We’re so pleased to have author Isobel Starling joining us today to announce the kick-off of the M/M Romance Valentines Giveaway for this year! Isobel has asked a few of the contributing authors to share a bit about their contributions as well as some fun extras, so check it out and then be sure to click on THE LINK at the end to grab your free downloads!

Welcome, Isobel!

Finding an audience is always difficult for authors, so in February 2017 I organized the M/M Romance Valentines Giveaway.  The idea was to have a mixture of new and established authors offering a short story, and in return, new authors could benefit from the exposure of a shared promotion with established authors, and we all get a list of prospective readers.  The event featured 34 authors each of whom offered a new short story, or excerpt.  There will be a whole new bunch of authors involved this year.  We have short stories from:

Isobel Starling, Jackie Keswick, Chris McHart, A.M Arthur, Liv Rancourt and Irene Preston, Helena Stone, Dale Cameron Lowry, Alina Popescu, Bronwyn Heeley, Teodora Kostova, Frank W. Butterfield, April Kelley, Tanya Chris, Kate Pavelle, Sue Brown, C.L Mustafic, B L Morticia, Lillian Francis and Leona Windwalker.

If you want to get a head start on your Goodreads reading challenge, do yourself a favor and look out for the Giveaway page link on the Facebook pages of the featured authors from 10th-14th February.

I asked a handful of participating authors to answer three questions for this post.

Q1:  What’s the title of your story and tell us about it.

Isobel Starling: Man Crush—When Marcus happens upon the voyeurism website Undr, he becomes obsessed by photos of an attractive anonymous train passenger users call Java Joe.  On a mission, Marcus steps out of his comfort zone to find out Joe’s true identity. 

A.M. Arthur: The Drifter—Thomas is pretty sure he’s fallen out of love with his long-time boyfriend Kyle but puts off the break-up until after they drive the classic car from Texas to Virginia. Along the way, they pick up a young hitchhiker named Eric who’s presence reminds Thomas why he fell in love with Kyle in the first place. Can a young man whose unexpected entanglement in their lives rekindle the love they lost?

Jackie Keswick: Crossfire—Martin Pendleton was the most beautiful man I’d ever met. He was also the first man I’d ever been attracted to. I’ve no idea how to go about wooing a guy, but the way Martin makes me feel? I’ve got to try this even if it kills me. And with the way bullets suddenly start flying… it just might.

Helena Stone: Valentine’s Love—Ty, the owner of a gift shop who has good reasons to detest Valentine’s Day, and Ben, is looking for Valentine’s Day presents to surprise a man he’s been admiring from afar.

Teodora Kostova: Heart Eyes—Adam doesn’t like Valentine’s day. Whether it’s because he’s never been in a relationship on Valentine’s day, or because all the PDAs are making him sick, or because of the stupid foil heart-shaped balloons that are everywhere, he’s not sure. This year, however, Penn may just wake a new obsession with the holiday in Adam, even if he’ll never publicly admit it.

Alina Popescu: Be My Anti-Valentine—Brad hates Valentine’s Day so much, he plans a weekend of avoidance with his brother: gaming, junk food, and bro-time. The brother bolts, leaving Brad stuck with his roommate, Jim. Brad’s been crushing on Jim for years, and the initial disaster turns into an intriguing Valentine’s Day surprise.

Frank W. Butterfield: Valentines Day 1951—What does the man who can buy anything get the man who doesn’t want anything? That’s the mystery Nick Williams is trying to solve. With the help of his new secretary, Marnie Wilson, Nick is hoping he can come up with something that will let Carter Jones, the fireman he shares a house and a bed with, know how much he really loves him.

Bronwyn Heeley: Forever With My Werewolf (Moonlit Wolves: Moon Struck 1)—About the love story between a human and a werewolf who has commitment problems until his mate gets kidnapped. 

C.L.Mustafic: Burned—When Preston Wilcott moved into his new place, he had no idea his alarm clock would be replaced by the smoke detector in his neighbor’s apartment. TJ Patterson is both amused and annoyed when his new neighbor starts leaving alternative breakfast foods on his welcome mat along with snarky notes. With Valentine’s Day, fast approaching can love blossom from the ashes of a burned meal.

Tanya Chris: Hot & Sweet bundles-two stories—Anytime, Anyplace is a sweet jock/geek paring that isn’t quite what you’d expect, while One Man’s Hell is a hot BDSM story about Satan and his soulmate. 

April Kelley: Finding Happy (Wingspan #2)—For Sawyer Lewis, every day is a lesson in surviving the traps of depression. Since the day his parents died in a tragic accident, he’s wanted to run away from it all. The night he leaves Wingspan he meets his mate in the orgy room of a bat shifter bar.

Leona Windwalker: The Way Back Home—It’s about a young man who finds himself stranded at a small regional airport overnight. He hasn’t eaten since early that morning, so decides to take a gamble and accepts a ride from a man offers to take him somewhere to eat and find a bed for the night. When he wakes up in the morning, he has to decide if he wishes to catch his connecting flight or stay.

Q2:  Please share a romantic quote from any one of your stories 

Helena Stone: From Scenes from Adelaide Road: I nibbled on his lip before releasing it and stroking it with my tongue.  “You infuriate me.”  I murmured the words, most of my frustration having disappeared again.  “You’re stubborn.  You make me do things I don’t want to do.  And you’re almost always right.  Remind me why I put up with you?”  His lips had parted, and he flicked his tongue over the spot I’d bitten and licked.  “You love me.”

Isobel Starling– “I know who I am when I’m with Sam.  When I wake up in his arms I’m so at peace I don’t wantae get out of bed.  He makes me laugh until I cry.  He always cares fer me, no matter that I’m a moody, maudlin’, control freak.  I look at him and fer the first time in my life, I’m home” Declan explaining his bisexuality to his brother – “Illuminate the Shadows” (Shatterproof Bond #2) 

Teodora Kostova: (Adam to Penn, from the book “Mask” where the characters first appear) “I never imagined I’d get stuck in this boring, emotionless life but what’s worse, I never even remembered I had dreams before I met you.”

Kate Pavelle: The boy walked through his days with an incredulous, beaming smile on his face. Having the lover next to him, even through the cold and bitter winds of Yuletide, was akin to enjoying a secret, direct link to the Sun itself.

Jackie Keswick- “Dean… I swear there’s something between us and I don’t want to lose that before we have time to see what it is. I don’t want to lose you.”

April Kelley-“You can be mad, but it won’t change how I feel about you. Nothing will. Not one thing, Sawyer. You are my love.”

Bronwyn Heeley- The Tiger’s Release (Matching Mates) – Jamie sighed. “Did I mention I’m territorial?”

“I thought that was about your home.”

“You are my home.”

CL Mustafic – “You know how some people say they can see fireworks or feel the earth move when they kiss the one they’re meant to be with? Yeah well, that didn’t happen, but I swore I could smell smoke and hear that infernal beeping which had to mean something, right?”

Q3: What would your perfect Valentine experience be?

Frank W Butterfield: “My perfect Valentine’s Day is simple: maybe a rose or two, a little dinner with some wine, and a quiet evening by the fire.”

Teodora Kostova: “I’m not big on romance. I know, I write romance for a living, right? For me, something thoughtful and honest will be the best way to go. Like cooking a favorite meal together or snuggling in front of the TV with a whole season of the anime we planned to see but never got the time. Or chocolate. Chocolate is always a safe bet.”

Leona Windwalker: “Let’s just say that I found my hubby going into IKEA on a Friday just to buy me a desk for my Valentine’s day gift super romantic and leave the rest to your imagination!”

A.M Arthur: “Good food, good company, and cuddles after a good movie. It doesn’t have to be fancy to be perfect.”

Alina Popescu: “I’d steal my character Brad’s plans, do a gaming and junk food marathon, but with my significant other instead of a relative.”

Helena Stone: “My perfect Valentine experience would involve being whisked away to some warm and sunny beach for a romantic dinner, followed by a walk along the coast while the moon shines down on me and the object of my desire.  (Well, a girl can dream)”

And to end this post, I leave you with Tanya Chris, and her perfect Valentines: “My boyfriend and I celebrate Steak and BJ day on February 14th. I don’t eat red meat, so he only gets steak a couple of times a year (Valentine’s Day and his birthday), and we usually work the BJ in there too.”

Check out the M/M Romance Giveaway at THIS LINK