Shira Anthony's Blog - Posts Tagged "free"

My free MM Goodreads Group "Love is Always Write" story is up! "Kiss and Makeup" is a fun, sexy, short story about a Hollywood makeup artist and an action hero. http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/8...

Lots of other great free gay romance stories for the reading, too! Check them out.

At long last, Chapter Four of my free novella, "Stealing the Wind." MM romance, slightly smutty (consider yourself forewarned!), pirate, paranormal shifter story (that's a mouthful!). 18+ only, please. To read, click the link or the picture!

“Stealing the Wind” is the story of Taren of Laxley, an indentured servant who is kidnapped and taken aboard the pirate ship, Sea Witch. Life is far better for Taren aboard the Witch, and he quickly becomes the pirate captain’s favorite slave and a valued member of the Witch’s crew. But will Taren’s fortunes change for the worse when Taren is captured by the mysterious Eoin Dunaidh and his crew? Contains scenes of dubious consent, threesomes, and other content not appropriate for children.

Enjoyed the story so far? Leave me a comment and let me know! As always, I'll be updating again as my editing/writing schedule permits. -Shira

For links to my published stories, click here. You can get more information, including excerpts and buy links by clicking on the "More" to the right of each title.

I'm chatting today, Saturday 12/29, from 3 - 6 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on the Dreamspinner Press Facebook page. Please join me for giveaways, excerpts, and general silliness. I'll also be posting links to my favorite opera bromance, "The Pearl Fishers," so you all get to see just how sexy opera singers can be. Stop by and comment to win goodies in honor of my brand new release, Aria (Blue Notes #3).

Over the next few weeks, I'll be running more giveaways and blogging about the Blue Notes Series of classical music themed gay romances, so be sure to check back for more fun! Oh, and by the way, the Blue Notes books are all 20% off throught 12/31 (all Dreamspinner Press's series are!), so now's a great time to purchase all three books, if you haven't already read them.

Much love and happiness to everyone in 2013! For my part, I've already got 2 books on the Dreamspinner Press schedule: "Lighting the Way Home," co-authored with E.M. Lynley, and "Prelude (Blue Notes #4)," co-authored with Venona Keyes. Both books are tentatively set for March/April 2013 releases. Also coming in 2013, the first installment in my new pirate shifter series, "Stealing the Wind" and "Encore (Blue Notes #5). I can't wait! -Shira

Happy weekend! I'm off to our sailboat, Land's Zen, and the Carolina coast tomorrow morning. I thought I'd leave you all with a new excerpt from "Stealing the Wind," the first book in the Mermen of Ea Series, due out this summer from Dreamspinner Press. But before I do, a few quick updates....

First, I hope you all like the updates my wonderful web guru, Angsty G, has made to my website. What's new? Buttons for Facebook, Goodreads, and Twitter, as well as progress bars for all my WIPs. You may also notice the new "Series" tab, where you can find all my series listed. Most of the other goodies aren't as obvious, with one major exception: I now have a newsletter! To subscribe, just enter your email address on my home page. Simple, and I promise never to spam you or to send you newsletters more often than once a month.

Next, "Encore," the fifth Blue Notes Series book has been submitted to Dreamspinner Press. If they contract the book, look for a November release date. I'm also working on a Blue Notes novella to be released during the holidays, tentatively entitled, "Symphony in Blue." It will be a sequel to the first four books, and wrap up of Cary/Antonio and Sam/Aiden, but will also include Jules/Jason and David/Alex pairings. Oh, and Massimo, too!

Lastly, I'll be starting a new free serialized story, "Who Rules the King's Heart," in my first newsletter issue. Subscribers to the newsletter will get updates on the story in each issue and a week later, I'll post the updates to the "Free Fiction" tab on my website. So you don't have to subscribe to read the story, but you will get it sooner if you do. "Who Rules the King's Heart" is an MM erotic fantasy story about a king and the half demon/half human he loves.

Thanks for stopping by! Remember to sign up for the newsletter if you'd like. To read the excerpt from "Stealing the Wind," go to my website, www.shiraanthony.com. I'm anxiously awaiting the cover art for the novel, and I'll be sharing that as soon as it's finalized, so stay tuned. Enjoy your weekend! -Shira

PS: If anyone knows who the artist is for the lovely artwork, please let me know! I found it on the web and can't find any attribution.

Coming in my July 1st newsletter, my serialized erotic MM fantasy, Who Rules the King's Heart. I'll be publishing updates to the story monthly in my newsletter. You can sign up on the lower left-hand side of my home page to receive newsletters. Subscribers will receive updates to the story a week earlier than posts on my website. Other subscriber benefits: newsletter only giveaways, as well as updates on new and upcoming releases.

Who Rules the King's Heart is a sexy fantasy story/gay romance about Mikail, King of Shaeron, and the captain of his royal guard, Nathaneel, with whom Mikail is secretly in love. What Nathaneel doesn't know is that he is half demon. Things get complicated when King Mikail learns his captain's true nature.

Here's the link to Chapter One, the prologue. My July 1st newsletter will have Chapter Two included, and you'll be able to read that chapter on my website on July 8th. I hope you enjoy the preview. -Shira

PS: The fabulous artwork is by Heise on DeviantArt.com!

Chapter Two of my sexy, serialized MM romance, Who Rules the King's Heart , is now up on my website! You can find the story here. Every month, I'll post a chapter. Want to read the new chapter before it's posted? Subscribers to my monthly newsletter get the first peek at it a week earlier than everyone else. You can sign up here.

Blurb: Mikail, King of Shaeron, has a secret: he’s in love with Nathaneel, his longtime friend and captain of his royal guard. When a demon creature who calls himself Samael and looks very much like Nathaneel appears to Mikail, the King and the demon become lovers. The only problem? Samael is Nathaneel’s demon half, but Nathaneel knows nothing of Samael’s existence. What will happen when Nathaneel learns the truth of his alter ego? And who, demon or man, will rule the King’s heart?

WARNING: NSFW. Contains adult themes and explicit sexual situations. The main pairing is MM, but there are some MMM scenes.

For the next 5 days, the 2nd edition of Blue Notes is free in ebook format from Amazon.com. Even better? Tonight at midnight, Dissonance will be released by Dreamspinner Press! And with that release, the pre-release contest I've been running wraps, so be sure to enter below! You can't win if you don't enter!

Blue Notes was inspired by a trip I took about five years ago to Paris. I'd lived in France as a teenager and studied violin at a conservatory there. For me, the Paris trip was a bit of an escape, and that thought was with me when I imagined a disillusioned lawyer leaving his not so happy life behind, at least for a short time, and spending a few months in Paris. In the winter. Blue Notes is definitely one of the most romantic books of the series, and much of the main character's background is based on my own experiences living and going to high school in Grenoble, France.

Here's the blurb: Blame it on jet lag. Jason Greene thought he had everything: a dream job as a partner in a large Philadelphia law firm, a beautiful fiancée, and more money than he could ever hope to spend. Then he finds his future wife in bed with another man, and he’s forced to rethink his life and his choices. On a moment’s notice, he runs away to Paris, hoping to make peace with his life.

But Jason’s leave of absence becomes a true journey of the heart when he meets Jules, a struggling jazz violinist with his own cross to bear. In the City of Love, it doesn’t take them long to fall into bed, but as they’re both about to learn, they can’t run from the past. Sooner or later, they’ll have to face the music.

Already have a copy of the 2nd edition of Blue Notes? You can pre-order Dissonance now at Dreamspinner Press and download it early Friday morning! Here's the link to the Dreamspinner Press website: http://bit.ly/1qLEVHc

And don't forget to enter the pre-release contest, because it wraps up Friday morning when the clock strikes 12:00 a.m.! You can enter more than once (in fact, you can enter every day!). You could win a cool Blue Notes Series swag bag filled with paperback books of the first 5 novels in the series (or ebook copies if you live outside the US). Here’s the link to the Rafflecopter giveaway: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/Y2YwYmE5NDkzMTY4MjgyZWNiMzcwNjVhODk2ZTBjOjQ=/

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I'll leave you all with an excerpt from the first chapter of Blue Notes. Enjoy! -Shira

******

IN A dim alcove only a dozen or so feet from the musicians, Jason sat nursing his drink, transported by the sound of the violin. It wasn’t jazz in its purest form—it was more of a hybrid, combining the traditional jazz rhythms of the fifties with a modern yet classical approach. But whatever you might call the music, he found it transcendent. Between pieces, Jason glanced around the room to discover the group’s name but found no mention of it anywhere.

The set ended and the club erupted in applause. The musicians nodded, their manner casual, aloof, even a bit embarrassed. The violinist met Jason’s eyes and, for a brief instant, lingered there. Jason’s face heated. Breaking their eye contact to look down at his empty glass, he told himself that the heat in his cheeks was from the alcohol and the lack of sleep. He motioned to the lone waiter for a refill. When he turned back toward the stage, he found himself sitting face-to-face with the violinist.

“May I join you?” the violinist asked, a coy grin on his delicate lips. Jason figured that he might be nineteen, tops. As his companion brushed a stray lock of shoulder-length black hair from his eyes, Jason realized that he had one brown eye and one green. He was a waif of a kid, his face uniquely French, from the slightly pronounced nose to the sharper edge of his jaw. Even seated as he was, Jason could see that the kid’s body swam in a large pair of jeans that hung low on his hips, exposing blue plaid boxers. On top, he wore a body-hugging black T-shirt with the word “Quoi?” splashed across the front in bright red.

“Be my guest,” Jason replied in French, still unsure of what to think about the kid. “Seems as though you’ve already invited yourself.”

“You’re French-Canadian?” the newcomer inquired, grin widening.

“American.” Jason noted the rough edges of the uneven tattoo on the kid’s right forearm. Homemade, no doubt.

“Really? Your French is excellent.”

“And your music’s good,” Jason countered playfully. “What’s your trio called?”

“Dunno. We haven’t named it yet—we don’t play that much. Wouldn’t have played tonight except the group Maurice booked canceled and he couldn’t find a replacement. My roommate’s the dishwasher here.” He gestured at the drummer, who was watching them with interest from the edge of the small stage. “So, do you live in Paris?” he added after a moment’s pause.

“Visiting.”

The waiter deposited two drinks on the table and winked at the violinist.

“My name’s Jules. Jules Bardon.”

“Jason Greene.”

“Enchanté.” Jules took Jason’s hand across the table. The gesture was far too friendly. Flirtatious. Jason pulled his hand away and raised an eyebrow. Jules appeared unfazed. “Here on business?”

“No.”

“Pleasure, then?”

“No.”

Jules laughed—a soft, almost girlish laugh. “Do I make you uncomfortable?” He fixed his gaze on Jason.

“No,” lied Jason, finding Jules’s gaze a bit too intense.

“I could make this a pleasure visit for you.” Jules absentmindedly traced a long finger across his own lips.

“I don’t bat for that team.” Jason borrowed the American expression wholesale as his French failed him at last. It was not the first time he’d spoken the words, although it was the first time he’d spoken them in French. They were also not entirely true; it was simply that the right opportunity had never presented itself.

Jules looked at him for a moment, clearly uncomprehending, then laughed again.

“What’s so funny?” Jason demanded, noting a hint of licorice on the air as his companion replaced his drink on the table.

“Oh,” Jules said, “I understand.” He laughed again. “Sorry. I’ve just never heard it put that way before. At first I thought you were asking me about baseball.” He took a swig of his drink and shrugged. “Too bad. You looked like you could use a good—”

“Jules!”

“I have to go.” Jules sighed and appeared disappointed. “Time for the next set. It was nice to meet you, Jason.” He tripped over the name, and it came out sounding something like “Jah-sohn.” Jason chuckled in spite of himself, reminded of the various ways in which his name had been mangled by French speakers through the years.

Jules sucked down the rest of his drink in one swallow and stood up. “If you change your mind…,” he began, but the drummer grabbed him by the arm and dragged him back toward the stage.

Not likely, kid. Jason chuckled again. He had enough shit to deal with.

A special thank you for Blood Series readers is now up on my website! "The Price of Blood," is a previously unpublished scene from the Blood Series that didn't make it into the trilogy, but tells the story of how Charles Duvalier became a vampire. No spoilers for Blood Series books, so no matter where you are reading the trilogy, you'll be safe! Happy reading! https://shiraanthony.com/blood-series...