Massive Review Post

Speak It's Name reviews A Hidden Beauty.

The slow and careful development of the relationship also allowed time for the forces of society to be amply ranged against the two men. I enjoyed – in a sort of masochistic way – the feeling that, slowly but surely, the jaws of intolerance were closing on the burgeoning love story. By the end I was on tenterhooks as to which force would come to the point of action first. The slow but sure build up of tension almost certainly contributed to the fact that the sex scenes in the book are some of the best I’ve read. By this time we know exactly how much they mean to both men, and some of that awe and wonder comes across, making these scenes truly intimate rather than merely voyeuristic.

Literary Nymphs gives A Hidden Beauty 4.5 stars!

A Hidden Beauty is beautifully written and the story is finely crafted. The language is “olde worlde” and is appropriate for the period in which the story appears to take place. I thought the pace of the love affair between the two characters was quite fitting given the era, but it seemed to me that Micah’s character was very juvenile and ordinary and maybe this was intentional on the part of the author. However, Jamie Craig does a good job on Jefferson in his role of seducer and experienced older lover.

Uniquely Pleasurable reviews A Hidden Beauty

There are some moments worthy of Wharton here, as when Jefferson is riveted by Micah removing his jacket in a warm room, then dismayed when he covers himself up again for a walk outside. Micah’s hero-worship of Jefferson is well-played, as is Jefferson’s reluctant yearning for the younger man. Their histories and personalities are well-developed, which makes their interest in each other convincing (and justifies the reader’s interest in them getting together and prevailing over convention and that pesky ghost. If their dialogue is a bit overwritten at times well, an eager student and a reclusive poet might well dress their language up a bit as a way to mask desire they fear may be unrequited (in Micah’s case) or disastrous (in Jefferson’s). An example: “The trick is to decide what is truly important. If I discover a pursuit worthy of my time, I’ll do what I must in order to accommodate it.” “I know you will.” Jefferson never took his gaze from Micah as he moved. “You probably aren’t accustomed to abandoning a worthy pursuit.” His inspection brought him closer and closer to where Jefferson sat. “That’s probably safe to surmise.” The passionate restraint of the two main characters is on better display in the charming epistolary romance they begin upon Micah’s return to Boston. When the two finally come together sexually, Craig gives us a consummation both satisfying and absorbing, with Micah’s inexperienced zeal a foil for Jefferson’s combined relief and fear.

FAR makes At the Advent of Dusk a Recommended Read and gives it five angels!

Jamie Craig delivers a fantastic tale in At the Advent of Dusk. The story was well balanced with the perfect blend of suspense, action and toe curling sex. Mary is strong in character and of mind. She is willing to do what is necessary to keep those she loves safe and out of harm’s way. Gideon has a will of steel, but found it bending to what would make Mary happy. I know some of his actions surprised not only Mary, but himself. Watching the two come to terms with a budding relationship was something to behold. Each knew that no matter how hard they tried to fight their attraction destiny would not be denied. This was my introduction to Jamie Craig and I’m elated with what I’ve discovered. I am looking forward to reading the sequel series to this incredible book.

Two Lips makes Out of the Storm a Recommended Read and gives it 5 lips!

Jamie Craig does it again, bringing drama, angst, and hot male sex, into one steamy, blow-your-socks-off novel. This story rocks! Actually, Jamie Craig is the collaborative efforts of two awesome writers: Pepper Espinoza and Vivian Dean. Together they write amazing stories. Nick is an outdoorsman that loves to be active. And Jay’s concern for Nick goes way beyond the call of duty. There are a lot of bedroom antics that you won’t want to miss! Out Of The Storm is a read that is sure to keep you very warm at night. This is part of the Calendar Boys series, but it can be read alone. I suggest getting them all for full enjoyment.

Literary Nymphs gives Out of the Storm 4.5 stars!

The writing team that makes up Jamie Craig has done it again with their light hearted, fun and sexy April offering in their ongoing Calendar Boys series, Out of the Storm. They have come up with another interesting meeting premise, witty dialogue that often had me chuckling, great characters and enough hot physical attraction to set the cabin on fire. Best of all it gave the men and their new relationship hope for the future. This well written and plotted gay romance is another of those books designated as a keeper to be re-read again in the future. Nothing about this series disappoints, so give it a try and enjoy!

JERR gives My Masked Mistress 5 stars and an O rating!

My Masked Mistress is a wonderful story of love and redemption. I didn’t like Noelle much at first. While I felt she was justified about being passed over for promotion, I couldn’t agree with how she went about venting her anger. Noelle knowingly prayed upon Dante’s sexual proclivities, becoming a dominatrix in order to make him fall madly in love with her. She was the perfect Domme for him because she used her erotic research, which is shown through carefully orchestrated scenes, giving them both maximum sexual fulfillment. Noelle teases and tantalizes Dante so well that I couldn’t help but envy him. I needed to take several toy breaks during their play because their interaction was so steamy! After some time with Dante, Noelle finds her elaborate scheme has backfired. What a man Dante was- waiting for many years, hiding his submissive tendencies, until the right Domme came along. Noelle made him happy until the truth comes out. In my estimation, it takes an extraordinary person to forgive such an egregious fault. My Masked Mistress hooked me from its opening word to its most satisfying conclusion. I enjoyed Noelle and Dante’s story and look forward to reading more from the wicked pen of Ms. Craig.

News roundup

With Pepper under the weather and then trying to catch up this week, we didn't get a lot of writing done. We were, however, blessed with a lot of wonderful reviews.

At the Advent of Dusk received 5 nymphs from Literary Nymph Reviews:

Two different worlds met, merged and made me melt in The Advent of Dusk. The pull between Gideon and Mary conjured up so many emotions I am still reading their story in my head. I love the fact that you see Gideon wrestling between doing what is right and what he feels compelled to do as a vampire. Mary is the kind of character who is hard enough to be viewed as a leader, but still soft enough to represent every woman. Thank you Craig for the passionate trip into your world. Now that I’m here, I plan to apply for residency.

Speaking of Literary Nymphs, they also reviewed a couple other stories, including Mine. Mystical Nymph gave it 4.5 nymphs, and said:

This novella is only 60 pages, but the author has packed a great deal of story into its length, making it a fast paced and enthralling read. At first I wasn’t certain that I cared much for Erik’s character, but I wasn’t long into the book before I understood why he was acting as he was, and I was racing to the end to see what happened next. This vampire has more than enough bad-boy attitude to scare a smart man into running in the other direction…and obviously Travis isn’t as smart as he thinks he is, or he wouldn’t have tried to drug Erik. Erik is willing to do whatever it takes to remove the man he loves from a position of submission and take him back to their home and in doing so will gladly kill Travis.

Joel isn’t much of main character in the first portion of the story. He’s more of a prop that has sexual acts forced on him. It’s only after Erik starts to bleed and feed him, that he returns more to his normal self and the reader sees what kind of a ‘vampire’ he really is. This is the point where he shares equally in the story with Erik, and when their true partnership and love comes to light.

There’s an interesting twist with Travis’s personality at the end which leads to a totally unexpected conclusion regarding his fate that I truly appreciated.

Then, there's the 4 nymphs review I got for Ruby Red Rebels:

I loved the twist of having a vampire peacekeeper as our story’s hero, and the level of personal integrity that he had. This guy is sizzling hot and when he and Serena get together, the sparks fly. He wants her, he needs her and if the only way he can have her is to keep his fangs to himself…them our boy is willing to not bite and tell. I also thought that the idea of having loan sharks that were actually vampires to be rather unique and interesting, especially when Serena and Max used them against Ruby in their quest for the bracelet. That part was pure genius. The secondary characters such as Serena’s father and cousin were few and far between, but adding them in as background information during conversation, still added another level to the story keeping it from being flat and boring.

I thoroughly enjoyed this fast-paced and well-plotted story and the witty bantering dialogue between Serena and Max was so much fun that I often found myself chuckling as I raced from page to page. These two are good together and if they can get past some incorrect perceptions, they just might have a chance at long term happiness.

And finally, our first review for March: Kiss Me from Elisa Rolle:

It's obvious that the main character of this story is Alejandro: he is the object of Mal's fantasies and the director of their story, but also Mal has a very lovely role; Mal accepts Alejandro for what he is, and don't put a tantrum when Alejandro has to do his work: in the end it's only sex, and what they have together could be love...

A very interesting story, I loved to read of Alejandro and how he faces his day-to-day "work"; don't know if it's a realistic attitude, and problaby the porn movie market is not so nice and "clear", but nevertheless, Alejandro is a quite original character, and I feel his moves and actions enough "realistic".

Saturday's News Roundup

ETA: Amber Quill's best sellers for February were posted today. Calendar Boys--February: Mine was number 6 for the month, and A Little Bit Bewitched was number 3! WOO!

Some good reviews this week. It's an embarrassment of riches.

First, Ms. Vivien got a 4 Angel review from FAR for her Ruby Red Rebels.

Ruby Red Rebels by Vivian (sic) Dean has two of my favorite things, vampires and cowboys! Max is both and he is a sexy and charming hero. He proves that vampires don’t need to be dark and brooding. Every scene with him makes me smile and wish I had him all for myself. Serena is a plus to the story as well. She is a strong character who doesn’t wait around to be rescued. She dives right in to help out, and once she gets over her distrust of vampires, she takes what she wants with Max. These are two characters I would love to learn more about, and I definitely want to explore the world Vivian (sic) Dean has created.

Speaking of vampires, At the Advent of Dusk got a 4 Star review from JERR.

Reviewer: Suni Farrar
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Heat level: H

The year was 1952 and a vampire by the name of Gideon Keel ran Chicago. Humans and vampires alike quaked in his presence, all except for one. Mary Straugh was a charismatic and rebellious young woman. She needed help finding the vampires that killed two young girls who belonged to her church. If she had the get that help from another vampire, then so be it. She was not afraid of Gideon and one night with him would not kill her . . . at least she hoped it did not.

I had the honor of reviewing the first novel in this great series, Master of Obsidian, and I must say that At The Advent of Dusk lived up to the high standards set by the original. I would venture to say that At The Advent of Dusk was not as dark as its predecessor was, but it did have its moments. Take for instance the opening line of the novel. I have read nothing more powerful and depraved. Gideon remained a contradiction throughout the tale. One instance he was a blood hungry vampire without many morals. The next moment he would care and protect Mary with his whole heart.

It was something about her that brought out the gentleness in Gideon. She was one human that he did not see as food. It could have had something to do with her gumption but Mary was not a fragile woman. She fought for what she believed in and Gideon respected her for that. The magnetism between the lead characters combined with the dark plot sent the sexual tension soaring. I read the story straight through and then headed upstairs. Luckily, for me the pages went by quickly. I adored At The Advent of Dusk. Brava, Ms. Craig.

Trinity Broken got some love from RRTErotic

A provocative tale about being true to yourself, and the ones you love, TRINITY BROKEN is an intense and complex romance. The characters are written with such depth that at times I felt like I was intruding on their most intimate moments as all three struggle to become the loving, happy family they were before all this madness entered their lives. They all suffer from their fractured relationship, and Jamie Craig's book is a journey of rediscovery as Cam, Sara and Josh search not only for those who mutilated Sara, but for the one thing that can bring them back together. The only quibble I had is that this story starts off in the present, with flashbacks to much more carefree times sprinkled within chapters, which became a bit confusing at times.

There are parts of the story that are pretty graphic, not only with violence, but with the sex scenes as well, which involved all three parties, or just Cam and Josh. But if you're looking for something a bit darker, a bit more raw, then TRINITY BROKEN is perfect.

Courtney Michelle

And last, but not least, Fresh Fiction reviewed Chasing Silver.

Jamie Craig has written a heart thumping tale with evil villains and a time travel romance where the sex between Nathan and Remy is beyond hot. These two are attracted to each other right away and that doesn't stop them from acting on their feelings for each other. Even though a future between them may not be possible, they grab what happiness whenever they can. CHASING SILVER has excellent written chase scenes along with mind numbing fights. Nathan is one incredible and sexy hero who won't back down from getting what he wants and protecting those around him. Remy in turn may act tough, but she is soft when she needs to be, and that means when she is with Nathan.

Kristen is the worst kind of villain, a very amoral character who will kill without any reason. Remy is the total opposite of her but she has a sharp mind and will try her best to come on top. Isaac also rounds out the good guys with his wit and observations. For anyone who likes stories that will keep them on the edge of their seat, CHASING SILVER is the one to read.

We also finished up the fifth book in our Calendar Boys series. May's Corazón. Corazón is Spanish for heart, and I think this might be our most complex novella yet for the series. It's certainly the longest, at over 30K.

Next up, our novella Time In a Bottle. I'm excited about this one. It's an insert for the Master Chronicles. Jesse is hopping dimensions again, but with a much different purpose!

New Releases

Since Pepper and I are being more diligent about making this blog as active as possible, we've decided to make it a place for all three of our personas - Jamie Craig, Pepper Espinoza, and Vivien Dean. We've already started with posting excerpts from some of our solo works, but this is our first New Release Monday where we have a solo release to announce as well.

This weekend, Amber Quill released their vampire pax, and we had two of the slots. First up is the prequel to Master of Obsidian, At the Advent of Dusk. This is the story of how Gideon met Mary.

1962. Chicago. Gideon Keel is the most feared vampire in the city. Nobody dares to stand up to him – until somebody does.

When his path crosses that of the charismatic civil rights activist’s, Gideon faces the first person in over sixty years to threaten his existence and live to tell the tale. Mary Straughn is beautiful, driven, and most of all, determined not to let anyone – even a vampire – hurt the people she is trying to lead into a better life.

He knows he should kill her. Yet, when she needs help finding the vampires responsible for murdering two children, he finds himself agreeing to search the city for them. And all he asks in return is for one night alone with her.

EXCERPT

...Gideon barely noticed the other man scurrying away. As captivating as the woman in front was, he was here for a very specific reason. There were other things to take account of, instead of her gorgeous legs. Like how many people were scattered throughout the room. Where the other exits were located. Who might try to play the hero and who would be the first to scream.

Silently, he pulled the door shut behind him. He couldn’t lock it, but it would slow down anybody who might run. There was another at the side of the altar that would lead to the clergy’s private offices, but only a fool would attempt to pass Gideon to try and reach it.

The energy shifted in the room, harder, more intense. The woman’s voice rose, her voice passionate, and everybody leaned forward in their seats, drawn to her. It wouldn’t be long until a cloud, that peculiar blend of excitement, and anticipation, and lust, and love, and hunger, and everything that made their blood so delicious, began to permeate the small space. He could already taste it on the back of his tongue.

He was poised to wait there until he felt that cusp when something this Mary Straughn said distracted him from savoring the anticipation any longer.

“Wait a minute.” He said it loud enough so that his voice carried easily up the center aisle, cutting her off in mid-sentence. “Preaching to the choir is one thing. But you don’t honestly believe any of this actually makes any kind of difference in the long run, do you?”

“It will make a difference.” She didn’t miss a beat, her dark eyes narrowing on him. “Every person in this room has already made a difference.”

“Because you…what? Pat each other on the back and commiserate on what a mean, awful world this is?” With a derisive snort, he pushed off the jamb and sauntered toward her, long strides slow and confident. “Nothing changes. And when it does, it doesn’t happen because of words. It happens because someone, somewhere, spilled a little too much blood, and somebody else got scared and made a change. That’s all.”

“Somehow I’m not surprised that it’s a white man coming into my church, uninvited, and telling us everything we’re doing wrong. So what do you suggest? We declare war?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t go that far. Well, I would if I got a front row seat.”

“If bloodshed is what you’re after, then you’ve come to the wrong place. That’s not what we’re about here.”

Gideon reached the front of the church but didn’t stop, climbing the two short steps onto the pulpit. Mary didn’t flinch, even when he circled her once, deliberately looking her over. Distance had not done her justice.

“That’s why you’ll lose, then. Because the people you’re trying to convince aren’t in here to hear you.”

“Then we’ll go out to them.” Her voice didn’t waver as he moved closer, invading her personal space. Nobody in the church made a sound, not even the annoying and over-eager assistant pastor. “And we’ll find them and we’ll make them listen to us until they can’t ignore us anymore. Our brothers and sisters in Alabama and Georgia have already proven you wrong.”

Gideon halted in front of her, his back to the congregation, and tilted his head as his gaze raked over her. She was nearly as tall as he was, her scent overpowering that of all the others in the room. This one, he was going to leave for last. She was going to be absolutely delicious.

“I’m not wrong. But I’d be willing to let you try and convince me in private, if you want.”

Mary took a step toward him, erasing more of the space between them. She dropped her voice to an intimate level. “Don’t let my preference for passive resistance fool you, mister. If you don’t leave now, you’ll get a taste of that bloodshed you’re so keen on.”

“You know what?” He leaned toward her until their noses were almost touching. “That’s kind of what I’m counting on.”

Without otherwise moving, his hand shot out and grasped the throat of the young man who’d tried approaching him from behind. Gideon smirked at Mary before turning toward the congregation, letting his fangs descend at the same time. A collective gasp of horror rippled through the group.

“You’re all idiots.” Ignoring the hands clawing at his, he dangled the man in front of them, shaking him for good measure. “You think a few pretty words mean anything? The world doesn’t care. The world’s laughing at you, because while you’re sitting in here singing your songs and trying to coax God out of retirement, it’s moving along, and it’s going to leave you behind.”

“You’re right.” Mary’s voice drifted from behind him, still calm despite the rich wave of fear coming from her followers. “Talk is cheap. And you’ve already done too much.”

Gideon heard her take a step, felt the heat from her skin as she moved closer to him. The man he was holding kicked out, the toe of his boot connecting hard enough to sting a little. Gideon shifted his weight to his other foot, just as a burning pain radiated through his back. Startled, he looked down to see the tip of a crucifix sticking out of his chest...

_____________

The second story is one of mine. I'd had this idea floating around for awhile, and when another planned novel kind of fell through, I cannibalized the basic plot and situation, and came up with a whole new scenario, complete with a cowboy vampire hero. The result was Ruby Red Rebels.

To a casual passerby, it’s just a small country bar in the middle of nowhere. To a vampire in the know, it’s the most popular hangout in the entire state of Texas. To Serena Darville, though, Ruby Red is the last hope for an answer to all her deadly troubles.

Walking into the bar to retrieve the bracelet she needs to save her father’s skin – and her own – is the most dangerous thing she’s ever done. She doesn’t need or want a vampire’s help. Not even if that vampire is peacemaker Max Markow, there at Ruby Red with his own grudge to settle.

When an unexpected bar fight gets them locked away in a cellar to die, Serena and Max are forced to work together in order to escape. In such cramped quarters, passions flare. All they have is each other, but only time will tell if that’s enough to survive.

EXCERPT

...The sound of the girl’s angry voice made Max want to turn around and shake her. Getting more involved than she already was, was the surest way to get herself killed.

Ruby tilted her head to the side in order to see around Max’s shoulder. Hunger sparked in her eyes, and her nipples visibly tightened. “Now if this tasty treat is meant to be a peace offering, Max, I might be inclined to just forget about this little fracas.”

He felt the girl’s intake of breath in preparation to speak and shot a hand back to grab her slim wrist. Her pained cry cut off any further retort she might have shared, giving him the chance to say, “This one’ll get stuck in your teeth. I’ll just get her out of here, and the rest of you can go on about your business.”

When he turned to lead her out of the bar, however, he ran smack into Will’s broad chest.

“Oh, for crying out loud…” With a roll of his eyes, Max turned back to Ruby. “Look. You and me got problems. I get that. This girl…” He hooked his free thumb back at her, ignoring her annoyed, “Hey!” “…is just getting in the way of you and me settling our differences, once and for all. Let me get her out of here, and I’ll just mosey on back inside so we can have ourselves a nice chat, okay?” Not looking away from her, he nodded toward Will. “I’ll even let Lurch here escort me in and out. We got a deal?”

Ruby’s eyes narrowed, and the tip of her tongue appeared as she ran it over the edge of her teeth. “I’m thinking…not.”

The girl squeaked as she was torn out of Max’s grasp, and for as fast as he was on the draw, there was something to be said about having a room full of vampires out to get you. They might have all been slower than him, but when a football team worth of pissed off vamps launched themselves at your every available limb, it was next to impossible to come out on top.

Max came out on the bottom. Pinned to the sticky floor by three hulks and Ruby’s boot on his groin. And his hat knocked clear across the room.

“Don’t do this,” he warned. “You think I’d really come out here without somebody knowing where I am?”

Her gaze grew contemplative. Thank the devil, Ruby was not a stupid vampire.

“Take him down to the cellar,” she ordered. “We’ll lock him up until I figure out whether or not it’s safe to get rid of him.”

It felt like his shoulders were pulled out of their sockets when they hauled him to his feet. Before they’d taken a step, though, Will grunted. Max glanced back to see him pulling the girl more tightly against his broad body and her heels banging against his shins.

“Toss the girl in there, too.” Heads whipped around to stare at Ruby, and a round of protests rumbled from the crowd. She silenced them with one glare that reverted to a smirk when she turned back to Max. “When the hunger gets too bad and our dear Detective Markow has to kill her in order to survive, we’ll have the perfect excuse to get rid of him. All that wonderful technology that’s been fucking with us can prove they’re his fang marks in her dead body, and we’ll be off the hook.”

“You can’t do that!”

Ruby smiled at the girl. “Really? I think I just did.”

Weekly roundup

This has been a very quiet week for us, though not unproductive. No new releases, no new reviews, no new covers, but Pepper and I have been busy with editing and galleys. We finished the first round of edits for A Hidden Beauty and received galleys for Liaisons in Jubilee (which will be coming out in a print anthology in May, woo hoo!), At the Advent of Dusk (the prequel to Master of Obsidian, about Gideon meeting Mary), and I got the galleys for my upcoming vampire novella coming out as part of the same vampire pax as the prequel, Ruby Red Rebels.

On the writing front, we finished Fortune's Return, a 72k gay erotic romance, which I got cleaned up and submitted to Liquid Silver Books yesterday. Fingers crossed they want it! We also started our April Calendar Boy story, though Saturday spent going through A Hidden Beauty edits and my day yesterday off the computer meant we didn't get very far yet. Not for long! Our stranded guys in their cabin need our attention and I imagine that us working on it today will make a huge dent in their story.

Oh, I almost forgot. Pepper and I are now part of a blog comprised of writing teams. It's called It Takes Two, and along with us has the teams of Stella and Audra Price, Emery Sanborne & Philippa Grey-Gerou, and Ashleigh Raine. We post over there on Fridays, but there are good things all week long. Head on over and take a look!