Reclaiming Hope by Shell Taylor

 

Hi, everyone! I want to thank Dean Frech for having me today and giving me a chance to share a little bit about Riley’s inspiration in Reclaiming Hope with you.

I’ve told you how Kollin’s and Riley’s story came to me (sort of) and that I did a lot of research. When I first started to research, it was pretty tough. Because of the resources I first used, most of the testimonies I read were difficult to digest and didn’t have a good ending. Disheartened, I plowed through blog after blog where the authors were miserable and just trying to get through the day. To be clear, I still greatly respected these individuals, but it just wasn’t an easy or entertaining research period. I tried to honor these individual’s struggles in Riley’s story because they’re real and honest.

But I’m in the business of happily ever after. Maybe the characters won’t always get there the way we think or the way they want, and maybe life never becomes a shiny globe of perfect, but they’ll get as close as they can with what life has given them.

So when I found Viktor Belmont, I was over the moon excited.

Is anyone familiar? He’s a cute-as-a-button trans escort who lives in San Diego. I first read about him on Buzzfeed (https://www.buzzfeed.com/chrishernandez/meet-the-tattooed-trans-male-escort-whos-setting-hearts-on-f?utm_term=.tqzJMgwve#.tu5NqPlY7 ), and I immediately knew, “This is Riley’s goal. To have this attitude and this type of body positivity.” I tried to honor Mr. Belmont by giving Riley the same platinum blond streaks he wears and a couple of facial piercings. Riley’s journey itself couldn’t be farther from Viktor’s, but I hope he doesn’t mind me using his inspirational story as a general goal.

If you’re interested, check out Vicktor on Instragram at viktorbelmont! He’s fun to follow J

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Don’t forget to enter to win the giveaway for a chance to win an Amazon gift card or a book from my backlist. Or… if you’d rather, I also have an audio copy of Redeeming Hope (Home for Hope book 1) to give away!

 

TITLE: Reclaiming Hope 

SERIES: Home for Hope #3 

AUTHOR: Shell Taylor 

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press 

COVER ARTIST: L.C. Chase 

LENGTH: 210 Pages 

RELEASE DATE: October 14, 2016 

BLURB: Sequel to Resurrecting Hope 

Home for Hope: Book Three 

Four years ago, Kollin Haverty’s best friend, Riley Meadows, dropped off the face of the earth. When he shows up out of the blue, armed with a flimsy excuse for disappearing and having nearly completed his transition from female to male, Kollin wants to pick up where they left off. But Riley’s unwillingness to be honest with Kollin prevents him from fully trusting Riley again. Despite Riley’s insecurities and Kollin’s abandonment issues, they quickly discover there’s something more than friendship between them.

When a ghost from Riley’s past unexpectedly appears with haunting memories in tow, Kollin’s anger about being lied to outweighs his desire to be the understanding boyfriend Riley needs. As Riley’s web of strategically withheld secrets begins to unravel, he must find the courage to pursue his own peace before he can move forward with Kollin, and Kollin must decide what’s more important—supporting his best friend or protecting himself. 

Adam rolled his eyes to mimic her and then turned his attention toward Kollin. “Look who the cat dragged in.”

For some reason, Kollin’s heart fluttered. Waves of nervousness raced through his body as he tried to figure out why Adam thought he should know the stranger. He’d never told either of his parents about meeting the guy at the bookstore, and even if he had, Adam couldn’t have known he was the same person.

The man studied the ground, seemingly reluctant to look at Kollin, but Kollin knew he couldn’t identify him even if they were staring directly at one another.

Fortunately Adam saved him from further embarrassment. “I didn’t recognize Riley until he threatened to own me in Ping-Pong.”

Kollin sucked in a huge gulp of air. The nervous flutters, which had been nothing more than a curious enigma, ceased, and he suddenly felt as if a boulder had settled in the pit of his stomach.

He hadn’t spoken to Riley Meadows in over four years. When Kollin’s parents kicked him out, Riley had been the one who kept Kollin sane. He tethered him to reality when all he’d wanted was to escape inside himself. They’d kept in touch when Riley first went to college and somehow became even closer—until Riley seemingly dropped off the face of the earth. Phone calls, e-mails, texts… all unanswered. Kollin eventually took the hint and gave up.

Now Riley was back?

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Shell Taylor is a full-time mother of three exuberant and loving kiddos and one fur baby, a tiny but fierce Yorkie-poo named Rocco. As a Christian who practices love, grace, and humility, she tries her best to instill these same virtues in her rowdy kids. She is a huge fan of Marvel comics and will never stop loving Harry Potter (Hufflepuff pride, baby!) When Shell isn’t writing, she can be found binge watching Netflix or volunteering at her church and childrens’ school. Shell considers herself blessed to have married a strong, supportive man who works hard to allow her to continue to follow her dreams.

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You can also email Shell at - shell4jmu@gmail.com

1^st Winner’s Prize: $20 Amazon GC

2^nd Winner’s Prize: E-copy of Redeeming Hope/Resurrecting Hope

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October 14: Diverse Reader

October 17: Hearts on Fire

October 18: Rick R. Reed

October 19: Drops of Ink

October 20: Bending The Bookshelf

October 21: Author Dean Frech

October 24: Love Bytes Reviews

October 25: Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

October 26: Because Two Men Are Better Than One

October 27: MM Good Book Reviews

October 28: Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents

October 31: Bonkers about Books

November 1: My Fiction Nook

November 2: Wicked Faeries Tales & Reviews

November 3: Making It Happen Blog

November 4: BFD Book Blog

November 7: Bayou Book Junkie

November 8: Molly Lolly: Reader, Reviewer, Lover of Words

November 9: Prism Book Alliance

Dog Gone by Diane Moat

Title: Dog Gone

 

Author: Diane Moat

Publisher: Outskirts

Release Date: April 2016

Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Female

Length: 203 pages

Genre: Thriller/Suspense, Crime

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Synopsis

Have you ever seen a report of a terrible animal abuse case and thought, “Someone should stop that person from ever being able to harm another animal.”? Then this novel is for you. Sam Holden is a young woman who comes across a dog after he has been tortured to death. This starts her down a path of learning about animal rescue. Along this path there are times where she must color outside the lines in order to stop an abuser from harming animals. In order to do this, she must enlist the help of some unexpected characters. This includes a mob family retiree, a housebound social media whiz, and a gorgeous “fence” for stolen goods. She needs the fence since she funds her illegal projects by thievery. Sam’s on again, off again boyfriend doesn’t know about her recreational projects. We join Sam as she balances her personal life, thievery and escalating quests to help animals in need. Throughout all of her competing jobs, she never loses sight of her search for the man who started it all by killing the dog she found by the side of the road. Our story culminates when Sam finds the man, with all points of her life intersecting in an amazing finish.

Excerpt

Spring, 2013 Today, the man drove his oldest pickup truck, because of the smell. None of his family ever got in this truck ‘cause of how filthy it was. He liked it that way. The dead dog lying on the seat next to him no longer resembled the dog he’d "adopted" two months before. The family he’d met back then—who had owned the animal—was so eager to get rid of the dog, they jumped when he tol’ them the story of wanting the dog for his ten-year-old boy. He seen the family on Facebook, advertising the dog to be "free to a good home." They didn't ask him a single question, and he was gone in less than ten minutes. He knew the type. The dog probably looked cute when they first got him, and then prolly peed all over and chewed their shoes. Hit the road, Jack. The dog spent the next two months at his hunting cabin, along with four or five others. The number changed up, depending on how many died and how many he was able to "adopt." He went out to the cabin every other weekend, and sometimes he could sneak away for an occasional weekday. His wife called it his "down time." He didn't worry about leaving the dogs any food when he wasn't there. They were all kept together in one pen. They could hold out until he returned, starve, or eat each other. He always made sure at least one or two small dogs were in the pack, for that last possibility. Sometimes, he made bets with himself as to which dogs would be alive when he returned. Surprisingly, the small dogs proved to be tougher than he’d expected, and seemed to last longer than the bigger dogs. The dog next to him, too, had lasted longer than he had bet on. He had enjoyed seeing him go from being a happy and hopeful dog, to one who wouldn't even open his eyes when the man came near. The dog was so hungry the week before, he had eaten the canned dog food the man had mixed with broken glass. After that, he shot out the dog's front legs, knowing the dog would be dead when he returned. Once a dog was dead, he didn't want it on his property anymore, not even buried. But he was also lazy and didn't want to dig a hole. So he went with what had worked in the past. He would drive down a deserted dirt road and dump the dog out. He hadn't seen another car in over five minutes now. He'd been driving around campgrounds that weren’t s’pposed to be opened for the summer yet. He had seen one parked camper a few minutes back, but that was it. As he rounded a corner, he slowed down and opened the passenger door. One shove and the dog's body flew out of the car as if it wanted to be released. He slammed the door shut and accelerated with hardly a pause. He wasn't worried anyone would trace the dog back to him. No one would care enough to try. In all the years he had been "adopting" dogs and dumping their bodies, not once had anybody questioned him. The man drove away, confident no one would care about this one dog. He couldn't have been more wrong.

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Meet the Author

Diane is a Tennessee transplant, animal rescuer, and nurse. Dog Gone is her debut novel, born from years of hearing animal rescuers say about animal abusers, “If only I could get my hands on that person...” Diane is assisted by her many rescue dogs.

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Full Cirlce by Victoria Sue

TITLE: Full Circle

SERIES: Sirius Wolves #7

AUTHOR: Victoria Sue

PUBLISHER: Dark Hollow Press

COVER ARTIST: Dark Hollow Press

LENGTH: 50,000 words

RELEASE DATE: October 18, 2016

BLURB: “Win the love of the wolf with the hardest heart.”

Faced with eternal banishment to hell, Anubis, god of the underworld, has found a loophole in one of the oldest laws which will allow him to unleash his evil on an unsuspecting human world. Orion’s only hope to stop him is to accept his challenge: send a champion to win the love of the wolf with the hardest heart. It will take someone with a pure heart to soften a closed one, so faced with the threat of losing not only the werewolves, but the destruction of the human race, the gods can only do one thing — send Adam, one of their own.

Adam quickly realizes that the werewolf whose love he must win is Jed.  Wounded after the loss of his wife and son, Jed promised he would never love again or be responsible for someone else’s happiness. Adam has been given a near impossible task.

Anubis is eager to see Adam fail, and unbeknown to everyone takes matters into his own hands to make sure of it. Everything happening now is part of his master plan, and finally it has come full circle.

Even if Adam succeeds and wins Jed's heart, will that love survive when Jed discovers the whole thing was nothing more than a bet? Or when Adam does the one thing he mustn’t and falls in love himself, will he not only break Jed’s heart but completely destroy his own?

Jed gentled his hand as Adam mewled in the back of his throat, both of Adam’s hands surrounding his neck and pressing tightly with an overwhelming urge to simply hang on.

They shared kisses. Shared air. Jed swallowed every reaction from Adam because it was precious. Finally, he wiped his hand and their bodies clean on the sheet and drew Adam in closer.

His heart beat loudly in his ears. Jed didn’t want to think about what they had just done, and let reality intrude on the bliss that seemed to wrap them both up. It wasn’t the whole fucking a guy thing, even though he was still in shock about that. It was the need inside of him, the nameless urge that transcended sex or narrow bigoted views of what made other people happy. In a lot of ways, it wasn’t even the fact that Adam was human and Jed was not.

It was his unshaking doubt that as soon as Jed trusted, as soon as Jed let in a little belief, as soon as Jed started thinking in terms of forever… That’s when it would happen. That’s when his forever would be ripped away. It had with his family. The day his father hadn’t returned from the hunt because of a human’s bullet. The day they’d fled their home because the forest was cleared to make a human town, and his family had no idea how to live in one. The day he was out scrounging for food to fill their empty bellies because it was winter and they should have been warm and safe in their homes, and his little sister had been attacked by a rogue. The rogue had been insane, half-mad with whatever injustice had caused him to attack a pup, and his mom had died trying to defend her.

And then he had trusted once more. Raye had waltzed into his life and danced his objections away. Then it had happened again, as surely as Jed feared it would.

He clutched Adam tighter, knowing his hold wouldn’t last, knowing Adam would be ripped from him like everyone else…

He no longer had any dreams that could be taken from him. He’d accepted long ago that the pack would be his life, but he would go home alone every day. He almost didn’t mind because he knew it wasn’t a matter if Adam would realize he was a pathetic old man and would leave.

It was simply a matter of when.

https://www.amazon.com/Full-Circle-Sirius-Wolves-Book-ebook/dp/B01M4KI298/

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Has loved books for as long as she can remember. Books were always what pocket money went on and what usually Father Christmas brought. When she ran out of her kids' adventure stories, she would go raid her Mom's. By the age of eight she was devouring classics like Little Women, and fell in love with love stories.

She's still in love with them. Any size, any shape, any creature - love is love, no matter what it says on the box.

In fact if they don't fit very neatly into any box she loves them even more!

She has a very patient husband and three wonderful children. In 2010 in search of adventure they all moved from the UK to the US and are happily settled in Florida.

In 2013 after reading love stories for so long she decided to write her own.

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You can also email Victoria at - victoriasueauthor@gmail.com

Winner’s Prize: An e-copy from Victoria Sue’s backlist

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Surviving Elite HIgh: The Next Generation by John H. Ames

TITLE: Surviving Elite High: The Next Generation

AUTHOR: John H. Ames

COVER ARTIST: Louca Matheo

LENGTH: 74,908 words

RELEASE DATE: October 7, 2016

BLURB: Surviving Elite High fans, the wait is over! More romance, drama and mystery are unfolding at Elite High before the back-to-school bell has even rung!

Seventeen year old, blond-hair, blue-eyed and adorable Robbie Carroll, orphaned at a young age and mysteriously never adopted, has finally found his dream family. Nick Hawking and John Ames, now married, wealthy, and powerful, make Robbie their son, defying the young man’s past- one that Robbie himself has no memory of- that has scared all other prospective parents away. Now, Robbie has great parents and a hot brother, Nicky and beautiful sister, Lily, who take him into their midst and make him part of their tight circle of friends who all go to Elite High.

One of those friends is Tim Mercer, a gorgeous football player at Elite High. Tim’s dark looks and simmering eyes capture Robbie’s heart at first sight. But Robbie can’t be sure that Tim feels the same way, or even if he’s gay too. Moreover, even if Tim is available, there are some people around him who don’t want Robbie to get close to him, and will go to ANY lengths to keep him away. Why? What do they want with Tim? What is the secret that Tim is harboring? And who is that strange man in Robbie’s visions, who haunts his life and his dreams? Find out here!

 

Robbie looked away, no doubt his cheeks were bright red. The door swung open again and Allison stepped inside with two teens that appeared his age. The girl on Allison’s left was beautiful, too beautiful to even describe. Her long golden blonde hair hung over her shoulders and her eyes were like two crystal blue diamonds that shone brighter than the stars. She was the spitting image of her father, Nick, but what took his breath away was the guy standing on Allison’s right. He was a few inches taller than him and drop dead gorgeous. He had tanned skin that seemed to glow, the perfect body hidden behind his tight clothes, light brown hair that waved from side to side, and the purest hazel eyes that Robbie had ever seen. They were simply too mesmerizing to be real.

“There you are!” John approached them, placing an arm around them, and gently pushed them forward. “Robbie, this is Lily and Nicky.”

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Juan H. Alvarado was born in El Salvador C.A. He currently lives in Belize and began writing in 2008. He posted some of his work on an internet website, and after receiving positive feedback, he completed several full-length novels under his pen name, John Henry Ames. His first completed novel is Surviving Elite High. The story chronicles the life of a gay sixteen-year-old boy as he makes his way through life as an outcast in the shadows of an elite high school where he is tormented by two psychopathic bullies. His passions are writing, reading and spending time with the ones he loves.

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