 Not in the Stars, the 4th Anthology from the Authors at Mischief Corner books is now available for purchase and download from the following places:
Mischief Corner Books, Amazon, ARe, B&N This is my first ever attempt at writing a Sci-Fi story so I hope I managed to pull it off. BLURB: Since the dawn of human expression, man has gazed up at the heavens in wonder, inspired by the wheeling of the stars to explain his surroundings. While our perception of those surroundings have changed, from thinking of the Earth as a flat, stable plane to realizing we’re falling through space in a tiny atmospheric bubble, our wonder remains constant. Space stations, alien races, far-flung planets—join the Mischief Corner authors as they explore the possibilities the stars might offer. The catch? Returning to mundane old Earth might be harder than you think. Finding Connor: The Borillian Twist, Book 1 - Toni Griffin Mark, a RAAF fighter pilot, is on leave for the first time since the aliens decided to say 'Hello'. He meets Connor, a numbers man for a casino, at a gay bar and danced the night away. Their one night together changes their entire lives and what people think they know about life on Earth. The Usual Conventions: Unconventional Romances 1 - Mathilde Watson When Chris meets the alien—man—of his dreams, "Ensign Brodeich Geinn" aka actor Brody Gates, it's as one of the coordinators for the first annual Science Fiction Convention in North Carolina. To his delight, Brody seems to return his interest, albeit in typical alien "Brodeich" fashion. Awkward alien or not, Chris is more than willing to play out any sexual fantasy for his SciFi crush, especially when Brody fumbles over the simplest of human conventions. Feel Me - Freddy MacKay One terrorist blast changed Master Tobias Zimmer's entire existence, relegating him to being nothing more than just a "Coppies" because of the metal replacing his flesh. As the once future Shogun of moon colony Orion 1, he now idles his time away keeping tabs on the Loyalists while his father and brother broker negotiations with the Earth Consortium. A confrontation with his childhood enemy, Dr. Thorsten Nordenfelt, sets into motion events that cannot be undone and puts Tobias's sheltered heart at the center of the colony's attempts to free itself from the repressive Earth's rule. Shax's War: Brimstone 3 - Angel Martinez The boys desperately need a vacation. With the not-quite-ill-gotten gains from the Frog incident, Shax takes the Brimstone's crew to the exclusive resort planet, Opal. What could possibly go wrong there? EXCERPT: 2076 The world had gone nuts. Well, actually that wasn’t quite correct. The universe had gone nuts. People had been predicting something like this would happen ever since the various governments had held a summit meeting and decided to step up deep space exploration some fifty years ago. Now they finally had their answer to whether or not they were alone in the universe. Even now, six months after the aliens had landed, Flight Lieutenant Mark Dwyer still had trouble believing everything that had taken place. His head was still reeling from the fact that aliens actually existed, let alone that they were humanoid in form. Right this second, the last thing Mark wanted to be thinking about was extraterrestrial beings. He had twenty-four hours’ leave from RAAF base Richmond before he had to report back for duty. Ever since the damn aliens had landed, Mark hadn’t had a single day off base and he needed to get laid in the worst way possible. Mark showered and dressed in the tightest pair of jeans he owned. He knew his ass looked good in them, and he hoped he might be able to garner some attention tonight. He threw on a black T-shirt and laced up his boots. One last look in the bathroom mirror and Mark splashed on a little cologne and ran a comb through his short dark hair. He walked back into his room and checked his wallet to make sure he had plenty of cash, stashed a couple of condoms and a lube packet inside it, then shoved it in his back pocket along with his phone. As much as Mark would love to leave the damn phone behind, he couldn’t. Even though he was technically on leave until eighteen hundred tomorrow, he could still be recalled to base at any time. Mark ran his fingers through his hair one last time. Satisfied with how he looked, Mark picked up his helmet and jacket and locked the door behind him. He shrugged into the jacket and wandered down the short path from his door to where his bike was parked, then straddled the machine. Once his helmet was in place, Mark started his custom-made Harley Davidson. His bike was his pride and joy and he rode it whenever he got a chance. That wasn’t to say he didn’t also have a truck, he just preferred his bike to any other mode of transport, except of course the fighter jets he flew for a living. The deep rumbling growl of his bike sent vibrations shooting through his body and settled in his balls. Mark felt his cock twitch, as it often did whenever he rode, and palmed his package, enjoying the sensations for a moment. “You gonna sit there and play with yourself all night, Lieutenant, or are we going to blow this popsicle stand and go and get laid?” Jeffery ‘Van’ Donovan, Mark’s best friend and fellow pilot, asked from the back of his own bike. Mark flicked up the visor on his helmet, then gave his friend the one-fingered salute. “Where’re the others?” he called, wanting to know where Nemo, Sticks and Doc were. Mark had his own nickname, but under threat of pain of death, none of his friends used it. Mark had been given ‘Top-Gun’ as he graduated first in his class. Only those who wanted to piss him off used his nickname. Van looked behind him and Mark followed his gaze. He saw the SUV with the other three members of their group drive round the corner and pull to a stop just behind Van. The driver’s window wound down and Scott ‘Nemo’ Fisher stuck his head out. “What the fuck are we waiting for? Let’s get the hell out of here before someone changes their mind.” “The man’s got a point, for once in his life,” Van remarked and chuckled. Nemo just stuck his finger up at Van and wound the window up again. Mark shook his head at his friend’s antics. He would swear on a bloody bible some days he was surrounded by toddlers. Not wanting to hang around any longer than necessary, Mark slapped his visor down, kicked up the stand and took off. Van soon pulled up beside him and kept pace while the SUV followed them. They took the streets through the base at a slow steady pace. They had to stop when they arrived at the guard gate, but a quick check of the logs and they were allowed to pass through. He waved at the guards as they took off once again. Mark let go of the breath he’d been holding, afraid the man was going to stop them. Once out on the streets of Richmond, Mark opened up his baby as he headed towards the city and what would hopefully be a most enjoyable night. Six months without enjoying another’s touch, Mark was on edge. With the way he was feeling, he’d probably go off like a horny fucking teenager the second some guy touched him. He knew a lot of the guys fooled around with others on base, but Mark had a specific you-don’t-shit-where-you-eat policy. It had kept him from having to deal with the inevitable crap he’d seen others go through when their little trysts had gone downhill faster than they could say ‘fuck it’. Mark knew he wasn’t the only one looking forward to tonight. Their entire group had been on lockdown for the last six months, and no matter how many times you jacked off in the showers, it just didn’t compare to sinking your dick into a nice tight ass or having a warm wet mouth swallow you whole. “Fuck,” Mark muttered as his cock took keen interest in his thoughts. He had a long ride in front of him and he couldn’t afford to be distracted. Mark glanced to his right and was happy to see Van right alongside him. It took them a good hour or so to make it in to the city, but Mark didn’t care. They needed a break and had to get away from the base. He was sick of being confined to the base without days off, all because fucking aliens decided it was time to come out of hiding and show themselves. Mark had been looking forward to tonight for weeks. Mark shook his head lightly. He was not going to think about that right now. Tonight he was on the prowl and there was no way in hell he was leaving the bar alone. They were lucky and found parking just down the road from where they planned to eat dinner. It was nothing fancy, just a good old-fashioned pub with burgers, fish and chips and steak. The beer was cold and the food was plentiful and cheap, which was rare these days. Van parked beside him and Nemo pulled the SUV in to the other empty space two spots down. Michael ‘Doc’ Clarkson, Stone ‘Sticks’ Barkley and Nemo all piled out of the car and met Van and Mark on the sidewalk. “You have no idea how badly my mouth is salivating at the thought of not having to eat base food tonight,” Doc said as they started the short walk back to the pub. “Oh yeah, I do. I can’t wait to get my hands on one of their smoked hickory bacon burgers,” Sticks announced as he licked his lips. Mark shook his head, but he didn’t comment. He wasn’t about to tell them he felt the same bloody way. The food on base was all right, but it wasn’t anything to write home about, and after six months with nothing but, Mark was starting to wonder if his taste buds were dying. They walked inside and the scents of beer, food and numerous bodies hit Mark. The noise level wasn’t too deafening, for which Mark was thankful. He was sure when they headed off to the clubs later that he would have his share of the thumping brain numbing music. Now though, there were televisions set up all around the joint. Some showed different sporting events, others had some music channel counting down to something or other. The music played in the background, not loud enough that people couldn’t talk and be heard without having to yell. “Grab a booth and I’ll get the first round,” Van said as he headed off to the bar. Sticks went with him to help carry the beers back. Mark looked around the dimly lit room, spotted a couple of empty booths over to the left, and headed in that direction. Mark slid in and Doc sat beside him while Nemo took a seat on the other side. They all picked up a copy of the laminated menu that sat on the table and looked it over. The only thing Mark was looking for was whether they had changed the menu since they’d last been here. They still offered Mark’s double beef and bacon burger and that was all he cared about.
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I'm taking place in today's scavenger hunt at Rainbow Gold Reviews. Head on over to their blog http://rainbowgoldreviews.wordpress.com/ to check it out.
The hunt commences at 2pm CST Good luck to all. 
My very good friend Mathilde Watson is joining me today for the last day of her blog hop tour promoting her new book Shrug it Off.
I had the opportunity to read Shrug it Off the other day after months of waiting for this story. Let me just say I wasn't disappointed. The story was different from any I'd read before and touched greatly on the inner demons we all face at one point or another in our lives. I know a lot of the things being said on the pages of this book I've said to myself during my life. Mathilde cut right to the heart of the matter and how people had to fight even against themselves for what they wanted. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone. Now to hand over to Mathilde. Greetings! Welcome to day number six in my SHRUG IT OFF blog tour! At each stop along my way I will randomly select one commenter to receive a free ebook from my backlist, AND, at the end of the tour, everybody who leaves a comment at any of my stops will be entered for a chance to win one of two $10 gift cards to All Romance Ebooks! And, of course, that includes this stop! Just be sure to include your email address in you comment so you can be contacted if your name is selected. For my first stop I visited with my good friend Angel Martinez and I introduced Stephen and his constant companions. You can check that out here: http://angelmartinezauthor.weebly.com/1/post/2014/02/the-first-stop-shrug-it-off-blog-tour.html On my second stop I introduced Connor at Iyana’s Rainbow: http://iyanajenna.blogspot.com/2014/03/in-spotlight-mathilde-watson.html On my third stop I spent some time with Cherie in the writing cave, talking about devils and angels: http://talesfromthewritingcave.blogspot.com/2014/03/shrug-it-off-blog-tour.html And I got to play with Freddy MacKay at stop number four where I talked about CATS!: .http://freddysstereograph.weebly.com/2/post/2014/03/shrug-it-off-bloug-tour-day-4.html Lexi Ander was my host for my fifth stop where I shared a little info about myself and a couple of embarrassing photos… http://lexiander.blogspot.com/2014/03/shrug-it-off-tour-and-giveaway-with.html Today I want to pay tribute to the little publishing company that put SHRUG IT OFF on the (virtual) shelves. Mischief Corner Books is the place where six friends and authors come together to cause literary madness and mayhem. We met on a mountain top in Tennessee, (greenest state in the land of the free), and despite having vastly different writing styles and a variety of genres, we found we got along well and decided to try working together. The gang consists of Angel Martinez, Silvia Violet, Andi Anderson, Freddy MacKay, Toni Griffin and myself. It all started with an anthology inspired by the retreat we attended together (CABIN FOR TWO) and then another anthology followed and another… and I’m pleased to say that I don’t see an end in sight. Without a doubt, I owe my fellow Mischievers a huge debt of gratitude. Without their encouragement—and no small amount of pushing and prodding—I would have likely given up on writing. And that would have sucked. Ever since I joined up with this ragtag group my writing had gotten much, much better and I am enjoying it more than ever! And I hope all the readers out there enjoy the new adventures I’m taking them on as much as I do! SHRUG IT OFF is available through Mischief Corner Books: https://mischiefcornerbooks.weebly.com/store/p40/Shrug_It_Off.html All Romance Ebooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-shrugitoff-1439693-149.html And on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IQBF7SA You can find Mathilde Watson (that’s me!) online at: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mathilde.watson.author Website: http://authormathildewatson.weebly.com I found out this afternoon that the following books of mine have been removed from sale.
I'm sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused my readers. It came as a bit of a shock to me. Please bear with me while I get this sorted out. I hope to have the books back on sale again as soon as possible. The Atherton Pack: Liam Ben Corey Hot Encounters: Frankie's Vamp Bryce's Cop The Thompson Agency: Dealing with the Dead Dealing with the Past Holland Brothers: A Very Holland Christmas  Protective Mate, the third book in my Holland Brothers series has been re released through Mischief Corner Books.
BLURB: Life isn't meant to be easy, but for Zachary Bennet the last two years have been downright hell. The one shining light in his life, his precious daughter, Hayley. Deciding he needs a clean break, Zack gets a new job in a small town called Leyburn in the hopes they can settle down and live a peaceful life. Between worry over one brother's increasingly erratic behaviour and constantly walking in on the other two making out with their mates, Simon Holland is ready to pull his hair out. All he'd ever wanted in life was a mate and a family. When his wish is finally answered with Zack's arrival, Simon finds out firsthand how far hate and bigotry can drive some people. But life wasn't meant to be easy and Simon would protect what was his to the end. BUY LINKS: Mischief Corner Books, Amazon, ARe, B&N, Smashwords Thanks to my official picker-outer Sheila Kelly the winners for the Protective Mate and Once a Cowboy contests have been chosen. Protective Mate: Traci Kurtz & Cinders Once a Cowboy: Laurie P If you could please contact me on [email protected] and let me know what file format you would like I will gladly send out your prizes. Format choices: PDF, ePub or Mobi  So, I'm not sure if any of you guys are interested, but I have this book coming out. Protective Mate is book 3 in my Holland Brothers series and is set for Re Release on Saturday 25th January. Like the first two this book has been revised and expanded and has gone from 25k to 50k. This makes it my longest book yet. Simply leave a comment and let me know which of the brothers is your favourite. You don't need to tell me why. :) I'll draw two lucky winners on Friday and once again you get the choice of PDF, ePub or Mobi formats. 
BLURB:
Life isn't meant to be easy, but for Zachary Bennet the last two years have been downright hell. The one shining light in his life, his precious daughter, Hayley. Deciding he needs a clean break, Zack gets a new job in a small town called Leyburn in the hopes they can settle down and live a peaceful life. Between worry over one brother's increasingly erratic behaviour and constantly walking in on the other two making out with their mates, Simon Holland is ready to pull his hair out. All he'd ever wanted in life was a mate and a family. When his wish is finally answered with Zack's arrival, Simon finds out firsthand how far hate and bigotry can drive some people. But life wasn't meant to be easy and Simon would protect what was his to the end. EXCERPT: Prologue First day of high school and Zack was still feeling overwhelmed by everything. He'd been at the top of the food chain in primary school, a big kid. Now he was starting at the bottom again. High School had not only a completely different feel to it, but also a different program and Zack knew it was going to take some time to get used to it. Zack shouldered his school bag and headed in the direction of an empty table across the quad so he could sit in peace and eat his lunch. Luck wasn't with him though as just as he was about to sit down he was nudged in the side by someone else trying to sit in the exact same seat. Zack looked up expecting to find a bigger kid about to tell him to buzz off. Instead he found himself staring at a pair of the brightest green eyes he'd ever seen, a cute nose and a smiling mouth. "Sorry. I didn't see you there," the girl said waving her book at him. Zack understood. He'd been looking in his backpack for his lunch and wasn't paying attention to what he was doing either. "Me too," Zack said as he turned to start walking away. "Hey, you don't need to go. The table is plenty big for the both of us." She waved at the remaining empty chairs. "I wouldn't want to disturb you." Zack said. "Nonsense. Name's Sarah Stewart. Who are you?" she asked as she took a seat and stared at Zack, waiting for him to sit down and start talking. "Well, I'm me, obviously," Zack replied with a straight face. Sarah giggled and the ice was broken. By the time the bell rang to signify the end of lunch they had become fast friends and by the end of the week they were inseparable. Their high school years flew past with the two of them sharing everything. Including Zack's biggest secret. The evening of the first full moon after Zack turned sixteen he and Sarah were lying on the floor in the lounge at his place, doing their homework. Zack's entire body heated, like his blood was boiling, then his arms started sprouting fur. He'd looked over at Sarah, saw her wide eyes staring back at him and said the only thing he could think of. "Please don't scream." He hadn't expected this to happen quite yet and he hadn't planned on his human best friend being there when he changed forms for the first time in his life. He really hoped Sarah could deal with what was going on because he couldn't lose her as a friend. Sarah's eyes widened even further as his words registered, then his bones started to reshape, Zack's face elongated and before he knew it, he stood on all fours tangled in his jeans and shirt and staring at his best friend as she looked back at him in complete wide-eyed shock. "Holy shit!" Sarah said breathlessly. Zack's mother came through from the kitchen. "Honey, would you two like—" her question cut off when she noticed Zack. His mom stopped in her tracks, mouth hanging open. Gathering her wits quickly she looked at Sarah to gauge her response to what she'd just witnessed. "Sarah, honey, are you okay?" "That is so fricken' cool!" Sarah turned and quickly picked up her homework before waving it in front of Zack's face. "Come on Zack! Be a good boy and eat this for me. That way I don't have to do it and I'll have such a good excuse." Sarah broke into a fit of giggles as Zack took a playful bite at the hand holding her homework. "Zack!" His mother scolded. Gentling her tone a little she said, "Go on up to your room Zack until you can shift back. Sarah and I need to have a nice long chat." Zack looked between his mother and best friend a couple of times, but not seeing any anger or worry from either of them he did as his mother directed and padded out of the room. Sarah tried to get him to eat her homework several more times after that day, always laughing at her own joke, Zack just smiled at his friend indulgently. After that everything else seemed like a piece of cake. Zack confided in Sarah when he realised the boys at their school held more appeal to him than the girls. Sarah simply hugged him and kissed him on the cheek, said being gay didn’t matter, and she would always love him. "You have to tell your parents," Sarah said as she pulled back from the hug. "But what if they stop loving me?" Zack asked, biting his lip. Zack also didn't want his folks to be disappointed in him and he was afraid if he told them he was gay, they would be. "Zachary Thomas Bennet!" Sarah scolded him. Zack cringed slightly at the tone in her voice. "Your parents love you to death. There isn't a single thing you could tell them that would change that fact. You remember how wonderful they were to me when I found out your big secret?" Zack sighed. Sarah was right. He knew his parents loved him. It didn't stop him from being scared though. That night he sat down in the lounge room with him parents. Zack took a deep breath and wiped his hands on his jeans, he was sweating so much. He picked up the remote and muted the television. "Zack?" his dad looked at him with a furrowed brow. Zack took another deep breath and then just blurted it out, "I'm gay." His mum surprised him. "Oh honey, I already knew that… Well I didn't know, but I'd suspected for a while." Zack stared at her like she'd grown another head. His mother just smiled brightly at him. Zack's dad stood from the chair he had been relaxing in. "Come here, Zack." His tone firm. Zack stood and slowly made his way to his father, he didn't think his dad would hit him, that wasn't the kind of man he was, but people had been known to do things they wouldn't normally when emotions ran high. When Zack stood in front of him, George Bennet pulled Zack roughly into his arms and hugged him. Zack stood stiff for a moment in his father's arms before he relaxed and hugged his father back. After a time his dad pulled back, but kept hold of his shoulders. "Your mother and I love you, no matter what. As long as you're happy then so are we." Zack nodded, a lump caught in his throat as his eyes started to fill. "Now, enough of this, can we get back to watching the news?" Zack chuckled and nodded. "Sorry," he said lightly as he stepped away and turned the sound back on. "Nothing to be sorry about." Zack knew his dad really meant that. He really did have the greatest parents in the world. Sarah, however, kept the knowledge of Zack's homosexuality from her parents until after they'd graduated from high school and moved into an apartment together. Her parents, being the religious, God-fearing people they were, were adamant Sarah have nothing further to do with Zack once they were told. Sarah refused and they informed her God would punish her for associating with him. The sneer directed in Zack's direction as he stood there and looked on was something he'd never experienced before. The utter hatred these two people had for him was mind-boggling. All because of the sex of the person Zack wanted to spend his life with. "You can take your God and go and get stuffed." Sarah told her parents before she turned, took Zack's hand, and pulled him out of the house. Zack didn't even want to contemplate what their reaction would have been had they known he was a werewolf as well as being gay. They'd probably have keeled over in apoplectic fits. Zack chuckled at that idea and continued to follow his friend. When they got home to their apartment, Zack walked inside and noticed a collar and lead hung beside the door. He stared at them for a moment, they hadn't been there when he'd left that morning. Zack turned as Sarah exploded in laughed in laugher. He stood there and watched as his best friend doubled over in glee before he raced down the hall and slammed the bathroom door closed. Zack shook his head, he knew after this afternoon Sarah had needed the laugh and he didn't mind being the instrument behind that. He loved Sarah and he had to admit the collar and lead were kinda funny. Once a Cowboy, by story from the Hot Off the Range Anthology released as a single title last week. I know, I know, I'm running a little late in holding this contest, but I figured better late that never. So, If you would like to go in the draw to win a copy of Once a Cowboy simply leave a comment. The winner will be announced on Friday. You have a choice of Mobi, Epub or PRF formats. :) 
BLURB:
Riding and herding. Those spurs that jingle-jangle-jingle. What is it about cowboys that so doggedly fires the imagination? Join the Mischief Corner authors as they give you their own unique takes on the cowboy mystique and mythos, from the American West, to Australia, to outer space. The cowboy story will never be the same… Once A Cowboy - Toni Griffin It's been six years since Jesse Howard has stepped foot on the Western Hills Cattle Station. Now that he's able, Jesse's returned. The problem is, he's not returning alone. Will Logan Kennedy, the love of his life, listen to Jesse's explanations or will Logan close the door on the future Jesse's dreamed about for so long. BUY LINKS: Mischief Corner Books, Amazon, ARe, B&N |
Toni GriffinToni Griffin lives in Darwin, the smallest of Australia's capital cities. Born Archives
November 2022
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