Look what’s coming out Oct 10th? “How to Howl at the Moon” in Japanese! I’m trying to get some buy links from the publisher and info on the artist who did this wonderful Manga-style cover. But I do know there will be some black-and-white illustrations in the book too. :-) I’m very honored to be translated for the Japanese market and can’t wait to see one of the book in real life.
Two gothic romance tales for your lead-in to Halloween!
I love October and Halloween. I’m also a huge horror movie fan, owning over 2000 in my person collection. I’m a particular fan of gothic romances like the old European and Hammer productions but also more recent treats like The Others and The Skeleton Key.
My author friend, Jamie Fessenden, is also a horror movie fan. So we decided to create the gothika series, a series of dark gothic m-m romance tales. I loved writing these stories and I think readers who like a little dark in their romance loved them too.
For September and October my featured sale books include two volumes from this gothic romance series.
BONES - This anthology includes a novella of mine called “The Bird” which takes place on an island plantation in the 1840s and involves Voodoo and forbidden passion. Also in the volume are novellas from Kim Fielding, Jamie Fessenden, and BG Thomas.
STITCH - This is the first gothic romance anthology. My story, “Reparation”, has a sci-fi Frankenstein theme with a desolate planet, the big, hulking Knox, and the man he saves. Also included in the volume are novellas by Kim Fielding, Jamie Fessenden, and Sue Brown.
Get your Halloween on here! - Eli
GET BONES ON SALE HERE. Sept 13-Oct 8
STITCH will be on sale Oct 8-31.
Boy Shattered - Cover reveal and ExcerPt
Looks what's here! This fab cover for "Boy Shattered" was done by cover artist Anna Sikorska. I've been working hard on this book, which is angstier and more involved than any book I've written before. It's a YA romantic suspense story that revolves around a school shooting. Here's the blurb:
Brian
You’ll make it out of here, Brian. I swear.
I had everything—school quarterback, popular with girls, and my dad was proud of me. I told myself it didn’t matter no one knew the real me. And then I nearly died. Landon saved my life. He’s the bravest guy I know. He came out a few years ago, proud and fierce, and he ran into gunfire to help others. Me, I’m a mess. Can’t even stand to be in a room with the curtains open. But here’s the thing about losing it all: You get a chance to start over and be someone new. Only how can I move on when the two shooters who attacked our school were never caught? And why do I feel like I’m still in the crosshairs?
Landon
Will you kiss me?
When I came across Brian Marshall,the hottest guy in school, dying on the cafeteria floor, I did what anyone would do. I tried to save him. His request surprised me, but I figured he needed comfort, so I kissed him on the forehead. When he survived and came back to school, he was broken in body and mind. He still needed me, and soon we were unlikely besties. But what I saw at school that day woke me up. I want to demand action on gun control, lead protests, raise my fist. I’ll tear the world down if I have to. And if I can get the man of my dreams and save the world at the same time? I’ll take it. Only I didn’t understand that the horror at Jefferson Waller High wasn’t over.
PUBLICATION DATE IS SEPT 25, 2018. More news coming soon.
Eli
Eli's Favs: Rökkur/Rift (2017)
I loved this Icelandic horror/thriller movie featuring a gay ex-couple, Gunnar and Einar. There are so many things to say about it, it's hard to know where to start.
Let's start with the LGBTQ angle. I loved that this is a horror/thriller movie and the main characters' sexuality is secondary. I've seen reviewers say the couple could have been m/f and it would have been the same movie. I don't think that's quite true because the couple's relationship dynamics and a lot of the symbolism was deeply interwoven with queerness. However, it's still awesome to see a film with gay main characters where the story isn't about them being gay but about something else. The movie also explores their relationship dynamics and past trauma as gay men, so it's got a very strong romance subplot.
Secondly, the story is set in a remote area of Iceland that was just stunning. The cinematography is truly exceptional. I like stories that take place in remote areas where the scenery is natural, huge, even bleak. The vast isolation is a tangible quality in this film. It adds so much texture and tension to the tension and fear in the film as well as simply making for beautiful viewing.
Finally, the thriller/horror storyline was intense! Gunnar has broken up with Einar and worries Einar is suicidal. When he gets a mysterious phone call from Einar in the middle of the night, he drives out to this remote cabin to check on him. Once there, the two face the end of their relationship as well as mysterious knocks in the middle of the night, sightings of mysterious figures, and an ominous car. It's the sort of horror that's subtle and psychological rather than violent, and in the end you're left with a lot of questions. There's a definite metaphysical element to it, similar to Lost or The Sixth Sense in that there are some twists that change the way you see the story. Just don't expect everything to be tied up with a neat bow, because the ending is deliberately ambiguous. It kept me mesmerized throughout and I watched to rewatch immediately to pick up more clues.
I highly recommend this movie if you like thrillers or horror. It's on Amazon Prime right now! You can see it here.
Robby Riverton: Mail Order Bride - NOW OUT IN AUDIO!
The audiobook of "Robby Riverton: Mail Order Bride" is now available on audible! The narrator is Matthew Shaw, who also reads my Howl at the Moon books. He does an amazing job with the western accents, especially PaPa. He really brings out the humor in the book as well as Trace's deep sexiness. I had a blast listening to him read the book and I hope you will too!
You can check it out and here a sample here on Audible: ROBBY RIVERTON ON AUDIBLE
You can also here another sample right here.:
Robby Riverton: Mail Order Bride - AUDIOBOOK SAMPLE
I've been working with narrator Matthew Shaw to get the audiobook for ROBBY RIVERTON: MAIL ORDER BRIDE done. I'm so excited about the results. I love Matthew's voice on this with all his Western accents and his inherent irony.
Want to hear a sample? Here's one of Trace and PaPa.
The entire book is recorded. Now it just needs to be uploaded and go through Audible's approval process. Hopefully it will be live by end of July!
Eli's Favs: Love Me Whole by Nicky James
I love hurt-comfort stories. I recently led a panel at Euro Pride Con about the appeal of the underdog character. I get more emotionally involved when a character has some difficult personal challenges to overcome such as a disability, homelessness, abuse, or other trauma in their past. I get very invested in seeing this type of character find love and get their HEA.
Some of my favorite books in the m/m genre that fit this theme are "Ethan, Who Loved Carter" by Ryan Loveless, "Blind Faith" by N.R. Walker, and "Love Comes Silently" by Andrew Grey. I've also written my share of books with an underdog hero including "The Mating of Michael", "Falling Down", and "Tender Mercies."
I just read "Love Me Whole" by Nicky James and it goes into the top tier of my favorite hurt-comfort slash underdog love stories. In this book, the love interest, Oryn, suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder, or multiple personalities. This was presumably caused by horrific childhood trauma. Wisely, Nicky doesn't get into spelling out what that was, instead focusing on the "here and now" -- Oryn, as a young man, trying to navigate his life when he often loses time to these other personalities and has very little control over his world. Vaughn is the love interest, a man who befriends Oryn after they meet in a college class. He falls for Oryn despite the challenge of being in a relationship with someone who can disappear in the blink of an eye.
I loved this book. Not only was it highly readable and addictive, it was also fascinating. I learned a lot of things about DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) that I didn't know before. I especially loved the way the Vaughn had to navigate, not only his relationship with Oryn, but with each of the other personalities that resided within Oryn as well, including one who was very much a "straight dude bro" and another that was a child. Vaughn had to respect each personality as a separate individual, win them over, and earn their trust. And his relationship with the "main" personality, Oryn, had to be taken extremely slowly due to Oryn's tendency to trigger when Vaughn pushed too far too fast in a physical relationship.
This book was SO well done. I highly recommend this hurt-comfort story as one of the best. Cudos to Nicky James for managing a very, very difficult narrative and pulling it off 100%.
Here's a link to the book on Goodreads where you can find purchase links.
Eli's Favs: "Wolf at the Door" by Charlie Adhara
I've been in a bit of a book slump lately, starting books and not finishing them. This book roared in like a band of bad ass bikers, grabbed me by the throat, and dragged me along til the last page. I simply loved the writing--it's filled with intelligence, wit, and genuine characters. The murder mystery plot was good with lots of characters and clues. I did figure it out before the big reveal, but not so soon it was disappointing. I enjoyed the secret werewolf agency angle. The romance was slow burn, which is exactly my cup of tea. There was enough of it to feel fulfilling even though this is only the first book in a series for this couple.
But mostly.. the writing. I'm a sucker for good writing.
My only disappointment is that Charlie Adhara has no other books out right now. However, the sequel to this book is coming in September. (Yes, I already pre-ordered it.)
"Wolf at the Door" is only 99c on Amazon right now -- so you know what to do.
When you face massive upheaval
We bought our farm in Lancaster County, PA in 2010. Since then, things have been busy but relatively stable. We've loved the farm and it's been a stunningly beautiful, bucolic, serene place to write. I made a home office, but I rarely use it. We have a back room that's all windows, and that's where we spend 99% of our time. It's lovely to write on my laptop and look out over acres of green trees and a pond down below. It's like being in a private park all the time.
The farm has also inspired a number of books. All of the books below were set partially or entirely on our farm.
But as idyllic as this place is, it's also a lot of work and expense to upkeep. And honestly, my husband and I use so little of both the house and the property. I know a larger family, or someone who wants to use the farm as a farm, would appreciate the place more and do much more with it.
Over the years, we've considered starting a B&B or wedding venue or even a farm sanctuary. But the reality is that my husband and I area both introverts and I spend a great deal of time inside my own head. So us being professional hosts would not end well!
I've always been fairly transient, moving every few years. So the prospect of moving on to something new is exciting to me rather than depressing. But that doesn't mean it isn't a ton of work and stress.
We put the farm on the market in April and I took nearly a month off writing to try to get things ready. Now I find I have a little more time to write again as we're in wait mode, making sure the place is kept very clean and nice for the occasional showing and tinkering on less critical improvements. I'm also slowly going through every cupboard and getting rid of stuff or packing it. I'm looking forward to the day we have "60 days" or less to vacate to help goose my motivation.
Even in wait mode, though, our life is in upheaval right now and will be until we can settle into "The next thing". That can be disconcerting and annoyingly distracting. My brain is like a cat checking out a new place, constantly sniffing at this or that idea, posing forays into the unknown, doing research online, trying to figure out what might happen if we did x, y or z. It's not very conducive to absorbing myself in someone else's story.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR US IRL?
I'm not sure. My husband has a good job nearby, so we'll likely stay in the area and rent a house. But with two dogs, even roly-poly, snooze hounds like our bulldogs, that might be a challenge.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR ELI EASTON?
I'm currently working on a revised and expanded version of Puzzle Me This. But my big new WIP is a YA with a m/m romance that revolves around a school shooting. I've been really sort of obsessed with coverage of school shootings lately, rather infuriated, and also I feel so much empathy for parents who need to send their kids out every morning with this lurking fear, to the students who have to have this threat hanging over them, to the young activists who are going up against the NRA bullies to try to get things to change. I know it's a tough topic, and will likely be one of my more angsty books. But I feel a need to write about it. I hope I can do justice to the subject matter. And maybe my own life being in upheaval right now helps me write more angsty stuff.
As for longer term, wherever we end up, I'm sure you will see our new setting in many future Eli Easton stories.
Thanks to my readers for your ongoing support. You make it possible for me to write by buying my books, reviewing, making fun graphics, and sending me encouraging and inspiring emails. Love you all.
Eli
"Before I Wake" - Featured Backlist Title for May & June
The featured backlist title for May (and June too, since I'll be travelling) is "Before I Wake". It's currently on sale on Amazon for 99c! AMAZON LINK HERE.
I wrote this story in 2012 for submission to a Torquere Press fairy tale themed anthology. The word count limit was pretty strict, so the story came in at 8K. I always find it an interesting challenge to tell a great story, the story I want to tell, in such a small amount of space.
I think the story worked well at its size, but when I got the rights back from Torquere I was able to add a longish epilogue that really capped off the story. The new version is now self-published.
There are a few things I particularly love about this story. First is the character of Jonesy, who is a huge man with a low IQ who works as a nurse's aide. His father was a gigantic boxer and his mother a sweet little wisp of a woman, and while Jonesy resembles his father, he has the tender-heartedness of his mother. He is immediately drawn to a young man, Michael, who is brought into the hospital after a hate crime and is in a coma. Michael has been rejected by his parents, so there's no one to root for him, come visit, or even care if he lives or dies. So Jonesy takes over that role, speaking and reading to the young man often, and trying to get him to respond and recover.
In case you haven't guessed yet, the story is a new take on the fairy tale "Sleeping Beauty". :-)
The second thing I love about the story is the dream state that Michael is in and how he slowly becomes aware of and responds to Jonesy's voice.
It's a short book, but I think it packs a wallop, especially if you love hurt-comfort stories as I do.
Enjoy your late spring-early summer. I hope you find many wonderful reads!
Eli
Eli's Favs: "The Henchmen of Zenda" by KJ Charles
This book is so fantabulous, I want to hold it up and sing songs to it.
OK, that might be a bit much. But it really is marvelous. The writing is excellent and the daring-do characters are so much fun. This is definitely an intrigue/swashbuckler tale with a dash of romance, as opposed to the other way around, but it is a perfect read IMHO. It gets the historical tone just right, and the first-person narration sparkles. Just smashing!
Jamie Fessenden interviews Eli about Robby Riverton
Check out this interview conducted by my good friend and fellow author, Jamie Fessenden. It's part of the Robby Riverton blog tour. Thanks to Bayou Book Junkie for hosting!
Eli's Favs: "Creature" by Kim Fielding
Yay! This book was a homerun for me. I was listening to an interminably long thriller and got bored with it. I wanted something quick and fun to blast through the book doldrums. "Creature" was the right pick. I loved it.
Kim begins with a heartbreaking scene showing the "creature", John, in captivity. This immediately establishes empathy for him. I have a soft spot for underdog characters (versus perfect alpha males), and so I fell in love with John at once and had to see him get his happy.
He's removed from what might be decades of solitary confinement by the Bureau and Harry, who is picked to use John on a case. John is so grateful to be free and to be treated kindly. And Harry soon realizes John is much more than a "thing".
This is a sweet, dark little fairy tale and I read it in one sitting. Kim's writing is so effortless and appealing, it just pulls you right through the book, forgetting everything else.
Highly recommended. Now I want to go back and read the first two Bureau books.
Robby Riverton Blog Tour - MOODBOARD
Whoot! I'm excited AF about this guest post. It's a MOODBOARD for Robby Riverton. I had fun putting it together, and I hope you like it. Click at the link below. (There's' also a giveaway link there.)
Tellings Tales with Jamie Fessenden
Dreamspinner is having a Celebration of Community in which DSP authors tells stories about each other. Jamie Fessenden is one of my best writer pals in Romancelandia. He's always so level-headed about the waves of drama, and we are both equally laid-back. Also, I love his books, especially "Billy's Bones".
Check out the stories Jamie and I tell about each other.
Robby Riverton Blog Tour & Giveaway
Rachel at Signal Boost Promotions is helping me with a blog tour for Robby Riverton Mail Order Bride. Here are some stops so far. There is a giveaway of a $25 gift card and some of my books. You can enter the giveaway at any of the stops.
BLOG TOUR STOPS:
* Love Bytes Reviews - Eli's Top 5 Favorite Westerns
* My Fiction Nook - Excerpt: First Kiss
* Gay Book Reviews - Release day spotlight with multiple reviews
* MJ's Book Blog and Reviews - Review
More to come...
Release Day - Robby Riverton: Mail Order Bride
It's release day! This is a special book for me. There aren't many historical westerns in m/m romance, and I had put off the idea for this book figuring it was unlikely to sell well. But the idea kept poking at me and I finally decided to take the plunge and just write something for the fun of it.
I love the old historical western romances, and I had a blast writing my own version of that. I hope you will enjoy it too! Look for blog tour stop and a giveaway posting here soon.
LINKS:
BLURB:
Being a fugitive in the old west shouldn’t be this much fun.
The year is 1860. Robby Riverton is a rising star on the New York stage. But he witnesses a murder by a famous crime boss and is forced to go on the run--all the way to Santa Fe. When he still hasn't ditched his pursuers, he disguises himself as a mail order bride he meets on the wagon train. Caught between gangsters that want to kill him, and the crazy, uncouth family of his "intended", Robby's only ally is a lazy sheriff who sees exactly who Robby is -- and can't resist him.
Trace Crabtree took the job as sheriff of Flat Bottom because there was never a thing going on. And then Robby Riverton showed up. Disguised as a woman. And betrothed to Trace’s brother. If that wasn’t complication enough, Trace had to find the man as appealing as blueberry pie. He urges Robby to stay undercover until the danger has passed. But a few weeks of having Robby-Rowena at the ranch, and the Crabtree family will never be the same again.
Eli's Favs: "Femme" by Marshall Thornton
This book is an absolute delight. Marshall Thornton is an amazing writer, more literary author than romance author, but I love when he turns his hand to romance. Lionel ('Lynette') is a self-described queen, and her voice is just a scream. I listened to the audiobook and Joel Leslie was perfect.
Lionel begins a "thing" with Dog, a softball player who is more masc and can pass for straight. The road to true love, however, is rocky, as Dog has some growing up to do before he can admit Lionel is his boyfriend to his family and friends. The humor keeps this from being too angsty in spots, even when Dog messes up big time. There are some interesting musings here about femmes in the gay culture and the value of being yourself. But mostly, it's just pure pleasure to immerse yourself in Marshall's smart, witty characters. I would have rolled right into the sequel, "Masc, but it's not out for a few more days.
Highly recommended!
Five Dares - Re-release Blitz & Giveaway
Five Dares was originally with Riptide. But I got the rights back in March, and now it's available on Kindle Unlimited. To celebrate the new release, Rachel at Signal Promotions organized a blog tour and Rafflecopter giveaway. You can enter the giveaway at any (or all) of the tour stops and check out reviews and excerpts. Links below!
Eli's Favs: "His Quiet Agent"' by Ada Maria Soto
I loved this novella from Ada Maria Soto and ate it up in one evening. What's to love?
First, the setting of a "secret agency" was unique and fun. Arthur works as a data analyst in a "government" building (though he tells his mom he sells insurance). Everyone else in this shadowy organization keeps very much to themselves, even in the lunchroom. When Arthur decides he needs to improve his visibility by being friendly, he upsets the gloomy, uber private facade--especially when he picks the quietest, weirdest guy of all to befriend. There isn't a lot of explanation about what this secret agency does, but we don't really need it. The "secrecy" angle works to keep even Arthur and the reader in the dark. In this case, the author depends on us knowing basically what a secret agency is thanks to James Bond and its ilk. The setting felt very dry and tongue-in-cheek and was nice change from the usual romance tropes.
Second, the writing is really very good. As a writer myself, I'm always thrilled to run across a new writer (to me anyway) in romance who can cause me to smile and underline like a fool.
"I'm sure there's a culture somewhere where silently shoving finger food at someone is an acceptable form of courting. Hobbits maybe."
I enjoyed every word of this book. Sometimes an author's sense of humor connects with you and sometimes it doesn't. I've read some highly-ranked books filled with brash, constant sexual references and juvenile potty humor that I didn't find funny at all. But then, I've always tended toward the dry and subtle, and that describes this book's sense of humor to a T.
"Agent Sims used to do it, but he bashed a fax machine to death with a three-hole punch, then quit. So, that's an open position, as it were."
Third, I also appreciated the uniqueness of the characters and the romance. This is not your typical first kiss-bj-anal sort of romance. The characters aren't even sure they're in a romance for most of the book. One character is asexual and the other isn't sure what he is. It's fine with the characters if they never have sex, and it was fine with me too. Their sweet-weird-caring relationship was all kinds of awesome. I give the author all the props for just the freshness of this in the market and for the way the characters themselves had to feel around the edges of what they meant to each other.
But the word 'friend' seemed not to fit. It was too vague and common. What he felt was more complicated than a word tossed about by children or achieved through a click of a mouse. ... Martin let him see the cracks that night and the smallest hint of what lay beyond. He wanted to know what was truly beneath those cracks but also knew he would fight anyone who tried to break Martin open. For that feeling, he knew of no words.
If you're not sure if a romance like this will be your cup of tea, try it anyway. It's only 111 pages and I guarantee the smooth-funny writing will pull you through and make you smile.
In Ada Maria Soto, I've found a new author to follow and bless wishings upon from afar. :-) Hope you enjoy her too.
Eli