Everything Changes by Melanie Hansen (VBB, excerpt, and GIVEAWAY) ADULT title GFP

Everything Changes

by

Melanie Hansen

ADULT title

 

Two battle buddies. One fateful deployment. Two vastly different sets of wounds. One friendship changed forever.

A childhood in foster care taught Carey Everett to hold tight to what he has. Enlisting in the Marines gave him purpose, but a life-threatening injury ended his career—and took his leg. Now fully recovered, Carey’s happier than he’s ever been. He has a fulfilling job, a chosen family and, best of all, a cherished friendship with Jase DeSantis, the platoon medic who saved his life.

Despite Jase’s heroism in combat, he’s haunted by his actions overseas. Playing music with his band keeps the demons at bay, but it’s a battle he’s starting to lose.

After a week of sun and fun in San Diego, Jase and Carey’s connection takes an unexpected turn. With change comes a new set of challenges. For Jase, it means letting someone else into his deepest pain. For Carey, it’s realizing love doesn’t always equal loss. In order to make their relationship work, they’ll have to come to terms with their pasts…

…or risk walking away from each other for good.

 

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Excerpt

His throat tight, Carey said, “Please look at me.” He tugged on their joined hands. “Please.”

Finally Jase dragged his eyes to his. The remoteness in them scared Carey even more than tears would have. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry for everything I said that night.”

“I know…”

“No, you don’t know, because I don’t think I’ve ever said it plainly, flat-out, that I’m so fucking sorry for every hurtful, untrue word that came out of my mouth that night.” Carey sucked in a fortifying breath. “And for not saying the words I should have said. Like thank you. Thank you for saving my life. Thank you for fighting asshole medics for me. Thank you for coming to the hospital, for moving in with me, for working out with me, for—”

“Stop.” Now Jase’s eyes held the glimmer of a smile. “You don’t have to do this.”

“Oh, but I do.” Carey grinned. “Except it’d take all day, because there’re so many things I’m grateful to you for. Like teaching me yoga. Fetching the mirror. Playing me songs. What I should do is make you sit here and listen to all of it—”

“Carey, stop.”

“—but how about I just kiss you instead?” 

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About the Author:

Melanie Hansen doesn’t get nearly enough sleep. She loves all things coffee-related, including collecting mugs from every place she’s visited. After spending eighteen years as a military spouse, Melanie definitely considers herself a moving expert. She has lived and worked all over the country, and hopes to bring these rich and varied life experiences to the love stories she gets up in the wee hours to write. On her off-time, you can find Melanie watching baseball, reading or spending time with her husband and two teenage sons.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The tour dates can be found here

 

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My review:

 

4.25 stars

 

Everything Changes by Melanie Hansen centers around Jase DeSantis and Carey Everett, whose friendship was tested by the rigors and trauma of war. As time has passed, they have pursued different paths in life, but each is still dealing with wounds, and their relationship is changing but may not progress unless they learn to truly trust in each other.

 

This adult contemporary gay military romance is the first story in the ‘Resilient Love’ series and features two compelling veterans. There are many poignant elements that tug at the heartstrings combined with the exciting glimpses of a nascent music career, and one is captured immediately by these charismatic guys. Jase is a bit of a jerk at first, with his disregard for one of his fans, but his care and consideration for Carey definitely redeemed him in my eyes. One can’t help but ache for Carey’s back story as well, and it makes his wariness understandable.

 

The author did a wonderful job of showing some of the high prices paid by those who serve in defense of our country, both at the time of service and afterward, and I learned a lot about the challenges of coping with an amputation. I love stories that immerse me in the characters’ struggles even as they teach me, and I was particularly struck by the demonstration of accepting an individual’s choice of how he or she wants to live life. Be prepared to need tissues, as there are several very emotional episodes that are cathartic and enlightening. There are sizzling intimate scenes, but there are also wonderful demonstrations of the intense brotherhood that forms among those who serve.

 

It would have been nice to have a little more depth to some of the secondary characters, but I think several of them get their own time in the spotlight in other of this author’s books, such as Point of Contact. I look forward to being inspired by more of these folks and their courage and acceptance.

 

 

A copy of this title was provided for review

 

 

Keeping a Warrior by Melanie Hansen (VNBtM, guest post, excerpt, and GIVEAWAY) GFT ADULT title

It is my pleasure to present a guest post by author Melanie Hansen, who shares...

 

Hi, my name is Melanie, and I’m a pantser! The way my process looks, I get an idea for a story. If it requires research, I’ll start doing that research, and then one day I sit down, pick what I think is a good starting point and start to write. That’s it. No outlining. Is it an easy and stress-free way to go about it? Definitely not. Does it work for me? Well, eight novels later, I’d say it does. 

One challenge of writing this way is that I don’t know what’s going to happen until it does. I’m feeling my way, scene by scene, sometimes sentence by sentence. There’ve been many times I’ve lain awake at night, worried out of my mind because I DON’T KNOW WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT. Sometimes it takes days to rework paragraphs, or even mere sentences, over and over and over, until I finally discover that magic combination of words which then opens the door and shows me the way forward. 

As a result, I’m not a fast writer and deadlines are very difficult and stressful for me. Another huge downside of pantsing is that I’ve written myself into a corner more than once. The worst was when I ended up scrapping almost 30,000 words because it was leading nowhere and I realized too late that it was the wrong place to have started in. 

On the opposite side of the spectrum, what I love about pantsing—as I go, I discover things I’d never thought of doing when the idea first popped into my head. I get to learn my characters almost the way the reader does, and it’s amazing to watch them develop along with the story. Sometimes a secondary character takes on a life of his or her own, and ends up getting a story. Since I’m not tied to an outline, I’m not afraid to deviate and go where my instincts are telling me to.

In short, my inexpert advice would be, whatever your writing process is, if it results in a finished book, trust it. It is NOT wrong. By all means, refine your process as you go and read all the writing advice you can get your hands on, but at the end of the day, you simply have to trust what works for you. Nobody else. For YOU.

Thanks so much for hosting me today!

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Keeping a Warrior

by

Melanie Hansen

ADULT title

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GENRE: Contemporary Romance

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BLURB:

Devon Lowe is a survivor.

A survivor of war. Of combat. And of a betrayal by men she considered her brothers-in-arms. But her trailblazing work as a Cultural Support Team member working alongside the Navy SEALs is too important for her to back down now.

Fresh off a painful break-up, Air Force pararescueman Rhys Halloran recognizes Devon’s trauma for what it is—something that’s left her isolated, but far from irreparably damaged.

With Devon’s trust still lying shattered back in Afghanistan, putting her faith in a man who’s nursing a broken heart isn’t easy. But she’s tired of people making her feel weak, and Rhys makes her feel anything but, sparking a heated attraction that was never part of the plan.

With all eyes on Devon to prove herself in a brutal man’s world, having it all will mean putting her heart on the line like never before. But when it comes to Rhys, it’s an uphill battle she’s ready to fight.

Publisher’s Note: Keeping a Warrior deals with topics some readers may find difficult, including past sexual assault.

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EXCERPT

 

Rhys watched until Devon had disappeared safely into her room, then turned toward his own with a sigh.

“If I were you, I’d watch yourself with her.”

The voice came at Rhys out of the darkness, and he jumped. “Jesus!”

Mullet stepped out of the shadows where he’d been leaning against the wall. He held up his phone. “Came out to call my wife, saw you drive up with Lowe.” He paused. “What were y’all doing?”

None of your business. “Just talking,” Rhys said tightly. “Unwinding. What’s it to you?”

“Man, it ain’t nothin’ to me. Just think you should be aware of what you’re dealing with.”

“We were just talking,” Rhys emphasized with a slash of his hand. “What exactly am I ‘dealing’ with?”

“Why don’t you ask one of the guys she accused of rape? Oh wait, he’s dead.”

Rhys rocked back on his heels. “What?”

“Yeah, that first team she was attached to in Kandahar?” Mullet’s voice was hard. “Lowe started fucking one of the dudes there, and when she found out he was engaged, she lost it and accused him and two other guys of rape.”

Rhys’s mouth flapped open and closed uselessly.

“She was hanging out with them,” Mullet went on. “Drinking with them, you know? A real party girl. Got into a relationship with this dude, and when he tried to break it off ’cause of his fiancée, she turned on him, tried to ruin his career.”

“Where did you hear this?” Rhys croaked. “Did she tell you this?”

“Nah.” Mullet shook his head. “You think El-Tee isn’t gonna vet anyone we’re bringing on board?”

Rhys’s face went hot with anger. “And then what, our leadership just sat down and gossiped with you about it, knowing it could destroy unit cohesion before it even had a chance to form? No way. Try again, and leave El-Tee out of your bullshit story.”

“Fuck you with the gossip and the bullshit,” Mullet growled. “All you need to know is it’s a fact that accusations were made, there was an investigation, and Lowe was transferred off the team.”

The team Rhys had been a part of for such a short time. One mission. The mission where Devon had made such an impression on him.

“It’s your life, Halloran, but that girl’s trouble, and if I were you, I’d keep it strictly business.”

He strode off, leaving Rhys numb with shock. He sucked in a few deep breaths, horror freezing his blood when he saw Devon standing there, an ice bucket in her hand, her face white as a sheet.

Oh, God. She must’ve heard everything.

“Devon.” Rhys took a step toward her, and she put up a shaking hand to ward him off.

“Just in case you’re wondering if his facts are true,” she said tonelessly, “they are.”

Devon’s knuckles clenched white on the bucket, her lips twisting in a bitter smile. She shoved open her door, and right before she disappeared inside, she turned to look back at Rhys.

“Not all war stories are heroic, you know.”

She shut the door with a quiet click.

Amazon buy link

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Melanie Hansen doesn’t get nearly enough sleep. She loves all things coffee-related, including collecting mugs from every place she’s visited. After spending eighteen years as a military spouse, Melanie definitely considers herself a moving expert. She has lived and worked all over the country, and hopes to bring these rich and varied life experiences to the love stories she gets up in the wee hours to write. On her off-time, you can find Melanie watching baseball, reading or spending time with her husband and two teenage sons.

Social Media:

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Goodreads

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GIVEAWAY

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The tour dates can be found here

Point of Contact by Melanie Hansen (VBB, excerpt, and GIVEAWAY) GFT ADULT title

Point of Contact

by

Melanie Hansen

ADULT title

Blurb:

There'd forever been a thread running through Trevor Estes's life—his son Riley, strong and constant like heartbeat. But when Riley is killed in combat, everything in Trevor's life unravels into a mess he doesn't know how to mourn.

Until Jesse Byrne, Riley's friend and platoon mate, arrives on his doorstep with a box of Riley's things. Jesse's all-too-familiar grief provides an unlikely source of comfort for Trevor; knowing he's not alone is exactly what he needs. Trevor never imagined he'd find someone who fills his heart with hope again. As the pair celebrate Riley's memory, their unique bond deepens into something irreplaceable—and something neither man can live without.

But diving into a relationship can't be so simple. Being together means Trevor risking the last link he has to his son...leaving Jesse to wonder if he'll ever be enough, or if Trevor will always be haunted by the past.

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Excerpt:

Trevor reached up to brush Jesse’s tears away, letting his thumb linger along his cheek. “So thank you. Thanks for letting me see my son through you.”

Jesse’s lips trembled. “I miss him. I miss him so much.”

Trevor slid his hand to the back of Jesse’s neck. “I know.”

With a small sob, Jesse reached out to wrap his arms around Trevor, pulling him close. His body was shaking, tremors of grief Trevor knew only too well wracking him from head to toe. All around them the world ebbed and flowed, oblivious to the fact a twenty-year-old boy had been torn from it, leaving behind two people who’d loved him and who now clung together, their shared pain a strange sort of comfort.

Trevor stroked Jesse’s hair as he shuddered against him, biting his own lip against the tears that stung his eyes. This was Jesse’s fight, and Trevor marshaled every ounce of composure he could, determined to be strong in return for this man who’d given him so much.

“It’s okay,” he murmured over and over. “It’s okay to miss him. I miss him, too.” 


 Amazon




About the Author:

Melanie Hansen likes to consider herself a cynic, but at heart she’s a hopeless romantic. Every morning she gets up before dawn to spend time with her characters, creating stories that are deeply emotional, sometimes heartbreaking, but in the end where love always wins. Melanie’s proud of the fact that two of her books have been named as RT Book Reviews Top Picks. She grew up with an Air Force dad, ended up marrying a Navy man, and has lived and worked all over the country. Melanie hopes to bring these rich and varied life experiences to her stories about people finding love amidst real-life struggles.





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This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.



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The Ripped Bodice and Lady Jane's Salon, OC in celebration of LGBTQ Pride month

The final meeting of the Orange County Lady Jane's Salon at the Ripped Bodice in Culver City took place last Sunday, June 11, 2017. In celebration of LGBTQ month, a delightful combination of authors read excerpts from their works. These are ADULT titles!

I was particularly thrilled that the delightful Tara Lain was one of those featured, and it was lovely listening to her read. My apologies that some of the pictures are a bit fuzzy (and yes, I did tell the proprietors that they had a typo on their fun display, lol)


Tara Lain was on last, but not least, and read from her book, The Chauffeur's Son.

Tara Lain with just a few of her wonderful books

The lovely Melanie Hansen read from her book, Unquiet. It wasn't until I looked her up later that I realized I had read and was really impressed by her story, Signs of Life, which was definitely full of emotion and angst! My review for that one is at this link.

We had the opportunity to hear the charming Caraway Carter, who read from his sizzling erotic short story, The Doctor and the Mechanic, but got a little flustered reading his graphic m/m descriptions to a primarily female audience, lol. I was impressed he was able to read for so long...I'm tongue-tied in front of an audience no matter what I'm reading, lol.

Laina Villeneuve shared passages from her book, Return to Paradise, and I have to say, I agree...the horse Houdini is a great secondary character, lol. I probably will still mangle her name if I ever meet her again in person...I THINK it's something like...vil-nwev...but I am very much at the beginning of French lessons, lol.

And, the talented Louisa Bacio graciously hosted temporarily and then read excerpts from her mermaid tale (sorry, I didn't catch the title), but I do see she is part of a boxed set (Steamy and Dreamy) that released earlier this year and is only $.99 at the time I am writing this and also

Kudos to the Ripped Bodice for holding events like this. I wish the turnout was a little larger, but hopefully it will grow as more folks get familiar with the store and its events. I love chats that allow readers to interact with authors...and even if you live somewhere that is not as accessible for these kinds of events, don't forget there are online chats (e.g. Writerspace.com on various nights and Night Owl Reviews every other Monday). Check the schedule, they're held in early evening for us west coast folks but it is later for other areas.

Signs of Life by Melanie Hansen (Promo, Excerpt, Review) TBT ADULT titl

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Signs of Life

Resilient Love #2

Melanie Hansen

Releasing Sept 28th, 2015

Dreamspinner Press

Successful lawyer Jeremy Speer has it all—a loving husband, a beautiful home, and a cherished dream that’s about to become reality. He’s learned not to take happiness for granted, meeting the challenges of life and love head-on with unwavering commitment and fierce devotion. A series of tragic events leave Jeremy shattered, adrift on a sea of unimaginable pain. He’s able to piece his life back together, but instead of embracing it, he merely exists, using isolation and punishing physical exertion to keep the world at bay.

High school teacher Kai Daniels has a heart for at-risk kids—he was one himself, and a teenage brush with the law and some troubled years behind bars left him scarred inside and out. With courage, hard work, and the support of friends, he’s built a fulfilling life that leaves no time for a relationship.

An intense encounter with Kai at a gay club ignites a spark in Jeremy that he thought was extinguished forever, but he’s unwilling to destroy the fragile peace he’s managed to create, and he leaves Kai humiliated and disappointed. Things should have ended there, but a bizarre occurrence brings the two together in a way neither of them expected.

Excerpt:

Jeremy almost flinched as the man’s eyes met his, but somehow he managed not to. There was something vaguely familiar about him, which was why Jeremy had been watching him in the first place, but he was positive they’d never met; this man was unforgettable. When Jeremy had first walked into the club, so noisy and crowded, he’d almost turned around and left. It was a mad impulse that led him here in the first place, and it had been so long since Jeremy was impulsive that he felt shaken and out of his depth. That fact alone had stiffened his resolve to stay for at least a little while; then he’d gotten a glimpse of the beautiful, exotic man, and nothing could have convinced him to leave.

The first thing that struck Jeremy was how confident he seemed, how he held himself. Here was a man who knew who he was and was comfortable in his own skin. He was simply dressed in a tight black graphic T-shirt and jeans, but when he’d stood up from his stool to dig his wallet out of his back pocket to pay for his drink, Jeremy’s mouth watered as the jeans slid down to ride low on the man’s slim hips, showing a slice of muscled belly.

His shoulders were broad, his torso slim and compact yet rippling with muscle under the tight shirt. Long, lean legs were showcased by the soft, worn jeans, black boots completing the look. As Jeremy stood at the edges of the sheltering crowd and stared, he noticed the leather bracelets and silver rings the man sported on his wrists and hands, his eyes following the corded forearms up to a tattoo that was just visible on his right bicep, the lower edge of it peeking out of the sleeve of the shirt.

Jeremy edged closer, lust surging through him, his eyes drinking in thick black hair, carelessly styled, and a nose that had been broken before but did nothing to detract from the man’s startling good looks. As he tilted his head back to take a long swallow of his beer, Jeremy’s mouth watered at the arch of his throat, the muscles working as he swallowed, a pair of sinful lips wrapped around the tip of the bottle like Jeremy suddenly wanted them wrapped around the tip of his cock, drinking him down as Jeremy emptied his balls against the back of his throat….

Then the man’s eyes met his, the predatory heat in them making Jeremy’s knees weak. As the man licked his lips, Jeremy noticed with a jolt he was sporting a hoop through the lower one, emphasizing the plump fullness of it, and the simmering lust ramped up into raging hunger. Helplessly Jeremy moved closer, the man holding his gaze, the eyeliner he had lightly applied around his amazing golden eyes making him look even more exotic, dangerous.

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Melanie Hansen has spent time in Texas and Florida prisons…for work. She’s been in a room with a 17-year-old mass murderer who was also one of the most soft-spoken and polite teenagers she’s ever met. After a 13-year career as a court reporter, she can tell many stories both hilarious and heartbreaking.

She grew up with an Air Force dad, and ended up marrying a Navy man. After living and working all over the country, she hopes to bring these rich and varied life experiences to her stories about people finding love amidst real-life struggles.

Melanie left the stressful world of the courtroom behind and now enjoys a rewarding career transcribing for a deaf student. She currently lives in Arizona with her husband and two sons.

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Check out the first in the Resilient Love Series

Everything Changes

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My review:

4.75 out of 5 stars

Signs of Life by Melanie Hansen is part of the ‘Resilient Love’ series and is a sequel to “Everything Changes”. This story follows Jeremy Speer who has had to cope with horrendous tragedies, with varying degrees of success. He crosses paths a couple of times with Kai Daniels, under far different circumstances, but each time is memorable. Kai has had his own demons to deal with, and the hot sexy man he is attracted to is very clear about what he is willing to accept and what his boundaries are. Life tends to throw its share of curveballs, however, and each man has to decide whether what he thinks he wants is truly what will work for the two of them.

The word I would use to describe this story is intense. There is intense emotionalism, intense intimacy, and intense relationships. This is one of those tales that plummets down and takes its characters through a crucible that threatens to destroy them before allowing them to gingerly explore whether they can even reach for happiness. The secondary characters are also intriguing and it was delightful to get a chance to see Jase and Carey from the first book in the series and I look forward to reading Loren’s story. The heartbreaking issues of abuse and the terrible cycle of poverty and oppression are sensitively depicted and I suspect that anyone reading this tale will need several tissues, just as I did. I was enthralled by the combination of angst and searing intimacy and I look forward to reading more chapters in this compelling series.



A copy of this title was provided to me for review.