A special something for you to read and listen to.

The Winter Fox is the prologue of my story A Frosty Tail. When my husband was looking for ideas to fill an online Advent Calendar for his Cub Scouts, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to share this short prologue with a younger audience so I made a recording of me reading it.

I’m now thinking of publishing this story, with illustrations if I can. Obviously, it would have to be under a different pen name, since Dawn Sister is associated with more adult content, hence the name Moon Willow Rose. Watch this space.

I’ll share a link to the audio below the story if you want to listen and read along.

Do feel free to share this with your children. I think The Winter Fox would make a perfect bedtime story.

The Winter Fox

When I was a child, I recall a story about how the foxglove came to be so called.

The fairy queen had taxed her fairy subjects to tidy up the forest, sweeping up all the leaves and debris and leaving the the forest floor sparkling clean.

She loved how beautiful her forest looked in summer and autumn, all green and golden, but did not like the amount of leaves that fell from the trees to litter the forest floor. She also disliked the idea that eventually the cool whites and greys of winter would arrive, taking all the colour from her beautiful forest. She ordered that the leaves be fused back onto the trees, thinking it would trick them into thinking it was still autumn so winter would never come.

The fairies loved their queen very much, so despite disagreeing with her, they followed her orders and spent all day tidying and replacing leaves. By the end of the day they were exhausted, but the queen kept finding fault with their work and getting them to sweep the floor several times over before she was satisfied.

Just as they were finally finished, and the fairy Queen was satisfied, a wandering fox appeared. Being a curious fox, as foxes usually are, he began to explore the very tidy forest floor, leaving foxy footprints everywhere. Out from each of his footprints spread tendrils of frost, the first signs that winter was on its way despite all the fairy folks’ efforts.

The fairy queen was very angry and ordered the fox to be captured. To prevent him from walking on her perfect forest floor, she ordered him to be and hung upside down by his feet. This would soon stop him spreading the cold frost of winter through her forest. She did not wish the trees to sleep, or the colour to be leeched from the land. She ordered that he be imprisoned that way forever. Fairy Queens can sometimes be a bit overdramatic, but this was extreme even for her.

The fox argued and pleaded with the queen, telling her that he had special work to do and that if she kept him suspended, there would be dire consequences for her precious forest.

“You cannot halt the passage of time.” Said the fox. “Winter must follow Autumn as sure as night follows day. Mess with the balance here and the equilibrium of the entire world is at stake.”

She would hear none of it, so obsessed was she over how her forest should look.

“Nothing will spoil the beauty of my forest. No winter snow or frost, and especially not a lowly, trickster, vagabond fox.”

The fairies followed the orders of their queen, but had heard the fox’s pleas and arguments. They had listened with growing concern, because they believed that this fox was special. He did not look like an ordinary fox. His fur was white as new fallen snow and glistened like frost in the moonlight. He was indeed a special fox. He was, in fact, the spirit of winter, and his imprisonment, could spell disaster for their forest.

After all, everyone needs to sleep, even the trees, or how could they wake stronger and more beautiful than ever ready for the spring and summer next year.

Once their queen had gone to sleep that night, the forest fairies rescued the fox. So that he would not leave any tell-tale fox prints as he escaped from the forest, they gave him four trumpet-like flowers from a digitalis plant to wear on his feet as slippers. The slippers also allowed him to move silently so as not to disturb the sleeping queen.

At the edge of the forest, he thanked the fairies for their help, warned them to prepare for the imminent winter, took off the flower slippers and disappeared into the night.

Winter arrived that night. The carefully replaced leaves fell from the trees once more, and were covered by a blanket of soft white, sparkling snow.

The fairy queen, though she had been rather silly to try to stop the passage of the seasons, was not punished. However, just to make sure she didn’t try to interfere again, the silver white fox cast some winter magic over her, making sure that she stayed asleep, just like her precious trees, until the first day of spring.

When the fairies picked up the discarded flower slippers in order to get rid of any evidence that they had helped, they saw inside that they had been marked with the delicate paw prints of the frosty fox.

The flowers have born the fox’s mark and name ever since: Foxgloves. You may see some, growing in your gardens or in the forest. They’re very tall and very beautiful, but don’t ever pick them. The silver white fox might just need them as slippers again someday.

 

 

Written by Moon Willow Rose

 

Click here to find the audio version.

Rainbow Advent Calendar 2022

Hey everyone, Merry Christmas. Three more sleeps to go. Who’s excited?

There have been so many awesome stories this year in the Rainbow Advent Calendar. Click here to check out all the stories before mine. Below is a list of all the amazing authors taking part this year.

The last two years have been a bit of a ride, haven’t they?

I last wrote for the Rainbow Advent Calendar in 2019 with Shutter Angel which turned it to be the last thing I wrote and published before we were hit by a world wide pandemic.

Shutter Angel and A Frosty Tail, my previous Advent Calendar offerings, are available for free from Prolific Works. Just click on the title to claim a copy.

For updates, excerpts and other news feel free to follow my blog, and also to join my author group, Love Inside the Rainbow, on Facebook.

I had fully intended to share another novella this year, but time and the novella (which is now almost novel length with no hint of stopping) got away with me.

What this means is, I will definitely be publishing at least one novel in 2023. However, it also means I had to whip up a flash fiction for the Rainbow Advent Calendar.

I hope you enjoy this short but sweet story about a couple moving into their first home a few days before Christmas. This story contains a lot of fluff and a large cardboard box.

The Christmas Box

“That’s the last box, Sean.” Steven grunts as he deposits a box with great ceremony in the middle of our new living room, the only space in a room filled with removal boxes of all shapes and sizes.

“Our first flat together,” I say with more than a little excitement in my voice.

I glance over at Steven, biting my lip as I see the sapphire sparkle in his eyes.

“Our own space away from everyone. No nosey sisters.” He smiles.

I groan and nod, stepping over a box labelled “kitchen crap”.

“No farting dads.”

Steven snorts, walking around the far side of a box boldly named “Gimp masks for the bedroom”. That is the last time I let my brother help us move house.

“And no more of my brother’s warped sense of humour.” I glower at the afore mentioned box.

Steven rolls his eyes and shakes his head.

“Let’s hope he’s put bedroom stuff in there and not any actual gimp masks.”

“I wouldn’t put it past him.” I say with a sigh.

We’re facing each other now, no boxes between us. No relatives helping us move in, or hindering us in my brother’s case.

“Can we celebrate now?” I ask, not quite believing we’ve finally got to this point.

“I think we might just be able to.” Steven grins.

With a whoop, I gather him into my arms and spin him around. No mean feat considering how little space there is to move amongst all the boxes.

I finally put him down amidst the boxes and his laughing protests and we kiss, soundly, and fiercely.

“Our first home,” he says. “I can hardly believe it.”

“I know. I still think all of this is a dream.”

And I don’t just mean the new flat, I mean everything: meeting him, capturing his heart, and knowing he holds mine. When did I get so lucky?

His tired blue eyes show the strain and stress of the last few weeks when we thought this flat would never be ours.

Negotiating our way through estate agents, banks, financial advisers and coordinating removal vans and well-meaning but mostly unhelpful relatives has taken its toll on both of us.

Whoever said that moving house was the most stressful activity was only partially correct. Moving house a week before Christmas has to be the most stressful activity of all.

“Now we just have to find the champagne your mum bought us,” Steven says with a slightly hysterical laugh, glancing about at the mishmash of boxes and bags. “It’s in a bag somewhere.”

“Amongst the many bags she brought up filled with all sorts of stuff she thinks we should have in our first home.”

I grab his hands and turn him back to face me.

“Forget the champagne. Let’s find some bed sheets and pillows and celebrate properly by christening our new bed.”

“That’s the best idea you’ve had all day.” Steven agrees, and then grimaces. “Not that all of your ideas haven’t been great, all day, in fact, all the time. You always have the best ideas, Sean.”

I giggle as he stumbles his way out of the hole he just dug. I love it when he backtracks like that.

“Don’t forget it was your idea to buy a flat,” I remind him, “and it was you that found this prince of a place amongst all the thousands of frogs.”

“I have my moments, you have to agree.”

“I do, wholeheartedly. Now what’s the betting that my brother has put all the bed sheets in a different box and really has filled that bedroom box with gimp masks?”

We both laugh as we start to unpack boxes.

Four hours later, we’re not laughing anymore. We’ve unpacked sixteen boxes, and still haven’t found anything that we could remotely use to sleep on apart from a checked picnic blanket.

We have found the Christmas tree and some lights that still work even after six months in storage. We’ve even managed to make some space on the living room floor, however, mostly by moving stuff into the bedroom, which was where we really wanted to be.

Frustration does not even begin to cover how we’re both feeling right now.

“I am going to throttle your brother,” Steven growls as I spread out the picnic blanket for us to sit.

We snack on cocktail sausages, scotch eggs, humous and tortilla chips, and drink milk. All courtesy of my mum.

“And this is hardly a fitting first meal in our new home,” he grumbles. “But thank your mum for stocking our fridge with such delicacies.”

I snort. “Where’s your sense of adventure, Sean? This is a picnic in the middle of a forest.”

“We’ve got one fake Christmas tree, Sean, hardly a forest.” He frowns.

“Cardboard is made of paper which comes from trees.” I wave my hands around the room encompassing all of the mostly flattened cardboard boxes. “This is our forest. This food is what we’ve both foraged for with sweat and tears.” I hold up my mug of milk as a toast to my lovely, but sometimes pragmatic boyfriend. “And this is the nectar of the gods. To us, and our new home.”

“You and your imagination.” Steven wears his usual indulgent smile whenever I go off on a tangent like this.

He never stops me, even when I can see he doesn’t always get it. I never fail to make him smile, though and that makes it all worthwhile. His smile lights me up inside.

“Maybe we should get rid of some of these boxes, put them down the back stairs and then we’ll have the room to unpack some more and find those bloody bedsheets,” Steven suggests, ever practical now that we’ve had a rest and had something to eat.

He stands and starts to move the biggest box, one I’ve had my eye on since we were given it to help us move. Sometimes being an adult means doing stressful stuff like moving into a new flat, and sometimes it means developing an appreciation for a really good box.

“Not that one.” I gasp as he begins to flatten it.

He stops and stares at me and then at the box.

“Sean, it’s just a box.”

“What?” My face, my entire body, must register the shock at his words. “It’s not just a box, Steven—it’s another adventure.” I get up and pull the box away from him to prevent it being flattened. “It’s a cave, a hideaway. Cut a door and paint it blue and it’s a TARDIS. Imagine the thrill of finding a time machine in your living room.

“It’s a secret hide-out for a notorious gang. It’s Robin Hood’s treehouse. It’s a pirate ship, on its way to a treasure island. X marks the spot.

“It isn’t just a box, it’s a prototype spacecraft that can fly faster than the speed of light and take us to new solar systems.

“It’s a portal to a magical world, where time passes differently, and you can live out an entire lifetime when only minutes have passed in this world.

“It’s a meeting place of the gods that only a special chosen few can ever find. Don’t touch the food on that table, it’s set out for the gods, not us.”

I spread out my hands, fingers splayed as I walk around the box and around Steven. He spins in a circle watching me, with a look of wonder and of bemusement on his face. He thinks I’m crazy. Perhaps I am.

“Where do you get your ideas from?” he asks, smiling but shaking his head.

“Where’s your sense of imagination, Steven? Didn’t you ever play with a cardboard box when you were a kid?”

He thinks for a moment and looks like he’s going to nod, but then he frowns and shakes his head. Do I see a flash of regret in his lovely dark eyes?

“You know what? I don’t think I did.”

I can almost taste his regret. What kind of childhood did he have if he’s never played with a cardboard box? I remember one Christmas, that’s all I wanted. Whenever my parents asked me, that was my answer: “I want a cardboard box.”. They couldn’t persuade me otherwise. No Play Station, or bike, or expensive mobile phone. They tempted me, oh yes. My parents dangled those things like carrots in front of a donkey, but I didn’t take the bait. I wanted a cardboard box and that Christmas morning I got the biggest-ass cardboard box I’d ever seen. My parents were awesome. They still are. I loved that cardboard box. It was the best gift I’ve ever had.

Until I met Steven. Now he’s the best gift. His smiles, his touch, the way he looks at me. I don’t take it for granted and I don’t like to boast, but people would kill to have someone look at them the way Steven looks at me.

He’s looking at me that way right now. Like he can’t quite believe his luck.

I can’t believe my luck, more like, because he chose me and has given me so much. I want to give him everything in return, including the childhood experiences he seems to have missed out on.

“Come on.” I grab his hand, whilst at the same time, grabbing the box.

“What are you doing, Sean?” he gasps, regarding the container warily.

I grin. “We’re going to have some fun with this right now, because we can and there’s no one to interrupt us because this is our place. Just us. You and me together.”

“Oh?” He seems caught up in my enthusiasm, mixed with his own growing excitement. “What are we going to make with it?”

Now he’s got the idea.

My grin broadens, and the tip of my tongue skims across my top teeth. It’s an action I know sends him crazy and I can see his pupils dilating, as his eyes flicker to my lips and back to meet my gaze. I pull him to me, and down to the ground so that we can slip inside the box, just big enough for two of us lying down.

“Why don’t we start by making a love nest and work our way up from there?”

 

Rainbow Snippets 11-13 November 2022

Hi everyone,

NaNoWriMo is well underway. My current word count stands at a little over 26k.

My snippet this week takes place a little before the snippet I shared last week because I never write in order.

This WIP still does not have a blurb and the title is a secret until December when the story will be shared as part of the Rainbow Advent Calendar.

“What’s going on?” Raphael asked.

“Wilf thought the best way to show his Christian spirit would be to send a young man in dire need of care, back out into the snow.” Father Jacob announced.

“I was protecting my wife.” Wilf grumbled in defence. “Look at her, she’s terrified. She didn’t know where to look.”

Angela, Wilf’s wife, looked far from terrified. She looked very much like she had known exactly where to look when confronted with a naked young man at the kitchen door.

So, it seems quite a lot of the snippets I’ve shared over various platforms this month have involved the word “naked”. Hmmm.

Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers to gather once a week to share six sentences from a work of fiction-a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation (no spoilers please!).

To find out what others have shared this week visit the Rainbow Snippets Facebook group.

In other news, I have joined Mastodon. No idea how to share a link for my profile, because it doesn’t appear so straightforward, but if you’re on there and would like to find me, I’m on the romancelandia.club server as Dawn Sister.

This new story is written in the same world as A Frosty Tail which was also written for The Rainbow Advent Calendar a few years ago. My intention is for them to be read as standalone stories, but characters do make repeat appearances, so if you want to meet them first, feel free to download A Frosty Tail free from Smashwords.

Rainbow Snippets/ NaNoWriMo

Hi Everyone,

I haven’t posted for quite some time due to various things in real life.

I’m taking part in NaNoWriMo this month so thought I’d get back into regular posting and use that as a way of staying on track with NaNo.

For those of you who don’t know, NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, is an international online event where writers attempt to write 50,000 words in a month. For the mathematicians out there that works out at 1,667 words per day. This will be my thirteenth year taking part and I’ve managed to succeed, sometimes by the skin of my teeth, each time.

Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers and bloggers to gather once a week to share six sentences from a work of fiction, a WIP, or a finished work, or even a 6 sentence book recommendation (no spoilers please).

My snippet this week comes from my NaNo project which is a sequel to my Rainbow Advent Calendar story A Frosty Tail. It features a character from that story, with a cameo appearance from Jack and Liam, the main characters from A Frosty Tail.

This new story will be available for free as part of the Rainbow Advent Calendar event online in December. I can’t tell you when, because that’s a secret but I will be posting about it soon, so you can join the event and get a free seasonal themed story every day from some amazing authors.

The blurb is yet to be written, because, let’s face it, we all hate blurbing. No doubt I’ll wake up one night near to my submission deadline with the perfect blurb fully formed in my head, and then I’ll go back to sleep and promptly forget it all and have to make something up that doesn’t sound nearly as good.

Meanwhile, here is my snippet:

“You were looking for me?” Raphael asked with a degree of surprise that distracted him from the fact that there a was a naked stranger in his kitchen.

“‘Course I was.” The young man grinned, showing a pair of sharp white incisors that made him look very cat-like. “I’ve been looking for you all night. Ever since…y’know…”

He waved his hands about as if that was some sort of explanation before standing up and stretching languidly. The display sharply reminded Raphael that the man was very much naked and he backed away until he hit the opposite bench, his eyes looking everywhere but at the man’s lithe, sinewy body. This might be a dream, but that still didn’t give Raphael the right to be a creep.

To find out what others hav posted in the Rainbow Snippets Group click here.

To find out more about NaNoWriMo click here. If you are already taking part in NaNo you can add me as a writing buddie I’m Dawn Sister on there as well.

If you would like to read A Frosty Tail before my new Rainbow Advent Calendar story is released in December, then you can do so for free on Smashwords. Just click here.

 

Rainbow Snippets 06/14

Another week: another post.

I was scheduled to go back to work this week, now that I’m over my bout of plague. However, I’m not actually needed until September, which leaves me with mixed feelings of relief and disappointment. I miss the kids I support at school, but I was anxious about how they would cope in such a different environment for the rest of this term. I do realise how lucky I am to have such a long summer ahead with nothing to do whilst still being paid. Hopefully I’ll be able to churn out some stories.

My snippet this week is from one of my backlist: A Springful of Winters.

The story is told from the point of view of Kit Winters, a young man with Autism. I often wonder how Kit would cope with all the changes we’ve seen in the world over the last few months.

First, here’s the blurb, handwritten as it is on the actual cover of the book, by the wonderful artist Steve Lancaster.

In this snippet, Kit has just relayed an unfortunate encounter with Stephan to his boss Yenta. He knows he was quite rude to the man, but doesn’t know how to make things better.

“You should apologise to him,” Yenta suggests, and I sense she is about to make this an order that she knows I will never refuse.

“I did that already,” I remind her.

“I don’t mean something you just threw at him while you were running away.” She waves her finger at me. “I mean a proper apology, with flowers.”

“Flowers? Yenta, flowers are for funerals.”

“Okay, beer, then, or whatever you think a man would want as an apology from another man who likes him.”

“Likes him?” I choke.

“Kit Winters.” Yenta rarely calls me anything but Lapushka, and even more rarely uses my full name. I am in real trouble now. “Are you a man or a parrot?”

I want to say I’m a parrot, because then I could fly off and hide in a tree. Instead, I lower my eyes and shuffle my feet as I reply.

“I’m a man.”

You can find A Springful of Winters at Beaten Track Publishing, Smashwords and Amazon.

A Springful of Winters was written for the Seasons of Love Anthology which can also be found at Beaten Track Publishing.

Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers to gather once a week to share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation (no spoilers please!).

To Find out what others are sharing this week go to the Rainbow Snippets Facebook group.

Steve Lancaster, the wonderful artist who designed the cover for A Springful of Winters, has been creating art throughout this lockdown period. He shares them every day on his facebook page Weirdly Bay. He’s about to compile all of his lockdown doodles in a book. Watch this space because I’ll be blogging about it as soon as it’s ready to share.

Rainbow Snippets 06/07

Hi, it’s been a month since I last posted a snippet, so I thought I’d better get my a*se in gear.

There’s not been much writing done since I last posted, but things are gradually beginning to move. My characters are speaking to me again. Sometimes all at once, which can be a bit confusing and frustrating. Maybe it’s because they’ve been quiet for so long and they’ve got a lot to say.

I’m sharing a snippet from my WIP “Live a Little”, featuring Jules, a headteacher, and Tristan, an English and Drama teacher in the same school.

In this snippet, we see Jules, who feels he has just made a complete fool of himself whilst conducting an interview, Deputy Head Suzy trying to find out what is wrong with him, and Jules’s daughter, Amy, colluding with her father to get him off the hook.

“Jules, you’re still here, good.” Suzy steps into my office without knocking and I suppress a groan. She did warn me that she would be speaking to me later. I might still be able to head her off at the pass if I keep my cool.

“Suzy. Amy and I were just about to leave. Amy has somewhere she needs to be in an hour.”

“I do?” Amy asks in surprise before she sees my expression and quickly changes the question to a statement. “I do, yes, that’s right, I’m off to…the theatre.”

“…swimming.”

We both add a different event to which Suzy reacts with understandable disbelief whilst I give Amy a helpless look.

“It’s a theatre production at the swimming pool.” Amy adds.

“Theatre at the pool?” Suzy raises her eyebrows, her tone suspicious.

“It’s a synchronised swimming production by the local amateur operatic society.” Amy embellishes. “At the pool, obviously, because they couldn’t get a big enough tank onto the stage.” After a pause for dramatic effect, Amy tugs at my sleeve. “Come on, Dad, if we don’t leave now, we’ll end up sitting in the splash zone.”

Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers to gather once a week to share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation (no spoilers please!).

To Find out what people have posted this week click here. This will take you to the Rainbow Snippets Facebook group.

This weekend I’m taking part in a book release party over on Bacon and Elves which is Kasia Bacon’s Facebook group. Her new release “When I First Saw Red” was released on Friday and takes place in her Order Series world. Here is the link for her Amazon profile where you will find all of her books.

Find my books on Smashwords, Beaten Track Publishing and on Amazon.

If you want to follow me on any of my other social media here are some links.

Twitter

Instagram

Facebook

Pintrest

Feel free to join me in my facebook group “Love Inside the Rainbow”.

 

 

 

 

 

Rainbow Snippets 05/10

I feel like I haven’t posted in an age. I haven’t done much writing either, due to various reasons. One of which was a bad case of Covid-19 that I’m only just beginning to shake after five weeks. I’m hoping Rainbow Snippets and some other posts will get me back on track.

I’ve got a giveaway going on over on RJ Scott’s Facebook Group. She’s been celebrating her 10 year Publiversary with a Group party involving lots of awesome authors all offering giveaways and freebies. Here’s the link if you want to have a look. Mine is in there somewhere, under my facebook profile: Jo Moon Willow Rose. Just to confuse everyone.

This week’s snippet comes from a story I feel like I’ve been writing forever. I hope to finish it soon. I looked it over again and see where it’s going.

First, here’s the blurb (also a WIP):

“Live a Little.”

Jules McPherson has those words ringing in his ears every time his newest teaching colleague, Tristan Gilman, repeats them: sometimes loudly from the branches of the sycamore tree that separates their back gardens; sometimes with laughter in his eyes as he urges Jules to follow him along a dark, muddy track when they take a short cut home from the pub; and sometimes whispered, in his ear, as they get cosy on the sofa for a night in with popcorn and a movie.

But Tristan isn’t his boyfriend. Jules is head teacher and Tristan is the English teacher he just employed and definitely should not be getting involved with. They’re work colleagues, there’s a significant age gap, and Tristan is far too reckless and easy going for Jules’ ordered, organised life.

Jules is determined to keep their relationship purely professional, but that proves very difficult every time Tristan flutters his thick, dark lashes and murmurs: “Come on, Jules, live a little”.

And here is the snippet:

I was just stepping out of the shower and into my bedroom as the door opened and Tristan walked in. I froze, because I wasn’t even wearing a smile.

“Jules, Amy said you were….” He stopped, initial shock at my lack of attire replaced by amusement. “…you were working.” He smirked.

“Well, obviously, I’ve finished,” I huffed. “I did tell her I was taking a shower. She mustn’t have heard me.”

This was awkward, but the longer I just stood there completely naked, the more difficult it was to cover up. He’d already seen everything I had to offer, not that I was offering anything at all, but covering up would be a bit like closing the barn door so to speak.

Tristan looked me up and down, that ever present smirk firmly in place.

“Want me to, erm, get you a towel?” He asked, his tongue running along his top teeth as he leaned against the door frame flicking his eyebrows.

“No thanks.” I raised my eyebrows in disapproval of his continued presence and amusement. I know I’m not that much to look at. I’m not exactly well endowed, nor am I well muscled. I’m fifty two with a fifty two year old body. “I prefer to air dry.”

“Oh.” Tristan’s bluer than blue eyes widened and sparkled with mirth. “Can I—erm—watch?”

“No, Tristan.” I snapped. “I’m naked. Get out. Please.” I added the please because I felt bad snapping at him but what the hell?

He snorted as he ducked out of my bedroom and I could hear him laughing all the way along the landing.

Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers to gather once a week to share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation (no spoilers please!).

To see what others are posting this week follow this link to the Rainbow Snippets Facebook Group.

If you want to find out more about my books find my profile at Beaten Track, Smashwords, Goodreads and Amazon.

Follow me on Twitter, Instagram and my facebook group: Love Inside the Rainbow

 

 

Release Day Review for Third One

Roe Horvat’s new book, Third One, is released today and it’s steaming hot. I mean, get out your fans and start fanning.

I had the pleasure of beta reading this, and the other books in “Those Other Books” series. My review is up on Goodreads, but I thought I’d share it here as well. This was a well-deserved five stars.

I love Roe’s books and when he started Those Other Books series I jumped at the chance to help with beta reading and arcs. Of course, it was his intention to write only one book to prove he could. Third One is the third novel in this series (there are shorts in between the other books). It is also, cleverly, about a third person joining an established relationship.

As with the other “Other Books”, there is plenty of hot, messy sex, because that was the whole point of writing this series.

What you also get with these books, and what I’ve come to expect from all of Roe’s stories, are fabulous, three dimensional characters, amazing stories and genuine connection between the main characters. Not to mention all the secondary characters. Which is why these stories just keep coming because we meet these guys and we want to know more.

The Third One follows Marcus and Liam as they welcome a third: Luke, into their already well established and stable relationship. Marcus has had feelings for Luke for some time and vice versa, but Marcus’s loyalty to Liam and Luke’s sense of morality has kept them from acting on those feelings despite them working together every day.

Something is about to change, though, as dancer Luke is coming to the end of his dancing career and is ready to retire and move on with his life, albeit reluctantly. He’s accepted that no matter how much pain it will cause him to leave Marcus behind he needs to get on with his life.

Marcus is not quite ready to let go, however, and Liam is amenable to Luke joining them in their relationship. Now they just have to persuade him that this is what they all want and need.

This is a beautiful story, and yes, it is definitely not safe for work. It’s not even safe to read anywhere in a public place. There’s a lot, and I mean, a lot of sex. But there’s a wonderful story as well, with beautiful characters, amazing atmosphere and it’s all handled with such incredible warmth, sensitivity and heart.

Third One can be read as a stand alone, but it does feature characters from previous stories that might intrigue readers enough to go back and find out their back stories. All of the Other Books are wonderfully written. Go on, try them on for size.

Over on Roe’s Facebook Group Roemantics & Antics, There is some release day fun and a giveaway with a bonus story. Go on over there and join in the fun.

Third One can be found on Amazon. Click your link below.

Amazon UK, Amazon US, Amazon AU, and Amazon CA

 

 

Rainbow Snippets 03/15

Hello and welcome to another Rainbow Snippet.

I made a promise over on my Facebook group, after seeing a gif of a Raccoon washing its paws, that I would share an excerpt of that actual scene in my romantic comedy “Eagle Man and Mister Hawk”.

Blurb:

Ethan isn’t good at first impressions. His job gets in the way. His chosen career isn’t conducive to forming meaningful relationships either and it hasn’t really bothered him until now. Then Alex appears on the scene. Bookish and shy, but gorgeous Alex, who might be put off by bad first impressions and who Ethan just might want to form a meaningful relationship with.

Here is the snippet with a link to the longer excerpt beneath.

“Yogi, BooBoo, go and wash your hands!” I order my two wayward raccoons.

They immediately slink along the bench and fight for space around the sink in order to wash their hands while Alex looks on in bemusement.

He turns to look at me. “Seriously?”

I nod. “Seriously! They dig for worms in the garden and eat grubs out of rotten stuff, Hawk. They wash their hands before they sit at the table.”

“They sit at the table?” He looks even more bemused.

“Where else are they going to eat?”

If you want to read the longer excerpt you can find it here along with links to get the story for free.

And just in case the thought of a Raccoon washing their hands sounded a little far-fetched, here’s the evidence.

Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers to gather once a week to share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation (no spoilers please!).

To find out what others are sharing this week click here to find the Rainbow Snippets Group and this week’s post.

A Longer Snippet

As promised on my Facebook Group, here’s a longer excerpt from Eagle Man and Mister Hawk. Relevant at this moment in time, because it involves handwashing Raccoons (yes, you read that right: handwashing Raccoons). If Raccoons can do it, so can us humans.

The blurb:

Ethan isn’t good at first impressions. His job gets in the way. His chosen career isn’t conducive to forming meaningful relationships either and it hasn’t really bothered him until now. Then Alex appears on the scene. Bookish and shy, but gorgeous Alex, who might be put off by bad first impressions and who Ethan just might want to form a meaningful relationship with.

The story is told from both Ethan’s and Alex’s point of view. This excerpt is from Ethan’s POV. Ethan has just had a rather nasty encounter with one of his “crew”, a disturbed Golden Eagle named Rupert who, due to an unfortunate accident, attacked Ethan and left him bruised and cut. Alex helped to clean his wounds and has returned for the evening to look after Ethan overnight and help him with his many pets.

“I’m okay with you staying, Hawk. More than okay. Thanks.” I give him my brightest smile, but it pales in comparison to his.

My heart misses several beats, and all the oxygen has been consumed by the fire he’s set inside me. Oh my god, if this is falling then I don’t ever want to stop.

“Ethan!” He looks concerned, brushing his fingers across my forehead, laying his hand gently on my tender chest. “Are you really okay? You look a little dazed.”

“Yes.” I nod. I can’t tell him he’s suddenly become the most important thing in my life. It’s hardly the right time. He’ll run a fucking mile. Fortunately, I have a good excuse. “I took painkillers before you came. They’re pretty strong.”

“So basically, you’re high right now?”

“I’d be high anyway, because you’re here.”

“Right!” he snorts, pressing a soft kiss to my lips. “Let’s get these animals fed before you fall asleep and they start eating you instead.”

I chuckle. “That’ll never happen, Hawk, they all love me too much.”

He doesn’t look convinced. He moves to get off my lap, but I stop him.

“Hey, I’m a lovable guy.”

“I’m sure you are.” He leans in and kisses me again, soft and slow and altogether too damn well. He is far too good at this. It’s always the quiet ones!

He gets up, leaving my lap, and my lips, feeling empty and cold.

“So, come on, tell me what to do with these animals before you get any more high.”

I chuckle. He’s approached the bench where everyone is still waiting patiently.

“Yogi, BooBoo, go and wash your hands!” I order my two wayward raccoons.

They immediately slink along the bench and fight for space around the sink in order to wash their hands while Alex looks on in bemusement.

He turns to look at me. “Seriously?”

I nod. “Seriously! They dig for worms in the garden and eat grubs out of rotten stuff, Hawk. They wash their hands before they sit at the table.”

“They sit at the table?” He looks even more bemused.

“Where else are they going to eat?” I ignore his incredulous laugh. We have manners in this house; we are not animals! Well, all right, some of us are. “There’s some grapes in the fridge for them.” I continue to explain the feeding routine to Alex. “And there’s some sweetcorn for Beorn.”

At the sound of her name and the flick of my fingers for her to come, my unruly cockatoo flies over to land on my hand. She has managed to not squawk too badly, or swear any more since Alex first arrived. She presents her head to be scratched. It’s her way of showing she’s sorry and re-establishing the bond through grooming. I pick out a treat from the bag I hid in my pocket earlier. She takes it and then settles on the arm of the chair to eat.

“You have an endless supply of treats in your pocket, I’m sure,” Alex comments, watching me with interest and a little respect, I think. I shrug.

“That’s the real reason all of my animals love me so much, Hawk. I’m a constant, consistent source of food.”

He frowns, as if he doesn’t quite believe me. I am under no illusions that my crew would switch their loyalties in a heartbeat to whoever has the food; a fact being demonstrated quite effectively right now, since they are all ignoring me and only seem to have eyes for Alex. I have to admit, so do I.

“Eagle Man and Mister Hawk” is available from Beaten Track, or Smashwords for free. Don’t forget to check out my other free titles on my Smashwords profile.

If you’re here from my Rainbow Snippets post, then please do pop on over to Facebook and join my group, like my page, or follow me on Instagram and Twitter.