Lisa Henry and J. A. Rock’s series Playing the Fool is a Must Read, highly recommended series of stories here at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words. Happily, we now have another book to add to this series. It’s Tempest (Playing the Fool #3) ! The authors are here today with a special excerpt and a contest for all to enter. Check it all out below and don’t forget to leave your email address in the body of your comment when entering the contest! Let’s get started!
Welcome, Lisa Henry and J. A. Rock!
Hi! We’re Lisa Henry and J.A. Rock, the authors of TEMPEST. We’re touring the web taking about our influences, our processes, anything we can think about actually, and even giving you guys a sneak peak or two! And what would a blog tour be without a contest? Check out the details at the bottom of the post to see what you can win!
Today we’re sharing an excerpt from TEMPEST. Here, Henry and Mac are on their way back to the city to get to the bottom of who’s framing Mac. Henry is as distracted, and distracting as always. Contains a bonus Skittles reference.
***
The next morning, Mac looked Henry up and down as he approached the truck. Refrained from shaking his head as Henry settled into the passenger seat. “I thought you’d be wearing a disguise.”
“Seriously?” Henry smoothed down his tie. “I am wearing a disguise. Look at me. I could be selling magazine subscriptions. Or Jesus. Or subscriptions to magazines that are exclusively about Jesus. White Jesus. Or maybe I’m on my way to a job interview at an accounting firm.” He flashed Mac a smile. “Yeah, I’ll bet that’s what I’m doing.”
Mac frowned at the pants. There was something both weirdly familiar and aesthetically disturbing about the houndstooth pattern.
“Are those my dad’s pants?”
“Circa 1974. Your dad wore ’em tight. This is his tie too.” “You’re really wearing a tie?”
“You like boys in ties.” Henry ran his fingers down the silk, in a gesture that would have been a hell of a lot sexier if Mac didn’t remember buying that tie for his dad one Father’s Day. “Look at you. Even in jeans something about you just screams cop.”
“I’m not a cop.”
“I know. But ‘something about you just screams authority figure who can deprive me of my freedom’ just doesn’t roll off the tongue in the same way, does it?”
“I guess not.” He stared at his parents’ house a little longer, then turned the ignition. The truck rumbled into life. “You ready for this?”
Henry pulled a packet of Skittles out of his pocket. “I’m always ready for a road trip.”
Of course he was.
They headed for Indianapolis.
Mac let Henry fiddle with the radio and spill candy and talk bullshit at a million miles an hour, because that was Henry. It was how he dealt with stress. If he talked fast enough, if he teased, if he didn’t stop, then he didn’t have to deal. Even a week ago Mac would have been irritated by that. Would have wanted to slap him around the back of the head for being so damn irritating. Like Energizer Bunny irritating. But not today.
Henry glanced out the window at the darkening sky. “Looks like rain.”
“Storm’s not supposed to hit until this evening.”
“Great. Let me get out my umbrella and tap shoes.” Henry changed the radio station again. Then suddenly slapped the radio knob, turning it off. “Can we stop for donuts, Mac?”
“Says the guy who just put away two omelets for breakfast.”
“Which is my protein requirement for the day. Now I need my sugar and frosting requirement for the day. Oh, and my milkshake requirement. Strawberry.” He jiggled his leg. “Definitely strawberry.”
“If we see somewhere, we’ll stop.”
Henry’s eyebrows shot up. “Are you serious? I don’t need to argue about this?”
“Nope.”
Henry slumped back down in his seat. “Well, now I know you think we’re gonna die.”
Mac glanced sideways at him. “Maybe I’m just tired of arguing with you.”
“Or maybe you want me to finish these Skittles and put something else in my mouth. Want me to taste your rainbow ?” “Not while I’m driving, I don’t.” Flirty Henry was incorrigible. He was also deflecting again. One day, Mac decided, he would surprise the fuck out of both of them and say yes to whatever crazy suggestion fell out of those candy-stained lips.
“You’re so boring, Mac.”
“Shut up, Cheese.”
About TEMPEST:
Something wicked this way comes.
FBI Agent Ryan “Mac” McGuinness and con man Henry Page are on the run again. This time they’re headed back to where it all began: Altona, Indiana. Population: some goats. Henry’s not happy about lying low at the McGuinness family farm, but they’ve got nowhere else to go.
While Mac fights to clear his name and Henry struggles with whose side he’s really on, a ghost from the past threatens to destroy everything. And those aren’t the only storms on the radar. Cut off from both sides of the law, Mac and Henry must rely on their tenuous partnership to survive.
If Henry can convince himself to let Mac see the man behind the disguises, they’ll stand a chance of beating the forces that conspire against them. The course of true love never did run smooth, but for the two of them, it might be their only hope.
You can check out TEMPEST at Riptide.
Books in the Playing the Fool Series are -linked to Barb’s 5-star reviews:
- The Two Gentlemen of Altona (Playing the Fool, #1)
- The Merchant of Death (Playing the Fool, #2)
- Tempest (Playing the Fool, #3)
The Giveaway: Thanks for following our tour! To celebrate our release, we’re giving away an awesome prize – an ebook copy of a novel of your choice from either of our back catalogs. We’re also giving away a $20 Riptide gift voucher, and some comfy items picked especially for you by Henry: a pillow shaped like a donut, and a pair of donut-themed socks.
All you have to do is leave a comment on this post with a way for us to contact you, be it your email, your twitter, or a link to your facebook or goodreads account. Please put your email in the body of the comment, not just in email section of the comment form, because we won’t be able to see it otherwise! On March 20, 2015, we’ll draw a winner from all eligible comments! Be sure to follow the whole tour, because the more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win the prize!
Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Prizes provided by Riptide Publishing and the authors.
About the Authors
Lisa Henry
Lisa likes to tell stories, mostly with hot guys and happily ever afters.
Lisa lives in tropical North Queensland, Australia. She doesn’t know why, because she hates the heat, but she suspects she’s too lazy to move. She spends half her time slaving away as a government minion, and the other half plotting her escape.
She attended university at sixteen, not because she was a child prodigy or anything, but because of a mix-up between international school systems early in life. She studied History and English, neither of them very thoroughly.
She shares her house a log-suffering partner, too many cats, a dog, a green tree frog that swims in the toilet, and as many possums as can break in every night. This is not how she imagined life as a grown-up.
Connect with Lisa:
Blog: http://www.lisahenryonline.blogspot.com/”
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LisaHenryOnline
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/LisaHenry
J.A. Rock
J.A. Rock has worked as a dog groomer, knife seller, haunted house zombie, standardized patient, cashier, census taker, state fair quilt hanger, and, for one less-than-magical evening, a server—and would much rather be writing about those jobs than doing them. A lover of m/m BDSM romance, J.A. lives mostly in West Virginia, and always with a beloved dog, Professor Anne.
Website: http://www.jarockauthor.com/
Blog: http://jarockauthor.blogspot.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jarockauthor
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ja.rock.39
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