Today I am so pleased to welcome Rhys Ford to Joyfully Jay. Rhys has come to talk to us about her latest release, Dim Sum Asylum. She has also brought along a great giveaway. Please join me in giving her a big welcome!
Thank you for joining me on the Dim Sum Asylum tour! And a huge thank you to the blogs who are letting me rent their space for the day!
Now a little bit about Dim Sum Asylum the novel. It was originally a short story in Charmed and Dangerous, a fantastic anthology created by JCP. When I was invited to contribute, I couldnât type yes fast enough and so, the original short Dim Sum Asylum was created. Other authors have taken their contributions and expanded on them, delivering full length pieces but I hadnât planned on doing that⊠mostly because of time.
Then Lynn West, the Editor in Chief of Dreamspinner Press, said to me; I want that story. One does not simply turn down Lynn and to be honest, I really enjoyed writing Roku. There was a lot about the world and his life I couldnât fit into the short story and expanding Dim Sum Asylum would give me that chance.
So I folded it into the queue and after a few months of unstitching the short story and weaving in the pieces Iâd always longed to put in, Dim Sum Asylum the novel was born. This is my first urban fantasy romance and I had a blast writing it. A lot of romantic tension, a bit of suspense and murder plus a whole lot of magical creatures and fantastical people. OhâŠand thereâs Bob the Cat.
It is available on June 9, 2017 at Dreamspinner, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other online book stores. I hope you enjoy reading the story as much as I loved writing it.
Did I mention this blog stopâs giveaway? Because there is one. Comment, Rafflecopter or however the blog chooses to run its contest and enter to win a $20 gift certificate to the online store of your choice!
This tour is a serialized story featuring Roku MacCormick, the lead in Dim Sum Asylum and will be told over the blog tour stops. AND there is a separate giveaway on each stop so be sure to follow the short story, enter to win and grab a copy of Dim Sum for your ereader or bookshelf!
Wok This Way (A Dim Sum Asylum Short)
Part 4
âWhat do you mean you havenât seen her?â I kept my voice down so as not to wake the smoking moa ula hiwa roosting in the old manâs side yard but it was hard not to grab his shoulders and shake him. âSheâs supposed to check in with you as a condition of her probation. âYou and her parole officer. Sire, sheâs your granddaughter. You agreed to keep her magic contained until the courts released her from her sentence. Itâs the only reasonsââ
âNo use yelling at me.â Nakashima gave me a side-eye hard enough to make the gate dragons quiver then smiled as if he didnât just kill me with the daggers shooting from his gaze. âBesides, if you wake the flame chickens up before the sun, theyâll just set their hutch on fire and I donât have the time or money to replace it.
âIf you want to find Murgatroid, youâre going to have to go to her friendâs house. She could be there. Or maybe down at the Golden Lotus. She was doing some card reading there for a bit of cash.â He sniffed in my general direction when I moaned in frustration. âItâs why I let the binding diminish a little bit. The girlâs got to work. Iâm not going to take food off of my table to stuff down her gullet. Not when sheâs perfectly good and able to make it on her own.â
Old Man Nakashima knew better. After all, heâd spent nearly forty years as a sitting judge for the Arcane Crimes Judicial system. Coming barely up to my shoulder, he was a skinny cricket-winged Japanese fae with a permanent sly expression carved into his face from a decades-old knife attack. Heâd been a fair judge, not one to showboat or make monumental decisions but firm or lenient when he needed to be.
Except where Agnes Moonflower Murgatroid, his one and only granddaughter, was concerned. Then, Nakashima was a pushover and incapable of sticking to the one agreement the courts bent over backwards to keep Murgatroid out of a witch-binding cuff and jail; she had to not practice magic for one year and after that, undergo a court-appointed training program to teach her how to manage the wild arts she so desperately wanted to practice.
Like me, Murgatroid was a hybrid, half-fae and half-human, but unlike me, sheâd pulled some heavy mojo in the magical ability department. The problem was she lacked discipline and âgood enoughâ was pretty much the motto she lived her life by. That might work well when making a taco but when trying to craft a ritual or cast a spell, good enough didnât cut it and substituting spell components for things that were âcloseâ or âkind of similarâ often proved to be disastrous. For the most part, sheâd done some harmless things; turning an old womanâs cat purple instead of repelling its fleas or concocting spark brownies to help a dorm of university students retain their studying before their finals only to have every single one of them sprout a pair of massive curled horns on either side of their heads and speak solely Welsh for two weeks until the spell wore off.
Minor things but ones that caught the Arcane Crimesâ notice and after a few quickly settled law suits, Murgatroid was banned from practicing magic without further structured lessons.
A judgment sheâd ignored.
The final straw came when sheâd accidentally descaled the Eastern Gate dragon, leaving it pink, naked and pissed. Already grumpy by nature, the Eastern Old Lizard went on a rampage, destroying three buildings and eating a city bus before a wandering busker calmed her down with spell-infused serenade. Harming a protected species comes with a hefty price and Murgatroid was destined for cuffs, a small cell and possibly an all porridge diet when Nakashima begged to give her one last chance.
And they did. Except now I had three dead cooks, a matching set of good luck charms and a squish of slightly venomous aerial squids suddenly killing people left and rightâŠand I could lay it all at Murgatroidâs dainty feet.
âSir, itâs important.â I kept my tone level but there was a sense of urgency I needed the judge to hear. âIâve got three victims lying in buckets at the Chinatown morgue and God knows how many else are out there we just havenât found yet. Angusâ signature is all over the charms we found on these peopleâs bodies so sheâs connected in some way. Iâm not saying she killed them but she might be able to give me something to go on.â
He stood still, a wrinkled balding statue in the middle of a vegetable garden damp from the light mist falling down on us. A few feet away, the moa ?ula hiwa snored, a miniature off-tune pipe organ of ruffling feathers and smoke tendrils rising from the tips of their tucked in flaming wings. I donât know why he kept that breed of moa. Their meat was inedible, tasting of ash and pumice, and every unfertilized egg they lay was cooked by the time it hit the nest. So unless the judge had an immense fondness of hard-boiled egg diet, a flock of moa ?ula hiwa was pretty useless.
But then the same thing could be said about my keeping Bob the Cat and I didnât even have a hard-boiled egg to toss into my saimin at the end of the day.
âThree?â He finally asked, plaintive and soft.
âThree.â I wasnât going to pull any punches so I added. âThat I know of. Could be more. Each of the victims have a token she charmed for wealth and prosperity then received a delivery of rainbow-swirl airsail squids. Normally not deadly to fae or human but something in the spell, something sheâd put on the charms amplifies their toxins. One good bite and then⊠well, thereâs not much left of them but soup and a few brittle bones. So, sir, if you can tell me where I can find her, Iâd really appreciate it.â
A crackle of far off thunder startled one of the chickens and it woke up, its comb alert and sparking as it looked around. Tsking softly to it, the judge crouched down, lightly stroking at its neck to settle it down. Without glancing at me, he sighed then murmured in a sad and defeated voice, âShe is at the Yoshinaki Market, stall 431. She should be there until three this afternoon.â
âYoshinaki Market?â My stomach twisted, knotting with a dread I didnât want to acknowledge but when the old man nodded, there was no denying my panic. Yoshinaki was a typical Asian market on the surface but if you knew who to ask, there was a hell of a lot more to buy there than fish, vegetables and touristy crap. âYou have to be licensed to sell spell craft items there. What the⊠how the hell did they let her have a stall? Sheâs⊠Peleâs hair⊠sheâs not even supposed to be practicing.â
âSheâs not selling magic⊠or at least not out in the open. People know her. Sometimes they ask for⊠things,â he shrugged, apologetic but his gaze was firm, refusing to back down from supporting his granddaughter. âHer boyfriend has a food stall there, mostly seafood, but⊠the one thing he is know for is⊠his grilled squid tacos. And the ones he likes to use, are the same kind that is killing those people.â
Follow the whole story on the Dim Sum Asylum Tour:
June 1Â Rainbow Gold Reviews
June 2Â Sinfully Gay Reviews
June 5Â MM Goodbook Reviews
June 6Â Joyfully Jay
June 7Â Itâs About the Book
June 8Â Love Bytes
June 9Â The Novel Approach
Blurb
Welcome to Dim Sum Asylum: a San Francisco where itâs a ho-hum kind of case when a cop has to chase down an enchanted two-foot-tall shrine god statue with an impressive Fu Manchu mustache that’s running around Chinatown, trolling sex magic and chaos in its wake.
Senior Inspector Roku MacCormick of the Chinatown Arcane Crimes Division faces a pile of challenges far beyond his human-faerie heritage, snarling dragons guarding C-Townâs multiple gates, and exploding noodle factories. After a case goes sideways, Roku is saddled with Trent Leonard, a new partner he canât trust, to add to the crime syndicate family he doesnât want and a spell-casting serial killer he desperately needs to find.
While Roku would rather stay home with Bob the Cat and whiskey himself to sleep, he puts on his badge and gun every day, determined to serve and protect the city he loves. When Chinatownâs dark mystical underworld makes his life hell and the case turns deadly, Trent guards Rokuâs back and, if Trent can be believed, his heart… even if from what Roku can see, Trent is as dangerous as the monsters and criminals theyâre sworn to bring down.
Available on June 9 at Dreamspinner, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other online book stores
Bio
About Rhys Ford
Rhys Ford is an award-winning author with several long-running LGBT+ mystery, thriller, paranormal, and urban fantasy series, including Murder and Mayhem, a 2016 LAMBDA finalist. She is published by Dreamspinner Press and DSP Publications.
Sheâs also quite skeptical about bios without a dash of something personal and really, who doesnât mention their cats, dog and cars in a bio? She shares the house with Yoshi, a grumpy tuxedo cat and Tam, a diabetic black pygmy panther, as well as a ginger cairn terrorist named Gus. Rhys is also enslaved to the upkeep a 1979 Pontiac Firebird and enjoys murdering make-believe people.
- Rhysâ Blog: www.rhysford.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rhys.ford.author
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Rhys_Ford
Rhys Fordâs books can found at Dreamspinner Press (http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com), DSP Publications (https://www.dsppublications.com/) and all major online book stores.
Giveaway
Rhys has brought a $20 ebook store gift certificate to give away to one lucky reader. Just leave a comment at the end of the post to enter. The contest ends on Friday June 9th  at 11:59 pm EST.
- By entering the giveaway, youâre confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
- Winners will be selected by random number. No purchase necessary to win.  The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning.
- If you win, you must respond to my email within 48 hours or another winner may be chosen. Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from Joyfully Jay.
- Winners may be announced on the blog following the contest. By entering the contest you are agreeing to allow your name to be posted and promoted as the contest winner by Joyfully Jay.
- Prizes will be distributed following the giveaway either by Joyfully Jay or the person/organization donating the prize.
- All book prizes are in electronic format unless otherwise specified.
- By entering you are agreeing to hold Joyfully Jay harmless if the prize or giveaway in some way negatively impacts the winner.
- Readers may only enter once for each contest. Â Duplicate entries for the same giveaway will be ignored. In the event of technical problems with the blog during the contest, every effort will be made to extend the contest deadline to allow for additional entries.
- Void where prohibited by law.
Congratulations on the release, Rhys, and thank you for the story (I’m following the blog tour and really enjoying it). I’m looking forward to reading Dim Sum Asylum, as I loved the short story in the anthology!
susanaperez7140(at)gmail(dot)com
Again, I am “leaving” out to read the serialized shorts until I read the novel. Congratulations on the upcoming release, Rhys.
amie_07(at)yahoo(dot)com
Just put on her page that this is a prequel with no spoilers. ð
eeeeeh enchanted fish tacos? Gah I love this.
I’m looking forward to reading this. It sounds so much fun.
Rhys, do you have any idea how bloody hard it is to copy and paste each part of Wok This Way into the Word document without reading it?!?!?!?!?! *s* So this is my comment to be eligible for a prize. You already know my interest in DSA itself.
The prior commenters have included their email address within their comments so just in case that’s necessary for this site, like the good little lemming I am: eawestfall43 AT gmail DOT com.
It’s actually a prequel to the book so there will be no spoilers ð
Also, I usually combine them all and put out a PDF after the tour ð
This is sure to be another hit. Counting the days till release day, and thoroughly enjoying the blog tour.
lispencoat@btinternet.com
So excited!
Just out of curiousity, would there be glossary in the novel for (non English) words that we (meaning ME) aren’t familiar with? ð
Looking forward to release day.
It’s actually a prequel to the book so there will be no spoilers ð
Also, I usually combine them all and put out a PDF after the tour ð
I have no idea why that posted here. ð I’m trying to remember the non-English I have in there but for the life of me, I can’t. It’s been books ago. If you run into something you don’t get, ping me and I’ll translate.
Enjoying the short story so much – thanks, Rhys! looking forward to reading the new book on my vacation, which starts on 6/9 – perfect timing!! I’ve pre-ordered so I just need to confirm it’s on my iPad before I leave the house on Friday.
I think pretty much anything Rhys puts out is going to be loved!
Congrats on the new release!
Really enjoying each little bit of this story.
Another great blog post! Yay!
All of these just make me ready to read the story! ð
Enjoying this prequel and I loved the original short story, I can’t wait until the book is released. I plan to make reading it on the 9th my priority for the day.
Congrats on your book release! i’m loving following this story!
I loved the original short story, so I’m really excited to read this one! Thanks for the prequel to tide us over until release day ?
Your book is awesome as always ? I’m sure everyone will love it as much as I do!
I am loving this story! Congrats Rhys on the upcoming release. I look forward to reading more of this serial. I feel badly for Nakashima, I hope Murgatroid isn’t guilty.
I really, really, really, hope you put this out as a short after everything is said and done! Congratulations on the upcoming release – it’s sure to be a smash!! *hugs*
family, what can you do? ð interesting twist there at the end.
LOVED the short story and so glad you have expanded on it!! I have pre-ordered my copy and can’t wait to get it.
Only Rhys can kill people w/squid tacos and prosperity charms-well done!
What fun! Congratulations, Rhys, on the new release. And thank you for the giveaway chance.
Poor Grandfather! Â It must be killing him what his granddaughter is up to. Â Looking forward to visiting that market with Roku.
Thank you for the tour Rhys. Totally loving this awesome new world, can’t wait to immerse myself in DSA on Friday.
Congrats on your new release, you come up with the best book titles!! Thanks for the chance at your giveaway.
So pleased the blog tour story is a prequel with no spoilers and will be published as a PDF. Congratulations on the upcoming release. I’ve pre-ordered DSA and can’t wait to read the expanded version. Squid tacos? I’m gonna pass on that delicacy.
j DOT stonewright AT gmail DOT com
Oh gosh I think I adore Roku already! Congratulations on your release! XD
I’m loving the story Roku is such a fantastic character and his world is amazing not that I’d like to there at the moment with the killer rainbow-swirl airsail squids around.
shirleyann2400 (at) gmail (dot) com
Thanks for another great teaser!
legacylandlisa(at)gmail(dot)com
Good to know it’s a prequel, loving it!
vitajex(at)Aol(Dot)com
This book looks super entertaining!
Thanks for the chance to win!
wildorchid985 at gmail dot com
Oooh now it’s getting goooood!
Better and better with each post.
Debby236 at gmail dot com
I’m so lookong forward to this book! This prequel story is fantastic.
jczlapin@gmail.com
Dang, that’s kind of sad. For her grandfather’s sake, I hope she’s relatively innocent.
allesonl@gmail.com
Can’t wait to read it! Pre-order is in….
Love this short. Great introduction to the book.
Two more days to go. Counting down!
salann31@hotmail.co.uk
Hello! Just found your blog today and am looking forward to perusing! Have only just a few months back started reading m/m romance and now it’s pretty much all I read.. I cannot get enough so love seeing giveaways — it helps break the bank less.!
Welcome! I am so glad you found us! And yay for new m/m romance readers! If you have any questions or need anything, feel free to email me. And just so you know, we have an author stop by every day Mon-Fri and typically there is a giveaway, so be sure to come by and check them out!
Congrats on the new release!
I am enjoying this story SO much!
I love this sorry so much you can feel Roku’s frustration rolling off the page ?
monet5280(at) aol (dot) com
Murgatroid is definitely keeping herself busy. #Trouble
Thanks for another great installment!
The more I read, the more I get excited. Love you books Rhys.
Love it. Great teaser.
Eek! I must pick up this book ASAP!
ashley.vanburen[at]gmail[dot]com
Congrats and thanks for the post and short. This looks like an interesting story, what with the urban fantasy, magic, murder and suspense. Sounds like Lynn West knew what she was doing in asking you to expand on the short. –
TheWrote [at] aol [dot] com