Book Review and Giveaway: Wolf, WY by AF Henley

Posted on October 25, 2015 by jholitonjua

My Review
Warning: Contains Spoilers
My rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 ½ out of 5 stars

What I love about Henley’s writing is his ability to make me laugh. Or cry. Depending on the scene of course. Wolf, WY did not make me cry but it did make me laugh out loud a few times because of Randy’s sense of humor.

The author AF Henley has a way with words. I loved how Randy described his thoughts (I did not mean how Randy articulate his thoughts on Vaughn and Lyle and their muscular and mouthwatering physique *laughs* although there is that of course. Ahem), his feelings, his surroundings.

I also love that Henley makes his character easy to relate to. No, I did not mean that I saw a neighbor of mine morph into a wolf like Randy did. Lol. But some of us do tend to run away. That, or at least we want to run away from our problems even if it’s just for a time (or from someone else the way Randy ran away from his ex-fiancé Avery). While we cannot all do a Randy and move to Wolf, Wyoming to nurse our heartaches, we could at least read a book. That’s what Wolf, WY is for.

I do wish there were more lovey-dovey scenes between Randy and Vaughn (maybe Henley can write a short story about the two in the near future *nudge, nudge. Poke, poke*) minus Lyle and the little tykes Hannah and Isaac though I must admit I loved them too. 🙂

On a side note, go check out the awesome giveaway. You still have five hours to join. 🙂 Good luck!

Blurb

Wolf, WY

There’s nothing like a fresh start, and for Randy, still nursing wounds left by a cheating ex and harboring a deep mistrust for all things corporate, Wolf, Wyoming seems like the perfect place to start over. Secluded, quiet, and self-sufficient, Wolf is bound to not only inspire, but to bring Randy the peace he needs. The view’s not bad, either.

Vaughn O’Connell and his family are Randy’s only neighbors for miles, and while Randy knows it’s somewhat unlikely that a man with three kids is gay, it doesn’t hurt to look. When a misunderstanding brings Randy face to face with both Vaughn and his eighteen year old son, Lyle, Randy’s not sure what to feel about either of them.

But things are not what they appear in Wolf, and the closer Randy gets, the stranger the O’Connell family seems…

Word Count: 70,000

Genre: Gay, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy

Notes: Wolf, WY contains some explicit content

Book 1 in the Wolf series

About the Author

Henley was born with a full-blown passion for run-on sentences, a zealous indulgence in all words descriptive, and the endearing tendency to overuse punctuation. Since the early years Henley has been an enthusiastic writer, from the first few I-love-my-dog stories to the current leap into erotica. A self-professed Google genius, Henley lives for the hours spent digging through the Internet for ‘research purposes’ which, more often than not, lead seven thousand miles away from first intentions but bring Henley to new discoveries and ideas that, once seeded, tend to flourish.

Henley has been proudly publishing with Less Than Three Press since 2012, and has been writing like mad ever since—an indentured servant to the belief that romance and true love can mend the most broken soul. Even when presented in prose.

For more information please stop by for a visit at afhenley.com.

Purchase Links

Less Than Three Press

Amazon UK

Amazon.com

The Giveaway

On behalf of the tour, please join the giveaway by taking part in the Rafflecopter below. The prize consists of a ‘Wind & Fire’ paw print charm bangle (a portion of the sales from this “Charms For Charity Bangle” goes directly to Guiding Eyes For The Blind), a $20 Gift Certificate to the Less Than Three Press book market (free books!), and a signed, print copy of Wolf, WY. For all the tiny-whiny terms and conditions, please check out the t’s and c’s posted on the Rafflecopter.

** Please note that this giveaway is being offered tour-wide and there will be one winner awarded for the entire event.

ENTER RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY HERE:

Guest Post by AF Henley: Wolf, WY Blog Tour and Giveaway

Posted on October 7, 2015 by jholitonjua

At the risk of sounding repetitive already: welcome back to the Wolf, WY Tiny Teasers Blog Tour and Giveaway, and a warm hello to those who might be joining for the first time. For those who don’t know, we’ve been wandering through the pages of Wolf, WY and getting a quick introduction to the characters and locale by way of “tiny teasers” from the novel.

I’ve always been an animal lover and that’s pretty much inclusive for anything that walks, trundles, slides, or flies. When I wrote Wolf, WY I was living in rural, hidden bliss and finally had all the amenities available to allow me to do what I’ve wanted to do for a long time and only been able to play at up until that point: animal rescue. There was a barn, a heated kennel, a huge lot with a pond, and acres of trees surrounding all four sides of the house. We took care of everything from moles to fawns, ferrets to chickens, dogs to raccoons, and… well, you get the point. I got used to things skittering past me or flying at my face pretty darn quick. When I had to give that up and move back to the city, I missed it. Or, I thought I did… until I got up the other night to go to the bathroom and had a critter the size of a small dog rear up and wave all thirty of its legs at me. You see, several nights before that there’d been a centipede in my office and I’d had no choice but to end its existence when it surprised me. Usually I do my best to gather up unexpected guests of the multi-legged variety and reintroduce them to their proper homes – OUTSIDE of my apartment. This one didn’t get treated with as much love (I was, as I’ve said, surprised into an instinctual reaction of Oh My God Get OFF of Me! Squish), and on the night of my midnight visitor, the second of its kind in so many days, I’m almost positive that I heard it grumble, “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya and you killed my father. Prepare to die.”

I am, it seems, not nearly as used to the things which crawl through the night as I was before. I have a similar introduction, albeit with slightly larger teeth and far more fur, for you in this post.

However, before I get into the teaser and introduce you to the next Wolf, WY character, I want to remind you that I’ve got a giveaway going along with this blog tour. The grand prize is not just one thing, but several: a signed copy of Wolf, WY, a $20 LT3 gift certificate, and a Wind & Fire paw print bangle that not only looks cool but supports a great cause. Read through to the end to find out how to participate.

But on to the introductions:

Tiny Teaser: Introducing – Wolf #2

Fluorescent bulbs winked and hummed, doing their best to warm up and respond in the cold. It didn’t matter. Randy didn’t need the light to be any brighter to see.

“Holy fuck…” Both of his hands slapped the wall behind him, regardless of the shock of cold it gave his system, and Randy flattened himself against the surface. He remembered the wolf at his back deck. More, he recalled the size of it. And if this wasn’t the same damn one, it was Wolfy’s close cousin.

He already saw the headlines: Idiot city brat eaten by wolf in his own garage. It would be followed with a plea for everyone else to please, please keep the morons that didn’t know how to deal with the animals of the county out of their county.

The wolf lifted its nose and sampled the air. Then, in a gesture that Randy read as ‘dinner smells about ready’, it lowered his head and trained its gaze on him.

Run! A voice in Randy’s head screamed and just as quickly something else knocked it aside. Stay still! If you run, it’ll chase you, and there’s no way you’ll make it out the door in time to shut it!

Even if he did, would he have the strength to shut it if the wolf leapt at it? Probably not. Its shoulders were wide and muscles rolled underneath its thick fur. One lunge would knock Randy on his ass.

It stepped, not exactly forward, but on an angle, crossing its paws and almost gliding several inches closer.

Randy’s bladder twinged, his throat seized, but a groan still managed to squeak its way out. The wolf’s ears perked, it shook its head and stepped again.

“Oh, fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.” He was barely whispering, but he couldn’t stop the words from coming. “Please don’t eat me. Please don’t eat me.”

When the wolf advanced again, the pleas became a bastardized prayer. “Oh, God, if there’s a God… right now I hope so… I am so sorry for anything and everything I’ve done wrong.” He swallowed a breath of panic and flashed a quick glance at the ceiling. “Unless ‘anything wrong’ includes me being gay. Because if this is payback for that, then fuck you, the damn thing can eat me.”

The wolf was close enough that Randy could stare right into its eyes. They were eerily beautiful—gold, deep brown, and they were lined in a thick, black streak that would make beauty queens everywhere weep over its perfection. But the focused, direct stare was enough to make Randy weak in the knees.

Wolf, WY Excerpt

Blurb

Wolf, WY

But things are not what they appear in Wolf, and the closer Randy gets, the stranger the O’Connell family seems…

Word Count: 70,000

Genre: Gay, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy

Notes: Wolf, WY contains some explicit content

Book 1 in the Wolf series

Purchasing Links

Less Than Three Press

Amazon

The Giveaway

** Please note that this giveaway is being offered tour-wide and there will be one winner awarded for the entire event.

ENTER RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY HERE:

Please allow me to take a moment to offer my thanks for Cinderella Stories for having me today… I could never pull off these blog tours without sites like yours offering me their support and their time. Similarly, my thanks to you, as well, for reading and joining me on the tour. Best of luck with the giveaway and I hope you enjoyed the post!

Until next time,

AF Henley ❤

About the Author

For more information please stop by for a visit at afhenley.com.

Excerpt and Giveaway: Baby’s on Fire by A.F. Henley

Posted on May 18, 2015 by jholitonjua

Baby’s on Fire

In 1974 Gerry Faun gets the break of his life—an opportunity to meet gorgeous, openly bisexual, glam-rock idol Mark Devon. Mark’s world is new, exciting, and Gerry finally gets to explore the side of his sexuality that he’s kept hidden. But the press is everywhere, and when Gerry’s father gets wind of what’s going on behind his back, Gerry ends up on the street. Mark offers to let Gerry come along with the tour and Gerry jumps at the chance. The tour is a never-ending party—and the start of what seems to be a perfect relationship for him and Mark. Until Mark’s manager decides Gerry isn’t worth the trouble he’s stirring up.

In 1994 Gerry is finally coming out of some tough times—he has a job that pays the bills, a car that hasn’t quite broken down, and a small rental in Jersey City. After a decade of barely getting by, if life was as good as it was going to get, Gerry figures he’ll manage just fine. It would be easier if he wasn’t still haunted by the man the media won’t let him forget, the man who stole his heart and then broke it… the man that’s shown up pleading for a second chance.

Gay Contemporary Romance
Copyright © 2015 by A.F. Henley
Published by Less Than Three Press
Please note: Novel contains explicit sexual content.

Purchase Link:

Less Than Three Press: http://www.lessthanthreepress.com/books/index.php?main_page=product_bookx_info&cPath=90&products_id=879

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Babys-Fire-F-Henley-ebook/dp/B00VN7FM7A

Excerpt

For what seemed like the hundredth time, the traffic in front of Gerry Faun came to a slow-rolling halt. It was the rain doing the most damage, though the end of the workday was always ugly on the streets of New York City. Not that there were many pretty things on the street, regardless. Giuliani was trying, but the way Gerry had it figured, it was going to take more than a smile and a stand on graffiti and marijuana to clean up their kind of dirt. So while the rest of the city offered the mayor awe-induced stares of appreciation over recollections of Mafia Commission and Boesky trials, Gerry mostly sat back and speculated. When government officials got clever enough to stop assholes from blowing up pregnant secretaries and hard-working fathers, then they might actually get his attention. Until then, Gerry wasn’t putting any more trust in them than he would anybody else. He’d learned a long time ago that not all that glitters is worthy.

He was lost in thought enough not to acknowledge the tunnel. He was, in fact, well into it before he remembered to take off his sunglasses. He forgave himself the digression. It had been a long week. Though Gerry worked in the financial district, he was no more than a glorified yes-man for his boss, a real estate broker that had made a fuck-ton of money in the eighties, and was merely coasting until the inevitable retirement. He ran errands and answered phones. He took messages, and booked flights that he was more than sure did not drop Mr. David Manon in places of business. He made reservations in exclusive restaurants, paid Mr. Manon’s membership fees for a gym the man never went to, and bought Manon’s anniversary and birthday gifts for the wife-of-the-moment. Gerry had a flair for it, or so his boss would tell him whenever the requirement came up, and Gerry was cocky enough to verbally agree with Manon every time. Damn right he was good at it.

Tail lights suddenly flared in front of him and Gerry cursed and slammed his brake pedal down. His eyes flicked between windshield and rearview, assessing space and distance, and he blew a sigh of relief when he confirmed that the guy behind him had been paying more attention than he’d been. Maybe it really was time to give up the car.

He’d heard it a thousand times from friends, family, and casual observers: public transport would not only save him money, but they swore up and down it would save him time. God knew gasoline was getting more expensive by the day, and parking costs in the district were insane. Gerry considered it pretty much every time the numbers went up on the billboards beside the gas stations. One day he would, he’d tell himself. One day for sure. When he could convince himself that walking the six blocks from the bus stop in Jersey’s bitter January winds wouldn’t be as appealing as slitting his own throat with barbed wire. When he got over his control issues.

The side road whereby Gerry’s rental home waited for his return was already jammed with cars, so instead of parking on the street, Gerry carefully worked his 1984 Buick into the tiny concrete pad that served as his driveway. He nudged the car as close to the house as it would go, wincing when the fender butted against the foundation and the ancient bow window above him shook with disapproval. While some of the properties on the street had given up parking for an attempt at a front lawn, Gerry couldn’t see the point of bothering to maintain a six-by-eight square of greenery and have to fight for a place to park every day. Besides, what was the point? In the summer everything got so damn hot that his neighbors’ plants and grass got their lives choked out of them. In the winter, anything that had managed to get a hold on the Earth was quickly destroyed by the cold and the snow.

Looking, he was sure, about as sexy as a maggot trying to escape from a nostril, Gerry inched out from between his car and the base of the entranceway steps. His suit wasn’t worth that much, but it was worth too much to go rubbing it up against rain-mucked concrete or the wet door of a car that hadn’t seen an auto-wash in months. His breath puffed out from between his lips, the rain making October that much colder, and Gerry lifted his eyes to the sky. Dark, ominous clouds roiled in the gray heavens, and Gerry had serious doubts that the light rainfall was all the skies had in store for them.

In the second it took for Gerry to muse, a deep rumble of thunder broke, a distant sheet of lightning answered the call with a flare of brilliance, and the drizzle became a downpour. Without bothering to spit out the curse on his tongue, Gerry ran for the front door. The porch roof did nothing to protect him as the rain whipped against his back and legs, and he had to seat the key twice before it finally dug in and allowed him to open the door.

Dripping, mumbling, Gerry slammed the door behind him with a definitive clunk and flicked the deadbolt. He kicked off his shoes, sighing as small rivers of water raced across the lopsided flooring of the hallway, and he began to peel off of his wet clothes right where he stood. He might as well only drown one part of the house, and at least that particular location was vinyl tile. Most of the house had decades-old carpeting that, when wet, released all kinds of odors. None of them good.

With his wet clothes piled in his arms, Gerry stepped gingerly down the narrow hallway, and ducked into the bathroom. He dumped the armload into the tub, and grabbed a towel off the rack.

He didn’t pause to look in the mirror and fix his hair. The cut was short, short enough in fact that he barely had to brush it, and that always seemed to make his sister chuckle when she saw him. There was a time when God himself wouldn’t have been able to get him to cut his hair—when the arguments with his parents would grow to screaming matches over the bangs in his face and the uneven lengths that fell past his collar. But everybody grew up. Eventually.

The Giveaway

On behalf of the tour, please join the giveaway by taking part in the Rafflecopter below. The prize consists of a set of ‘Crystal and Silver’ Glitter Ball Earrings, a $20 Gift Certificate to the Less Than Three Press book market (free books!), and a signed, print copy of Baby’s on Fire. Click through for terms and conditions, further details, and your chance to win! See all the details here:

The Baby’s on Fire *All that Glitters* Blog Tour

** Please note that this giveaway is being offered tour-wide and there will be one winner awarded for the entire event.

ENTER RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY HERE:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About AF Henley

A self-professed Google genius, Henley lives for the hours spent digging through the Internet for ‘research purposes’ which, more often than not, lead seven thousand miles away from first intentions but bring Henley to new discoveries and ideas that, once seeded, tend to flourish.

Henley has been proudly working with LT3 since 2012, and has been writing like mad ever since—an indentured servant to the belief that romance and true love can mend the most broken soul. Even when presented in prose.

Find more here:
Website: http://afhenley.com/
Amazon Page: http://www.amazon.com/A.-F.-Henley/e/B00FIODWSK/
Publisher’s Page: http://www.lessthanthreepress.com/author-a-f-henley/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AFHenley
Twitter: http://twitter.com/AFHenley

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Babys-Fire-F-Henley-ebook/dp/B00VN7FM7A

Guest Post by AF Henley: Baby’s on Fire All that Glitters Blog Tour and Giveaway

Posted on May 7, 2015 by jholitonjua

Hello and welcome back to the Baby’s on Fire blog tour and giveaway! For those joining us for the first time, we’ve been looking at some of the rumors, gossip (and in some instances actual documented events) that took place in the glittered and bedazzled seventies music world.

In the previous post we touched on the freedom of speech movement that was being embraced by both punk and glam rocker alike, and how it was (a) being viewed by the public, and (b) being approached by those in the industry. Of course, for all the good and/or forward thinking that can come out of a movement, there will always be those people that take it just a little too far. Make it a little too personal. To quote Alfred Pennyworth: “Some people just want to watch the world burn.”

For some, the ideals behind freedom of speech are simple – they believe they have the right to say anything they want, anytime they want, about anyone they want. But where is the line drawn? What about when that speech is viewed as an attack?

Again, I want to remind everyone that all people, regardless of story or event, are innocent until proven guilty – and even then, in some instances. I will reiterate that while I researched this blog tour, I found that some of the most coveted legends were, according to those in attendance, pure bullshit or complete misrepresentations. Please keep in mind that both media and fans alike, love a good story and they are willing to drum just up anything up until truth becomes legend. It is not my intention to make judgment on, or attempt to make the reader pass judgment on any of these performers. I only ask that you look back on where the movement started (in the early years of the 70s) and see where it went as it grew.

** Please note that none of these posts are indicative of the main characters or the instances in my novel Baby’s on Fire. They do, however, give a very clear indication of what the MCs would have been experiencing both time-wise and with the reactions/mindset of the people around them.

Elvis Costello uses a Racist Slur in Public

On March 15, 1979, Elvis Costello and his new wave band, the Attractions, met up with the more traditional rock group, Stephen Stills and his band at the Holiday Inn bar in Columbus, Ohio. Costello had already been drinking, and quickly drew Stills and friends into a bickering match over America and the American music talent for whom, it is rumored, Costello had very little respect for. During the argument, Costello verbally attacked some of the most revered and respected American talent in the industry, including Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly. When Stills went back to his room, Stills’ backup singer Bonnie Bramlett (formerly of Delaney & Bonnie) decided to stay, and the squabbling intensified. It was early morning on the following day, with Costello’s blood-alcohol content somewhere in and around the mark of way-too-fucking-high, that Costello referred to James Brown as a “jive-arsed n—–“, and then followed the statement up by saying that Ray Charles was a “nothing but a blind, ignorant n—–.” Bramlett reacted by backhanding Costello, a small brawl ensued, and the bartender on duty did more than earn his keep by breaking everyone up and sending them back to their rooms.

The story doesn’t end there, though. Bramlett, still furious, decided to go to the press with her version of what went down. Within days Costello had been branded a racist and was receiving hundreds of death threats. What had been a steadily rising career was at risk of collapsing completely. In an effort to salvage what they could, a press conference was called and Costello presented his side of the story: he’d been tired, he’d been drunk, he was not racist. His reasoning: “It became necessary for me to outrage these people with the most offensive and obnoxious remarks I could muster to bring the argument to a swift conclusion and rid myself of their presence.”

Apparently, getting up from his chair and leaving didn’t cross his mind.

Although several articles and blogs refer to the press conference as “Costello’s apology”, in my research I was unable to confirm an actual apology being spoken.

When asked his opinion on the events, Ray Charles merely said that, “Drunken talk isn’t meant to be printed in the paper.” A very classy reaction from a man who’d had some very low-class things said about him, in my opinion.

Later, in 2013, Elvis Costello’s hit song Oliver’s Army (released February, 1979) was censored to remove the very same slur that had got Costello into so much hot water back then.

Picture from: Elvis Costello, March 1977 Album cover shoot, the Keith Morris archives

My huge thanks to Cinderella Stories for having me today, and a special thanks to you, my friends, for joining me. 😀

Until next time!

AF Henley ❤

Baby’s on Fire

Gay Contemporary Romance
Copyright © 2015 by A.F. Henley
Published by Less Than Three Press
Please note: Novel contains explicit sexual content.

Purchase Link:

Less Than Three Press: http://www.lessthanthreepress.com/books/index.php?main_page=product_bookx_info&cPath=90&products_id=879

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Babys-Fire-F-Henley-ebook/dp/B00VN7FM7A

The Giveaway

The Baby’s on Fire *All that Glitters* Blog Tour

** Please note that this giveaway is being offered tour-wide and there will be one winner awarded for the entire event.

ENTER RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY HERE:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About AF Henley

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Babys-Fire-F-Henley-ebook/dp/B00VN7FM7A

Book Excerpt and Giveaway: Road Trip by A.F. Henley

Posted on February 21, 2015 by jholitonjua

Excerpt

It was just another day—just another twenty-four hour period between all the rest of them. Sure, thirty-five years prior, Boyd’s mother had been forcing out a nine-pound, some-odd-ounces mound of entirely unimpressed infant from the depths of her lady parts, but Boyd figured that was an event that should win her more kudos than it should him. As far as celebrating his birthday went, Boyd’s big plan was the acquisition of a bottle of Jim Beam, followed by the slow-but-steady process of sipping himself into an alcohol-induced stupor.

It hadn’t taken long for thirty-five to catch up to him, and it was one of those birthdays where three and a half decades hit like seven. His back ached from sprawling on cold concrete for too many hours. His finger joints burned from years of gripping air tools and turning wrenches. He was bitter and disillusioned, tired and worn out, and doing his best not to lament over the possibility that life truly was as good as it was going to get.

Until he saw the email.

The auto trader website had promised the best deals in the country delivered directly to one’s inbox, free of charge. Simply enter some personal info, vehicle preferences, and wait. Boyd had been a member for almost four years, but it had got to the point where most of the ‘awesome’ notifications were marked and deleted before they were even read. This one had pictures, though, and even if it would take his ancient computer several minutes to chug them into existence, opening it would mean Boyd could live vicariously with somebody else’s chromed baby for a few moments.

The car was a beauty. The body was mint, the engine supposedly ran like a clock, and it was drive-away ready. So when he saw the price, Boyd almost ignored it. A typo, he assumed. Someone forgot a one. An asking price of six-point-two was unheard of. He even went so far as to close and delete the email, to shut down his computer, locate his keys, and head for the front door before he reconsidered. Because, what if…?

What if finally…?

Blurb

For as long as Boyd can remember, he’s been pushing pins into a map. Carson City, Las Vegas, Albuquerque—all places he wants to see, for a dozen different reasons that wouldn’t mean a thing to anyone else. When he finally gets a chance to purchase the ’69 Road Runner of his dreams, at a price that even he can manage, Boyd jumps at the opportunity.

Oliver seems like just another kid with a broken dream when their paths cross in Vegas. Against Boyd’s better judgment, he offers to let Oliver hitch along for the ride when Oliver confides the need to get out and get gone.

But it’s not long before Boyd realizes Oliver’s reasons for running are more complicated—and more dangerous—than Oliver let on. But Boyd doesn’t like people who play hardball, and he definitely doesn’t like people messing with a man who’s managed to light a fuse that Boyd forgot he had.

Gay Contemporary Romance
Copyright © 2015 by A.F. Henley
Published by Less Than Three Press

Please note: Novel contains some explicit content.

Purchase Links: @Less Than Three Press

@Amazon

The Giveaway

On behalf of the tour, please join the giveaway by taking part in the Rafflecopter below. The prize consists of a Vintage ‘Chrome’ and Leather Road Runner Key Fob (can you say awesome Father’s Day Gift?), a $20 gift certificate to the Less Than Three Press book market (free books!), and a signed, print copy of Road Trip (when available). Click through for terms and conditions, further details, and your chance to win! See all the details here.

** Please note that this giveaway is being offered tour-wide and there will be one winner awarded for the entire event.

ENTER RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY HERE:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About A.F. Henley

Hot Air Balloons: A Giveaway and Blog Tour for Road Trip by A.F. Henley

Posted on February 14, 2015 by jholitonjua

Is there anything more nostalgic than watching a hot air balloon meander through a sky full of pinks and blues? A hot air balloon offers all the thrill of being up high and feeling free, without the oh-my-God-I’m-going-to-die reaction that comes with some of the more risqué forms of sky travel.

In Road Trip, our boys Boyd and Oliver take some time to pull over and watch a sunset tour go past them. It gives them some time to relax, chat, and open up about their past a little. I’d like to think it also gave Fate a few moments to instill a sense of longing and connection.

Here are some cool things I found out about hot air balloons while I researched:

• A duck, a rooster, and a sheep were the first passengers of a hot air balloon. Back in 1783, the first hot air balloon was flown for Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and the French court in Versailles. This peculiar group of animals was chosen to test the effects of flight. Sheep, thought to be similar to people, would show the effects of altitude on a land dweller, while ducks and roosters, which could already fly, would act as controls for the experiment. The balloon flew on a tether for 8 minutes, rose to a height of 1500 feet, and travelled 2 miles before returning safely. The animals were unharmed (and no doubt, unamused).

• Scientist Jean-François Pilâtre De Rozier and aristocrat François Laurent d’Arlandes were the first pilots, beating out Louis XVI’s recommendation of using condemned criminals (in case something went horribly wrong).

• Two years later, Rozier decided to cross the English Channel in a new kind of balloon, one that was half hot air, half hydrogen. 30 minutes after taking off, the balloon exploded, killing both Rozier and his co-pilot. This earned him the unfortunate right of being known as the first person to fly in a balloon, and the first person to die in one.

• The world record height for a hot air balloon is over 21,000 meters (68,900 feet). Oxygen is needed above 5,000 meters (16,400 feet). The longest hot air balloon flight recorded was piloted by Richard Branson. It originated in Japan and touched ground in northern Canada. It was also the fastest, reaching speeds of 245 miles per hour.

• It is tradition to share a bottle of champagne after a hot air balloon flight. This was begun to appease farmers that didn’t take kindly to hot air balloons landing in their fields. Nothing says forgiveness liked free champagne.

• In 1808, two Frenchmen decided to take to the skies above Paris for a duel (ah, the everlasting joy of the love-triangle). Below them, a crowd gathered to watch what they assumed to be a balloon race, however, the men pulled out blunderbusses and aimed at each other’s balloons. Two shots were fired, one balloon fatally crashed to the buildings below, and the other pilot descended to the ground to claim the hand of the woman they fought over.

• Hot air balloons were used during the Battle of Fleurus in the French Revolution and during the Civil War.

• The large balloon on top is called an envelope. It holds hot air created by a heat source known as a burner.

• The world’s largest hot air balloon festival is hosted in Albuquerque, New Mexico, each year (which just happens to be the location where our lovers-to-be happened to spot them). The festival lasts about nine days and features over 750 hot air balloons.

• There is a glass bottom hot air balloon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hjPh-tbouA (This video is not mine, and I make no claims to it. I’ve only included it in the post for information purposes. Please leave your love for the creator if you enjoy it.)

*pops champagne*

To you, with my thanks, for joining me; and here’s to the hopes that the next time you see one of these beautiful beasts roll by in the sky, you get the chance to stop and take a few minutes to watch.

Until next time! ❤ A.F. Henley

Blurb

Please note: Novel contains some explicit content.

Purchase Links: @Less Than Three Press

@Amazon

The Giveaway

** Please note that this giveaway is being offered tour-wide and there will be one winner awarded for the entire event.

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About A.F. Henley

Blog Tour and Giveaway: Second Star to the Right by AF Henley

Posted on February 17, 2014 by jholitonjua

Welcome to the new visitors of the tour, and hello again to my returning friends. As I’ve been explaining throughout, Second Star to the Right is a romance story about a man seeking to define himself, an escort caught between the desire to find connection yet keep himself grounded, and how the brilliance of love can be the brightest light in dark skies if we’re willing to let it burn.

So… in an effort to attempt something a little different for this blog tour, I decided it might be cool to connect with you, the reader, and explain how I define myself. I sent out a call, asking “Inquiring Minds” to throw some questions at me, and offered to do my best to answer them. Let’s light up the sky together, and hopefully have a little fun in the process…

(Be sure to read through to the end for details on the release, as well as a chance to WIN your very own ebook copy.)

RaphaelDraw tweets: Your thoughts when starting a new novel and have a blank page in front of you?

Henley replies:

Oh, God. Here we go again.
Character “undesignated as yet” why won’t you tell me your name?
I’m sorry, the novel should be about WHAT?
OK, fingers. Anytime now. The keys are right there.
I think I might have an open bottle of wine in the fridge…
♪♫♪ I don’t want to work, I just want to bang on the drum all day ♫♪♫
I should open Skype. Just to check. If no one is online I’ll get right back off.
(Tumble, tumble, tumble) Argh! I’m supposed to be writing!

Christopher D asks: What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Henley replies: Some days, just getting out of bed in the morning. I don’t know if I have one particular thing that I consider to be my “greatest” accomplishment. I’m more of a one-small-thing-at-a-time achiever. Getting published for the first time was pretty damn sweet, of course. But I tend to feel the same for each consecutive release. Maybe, on a personal note, it was managing to step up and away from a mistaken sense of security, in order to gain a sense of my own value and importance.

killfrost2 asks: You always seem to be releasing a new book. 😀 Which brings up the question, what are the average sizes of your books, how fast do you type, and more importantly, do you have any home remedies for fever?

Henley replies: I’ve been trying to release a new work every quarter, although, if I don’t get my ass in gear I question the potential for a release in Q3, 2014.

My target for this genre with respect to word count is between 40 and 50K. On a good day I can get about 5000 words. On a bad day, I’m grateful for 500. As for typing, my average is 100 words/minute. Not bad for an old bird, hmm?

There is only one home remedy that works for everything, frost. Wine.

Darkprism asks: If you could be someone else and live somebody else’s life for a month, who would it be and why?

Henley replies: I’d like to be a porn star. And I only say that because you give a limit of one month. The lack of connection would drive me mental if I had to deal with it long-term. But I’d sure love to give it a go for a few weeks. Yep. Yep I surely would.

Second Star to the Right
By AF Henley

Be it unrequited fascination with his straight best friend or impossible fantasies of rekindled interest with his heartbreaking ex,

Second Star to the Right
by AF Henley

Mason has no clue why the perfect connection seems to keep slipping through his fingers. When another lonely holiday seems like too much weight to shoulder, Mason gives up on romance and seeks out the next best thing—rented company. Jack is everything a person could want in an escort: willing, hot, and built like an angel.

Mason can’t resist. After all, who wouldn’t be interested in a guy who loves kid’s movies, is a self-professed Peter Pan, and has no problem throwing caution to the wind at a moment’s notice. But then interest quickly blooms into a whole new emotion—an emotion that Mason knows far too well, especially when Jack has no interest in returning it, preferring to keep his heart safely tucked away in Neverland.

Word count: 43,000
Pairing: M/M
Content: Contains some explicit content.

Purchase Link (save 15% if you pre-order by February 18^th)

About the Author:

Find me at:

AFHenley.com
Goodreads
Less Than Three Press
Amazon
twitter

The Giveaway

As a thanks for reading, I’m offering up an ebook copy of Second Star to the Right, in the format of the winner’s choice. Simply leave a comment below to be entered in the draw.

And! As an extra bonus! All participators in the blog tour giveaway will AUTOMATICALLY BE ENTERED in a future-dated contest for a signed print copy of the novel, and a genuine Swarovski pendant, hand-picked for Second Star to the Right significance. Stay tuned to any of the above-referenced AF Henley sites for details.

Rules:

Please ensure Cinderella Stories has a way to notify you of the win.
Contest is open from now until February 22^nd, 2014.
Winner will be picked using a random number generator.
By commenting below you guarantee that you are legally able to accept the prize.

~*~

A huge thank you to Cinderella Stories for having me today, as well as to the readers, friends, associates, and followers who stopped by to take part. Here’s hoping you have an awesome and adventurous day. And off we go…

~*~

Second Star to the Right, and … this is Jho once more, folks! 🙂 Thank you so much for dropping by my blog and for taking the time to read this post. And thank you as well, Henley, for gracing my blog.

Good luck to the entrants and please don’t forget to leave your email address so we’ll be able to email you in case you are the lucky one! ❤

Author Interview: Marie Claire Lim Moore

Posted on November 29, 2013 by jholitonjua

Jho: Hi Claire, welcome to my blog and thank you so much for granting me this interview. First of all, I would like to congratulate you for your outstanding, entertaining, and inspiring book, “Don’t Forget the Soap.”

I’m afraid I only have a few questions for you because pretty much everything that I wanted to ask have already been discussed in your book.

Claire: Thank you so much for the kind words. I’m so glad to learn you enjoyed the book as much as you did. Please find responses to your questions below.

Q1. What made you realize that you want to write books?

I don’t remember when exactly I decided I wanted to write a book but for as long as I can remember I’ve been making mental notes of things to one day include in my book. I have always enjoyed writing and for a long time now I’ve been thinking about writing a book about things I’ve learned from my mother.

Q2. Do you love reading as well? What are the types of books that you usually read? Can you give us a few titles of your favorites?

Someone once told me, “Write the book you want to read.” It was great advice and I think it goes the other way too. I read the books I want to write. They tend to be memoirs and some of my favorites are Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life by Queen Nor of Jordan, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling, and Funny in Farsi by Firoozah Dumas.

Q3. What were the feelings that writing this book has incited in you?

Gratitude. Writing this book has made me even more grateful for my parents and my family. Grateful for my husband and my kids. Grateful for all the opportunities I’ve been blessed with. Grateful for all the people who have touched my life and supported me.

Q4. I’m so excited to read the next one… so… when is the target release of the second part of Don’t Forget the Soap?

Wow, I appreciate the enthusiasm! If we end up having a third child maybe I’ll work on part 2 during my next maternity leave

Q5. Apart from the second book of Don’t Forget the Soap, will we be expecting more books from you? Are you planning to write books of different genre?

I do think I may have more books in me. As you may remember, I did dabble in a fictional teenage book series when I myself was a teen but it was something I enjoyed and could be interested to explore down the line. Thank you so much for all the encouragement!