*~*Night Owl by M. Pierce Blog Tour – Guest Post, Review & Giveaway*~*

Title: Night Owl (Book #1, Night Owl Trilogy)

Author: M. Pierce

Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance

Paperback Release Date: July 1, 2014

Cover Designed by: Kerri Resnick

“Tautly written, complex, and vibrating with a dark sensuality that will have you at once blushing and anxious. You’ll think you have this book pegged . . . but you’ll be wrong.”—Christina Lauren, New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling authors of The Beautiful Bastard series

From bestselling ebook author M. Pierce comes the first novel in a provocative erotic trilogy where an anonymous online writing partnership turns into an uncontrollable, passionate obsession

At twenty-eight, Matt Sky has the perfect life. He has a beautiful girlfriend, a massive inheritance, and four national bestsellers — all penned under his airtight alias, M. Pierce.

At twenty-seven, Hannah Catalano is a train wreck. Her boyfriend is a deadbeat and her job is abysmal.

Matt and Hannah meet online as writing partners. Their relationship is safe, anonymous, and innocent…

Until Matt sees a picture of Hannah. Hannah’s picture sparks an attraction Matt is powerless to ignore. When circumstance brings Matt and Hannah together, the strangers begin a love story that’s passionate, poignant, unforgettable, and unstoppable.

Title: Last Light (Book #2, Night Owl Trilogy)

Author: M. Pierce

Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance

Release Date: October 28, 2014

Matt Sky is missing. After a solo ascent of Longs Peak that left only a large blood stain, tatters of climbing clothing, and the tracks of an animal in the snow, he is presumed dead.

Hannah Catalano is guarding a secret: She knows Matt is alive. After Matt’s memorial service, she lingers on the East Coast with his family, but it soon becomes clear that his brothers’ motives are less than gracious. Nate Sky is bent on tracking down the author of Night Owl, a book that charts the last days of Matt’s life with uncanny and scandalous accuracy, and which appeared only after his death. Seth Sky is bent on getting Hannah into his bed.

Tensions rise, secrets grow bigger, and passions run deeper—and hotter—as Matt struggles to find himself, Hannah tries to escape Nate’s libel suit and fend off Seth’s advances, and together Matt and Hannah strive desperately to maintain their ruse and their relationship…until Hannah is put in danger and Matt must make a life or death choice.

Title: After Dark (Book #3, Night Owl Trilogy)

Author: M. Pierce

Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance

Release Date: March 24, 2015

At twenty-nine, Matt Sky is trying to return to normal, having faked his death and come back to life. He and Hannah move to a simple house in the suburbs, and strive to grow their relationship into something durable and honest. They become more and more entangled, in the best ways possible.

At twenty-eight, Hannah finally has the life she’s always wanted: she’s pursuing her career as a literary agent at Granite Wing Agency, she is writing her first solo novel, and she is living with her hot, passionate lover. For the first time, Matt and Hannah are able to explore intimacy without inhibitions—without lies, secrets, or jealousy—and the results are explosive.

Still life together is not as easy as it seems. Matt is estranged from his brothers in the wake of his cruel stunt; Seth Sky, embittered by his failed pursuit of Hannah, makes a play for Hannah’s sister; and the topic of Hannah’s novel—her relationship with Matt and the Sky family—is driving a wedge between her and Matt. The lovers are devoted to one another, having come through many ordeals, but is their bond strong enough to last a lifetime?

Prompt: Discuss your decision not to reveal your sex

              Thank you for asking me to discuss my decision not to reveal my gender. I’ve wanted to write a blog post about this for quite a while.

               As you probably know, I am an intensely private person. When I prepared to publish Night Owl, I knew that I would be using a pen name. I have two brothers, both of whom are married and have children, and I am an active churchgoer. My whole family is very religious. It’s in our blood, you might say. If I were to publish an erotic romance under my own name, I would be alienated from my church group. Worse – the book would be associated with my extended family, my nieces and nephews. I personally do not feel comfortable saddling those children with any association to my raunchy novel.

               When they are old enough to grasp the concept of erotic literature and pen names, it will be their decision whether to let people know they’re related to the author of Night Owl, not my decision.

               You might be wondering why I would associate with a church group so strict that it would alienate me for simply writing an explicit romance novel. Well, in addition to being a part of my familial identity, my Christian faith is central to my sobriety. I am an ex-addict and recovering alcoholic, sober for just six years. My faith is the backbone of my sobriety. I cannot risk losing the fellowship I have with my church, which is my own personal AA meeting.

               To the average reader, revealing my gender might seem like a far cry from revealing my name, but revealing my gender brings people 50% closer to my personal identity. I am not comfortable with that 50%. I understand that readers are curious, but nothing would be worth losing my good standing in church, risking my sobriety, and potentially tarnishing my family’s reputation.

              My gender is just one clue to who I am, but it’s a damn big clue.

              And since we’re on this topic, let me address a few more things.

              My decision to withhold my gender is not a marketing ploy. I never intended to create curiosity about my identity and gain sales because of it. When I wrote myself into my novel, I intended to hide – to obscure myself in the fiction. That intention backfired.

              Many authors are (or claim to be) male, and some lie about their gender in order to gain sales. I think this is unethical in the extreme and I will never be accused of using my gender or lying about it. I believe readers should be more discerning when it comes to claims made by authors, and I think the focus should always be on our books, not on our personal lives – gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, etc. Let’s judge books by their content, not by their authors.

              Gossip. It’s out there. “I know M. Pierce is male because _____” or “I know M. Pierce is female because _____.” “I heard _____ from a friend / agent / editor.” “He posted this.” “She said that.” Even some authors and bloggers—people I care for and respect—have engaged in spreading this gossip. It’s hurtful to me, and strange. Curiosity I understand. The cruelty is always a mystery. Male or female, I’m a human, just like you.

              There are other things I could say—about the questionable ethics of trying to “out” an author who wishes for privacy, and about the gender ideas that are so firmly coded into our society—but I don’t want to write a manifesto. I hope and trust readers can respect my reasons for remaining “gender neutral.” I love my readers, and I give them nearly all of myself in my books. What little I withhold (who I am) is just what I need to have a life offline, out of the public eye, where I have some peace and can continue to write. So let me say thanks if you’ve respected my privacy, as so many of you have. That goodness doesn’t go unnoticed.

Night Owl by M. Pierce

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

*ARC Given to Blog for Honest Review*

5++++ “Mm.” “little bird” “Mr. Frostypants” Kisses

So…the synopsis hooked me. This is a pretty original concept, at least as far as I was concerned and it definitely piqued my interest. When it comes to reading erotica…I have one expectation – insanely hot sex…everything else just makes me a happier camper. Well, this book achieved that…and then some. I never knew what to expect with the story line or characters and up to the epilogue, I loved every direction it took me.

Matthew Robert Sky Jr….M. Pierce…Mr. Frostypants…Matt Matt Matt…what am I going to do with you. He’s like the ‘anti hero’. He’s snarky and brooding and not in the normal sexy way I usually love…in a different sexy way that I still love equally as much. He’s surly and sour, he’s secretive and just…an enigma…but that’s what made me like him more. What else did I like about Matt…I like that he made list’s…I liked that he had an unconventional pet (I’ll get to that in a little bit)…I liked the necklace that he got Hannah *sigh*…and I even liked his personality, as strange as that may sound. He’s so interesting and different from the normal BBF’s. It was an interesting dilemma because I never disliked Matt completely but he doesn’t make it easy to just fall in love with him….until you see him completely with Hannah. Then all bets are off. Plus it helps that he’s hot…don’t judge me, I am a little superficial.

‘I had never felt such longing in my life. My whole body responded to the idea of Hannah near me.’

Hannah Catalano…little bird…oh, I straight up loved Hannah from the get go. She’s so likeable, genuine, real…funny, authentic…I just liked her! I liked her relationship with Matt…her tenacity, her attitude…the way she approached things…especially where Matt was concerned. She knew delving into a relationship with him wasn’t going to be easy…but I know she wasn’t expecting what happened. I’ll give her this much, the girl has got some balls…she’s not a push over and she’s not weak…she is slightly different when it comes to Matt and his charms but…come on now, that can be forgiven. What girl isn’t a little googly-eyed and out of character when it comes to the man who can knock us on our ass.

‘Was I asking for trouble?
Tonight, trouble was a beautiful body standing next to a beautiful car right outside my house, waiting for me.
I didn’t feel a single twinge of fear.
I felt raw elation.’

So Matt and Hannah do not have the typical meeting. By far. And I liked that! It’s not out of the realm of possibility…while some of it may have been a bit…kinky, it worked for me. You cannot really call what develops with Matt and Hannah ‘insta-love’ because they have interacted for months – granted on a purely professional, strictly business level – but…they are not strangers by far. That being said, things do progress rather quickly once that line has been crossed…and there is no turning back. Another thing I loved. 🙂 I guess that is another thing I loved about Matt, once he figured out his feelings, he was sold…there may have been ‘extenuating circumstances’ that made things more difficult, but the way he felt about Hannah was concrete.

‘“Beautiful man. I wish you could see yourself. You look lost.”
“I feel lost,” I whispered.’

Hannah and Matt are hooooot! Scorching…sizzling…blazing…ten alarm fire…that kind of HOT – am I painting a clear picture? Like all out smoking, it is hands down some of the best sex I have ever read. I say this with no shame…I was panting during some of the scenes. Matt is dominant and demanding and all kinds of yumminess. Now, don’t get me wrong – the sex is not the only thing about them that this dirty book whore loved. Watching Matts personality open up more and change now that he is experiencing Hannah first hand…he morphed into this super insanely loveable Matt – the core essence of him was still there, still surely and sour, but he was loving, sweet and receptive to Hannah. He treated her with such care and yet still managed to fuck her on a desk and out in the wilderness…sounds pretty perfect right? Yup…it was.

‘…I was wrapped around her finger. She gazed over her shoulder with half-lidded eyes and whispered my name. Why did I think I had any power over Hannah? I was hers.’

Alright, well there is more to this story than meets the eye…I don’t do spoilers…but like I said I didn’t see most of what was coming. You know what else I didn’t see coming…Lawrence. Matts pet rabbit. Yeah…pretty much the one of the most awesome things I have ever read in a book. And once again…it makes me love Matt more. Just sayin. I also loved Chrissy, Hannah’s sister – because she made me laugh. I love Nate, Matts brother, because he’s the best big bro in the world. I loved the plot because it was very unpredictable and I never knew what was going to happen and while, yes it is an erotica, there was a significant amount of angst IMO.

‘”My body…craves your body.” Matt bounced me again and we moaned together. “It f-feels the distance…when we’re apart. Hannah, I can’t be apart from you.”
“You never have to be,” I said.’

Another thing I loved…the writing. It’s crisp and clean while being descriptive and precise. It’s a very unique style and it just flowed throughout the entire book for me. The dialogue is fantastic, Matt and Hannah’s inner thoughts are perfection and there is so much sarcasm and whit weaved into the book, I couldn’t get enough. Also, M. Pierce is a very intellectual writer – there are words in this book that I have never seen used in a romance. That’s awesome! We switch back and forth, alternating chapters from Hannah and Matts POV’s and both were written extremely well. Once you realize the pattern it’s relatively easy to keep up with and I enjoyed having both of their POV’s – there was never any backtracking or redundancy, the characters might address their feelings in regards to something that previously happened but we never had to go thru the event all over again from their POV.

‘The hollowness inside of me didn’t shrink. It expanded until it seemed to press at the limits of my being. I became less than a shell of myself. I was a fine limning – a suggestion of Hannah Catalano.
One day, I thought, I wouldn’t even be that.
I understood how people fall apart.
I understood how dangerous it is to let someone become your whole life, and how powerless we are to prevent it. Never deny me, Matt once said. As if I had a choice.’

Okay so now I must address the ending. The last chapter is fabulous. Perfection. Great ending for Hannah and Matt, even though it’s not as conclusive and concrete as I usually like. But…then there is the epilogue. If you don’t like cliffs – do not read the epilogue, problem solved! With the way Night Owl ends, it could have been a standalone…but it’s not a standalone. It’s the first book in a trilogy…so of course there needs to be a reason for you to read the next book…the epilogue is that reason. I have so many questions and I am not a very happy girl about the cliff – and an epilogue of two pages did that to me! The ‘great and horrible’ epilogue aside…I really loved this book. Everything about it worked for me and I couldn’t get enough. And even though the epilogue cliff’d me, I can’t wait for the next book…so it worked! If Night Owl is any indication of what is to be expected for the rest of the series, count me in. This book is astoundingly well written, practically flawless in my opinion and if you’re a lover of contemporary romance, erotica and indie books, this is by far one of the best choices out there.

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M. Pierce is the bestselling author of Night Owl, book one in the erotic Night Owl Trilogy. The author lives in Colorado and owns a rabbit named Laurence.