Showing posts with label A Man of Unusual Talent. Show all posts
Showing posts with label A Man of Unusual Talent. Show all posts

10/27/2015

Musical Must Haves with Our Superheroes #mmromance #malexmale #characterfun



Lee: Hey there everyone! When we were prepping for the Superheroes blog tour, we wound up with a couple of extra interviews. Can't just let that kind of goodness go to waste, can we? So... I’m Lee Brazil, author of A Man of Unusual Talent, and these other people are CC Crane and Mat Giraud, men who inspired that story. Starred in it? Really? Okay. Mat insists on using the word “starred”; he thinks he’s Robert Downey Jr. or something. That other cluster of people over by the coffee pot is Havan Fellows and… I’ll let her introduce those two who are… Yeah. Might not want to interrupt them right now.


Havan: *waves* Hello, Havan here, and these two who are enjoying a heated debate on the pros and cons of best friends and siblings would be Dean Wades and Gavin Trevor, the main characters in my high flying superhero romantic comedy Flyboy’s First Misadventure.

Lee: Anyway, CC and Mat are here today to share a few of their favorite songs with you. *blinks* I’m not sure what Dean and Gavin are here for… putting on a show of a different sort? Anyway, go ahead CC. Tell the people about your favorite songs.

CC: Well, I am a huge music fan, and narrowing this list down to just five songs was nearly an impossible task.
Mat: But we persevered, and came up with a list that we think rocks.
CC: First, no song list is complete without David Bowie’s Lady Stardust. There’s something heroically tragic about the title character, and the narrator.
Mat: CC… you don’t have to rationalize each choice. Just tell them. These are the songs we love.
CC: Okay, also… Tom Petty -Don’t Fade on Me and Steve Miller’s Fly like an Eagle were my must haves.
Mat: And I insisted that any favorites list wasn’t complete without Foreigner’s Hot Blooded or Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’.

Lee: What an awesome playlist! :D Havan? Can you uh…get Dean down from the ceiling so we can hear his favorite songs, too? There’d better be coffee left in that pot!

Havan: Hey, I’m only the author, not the babysitter…jeeze, if these guys did what I wanted them to do the book might be a helluva lot different. *snorts* Now, I’m not the type to listen to music while I write, but this question isn’t for me, is it? Dean? Gav?

Dean: Oh boy, okay, I know I’m not supposed to fess up to this but I’m a Swiftie. Love her new album 1989, so instead of naming songs I’m just throwing the whole darn album out there and saying yes…that.
Gavin: Tia’s in charge of the music when you two are together, isn’t she?
Dean: Yeah *hangs head*…but that doesn’t mean I don’t agree with her on this one. That woman knows her business.
Gavin: I’ll give you that. I’m a little more diverse on my playlist—Love Locked Away by R. City featuring Adam Levine, Adam kills it on that one, Billy Joel’s My Life is personally dedicated to—
Dean: I love those songs too…
Gavin: Censoring me, Dean? Which reminds me, I also like Kansas’s Carry on Wayward Son, and when I’m in a particularly appropriate mood I always tune in to some Three Days Grace, preferably Pain or Animal I Have Become. But on a lighter side Mackelmore and Ryan Lewis’s Thrift Shop…oh my fu—…um…crap it makes me laugh every single time.

Havan: Wow… I wanna say you can learn so much from the music people listen to, but Gavin might’ve stumped me. lmao :)

For more Story Orgy Superhero goodness, our co-writers Hank Edwards and Em Woods will be releasing their books soon. :)




Barnes and Noble   Smashwords    All Romance   Amazon 

A MAN OF UNUSUAL TALENT:
Collin Crane is a man of unusual talent. Really unusual. Too weird for the Guinness Book unusual. On the fifty-year plan to a doctoral degree in physics, and a quiet quest to understand his own oddities, Collin clings to obscurity.  This superhero has learned the hard way that it's better to be safe than sorry.
Enter Mathias Giraud, football hero, local cop, and CC's secret fantasy since high school. Mat's a simple man with a hero complex fostered by comic books and Marvel movies. Saving the world is his fantasy, but since his roots are firmly planted in Morrisonville and reality, he'll settle for protecting and serving. Until he clashes with CC at the local convenience store and is reminded of his own high school crush.
When marshmallows are involved, the course of true love is bound to get sticky.

FLYBOY'S FIRST MISADVENTURE:
Secrets? Oh yeah, Dean Wades has a doozy. When he goes up, he doesn’t necessarily come back down. Okay, that’s not true. Dean’s a master at falling, it’s the landing that could use improvement—a lot of improvement. After thirteen years of attempting to conquer this gravity defying mystery, he can no longer live with not knowing what he is anymore. So he heads cross-country to see the two people who just might be able to give him the answers he seeks…his folks.
Easygoing Gavin Trevor is always willing to help his family, even when they have ulterior motives…like forcing him to make up with his annoying older brother. When a simple task at his parent’s house puts him in a position of danger, he’ll need a lot more than luck to avoid a serious injury—he’ll need his very own superhero.
And the fates collide, well sort of. It may not be love at first sight—Gavin was unconscious in Dean’s arms for their initial introduction…but perhaps these two men can make it a relationship at first flight?
A threat against Gavin’s family throws a wrench in their plans, and while Dean gladly offers his amateur talent to help the mission, Gavin doesn’t want to put his rescuer’s life in jeopardy by risking exposure of the greatest secret ever.
This proves to be a rescue adventure for the books. Or is that a rescue misadventure?

10/21/2015

Round Up, Thank You, Superhero



On October 12th, Havan Fellows and I released our Story Orgy Superhero stories. The response has been amazing. I'd just like to take a moment to thank all the readers and bloggers who took the time to read and review A Man of Unusual Talent. Your kind words are greatly appreciated! 




REVIEWS

"This story is definitely one I enjoyed and didn’t want to end."  Molly Lolly



"This is a sweet and tender tale, with a bit of steam and a cop on the warpath–when his boyfriend is in peril. I dug that the bully tried to make amends, and also that Mat was absolutely smitten with shy, sweet CC. I ate this novella up."   V's Reads                  


"A Man of Unusual Talent by Lee Brazil is a cute, sweet story featuring a man with a quite unique talent, CC, and a man with a hero complex, Mat."  Mari at Bayou Book Junkie    


If I could give this more than 5 stars I would. This was such a fun story. Awesome way to use marshmellos. LOL I loved it so much. A fun read when you need a laugh or life gets too serious.
I highly recommend this book"    
Blue Rose Reviews




A MAN OF UNUSUAL TALENT:
Collin Crane is a man of unusual talent. Really unusual. Too weird for the Guinness Book unusual. On the fifty-year plan to a doctoral degree in physics, and a quiet quest to understand his own oddities, Collin clings to obscurity.  This superhero has learned the hard way that it's better to be safe than sorry.
Enter Mathias Giraud, football hero, local cop, and CC's secret fantasy since high school. Mat's a simple man with a hero complex fostered by comic books and Marvel movies. Saving the world is his fantasy, but since his roots are firmly planted in Morrisonville and reality, he'll settle for protecting and serving. Until he clashes with CC at the local convenience store and is reminded of his own high school crush.
When marshmallows are involved, the course of true love is bound to get sticky.

10/13/2015

New Release! A Man of Unusual Talent #superhero #malexmale #m/mromance

I am pleased to announce the e-book release of my Story Orgy Superhero story, A Man of Unusual Talent. This quirky m/m romance is now available at most ebook vendors. 

Barnes and Noble   Smashwords    All Romance   Amazon 

A MAN OF UNUSUAL TALENT:
Collin Crane is a man of unusual talent. Really unusual. Too weird for the Guinness Book unusual. On the fifty-year plan to a doctoral degree in physics, and a quiet quest to understand his own oddities, Collin clings to obscurity.  This superhero has learned the hard way that it's better to be safe than sorry.
Enter Mathias Giraud, football hero, local cop, and CC's secret fantasy since high school. Mat's a simple man with a hero complex fostered by comic books and Marvel movies. Saving the world is his fantasy, but since his roots are firmly planted in Morrisonville and reality, he'll settle for protecting and serving. Until he clashes with CC at the local convenience store and is reminded of his own high school crush.
When marshmallows are involved, the course of true love is bound to get sticky.

FLYBOY'S FIRST MISADVENTURE:
Secrets? Oh yeah, Dean Wades has a doozy. When he goes up, he doesn’t necessarily come back down. Okay, that’s not true. Dean’s a master at falling, it’s the landing that could use improvement—a lot of improvement. After thirteen years of attempting to conquer this gravity defying mystery, he can no longer live with not knowing what he is anymore. So he heads cross-country to see the two people who just might be able to give him the answers he seeks…his folks.
Easygoing Gavin Trevor is always willing to help his family, even when they have ulterior motives…like forcing him to make up with his annoying older brother. When a simple task at his parent’s house puts him in a position of danger, he’ll need a lot more than luck to avoid a serious injury—he’ll need his very own superhero.
And the fates collide, well sort of. It may not be love at first sight—Gavin was unconscious in Dean’s arms for their initial introduction…but perhaps these two men can make it a relationship at first flight?
A threat against Gavin’s family throws a wrench in their plans, and while Dean gladly offers his amateur talent to help the mission, Gavin doesn’t want to put his rescuer’s life in jeopardy by risking exposure of the greatest secret ever.
This proves to be a rescue adventure for the books. Or is that a rescue misadventure?


Excerpts:
A Man of Unusual Talent:
Mathias squirmed on the seat. Had to piss. He cast a glance at his partner. Dillon was such a hard-nose. “Hey…how about you pull into that gas station over there? I got to take a leak.”
Dillon’s lip curled, but he swung the patrol car into the convenience store parking lot. “I told you not to get the grande coffee at Mabel’s. Good thing it’s dead tonight.”
“Want anything while I’m in there?” Mat paused with his hand on the door latch, cocking his head at Dillon. Guy wasn’t so bad…just a walking encyclopedia of procedure and a nitpicker. He gave out more jaywalking and broken taillight tickets than any cop on the force.
“No eating in the squad car.” Dillon turned to face him, lips narrow and tight, radiating disapproval.
“You know…if you weren’t my brother…” Mat shoved the door open with unnecessary force. The captain was punishing him…all because he’d missed last Sunday’s dinner with the family. Well, Pop should learn to separate work from personal. Riding with Dillon for a week was going to be torture. If Pop…Captain Giraud, head of Morrisonville’s twenty-five man police force…made good on his threat to force his grandsons to ride together for a month they’d be lucky if the both of them survived.
Shaking his head, Mat slammed the cruiser door as forcefully as he’d opened it. A poster on one of the convenience store’s huge plate glass windows boasted of sixty-four ounce sodas in refillable Hulk, Hawkeye, Iron Man, Black Widow, and Thor cups. Mm. I need to go see that new movie. “I’m getting a soda,” he called over his shoulder to Dillon as he opened the door. “Can I get the restroom key?”
His gaze automatically surveyed the interior, noting it was deserted except for the cashier…a cute little guy named CC he vaguely remembered from high school…and two hoodie-wearing teens. “Everything okay tonight, CC?” he asked. Not that he expected a negative answer; it was just that Collin Crane looked a little freaked. The two kids weren't any bigger than Collin and weren’t familiar to Mat, so he figured they weren’t troublemakers. Generally he’d had dealings with most of the town’s rowdy teens.
“Yeah, fine, these two were just getting gas. Thanks for coming in, fellas.” CC stepped back, grabbed the restroom key off the hook, and tossed it to Mat.
Mat caught the keys, watching the boys leave without speaking. “Seriously, CC. Those kids giving you trouble? I can talk to them.” Something about the smaller man…regret probably, for ignoring the way the kid was bullied in high school…made him feel a little protective. It was weird, but Mat had learned a lot since he’d turned his back on bullying when he was a kid. Then he’d thought it was enough that he didn’t participate when Jake and Thorn and the others messed with the younger kids. Now…social guilt? Whatever. He was a better person at thirty than he had been at fifteen.
CC looked up, cheeks flushed a little, lower lip trembling. “No…it’s okay. They just wanted gas.”
“Okay. I’ve gotta go, but I want a Thor cup when I get back.” He nodded and walked toward the narrow hall lined with empty boxes which led to the restroom.
“You a fan of The Avengers?” CC called after him.
Mat paused and glanced back over his shoulder, letting his smile widen. “I’m a huge fan of Thor…that is one well put together man.” He was still chuckling over CC’s strangled response when he closed the restroom door.





FLYBOY'S FIRST MISADVENTURE
He attempted to roll the green-eyed man with the dreamy voice off him, but only succeeded in flipping them over so he was now stuck on top. What the fuck? He glanced down their bodies and noticed a cord of some kind wrapped repeatedly around their midsections and legs. No wonder his legs had stopped obeying him. A quick look up showed him numerous clothes line poles with no actual line attached to them.

Well, that was probably because it was all bound around their bodies…and tight too. In the middle of their airborne Cirque du Soleil auditions, their bodies managed to rearrange themselves so the clothesline wrapped them up in the missionary position. With them being damn near close to the same height they lined up quite perfectly with each other.

And that thought made Dean’s cock jump and want to do a few flying lessons of its own.

Dean saw the fog lift from his captive’s eyes as they narrowed with suspicion. His voice was steely this time, not whimsical and light with confusion. “What is happening?”

When all else failed, there was one surefire way to handle what appeared to be an unhandleable situation—channel his snarky best friend Tia.

So he put on a lopsided smile and shrugged as he tried to loosen their bonds somewhat. “You know how Mondays are…run out of coffee, get an extra dose of paperwork at the evil day job, end up in a neighbor’s backyard tied to a charming and well-meaning stranger…” He forced a chuckle out for good measure.

The man’s intense voice didn’t cut him any slack. “Today’s Sunday.”

Buy the book:

A Man of Unusual Talent:
Smashwords    All Romance   Amazon 

Flyboy's First Misadventure:
ARe  - SmashwordsAmazon


Superheroes on Tour
A Man of Unusual Talent and Flyboy's First Misadventure
Are touring this week with Pride Promotions.
There are tons of fun interviews, character interviews, excerpts and even a giveaway!
Click through to play with us.
Tour Schedule & Links

Rafflecoptor Giveaway
Rafflecopter Prize: 2 - $10 ARe Gift Cards (One each to two winners)
Rafflecopter Code:

10/11/2015

Blog Tour, Excerpt, Giveaway #pridepromotion #superheroes #malexmale



Superheroes on Tour

A Man of Unusual Talent and Flyboy's First Misadventure
Are touring this week with Pride Promotions.



There are tons of fun interviews, character interviews, excerpts and even a giveaway!
Click through to play with us.

Tour Schedule & Links


Rafflecoptor Giveaway
Rafflecopter Prize: 2 - $10 ARe Gift Cards (One each to two winners)


What's it all about?

A MAN OF UNUSUAL TALENT:

Collin Crane is a man of unusual talent. Really unusual. Too weird for the Guinness Book unusual. On the fifty-year plan to a doctoral degree in physics, and a quiet quest to understand his own oddities, Collin clings to obscurity.  This superhero has learned the hard way that it's better to be safe than sorry.
Enter Mathias Giraud, football hero, local cop, and CC's secret fantasy since high school. Mat's a simple man with a hero complex fostered by comic books and Marvel movies. Saving the world is his fantasy, but since his roots are firmly planted in Morrisonville and reality, he'll settle for protecting and serving. Until he clashes with CC at the local convenience store and is reminded of his own high school crush.
When marshmallows are involved, the course of true love is bound to get sticky.


FLYBOY'S FIRST MISADVENTURE:

Secrets? Oh yeah, Dean Wades has a doozy. When he goes up, he doesn’t necessarily come back down. Okay, that’s not true. Dean’s a master at falling, it’s the landing that could use improvement—a lot of improvement. After thirteen years of attempting to conquer this gravity defying mystery, he can no longer live with not knowing what he is anymore. So he heads cross-country to see the two people who just might be able to give him the answers he seeks…his folks.
Easygoing Gavin Trevor is always willing to help his family, even when they have ulterior motives…like forcing him to make up with his annoying older brother. When a simple task at his parent’s house puts him in a position of danger, he’ll need a lot more than luck to avoid a serious injury—he’ll need his very own superhero.
And the fates collide, well sort of. It may not be love at first sight—Gavin was unconscious in Dean’s arms for their initial introduction…but perhaps these two men can make it a relationship at first flight?
A threat against Gavin’s family throws a wrench in their plans, and while Dean gladly offers his amateur talent to help the mission, Gavin doesn’t want to put his rescuer’s life in jeopardy by risking exposure of the greatest secret ever.
This proves to be a rescue adventure for the books. Or is that a rescue misadventure?


Excerpts:

A Man of Unusual Talent:
Mathias squirmed on the seat. Had to piss. He cast a glance at his partner. Dillon was such a hard-nose. “Hey…how about you pull into that gas station over there? I got to take a leak.”
Dillon’s lip curled, but he swung the patrol car into the convenience store parking lot. “I told you not to get the grande coffee at Mabel’s. Good thing it’s dead tonight.”
“Want anything while I’m in there?” Mat paused with his hand on the door latch, cocking his head at Dillon. Guy wasn’t so bad…just a walking encyclopedia of procedure and a nitpicker. He gave out more jaywalking and broken taillight tickets than any cop on the force.
“No eating in the squad car.” Dillon turned to face him, lips narrow and tight, radiating disapproval.
“You know…if you weren’t my brother…” Mat shoved the door open with unnecessary force. The captain was punishing him…all because he’d missed last Sunday’s dinner with the family. Well, Pop should learn to separate work from personal. Riding with Dillon for a week was going to be torture. If Pop…Captain Giraud, head of Morrisonville’s twenty-five man police force…made good on his threat to force his grandsons to ride together for a month they’d be lucky if the both of them survived.
Shaking his head, Mat slammed the cruiser door as forcefully as he’d opened it. A poster on one of the convenience store’s huge plate glass windows boasted of sixty-four ounce sodas in refillable Hulk, Hawkeye, Iron Man, Black Widow, and Thor cups. Mm. I need to go see that new movie. “I’m getting a soda,” he called over his shoulder to Dillon as he opened the door. “Can I get the restroom key?”
His gaze automatically surveyed the interior, noting it was deserted except for the cashier…a cute little guy named CC he vaguely remembered from high school…and two hoodie-wearing teens. “Everything okay tonight, CC?” he asked. Not that he expected a negative answer; it was just that Collin Crane looked a little freaked. The two kids weren't any bigger than Collin and weren’t familiar to Mat, so he figured they weren’t troublemakers. Generally he’d had dealings with most of the town’s rowdy teens.
“Yeah, fine, these two were just getting gas. Thanks for coming in, fellas.” CC stepped back, grabbed the restroom key off the hook, and tossed it to Mat.
Mat caught the keys, watching the boys leave without speaking. “Seriously, CC. Those kids giving you trouble? I can talk to them.” Something about the smaller man…regret probably, for ignoring the way the kid was bullied in high school…made him feel a little protective. It was weird, but Mat had learned a lot since he’d turned his back on bullying when he was a kid. Then he’d thought it was enough that he didn’t participate when Jake and Thorn and the others messed with the younger kids. Now…social guilt? Whatever. He was a better person at thirty than he had been at fifteen.
CC looked up, cheeks flushed a little, lower lip trembling. “No…it’s okay. They just wanted gas.”
“Okay. I’ve gotta go, but I want a Thor cup when I get back.” He nodded and walked toward the narrow hall lined with empty boxes which led to the restroom.
“You a fan of The Avengers?” CC called after him.
Mat paused and glanced back over his shoulder, letting his smile widen. “I’m a huge fan of Thor…that is one well put together man.” He was still chuckling over CC’s strangled response when he closed the restroom door.


FLYBOY'S FIRST MISADVENTURE
He attempted to roll the green-eyed man with the dreamy voice off him, but only succeeded in flipping them over so he was now stuck on top. What the fuck? He glanced down their bodies and noticed a cord of some kind wrapped repeatedly around their midsections and legs. No wonder his legs had stopped obeying him. A quick look up showed him numerous clothes line poles with no actual line attached to them.

Well, that was probably because it was all bound around their bodies…and tight too. In the middle of their airborne Cirque du Soleil auditions, their bodies managed to rearrange themselves so the clothesline wrapped them up in the missionary position. With them being damn near close to the same height they lined up quite perfectly with each other.

And that thought made Dean’s cock jump and want to do a few flying lessons of its own.

Dean saw the fog lift from his captive’s eyes as they narrowed with suspicion. His voice was steely this time, not whimsical and light with confusion. “What is happening?”

When all else failed, there was one surefire way to handle what appeared to be an unhandleable situation—channel his snarky best friend Tia.

So he put on a lopsided smile and shrugged as he tried to loosen their bonds somewhat. “You know how Mondays are…run out of coffee, get an extra dose of paperwork at the evil day job, end up in a neighbor’s backyard tied to a charming and well-meaning stranger…” He forced a chuckle out for good measure.

The man’s intense voice didn’t cut him any slack. “Today’s Sunday.”

Buy Now

A Man of Unusual Talent:

Flyboy's First Misadventure:


9/28/2015

Coming Soon, Superhero, Marshmallows, Romance #malexmale #cover art #mmromcom

Here's an unofficial sneak peek at the cover art for Story Orgy's new superhero stories. Designed by Startled Monkeys Media, these covers are just as fun and fabulous as they stories they go with. (links, excerpts, etc to follow at a later date)




A Man of Unusual Talent 
A contemporary m/m superhero romance 

Based on a prompt by Cheri Taylor 

"1)Ability to magically manifest a giant pile of marshmallows 2) accidentally setting one's car on fire (on the inside) 3) a vegetable peeler"


Collin Crane is a man of unusual talent. Really unusual. Too weird for the Guinness Book unusual. On the fifty-year plan to a doctoral degree in physics, and a quiet quest to understand his own oddities, Collin clings to obscurity.  This superhero has learned the hard way that it's better to be safe than sorry.

Enter Mathias Giraud, football hero, local cop, and CC's secret fantasy since high school. Mat's a simple man with a hero complex fostered by comic books and Marvel movies. Saving the world is his fantasy, but since his roots are firmly planted in Morrisonville and reality, he'll settle for protecting and serving. Until he clashes with CC at the local convenience store and is reminded of his own high school crush.

When marshmallows are involved, the course of true love is bound to get sticky. 

8/29/2015

No Sunrise, Mummy Underwear, Co-writing #writestuff #caffeinateme






Greeting friends and readers! *gulps coffee* No sunrise today- well, there was one I presume, I just couldn't see it. The sky is all grey and dreary and it's actually rained twice so far today. That's all right. We'll make our own sunshine, right? Perfect music for battling this rainy gray day? I've got some Tom Petty cranked up and some Bad Company to follow.



Good news is, I finally have a blurb for A Man of Unusual Talent. I won't share it all- after all the editor hasn't seen it yet, but here's a bit I'm especially fond of:

            When marshmallows are involved, the course of true-love is bound to get sticky.

            

Today I'm finishing up part four of Mum's the Word, where our heroes begin their work for the sinister Professor Gregoire. At least, Owen seems to find him creepy. Izzy, that brat, seems to think he's pretty hot. If all goes according to plan that should be posted this evening or tomorrow. And immediately after that, I start part five. No end of deadlines with this prompt writing! It's a load of fun though.
What brand of underwear does a mummy wear? 
Fruit of the Tomb!

The thing I'm most excited about is that it's nearly September. The year just zoomed by, and now I get to work with Havan Fellows again. Last year we co-wrote a great book, Christmas in His Heart. It was an amazing experience- we had some kind of creative synergy going on. I never got stuck once or had a day where the words weren't there when I needed them to be. I'm looking forward to replicating that experience as we write a second holiday story- this one featuring two characters- Chaz and Sprocket- who were introduced in Christmas in His Heart. Chaz has been talking to me, and apparently he's not pleased with the leisurely pace we've taken in writing his story. It seems he has a master plan. You know the sort? Own your own restaurant by the time you turn thirty, get married at thirty-two… etc. He's got an internal clock ticking for some reason. I'll keep you posted on that.

Speaking of keeping posted, Mark's Opening Gambit has been on sale at All Romance eBooks for 50% off. The sale ends on Monday, so if you haven't picked up a copy, now's the best time to do that. This is the story of a two men who are opposites, a blue collar grocery store employee who's out and open and closeted chess parlor owner who is under his parents' thumb. It was one of the first books I wrote and was originally published by Breathless Press. The gorgeous cover is by Victoria Miller.



Heading off to make some pumpkin bread and get some words on the page. Thanks for hanging out with me, y'all. It's time to change the CD's and get to work.




Be Yourself

To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting. ~e.e. cummings, 1955
The Romance Reviews