Category: M/M Contemporary Fiction

In Our Contemporary Spotlight: Pay It Forward (A Giving Back Story) By Nic Starr

Pay It Forward (A Giving Back Story)

By Nic Starr

Cover Artist: Jay Aheer of Simply Defined Art

Release Date: 11th November 2018

Buy Links :   

Universal Link |   Amazon US  |   Amazon UK  |   Amazon AU  |  Amazon DE  |  Goodreads Link 

Blurb

Forced to leave home as soon as he finished high school, Bailey McCreedy’s focus has been on earning enough money to survive. All he needs is a roof over his head and to keep his small mobile lending library running. Books are Bailey’s escape, and he loves to share the joy of reading with those who don’t have access to them.

Tom Brooks’s upbringing is very different to Bailey’s, with a loving family, a good education, and a high-flying job—that is, until things came crashing down. Tom opens a coffee shop, struggling to build his business and reluctant to accept help, operating under the misguided belief that he must pay penance for his sins. Watching Bailey work with the street kids opens Tom’s eyes to the reality that accepting help is not a sign of weakness, and that he is so much more than his past mistakes.

But as Bailey falls for Tom, with his charming manner, obvious care for others, and group of successful friends, Bailey’s own sense of self-worth threatens to tear them apart. In the face of intensifying challenges, he’s reluctant to confide in Tom, afraid he’s not good enough.

A bright future will require Bailey to heed his own advice—people aren’t defined by their failures or inability to live up to the expectations of others. It’s time for Tom to pay it forward, and Bailey needs to accept the help and love that Tom offers.

Details

Publisher: Self-published
Genre: Contemporary Gay Romance
Setting: Sydney, Australia
Word Count: ~58k

About the Author

Nic Starr lives in Australia where she tries to squeeze as much into her busy life as possible. Balancing the demands of a corporate career with raising a family and writing can be challenging but she wouldn’t give it up for the world.

Always a reader, the lure of m/m romance was strong and she devoured hundreds of wonderful m/m romance books before realising she had some stories of her own that needed to be told.

Nic loves to spend time with her family—an understanding husband, two beautiful daughters, and a cherished Cairn terrier. Nic is a foodie and wine lover who lives in the city but is a country girl at heart. When not writing or reading, she is often found indulging in her love of cooking and planning her dream home in the country.

You can find Nic on Facebook, Twitter and her blog. She’d love it if you stopped by to say hi.

Author Social Media Links

Website & Blog: http://www.nicstarr.com

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Nic-Starr/e/B00MAWRRQG/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicki.nicstar

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/NicStarrAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/nicstarr_author

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nic_starr_author/

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/nicstarr_author

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8139967.Nic_Starr

 

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Lonely Hearts Bundle by Posy Roberts

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

From the blurb:  Stoic men, who believe they’re happy alone, find the world turned upside down when their perfect someone stumbles across their path. The Lonely Hearts chat room is a place where men support men on their way to finding true love. 

There are five main members: Hugo, Luther, Marc, Andrew, and William. Their philosophy is, “Figure out how you keep screwing up your happily ever after. Once you know, you’re more likely to find the true thing.”  This novella bundle includes: Bent Arrow, Stroke of Luck, Momo, and Love on a Battlefield.

As the book begins, we drop into the chat room to see the conversation among the Lonely Hearts Club members. Good-natured banter abounds, and shows that the guys are okay with where they are and pretty much accept that they are single and have each other to commiserate with.

Bent Arrow

The first story is about Luther, who works the oil rigs in North Dakota. Deep in the closet, not only do the roughnecks he works with not know he’s gay, neither does his family—especially his mother.  When the water in his trailer goes on the fritz, he meets Erik, a plumber, and from the hint given by the arrow tattoo Luther spots, he’s also interested in men.  When he inherits a small home from his grandmother, he asks Erik to come along to help him fix it up. I enjoyed this story very much. It’s amazing how much background information and current events and activities the author was able to cover in one novella. Most definitely ending on a HEA, Luther had to face his fears to win the man of his dreams. 4 stars

Stroke of Luck

Marc meets the love of his life when he least expects it, but it takes both men some time to realize each is what the other has been looking for. Having a bad year, Marc’s apartment fire is the last straw. He’s lost everything and now he’s at Goodwill trying to buy a few dishes and clothing items when he spots a very hot man trying on red spandex pants. Oh yes, he’s hooked. But it’s immediately apparent the man is taken. Or is he? This is a sweet story about a man whose life is still entwined with his best friend, former girlfriend, roommate, and apparently codependent partner. After a major misunderstanding and a fun costume party, Marc and Cas find their way to their own HEA.  3 stars

Momo

I liked this story but something felt off from the beginning and I finally realized it’s because a long period of time is covered in this short novella and most was filled with narrative, rather than dialogue, so we were “told” the story, rather than “experience” it as the men met and fell in love.  Plus, William wasn’t a good character for me. His nature is private and reserved, and I struggled to understand him from the beginning. His childhood and back story didn’t grab me, so faced with an adult who wears a mask—a persona—to hide who he really is from his coworkers, his hookups, and even his family made it difficult to root for him. 

Nate works as a geisha at a tea room. Momo is a role he loves since it allows him to exercise his acting skills and to allow his feminine side free reign a few hours a week. He seems to be a really great character, always smiling, happy-go-lucky, enjoying life. I wish we could have had some of the story from his POV. All we get is some dialogue with William and narrative about Nate’s life so, although I liked him more than William, I didn’t get to fully enjoy him either. 

William loves Nate’s Momo persona and it’s his love of the carefree man that finally allows him to let his guard down and let his own personality shine through.  They do get their HEA but I can’t rate this higher than 2 stars.

Love on a Battlefield

Two teens meet and fall in love on a Civil War reenactment battlefield. They didn’t get much time together but years later, after writing to each other through the years, the two are still friends. Shep went to college, then toured Europe, and Andrew joined the military and was deployed, then injured. He now works part time and tutors adults with dyslexia. Shep is coming for a visit soon, and after all this time, Andrew is still hoping that the spark they felt years ago might still be alive. When they meet again, they pick up where they left off, and within a few days of shared experiences, declare their love.  Of course, they have an HEA. Unfortunately, the premise, the interactions, and the reunion didn’t ring believable to me, so this one is also 2 stars.

~~~

The cover by Sloan J Designs has a muted background featuring a young dark-skinned man, wearing only jeans, in the foreground. Somewhat bland, it didn’t grab my attention.

Sales Links:  Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 394 pages
Published October 19th 2018 by Labyrinth Bound Press
Original Title Bent Arrow / Stroke of Luck / Momo: My Everything / Love on a Battlefield.
ASINB07JL7PW54
Edition Language English

A Chaos Moondrawn Review: The Art of Hero Worship by Mia Kerick

Rating: 3.25 stars out of 5

This starts in first person with Jason experiencing a horrible act of violence. He is saved by a stranger named Liam and they are both probably in shock because they flee the scene and wash off any evidence. Not that I’m sure how any of it would have helped the police. With the killer still at large, they are holed up in a hotel room. Two months later Jason has PTSD and is not coping well. Once again, Liam comes to his rescue. When they start back to school in the Fall, their relationship continues to develop. All of the sudden Jase is like a new, different person or maybe he is his old self. I don’t know because I don’t know who he was before the event. What I do know is that the second half of the book focuses on yet another tragedy, this one is Liam’s past. The point is for Jase to save Liam, as Liam saved Jase. The confrontation with a fellow survivor seems created just for drama and conflict. When there is yet another emergency, Jase’s reaction is OTT. Liam does need to see a mental health professional, but all of this feels like an adult Afterschool Special (yes, I am aware this dates me) with a pointed message and no subtlety.

People can get close when they’ve shared life changing moments, but this is slightly exploitative–as if the tragedy is a way to execute a gay for you story. The sex scenes are not all that sexy, just intense. There could be a believable, heartfelt story of a man who realizes he’s attracted to another man in the wake of a trauma. Tragedies make people question who they are and confront their view of themselves. Two guys bonding and realizing they are bisexual when they develop feelings for each other is entirely possible. This would have been more realistic if they had gotten to know each other first, before the sexual element was introduced. They even read more as demisexual, although I’m not sure that fits either. Then they get to the point of power exchange and I feel like that is another reason/excuse given to why they are attracted to each other. It’s the delivery that makes it feel unnatural.

The message of the book is a good one (“gay, straight, bi, pan…all labels, and I don’t need them”); I’m just not convinced by the execution of this example. But this message rings loud and clear, “time to live life fully because you never know when it’s all going to be over.”

The cover art by Natasha Snow shows the two main characters and a theater that played such a huge part in their story. The pixelation seems to convey how scattered and torn apart they are by trauma.

Sales Links:   NineStar Press | Amazon
Book Details:
ebook, Second Edition
Published October 29th 2018 by NineStar Press (first published February 14th 2016)
ISBN 139781949909074
Edition Language English

A MelanieM Review: Renewing Forever (This Time Forever #2) by Kelly Jensen

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Frankie and Tommy once dreamed of traveling the world together. But when seventeen-year-old Frank kissed Tom, their plans ended with a punch to the jaw and Frank leaving town without looking back. Thirty years later, Frank’s successful career as a journalist is interrupted by his uncle’s death and the question of his inheritance—the family resort where his childhood dreams were built. When he returns to the Pocono Mountains, however, he finds a dilapidated lodge and Tommy, the boy he never forgot.

Tom’s been keeping the resort together with spit and glue while caring for Frank’s uncle, Robert—a man he considered father, mentor, and friend—and his aged mother, who he refuses to leave behind. Now Robert is gone, taking Tom’s job with him. And Frank is on the doorstep, wanting to know why Tom is still there and why the old lodge is falling apart.

But before they can rebuild the resort, they’ll have to rebuild their friendship. Only then can they renew the forever they planned all those years ago

Kelly Jensen has another warmhearted winner of a contemporary romance in Renewing Forever, the second in her This Time Forever series.  This time, instead of a decades old one family home,  Jensen looks to frame her story around a family resort high in the Pocono Mountains that has seen better days and the men whose lives were and are grounded in its foundations and woods.

I’ve always felt that houses, especially older ones, have a life of their own, one made over years of habitation, wear, care, and the impressions of the people who have pressed their personalities and lives upon their structures, until they almost give off a feeling of their own when you enter them.  Fanciful notions?  Maybe.  But Kelly Jensen’s resort has the power to pull one man back and to keep one man safely  tied to the dreams it represents, past, present, and future.    And with her vivid descriptions and ability to create painful scenes of a  resort on the edge of heartbreaking neglect and foreclosure, she contrasts that with memories of a place brimming over with promise, joy, and, love.

In many ways, this is a novel that has layers of time,  past, present, and a flickering hope of the future that shrouded by a mystery.  What happened all those years ago that divided these men?  As the story climbs towards the answer, we get flashbacks to the their past, and each boys background and history.  Then we move forward to the present as they awkwardly deal with the fact that Frank now owns the resort that Tom has been living in and keeping together for all these years.

The men, their relationship, their friends, the dynamics between them all are all rendered realistically.  It’s complicated, as they say because of old romances and misec up feelings have a   way of playing havoc when trying to sort out a truth. Kelly Jensen gets that muddy nature of life, especially at a older age with more emotional baggage to haul around.

There’s plenty of angst, hurt/comfort here, the serious nature of homelessness to deal with, and issues of trust.  Not exactly a lighthearted romance but the depth of the issues is mirrored by the depth of the characterizations and setting.  It’s a conglomeration of narrative wonder.

I thought that ending was just about right for these two men, such a beautiful way to go into the future.

This Time Forever series has given us a remarkable home, a memorable resort, and what?  What is next in this series?  I can’t wait to  find out.

I highly recommend this story, this series, and yes, this author.  They are all amazing.

 

Cover art:  Natasha Snow.  I love this cover artist but honestly wish there was a little aging to this house.  It’s not how I pictured this resort in the Pocono Mountains surrounded by the  woods.  It does fit in with the branding of the series.

Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing | Amazon

 

Book Details:

ebook, 285 pages
Published November 12th 2018 by Riptide Publishing
ISBN 139781626498402
Edition Language English
Series This Time Forever

Building Forever

Renewing Forever

Chasing Forever

A Lucy Review: A Kiss Before Christmas by A E Ryecart

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Christmas is looming and Jack De Lacy needs a solution to one hell of a fix.

Dumped by his boyfriend in favour of his best friend, Jack’s been busy bragging about the hot new man in his life.

A hot new man who doesn’t exist.

With an important function to attend where he’ll come face-to-face with his ex, Jack knows he’ll be a laughing stock when his boasts are exposed as nothing more than wishful thinking. He’s desperate but time, like his options, is running out.

Rory Kincaid is scared he won’t last another night sleeping rough on London’s frozen, snowbound streets. With all the homeless shelters full, Rory seeks refuge in the first empty doorway he stumbles across.

Finding Rory shivering in the sub-zero temperatures, Jack can no more send him away than kick a puppy out into the cold. A shower, shave and hot drink later, and the grubby street kid is transformed into a beautiful young man.

As the attraction between them grows, so does a plan that will get Jack out of the mess he’s in and give Rory a warm, safe home for Christmas. Sweet and adorable, Rory will make a great fake boyfriend for the festive season – the problem is, neither Jack nor Rory is sure where the make believe ends and the truth begins.

I started off with this book feeling so disgusted with Jack’s jerk of an ex-boyfriend (Sam) and even more of a jerk ex-best friend, Sam, (you don’t break the friend code!) Jack has been dumped by his boyfriend of three years in favor of Jack’s best friend, coming face to face with them “…chewing each other’s face off and frotting for England in the middle of the dance floor.”  I mean, how do you even handle that?  Because Jack has been getting the pitying looks and the “…awkward, embarrassed, and downright amused glances of men he once thought of as his friends”.  It’s dreadful.   Add in that it is all happening at Christmastime, something that Jack has always loved, and it is just the worst.

So what Jack does is start talking all about his hot new boyfriend and how great things are.  The fact that there is no new boyfriend isn’t a big deal until Jack has to produce him.  Now what?   

When he runs across (almost literally) Rory in a doorway, freezing outside because the homeless shelters are full, Jack, who is a decent person, brings him home to let him warm up and get something to eat.  Rory has been through so much, it was heartbreaking.     Jack comes up with the idea to have Rory pose as the new hot guy, which would give Rory a warm place to stay and let Jack “…stick two fingers up at Sam and Basil.” 

They have to attend a Foundation party where both Jack and Sam were on the board and they also spend time with Jack’s family, something Rory has been sorely missing. From the birth parents who didn’t want him, the adoptive parents who didn’t deserve him and the older boyfriend who needed to be slapped, Rory hadn’t had people he could depend on.  Jack might be though.

I have to say, I don’t know what Jack saw in Sam (the ex) because he really came across as an idiot.  For that matter, Baz, the former bestie, also is no prize.  I mean, we know that because of what they both did to Jack but even on their own they were obnoxious. They cause some issues between Jack and Rory and of course the two of them don’t communicate as they should.  As things become less fake and more real, I wanted to yell at them both, SAY SOMETHING, but they sort of each dance around it.  “Come with me as  my friend…Not come with me as my real boyfriend.”  They read into the other’s comments but don’t take away the real meaning. Rory especially has no reason to believe someone would truly be there for him and I was pulling for them so much.

I appreciated that there is no sex on page here because I think it would have taken the story in a different direction.  Rory needed time to feel safe and Jack needed time to be sure of things.  I liked that they had that time. It’s a little bit Christmas miracle and I was perfectly happy with that . This is a sweet holiday story with an uplifting message. 

Cover art: Tammy Clark.  Suitably in the holiday spirit.

Buy Links – Available on Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US

Amazon UK 

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 103 pages
Expected publication: November 15th 2018
ASINB07K7TWYV1

Release Blitz for A Kiss Before Christmas by A E Ryecart (excerpt and giveaway)

RELEASE BLITZ

Book Title: A Kiss Before Christmas

Author:  A E Ryecart

Publisher: A E Ryecart

Cover Artist: Tammy Clark

Genre/s: Contemporary gay romance, Christmas story

Heat Rating:  2 flames

Length:  37,200 approx words

It is a standalone story.

Release Date: 15th November 2018

Add on Goodreads 

Buy Links – Available on Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US

Amazon UK 

Blurb

Christmas is looming and Jack De Lacy needs a solution to one hell of a fix.

Dumped by his boyfriend in favour of his best friend, Jack’s been busy bragging about the hot new man in his life.

A hot new man who doesn’t exist.

With an important function to attend where he’ll come face-to-face with his ex, Jack knows he’ll be a laughing stock when his boasts are exposed as nothing more than wishful thinking. He’s desperate but time, like his options, is running out.

Rory Kincaid is scared he won’t last another night sleeping rough on London’s frozen, snowbound streets. With all the homeless shelters full, Rory seeks refuge in the first empty doorway he stumbles across.

Finding Rory shivering in the sub-zero temperatures, Jack can no more send him away than kick a puppy out into the cold. A shower, shave and hot drink later, and the grubby street kid is transformed into a beautiful young man.

As the attraction between them grows, so does a plan that will get Jack out of the mess he’s in and give Rory a warm, safe home for Christmas. Sweet and adorable, Rory will make a great fake boyfriend for the holidays – the problem is, neither Jack nor Rory is sure where the make believe ends and the truth begins.

Warning: this 37k novella contains a camp Christmas tree, a drag queen Christmas fairy called Doris, way too many jugs of eggnog, a closet posh boy, and the sweetest Kiss Before Christmas ever.

Excerpt

Jack swung around. “Wait.”

The kid stopped and looked back over his shoulder, his body braced against the buffeting snow.

What am I doing? It was madness, but the feeling that he was kicking a puppy or leaving a kitten in a bag to die, weighed on Jack.

“You can come upstairs and have a have a cup of tea while you wait out the worst of the weather.” What the hell have I just done?

The kid shifted his weight from one already soaked foot to the other. “No, but thanks. I’ve caused you enough bother already. And you gave me some money – thank you. I’ll go—”

“I might be able to run to a sandwich as well.” What next? A bed for the night?

“I don’t know. . .”

“Well, make your mind up, and do it now. I’m not standing out here freezing my bollocks off for much longer. A cup of tea and a sandwich is the offer, and then you’re on your way. Take it or leave it.”

Jack turned and unlocked the door, the warmth from the hallway a welcome caress against his cold skin. It had been a rash offer but a good one on a night like this. Well, the kid had turned it down, so he’d have to take his chances on the streets.

“Yes. Please. If you’re sure?”

Jack looked over his shoulder. The wind had picked up, and huge snowflakes swirled around. Enough snow had already fallen to cover the black-and-white-tiled path, and it wouldn’t be long before there was a whole lot more. Jack jerked his head, and the boy retraced his steps, following Jack inside and up the stairs.

“No offence, but you really smell.” The words tumbled from Jack’s mouth, his nose wrinkling as he closed the door to his top-floor flat. The kid had only just walked over the threshold, but he was already stinking the place out. In the cold, outdoor air, Jack hadn’t smelled the tangy, ripe aroma but up close and in the warm. . . He sniffed and coughed as his throat closed up. Christ, it was horrible. He’d offered food and drink, but a shower was top of the list.

“Sorry, but I’ve run out of my usual cologne, so I’ve had to splash on Eau de Homeless.”

Jack froze, his arms half in, half out of his coat sleeves. He stared down at the stranger, the stinking, smelly stranger he’d let into his home. And what was the kid doing? Giving him lip. Which Jack knew he deserved. He carried on peeling off his coat and hung it on a hook on the wall. Yep, he’d deserved the comeback because he hadn’t been exactly tactful.

“Sorry. That was a bit – well, you know.” Jack glanced at the kid, but the brief flare of spirit had been doused, leaving him as cowering as he had been on the doorstep. “Look, I’ll sort you out a towel and some clean clothes. I’ve got some old clothes I was going to take to the charity shop, but you might as well have them. I’ll get you a spare razor, too.” Old enough for dark scruff to shadow his skin, Jack thought, so maybe not such a kid after all. Jack turned away, then stopped. A vital piece of information had been omitted.

“I’m Jack, by the way. What’s your name?”

“Rory.”

About the Author

I love all kinds of MM romance and gay fiction, but I especially like contemporary stories.  Born and raised in London, the city is part of my DNA so I like to set many of my stories in and around present-day London, providing the perfect, metropolitan backdrop to the main action. I write at home, in the gym, in cafés – in fact any place I can find a good coffee!

Author Links

Blog/Website

Facebook

Twitter

Giveaway

Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win one of 2 copies of the ebook of A Kiss Before Christmas.

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RELEASE BLITZ SCHEDULE

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions

Rob Rosen on Title or Concept, and his new hilarious release Mary, Queen of Scotch! (author guest post)

 

Mary, Queen of Scotch

by

Cover Art: Written Ink Designs
Publisher: JMS Books LLC

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have Rob Rosen here to talk about his latest novel Mary, Queen of Scotch.  Hi, Rob, welcome back.

✒︎

Which comes first, the book title or the story concept? In the case of my latest novel, Mary, Queen of Scotch, it was most definitely the title, which simply popped into my head one day. “Rob,” my head said, “this seems like a bitchin’ title.” My head, you see, frequently uses out-of-date vernacular. Anyway, I agreed with my head this time. Now all I needed was a story, and, right away, I came up with a drag queen, namely Mary, Queen of Scotch. Seemed like a perfect fit.

Most of my novels contain drag queens. I grew up in Atlanta. Drag queens abound in the south, Atlanta especially. I adore drag queens, live for a good drag show, and love writing about them. Drag queens, you see, can say just about anything, can do just about anything, and people stuff wads of cash into their hands. It’s all in good fun, right? But what if the fun is just a cover?

Which brings me back to my novel. I figured if one drag queen was good, a whole slew of them would be even better, especially if they all have deep, dark secrets they’re trying to hide, namely from Mary, Queen of Scotch, detective extraordinaire. Throw in a good mystery and a comic romance or two, add a few villains and a raucously funny meddling mom, and, voila, I had a story. I hope you can check it out!

You can buy a copy here (though you can find it on all book sites):  Amazon

Or for even less money, directly through my publisher:  JMS Books LLC

Excerpt:

Here’s a little excerpt to give you a taste:

The room was oddly empty. Oddly because, without the others in there, it was devoid of bitchiness, of fabulousness. It was all shell, no soul. Cryptlike would’ve been apt, but crypts rarely come replete with boas, bangles, and a blinding array of beads.

There were four tables, all with mirrors above them, bulbs all around, the lights now dim. The tables were cluttered, the mirrors lined with photos of the girls, of their loved ones, of naked beau-hunks, of catty cartoons. There were makeup containers everywhere, clothes strewn about. A cyclone couldn’t have made the place look any more cluttered.

There were eight of them, eight in the troupe. The eighth was now me. There were four tables shared by two girls. Lucy shared the table closest to the wall. It, like the other three, was covered with drag debris: discarded lipstick tubes, half-open jars of makeup remover, a few dislodged feathers, rhinestones. There was photo of Arthur and Chad taped to the mirror, a Polaroid, the couple in some sort of Buddhist-looking temple. The person taking the photo was a good bit away so that their age difference seemed less apparent, distance being a girl’s best friend.

My eyes went from my client to the tabletop to a drawer below. I gave it a pull. It pulled back. In other words, it was locked. Locked drawers have always held a special interest to me. And I’m not speaking euphemistically. Mostly. I mean, you watch any detective movie, any detective TV show, read any detective book, and the detective is always adept at picking locks. I mean, sure, I was no Columbo, but I could still hold my own in the whole lock-picking thing. That said, don’t tell my alma mater. Lock picking is illegal. And even online schools frown on their alumni committing crimes. Or at least getting caught doing so. Meaning, I learned from YouTube and practiced on my mom’s bathroom door and jewelry case—when she wasn’t at home. Mainly because Mom frowned on illegal activities as well, especially when they were done by her son, who the sun surely shined down upon, who the angels had blessed with all things wholesome and good, who walked around a trail of ants rather than stomp across them. FYI, I burned them with magnifying glasses when I was a kid. I prayed the angels were looking the other way at the time.

In any case, it was an old desk and a cheap lock, and there were bobby pins galore in that dressing room. Which is to say, Columbo would have been proud. Or maybe the fickle finger of fate was simply flipping someone off, preferably not me. And hey, I didn’t even need to put gloves on to hide my fingerprints because I was already wearing a pair—satin instead of rubber, but still.

The bobby pin went in, I did a few YouTube-inspired twists and turns, and, voila, I was in like Flynn. I quickly rummaged around inside. There was mostly jewelry inside, more expensive stuff, by the looks of it, then what was left on the countertops. There was some cash, too, but not much. Mostly, it was just knickknacks. Mostly. Mostly but not only.

“A key,” I said.

To which I got a rattling reply of, “What are you doing, Mary?”

I turned right quick and shut the makeup table door. Chad was standing there, not yet Lucy. Chad wasn’t supposed to be there. Chad had already done his two days. “First day on the job,” I replied, keeping my voice even, not speaking too fast, trying not to look guilty. I was good at that. I’d practiced, lying to baristas, to store clerks, meter maids. Making shit up off the fly. Takes some getting used to. When most people lie, you can tell. Politicians are good at it because they do it so often. Takes training, is what I’m getting at. Me, I was trained. Online, sure, but trained nonetheless. “Looking for some space for my valuables.” I tinkled my earrings his way. They were my mom’s. Valuable was a matter of opinion, namely mom’s. Ebay might have a different take on it.

He nodded as he walked in the room. “That’s my makeup table.” Chad didn’t seem as nice as Lucy. Maybe the wig did it. Turned on some nice-switch inside his brain. Lucy always seemed to be smiling. Chad definitely wasn’t as he drew nearer.

“I’m filling in for Connie,” I said. “Isn’t this her table, too?”

Chad shook his head. He eyed the now-closed drawer nervously. Chad, it seemed, wasn’t trained like I was. “That one,” he said, pointing at the table next to his. He grabbed for the drawer. It opened, of course. “This was locked.”

I shrugged. “Not just now. Maybe you forgot.”

He squinted at me. It was weird. We were friends, of a sort, except he suddenly looked anything but friendly. He thought to say something. His mouth began to move, then stopped. A smile appeared. Even out of drag, there was still this strange sadness behind it. He breathed. He seemed to have counted to ten, given that about ten seconds had gone by. “Yeah, I must’ve forgotten to lock it. My bad, Mary.” He reached out his hand. “Congrats on the gig.” The smile widened. “Chad, by the way.”

I shook his hand. “You make a nice boy.”

He chuckled. “I’ll tell my parents you said so.”

About Mary, Queen of Scotch…

Four five-star Yelp reviews do you little good when you’re nailed inside a giant barrel of whiskey, which is where our intrepid private detective Barry finds himself while on the case to help his campy drag friends, all of whom have numerous secrets to hide.

If he can decide between the man he once loved and the bartender he’s falling for, successfully stay undercover as his alter-ego, Mary, Queen of Scotch, and keep one step ahead of the bad guys, plus a raucously funny meddling mom, he just might live to see that much-desired fifth review.

About the Author

Rob Rosen is the award-winning author of the novels Sparkle: The Queerest Book You’ll Ever Love, Divas Las Vegas, Hot Lava, Southern Fried, Queerwolf, Vamp, Queens of the Apocalypse, Creature Comfort, Fate, Midlife Crisis, Fierce, And God Belched, and Mary, Queen of Scotch, and editor of the anthologies Lust in Time, Men of the Manor, Best Gay Erotica 2015, and Best Gay Erotica of the Year, Volumes 1, 2, 3 and 4.

You can contact Rob at:

https://www.facebook.com/therobrosen
www.therobrosen.com

Kelly Jensen on Behind the Story and her new release ‘Renewing Forever (This Time Forever #2)’ (guest blog and giveaway)

Renewing Forever (This Time Forever #2) by Kelly Jensen

Riptide Publishing
Cover Art: Natasha Snow

Sales Links:  Riptide Publishing | Amazon

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have Kelly Jensen here today talking about the inspiration behind her new release, Renewing Forever (This Time Forever #2). Welcome, Kelly.

✒︎

Behind the Book by Kelly Jensen

I’m known in author circles for being super organized. I have templates for my outlines, I spreadsheet my revisions, and often write 6000 word character histories. The support documents for every book are indexed and hyperlinked. The bulleting in my outlines often goes four levels deep.

And yet…

My big book of ideas is spread over several notebooks that live in different places throughout my house. That way, if inspiration strikes, I have paper close at hand—which sounds a lot better than I just have notebooks everywhere, in no particular order! The notebooks have snippets of dialogues, entire scenes, outlines, character notes, and plot ideas. And they’re all mixed in together without any sort of indexing.

I usually know which book to reach for (or go hunting for) when I want to look something up, though, and I never mind having to flip through the notes for other projects along the way. Sometimes another idea will catch me, and I can make more notes, or sometimes one of my ideas leaps off the page and says, “Write me!”

The ideas for Renewing Forever came from two different notebooks. One had a few notes about Frank, jotted down after a beta reader for Building Forever asked if Frank’s book would be next. I had no plans to write a series, but I wrote the idea down, anyway, and tucked it away.

In another notebook, I had a brief outline for a story about a guy who was “camping out” in a dilapidated resort. About five years ago, we took a road trip to New Orleans and stayed at a quaint family resort in Tennessee. The guy manning the desk had the most amazing accent—and he was very cute! I immediately got an idea for a story involving someone trying to revitalize a rundown family resort, and maybe facing challenges from a local developer who wanted the land.

I’m not quite sure how these two ideas got combined? I think it was mostly a matter of me hunting through my notebooks for a story idea that would suit Frank. I like using and combining ideas I already have—it gives me a sense of accomplishment to cross something off what is probably a never ending list.

I quickly decided to switch up the imagined roles: Frank would be the one to inherit the resort and he’d return “home” to find someone living in one of the guest cottages. Then I decided to complicate everything by giving Frankie and Tommy a shared history—one where they’d been each other’s best friend and first love.

What I didn’t realize while plotting was quite how emotional this book would be to write. I’m reasonably emotional anyway—for me, watching the television show “This Is Us” is like combining a wedding, a funeral, and the birth of a new baby every week. I’m always completely drained afterward! So I often get a little weepy (sometimes a little sobby) while writing my guys. This book wrecked me in a lot of ways. Tom’s self-sabotaging self-reliance (or hubris), and Frank’s longing. Oh my goodness, the longing. He never got over Tom and likely never would have.

What I also wanted to do with this book was write a character (Tom) whose bisexuality was integral and almost never discussed. I didn’t want this story to be about sexuality. I wanted it to be about rekindling lost love—and holding on to something you never really let go of.

After all of this, I devised relatively simple plot: should they or shouldn’t they renovate the resort? Really, the plot is just a reflection of the bigger question in this novel: should they or shouldn’t they repair their friendship and love? The obstacles to both are Tom’s inability to ask for help—and the fact he’s not so slowly sliding down the financial gurgler—and Frank’s dissatisfaction with his current career, and to a smaller extent, his feelings regarding his best friend, Simon, having found The One. Frank thinks he’s getting over a crush on Simon, and he is… sort of. What he’s really doing is mourning The One who got away. The one he let go.

So there is a lot of introspection and reevaluation going on, and in keeping with the themes of this series, scenes that highlight the importance of family (blood and found), friendships, and lots of more lighthearted moments where Frank and Tom explore small town happenings and decide whether or not they’re going to renew their forever.

I hope you enjoy Frank and Tom’s story. It’s not quite as upbeat as the one I wrote for Simon and Charlie, but all of my characters are different, and therefore they require different stories. I love the one I wrote for Frank and Tom. It’s one to cherish, and one that still makes me misty eyed, all these months later.

 

Renewing Forever is the second of a series of standalone novels focused on older characters who think love has passed them by. Frank and Tom’s story is a true second chance romance, reuniting childhood friends and first loves separated by an argument and thirty years of misunderstanding. I hope you enjoy reading about their renewed friendship and their plans for forever.

 

About Renewing Forever

A neglected resort, a lost chance at love, and one last chance to renew forever.

Frankie and Tommy once dreamed of traveling the world together. But when seventeen-year-old Frank kissed Tom, their plans ended with a punch to the jaw and Frank leaving town without looking back. Thirty years later, Frank’s successful career as a journalist is interrupted by his uncle’s death and the question of his inheritance—the family resort where his childhood dreams were built. When he returns to the Pocono Mountains, however, he finds a dilapidated lodge and Tommy, the boy he never forgot.

Tom’s been keeping the resort together with spit and glue while caring for Frank’s uncle, Robert—a man he considered father, mentor, and friend—and his aged mother, who he refuses to leave behind. Now Robert is gone, taking Tom’s job with him. And Frank is on the doorstep, wanting to know why Tom is still there and why the old lodge is falling apart.

But before they can rebuild the resort, they’ll have to rebuild their friendship. Only then can they renew the forever they planned all those years ago.

Now available from Riptide Publishing!

 

About the This Time Forever Series

Small towns and second chances.

Simon, Frank, and Brian think love has passed them by. Each is facing down his fiftieth birthday—Simon in a few years, Frank next year, and Brian soon enough. Each has loved and lost. But for these men, everything old really is new again, and it’s only when they return to their roots that they’ll find their second chances and the happily ever after they’ve been waiting their whole lives for.

This time it’s forever.

This series includes:

  1. Building Forever — releasing October 15, available now!
  2. Renewing Forever — releasing November 12, available for preorder!
  3. Chasing Forever — releasing December 10, available soon!

About Kelly Jensen

If aliens ever do land on Earth, Kelly will not be prepared, despite having read over a hundred stories about the apocalypse. Still, she will pack her precious books into a box and carry them with her as she strives to survive. It’s what bibliophiles do.

Kelly is the author of a number of novels, novellas, and short stories, including the Chaos Station series, cowritten with Jenn Burke. Some of what she writes is speculative in nature, but mostly it’s just about a guy losing his socks and/or burning dinner. Because life isn’t all conquering aliens and mountain peaks. Sometimes finding a happy ever after is all the adventure we need.

Connect with Kelly:

 


Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Renewing Forever one lucky person will win a $25 Riptide Publishing gift card and a swag pack of stickers, art cards, and bookmarks! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on November 17, 2018. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following along, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!