Spotlight & Excerpt: Full Balance + Giveaway

 Full Balance (The Peachtree Series, Book 3)

Author: Brigham Vaughn

Publisher: Two Peninsulas Press

Cover Artist: Brigham Vaughn

Genre/s: Contemporary M/M Romance

Trope/s: May/December, age gap, hurt comfort, workplace romance, found family, 

Themes: Marriage equality, family acceptance/homophobia, exploring light kink,

friends and chosen family, emotional baggage, established couple, adoption.

Heat Rating:  4 flames    

Length: 108 000 words

Goodreads

 

Buy Links – Available on Kindle Unlimited

Universal Link  |   Amazon US  |   Amazon UK  

 

 

Blurb 

Russ Bishop and Stephen Parker have settled into wedded bliss. 

They’ve moved into a spacious new condo, found professional success, and their connection in the bedroom is as sizzling as ever.

Neither of them ever expected to become parents but when their volunteer work at the Open Doors Shelter makes them realize how many LGBTQ youth are in desperate need of a home, they begin to reconsider. 

After a snarky teenager named Austin comes into their lives, their future together will never be the same.

 

Excerpt 

Russ let out a contented sigh. 

“I swear it just gets better with time,” Stephen said. 

Russ kissed him. “Me too. I had no idea married sex would be so good. If I did, I might have been more eager to get married when I was younger.”

Stephen chuckled. 

“This is going to change, won’t it?”

Stephen slipped an arm around his waist, pulling him even closer as he studied his face. Russ’s expression was soft but there was a little edge of worry in his gaze.

“It will,” Stephen said, knowing he was talking about how becoming parents would change their sex life. He ran his thumb across Russ’s cheek. “We’ll have additional responsibilities and stressors. Much less privacy. But it doesn’t have to be a bad thing. It’ll be tougher but that doesn’t mean we can’t find some benefits along the way.”

“Like what?” Russ gave him a curious, inquisitive look. 

“Like … it may bring us even closer.” He took Russ’s hand and brought his palm to his lips. “It may deepen our relationship further.”

“I like that.” Russ pulled him closer.

“I think going into this with our eyes wide open is our best chance of success. We need our relationship to stay solid so we can give whoever we bring into our lives the best, most stable home we can. Which means working together to solve problems.”

“Agreed,” Russ said.

“No running away.”

Russ gave him a wry grin. “Got it.”

“Hey that’s not just a reminder for you,” Stephen said gently. “I’ve pushed you away at times too. And I think this will probably bring up a lot of baggage we both have about the ways we were raised.”

“True.” Russ’s expression turned serious.

“So we can’t let that overwhelm us. Or come between us.”

“Absolutely.” Russ hesitated. “Are you excited about this at all though?”

“About the idea of becoming parents? Yeah, I am,” Stephen said. “I remember how satisfying it was to see Evan grow into himself and he was an adult and only with us for a month and a half. The idea of being able to watch that growth over years in someone who needs it even more … well that’s a challenge I never expected to take on. But I am excited about it.”

“Me too.” Russ grinned. “I am really looking forward to calling my sister and telling her she’ll be Aunt Addie.”

Stephen chuckled. “I look forward to that as well. Jeremy is going to be shocked. That should be fun.”

“We have a lot to look forward to, don’t we?”

“We do.” Russ pulled him in for a kiss and Stephen went willingly. “Thank you for making this a very happy Valentine’s Day.”

“You know, if someone had asked me five years ago how I’d feel about making the person I’m married to a father, I would have kindly assured them they were very, very confused,” Stephen said drily.

Russ’s laugh was loud and genuine. “I would imagine.”

“And yet …” Stephen couldn’t quite finish the thought. His heart was too full.

Russ smiled as if he understood. So Stephen leaned in to kiss him again. They had the whole night ahead of them to celebrate this happiness. Why not take the time while they had it?

Their lives were about to change in a very big way.

 

About the Author

Brigham Vaughn is on the adventure of a lifetime as a full-time author. She devours books at an alarming rate and hasn’t let her short arms and long torso stop her from doing yoga. She makes a killer key lime pie, hates green peppers, and loves wine tasting tours. A collector of vintage Nancy Drew books and green glassware, she enjoys poking around in antique shops and refinishing thrift store furniture. An avid photographer, she dreams of traveling the world and she can’t wait to discover everything else life has to offer her.

Her books range from short stories to novellas to novels. They explore gay, bisexual, lesbian, and polyamorous romance in contemporary settings.

 

Author Links

Blog   |   Facebook Author Page  |   Twitter 

  Newsletter sign-up  |  Instagram  |   Pinterest   |  BookBub

 

Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win

a $20 Amazon gift card.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions

 

Follow the tour and check out the other blog posts and reviews here

Book Blitz: The Librarian’s Vampire Assistant + Giveaway

The Librarian’s Vampire Assistant
(The Librarian’s Vampire Assistant, #5)

Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

Out October 31st 2020

Genres: Adult, Mystery, Romance

From New York Times Bestseller Mimi Jean Pamfiloff comes the FINAL vampire-mystery-slash-romance-slash-adventure about a librarian and her trusty vampire assistant, The Librarian’s Vampire Assistant, Book 5.

(Yes, yes. Still a standalone. Yippy! You don’t have to go back and read all four books. But don’t ya kinda wanna?)

NEVER HIRE A HANDSOME VAMPIRE!

MIRIAM MURPHY loves being a librarian. It’s all she’s ever wanted—to eat, breathe, and sleep books. But when she hired Michael, a handsome college student, she had no idea he was a four-hundred-year-old vampire and that inviting him into her life would result in her becoming one too. But not before he knocked her up and broke her heart.

Now Miriam is a single mother, all alone in a new world with a new vampire body. And someone’s trying to kill her. Who? Why? She has no real enemies.

If only Michael would help. After all, he’s the vampire king now. And this is one mystery she can’t solve on her own.

NEVER FALL FOR A LIBRARIAN!

MICHAEL VANDERHORST knows he’s changed. He can no longer love or laugh or enjoy hot peppers like he used to. But being an unfeeling, ruthless vampire is what it takes to rule the deadliest bloodsuckers on the planet. It’s the only way to keep humankind safe.

Problem is, his enemies know the librarian and his daughter are special to him. They are his to protect, even if he’s incapable of feeling love.

But when danger comes knocking at Miriam’s library door, he must choose between solving the biggest mystery of his existence and the woman he swore to protect.

What’s a vampire king to do?

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

 

EXCERPT:

My parents started this library and filled it with millions of dollars of books. Three floors. Open in the middle—same as our house—overlooking the main floor. When I wasn’t in school or training to be a Keeper, I was here, losing myself in books. I think I always knew I wanted to be a librarian, but it just took a while to work up the courage to tell my family. Of course, when I did, they acted like I’d told them I wanted to be a porn star or bank robber.

To this day, I don’t regret my choice, but I do regret how my parents were murdered before I could convince them that choosing another path in life didn’t mean I hated them. They died thinking the worst of me, and for that, I don’t think I’ll ever feel closure.

I pull into the parking lot to the side of my library and immediately go for my crossbow. The big one this time. Bertha.

There are four black SUVs in the lot and two parked out front on the busy street at the meters. I know it isn’t Nice, which is why I grab the chocolate-tipped arrow. I make them myself with pure cocoa powder and a flour paste so the tip hardens just enough to penetrate the skin. Vampire skin.

Chocolate is a narcotic for us. Give us enough, and it’ll kill, whereas a small dose has the same effect as alcohol. I’ve yet to sample any since being turned because I’ve been alone with Stella and must be on my guard. Mommy can’t get a chocolate chip cookie buzz until she finds a ninja sitter.

I take my crossbow and exit my Hummer. I might be a librarian, but when it comes to defending my child, I’m a one-woman army. Ready to kick fangs or asses. The ill-fitting, disheveled clothes I wear—below-the-knee skirts, moth-eaten sweaters, and granny glasses—are merely a disguise. Today I have on a wrinkled white blouse, plain tan pants, and a black cardigan that’s all stretched out. People see me and think I couldn’t harm a fly or fight my way out of a paper bag. All part of my Keeper upbringing. Unfortunately, my natural clumsiness is genuine, and so is my lack of love for violence. I can fight, and fight well. It’s just not something that comes naturally or that I enjoy. Even when I was Nice’s prisoner, fear always held me back. And he knew just how to use it to keep me tethered to his side, reading bad poetry, helping him shop online for ruffled shirts, telling him how much I admired his wiry body and long black locks.

The man is a monster.

At least I wasn’t mistreated sexually. Mr. Nice has a rule about not sleeping with humans (apparently they’re too fragile for his bedroom games), but he kept Stella from me. Those are years lost with my daughter, and I’ll never get them back. For that, he’ll pay.

How?

I’m not sure yet, but it’s coming. His day of reckoning for separating me from Michael and then my child, for driving Michael to become a cold-hearted vampire, and for turning me is coming. I love to read, and I’ve always believed a story is only as good as the bad guy. But in real life? The only good bad guy is a dead bad guy. This librarian is coming for you, Nice.

Now for this guy!

Bertha in hand, I pull on the front door of my library. My eyes meet his, and my heart starts hammering against my rib cage, like it’s calling out to him in longing. The sensation jars me and, in some way, shames me. I know he can hear it. Just like I can hear the lack of beating inside his chest. He couldn’t care less about seeing me. He feels nothing.

“What do you want, Michael?” I growl, keeping my weapon pointed at the ground. I know his guards are all around us, waiting to pounce.

“What do I want?” He points to his broad chest, and I try not to notice how good his tall, lean, muscular frame looks in his tailored black suit. Michael Vanderhorst was born over four hundred years ago, but if you saw him walking down the street today, you’d wonder where the Armani shoot was. And I’m not talking runway. I’m talking Christmastime cologne commercial. You know, the ripped, oiled-down guy with deep olive skin in a tight white Speedo, diving into a pristine turquoise ocean. Yeah. That Armani.

Despite being a vampire, Michael is everything hard and male and seductive, with a face that never ages. One look into those dark eyes, and you’re lost forever.

“Yes,” I repeat, “what do you want?”

“You summoned me,” he says in that deep, authoritative voice that doesn’t fit his youthful appearance. It was the one thing that first tipped me off about him not being human. No twenty-year-old I’ve ever met has a voice that can make my toes tingle.

I raise my crossbow and point it at his groin.

“What are you doing?” he growls with those sexy lips.

“I know you have at least a dozen guards surrounding me. Consider it my insurance.”

Michael unfolds his arms. “Mir-librarian-woman, you sent five of my men home in a shoebox. I hardly think you are the one at risk.”

I frown. “What are you talking about?” And why is he calling me Mir-librarian-woman?

His dark eyes narrow in puzzlement. “Please tell me it was you who summoned me.”

I blink, catching on to the situation.

Someone pretending to be me asked him to come here.

I hear a click somewhere in the room. Oh crap!

Before I can scream “run,” Michael charges faster than my new vampire eyes can register.

—-

Book one of the series, The Librarian’s Vampire Assistant #1 can also be picked up from Amazon for free. 

—-

MIMI JEAN PAMFILOFF is a New York Times bestselling author who’s sold over one million books around the world. Although she obtained her MBA and worked for more than fifteen years in the corporate world, she believes that it’s never too late to come out of the romance closet and follow your dreams.

Mimi lives with her Latin lover hubby, two pirates-in-training (their boys), and their three spunky dragons (really, just very tiny dogs with big attitudes) Snowy, Mini, and Mack, in the vampire-unfriendly state of Arizona.

She hopes to make you laugh when you need it most and continues to pray daily that leather pants will make a big comeback for men.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

 

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by:

XBTBanner1

Spotlight: Phineas Varga and the Revenants of Windsor + Giveaway

Phineas Varga and the Revenants of Windsor
by A.K. Rouse
Dark Fantasy, Paranormal Romance,
Historical Fiction, Horror

 

“A brilliant and riveting vampire novel . . . showcases a complete mastery of this dark fantasy genre.”
 –Midwest Book Review
 

In 1014 AD, Nieve, a young Irish woman, nurses wounded Fintan, a mysterious foreigner fighting for the Irish at the Battle of Clontarf. From this point on, their fates are intertwined as they attempt to navigate secrets, supernatural beings, a rival for Nieve’s affection . . . in addition to their own conflicted feelings for one another.

Over five-hundred years later, in 1563, the Black Death descends on the kingdom of Queen Elizabeth I. She welcomes into her court at Windsor Castle, a man, Phineas Varga, who offers protection. However, the young queen soon finds that his strategy includes the use of gargoyles . . . for she and her kingdom are to be defended against something far worse than the plague. England and all mankind are at the mercy of the revenant should those most ancient and evil have their way.

Phineas, too, has his secrets, secrets that shaped who he is and who he will become. In his quest to rid Europe of the foul revenant, he is joined by a young, eager apprentice, a gargoyle warrior, a female assassin of a strange guild, and others who seek to find the source of the revenant outbreak. It is only when mysteries are revealed, and tragedy occurs that the reader discovers why five-hundred years is but a short time for some.

Today, the revenant is known by its most popular name . . . that of . . . vampire.

 
 
**Kindle countdown deal Oct 31st – Nov 7th!! **
 
 
Though part of her childhood was spent in the West Midlands, A. K. Rouse now writes from the United States’ great Midwest. Memories of traipsing through beautiful English gardens, forests, and castles during these years provides the backdrop for her stories. Now, you will find her roaming the verdant fields of a music fest or walking the city streets with her husband, three children and two Irish terriers.
 
 
Follow the tour dates HERE for special content!
$50 Amazon

 

Scroll Up