Ramblings of an Australian Writer

The release of "No Surrender, No Retreat" is drawing near (25th July), so here are places you can grab yourself a copy of "No Quarter," the first book in my Archangels series. And, an excerpt!

Blurb:

Archangel Chronicles: Book One

You would never know it from his flamboyant lifestyle, but Gabriel’s not just the cheerful, fun-loving adoptive father of a pair of indulged young adult humans. He’s an Archangel, commander of Heaven’s legions of Seraphim, and despite his apparently easy virtue, he’s harboring a serious crush on his superior officer, Michael.

For years Michael has devoted himself to developing a team of humans, the Venatores, to aid in the fight against Hell. He’s been pining after Gabriel for centuries without hope, believing himself to be too serious to attract the other Archangel’s interest. He’s happy to discover that he’s wrong, but their burgeoning relationship is stymied by a major problem: an egomaniacal human is recruiting demons and fallen angels in a bid to take over the world. It’s up to Michael and Gabriel, and the rest of the Brotherhood of Archangels, to beat back the forces of Hell before the Earth is overrun.

Where to get it:

Dreamspinner: ebook http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=2853 and paperback http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=2854
Amazon: kindle http://amzn.com/B007QQ6O3S and paperback http://www.amazon.com/dp/1613724330/ref=cm_sw_su_dp
Kobo: epub http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/No-Quarter/book-5KH1g2DTwkiD7FlCABTTuw/page1.html?s=zZ9gwBrvb0aWV-ASZgQ0KA&r=1 and pdf http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/No-Quarter/book-7Jjzi_8P3UiZCLWeDjM7Pg/page1.html?s=zZ9gwBrvb0aWV-ASZgQ0KA&r=3
ARe: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-noquarter-770209-140.html
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/no-quarter-lj-labarthe/1109802167?ean=9781613724330
Powells: ebook http://www.powells.com/biblio/91-9781613724347-0 and paperback http://www.powells.com/biblio/61-9781613724330-1
The Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.com/No-Quarter-LJ-LaBarthe/9781613724330

Excerpt:

Gabriel didn’t bother with knocking on Michael’s door, he simply appeared in Michael’s living room, his eyebrows shooting up as he took in the sight of Michael, who was pacing back and forth up and down the length of his rooms, gnawing on a thumbnail and glowering at the floor.

“Y’know,” Gabriel drawled as Michael looked up at him, “you’re going to wear a trench to China if you keep that pacing up.”

“Pardon?” Michael stared at him, the color draining from his face as he took in Gabriel’s blood- and gore-smeared armor. “Gabriel! Are you hurt?”

“Huh? No! Oh, no. No, this ain’t mine, just demons.” Gabriel grinned. “Takes more than a bunch of demons to hurt me.” Which was more than he could say for Uriel right now, he thought.

Michael’s face was still pale. “You scared me,” he said. “You are certain you are not injured?”

Immediately contrite, Gabriel took three quick steps across the room and took Michael’s hands in his. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. I’m fine, I promise. Dirty, but fine.”

Michael let out a long, slow breath. His fingers, Gabriel realized, were shaking.

“As you say. You have come to report?”

“Aye.” Gabriel let go of Michael’s hands. “It’s not a good report, though.”

“They rarely are these days.” Michael sighed and sat down. “Give me the report.”

Gabriel did, making it as concise as possible, and when he was finished, he watched Michael closely. The color had returned to Michael’s cheeks, and his dark eyes were full of concern and anxiety. The simple Chinese robes he wore were, Gabriel suddenly realized, what Michael wore when he was intending to sleep. Suddenly feeling like an intruder, Gabriel cleared his throat.

“So, uh, I should leave you to it.” Awkward, he thought. Could I be any more awkward around Michael?

“You do not have to.” Michael’s voice was soft. “In truth, I could not sleep until I knew the extent of Uriel’s injuries. Raphael is certain he will recover?”

“As certain as he can be.” Gabriel bit his lower lip. He was about to say more, but at that moment, there was the sound of feathers rustling, and Raphael was there.

Raphael looked tired, Gabriel thought, but he also looked relieved. “Raz works fast,” he said without preamble. “He’s come up with an antidote for Uri. Uri’s going to be fine. Cranky as a bear with a sore head, but fine. Coming up with a vaccine against the poison in the first place will take a little longer, but Raz is on it. I just figured you two should know.”

“Okay, good,” Gabriel said. “So, until you and Raz have this inoculation thing sorted, keep everyone from going anywhere alone?”

“Yeah.” Raphael nodded.

“I am very relieved,” Michael said. “You are certain Uriel is well?”

“Positive, Mike. Anyway, I’ve still got work to do, so I’ll leave you to it. I’ll let the others know. Have a good night.” With that, Raphael vanished.

“What a relief,” Gabriel muttered, running blood-smeared hands through his hair.

“Gabriel,” Michael said, sighing, “perhaps you should bathe. I am certain that you must be feeling sticky, to say the least.”

Gabriel blinked. Then he started to laugh, the tension he was feeling dissipating. “Yeah, you got that right. Can I borrow your shower?”

“Of course.” Michael gave him a small smile. “Make yourself at home.”

“Thanks.” Gabriel headed into the bathroom and quietly closed the door behind him. It didn’t take long to shuck his armor, although cleaning it properly would have to wait. Gabriel used his power to get the worst of the detritus of battle off it with a thought, and with another thought, moved it back to his house in Deep Bay.

He couldn’t deny that he felt sticky. Patches of dried blood stuck to his skin, and Gabriel wrinkled his nose in distaste as he turned on the faucets, adjusting them to get the water the temperature he wanted it. Washing himself down felt wonderful, and he was much more relaxed when he finally finished bathing. Turning off the faucets, Gabriel stepped from the shower and toweled himself dry. Then he wrapped the towel around his hips and stepped from the bathroom, trailing a cloud of steam behind him.

“Thanks, I feel loads better,” Gabriel said as he ran his hands through his damp hair.

Michael was standing by the window, and he turned as he heard Gabriel’s voice. He opened his mouth to say something and stopped, staring, his cheeks immediately going red.

For a moment, Gabriel considered asking Michael what was wrong. His unspoken question was answered as Michael quickly crossed the room to him, cupped his face in his hands, and kissed him.

Gabriel groaned into the kiss, his arms winding around Michael’s waist, pressing close. Michael kissed him harder, pushing him up against the wall, and Gabriel groaned louder, fingers clenching in the fabric of Michael’s robe. As Michael growled, running a hand over Gabriel’s chest, Gabriel broke the kiss, his head falling back against the wall. “Michael,” he panted.

Bloghopping:

The Manga and Romance Blog Hop organised by Hayley B. James starts next week (click the image to go to the information page), and I'll be blogging as part of it. So keep your eyes peeled and come along and read and enjoy a variety of posts by some great authors. There's also a give away with loads of prizes!

Dreamspinner 5th Anniversary Celebrations.

As part of our fifth birthday, all books (including in stock paperbacks) by the authors who signed with us in our third year of business will be discounted 30% through midnight on Saturday, May 17. Those authors include Andi Anderson, Jae Ashley, Rayne Auster, Lenore Black, Scarlet Blackwell, Anne Brooke, H.J. Brues, Brackley Burke, Mary Calmes, Tessa Cárdenas, Heidi Champa, R.W. Clinger, Rachelle Cochran, Diana Copland, J. Crow, Heidi Cullinan, Jana Denardo, Sophia Deri-Bowen, Sonia Devereaux, Libby Drew, Anne Dudley, Chelle Dugan, Andy Eisenberg, Henri Fer, Jamie Freeman, Lacey-Anne Frye, Lyn Gala, L.A. Gilbert, Roland Graeme, Cornelia Grey, Julie Lynn Hayes, S. Reesa Herberth, Violet Hilton, Jan Irving, Felicitas Ivey, Dawn Kimberly Johnson, Joanne Kells, V.B. Kildaire, L.J. LaBarthe, Amy Lane, Shawn Lane, Trina Lane, Sam C. Leonhard, Anna J. Linden, Taylor Lochland, Amylea Lyn, EM Lynley, D.W. Marchwell, Rowan McAllister, Brooke McKinley, Kate McMurray, JL Merrow, Patric Michael, Margaret Mills, Ellie Moonwater, Emily Moreton, Maggie Morton, Josephine Myles, Mallory Path, J.R. Patrick, Jeff Pearce, Devon Rhodes, G.R. Richards, Kate Roman, Persephone Roth, Linda Reilly, Lily Sawyer, RJ Scott, Rosina Scott, Marie Sexton, Barbara Sheridan, Aundrea Singer, K.Z. Snow, Jillian Snyder, Rowan Speedwell, Jay Starre, Rowena Sudbury, Lori Toland, Carolyn Levine Topol, Jonathan Treadway, Bryl R. Tyne, Matthew Vandrew, Anel Viz, Aleksandr Voinov, Edward von Behrer, Ashleigh Walton, Tedy Ward, Nessa L. Warin, Sarah Ann Watts, Rachel West, Ellen Whitehall, A. Willingham, L.A. Witt, Serena Yates, Cari Z., J.A. Zecca.

Check out our home page for all their titles!

May is here, and with it comes a few announcements. :)

First up, this month, I will be hosting some guest authors. Some will be presenting guest blog posts, others have been interviewed. I do hope you'll join us and read these wonderful and interesting posts and be part of the Merry Month of May here.

Second up, May 17-20 is the Blog Hop Against Homophobia. I will be putting up a post on the 17th and doing a giveaway of my novel, "No Quarter" to one lucky commenter. So do stop by for that.

So go forth and tell your friends!







Click the above pic to find out more about the Hop Against Homophobia.


And finally, but not least, Dreamspinner Press turns five this May, and with it comes a huge, month-long celebration that includes sales, giveaways, prizes, and more!

From DSP:

Over the course of the month, all titles will be discounted according to how long the author has been with the publisher.

May 1-5: Grab the 40% discount off all books (including in-stock paperbacks) by authors who signed with them during their first year of business: Rhianne Aile, Eric Arvin, Connie Bailey, Alix Bekins, Nicki Bennett, Giselle Ellis, Catt Ford, Shay Kincaid, Marguerite Labbe, Clare London, Dar Mavison, Anais Morten, Chrissy Munder, Zahra Owens, D.G. Parker, Abigail Roux, John Simpson, Fae Sutherland, Ariel Tachna, Madeleine Urban.

May 6-12, we will offer a 35% discount off all books (including in-stock paperbacks)by authors who signed with us during our second year of business. Watch the web site for the list.

May 13-19, we will offer a 30% discount off all books (including in-stock paperbacks)by authors who signed with us during our third year of business. Watch the web site for the list.

May 20-26, we will offer a 25% discount off all books (including in-stock paperbacks)by authors who signed with us during our fourth year of business. Watch the web site for the list.

May 27-31, we will offer a 20% discount off all books (including in-stock paperbacks)by authors who signed with us during our fifth year of business. Watch the web site for the list.

In addition, we have three scheduled giveaways for the month!

One lucky participant in our Time Is Eternity Daily Dose chat at the Literary Nymphs Yahoo! Group on May 5 will win a Kindle Fire!

One lucky participant in Jeremy Pack's Meet the Author at Dreamspinner Press's Facebook page on May 19 will win all the eBooks on his or her wishlist!

One lucky customer on our web site during the month of May will win an iPad! Each purchase from midnight EST May 1 to midnight EST May 31 constitutes an entry.

We'll also be doing special flash sales, so keep an eye on the web site for unannounced excitement!

I'm over at Desi Moon's place today, so drop by and say hi!

No Quarter. You would never know it from his flamboyant lifestyle, but Gabriel’s not just the cheerful, fun-loving adoptive father of a pair of indulged young adult humans. He’s an Archangel, commander of Heaven’s legions of Seraphim, and despite his apparently easy virtue, he’s harboring a serious crush on his superior officer, Michael. For years Michael has devoted himself to developing a team of humans, the Venatores, to aid in the fight against Hell. He’s been pining after Gabriel for centuries without hope, believing himself to be too serious to attract the other Archangel’s interest. He’s happy to discover that he’s wrong, but their burgeoning relationship is stymied by a major problem: an egomaniacal human is recruiting demons and fallen angels in a bid to take over the world. It’s up to Michael and Gabriel, and the rest of the Brotherhood of Archangels, to beat back the forces of Hell before the Earth is overrun. Book One of The Archangel Chronicles. Buy it: paperback and ebook.

Read an excerpt below the cut. This scene is the first time Michael and Gabriel kiss. Rated R.

( Excerpt )

In celebration of the publication of our 1000th title, we're discounting all our books over the next five weeks!

March 28-April 3 - All short fiction (daydreams and nap-size dreams) will be discounted 20%. (Including City of Gold, Long Road Back and Ties That Bind.)
April 4-10 - All eBook anthologies discounted 20%.
April 11-17 - All paperbacks will be discounted 20%. (Including No Quarter.)

I'm at Blak Rayne's today, talking about "No Quarter", writing, Archangels and films. Drop on by and leave a comment with your email address to go into the draw to win a copy of the "No Quarter" ebook on release day, 2nd April 2012.

I have so many feelings, you guys. Indeed, I have ALL THE FEELINGS. They can best be summed up as:

asd;fqpuiy;lkhadfuypupyger *keyboardsmash* I LOVE THIS COVER OMG.

Ahem. So here it is. The beautiful cover for "No Quarter," art by Anne Cain.




Isn't it beautiful? So much love.

It's a good day today.

Firstly, I'm guest blogging at clarelondon's blog, today, talking about inspiration in photos, and I've shared some images of inspirational things, including one of Daniel Craig. Inspiration is in everything, am I right? Anyhoo, do stop by!

Secondly, I got a contract for book two of my Archangels series, No Surrender, No Retreat, which I am delighted and excited to accept, so yay!


These are jolly good things after several weeks of blah - the hot weather here has been dreadful, the heatwave has been one of the worst in years, so when the cool change finally hit on Monday morning, all of Adelaide drew a huge breath of relief. Being able to think without feeling like your brain is jelly? What a marvellous sensation!

There's been some health issues for me, above and beyond the usual (there's always something, sigh), so I am off to visit cardiologists directly and get that diagnosed properly. Interim diagnosis is SVT, which is Supraventricular Tachycardia, basically where the electrics in your heart misfire, so your heart starts beating a mile a minute. It is a very scary feeling, believe me. However, in my case, there's some concern that there's an underlying issue - not to mention a history of heart disease in my family - so it's off to the cardiologist for me. Soon, I will be on a first name basis with everyone in all the specialist units in the Royal Adelaide Hospital. My mum is also having tests at the end of February, so she will be staying here at my house for a few days, one before, the day of, and at least one day after the tests.

All of that explains why I've been less than frequent with blogging or doing the Thursday Thirteens or Six Sentence Sundays. Heat, plus health, plus worrying, do not make for a productive mindset. Today is a new day, though, a good day, so onwards and upwards!

I wanted to get all my formatting and submitting of book two of my Archangel series out of the way before blogging about the Preditors and Editors book poll. Also, doing that and filling in the cover art sheet for No Quarter gave me time to calm down from my !!!!! a little, too.

My short story, City of Gold is nominated for best short story: romance, over here (if, you know, you want to vote. XD) I'm thrilled, too, to see that the Erotica Apocrypha anthology is up for best anthology, here.

I'm delighted to see that Dreamspinner Press, one of my publishers, is up for best publisher. They do great books, so I'm not shy about asking you all to vote for them, right over here. Riptide Press, and Candlemark and Gleam are also nominated.

Finally, congratulations to meredith_shayne, whose Aussie cowboy novel Equilibrium is nominated for best erotica novel, here and to RJ Astruc, whose Aussie/NZ cyberpunk novel Harmonica and Gig is nominated for best fantasy/sci-fi novel, here. Go vote for them, because they deserve it, the books are both fantastic, great storytelling, engaging narrative and tremendously enjoyable worldbuilding.