Family Camp Audiobook Underway

I’m happy to announce that the audio book of Family Camp is currently being recorded by Matthew Shaw. Matthew reads my Howl At The Moon books and he also did Robby Riverton: Mail Order Bride. I’m so happy to have him voice this family-oriented rom com. Expected release date is late June to mid July. Here’s chapter 2 for a little tease. This hasn’t undergone any mastering or edits yet…..

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FAMILY CAMP - Win a $25 Gift Certificate on my blog tour!

FAMILY CAMP released March 28th. To celebrate, I’m doing a blog tour with Signal Boost Promotions. You can enter to win a $25 gift certificate at any of the blog tour stops.

CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE CONTEST.

Check out some of the reviews and stops so far on this page (under “What people are saying”).

EBOOK:
Amazon US - ebook and paperback

Amazon UK - ebook and paperback

READ CHAPTER 1:
Family Camp - Chapter 1

EXTRA STUFF:
Goodreads

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Release day: Family Camp!

FAMILY CAMP is out today! It’s available in ebook and paperback. The ebook is on Kindle Unlimited for the first 90 days.

AMAZON US - ebook and paperback

AMAZON UK - ebook and paperback

Goodreads page

This is a sweet, feel-good romance with little angst and lots of family feels. I think we all need a little lightness right now! I hope it makes you smile.

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BLURB:

When Geo signs up for Family Camp, he envisions nature hikes, s’mores, and a chance to win over his recalcitrant new foster kids, Jayden and Lucy. He’s tried to become a dad for so long, and he hopes the three of them can be the family he’s always wanted. What he doesn’t anticipate is the prickly and gorgeous camp counselor who constantly comes to his rescue.

Travis spends a week every year at Camp Evermore, the camp his adoptive parents own. As a pro baseball player, his presence guarantees a full campground and excited campers. He has one rule: never, ever mess around with anyone at camp. His profession demands he stay in the closet. But one sweet and funny new dad is about to test all his resolve.

Sparks fly for Geo and Travis, and not because of the nightly campfire. Having been a foster kid himself, Travis is drawn to Geo’s sincerity and big heart and to his kids. The four of them just fit. But will this be a summer romance? Or can they find a way to be a family long after Family Camp is over?

About the Daddy Dearest series

This series will consist of stand-alone contemporary novels focusing on single gay dads who find hot romance.  Expect laughs, sweet and sexy slow-burn romance, and lots of family feels!

ELI'S FAVS: NEW CHRISTMAS BOOKS FOR 2019 - PART 2

More Christmas goodies! I haven’t had nearly as much time to read this season as I’d like, but here are some new Christmas books I read and recommend.

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The Christmas Angel Series. I’ve now read nearly all the books in The Christmas Angel series, a series I have a book in myself. I love N.R. Walker’s books as a rule, and this one was particularly good. I loved the 60’s setting and the hurt/comfort aspect of the book when her Vietnam soldier comes home wounded. Read it!

GOODREADS LINK

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The Christmas Angel Series. Anyta Sunday’s contribution to the series is really fun. Her story is based on “The Taming of the Shrew”. Pax Polo is a great character, witty, clever, and always has an angle. He starts of trying to distract the “shrew” next door (the older brother of a lovely young woman) in order to give Pax’s roommate and a business associate a chance to court the girl. But he ends up falling of the shrew. Really well-done.

GOODREADS LINK

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Keira is another favorite author of mine. In this Christmas-y tale, she has a hunky, grumpy lumberjack character who is roped into playing Santa. He and his younger, twinky elf find they’re a perfect match. Steamy holiday fun.

GOODREADS LINK

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I met Ella and Brooke at Y/Con in Paris in December, so I was eager to check out their Christmas book. It’s a fun, light rom com featuring a guy who meets the man of his dreams briefly, but when he goes home for Christmas, the same guy shows up as his sister’s boyfriend. It’s all a mix-up and the angst is very light. Well-written and definitely recommended. It has a Hallmark feel, which I loved.

GOODREAD LINK

I’m heading out for 10 days in Seattle for the holidays. Hopefully I’ll get to read more holiday goodness. Have a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year! See you in 2019.

Eli

Eli's Favs: Rökkur/Rift (2017)

I loved this Icelandic horror/thriller movie featuring a gay ex-couple, Gunnar and Einar. There are so many things to say about it, it's hard to know where to start.

Let's start with the LGBTQ angle. I loved that this is a horror/thriller movie and the main characters' sexuality is secondary. I've seen reviewers say the couple could have been m/f and it would have been the same movie. I don't think that's quite true because the couple's relationship dynamics and a lot of the symbolism was deeply interwoven with queerness. However, it's still awesome to see a film with gay main characters where the story isn't about them being gay but about something else. The movie also explores their relationship dynamics and past trauma as gay men, so it's got a very strong romance subplot.

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Secondly, the story is set in a remote area of Iceland that was just stunning. The cinematography is truly exceptional. I like stories that take place in remote areas where the scenery is natural, huge, even bleak. The vast isolation is a tangible quality in this film. It adds so much texture and tension to the tension and fear in the film as well as simply making for beautiful viewing.

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Finally, the thriller/horror storyline was intense! Gunnar has broken up with Einar and worries Einar is suicidal. When he gets a mysterious phone call from Einar in the middle of the night, he drives out to this remote cabin to check on him. Once there, the two face the end of their relationship as well as mysterious knocks in the middle of the night, sightings of mysterious figures, and an ominous car. It's the sort of horror that's subtle and psychological rather than violent, and in the end you're left with a lot of questions. There's a definite metaphysical element to it, similar to Lost or The Sixth Sense in that there are some twists that change the way you see the story. Just don't expect everything to be tied up with a neat bow, because the ending is deliberately ambiguous. It kept me mesmerized throughout and I watched to rewatch immediately to pick up more clues.

I highly recommend this movie if you like thrillers or horror. It's on Amazon Prime right now! You can see it here.

When you face massive upheaval

We bought our farm in Lancaster County, PA in 2010. Since then, things have been busy but relatively stable. We've loved the farm and it's been a stunningly beautiful, bucolic, serene place to write. I made a home office, but I rarely use it. We have a back room that's all windows, and that's where we spend 99% of our time. It's lovely to write on my laptop and look out over acres of green trees and a pond down below. It's like being in a private park all the time.

The farm has also inspired a number of books. All of the books below were set partially or entirely on our farm.

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But as idyllic as this place is, it's also a lot of work and expense to upkeep. And honestly, my husband and I use so little of both the house and the property. I know a larger family, or someone who wants to use the farm as a farm, would appreciate the place more and do much more with it. 

Over the years, we've considered starting a B&B or wedding venue or even a farm sanctuary. But the reality is that my husband and I area both introverts and I spend a great deal of time inside my own head. So us being professional hosts would not end well!

I've always been fairly transient, moving every few years. So the prospect of moving on to something new is exciting to me rather than depressing. But that doesn't mean it isn't a ton of work and stress.

We put the farm on the market in April and I took nearly a month off writing to try to get things ready. Now I find I have a little more time to write again as we're in wait mode, making sure the place is kept very clean and nice for the occasional showing and tinkering on less critical improvements. I'm also slowly going through every cupboard and getting rid of stuff or packing it. I'm looking forward to the day we have "60 days" or less to vacate to help goose my motivation.

Even in wait mode, though, our life is in upheaval right now and will be until we can settle into "The next thing". That can be disconcerting and annoyingly distracting. My brain is like a cat checking out a new place, constantly sniffing at this or that idea, posing forays into the unknown, doing research online, trying to figure out what might happen if we did x, y or z. It's not very conducive to absorbing myself in someone else's story.

WHAT'S NEXT FOR US IRL?

I'm not sure. My husband has a good job nearby, so we'll likely stay in the area and rent a house. But with two dogs, even roly-poly, snooze hounds like our bulldogs, that might be a challenge. 

WHAT'S NEXT FOR ELI EASTON?

I'm currently working on a revised and expanded version of Puzzle Me This. But my big new WIP is a YA with a m/m romance that revolves around a school shooting. I've been really sort of obsessed with coverage of school shootings lately, rather infuriated, and also I feel so much empathy for parents who need to send their kids out every morning with this lurking fear, to the students who have to have this threat hanging over them, to the young activists who are going up against the NRA bullies to try to get things to change. I know it's a tough topic, and will likely be one of my more angsty books. But I feel a need to write about it. I hope I can do justice to the subject matter. And maybe my own life being in upheaval right now helps me write more angsty stuff. 

As for longer term, wherever we end up, I'm sure you will see our new setting in many future Eli Easton stories.

Thanks to my readers for your ongoing support. You make it possible for me to write by buying my books, reviewing, making fun graphics, and sending me encouraging and inspiring emails. Love you all.

Eli

 

 

 

Release Day - Robby Riverton: Mail Order Bride

It's release day! This is a special book for me. There aren't many historical westerns in m/m romance, and I had put off the idea for this book figuring it was unlikely to sell well. But the idea kept poking at me and I finally decided to take the plunge and just write something for the fun of it.

I love the old historical western romances, and I had a blast writing my own version of that. I hope you will enjoy it too!  Look for blog tour stop and a giveaway posting here soon.

LINKS:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Amazon CA

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BLURB:

Being a fugitive in the old west shouldn’t be this much fun.

The year is 1860. Robby Riverton is a rising star on the New York stage. But he witnesses a murder by a famous crime boss and is forced to go on the run--all the way to Santa Fe. When he still hasn't ditched his pursuers, he disguises himself as a mail order bride he meets on the wagon train. Caught between gangsters that want to kill him, and the crazy, uncouth family of his "intended", Robby's only ally is a lazy sheriff who sees exactly who Robby is -- and can't resist him.

Trace Crabtree took the job as sheriff of Flat Bottom because there was never a thing going on. And then Robby Riverton showed up. Disguised as a woman. And betrothed to Trace’s brother. If that wasn’t complication enough, Trace had to find the man as appealing as blueberry pie. He urges Robby to stay undercover until the danger has passed. But a few weeks of having Robby-Rowena at the ranch, and the Crabtree family will never be the same again. 

COVER REVEAL - Robby Riverton: Mail Order Bride

I'm excited to be able to share with you the cover for ROBBY RIVERTON: MAIL ORDER BRIDE. It's a gay romantic comedy set in the old west. The cover was done by Dar Albert of Wicked Smart Designs. It's based on the idea of spoofing old-fashioned, western mail order bride covers. I love it!

I'm so jacked about this book. It was a ton of fun to write and beta feedback so far has been wonderful. One beta reader said "Overall, an outstanding success in my opinion - one of your best!" I hope you all will think so too. 

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RELEASE DATE: April 26, 2018

This book will debut on Kindle Unlimited and then go wide after the first 3 months.  I'm also currently casting an audiobook version which I hope to have on Audible by end of June.

I'm not putting the book up for pre-orders to maximum release day sales, but if you sign up for the mailing list below (which is JUST for this), you'll get notified when the book goes live.

CLICK HERE TO GET AN EMAIL REMINDER WHEN IT'S LIVE

BLURB:

Being a fugitive in the old west shouldn’t be this much fun.

The year is 1860. Robby Riverton is a rising star on the New York stage. But he witnesses a murder by a famous crime boss and is forced to go on the run--all the way to Santa Fe. When he still hasn't ditched his pursuers, he disguises himself as a mail order bride he meets on the wagon train. Caught between gangsters that want to kill him, and the crazy, uncouth family of his "intended", Robby's only ally is a lazy sheriff who sees exactly who Robby is -- and can't resist him.

Trace Crabtree took the job as sheriff of Flat Bottom because there was never a thing going on. And then Robby Riverton showed up. Disguised as a woman. And betrothed to Trace’s brother. If that wasn’t complication enough, Trace had to find the man as appealing as blueberry pie. He urges Robby to stay undercover until the danger has passed. But a few weeks of having Robby-Rowena at the ranch, and the Crabtree family will never be the same again.

Damn, what a kerfuffle. If only Trace can get rid of the fugitive while hanging on to his own stupid heart.

That's all folks...

Eli

April's Featured Book: THE TROUBLE WITH TONY

I'm starting a new feature here on the blog. Each month I'll focus on a backlist book and it'll be on sale.  For April the book is THE TROUBLE WITH TONY. All through April it's on sale for just .99c on Dreamspinner. HERE's THE LINK.  Keep reading for a little background on the story.

This was one of the first m/m romance stories I ever wrote, way back in 2012. It was published in 2013 by Dreamspinner.

Tony DeMarco is a private investigator in Seattle. He's looking into a young woman's death and he learns she went to a sex clinic the last few months before her murder. Did the sex clinic, or her therapist, Dr. Jack Halloran, have something to do with it?

To find out, Tony pretends to e a new patient of Jack's. At first Tony makes up a story about being a sex addict. But when Jack sees through that, Tony admits he does have a little problem. He can only have sex with specific men he's really attracted to. Only four in his life so far.

Things get complicated when Jack turns out to be #5.

This is a fun-set up that allows for a lot of humor in the book, especially since Tony is a big, wise-cracking, Italian tough-guy. There's also a mystery/investigation thread running through the book. It's fairly short at novella length, but it packs a lot in.

Eli's 3 Favorite Things about The Trouble With Tony:

1. The humor.

2. The stirrup scene (yes, OBGYN stirrups)

3. The appearances of sex surrogate Michael, who later gets his own book.

Hope you enjoy your time with Tony!  Here's the book page on this site.

Eli