Tag Archives: gardener

Series Tour: Village Affairs by Kristian Parker

Village Affairs Series | Kristian Parker

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The Rule Of Three

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Blurb

When a handsome stranger arrives, James and Ed have to make a choice that will change their lives.

James Durkin is happy. He’s landlord of the pub, chair of the parish council and secret lover of his best friend, Ed Cropper. But Ed, tired of living in the shadows, dreams of living openly, something James can’t contemplate.

Then there’s Arthur Whittaker. When the handsome young primary school teacher comes to live in the village, he signals a future that neither James nor Ed ever saw for themselves.

But the small Yorkshire village of Napthwaite is a place that’s resistant to change, meaning the three men must be strong enough to forge their own path…

Will they overcome the odds—and tradition—to find the love they crave, or will their brave new world crumble to nothing under the pressure?

Reader advisory: This book contains instances of homophobia, and references to parental death and on-page drug-taking.

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Three’s Company

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They’re the perfect throuple…if only the rest of the world agreed.

Will Johnstone’s father is desperately ill, and he races home from London to the Yorkshire village of Napthwaite to be with him. Almost immediately he meets cute postman, Hardeep and mysterious newcomer, Andrew. There weren’t handsome men like this in Napthwaite when he lived here…

Heat flares between the three very different men, passion they have no intention of resisting, or denying. But having their roots deep and their lives entwined in a small village is not like living in a bustling metropolis. And with domineering mothers, problem teenagers, sick fathers and someone’s past knocking at the door, the path of true love is anything but smooth.

Can Will, Hardeep and Andrew, three very different people, steer their relationship past the rocks and find a way into uncharted territory…together?

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Triple Intent

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When a billionaire and his assistant bring change to the village, Michael has to adapt…

The future’s uncertain for Michael Fleming. He came to the sleepy Yorkshire village of Napthwaite a year ago as Thorpe Hall’s gardener, but now the Hall’s been sold…to billionaire hotelier Darryl Burlington.

When self-made Darryl and his handsome French assistant, François Vernier, come to set up the new property acquisition, they plan to find a willing third party to share their bed. Darryl and François aren’t together, but they like to celebrate success. But instead of indulging themselves in a treat after their hard work, they trigger events which no one could have foreseen.

This chain reaction Darryl, François and Michael leads to big changes in Napthwaite—and in all three men’s lives…

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About the Author

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I have written for as long as I could write. In fact, before, when I would dictate to my auntie. I love to read, and I love to create worlds and characters.

I live in the English countryside. When I’m not writing, I like to get out there and think through the next scenario I’m going to throw my characters into.

Inspiration can be found anywhere, on a train, in a restaurant or in an office. I am always in search of the next character to find love in one of my stories. In a world of apps and online dating, it is important to remember love can be found when you least expect it.

Social Media

Website & Newsletter – www.kristianparker.com

Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/kristiansworld

Facebook, Twitter & Instagram: @kparkerwriter

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Giveaway

To celebrate the Village Affairs Series, we are giving away an e-set of the series

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Release Tour: Home Grown Talent by Joanna Chambers & Sally Malcolm

Home Grown Talent | Joanna Chambers & Sally Malcolm

Creative Types #2

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Release Date: August 25th, 2022

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Are you for real?

From the outside, it looks like model and influencer Mason Nash has it all—beauty, fame, and fortune. With his star rapidly rising, and a big contract up for grabs, Mason’s on the verge of hitting the big time.

When an opportunity arises to co-host a gardening slot on daytime TV with his ex’s brother, Owen Hunter, Mason is definitely on-board. And he intends to use every trick in the book to make the show a hit—including agreeing to his ruthless producer’s demand to fake a ‘will-they/won’t-they’ romance with his co-host…

Owen Hunter is a gardener with a huge heart and both feet planted firmly on the well-tilled ground. He’s proud of the life he’s built and has absolutely no desire to be on TV—yet somehow he finds himself agreeing to do the show.

It’s definitely not because he’s interested in Mason Nash. The guy might be beautiful—and yeah, his spoiled brat routine presses all Owen’s buttons in the bedroom—but Owen has no interest in a short-term fling with a fame-hungry model.

As the two men get closer, though, Owen starts to believe there’s more to Mason than his beautiful appearance and carefully-curated online persona—that beneath the glitz and glamour is a sweet, sensitive man longing to be loved.

A man Owen might be falling for. A man who might even feel the same.

But in a world of media spin and half-truths, Owen is dangerously out of his depth. And when a ridiculous scandal explodes online, with Owen at its heart, it starts to look as though everything he thought was real is built on lies—including his budding romance with Mason…

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Excerpt

Owen was hard-pruning the clematis that swarmed up the back wall of his garden when his doorbell rang. He knew immediately it was Lewis, his younger brother—no one else rang his doorbell so obnoxiously.

Owen’s doorbell was a cheery little two-note bell. A proper little ding-dong of a bell. But Lewis had a way of leaning on it that made the dings run into the dongs and start to stutter, until it seemed like the whole contraption was having a nervous breakdown.

Which was… very Lewis. He had that effect on a lot of people too.

Owen unhurriedly closed his secateurs, crossed the garden, and went inside the house to answer the door. Sure enough, on the other side stood Lewis, and with him was Aaron, his boyfriend of the last few months.

“Could you not break my doorbell?” Owen asked mildly, stepping aside and waving them in.

“You were taking ages,” Lewis said unapologetically, as he moved past him.

“I was in the garden.”

“You’re always in the garden.”

Aaron flashed his cute smile at Owen as he stepped into the house and held up a be-ribboned cardboard box. “I brought cake.”

Owen grinned. “See, this is why I like you more than Lewis.”

“I heard that,” Lewis called from halfway down the hallway, but he sounded a little bit pleased. The soppy sod.

Owen followed them down the hallway to the back of the house. When he’d bought the place, he’d knocked through a couple of walls to make one big kitchen and living area, adding some wide glass doors at the back that let in tons of natural light and gave him a nice view of his pride and joy: the garden.

“So, to what do I owe this pleasure?” he asked. “I wasn’t expecting you today.”

“Oh, just popping by on the off-chance you’d be in,” Lewis said airily, which made Owen immediately suspicious, particularly given that Owen could now see that the cake box Aaron was holding looked very fancy indeed, with gold lettering and gold and blue ribbons.

“Any chance of a cuppa?” Lewis asked.

“Sure. Tea or coffee?”

“Hot chocolate?” Lewis said hopefully.

“Hot chocolate and cake?” Owen said, raising his brows. “You want to go into a sugar coma?”

“Can’t think of a better way to die.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t have any hot chocolate, so pick a grown-up beverage.”

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Total Creative Control

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Sunshine PA, meet Grumpy Boss…

When fanfic writer Aaron Page landed a temp job with the creator of hit TV show, Leeches, it was only meant to last a week. Three years later, Aaron’s still there…

It could be because he loves the creative challenge. It could be because he’s a huge Leeches fanboy. It’s definitely not because of Lewis Hunter, his extremely demanding, staggeringly rude…and breathtakingly gorgeous boss.

Is it?

Lewis Hunter grew up the hard way and fought for everything he’s got. His priority is the show, and personal relationships come a distant second. Besides, who needs romance when you have a steady stream of hot men hopping in and out of your bed?

His only meaningful relationship is with Aaron, his chief confidante and indispensable assistant. And no matter how appealing he finds Aaron’s cute boy-next-door charms, Lewis would never risk their professional partnership just to scratch an itch.

But when Lewis finds himself trapped at a hilariously awful corporate retreat, Aaron is his only friend and ally. As the professional lines between them begin to blur, their simmering attraction starts to sizzle

… And they’re both about to get burned.

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About the Authors

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Joanna has a day job and family but manages to find time to write by not cleaning the house or watching television. She is shockingly ill-informed about popular culture.

You can find her on Twitter being distracted, on Instagram (occasionally) being confused, and – most happily – in her FB group, Joanna’s Chamber, talking about reading and random stuff with her reader pals.

Social Media

FB: https://www.facebook.com/joanna.chambers.58/

Insta: @joannachambers_auth

Twitter: @chambersjoanna

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Sally was bitten by the male/male romance bug in 2016 and hasn’t looked back. Her stories are emotional, sweetly angsty, and always have happy endings.

She also writes tie-in novels for the hit TV shows STARGATE: SG-1 and STARGATE ATLANTIS. To date she’s penned nine STARGATE novels and novellas, and four audio dramas.

Social Media

FB: https://www.facebook.com/sally.malcolm.3

Insta: @sally.malcolm

witter: @sally_malcolm

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Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Home Grown Talent, Joanna & Sally are giving you the chance to win an e-set of the Creative Types Series so far and a $20 Amazon Gift Voucher

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Snappy dialogue and a great story make this romcom a hit

61211348Home Grown Talent by Joanna Chambers &  Sally Malcolm

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When Joanna and Sally announced they were collaborating on a contemporary romance series I was delighted.

When I read Total Creative Control, the first book in the series it was a fabulous 5* read and now, with their second entry, they’ve pulled it off again.

In fact, this would be a 5+* review because I loved it even more than grumpy Lewis and sunshiny Aaron’s romance.

Book one exposed a lot of the fakery and queer baiting with the TV industry, this one runs with a similar TV theme but adds in a whole side-swipe at the unrealistic portrayal of “Instagrammers” and their supposed lifestyle.

And I loved it, every #hashtag, every carefully selected selfie, every conversation between Mason and Owen which showed up how people get drawn into showing a perfect face to the social media world while behind the scenes they’re making a total mess of things.

I’m not going to give away anything about the plot twist here, but let’s just say it’s pretty believable and it didn’t surprise me one bit how things went down.

The book follows the usual pacing for any dramatic telling, we get the big Act Three “break up” but here it’s resolved in an interesting way which moves the narrative along pretty rapidly and in a way which I very much appreciated.

Both Mason and Owen are compelling characters, each has faults and both of them are to blame for different difficulties that bring tension points to the plotline.

The dialogue throughout is sharp and witty, it flows beautifully between the funny exchanges which settle Mason’s fears and the incredibly hot, mildly kinky passion that sparks each time the two men meet.

With a suitable “villain” to dislike immensely, a heroic act to save the day, and an honest piece of conversation that allows each man to lay their hearts on the table, Home Grown Talent delivers on all counts.

Now I’m dying for book three which will be all about…

…wait and see if you can guess who!

#ARC kindly received from the authors in return for an honest and unbiased review.

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