Love Lies Deep is a deeply emotional love story.  Every year on Halloween Josh comes to visit Sam. The love that Josh and Sam have is so strong it reaches beyond everything. This was a short read but packed a big punch. Love this strong only comes once a lifetime.

Read the full review here: http://yougottaread.com/review-halloween-heat-i-by-tristram-la-rochce-renee-george-dianne-hartsock-kiran-hunter-elin-gregory/

Thank you, Meingee, for getting it!

Halloween Heat I is available as an eBook from major online retailers and also in paperback as part of the Halloween Heat M/M edition.

eBook

Paperback

It’s in the eyes

“People dispute the idea that they have a nature, given to them by their bodily identity, that serves as a defining element of the human being. They deny their nature and decide that it is not something previously given to them, but that they make it for themselves.”

What a load of bollocks, Your Holiness! I am what I am. I did not choose to be gay (though I am very happy and proud to be so). Either evolution has made me this way, something passed down through the genetics of my mother and father or, if you creationists prefer, God made me this way. Homosexuality exists in animals and you say they don’t have souls, so stick that in your censer and waft it. And for the record, my bodily identity I reckon is male. I am a man. I want to be a man and have no wish to be a woman. Get your thoughts straight, Ben, and do mankind a favour. What happened to goodwill to all men?

Thanks, Tristam for inviting me to post on your blog, in honour of the release of On A Lee Shore, a book that is mostly about pirates.

And what do pirates want? Yes, treasure! Or so popular fiction would have us believe. Certainly there were pirates who committed robberies that made the Great Train Robbers look like handbag snatchers. It is estimated that Black Sam Bellamy’s haul would be worth approximately £100 million in today’s money and many other pirates – Thomas Tew, Captain Kidd, Bartholomew Roberts – are reputed to have stolen as much if not more. Forbes magazine [http://www.forbes.com/2008/09/18/top-earning-pirates-biz-logistics-cx_mw_0919piracy.html ] has compiled a list of piratical top earners, likening the profession to being the investment bankers of the period! Hollywood has familiarised us with the image of heavily armed pirate vessels bringing lofty Spanish galleons to a halt so howling savages can swing from deck to deck with cutlasses between their teeth in search of chests brimming with gold moidores, silver plate and strings of pearls. However the truth of the matter was far more prosaic and practical.

Pirates were robbers, living upon what they stole. There were comparatively few ports that would welcome a known pirate ship and the more successful a pirate crew became the fewer places would welcome them. Consequently they had to steal everything they required to live. Food, drink, spares for the ship, even weapons and powder and shot for the long guns. One of the best documented pirate careers is that of Bartholomew Roberts. He was only a pirate for two years but in that time he took 470 ships, sometimes several at a time. His most famous catch was a portuguese treasure galleon laden with newly minted pieces of eight, bar silver, emeralds and gold but most of his prizes were small fishing craft or coastal traders. His ship outgunned them so they allowed his boats to draw alongside and his men would rummage the ship and take anything that might be useful. Fresh food was essential – it doesn’t take long to get scurvy. Sometimes they would swap items taken from another vessel for part of a cargo. Benjamin Hornigold once pursued and took a French ship because he had seen the crew in port and wanted to steal all their hats!

However the very most popular item to steal was the medicine chest. Medicine in the early 18th century was very rough and ready by modern standards. There were several routine treatments that would be applied for illnesses – bleeding, cupping, purging, dosing – and injuries would be plastered, stitched or, in the case of damaged limbs, amputated. Life was brutal and so was the treatment. Especially the treatment for the various forms of social disease that were rife amongst the sea going population. It was known how these diseases were caught but there was no understanding of the actual cause. No antibiotics existed and sometimes the treatment was as nasty as the affliction. This urethral syringe was used to inject a solution of mercury, a poison, as a treatment for syphilis. Other treatments included bizarre ingredients like the ashes of a wolf’s testicles or to ‘eat a roast mouse’. Anyone who survived the treatment was considered a success, even if he died later from infection or food poisoning.

With a high turnover of piratical staff the captains were always on the look out for promising recruits. Any man with skills to augment those of the pirates could be forced on board – navigators were prized, likewise carpenters, and doctors. Musicians were particularly popular – pirates liked to have the band playing when they went into battle. However, there were frequently rules against taking women aboard and, except in rare cases, pirate crews tended to be all stag.

If you were a pirate, what kind of non-monetary treasure would you go for?

Over the next few days I will be continuing my thoughts about the Golden Age of Piracy on blogs belonging to Sue Roebuck, Kiran Hunter and Catherine Cavendish. Comment here or on their blogs for a chance to win a copy of “On A Lee Shore”. Each comment = one chance so the more the merrier.

Blurb: “Give me a reason to let you live…”

Beached after losing his ship and crew, and with England finally at peace, Lt Christopher Penrose will take whatever work he can get. A valet? Why not? Escorting an elderly diplomat to the Leeward Islands seems like an easy job, but when their ship is boarded by pirates, Kit’s world is turned upside down. Forced aboard the pirate ship, Kit finds himself juggling his honor with his desire to stay alive among the crew, not to mention the alarming—yet enticing—captain, known as Le Griffe.

Kit has always obeyed the rules, but as the pirates plunder their way across the Caribbean, he finds much to admire in their freedom. He deplores their lawlessness but is drawn to their way of life, and begins to think he might just have found a purpose. Dare he dream of finding love too? Or would loving a pirate take him too far down the road to ruin?

Obtainable here or here if you’re in the States.

Excerpt:

Amidships the party was getting rowdy as the musicians sawed, pounded, or whistled. One crew challenged the other to wrestle and made wagers on the outcome. It looked like anarchy, but there were men in the waist of the ship who stepped in if the struggle got too aggressive. Kit found himself laughing as he watched Saunders, bottle held safely out of the way, battering a brawny pirate about the shoulders with the despised volume of Homer.

Saunders spotted Kit, abandoned the brawlers, and made his way to his side. He offered O’Neill a swig from his bottle and leaned back against the transom.

“What a to-do,” he said. “Damn fellow knocked my bottle over, would have spilled it if I hadn’t looked sharp.”

“So inconsiderate,” Kit nodded to the book, “and he made you lose your place.”

“Hanging is too good,” O’Neill commented as he offered the bottle to Kit, who shook his head. O’Neill passed it back to Saunders.

“Barbuda,” Saunders said suddenly. “That is our destination. There I should be able to replenish our medicine chest—try as I might the men will keep catching things. While we are in port they will have the opportunity to catch some more I wouldn’t wonder. “

“Something to look forward to then—you and your syringe.” O’Neill grinned as Kit shuddered. “And what will you do, Mr. Penrose?”

“He will give his parole,” Saunders said, “as befits an officer of His Majesty’s Navy, and will accompany me to Willaerts coffee house to see if we can trade this unlovely item for something more elevating.” He waved the book again. “Or he will not give his parole and will spend our time in port chained to a long gun—possibly. It depends on our lord and master’s whim.”

~

Many thanks again to my gracious host, Tristram.

**

My pleasure, Elin. Remember you can find Elin here: http://elingregory.wordpress.com

Well, you have all been entered now into the draw and we’ll see who wins the iPad2! But just to say thanks to you all I’m giving away an eCopy of Lorenzo il Magnifico to one lucky entrant. I’ve jumbled you all up, put on my blindfold and picked out…Gregory Payne! Gregory – look out for my email.

Welcome to the Evernight Holiday Blog Hop!

Thanks, Evernight, for running this terrific hop. Of course the graphic isn’t terribly at home on this site but what the hell? My own Evernight book is Lorenzo il Magnifico and you might win an e-copy just by leaving a comment with your email.

Lorenzo il Magnifico

“Lorenzo il Magnifico is the journey of a young man whose past has left him a bit guarded, and possibly a little bit jaded on the subject of commitment, until he meets the man who makes him feel—a little bit different, a little bit hopeful, a little bit anxious that he could lose something really wonderful, a little bit optimistic that he’s finally found a place and a someone to call home. Tristram La Roche offers just the right touch to his story for those who believe love can start with the smallest of seeds and, with the right attention, can bloom into something terrific.”

Review by Lisa at Top2Bottom 

http://top2bottomreviews.wordpress.com/2011/09/11/lorenzo-il-magnifico-by-tristram-la-roche/

*

“When you fall into a book and feel as though your watching it rather than reading it, well that’s top notch writing and deserves the credit.”

Review by Lutawolf at The To Be Read Pile

http://thetbrpile.weebly.com/1/post/2011/10/review-lorenzo-il-magnifico-by-tristram-la-roche.html 

*

Excerpt from Lorenzo il Magnifico

Bar Uccello identified itself among the cheap snack bars, computer stores and Chinese herbalists by a simple rainbow flag that hung over the dusty, iron grille as limp and useless as a used condom. Even without the flag it would have been hard to miss; the music paid no attention to locked doors and the overflowing dumpsters in the street vibrated to the
rhythm.

Lorenzo pressed the button on the entry phone, looked into the camera, and the grille sprang open with a raw clack. Luke followed him through the security doors and into a dimly lit passage decorated with adverts for hard core videos. He recognized most of the cocks on them. The noise was deafening and Luke could only watch as Lorenzo leaned over the counter
and shouted into the ear of the receptionist. They gesticulated at each other, then at Luke, then at the ceiling. Finally, the receptionist shrugged his shoulders and Lorenzo pulled Luke along the passageway and into the bar. It heaved with bodies. Many of the guys had discarded their shirts and Luke narrowed his eyes against the flashing lights trying to get a good look. Lorenzo pulled him close and shouted in his ear,“It’s full because of the strip show
later on.” He jerked his head towards the bar. “Shall we?”

Luke nodded and followed closely as Lorenzo ploughed through the throng, stopping regularly to receive a hug or a kiss from fellow revelers. His popularity was obvious and Luke knew that if anything passed between them it could only be a one night stand or, at most, a seven
night, vacation fling.

As the bar came into sight, Luke surged forward and grabbed Lorenzo by the arm. “I’ll get
these.”

Lorenzo shook his head. He already had the attention of one of the barmen. Luke knew Italians well enough to realize any protest was futile, so he accepted his Diet Coke with grace. Lorenzo began to dance to the music, grinding his hips. He grinned at Luke. That wink again.

Luke was drawn to him like a mosquito to a lamp. He finished his coke, rid himself of the glass and raised his arms over his head. He rotated his hips, thrusting forward the growing mound at his crotch. Lorenzo’s eyes glowed; his shirt, already damp from the heat and the
exertion, taut across hard nipples. When their eyes met, Luke opened his mouth and ran his tongue over his lips. Lorenzo took the bait. His tongue darted between Luke’s lips and filled his mouth. Luke lowered his arms, put one around Lorenzo’s neck to pull him tighter, and let the other work its way down to his ass. At last, he felt those firm buttocks that he’d watched so many times during the evening. In his mind he parted them to reveal Lorenzo’s rosebud. He pushed his hard cock against Lorenzo, wishing it were free. Lorenzo responded, and Luke
felt the other’s solid length press into his own.

A sudden flash of light, a ripple of applause and the music died. Luke glanced around, nonplussed, but Lorenzo shouted in his ear, “It’s the show. The strippers. Come with me.”

If you would like to buy Lorenzo il Magnifico please click HERE. And there are lots of buy links in the sidebar on the left of the site.

Now you need to get hopping to all the other sites and increase your chances of winning that iPad!

Powered by Linky Tools

Click here

to view this Linky Tools list and get hopping!

All you have to do is click on the Goodreads widget below. Remember, Halloween Heat M/M from Etopia Press contains a short story each from me (Tristram La Roche) plus Kiran Hunter, Elin Gregory, Dianne Hartsock, Renee George, Tara Lain and A C Fox.

Halloween Heat I (Tristram La Roche, Kiran Hunter, Elin Gregory, Dianne Hartsock, Renee George) which is also available to buy as an eBook was the Number One selling anthology on Bookstrand for almost a month. The paperback we are giving away contains HH I plus HH IV!

There are two copies up for grabs so twice the chance of winning:

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Halloween Heat M/M

by Tara Lain

Giveaway ends November 30, 2012.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Available from:

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Book Depository

Barnes and Noble

more coming soon!

1. Halloween Heat I (for the fourth day running!)

3. Halloween Heat V

5. Halloween Heat III

6. Halloween Heat IV

7. Halloween Heat VI

These are all great reads for Halloween (duh!) so if you haven’t started buying them you know what to do! Here’s  a little helping hand to get you on the way…

Bookstrand

All Romance eBooks

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

And don’t forget to buy Halloween Heat!

Commiserations if you didn’t win, but you can buy the book for just $1.99 currently at All Romance eBooks. Click the image to go there. What are you waiting for?

Currently just $1.99 from ARE

Halloween Heat I
An Anthology of Erotic Paranormal M/M Romance

(last time I looked, Halloween Heat I was no2 in the All Romance eBooks anthologies)

Click to Buy From Amazon

Five stories of gay love and passion with a paranormal twist, perfect for Halloween.

“Love Lies Deep” by Tristram La Roche
“Idle Hands” by Reneé George
“Costumes” by Dianne Hartsock
“Eden” by Kiran Hunter
“Set in Stone” by Elin Gregory

Love Lies Deep by Tristram La Roche

Blurb

When a careless driver shattered Josh’s life one Halloween by ploughing into his lover, Josh found himself  living all alone in the village that had been their temporary home. He’d never liked the countryside, but stayed willingly for Sam while he wrote a novel about the area. Despite Josh’s love of the city, his love for Sam was stronger and he knew he could never move away from his lover’s resting place. Now, every day Josh visits the grave and feels Sam’s presence, but on Halloween, the anniversary of the tragedy, his visit unleashes their passion and lust as if nothing has changed.

Here’s an excerpt:

Josh handed out bars of chocolate and some toffee things that reminded him of dog chews, and waved to the kids as they ran off into the night. As he closed the door he heard another firework explode and decided it was time to be sociable. He put on his heavy boots, shucked on his quilted jacket, and grabbed the flashlight from the table in the hall. Finally, he took the carefully wrapped flowers he’d bought on the way home.

Once he’d left the glow of the outside light behind him, he noticed that the clouds had cleared completely to leave a deep purple sky, the stars shining like polished silver studs. He hoped it would last. While the rain didn’t spoil his enjoyment, good weather would certainly heighten it. As he approached the village green, the telltale crackling told him the fire had already been lit. The tops of the trees, almost bare now, clawed at the sky like crooked, orange fingers in the flames’ light. Children drew shapes in the air with sparklers, mothers fussed with coats and hats, fathers busied themselves with fireworks and the beer stall.

“Josh!” A dark figure loomed out of Josh’s peripheral vision. “Just in time for the fun.”

“Hi, Ben,” said Josh, slapping the young priest playfully on the shoulder. As things had turned out, it had been a godsend having a gay priest in the village, though no one knew apart from Josh and Sam, of course. Josh couldn’t understand how Ben could want to be a Catholic priest, but Ben simply said that he had his own beliefs and Rome was fifteen hundred miles away.

Ben took something from his pocket and, linking arms with Josh, slipped the object into his friend’s coat pocket. “Better let you have that before I forget.”

“Thanks. I’ll get it back to you before morning.”

“I know. Don’t worry about that. Just enjoy yourself, okay?” Ben winked and tapped the side of his nose. “Halloween comes but once a year.”

Now, leave your comment and then you can visit all the other authors by clicking the links in the table below (thanks, Elin, for the clever box!).