LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: Hurricane Reese by R.L. Merrill

August 30, 2019 By 3 Comments


Thanks for joining us on our 12th anniversary scavenger hunt! There are two ways to enter to win and it’s easy to play– first read the blurb below, then answer the question on the first Rafflecopter. You might win a $100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC. Follow and visit authors social media pages on the second rafflecopter and you’re entered to win another $100 Amazon/BN GC!

Forces of Nature: Book One

The life of Tony-winning musician Reese Matheson resembles a natural disaster, and caregiver Jude De La Torre is caught in the eye of the storm. But can the love of two opposites survive caring for an ornery octogenarian with wayward balls and a meddling family insistent upon tradition?

Fresh off the successful London run of his musical, the last thing Reese expects when he comes home is a house surrounded by paparazzi and his girlfriend throwing his stuff into the pool. All he wants to do is spend time with his beloved grandfather and musical mentor who suffers from Alzheimer’s. Reese knows he doesn’t have much time left before the elder Matheson forgets who he is. In classic “Hurricane Reese” form, he moves into the cottage by the sea and displaces Jude, the intriguing caregiver he hired two years before. When Grandpa proves too much for Reese to handle on his own, Jude comes to his rescue, taming Grandpa… and the Hurricane as well. Soon all Reese can think about is how to get Jude out of his scrubs and into his bed—permanently. Will Hurricane Reese destroy everything in his path, or will this odd couple learn to harmonize together?

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Buy the book at Dream Spinner Press.

Scavenger Hunt:

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Top Five Tap Performances by R.L. Merrill – Guest Blog and Giveaway

January 23, 2019 By 3 Comments

Long and Short Reviews welcomes R.L. Merrill who is visiting with us today to celebrate yesterday’s release of Typhoon Toby, the second book in her Forces of Nature series. Leave a comment or ask the author a question for a chance to win a $10 gift certificate from Dreamspinner Press.

Top Five Tap Performances

Typhoon Toby is the follow up to my 2018 release, Hurricane Reese. Toby is Reese’s songwriting partner and he reluctantly falls for therapist Spencer Hart during a vacation fling. Once they’re reunited at a fundraiser back home, Toby’s carefully contained emotional turmoil lets loose with the power of a major tropical storm and Spencer has to hold on for dear life.

Spencer has a secret talent. He spent his youth mastering tap dancing, and due to an unexpected set of circumstances, he has to pull out the old tap skills in this story. Like Spencer, I spent my youth dancing and tap was always my favorite. For my Top Five list I thought I would share with you my favorite tap performances in no particular order.

1. The Nicolas Brothers
You can’t have a tap list without them. These men showed so much athleticism, stage presence and charisma. They owned the stage. I wanted to be them. I hurt myself many times trying! https://youtu.be/fNKRm6H-qOU

2. Ann Miller
Miller’s turns were drilled into us as young tappers and her hard-working flair appealed to me as a youth. I choreographed a tap number for a stage presentation of Kiss Me, Kate, and did my best to channel her. This is my very favorite performance of hers. https://youtu.be/HvGPCFrMnSU

3. Gregory Hines
The guy was so smooth. White Nights blew me away. I love this performance of his because I could listen to him sing forever as well. https://youtu.be/LqTn7hy2lOU

4. Shirley Maclaine and Gene Kelly
Maclaine is one of my heroines in the world of dance and her gift of comedy made her one of my favorite actresses as well. Watching her match steps with the master is really a treat. Those legs… https://youtu.be/5y76ctjpOn0

5. Debbie Reynolds, Gene Kelly, and Donald O’Connor
Singin’ In The Rain was the most influential tap movie in my early years. One of my earliest solo performances was to Singin’ In The Rain. This number always makes me smile. https://youtu.be/GB2yiIoEtXw

Honorable Mention: Billy Elliot

The emotion in this clip from the movie is tangible. How many boys were chased away from dance because they feared the repercussions? Spencer in Typhoon Toby probably felt a lot like Billy when he was in middle school. He loved to dance, but all of the unwanted attention he received from others led Spencer to give up his passion. Ma href=”https://youtu.be/p6Cm0A0iuA8″>https://youtu.be/p6Cm0A0iuA8

Thanks for having me on your blog today. I hope you enjoyed a taste of tap dancing. For more recommendations, why not follow me on the socials or sign up for my newsletter-y thingie? I love to chat with readers about the things we are all passionate about. I love that the Forces of Nature series has allowed me to reconnect with my love of dance.

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On the surface, Toby Griffiths appears to have it all—talent, money, a brilliant mind, and model good looks. With his best friend, Reese, he’s built an empire as a singer/songwriter.

But beneath that glittering exterior, Toby suffers the lasting effects of abuse. To keep his tempestuous past where it belongs, he insists on anonymity with lovers—no names, no personal information. But a vacation fling in Bali changes all that, and he can’t get his recent playmate out of his mind.

Therapist Spencer Hart left Bali with a bad case of pneumonia and a broken heart. Although he’s recovering, he’s shocked to find his secretive partner on TV, and he’s determined to see him again. Spencer arranges to attend one of Toby’s fundraising galas, and their reunion is tense.

Toby tries to stick to his rules… until a New Year’s kiss with Spencer washes away the last of his resistance. But Toby is a man with secrets, and when the storm comes ashore, it could devastate not just his professional life but his fledgling love affair and his longtime partnership with his best friend.

Will Spencer stand by his side and help him weather the storm as Toby faces his worst fears?

About the Author:Once upon a time… a teacher, tattoo collector, mom, and rock ’n’ roll kinda gal opened up a doc and started purging her demons. Several self-published books and a debut gay romance with Dreamspinner Press later, R.L. Merrill is still striving to find that perfect balance between real life and happily ever after. She writes stories set in the places she loves most, such as Hollywood, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Northern California—and Iowa. Ro also loves connecting with other authors online, at the annual Romantic Times Booklovers Convention, and chapter meetings for the Romance Writers of America, of which she’s been a member since 2014.
A sucker for underdogs, Ro has adopted a wide variety of pets including cats, dogs, rats, a snake and fish. Her love of horror is evident the moment you walk in her door and find yourself surrounded by decorative skulls and quirky artwork from around the world. You can find her lurking on social media where she loves connecting with readers, educating America’s youth, being a mom taxi to two busy kids, in the tattoo chair trying desperately to get that back piece finished, or head banging at a rock show near her home in the San Francisco Bay Area. Stay Tuned for more Rock ’n’ Romance.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Spotify Playlist

Buy the book at Dreamspinner Press or Amazon.

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LASR Anniversary Scavenger Hunt: Hurricane Reese by R.L. Merrill

August 30, 2018 By Leave a Comment

Thanks for joining us on our anniversary scavenger hunt! There are two ways to enter to win and it’s easy to play– first read the blurb below, then answer the question on the first Rafflecopter. You might win a $100 Amazon/BN GC. Follow and visit authors social media pages on the second Rafflecopter and you’re entered to win another $100 Amazon/BN GC!

The life of Tony-winning musician Reese Matheson resembles a natural disaster, and caregiver Jude De La Torre is caught in the eye of the storm. But can the love of two opposites survive caring for an ornery octogenarian with wayward balls and a meddling family insistent upon tradition?

Fresh off the successful London run of his musical, the last thing Reese expects when he comes home is a house surrounded by paparazzi and his girlfriend throwing his stuff into the pool. All he wants to do is spend time with his beloved grandfather and musical mentor who suffers from Alzheimer’s. Reese knows he doesn’t have much time left before the elder Matheson forgets who he is. In classic “Hurricane Reese” form, he moves into the cottage by the sea and displaces Jude, the intriguing caregiver he hired two years before. When Grandpa proves too much for Reese to handle on his own, Jude comes to his rescue, taming Grandpa… and the Hurricane as well. Soon all Reese can think about is how to get Jude out of his scrubs and into his bed—permanently. Will Hurricane Reese destroy everything in his path, or will this odd couple learn to harmonize together?

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | R.L. Merrill

Buy the book at Dream Spinner Press.

Scavenger Hunt:

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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R.L. Merrill’s Top Five Musicals – Guest Blog

January 30, 2018 By Leave a Comment

Long and Short Reviews welcomes R.L. Merrill, who is celebrating today’s release of Hurricane Reese.

R.L. Merrill’s Top Five Musicals –
(In no particular order because playing favorites is no fair)
Hurricane Reese features a pop musician who becomes a Broadway smash with his first musical, Ruby in Red Plaid, and decides to take some time off with his beloved grandfather who played piano for Frank Sinatra in the 1960s. The musical Reese ends up writing details an important event in his grandfather’s life, which turns out to be a little different than Reese had been led to believe. I’ve always loved musicals and dancing, and while rock and metal music has featured prominently in all of my work so far, this book gave me the opportunity to explore my more theatrical side. I helped choreograph musicals in my first years of teaching, performed in a college production of Kiss Me, Kate, and worked with show choirs for years, so this part of the story was a lot of fun to write.

1. Hair

Hair has some of the best songs ever. I fell in love with the show in college when a date took me to see a performance in Des Moines. I bought the soundtrack, listened to it non-stop, and I still sing it all the time. I was such a hippie anyway at that time in my life, well in dress and in political/social leanings, it just appealed to me. Plus, I was all about my long blonde natural hair then, haha. Not anymore. I cut it off when I got pregnant 17 years ago and I’ve never looked back. Now it’s pink!

2. Silk Stockings

I was a dancer from age 3 to 17. Tap, jazz, and hula. I absolutely loved everything to do with dancing, and Cyd Charisse was my idol. Her and Cynthia Rhodes were everything. I wanted to dance like them, I wanted to be them for a long time. But Silk Stockings I love not only for the dancing, but also as a child of the Cold War era, I loved this lighthearted take on the Soviet conflict and how love could cross even the stodgiest of boundaries. And Fred Astaire. Come on…

3. Phantom of the Opera

My stepmother and grandmother took me to see Phantom in San Francisco when I was a teenager and I was blown away. Never had I gotten such chills from listening to song. I’ve always been a horror fan and one who loved the villain more than the hero quite often, and so I always rooted for the Phantom and longed for an alternate ending where Christine remains with the Music Of The Night…

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This brilliant story of a street musician and the flower-seller who becomes his muse was so sweet, but the music ripped my heart out. The film version with Glen Hansard in all of his ginger beauty singing his heart out and Marketa Irglova’s pure voice singing a plea to the man who left her… Oh, the feels.

5. Singin’ in the Rain

Gene Kelly. Need I say more? The master himself pokes fun at himself in this one while falling in love with the adorable Debbie Reynolds. The acrobatic Make em Laugh, the Cyd Charisse number, and “Moses supposes his toeses were roses, but Moses supposes erroneously…” I did a tap solo to Singin’ in the Rain as a kid that I’m told was pretty special, so yeah, it’s been a favorite for a long time.

Tony award-winning musician Reese Matheson’s life resembles a natural disaster, and caregiver Jude De La Torre is caught in the eye of the storm. Can the love these two opposites find together survive caring for an ornery octogenarian with wayward balls and a meddling family insistent upon tradition?

A public break-up is not what Reese expects upon returning from the successful run of his musical in London. All he wants to do is spend time with his beloved grandfather and musical mentor, who suffers from Alzheimer’s. Reese knows he doesn’t have much time left before the elder Matheson doesn’t remember him. In classic “Hurricane Reese” form, he moves into the cottage by the sea, displacing Jude, the intriguing caregiver he’d hired two years before. When Grandpa proves too much for Reese to handle on his own, Jude comes to his rescue, taming Grandpa… and the Hurricane as well. Soon all Reese can think about is how to get Jude out of his scrubs and into his bed. Permanently. Will Hurricane Reese destroy everything in its wake, or will this gay odd couple learn to harmonize together?

About the Author:Once upon a time… a teacher, tattoo collector, mom, and rock ’n’ roll kinda gal opened up a doc and started purging her demons. Several self-published books and a debut gay romance with Dreamspinner Press later, R.L. Merrill is still striving to find that perfect balance between real life and happily ever after. She writes stories set in the places she loves most, such as Hollywood, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Northern California—and Iowa. Ro also loves connecting with other authors online, at the annual Romantic Times Booklovers Convention, and chapter meetings for the Romance Writers of America, of which she’s been a member since 2014.

A sucker for underdogs, Ro has adopted a wide variety of pets including cats, dogs, rats, a snake and fish. Her love of horror is evident the moment you walk in her door and find yourself surrounded by decorative skulls and quirky artwork from around the world. You can find her lurking on social media where she loves connecting with readers, educating America’s youth, being a mom taxi to two busy kids, in the tattoo chair trying desperately to get that back piece finished, or head banging at a rock show near her home in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Facebook Readers Group | Spotify
Buy the book at Dreamspinner Press or Amazon.
Facebook Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2001762376761722/
Spotify Playlist Link: https://open.spotify.com/user/rlmerrillauthor/playlist/79BaPjDRZXUwVr5tPI9FNC

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