JL Merrow

Delighted to see Fall Hard, my novel set in Iceland, is now up on Amazon! It won’t be out until September, alas, but isn’t that pretty? I just love what cover artist, Kanaxa, did with those brooding skies. (or should that be ?)

And here’s the blurb:

Some memories are better off lost in the mist…
Eight months ago, British academic Paul Ansell lost his lover—and all the memories of their time together—in an accident at Iceland’s Gullfoss Falls. Returning to the misty island country to resume his study of the bloodthirsty Viking Egil Skallagrimsson is tough as he struggles to pull his life back together.
First, there’s his colleague, Mags, who treats him like glass, and summer student Alex, who peppers him with discomforting questions. Then there’s Icelandic jet-boat driver Viggo, a tattooed, modern-day Viking who won’t say much about how they know each other. Leaving Paul to wonder if their volcanic attraction is fuelled by a desire to make a fresh start, or desperation to forget the past.
As more fragments of his lost memories fall into place, Paul is unsure if he can trust himself, much less anyone around him. And he begins to suspect his accident was nothing of the kind.

Warning: Contains a modern-day Viking whose boat has V8 engines for oars, and a harsh land of hot springs and hotter passions that won’t forgive any false steps.

Due out from Samhain 17th September 2013, and now available to pre-order:  Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Happy Anniversary!

May 6-12, we will offer a 35% discount off all books (including in-stock paperbacks) by authors who signed with us during our third year of business:  Andi Anderson, Jae Ashley, Rayne Auster, Lenore Black, Scarlet Blackwell, Anne Brooke, H.J. Brues, Brackley Burke, Mary Calmes, Tessa Cárdenas, Heidi Champa, R.W. Clinger, Rachelle Cochran, Diana Copland,J. Crow, Heidi Cullinan, Jana Denardo, Sophia Deri-Bowen, Sonia Devereaux, Libby Drew,Anne Dudley, Chelle Dugan, Andy Eisenberg, Henri Fer, Jamie Freeman, Lacey-Anne Frye, Lyn Gala, L.A. Gilbert, Roland Graeme, Cornelia Grey, Julie Lynn Hayes, S. Reesa Herberth, Violet Hilton, Jan Irving, Felicitas Ivey, Dawn Kimberly Johnson, Joanne Kells,V.B. Kildaire, L.J. LaBarthe, Amy Lane, Trina Lane, Sam C. Leonhard, Anna J. Linden, Taylor Lochland, Amylea Lyn, EM Lynley, D.W. Marchwell, Rowan McAllister,Brooke McKinley, Kate McMurray, JL Merrow, Patric Michael, Margaret Mills, Ellie Moonwater, Emily Moreton, Maggie Morton, Josephine Myles, Mallory Path, J.R. Patrick,Jeff Pearce, Devon Rhodes, G.R. Richards, Kate Roman, Persephone Roth, Linda Reilly,Lily Sawyer, RJ Scott, Rosina Scott, Marie Sexton, Barbara Sheridan, Aundrea Singer,K.Z. Snow, Jillian Snyder, Rowan Speedwell, Jay Starre, Rowena Sudbury, Lori Toland,Carolyn Levine Topol, Jonathan Treadway, Bryl R. Tyne, Matthew Vandrew, Anel Viz, Aleksandr Voinov, Edward von Behrer, Ashleigh Walton, Tedy Ward, Nessa L. Warin,Sarah Ann Watts, Rachel West, Ellen Whitehall, A. Willingham, L.A. Witt, Serena Yates, Cari Z., J.A. Zecca.

…it’s a Top Pick over at The Romance Reviews!

Witty sarcasm coupled with a sweet romance made for a story that’s hard to put down! The story is told from Jude’s POV, and he is one of the most sarcastic and funny characters I have ever read … I’m really looking forward to reading this book again! – 5 stars, KindleRomance, The Romance Reviews

…which is rather pleasing.

New Sun Rising is the anthology of stories, flash fiction, poems, haibun, haiku, artwork and photography put together in aid of Japan after the tsunami of 2011, and contains my prize-winning lesbian flash fiction Ice Maiden. It’s been awarded Gold in the anthology category of the ELit Awards.

Available in ebook and paperback on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

Hie thee over to Elisa Rolle’s blog if you’d like to win a copy of Slam! 

She’s giving away a copy to a random commenter on the post – not sure when the draw is, so better hurry!

And when you’ve done that, why not head over to the website and sign up to go to UK Meet? Places are booking up fast, and the Early Bird Discount ends on 30th April.  Go on, you know you want to!

UK GLBTQ Fiction – Read it, Write it, Love it

I’m delighted to show you the new cover for my stories about Rael the male succubus and his detective lover Lars!  I think artist Imaliea has done a fabulous job of conveying the tone of the stories (although I’m sorry to say goodbye to the lovely cover Lou Harper did for my self-pubbed version of A Calling for Pleasure).

For the first time, all the stories – including a brand new novella – will be available in one volume under the title Damned if You Do.

It’s due out from Riptide on June 24th, 2013, and is available to pre-order now at a discount in ebook or print.

All the stories have been comprehensively re-edited by editing ninja Sarah Frantz, formerly of Dear Author, and are now between 20% and a staggering 70% longer than their original versions as published by Torquere – and 100% better!

And the longest one of all is the brand new story, #4 in the series:

#1: A Calling for Pleasure

#2: A Blast from the Past

#3: A Wish Too Far

#4: A Glutton for Punishment

All the stories will also be available in separate ebooks.

Series blurb:

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.
Lars’s job at the Paranormal Enforcement Agency means he’s supposed to be policing demons, not falling in lust—or love—with them. But there’s something about this feisty little sex demon that hits all his buttons.
With no shortage of deadly sinners in his city, from serial-killing succubi to drug-dealing demons, all Lars can do is try to keep his private life from interfering with his work. But Rael has a knack for getting mixed up in cases that threaten both their domestic harmony and their lives.

                        Pre-order collection | Pre-order separate titles

It’s Wednesday 17th, I’ve had my tea (veggie pasta bake, yum!) so it must be time to pick a winner in the Slam! blog tour giveaway. And the winner, courtesy of random.org, is….

                                              bingaling2013,

who commented on It’s Hot to Flame over at Cup o’ Porn.

Bingaling, I haven’t got contact info for you, so please get in touch with me on jl(dot)merrow(at)gmail(dot)com to claim your prize:

A free signed paperback copy of Hard Tail, plus I’ll write you a limerick on a subject of your choosing (it may be as well to specify clean or dirty, too!)

Please get in touch by the end of April 21st, GMT, or I’ll sadly be forced to pick another winner.

Thanks so much to everyone who commented on the tour – I had a great time reading and answering all your comments!

…for the Slam! blog tour, and I’m winding up (or winding down?) with Cole over at The Armchair Reader with

Poetry – It’s Not Just Writing in Rhyme

where I make a shameful confession *g* and muse on modern verse.

Why not pop along and join me for your last chance to enter the giveaway:

I’m offering a free signed paperback copy of Hard Tail (I’m happy to ship internationally) to a randomly chosen commenter on the Slam! blog tour, plus I’ll write the winner a limerick on a subject of their choosing!

I’ll be making the draw around teatime on Wednesday 17^th April, GMT. Good luck!

The Slam! blog tour continues with its penultimate stop over at Cup o’ Porn, where I’m musing on the lack of flamboyant main characters in m/m romance in It’s Hot to Flame. Why not pop on over and share your thoughts?

Giveaway:

I’m offering a free signed paperback copy of Hard Tail (I’m happy to ship internationally) to a randomly chosen commenter on the Slam! blog tour, plus I’ll write the winner a limerick on a subject of their choosing!

I’ll be making the draw around teatime on Wednesday 17^th April, GMT. Good luck!

I got an email this morning, and they’ve sent me this little button, which is rather cool.

Gratifying to see how many other m/m books are on the list, too.