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Love Bytes is delighted to host the exclusive cover reveal from Ari McKay’s 2018 release of “The Quality of Mercy”, coming in january from Dreamspinner Press.
Ari McKay talks to us about the cover and brought with them a giveaway you can enter!
welcome Ari McKay 🙂
Hello everyone! We’re so excited for Love Bytes to be hosting the cover reveal for our upcoming novel, The Quality of Mercy. While the story won’t be released until January 2nd, Reese Dante’s fabulous artwork is simply too good to keep to ourselves!
For those of you who have read our work, you’ll probably recognize Reese’s style gracing the covers of our other two historical westerns, Heart of Stone and Finding Forgiveness. Reese is an exceptionally talented artist, but it we were immediately drawn to her style years ago when we were considering artists for Heart of Stone. Reese has a way of beautifully conveying the historical nature of the work without making the cover look dated or “old”. And she is brilliant at bringing the characters to life! It’s one of the things that makes an author so happy, when an artist fulfills their vision so perfectly!
If you’ve read Finding Forgiveness, you’ll be familiar with our sexy Mexican cowboy, Carlos Hernandez. Carlos is a handsome, charming man, but while he bestows his affections widely, his heart has been claimed by one man, a man Carlos left in a blaze of youthful folly. He never thought he’d see Jules Wingate again, so when Jules unexpectedly surfaces once more in Carlos’s life, he can’t resist trying to win Jules’s love again.
Jules couldn’t be more different from Carlos. Bookish, sensitive Jules is a decade older than Carlos, and he knew he shouldn’t get involved with a man so much younger than he. But Carlos stole Jules’s heart, then broke it, and Jules has spent ten years trying to get over the pain. When he takes a new job in the small town of Mercy, Texas, he has no idea that the past he’s tried so hard to forget is lying in wait for him.
Reese found the perfect man to represent Carlos, but Jules was so much harder. We had a very specific look in mind for Jules, and so Reese patiently listened to us, and through a miracle of artistry produced a composite that gave us the perfect Jules! We’re still in awe of Reese’s ability, and please, if you like the cover, let her know!
And we’d be very happy if you give The Quality of Mercy a chance to win your heart. In the cold of January, maybe a historical western will bring enough heat to keep you warm.
Love you all!
Ari and McKay
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Cover by Reese Dante https://www.reesedante.com
BLURB:
Gil Porter and Matt Grayson’s Bent Oak Ranch in Mercy, Texas is a rare haven for gay men in the 19th century, and their friend Carlos Hernandez will need it when a man from his past unexpectedly comes back into his life.
Jules Wingate hopes to start over in Mercy as the schoolmaster after a scandal sent him and his son fleeing their former home. But he discovers he’s left one bad situation for another when he encounters his former student and lover, Carlos. No matter how Jules tries to resist, he yearns for the passionate connection they once shared… before Carlos broke his heart.
Carlos knows his foolish, immature actions hurt Jules, but he desperately wants a second chance and to show Jules he’s changed. But trust so badly broken is hard to repair. While he works to earn Jules’s forgiveness, someone else at the ranch has his sights set on Carlosâ€â€and he doesn’t care how many lives he has to ruin to make Carlos his and his alone.
Preorder Links:
Dreamspinner Press:
Ari McKay is the professional pseudonym for Arionrhod and McKay, who have been writing together for over a decade. Their collaborations encompass a wide variety of romance genres, including contemporary, fantasy, science fiction, gothic, and action/adventure. Their work includes the Blood Bathory series of paranormal novels, the Herc’s Mercs series, as well as two historical Westerns: Heart of Stone and Finding Forgiveness. When not writing, they can often be found scheming over costume designs or binge watching TV shows together.
Arionrhod is a systems engineer by day who is eagerly looking forward to (hopefully) becoming a full time writer in the not-too-distant future. Now that she is an empty-nester, she has turned her attentions to finding the perfect piece of land to build a fortress in preparation for the zombie apocalypse, and baking (and eating) far too many cakes.
McKay is an English teacher who has been writing for one reason or another most of her life. She also enjoys knitting, reading, cooking, and playing video games. She has been known to knit in public. Given she has the survival skills of a gnat, she’s relying on Arionrhod to help her survive the zombie apocalypse.
Website: http://arimckay.wordpress.com
Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ari-Mckay/266185570179748
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ari.mckay.7
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AriMcKay1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6153630.Ari_McKay
Ari McKay generously brought with them a giveaway to our readers
Have a chance to win a copy of the ebook of Finding Forgiveness, the first story in the Bent Oak Saga
Congratulations, Ari. That’s a beautiful cover. I love historicals, but I must recognise I have not read a historical western yet. I’m intrigued!
Thank you!! We love writing historical westerns – handsome cowboys are just yummy! 😀
What a beautiful cover! I can’t wait to read this one.
Thank you SO much! Please let us know how you like it!!!
Great cover. Not read a historical western before – I’m intrigued!
We hope you’ll give it a try – we try to give the flavor of the old West and the romance of the prairies. 😀
The expression on Jules’ face reflects the sorrow he faces daily. This should prove to be a wonderful story. I love second chances.
Thank you! We do hope you’ll enjoy it. Jules has definitely faced a lot of sorrow, but he’s stronger than he thinks!
Congrats, Ari McKay & Reese – what a great cover! So much in it depicts what I love. Having grown up in Texas, I love historical westerns. I don’t know where Mercy TX is, but I’d be happy to go back in time to give these two guys a hand, so to speak 😉
Thanks so much! Mercy is actually a made up town, because we didn’t want to inadvertently misappropriate anyone’s ancestral lands or misrepresent their history. We think of Mercy as being “south of Abilene, west of Austin” where the terrain gets a bit more rugged and dry. 😀
Great cover. It sounds like an interesting read.
Thank you so much! We hope you’ll give it a try!
Cowboys are my favorite romantic heroes! Love the cover. Thanks so much for sharing the blurb, guest post and author bio. I look forward to reading this book.
I love the cover! I’ve only read a few historical romances, but none of them have been westerns.
Congrats on your lovely cover and on the new release!