The O'Raven Chronicles!

The O'Raven Chronicles! Hear The Cries of The Raven; my thoughts on a variety of issues ranging from Religion, spirituality, metaphysics, political issues, health issues, alternative (natural and w-holistic) medicine, entertainment, the arts and sciences, literature, energy healing, history, culture, and sexuality! MY MISSION STATEMENT is as follows; "I am devoted to the ideology and practice of helping people through natural and ancient methods of healing Body, Mind, and Spirit"! BLESSED BE!

Disclaimer;

Disclaimer; I do not own nor claim to have done most of the artworks that appear on this site, they were obtained through random internet searches and I take no credit for them unless otherwise stated; this same principle applies to all videos as well. Also this blog site contains adult oriented material that is not suitable for most children and probably not suitable for work. further this site contains some pornographic images and text. I would also like it clearly understood that I in no way make money from this blog in any way!

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

The Dare to Hope Blog Tour

The O'Raven Chronicles is so very pleased to present this stop on the Dare to Hope Blog Tour for Author T. M. Smith

Dare to Hope

an All Cocks Story book 4

Virtual book tour

Tristan is the second oldest of the Brennan brothers and the odd man out. Most of the Brennan men have careers in law enforcement, but as a psychiatrist, Tristan chooses to help people in a different way. Quiet and restrained, he is content to hover in the background of his more gregarious brothers. Then he meets two men, each broken and damaged from losses beyond their control.

Gabriel Simenson is mourning his lover’s death. The random act of violence that took Gio’s life has left everyone at All Cocks reeling. The only thing keeping Gabe from drowning in misery is the friendship he’s forged with Micah, the newest model at All Cocks. He continues to struggle, and at the urging of his All Cocks family Gabe agrees to counseling with Tristan under one condition: Micah t go with him.

Micah Solo can relate to unbearable loss, having lost his leg and so much more in Iraq. The past two years he has been alone, adrift and vulnerable — the memories of war haunting his dreams, spilling over into his daily life. At All Cocks, Micah has found the acceptance he craves and the family he lost, but still he yearns for happiness and peace within.

The friendship between the three is instant, the mutual attraction evident. They circle each other, wanting more, yet unsure if it is truly possible. Is life the mundane reality they’ve each come to accept for themselves or do they dare to hope?

The All Cocks Stories is a series set within the world of online gay porn.

*Warning* Micah’s PTSD is told in detail, including flashbacks to his time in Iraq.

Read the other books in the All Cocks Series...

Gay for Pay - Book 1

Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon DE | Amazon FR

Fame and Fortune - Book 2

How to Deal - Book 3

All Cocks Series Box Set

FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon AU

Main Characters review

from Blog Author;

On a personal note I would like to say that this story and it's characters have touched me very deeply and are close to my heart. I got to know these men before they ever hit the page, and I got to watch much of the process of the author bringing them to life. Each of them mean something very special to me. Each of the men face their own hard journey towards healing, love, and a new life. There are so many great characters and side characters, but I wanted to take this opportunity to speak about the main characters in this book and tell just a little of what they mean to me. I think perhaps my favorite of these three great men is Micah, because his journey is so intense and I have a special type of reverence for our Veterans; and let's face it...he is just so yummy lol! His struggles are described so well to me, that it feels as if I am going through them with him; and how can you not fall in love with a man when that happens lol? It is hard not to love Gabe and feel a sense of connection to him and his personal loss if you have been reading these stories. I feel as if his story to me is a lot about finding his new identity and who can't relate to that? Everyone I know has had to rediscover themselves at some point, and isn't that what makes life worth living? Isn't that the stuff that makes us most human; that takes us from average to becoming more? The one I probably have the most in common with though is Tristan; as a healer, teacher, and minister who does a lot of spiritual counseling with people I can relate to his vocation as a Therapist and that part of his personality that has a need to help people. I can also relate to coming from an...well..."unusual" family lol. These men are terrific characters and I fervently hope that you will pick up your copies of the books and read them, so that you can have a chance to come to love them as much as I do!

About The Author;

A military brat born and raised at Ft. Benning Georgia; TM Smith is an avid reader, reviewer and writer. A Texas transplant, she now calls DFW her home. Most days she can be found curled up with a good book, or ticking away on her next novel.

Smith is a single mom of three disturbingly outspoken and decidedly different kids, one of which is Autistic. Besides her writing, she is passionate about Autism advocacy and LGBT rights. Because, seriously people, Love is Love!

Website | Blog | Facebook Author | Facebook All Cocks

Twitter | Pinterest | Youtube

A Rafflecopter giveaway;

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Do we need critics? NO!!!

We perhaps need people around us who can give us some new perspective and honest feed back but that is not the same thing as a critic or as I like to call them, "Professional Criticizer". Personally I am sick and tired of all critics on the planet lol. It seems to me that making a living off of criticizing other people and often trying to tear them down because you are too much of a coward to create or attempt to create anything yourself makes you pathetic, sad, and frankly a little wicked. But hey to each their own. I mean if you have nothing better to do and nothing better to offer the world than your negative thoughts about the work of others who at least have the courage to try...well it seems to me you should grow up and get a life; but again to each their own lol.

Now getting other people to give you some honest feed back, having beta-readers, and sounding boards, and even if need be editors, well great...but critics to me are worthless because they have nothing real to offer other than their own opinions which carry very little if any weight in real life. Also and I truly mean no offense by this...I have a lot of friends who are "book reviewers" and I have even done some reviews myself. I however have never read or not read a book based on someone else's review or opinion. Reviews have their place and it is to put the readers thoughts out into the world and that is fine. If you base your reading decisions though on other people's opinions...well that just makes you silly and a little pathetic to me personally. I have read reviews and done some as I said. I did it really as a study to help myself analyze my own thoughts about a particular work or what have you and I shared those thoughts or read someone's thoughts. Never did I ever base my decision on someone else's opinions.

So to everyone...stop listening to all the negative nellies and all the voices of nay-sayers and start listening to your own voice and to Spirit! Listen to your own creative impulses and go live life to the fullest.

Thursday, February 4, 2016

The Gay for Pay Audio Tour

The O'Raven Chronicles is pleased and proud to present this blog tour post stop for The Gay for Pay Audio-Book Tour for Author T. M. Smith

Hello everybody and welcome to the Gay for Pay Audio book tour!

Each day there will be one or two stops for Reviews, Spotlights, Exclusive content, Teasers and Excerpts plus a giveaway. I hope you will follow the tour each day, and leave a comment on the different blogs that have signed up to participate, we love comments!

Christopher Allan Roberts thought he had a promising future: captain of the football team with the promise of a scholarship to play for Alabama, his high school sweetheart and best friend for as long as he could remember, Amanda, by his side, and the love and support of his family. One night, one mistake changed everything. Chris moves to New York, adrift and alone. A walk one night brings him to the flashing lights, loud music and thrumming bodies at Club Berlin. A flyer in the men's room promises fame and fortune for anyone willing to go on camera and have sex, with another man. Money is money, and how hard could it be, right? Christopher Allan Roberts becomes Kris Alen, All Cocks' newest addition, a gay for pay porn star.

Lincoln Carter is honest with everyone in his life, including his family, about who he is and about his sexual preferences. Linc Larson, the openly bisexual gay porn star, will do anything with anyone, which pretty much writes his ticket in a versatility-charged industry. It's not his sexuality that interferes with his personal life; it's his inability to trust. What Linc wants right now, more than anything, is the chance to do a scene with All Cocks' newest acquisition, Kris Alen. Six-foot-two with auburn hair, an exquisitely toned and inked up body, Kris Alen is sex personified. Linc doesn't know if it's the "I want the shiny new toy" aspect that calls to him, or the distant and wounded expression that haunts Kris's eyes.

Linc figures out early on that Kris is only working the gay for pay angle that All Cocks brings to his bank account. Can a bisexual man with trust issues break down the barriers that Kris has built around himself and help Christopher overcome the painful past he is running from?

Buy links: Amazon US | Audible

This or That with Chris and Linc;

Boxers or Briefs

Chris – "Boxers all the way"

Linc – "Boxer briefs actually, briefs are too tight and boxers too loose. But I must say, there is nothing sexier than watching my man walking toward me with his boxers sitting low on his hips".

E-Reader or Paperback

Chris – "I still use my library card, one of five in NYC I’m sure, so I’ll go with the real thing".

Linc – "I love my kindle! I can’t tell you how relaxing it is to sit on the couch curled up next to Chris reading one of my steamy gay romance novels".

Fleshjack or Fleshlight

Chris & Linc answer at the same time – "Fleshjack"!

Hotdogs or Hamburgers

Chris – "A big, fat, juicy cheeseburger with bacon and all the trimmings".

Linc – "Can’t I have both? Speaking of, I’m starved".

Chris – "You’re always hungry".

Shaved or Hairy

Chris – "I can go for either, but of course I’m partial to Lincoln here who has the hair in all the right places".

Linc – "I love a hairy man! Especially a red headed one". *winks at Chris*

Coffee or Tea

Chris – "Both actually. Coffee is my life’s blood but I enjoy a good glass of iced tea as well".

Linc – "Coffee mostly, don’t care much for tea".

Top or Bottom

Chris – "Top"!

Linc – "Depends. I’m verse at work, but with Chris I always bottom".

Chris – "A Goddamn bossy bottom sometimes".

Linc – "Shut your face"! *blushing*

Day or Night

Chris – "Night. I am not a morning person".

Linc – "That’s hard to answer, I enjoy both really. Late nights are great for parties, clubbing, wrapped up in Chris’s arms on the couch while we watch and old black and white movie. But waking up in the morning before Chris, watching him sleep, that is a thing of beauty". *now Chris is blushing*

Facebook or Twitter

Chris – "I don’t even care one way or the other".

Linc – "I prefer Twitter because they aren’t as restricting as Facebook with what you post, and they don’t target images of two men".

Apartment or House

Chris – "While we want to own a home someday, it’s not practical on our budget and living in NYC. Apartment for now".

Linc – "Yes, apartment for now but a home eventually".

About The Author;

T. M. Smith:

A military brat born and raised at Ft. Benning Georgia; Smith is an avid reader, reviewer and writer. She now calls Texas home from her small town on the outskirts of the DFW Metroplex. Most days you can find her curled up with her kindle and a good book alongside a glass of something aged and red or a steaming cup of coffee!

At 44 years young, she's decided to enter the next phase of her life by adding the title of "author" to her list of accomplishments. Smith is a single mom of three disturbingly outspoken and decidedly different kids, one of which is Autistic. Besides her writing, Smith is passionate about Autism advocacy and LGBT rights.

Author links: Facebook || Twiter || Amazon || ARe || Goodreads || Pinterest

Youtube || Website || All Cocks Facebook page ||

Tour Schedule:

2-1 | Review | BIKE BOOK Reviews

2-2 | Review | MM Good Book Reviews

2-2 | Spotlight | Multitaskingmomma

2-3 | Spotlight | GGR-Review

2-4 | Review | The O'Raven Chronicles

2-5 | Review | Prism Book Alliance

2-5 | Spotlight | Spectra {AO}

2-6 | Spotlight | Love Bytes Reviews

2-8 | Review | Man2ManTastic

2-8 | Spotlight | The Purple Rose Teahouse

2-9 | Review | Cathy Brockman Romance

2-9 | Spotlight | TwinsieTalk Book Reviews

2-12 | Spotlight | KathyMac Reviews

Rafflecopter Giveaway;

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

A Gift of Inspiration…

Recently I had a birthday. Now it passed the way all of my birthday’s do, utterly without much merit or ado. I often jokingly (or perhaps not so jokingly) say that my birthday is slightly cursed. It is either boring or bad things tend to happen. Plus I don’t really relish the aging process lol, so I don’t celebrate my birthday that often and when I do it is rarely if ever actually on my birth-DAY. Because of who I am as a person non of my groups of friends get along, they are such very different kinds of people with different personality types. I made the mistake a few years back to try and get all of my friends together just once to help me celebrate my birthday in order to try and break the so called “curse”. It was a horrible disaster that I shall never again try to repeat and I was saddened and disappointed that my friends could not make a small effort for me on one day out of the year. Separately however they are terrific people who would give me the shirts off of their backs if I needed it; and vice versa. I am blessed with friends who are true friends despite the fact I must enjoy them separately. Just the other day a very close friend, a lovely woman whom I am privileged to know, took me on a small adventure to half price books and spent a small fortune on me lol. I was very sad that I had recently missed an art exhibit that I had very much wanted to see. I told her that I was lamenting the loss of the arts in my life over the past several years. I miss going to festivals, going to live theater performances, concerts, lectures, adult enrichment classes, the opera, the symphony, the ballet, and various art exhibitions. My current financial situation and life circumstances make it impossible for me to do much of anything. I am even teaching less than I used to. This is probably a huge part of the reason why most of the posts on this blog are for various book tours these past couple of years. I told her I felt the need to have art, and beauty, and inspiration back in my life to help me move on and makes some much needed changes. I feel like I need to recapture certain parts of myself that I have let go and pushed aside in order to survive my current circumstances. She kindly took me to the book store and she purchased for me, many terrific art books. The kinds that would normally cost large sums of money, are the size of your torso, done by academics, and can be found on the tables and book shelves of wealthy homes lol. I got to bring these wonderful masterpieces home with me and begin to read parts of history I had never truly known much about, and I now get to look at these remarkable works of art from the great artists of our past ages. I feel truly blessed to have such a remarkable and generous friend, and benefactress; and also to be surrounded by the energy of beauty and art once again. Thank you my dear friend, you know who you are and what you mean to me. I want to thank all of my friends for your friendship and the awesomeness of your beings. I love you all. I want to encourage all of you who may read this to go out and enrich your life with the arts if they are not part of your life already. Your soul will be elevated just to be surrounded and come into contact with such beauty and inspiration. Inspiration is after all, what drives us to evolve and create change. I think we and the world in general could all use some positive change, especially with everything that is going on in the world right now. I wanted to specifically thank The Creator as well, for being The Ultimate Artist and creating souls that can birth beauty into the beautiful world you created. Life is good, and you can see it as so if you only let yourself!

P.S. No matter what the physical age, I am 19 - Plus till the day God takes me home...no there is nothing after the plus...it is just plus!!! lol

To pass on the grace and blessing in order to get you started, I leave you with just one example of the beauty I look at every day now…

One of the many versions of a well known Arthurian Saga character (one of the most tragic characters in the saga); The Lady of Shalott, left to us from the artists of ages gone by…

This one was done by William H. Hunt

Circa 1888 – 1905

Monday, November 30, 2015

How to Deal Blog Tour Post

The O'Raven Chronicles is pleased to present this tour stop post for T. M. Smith's How to Deal Blog Tour

How to Deal

An All Cocks Story

Book 3

Jon Brennan comes from a long line of men in uniform; all born and bred to both bleed and wear blue. His family and the majority of his co-workers support him every step of the way, so he doesn’t need to hide the fact that he prefers men over women. Between the job and his larger than life, loud and rowdy half Irish, half Italian family, there isn’t much time for dating, much less finding a guy that can deal with the stress and demands placed on the shoulders of an NYPD Detective.

Kory White is cocky and abrasive with most people, but it is all a mirage, a facade he hides behind to keep his heart safe. As a child, Kory lost his mother to an act of violence. Soon after, he and his baby sister Kassandra were separated by the system. Kassandra was immediately adopted, but Kory spent the next ten years cycling through foster homes before moving to the Big Apple. In an effort to keep everyone at a distance, Kory has meticulously built himself an alter ego: Hayden Cox, All Cocks’ cockiest model.

These two strong willed men definitely prove opposites do attract. Both are stubborn and hard headed to a fault, Kory more so than Jon. But Jon is used to being in control, the one calling the shots, and Kory fights him at every turn. Just when it seems they have found a way to navigate the uncharted territory that is love, tragedy knocks on Kory’s door yet again. Volatile and strong, even in the face of adversity, both men refuse to give up on each other - or their love.

Link to playlist on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkehmrHrmCeMi_12N0fyc5tpx_iSrwqz2

Spotify link:

https://open.spotify.com/user/1299811243/playlist/1vh6gFRONDG9PP7La4GHDt

T. M. Smith speaks;

Hello everyone, and thank you to my muse for hosting me today on the How to Deal blog tour. I'm sharing the playlist for the book and how, specifically, certain songs relate to the story. I'm very much an inspirational person when it comes to writing, and music is a huge influence for me when I'm writing. Music is a powerful thing, it can make you laugh, make you cry, make you happy and at times, it can make you very angry. Every book I write has it's own playlist of songs that relate to people, places and things in the story. For instance, in Gay for Pay, Chris is a fan of Jazz music so that playlist has a lot of Jazz on it. I'm guessing that a lot of people are expecting dark, angry, metal music for Kory, but you will be sorely disappointed if so. Kory isn't the cocky, confident, jackass that he presents himself as.

Here is the playlist for How to Deal, I'll explain how these songs relate to the story...

Omen | Disclosure featuring Sam Smith

Where Are You Now | Skrillex w/Diplo featuring Justin Bieber

Whatya Want From Me | Adam Lambert

Where I Belong | Hometown

Handsome Man | Matt Abler

Just Breathe | Pearl Jam

Like I'm Gonna Lose You| Meghan Trainor & John Legend

Psycho | Puddle of Mudd

Lost Stars | Adam Levine

Another Lonely Night | Adam Lambert

Omen - One of the lines in this song is "I needed you to show me, without you I'm lonely." Well, if that doesn't describe Kory, what does?

Where Are You Now - There is a push and pull with Jon and Kory that is almost a constant, it is what makes them so strong in the end. But there is a time where the power shifts, Kory finds himself needing Jon more than he initially wants to admit and it scares him.

Whatya Want From Me - I adore Adam Lambert and he is almost always going to be on all my playlists. This song, in fact, is on several of them. Everything about this song is so Kory. Come here, I want you, wait, I'm afraid, what do you want? Don't give up on me even if I'm mental!

Where I belong - Love is a deep and mysterious road. Well, aint that the damn truth!

Handsome Man - This song is almost like a letter from one lover to another. They aren't always together, the one partner is asking the other about his day, a partner that isn't always the best at expressing himself with words. So he's telling him with the lyrics of the song. I just thought that was right for Jon and Kory, they don't always have the best communication skills, but they try to always be there for each other.

Just Breathe - Well, this is where the kleenex warning for the book comes into play. This song is all about love and loss and trying to survive in the face of tragedy. I will tell you it's not about Jon and Kory directly, though it could apply to their role in the tragedy. Someone else is going to loose something very important to them in this book and though it's fucking heart breaking, it's life. Life is about loving and losing and surviving, how we deal with that loss and move on. The title of the book isn't just about how Jon and Kory learn to deal with their vastly different life styles. There are more people in their worlds that experience things as well.

Love you, Like I'm gonna lose you - Kory is so afraid to love anyone for fear of losing them. What he should be doing is loving them LIKE he is going to lose them!

Psycho - Kory is pretty mental. There is a chapter toward the end of the book, oh my, can you say drama queen melt down?!

Lost Stars - My interpretation of this song is a man that is lost, he has lost his way in life and doesn't feel like he matters, he doesn't feel like anyone sees HIM. Jon sees past the pain and the persona, he sees Kory, and he loves every torn up, scarred emotionally distant aspect of him. He also brings out the genuine, loving, fiercely loyal, devoted partner in Kory.

Another Lonely Night - Jon and Kory have both been spending a lot of lonely nights at home and alone until they stumble into each other's lives. Will that change?

My Review of How to Deal;

This is going to be the shortest review I have ever done because I was not scheduled to do a review and was not asked to. I just had to share my thoughts about My Dear Friend T. M. Smith’s latest work. I am so amazed at how her skills are getting better and better. Her characters seem to be coming to life in new ways for me. In this story the characters go on an emotional roller-coaster journey and take you with them, and at the end you are happy they did; or at least I was lol. Despite the obviously troubling level of blasphemy against The Lord God, the story is very well rendered. I fell in love with the two main characters, and with the Irish family in this story with all their beautiful chaos and shenanigans. I have already fallen in love hard with “The All Cocks Family”. The bringing together of these two rowdy clans into one story is almost too much and too funny to take. The story had an interesting plot that drew me in, and kept my interest. The sexual scenes were art to me, and several of them had me stopping to have some um, “Gentleman’s time” lol. It was the love between Jon and Kory that I felt most keenly though. They love to drive each other nuts, to fight and push each other’s buttons. They love to fuck, to make up, and to make love. It was their love for each other however that made me love them. It was not only their love, but also the subtle feeling of the pursuit...the game of chase, that made me want to keep reading their story until I got to their happily ever after, or at least to the end of the book lol. I hope you will pick up their story and read it, and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

If I had to sum up Jon and Kory's story in one phrase it would be, “Love can be a massive challenge but it is worth everything to attain it”!

I give this book (which to others is a full length novel, but what is to me a Novella length book) six out of seven quills.

Link to post on how I rate Book Lengths and an explanation of my rating system:

http://revloush.blogspot.com/2012/11/my-rating-system-for-story-lengths.html

I rate full length novels with a ten quill system

I rate novellas with a seven quill system

And I rate short stories with a five quill system

About the Author (Author Bio.);

T. M. Smith :

A military brat born and raised at Ft. Benning Georgia; Smith is an avid reader, reviewer and writer. She now calls Texas home from her small town on the outskirts of the DFW Metroplex. Most days you can find her curled up with her kindle and a good book alongside a glass of something aged and red or a steaming cup of coffee!
At 44 years young, she's decided to enter the next phase of her life by adding the title of "author" to her list of accomplishments. Smith is a single mom of three disturbingly outspoken and decidedly different kids, one of which is Autistic. Besides her writing, Smith is passionate about Autism advocacy and LGBT rights.