Autism awareness month – blog hop!
I’m excited to be taking part on R.J. Scott’s Autism Awareness month blog hop!
“Autistic, talks too much, makes friends easily.”
A few months ago, somebody who I am now privileged to call a friend introduced themselves to me with these words. How could I not grin instantly at them? After all, I can talk too much as well, and there was a lot of chatting that afternoon. Sadly, though, it’s not always been easy for autistic individuals to be open and happy about who they are, as just a brief look into the history of autism taught me. I was shocked to discover that, only a few decades ago, mothers of autistic children were blamed for their children’s “failure” to build “normal” relationships, often accused of being too cold toward them—so many ugly prejudices rolled into one horrible package.
“Autism Fact: Autism is a lifelong, developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with and relates to other people, and how they experience the world around them.”
When we write, we tend to focus a lot on individual hopes and dreams, either those of our characters or our ambitions as a writer. But these are really not the most important ones. For individuals to be able to celebrate who they are, through writing or otherwise, we need to have collective hopes and dreams, so we can travel together towards a more understanding and loving world. So yay for RJ and Autism Awareness month! I, for one, need to find out and learn so much more about autism, and intend to take this opportunity to do so.
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Giveaway: As part of the Austism Awareness blog hop, I am going to be giving away winner’s choice of any ebook from the Landlocked Heart series, my m/m merman romance. To enter, please leave a comment below with your email (comments will be screened e.g. not be published, so you don’t have to fear for your email being shared. I will also not be storing emails or using them for any other purpose.)
Giveaway ends midnight BST on 8th April 2018. Winners will be notified by email.
The Lonely Merman (Landlocked Heart book 1): It’s Friday afternoon, and the last thing Ben wants to be doing is trudging through a wet forest in search of a public hazard. But duty calls, and turns out more exciting than Ben imagined when he encounters a magical ruin, an enchanted pool, and Lyle—a merman who’s cursed to be landlocked many miles from the sea.
Lyle is flamboyant and exciting—he’s got tentacles, for goodness sake!—and Ben falls hard. But Lyle’s been hurt before and finds trust difficult, refusing even to reveal how to break the curse that imprisons him. Ben’s just an ordinary guy, and can’t help wondering if he can ever be the hero Lyle needs.
Landlocked Heart (part one) – paperback release!
Landlocked Heart (Volume One) is out in paperback. The book contains the first two novels, The Lonely Merman and Lyle’s Story. It’s available from Less Than Three Press or you can order it from amazon here 🙂
THE LONELY MERMAN It’s Friday afternoon, and the last thing Ben wants to be doing is trudging through a wet forest in search of a public hazard. But duty calls, and turns out more exciting than Ben imagined when he encounters a magical ruin, an enchanted pool, and Lyle—a merman who’s cursed to be landlocked many miles from the sea. Lyle is flamboyant and exciting—he’s got tentacles, for goodness sake!—and Ben falls hard. But Lyle’s been hurt before and finds trust difficult, refusing even to reveal how to break the curse that imprisons him. Ben’s just an ordinary guy, and can’t help wondering if he can ever be the hero Lyle needs.
LYLE’S STORY Lyle, a merman, and Ben, his human, work together in a seaside ice-cream parlour and their life together is bliss. Or would be, if not for Ben’s constant worries about career and money, and Lyle’s dark past—a myriad of secrets, lies, wild magic, and foul deeds, which now threaten to catch up with him. When Lyle’s merfolk family accuse him of murder, Ben and Lyle’s bond is stretched to the limit. Not only does Lyle seem unsuited to Ben’s dreams of domestic happiness, his magical powers are spinning dangerously out of control. Even Lyle isn’t entirely sure he’s innocent.
The whole series (so far) is available here.
Out now! Lyle’s Story (Landlocked Heart book 2) #mermen #dragons #mmromance
The second installment in my Landlocked Heart series was released this week!
Buy it now from Less than Three Press, Amazon, Amazon.co.uk, Kobo, Siren Bookstrand, and Smashwords.
Blurb: Lyle, a merman, and Ben, his human, work together in a seaside ice-cream parlour and their life together is bliss. Or would be, if not for Ben’s constant worries about career and money, and Lyle’s dark past—a myriad of secrets, lies, wild magic, and foul deeds, which now threaten to catch up with him.
When Lyle’s merfolk family accuse him of murder, Ben and Lyle’s bond is stretched to the limit. Not only does Lyle seem unsuited to Ben’s dreams of domestic happiness, his magical powers are spinning dangerously out of control. Even Lyle isn’t entirely sure he’s innocent.
With Ben dragged deep into the enchanted processes of merfolk justice, escaping with his life—and getting home to an important job interview—is just the start of the challenge. Uncovering Lyle’s inner truths without destroying their love could be a step too far…
You can buy the whole series, including pre-pre-ordering Landlocked Heart Book 3: Dragon Rider here at Less Than Three Press!
Love dragons? And mermen? And gay romance? Landlocked Heart (book 3): Dragon Rider – pre-order at a massive discount!
You can now pre-order the third book in my Landlocked Heart series, Dragon Rider, from Less Than Three Press at a whopping 36% off! ORDER NOW!
Blurb: The road to Ben and Lyle’s wedding is proving a bumpy one. Ben hasn’t even told his family he’s getting hitched to a shapeshifting merman, and he’s not the only one worried. When Lyle’s tearaway sister, Cully, whisks Lyle away on the merfolk equivalent of a stag do, she questions whether marriage is what Lyle needs anyhow. A merman should roam the seas and seek adventure, not work in an ice-cream parlour and worry about the rent.
With rumours flying among merfolk that Lyle is a dragon shifter, adventure seeks out Lyle, whether he wants it or not. Cully and Ben must set their differences aside to save Lyle from a gang wishing to steal his magical powers, which are in reality waning, possibly life-threateningly so. Lyle soon realizes it’s going to 
take a miracle for him to make it to the wedding, forcing Ben to embrace magic and become something other an “ordinary” guy…
You can buy book 1 now, and pre-order book 2 (out 28th September) – BOTH ARE ALSO ON DISCOUNT! MORE INFO HERE…
You can also buy Landlocked Heart (Book 1): The Lonely Merman at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Kobo, Smashwords, and Siren Bookstrand.
Read an exclusive excerpt from The Lonely Merman at Joyfully Jay!
You can now buy The Lonely Merman at Less Than Three Press, Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Kobo, Smashwords, and Siren Bookstrand.
The Lonely Merman (Landlocked Heart book 1) is OUT TODAY!
Yay! Release day is here! You can now hook yourself a lonely merman at Less Than Three Press, Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Kobo, Smashwords, and Siren Bookstrand.
If you decide to read, I really hope you enjoy my little tale. I am very happy to answer any questions about the story, characters or the rest of the series here or at my twitter @kayberrisford.
The series tells the saga of Ben, a mild-mannered environmental officer, and Lyle, a flamboyant merman with a tragic past. Its got magic, shapeshifting, tentacle-like fins (!), cute romance, a ton of pain and angst, and a light sprinkling of lovemaking. In latter books, it’s also got the odd dragon hanging around…
Anyway, please behold the lovely cover and scroll down for more info…
Blurb: It’s Friday afternoon, and the last thing Ben wants to be doing is trudging through a wet forest in search of a public hazard. But duty calls, and turns out more exciting than Ben imagined when he encounters a magical ruin, an enchanted pool, and Lyle—a merman who’s cursed to be landlocked many miles from the sea.
Lyle is flamboyant and exciting—he’s got tentacles, for goodness sake!—and Ben falls hard. But Lyle’s been hurt before and finds trust difficult, refusing even to reveal how to break the curse that imprisons him. Ben’s just an ordinary guy, and can’t help wondering if he can ever be the hero Lyle needs, let alone endure the endless camping trip in the woods…
Genre: Contemporary paranormal m/m romance.
Buy The Lonely Merman now or… Pre-order Landlocked Heart Book 2: Lyle’s Story at a bargain price!
Also at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Kobo, and Siren Bookstrand.
Kay Berrisford 