Today I am so pleased to welcome Bailey Bradford to Joyfully Jay. Bailey has come to talk to us about her latest release, Bearly There (City Shifters #1). She has also brought along a great giveaway. Please join me in giving Bailey a big welcome!

Bailey Bradford's Bearly There Blog Tour
Hi there. I’m Bailey Bradford, and I’m here to chat about my new release, Bearly There, the first book in the City Shifters series. Shifters are always interesting for me to write about. There are so many different rules that don’t apply to them, or rules that do apply to them, so it’s fun to explore the shifter worlds. Sometimes, I write about them in an alternative universe, or post-apocalyptic world, or they live among us, in the modern day and age. That one is always more challenging to me, because I have to take into account what would happen if people today found out shifters were real, not fictional creations in books and movies.

Can you imagine that? Turn on the TV, and there are breaking news stories all over, the internet is a deluge of SHIFTERS EXIST or MONSTERS ALIVE, and those would probably be the calmer headlines. Twitter would probably crash under all the Tweets, and Facebook…Well, who knows about Facebook. It might withstand anything. What do you imagine it would be like if shifters were discovered to be real?

I think most of us would agree that it would not be a good thing for the shifters. Images of caged people and shifted people pop right into my mind, along with horrible science experiments and other cruelties that might be visited on them as a species. That isn’t a route I’ve taken with any of my stories yet, because I feel that, when I do write it, it’ll be pretty dark and intense. Dark and intense is something I have to wait to do until I’m in the right frame of mind. Dark and intense will pull me down and might be hard to shake off.

That isn’t to say I haven’t had some darkness in the shifter books I’ve written. There has been, and some of it has been gut-wrenching to write, but I have always added humor to almost every story I’ve written.

One day, that won’t be the case, but I’ve got to let that story stew and brew a bit longer in my brain.

For now, I’m sticking with fun, sex, and some angst, but not too much. A little tug at the heartstrings now and then. I do love writing about shifters, and I have several different series of them. I’m not alone in that; lots of authors love to write about them, and lots of readers love those stories. Many of us are fascinated by them.

As I said, Bearly There is the first book my new series, City Shifters. It’s pretty light-hearted, funny in places—I hope—and there is hot loving going on between Bunny Boy and Jagger. I had so much fun with these two guys, and can’t wait to get started on the next book in the series later this year. I hope you’ll read the excerpt, and decide to give Bearly There a try. And if you do read it, I really hope it makes you smile and leaves you happy.


Excerpt

Debbie sat in the chair across from him and took a pen out of her suit pocket. “Hand me some paper.”

Debbie preferred to work the art for her ideas out by hand first before moving on to the more complicated techniques. Jagger passed her a notepad he had in the top drawer. “Have at it. I’m just going—” Movement outside his office window caught his attention and he frowned. There were definitely people approaching his office.

Shit, he’d hoped no one would remember. As stressful as the office atmosphere had been lately, there was more to think on than Jagger’s birthday.

But maybe he was wrong, and whatever was going on had nothing to do with his birthday.

Debbie looked up at him, then twisted around to peer over her shoulder. Her smile in profile warned Jagger that he was about to be embarrassed at the very least.

“Come on in!” Debbie called out.

“Don’t—” Jagger started, but the door was flung open and his jaw dropped as he stared at the blond-haired man wearing a pink bunny costume.

“Just be glad we only paid for the singing telegram and not the strip-o-gram,” Debbie said as the blond stepped right into the office.

“Well now,” the bunny man drawled as he cast his hazel gaze on Jagger and smirked. “Is this the birthday boy? No one told me he was so handsome.”

Jagger snapped his mouth shut and leaned back in his seat. He was probably a nice, bright shade of red, but he’d be damned if he’d let himself be any more embarrassed than he already was. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Debbie, maybe you could move to one side so you’re not blocking the view.”

Snickers and outright laughter came from the people gathered in and beyond the doorway. It was their amused and happy faces that made Jagger determined to at least appear to enjoy this…bunny. It hadn’t been just him who’d had a shit time so far this year.

Bunny Boy kept that smirk in place as he waved his fluffy pink boa. He was wearing miniscule, shiny pink shorts and a glittery pink tank top. Jagger noted the promising bulge those shorts covered but didn’t let himself stare. He had more control than that.

Strangely enough, though, the man turned him on. Jagger was stunned by that. He preferred his lovers to be more like himself—bulky, rough-looking—

“So birthday boy here is how old?” the bunny asked.

“Thirty-three,” Jagger answered, aware that when he did so, Bunny Boy shivered ever so slightly. He stopped himself from remarking on that, or asking if the man wasn’t supposed to be singing.

“Oh ho, double treys,” Bunny Boy crooned. “That’s gotta be a lucky sign. For you, at least. You don’t look a day over thirty.”

Jagger doubted it, but he wasn’t opposed to a cute guy flattering him, even if it was said guy’s job.

On closer inspection, Jagger could see the palest of bruising under his left eye, and… He squinted. Yes, there under his left cheek was another bruise. Jagger suspected makeup was involved in the cover-up of both of those places.

Bunny Boy plastered on a smile that looked pretty damned fake to Jagger, and he began playing with that boa as the music started. Not the traditional birthday music, oh no, that wouldn’t have done for him. This sounded like banjos and inbreeding had been involved in the conception of the song.

And Bunny Boy started singing along to lyrics that had everyone but Jagger laughing. Jagger didn’t take them personally—it wasn’t as if the song had been written just for him, and he understood that everyone in the office could use a little enjoyment and release from the pressures at work.

But Bunny Boy turned around and shook his pink-covered ass, and Jagger’s dick demanded all the blood from upstairs at the sight of that bubble butt. Jagger was trying his best not to drool, trying instead to keep an amused look on his face when he was thinking filthy thoughts about what he’d like to do to Bunny Boy’s ass.

Not that he’d do any such thing. It’d just been a while since he’d gotten laid. Jagger forced his gaze up Bunny Boy’s lean body just as he turned around. Jagger noted the way his nipples pressed against the thin tank top. When he made it up to Bunny Boy’s face, there was a sardonic smile pulling at those full lips.

Jagger squashed down his arousal as irritation spiked through him. He got the distinct feeling he was being laughed at then, and he didn’t care for it at all.

Copyright Bailey Bradford 2016


Blurb

Bearly ThereOne surly bear and one bunny boy…what could possibly go wrong?

Jagger Osterman is having a bad day. In fact, he’s not the slightest bit impressed with 2015 at all. His job is on the line, and it’s not like he loves being a marketing wunderkind, but he has to do something to pay the bills. If he had his way, he’d just vanish into the mountains and live out his life as the black bear he yearns to shift into. Unfortunately, Jagger doesn’t have the time to let his beast run. He has responsibilities that he can’t walk away from.

Kevin Kelly could tell Jagger a thing or two about bad days, bad years, and just out and out bad luck. He made the mistake of smarting off to a curandera years ago and hasn’t been able to shake the curse she put on him yet. There’s not an area of his life that hasn’t been screwed up in one way or another. As a pronghorn shifter, he’d be okay on his own in the wild. Sure, there’d be predators, but Kevin had come to realize the worst predators were the human kind.

But he can’t shift. He’s been solidly bound to human form since being cursed.

Two men, both trapped in their own ways. They’re about to find out that freedom comes in many forms.


Bio

Bailey BradfordA native Texan, Bailey spends her days spinning stories around in her head, which has contributed to more than one incident of tripping over her own feet. Evenings are reserved for pounding away at the keyboard, as are early morning hours. Sleep? Doesn’t happen much. Writing is too much fun, and there are too many characters bouncing about, tapping on Bailey’s brain demanding to be let out.

Caffeine and chocolate are permanent fixtures in Bailey’s office and are never far from hand at any given time. Removing either of those necessities from Bailey’s presence can result in what is known as A Very, Very Scary Bailey and is not advised under any circumstances.


Giveaway

pride_march2016_blogtour_giveaway_socialmediaEnter Pride Publishing’s prize draw for your chance to win a free eBook of your choice (*not including boxsets or anthologies). 

Direct Link: https://www.pride-publishing.com/blog-tour-competition-march

One free eBook of your choice* from Pride Publishing.

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