TITLE: Travels Through The Scarlet Equinox
AUTHORS: Toni Griffin, J. Scott Coatsworth, Angel Martinez, Freddy MacKay
RELEASE DATE: November 18, 2015
COVER ARTIST: Freddy MacKay
BLURB
The Autumnal equinox—when the trees dress in their formal scarlet and gold and the crisp air whispers of chance and
change, when bright days turn into sudden storms and the veil between reality
and imagination thins. Join the Mischief Corner authors as they share stories
evoking this often unpredictable time of year.
A
Bear’s Bear by Toni Griffin
Matthew Warner's been a Chicago Bears fan as far back as he can remember. What other team was a young bear shifter from the Smokey Mountains supposed to root for? When his college friend gets tickets to the next home game, Matthew jumps at the chance for a holiday. It's his favorite time of year and Nic promises him pumpkin carving
and a visit to the world's largest corn maze, what more could he want?
What Matthew doesn’t expect is finding out the defensive tackle for the Bears is his mate. Between fainting at the realization, meeting family, and dealing with the media fallout of his mate's coming out Matthew is in for a hell of a rocky Halloween.
The
Autumn Lands by J. Scott Coatsworth
Jerrith is running.
Kissed by an elf, he can't remain in his hometown of Althos anymore. Not that he wanted to stay.
Caspian still hasn't figured out why he kissed Jerrith, but he's running too. Since he was exiled from the Autumn Lands, his past has been hazy, and his future uncertain. But when a stray memory brings things into focus, the two decide to run toward something together. What they uncover will change how they see the world, and themselves, forever.
Beside
a Black Tarn by Angel Martinez
When Shax stumbles across rumors of an experimental house that responds to the occupant’s brain functions, creating scenarios to please and delight, naturally he wants to steal it. But with the return of a
troubled and hunted Julian Parallax and an overabundance of Poe references, even Shax’s scheming may not be enough to get the Brimstone crew out alive this time.
Eternity
in the Tides by Freddy MacKay
Autumn has always been Zak's favorite season for hiking and camping. Not to mention breathing in all that crisp fall air and sitting around toasty bonfires. That all changed year and a half ago when a rich prick high on prescription pills sideswiped Zak while he was out biking.
Now his days are filled with pain and limited mobility. No more camping. No more trails. Zak's life as he knew it is gone forever.
Back at his beloved stomping grounds, Zak is ready to say hello and goodbye one last time. But when a cry from the frigid Lake Superior waters throws him into the role of a rescuer, more than just his life hangs in the balance. Little did Zak know how much one person giving a damn mattered to him.
Excerpt
A Bear’s Bear by Toni Griffin
"Take a seat," Christian said as he closed the door behind them. The Alpha was acting strangely, especially when he checked the hall just before the door closed. Christian walked over to where Matthew was sitting. Instead of taking a seat behind the desk as Matthew would
have expected, Christian hiked a leg and leaned against the edge of the desk just to the side of him.
"Thank you for taking a minute to speak with me."
"Anything you need, Alpha." Matthew nodded. His hands were already sweating. Matthew rubbed them back and forth on his pants, hoping to dry them.
"There's no reason to be nervous,"
Christian assured him, chuckling lightly. "You've done nothing
wrong."
Matthew nodded as he sighed in relief.
"I know we don't know each other very well," Christian started and Matthew nodded again. "However, you've known my younger brother for years."
"I have. He's a good guy."
"He is. Can be a pain in the ass sometimes, but I love him nonetheless." Christian chuckled.
Matthew was too nervous to do anything more than smile.
"Anyway, I happened to overhear a conversation you had earlier on the phone."
Matthew swallowed and fisted the denim of his jeans in his hands. Would Christian stop him from going on vacation? Was there a
sleuth in Chicago? Did he need to notify them of his travel plans?
"Yes?" he asked quietly.
"You're planning to travel to Chicago, is that correct?"
Matthew nodded slowly.
"Excellent."
Matthew furrowed his brows. Why on earth would Christian think his travel plans were excellent?
"I don't understand."
"I was wondering if you wouldn't mind doing me a favor."
"A favor? Me?"
Christian nodded. "I'm trying to go through the sleuth, one by one, and get to know everyone as the Alpha. But Bobby trusts you. And I was hoping I could too."
Trust me? To do what? Matthew went back to rubbing his hands
on his pants. If he could comfortably put them in his pockets sitting down, he would have, but he couldn't. When Matthew didn't say anything, Christian smiled kindly at him and continued. "I have an item that I plan on purchasing that I don't feel comfortable with the postal system handling. I was wondering if you wouldn't mind picking it up while you're in Chicago and bringing it back for me."
Matthew's mind raced. What exactly was his new Alpha
into? Surely it wouldn't be anything illegal; drugs and guns were just a couple of the things that popped into his mind. Matthew shook his head. There was no way Christian would put a member of his sleuth in danger like that, but he couldn't help but ask.
"I won't get into trouble for doing this, will I?"
"No." Christian laughed. "Although if Vinnie finds out, he might have a few words to say to you.
"Vincent?" Why would Christian's mate want to talk to him if he did this?
"The item in question is from Tiffany's," Christian said, raising his brow. Matthew's eyes widened as everything suddenly made sense. Oh wow!
"Yes," he blurted. "Yes, sure, okay, I would be honored. Anything you need."
Christian chuckled, placed a hand on his shoulder, and squeezed.
"Thank you. You can understand why I don't want an item such as this being posted or even couriered to me."
"I can. I'm touched that you trust me to collect it and deliver it into your hands."
"You're of my sleuth. I would trust you with my life."
Matthew's eyes teared up at the absolute sincerity he felt from his Alpha. No one before had ever had so much faith in him.
"Thank you. I won't let you down."
About Toni Griffin
Toni Griffin lives in Darwin, the smallest of Australia's capital cities. Born and raised in the state she's a Territorian through and through. Growing up Toni hated English with a passion (as her editors can probably attest to) and found her strength lies with numbers.
Now, though, she loves escaping to the worlds she creates and hopes to continue to do so for many years to come. She's a single mother of one and works full time.
When she's not writing you can just about guarantee that she will be reading one of the many MM authors she loves.
For a complete list of books, go to: http://tonigriffin.net/Current_Books.html
About J. Scott Coatsworth
Scott is the admin for the Queer Sci Fi site. He has been writing since ele- mentary school, when he and won a University of Arizona writing contest in 4th grade for his first sci fi story (with illustrations!). He finished his first novel in his mid twenties, but after seeing it rejected by ten publishers, he gave up on writing for a while.
Over the ensuing years, he came back to it periodically, but it never stuck. Then one day, he was complaining to Mark, his husband, about how he had been derailed yet again by the death of a family member, and Mark said to him "the only one stopping you from writing is you."
Since then, Scott has gone back to writing in a big way, finishing more than a dozen short stories—some new, some that he had started years be- fore—and seeing his first sale. He's embarking on a new trilogy, and also runs QSF, a support group for writers of gay sci fi, fantasy, and supernatu- ral fiction.
:: Website :: Twitter :: Facebook Page ::
About Freddy MacKay
Freddy grew up in the Midwest, playing sports and running around outside. And honestly, that much has not changed since Freddy was small and throwing worms at other kids, expect worm throwing has been replaced with a healthy geocaching addiction. Freddy enjoys traveling and holds the view a person should continually to learn about new things and people whenever possible.
Freddy's contemporary LGBTQ book, Incubation: Finding Peace 2, won 3rd Place - Best Gay Erotic Fiction in the 2012 Rainbow Awards. In 2013, Freddy's story, Internment, tied for 3rd Place - Best Gay Fantasy in the Rainbow Awards. Freddy's steampunk/SF story, Feel Me, was a finalist and honorable mention in the 2014 Rainbow Awards for SF. You can email Freddy at: freddy.m.mackay@gmail.com
About Angel Martinez
While Angel Martinez is the erotic fiction pen name of a writer of several genres, she writes both kinds of gay romance – Science Fiction and Fantasy. Currently living part time in the hectic sprawl of northern Delaware, (and full time inside the author's head) Angel has one husband, one son, two cats, a changing variety of other furred and scaled companions, a love of all things beautiful and a terrible addiction to the consumption of both knowledge and chocolate.
:: Website :: Facebook Page :: Goodreads :: Email ::
Guest Post
And this is why I'm okay with "hurting my characters." The story is richer for the conflicts and problems they must overcome, and hopefully, they will have someone cheering them on to do so.
Guest Post
Writing Pain By Freddy MacKay
I get questions and comments about the pain some of my characters go through. Often. It seems to be an area I am perfectly comfortable going. Sometimes it's physical. Sometimes it's emotional. Sometimes it's psychological. It could also be a combination of any of those. The trifecta is even better when it's called for.
Why would I do it? Why would I hurt characters I love and adore? I get a visceral reaction to my characters pain.
My reaction? Good.
The People: How can you say good?
Easy. It means I've done my job well. If the reader is upset or happy or worried for my characters that means I have made them feel, and that's a good thing. If I created good characters you're happy when they're happy, sad when they're sad, and so forth.
So why not make them happy? Let them alone and not experience pain. Because we want our characters happy and content. And that is a wonderful thing to want. We should want that for our characters
But there is a problem with that.
How can my character's happiness shine through if we've not seen them sad or hurt? How can we truly laugh with our characters if we have not mourned their tears?
Varying emotions and problems make us relate and care about characters in a story. Having them experience different types of pain is a way to make the characters more dimensional and give us something to connect to.
A good story will have our characters at one point at the start and their life changed by the end. For that conflict (all different kinds of conflict) is necessary. Sometimes that conflict causes problems and that's good. Unique conflicts helps drive plot and story, but it also gives our characters something to react to and have to overcome. Whether external or internal, something has to drive our story forward for the characters (and help keep readers interested.)
And this is why I'm okay with "hurting my characters." The story is richer for the conflicts and problems they must overcome, and hopefully, they will have someone cheering them on to do so.
Winner’s
Prize: $20 Amazon/ARe Gift Card
Prize: $20 Amazon/ARe Gift Card
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