Category: Contemporary fiction

Can Ex-Lovers Find A New Future Again? Find out with Black Dust by Lynn Charles (author interview, excerpt and giveaway

Black Dust 900px COVER (web Tumblr)

Black Dust by Lynn Charles
 Release Date: April 7, 2016

Goodreads Link
Publisher: Interlude Press
Cover Artist: Cover Art and Design by C.B. Messer

Today Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is very lucky to be interviewing Lynn Charles author of Black Dust. Hi Lynn, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

I’m happy to be here! I’m an author, wife and mother living in Central Ohio. I’ve been writing—from lavish journal entries to fictional stories—most of my life. My first novel, Chef’s Table, was published in December 2014 with Interlude Press. Black Dust is about a couple who, fifteen years after a tragic car accident tore them apart, are given a second chance to heal and to love.

  • When did you write your first story/book? How old were you?
    • I honestly can’t tell you when I wrote my first ever story, but I didn’t realize I could write compelling stories until I was in my thirties. I had always had an interest in creative writing and was an avid journaler, but the bug didn’t bite me until adulthood.
  • Are you a plotter or pantser?
    • I am a pantsing plotter? That sounds like I’m out of breath. I like to have some idea where I’m going, but I’m usually pretty free to let the story take me places as well. I am learning in transitioning from writing “stories” to writing books to be more intentional with each scene. What is supposed to happen here? How does it contribute to the movement of the plot? It can’t just be a cute scene because it’s fun to play with the characters.
  • What do you think makes your book stand out from the crowd?
    • I tend to write stories about people who have much of life pretty settled. Mature love, so to speak. Now, their settled life might get upended, or they may realized that “settled” means they’ve let something go they should reach for again, but the men in my stories are grown. Adults. And saying that is not to disparage the younger protagonists that frequent romance novels, because god knows I love to read them too. There is plenty of room in the inn.
  • How do you find or make time to write?
    • Here’s where being a bit older than some of my fellow novelists is an advantage: my children are grown. I am fortunate enough that I was able to quit what was even a part time job to focus more on my writing (and to avoid a working situation that was making me battier than usual). I also have an incredibly supportive husband that says, “Get to it,” when I have fallen behind and need to dip into evening hours to get something done. My creative brain seems to kick in in the afternoon hours, so I use mornings to do the chores of life and work, and the afternoon and evening to write.
  • What do you like to read in your free time?
    • Recently I have been reading books by Indian and Bengali authors as my next book has a Bengali-American protagonist. Generally speaking, I love books with interesting characters. I think I could read a book that’s light on plot so long as the people driving the story have something to say, and they say it in compelling ways. With that in mind, I will always be happy to soak in a great memoir.

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Blurb:

Fifteen years after a tragic car crash claimed a friend’s life and permanently injures his then-boyfriend, Broadway musician Tobias Spence reconnects with his former love. As Emmett and Tobias explore their renewed relationship, the two men face old hurts and the new challenges of a long-distance romance. Will Tobias lose his second chance at love to the ghosts he can’t seem to put to rest?

 

Pages or Words: 312 pages
 Categories: Contemporary, Fiction, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Romance

Excerpt

“I can’t, Emmett. I—can’t go back.”

“Then we are clearly not ready for any sort of commitment.”

“Wait. You won’t agree to—to us—unless I come to Indiana?”

“I won’t,” Emmett said. “It’s all feeling a little one-sided to me, and I’m not okay with that.”

“You don’t understand.”

“I do understand, Toby. I was there for everything that makes you afraid of that place.”

“Yes. You were,” Toby said, taking Emmett’s hand in his. “But my concerns about going back have nothing to do with you.”

“Maybe they should have something to do with me.”

“That’s—” Toby pulled his hand away. “That’s not fair.”

“It really is,” Emmett said. He reached across the table for Toby’s hand again. “Please?” Toby took his hand and Emmett squeezed, holding on as if he might never let go. “We experienced a great tragedy together. And while Scotty’s parents lost their son, no one felt the things we felt. No one else woke up screaming and sweating when we heard the sounds of the crash in our sleep.”

“Emmett—”

“No one else knew the fear of maybe never walking again. No one else lost weight and a semester of school because he might get thrown in jail. No one else felt the things we felt together. That’s all ours. As much as you want to, you cannot take me out of the equation.”

“But, that’s just it, Em. I don’t want to feel those things again. I cannot walk back into that—that darkness.”

Emmett pulled their joined hands to his lips and kissed Toby’s knuckles. “You already have. You have been so enamored­—you’ve practically spent this entire week making love to my scars. You’re there. And it’s not so dark anymore.”

“No, because you’re whole again. You’re not broken anymore.”

Emmett saw it, then. He saw in the way Toby had almost obsessed over the ridiculous tattoo and Emmett’s scars, as if begging for them to also bring him the powers that Derek had wished upon Emmett’s body those years ago. He saw it in Toby’s insistence that they start all over as if the accident never happened, as if the years of silence weren’t strung between them like a rope and plank bridge connecting two separate lands.

So he said it. To give it power. To make it a truth they shared—like their shared tragedy. “And you still are. Broken.”

Toby nodded, grasping at Emmett’s fingers like a lifeline. “I’m so—” He took a deep, shuddering breath. “I’m so exhausted making sure no one knows.”

“Oh, Toby.” All the more reason “trying again” was a bad idea. Unready to let go, Emmett kissed Toby’s fingers again. “Then come to my home,” Emmett offered, trite as it sounded in his own ears. “I’ve remodeled the master and made a party room in my basement for the kids.”

“You’ve never told me—”

“It’s beautiful, really. It’s on a couple of acres, and the back of the property is lined with a stream you can hear from the kitchen when the windows are open. It’s very peaceful. It sounds like you need some peace.”

“You deserve a beautiful life.”

“So let me share it with you. At least think about it?”

Toby nodded and began to clean up. “Will you still come see me in San Francisco after school’s out?”

“I don’t know. I’d really like an answer before I agree to see you again.”

“Okay. I’m sorry it’s not as easy as it should be.”

“I am too, Toby. Being with you was always so easy.”

Buy the book:

 

 

 

 

Meet the Author

Lynn Charles earned her degree in music education and for many years performed and directed choral music. When she’s not writing, she can be found strolling through local farmers markets near her home in Central Ohio in search of ingredients for new recipes. Her novel Chef’s Table was published in 2014 by Interlude Press.

Where to find the author:

 


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Barb, A Zany Old Lady Review: A Fortunate Blizzard by L.C. Chase

Rating: 5 stars out of 5    ★★★★★

A Fortunate Blizzard coverThis story was outstanding! Heartwarming and heartbreaking, it made me smile, and it made me cry, and I didn’t want it to end. I love these guys!

Trevor Morrison is dying. It’s a few days before Christmas, and his doctor has just told him that it’s likely his last. She didn’t use those exact words, but she did tell him that his kidney function is getting worse, and the dialysis he’s undergone for the past seven years may not be able to keep the kidney functioning much longer. She’s also given him a pamphlet on making the decision to go off dialysis and die naturally, virtually pain free, a decision he’s been leaning toward making. All this wonderful news is joined by more wonderful news—a blizzard is going to make it impossible to fly out of Denver to visit his family in Connecticut for Christmas.

When he gets stranded on his way to the airport, and the shuttle manages to get to a hotel, he meets Marcus Roberts in the bar. Marc is an attorney and a workaholic who is frustrated that he’s stuck in a hotel when he could have just stayed at his office and kept working. But his assistant forced him out, and now his car is out in a snowbank on the turnpike, and he’s stuck in the hotel. At least he has a room, something that is no longer available to the new arrivals.

One look at Trevor and Marc is struck by the need to get to know him. Initially inviting him to his table to talk, and later, inviting him to his room to share the comforts of the hotel room and other things that might arise, Marc eventually realizes that being forced out of the office that day may be the best thing to ever happen to him.

Trevor is very hesitant to allow anyone to get close to him, but Marc manages to squirm his way under Trevor’s defenses, and when the airport is still not open the next day, Marc invites Trevor back to his home to await Trevor’s rescheduled flight out the day after Christmas. Trevor is very clear that this is only a casual encounter, and Marc agrees, but when neither of them is prepared for it, their emotions complicate the casual and make it more.

They spend Christmas together, and Trevor, a renowned artist, manages to get Marc’s creative spark going by using their artistic skills to decorate for Christmas. Marc has not had a Christmas celebration in many years. Estranged from his mother, a woman who stifled his artistic creativity and shunned him for his sexuality, Marc hasn’t picked up a paintbrush in years. However, with Trevor encouraging him, he begins to think that he might have a future in which he can enjoy artistic pursuits and not just use work as his twenty-four hour a day focus.

All good things end, and when Trevor is gone the day after Christmas, Marc realizes that his priorities need a major overhaul, and one of the first things on his list is to find Trevor and convince him that their future is not impossible.

hurt
As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, this one is a keeper. I highly recommend it to all lovers of contemporary M/M romance, especially to those who enjoy a tearjerker, hurt-comfort, men with disabilities, and those who just want a book that they can devour from beginning to end with no interruptions. Don’t miss a chance to read this one!

~~~
Cover Art by L.C. Chase is a beautiful portrayal of two young men, one kissing the cheek of the other, set against a backdrop of a snow scene with an empty park bench— a scene mentioned as being one of Trevor’s art creations in the book. It’s the perfect cover for such a wonderful story.

Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing | ARe | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 175 pages
Expected publication: November 2nd 2015 by Riptide Publishing
original title A Fortunate Blizzard
ISBN13 9781626493391
edition language English

An Ali Audiobook Review: Frat Boy and Toppy (Theta Alpha Gamma #1) by Anne Tenino and Nick J. Russo (Narrator)

Rating: 4.5 star out of 5
Frat Boy and Toppy AudiobookBrad is great at meeting other people’s expectations. But his own? Not so much. Take the gay thing. Okay, so yeah. It took a morning meeting with a frat brother’s hairy, naked ass for him to admit it, but he knows the truth about himself now. Let the gay life commence.

Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. He hasn’t quite determined how to come out to anyone, even Sebastian, the geeky-hot TA in his history class. Sebastian is everything Brad is not. Intellectual, suave, hairy. Out. And he doesn’t seem interested in Brad, even when Brad makes a fool of himself trying to catch his notice.

Score one for foolery: Sebastian does more than notice Brad; he takes him to bed. Brad’s been with plenty of girls, but with Sebastian, the sex is something else entirely—hot, mind-blowing, affirming, and a little domineering in a way that drives him wild. But when great sex turns into something more—dare he admit the “L” word?—Brad must face the crushing realization that Sebastian doesn’t feel the same. Unless, of course, he does. After all, even grad students can be idiots about matters of the heart. 
What a fun read this was. These two characters were just great. They both had depth and were likable and funny. Watching them begin a tentative relationship was great. Neither trusts the other’s social group and they live different lifestyles. Brad still hides his sexuality and Sebastian very much does not. Despite their differences they find they have enough in common to build a friendship and eventually love. 
This was one of my first reads in the m/m genre and when I had the chance to review this on audio I was honestly a little worried. My tastes have changed and I wasn’t sure if this would hold up to the test of time. I’m happy to say I loved it just as much this time around. I adore both Brad and Sebastian as they fumble their way into a relationship that neither saw coming. There’s some funny dialogue, a sweet love story, little angst and some smexy times. 

I liked the narrator a lot and I thought he did a great job on all the voices. He really sounded like what I thought Brad & Sebastian would sound like (Sebastian’s “yeah?” at the end of his sentences was super charming and kind of hot on audio). The sex scenes were really smoking hot on audio. I mean really hot.( Like I felt guilty listening to this at work hot). This is one of those books where I think the narration actually adds to the story and this is one I highly recommend be done on audio. 
Cover artist L.C. Chase‘s cover is perfection.  I  wouldn’t change a  thing.
Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing  |  Audible | Amazon |  iTunes

Audiobook Details:

Audiobook
Published (first published March 25th 2012)
Original TitleFrat Boy and Toppy
SeriesTheta Alpha Gamma #1
CharactersBrad Feller, Sebastian DeWitt settingPacific Northwest (United States)

 

A BJ Review: Lost and Found by Z. A Maxfield

Rating:  4.5 stars out of 5

LostAndFound_500x750Lost: one dog and two men in need of each other. Found: love.

RV resort security chief Ringo never believed in love at first sight . . . until he saw Gavin playing his sax on the beach for the tourists. But their on-again, off-again affair—even counting all the great makeup sex—doesn’t come close to the relationship he wants. All he really wants for Christmas is a commitment from Gavin.

Instead he discovers that Gavin has had surgery without telling him, so he lays down a relationship ultimatum while Gavin recuperates. Complicating matters even more, Gavin’s beloved dog Bird runs away, and Gavin blames Ringo for the disappearance.

While Ringo throws every resource he has into finding Bird, he learns deeper truths about Gavin—how hard it is for him to trust and how little faith he has in love. Maybe if Ringo can find Bird, he can salvage Gavin’s faith. Maybe this Christmas, they can all find each other.

(20% of all proceeds are donated to the Ali Forney Center in New York, whose mission “is to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning (LGBTQ) youth from the harm of homelessness, and to support them in becoming safe and independent as they move from adolescence to adulthood.)


I loved this story for so many reasons, and it could have been a five star read for me. First, the setting in a Southern California RV resort was both unique and perfect. It not only shows a lot about the main character Gavin’s personality, but is a rather unique profession for the other MC to work there. And as someone who lives in SoCal and has a family member who actually lives in one of those down in near the beach. SCORE!

Adored both of the characters. They were original, flawed, a bit broken… they felt like real, ordinary guys just trying to make it. Ringo, with his big ethnic family and kind heart, was just so sweet. The way he kept giving Gavin chances rather than giving up on him, the way he looked inside to try and see why he was doing the things he did, the way he saw that the was hurting himself even when he was lashing out at Ringo. I adored how he thought things through and tried over and over rather than giving up on something, and the story of how that came to be a part of his personality from a childhood event felt right.

Gavin, also from an ethnic background but rather than growing up in a close and supportive big family, he’d been neglected and had a hard childhood. Now on his own except for his dog, Bird, he finds it hard to trust that someone can really care for him enough to stick with him and often pushed people away. Yes, he was a badly flawed character with anger management and trust issues that caused himself and others around him hurt. But that was only a part of him, and Ringo saw behind that to all the good and beautiful parts that he hid behind that. Well, these two together just worked for me. The unusual dynamic between them blew me away. The ending was beautiful, but still I would love to read more about them.

The one thing that kept the story from being a five for me was the way Bird was handled. I’m a complete dog person, I own quite a few, and I’d really wished that Bird had been more of a character from the start. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until close to the end that he actually came alive as a character on his own. Before that, he was just Gavin’s dog. In fact it was pretty far into the story before we are even told his breed, which is a chocolate lab, or given any real description of him. In the end, he does get to come alive, but it could have been so much more of a rich and emotional story if we’d been given more about him closer to the beginning. If he’d been a real character from the start.

I love the cover by L.C. Chase! It has the perfect feel for the story…capturing the California beach feel with the Hispanic character and his sax, even his attire is perfect as described. Cover scores a five out of five stars for me.

Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing | ARe | Amazon


Book Details:  

ebook, 140 pages
Published December 2nd 2013 by Riptide Publishing (first published November 30th 2013)
ISBN 1626490856 (ISBN13: 9781626490857)
Edition Language English

RJ Scott’s Bodyguards are Back in Undercover Lover (excerpt and giveaway)

Title: Undercover Lovers
Series: Bodyguards, Inc. #4
Author: R.J. Scott
Genre: M/M Contemporary Romance
Release Date:  July 31, 2015
Even if Ross and Kyle make it out of this alive, will the secrets in Kyle’s heart stay safe?
Kyle gets caught up in a case that is entirely unrelated to Bodyguards Inc. Not only does he abruptly need time off, but he has to have absolute trust and complete support from Ross without being able to tell Ross a thing.CIA Agent Stefan Mortimer needs Kyle’s help with a case of a geneticist and a missing formula. Trouble is being led right to Kyle’s door, endangering the life of the team he has built and the man that he loves.Going undercover, with Ross as his husband, is the worst kind of torture in so many ways, but it is the only answer. Kyle and Ross may well live through this but Kyle is convinced his heart won’t survive.“…Sensual and sexy, RJ Scott delivers another winner in the Bodyguards Inc. series. Undercover Lovers hit the mark…”



“Sensual and sexy, RJ Scott delivers another winner in the Bodyguards Inc. Series. Undercover Lovers hit the mark.” ~Evelise from S.E.X. Reviews

“This is easily my favourite book of the series so far. We have waited for Ross and Kyle’s story and in all honesty that wait was more than worth it!” ~Prism Book Alliance

 

Chapter 1 

 

As soon as Max left the room, Kyle reached for the phone. He hesitated, with his fingers an inch from the handset, and listened to its beep indicating a call waiting.

 

Stefan Mortimer was at the other end of the call. That was a name Kyle hadn’t expected to hear again for a very long time, and the fact the man had contacted Kyle didn’t bode well. Especially considering Kyle thought, his and Stefan’s association had been put to bed a long time ago. A twinge of guilt accompanied the memories. He’d been the one told to leave, he was the one who’d had no choice but to go, but leaving Stefan behind had never sat well with him.
A combination of anxiety and fear fluttered in his chest as he picked up the handset and pressed the button to connect.
Only to be offered a line that was dead.
“Stefan?” Kyle said to the empty air. For a second he held the receiver to his ear, then, very deliberately, replaced the handset in the cradle. Kyle rested his head on his hands, scrubbing his face to clear the tension. When the door opened, he knew it was Ross. He always knew when it was Ross.
“He got cut off,” Ross announced.
Kyle nodded. “So I see.”
Ross sat down in the visitor’s chair directly opposite. “Is he a new client? Should I start a file for him?”
“No, an old….” How could he describe Stefan? Ex-lover, partner, old friend? “Someone I knew.”
Ross eased forward in his chair, his gray eyes bright with interest. “Knew? Like you used your experience as a spy to know?” he asked in his usual inquisitive tone.
“From before,” Kyle said. He was deliberately vague. As he was every time anyone at Bodyguards Inc. skirted near what Kyle used to do for a living. Ross loved to tease that Kyle had been CIA black ops. To be honest, Ross wasn’t that far from the truth—but that had been a long time ago now.
Ross frowned but didn’t keep it up.
“So, Max, then,” Kyle said. Changing the subject was probably the way to go. He couldn’t believe he’d just had Max in here telling him that he and Prince Lucien were an item. How the hell could the same thing happen to Bodyguards Inc. again after Ben and Adam had both fallen for their charges? “He crossed the line.”
“Seems like it’s getting to be a habit around here. First Adam, then Ben, and now Max. And I hear Lorna has a new boyfriend from her last case. Next it will be you.” Ross looked down at the iPad in his lap. “Or me,” he added.
The words were a knife through Kyle’s heart. Imagining Ross with anyone other than him was something guaranteed to put him in a bad mood. “Don’t have time for that,” he lied. If Ross took even one second to notice his boss as anything other than his boss, then Kyle would make time. But that was as likely as a snowy day in hell.
Ross chuckled. Like that was a joke. Like Kyle didn’t mean every syllable of it.
“Anyway,” Ross continued. “Max seems happy, and his prince is a hundred times cute. Did you see Lucien’s eyes? I’ve never seen eyes that dark before, and his hair. Can you imagine burying your fingers in hair like that? And he’s a prince.” Ross threw up a hand and smirked as he did so.
There was that stabbing again. Jealousy for real. Kyle didn’t have to analyze what he was feeling. Ross was talking about how sexy another man was, and abruptly, Kyle was in a headspace that screamed possessiveness. The idea of Ross finding himself a guy like Prince Lucien? Someone who pressed all his buttons? Someone Ross could fall in love with? That was enough to have the anxiety of Stefan’s phone call twist into something much worse. Jealousy.
“I have a solution,” Ross announced. “We need to vet all our clients, and if there’s any hint they are gay and single, we don’t take them on. But, that wouldn’t work for Lorna—she’s straight, and she still met someone. Hmm, we should relabel ourselves. This could be a good marketing thing.”
“Ross—”
Ross ignored the warning in Kyle’s single word and instead drew an imaginary banner in the air in front of him. “Hire a bodyguard: meet the man for the rest of your life.”
Now it was Kyle’s turn to ignore Ross. He had too much on his mind to find Ross as sexy and cute as he normally did; he had to focus. “Take a note. We’ll need to do some research and dig up a couple of new bodyguards,” Kyle said. He needed to concentrate on the company—on BI—and making sure what he had built was stable and secure.
“Take a note?” Ross muttered as he thumbed through his iPad. “Who even does that kind of thing?” Then he stopped at a page on the screen. “So yes, that is what I wanted to talk about. We have two new applicants you need to meet up with and do the usual due diligence. One is ex-MI5.” Ross raised an eyebrow at that and turned the screen so that Kyle could see the face that went with the application. “Look at Mr. Tall, Dark and Ripped,” he said.
“Ross, Jesus…”
Ross coughed to hide a laugh. “In summary, we are mostly down to the wire. I’ve turned down that reality show we worked on last year. And—” Ross sighed. “—Michael’s wife called in. He’s broken his leg.”
“Broke his leg how?”
“Skateboarding.”
“What the hell?”
Ross shrugged. “Maureen said he was teaching his nephew how to—” Ross peered at the screen. “—air and backside, whatever that means.”
Kyle sat back in his chair. He’d need to do the usual. ‘The usual’ was flowers, or chocolates, or whiskey, or something useful, along with a personal note from him and the reassurance that the operative would still be paid enough to keep going. All the operatives at BI were self-employed, but Kyle considered himself a good boss, and he had the finances to back up any support needed. “I’ll write something up.”
“Well, hang on. Listen to this before you decide. Michael then called in, straight after his wife. Turns out he can’t stand the idea of being at home. Apparently all four grandkids are staying for the summer holidays, and he’s desperate to get out, so he’s coming into the office.”
“You’re okay with that?” Kyle asked. Ross hated people interfering with his systems, and his stationery.
“Yeah, Michael’s okay. I’ll give him rules, and he’ll stick with it. He’s not like Adam.”
Kyle was too stressed to listen to another of Ross’s reasons why Adam was a wanker, as Ross so succinctly put it. Nor did he want to hear further elaboration as to the most recent place Adam had put Ross’s stapler. He resolved to change the subject, but he didn’t need to when the phone rang again. Before Kyle could reach it, Ross leaned over and picked it up.
“BI, how can I help?” There was silence, and Ross cast a glance at Kyle. “I’ll just pass you over.” He gave the handset to Kyle. “Stefan Mortimer.”
Without being asked, Ross left the room and pulled the door shut behind him, and abruptly Kyle had no excuse not to talk to Stefan.
“What’s wrong?” he said, cutting to the chase. There was no need to use his name. Stefan and he had been closer than lovers for three years, and they knew each other like no one else ever could. Under fire, behind enemy lines, undercover—they’d done it all.
“Thank fuck,” Stefan said. His voice was shaky, or was that the phone line? “I’m in the hospital,” he added. Then he coughed, as if his body wanted to underline such a defining statement.
Kyle and Stefan had done their time in hospital beds, and both had the scars to prove it, but why was that something Stefan needed to break protocol to announce? Something awful, earth-shattering… something important.
“Talk to me,” Kyle demanded without elaboration.
“K, Jason is dead. I fucking killed him.”
Stefan’s partner was dead? “Shit, Stefan—”
“I sent you it all. It’s been a week, fucking hope it gets there. I need your help.”
Kyle quickly went through the list of possible delivery options in his head. There was no email from Stefan, no voice message, nothing on the boards—which left the one thing that could work: good old-fashioned snail mail. Sent as something that may not make sense to anyone else. A standard spook-type thing.
“Okay.” He didn’t have to say anything else. If Stefan was contacting him after all this time, if Stefan needed his help, if Stefan was in trouble…. “I’ll look for it.”
“K?”
“Yeah.”
“Thanks.”
Then the phone was dead. Kyle realized he had been gripping the handset so hard that his fingers were numb. He uncurled his grip and replaced the handset in the cradle, then pressed the intercom. “Ross, can I get the mail?”
“You’ve had it.”
“I need the other mail.”
Ross didn’t argue. “On it.”
Company protocol was to have what Ross called “other mail” stored for a few months. Ross never argued with why Kyle needed to look through it every so often. He probably put it down to his boss being an eccentric American. Just like he did with most of the other things Kyle did that Ross called weird.
A couple of minutes later Ross backed into the room. In his arms was the recycling box. He placed it in the center of the table and then left. He didn’t ask why Kyle wanted it in his office.
Methodically, Kyle worked his way through rejected CVs, some marketing letters, even a pile of pizza menus. Although how junk mail had made it up the driveway in the middle of nowhere to the manor house, he didn’t know.
Right near the bottom, in familiar writing with a Los Angeles stamp, was what he was looking for. A letter from a marketing company talking about search engine optimization. There, in a flimsy business card, was a tiny chip. Sometimes the old ways were the best ways.
Kyle stood and locked the office door as quietly as he could, then crossed to the wall safe and opened it. Pulling out the chip reader, left over from a much earlier time in his life, he inserted the chip and waited for it to read. Wiring it to the printer was a little more problematic, but finally he managed it, and before too long he had a sheaf of printed information. His blood ran cold at page one, and by page ten he realized what he had agreed to would be something a little more involved than “just helping out.” He pulled out his Glock and the cartridges, putting it into the top drawer of his desk, then locked the chip and the reader into the safe. He retook his seat to reread what had printed.
Grasping the papers in his hand, he unlocked his office door.
“Do we have anyone not booked out?”
Ross looked up from his desk, a frown on his expression and black ink on his cheek. The same black ink spread over his desk, and he looked flustered. “Fucking ink cartridge exploded on me,” he said.
“Do we have anyone free?”
Ross blinked at Kyle as if he couldn’t believe Kyle wasn’t taking the ink situation seriously. “No,” he said. “I told you, we’re backs to the wall at the moment. Unless you want to push up interviews for new operatives.”
“Fuck.” Kyle cursed and thought on his feet. Not even Jen was here at the moment. His sister and her husband were on a second-honeymoon, trying-for-a-baby thing that had her out of touch for a month of love on a beach.
Timing sucks.
Kyle thought on his feet. He had no choice. It was Ross or nothing. “Okay, get Michael in here.”
Ross sighed visibly, then wiggled his fingers in front of him. “Ink,” he explained. Then added, “Michael’s coming in tomorrow—”
“Jesus Christ, Ross! Just get Michael here today.”

 

Kyle went back into his office and shut the door. He hoped to hell that Ross would do his regular thing and just get on with it, that he wouldn’t come in and start asking questions.
The cover was simple—a couple on honeymoon. He’d done it before. But this case was different. This time he needed to blend in, in a very different way. This time he was a newly married man, and he needed a bride. Or a groom. Someone who would be his backup in an extremely toxic situation.
It could only be Ross.
Ross wasn’t just his PA. He wasn’t quite as well trained as the bodyguards on BI’s books; he just found his peace in paperwork and running BI alongside Kyle. But he knew how to handle himself.
Not with guns. Not with the CIA. Not with this. It’s too much. He argued with himself. Ross will be okay.
Then it hit him. What would he do if he had to spend time with Ross away from the office? How many of the secrets he held inside would come out? But there needed to be more than just Kyle himself on this; he needed someone else. And that someone else would have to be Ross, which was where the problems began. Ross wasn’t interested in Kyle; Ross didn’t want anything of what Kyle could give him.
Ross didn’t know Kyle was in love with him. Wanted him. Had wanted him since the first day they met.
Ross didn’t know that Kyle had tried and failed to find someone who actually looked back at him with anything like affection.
So how could he ask Ross to do what needed to be done?
He turned the sheets of paper one at a time and made notes on a pad, not looking up when Ross came into the office and took his regular seat.
“Michael’s coming in,” Ross announced.
“Thank you. And I’m sorry I shouted.”
Ross shrugged one shoulder. “You want to tell me what’s going on?”
“I need to take a case.”
“What case?” Ross asked. He sounded confused, and Kyle wanted to explain, but he couldn’t look up at Ross, let alone make words that explained what the hell was going on. “You don’t take on cases. What happened?”
“There’s something I have to do.”
“Is it a something that is connected to Stefan Mortimer? You looked really shocked to hear his name.”
Kyle glanced up at the question. Ross’s gray eyes looked troubled. “What I can tell you is that this is a job for the two of us, me and you.” He held up a hand to stop Ross talking. “I need you to back me up on this. For a week, maybe ten days tops, we need to go undercover.”
“I don’t know how… I mean… I’m not….” Ross began. Then he sighed. “I don’t understand.”
“All I can tell you is that we’re needed, and this is a matter of national security.”
Ross’s eyes widened. “Like James Bond-type national security?”
“Not as dramatic as that. We need to get to a place called Stratton Bridge, and I’m sorry, but we have to leave today.”
“What about my clothes? My laptop?”
“You can go home, get some clothes, take a laptop to stay connected to the office. When we get there, though, you will have a cover.”
“Wait. Is this a bodyguard job? You’re looking out for someone and you need me there to run the information side?”
“No, yes, and no.” Kyle sighed. “You have to trust me on this when I say it’s important, but I need something more than information.”
Ross sat forward in his chair and looked deadly serious. “I do trust you, Kyle. You know that.”
“Then all I can say is we’re going undercover, both of us. I’ll be with you every inch of the way.”
Ross smiled and pushed his hair back off his face, leaving a streak of black on his forehead; evidently, he hadn’t managed to wash off all the ink. “Undercover. Cool. What as? I could be a doctor or a teacher. Probably more a teacher, I guess. Not sure I’d be able to handle—”
“My husband,” Kyle broke in. “The room we have, it’s more of a suite.” He recalled the information Stefan had given him: the block booking of the only available room, which had just been renovated. “We need to be on our honeymoon. Trust me, it’s the best cover.”
Ross’s lips were in a round O, surprise on his face. “We’re acting—” He coughed to clear his throat. “—married?”
Kyle focused in on the streak of black, trying not to let any emotion show on his face. “They only have the one room, just open after renovation, the honeymoon suite. I need your decision now.”
While he waited tensely for Ross’s reply, Kyle considered. He could go on his own, and when asked where his husband was, he could easily pretend he was getting divorced from his pretend husband. But why would he still need a honeymoon suite? He’d nearly talked himself into that one when Ross looked at him directly.
“Okay.”
So many emotions passed over Ross’s face that Kyle couldn’t identify them all. He saw confusion, excitement, disappointment, the whole gamut of emotions. Then he saw Ross pull himself straight, and the smile returned. “We need a magnificent back story,” Ross said. And with that he’d agreed to play his part, and his and Kyle’s cover story was in place. “I’ll get some stuff. Give me thirty.”
Ross left, and Kyle listened for the distinctive growl of Ross’s black and red motorbike. He couldn’t help himself; he looked out of his window to the parking area below and saw Ross astride the beast of a machine that allowed him to zip around the country roads here.
“You’ll kill yourself, Ross,” he’d said when Ross had pulled up a few months ago as proud as a mom with a new baby.
“This, old man, is a Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade, and it’s not dangerous, it’s fun.”
Ross reminded Kyle far too often that there were ten years separating them, but being thirty-five, Kyle didn’t feel like an old man. He just preferred his Jaguar to the danger of the open road in nothing more than leather and a helmet.
“Says the man who moaned all last Friday that he had a paper cut.”
And now, there he was. He’d pulled on his leathers, and fuck, he looked like sex on legs. That gorgeous ass in leather, a black biker’s jacket hugging his slim figure. So different to the patient, organized, stapler-loving Ross that Kyle had in his head. This Ross, the one on the bike, was wild and sexy and asking to be—
Kyle had to stop himself, and he cursed Stefan for dropping him in the shit from a great height. He and Ross, in a honeymoon suite, for a week—maybe more—and with Ross wanting a magnificent backstory when Kyle couldn’t imagine what this case was going to bring him.
Espionage, agents, attempted murder, a favor to a friend thousands of miles away, and a new line in environmental disaster. Not to mention being undercover as married: with the man he was head over heels in love with in real life.
Just how wrong could this possibly go?
RJ Scott has been writing since age six when she was made to stay in at lunchtime for an infraction involving cookies and was told to write a story. Two sides of A4 about a trapped princess later, a lover of writing was born. She reads anything from thrillers to sci-fi to horror; however, her first real love will always be the world of romance. From billionaires, bodyguards and cowboys to SEALs, throwaways and veterinarians, she writes passionate stories with a heart of romance, a troubled road to reach happiness, and more than a hint of happily ever after.


 

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A MelanieM Review: Champagne Kisses by Lynda Aicher

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Champagne KissesThe Christmas Eve wedding Evan Cleary pulled together in four weeks is crashing down around him and taking his fledgling event planning business with it. With an empty altar and over a hundred guests arriving soon, he turns to the resistant, gorgeous brother of the runaway groom for help.

When Richard Patterson’s flamboyant brother storms out hours before he’s scheduled to marry his equally dramatic partner, Richard is left dealing with the fallout. The last thing he wants is more drama, yet he can’t deny his attraction to the effeminate event planner trying to salvage the wedding.

Evan thinks his crush on Richard is a lost cause, but one steaming kiss later, he learns different. What starts as a night of hot sex turns into a connection neither expected. But Evan knows their relationship is hopeless unless the ultra-conservative Richard can embrace every part of him—both in private and in public.

Short, sweet and sexy, this Christmas novella is the very definition of  opposites attract. Lynda Aicher starts off on one side of the spectrum with Evan Cleary. Flamboyant, some would say delicate to the point of being effeminate, Evan has worked hard on this Christmas Eve wedding which was to launch his event planning business…even though it had disaster written all over it, starting with the couple in question.

His opposite is Richard Patterson, masculine, solid, gorgeous, someone who has never been attracted before to someone of Evan’s “type”, until now, an attitude that doesn’t sit especially well with Evan.  It’s a night of emotional meltdowns, harsh attitudes, and revelations set amidst a wedding that  anyone would call the wedding of your dreams.  Aicher has described it in detail and I’m sure more than one reader sighed in response.

I liked the clash of personalities which included that of Richard’s  brother and Evan, which had a friendship here too.  There is a bit of hot domination play here and enough drama to satisfy those who need it in their relationship stories.  All in all a satisfying sexy romp.

My only issues?  Some very iffy word choices, a very big no if you are at all familiar with my reviews.  Two words that should never appear with regard to the male anatomy…canal and channel.   And they both appear here.  I just start waiting for the tugboats to appear.  Or river barges or things of that nature.  It almost got this story knocked down to a 3 star but no, the rest of it was charming. When they appear, close your eyes and move swiftly past.  Other than that, this story is a keeper.

Cover art by L.C. Chase is nice but doesn’t have enough details to make it stand out from any other cover.

Sales Links:   Riptide Publishing | ARe | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 83 pages
Published December 14th 2015 by Riptide Publishing
Original TitleChampagne Kisses
ISBN139781626493759
Edition LanguageEnglish
URL

A MelanieM Review: Jackson & Nick (Storming Love: Wild Fire #6) by Laura Baumbach

Rating:4 stars out of 5

Jackson and Nick coverFireman Jackson Kain and ER physician Dr. Nick Kirby would both like nothing better than to leave behind their high-pressure NY City lives for a just a few days in the peaceful wilds of Northern Ca. Two ordinary men exploring their growing relationship in glorious, undisturbed beauty of nature. Before this trip is over, both men will need all their specialized abilities and training to survive their romantic interlude turned WILD FIRE.

Recuperating from an work-related injury, NY City fireman Jackson Kain convinces new boyfriend Dr. Nicolas Kirby to spend a few days at a secluded California cabin in the woods far away from the hustle and bustle of their stressful worlds.

Nick is a cautious man with protective walls around him that persistent, persuasive Jackson is determined to breakdown, scale or tunnel under. These few days are Jackson’s best chance to convince Nick he is sincere and reliable in all things, including matters of the heart. Unfortunately, both men are going to get more opportunities to prove themselves than either bargained for.

What was supposed to be a relaxing break from the world to get to know one another better turns into a struggle for survival, that pits both men against nature and time.

Another story in the Storming Love series by MLR, this one is highlighted by the fact that its author is Laura Baumbach, an author I love.  Secondly, this is the first new story from that author in a long while so I was so happy to get this story and start reading.  I quickly fell into the author’s style of writing and the two main character’s relationship, which is still in the first stages of working things out and seeing if they mesh with each other.  They are at that first crucial big step, the first vacation away with each other.  This time a trip with a cabin in the woods…de-stressing time for one who is a doctor and a last minute relaxing vacation for another who’s been out on work related injury leave.

Baumbach lets us fall easily into their lives, showing us the rush, pressure, and fears of the 24/7 lifestyle that consumes Dr. Nicolas Kirby and the determination of Fireman Jackson Kain to have Nick put that behind him and enjoy the time together.  And they do, for a while.

We get sweet and sexy scenes and then the scramble is one to survive and outrun the forest fire.  Its a white knuckle trip all the way, mixed in with relationship dynamics and personal  revelations.  I had invested enough of myself in this couple that I was with them emotionally as they fought through the fire and their own fears.

My only issue is that the story was too short. I was connected to these men, their situation was dire, their relationship still new and there was so much to explore here and  plus, hey, its was  Laura Baumbach!  I wanted much, much more.

Still I love the Storming Love series.  They are exciting, wonderful romances and really you just can’t go wrong here.

Why not start your exploration of the Storming Love series here with Jackson & Nick (Storming Love: Wild Fire #6) by Laura Baumbach.  It’s a fast, sexy, story and then go find the others.

Cover art by Kris Jacen is a great representation of the story, setting and with a hint of the characters.

Sales Links:  MLR Press |  Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 73 pages
Published October 8th 2015 by MLR Press, LLC
ASINB016DXVWLS
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesStorming Love: Wild Fire #6

 

In the Spotlight: Miranda Macleod ‘A Road Through Mountains’ (excerpt and giveaway)

Cover1

A Road Through Mountains by Miranda MacLeod
 Release Date: March 29, 2016

Publisher: Apple Blossom Press

Blurb

A Road Through Mountains

When Cecily Parker volunteers backstage at the Oakwood Theater, the only thing she wants is a few hours of relief from the doldrums of her upper class suburban existence. The last thing she expects is to be reunited with the only person she ever truly loved, a woman she left behind almost twenty years ago.

Rorie Mulloy has built a career as an award winning production designer in Hollywood, but her personal life is anything but a success. When she agrees to design the sets for a community theater production of A Streetcar Named Desire in Connecticut, she has no idea that the woman who broke her heart and ruined her for love will be assigned to her crew.

As the sparks are rekindled between them, these star-crossed lovers just might have a second chance at love. But only if they can overcome the ghosts of their past, and survive the sometimes comic cast of characters determined to keep them from their happily ever after.

 

Pages or Words: 65,000 words

Categories: Fiction, Lesbian Romance, Romance

Excerpt

Excerpt from A Road Through Mountains

Cecily’s heart thumped and her own fingertips began to tingle with a sudden jolt of adrenaline that coursed through her at the shock of recognition.

Surely it couldn’t be…

The woman stopped talking, as if aware that guests had joined them in the room. She began to turn, revealing a creamy bronze face, and just a hint of freckles sprinkled across prominent cheek bones like a fine dusting of cinnamon. Her eyes shone with the brilliant blue of an Alaskan glacier in the afternoon sun.

In truth, the room was drenched in shadows and not a single detail of the woman’s appearance was the slightest bit visible. It didn’t have to be. Cecily saw it all vividly in her mind just the same. She knew without a doubt, once she managed to will her heart to stop racing and forced her eyes to look up, that the face looking back at her would most certainly belong to Rorie Mulloy.

Cecily silently cursed her luck. What were the odds? The very first time since college that she’d dared to venture backstage at a theater, and she found herself face to face with the reason she’d left in the first place.

 

Buy the book: Amazon

 

 

Meet the author:

Miranda lives in New England and writes heartfelt lesbian romances featuring witty and charmingly flawed women that you’ll want to marry. Or just grab a coffee with, if that’s more your thing. She is an avid reader and a good cook, and loves to travel. Before becoming a writer, she spent way too many years in graduate school and has worked as a temp in just about every office building in downtown Boston at one time or another.

 

Where to find the author:

 

 


Tour Dates & Stops:

Parker Williams, Divine Magazine, The Hat Party, Happily Ever Chapter, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words,

The Jena Wade, Bayou Book Junkie, Wake Up Your Wild Side, Full Moon Dreaming, A.M. Leibowitz,

My Fiction Nook, BFD Book Blog, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Unquietly Me, Oh My Shelves,

Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews, Rednecks and Romance, Nephy Hart, MM Good Book Reviews, Molly Lolly,

Inked Rainbow Reads, Dawn’s Reading Nook, Velvet Panic

 

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