Hard Riders Anthology

Setting the Scene by Jenna Byrnes

The first time I went to Central City, Colorado I was a child and the place was a small tourist attraction. A former mining town, there really wasn’t much left (in my memory) besides a saloon with the famous ‘Face on the Bar Room Floor’, a woman’s visage painted on a wooden floor. 

Inspired by an 1877 poem about a drunk who used to be ‘somebody’ and told anyone who would listen about the face that drove him mad. In the poem he drew the face on the floor, with her haunting eyes, then he fell over dead. The poem was cool and the oil painting even cooler, and I always had fun visiting Central City and going to see the face.

My family went to Colorado regularly to visit relatives and take vacations. The Denver area had lots to do but some of my best memories were when we drove out of town, camping and enjoying the scenery. The Rocky Mountains were a sight to behold and driving the winding roads up and around them provided some heart stopping moments. I’ll never forget riding in jeeps through mountain passes and feeling like I was so high up that I must be in the clouds. The fog which hung in the air at that altitude confirmed that I was truly close to Heaven.

When I was plotting my story for the Hard Riders Anthology, Clear Blue Sky, Colorado immediately came to mind. I pictured my motorcycle gang zipping along some of those same trails and knew how exhilarating riding there would be. I also knew that people who lived there would discover even more dangerous and exciting paths, which seemed like something outlaw bikers might do.

The legalization of marijuana in Colorado added another interesting wrinkle to setting. My hard riding bikers were bound to be into various illegal activities like guns and drug running. I was amused to discover that even though pot is legal it’s pretty expensive, so there will probably always be an underground market for it.

In further research I learned that Central City is now a thriving tourist mecca with eight large casinos, an opera house, summer festivals and lots of other events. You can still visit the Face at the Teller House, though rumor has it that the renovated hall and bar is haunted, so you might get more than you bargained for! 

I’d like to visit Colorado and Central City again someday. I’ll have to visit the Face (I ain’t afraid of no ghosts) and my husband will be thrilled with the casinos. But in my mind as we’re driving, I’ll be picturing Sky and Task and their MC brothers flying down the road. And I’ll be smiling. 

Blurb for Hard Riders:

Clear Blue Sky by Jenna Byrnes

Respect all, fear none is the Rebel Riders Motorcycle Club’s motto. Will the Riders step up when the Demon Outlaws go after one of their own?

Sky Warren doesn’t let the screen door smack him on the way out of Kansas. When his former abusive partner Duke is arrested for selling drugs, Sky takes off. He’s ready for a clean start and a change of scenery. Moving to Lakewood, Colorado, with his cousin and accepting a job in Billy’s bike shop seems like just what he needs to start over. In Billy’s riding club he meets Task Rivers, a handsome, sexy biker, and they hit it off immediately. Task is edgy, yet he shows Sky how a respectful and considerate man treats his partner. The two fall into a lusty, passionate relationship.

Mantrap by L.M. Somerton

Not all cages have bars.

The Wyverns Motorcycle Club has a reputation as fierce as its dragon emblem. Its enigmatic leader, Rogue Hellaby, has a police file so thick you could prop up a table with it.

When Rogue receives an instruction to kidnap and hold hostage the son of a powerful drug lord, he doesn’t bat an eyelid. But Rogue has never had to deal with a captive like Orlando de la Pena. Orlando is furious—not because he’s being held prisoner, but because he’s prevented from partying at his favorite BDSM club. Rogue discovers that the only way to deal with Orlando is to become the Dom he so obviously needs. But Orlando’s father wants him back, and The Wyverns must face a battle that could cost them their lives.

Reader Advisory: This book contains scenes of light BDSM.

Biking Bad by Morticia Knight

When Dylan, a young wannabe investigator, stumbles into the Mojave Sidewinder’s MC bar, he finds all kinds of trouble—especially in biker Luc ‘Zero’ Villarojas.

The Mojave Sidewinders is the largest gay MC club in Southern California. They’re also one-percenters, which makes them alluring to those looking for trouble and a danger to those making it. Luc ‘Zero’ Villarojas has been a brother ever since the club’s prez took him in as a runaway. At thirty-four years of age, he’s content to ride his hog, chase tail and run his tattoo and piercing parlor, Zero to Sixty.

Working his first big case involving a missing young man, Dylan barges into Road Rage, the Mojave Sidewinder’s exclusive bar, and starts asking questions. When it looks as though he’s about to get beaten up, a large, muscled biker covered in ink comes to his aid. Dylan’s incredibly attracted to him—even if Zero is pretty scary and Dylan’s still a virgin. But is there something Zero knows about the missing man that he’s hiding? And is Dylan in more danger than he realises?

Like the sound of Hard Riders? Buy it here.

About Jenna Byrnes:

Jenna Byrnes could use more cabinet space and more hours in a day. She'd fill the kitchen with gadgets her husband purchases off TV and let him cook for her to his heart's content. She'd breeze through the days adding hours of sleep, and more time for writing the hot, erotic romance she loves to read.

About LM Somerton:

Lucinda lives in a small village in the English countryside, surrounded by rolling hills, cows and sheep. She started writing to fill time between jobs and is now firmly and unashamedly addicted.

About Morticia Knight:

M/M and M/M/F Erotic Romance author Morticia Knight enjoys a good saucy tale – after all, who doesn’t? Since she loves several genres, you may find your heroes in a contemporary, historical, paranormal or sci-fi setting. One of her passions is bringing people's fantasies to life on the page, because life is too short for even one boring moment. Her stories are volcanic in heat, deep in emotion, and sprinkled with doses of humor.