June is proving to be a hugely busy month for me and for authors everywhere! So be sure to check out the Class of 22/23 MM Debut Authors link. The link is NOW LIVE, so that’s fourteen FREE books this week! Without further adieu, let’s get this party started. 

THE NEXT INSTALLMENT OF THE FATED FANTASIES IS COMING SOON

Elliot and Thaddeus

Fated Fantasies #3

Releases June 13th

https://mybook.to/ElliotandThaddeus

#paranormalromance #fatedmates #shifters #bloodcurse #magic #hollyoliver #mmromance #mmromanceauthor #loveislove #comingsoon

Teaser

Thaddeus seemed to be holding his breath and watching every shiver and shudder of Elliot’s body. Their lips were a mere whisper away and Elliot felt nothing but trust for the man in front of him. Elliot could only imagine how hard it must be for him to stay so still, and to wait so patiently. 

Kiss him already, his hedgehog yelled, and Elliot laughed in reply before closing the minuscule distance. 

Their lips locked, and Elliot felt himself melt into a puddle the second they did. His whole body was alight, his fingers and toes tingled, and he felt as if he might implode, or explode, whichever came first. There was so much to feel, explore, taste, and touch, and it was all right beneath his fingertips, all well within his grasp. 

The angry voice had been suspiciously quiet—Elliot refused to look a gift horse in the mouth—but he would certainly have a little fun exploring Thaddeus’. Elliot could feel the air grow supercharged around them, and noticed things were heating up. He felt as if his clothes had caught on fire, and all he could think about was taking them off. But the physical nature of things aside for a second—everything felt intense. Thaddeus’ kisses held more emotion and passion than Elliot had ever experienced before now, and a massive part of him hoped this feeling could last forever.

The Fates don’t fuck around, huh? 

NOW LIVE

MM CLASS OF 22/23, DOWNLOAD ALL OF THESE BOOKS FOR FREE

 THE LINK WILL BE AVAILABLE FROM THE 5TH-18TH OF JUNE, SO get in quick

 A.E MADSEN, BECCA JACKSON, BL JONES, CHLOE ARCHER, EVIE MCGLYNN, FELICITY SNOW, GIGI RIVERS, KIT BARRIE, KOTA QUINN, MADALYN GEORGE, MORGAN LYSAND, RORY MAXWELL, RS MACKENZIE, AND ME!

Author Bio

Raquel Riley is a native of South Florida but now calls North Carolina home. She is an avid reader and loves to travel. Most often, she writes gay romance stories with an HEA but characters of all types can be found in her books. Raquel weaves pieces of herself, her family, and her travels into every story she writes. Stop by her author page on Facebook for the exclusive updates, new releases, and excerpts of her current work in progress. You can also visit Raquel and her characters from Cooper’s Cove in her Facebook reader group Raquel Riley’s Romantics.

Raquel’s Quirky Questions

Holly: Do you have any quirky collections? Feel free to add photos!

Raquel Riley: I collect cute salt and pepper shakers, vintage nightgowns and linens, and antique cookbooks. I really need to stop, it’s getting out of hand.

Holly: If you had to write yourself a warning label what would it say?

Raquel Riley: Warning, I have no filter and laugh at inappropriate times.

Holly: Does writing exhaust you or energize you?

Raquel Riley: Both? It all depends whether the scene is nagging me to write it or I have to work to see it. If I have to work for it, fighting for each word tooth and nail, it can feel exhausting.

Holly: What’s your favorite underappreciated novel, yours, or someone else’s.

Raquel Riley: Of mine, probably Desiring Romero, which is available for preorder now as Embracing Fate. Max and Romero’s story is gritty, funny, and scorching hot. It’s a double bi-awakening, MMA sports romance where a fighter and his trainer get too close. I think it’s underappreciated because it had a male/ female storyline in it as well, which deterred a lot of people from reading it. Now that I’m relaunching it, it’s strictly an MM romance, and I hope more people give it a chance. It’s truly an unforgettable story.

Holly: What one book have you written that you think best shows off your writing style? Why?

Raquel Riley: I would say my taboo Family Sins duet, Son of a Sinner and Sins of My Father. Penn and Wild’s story has a bit of everything; humor and sarcasm, angst and heartbreak, trauma, found family, incredibly sweet and heart-melting moments, and ridiculously filthy heat. I have a weakness for forbidden love, and they are seriously taboo. I had so much fun writing their story and was sad that it ended, but it really gave me a chance to show off so many different sides of my writing style.

Holly: What comes first for you, plot, or characters?

Raquel Riley: Usually, the first thing I see is one of the major scenes where there’s some sort of heavy conflict, or it’s the scene where they hook up and get together or a meet-cute. I can write an entire story around one good scene. That gives me an idea of what kind of plot the story will center around, and then I can fill in the holes. Once I understand the story, I fine-tune the characters. The more they talk to me, the more I get a feel for who they are. Then I begin to see random scenes out of order, and I write them down. When it’s finally time to sit down and begin writing, I take what I have and put it into order and figure out the rest.

Holly: What’s your most annoying habit?

Raquel Riley: I am the laziest procrastinator you’ll ever meet!

Holly: What’s your favorite thing to do to relax?

Raquel Riley: Bubble baths! Sometimes I listen to music or read in there, but I take one almost every day. When I feel blocked and can’t write, it always does the trick.

Holly: Which household chore do you find the most agitating?

Raquel Riley: Mopping the floors! I’d rather eat worms than mop.

Holly: How many unread books are on your Kindle or bookshelf right now?

Raquel Riley: On my kindle, about seventeen. But my physical stack of books tbr is near twenty.

Holly: Explain your book terribly in a few words. (For example two men meet and hate each other, until they don’t)

Raquel Riley: Kelley is threatened by a stalker and Graham vows to keep him safe. Opposites attract, 28 year age gap, and they adopt a kitten who steals the whole book.

Holly: Where did your inspiration come from for your MCs?

Raquel Riley: Kelley is based off real-life inspiration. He’s a burlesque dancer and the fabulous Jake Dupree inspired me to write him. As for Graham, my other characters in the series shaped him. He needed to be a strong responsible patriarch who looked after his boys. And after meeting those boys, I realized they were all driving him crazy and he became a grump-a-lump.

Holly: What did you do to unwind in between words when writing this book?

Raquel Riley: Remember those bubble baths! Also, binging the 911 tv series, both of them, and reading.

Holly: Tell me three reasons I should buy this book today!

Raquel Riley: You will laugh your butt off. The heat! Kelley and Graham have ridiculous chemistry. Men in lingerie and heels! There aren’t many books that focus on burlesque, so if it’s something you enjoy, definitely don’t skip this one.

Is it a cliché to fall for the man who comes to your rescue? Or is it fated?

Kelley Michaelson

Love and affection had been missing from my life since I came out to my parents as a teen. Burlesque gave some of that back to me.

When I take the stage, the audience admires me, the music loves me, but burlesque isn’t the passion of a lover, a soul-deep connection my heart yearns to share with another man.

When my boss’s father plays my hero from a stalker, I know my search is over. His vow to keep me safe feels like so much more than that. Smart, confident, loyal and generous, tough as nails…he can face anything, except when it comes to me.

If he runs, I have a plan to catch him.

Graham Carrick

I never thought I’d give myself another chance to be a fool in love, but when Kelley strutted into my life on patent leather stilettos, and turned it upside down, he didn’t really give me a choice.

Nothing has been the same since, including my heart. I don’t want life to go back to the way it was before, even if it could, but it doesn’t matter.

The twenty-eight years that separate us are too many to bridge the gap, no matter how I think he makes me feel.

Bourbon And Burlesque is an age gap, grumpy sunshine, opposites attract gay romance with a femme-fatale burlesque dancer, a silver fox bar-owner, a dash of hurt comfort and forced proximity, and a diva kitten named Glitter.

This is the third book in the Love And Libations series.

Teaser

Bourbon and Burlesque

By Raquel Riley

We ended up on the patio, enjoying the morning shade on the padded loungers. I reached over and grabbed Graham’s feet and placed them in my lap, treating him to a foot massage. He purred like a kitten, louder than Glitter when I rubbed her belly. He tipped his head back and closed his eyes, smiling contentedly. “What color would you like to see me wear tonight when I dance for you?” He lifted his head and blinked his eyes open. A wicked heat burned their depths. “Red. You look hot as fuck in red. With that lipstick and the nail polish to match, you make my cock so fucking hard.” Red, it is, I smiled to myself. I had a surprise for him tonight that was so hot it was going to scorch his short and curlies.

Raquel’s Follow Me Links:

Linktree

Author Bio

Grace Duncan grew up with a wild imagination.  She told stories from an early age – many of which got her into trouble.  Eventually, she learned to channel that imagination into less troublesome areas, including fanfiction, which is what has led her to writing male/male erotica.

As someone who loves to travel and see new places, Grace has lived all over the United States. She has currently set up camp in East Texas with her husband and children – both the human and furry kind.

As one of those rare creatures who loves research, Grace can get lost for hours on the internet, reading up on any number of strange and different topics.  She can also be found writing fanfiction, reading fantasy, crime, suspense, romance and other erotica or even dabbling in art.

Grace’s Quirky Questions

Holly: What’s your drink of choice?

Grace: Coffee. Absolutely coffee. I’d basically be dead without it. Nothing happens until my coffee and my family even knows not to approach me with anything before I’ve had some.

Holly: What’s the most read book on your bookshelf?

Grace: Lord of the Rings. I can’t separate the books because every time I pick it up, I have to read the whole thing. Lol But I read (and write) for escapism and being in Middle-earth where I could do anything (especially garden and eat!) is my perfect comfort.

Holly: What did you plan on being when you grew up?

Grace: A teacher! I loved reading, of course, but it never occurred to me to actually write the stories. But I wanted to teach for the longest time. I have since done some and… I’m quite happy writing stories instead.

Holly: Tell me something hardly anyone knows about you.

Grace: Well, until recently, I’d kept this completely under wraps, but… hub and I are working on converting a school bus! We’ll be living it in full time and, hopefully, traveling to some of the places I’ve written about, especially some of the scenery in Devotion. Finley took a train to Oregon and passed right past Glacier Mountain National Park. Google’s street view hardly does it justice. I’d love to be able to see it in person, we just need to finish the bus first!

Holly: What pets are currently on your keyboard, and what are their names? Pictures?

Grace: Ezio! Ginger cat who is, um, not the brightest bulb in the box. He also is constantly hungry. But I’d never trade him.

Holly: What is the most meaningful thing a reader has said to you?

Grace: It was actually to my YA persona, Hope Ryan. I had a young man email me after The Geek and His Artist came out and told me that he was so happy to see himself reflected in my story and that I gave him hope that as a bi man he could have a happily-ever-after too.

Holly: What advice do you wish you’d had before releasing your first story?

Grace: That it’s not all about the writing and, in fact, the writing is really the smallest part of being an author. It’s a business, like everything else, and requires so much more than just getting the story down. But knowing this going into it can help a lot about expectations.

Holly: Which scene in this book was the most fun to write?

Grace: There’s a part in the book where Finley meets the person who becomes his best friend. I had a lot of fun with Jamie as he got Finley out of his bad mood and got him playing. Finley had good reason, of course, to be down, but it was fun to write Jamie’s antics and basically telling Finely “too bad, you’re playing anyway.”

Will Tanner realize he’s wrong and claim his mate before Finley’s devotion is gone?

Finley Cooper is tired of waiting for his destined mate to be ready to claim him. In deference to human laws, he’s already agreed to wait until he’s eighteen. But now his birthday has come and gone—and his mate has a new set of excuses. Finley doesn’t understand it any more than his wolf does, and he’s beginning to wonder if fate made a mistake.

When Finley finally has enough, he threatens to find someone who will claim him if Tanner doesn’t, and Tanner realizes he needs to come to terms with his fears or risk losing his mate forever.

Grace’s Social Links

NEW IN MM ROMANCE THIS WEEK!

I hope you enjoyed this week’s episode of Holly’s Quirky Questions. Be sure to check out the Class of 22/23 MM Authors while the promotion is still open. You won’t be disappointed. A huge thank you to Raquel Riley and Grace R Dun for their candor and time for this week.

Until next week, keep smiling, read lots, and be kind – the world needs it!

Find a Spark of Magic Every day