Author Names: Raine O’Tierney, L.J. LaBarthe, Cate Ashwood
Book Names: All That Shimmers (Raine), Swimming With Elephants (L.J.), Red Runs Through (Cate)
Release Dates: May 6, May 13, and May 20
Blurb(s):
Piece Us Back Together:
Life can seem bleak for people suffering devastating injuries or illnesses of the mind and body, and every day can be a struggle. But sometimes, when hope seems in short supply, they find a reason to keep up the fight. The men in these stories face some of the most difficult challenges imaginable, but fortunately they won’t be facing them alone, because when everything seems darkest, a point of light appears. With compassion, understanding, and love, these hurt souls have a chance to piece the broken parts of their lives and themselves into something strong and beautiful. Love might even be able to mend the most serious wounds of all—those of the heart.
All That Shimmers by Raine O’Tierney
Beau Bell is a former Olympic hopeful, left paralyzed from the waist down after a car accident. He has every reason in the world to be pissed off and miserable, yet he’s training for the Paralympics Men’s 100m—S6 division. The chair? Just a part of who he is now. Beau’s attitude is golden. If only he could contend with this one little issue: errant erections and no way to relieve them!
Nikša Meríc is a lonely scientist and really bad poet living underneath the old building where he does his research. Every night he watches his neighbor through his basement window as he undresses in his wheelchair. Although there is no apparent reason for Nikša to be unhappy, he’s struggled with depression his whole life and has tried to kill himself on multiple occasions.
When Beau proposes that his “voyeur” come over and help him experiment with the erections he can’t actually feel, the relationship they build is a sexual one. But the relationship they need is one that will heal each other’s heart as well.
Available May 6th, 2015
Christina’s Review of ‘All That Shimmers’:
All That Shimmers by Raine O’Tierney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
i have a love/hate relationship with novellas. i love that we get right to the good stuff but i hate that we don’t have more to the story! the writing is good – i’m really starting to be a big fan of ms. o’tierney (and her hats!)
when we first meet beau, i am not a fan. he’s an a$$…and not the feel sorry for myself because i can’t walk any more a$$…just a not likeable a$$. by the end of the book i like him a little better but still think he’s a little too abrasive for nik’s needs (he does redeem himself quite a bit in 2 scenes). i’m hopeful that the more time they spend together the better he will get at being sweeter with nik.
i feel so sad for nik. he is truly alone and has no one to help him fight his demons. he is so sweet and has so much love to give, he just wants to get it in return. he is starved for attention and love. aside from his depression and anxiety (although, i could make an argument for him being bipolar), he completely lacks self confidence. his career is so admirable yet he belittles what he does. by the end of the book, we start to see a bit of confidence appear.
while there is a lot of angst, this is still a good love story.
Swimming With Elephants by L.J. LaBarthe
After suffering a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder, Garrett believes his life is over. Depressed, bereft, in pain, and unable to return to the career he loves as an arborist, he sees no hope or future for himself. But a trip to Havelock Island in India turns his world upside down. He meets Jai, an Indian nurse, and becomes smitten with him. Near the end of his trip, while swimming with an elephant, he tells Jai how he feels.
After Garrett returns to Australia, he wonders if he can ever be healed of all his pain—physical, emotional, and mental—and fears that love and romance will never be his again. But then Jai turns up in Perth and brings with him astonishing news.
Available May 13th, 2015
Red Runs Through by Cate Ashwood
Carter McClintock’s life is uncomplicated. For the past five years, he’s spent so much time in hospital scrubs that one day bleeds into the next, and that’s just the way he likes it. That is, until he meets Matthew Nolan. Carter has never had a patient affect him the way Matthew does. During Matthew’s stay in the hospital, the chemistry is unmistakable, and once he is discharged, Carter asks him out.
Despite the obvious attraction between them, Matthew’s HIV status keeps him from handing Carter his heart, refusing to believe anyone could ever truly want him. When Matthew’s past comes to light, their budding relationship is threatened before it has even begun. But Carter isn’t one to give up without a fight and he will do anything to show Matthew the lengths he will go to keep them together.
Pages or Words: Varies by book
Categories: Contemporary, Fiction, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Romance
Excerpt: (Red Runs Through by Cate Ashwood)
Carter looked at Matthew, and there it was. That moment of electricity that arced between them. Matthew didn’t let go of Carter’s hand, instead cradling it in his own. Carter inched closer and waited patiently to see if Matthew would do the same.
Slowly, they erased the space between them until they were a fraction of an inch apart.
“Carter,” Matthew whispered a sliver of a moment before Carter closed the last of the distance between them and pressed his lips against Matthew’s. For a moment, Carter thought Matthew was going to pull away, but then he kissed him back, his lips parting slightly and his tongue darting out to lick Carter’s bottom lip. Carter hummed his pleasure and opened for Matthew, letting him in and kissing him with everything he had.
It was a little bit fumbling and a lot sexy as they got their hands involved, touching and teasing one another until Matthew pulled back, pushing Carter away with a firm hand on his chest.
“I’m sorry, Carter, I can’t….”
Stunned, Carter didn’t know what to say other than, “Why not?”
Matthew sighed. “It’s not that I don’t want to. God, do I want to. But… you don’t know everything about me, and I can’t take advantage of you like that. You need to know if you’re going to make an informed decision about me.”
Carter’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “So tell me and I’ll make the informed decision to go back to kissing you. I like kissing you, Matthew. Actually, I like everything about you.”
“You don’t know that,” Matthew said sternly. He sat back on the couch and scrubbed his hands over his face.
“Tell me,” Carter said.
Matthew looked at him, his eyes wide, his face pale. “I’m HIV positive.”
Sales Links:
Piece Us Back Together Anthology:
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6413
All That Shimmers:
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6340
Swimming With Elephants:
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6379
Red Runs Through:
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6412
About the authors:
Raine O’Tierney
Raine O’Tierney lives outside of Kansas City with her husband, fellow Dreamspinner Press author, Siôn O’Tierney. When she’s not writing, she’s either asleep, or fighting the good fight for intellectual freedom at her library day job. Raine believes the best thing we can do in life is be kind to one another, and she enjoys encouraging fellow writers! Writing for 20+ years (with the last 10 spent on M/M) Raine changes sub-genres to suit her mood and believes all good stories end sweetly. Contact her if you’re interested in talking about point-and-click adventure games or about which dachshunds are the best kinds of dachshunds!
Website: http://raineotierney.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raine.otierney.1?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RaineOTierney
Q&A with Raine:
Q: Where did you get the idea for ‘All That Shimmers’?
A: I had seen some beautiful photography of people with physical challenges—and especially some gorgeous wheelchair photography—and Beau was really born from this desire to show the beautiful, driven, inspired side of disability.
Q: “I always focus on imbuing stories with what my husband and I call “The Sweetness” of which there are Five Fs: first loves, first times, fidelity, forever-type endings, and… friskiness”… Which of the 5 F’s is your favorite and why?
A: Oh! AWESOME question! I’m so torn between choosing first times or fidelity. How about this—I love writing first times, they are so fresh and new and exciting (and often times AWKWARD as hell!) but fidelity is absolutely mandatory in every Raine O’Tierney story. J
Q: Tell us your craziest Library Lady story.
A: This may surprise many people (unless they are librarians, in which case they won’t be surprised at all) but there is an INSANE about of poo-related incidents at the public library…even at the nice little suburban libraries where all the soccer moms go. J I had a colleague tell me about an incident at her library where a customer dropped trou and, um, number 2’d right in front of the circ desk. @_@
Q: What is your favorite type of hat?
A: Oh, the Kate Middleton fascinator! She is my hat HERO.
Q: Who is a MUST READ author for you?
A: Debbie McGowan—which is sort of a cheaty answer since she’s also my writing partner on several projects. <3 BUT she’s my writing partner BECA– USE she’s amazing! And definitely a must-read.
L.J. LaBarthe
L.J. LaBarthe is a French-Australian woman, who was born during the Witching Hour, just after midnight. From this auspicious beginning, she went on to write a prize-winning short story about Humpty Dumpty wearing an Aussie hat complete with corks dangling from it when she was six years old. From there, she wrote for her high school yearbook, her university newspaper, and, from her early teens to her twenties, produced a fanzine about the local punk rock music scene. She loves music of all kinds and was once a classical pianist; she loves languages and speaks French and English and a teeny-tiny smattering of Mandarin Chinese, which she hopes to relearn properly very soon. She enjoys TV, film, travel, cooking, eating out, abandoned places, urbex, history, and researching.
L.J. loves to read complicated plots and hopes to do complex plot lines justice in her own writing. She writes paranormal, historical, urban fantasy, and contemporary Australian stories, usually m/m romance and featuring m/m erotica. She has won a Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention and another award for Best Historical Gay Novel.
L.J. lives in the city of Adelaide, and is owned by her cat.
Blog: http://misslj-author.livejournal.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lj.labarthe.9?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/brbsiberia
Instagram: https://instagram.com/ljstar239/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/dreadpiratestar/
Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/dreadpiratestarkiller and https://www.tumblr.com/blog/historybuffstar
Q&A with L.J.
Q: Of all the genres you write in, which is your favorite?
A: First, I was going to answer “Sci-fi and fantasy,” but then I thought about it a bit and realised that I actually enjoy writing in all the genres that I have so far. I do love historicals, though, I love research and history, so I always get a lot out of that. I’ve written predominantly paranormals, which are definitely a favourite, but I think that fantasy, which I haven’t written yet, natch, is probably top of the list. Having said that, I do plan to write a fantasy one of these days. After I finish all the works in progress I have going!
Q: You support quite a few animal charities/foundations. What made you chose those organizations?
A: In terms of domestic animal rescue, I’m a big believer in responsible pet ownership, so desexing, worming, food, shelter, basic care. I feel that a pet is for life, not for “while I feel like it” or “while it’s cute.” So I support a few local organisations that rescue, rehabilitate and rehome when possible, who are also no-kill. It’s not the animal’s fault that they’ve found themselves on hard times, so I think killing them because they’re suddenly “inconvenient” is bullshit, if you’ll pardon my French. This goes for farm animals as well—chickens, pigs, cows, horses.
In terms of wildlife, I am genuinely concerned about the survival of the natural world. Encroachment on habitats by humans devastates wildlife and then things such as poaching and canned big game hunting are all designed to entertain/enrich humans and do nothing for the animal. I feel that creatures like elephants, giraffes, lions, tigers, big cats, rhinos, all kinds of birdlife, you name it, deserve the right to exist just as much as we do and there seems to be more concern about making all the money in the universe or doing things just for some perceived notion of “fun” in some quarters, which is really not cool, for want of a better term.
Having said all that, I do eat meat. I eat organic meat that is sustainably and responsibly farmed. I’m very lucky to live in a country that has these options and so I take advantage of them. I’m not going to judge people for whether or not they eat meat, I feel that is the choice of the individual. I feel—that for me—that there’s a way to do that which is responsible and that’s what I’ve chosen to do.
Q: Your bio lists both music and languages as interests. What are some of your favorite bands? Do you speak multiple languages? If so, which ones and which is your favorite?
A: Wow, you ask questions that make me give long answers! I love it! Music-wise, I am and always will be an old school punk rocker. I learned to play the piano as a child, so I like a lot of classical composers as well—Beethoven, Grieg, Rachmaninov to name a few. In terms of modern music, I still listen to the artists of my youth—Sex Pistols, The Damned, Dead Kennedys, Henry Rollins, Fear and Loathing, The Mark of Cain, Bad Religion, The Cure, Muscle Car, The Cramps. Other artists I love that I discovered as an adult include Muse, Avenged Sevenfold, Tool, A Perfect Circle, Arkona, 30 Seconds to Mars, Nine Inch Nails and more.
Languages now. I speak two fluently, English and French. I’m half-French, my father and his side of the family are French, he was born in Paris. My mother and her side of the family are Australian. I studied Mandarin Chinese and Russian in high school, but I remember very little of both those languages, sadly. I’d love to learn Mandarin Chinese again one day.
Q: What is your favorite place to travel?
A: The Flinders Ranges. They’re in the north of the state of South Australia, where I live. The Flinders are full of colour and life and variety, there’s amazing rock formations and mountains, gorgeous little towns that have existed since the early nineteenth century, and amazing Aboriginal rock paintings and carvings, as well as the fabulous Ochre Pits, which is where ochre is mined by the Indigenous people of the area, the Adnyamathanha people, for use in their paint pigments.
One of my wips is actually a contemporary set in the Flinders, in the town of Quorn, which is this gorgeous, central-Flinders township that is a great base for touring around the whole area. It also boasts five pubs on the one street—all next to each other! It’s near to the amazing natural amphitheatre that’s called Wilpena Pound. Wilpena Pound is basically a circle of mountains and you can hike to the top and then down to the center, which is a shallow basin. There’s a restored homestead there, from the first white settlers who lived there, and that’s maintained as part of the history of the area, it’s called Hills Homestead.
The desert is red, there’s so much greenery from the saltbush plant, which is known as old man saltbush and can grow just about anywhere. In spring, after the rains of winter, which sometimes aren’t that heavy, there’s native wildflowers everywhere and it’s quite normal to be driving along and have to stop for a kangaroo or an emu family to cross the road. The latter has happened to me, and was just gorgeous to see. I can go on (and on!) about the Flinders, but I don’t want to put your readers to sleep, so I’ll stop while I’m ahead.
Q: What is your favorite time and location to write?
A: Any time, really, so long as my environment is reasonably quiet. I don’t mind writing to music, I love writing to the sound of rain on the roof. I’m sitting on the sofa, laptop on the overbed table (I love this thing, it’s so handy). I can write in public, but I don’t like doing so. I much prefer to be in my own home.
Cate Ashwood
Cate Ashwood wrote her very first story in a hot-pink binder when she was in the second grade and found her passion for writing. Her first successful foray into romance writing came five years later when she wrote her best friend, who was experiencing a case of unrequited love, her own happily ever after.
Cate’s life has taken a number of different and adventurous roads. She now lives a stone’s throw from the ocean, just outside of Vancouver, British Columbia with her husband, her brand new little boy, and her two cats. Her life is filled with family and friends, travel, and, of course, books.
Website: http://www.cateashwood.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cate.ashwood
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cateashwood
Goodreads Link:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25405465-piece-us-back-together
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25274912-all-that-shimmers?ac=1
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25405457-red-runs-through
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Paul Richmond
Tour Dates & Stops:
6-May
Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words
Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews
7-May
Vampires, Werewolves, and Fairies, Oh My
13-May
14-May
20-May
21-May
Rafflecopter Prize: One e-copy of each book in the anthology (to one winner)