Keta's Keep

TITLE: Crossroads Revisited
AUTHOR: Keta Diablo
ISBN: 978-1-59426-778-9
PUBLISHER: PHAZE BOOKS

Reviewed by: RAINBOW REVIEWS
RATING: 4.5 STARS! Review by Matthew (Just so you know -- Matthew Rocks!)

BOOK BLURB:
Frank McGuire is beginning to think the City has become a melting pot for serial killers. Another maniac is stalking the streets, only this time the deviant isn't tracking Goth girls, but gay college students. Rumors surface that put Frank's life in jeopardy, and somehow he must protect Rand from the carnage about to unfold. What he didn't count on was Rand becoming the killer's next victim.

BOOK REVIEW:

"Crossroads Revisited" by Keta Diablo is really good. It is listed as paranormal, but I have recommended it to friends that don't care for 'things that go bump in the night' as it is almost a non-paranormal paranormal story.

Tall, dark, and ruggedly handsome, Frank McGuire is a private investigator who sees vague images and symbols in his dreams and when he meditates. Despite others trying to label him, he firmly refuses to be known as 'psychic'. It is almost as if his subconscious mind picks up information and passes it along to him ~ with a little extra help from the unknown.

Frank is a man with a passion for dominant sex, and little patience for bullcrap. He demands, and gets, respect from those he deals with, from Rand, the sexy, rebellious college student that lives with him, to Detective Jeffords who is annoying and antagonistic.

Rand is a complex young man and an intriguing character. In some ways he is experienced beyond his years, and in others he is very young. He has an ongoing love-hate relationship with Frank and himself for being so attracted to Frank and his dominating sexual ways.

The plot is strongly crafted and well written. The tension builds steadily throughout the story. This reader really liked that not everything is perfectly answered ~ just the important things. Although this is technically a sequel, this story completely stands on its own. I thoroughly enjoyed this and think you will too!

Ain't Cyber Love Great????

CARNAL CRAVINGS By Keta Diablo

Buy From DARK ROAST PRESS
KETA ON TWITTER
Keta's Author Home

BLURB FOR CARNAL CRAVINGS:

Craven and Anthony find themselves in a cauldron of trouble while spying on Beresford Hall. A man in a black hood has routed them while they spied, and now he’s escorted them to the manor and secluded them in separate rooms.

One thing haunts Craven, the ice-blue eyes behind the hood and Anthony’s words, ‘Only one man possesses such eyes . . . Dominic Beresford, the most magnificent creature God ever breathed life into.’

Review of CARNAL CRAVINGS
Author Keta Diablo
MOONLIGHT, LACE & MAYHEM

Warning: m/m gay fiction

I went into this story thinking it was a quick read (a novella I believe with a total of 44 pages), and I could get through it quickly because gay romance hasn’t been my thing so far. No offense to the gay romance writers out there, I’ve not read any that entertained me…until now. After reading Keta’s m/m gay fiction, it has me wondering if she has any f/f gay fiction.

Just like with Decadent Deceptions by Keta Diablo, she drew me in again and I couldn’t tear myself away. From almost the beginning, she had me holding my breath when Craven and Anthony are caught by the hooded figure on Beresford’s property. And then anxious again as Crave awaits his punishment for trespassing.

The way Keta breathes life into her characters is fabulous. From the sexy mysterious Dominic Beresford--who I would do by the way...lol--to the unassuming student Craven, I was hooked from page one. I loved both characters equally. What I found very poignant was how vulnerable both Dominic and Craven were. Even though Dominic came from money, had a title and property, he was still longing for that special someone and was unsure how Craven would accept him in the end.

Carnal Cravings was a great read from beginning to end, spicy hot, but you’re forewarned, if you don’t enjoy gay fiction, then skip it. But if you do, pick it up and be prepared to love it as much as I did.

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Mel Keegan's GLBT Bookshelf Is Raising The Bar

INSPIRING, INNOVATIVE, IN-SYNC! GLBT BOOKSHELF

Words from Mel Keegan . . . .

Even now I’m astonished by the public response to GLBT Bookshelf -- and the volume of traffic racing through the site, the sheer weight of top talent that has ‘come aboard’ in a couple of short months -- tells me the project fills a void that was screaming to be filled.

It all began in my mind with the AmazonFail situation. GLBT writers are already so marginalized, we struggle for recognition. We’re in a tough niche, where the “adult” nature of stories which are pre-categorized by the orientation of their sensuality, results in every conceivable kind of story -- science fiction to historical, thriller to Western -- being lumped together in the same catch-all. Gay books.

And that’s fair enough: we all understand about protecting minors and those folks whose “prude filters” are dialled out to MAX. Amazon.com would protest that it only had the welfare of its users in mind.

But from the perspective of most GLBT writers, we work in such isolation, our internet “presence” is often the only profile we show to the public. Worse, that web-visibility tends to pivot on services like Google and Amazon.

It’s a rather sad commentary that in this day and age, institutions as vast and powerful as those two are still so hidebound that any mention of the word “gay” can send up the purple flags.

It’s equally sad that gay websites are routinely filtered out by Google … so when Amazon’s own content filters were turned against “gay” as a genre -- well, suffice to say, some of us were angry, jittery, and even inspired.

For myself, I was inspired -- to do something to combat the isolation of GLBT writers, and to at least try to establish a beachhead for us, some defence against the bastion of the giant online booksellers and search engines, who could literally make us vanish, on their whim. We’re vulnerable. Too vulnerable. Something had to be done, without delay.

The challenge was to build a rival “engine” which didn’t depend on Google to win searches and find visitors -- and didn’t depend on Amazon’s in-house search “catalogs” for GLBT authors to attain the critical visibility which comes before any potential sale can take place. It had to be a Community in which people with a vested interest could build more content than any individual (even an individual business) would be able to construct in a year. It had to be genuinely free for all members to get in and work at their own pace. It had to highly visible; easily findable and searchable by the readers … the customers! … without whom none of us would be writing professionally in the first place.

The solution was a wiki, and GLBT Bookshelf was born. It’s still it’s in its infancy -- but it’s a baby blue whale. An infant brontosaurus. The Bookshelf is about two months old, and it’s tickling 300 members, and 1500+ pages online, with enviable traffic, and (which is even more important) by tracking the “exit links” we know how visitors leave the site, as well as how they arrive…

They leave us via Amazon checkout pages, and publishers’ “buy now” links; via shopping carts and PayPal and Payloadz links. 90% of readers find us via the social networking of a large and ever-growing community. We’re dependent on no search engine, and nor do readers need to discover new writers, new works, via the Amazon platform.

They come to the Bookshelf from hundreds, if not thousands, of links, banners, posts, tweets and reviews on sites, blogs, forums, chatrooms, scattered across the web; and they leave with virtual book bags in each hand.

All this in two months. You know what we can be doing by Christmas?! Come and join us at GLBT BOOKSHELF -- as our slogan says, “Find out what you’re missing!”

The Bell Stalker, a new urban fantasy from Minnette Meador, is being written “live” over at TextNovel.com. This is an experiment for her and she’d like to invite you to join in. If she can stay in the top 20, she has a chance to win a contract with Dorchester for this wonderful novel. If you’d like to be part of the experiment, just go to TEXTNOVEL.COM, do a search for Minnette Meador, select The Bell Stalker, join TextNovel, and hit the thumbs up on her story. There are LOTS of other great stories there too, so make sure to browse through and vote for the ones you like. This is a wonderful site full of nothing but great free reads…

THE BELL STALKER
A new urban fantasy thriller by Minnette Meador

Bell Stark was tired of living in terror...
She had done everything she could to protect herself, but it didn't help; the maniac who attacked her a year ago was still out there...watching her. When Belle discovers her lover butchered in her apartment, she finds herself suspected of murder and in the hands of a ghost from her past; a man she hoped she'd never see again. Having spent the last ten years erasing him from her life (and her heart), she had no intention of letting him back in.

Brian Cranston had been a Portland cop for almost twenty years...hard years that not only took his love, but his dreams as well. He swore he'd never investigate another murder. But this one was different...Belle Stark was the prime suspect. His Belle Stark. He simply could not resist. Together, they uncover a mystery that reaches much deeper than the ravings of a lunatic. Unaware of their danger, they dive headlong into an investigation that leads them into an underworld that neither of them knew existed and a love that is poised under the knife of a madman.

Minnette can be found at the following locations…
Author Home
Author Blog

Crossroads Revisited, Keta Diablo
This book is published by Phaze Books and is a short novel/novella. BUY AT PHAZE
This novella made the top twenty best-seller list at Phaze, logging in at NUMBER SIX!

WARNING: Scenes of intense sexuality as well as male/male sexual practices.

In this second book by Keta Diablo, Rand is going to college and living with Frank.

The book opens up with a sadistic serial killer in the house of one of Rand’s classmates, and is killed.

This second story starts off running and does not let up. It is a novella, but like book one, it is a suspenseful, sexy thriller.

Frank is in love with Rand, but refuses to give into this side of his self. He tries to maintain a strong façade, yet he keeps having visions of Rand’s death. When he gets called in to help with the investigation of the killings, he finds out that the man who killed his partner escaped jail, and is after Frank.

Fearful for Rand’s life, Frank sends him back to his mother, which was a mistake, because there are two stalkers going after two very different things.

This is another look into the life of Frank who is somewhat psychic and is tough as hell. He sometimes struggle wit his feelings for Rand, but overall he is a protector. This book is definitely character driven.

The sex scenes between the men are about dominance and submission. But underneath their play, is a love that runs’ deep.

While not a super complex story, it is reminiscent of a film noir: the hard boiled detective and the gritty underbelly of certain denizens who stop at nothing to kill their next victims.

Bottom line I give the story a 4. For such a short novella, it reads fast and keeps pace from beginning to end. It is intense but never tender, not even Rand. Don’t let it pass you by!

Let's all welcome my good friend and author exceptionale TAMELA QUIJAS!
Read all about Blood of the Beast here:

BLURB for Book:
Detective Valentina Kureyev had been assigned to one of the worst cases of the century. A serial killer haunted the streets, depositing bloodless corpses throughout the section of town known as Little Europe. She hadn't a clue to the identity of the culprit, as the appearance of more bodies had begun to cause terror and panic.

The case was hopeless.

The terror was real.

As real as Demetri Petronov.

The Professor of Russian Antiquities had been targeted with the murderer's special form of a calling card. Val couldn't turn away from his offer of aide in the bizarre case, even though he whispered tales of the beast feeding on human blood.
He was the primary suspect.

EXCERPT:
“Do you have information for me?”

“I have enough to induce you to run and hide.”

Val shivered at the ominous but evasive tone in the voice. “I don’t run nor do I hide.”

“No, I didn’t think you would, Kureyev.”

“Listen, you son of a b….” She growled deep in her throat.

“You really must refrain from the use of such language.” He interrupted smoothly. “It's truly unbecoming for a lady.”

She exhaled another breath, pressing a forefinger to her aching temple.

“You really are a bossy bastard.”

“You've spent too many years working the streets, Kureyev.” Her unidentified caller continued, his voice suddenly sounding far older than she had previously assumed. “The years will pass too swiftly and you may forget the softer side of yourself.”

“I don’t think…” She sputtered, offended by the anonymous caller's gall.

“No, perhaps you don’t, on occasion.” The voice supplied in a soft grunt.

“I don’t have to listen to you.” Val knew the response was childish.

“I suggest you back off, Kureyev. Resign from the investigation, if you value your life.” He persisted in gentle and beguiling tones.

“Are you threatening me?” She asked, wondering at the direction of the caller. Val would have to contact her captain and give him the heads up on the prank call.

“I'm not threatening you, dorogaya.” The words that were breathed into the phone were seductively soft. Immediately, she ascertained the caller's nationality by the use of the Russian word for darling. “You don’t know what you are dealing with or what it could cost you.”

“Why don't you enlighten me?” Val couldn't restrain the question from slipping from her, intentionally aware that she had used his own comment upon him.

“You are dealing with a beast.”

“Duh.” She interjected childishly and listened to the marked sigh of impatience that echoed gently into her ear.

“There's an animal, in your humble streets, that hungers for the taste of blood.”

“Do you take me for a fool?” She snapped back into the receiver. Val didn't have to listen to some crackpot tell her that much. She knew the killer was an animal, by the slew of blood-drained corpses that had begun to fill the morgue.

“You don't comprehend the wealth of evil that is lying in wait, patiently awaiting it's next victim.”

“Oh-ho.” She couldn't control her derisive snort. Val wanted to laugh aloud at the insanity of the caller's accusation.

“The beast hungers for blood.”

“No damn shit.” She snapped. The hungering for blood comment rubbed her raw and made her more than a bit anxious. The average body count for the killer had been three to four victims a week, a disturbing number. “Stop being so friggin’ cryptic and get to the point!”

“The blood of the beast hungers for subsistence.”

“Look,” she began, her patience beginning to run thin. “I got you the first time around, bud.”

“You need to back away, Detective Kureyev.” The male voice became toneless as he continued. Val felt a shiver of apprehension trail down her spine. “If you place any value in what you love and hold dear, resign from the case.”

Blood of the Beast Book link: Amazon.com

Find me at:
Tamela's Blog
Tamela On MySpace

Crossroads Revisited locked in at number SIX this month on the top twenty best-seller list at PHAZE. Woot!

Disclaimer: My gay fiction novellas (unlike my erotica novels) are dark, intense and sexually graphic. Proceed with caution.

Here's the top twenty best-seller list for June from Phaze. Take a gander at number SIX! Thank you so much everyone! I couldn't have done it without you.

KISS KISS

1) Slippery When Wet - Jenna Byrnes
2) The Next Step - Mychael Black
3) Embracing the Leopard - Michelle Houston
4) Drawn to You - Nona Wesley
5) Dragon's Lust - Savannah Reardon
6) Crossroads Revisited - Keta Diablo **
7) Around the World - Jade Falconer
8) Just a Dream - Aliyah Burke
9) Onyx - Black / Carmichael
10) Mary and the Bear - Zena Wynn
11) Heart of Truth - Eon de Beaumont
12) Charisma - Wendy Stone
13) Livin' on a Prayer - Jude Mason
14) Eye of the Beholder - Jade Falconer
15) Taken by Storm - Marie Rochelle
16) A Strange New Breed - Wendy Stone
17) Closer to You: Lee - Marie Rochelle
18) Pick of the Litter - Wendy Stone
19) The Arrangement - Emma Wildes
20) Charming Lucy - Lissa Matthews

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