Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Happy Release Day! The River City Chronicles by J. Scott Coatsworth

COVER-River-City

J. Scott Coatsworth has a new queer magical realism book out:

A group of strangers meets at Ragazzi, an Italian restaurant, for a cooking lesson that will change them all. They quickly become intertwined in each other's lives, and a bit of magic touches each of them.

Meet Dave, the consultant who lost his partner; Matteo and Diego, the couple who run the restaurant; recently-widowed Carmelina; Marcos, a web designer getting too old for hook-ups; Ben, a trans author writing the Great American Novel; teenager Marissa, kicked out for being bi; and Sam and Brad, a May-September couple who would never have gotten together without a little magic of their own.

Everyone in the River City has a secret, and sooner or later secrets always come out.


iBooks | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | QueeRomance Ink | Goodreads

                                                                        Amazon


Giveaway

One lucky winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card. Enter via Rafflecopter for a chance to win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway






Excerpt

Matteo stared out the restaurant window into the darkness of Folsom Boulevard. It was getting dark earlier as summer edged into fall. Streetlights flickered on as cars drifted by, looking for parking or making the trip out of Midtown toward home.

The sign on the window read “Ragazzi” (the boys), lettered in a beautiful golden script just two months old. Investing in this little restaurant his uncle had left to them when he'd passed away had been their ticket out of Italy. But now with each passing day, as seats sat empty and tomatoes, pasta, and garlic went uneaten, the worry was gnawing ever deeper into Matteo's gut.

Behind him in the open, modernized kitchen, Diego was busy cooking—his mother's lasagne, some fresh fish from San Francisco, and some of the newer Italian dishes they'd brought with them from Bologna. The smells of boiling sauce and fresh-cooked pasta that emanated from the kitchen were entrancing.

They'd sent the rest of the staff —Max and Justin—home for the evening. The three customers who had shown up so far didn't justify the cost of keeping their waiter and busboy on hand.

Matteo stopped at the couple's table in front of the other window. "Buona sera," he said, smiling his brightest Italian smile.

"Hi," the man said, smiling back at him. He was a gentleman in about his mid-fifties, wearing a golf shirt and floppy hat. "Kinda quiet tonight, huh?"

"It always gets busier later," Matteo lied smoothly. "Pleasure to have you here. Can I get you anything else?"

"A little more wine, please?" the woman said, holding out her glass so the charm bracelet on her wrist jangled.

"Of course." He bowed and ducked into the kitchen.

He gave Diego a quick peck on the cheek.

His husband and chef waved him off with a snort. "PiĆ¹ tardi. Sto preparando la cena."

"I can see that. Dinner for a hundred, is it? It’s dead out there again tonight.”

Diego shot him a dirty look.

Matteo retrieved the bottle of wine from the case and returned to fill up his guests' glasses. “What brings you in tonight?” Maybe they saw our ad.…

“Just walking by and we were hungry. I miss the old place though.… What was it called, honey?”

Her husband scratched his chin. “Little Italy, I think?”

“That’s it! It was the cutest place. Checkered tablecloths, those great Italian bottles with the melted wax… so Italian.”

Matteo groaned inside. “So glad you came in” was all he said with another smile.




Author Bio

J. Scott Coatsworth

Scott lives with his husband Mark in a little yellow bungalow in East Sacramento, with two pink flamingos by the front porch.

He spends his time between the here and now and the what could be. Indoctrinated into fantasy and sci fi by his mother at the tender age of nine, he devoured her library. But as he grew up, he wondered where the people like him were.

He decided it was time to create the kinds of stories he couldn’t find at Waldenbooks. If there weren’t gay characters in his favorite genres, he would remake them to his own ends.

His friends say Scott’s brain works a little differently – he sees relationships between things that others miss, and gets more done in a day than most folks manage in a week. He seeks to transform traditional sci fi, fantasy, and contemporary worlds into something unexpected.

He runs Queer Sci Fi and QueeRomance Ink with his husband Mark, sites that bring queer people together to promote and celebrate fiction that reflects their own reality.

Author Website: https://www.jscottcoatsworth.com
Author Facebook (Personal): https://www.facebook.com/jscottcoatsworth
Author Facebook (Author Page): https://www.facebook.com/jscottcoatsworthauthor/
Author Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jscoatsworthAuthor Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8392709.J_Scott_CoatsworthAuthor QueeRomance Ink: https://www.queeromanceink.com/mbm-book-author/j-scott-coatsworth/Author Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/J.-Scott-Coatsworth/e/B011AFO4OQ

 





























































Friday, May 25, 2018

Celebrate Community Sale!



In case you missed it, all three imprints are on sale for 30%. off. This includes pre-orders of Qui Es-Tu, Chyna? the French translation of Chyna Doll. Check out the huge selection at Dreamspinner Press, Harmony Ink, and DSP Publications. 

Monday, May 14, 2018

Anniversary Sale!


Dreamspinner's anniversary sale continues with 35% off the entire store. Check out my back list here. They're also offering a coupon promotion for RT so you can get a double discount for a few days. The RT coupon runs May 15-20 as follows:

RT Booklovers Convention Coupon: $3.00 off $10.00 purchase using coupon RT10.

$4.00 off $15.00 using RT15.

$5.00 off $20.00 using RT20

This great deal includes pre-orders. You can browse the huge selection at the Dreamspinner Store









Thursday, May 10, 2018

Flash Sale!



Third Son is 50% off list price today and tomorrow (May 10-11) on the NineStar Press site only. Don't pass up the chance to grab this fast-paced thriller for half-price.

Here's what some reviewers have said about Third Son:

Diverse Reader: I just have to say, I loved this book so much! I honestly wouldn’t change anything about it, it was a perfect mix of romance, drama, intrigue and suspense! I couldn’t put it down!

Rainbow Book Reviews: Mickie B. Ashling has penned another winner with this engrossing tale of an American raised in China, who seeks to unite the two halves of himself while solidifying his relationship with his Chinese lover. This excellent and atmospheric story unfolds through the eyes of Niall, the estranged American, and is a masterly blend of romance, mystery, and intrigue. Loved it!

Goodreads: Five Stars

Hot damn! I loved the twists and turns this story took as it wove its way through the hearts and minds of the characters. We get to see how being the Third Son offers no guarantees of love or even, of life.
                                                             
                                                                   *****

If you are looking for a great romance here, you will be disappointed. Yes, there is definitely a romantic element, but it is almost a sidebar to the action and mystery that evolves at lightning speed. That is what makes this novel so exciting; it keeps you guessing from beginning to end. Once I was sure I had it figured out, the author would floor me with yet another attack that you thought the bad guy would never get away with, and somehow does.

Third Son is a shocking tale of intrigue and suspense, and one that mystery lovers will most definitely enjoy. I would recommend it for the action story it is, one that delivers on its promise.

                                                                  *****

On Top Down Under Book Reviews: There is a great atmosphere and sense of the here and now via culture and the sights in Third Son. From Victoria Harbour, Kowloon, to Buddhist temples, Macau, luxury hotels, eating out and the late night energy, to river dwellers, there’s a lovely backdrop set in and around Hong Kong throughout. I felt like I was there, and the author’s passion, knowledge and great world building added to that.

The Novel Approach: Third Son is a shocking tale of intrigue and suspense, and one that mystery lovers will most definitely enjoy. I would recommend it for the action story it is, one that delivers on its promise.

Amazon: Third Son is an exciting new novel from Mickie B. Ashling set in Hong Kong. As a person who has never traveled to this part of the world, I loved seeing the city through the eyes of her characters. This novel is more a suspenseful mystery than a classic romance, and the tension never lets up until the very end. I found this book to be Ms. Ashling's most exciting offering to date. The cast of characters is beautifully described, and they're as opposite from one another as their vastly rich cultures. Likable secondary characters add depth and texture to the story as it unfolds. Highly recommended.

Blurb

American Niall Monroe returns to Hong Kong—a city he calls home—after being away for eight years. He hopes to finally find happiness with Peter Wei, his closeted lover of fourteen years, but is disappointed to find Peter has been put in an untenable position. He must marry and produce the long-awaited grandchild or get cut off by his millionaire father.

Gerard Sun, a talented artist, bursts back into Niall’s life after a one-night stand in Las Vegas. Circumstances force the men to deal with their attraction, especially when Niall’s firm considers Gerard to help promote tourism in the People’s Republic of China.

James, Peter’s younger brother, has been Niall’s best friend since they were schoolmates. He encourages Niall to ditch his brother and move on. He encourages Niall to ditch his brother until he finds out Niall is thinking of dating Gerard Sun, a talented artist.

Coming home seemed like a great idea until it wasn’t. Niall finds himself a stranger in a familiar landscape, slammed on multiple fronts by broken promises, jealousy, intrigue, unimaginable deceit, and undercurrents of evil. As his dreams quickly turn into nightmares, Niall reaches out to new allies for support.