Diversion Box Set Vol. 1, Now Available at Audible

I devour audio books, going through several each week, so I love a good audio book sale. That's just what you'll get with the Diversion Box Set Vol. 1, Diversion, Collusion, and Corruption all in a package deal for one credit or $20.96.

Diversion:

There are good guys, bad guys, and then there’s Lucky. 

Former drug trafficker Richmond “Lucky” Lucklighter flaunts his past like a badge of honor. He speaks his mind, doesn’t play nice, and flirts with disaster while working off his sentence with the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau. If he can keep out of trouble a while longer he’ll be a free man - after he trains his replacement.

Two men. Close quarters. Friction results in heat. But Lucky scoffs at partnerships, no matter how thrilling the roller-coaster. Bo has two months to break down Lucky’s defenses...and seconds are ticking by. 

Collusion: 

Dead men can’t love. 

Former drug trafficker Richmond “Lucky” Lucklighter “died” in the line of duty while working off a ten-year sentence in service to the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau, only to be reborn as Simon “Lucky” Harrison. The newbie he trained, former Marine Bo Schollenberger, is now his partner on (and maybe off) the job. It’s hard to tell when Lucky doesn’t understand relationships or have a clue what any sane human is doing in his bed. Bo’s nice to have around, sure, but there’s none of that picking-out-china-together crap for Lucky.

When a prescription drug shortage jeopardizes the patients at Rosario Children’s Cancer Center, it not only pits Bo and Lucky against predatory opportunists, but also each other. How can they tell who the villains are? The bad guys don’t wear black hats, but they might wear white coats. 

Corruption: 

Renegade biker. Drug runner. Recovering addict. Wanted by the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau. But he isn’t a crook, he’s the law. 

SNB Agent Bo Schollenberger’s solved his cases using his brains and not a gun, and with his partner, not alone. Now he’s handed a tough new case involving designer drugs that turn users violent. One false move could end his life as he immerses himself into a motorcycle gang to locate the source. His fate depends on how well he can impersonate someone else. Someone named Cyrus Cooper. 

Cyrus is everything Bo Schollenberger isn’t, including the badass enforcer for a smuggling ring. He establishes pecking order with his fists and doesn’t take shit from anybody, not even the undercover agent who comes to help his case.

When survival depends on a web of tangled lies, lines blur, worlds collide, and a high stakes game turns friend to foe. Lucky knows the difference between Bo the agent and Cyrus the outlaw, but does Bo?

Get your copy today at Audible. 

What I'm Reading: Bone to Pick by T.A. Moore

Although I don't personally know T.A. Moore (I think we might have met briefly at a convention once), she has crafted a book that could have been taken from my perfect book wish list: Bone to Pick

Well written? Check
Well researched? Check
Gritty story? Check
Lots of action? Check
Complex characters? Check
Moments of comedy mixed in to ease the "twisting the knife*" factor? Check
Great secondary characters? Check
Character with average looks and not an Adonis? Check (non-GQ models need love too).
Realism? Check
Case wrapped up in a way that didn't require whiskey therapy? Check
Great, understandable tension between two main characters? Check, check, check

Bourneville the dog was pure bonus.

While I like romance, it's not a necessity to a story for my enjoyment. Not every relationship starts with hearts and flowers. That the two men care about each other is enough for me. I'm hoping that aspect continues into the next book, and grows there.

In that way this book reminds me of the Adrien English series by Josh Lanyon. Fantastic story, lots of believable action, and two protagonists who have their own issues to deal with before they can grow close. (Hmmm... Did I read the last book in the series? I can't remember how that all worked out *runs to check* Nope. Gotta get on that.)

Anyway, I digress. Sorry. Those who know me know to expect that. Oh! Squirrel! Bone to Pick is packed with action and I may have alienated my family while listening to this audio book.

Family outing: me in headphones.
Anyone trying to speak to me at home: me in headphones.
In my car: story playing through speakers.
Any moment I could get, no matter how brief:: me in headphones.

Sadly, I don't have time to read, so rely on audio books to get my fiction fix. Does anyone know when the second installment is due to hit Audible? Despite my recent bad behavior by devoting every waking moment to listening to this book, my loving family still gave me Audible credits for Mother's Day.

Highly recommended. I'd never read anything by Moore two months ago, now I'm a huge fan.

If your reading wish list resembles mine, read this book.  Loved it, loved it, loved it.

*Twisting the knife factor: When the angst begins and escalates on every page, twisting the knife tighter and tighter without a single moment of relief.

Other Authors' Books

I'm an author, but I'm also a reader. If I find a book I like, I don't mind shouting from the rooftops, "Read this book!"

Here's some of the ones I've read lately that I really enjoyed. A lot.

T.A. Moore's Wanted, Bad Boyfriend, and Dog Days. MM Romance for sure, but completely different sub-genres. And the author does them well

Hailey Turner's A Ferry of Bones and Gold. Amazing world building, and one heck of an urban fantasy.

IRL In Real Life by Lucy Lennox and Molly Maddox.

Anything by Rhys Ford. Let's face it, I'd read her grocery list. And probably give it five stars. It would be worth five stars.

Roan Parrish's Rend and Riven. Not your normal rocker story.

L.A. Witt and Cari Z's Bad Behavior series. Couldn't put them down (which kinda got in the way when I was trying to wash dishes or fold clothes, ya know?)

Z.A. Maxfield's ePistols at Dawn. ZAM can sure tell a great story, so let's add in St. Nacho's too. Her depiction of a young hearing-impaired man who won't let anything slow him down was fantastic.

I meant to stop here, but I have to add one more: Kim Fielding's Brute.

Thank you, authors, for keeping me entertained during my hellish daily commute and, in some cases, challenging me to learn new things.

Sub Titles

I was setting up a Novels page here on the blog and got a bit tired of the normal, "This book is available from Rocky Ridge Books." Subtitles came to mind for each one:

Diversion: Get your snark on at Rocky Ridge Books

Collusion: Is sex better than bacon? Find out at Rocky Ridge Books

 Corruption is available from Rocky Ridge Books. Bo. As a biker. In assless chaps. Need I say more?

Manipulation from Rocky Ridge Books because Lucky doesn't have enough problems already, ammirite?

Redemption is available from Rocky Ridge Books. See Lucky's soft side. Okay, soft-er. Lucky doesn't do soft. 

Check out Reunion from Rocky Ridge Books.  You can't go home again ('cause the family is still there, and well...)

Suspicion is available from Rocky Ridge Books.  Lucky's teaming up with who?!?!?!?

Diversion Box Set Vol 1. This compilation is available at Amazon.com. No lie: while writing this series I was channeling Lucky so hard I got a raise at my day job. 

Settling the Score is available from Rocky Ridge Books, 'cause getting even stories are such a guilty pleasure. 

The Telling is available from Rocky Ridge Books. The book that started it all. And scored a nice chunk of change for my local PFLAG chapter. 

Find The Angel of 13th Street at Rocky Ridge Books.  He's not rich, doesn't own a hot car or ritzy apartment, but he's out there fighting the good fight. 

Find Fallen Angel at Rocky Ridge Books. Because sometime the strongest of souls need a little help. 

 A Bear Walks Into a Bar is offered by Rocky Ridge Books. Not your mama's shifter story. Woof!

 Find Two Bears and a Baby at Rocky Ridge Books.  Ain't it great seeing a big, gruff, alpha type wrapped around a sweet little baby's finger? 

Ballantine Bears Box Set: Now available at Rocky Ridge Books, 'cause two books are better than one.

Find The Wish at Dreamspinner Press.  You know that one family member that just has to meddle? I mean, really likes to meddle? 

Duet is offered by Dreamspinner Press. Hot highlander in a kilt (mic drop).

Naked Tails: Get your possum shifters at Dreamspinner Press. Because doesn't everyone need possum shifters in their life? 

A Matter of When: Find hot rockers at Dreamspinner Press, because "Hot opera tenor" just doesn't have the same ring to it. 

Diversion Box Set, Volume 1, Now at Amazon

If you've been thinking about starting the Diversion series, but have been procrastinating, now might be a good time to follow through.

Diversion Box Set, Vol 1 is now available at Amazon! That's right, the first three installments, Diversion, Collusion, and Corruption, are compiled into one for the bargain price of $8.99.

Diversion

There are good guys, bad guys, and then there’s Lucky.

Former drug trafficker Richmond “Lucky” Lucklighter flaunts his past like a badge of honor. He speaks his mind, doesn’t play nice, and flirts with disaster while working off his sentence with the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau. If he can keep out of trouble a while longer he’ll be a free man–after he trains his replacement.

Textbook-quoting, by the book Bo Schollenberger is everything Lucky isn’t. Lucky slurps coffee, Bo lives caffeine free. Lucky worships bacon, Bo eats tofu. Lucky trusts no one, Bo calls suspects by first name. Yet when the chips are down on their shared case of breaking up a drug diversion ring, they may have more in common than they believe.

Two men. Close quarters. Friction results in heat. But Lucky scoffs at partnerships, no matter how thrilling the roller-coaster. Bo has two months to break down Lucky’s defenses… and seconds are ticking by. 

Collusion

Dead men can’t love.

Former drug trafficker Richmond “Lucky” Lucklighter “died” in the line of duty while working off a ten-year sentence in service to the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau, only to be reborn as Simon “Lucky” Harrison. The newbie he trained, former Marine Bo Schollenberger, is now his partner on (and maybe off) the job. It’s hard to tell when Lucky doesn’t understand relationships or have a clue what any sane human is doing in his bed. Bo’s nice to have around, sure, but there’s none of that picking-out-china-together crap for Lucky.

While fighting PTSD, memories of a horrid childhood, and a prescription drug addiction, Bo is paying for his mistakes. Using his pharmacy license for the good guys provides the sort of education he never got in school. Undercover with his hard-headed partner, Bo learns that not everything is as it seems in the world of pharmaceuticals.

When a prescription drug shortage jeopardizes the patients at Rosario Children’s Cancer Center, it not only pits Bo and Lucky against predatory opportunists, but also each other. How can they tell who the villains are? The bad guys don’t wear black hats, but they might wear white coats. 

Corruption

Renegade biker. Drug runner. Recovering addict. Wanted by the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau. But he isn’t a crook, he’s the law. 

SNB Agent Bo Schollenberger’s solved his cases using his brains and not a gun, and with his partner, not alone. Now he’s handed a tough new case involving designer drugs that turn users violent. One false move could end his life as he immerses himself into a motorcycle gang to locate the source. His fate depends on how well he can impersonate someone else. Someone named Cyrus Cooper. 

Cyrus is everything Bo Schollenberger isn’t, including the badass enforcer for a smuggling ring. He establishes pecking order with his fists and doesn’t take shit from anybody, not even the undercover agent who comes to help his case. 

Simon “Lucky” Harrison’s always been the best, whichever side of the law he was on. Former trafficker turned SNB agent, he damned well ought to be undercover in this motorcycle gang, instead of hanging around the office going crazy with new policies, new people, and “inter-departmental cooperation” that sticks him in a classroom. Yet he’s passed over for the SNB’s biggest case in decades in favor of the rookie who shares his bed. A man Lucky thought he knew.

When survival depends on a web of tangled lies, lines blur, worlds collide, and a high stakes game turns friend to foe. Lucky knows the difference between Bo the agent and Cyrus the outlaw, but does Bo?


Get your copy at Amazon. 

Lovely New Cover for Almost Mine!

Almost Mine was due for a little spiffing up, and has a nice, new cover more evocative of the story.

What do you think?

A perfect life. A perfect home. A perfect husband. Gone in an instant. 

Ian’s world turned upside down the day Travis walked out without so much as a word, or even a backward glance, leaving a lonely Ian to wonder why. Their son implores him, “Please go see Dad.”

Two years of hurt leaves Ian ready to confront the man who’d broken his heart, but what if everything he’d believed about their failed romance turned out to be wrong? What if the biggest problem in Ian’s marriage was…Ian?

Almost Mine is available at Amazon and other etailers. 


This is a story of an established couple, fatherhood, second chances, and living with mental illness. 

Highway Man the Novel

A few years ago I wrote a short story released by Torquire Press, after having seen Magnetic Fields' video Papa Was a Rodeo on a friend's website, where she said she wished someone would write a story for the song.

Challenge accepted. It's not really a story of the song, merely inspired by the song. I had to do a lot of trimming to stay under the required 8,000 word limit the publisher had for "sips". After rights reverted to me, I was able to add in the stuff I'd wanted to the first time, and the word count swelled to 15,000.

I was quite proud of that story, a departure from the norm for me, and it set the stage for writing anti-heroes. From my disillusioned rocker Killian Desmond came Lucky Lucklighter and the Diversion series.

While the story certainly wasn't a best-seller, those who loved it loved it well, wanted more, and especially wanted to hear Mike's voice. For all of you, I've revisited this work.

Highway Man is now a novel of over 60,000 words, has been polished, and is ready for my betas to read.

With any luck I'll soon be releasing this story, dedicated to the fans who wanted more.

Mike really grew on me.

The story also contains several songs written by yours truly.

I'll keep you posted on the progress.