JL Merrow

…over at Jon Michaelsen’s blog, as part of a series of interviews he’s doing with authors of gay mystery, thriller and suspense novels. Why not pop on over, if you’ve ever wondered what inspires me to write the things I do?

And a heads-up: the Relief Valve blog tour—not to mention the book itself *g*—is coming soon! There will be prizes!

Full details are here, and the tour starts on release day, Tuesday 25th March. Hope to see you at some of the stops!

Yep, truly your cup runneth over (you might want to wipe that up before it stains) when it comes to JL Merrow giveaways today! This time it’s the turn of Relief Valve, my forthcoming m/m mystery and the second book featuring Tom and Phil:

If you dig up the past, be prepared to get dirty.

It hasn’t been all smooth sailing since plumber Tom Paretski and P.I. Phil Morrison became connected at the heart, if not always at Tom’s dodgy hip. Neither of their families has been shy about voicing their disapproval, which hasn’t helped Tom’s uneasy relationship with his prickly older sister, Cherry.

But when Cherry is poisoned at her own engagement party, the horror of her near death has Tom’s head spinning with possible culprits. Is it her fiance Gregory, a cathedral canon with an unfortunate manner and an alarming taste for taxidermy? Someone from her old writers’ circle, which she left after a row? Or could the attack be connected to her work as a barrister?

Phil is just as desperate to solve the case before someone ends up dead – and he fears it could be Tom. At least one of their suspects has a dark secret to hide, which makes Tom’s sixth sense for finding things like a target painted on his back…

Warning: Contains a strong, silent, macho PI; a cheeky, chirpy, cat-owning plumber; and a gag gift from beyond the grave that’ll put the cat firmly among the pigeons.

Due out 25 March 2014.

For a chance to win an e-copy, just pop on over to Stumbling Over Chaos and leave a comment on the giveaway post. Good luck!

The release of Relief Valve, book #2 in The Plumber’s Mate series, will soon be upon us (March 25th), so just in case you haven’t read book #1, Pressure Head, yet, I’m offering a free e-copy to one lucky reader over at Sinfully Sexy Books!

                           (Don’t they look good together? )

To be in with a chance to win a copy of Pressure Head, just hop on over to Sinfully Sexy Books and follow the instructions on the Rafflecopter thingummy! 

Good luck!

Don’t you just love the guy’s attitude?

I’m delighted to say this story, a much shorter version of which originally appeared in the Sindustry anthology (now out of print) is being completely re-worked and re-edited and will be out from Samhain on 14th October 2014.

When I wrote the original version, I was desperately trying to keep to the anthology word limit of 12k, and my goodness, it showed! It’s been fantastic to let the story breathe and grow to its proper length – it’s now roughly twice as long, and much better (I think) for it. 

I’ve also made a few improvements along the way – nice to feel I’ve learned something in the last few years of writing!

And here be the (draft) blurb:

Never fall in love with a customer—especially if it’s sex you’re selling

Rent boy Nathan’s determined to get an education and get off the streets for good. But when he turns up for his first day at college he’s horrified to find his English teacher is one of his regular customers: Stephen, the one Nathan dubbed The Voice because of his educated, honeyed tones.

Stephen’s just as shocked to see Nathan sitting in his class, not to mention terrified he’s about to be exposed as having paid for sex with a student. This could mean public humiliation and maybe the loss of his job. But when Nathan shows he’s only interested in getting his A Levels, not in blackmail, Stephen realises there’s more to the nineteen-year-old than meets the eye.

Nathan still has to earn a living, though—and when a customer turns ugly, he finds himself unable to work and homeless as well. Stephen steps in to help, and Nathan starts to think they could have a future together—but Stephen’s guilt and lack of trust could end this back-to-front romance before it even starts.

Warning: Contains unfashionable haircuts, unreasonably long words and a May-December romance between a not-so-streetwise rent boy and an erudite English teacher.

If you’re a writer, or aspiring writer, in reach of the University of Hertfordshire, there’s an excellent one-day writing conference coming up on Saturday 29th March 2014. Organised by VWC (the writers’ circle I belong to) and now in its seventh year, Get Writing Day is a full day of workshops, pitching sessions, talks, panels, one-to-ones and a networking lunch.

The guest speakers comprise approximately twenty-five industry professionals – novelists, playwrights, agents, editors, creative writing teachers, television and radio scriptwriters, producers and directors, including Bafta nominated screenwriter and author of the bestselling Jenny Cooper crime series, M.R. Hall, and historical thriller writer William Ryan, author of the widely acclaimed Captain Korolev novels. They’ll be giving a 2-hour version of their Guardian workshop on Constructing Character and Plot, the full-day version of which I’m told would set you back around £700!

Tickets start at the amazingly low price of only £30, but better hurry – bookings will close soon!

Hope to see you there!

Making a change from all things Geek, I’ll be over at Bitten by Books later today with a blast from the past – I’ll be talking about Damned if You Do (see what I did there? *g*)

Specifically, I’ll be discussing demons – and why Rael is very definitely a male succubus, and not an incubus.

Some sins are worth the price.

Sexy male succubus Rael has an insatiable appetite for men that gets him into all kinds of trouble. And he’s just found his favorite flavor: hunky blond detective Lars Thornsson. When those cool Nordic looks combine with Rael’s smoldering dark charms, all Hell could break loose.

Contains: A Calling for Pleasure, A Blast from the Past, A Wish too Far and A Glutton for Punishment.

The chat starts at noon, Central US time, which I calculate as around 6pm UK time, and will go on until I fall asleep on my keyboard tonight! And there will be a $20 Riptide gift certificate given away to one lucky commenter!  You can earn extra entries by RSVP-ing in advance on the Bitten by Books post here. Good luck!

********ETA: And here is the Rafflecopter link for the contest itself:*********

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The random number gods have smiled upon: 

Loren

who commented on the post at The Novel Approach.

Congratulations, Loren! You win an ebook of your choice from my backlist, plus a $10 Amazon gift certificate! 

Thanks to everyone who commented, and to my hosts for putting up with my ramblings last week!

Loren, please get in touch with me on jl(dot)merrow(at)gmail(dot)com to claim your prize!

All good things must come to an end, and today is the last day of the It’s All Geek to Me blog tour.   Today I’m over at LeAnn’s Book Reviews where I’m interviewing Seducto Smile himself, Rhys! Why not come on over and say hi?

Giveaway: all commenters on the blog tour will be entered into a draw to win an ebook of their choice from my backlist, plus a $10 Amazon gift certificate. A winner will be chosen randomly on Monday, 17^th February, 2014. Good luck!

Here’s a run-down of all the tour stops in case you missed one:

February 10, 2014 – Mrs. Condit & Friends Read Books

February 10, 2014 – The Novel Approach

February 10, 2014 – Smut Book Club – Spotlight Stop

February 11, 2014 – The Jeep Diva – Spotlight Stop

February 11, 2014 – Live Your Life, Buy the Book – Spotlight Stop

February 12, 2014 – Smart Girls Love Sci-fi

February 13, 2014 – Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

February 13, 2014 – TTC Books and More – Spotlight Stop

February 13, 2014 – Delighted Reader

February 14, 2014 – LeAnn’s Book Reviews

It’s the penultimate day of the It’s All Geek to Me blog tour, and today I’m talking balls over at Delighted Reader.

What’s that you say? No change there? *g*

Well, today I’m talking about actual, physical balls – and which shape I prefer! Oo-er, missus!

Why not pop along and let me know your thoughts on the subject?

Giveaway: all commenters on the blog tour will be entered into a draw to win an ebook of their choice from my backlist, plus a $10 Amazon gift certificate. A winner will be chosen randomly on Monday, 17^th February, 2014. Good luck!

It’s day 3 of the It’s All Geek to Me blog tour, and today I’m over at Smart Girls Love SciFi talking about degrees of geekiness – heh, I should have called this one “50 Shades of Geek”, shouldn’t I?

Why not pop on over and let me know your thoughts on the subject? Dress code: Geek glasses, or as we call them over here, NHS specs (ah, the blight of my childhood…)

Giveaway: all commenters on the blog tour will be entered into a draw to win an ebook of their choice from my backlist, plus a $10 Amazon gift certificate. A winner will be chosen randomly on Monday, 17^th February, 2014. Good luck!