Shelter

Movie Review

Title: Shelter
Starring: Brad Rowe, Trevor Wright, Tina Holmes
Director: John Markowitz
Rated R
Genre: Contemporary
ML's Rating: 5 stars out of 5

After giving up his dreams of art school to take care of his family, Zach (Trevor Wright), finds himself caught in an endless cycle of having to look out for everyone but himself. He works dead-end jobs to help support his flaky and irresponsible sister Jeanne (Tina Holmes) and her young son Cody, and takes care of the boy while Jeanne routinely puts her needs before her child's. Zach and his friend/girlfriend Tori have an on-again/off-again relationship, mostly off, as Zach struggles with his feelings for her. And his best friend Gabe left Zach behind to go off to college, as did most of Zach's other friends, intensifying his feelings of isolation. In his free time he tries to find solace in surfing, drawing, and doing street art in the form of tagging.

When Gabe's older brother Shaun (Brad Rowe) returns home to recover from a broken love affair and try to get past a case of writer's block while he works on his next novel, he is captivated by Zach. The two have known each other for years--Shaun taught Zach and Gabe, who were much younger, to surf--but he's been away for a long time and is struck by how the kid he knew only as his brother's best friend has grown into such a selfless and talented young man.

Zach is equally intrigued by Shaun and finds himself drawn into a relationship he didn't expect. As his friendship with Shaun turns into something much more intimate, for the first time in longer than he can remember, Zach finds himself happy and hopeful that there's more out there in the world for him than the existence he's been living. With Shaun's encouragement, he begins to think about art school again. And Cody, who spends more time with his Uncle Zach than his mother, adores Shaun, and vice-versa.

But real change means tough decisions. Zach's sister is supportive of neither his desire to move on with his life, nor his relationship with Shaun ("Zach...you're not a fag, are you?" and "...are you trying to fuck up our family?"). She plays the guilt card with him on a regular basis, because she needs him to "be there" for her and Cody. Struggling to come to terms with his own desires--both as a young gay man coming out of the closet and falling in love, and the need to seek his own path in life while honoring his deeply felt responsibility to his sister and especially his nephew--ultimately Zach realizes he can only find peace if he's true to himself. He discovers the power of love, both for his nephew and for Shaun, gives him the strength he's always needed to follow his heart and find a future filled with promise.

The thing that always strikes me about this movie when I watch it is that it's not so much a gay story as a story about real people struggling with heartfelt issues. It's a situation anyone can relate to, about finding balance between self and the needs of others, following one's heart and dreams amidst adversity, and creating family and finding love in unexpected ways. Shelter is a testament to how family isn't just limited to the people to whom one is born, but extends in a much wider arc to include any and all who love each other. Zach is a far better parent to Cody than Jeanne could ever hope to be, and once Shaun enters their lives, he, too, becomes a key player in offering security and a sense of family to the little boy. Shaun also gives Zach the love and support and encouragement he needs to seek his own dreams. In return, I think Zach does much the same for Shaun, shining a new light into his life, and giving him a new family anchor.

The romance between Shaun and Zach is sweet, but also seductively intense at times. And very intimate on an emotional level, which is a beautiful thing to watch. The scene where Zach finally gives in to his desire to be with Shaun, goes to his house, and the moment Shaun opens the door, kisses him and they can't keep their hands off each other as they go upstairs is one of the hottest things I've ever seen. And it's not just because they start to strip on screen so much as from the way they look at each other and the powerful chemistry between them. Brad Rowe and Trevor Wright, both straight actors, do an amazing job in their respective roles, and there's never a moment I don't believe they're completely into each other and perfect together.

Honestly, there's just nothing about this movie I don't like. The acting is excellent, it's beautifully edited, all the characters are well-developed--even the ones who are sometimes hard to like, like Jeanne, are still sympathetic and utterly believable. I like the soundtrack, which adds just the right amount of angst and feel-good without turning cheesy. Some might find the movie's pace a bit slow, especially early on, but even that worked for me because it so perfectly set the atmosphere for Zach's despondent state, making me really feel his isolation and lack of hope.

Set in southern California, it's a delicious piece to watch all the way around, from the surfing scenes, to the love-making, and everything in between. It's a movie with a ton of heart, and is a keeper for me.

The Draegan Lords III, Fires of Ballian

This post was originally published on the Reviews by Jessewave blog on September 30, 2009. :)



When Wave asked me to be a guest blogger today she hinted, nudged, and generally made me promise to talk about Fires of Ballian, the third book in my Draegan Lords series. Since I don't want her to hurt me, I'm going to dutifully do as I'm told. *g*

The Draegan Lords series--which is about dragon shapeshifters and their struggle to win back their land and lives from the power-hungry sorcerer who nearly destroyed their race one-hundred years before--began in March 2007 as a longish novella entitled True of Heart (Click here to read a blurb and excerpt on my website). It was originally written to be part of an AmberPax collection at Amber Allure. All stories for AmberPax collections must be either short stories or novellas and are required not to exceed 40,000 words. Remember in my earlier post when I said it's very difficult to write a complex plot in a novella-length story? True of Heart was a classic example of that. I got the idea for the story and immediately fell in love with the heroes, Gaige and Keiran, and the juicy plot I had planned for them. Honestly, I don't even know what I was thinking when I assumed I could tell the tale in 40,000 words or less. I think my brain took a holiday that day. LOL! When I hit about 35,000 words, I knew I was in big trouble and there was no way in my wildest dreams I was going to be able to do justice to their story in 40K words. I knew I was going to have to write a sequel. So I tried to figure out a good stopping point that would give some resolution for the plot and characters and satisfy readers, but still leave it open to continue the story.

I decided it was going to have to be kind of like Star Wars. The original movie. Luke and Han blow up the Death Star and fly back to Leia, thereby ending that chapter, but leaving Darth Vader alive and the empire still in charge so they can do another two movies (or five *g*). That's what I knew I needed to do with True of Heart...blow up the Death Star and leave the guys in a good place so they could come back and fight the real, more complicated battle another day. I wrote and wrote and when I was finished, it was about 50,000 words. Gulp. That wasn't going to do. So I cut and wrote and cut and wrote and got it down to about 43,000 words, which Trace Zaber, AQP's editorial director let slide through. I didn't confess to him until later that I'd actually cut about 7000 words out of it before I turned it in. LOL! He knows me too well, though, so I don't think anything I write "long" ever surprises him.

Fast forward to March of 2008. The sequel. Lords of Kellesborne (Click here for blurb and excerpt). I had every intention of wrapping up my story in book 2. Really. I did! This time I didn't have to adhere to any Pax word count limits, so I figured, no problem. I knew it would be a novel, and all would be well. But once again, I got halfway into the book and realized there was no way I was going to be able to finish the story, even at novel length. Having been through the experience once before, however, this time I knew exactly where I was going to end part two. (And I still get grief over it from readers to this day. *g* I know, I know...it was a cruel cliffhanger, but you've got to admit, it had a certain impact to it.)

True of Heart and Lords of Kellesborne are available individually as ebooks. They were combined in one paperback in April 2008, which is simply called The Draegan Lords.

Which brings me to the present day. And book 3. Fires of Ballian. Will this be the last one in the series? All I can say is...maybe. LOL! I *think* I can actually finish the saga this time. I really do. But I've thought it before and it hasn't exactly played out the way I expected (I'm a terrible judge of just how much story = how much word count when it comes to my own work), so I'm leaving the door open. I do, tentatively, expect to be done writing Fires of Ballian (whether it ends the series or not) by late November. Keep an eye on my website, www.mlrhodeswriting.com, on my coming soon page, and I'll try to keep you updated on status and potential release dates there.

Something else I can do today is offer up an excerpt. This will be the very first peek at the story--I don't even have it posted on my website yet. I hope it'll help ease the pangs of waiting for all my readers who've emailed me asking, "When?!" :)

This excerpt comes from a scene near the beginning of the book (and please keep in mind this is the unedited version). Without giving too many spoilers for those who might not have read the first two books yet...to set it up, Gaige Rizik, who's half-human and half-draegan and is now mated with the draegan lord, Keiran Hareldson, began having visions over the course of book 2 brought on by his joining with Keiran. He's becoming a seer like his draegan grandmother before him. In this scene, he's having visions again...of the past and the future.

------
Gaige Rizik, lying on his back, stretched beneath the covers, savoring the pleasant pull of muscles in his body and the heat of the man lying on his side next to him, keeping him warm in the chilly air that seeped into their tent.

They’d been awake for a while, taking advantage of this rare morning where they hadn’t had to get up and rush off to pressing duties. Quiet, uninterrupted moments like these had become scarce as groups of draegans and humans alike had begun filling camp, seeking the protection of the draegan lord and his draeganjhere. Most days, Gaige and Keiran found themselves busy from well before sunrise until late into the night, often falling into bed too exhausted to do more than spoon together and catch a few quick hours of sleep before starting all over again. But for once, they had a couple of hours to themselves this morning, and they’d managed to find another, much more satisfying, way to start their day than stumbling into the cold dawn to prepare their people for war with the high sorcerer.

Now, in the aftermath of their joining, Gaige felt more relaxed and at peace than he had in days. Being with Keiran had that effect on him. After so many years living and working under Byram's brutal dictates, finally, for the first time in his life, Gaige felt like he belonged somewhere. Like he had purpose and worth. And something else he’d never hoped to find…love. And he owed it all to Keiran.

Keiran’s palm, callused and warm, stroked Gaige’s chest, skimming over his nipples, sending renewed desire, as well as contentment, through him.

“Do you remember what I’ve told you?” Keiran asked. “About draegan magick?”

“What about it?” Gaige turned his head to look at his lover, wondering what had caused him to bring up this subject.

“How it works.”

“You mean by focus and intention?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“I remember. Why do you ask?”

“Remember how you put up a screen over the entrance to the caves when you helped the families with children escape Thrythgar, to protect them and keep Byram’s troops from finding them?”

Gaige rolled onto his side to face Keiran. One of Keiran’s knees slid between his legs, and his hand moved to Gaige’s back, tracing up his spine, then down again in a sensual motion that, for a moment, made it hard for Gaige to think about much of anything else. “I wasn’t even aware at that point that I was part draegan,” he murmured. “I didn’t know I could do anything like that. I wasn’t even aware I had done it until afterward.”

Keiran smiled, his eyes sparking like rich gemstones, as if Gaige had just made his point for him—whatever it was. “Exactly. Yet you focused on what you wanted, making it happen, even though you weren’t aware you were doing it. You were surprised when I told you about the screen.”

“I was surprised. I couldn’t fathom how I had been able to use magick without realizing it. But you told me the magick had always been in me because my mother was draegan.”

“That’s right. And now you have my blood—draegan lord blood—flowing through your veins as well, Gaige, so you’re capable of even more.” He leaned in closer and stole a kiss. It made Gaige’s skin tingle, and he felt a warm ripple in the air around them, which made him suddenly suspect Keiran was using a little magick of his own to seduce him.

He raised an eyebrow and shot Keiran a teasing smile. ::Are you trying to bewitch me, draegan lord? I’m already your hopelessly devoted servant. What more could you possibly want from me?::

This time Keiran’s grin shot straight to his groin…which was where Keiran’s hand had gone as well. He curled his fingers around Gaige’s thickening shaft and squeezed. ::Who’s bewitching whom? That shimmer you’re feeling? It’s not me creating it. It’s you.::

Gaige’s eyes widened and he experienced a jolt of shock that he’d once again been unknowingly stirring magick. ::Are you sure?::

Keiran chuckled. In a low, husky voice that sent flares of heat through Gaige, he said aloud, “I’m sure. You shouldn’t be so shocked. The magick is yours to use, any time, any place. You just have to believe in your abilities, m’aerlas. You have to believe nothing is impossible.”

The last was said in a whisper just before Keiran kissed him again and pulled Gaige into the warm press of his hard, welcoming body.

The words resonated deep inside Gaige. You just have to believe. Nothing is impossible.

Believe…

Before he could contemplate further, though, a sudden and gut-wrenching pain twisted through his body, ripping him away from Keiran.

Gaige was thrust into darkness. He reached out, desperate to find Keiran again, touch him, but his hands grasped only cold, empty air.

No! Not again! I can’t lose him again!

Just as swiftly as Keiran had been torn from him, a new scene took shape around him. The bitter chill of winter seared his lungs as he took a breath, and the damp scent of snow-soon-to-fall filled the air.

A man lay crumpled on the cold, rocky ground in the inky black of the night, his dark hair tangled around his shoulders, his body nude and battered, unmoving.

Raw fear surged through Gaige. Oh, gods…Keiran!

Gaige tried to run to him, but couldn’t move. He was paralyzed, his legs frozen in place. He tried to call out, but though the muscles of his throat moved, no sound escaped him.

Desperate, he tried again, this time using the draegan mind speak. ::Keiran! Please hear me. Answer me. Please!::

Slowly, too slowly, the dark head lifted and turned toward Gaige, holding his gaze for a brief second before falling back to the ground.

Pain, sharp and jagged, sliced through Gaige.

The dark eyes and haunted face that had stared at him…weren’t those of the man he loved.

Fires of Ballian excerpt, copyright 2009 by M.L. Rhodes

Fall

Well, summer is officially over. Technically the first day of autumn is tomorrow, September 22, but in the Colorado foothills where I live, it's started early. Or maybe we've just skipped fall and gone straight to winter.

On Saturday, it was warm and summery and I sat out on my deck dressed in shorts and a tee and wrote all day. Sunday it was still sunny and warm.













This morning...I woke up to snow.


And a sore throat. Oh, goody. *g*

Even my little dog looked shocked (bottom left in the picture). Like...you expect me to go out there and do what?

Birthdays, gambling, and how fireworks fixed a plot hole...

So, I just got back from vacation. My family and I went to Florida to experience The Mouse, the beach, Sea World, and other assorted activities. It was our last gasp of summer fun because in Florida it's still very much summer in September, but here in Colorado winter has a tendency to start early.

We had a great time! We walked about a zillion miles, which made up for all the food we ate on the free Disney Dining Plan *g*. I was reminded again by the dolphins we saw, as I always am, to make time for play and family and not work too much (a curse of mine!). While I was at the beach one afternoon, an entire scene, complete with dialogue, came to me for my current writing project, Fires of Ballian. And as I watched the fireworks one night over to the top of the castle at Magic Kingdom, one of the resounding booms brought to startling light for me that I had a plot hole in my story that I hadn't even *thought* about before. Yikes! I couldn't believe it had never occurred to me. So my creative mind went to work like a whirling dervish, and by the time the last fireworks sputtered over the sky, I'd already figured out how to fix it. Ah, the magic of Disney. LOL!

On another note, my mom celebrated her 86th birthday a few days ago. She's 86 going on 56. Seriously. She's more active than I am! She takes an exercise class twice a week, bowls on a regular league, has constant lunch dates and meetings with her various organizations, still drives, still travels, still does all her own mowing and house painting and you name it. For her birthday, she decided she wanted to go gamble (she loves playing the slots). We have legalized gambling here in Colorado in a couple of the old gold mining towns in the mountains. So today (Sunday) my family, my two older sisters, and my mom drove up to Cripple Creek, CO. I never, ever win anything, and don't usually get too excited about slots, but I came away with an $80 win (a certain machine called the Frog Princess was very kind to me ;)). Not bad for penny slots, huh? Hey, it paid for lunch and the gas to drive to the mountains, and gave me enough left over to pay my league bowling fees this week. :) One of my sisters won $40 on penny slots. The other lost about $10. My mom, who's usually very lucky and wins, lost about $2. Yeah, we're all really big spending gamblers. Can't you tell? *g* My hubby and boys took off on their own and did a tour of one of the old gold mines. They had a fabulous time. They tell me it was a rickety, tiny elevator that went down 1000 feet underground. I so would never have done that. Small, dark, enclosed spaces and I don't get along. It gives me the heebie jeebies just thinking about it, although it probably would have been fodder for some new writing material. :)

New cover

I just got the cover for another of my upcoming releases...Point of No Return. I think it's way hot!! What do you think? :)

This is a story that I'll probably write late this year or sometime in 2010. I'm pretty psyched to write it...I've made lots of notes about it and I'm already more than half in love with the heroes. LOL! It's a m/m romantic suspense.

Lords of Kellesborne now at the Kindle store!

I meant to mention this earlier... I've had several readers contact me over the past couple of months asking when Lords of Kellesborne would be available for Kindle. True of Heart has been up at the Kindle store for a while, I know, and many people were waiting for part two. As of this week, Kellesborne is for sale now also. Yay! :)

Here's the direct link: Lords of Kellesborne at Kindle store

It looks like all but my two most recent stories are now for sale at the Kindle store. The only two missing are Satisfaction and Bring the Heat. I suspect they'll be going up sometime over the next month or so. In the meantime, you can always buy the PRC format of those stories (or any of my stories) at Amber Allure to read on your Kindle, if you have one. If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, you can download the Kindle app or an app called Stanza for reading ebooks. Stanza will read virtually any ebook format--it's pretty nifty.

My week so far...

Monday, I spent the day out running errands and didn't get home until 9 p.m. I should have written when I got home, but instead I was tired and useless after minimal sleep the night before, so I watched movies. I'm not proud of my slacking off, but I guess we all have to do it every now and then. I watched 17 Again (is Zac Efron totally adorable, or what?!), I Love You, Man (which was okay...I didn't like it as much as I thought I would), and Across the Universe, which a friend had loaned me. Across the Universe was interesting, different, and I liked it a lot. If you're into Beatles music and musicals, give it a try. Jim Sturgess is too, too cute!

Tuesday, I bowled and my bowling sucked. I bowl on a league every Tuesday. Last week, I had pretty good scores for me (I mean I'm hardly a brilliant bowler, but I don't usually totally suck)...145 and 167. This week...104 and 107. What's up with that?! Must do better next time.

Wednesday, today, I was very productive doing things for my day job. Went to my pottery class this evening and trimmed some bowls, did some glazing, and admired my handiwork on the pieces I completed this session. I Raku fired a pretty cool bowl, and can't wait to see how some of my other bigger bowls I made this time turn out once they're glazed. Tonight I have editing to do, and hopefully some writing before bed! Oh, and I also have to tackle the dreaded treadmill. Or the exercise bike. And it's already midnight. Yeah, and now you know why I'm a night owl. Not enough time in the day to do everything! :)

A quick answer to a question/Another update

I forgot to mention this in my earlier post. I've had some readers ask me if I plan to write a story about Eric, Jesse's friend in Satisfaction who was treated so badly by his long-term lover. The answer is a big yes! When I wrote the end of Satisfaction Eric really tugged at my heart and I knew right then that I needed to write a story for Eric so he could have a happily ever after. The story is tentatively on my agenda for sometime in 2010. :)

Writing update

I'm going to try to be better about writing on my blog in the upcoming months. I was overwhelmed there for a while, trying to keep a blog on Blogger, LiveJournal, and MySpace and when I realized I couldn't keep up, I just sort of...well...dropped the ball on all them. Urgh. :-/ So in the interest of keeping in better touch with readers, I'm going to focus my energies here on Blogger, since I find it the easiest to use. You'll notice there are no more multiple links on my website to the various places...just one, solitary blog link. It just makes my life ever so much simpler. And hopefully yours as well!

First and foremost, I want to thank all my readers who've written over the past few months. Your emails are always a joy to receive and read! I've been excruciatingly busy this summer and my online time has been pretty scarce--I apologize for that! I will be catching up on email over the next couple of weeks, however, and will do my very best to respond to everyone who's written me!!

For those of you who've been waiting ever so patiently for the next book in the Draegan Lords series (and you know who you are...I get more email each week about when Fires of Ballian will be out than anything else! *g*), I'm currently writing it. It's coming along nicely and although I don't have a firm release date for it, I suspect it'll be released in the October-November time frame depending on when I get it done. Stay tuned to my website and I'll post a specific date when the book is finished. I realize I left Gaige and Keiran in a bit of limbo, at the end of Lords of Kellesborne, so I know many of you are anxious to find out what happens next. :)

The second most common question I get in reader email is "When will In Too Deep be released?" For those of you who don't know, In Too Deep is the sequel to Out Of My Mind, which was released in November of 2007. I hadn't originally intended for there to be a sequel when I wrote Out Of My Mind, but by the time I finished it, I felt like there was yet more to tell about Nick and Rafferty, my two Maine cops. :) I've had many letters from readers saying the same thing. I actually have part of In Too Deep written, so the plan is that as soon as Fires of Ballian is done, I'll dive back into In Too Deep and finish it. I'm hoping to see it released by the end of this year. As always, though, I can't promise that...it will just depend on when the editorial director at Amber Allure can fit it into the schedule. But that's my tentative plan. So again, stay tuned.

Many readers have asked if I'll be writing more about Robert and Jesse from Passion and Satisfaction. The answer is yes! The third story in that series is called Undivided.

I've also had many people ask when I'm going to write the sequel to Falling. I know it's been listed as coming soon for a long, long time. I do still plan to write it--I already have part of it written, in fact--but I'm not sure yet when it'll be finished and released. I haven't forgotten about it, however!

Right now I don't have any plans to write a sequel to Bring the Heat. I totally love those guys, though, and I know myself well enough to realize I might very well come up with a story for them at some point in the future.

I have a couple of brand new stories with brand new characters in the works for 2010. One is called Point of No Return. It'll be a m/m romantic suspense (one of the heroes is a DEA agent, the other is, I think, going to be a small town sheriff). It'll be set in New Mexico. The other story I'm planning is called Living Without You, which is a m/m reunion/opposites attract story. The heroes had a summer romance when they were in their late teens, then don't see each other for ten years. I'm looking forward to writing both of these stories...I've had the characters in my head for a looong time.

So that's my agenda for the rest of 2009 and into 2010. I'll post more info as I know it, and try to keep you all up to date on my progress with Fires of Ballian and In Too Deep.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

ML :)

-

iPhone apps?

I'm always on the prowl for new, fun apps for my iPhone, so drop me a comment and let me know what your fave apps are if you have an iPhone or an iPod Touch!

ML :)

New Gay M/M release...Passion!

Hi everyone!

I'm psyched to tell you that I have a new release! This one's called Passion. It came about kind of unexpectedly after I wrote The Elf and Shoemaker. There's a scene in Elf and Shoemaker where a man goes into Logan Shoemaker's store and talks to him. As I was writing that scene, I really liked this secondary character though he only had a small bit of page-time and decided I wanted to write his story...to tell what happened to him after he left Logan's store. So, voila, the story Passion was born. :)

I hope you'll enjoy it and fall in love with Robert and Jesse as much as I did! And, yes, there's going to be a sequel. It's called Satisfaction.

As the owner and CEO of his own company, Robert Bauer has spent the past fifteen years building his business into a multi-million dollar corporation. It’s taken all his time and energy, which hasn’t left much room for a personal life, especially a love life. That’s fine with Robert because he doesn’t believe in the L word anyway. Lately, however, every time he goes to his favorite bar, he can’t keep his eyes and thoughts off Jesse McIntyre, the gorgeous bartender with the soulful blue eyes. Even though Robert’s not looking for a relationship, and tries to shake the attraction, he can’t get the younger man out of his system. There’s just one problem…he believes Jesse’s straight.

Jesse’s been on the run from his old life for the past two and a half years. Even though he slings drinks at a gay bar, he has a hard and fast rule about never hooking up with customers. He’s been down that road before, and though his physical wounds have healed, the emotional ones aren’t so easy to forget. He lets his customers assume he’s straight because it makes it easier to keep his distance. That is until the businessman with the sexy smile starts coming into the bar. Jesse’s drawn to Robert, even though he knows there’s no way a wealthy, powerful man like that would ever be interested in a tattooed, college drop-out bad boy like him. But even if Robert weren’t his opposite, it wouldn’t matter anyway, because Jesse’s determined not to break his rules for anyone.

When fate throws them together, and they find themselves alone for a weekend, the passion that’s silently simmered for months ignites a firestorm that leaves them both shaken. Will it be enough, though, to convince Robert, who’s sworn to never fall in love, that he might be pushing away the best thing that’s ever happened to him? Or to force Jesse to face his fears once and for all and learn to trust his heart?


So there you have it! If you'd like to read an excerpt you can find one on my website here. And you can buy a copy of the story at Amber Allure.

Have a great week!

XOXO,
ML

New Gay M/M release...The Elf and Shoemaker

I have a brand new release...it just came out yesterday! It's a contemporary fantasy called The Elf and Shoemaker. Here's the scoop on it...

Logan Shoemaker is honest, hardworking, and loves what he does. Though he never expects to get rich, up until recently he’s fared well enough to stay comfortable with his quirky metaphysical store, Shoemaker’s Magick Shoppe. But when the economy comes on hard times, his store pays the price. As each month passes, slow sales turn into no sales, and soon Logan’s living off ramen noodles and sleeping in a freezing house during the cold winter nights as he struggles to make ends meet. His personal life isn’t much better—the worse business at the store grows, the more isolated and lonely he becomes. After a string of mishaps that wipe out the last of his small savings, he finally hits rock bottom the day he discovers the disconnection notice from the electric company hanging on his door. That night, desperate and in despair, he makes a plea to the universe, asking for help.

Needless to say, he never anticipates receiving a response so quickly. Not only does he wake up the next morning to find on his kitchen table four little bottles of a special potion labeled “PASSION,” but he keeps remembering the erotically charged dream he’d had during the night. A dream where a tall, gorgeous man with pointed ears comes to his bed and shows him just what kind of magick they can make together.

But was it a dream? All Logan knows is that his customers can’t get enough of the PASSION potion--an aphrodisiac--and he can’t stop thinking about the sweet seduction of the nighttime visitor who made it. As he tries to sort out what’s real and what’s not, he discovers there’s a much bigger world out there than he’d ever believed, and his true heart’s desire might come in a most unexpected form.

If you'd like to read an excerpt, you can check one out on my website or read an excerpt and buy a copy at Amber Allure!

For those of you who've enjoyed my Draegan Lords series...you might be interested to know this book is loosely related. A careful reader will find a few familiar things in this story. ;) (And after you read it, if you want to email me and confirm or ask questions...go for it! *g*) But not to worry for those who haven't read The Draegan Lords series...this book is fully standalone and you'll be able to read it on its own merits.

I think it's quite a good story and one I really loved writing, so I hope readers will love it, too!

Have a great week, everyone!

XOXO,
ML