2016-10-19

TITLE: Changing On The Fly – M/M Hockey Charity Anthology

AUTHOR: Avon Gale, V.L. Locey, Cherylanne Corneille, Mary Smith, Heather Lire, Samantha Wayland

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

COVER ARTIST: Jen Needles

LENGTH: 368 Pages

RELEASE DATE: October 12, 2016

BLURB: Changing on the Fly is a celebration of romance, featuring six M/M stories about hockey players falling in love on – and off – the ice. All proceeds from the anthology will be donated to a charity that supports inclusiveness in athletics.

The anthology will be available starting in October, 2016, for a limited time only.

It includes the following stories:

Even Strength by Cherylanne Corneille

Next Season by Avon Gale

Going Home by Heather Lire

On Broadway by V.L. Locey

The Brother and the Retired Player by Mary Smith

Take a Shot by Samantha Wayland

V.L. Locey’s On Broadway:

“You’re about as far from being just a guy as I am from being able to play “Rocket Man” on harmonica.”

“Is that the song your mom named you after?” I fell back to the bed, feet dangling to the floor and hands clasped behind my head.

“Good guess.” He appeared behind me after a moment. I tipped my head back to look at him. His green eyes were darker now, smoky jade and hot with desire. “You’re really sexy in a Toby McGuire Spider-Man kind of way.”

“I don’t have any superpowers,” I replied as he leaned over and placed his hands on either side of my head.

“Not true,” Rocket whispered before covering my mouth with his. My eyes drifted shut as my fingers knotted up the bedding. His mouth was hot and wet, his tongue skilled, his taste a subtle blend of Korean buffet. “You’re Riley Zeally,” he murmured between nibbling kisses that made my heart pump faster, “the face of professional hockey.”

I reached up from the duvet to push my fingers into his hair. “I want you,” I panted between his short, maddening sweeps of my mouth.

Samantha Wayland’s Take a Shot:

“There already is someone who loves to spend time with you, who loves hockey and your friends and their ridiculous pranks. Who gets that you have to travel and that you’re tired!”

Tim blinked, appearing utterly bewildered. “Who?”

“Me, you asshole! Me.”

Tim threw his hands in the air. “What about you?”

“I appreciate you exactly as you are. I love our life. Our friends. You. Even the super fucking irritating things, because apparently there is something wrong with me. I love that you can’t hide what you’re feeling, almost ever. And that you say what you’re thinking, even when I can’t do the same. I like living with you, a fucking neat-freak nudist, and working with you, and there’s never been a time, not once, that I was tired of being around you. You’re gorgeous and you’re kind and you’re the best person I know. So shut up about there not being someone who can appreciate everything about you. There already is. And unfortunately for you, it’s me.”

Heather Lire’s Going Home

“What the fuck, man?” Blake growled at Dex.

“What?” he asked, innocently. Too innocently. “I was just making conversation with an old friend from high school. One who helped both of us graduate.”

If he’d known when he started this trip down memory lane that he’d be running into the person who’d had a staring roll in the epic disaster that had been his last night in town, he’d never have started it. Micah had also held a staring roll in every single one of his sexual fantasies back then as well.

“Fuck you, Dex.”

“Think about it like this…this is a new start for both of us. A chance to fix the things in our lives that we fucked up. Me with my career and you with Micah.”

Cherylanne Corneille’s Even Strength

He took a few laps around their end of the rink to loosen his legs. On his fourth pass around the net, he picked up a stray puck and carried it on his stick before shooting it into the net. Boone bumped his shoulder and nodded toward the glass as they rounded their end of the rink again.

What the hell? He glanced in the direction his teammate indicated. Two men around his age wearing New York’s jerseys held up a brightly colored sign that said simply, “Thank you, Nate.” He puzzled on the meaning until he made another lap. One of them also held a small rainbow flag.

Mary Smith’s The Brother and the Retired Player

Our lips touch, and the spark is struck. He pulls me closer and grips my hips. I can feel his hardness already, and my dick twitches at the contact. Our kiss intensifies as our tongues touch. I hold him closer, and the light scruff of his pale beard tickles me. I never want to leave this spot, but finally, I pull back.

Avon Gale’s Next Season

Nick stopped as Sparrow went to get into his Escalade, which he’d somehow remote started the second they got out of the building. Nick drove a 2002 Ford Focus and was lucky if it started when the key was in the ignition.

“So, uh,” Nick said, not wanting to just walk off but still as uncertain as he’d been in the locker room about what to say. “See you in Philly, I guess.”

“Yeah,” Sparrow muttered, yanking the door to his luxury SUV open with too much force. “See you in Philly, kid.”

Nick managed to get his own car door open, grabbed his ice scraper, and turned the car on so he could blast the heat. He watched Sparrow drive away, leaving tire tracks in the snow.

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Smashwords

Kobo Store

Barnes & Noble

Add to Goodreads

Christina‘s review

4 of 5 Stars

Even Strength by Cherylanne Corneille

Ms. Corneille definitely knows her hockey!  This book was more about Nate and the start of his career as a pro hockey player than a romance story.  The romance was minimal and there was quite a bit of angst between Nate and Tristan for such a short story.  Once they were on the same page, they were cute together.  I liked the support of the team, which was as big a plot line as Nate starting his career.  There were a few stumbles with the writing that caused me a bit of confusion…it felt a little like the author left out a couple parts to the story but overall a cute read.

Next Season by Avon Gale

I NEED more Nick and Everett…seriously.  I hope we get more of them somewhere, somehow.

I seriously can’t express how much I love Ms. Gale’s writing.  It’s really good but more than that it’s really entertaining.  Her characters are sweet and ridiculously funny at the same time which I absolutely adore.

Nick doesn’t say much but I love him anyway…he’s shy and fumbly and just cute (and you can’t go wrong with big defensemen!).  It takes a while for Everett to come out of his shell but amazingly all it takes is the big, shy defensemen to crumble those walls.  They are awesome together…Everett surprises me with how sweet he is once he gets over himself.

See what I mean…

Everett started laughing.  Nick loved his laugh, a bright happy sound he’d barely heard last season and now heard all the time. “Jesus Christ, Nick. You and romance are like…like…”

“Like you and winning faceoffs?”

“Oh f*ck off,” Everett said, but he was grinning.

This is absolutely another must ready by Ms. Gale!

Going Home by Heather Lire

I’m a big fan of dual POV which this short has.  So far I love the characters – Micah with his sexy, outgoing, life of the party personality and Blake with his sexy, broody, self-confident personality.  Their chemistry is off the charts.

BUT…there is so much more that I need to this story!  And it sounds like we’re going to get it…the author leaves us hanging (BIG TIME) but promises more to come.  This story should be outstanding if Ms. Lire fills in the gaps and gives us what we’re missing and what she teases us with!

**I reached out to the author to get more info on the story to come…and here’s what she sent me:

Here are the first few paragraphs for you; as of right now the book will be out in the spring.

Blake drank in the sight of Micah standing on his front porch. Stepping back he let him in and ignored the voice in the back of his head that was currently screaming this was a bad fucking idea. He didn’t care. He was horny as fuck and knew that Micah would be up for whatever he suggested.

Dex was sure that he wasn’t going to be able to walk away without some damage to his heart, but Blake knew differently. He’d decided a long time ago that a family of his own wasn’t in the cards for him. You couldn’t be gay and play professional sports.

Sure there was all sorts of acceptance and blah blah blah bull shit talk about it in the front offices, and he knew his former teammates wouldn’t and didn’t care who he fucked, but honestly he didn’t want the drama and the news attention. He wasn’t out to be a role model for anyone.

On Broadway by V.L. Locey

Man this story packed quite a punch…and I still want more.  Yes, I can use my imagination to see what happens after and fill in the blanks from in between but I really want Ms. Locey to give me more!  This short tackled a couple of major issues – coming out as a gay athlete, LGBT homelessness and parental abuse.

We only get a taste of the characters but Keiffer’s story is really heartbreaking.  Riley has a sweet heart and an insecure vulnerability that is surprising in a huge hockey star.

Oh, how I would love to see this expanded into a full novel!

The Brother and the Retired Player by Mary Smith

Review coming soon

Take a Shot by Samantha Wayland

Review coming soon

V.L. Locey

V.L. Locey loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, walking, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.) She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, a flock of assorted domestic fowl, and two Jersey steers.

When not writing spicy romances, she enjoys spending her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in hand. She can also be found online on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and GoodReads.

Website: http://vlloceyauthor.com/

Avon Gale

Avon Gale was once the mayor on Foursquare of Jazzercise and Lollicup, which should tell you all you need to know about her as a person. She likes road trips, rock concerts, drinking Kentucky bourbon and yelling at hockey. She’s a displaced southerner living in a liberal midwestern college town, and she never gets tired of people and their stories — either real or the ones she makes up in her head.

Website: https://www.avongalewrites.com/

Cherylanne Corneille

Cherylanne Corneille has been writing almost as long as she has loved the game of hockey, so it was inevitable that she would eventually combine two of her favorite pastimes into one hobby. She will watch almost any game but prefers to cheer on the Carolina Hurricanes, Anaheim Ducks, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Tyler Seguin.

When not writing or watching hockey, she enjoys running and has completed 18 half marathons. She also loves Stars Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Captain America.

Cherylanne lives in Central Florida with her cat, who was almost called Puck or Hanifin but sometimes answers to the name Phasma.

Website: https://cacorneille.wordpress.com/

Heather Lire

Heather has traveled all over the world, speaks several languages, collects romance books like they’re going out of style, and has multiple book boyfriends. Ok, she hasn’t been all over the world, except in her mind. She does however speak multiple languages and collect romance books. Her long-suffering husband and sons roll their eyes at all her book boyfriends. When she’s not busy on her next novel she can be found in her classroom where teaches one of those many languages, at one of her sons many sporting events or on twitter talking about what else, romance books.

Website: http://heatherlire.com/

Samantha Wayland

Samantha Wayland has three great loves in life; her family, writing books, and hockey. She is often found apologizing to the first for how much time and attention is taken up by the latter two, but they forgive her because they are awesome and she clearly doesn’t deserve them.

Sam lives with her family—of both the two and four-legged variety—outside of Boston. When she’s not locked away in her home office, she can generally be found tucked in the corner of the local Thai place with other socially-starved authors and an adult beverage. Her favorite things include mango martinis, tiny Chihuahuas with big attitude problems, and the Oxford comma.

Website: http://www.samanthawayland.com/

Mary Smith

Best Selling Author, Mary Smith, has been coming up with stories her whole life. She has written A HOCKEY TUTOR and THE NEW HAMPSHIRE BEARS SERIES along with numerous other titles, as well as co-authored THE PENALTY KILL TRILOGY, OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN SERIES, and THE NINTH INNINGS SERIES with Lindsay Paige. When not busy writing or rooting for the Chicago Blackhawks you can find her with her nose stuck in her Kindle.

Website: http://www.authormarysmith.com/

Winner’s Prize: $20 Amazon GC

a Rafflecopter giveaway

October 10: Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words

October 11: Joyfully Jay

October 12: MM Good Book Reviews

October 13: Gay Book Reviews

October 14: Open Skye Book Reviews

October 17: RJ Scott

October 18: Diverse Reader :: Bayou Book Junkie

October 19: BFD Book Blog

October 20: MM Book Escape

October 21: Molly Lolly: Reader, Reviewer, Lover of Words :: Alpha Book Club

Show more