Rainbow snippets,another one

The rainbow snippets rules are simple: post six sentences from a WIP having to do with gay/lesbian/any variate there of stories. I’m happy to break the rules, so it’s nine this time.

This is from Like People, a historical novella, taking place at the very end of WW2, I just sent to Manifold Press, and they accepted it.

No edits yet, so read at your own risk.

It had been such a good day, that day in the spring of 1943. He had been stupid enough to think that enjoying a bit of sun and fresh air… Fuck it. He was horny as hell, the water in the creek was cold but refreshing and the farmer’s son from Bavaria looked…approachable. In fact, he had been downright inviting, and since invitations by handsome men were far and few between, he had considered it worth the risk. Not too clever, but achingly beautiful he had been, the farmer’s son from Bavaria. He kissed as if no one had ever told him that kissing another man was perhaps the worst of all. Animalistic rutting could be almost excused when no woman was to be had, but such tenderness as he had shown was unacceptable.  But Karl had accepted it. Not an hour later, the farmer’s son had died in a partisan attack.

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Ashe Barker and The Dark Side

Please welcome my fellow author Ashe Barker, who does not only write great stories, but is also very generous and supportive.

Hi there, and thank you so much for inviting me over to today to help celebrate the re-release of my first trilogy, The Dark Side.

If you ask a parent to tell you which is their favourite child most would refuse point blank, I expect. There’d be shuffling of feet, talk of loving them all equally but in different ways. As I only have one child that question wouldn’t be so awkward for me, but my books are different, I would really struggle to pick a favourite. That said, I’ll always have a soft spot for The Dark Side, my ‘firstborn’.

I still have the original cover of Darkening, the first book in the series, pinned up in my kitchen and will never forget the thrill of getting that email to tell me my book had been accepted for publication. The Dark Side made me an author, and however many more books I write – and it has been a lot since then – that will never change.

Enter my Rafflecopter for a chance to win ALL THREE BOOKs in the series. The competition ends on 1 May.

 

 

Even if you grabbed your copy of The Dark Side first time around this version has been re-edited, with new content, new scenes, and an epilogue.

Series Blurb

The Dark Side trilogy charts the sensual journey of academic musician Eva Byrne as she struggles to overcome painful shyness, sexual inhibition and personal tragedy. Lonely, unsophisticated, desperately seeking love and approval, Eva is easy prey for sensual and experienced Nathan Darke.

He wants her submission, and he knows how to go about getting it. Eva is quickly caught up by the whirlwind of his effortless seduction, though she has her own reasons for agreeing to join him in his world of pain and pleasure, on the dark side.

Inexplicably fascinated and at the same time totally frustrated by his new submissive, Nathan is increasingly drawn to her as she opens up in his hands and he realises there is much, much more to his latest playmate than he ever could have imagined.

The Dark Side charts the turbulent relationship between Eva and Nathan as their mutual fascination builds. They both discover what surrender truly means as together they explore the fragile bonds of desire, trust, risk and reward, and the destructive power of betrayal.

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About Ashe Barker

I’ve been an avid reader of fiction for many years, erotic and other genres. I still love reading, the hotter the better. But now I have a good excuse for my guilty pleasure – research.

I tend to draw on my own experience to lend colour, detail and realism to my plots and characters. An incident here, a chance remark there, a bizarre event or quirky character, any of these can spark a story idea.

I live in the North of England, on the edge of the Brontë moors. When not writing – which is not very often these days – my time is divided between my role as resident taxi driver for my teenage daughter, and caring for a menagerie of dogs, tortoises.  And a very grumpy cockatiel.

I have over thirty titles on general release with publishers on both sides of the Atlantic, and I have several more in the pipeline. I write M/f, M/M, and occasionally ring the changes with a little M/M/f. All my books feature BDSM. I write explicit stories, always hot, but they offer far more than just sizzling sex. I like to read about complex characters, and compelling plots, so that’s what I write too.

I have a pile of story ideas still to work through, and keep thinking of new ones at the most unlikely moments, so you can expect to see a lot more from me.

Buy Links

Darkening   Amazon US   Amazon UK   Barnes and Noble   All Romance   Totally Bound 

1. Darkening is FREE at Totally Bound and All Romance until 30 April 2016

Darker   Amazon US   Amazon UK   All Romance   Totally Bound

Darkest   Amazon US   Amazon UK   All Romance   Totally Bound

 

Social Media Links and Newsletter sign-up

 

 Newsletter Sign-Up

www.ashebarker.com

Amazon

google.com/+AsheBarker

Facebook

Twitter  

 

Welcome Guest Delilah Night and win free book

Please welcome my lovely and talented fellow writer Delilah Night, and who knows you might win a free copy of her newest title.

Interviewing My Main Characters: Meg

Delilah Night

Thank you for hosting me, R.A.!

Today I’m going to do something a little different than the typical promo post—I’m going to interview one of my two main characters from my new novella, Capturing the Moment! Next week I’ll interview my other main character, RJ, over at Tamsin Flower’s blog.

Delilah Night: In the novella, you only have one day in Siem Reap. What’s up with that?

Meg: Ugh, what a nightmare! I was supposed to have four days in Siem Reap. First my flight in San Francisco had a mechanical failure, so I had to be rebooked. Then, when I finally get to Beijing, I had another flight cancellation. I think I’m cursed. But despite all that, I’ve always wanted to go to Siem Reap in Cambodia and I was determined to make the most of the one day I had.

DN: How did you feel when RJ showed up while you were photographing sunrise at the Angkor Wat temple?

Meg: I was horrified! RJ and I have a really complicated history. The short version is that we were in love, got engaged, and then I broke off the engagement. It’s been six years since I last saw him, and I was totally unprepared to deal with him. But there he was, gorgeous as ever, asking me to spend the day with him.

DN: Why did you decide to spend the day with him, given your history?

Meg: Siem Reap wasn’t just my dream. We’d planned to go there on our honeymoon. I guess I thought I could go by myself and it would prove I was over him. The truth is that I was thinking of him the whole time. When he showed up and asked me to spend the day with him, I couldn’t refuse him, even though it was probably a bad idea. Besides, have you seen the man’s dimples when he smiles? They’re lethal!

DN: You decided to indulge in a one day affair to get him out of your system. How did that work out for you?

Meg: I think we all have that one ex we’d jump into bed with again, damn the consequences. He’s mine. A few hours with him and I couldn’t help myself. Do you know that when I transferred to my sister Rachel’s college, I developed a major crush on RJ? Finding out he liked me, too was one of the best moments of my life up to that moment.

EXCLUSIVE SNEAK PEEK

The first time RJ had kissed Meg was in the university library. Meg, Rachel and a group of Rachel’s friends were studying together. RJ had volunteered to go into the stacks with Meg to look for a source for her research paper. When he’d bent to examine the call numbers of the books on a low shelf, Meg had allowed herself a lengthy appreciation of the way the denim stretched over his butt.

You can’t grab his ass without an invitation. Put your hand down.

Meg had tried to be subtle as she’d shifted her stance. She’d squeezed her thighs together, knowing that night wasn’t going to be the first or last time she would masturbate to the idea of him touching her.

“Here it is—” The words had died in his mouth when he’d looked at her.

Meg’s pulse had pounded in her throat. He flirts with everyone… Does he like me? Or is it just that I want him to?

Brown eyes that had always sparkled with mischief had darkened with arousal. RJ had put the book on a shelf and he’d invaded her personal space. He had been so close that Meg’s breasts would have brushed his shirt if she’d inhaled too deeply.

Kiss me, kiss me, kiss me, kiss me—

He had leaned in. Meg had closed her eyes. Her skin had been so sensitized she could’ve sworn that she’d felt every stitch of every seam of her clothes. Especially her panties. It had been as if she could feel the individual flowers printed on the cotton of the bikini briefs. RJ’s lips had been gentle, hesitant. Then Meg had wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing herself against him.

The kiss had gone from zero-to-sixty in the space between one heartbeat and the next. Gentle had become hungry. Breathing had been no longer necessary for survival—only touching and being touched. When his thigh had slid between hers, Meg had shamelessly ground against him.

Rachel’s loud voice had shattered the erotic haze. “Oh look, it’s that row with the book I need.”

They’d broken apart guiltily.

Rachel’s lips had curved in a sardonic smile. “Oh wait, I needed a book from the fourth floor. This is the third. My bad.” She had turned and strolled off, but her voice had floated back to them. “And no, Romeo, I won’t give you my sister’s number. Looks like you have pretty good odds of getting it if you ask her, though.”

 

Meg: Can you blame me for deciding to jump him? I thought we could have a little fling without dealing with the negative parts of our history. I was wrong.

DN: I guess we’ll have to read the book to see what happened!

You never forget your first love…

Meg and RJ were passionately in love. But that was six years and a broken engagement ago.

Meg has only one day in Siem Reap, Cambodia, before she must leave for her sister’s wedding in Bali. She fulfills her dream of taking a photograph of the sun rising behind Angkor Wat, one of the oldest temples in the world. But her joy is short-lived when she turns around to see RJ standing behind her.

RJ threw himself into work after Meg ended their relationship. He’s built a successful business, but it’s a hollow victory. He’s come to Siem Reap to win back the woman he’s never stopped loving. But first he has to convince her to spend the day with him.

Meg is as physically attracted to RJ as she ever was. Maybe the secret to finally getting over him is a one day only, no strings attached fling.

Can RJ win Meg back, or will she love him and leave him?

 

Buy links

Capturing the Moment is now on sale exclusively at Totally Bound through April 26

Available for Pre-Order at

• Google Books
• Kobo
• iBooks 
• Amazon kindle
• Nook

 

Bio

After 30 years of snowy New England winters, Delilah Night moved to steamy southeast Asia. While she doesn’t miss shovelling snow, she does miss shopping for bargains at Target.

In 2014, Delilah visited Cambodia for the first time and fell in love with Siem Reap. Many of her misadventures from that vacation (including the one with the monkey) made their way into this story.

Connect with Delilah on her blog , Twitter , or Facebook

Contest—Win a free copy of Capturing the Moment!

Meg and RJ dreamed of going to Siem Reap, Cambodia, together. What travel spots are on your bucket list? Leave a comment (with email address, please) between today and Monday, April 25, 2016. I’ll contact a winner on Tuesday, April 26—which is also my general release day!

Rainbow snippets Unspoken

Six sentences (close enough) of a work in progress or something you simply want to recommend. That’s the Rainbow Snippets group on Facebook.

Let’s keep it this way: Unspoken is available, it’s a historical gay novel taking place in Holland in the nineteen-thirties and from what I understand from readers it’s a  bit of a I gave it a try though usually I don’t read this kind of books, and I was surprised how much I enjoyed it, kind of book. Or, another variation: this was different from what I usually see in m/m stories.

This snippet is taken from a scene quite late in the story.

“That’s the problem, isn’t it? Love. Lust stops once it’s sated, and friendship is innocent enough, but you never know how long love will last. I could leave you and the love might still be there for the rest of your life. You could decide never to see me again, but it might not be enough to stop the love. I love making love with you, but I don’t need it to love you—and that is what we couldn’t have foreseen, six years ago.”

 

If nothing else, look at the gorgeous cover art.

 

When Stefan meets Adri, it is love at first sight. It does, however, take some time before he recognizes his own feelings. He’s a married man—a family man—with a strong sense of responsibility. In Dutch society of 1935, sex between men over the age of twenty-one might be legal, but acceptance is still a long way off.

As a working-class man without a steady job, he doesn’t have the means to ignore society’s rules and create his own little paradise in which both he and his lover can be together, without his family having to suffer poverty and shame. Despite all this, the lovers find a way to carve out moments of intimacy and happiness.

Then the Germans march into Holland and nothing will ever be the same again. The occupation, which will last five long years, offers both danger and chances, but choices have to be made—choices of the head and choices of the heart.

Please go here to find out where Unspoken is available as e-book. A print version will follow later.

My available titles

Unspoken

When Stefan meets Adri, it is love at first sight. It does, however, take some time before he recognizes his own feelings. He’s a married man—a family man—with a strong sense of responsibility. In Dutch society of 1935, sex between men over the age of twenty-one might be legal, but acceptance is still a long way off.

As a working-class man without a steady job, he doesn’t have the means to ignore society’s rules and create his own little paradise in which both he and his lover can be together, without his family having to suffer poverty and shame. Despite all this, the lovers find a way to carve out moments of intimacy and happiness.

Then the Germans march into Holland and nothing will ever be the same again. The occupation, which will last five long years, offers both danger and chances, but choices have to be made—choices of the head and choices of the heart.

The Bookshop

Jakoba has had enough. It is 1999 and she looks back on her life that began at the start of the century. Her arrival was unexpected, but joyfully welcomed, by her middle-aged parents. In a time where a middle-class girls has one destiny, namely to become a wife and mother, Jakoba is allowed to start working at a bookshop. Books become one of the loves of her life. Later she will inherit the shop.

She values friendship, but romance has no meaning for her. She values her independence too much and knows all too well what price women pay for being married.

It is German army photographer Armin who will change the course of her life. Jakoba is forty when she meets him. Armin is almost thirty, and Germany has occupied Holland. It does not matter. For him, she’s the one, and despite her hesitation both because of the war and because she can’t understand what this handsome man sees in her—a plain woman—she has to admit her feelings for him.

Such love has consequences for both of them that will reach far beyond the war and in ways Jakoba could never have imagined.

 

In the Privacy of Their Home

Dylan’s life is regulated and precise, and as a gay man in the England of the 1960s it’s also necessarily secretive; the law regarding homosexuality may have changed, but unfortunately society’s attitudes are slow to catch up. Meeting Max – younger and less inhibited – is a shock to Dylan’s system; suddenly his world, which has been black and white, explodes into vivid colour. But loving Max is not without difficulty; Max is an artist, talented and ambitious, and there’s no way someone as ordinary as Dylan can hold on to him for long … or is there?

Ravages

Steve Gavan and Daniël Borghart are professional soccer players for Kinbridge Town – and also secret lovers. All that changes, however, when Steve innocently wanders into a city park and falls victim to a vicious gang of queer-bashers who beat him within an inch of his life. After that there are no secrets any more – and it’s a very long road back, for both of them, from there…

All R.A. Padmos books are available at Amazon.com and other places that sell e-books.

Unspoken now on general sale

Sometimes a man has to choose between two very different kinds of love. But what if there is no real choice?

When Stefan meets Adri, it is love at first sight. It does, however, take some time before he recognizes his own feelings. He’s a married man—a family man—with a strong sense of responsibility. In Dutch society of 1935, sex between men over the age of twenty-one might be legal, but acceptance is still a long way off.

As a working-class man without a steady job, he doesn’t have the means to ignore society’s rules and create his own little paradise in which both he and his lover can be together, without his family having to suffer poverty and shame. Despite all this, the lovers find a way to carve out moments of intimacy and happiness.

Then the Germans march into Holland and nothing will ever be the same again. The occupation, which will last five long years, offers both danger and chances, but choices have to be made—choices of the head and choices of the heart.

Publisher’s Note: This book has previously been released elsewhere. It has been revised and re-edited for re-release with Pride Publishing.

 

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.nl

Barnes & Noble

And of course at the publisher’s site

Want to read more about the characters in Unspoken? Curious about bookseller Jakoba? Then you might enjoy  The Bookshop.

The Bookshop now on general sale

Even I, who had resisted kicking and screaming, had to admit defeat. Why would love be impressed by the protests of a simple bookseller?

 

Jakoba has had enough. It is 1999 and she looks back on her life that began at the start of the century. Her arrival was unexpected, but joyfully welcomed, by her middle-aged parents. In a time where a middle-class girl has one destiny, namely to become a wife and mother, Jakoba is allowed to start working at a bookshop. Books become one of the loves of her life. Later she will inherit the shop.

She values friendship, but romance has no meaning for her. She values her independence too much and knows all too well what price women pay for being married.

It is German army photographer Armin who will change the course of her life. Jakoba is forty when she meets him. Armin is almost thirty, and Germany has occupied Holland. It does not matter. For him, she’s the one, and despite her hesitation both because of the war and because she can’t understand what this handsome man sees in her—a plain woman—she has to admit her feelings for him.

Such love has consequences for both of them that will reach far beyond the war and in ways Jakoba could never have imagined.

 

The Bookshop is available at

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.nl

Barnes & Noble

AllRomance

And of course at the publisher’s site

A small taste

He kept visiting me, my photographer, as if he were not able to see the exit I kept wide open for him. I practically sent him away. Look, you and I don’t belong together. A middle-aged woman and a younger man? That is wrong. You are my enemy. I am a woman of the written word and you a man of the visual arts. Be sensible and accept reality.
He didn’t listen. He told me about Berlin while the fingers of his left hand lazily cupped a breast through the fabric of my nightgown and caressed the nipple. He mixed more and more Dutch words through his German conversations and he insisted I correct his pronunciation. He touched every part of my body and asked for their names in Dutch. “Talk your language to me,” he urged me. He even bought a dictionary—to what use, when my German was more than reasonable and he and his compatriots were sure to leave one day? He kissed me and I stopped talking about it.

 

 

 

Early downloads of The Bookshop

First In Dutch, now in English!

The Bookshop

Even I, who had resisted kicking and screaming, had to admit defeat. Why would love be impressed by the protests of a simple bookseller?

Jakoba has had enough. It is 1999 and she looks back on her life that began at the start of the century. Her arrival was unexpected, but joyfully welcomed, by her middle-aged parents. In a time where a middle-class girl has one destiny, namely to become a wife and mother, Jakoba is allowed to start working at a bookshop. Books become one of the loves of her life. Later she will inherit the shop.

She values friendship, but romance has no meaning for her. She values her independence too much and knows all too well what price women pay for being married.

It is German army photographer Armin who will change the course of her life. Jakoba is forty when she meets him. Armin is almost thirty, and Germany has occupied Holland. It does not matter. For him, she’s the one, and despite her hesitation both because of the war and because she can’t understand what this handsome man sees in her—a plain woman—she has to admit her feelings for him.

Such love has consequences for both of them that will reach far beyond the war and in ways Jakoba could never have imagined.

Publisher’s Note: This book has previously been published elsewhere. It has been re-edited for re-release with Totally Bound Publishing.

General Release Date: 9th February 2016, but already available at Totally Bound.

Rainbow snippets

A new year, another Saturday and more rainbow snippets. Again from In the Privacy of Their Home. This time a bit further in the story of bookkeeper Dylan and office help/budding artist Max.It’s still 1967, remember, and sex between males has only recently been made legal in England.

Definitely not fabulous Dylan is in dire need for something a bit more fashionable in his wardrobe. Max introduces him to boutique owner Bijou, who has his very own interpretation of what it means to be a man.

“I need to save that man before he makes me and the other girls cry. You are going to take him to the ball?” Bijou then looked straight at Dylan. “I understand why men like you are always so scared, because you wear the mask of normality with such ease. This is not the place for fear, because here you are among like-minded people who know all about the pain of those who walk a different path.”

“I’m sorry,” was all Dylan was able to say.

Go here to find a list of places were In the Privacy of their Home is available.

Rainbow snippets

I’m part of a Facebook group called Rainbow Snippets. Every weekend we either post a six sentence snippet of a story we are working on or recommend a story.

Now, this weeks snippet is of a book I just published, so strictly speaking… But then, a story only truly comes alive in the mind of the reader, so in a way every book is a continuing work in process.

So here is a small segment from In the privacy of their Home.

 

He closed the door behind them, turned the key twice, and suddenly, for the first time in his life, he was being kissed by another man.
He was in his thirties, he had known since he was twelve about his nature, he had brought men to orgasm with his mouth and hands and some men had done the same to him, without even knowing their names, in places that were being called cottages with a bitter sense of humour, but he had never been kissed.
But now a young man with slightly too-long dark blond hair and a smile to melt a frozen heart, took Dylan’s face between his hands, the kiss happened and Dylan could cry with the beauty of it and the all-encompassing love.
Max looked him in the eyes with so much love Dylan hardly knew what to do with himself, so he showed Max to the living room, and almost fled to the kitchen to make the two of them a cup of tea. Tea was safe. This was all so complicated and how was he supposed to behave in the company of the man he wanted to court, although Max would probably laugh if he ever heard Dylan use that word?

 

Want to know more? Want to own it? Go here.