I’m blogging today over at Love Bytes on the subject of that old fairy tale chestnut, the wicked stepmother. Why not pop on over and join the discussion on fairy tales and their stereotypes: harmless fun or truly grimm?

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway! 😀

…or at least, don’t agree with their creator on certain matters!  That’s what I’m blogging about over at Joyfully Jay today. Who am I talking about in particular? Tom Paretski from my Plumber’s Mate Mysteries – he even likes tea, for heaven’s sake! 😉

Why not pop on over and enter the giveaway?  Good luck!

Facebook reminded me this week that it’s been six years since my novella Pricks and Pragmatism came out, so  it seemed appropriate to make today’s Rainbow Snippet  the opening six sentences:

I looked up from my Uni notes on Rakes and Libertines as Sebastian walked into the flat. He was a vision in Armani, as always, his sleek black hair allowed to grey artfully just at the temples and no further. He’d said once he thought it gave him gravitas; I’d told him I’d grab his arse any time he wanted.

I was lying on the rug in front of the mock fireplace wearing nothing but the Calvin Kleins he’d bought me. On the rug, because Sebastian would have thrown a hissy fit if I’d taken pens on the sofa; in my underwear, because there’s nothing wrong with giving a bloke something nice to look at after a hard day at the office.

I flashed him my best smile over my bare shoulder. “Hey, handsome.”

Don’t forget to check out the rainbow snippets Facebook group for more little excerpts from a whole host of talented authors here.

Pricks and Pragmatism

…is the title of my guest post over at Sinfully Gay Romance Book Reviews today, where I’m talking about a quintessentially British subject that features in my latest Plumber’s Mate Mystery, Blow Down: Morris dancing.

Why not pop over and join me – and don’t forget to enter the giveaway! 😉

The fourth book in my Plumber’s Mate Mysteries series, Blow Down, is finally out today, and to celebrate I’m blogging over at The Novel Approach about Tom’s knack for finding hidden things. Don’t forget to enter the giveaway! 😀

Death is what happens when you’re making other plans.

The last thing newly engaged plumber Tom Paretski needs is to stumble over another dead body.  He’s got enough on his mind already as the reality of his impending marriage sinks in. Not only is his family situation complicated, his heroism at a pub fire made him a local celebrity.  Now everyone and their uncle wants a piece of his psychic talents.  Hired to find a missing necklace, Tom and his fiance, private investigator Phil Morrison, wind up trying to unmask a killer – and there’s no shortage of suspects, up to and including the local bishop himself.  As Tom and Phil try to uncover the truth, they find themselves pulled in all different directions by the conflicting pressures of their families and their own desires.  But the murderer they’re up against is a ruthless schemer who won’t hesitate to kill again.  If Tom and Phil aren’t careful, their love – and all their plans for the future – could be blown down like a house of straw.

Warning: Contains a bishop of questionable Christian charity, a necklace of questionable taste, and a plumber of questionable nationality who may be running out of time.

Purchase Links: Amazon ||  ARe || Samhain || The Plumber’s Mate Series: Pressure Head (Book #1) || Relief Valve (Book #2) || Heat Trap (Book #3)

Apologies for missing a couple of weeks: life has been hectic! Including a trip to Italy, which I may or may not be blogging about at some time in the future. For now I’ll just leave you with this sage advice: if you don’t want to see dick pics, don’t go to Pompeii! 😉

Today’s snippet is a little different: the first six lines of my poem Petrol Station in an Unfamiliar Town in the Love is Love charity poetry anthology, which came out while I was away:

We met—so very British—in a queue,
Divided by politeness and reserve. You stood
In front of me, your black hair loose, free-flowing
Brightened by silver strands. Not young
But not yet old; like me, you’d lived
You’d have a past. Regrets, perhaps?

The latest anthology in the Mad About the Brit Boys series featuring stories by me and the lovely Josephine Myles is out today:

Love—the most intense connection.

The challenge of finding love in the world today can take many forms, but at its heart love is the same: it’s all about forging a connection with another person. Experience romance at its most relatable in these four contemporary stories of male-male love with a British flavour from award-winning authors Josephine Myles and JL Merrow.

In these stories you’ll find out how to communicate without words, be teased by a memory that’s just out of reach, flash back to young love and emerging sexuality, and discover how opposites can attract when you meet a stranger in a strange land.

These stories have all been previously published, but are now available exclusively in this anthology:

Epiphany by JL Merrow

When security guard Vinnie spots a young British guy, Gray, looking lost on a New York street, he thinks he’s never seen anyone so beautiful. The feeling’s mutual: concert pianist Gray loves everything about the huge muscle man who’s offering to walk him back to his hotel. When they stop off at Vinnie’s apartment, sparks fly—but when they finally get back to Gray’s hotel, things seem to fall apart. Is one afternoon all they’ll ever have?

Halfway up the Stairs by Josephine Myles

When Charlie wakes up alone after arguing with his boyfriend the night before, it seems like nothing will resolve the situation. Josh wants them to move, but Charlie is too attached to the house. It’s not just all the work he’s put into it, though, it’s all the memories. One memory in particular, of standing hidden halfway up the stairs, watching and wanting…

Sense Memory by JL Merrow

Blinded by a drunk driver, Colin is haunted by a sense memory—the smell of wood chippings. When he meets up with Alban, who he’s been chatting with online, he finally finds out why.

Without Words by Josephine Myles

Is that gorgeous redheaded hunk on the building site really checking him out? Nick thinks it’s worth the risk of getting his head kicked in to find out. Only trouble is, Nick tends to end up spoiling things with his nervous babbling. This time he’s going to have to keep his mouth shut. It’s either that or he’ll have to find some other way to occupy it…

Available exclusively on Kindle for the bargain price of $0.99/£0.99

To celebrate my birthday on the 10th, my anthology of 12 m/m romance stories,  A Flirty Dozen, will be FREE ON AMAZON until Sunday 12th June, so this week’s snippet is taken from one of the stories in it, Good Breeding:

In this snippet, our hero-in-need-of-some-personal-growth Giles has just met his birth mother for the first time, and is pouring out his woes to his best mate, Oz:

“I always wondered, you know?” Giles said, gesticulating with the Edinburgh crystal in the vague direction of the water feature. “What sort of people my parents were. Were they romantic, idealistic? Or hard-working, salt-of-the-earth types? And now I know.” He paused dramatically. “I’m the son of a chav. A stiletto-wearing, chardonnay-swilling, chain-smoking, perma-tanned chav. And a Greek waiter whose name she can’t quite recall.” He hung his head in despair.

Oz nodded, patting him on the shoulder sympathetically, if a bit unsteadily. “Cheer up. It could have been worse.”

Giles looked up, incredulous. “How? Just how, precisely?”

Oz glared at him. “Well, she could have been a raging snob like her son, for starters!”

Don’t forget to check out the rainbow snippets Facebook group for more little excerpts from a whole host of talented authors here.

A Flirty Dozen by JL Merrow

To celebrate my birthday today, my anthology of 12 m/m romance stories will be FREE ON AMAZON from today until Sunday 12th June:

A Flirty Dozen by JL Merrow

Last week’s snippet from my US-set short story Epiphany, soon to be out in second edition in the Truly, Madly, Boys anthology, ended on a bit of a tease with the line, You probably want to know what he looks like, right?

So for all those who were kind enough to comment in the affirmative, here are the next 6 or so lines:

Hell, I’m no damn good at describing shit. Five-ten, maybe, least he looks like he’s a couple inches shorter than me, real skinny, with kinda mousy brown hair—see, this is why I don’t do descriptive. You’re thinking, hell, he’s nothing special, but let me tell you, he’s fucking breathtaking. Cutest little pointy chin, pale face like he don’t get out a whole lot. Fuck it. He’s beautiful. You just gotta trust me on that.

Don’t forget to check out the rainbow snippets Facebook group for more little excerpts from a whole host of talented authors here.

Truly, Madly, Boys will be out on 14th June and features 4 short stories, 2 by me and 2 by the lovely Josephine Myles,

It will be available exclusively on Kindle.