Today I am so pleased to welcome Pride Publishing to Joyfully Jay to talk about their new launch. They have also brought along an exclusive excerpt from one of their books. Please join me in giving them a big welcome!
Pride Publishing, a new house from the Totally Entwined Group, best known for its flagship erotic romance publishing house, Totally Bound Publishing has launched yesterday – 7th July 2015.
This expansion and launch of Pride Publishing has been designed and implemented to give our GLBTQI authors and readers the platform and community they deserve to express themselves.
Pride Publishing will deliver publishing excellence with a passionate and personal approach, offering the best stimulation for the imagination.
The launch of Pride marks the division of all GLBTQI titles from Totally Bound’s backlist, allowing Totally Bound Publishing to focus more on and develop MF and MFM stories. Pride Publishing will kick off with a considerable backlist from authors you know and love including, Amber Kell, Carol Lynne, Bailey Bradford and NR Walker.
Celebrate with Pride!
To celebrate the launch of Pride there is 25% off a selection of eBooks for this week only and lots of other promotions over at the website. Visit the website here www.pride-publishing.com
Moving forward Pride Publishing will also accept submissions that are not only romance focused. We are actively seeking submissions, so as long as your stories involve characters who identify as GLBTQI, we’d like to see them.
Please send your submissions to submissions@totallyentwined.com
www.pride-publishing.com
For more information please contact Holly Gunner or Heidi Blakey at Totally Entwined holly.gunner@totallyentwinedgroup.com / heidi.blakey@totallyentwinedgroup.com
About Totally Entwined Group
The Totally Entwined Group is a leading eBook publisher in the UK and US and was founded in 2007 by Claire and Marek Siemaszkiewicz. It comprises of four publishing houses – Totally Bound Publishing (Erotic Romance), Finch Books (Young Adult), Pride Publishing (GLBTQI Fiction) and Evidence Press (Crime / Thriller). It employs 12 members of staff and publishes over 350 authors across UK and Europe, USA, Canada and Australia. Its flagship erotic romance publishing house Totally Bound Publishing, was winner of the “Best New Publisher Award” at the All Romance eBooks’ Best of 2007 Awards and was shortlisted for online retailer of the year at The Bookseller Industry Awards 2014. The Totally Entwined Group was recently acquired by Bonnier Publishing.
www.totallyentwinedgroup.com
About Bonnier Publishing Fiction
Bonnier Publishing Fiction is a division of Bonnier Publishing which encompasses the children’s imprints Hot Key Books and Piccadilly Press and adult fiction imprints Zaffre and Twenty7. Bonnier Publishing Fiction combines brand new voices with established storytellers to bring a broad spectrum of high quality and innovative fiction to all ages.
www.bonnierpublishing.co.uk
Excerpt
Here is an exclusive excerpt from the new What’s his Passion? novel, Outcast Cowboys by Sarah Masters
She poured coffee then brought the cups to the table. Sitting opposite again, she leaned forward. “Joe’s a mean, spiteful son of a bitch. I’m telling you this because he has a habit of scaring off the new staff. Most don’t stick around because of him.”
“Oh.” Ross took a sip of coffee. “I don’t need that shit. I just want to work. I came here to— I came here to start again, to get away from that kind of thing.”
“Yeah, well, so long as you don’t look at anyone in any way other than as your work buddies, you’ll be fine. Joe seems to think he has first pickings on any gay man in these parts—not that there are many. And when Joe takes you to the trailer, speak as little as possible. The less he has on you, the better.”
“What do you mean?”
“He says people said stuff,” she whispered. “When they didn’t. Know what I mean?”
Ross was starting to see exactly what she meant. She was implying Joe was a tosser, simple as that, and the least Ross had to do with him the better.
“That scar?” he asked. Ross had a feeling her answer wouldn’t be pleasant.
“Fighting with Limmy apparently.” Tessa nodded in a knowing way. “With a knife.”
“Yeah, I thought it might be a knife.” What the fuck have I stumbled into? “They seemed friendly enough to one another out there on the porch.”
“Of course they would be. They put things behind them pretty fast, but you just be careful. Joe now carries a knife. He’s been told not to but he doesn’t listen. Law unto himself.”
“Why doesn’t Grenadier get rid of him?”
Tessa eyed the door, biting her bottom lip. Then, “There are things best left unsaid. Just know that Joe isn’t going anywhere. He has to, uh, stay here.”
Ross resigned himself to having to share his workday with a pig. But that was all right, he’d worked with pigs before, and not mean men or animals reared for bacon either. He shut them out of his mind and concentrated on the here and now.
“So, what do I need to know about mealtimes?” he asked.
“Breakfast’s between six and seven. Lunch is twelve until one. Evening meal is five until six. If you’re running late, make sure you give me a call if you need me to plate something up, otherwise you’ve got to be here at least ten minutes before the meal hours are up because I’m not cooking fresh for you, okay?” She smiled. “Well, maybe for you, but don’t tell anyone else that.” She winked, took two gulps of her coffee, then rose. “And I need to show you where the bedding’s kept for now. When the bunkhouse is rebuilt, there’ll be storage in there, but once a week you dump your dirty sheets in here.”
She got up and opened a door at the far end of the dining area. “Utility room. Dirty sheets go in the largest hamper. Clean ones are on a shelf. Come and see.”
Ross followed her, startled by the size of the washing machines and dryers. “You do all this by yourself?”
“It’s what I’m paid to do. Cook, housekeeper, shoulder to cry on, whatever.”
“You said you were married once?”
“Yep, once, but fuck, that’s a story for one of the nights we get together and have a drink round the fire. I need a few beers in my belly to go into that again.”
“I’m sorry.” And he was—she’d sounded hurt despite the bravado.
“Don’t be. He was an asshole. Like Joe.” She stiffened, tilting her head, then brought her finger to her lips. “So here’s where the sheets are, and if you need an extra blanket, they’re in the cupboard to the right. Your dirty clothes go in the hamper beside the one for the sheets—and don’t worry,
I know whose stuff is whose, so you’ll get them all back in one piece. And that’s about it.”
“Thank God it is,” Joe said. “You’ve been explaining for long enough.”
Ross turned to find Joe filling the doorway. A scowl striped the man’s forehead, and deep crevices formed brackets either side of his unsmiling mouth. Did the man ever smile? His white T-shirt was taut over his broad chest, and the suspicion of nipples peaked beneath the fabric. What was Ross doing now, eyeing the bloke up?
Fuck no. No.
Blurb
You can run but you can’t hide. Problems have a habit of following you, even if it’s only inside your head.
Ross decides to start a new life away from the grim belly of London, England, unable to stomach being a cop any longer. He tells himself he’s moving miles away to find himself a bed partner, but he’s lying. He has to. Facing up to the real reason he’s leaving isn’t something he can handle. His last undercover job proved too much—his life was at risk—and if he stays in London he’ll likely end up dead. Nightmares plague him, his subconscious unable to switch the past off. So he moves to a ranch in America, thinking the new surroundings and different lifestyle will help him to heal—and to forget. What he soon realizes is he’s jumping from the frying pan into the fire…
Joe’s passion—that of caring for the horses—is the only thing that keeps him sane. He’s a surly man, and for good reason—a reason he hasn’t told a soul. Folks think he’s mean and unapproachable and suspect him of committing murder. More than once. Locals assume that Joe got let off the hook. Nothing could be further from the truth, but Joe lets people think what they will. He’s done with their speculation and sly looks.
When Ross and Joe meet, tension is rife. The air between them prickles with animosity as well as sexual tension. Both have a past they can’t get over. Both have skeletons in their closets they wish would turn to dust. And both have to make a decision. Can they cast their fears aside and trust each other, or have the terrors they’ve experienced ruined them for love?
Reader Advisory: This book contains a scene of remembered non-consensual sex in a character’s past.
About Pride Publishing
Pride Publishing delivers empowering, enchanting and endearing storylines that are sure to capture readers’ imaginations from start to finish. We are proud to be flying the flag for the GLBTQI community and providing a platform for readers and authors who are passionate about characters who identify as GLBTQI.
The Pride Team believe that quality is of utmost importance. We discover, cultivate and refine charismatic stories with fascinating plots and compelling characters from inspiring authors. The result is a truly enjoyable and captivating reading experience – the very best stimulation for the imagination.
