Carly's Book Reviews: Foolish Encounters Anthology: Virtual Tour #GuestPost #Giveaway

Cover Artist: Adrian Nicholas

Foolish Encounters

(A Rainbow Gold Anthology)

by Amy Lane, Angel Martinez, Elin Gregory, Freddy MacKay, JC Wallace, Tali Spencer & Tinnean

Length: 426 pages / 92,600 words

Genres Include: Contemporary, Gay (M/M), Humor, Paranormal, Romance, & Science Fiction

An accident, a chance encounter, a thought blurted out, a boat blown off course, a change in direction that suddenly runs into the line of fire – the smallest misstep can change everything. These foolish encounters are the moments around which lives pivot and sometimes spin out of control. Join us for tales of imprudent choices and bad decisions that can lead just as easily to hilarity as they can to tragedy.

These Foolish Things or A Trip to Remember

by Angel Martinez

When my son was small, oh, maybe three, I think, we were offered the opportunity to stay at a family friend’s house on Prince Edward Island. It sounded like the perfect vacation—quiet, away from it all, on the island in summertime. Lovely. And really, it would have been perfect if we’d been better prepared.

Our car at the time was a Camaro. Yeah, I know. But we were a young family with a toddler who could still fit in the back comfortably. We had not, however, made this trip before, and we had never taken such a long drive in this car. From Delaware to PEI would be a horrific trip straight through, so we stopped in Maine. I don’t even remember the town. We were stiff from the car, it was dark, late and the hotel was full of truckers. Between the engines roaring to life at all hours of the night and not terribly quiet neighbors, there was not much sleep to be had.

The next day, we set off in a hopeful frame of mind. That day we would reach the island easily and settle in. Customs went well, but I think we underestimated how far we still had to go, and when we reached the car ferry, (mind you, this is before they built the bridge to PEI) the line was quite long. My brain may have exaggerated over time, but I think it took us two hours to get on the ferry with a now cranky toddler. When we finally reached the island, it was already heading into evening, darkness falling on an island we didn’t know, where we would have to find the address of the local pastor who had the key for the house.

Later and later as we drove from the west end of the island to the east, on and on, or so it seemed to us. By the time we found the pastor’s house, it was late. They were rather hesitant to open the door for us and not terribly friendly. I don’t really blame them. But now we had the key and drove to the house. The lovely house near the sea that we had heard about.

It was a lovely house, sitting all alone in isolated splendor. But now it was late and we were exhausted and horrified to find the whole place covered in layers of dust with swarms of dead black flies in some of the window casements, and with a tiny, ancient fridge we weren’t certain worked. There were sheets, relatively clean, that we found in a linen closet and then we had to make two bedrooms livable before we could go to bed. I was in tears and on the verge of one of those bad migraines I got back then before we finally crawled into bed.

Still depressed the next morning, I crawled out of bed and checked on my son, who had not had a good night in a strange place. We went outside, into the grass by the house, and stood in the stillness, no sound but the wind, nothing moving but the birds. It was peaceful and truly beautiful. The rest of the day, we worked. We cleaned, started up the fridge, found out where to get a few groceries. We discovered that the house was also a historical society, with a small library in the front room and the that phone was, charming to us, a party line.

We explored the island. The beaches were breathtaking, rocky and wild. The lighthouse was gorgeous. Charlottetown was cute and touristy, and the ice cream was wonderful. A restaurant closer to home had the biggest mussels we’d ever seen. The stars…dear gods, the stars at night were more than any of us had ever seen.

In the end, the exhausting trip up, the worries, the initial disappointment, all turned into one of the most glorious vacations we ever had. We’re both older now, and the driving trip wouldn’t be advisable, but I still hope someday we can go back.

From "A Message from the Home Office"

By Angel Martinez

By the time Sissal got up the next morning, his new assistant was already prowling around the kitchen. No more lovely, peaceful breakfasts. Oh, well. Time to try to make things livable, at least.

“Good morning, Richard.”

The little guy froze in the act of wiping a finger over the countertop, his face set in lines of wary distaste.

“I’m sorry we started off badly yesterday,” Sissal went on as if his greeting hadn’t been ignored. He retrieved his favorite mug, the one shaped like a TARDIS, from the cabinet and slid past Richard to reach the refrigerator. “It’s not your fault some idiot assigned you here.”

There was an offended sniff behind him, which Sissal also chose to ignore. Lots of ignoring going on. He filled his mug with milk and stuck it in the microwave.

“Nor is it your fault that the Home Office saw fit to inform me of your arrival after you’d already arrived.”

A small noise behind him made him turn, in time to see Richard’s mouth hanging open in shock. He quickly schooled his features, raising his chin in haughty defiance. “If you had a more efficient installation, maybe the message would have arrived sooner.”

“Maybe.” Sissal retrieved his warm milk and sipped as he leaned back against the counter. “Class Five planet, my intrepid new assistant. Now that your assignment’s official and registered, you should have access to those training files and manuals. Have you checked?”

“Yes.” The answer was sullen, resentful.

“Nasty trick they pull, isn’t it? Anyone below a six grade has no access prior.”

“But you—”

“Of course.” Sissal sipped again, letting the warmth spread through his slowly waking system. “My grade allowed me to know what I was getting into before they dumped me on this dirtball. But now you see the regs. And that this is not a normal installation.”

Richard muttered something unhappy.

“I suggest today we take the time to orient you to the particulars of the area, to our cover, and what will be expected of you.” Sissal waited but only received another resentful mutter. “Is that clear Assistant OIL?”

“Yes, Liaison Naganos.” Anger glittered in those ridiculously adorable liquid, dark eyes, but at least it was a semi-civil answer.

“Good.” Sissal rubbed his palm fretfully over his bald scalp. “Did you find something in the fridge for breakfast?”

Richard turned away, his hand making dismissive, twitching motions. “I have fiber sticks.”

“Ah.” Sissal sipped. Waited. Sipped again. “What’s the longest you’ve ever lived off fiber sticks?”

“I…haven’t.”

Dumb kid. “You’ll find out after a few days. They’re not a long-term solution. Are you strictly plant matter? I’ve got veggies in the fridge.”

A visible shiver ran through Richard as he shook his head. Fine. They could sort all that out later. After a few more minutes of stilted, uncomfortable conversation, he found out the kid had slept on the kitchen table with the throw from the back of one of the kitchen chairs. He didn’t want to feel bad about that, damn it.

Amy Lane
Amy Lane has two kids in college and two kids in soccer, and four fur-babies up in her business as she writes. She, her Mate, and her brood live in a crumbling crap mansion and squander their funds on movies, travel, and joy.

Angel Martinez
While Angel Martinez is the erotic fiction pen name of a writer of several genres, she writes both kinds of gay romance – Science Fiction and Fantasy. Currently living part time in the hectic sprawl of northern Delaware, (and full time inside the author's head) Angel has one husband, one son, two cats, a changing variety of other furred and scaled companions, a love of all things beautiful and a terrible addiction to the consumption of both knowledge and chocolate.

Elin Gregory
Elin Gregory lives in South Wales and has been making stuff up since 1958. Writing has always had to take second place to work and family but now the kids are grown up it’s possible she might finish one of the many novels on her hard drive and actually DO something useful with it.

Historical subjects predominate. She has written about ancient Greek sculptors, 18th century seafarers but also about modern men who change shape at will and how echoes of the past can be heard in the present. Heroes tend to be hard as nails but capable of tenderness when circumstances allow.

There are always new works on the go and she is currently editing a novel about spies in the 1920s, finishing one set in 6th century AD England and contemplating one about the Second World War. Any excuse to buy more books!

Freddy MacKay
Freddy grew up in the Midwest, playing sports and running around outside. And honestly, that much has not changed since Freddy was small and throwing worms at other kids, expect worm throwing has been replaced with a healthy geocaching addiction. Freddy enjoys traveling and holds the view a person should continually to learn about new things and people whenever possible.

Freddy's contemporary LGBTQ book, Incubation: Finding Peace 2, won 3rd Place - Best Gay Erotic Fiction in the 2012 Rainbow Awards. In 2013, Freddy's story, Internment, tied for 3rd Place - Best Gay Fantasy in the Rainbow Awards. Freddy's steampunk/SF story, Feel Me, was a Finalist and honorable mention in the 2014 Rainbow Awards for SF.

JC Wallace
JC "Jake" Wallace started writing from a young age, but took a break for marriage, kids, and college (in that order). A few years ago, he rediscovered his passion and ventured out into the brave new world of publishing. He now has several novels and short stories published. At night and on the weekends, Jake writes about all things men, believing there is nothing hotter than two men finding and loving one another, whether for a night or forever. An avid reader of M/M romance, Jake loves a good twist of a plot, HEA, HFN, or tragic ending. He also writes what his bestie calls HUNK (Happy Until the Next Kidnapping). In his daytime hours, Jake works with individuals with autism and behavior problems. He is owned by a beautiful partner, three kids, two grandchildren, two dogs and one cat. He lives in the Adirondack Mountains in Northern NY.

Tali Spencer
Tali Spencer fell in love with writing at an early age and never stopped. Thanks to a restless father, she grew up as a bit of a nomad and still loves to travel whenever she can. Her longest stint in one place was Milwaukee where she went to college, enjoyed a series of interesting careers, and raised three surprisingly well-adjusted sons. She later married her true love and put down new roots in Philadelphia, where she lives in an ongoing Italian American family sitcom. At least she’s learned how make good pasta. When not writing, Tali reads everything from sweet goofy romances to medical research, manages her fantasy football team—go Gekkos!—and takes long walks with her loving, if slightly neurotic, poodle.

Tinnean
Tinnean has been writing since the 3rd grade, where she was inspired to try her hand at epic poetry. Fortunately, that epic poem didn't survive the passage of time; however, her love of writing not only survived but thrived, and in high school she became a member of the magazine staff, where she contributed a number of stories.

It was with the advent of the family's second computer – the first intimidated everyone – that her writing took off, enhanced in part by fanfiction, but mostly by the wonder that is copy and paste.

While involved in fandom, she was nominated for both Rerun and Light My Fire Awards. Now she concentrates on her original characters, and recent novels have received honorable mention in the 2013 and 2014 Rainbow Awards.

A New Yorker at heart, she resides in SW Florida with her husband and two computers.

Ernest Hemingway's words reflect Tinnean's devotion to her craft: Once writing has become your major vice and greatest pleasure, only death can stop it.

Where to find the authors:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freddy.m.mackay, https://www.facebook.com/amartinez2, https://www.facebook.com/amy.lane.167, https://www.facebook.com/Tinnean, https://www.facebook.com/jcwallacebooks, https://www.facebook.com/elin.gregory, https://www.facebook.com/tali.spencer

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FreddyMacKay, https://twitter.com/AngelMartinezrr, https://twitter.com/amymaclane, https://twitter.com/jcwallacebooks, https://twitter.com/ElinGregory, https://twitter.com/tali_spencer, https://twitter.com/tinneantoo

Publisher/Sponsor
http://www.wildecity.com/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/wildecity/
https://www.facebook.com/rainbowgoldreviews, https://twitter.com/LGBT_Reviews

3 eBooks of Foolish Encounters
$10 Gift Certificate
$15 Gift Certificate
An eBook copy of They Come by Night by Tinnean,
An eBook copy of Snow on Spirit Bridge by Freddy MacKay
Choice of eBook from Angel Martinez's backlist
Choice of eBook from Elin's Gregory's backlist
Surprise prize from Tali Spencer
Choice of eBook from JC Wallace's backlist

a Rafflecopter giveaway