Tag Archives: pants-off reviews

February 23, 2014 · 4:13 pm

The first week of #STRAIN: a recap #postapocalyptic #erotica #mmromance @RiptideBooks

Friday wrapped up the Strain blog tour, but there is still time to comment and enter to win one of three copies of Impulse: The Complete Trilogy. Entries will remain open until February 28, with the drawing being held on March 1, so be sure to comment at each stop and leave contact information (you can leave a Twitter or Facebook ID if you don’t want to leave an email.)

I tried to structure this blog tour a little differently, making it like the extras on a DVD. Along the way, I shared not only a deleted scene and a sneak peek at Bane, the upcoming prequel to Strain, but also a lot of behind-the-scenes discussion of the world-building that went into Strain. Here’s a brief recap:

Part One: Project Juggernaut (The Jeep Diva)
Part Two: The Juggernaut Battalion (Pants-Off Reviews)
Part Three: Does a Sex Scene Have to be Sexy? (3 Chicks After Dark)
Part Four: The Women of Delta Company (Queer Town Abbey)
Part Five: Oh, But This Darling was Tough to Kill (a deleted BDSM sex scene at Sinfully Sexy Book Reviews)
Part Six: Fluid Exchange in Strain (The Book Nympho)
Part Seven: A Sneak Peek at Bane, the prequel to Strain (Book Reviews and More by Kathy)

There were also a number of stoplight stops. Be sure to check those out as well!

Coffee and Porn in the Morning
Words of Wisdom from the Scarf Princess
TTC Books & More
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Also, in case you missed it, on Valentine’s Day, The Book Bella shared bonus content not only from Strain, but also from books by Lisa Henry/Heidi Belleau, Andrea Speed, and Reesa Herberth. As far as Strain goes, I wrote a brief scene that pre-dates Strain, dealing with Joe and Toby and the genesis of their relationship. Be sure to check it out!

Since it’s still February, I am still Riptide’s Author of the Month. That means you can find an interview with me at Riptide’s site, and get Giving an Inch (The Professor’s Rule #1) for absolutely free! (it’s also available for free at Amazon, ARe and other retailers.) There are also significant savings on a number of my other titles, including An Inch at a Time (The Professor’s Rule #2), The Laird’s Forbidden Lover, and finally, pre-sales of Every Inch of the Way (The Professor’s Rule #4) and To The Very Last Inch (The Professor’s Rule #5) are only $0.99 each-67% off! If you pre-order at Riptide, you get to download the books two days in advance, which means they’ll be available at midnight this coming Friday!

Speaking of pre-0rders, Saugatuck Summer is available at Riptide now, as well, for 22% off. If you’re a reviewer, the ARC is also available at NetGalley, so go ahead and check that out. Saugatuck Summer is coming in May.

Whew! That was a lot of links.

On the professional level, I really don’t have much of a basis of comparison for how well Strain is performing. It has broken the Top 10 Bestsellers in Gay Fiction and the Top 20 in Sci-Fi > Post-Apocalyptic over at Amazon. Of course, seeing as how the book is a Riptide release, I have no way of monitoring sales in real time like I do with my self-pubs, except for the Amazon sales via NovelRank, which isn’t always accurate. I do know that it is much higher in the rankings at Amazon than any of my other releases have ever gotten, and has stayed there longer.

It has also made its way to #15 on the All Romance eBooks bestsellers list, which, again, is better than any of my other titles have done. And it is on the Riptide best sellers list for this month, along with three of the five The Professor’s Rule titles (no doubt that has something to do with all the discounts!) The reviews at Goodreads and elsewhere continue to be overwhelmingly positive. All in all, this has definitely been my most successful title so far, and I’m absolutely thrilled to see it doing so well. It was a long, hard slog to get this book to market, but I’m glad it’s finally here.

I’m sure I had something else to say about all this, but apparently I’ve lost track of what all I meant to say in this post. All in all, it’s been a great first week for Strain, and I’m thankful for all of you who have come along for the ride.

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Tagged as 3 Chicks After Dark, All Romance Ebooks, amazon, amelia c. gormley, an inch at a time, author of the month, author TM Smith, bestseller, blog tour, Book Reviews & More by Kathy, contest, cup-o-porn, discount, erotic romance, every inch of the way, free read, gay romance, giveaway, giving an inch, goodreads, impulse trilogy, mm romance, pants-off reviews, post-apocalyptic, queer town abbey, riptide publishing, sale, saugatuck summer, scattered thoughts and rogue words, sinfully sexy book reviews, Strain, the book nympho, the jeep diva, the laird's forbidden lover, the professor's rule, to the very last inch, words of wisdom from the scarf princess

February 18, 2014 · 10:05 am

The #Strain #BlogTour Day 2! @DarienMoya @3ChicksAftrDark #mmromance @RiptideBooks

Today, for Part Two of the Strain blog tour, I’m swinging by Pants-Off Reviews to talk some more about Project Juggernaut, particularly what happened to the Juggernaut troops after the plague. After they overthrew the military government, the civilian population could turn their attention to rebuilding their lives, but not the Jugs. So what did they do instead?

I’m also stopping at 3 Chicks After Dark to discuss the uses of sex content in books. I had actually written this article (titled “Does a sex scene have to be sexy?”) before I read the advance copy of Janette’s review, but once I saw her review, it was so apropos to some of the remarks she made, I knew I wanted to share it there.

Finally, Jody at Words of Wisdom from the Scarf Princess has shared her review of Strain and is hosting a brief spotlight stop, where you’ll get yet another chance to register for the giveaway!

Remember that anyone who comments to the blog tour posts will be entered to win one of three ebook copies of Impulse: The Complete Trilogy, so be sure to share your thoughts and questions about the articles with me.

Check out the Strain Blog Tour schedule for more chances to enter. Please be sure to include some way to contact you with your comments (if not email, then a Twitter or Facebook ID will also work.) The contest will be open until February 28, with the drawing being held on March 1st. Good luck!

Coming this week: The Strain Blog Tour

Do you like DVD extras? Yeah? So do I. It’s entirely possible I’ve watched the appendices on the Lord of the Rings extended editions more times than I have the movies themselves.

So for the Strain blog tour, I’m going to try to make my posts a bit like the “behind-the-scenes/making-of” documentaries you might find on a good DVD. A lot of things the world-building and events that Strain depends on happen long before the events of the book itself, and while an in-depth recap of them during the course of Strain got in the way of the flow of the story, I find some of the back-story fascinating and hope you will as well.

Monday, February 17: The Jeep Diva

In Part One: Project Juggernaut, I’ll be discussing the Bane plague: how it began, what its effects were, and what the survivors did afterward.

Cup o’ Porn will also graciously be hosting me for a spotlight stop!

Tuesday, February 18: Pants-Off Reviews and 3 Chicks After Dark

In Part Two: The Juggernaut Battalion, I’ll discuss the workings of Delta Company and their comrades within Project Juggernaut, particularly as it relates to events involving Bravo and Charlie Companies. (Pants-Off Reviews)

Part Three, “Does a Sex Scene Have to be Sexy?” will be a documentary on the use of sexual content for non-erotic purposes. (3 Chicks After Dark)

Words of Wisdom from the Scarf Princess will also be hosting a Spotlight tour stop that day!

Wednesday, February 19: Queer Town Abbey

In Part Four: The Women of Strain, I’ll be doing a featurette on “The Women of Strain.” One of the most important and driving characters in Strain is Xolani, Darius’s second-in-command, and life within Delta Company has some interesting implications for its female-bodied troops.

Melanie M. at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words (I just adore her, she’s so nice) will be hosting me for a spotlight stop that day, too.

Thursday, February 20: Sinfully Sexy Book Reviews and The Book Nympho

Part Five: Deleted Scene from Strain will include a scene from near the end of Strain that didn’t make the cut. (sex scene, including BDSM content, be warned) (Sinfully Sexy Book Reviews)

Part Six: Giving Life will be another documentary discussing the issue of fluid exchange and STDs and how I subvert those tropes within the book. (The Book Nympho)

Friday, February 21: Book Reviews & More by Kathy

Finally, Part Seven: Bane, Chapter One will include an excerpt from the rough draft of Bane, which is one of my works-in-progress. Though technically it could be called a prequel, it’s not necessary to understand Strain. I wanted to go back and tell the story of the beginning of the Bane plague. Where Strain is a post-apocalyptic story, Bane will be “peri-apocalyptic.”

I will also be doing a spotlight stop at Dawn’s Reading Nook.

Be sure to check the blog tour page at Riptide to see when each of these posts is scheduled.

Commenters at each stop along the way will be entered into a drawing for the chance to win one of three ebook copies of Impulse: The Complete Trilogy, the all-in-one edition of my novel-in-three parts. Please include your contact information, either email, Twitter, or Facebook. The Contest will be open until February 28^th, with the winner being announced March 1—just in time for the Every Inch of the Way/To the Very Last Inch (The Professor’s Rule #4 and #5).

Heidi and I are at Pants-Off Reviews and MM Good Book Reviews today! #mmromance #blogtour

Today in our next set of stops on the Inch by Inch (The Professor’s Rule #3) blog tour, Heidi and I are sharing a look ahead at Every Inch of the Way (The Professor’s Rule #4) over at MM Good Book Reviews, so if you’re looking forward to the next installment, be sure to check it out!

We’re also giving you a few facts you might not know about Satish at Pants-Off Reviews. I know there are a lot of Satish lovers out there clamoring for more, so here’s a little taste!

Remember that every time you comment on one of our tour stops, you are registered for another chance to win a copy of either Giving an Inch (TPR#1) or An Inch at a Time (TPR#2) so if you’re not caught up on the series yet, this is a great chance to get there!