Category Archives: Reading

Contests, Reading

Ebook ARC giveaway: A Way Home (Gay Amish Romance #3) by Keira Andrews [CONTEST CLOSED]

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Many thanks to Keira Andrews for donating an advance review ebook copy of her forthcoming m/m romance, A Way Home (Gay Amish Romance #3), for a lucky commenter to win! A Way Home will be released by KA Books on April 8.

Will returning to their Amish roots renew their faith in each other?

Isaac and David never thought they’d go back to the Amish world. But when Isaac’s younger brother is stricken with cancer, they don’t hesitate to return. Their relationship is on the rocks after insecurity and fear drove a wedge between them in San Francisco, and David is determined to make things right. Yet if they thought navigating “English” life was confusing, being back in Zebulon is even more complicated.

Their families are desperate to bring them back into the fold, and pressure from the community builds. Isaac and David yearn for a future together, but each day it becomes harder to hide the truth about who they really are. They’re caught between two worlds, and if they’re not careful it could tear them further apart.

Can Isaac and David make their way back to each other – and find a place to call home?

Excerpt (scroll down)

Also by Keira

About Keira

After writing for years yet never really finding the right inspiration, Keira discovered her voice in gay romance, which has become a passion. She writes contemporary, historical and fantasy fiction, and – although she loves delicious angst along the way – Keira firmly believes in happy endings. For as Oscar Wilde once said, “The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what fiction means.” You can find out more about Keira and her books at her website and on Twitter and Facebook.

Contest Rules

  • To enter, leave a comment below stating that you are entering the contest. Contest closes 7 pm CDT, Tuesday, March 31.
  • 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!

“Hey, Mom, why are you taking a picture of that thing when you have a real chat noir right here?!” -Chaos

Covers, Reading

Misadventures in Stock Photography: Part the 232nd (The return of the return of Neck Crick Guy)

7 Comments

Welcome to another edition of the Misadventures in Stock Photography! Today we’ll be catching up with Neck Crick Guy.

, the

and

were

with the

on

of the year on the

when

realized someone should be

instead of imprisoning him, as there were already

.

Well then! 🙂

“Why do you make me suffer so with these naughty boys, Mom?!” -Mayhem

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes, Tales of the Neighborhood

One of those times linkity doesn’t really have a title because I couldn’t think of one

6 Comments

Congrats to Yvette, who won Tempting the Stars (Red Dragon #3) by Becky Black!

Congrats to Alder, who won Axel’s Pup (Werewolves & Dragons #1) by Kim Dare!

Photos from My Neighborhood

Contest(s)

Bookity

Make, Do, Think, Learn

Cookity

Gluten Free

Crafty

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

LOL

Teh Cute

Reading Update
Precinct 13 by Tate Hallaway. Ok paranormal romance about a woman who moves to Pierre, South Dakota, to get away from an “unhealthy influence” who’d encouraged her “delusions” that magic was real. After she gets elected as coroner, she discovers maybe she isn’t quite as delusional as she thought… This book seemed to be trying to cram in an awful lot of plot and subsequently felt like it was all over the place.
Crow Planet: Essential Wisdom from the Urban Wilderness by Lyanda Lynn Haupt. Very good, very thoughtful book about becoming more aware of our place in nature, starting with the tiny bits of nature available in the cities in which so many of us live. Haupt uses the example of crows throughout the book to illustrate both that our environmental balance is dangerously out of whack (allowing a few dominant species such as crows to thrive as more sensitive species decline) and that nature, even if it’s “just” crows, persists wherever we are.
Chasing the Light: The Cloud Cult Story by Mark Allister. I really have no idea what to say about the book, just because I love this band so much. And I knew that their music and shows have affected me deeply, but until I read this book, I had no idea how profoundly they’ve affected others. The transformative, healing power of music? This is it. You can actually listen to the entirety of my favorite album of theirs, Light Chasers on YouTube. If 16 songs is too much, please at least try “There’s So Much Energy in Us” and “Room Full of People in My Head”.
A Life in Hand: Creating the Illuminated Journal by Hannah Hinchman. I picked this up at a used bookstore over the weekend and am well pleased that I did. It’s a delightful read about both using words and sketches in one’s journal, as tools to provide insight and aid observation. I jotted down a number of quotes from it and can see myself revisiting its exercises when I need journaling inspiration. If you read this book, make sure you do so in a format that allows you to see all the author’s drawings integrated with the text throughout.

*intent pose of intentness* -Mayhem

Contests, Reading

Ebook giveaway: As Spring Rain (2nd ed) by Valentina Heart [CONTEST CLOSED]

19 Comments

Congrats to Becca, who won Heat Trap (Plumber’s Mate #3) by JL Merrow! Heat Trap is being released today by Samhain Publishing.

Many thanks to Valentina Heart for donating an ebook copy of her freshly re-released kinky m/m romance, As Spring Rain (2nd ed), for a lucky commenter to win!

Gabriel is hell-bent on self-destruction. Every man he chooses is a man who will hurt him, and when he can’t find others to do it he turns to hurting himself. Whatever it takes to bury the wrenching, forbidden, but inescapable feelings tearing him apart.

But everyone has a breaking point, and when his twin brother Michael comes to pick up the pieces something will have to give before there aren’t any pieces left…

Excerpt

Other Books

About Valentina

Valentina Heart lives at different locations in Split, at the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Like the directions of her stories her life takes a new twist with every passing year and she welcomes every single one.

As an avid reader for many years, she had a habit of mixing fiction with reality, until she realized that she could simply breathe life to her characters and make them as real as they could get. From forever romantic to deeply troubled, they bring joy to their creator as well as frustration with their naughty behavior.

Kinky imagination aside, she enjoys music and movies just as much as reading, but give her summer all year round and she’ll be ready to free climb, swim, or stretch in all those mind stirring yoga positions.

You can find out more about Valentina at her website, on Goodreads, or on Facebook.

Contest Rules

  • To enter, leave a comment stating that you are entering the contest. Contest closes 7 pm CDT, Friday, March 27.
  • 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!

“I’m too crabby to fall asleep, dammit.” -Chaos

Covers, Reading

Misadventures in Stock Photography: Part the 231st (The return of the return of Holding on to His Hat Guy [HotHHG])

8 Comments

Welcome to another edition of the Misadventures in Stock Photography! Today we’ll be catching up with Holding on to His Hat Guy (HotHHG). Again.

The

rode through the

to join the other

behind

, where the

was having a very serious conversation with Blake: “But you’re

! Why can’t you just

?! Don’t you remember when

the night away, so blissfully lost in our

?”

I don’t think there’s going to be a HEA (happily every after) on this particular Misadventure – what do you think?

“I think that the naughty boys must be stopped!!!!!!” -Mayhem

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Late night linkity

6 Comments

Randonymity

  • We’re having a burst of unseasonably warm weather, which we’ve much appreciated. I think it was about 70F warmer this past Tuesday than the previous one! Of course, there’s still a decent chance we’ll have more winter.
  • Art Materials in Uptown Minneapolis doesn’t mess around:

Contest(s)

Bookity

Do, Make, Think, Learn

Cookity

Gluten Free

Crafty

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

LOL

Teh Cute

Reading Update
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. Very good urban fantasy about a Londoner whose act of compassion slips him from his world down between the cracks to the dark and dangerous world of London Below.
Unbound (Ex Libris #3) by Jim C Hines. Pretty good continuation of this contemporary fantasy series – at least this one didn’t end on a near-cliffie like the previous book.
The Writing Diet: Write Yourself Right Size by Julia Cameron. The book’s basic concept is using writing as a sort of mindfulness meditation to help you discover productive and unproductive patterns in your life, diet, etc. While I found the chapter on Morning Pages to be quite useful, as well as some tidbits from other chapters, overall I kept getting hung up on two things. First, the author isn’t a therapist, doctor, dietician, etc, although she did provide common sense advice: be more aware of what and why you eat, eat healthy things, add exercise to your life. Second, many parts of the book seemed triggery, from the perspective of someone who went through (successful) eating disorder treatment 25 years ago. When I realized that, I skimmed the rest, then put the book away.

“Basking. Go away, please.” -Chaos and Mayhem

Contests, Reading

Ebook giveaway: Axel’s Pup (Werewolves & Dragons #1) by Kim Dare [CONTEST CLOSED]

45 Comments

Many thanks to Kim Dare for donating an ebook copy of her freshly released kinky paranormal m/m romance, Axel’s Pup (Werewolves & Dragons #1), for a lucky commenter to win! (Kim is releasing Axel’s Pup today. If you’ve already purchased the book and you win the contest, you will get to select a future book from Kim instead!)

As the landlord of The Dragon’s Lair and leader of The Black Dragons Motorcycle Club, Axel Carmichael has seen it all and done it all. He’s a respected and experienced dom. Nothing shocks him any more, and nobody catches him off guard.

When Bayden rides up to The Dragon’s Lair on a bike worth more than most men earn in a year, and immediately demonstrates that he has far more attitude than sense, it’s easy for Axel to write him off as a silly little rich boy who’s about to get himself killed.

But there’s more to Bayden than meets the eye. He’s no silly little boy, rich or otherwise, and werewolves aren’t easy to kill.

Read Chapter 1 (scroll down)

Other Books

About Kim

Kim Dare is a full time writer from Wales (UK).

First published in December 2008, Kim has since released more than 75 BDSM erotic romances. That means that well over one hundred characters have chattered away inside her head during that time – and that’s not even taking into account the fact that there are over three times that number of people clamouring in the wings for a chance to tell their stories. It’s no wonder she loses track of what’s happening in the “real” world at times…

While Kim’s stories range over male/male, male/female and all kinds of menage relationships and have included vampires, time travellers, shape-shifters and fairytale re-tellings, they all have three things in common – kink, love and a happy ending.

You can visit Kim at her website and her blog.

Contest Rules

  • To enter, leave a comment stating that you are entering the contest. Contest closes 7 pm CDT, Thursday, March 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!

“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Chaos

Yes, I agree, sleeping with his eyes partly open is really creepy!

Contests, Reading

Ebook giveaway: Tempting the Stars (Red Dragon #3) by Becky Black [CONTEST CLOSED]

16 Comments

Many thanks to Becky Black for donating an ebook copy of her freshly released m/m science fiction romance, Tempting the Stars (Red Dragon #3), for a lucky commenter to win!

Marriage should be a happy ending, but for Alyn and Jarvez it’s only the start of a new set of problems as grief and guilt stir deeply buried desires in Jarvez. Will wedded bliss prove to be a myth?

The Red Dragon returns to Earth carrying the newly-married Captain Alyn Evans and Company Rep Jarvez Kashari. After promising to leave the Dragon, Jarvez expects confrontation when the grandfather he’s spent all his life trying to please learns he lied. But the showdown never happens – he arrives home to the news his grandfather is dead. While dealing with the shock and grief, the revelation of a terrible old secret changes Jarvez’s perceptions of his family and the company.

Coming to terms with what he learned at home, haunted by guilt for his unwitting part in it, Jarvez finds dark sexual urges surfacing. He longs for punishment, domination, and pain – longings Alyn finds hard to satisfy. The Dragon leaves Earth with a new mission and Jarvez has new ambitions. He wants to raise enough money to leave the company behind, buy a ship with Alyn and become independent traders. When a consignment of diamonds is stolen aboard the Dragon, they are not allowed to go on until the case is solved. With only a few days left to buy the ship he wants and start the new life he dreams of, Jarvez must find those diamonds.

Read Chapter 1

Other Books

About Becky

A long time science fiction fan, Becky thinks there are few story ideas that can’t be improved by the addition of the words “in space”. If the story also includes two gorgeous men unable to keep their hands off each other then so much the better. She’d happily go into space herself, but being English would insist on there being a reliable supply of tea available.

She likes nothing more than trapping her characters in tricky no-win situations and watching them figure a way out. When not chasing her characters up trees and throwing rocks at them Becky can be found working in an office – where she’s usually thinking about the next rock to throw.

You can find out more about Becky and her books at her blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.

Contest Rules

  • To enter, leave a comment stating that you are entering the contest. Contest closes 7 pm CDT, Thursday, March 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!

“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Chaos & Mayhem

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Linkity is sleepy in anticipation of springing forward

7 Comments

Bookity

Do, Think, Learn, Make

Cookity

Gluten Free

Crafty

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

LOL

Teh Cute

Reading Update
The Complete Guide to Living Well Gluten-Free: Everything You Need to Know to Go from Surviving to Thriving by Beth Hillson. Even though I’ve been diagnosed with celiac disease for nearly 18 years, I still like to brush up my skills and strategies periodically. This book was ok for that. Unfortunately, I found the style/voice more annoying than helpful at various points – I’m a basically optimistic person, but relentlessly cheerful people exhaust me, even in text, apparently. Also, when the author discussed other health issues that those with celiac disease might be more prone to, I was surprised that neither B-12 deficiency or microscopic/lymphocytic/collagenous colitis were mentioned.

“Mount Appliance is a little taller than we anticipated and we need help getting down! Probably this is all your fault, Mom!!!” -Mayhem

“Woe is we. Woe.” -Chaos

Contests, Reading

Ebook giveaway: Heat Trap (Plumber’s Mate #3) by JL Merrow [CONTEST CLOSED]

56 Comments

Many thanks to JL Merrow for donating an ebook copy of her forthcoming m/m romance, Heat Trap (Plumber’s Mate #3), for a lucky commenter to win! Heat Trap will be released by Samhain Publishing on March 17.

The wrong secret could flush their love down the drain.

It’s been six months since plumber Tom Paretski was hit with a shocking revelation about his family. His lover, P.I. Phil Morrison, is pushing this as an ideal opportunity for Tom to try to develop his psychic talent for finding things. Tom would prefer to avoid the subject altogether, but just as he decides to bite the bullet, worse problems come crawling out of the woodwork.

Marianne, a young barmaid at the Devil’s Dyke pub, has an ex who won’t accept things are over between them. Grant Carey is ruthless in dealing with anyone who gets between him and Marianne, including an old friend of Tom and Phil. Their eagerness to step in and help only makes them targets of Grant’s wrath themselves.

With Tom’s uncertainty about Phil’s motives, Tom’s family doing their best to drive a wedge between them, and the revelation of an ugly incident in Phil’s past, suddenly Tom’s not sure whom he can trust.

The body in the Dyke’s cellar isn’t the only thing that stinks.

Product Warnings
Contains British slang, a very un-British heat wave, and a plumber with a psychic gift who may not be as British as he thinks he is.

Excerpt (scroll down and select Sneak Peek)

Other Books

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, March 16.
  • 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!

“Mayhem who? I have no idea what you’re talking about, Mom.” -Chaos

“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Mayhem

“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Chaos & Mayhem