Author Name: Parker Williams
Book Name: Scent of the
Heart
Series: Shifting Needs
Book: Two
Series should be read in order
Blurb:
Casey Scott grew up being told he’d never amount to
anything, and despite the unwavering
love and support from his best friend, Jake, the idea sticks
in the back of Casey’s mind. When he
discovers he has a unique destiny in an enclave where
shifters and humans live together, he
seizes the chance, wanting for once in his life to be
someone special.
Tsvetok Yerokhin lost his parents to the evil ruler of the
enclave when he was a boy. The
responsibilities of raising his two younger brothers nearly
overwhelmed him and self-doubt
took over. When the new Alpha and his Protector arrive in
time to save his life, Sev is grateful,
but he’s even more shocked when he scents his mate with
them.
Casey isn’t prepared for the feelings that sweep over him
when he meets Sev, but he refuses to
act on them because he’s straight. Still, there is something
so alluring about Sev that Casey can’t
help being drawn to him.
As the two explore the edges of their new discovery, an evil
returns, determined to control the
enclave or destroy it. The Alpha and Protector are powerless
to stop it, but Casey holds the key
to victory. If he can discover what it is, he has a chance
to save them all. To be the hero.
Unfortunately, the hero has to be willing to make the
ultimate sacrifice, and for Casey that
means losing his heart.
Pages or Words: Approximately 69,000
words
Categories: Contemporary, M/M Romance,
Romance, Paranormal, Bisexual, Fiction, Gay Fiction, New Adult
Excerpt:
Casey had slept in
the early evening, exhausted from his activities of the day. First the twins
came, and their birth wasn’t easy. One of them, the boy, refused to come out.
Normally shifter births were in and out in less than an hour. This one had kept
him elbow deep for four. When the child was finally born, he had a full head of
fluffy gray hair, indicative of his mother’s rabbit side. When they’d asked his
advice on what to name their new son, Casey had said Thumper. His parents had
fallen in love with the name, and Casey learned that people who had never seen
a movie had no idea what humor was.
Then there was the
incident with the stupid skunk in the forest. He hoped to hell Jake never found
out, because after all the crap Casey had given him, he knew for a fact there
would be hell to pay.
His intent had been
to sleep a few hours, then try another dreamwalk. They always left him drained
when he didn’t have a tether to this world. Casey shook his head. Six months
ago he never would have talked about different worlds, men that could become
animals, or ghosts outside of his weekly Dungeons and Dragons game. Now it
seemed he was actually living a campaign. He was a shaman, a wizard of sorts.
Jake was a paladin, righteous and good. Zak was…well, Zak probably would have
been royalty. With his demeanor and attitude, he would have made a great king.
He’d been dozing
fitfully; his dreams filled with visions of future events, where a fork in the
road left him with too many decisions. One was life, the other was death, but
both were fraught with peril. The knocking at his door had jolted him awake,
and he was actually glad for it.
Sev looked absolutely
miserable as he stood at the door. This would be only the second time the man
had come to see Casey. Most everyone else in the enclave had stopped by, even
for a friendly visit, numerous times. Yet Sev always hung back. This time,
Casey needed to understand what was going on.
When they came in
contact, skin on skin, Casey had no idea what happened. A surge ran up the
length of his arm, seemingly connecting him to Sev. He could tell the man
across from him needed his help. Sev was different from all the others in the
enclave who’d come and talked to him in the last six months. He didn’t need
advice; what he needed was someone to understand.
Sev sat at the table,
looking for all the world as if he were lost. He sipped the calming tea that
Casey had brewed, his eyes downcast as he told Casey his story—the death of his
parents, the problems he now had with his brothers, and his uncertainty that he
was doing the right thing. Never before had Casey wanted to pull someone into
his arms and promise them that everything would be all right. He’d heard so
many stories after Elizar’s defeat—beatings, rape, murder, and still he was
able to maintain a detachment. Not with Sev.
“How can I help?”
Sev sighed. “I don’t
know that you can. I just wanted to talk to someone.”
Casey could see the
shine of tears when Sev finally lifted his head, and his chest tightened as he
stood and wrapped his arms around the man. He didn’t have words, and he
couldn’t think of any other way to comfort him. Not one of the salves, potions,
ointments, teas, or other remedies on his shelves had the power to offer the
healing that a hug brought.
“Thank you, my mate.”
The words were so soft Casey was certain he had misheard
them.
Sales Links:
About the
author:
Parker
Williams believes that true love exists, but it always comes with a price. No
happily ever after can ever be had without work, sweat, and tears that come
with melding lives together.
Living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Parker held his job for nearly 28
years before he decided to retire and try new things. He enjoys his new life as
a stay-at-home author and also working on Pride-Promotions,
an LGBT author promotion service.
Where to find the author:
Connect with
Parker on: Twitter: @ParkerWAuthor
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/parker.williams.75641
Or you can visit
his website: http://www.ParkerWilliamsAuthor.com
Publisher: Parker Williams
Cover
Artist: Laura Harner
Tour Dates & Stops:
Cate Ashwood, Rainbow
Gold Reviews, Velvet Panic, Havan Fellows,
Book
Reviews, Rants, and Raves, Full Moon
Dreaming, MM Good Book Reviews, BFD Book Blog, Fangirl
Moments and My Two Cents, The Hat
Party, 3
Chicks After Dark, Mikky's World of Books, The Fuzzy, Fluffy
World of Chris T. Kat, Love Bytes, Dawn’s Reading
Nook, Charley Descoteaux, Inked Rainbow Reads,
Becky Condit, Andrew Q. Gordon, Bayou Book
Junkie, Foxylutely Book Reviews, Hearts on Fire,
Divine
Magazine, Happily Ever Chapter, Nic Starr, My Fiction Nook, Wicked
Faerie's Tales and Reviews, Christy Loves 2 Read,
Molly
Lolly, Carly’s Book Reviews, Amanda C. Stone,
Rafflecopter
Prize: Two $10 ARe gift cards
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The Questions
1)
You’re marooned on a small island with one
person and one item of your choice—who is that person and what item do you
have?
Doctor Who and the item is the Tardis.
Fortunately I won’t be marooned long! J
2)
Which musical would you say best exemplifies
your life – and which character in that musical are you?
Musical? Like people singing and dancing? Uh…. I
can’t remember the last time I saw a musical, unless you count High School
Musical, and I’m not sure it exemplifies my life. I’m rather boring and stodgy
in that sense.
3)
Take these three words and give me a 100 word or
less scene using them: fact, night taxi
I stood at the taxi stand and checked my watch.
Almost ten at night, and there wasn’t a cab to be seen. I’d read in the paper
about werewolf attacks, but that was ludicrous. Shifters were fantasy, not
fact.
A low growl behind me had me clutching my
briefcase. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, and I could feel
sweat trickling down my back. I took a few tentative steps away, but froze when
the growling got closer.
I was going to die. I knew it. I held the case
in front of me like a shield, and cried out, hoping to attract attention or
scare the beast away.
“Mr. Smith?”
I lowered the case slightly and winced when Jake
Davis, one of my pupils, stood there, obviously trying not to laugh. He asked
if I was okay, and I said I was, and he clapped me on the shoulder and left.
Still, I never did find out what was growling at
me from the alleyway.
4)
You’ve
just been let loose in the world of fiction, with permission to do anyone you
want. Who do you fuck first and why?
Ryan Matthews from Laura Harner’s ‘Cliff’s
Edge’. Oh god, he was so damned hot in the book.
5)
What is your idea of how to spend romantic time
with your significant other?
A movie, a bowl of popcorn, and four dogs trying
to get between us on the couch. That’s romance in my house.
6)
When you start a new story, do you begin with a
character, or a plot?
Usually a plot, then the characters make their
way into it. Though on occasion there has been a big mouth character who
insisted he would be great for this story, and who am I to argue?
7)
If they were to make the story of your life into
a movie, who should play you?
Carrot Top. He’s the only person I know who is
more annoying than me.
8)
Who’s your favorite horror villain and why?
Horror is NOT my thing. I’m the kind who watches
a horror movie with his ears plugged and his eyes closed.
9)
Do you have an historical crush and if so, who
is it?
I don’t know if you consider him historical, but
Sam Gribley from ‘My Side of the Mountain’. When I was a kid, I wanted to live
with Sam in the forest and never set foot in civilization again.
10)
Is there a story that you’d like to tell but you
think the world isn’t ready to receive it?
I’m writing one now that I don’t know how it
will be received. My main character is a very bad good guy who believes in an
eye-for-an-eye. In one scene, he takes that to literal extremes.
Scent of the Heart Review ★★★★
Scent of the Heart is
the sequel to Protector of the Alpha
Casey Scott moves with his best friend Jake, and Jake’s mate
Zak, to the wilds of Alaska, to a life he had never imagined before, among a
group of shifters. Even harder to believe is that Casey is the enclave’s
shaman, following in the footsteps of his late mentor, Hakiim, whom he misses
dearly. Hakiim was like a father to Casey, and the wound is still fresh. Hakiim cared more for Casey than his parents
ever did, which made leaving them behind
an easy choice. Although he enjoys this new life, Casey wishes he had
what Jake and Zak have—someone of his own to love and be loved by— but so far
none of the women in the group have looked on him favorably. And to be honest,
none has exactly caught his eye.
Tsvetok Yerokhin—Sev, for short—was living on the outskirts
of the enclave with his two brothers, among the outcasts, when Jake, Zak, and
Casey arrive. They save him from death, having been caught stealing. But there are
mitigating circumstances. Sev is having a difficult time raising his brothers on
his own after the death of their parents, and the boys aren’t exactly
cooperating. What do you do when you can’t even look to your fellow shifters
for help? To make matters worse, Sev discovers he has feelings for someone he’d
never expected to have.
When Jake catches Sev spying on Casey, he confronts him, and
is shocked to learn the reason behind his actions. He explains to Sev that
Casey isn’t gay, and Sev protests that neither is he, but nonetheless, Casey is
his mate. So, where do they go from there? And can Sev convince Casey that they
are meant to be?
This book moved me on more than one level. There were times
when I cried, times when I rejoiced, and times when I fist-pumped, crying,
Yeah, that’s right! Mr. Williams
certainly put me through the wringer with this one. The big truth I came away with from this book
is that love is indeed gender blind, and who you love is not and should not be
predicated on body parts and how they fit, but what is in your heart.
In this book, Elizar is dead, and Jake and Zak are trying to
put everyone’s lives together. However, you can’t keep a good man down—or a bad
one either. Casey thinks he’s hallucinating because he’s hearing Hakiim’s
voice, but could it be he is real, and has a message to deliver? What will
happen to the enclave if Elizar has his way and manages to return? Can Sev
handle the angry teen that Mikhail has become, when his brother obviously hates
him? Sacrifices are called for, but how easy is it to give up one’s life for
the person you love, knowing you’ll never see him again?
These characters are familiar friends now, and I enjoyed
visiting with them again. If you like paranormal romances, and stories that
will burrow into your heart, then this is the book for you. Also, I loved Sev
being a skunk shifter. That’s something you don’t often see. You really do need
to read the first book before this one, though. It’s well worth it.
Mr. Williams, I can’t wait to see what you deliver in the
third book. You’ve definitely engaged my attention now. I’ll be looking for
more of your writing.
No comments:
Post a Comment