Hellsinger #241 Part Four is Live!

It’s crazy and really, I always want to bring you the reader a good experience while taking you to blogs I really like and whom I’ve bribed to let me take over some of their space.

For the upcoming release of Duck Duck Ghost, I wanted to take you all on a small Hellsinger case… once that follows after the book… but no worries, there are no spoilers.

What there IS however are prizes. I’ve brought in two different prizes that are kind of connected to the book. Over the 13 sites gracious enough to host me, I’ll be serializing a short story of Wolf and Tristan on a ghost hunt as well as giving away one or both of the prizes. A grand prize will be given away at the end. Grand. Makes it sound like a car.

I am not giving away a car. BUT what you can get is…

A pair of alpaca plushies. I DO have a camel named York in Duck Duck Ghost and there definitely is a mention of alpaca ranches as Wolf and Tristan drive around looking for Sey’s place. These are cute and cuddly and actually larger than I thought they’d be. About nine inches tall. The winner will get both…they are a couple.

AND/ OR a Wolf Kincaid Sigil bracelet. This bracelet is braided and adjustable up to nine inches. It features a silver-tone wolf head and an eternity symbol…for Tristan.

Hellsinger File #241 starts TOMORROW at LoveBytes. Catch the first part there and continue to read the story at the blogs below! There will also be ebook giveaways along the way so watch for those as well!

Duck Duck Ghost Promo Tour

Sept 2
Part One — Love Bytes: http://lovebytesreviews.com/

Sept 3
Part Two— Prism Alliance: http://www.prismbookalliance.com/

Sept 4
Part Three — Smoocher’s Voice: http://www.smoochersvoice.com/

Sept 5
Part Four — On Top Down Under Book Reviews: http://ontopdownunderbookreviews.com/

Sept 6
Part Five — Fiction Vixen: http://fictionvixen.com/

Sept 7
Part Six — Boy meets Boy: http://boymeetsboyreviews.blogspot.com/

Sept 8
Part Seven — Three Chicks after Dark: http://www.3chicksafterdark.com

Sept 9
Part Eight — Ndulgent Bloggers: http://guiltyindulgencebookclub.blogspot.com

Part Nine — MM Good Book Reviews: http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com/

Sept 10
Part Ten — Rainbow Gold Reviews: http://rainbowgoldreviews.wordpress.com/

Sept 11
Part Eleven— Joyfully Jay: http://joyfullyjay.com/

Sept 12
Part Twelve — The Blogger Girls http://thebloggergirls.com/

Sept 13
Part One — The Novel Approach: http://thenovelapproachreviews.com/

Preorder DDG at Dreamspinner Press

Duck Duck Ghost Winners!

On 27 Aug 1427 Aug 14 By Rhys FordIn Free Stuff, Good News3 Comments

Yeah I drew TWO! CONGRATS!

Email me with your preferred ebook format! rhysford at vitaenoir dot com

Winner number one is:

Chris
Aug 25, 2014 @ 18:59:09 Edit

Spiders that move super fast and are bigger than a quarter make my skin crawl. I’m so not a screamer normally but if I see a spider like that I may let out a good scream.

Winner number two is:

Maite Suppes
Aug 25, 2014 @ 23:31:20 Edit

Roaches make my skin crawl and if it’s roaches with wings then you will hear me scream like a little girl.

Duck Duck Ghost Giveaway! TWO DAYS ONLY!

On 25 Aug 1428 Aug 14 By Rhys FordIn Free Stuff, Good News, Heh, Uncategorized85 Comments

CONTEST IS OVER!

Do you want to read Duck Duck Ghost before its release?

Doesn’t that sound so egotistical? Like you’re WAITING for this thing to go live.

Let’s try that again.

Would you like to read this book I lovingly crafted out of my brain vomit and someone else’s nightmares?*

I hope you do.

Because NOW is your chance!

Leave a comment here about the thing that makes your skin crawl… any spooky or real object or creature. Tell me why! Even better!

What will that get you? A chance to win an ARC of Duck Duck Ghost! Winner will be drawn randomly on Aug 27th and ebook will be delivered WELL before its release date of Sept 8, 2014. I will draw the winner during the time I dig around for the evening shot! Let’s say… 7 pm PST.

*No actual ghosts were harmed in the making of this book.

Duck Duck Ghost by Rhys Ford

Paranormal investigator Wolf Kincaid knows what his foot tastes like.

Mostly because he stuck it firmly in his mouth when his lover, Tristan Pryce, accidentally drugged him with a batch of psychotropic baklava. Needing to patch things up between them, Wolf drags Tristan to San Luis Obispo, hoping Tristan’s medium ability can help evict a troublesome spirit haunting an old farmhouse.

With Wolf’s sister handling Hoxne Grange’s spectral visitors, Tristan finds himself in the unique position of being able to leave home for the first time in forever, but Wolf’s roughshod treatment is the least of his worries. Tristan’s ad-hoc portal for passing spirits seems to be getting fewer and fewer guests, and despite his concern he’s broken his home, Tristan agrees to help Wolf’s cousin, Sey, kick her poltergeist to the proverbial curb.

San Luis Obispo brings its own bushel of troubles. Tristan’s ghost whispering skill is challenged not only by a terrorizing haunting but also by Wolf’s skeptical older cousin, Cin. Bookended by a pair of aggressive Kincaids, Tristan soon finds himself in a spectral battle that threatens not only his sanity but also his relationship with Wolf, the first man he’s ever loved.

Preorder at Dreamspinner Press:

Challenge Issued.. For Bailey.

On 24 Aug 14 By Rhys FordIn Free Stuff, Good News6 Comments

Peeps, Minions and Readers,

I’d like to issue a small challenge. Donate a dollar to Bailey’s School Fund. One dollar. Two dollars. If you all double my $100 donation by the end of this week, I’ll do a Peen-Week on the Morning Shots AND give a 25 dollar gift certificate to a randomly chosen contributor. Leave a message in the comment section of the GOFUNDME page that you are responding to the Rhys Ford Challenge and also send a bit of support to someone who needs it.

Now I don’t do these. Well, Eric and TJ. But all, something… dunno. Hit. Maybe because I’ve been there. I’ve been where Bailey is. Where this family is. It fucking sucks and damn it, it’s such a small thing for us now but so big back then. Over there. Where they are now.

So it’s on, Peeps!

http://www.gofundme.com/dafdhs

Mari Evans, Trusting Love and a Giveaway!

On 18 Aug 1417 Aug 14 By Rhys FordIn Free Stuff, Guest Blog9 Comments

Hi there, this is Mari Evans and I’m a guest here at Rhys’s blog today to talk about my new book Trusting Love.

People who know me, know I don’t like talking about myself or tell anyone how wonderful my work is. But I can tell you that the lovely, wonderful, sweet, and slightly evil Rhys liked it.

The book is about Laurie and Sam, who meet at an animal shelter where they both volunteer. Sam is a vet and Laurie is a senior in high school. He turns eighteen during the story, and even starts college at the end.

Sam is about nine years older, which makes it a pretty big age gap. Laurie has a lot of growing up to do, but in some ways he’s more mature than his peers, because he’s been through a lot.

Of course he’s still a young man and sometimes acts like it, but he grows up a lot during the story, with the help of Sam and others. Sam is kind of in a rut when he meets Laurie. Yes, he just took over a new vet clinic and he has a great group of friends, but he’s stuck in his routine and has no real excitement in his life.

Sam likes Laurie a lot but doesn’t want to start something with anyone that young, partly because of the immaturity and partly because he’s scared he’ll be left when the ‘new and shiny’ thing will wear off. Laurie doesn’t give up easily though, but when he does, the shit hits the fan. But it makes Sam get his head out of his ass and go for it.

But then, others make it hard for them to trust their love. Also, Laurie has been through a lot of abuse, so the intimacy between them is difficult. It takes a lot of time for Laurie to trust his own body and Sam.

Writing this book was a pleasure and a pain. I loved creating personalities and a story for them, but the sex scenes and some of the other scenes, were very hard. The sex scenes had to be very detailed, every sound, feeling, movement and smell had to be described. Then the emotions that came with it… But I think they turned out quite well, if I do say so myself.

The inspiration for this book came from a real live boy, who bought my best friend’s horse. He absolutely adored animals and lived in a foster care facility. He did have a great relationship with his mother, but never mentioned his dad, which started my imagination working overtime.

It took me about nine months to finish it, but in my defence, I’m not a consistent writer. I took breaks for months…

But when I write, I love it. It gives me satisfaction and makes my mind feel active and productive. It is tiring though, so after two or three hours my brains starts to scream and shout at me to stop already, or it’ll make me stop by exploding. So, not an overly productive and consistent writer, but I do have a lot of fun doing it.

I guess this was what I wanted to share with you today. I hope you enjoyed it, if not, blame Rhys 😉

Mari

Enter here to win 3 x Ecopy of “Trusting Love” and 1 signed paperback of “Trusting Love” at this Rafflecopter giveaway

Trusting Love

Laurie Stallon isn’t like other high schoolers. After suffering years of abuse at his father’s hands, he now lives in a foster care facility and finds solace volunteering at the local animal shelter. Laurie’s had to grow up fast, and even though his eighteenth birthday is still weeks away, he’s more adult than most adults he knows. When he meets Dr. Sam Davies, the new shelter veterinarian, the attraction is instant. They become friends at work, but Laurie knows Sam will never go for someone like him. No matter how Laurie tries to prove his maturity to Sam, Sam continues to reject him as too young.

Needing a distraction, Laurie goes out dancing for his birthday and finds his life in danger yet again. When Sam is called to the hospital, he realizes Laurie needs someone to care for him. Sam takes him home, and they slowly build a relationship. But more than their age difference works against them. Facing the disapproval of friends and the scars from Laurie’s past, they’ll need to put all their trust in love for a chance at a future together.

Sales Links :

Ebook: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5301

Paperback: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5302

Mari Evans is a wife and the proud mother of a very active daughter, two dogs and two cats. She’s a very social kind of girl, who loves to talk. It’s both her best and worst quality.

From the moment she could read, she devoured books. Anything goes, as long as it has a happy ending.

There were always stories swirling around in her head and as a child she liked to lay in bed and let the characters have their story and happy ending. It wasn’t until 2013 that she actually tried to put one of the whole stories down and submit it to a publisher. To her own surprise and excitement it was accepted. This gave her the drive to keep going.

The decision to write m/m was made when a friend told a story about a young gay man that struck a chord, even as her husband had already encouraged her to try it earlier.

Now she found her passion, having already found the love in her family and friends, her life is completely chaotic, crazy but wonderful.

BJ Sheppard is Here! With a Tour Stop and A Giveaway!

On 02 Aug 1402 Aug 14 By Rhys FordIn Free Stuff, Good News, Guest Blog22 Comments

CONTEST HAS ENDED! SULA HAS WON! Email me at rhysford at vitaenoir dot com.

I have here today BJ Sheppard, author of The RAINBOW CONNECTION: Volume I. WOOOOT!

AND A GIVEAWAY. Leave a comment below and win a copy of BJ’s book! What is it about and who is BJ? I’ve got that for you too. Q&A and Excerpt follows the Blurb!

Contest ends August 2nd at 4 pm!

The Rainbow Connection by BJ Sheppard

Living a care-free party life-style, junior journalist and gay lifestyle reporter, Liam Adams thought he had it all; the money, the job, the endless supply of men in his bed. But when his work causes him to question the very foundation of the life he has built for himself, Liam finds certain areas are glaringly lacking. All it takes is one assignment to unravel the very fabric of his promiscuous antics, compounded by the arrival of a long-forgotten tryst. With the rusty screech of the mailroom guy’s trolley wheels, Liam lands head-first in the arms of something bigger; something more.

As the romance burgeons between Liam and the Mail-Manny of his dreams, each article he writes proves to uncover something new and never realized about himself, namely that all the one-night-stands in the world could never give him what he truly wants; love. In a slapstick commentary through the eyes of the world’s most hypersensitive journalist, watch as Liam’s story unfolds in the most ridiculous of fashions, leading him straight into the arms of love, via The Rainbow Connection.

BJ Q&A #1:

Hi, BJ, thanks so much for being here with us today. Why don’t we start out with you telling us a little bit about yourself?

Well, in all honesty, there is not much to say. I discovered post-its. Also, I am a Disney character. I was cursed by a gypsy in my younger years to never find love as penance for my dead, black heart. Luckily that ugly old crone didn’t bank on me becoming a writer. I make love in different ways.

How long did it take for your first book idea to actually become a book?

About a week, I would say. The first book I ever wrote was 78 thousand words long and my first draft was finished in a week. I subsequently re-wrote it four times and have only just pulled it out of the dusty annals where bad ideas go to die, but that was my first book.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Pantser, all the way. I give myself a vague idea of what I want to write, and then just sit down and zone out while the characters get their say. I’m pretty useless when the boys take over.

How would you describe your sense of humor? What makes you laugh?

Dark, sick and twisted. I laugh at everything. I once saw an old lady fall off a bus and I nearly pissed myself. So, I’m going to hell, but at least I’ll be laughing when I go.

And what makes you cry?

My tear ducts were surgically removed due to lack of use when I was 25. I cry no more. Except when I’m reading. That is completely the only thing that makes me spring a leak.

Do you have a favorite literary character? If so, who and why?

I have many. Tybalt from Romeo and Juliet. Who doesn’t love to hate the bad guy, right? Fanny from Mansfield Park. I loved most of Austen’s heroines actually. For the time, they were so powerfully written. And there are a few m/m romance genre one’s that I adore. Kyle and Brad, from the Foster High series by John Goode, both for different reasons. And Ben from Jay Bell’s Something Like stories.

What was the last book you read? (your own don’t count)

I have been reviewing for the last year, so I haven’t done a lot of “reading for fun” of late. The last book I willingly read however was Naked by David Sedaris. I love him very much, and think I’m going to have to try writing non-fiction someday just to see if I can.

Favorite word?

Bollocks

Least favorite word?

Normalcy – it’s not a real word. The word you are looking for is ‘normality’.

Do your characters ever up and take off without your consent and the best you can do is hang on and follow or do you keep tight control over them?

Liam is always dragging me places I don’t want to go. I had to take a three month break from writing part 4 of this series because the lot of them were writing a story I didn’t plan and didn’t want to write. But they got their way and now I have to figure out how to get them out of the supreme clusterfuck they just got themselves into.

If you could write a letter to your 18 year old self, what would you say?

Wait before you have sex. That guy has a really weird dick and it will not be a good or lengthy experience. Also I’d tell myself to get over my issues and start writing gay fiction.

What costume would you wear that would truly show your hidden personality?

Just my socks and a smile.

In no more than two sentences, can you describe yourself to a complete stranger?

No. No I’m not sure I could. I’m likely just to yell “RUN!” at them until they flee from me.

What is the most sentimental thing someone gave you that you cherish to this day?

I have this little stuffed wolf toy that an ex gave me. I used to call the guy “wolfy” because he was all hairy and had a killer smile, and so he brought me this toy as a joke at Christmas. I told him it was going to be the guardian of the books and even five years after the fact, the little guy still sits on my bookshelf.

What is the perfect writing atmosphere for you?

Silence. Total silence. Table. Comfy chair. My arm hooked up to a caffeine drip.

Would you like to tell us a little bit about your current WIP?

I’m currently trying my hand at crime writing. It’s a novel called “All About Jack” that is a crime/mystery/horror with a central gay love story. It’s going to be a bit like ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’, except good. There are many more stories in the pipeline, and the back end of this year looks to be replete with releases, so keep your eyes peeled.

Where can our readers find you on the web?

X-tube mostly. Or follow the links below.

Links

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bjsheppardauthor

Twitter: www.twitter.com/insightoutblog

Email: insightoutblog@gmail.com

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/BJSheppard

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7388660.B_J_Sheppard

Continue reading “BJ Sheppard is Here! With a Tour Stop and A Giveaway!” →

So…. horror.

On 19 Jul 1419 Jul 14 By Rhys FordIn Free Stuff4 Comments

See I kind of like writing horror. Sorta horror. More… suspense? What would I call it? I went with …dark.

I was JUST talking about this piece. It’s called Tatsu. A short story. I’ve shared it before. It was published as a part of an anthology but the rights are mine again so I’m just going to share it here and there.

PDF only.

It’s about the price of ink and being… well, human.

Once again. Dark. Just a reminder. Horror-ish? Twilight Zone-ish *grins*