Author: tessb

Romance Times calls High Contrast “…well-written and the sex scenes are steamy. Readers will especially enjoy the way Bowery plays with stereotypes, gender roles and other social norms. A steamy, sexy read!”

Do you agree?

For reviewers interested in getting a sneak-peek at May’s hottest gay romance release: High Contrast, the first book in Evolution Ink, is available for request on Netgalley. Meet Jacob, Cody and the rest of the gang at the best little body mod studio in Harlem. Release day is May 3rd.

https://s2.netgalley.com/catalog/book/84547

 

There are a thousand blog posts to be written about the paucity of stock photography of women and men of colour, even fewer that are in any way emotional and sweet enough to be used as covers for romance. Rather than reiterating what more eloquent voices than mine have said, I’ll jump to what I’m doing, in my own small way, to make a contribution.

At the beginning of the year, I partnered with Mosaic Stock Photography to design a custom photo shoot for the cover of the next Treading The Boards story, That Potent Alchemy. TPA stars Grace, whom we fell in love with in She Whom I Love, and her suitor Isaac, a mechanist and special-effects expert at the Surrey Theatre in London, 1811.

Finding black women and men for romance covers is one problem; finding a couple where the heroine is dark skinned and the pair are in reasonably-accurate-ish Regency clothing is another disaster entirely. It simply wasn’t going to happen with the photos available out there. In a handful of weeks, though, Mosaic Stock booked my first choice of models, found the costuming we needed, and arranged for a shoot that blew my mind.

Here’s a teaser sample of the (proofs) photos we shot two weeks ago, and I’ll do a cover reveal for That Potent Alchemy when we get closer to the release date this fall!

Models: Christa and Brian, Photos by Mosaic Stock,

All rights reserved to Tess Bowery & Samhain Publishing

Now that She Whom I Love has launched (and if you haven’t picked it up yet, go do that right now! Purchase links are available for five different vendors in the dropdown on the right — click the book cover.) … what was I saying? Ah, yes! As She Whom I Love has launched and is now pulling some wonderful reviews, it’s time to give you a sneak peek at the next book!

While there’s another Treading the Boards book coming in the fall (That Potent Alchemy – Grace’s story), my next release the the beginning of a whole new series. Follow the kids of Evolution Ink in a new contemporary New Adult romance series, starting with High Contrast.

The deepest scars aren’t the ones that show.

Jacob Shain is your average member of Generation Screwed. He has a boring internship, no cash flow, and a tiny NYC apartment he has to share with Ethan, his much-cooler, tattoo-artist twin brother. Not to mention his love life is DOA. At least, until his brother’s shop hires on a new piercer, and Jacob’s humdrum life takes a turn for the weird.

Cody Turner is gorgeous, funny and kind—everything Jacob wants in a boyfriend. Except for the way he refuses to talk about his past, or where he lives, or anything about his personal life.

When Ethan is arrested while on a mission of mercy, the reason Cody is so tight lipped comes to light. And while Jacob and Cody fight to understand the depth of their feelings for one another, the police dogs catch their scent. So does the local mob.

Now Jacob has to make the hardest choice of his life: stay safe like a good boy, or dive headfirst into a world he barely understands…and hope Cody is there to break his fall.

Warning: Contains a good boy who wants to be bad, a bad boy who longs to be good, bodies that are canvases for living art and high-speed chases with police dogs.

High Contrast — coming May 3rd, 2016 from Samhain. 

(Featuring a Jewish hero, an interfaith relationship, pot smoking, m/m erotic romance, and some body piercing.)

Add High Contrast to your TBR shelf on Goodreads! 

 

And we’re live! The first reviews are coming in on Amazon, and the release sale is still going at Samhain. Grab your copy of She Whom I Love today, and then join the party here at 7 pm eastern!

 

Amazon

https://www.samhainpublishing.com/book/5677/she-whom-i-love

[conga line happens]

Don’t forget to pre-order your copy from Amazon, Barnes and Noble or Samhain while the pre-order discount is still active! (see links in the sidebar – click on the book cover to drop them down). We’re having one hell of a party here at 7 pm Eastern, over in the launch party chat room. But before that, there’s a release day blitz! Come find reviews, contests and prizes (including an amazon gift card) going on the following blogs all day tomorrow:

http://jaimiehopesjourney.blogspot.com/

cheshirecatlookingglass.com

http://darkwriter67.wordpress.com

http://marebaresbookshelf.com

http://juliusthomnovels.tumblr.com/

lizellyn.com/

http://www.paigerion.com/blog/she-whom-i-love-release-day-giveaway

sexywaysofreading.com/

https://reflectionsofabookgeek.wordpress.com/

thisgirllovesbooks1.weebly.com/blog

laughingbearventures.com/snugglebooks/

https://amandanicolebooks.wordpress.com/

http://bbsbookreviews.com/

www.mycrazybookishlife.com

http://www.theseriousreader.org

https://thedarkphantom.wordpress.com/

My deep and abiding love for Tia at Worldwind Book Tours for the arrangements! It’s party time!

Launch party at 7 pm Eastern on December 29th! And check out the giveaway:

The Gifts:

• A $25 Amazon gift certificate;
• A signed trade paperback copy of the book;
• One of three silver or copper-toned book-style double lockets, with coordinating chain;
• One of five silver-tone antique book charms, on either a chain or keychain. (winner’s choice).

– Ten winners in total. –

THE RULES:

1. Shipping worldwide
2. Must be willing to give me your mailing address
3. If you’re under 18, you must have your parents/guardians permission, and you are not eligible to receive the book. (It’s got dicks and boobs, dudes. Sorry. I have to do this one legally.)
4. The winners will be drawn by random number generator at regular intervals during the launch party on December 29th.
5. Winners must be present in the chat room at the time of each drawing in order to receive a prize (or have reblogged the original giveaway post on Tumblr).

OMG. Yes, that KJ Charles, who pretty much swept the Rainbow Awards this year. /fans self furiously.

Look at what she had to say about Rite of Summer, over on Goodreads!

“Stephen and Joshua are both lovely characters, and Stephen’s relationship with Evander is very well done. What’s super special about this is the historical grounding, though. All the MCs are artists, not aristos, and the Georgian gay underworld is really well delineated. I don’t think I’ve seen the Vere Street Coterie mentioned in a romance before now, and the consequences of that ghastly (offpage) event are brilliantly worked through. Really solid read from an exciting new to me author.”

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

(I may be a little bit excited. She likes me!)

Christmas time is here, by golly – let’s play ‘naughty and nice’.

It’s two weeks until release day for She Whom I Love – as a teaser, have an excerpt from a spicy scene. James is in trouble, and Meg is determined to make him pay. Bordering on NSFW, about M-level.

To read the rest of the scene, grab a copy of She Whom I Love on pre-order now, and have it delivered directly to your device on December 29th.

Read More

Kam’s Place is running a contest and giveaway to celebrate the opening of pre-orders for She Whom I Love! Comment on the review before midnight on Saturday the 21st to be entered into the draw. 

4.5/5 Stars from Reviewer Kameron Brook!

“Now this was a hot erotic tale. Two ladies, best of friends, take the plunge and take their friendship to the next level. Let me tell you what folks, that monumental turning point was HOT, HOT, HOT.”

Read more, and comment to enter! 

Oh man, what a month it’s been! So many wonderful things are happening all at once, and I’ve been sadly neglecting this poor blog. As always, for real time microblogging and quick updates, you can find me on Tumblr.

So what’s been going on? We’re only a little more than a month away from She Whom I Love‘s release date, so my world is revolving around promos, interviews and setting up the SUPER AMAZEBALLS online release party we’re going to have on December 29th. Sick of turkey and need an excuse to get away from the inlaws? Come hang out in my chatroom, chatter about books and win prizes!

Rite of Summer hit the top five in “Best Historical M/M romances of 2015 on Goodreads! Check this out, yo:

There are my boys. <3 If you haven’t picked up a copy of Rite of Summer yet, it’s available through all the usual suspects (see book cover in the sidebar).

Reviews for She Whom I Love have started coming in on Goodreads, and so far I am riding high. 5/5 stars on all three ARC reviews, and some fantastic pull quotes. I like the one that calls it “downright sinful” and “very much recommended.” 😉 Check out Goodreads for more of the reviews and put She Whom I Love on your to-be-read lists.

Amazon has opened pre-orders for the print and e-book versions, so you can pay now, and have the book delivered to your account instantaneously upon release on December 29th. There’s no easier way to get your erotic romances, except perhaps to have them hand-delivered by Idris Elba wearing only a bow tie, but that’s a fantasy we’ll have to keep to ourselves. (shhh.)

Speaking of books being delivered, this is what I originally wanted to share with you today — my author’s copies of She Whom I Love came today! I couldn’t wait, and opened the box right there in the Purolator office:

[screaming internally]

I can’t get over how good they look. Gabrielle Prendergast is the artist at Samhain who does my covers, and I can’t praise her work enough. She’s a wizard!