

How long will it be until daybreak?

Also by Anna

About Anna

I grew up in the woods and wild, in a place almost forgotten by time, I learned that the best moments in our existence are the ones filled with the spirit of the earth when you are surrounded by family. Even now, thirty years into my life, I find there is nothing more important than family and nothing more soothing than a quiet forest and softly flowing water.

Currently I make my home in Lansing in a place surrounded by trees and gardens and affectionately called The Nest. While work, writing and family take up much of my days, I also enjoy a variety of pastimes. Some are as mundane as reading, video games, working in the gardens, singing, dancing, sketching and swimming. Others such as medieval reenactments and various other forms of live role play might seem more exciting.

All in all, I’m a geek with a love of words surrounded by the comfort and affection of a close family and a tight knit group of friends. Life hasn’t always been easy, it never will be, but it is the adversity, as well as the caring in our days, that shapes who we are and will be.

In the end…no worries.

You can find out more about Anna at her website, her blog, and on Facebook.

Contest Rules

  • To enter, leave a comment below stating that you are entering the contest. Leave your comments by 7 pm CDT, Tuesday, April 3.
  • 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!

“Nobody understands my pain.” -Mayhem

Contests, Reading

Ebook Giveaway: Dreams of a Stolen Child (Stolen Child #3) by Anna Mayle [CONTEST CLOSED]

32 Comments

Many thanks to Anna Mayle for donating an ebook copy of her recently released paranormal m/m romance, Dreams of a Stolen Child (Stolen Child #3), for a lucky commenter to win!

Nightmares were supposed to begin with dark and stormy nights, not the cheerful colors of a carnival. Love was supposed to strike like lightning, not slip quietly through dreams and sleep until it bled into the waking world. Faeries were supposed to be myths…

Funny how nothing in Gentle Carver’s life was what it was supposed to be.

Also by Anna

About Anna

I grew up in the woods and wild, in a place almost forgotten by time, I learned that the best moments in our existence are the ones filled with the spirit of the earth when you are surrounded by family. Even now, thirty years into my life, I find there is nothing more important than family and nothing more soothing than a quiet forest and softly flowing water.

Currently I make my home in Lansing in a place surrounded by trees and gardens and affectionately called The Nest. While work, writing and family take up much of my days, I also enjoy a variety of pastimes. Some are as mundane as reading, video games, working in the gardens, singing, dancing, sketching and swimming. Others such as medieval reenactments and various other forms of live role play might seem more exciting.

All in all, I’m a geek with a love of words surrounded by the comfort and affection of a close family and a tight knit group of friends. Life hasn’t always been easy, it never will be, but it is the adversity, as well as the caring in our days, that shapes who we are and will be.

In the end…no worries.

You can find out more about Anna at her website, her blog, and on Facebook.

Contest Rules

  • To enter, leave a comment below stating that you are entering the contest. Leave your comments by 7 pm CDT, Thursday, December 15.
  • 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!

*smack* -Chaos

*smack* -Mayhem

Festing, Reading, Reviewettes, See the Sights

This is not the linkity you’re looking for (featuring travel photos & book reviewettes instead of “proper” linkity)

35 Comments

Congrats to Ella Jane, who won Bound for the Forest by Kay Berrisford!

While this post has plenty of links, they’re primarily related to my vacation in New Orleans for GayRomLit. Plus a reading update at the end. And a cat picture. Of course. 🙂

Devon Rhodes and me, both very drunk at Lafitte’s in Exile.

Me, again, although I’m not exactly sure where this was taken. Jackie??

Purple house!

Our neighborhood bar.

Wonderfully overgrown balcony in the French Quarter.

Hitching post in the French Quarter.

Jackson Square.

Random Thoughts

  • The swampy edges of Lake Pontchartrain looked like they were egret paradise.
  • I’m good at the roadtrip driving thing… if I have audiobooks. Even bad audiobooks.
  • Was it a New Orleans thing or a Southern thing that posted hours and actual open hours didn’t necessarily coincide?
  • I had a delightful gluten-free “Dine with an Author” lunch at Muriel’s, courtesy of Julia Talbot and BA Tortuga. We didn’t talk books at all – we shared gluten-free tips and stories.
  • Jimmy at Lafitte’s in Exile is an awesomely entertaining bartender.
  • I wandered by a yard sale being run by a man and his cockatoo.
  • The readers and writers I hung out with were pretty amazing people – smart and savvy. Why do they all live so far away?!
  • It was kind of traumatizing to leave sunny mid-80s weather and return to chilly grey Minneapolis. (Although we’ve had chilly sunshine for the past day or so…)
  • I returned home with a souvenir cold and hacking cough. Blech.
  • After I got home, I didn’t unpack the copy paper box that had some unopened snacks and other stuff in it. When I got up yesterday morning, Chaos had gotten the lid off the box and had been eating pretzels, sweet potato chips, and cashews. Hopefully more chips and fewer cashews… What a mess!
  • Don’t worry if I haven’t replied to your contest entry comment! I’m so far behind from being on vacation that I’ll probably just delete a bunch of emails and start fresh. If you can see your comment on the contest post, you’re entered.

GayRomLit Posts (these are varying degrees of NSFW, so beware)

Reading Update
Bound for the Forest by Kay Berrisford. ebook. Excellent kinky gay dark historical fantasy romance about a former soldier who returns to the family manor in the Greenwood (the manor which he just sold to cover debts) to retrieve some hidden valuables before the new owner takes possession. When he finds another, very captivating thief already there, he has no idea how the course of his life has just shifted.
Into the Woods by Anna Mayle. free ebook short. Fun short m/m paranormal about two guys who live in a town for retired circus performers (and their families) and who have a very unusual experience trying to walk through the woods…
Vessel (Cutting Cords #2) by Mickie B. Ashling. Excellent kinky m/m story set five years after Cutting Cords. This is not a romance per se – it’s a story about Sloan’s ongoing personal growth. Personal growth that, as is usually the case, is frequently painful and messy. But Sloan perseveres, learning more about himself as he goes, and the end of this story is hopeful. I hope we’ll get to read one more book – a book in which Sloan comes into his own. (Mickie reports that the third book should be out in May!)
Happily Neverafter (Petit Morts #11) by Jordan Castillo Price. ebook short. Very good short paranormal m/m romance about a Greek cop and an American tourist who collide. We also find out a bit more about Chance, although he’s really no less mysterious for that!
London Eye (Petit Morts #12) by Clare London & Jordan Castillo Price. ebook short. Very good short paranormal m/m romance about a banker whose boyfriend dumps him in a London backstreets restaurant. Drunk, disoriented, and stranded, he awkwardly accepts his kindhearted waiter’s assistance.
Spirits and Second Chances (Petit Morts #13) by Sean Kennedy. ebook short. Very good short paranormal m/m romance about a guy who leads ghost tours in Western Australia. He’s happy with his life, but it just seems as if there’s something missing…
Liquor by Poppy Z. Brite. Very good gay fiction about a couple who are line cooks in New Orleans and are approached by a financier interested in helping them open a restaurant. I especially enjoyed reading this while in New Orleans.
Life Over Limb (EMS Heat #11) by Stephani Hecht. ebook. Sweet m/m romance about a diabetic radiology tech who hasn’t been taking good care of himself and a former flight nurse, now ER nurse, who hasn’t really dealt with a patient dying under his care.
Dead Run (Dangerous Ground #4) by Josh Lanyon. ebook. Pretty good m/m romantic suspense in which Tyler’s flying to Paris to see Will for the first time in 11 months and things are awkward between them. This one just didn’t really work for me – it felt contrived and I thought the amnesia bit was weak.
Velvet Memories (Club Velvet Ice #4) by Violet Summers. ebook. Good kinky m/m romance about a jock who was in denial in high school. Ten years later, he’s a Dom and no longer in denial when he runs into the guy whose trust he abused in high school – the guy who now works as a submissive at Club Velvet Ice.
RSVP (Pushing the Envelope #2) by Kim Dare. ebook short. Good short kinky m/m that, like the first installment, consists of a scene between Scott and Joe.
Devotedly His (His #4) by Shawn Lane. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about a guy who goes to clubs and hooks up with anyone who reminds him of the best friend he’s been crushing on since college… the best friend who’s never been interested in him. Things seemed to happen much too quickly at the ending, and not in a way that would help build trust about the friend’s concern.
Murder in the Rue Dauphine (Chanse MacLeod #1) by Greg Herren. Good gay mystery about a New Orleans cop turned PI who shows up to meet a potential new client, only to find the client dead. Even without an actual client, he can’t seem to avoid working on the case… I read this whilst staying about 50 feet from Dauphine!
Kindred in Death (In Death #29) by JD Robb. audiobook. Really, what’s to say about these? They’re pretty solid, although a bit repetitive by this point in the series. And this was interesting enough to keep me alert as I was driving, which was what I really cared about.
Bad Moon Rising (Dark-Hunter #18, Were-Hunter #5) by Sherrilyn Kenyon. audiobook. So-so paranormal romance that suffered from too many points of view (possibly because the book was written as occurring during a whole bunch of previous books about other characters) and from being too long. Sheesh. It just went on and on and on and… I started to zone out as I was listening to it – not what I want to listen to while I’m driving!
Sizzling Sixteen (Stephanie Plum #16) by Janet Evanovich. audiobook. Ok mystery in a series that really needs to end. But since I didn’t fall asleep listening to it as I was driving, it served its purpose.

“Told you I’d get you back for being gone. Do we have any more of those tasty sweet potato chips?” -Chaos

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Linkity and a new tattoo!

46 Comments

Stop by and enter the contest for Barging In by Josephine Myles! Contest closes 7 pm CDT, September 19.

Congrats to Cayce, who won Love is in the Title (Love #1) and Love is in the Hallways (Love #2) by RJ Scott!

Congrats to D, who won Galen and the Forest Lord by Eden Winters! Galen and the Forest Lord will be released by Torquere Press on Saturday, September 10.

Contests

Bookity

Ebookity

Think, Do, Make, Learn

  • If canning looks to be the only way out of your CSA veggie overload, check out these five canning websites.

Cookity

Crafty

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

LOL

Teh Cute

Reading Update
Lullaby for a Stolen Child (Stolen Child #2) by Anna Mayle. ebook short. Very good short m/m/m dark fantasy about a human stolen by the Fae as a child, the Redcap who took his place, and the golden Fae hunter who’s been entranced by him for years.
In Darkness Bound (The Society #1) by Christine Price. ebook. Very good m/m/m paranormal romantic suspense that I had to read after reading The Usual Apocalypse. And maybe I was more forgiving of its faults than I might’ve been if I’d read it first, but it totally sucked me in and worked for me.
Not Knowing Jack (Regularly Scheduled Life #2) by KA Mitchell. ebook. Very good m/m romance about Jack, a chef, and Tony, Jack’s younger bartender boyfriend. When Jack begins to act mysteriously, Tony realizes how very little he actually knows about Jack, even after living together for a year. This book had the potential to be a five-star read; however, I found the ending rushed and thus rather unsatisfying. (“Wait, where did the previous year go?!”)
Bullied by Jeff Erno. ebook collection. Very good, if somewhat heavy-handed, collection of short stories about gay teens being bullied in school. The stories are told primarily in first person, from a variety of perspectives: the student being bullied, the bully, the parent who’s been lying to herself about her open-mindedness. While the stories are painful and moving, the overall message is hopeful: things can get better, but not without help.
The Hunting Moon by Evelyn Shepherd. ebook. Good but inconsistent paranormal m/m romantic suspense about two cops, a powerful psychic and a werecoyote, on the Columbus Preternatural Task Force. As the werecoyote pursues the mutual attraction that the psychic denies, they’re also trying to solve a string of murders and capture a deranged stalker from the psychic’s past. Several things kept me from rating this book higher: an ongoing issue with word usage and substitution (“saddled” instead of “sidled” being the most memorable) and inconsistencies in the psychic’s powers (if he could lock and unlock doors with his mind, why couldn’t he get out of handcuffs?).
Ash Swan (Cob Brothers #1) by Amber Kell & Stephani Hecht. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance loosely based on the fairytale of the Six Swans. In the first installment of this series, the crown prince, who’s living on Earth for a few years before taking the throne, rescues a handsome bike courier who’d fallen into a pond while feeding ducks and geese in the park, then proceeds to get to know the courier better…
Hey, There’s Fur in My Wedding Cake (Lost Shifters #12.5) by Stephani Hecht. free ebook short. Good short paranormal romance about an exiled wolf shifter who returns to the pack that exiled in order to attend a wedding reception, where he meets a very intriguing feline shifter…
Change on the Fly (Blue Line Hockey #5) by Stephani Hecht. ebook. Sweet m/m romance about an NHL player who sustains a career-ending injury and isn’t doing so well until his best friend from high school shows up at his door.
Swept Away (Beach Bums #2) by Diana DeRicci. ebook. Good m/m romance about a guy who’s retreated to his beach house to try sorting out his thoughts after he drunkenly kissed a guy in a bar on a dare… and enjoyed the kiss so much, his fiancee ended their engagement after he told her about it.
In From the Cold by Mercy Celeste. ebook. Ok m/m romance about a sheriff’s deputy and a country singer who were each others’ firsts in high school, but who’ve taken different and equally self-destructive paths since then… and that doesn’t end when tragedy brings the singer back to their hometown. This book had a lot of unrealized potential, which was unfortunately overshadowed by somewhat choppy writing and the absolutely worst case of pronoun confusion I’ve ever encountered.
The Playwright (The Male Room #3) by Carolyn LeVine Topol. ebook. Ok m/m romance about a playwright whose writing partner and roommate signs him up for The Male Room online dating site, hoping to help him get over a broken heart years before. The insta-love was more insta-lovey than usual in the this one.

I got a new tattoo on Sunday. 🙂 This one first, so you can see where it’s located:

And a close-up, so you can see the bright green eyes!

(Please ignore the bruising…)

My other tattoo is located in the same spot on the back of my left arm.

“May and I have noticed that your new tattoo doesn’t look like us, but instead some freaky black cat. Any last words?” -Chaos

Contests, Reading

Ebook Giveaway: Lullaby for a Stolen Child by Anna Mayle [CONTEST CLOSED]

47 Comments

Many thanks to Anna Mayle for donating an ebook copy of her forthcoming paranormal m/m romance, Lullaby for a Stolen Child (Stolen Child #2), for a lucky commenter to win! Lullaby for a Stolen Child will be released by Resplendence Publishing on August 31.

They steal them away as children, drawn to their short but vibrant lives. They use them as dolls, slaves, entertainment of every kind, tasting the fierce brevity of human life through their captives. But there are times when a taste is not enough…

Where is the boundary between hate and love, love and lust, love and hate? Where do you draw the line between jealousy and longing? Is the passion of a killer the same as that of a lover?

And how can a human man hope to understand the ways of the two Fae who have turned his captivity upside down?

Also by Anna

About Anna

I grew up in the woods and wild, in a place almost forgotten by time, I learned that the best moments in our existence are the ones filled with the spirit of the earth when you are surrounded by family. Even now, thirty years into my life, I find there is nothing more important than family and nothing more soothing than a quiet forest and softly flowing water.

Currently I make my home in Lansing in a place surrounded by trees and gardens and affectionately called The Nest. While work, writing and family take up much of my days, I also enjoy a variety of pastimes. Some are as mundane as reading, video games, working in the gardens, singing, dancing, sketching and swimming. Others such as medieval reenactments and various other forms of live role play might seem more exciting.

All in all, I’m a geek with a love of words surrounded by the comfort and affection of a close family and a tight knit group of friends. Life hasn’t always been easy, it never will be, but it is the adversity, as well as the caring in our days, that shapes who we are and will be.

In the end…no worries.

You can find out more about Anna at her website, her blog, and on Facebook.

Contest Rules

  • To enter, leave a comment below stating that you are entering the contest. Leave your comments by 7 pm CDT, Tuesday, August 30.
  • 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!

“Have I mentioned how truly wiggly and tasty that spider I caught was?” Mayhem

Contests, Reading

Ebook Giveaway: In the Shadow of a Hero by Anna Mayle [CONTEST CLOSED]

54 Comments

Many thanks to Anna Mayle for donating an ebook copy of her freshly released m/m romantic suspense, In the Shadow of a Hero, for a lucky commenter to win!

A cop dies in the city, life goes on. For one little boy, though, it changed everything. Haunted by his past, Maxwell Thomas has grown up homeless and friendless, trapped by his guilt. Prowling the city, the small man guards the Church District like a vigilante, trying to make up for his crime. When he rescues the wrong rent boy, he is pulled back into the madness that destroyed him as a child. And now, another cop’s life is on the line…

Nick Kenna is a beat cop with dreams of being a detective. When he stumbles across a murder and the very unusual suspect, he finds himself caught, not only by the mystery of the vagrant he’s apprehended, but something deeper that sparks between them.

Will Nick be able to save Maxwell, from his past and himself? Or will love be lost as the broken man fades into the shadow of his hero?

Excerpt

Also by Anna

About Anna

I grew up in the woods and wild, in a place almost forgotten by time, I learned that the best moments in our existence are the ones filled with the spirit of the earth when you are surrounded by family. Even now, thirty years into my life, I find there is nothing more important than family and nothing more soothing than a quiet forest and softly flowing water.

Currently I make my home in Lansing in a place surrounded by trees and gardens and affectionately called The Nest. While work, writing and family take up much of my days, I also enjoy a variety of pastimes. Some are as mundane as reading, video games, working in the gardens, singing, dancing, sketching and swimming. Others such as medieval reenactments and various other forms of live role play might seem more exciting.

All in all, I’m a geek with a love of words surrounded by the comfort and affection of a close family and a tight knit group of friends. Life hasn’t always been easy, it never will be, but it is the adversity, as well as the caring in our days, that shapes who we are and will be.

In the end…no worries.

You can find out more about Anna at her website, her blog, and on Facebook.

Contest Rules

  • To enter, leave a comment below stating that you are entering the contest. Leave your comments by 7 pm CDT, Friday, July 15.
  • 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!

“Don’t mind me, Mom. Of course I’m not trying to get into your knitting bags.” -Mayhem

 

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Linkity from sweltering Minneapolis

25 Comments

Congrats to Alex W, who won Equilibrium by Meredith Shayne! Equilibrium was released by Dreamspinner Press on June 24.

Congrats to Wendy, who won Blind Pass (Blue Line Hockey #4) by Stephani Hecht! Blind Pass is being released by eXtasy Books today.

No post on Monday, as it’s a holiday in the US. I haven’t decided if I’ll do the Misadventures on Tuesday or not. Probably not, because there are already three contests scheduled for next week. 🙂

Contests

Bookity

Ebookity

Think, Do, Learn, Make

Cookity

Crafty

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

  • Back hair art… (Thanks?!, Bron!) (Best not to imagine what those photos would look like when viewed using Hairrrr…)

LOL

  • Furry mice only have tails for about two minutes around here.

Teh Cute

Reading Update
Static by LA Witt. ebook. Excellent m/m romance about a guy who doesn’t realize his girlfriend is a shifter (able to shift between female and male) until after her extremely religious parents force her to have a gender freezing chip inserted, which leaves her stuck in her male form. This book really got me thinking on the complexity of gender.
In the Shadow of a Hero by Anna Mayle. ebook. Excellent m/m romantic suspense about a guy who’s been on the street for a long time, as something of a vigilante, and a cop who starts to see the depth of the man behind the grime and bruises. This was complex and involving and will stay in my head for quite a while…
Convincing Leopold (Convincing #2) by Ava March. ebook. Very good historical m/m romance following up with Arthur and Leopold three months into their relationship, as failure to communicate is causing some problems. Far from frustrating me, that failure to communicate made everything feel very realistic – not a Big Misunderstanding, but the slow accumulation of stuff from everyday life.
Handcuffs & Pretty Things (Rawlings Men #8) by Kim Dare. ebook short. Good short kinky m/m romance about one of the Rawlings cousins who is not a cop. This needed to be longer!
Bourbon Street Blues (Scotty Bradley Mysteries #1) by Greg Herren. Good gay mystery about about an unrepentantly slutty personal trainer and go-go dancer who inadvertently comes across some information that someone’s willing to kill to retrieve.
Bear Like Me by Jonathan Cohen. ebook. Pretty good humorous gay fiction about a writer, fired from a trendy gay magazine, who decides to go undercover into the gay bear culture in order to gather material for a book. While the humor of this book just didn’t quite work for me, I believe it will for other readers – particularly those more familiar with real-life bear culture.
Let’s Get Familiar by Amylea Lyn. ebook short. Cute short paranormal m/m romance about a guy without any magical ability who’s feeling lonely because his witch mother and sisters keep scaring away his boyfriends. Then he rescues a giant black tomcat from a storm and tells it all his problems…
On My Knees by Tristram La Roche. ebook. So-so short m/m romance about a guy who, after a row with his wife, realizes he’s gay while talking with a guy he met at the gym. While I really liked the first-person narrator’s voice, the story was all over the place. Insta-love was the final straw.

“I do not have forehead ridges! Mom, what did you do to my fur?! I thought you were just scritching my head!” -Mayhem

Contests, Reading

Ebook Giveaway: Bedtime Story for a Stolen Child by Anna Mayle [CONTEST CLOSED]

54 Comments

Many thanks to Anna Mayle for donating an ebook copy of her dark contemporary m/m fantasy, Bedtime Story for a Stolen Child, for a lucky commenter to win!

Stolen away from his cradle as a child, Leinad has been a plaything of the Faerie for thirty years. He has been broken and put back together so many times that he cannot even remember what he used to be. He has given up all hope of escape, until a soft breeze through his cell leads him home, only to find out that home has gone on without him. A man with Leinad’s face is there in his place, with his siblings, acting out his life. A changeling. The creature who enabled his imprisonment and torture for all those years.

Daniel Tessel is a thirty year old folklorist. He is meeting his brother and sister at their family cabin, to spend the anniversary of their parent’s deaths together. His biggest worry is the séance his little sister is insisting on, and trying to stave off her inevitable disappointment. That is, until he looks up during the ritual to see his own face watching him from the window. He is pulled into the consequences of a plot he cannot even remember, accused of stealing his own life. Confused, angry, and frightened beyond reason, Daniel tries to escape from Leinad, but there is something pulling them together.

Revenge and passion are two very similar things. Blood sings, lust and tempers rise, and before they know it, neither is quite sure who the real monster is anymore. Or if it will even matter in the end.

Excerpt

Book Trailer

Reviews

About Anna

I grew up in the woods and wild, in a place almost forgotten by time, I learned that the best moments in our existence are the ones filled with the spirit of the earth when you are surrounded by family. Even now, thirty years into my life, I find there is nothing more important than family and nothing more soothing than a quiet forest and softly flowing water.

Currently I make my home in Lansing in a place surrounded by trees and gardens and affectionately called The Nest. While work, writing and family take up much of my days, I also enjoy a variety of pastimes. Some are as mundane as reading, video games, working in the gardens, singing, dancing, sketching and swimming. Others such as medieval reenactments and various other forms of live role play might seem more exciting.

All in all, I’m a geek with a love of words surrounded by the comfort and affection of a close family and a tight knit group of friends. Life hasn’t always been easy, it never will be, but it is the adversity, as well as the caring in our days, that shapes who we are and will be.

In the end…no worries.

You can find out more about Anna at her website, her blog, and on Facebook.

Contest Rules

  • To enter, leave a comment stating that you are entering the contest. Contest closes 7 pm CST, Monday, December 27.
  • 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!

“Oh, the big kitty looks so lonely up there on the cat tree by himself!” -Mayhem

Gluten Free, Randonymity, Reading, Reviewettes, See the Sights

Some incoherent thoughts from vacation, plus my out-of-control Reading Update

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So the best thing about being the last person reporting in on a vacation trip is that so much has already been written about it by others. 🙂 Please note that some of the links below will have NSFW components!

For some reason we took our group photo after Tracy left – from the left, me, Jen, Tam, and Kris:

And here’s Tracy at Yaoi-Con, with some yaoi clutched in her hand and a mysterious pink-haired person sitting next to her:

Does anyone know what the heck this gelatinous blob, found amongst the washed up seaweed on the beach at Carmel, could be?

Look at the tasty gf beer in a frosted glass I had at Allegro Gourmet Pizza in Carmel! (Alas, no photos exist of the delicious gf bacon cheeseburger pizza I devoured there.) (And yes, that is CarrieK‘s arm across the table – I had the chance to hang out with her for a few days, too. I think we knitted together for maybe 20 seconds or so.)

Check out the yummy gf veggie panini and gf red velvet cupcake I ate at Cafe Mariposa!

Meeting blog friends is always wonderful. I would go on vacation with them again, should I ever have the chance.

The best part about Yaoi-Con was meeting all the authors! I’m pretty sure I’ll miss someone, so please forgive me in advance. I met Clare London, Felicitas Ivey, Marie Sexton, Lynn Flewelling, Andrew Grey, Mary Calmes, Amy Lane, TC Blue, ZA Maxfield, Belinda McBride, EM Lynley, Astrid Amara, Ginn Hale, Nicole Kimberling, Rowan McBride, and… *mind goes blank*

The chocolate-covered macaroons from Hot Cookie were the best I’ve ever had… and they’re even available in less graphic shapes than the video might suggest. 🙂

San Francisco is really, really hilly. You can’t properly appreciate that until you’ve been on a death march with Kris or Tracy.

It’s hard to resist the HRC Store – such a great cause, amazing staff, and cool stuff.

I barely get motion sick at all on electric buses. Damn diesel fumes on regular buses!

NaNoBloMo may kill me, compulsive commenter that I am. Alas, NaNoBloMo peeps, I’m not going to be able to comment on all your posts, no matter how much I’d like to. In part, that’s because work is going to get progressively more crazy throughout the month.

My beloved car experienced brain death while I was on vacation. It is currently awaiting a brain transplant. Please think happy healthy car thoughts for me, ‘k? Also, why the heck would you put a woman who begged for a junker loaner into a 2011 BMW?! *takes deep breaths*

Reading Update
Bedtime Story for a Stolen Child by Anna Mayle. ebook. Excellent m/m dark fantasy about a man, stolen by the Fae when he was a child, who returns to the human world to confront the Changeling who took his place. Recommended.
The Trap by Indigo Wren. ebook. Very good m/m romance about two college roommates, best friends, who planned to start a technology company together… until one of them basically flees into the night without a word. And that’s all I’m going to say about it, because part of what really drew me into this story was having events unfold for me, without really knowing what was going to happen.
Blacque/Bleu by Belinda McBride. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about a deeply closeted werewolf (because there supposedly aren’t any gay werewolves) who gets involved with a vampire… and then his pack responsibilities become more pressing.
The Strength of a Gamma (Pack Discipline, Book 2) by Kim Dare. ebook. Very good kinky paranormal m/m romance about two gamma wolves who are best friends with deeper feelings for each other, but one of them doesn’t believe that he’s good enough to be the other’s mate.
Almost Heaven by Kimberly Gardner. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a guy who’s training for the priesthood and teaching at a parochial high school until his reaction to the much older brother of one of his students has him doubting his chosen path. I had a small niggle about this one, which could’ve been handled with one sentence about how the Ryan situation was resolved. 🙂
Trust Me by Jeff Erno. ebook. This m/m romance was a very mixed read for me. I really liked the base story, about two boys, one extremely religious, growing up in the 80s and trying to come to terms with their attraction to other boys. But I kept feeling as if I were being drawn into the story, only to be shoved out again, perhaps because there was too much telling and not enough showing? Additionally, the story had these odd, very meta-feeling lecturey interludes that did not work for me at all.
Manfred’s Curse by Shawn Lane. ebook short. Cute short paranormal m/m romance about a guy getting freaked out by the weird storm he’s weathering alone, with only his black cat Manfred to keep him company…
Eat Me by Mia Watts. ebook short. Good short paranormal m/m romance about a man who was cursed 400 years ago to live as domestic lynx belonging to a family of witches. All that remains of the family is a single male descendant, who doesn’t seem to have any curse-breaking magic… I wish this story had been just a bit longer, because the ending happened way too fast.
Oliver and Angus (Shifting Perspectives, Book 1) by Nerine Petros. ebook short. Short paranormal m/m romance with lots of potential that wasn’t quite realized, primarily because too much story was crammed into too few pages, giving the story a very choppy feel. Hopefully the next story about the dingo shifters who’ve sought asylum in a wolf shifter-controlled town in the Australian Outback will be longer, or at least have more transitions and exposition.
Unbound (Bonded II) by Jay Lygon. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance continuing the story of Viking vampire and romance novelist, Brandr, and his vampiric go-go boy housemates. Read the other books first, because in this one, questions are answered and it will make more sense if you know the questions before you get the answers. 🙂
Faerie Bound by Jenna Castille. ebook. Good kinky paranormal m/m romance about an Alpha wolf shifter and pack leader who’s been hiding his need to be mastered because other shifters would think him weak and challenge him. How will he balance his needs and those of his pack as he seeks his mate? I’m pretty sure there are additional books planned, based on where part of the storyline was left at the HFN end of the book.
The Horror in Dunwich Hall by Johnny Murdoc. ebook short. Good steamy short Lovecraftian m/m story. I absolutely love the first two lines: “There was a naked jock on my bed and a thing with tentacles coming out of my toilet. One of these things did not belong, and if you tell me that it was the naked jock, you shouldn’t be reading this story.” You can read it for free online.
I Take Thee by Zoe Nichols. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about a guy, addicted to E and pot, whose boyfriend has just returned from treatment and is dedicated to staying clean.
Chainbreaker by Kate Roman. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about a San Francisco bike messenger and his boyfriend.
Someplace in This World, edited by Lee Benoit. ebook collection. Good m/m romance collection about finding the place (or person) where you belong and feel safe and happy.
What You Can’t Live Without by Eden Winters. ebook short. Doctors Without Borders Charity Sip Blitz. Sweet m/m romance about a rich doctor who can’t understand why the doctor he desires has chosen to return home to El Salvador to help his family, rather than staying to become rich in the US.
Where a Hand Is Always Needed by Kara Larson. ebook short. Doctors Without Borders Charity Sip Blitz. Good short m/m story about a teenager visiting family in the Outback, trying to sort out whether he’s gay.
Marked by Sean Michael. ebook. Ok paranormal m/m romance about two werewolves who are mates, but who have been separated for ten years, living half lives, because one can’t shift and was cast out from the pack. If the word “mate” had been used half as many times, it would still have been excessive. Unpleasant as this cover image is, it’s an actual, unmodified stock photo. Ewww!
A Real Boy by J.L. Merrow. free ebook short. Enjoyable (and free) twisted m/m retelling of Pinnochio, with a few other stray fairy tales thrown in around the edges.
Pricks and Pragmatism by J.L. Merrow. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a guy who’s almost done with his university degree. He has no money, so he’s been staying with various guys, basically exchanging sex for food and lodging. But what’s up with the nerdy engineer he’s just moved in with, who doesn’t seem interested in him in that way?
Corruption by Jack Greene. ebook short. Steamy short m/m romance about a straight guy who finds himself unaccountably drawn to a woman dancing in the club Corruption… even after he realizes the woman is actually a twinky boy.
My Girl by Stormy Glenn. ebook. Why do I torture myself so?!? Meh m/m romance about a guy hiding as a woman in witness protection. The weird references to GA Hauser and her books were annoying (rather like a GA Hauser commercial) and the plot holes were classic Stormy Glenn.
Needing Harte (1-800-DOM-help, Book 1) by Marilu Mann. ebook. So-so kinky m/m romance about a closeted cop who’s intensely attracted to a submissive stripper during an investigation and is subsequently given the 1-800-DOM-help number to help him learn about bdsm. This would’ve been much better without the insta-love and an odd bit of woo-woo related to the 800 number.
At Piper’s Point by Ethan Day. ebook. Ok m/m romance about a guy who finally returns to the island where he spent his childhood summers with his unorthodox grandmother. He’s planning to quietly spread her ashes and set her house in order before he leaves in the fall, but things don’t quite go as he’d hoped. I would’ve enjoyed this book more if it had been a bit shorter and more focused.
Blood Heat (Dangerous Ground, Book 3) by Josh Lanyon. ebook. Good romantic suspense in which our agents try to bring in a suspected terrorist and everything that can go wrong does.
River of Need (Tennessee Cops, Book 4) by Shayla Kersten. ebook. Ok m/m romance about a cop who bails out his ex, who’s been picked up for prostitution. I wanted a bit more from this story – a bit more length, a bit more depth.

…..zzzzzzzz….. -Mayhem

Apparently May’s plan to stake out my suitcase and prevent me from leaving again was more exhausting than she anticipated…