Three Hearts by Grace R. Duncan - Blog Tour with Author Guest Post and Giveaway

Published by Grace R. Duncan

Release date: March 3, 2017

72k Words

Cover artist: Jess Small

M/M Paranormal/shifters

Blurb:

Liam Scott is sick. That’s not supposed to be possible. As a wolf shifter, he’s supposed to be able to heal. The omega gene he was born with means he’s capable of carrying shifter young and Liam is worried that whatever is wrong will mean his one-day hope of having pups will be dashed. But despite the fears keeping him away from the doctor until now, he knows he needs to go.

It turns out the sickness is temporary, but the treatment causes a whole other problem.

Mason’s alpha gene means he’s one of very few wolves who can impregnate an omega male. For two years, he’d been watching Liam, but things kept getting in the way. When Liam shows up in heat, Mason recognizes the opportunity he needs and doesn’t hesitate make to Liam his mate and the father of his pups.

But Liam has old wounds and fears to work through which the pregnancy is only making worse, and Mason isn’t sure how to get past them to show he’s serious about making a life together as loving mates. It’s not until a female wolf decides Mason should be hers that Liam makes his biggest worry known—and Mason can finally put the fears to rest.

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4 out of 5 stars

Three Hearts is a standalone, contemporary paranormal mpreg story. If you've never read mpreg before, you could quite easily pick Three Hearts up and enjoy it. 

Three Hearts is a sweet, cute, and fun mpreg shifter story with relatively low angst. Our two MCs actually work together and things evolve between them purely by accident. Liam has been ill, which is almost unheard of for shifters. So ill that his normal suppressants aren't working and poor Liam goes into an unexpected heat...and it happens at the worst time. In front of his boss Mason...who he's been attracted to for a while but doesn't think he has a chance with him. What he doesn't know is that Mason happens to be attracted to Liam but never acted on it. 

While it was a bit insta-lust, I get that as it's shifters and I did expect that..I didn't expect the rest of the story to just be as close to perfect as you can get for these two MCs. This is the kind of story you just kind of curl up on the couch and just let it take you through the journey the author has in store for you. You're going to laugh, you're going to want to shake Liam at times..and swat Mason, and you're going to cheer both of them on through the book. 

There is a bit of conflict but most of that occurs around Liam and his fear that Mason won't stay around for him and the pups. Something his own father had to go through when he had Liam, and Liam thought that all Alphas behaved that way. However Mason proved him wrong multiple times during the story and they worked everything out in the end.

Overall this is was just a feel good kind of story with two characters that were literally made for each other. I truly enjoyed Three Hearts and I think you will too.

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I am also celebrating my 4th publishing anniversary with more giveaways and even a full scavenger hunt! See below for more 

Thank you so much to Chris for giving me space today!

As a gay romance author, I am faced with a particular challenge every time I sit down to write a man. A common occurrence in the fanfiction community—and something many of us who began there faced—was writing little more than a chick with a dick. Well, when you introduce pregnancy to the mix, that issue gets a lot more complicated.

I read quite a bit of mpreg before I wrote my own. As a lot of authors do, we see something in the stories we read that we didn’t like and decide, “I need to do that differently.” Well, I am no exception to that (the entire Forbes Mates series started because of that idea). I read a few mpreg stories I loved, except for the odd detail here and there and those things stuck with me.

In one instance, the “pregnant dad” never acted pregnant. The justification was because he was male, he didn’t go through pregnancy the same way a female would have. Another story talked about how males couldn’t have babies the “natural” way and always had c-sections.

While I absolutely and unequivocally respect any author’s choices when it comes to their world, neither of these things felt right, to me.

For one thing, pregnancy changes a body, even a paranormal one. There is no way you’re going to host an entire other being, provide all its sustenance and development and not have it change you, male or female. But deciding how that would change a person—especially a guy—while still making it a guy isn’t easy. As a friend of mine said, (paraphrasing because my memory sucks) if you can replace all the guy’s names with “Debbie” and have it work just as well (or better), it’s not working.

So, how did I do it? For one thing, I subtly and not-so-subtly reminded my reader the pregnant character was a guy. Let’s face it, as chicks, we’re used to sitting to pee, right? That’s gotta be a seriously big deal for a guy. I know men who do so voluntarily, but they’re rare. So when Liam couldn’t see his dick anymore and was forced to sit to pee, that was seriously going to bother him.

Another issue was getting used to hormonal shifts. I firmly believe anyone going through pregnancy is going to have their hormones fucked with. Physically, the body’s got to go through the shifts. I discuss a lot more of the physical changes in my post with Elizabeth Noble. But any change in hormones is going to fuck with the emotions. So, on top of no longer being able to see his cock, Liam also finds himself spontaneously crying. For a guy who’s not even supposed to show emotion—even an omega—that also messes with him.

Liam

It was tempting. I wouldn’t have to figure out how to pay, would get his input on some things. But it was more important for them to get the stuff done I couldn’t do. “No. I thought I’d send you a couple of pics of the cribs and furniture I was considering. What I was actually wondering was… how do I pay for it?” My cheeks heated as I asked, though I didn’t know why. Maybe because I was feeling distinctly ridiculous in that moment for handing so much over to him. That thought alone was silly. Mason was a genius for numbers and was the better of the two of us to handle that. Still, in that moment, I felt like a silly little brainless twit.

“Do you have the card for the household account?”

“Yeah. I just didn’t know how much to spend or anything.” I ended up mumbling some of that, but Mason’s wolf hearing caught it anyway.

“Listen… we’re finished here. Tell me where you are and I’ll come down.”

“Mason, you really don’t have to. I’m sorry—”

“No, no. I want to be with you and help pick stuff out with you.”

I hesitated, feeling like a complete idiot, though what he said helped. Still, it took me a moment, but I eventually said, “We’re at the Babies “R” Us across from Riis Park.”

“I know where that is. Sit tight, baby. I’ll be there soon.”

“Okay, thanks.”

After we hung up, I sat for a long moment, staring at the phone, willing myself not to cry. I knew part of that was the pregnancy hormones, but part was that I didn’t even really recognize myself anymore. I felt like I’d done a complete personality one-eighty. I wasn’t this dependent, ridiculous thing, but I didn’t know what to do about it.

Because part of the problem was… I really did need his help for at least some of this.

“Want to talk about it?”

I hadn’t even heard Lacy come up to me. She took a seat in the rocker next to mine and turned a sympathetic smile my way.

I sighed. Maybe she could understand. “I called Mason. He and Dean should be here soon. They finished the wallpaper stuff in the nursery.”

“Okay. Is that what’s making you look like you want to cry?”

I blew out a breath and gave a humorless chuckle. “No. I mean, a little? I’m….” I rubbed my face, then looked up again. “Before Mason, before the pregnancy, I was… completely independent. I used to get so pissed at the comments about omegas being ‘lesser’ or ‘weak.’ You’ve heard them.”

Lacy nodded.

“So, the idea that I was weak, that I needed an alpha, pissed me off to no end. It’s not true. And yet….”

“Here you are, needing Mason for way more than you ever wanted to.”

I stared at her, then sighed. “Yes. Exactly.”

She seemed to consider her reply carefully. “Women go through pretty much the same thing. Equality is still a dream, and we’re criticized no matter what we choose. I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. I wanted to have and raise our pups. I get shit all the time for that. Yet I have friends who don’t want pups or who have careers along with pups… and get shit for that choice too. We’re damned either way. I imagine it’s much the same for omegas, though I’d bet it’s even a little worse because you’re still male. So there’s this idea that men have to be independent, strong, blah blah blah.”

I laughed at that. “No kidding.” I shook my head. “I feel like I’m going crazy.”

It wasn’t easy to find ways to remind the reader Liam was a guy and keep them subtle, but I felt it was the most important—and best way to keep him from being a “chick with a dick.”

What do you think? Did I manage it?

Author Bio:

Grace Duncan grew up with a wild imagination. She told stories from an early age – many of which got her into trouble. Eventually, she learned to channel that imagination into less troublesome areas, including fanfiction, which is what has led her to writing male/male erotica.

A gypsy in her own right, Grace has lived all over the United States. She has currently set up camp in East Texas with her husband and children – both the human and furry kind.

As one of those rare creatures who loves research, Grace can get lost for hours on the internet, reading up on any number of strange and different topics. She can also be found writing fanfiction, reading fantasy, crime, suspense, romance and other erotica or even dabbling in art.

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