Most anticipated books of the summer

I seriously can't wait to get my hands on these beauties! 

Against the Grain by Charlie Cochet

This is the 5th instalment in Ms Cochet's THIRDS series. If you haven't read them yet, please do! One of the best shifter series out there. Seriously addicting. 

Book Description:

As the fiercest Defense Agent at the THIRDS, Destructive Delta’s Ash Keeler is foul-mouthed and foul-tempered. But his hard-lined approach always yields results, evident by his recent infiltration of the Coalition. Thanks to Ash’s skills and the help of his team, they finally put an end to the murdering extremist group for good, though not before Ash takes a bullet to save teammate Cael Maddock. As a result, Ash’s secrets start to surface, and he can no longer ignore what’s in his heart. 

Cael Maddock is no stranger to heartache. As a Recon Agent for Destructive Delta, he has successfully maneuvered through the urban jungle that is New York City, picking up his own scars along the way. Yet nothing he’s ever faced has been more of a challenge than the heart of Ash Keeler, his supposedly straight teammate. Being in love isn’t the only danger he and Ash face as wounds reopen and new secrets emerge, forcing them to question old loyalties.

Release date: August 3rd 2015

Pre-order at Dreamspinner Press

Sutphin Boulevard by Santino Hassel

Santino co-wrote my all time favourite series In the Company of Shadows. It's the best thing I've ever read so I think it's safe to say that I'll read anything he ever writes.

I'm super excited about this book! It's his first contemporary erotic romance and I just know it'll be AWESOME!

And what about that cover?? I'm in love!!!

Book Description:

Michael Rodriguez and Nunzio Medici have been friends for two decades. From escaping their dysfunctional families in the working-class neighborhood of South Jamaica, Queens to teaching in one of the city’s most queer friendly schools in Brooklyn, the two men have shared everything. Or so they thought until a sweltering night of dancing leads to an unexpected encounter that forever changes their friendship. 

Now, casual touches and lingering looks are packed with sexual tension, and Michael can’t forget the feel of his best friend’s hands on him. Once problems rear up at work and home, Michael finds himself seeking constant escape in the effortless intimacy and mind-blowing sex he has with Nunzio. But things don’t stay easy for long. 

When Michael’s world begins to crumble in a sea of tragedy and complications, he knows he has to make a choice: find solace in a path of self-destruction or accept the love of the man who has been by his side for twenty years.

Release date: July 31st 2015

Pre-oder at Dreamspinner Press 

On the Clock (a.k.a. Rolex's story)

On the clock is co-written by the epic co-writing duo Aleksandr Voinov and L.A.Witt. Their Market Garden series is an erotic gem! I absolutely love them! While the rest of the books in the series are more of a novella length, On the Clock promises an over 200 page goodness! I can't wait to dive into it and finally read Rolex's story.

Book Description:

When Blake Raleigh’s favorite rentboys retire from Market Garden, they’re sure their friend Jason will be a perfect replacement. Though Tristan and Jared are a tough act to follow, Blake returns to London to test out their recommendation.

Jason is right on the money. Negotiations turn him on. Getting paid turns him on. The higher the stakes, the hotter things get. Each trip to London is more expensive than the last, and the webcam sessions don’t run cheap, but Jason is well worth the sticker shock.

The more time they spend together, the more Blake wants, and not just sex and transactions. But Jason’s been burned before by men who thought they were in love with him, and he’s not making that mistake again. When the lines between personal and professional start to blur, it’s going to take more than money, jewelry, and sports cars to keep Jason from clocking out and walking away.

Release date: July 13th 2015

Pre-order at Riptide Publishing

Don’t even try to make everybody happy

Reading the updated information on Amanda’s Hocking blog about her book in progress Swear – the last in her My blood approves series - got me thinking.

Amanda says she probably won’t be able to write the book because of too much pressure from the readers. She knows exactly what would happen, how the story would develop and end, but feels that some fans of the series would like it, and some won’t. Consequently, she’d get a lot of hate mail and feels really disconnected from the story and the characters. You can read the original post here.

Before I say anything else, I’d like to point out that I’m a huge fan of Amanda’s and her work. She seems like a very genuine, hard-working, talented person and her books are so engaging you can’t stop reading until you are all the way through. Before her amazing success came, she had been working on her books for years and everything that happened after she published that first book had been a result of hard work and perseverance. However, her status from a self-published author to a very successful self-published author seemed to change in a very short time and she had been trust into the limelight for everybody to judge. Her books, her life, her every move had been unraveled, talked about and scrutinized by journalists, bloggers, fans and readers.

I can’t even imagine how that feels. I’ve always been a believer that an author should write what they feel is right, not what their readers or publishers or friends would want to read. Every story should end as the writer imagined it, not as the majority of their fans would like. And, as a result, the readers should support that, even if they throw the book against the wall in the end (believe me, I’ve done that many times. Not so often ever since I own a Kindle though). But my anger had never been aimed at the author. It had been aimed at the injustice of the world or a certain character or even myself for not being able to accept there’s nothing I can do (control freak much?) It had never even crossed my mind to blame the book’s creator (my rant about Jem and Tessa from Cassandra Clare’s Clockwork Prince here. I did throw that book against the wall several times and I still loved it, although it didn’t go along with my expectations)

 I don’t even think of the author as I read, I just accept it as A STORY. If I demanded the story be changed to my liking, it would be a different one altogether, wouldn’t it? As my favourite Italian chef Gino D’Acampo loves to say when somebody asks him if they could replace a certain ingredient (or three) in a recipe with something else, “Just use another recipe and cook a different dish.” That’s what would happen if writers tailored their stories to somebody else’s whims – a different dish.

In the end, you could never make EVERYBODY happy. There will always be someone who’s disappointed. So, what I have to say to Amanda is this: never succumb to outside pressure. Your stories are great just as you envisioned them, do not change a single word because somebody out there made a face. Let them rant about it but pay no attention. I understand perfectly that’s not easy. It must have a great effect on you to read hate mail and it must get you down. But learn to develop a thick skin and how to feed on positive energy only. There will always be people who would love to spread their negativity around and, as a famous author, those people would be in their thousands for you, but don’t let them get you down! You are very talented, very genuine and grounded person. Keep writing as you see fit and I can guarantee that in the end of the day the people that love you and your work will be much more than those who don’t.

Why do I write?

That is the single most hateful question to all writers. And the single most asked one. Let me tell you why I write once and for all so that I never have to answer that again. I write because I can. As simple as that. I have stories building up inside me until I'm ready to burst. If I refuse to sit down and develop and write them, they start stalking me. Day and night. While I drive, while I sleep, while I watch TV, until I can't think of anything else and I can't remember what I've done the last few days. The only way to get rid of them is actually sit down and write them. I also write because I want to entertain people. I want to make them smile (mostly), cry (sometimes), I want to inspire them, transport them somewhere else for a few hours, make them FEEL. And most importantly I write because it makes me happy. Even when I don't have anything to say and stare at the white screen for hours. The few words that come out eventually make me happy. Even editing makes me happy. Thinking of the perfect name of a character gets me as excited as a little girl on a marry-go-round. It's very hard to answer that question with a single sentence - especially to us writers who love to elaborate. But if I had to sum up in a sentence it would be this: I write because it's hard not to.