Lovesick Gods by Amanda Meuwissen (VET, excerpt, and GIVEAWAY) GFT

Lovesick Gods

by Amanda Meuwissen

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GENRE: Gay Paranormal Romance

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BLURB:

The elements touch everyone on Earth—Fire, Water, even Light—but every so often someone becomes more attuned to their elemental leaning and develops true power. When an evil Elemental known as Thanatos arrived in Olympus City, it saw the rise of its first hero—Zeus. But the death toll caused by defeating Thanatos changed Zeus, who by day is young detective Danny Grant.

It’s been six months since Thanatos terrorized the city at the start of Lovesick Gods. Danny should be used to his duty behind the mask, but the recent past haunts him. His girlfriend left him, he snaps at the barest provocation, his life feels empty—he needs an outlet, any outlet to pull him out of his depression.

Enter notorious thief Malcolm Cho, the Ice Elemental Prometheus. There was a time when Danny welcomed a fight with Cho, filled with colorful banter and casual flirtations that were a relief compared to Thanatos. Even as a criminal, Cho had recognized the threat Thanatos posed and promised to help Danny stop him, but the day Danny needed Cho, he never showed. Cho was the reason so many people died that day—including Danny’s mother.

Danny decides to teach the man a lesson and fan the fire of their attraction into something more. At worst, he’ll get some no-strings-attached sex out of the deal and finally blow off steam; at best, he’ll get Cho to fall in love with him and then break his heart to spite him. Danny doesn’t expect to fall for Cho in the process, and he certainly can’t predict the much darker threat on the horizon.

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Exclusive Excerpt

Just as Danny blinked from being across the parking lot to being right in front of Cho, his strength left him like a drop in blood sugar and he swooned. Falling into Cho, his vision swam around him with a wave of dizziness. He hadn’t realized how tired he was; he’d been having too much fun.

“Danny!” Lynn’s voice called distantly into his ear.

“Not how I imagined getting you in my arms someday, Sparky.”

Shit. Danny was helpless in the clutches of the enemy with Cho’s frigid hands clamping down on his arms. The horizon tilted, the ground coming up fast. He wondered if Cho had dropped him, but when he met the ground it was gentle and Cho’s hands didn’t feel as cold.

“How many times did you use that teleportation trick tonight? A dozen? More? Burnt out your charge, didn’t you?”

Danny couldn’t see clearly, couldn’t focus on anything but the sound of Cho’s voice, and Andre and Lynn louder in his ear desperate to know if he was okay.

Cho’s hands laid him out on the ground and he realized how vulnerable he was. Cho could do anything to him right now, had the perfect opportunity to rid himself of Zeus forever just like John had warned him about.

But as Danny laid there clinging to consciousness, waiting for Cho to do his worst, he didn’t even remove Danny’s mask.

“Another time, Sparky. Get your stamina up for our next date or I’ll be sorely disappointed.” A surprisingly warm hand lingered on Danny’s shoulder, and then Cho was gone.


The book is on sale for $0.99 during the tour

Amazon

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Amanda Meuwissen has been writing and posting online for many years, including maintaining the website and blog for the software company Outsell. She is an avid writer and consumer of fiction through film, prose, and video games, and is the author of the paranormal romance trilogy The Incubus Saga and young adult novel Life as a Teenage Vampire. Amanda lives in Minneapolis, MN, with her husband, John, and their two cats.

Author web links:

Website

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The tour dates can be found here 

a love that Disturbs by Medeia Sharif (spotlight, excerpt and GIVEAWAY)

Note from ELF:  I am reposting this (so, no, you are not experiencing deja vu, lol) because I had a hiccup this weekend when I was supposed to do so...and I wanted to make sure everyone got a chance to see this...

a love that Disturbs

by Medeia Sharif

Evernight Teen Publishing/60k words

Interracial/Romance/YA/Contemp/LGBT(Lesbian)

Maysa Mazari is alarmed by her mother’s talk about arranged marriage. As a hijab-wearing Pakistani-American, she wants to find love on her own. Her judgmental Muslim clique has protected her from racist taunts, although the leader is turning on her as Maysa strays from the group because of her attraction to Haydee.

Haydee Gomez is a former gang member and juvenile detention student. Now living with a clean-cut aunt, she wants to turn her life around, even though one person will never let her forget her roots—Rafe, her abusive pimp. Haydee attempts to pull away from a life of prostitution when she develops feelings for Maysa, although Rafe isn’t willing to give her up too easily.

Finding themselves in danger from Maysa’s friends and Haydee’s pimp, it’s apparent their love disturbs everyone around them as they fight to stay together. 

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EXCERPT

At least Rafe wouldn’t bother her for a few hours. He knew it was her first day in a new school. Haydee blew her nose, wiped her eyes, and left the bathroom. She walked into first period English and handed the teacher the pass. Students stared. A few had tattoos peeking from the edges of sleeves and shorts, but nothing like what she had. She felt like The Tattooed Woman and avoided staring back at them. She wasn’t in alternative school anymore, where most students had a nasty attitude about anything related to academics. The students in front of her had their books open and had been reading and writing before she walked in. They weren’t looking to fight her and she wasn’t going to fight them.

“Let me write your name down,” the teacher said. “I’ll make a folder for your work. How do you say your name? Heidi?”

“No, it’s Hay-dee,” she corrected Ms. Tookes. “Haydee Gomez.”

Ms. Tookes wrote her name on a notepad and nodded toward an empty desk, so Haydee sat down in a seat in the back with a textbook. The assignment was on the board, but Haydee had trouble seeing. She had lost or broken so many of her eyeglasses in the past that she stopped wearing them. She was slightly nearsighted and lived with her blurry vision just fine. Tomorrow she’d come to class on time and get a seat in the front.

She continued to receive some stares, but then students went back to work.

Feeling like she was on display, Haydee twirled the drawstrings of her hoodie, chewed the inside of her mouth, and smoothed down the baby hairs on her forehead. The door opened and she was grateful for another distraction. It was Maysa, her pink-and-green silk scarf glistening under the fluorescent lights. Haydee’s vision sharpened, as if she could see Maysa clearly, while everything around her was fuzzy. Maysa caught Haydee’s gaze and smiled before turning to Ms. Tookes. “May I take a few pictures of the students working?”

The teacher smiled back. “Take all the pictures you want.”

Maysa had a sunny, innocent demeanor. Haydee wondered what it would be like to have her life. She must have two parents taking care of her. She probably had brothers and sisters who were as nice as she was. Her parents were strict, if she had to cover her head like that, but they most likely were loving. Haydee’s curiosity intensified. She needed to know more about Maysa, who was walking to the back of the room where she was.

“Can I take a picture of you reading the textbook?” Maysa asked.

“Sure,” Haydee said. Anything. She wanted to please this girl. Haydee opened to a random page. It was a Shakespearean sonnet, which was like another language to her. Haydee liked to read, but not classic works. She enjoyed romance books and read any that she could get her hands on. They helped her escape from her own reality by taking her someplace else for a few hours.

Flashes sparked as Maysa took a few shots of Haydee. “You’re very photogenic.”

“Really?” Haydee looked up. “Let me see.”

Maysa neared her and held the back of the camera to Haydee’s face. Looking at the screen, Haydee saw she didn’t look too bad. Her bun was messy in a stylish way, and her head was tilted down to her book. Her cheekbones were sharp, and her right side was on display—not the left one with the black eye. “It’s a nice shot.”

Maysa smiled, and Haydee blinked, not knowing what else to say or do. She wanted to keep Maysa talking so that she wouldn’t leave right away. Because of the picture taking, a few other students had started talking and sneaked looks at the two of them. Haydee knew they must seem like an odd pair interacting with each other. Maysa showed her the next few pictures, at different angles. “I have to go now and get to the next classroom,” she said.

“Oh, all right.” Her gaze was riveted to Maysa’s slender form as she walked out the door.

Haydee’s phone vibrated again. When the teacher wasn’t looking, she slid it out of her pocket.

Got a nice dress for you tonight

Come to my place later so you can try it on

Red, your perfect color

And just like that, the moment was ruined. She shoved her phone back into her pocket. Like she needed another reminder of everything that was wrong in her life. She gritted her teeth and made fists, then forced herself to loosen her hands. She didn’t want to think about Rafe anymore, but how could she not? He was like a virus in her system and she couldn’t get rid of him. She admitted that he took care of her: he beat up johns who mistreated her, handed over any money he promised her, and challenged anyone who bothered her on the rough streets of Miami. 

If it hadn’t been for Rafe, she might have been dead at one point, because one of the johns locked her in a bathroom, threatening to kill her later, and he took care of the situation. There were the existing issues of earning money and a degree of safety, but surely she could find another line of work. How would she tell Rafe that she wanted out without having his temper explode? She had seen him cut a man’s face with a razor. Would he do the same to her?

Buy Links:  

Evernight Teen   Amazon      ARe

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Author Bio:

Medeia Sharif was born in New York City and presently calls Miami her home. She received her master's degree in psychology from Florida Atlantic University. Published through various presses, she writes middle grade and young adult short stories and novels. In addition to being a writer, she's a public school teacher.


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