Complexity by Harper Miller, with guest post and giveaway

Welcome, Harper Miller! She's here with her new book, Complexity, which I can tell you lives up to its name. My review will post shortly, but for now, I'd like to give the floor to Harper.

Writing While Black (Part 1)

 Harper Miller

Before we get down to it, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Harper. I’m a new kid on the M/M block. Complexity is my first foray into M/M romance, however; I pen erotic stories featuring interracial and multicultural protagonists. *waves diversity flag* 

My characters also have very particular sexual interests hence the title of the series, the Kinky Connect Chronicles. *waves freak flag* Oh, Heyyyyyy!

Check out the bottom of this post for links to the goodness!

The stories are all standalones, and you don’t need to read previous installments to understand the characters who appear in the series. You can jump right in at any point. Whew, now that we’ve dealt with formal introductions can we talk, dear reader? Like really dish? Okay? Good. 

I had grand plans. Grand! My vacation started on June 30 and would end on July 10th. Ten days of bliss and writing was sure to be awesome, right? Wrong. My vacation week has been shitty and probably one of the hardest weeks on my psyche in a very long time.

For those of you who haven’t been watching the news, or been on the Internet, or you happen to live in countries where this hasn’t been a news story, let me quickly fill you in. Earlier this week (last week by the time you read this post), two black men, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, were stopped by police and subsequently killed. Murdered. These were not accidental shootings. In response to the shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota, peaceful protesters for the Black Lives Matter movement gathered in Texas and mayhem ensued. A former military veteran took it upon himself to mar a peaceful gathering by shooting at police officers in retaliation for Alton Sterling and Philando Castile’s murders. From the mayhem, five officers ultimately lost their lives. 

Maybe you’ve seen the footage, perhaps not. I’ve viewed the footage of all the incidents and cried my eyes out. Now, before I continue with this post, I want to say, words make a difference. I think with tensions being high, people have neglected to realize the power of their words. 

I am a woman, and I am black. These two things factor into my life experiences and my writing.

We have a problem in the book world. 

A lack of diversity, particularly in Contemporary Romance. While we live in a society which consists of a melting pot of races, ethnicities, cultures, you’d never know that looking at mainstream Contemporary Romance. 

You go into B&N (since it’s one of the only chains still standing after Amazon pushed everyone else out of business), and you walk past the romance section, you’ll see white women and men, or white heterosexual couples on book covers. If you see bodies at all, you might get a torso, but still, you get where I’m going with this. 

Displaying monochromatic couples is perfectly acceptable to some readers and some publishers, but to see heroes and heroines of color, I’d have to go to the “African American” section, which is only for black and brown heroes and heroines. It’s so difficult to come across other people of color in romance who are not black or brown! My MCs in Complexity are Puerto Rican and white and in 2016, the fact that I’d never find them on a book cover in the romance section of B&N is a bit absurd. 

Why do the shelves not display a variety of couplings? Why do readers have to go to the “Gay/LGBT’ section to read about couples in same-sex relationships? Publishers are partly responsible, but you dear readers, you control what you’d like to see with your dollars. 

If you believe that everyone deserves an HEA, then you have the power to ensure that that happens by the authors you choose to read, refer, pimp, etc. Word of mouth is powerful. If you’ve read a book and you enjoyed it, and it was written by an author of color, an author who falls under the LGBTIQA spectrum, an author who happens to have Autism, an author who practices Islam, tell someone. Tell many someones. Nominate it for your online book club or your offline book club. If you’re a champion of diversity, these are things that you’ve probably already done but if not, it’s never too late to begin. 

There are authors who write romance comprised of differing races, cultures, sexualities, genders, ableness, religions and they’re penning spectacular books, but we don’t see the representation as much in mainstream Contemporary Romance. The tide is turning, but we need your help to make it happen. 

There is a disparity when it comes to race, and I get some people want to read with colorblindness in mind, but in many ways that is more harmful than it is helpful. Not only in the book world but in real world as well. 

Color is an issue for many Americans, and when you say that you don’t see it, you’re admitting to not wanting to understand the plights of others and their experiences. In a beautiful utopia, we are all human beings who are created equal, and are treated fairly and with dignity, but sadly this is not the case. Books provide an escape, but books are also tools for learning. Stick with me dear reader; the heartfelt dialogue is just beginning.

You can catch Part Two of Writing While Black on 3 Chicks After Dark on July 14

Book One, Ironic (M/F dynamic) in the Kinky Connect Chronicles is free until July 29th on All Romance eBooks and Kobo.

You can purchase your copy of Book Four, Complexity at the following eBook retailers below:

Amazon US: http://ow.ly/qMZz301726F

Amazon UK: http://ow.ly/ViAs30172cn

All Romance: http://ow.ly/RG0F30171R8 

B&N: http://ow.ly/Xwsq3023dcV

Kobo: http://ow.ly/nBay30171VS

Title: Complexity

Author: Harper Miller

Series Title and Number: The Kinky Connect Chronicles Book 4.

Publisher: Self-Published

Cover Artist: Taria Reed Digital Artist

Release Date: July 8, 2016

Heat Level: 5

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: Novella

Genre/Tags: Kink, Erotic Romance, Bisexual Romance, Multi-Cultural, M/M Romance, Contemporary Romance

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Synopsis

Fairy tale endings weren’t made for people like me. Happy for now usually ain’t in the cards, either.

The dents on my wall from where my headboard kept knockin’ against the same spot was the first clue that I needed to calm my ass down. At the rate I was racking up notches and plowing through hookups, I wasn’t ever gonna find nothing real. Guess I kinda jinxed myself. I created my circumstances. You can’t get what you want if you keep falling back into the same pattern of bad habits. But then things changed. I stumbled onto somethin’ I never in a million years expected to happen. You gotta understand, I’m never the guy who wins. It was supposed to be just sex, but that shifty, rhyming and scheming bastard, Cupid, pulled a fast one.

I may have changed some stuff to protect a couple of people. But before you go believing the tabloids, make sure you understand that you’re gettin’ the lowdown straight from the source.

I needed to get this off my chest and it’s only fair that you at least get my side of it all. At some point, I might regret telling you any of this, but for now, you need to know.

*Disclaimer* This is a novella. Not a short story, novelette, or novel. This tale features an M/M pairing. If gay erotica/erotic romance is not your cup of tea and you are offended by same-sex relationships or crass language, you should bypass this story. Content is intended for a mature audience, 18+.

Complexity is the fourth installment in The Kinky Connect Chronicles. The Kinky Connect Chronicles are short erotic stories/novelettes all wrapped up in neat little bows. These stories are standalones. No cliffhangers in the lot!

Playlist

Excerpt

“Ain’t no easy way to say this, so I’m just gonna say it. You can ask me whatever you want after. Cool?”

Marisol looks up from the phone, and Juan shifts her on his lap, asking, “What’s up, Emmanuel?”

I take a deep breath and let ’er rip.

“I wasn’t seeing a girl, a woman. I was um . . . dating a guy. His name is Chris. I’m bisexual, and we were involved for a bit before things got too serious and I . . . we . . . called it off.”

Both Marisol and Juan stare at me, stunned. Juan’s mouth is parted in an O, but he quickly closes it.

He scratches the back of his head with this goofy-ass look on his face, and Marisol looks down at the tablecloth, her cheeks flushing. Moms and Lucia are quiet.

“Now’s the time to speak up if you got some shit to say, Juan. Let it out.”

Moms frowns at me. She hates when I curse.

“I-I had no idea you were gay, um, bi.”

“Not something I go around shouting since who I fu . . . uh, have sex with is nobody’s business.”

“Moms, you and Titi Lucia are quiet. Too quiet. You knew?” he asks.

Moms nods at Juan. “Sí.”

My mother grabs my brother’s hand and gives it a little squeeze. “Juan, I love you both no matter what. Manny is an adult and he’s living his life. He knows I care about him protecting himself and being safe more than anything. Doesn’t matter if he’s with a woman or a man. A mi no me corresponde, ni es mi derecho, juzgar a alguien a base de su orientación sexual.”

Moms is saying that judging me, or anybody, on the grounds of their sexual orientation isn’t her business nor her right. I’ve never loved my mother more than I do in this moment. She let everyone in the room know that her job is to love me, and never judge. Moms displayed exactly what unconditional love is.

Titi Lucia chimes in, “He’s your brother. Nothing about him has changed. He’s the same guy you grew up with. The one who made you breakfast, helped you with your homework when your mother was working, washed your pissy sheets when you wet the bed, taught you how to fight and how to shoot a basketball. He was the father you should’ve had if yours wasn’t a deadbeat loser. Manny loves you no matter what, and you’d better feel the same, Juan.” Lucia’s voice is threatening as she wags a finger at my brother.

“Okay, okay, let’s chill out and let Juan process this for a sec. We cool or what?” I ask, staring at him. Marisol lifts off his lap and excuses herself. Lucia follows her and Moms takes a seat at the table.

Purchase

Amazon | All Romance eBooks

Meet the Author

Harper Miller is a thirty-something native New Yorker. She's traveled the world and lived in a variety of places but always finds her way back to the Big Apple. A lackluster love life leaves time to explore new interests, for Harper it is writing. The Sweetest Taboo: An Unconventional Romance is her debut novel. In her mind, the perfect Alpha male possesses intellect, humor, and a kinky streak that rivals the size of California.

When she isn't writing, Harper utilizes her graduate degree in the field of medical research. She enjoys fitness-related activities, drinking copious amounts of wine and going on bad dates.

I love hearing from readers! Follow me on social media to stay connected.

Email ➝ authorharpermiller@gmail.com
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Tour Stops

July 11 - Kimmers' Erotic Book Banter
July 12 - Cryselle's Bookshelf
July 13 - Back Porch Reader
July 14 - Prism Book Alliance
July 14 - 3 Chicks After Dark
July 15 - Gay Guy Reading
July 16 - Love Bytes Reviews
July 17 - Dirk Greyson's Blog
July 18 - Romance in Color
July 19 - Boy Meets Boy Reviews
July 20 - Andrew Grey's Blog
July 21 - Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Minds
July 22 - Attention is Arbitrary
July 23 - Alpha Book Club
July 24 - Bayou Book Junkie

Giveaway

Rafflecopter Prize: One winner will be selected to win eBook copies of Kinky Connect Chronicles series and an Amazon gift card.

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Otter Chaos by P.D. Singer

Title: Otter Chaos (includes Tail Slide)
Author: P.D. Singer
Purchase at Amazon 
Purchase at All Romance eBooks
Cover Artist: Dar Albert
Genre: Paranormal, shifter
Length: 235 pages 84,500 words
Formats Mobi, Epub, pdf, print


Lon Ewing snowboarded in and turned economist Corey Levigne’s life upside down, introducing him to a world he didn’t know existed. Corey’s still adjusting to a boyfriend who shifts into an otter and raids the koi pond—and now Lon says Corey’s department chair is a werewolf?

Wolves at the university, wolves in the bank—across Lon’s desk sits Professor Melvin Vadas and his hench-wolves, demanding a construction loan for the pack’s new lodge in the mountains. There’s just one little problem: the proposed building site is home to a breeding population of rare fish.

What do wolves care for stupid human rules, an otter who’d barely make a good snack, or one pesky man determined to protect the environment? Once they’re snout to snout with Corey and Lon there’s more than silverscale dace on the Endangered Species list.

Includes Tail Slide

Fresh powder snow and running water in the Colorado back country call Lon like the moon calls the wolves. Belly-sliding to a good time on the weekends makes up for a workweek at a desk, and meeting Corey adds a whole new level of fun to snowboarding.

It’s easy to slip away for time alone in the woods without raising suspicion, but how’s Lon to entertain himself when bad snow and a worse spill force them off the mountain too early?

Never give an otter a box of Cheerios.

Talk about a wild ride! Lon and Corey burst onto the scene and into our hearts with the short Tail Slide. How can a human have as much fun as an otter? By going snowboarding, of course! Corey meets Lon out on the slopes, and romance blooms, all is well, until… Lon’s gotta shift. “My boyfriend is an otter” is enough to make Corey’s head swim. Funny, and with a punch line that sets up the main novel and shows us just how far apart their worldviews are.

All the clues for the novel are in the story, from Pumpkin the kitty to Melvin Vadas, Corey’s department chair and alpha werewolf. Lon’s terrified of Professor Vadas, and when Vadas and Corey butt heads over maps and population studies, you know the werewolves are going to be formidable adversaries. There’s a twist here, and if the werewolves are possibly a little less bloodthirsty than they’re so often portrayed, it’s because they feel the hot breath of extinction on their own necks.

Corey’s remarkably inept for a romance hero, which is both lovable and a little strange, but there’s no doubt whatsoever that he’s devoted to Lon. If he doesn’t manage his objectives one way, he’ll find a different path until he succeeds. Their visit to the aquarium was funny and demonstrative—Lon gets so excited about the fish he shifts, and Corey loses him to a meddling aquarium volunteer who throws him in with the other otters. Corey gets him back, and soothes the after effects with hamburgers and hot smexing. A PhD in economics never prepared Corey to go toe to paw with werewolves, and actually, he doesn’t do too badly.

There’s a lot Corey doesn’t understand about Lon as an otter, and it feels like Lon doesn’t understand entirely either—he can’t think about things the same way when he’s shifted. He risks being caught forever in his otter form, and it’s heartbreaking to watch the slow recovery. Might have been a bit too slow of a recovery, I was ready for him to be himself again a little sooner than the story allowed. The style is smooth and the external plot shows this author’s trademark attention to details.

This is fun, triumphant, good wins, evil is vanquished, love prevails, and Corey, poor Corey, gets to meet the parents and their barrage of meddling questions. The koi pond is both a running joke and a bone of contention, and it just could be the focus of dinner sometime if they have the otter-parents over for a barbecue. Much love, much fun! And there really are cormorants in Colorado, we just saw one Friday. 4.75 marbles

The Runaway Millions by Parker Avrile, Blog tour with Giveaway

Title: The Runaway Millions

Author: Parker Avrile

Series Title and Number: The Runaway Model Book 2

Publisher: Paris April Press

Cover Artist: Paris April Press Designs

Release Date: April 12, 2016

Heat Level: 3

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 261 pages (78,000 words)

Genre/Tags: Contemporary Romance, M/M Romance

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Synopsis

They're the perfect couple until the money runs out...

Kyle, a rising model, is the toast of Manhattan. Bryce, a wildcatter who got rich in the Bakken gas fields, is an inch away from becoming America's newest billionaire.

But their world is turned upside-down when a competing oil company wrests away Bryce's business, his personal jet, and even his condo. Bryce has no choice but to scramble to save his career-- even though a famous rock star is sniffing around in hopes of claiming Kyle for his own.

When Kyle steps forward to defend another model accused of a terrible crime, he's deported. The tabloids follow him, happy to spread rumors about his alleged affairs with the beautiful and the famous of Europe.

Can love survive when one man is on his way up while the other is on his way down? When an ocean divides the lovers? When the gossip columns can't help stirring the pot? The Runaway Millions is Book 2 in The Runaway Model trilogy. This 78,000 word full-length novel complete with a HEA can be read as a stand-alone but if you prefer to read the series in order, please start with The Runaway Model.

Excerpt

Kyle cleared customs in minutes. Checked into the lounge. Ordered not champagne but a tall glass of cranberry juice over ice.

He was early. Sinking into a deep brown leather seat acres away from any other visible human, he plugged in his phone to make sure the battery was topped off.

In an hour the lounge would be packed arse-to-elbow with screaming, giggling, new-to-business-class tourists. But it was empty and silent now.

A voice call then.

While he still had the chance.

"Bryce," he said. "Pick up. Please pick up, love. I'm about to board a flight to London. I've been deported."


"Kyle." The line was clear. Crisp. It was like Bryce had suddenly appeared out of nowhere to speak into his ear.

"I've been kicked out of America, love."

"I'm sorry," Bryce said. "But I have to admit I'm not entirely surprised. You were taking some crazy chances." He sounded tired.

Kyle could imagine Bryce pushing his sandy hair out of his blue-gray eyes. A pang of loneliness shot through his heart. Why did fate always find a way to keep them apart?

"My agent lined up some jobs for me in London. If you're not too busy--"

"You know that I'm very busy." The words were hard, but the tone was soft. Weariness could do that. Bryce needed a break. He really did.

"Then next week it's on to Paris," Kyle said. "Ever been to Paris?"

There was a pause. "I have to save what's left of my business, Kyle. I can't drop everything to take a romantic jaunt to Paris."

"Please, baby. Just two nights."

A longer silence.

"Please. I've missed you. It's a bad time for us to be apart, Bryce. It's too new, love. You know that."

"I know. I do know that. I'll come. Paris. Next week."

Purchase

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | Itunes

Meet the Author

I ran away to Vegas. Now I'm running from it.

Website | Twitter

Giveaway

Rafflecopter Prize: One winner will be selected to win an eBook copy of The Runaway Model, Book 1

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A picture is worth...

It's Tour de France time, will this picture lure someone into writing a ficlet worthy of tight spandex?
See here for how to get it posted..

Guardian by Jordan Taylor, Guest review

Welcome Patricia Nelson!

She's agreed to do a few guest reviews here at the Bookshelf. Some of you know her from Mrs. Condit and Friends Read Books and other review sites, and I was pleased she took a couple of books from an unexpected cornucopia that opened up on me. Hopefully we'll see her byline every now and again!

Title: Guardian
Author: Jordan Taylor
Purchase at Amazon
Purchase at All Romance eBooks
Cover artist: Aria Tan
Genre: Paranormal, angels
Length: 12k
Formats available: Mobi, epub, pdf


On a blustery November day in London, Gavin catches a bus from Waterloo Station to his office. He makes this journey five days a week, year after year, alone. Or so he thinks.

He does not know that his guardian angel accompanies him each day of his life, watching over him—loving him as all guardians must. His guardian’s feelings, however, fall into baser depths. As all guardians know, it is taboo to feel carnal love for a human ward. Such a relationship would not be viable—or healthy. Gavin’s guardian knows this. Lives and breathes this. And yet, to lift Gavin from depression, he is willing to attempt the impossible: to manifest as a human for Gavin and finally meet the love of his immortal life face-to-face.

Guardian contains adult content suitable for mature readers only.

I must say that this may only be a short story, but it had quite an impact. Because of a bad breakup with his boyfriend, Gavin has slowly withdrawn into himself. Isolated and depressed, he's only going through the motions, not living, just existing. His guardian angel is growing desperate, and asked the others to help him manifest into a physical form. He interacts with Gavin, hopefully trying to pull him out of his shell. After three lifetimes of being an angel, Gavin's guardian becomes overwhelmed by the sensations of his physical body, losing sight of why he's there, and almost blowing his true mission. I absolutely love the clever, and very original, way he succeeds. This is my first book by Jordan Taylor, but it definitely won't be my last.

Happy Fourth of July!

Have a happy holiday if you're celebrating. You'll find me next to the pool with my Kindle in hand.

Policy Change on review requests

The landscape of publishing has changed a lot since I started reviewing. Publishers that were big have gotten bigger, other big names have dwindled or disappeared, new publishers have come on the scene, and self-pubbing has emerged as source of great reading.

As a blogger, I’ve noticed these things. My metadata for each review used to contain the publisher name. It doesn't now. Somehow that became irrelevant a couple of years ago, and frankly, seemed like an insult to some great books to stick “self-pub” on there, so I dropped publisher's name completely. Which was weird, it wasn’t an insult. It was, once upon a time. But not when I read books like Manipulation or A Forbidden Rumspringa or Spokes.

Maybe it’s because I’ve seen so many great books, and great looking books, that have only the authors’ names, or a mini-pub with one or two or three authors in their lineup. I’ve also seen books that seemed to be assembled by bears using Fortran. Some books seemed to be edited with only spellcheck, if that. Others had clearly been honed to maximum polish. Covers could be elegant or awful.

These exact same criticisms could be leveled across all the M/M publishers,and we all know which outfits are/were good at what.

I’ve altered my guidelines for sending books for review a couple of times in the last few years. The last time, I stated it as a challenge. “If you [self-pubbers] think your work stacks up to the m/m publishers, send it on.”

That was overstating the case for the reality of now, though it was necessary for the reality of when I posted that. Some of what I was offered in those days was awful, both on content and appearance. That challenge spared me some eye-pain. It could have cost me some good books. The general level of craft in publishing has improved.

An author recently contacted me, very cautiously because of that challenge. Had he been slightly more cautious, I would have missed out on a superior read and the promise of more, because it’s the first in the series. So thank you, Osiris Brackhaus, for making me think about what’s really important in choosing the books I read.

It isn’t a publisher name or an outdated idea of what publishers do. Some do it very well. Others have been dropped from my reading universe because I guess I do discriminate against Fortran-using predators. Sorry, guy.

So I redid the policy.

All authors and publishers are welcome.

That’s all. Anyone who wants to offer a good read in a well-formatted package, welcome. I'm not going to ask if the publisher is one person or a company with staff. I'm going to look at the file.

The book I nearly missed out on is Softpaw (Smilodon Pride Book 1). Five marbles.