Amy Lane

Fall Through Spring by Amy Lane: Exclusive Guest Post

December 11, 2019 by Denise Leave a Comment

Amy Lane is here once again (I love it when she stops by!) to talk about her latest release Fall Through Spring, with an exclusive guest post that is near and dear to my heart…about owning cats. I, myself, am a Crazy Cat Lady, and so anything cat related is right up my alley. Check out her post, and make sure you pick up this new book!

As far as Clay Carpenter is concerned, his abusive relationship with food is the best thing he’s got going. When a good friend starts kicking his ass into gear, Clay is forced to reexamine everything he learned about food and love—and that’s right when he meets troubled graduate student, Dane Hayes.

Dane Hayes doesn’t do the whole monogamy thing, but the minute he meets Clay Carpenter, he’s doing the friend thing in spades. The snarky, scruffy bastard not only gets Dane’s wacky sense of humor, he also accepts the things Dane can’t control—like the bipolar disorder Dane has been trying to manage for the past six years.

Dane is hoping for more than friendship, and Clay is looking at him with longing that isn’t platonic. They’re both positive they’re bad at relationships, but with the help of forbidden desserts and new medication regimens, they prove outstanding at being with each other. But can they turn their friendship into the love neither of them has dared to hope for?

Title: Fall Through Spring
Series: Winter Ball: Book Three
Author: Amy Lane
Release Date: December 3, 2019
Category: Contemporary Romance

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Barnes & Noble

The Importance of Owning a Cat By Amy Lane

It’s not that I believe pet ownership is necessary to being human—but it’s got its perks.

Maintaining a relationship is hard work. You have to be mindful not just of one person’s needs, but of two. If you can’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of your partner—but if you can’t remember to take care of your partner, you’re not a good bet as a relationship yourself. It’s a delicate balance, and pets have often served as sort of a litmus test to make sure someone is ready to put another creature’s needs ahead of their own.

At the same time, pets are… well, a pain in the ass.

All creatures crap—there’s no getting around it. If you can’t walk your dog or maintain your cat’s litter box, you have just mucked up your home with no way to escape—as well as abused a poor animal who only wants a place to void waste. It is imperative that you not only feed and water a pet, but that you take care of their other needs. Two trips to a vet’s office per year per pet, not counting illness or shots?

That’s a lot of taking care of.

And there’s more to it than that.

Dogs and cats need love. Every day. Every. Day. Cats are fully capable of saying “You can just fuck right off,” and running away—and the odds of them finding another home aren’t great. Dogs just… wither emotionally. They can become mean, or even stop eating.

Opening up to a pet means giving—pets, love, kindness, even your voice—every day. No exceptions.

And this could be the hardest thing. Pet’s don’t live as long as we do. Unless your pet is a parrot or a turtle—and see upkeep, because both of these exotic pets CAN break your house if you’re not careful—your dog or cat, your precious Egyptian Hairless, Pit Bull, Maine Coon or Yorkie—will pass before you’re ready.

Which means in order to own a pet, you need to be strong enough to sustain the worst—and to move on emotionally. That fifteen-year-old thirty-pound diabetic furry tub of lard absolutely cannot be the one thing between a happy you and a you on the edge of a cliff. You need to be able to endure loss and come out on the other side—and do it while loving your pet every day.

When Dane and Carpenter commit to getting cats at the end of Fall Through Spring it’s more than just, “Hey, Dane is not just a veterinary science major, he also owns a pet!” It’s a commitment by the two men to have a stable life. To commit to their pets—and each other—to look at another’s needs before their own. To be responsible enough for themselves to be responsible for another creature. To be prepared to give love every day without fail.

And to be strong enough to sustain loss and failure and come out on the other side.

For any condition—mental illness, drug addiction, or even just the pain of being an imperfect human—this is the ultimate in commitment, and in faith.

For Dane Hayes and Clay Carpenter, having two fat, spoiled diva cats shedding all over Dane’s brother’s nice house means they have hope for the future—and for each other.

For these guys, getting pets isn’t just the nice little bow on the package of romance—it’s a promise to us that their romance is sustainable—and that they will continue to work on themselves so they can be there for each other.

And I think that’s true in most romance books—even if the “pet” is really an herb garden or a tank full of fish.

Having a pet isn’t just bonding with a creature who needs maintenance—it’s a sign of continuously trying to be a better human one who capable of long-term love.

And that’s the core of any romance hero or heroine—it’s the person we all hope we can be.

Amy Lane lives in a crumbling crapmansion with a couple of growing children, a passel of furbabies, and a bemused spouse. Two of her books have received a RITA nomination, she’s won honorable mention for an Indiefab, and has a couple of Rainbow Awards to her name. She also has too damned much yarn, a penchant for action-adventure movies, and a need to know that somewhere in all the pain is a story of Wuv, Twu Wuv, which she continues to believe in to this day! She writes fantasy, urban fantasy, and gay romance–and if you accidentally make eye contact, she’ll bore you to tears with why those three genres go together. She’ll also tell you that sacrifices, large and small, are worth the urge to write.

Paint It Black (Beneath the Stain Book 2) by Amy Lane: Exclusive Guest Post and Release Day Review

August 13, 2019 by Denise

A Beneath the Stain Novel

Everybody thinks Mackey Sanders’s Outbreak Monkey is the last coming of Rock ’n’ Roll Jesus, but Cheever Sanders can’t wait to make a name for himself where nobody expects him to fill his famous brothers’ shoes. He’s tired of living in their shadow.

Blake Manning has been one of Outbreak Monkey’s lead guitarists for ten years. He got this gig on luck and love, not talent. So hearing that Cheever is blowing through Outbreak Monkey’s hard-earned money in an epic stretch of partying pisses him off.

Blake shows up at Cheever’s nonstop orgy to enforce some rules, but instead of a jaded punk, he finds a lost boy as talented at painting as Mackey is at song-making, and terrified to let anybody see the real him. Childhood abuse and a suicide attempt left Cheever on the edge of survival—a place Blake knows all too well.

Both men have to make peace with being second banana in the public eye. Can they find the magic of coming absolute first with each other?

Title: Paint It Black
Series: Beneath the Stain: Book 2
Author: Amy Lane
Release Date: August 13, 2019
Category: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Pages: 322

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

And the Children Shall Lead Us By Amy Lane

So I admit it—this story has nothing to do with the actual plot of the book I’m pimping but it might make you laugh, and that’s good too.

When I wrote Beneath the Stain, I chose all of the chapter titles from classic rock songs—I had a browser open to Rolling Stone’s top 500 rock and roll songs for about two months, and boy, did I fall down some rabbit holes. For Paint it Black, I figured since it was a smaller story than Beneath the Stain, I would only focus on one artist for the chapter titles, to maybe help me narrow my focus. The title was one of the Rolling Stone’s most iconic hits, so I went with the Stones.

So for a month and a half, all my family heard–in the car, at my desk, when I was doing the dishes—was the Rolling Stones. In particular, “Paint it Black.”

My son, ZoomBoy, was particularly enthralled. “What is this music, Mother? How might I get me some of that on my Spotify account?”

And suddenly it wasn’t just me, it was both of us. And for a little while, I thought that was fine. I had my family with me, right? I mean, he learned to whistle so he could whistle the riff! That was awesome!

And then, one night, after I’d finished the book and had moved on to the next Fish, his father and I were sitting, watching television, and I heard… well, I wasn’t sure.

“Mate—hit pause!”

We frowned at each other.

“What is that?” he asked.

“It’s ZoomBoy—does he need anything?” I said.

“Forget does he need anything—is he sacrificing small animals and singing an unholy hymn?”

I listened for another moment. “Mmmaybe…”

Both of us listened again. “What in the furry hell?”

“Do you think we’re safe in our sleep?” I asked.

Mate laughed uncomfortably. “Sure. I’ll be sure to wake you if he comes after us with a knife.”

Now, before anybody sends sage to burn, or an exorcist to my address, I want you all to look up the lyrics to “Paint it Black.” Dark stuff, right? Painting shit black? Serial killer fantasies? Now imagine that song being sung by a tone-deaf fifteen-year-old in the shower, echoing through three rooms in a small house.

Yup. Scared the shit out of us.

And then ZoomBoy came out of the bathroom, still humming, and Mate and I met eyes again—and started laughing our asses off.

“I blame you,” Mate said.

“Go ahead—I’m still having nightmares about satanic cults and live sacrifice!”

“That’s fine—you can always write another genre,” he told me, and then hit play, and we went back to our regularly scheduled programming.

But that song has stuck with us. Right now? As I was writing this? I turned on the song, for old time’s sake.

When the song ended, ZoomBoy was still whistling along.

It sticks with you—as I hope Blake and Cheever will stick with you too. I know those boys ripped my heart out in the good way, and not in the live sacrifice way. But they put it back in again, and that’s why it’s romance instead of horror.

We’ll save the horror for ZoomBoy.

Before we go any further, two things.

1. Read the first book Beneath the Stain. Rock stars and angst galore. And you have to read book 1 to really understand book 2

2. These books are a committment. Book 1 is over 650 pages. This book is 500 pages. Just giving you a heads up.

Moving on to the review, let’s assume you’ve read book 1, mmkay?

Approximately 10 years has passed between books. Our boys are old, wiser, still sober, husbands and fathers. Mackey and Grant have gotten married and he still manages the band. And now the focus is on Cheever, the youngest Sanders brother. too young to join the band at the time, he focused on art. He is about to graduate college, but a harsh review of his art makes him snap and he sets out to destroy himself.

Blake, always feeling like the outsider in the band and Cheever, the outsider with the brothers bond and bond quickly. Together they work to not only validate each other but also to validate their places in the band, in the house and in the family.

Ugh they poor boys are so damaged. And they held most of that damage inside for 10 years. While I am not surprised it took Cheever that long to snap, I am surprised that Blake held it in so long.

Throughout the book we see not only Cheever and Blake fall in love, but Cheever accept the love of his brothers again. He was so closed off he had no idea how much they wanted him in their lives. It was sweet but also really sad.

I do think that Cheever and Blake were a bit codependant with each other. Especially Cheever. Not for nothin, I don’t care how rich you are, they aren’t going to let someone who isn’t in treatment spend the night with you in rehab.

I really loved seeing the band, Grant and the wives so settled into their lives. They were grown ups! Ok, the wives did kind of really fulfill gender stereotypes that wasn’t totally necessary. Sorry, boys. Kick in and help in the kitchen a little more.

Yes, I am a picky bitch. Sue me.

I still really enjoyed this book. Not as much as the first, but so worth the read.

4 Pieces of Candy

Amy Lane lives in a crumbling crapmansion with a couple of growing children, a passel of furbabies, and a bemused spouse. She’s been nominated for a RITA twice, has won honorable mention for an Indiefab, and has a couple of Rainbow Awards to her name. She also has too damned much yarn, a penchant for action-adventure movies, and a need to know that somewhere in all the pain is a story of Wuv, Twu Wuv, which she continues to believe in to this day! She writes fantasy, urban fantasy, and gay romance–and if you accidentally make eye contact, she’ll bore you to tears with why those three genres go together. She’ll also tell you that sacrifices, large and small, are worth the urge to write.

Beneath the Stain Free Extras: https://claims.prolificworks.com/free/YeFYLUdH

Warm Heart by Amy Lane: Exclusive Guest Post and New Release Review

July 19, 2019 by Denise

Survive the adventure. Live to love.

Following a family emergency, snowboarder Tevyn Moore and financier Mallory Armstrong leave Donner Pass in a blizzard… and barely survive the helicopter crash that follows. Stranded with few supplies and no shelter, Tevyn and Mallory—and their injured pilot—are forced to rely on each other.

The mountain leaves no room for evasion, and Tevyn and Mal must confront the feelings that have been brewing between them for the past five years. Mallory has seen Tevyn through injury and victory. Can Tevyn see that Mallory’s love is real?

Mallory’s job is risk assessment. Tevyn’s job is full-on risk. But to stay alive, Mallory needs to take some gambles and Tevyn needs to have faith in someone besides himself. Can the bond they discover on the mountain see them to rescue and beyond?

Title: Warm Heart
Series: Search and Rescue: Book One
Author: Amy Lane
Release Date: July 16, 2019
Category: Dreamspun Desires, Contemporary
Pages: 213

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

So, part of the premise of Warm Heart is our heroes spend an uncomfortable chunk of days stranded in a storm caring for their injured pilot (who gets his own book next January!) And this was both a delight and a challenge as a writer.

Being stuck somewhere with people you care about and no outside distraction can lead to deeper understanding, bonding, true conversation, and moments of real meaning.

It can also lead to batshit boredom.

And our heroes weren’t just stranded together. They couldn’t make the conversation all about themselves. They had to entertain Damien, who was in a lot of pain and trying hard not to be afraid.

They were all trying not to be afraid.

It turns out Mallory is the guy who saves the day in this instance. I mean, they all take turns saving each other, whether it’s from the fire going out, boredom, or being too tired to go on. But in this instance, Mallory, who’s always had a sort of quietly devastating sense of humor, sings showtunes and old camp songs over the fire, and gets his two compatriots to play a guessing game involving mundane things in his personal history. And these silly things turn out to be the morale builders that our little team needs to keep going—and when the conversation got too intense, they gave our two heroes a way out, when they were literally trapped in the same place together in the snow.

Like with so many things, I got the idea from Mate and I.

Over the last thirty years Mate and I have seen a lot of movies. If we’ve really loved a movie together, we’ve probably seen it multiple times. We know these movies backwards and forwards, we’ve looked up their cast, their director, even their producers. We know the lines from the movies, and we know what the actors who uttered those lines went on to do.

So we’ve invented this movie game that is so insanely complicated and so completely dependent on the people playing being us that we only play it when the kids are done talking to us and there’s nothing else to do.

I’ll start: “Come up to the coast, we’ll have a few laughs!”

His reply would be: “Why a spoon, brother?”

I think for a moment: “Oh honey—we all deserve to wear white.”

And he’ll respond with: “I’m not going back to Texas.”

For those of you who wonder what we’re doing, that’s Die Hard to Robin Hood via Alan Rickman, Robin Hood to Bull Durham via Keven Costner, and Bull Durham to Thelma and Louise via Susan Sarandon.

And so on. We can play this game literally for hours, getting as obscure as using a director or a producer as the link to the next film we’re quoting. And the source material spans thirty years—but it’s our thirty years, so that’s okay.

That game is ours. It doesn’t mean anything to anyone else, and every movie line is everything from the times we’ve seen the movie together to why we loved it in the first place.

So when I stranded Mallory and Tevyn and Damien on the mountaintop, I had to give them a game that’s uniquely theirs. I succeeded, I hope, and hopefully the guys’ banter will keep you all entertained. But I did it with that deep conviction that all successful couples have their little games, their conversational gambits, their bantering sallies, that keep them interested in talking to each other.

Because sometimes, that conversation is the thread that keeps us bound together for life.

What a fun, interesting and exciting book. I have to admit I was a little worried that it would get boring with 3 guys stranded in a blizzard- one of them totally incapacitated. But it wasn’t at all. It moved along nicely and didn’t lag.

Tevyn and Mallory have been dancing around their feelings for each other for years. But I think both were kind of waiting for Tevyn to grow up a bit. But then when their helicopter crashes and they become stranded, the begin to acknowledge what they have been feeling.

It was refreshing to read a book where the two MC had to face their feelings head on. They literally couldn’t hide behind sex because they not only had a third person there, but they were outside in the elements during a blizzard.

Instead they talked and learned more and more about each other. Comically, with Tevyn trying to figure out Mallory’s middle name.

The story got serious at times, with the helicopter pilot in desperate need of medical attention and Tevyn’s grandmother on her death bed back home. But the author tried to keep the story light in spite of all of that. So while you got the excitement and seriousness of what was happening, it didn’t drag you down at all.

There is a HEA, don’t you worry. And there is perhaps a hint to the next book? I hope?

3.5 pieces of eye candy

Amy Lane lives in a crumbling crapmansion with a couple of growing children, a passel of furbabies, and a bemused spouse. She’s been finaled in the RITA’S (TM) twice, has won honorable mention for an Indiefab, and has a couple of Rainbow Awards to her name. She also has too damned much yarn, a penchant for action-adventure movies, and a need to know that somewhere in all the pain is a story of Wuv, Twu Wuv, which she continues to believe in to this day! She writes fantasy, urban fantasy, and gay romance–and if you accidentally make eye contact, she’ll bore you to tears with why those three genres go together. She’ll also tell you that sacrifices, large and small, are worth the urge to write.

String Boys by Amy Lane: Exclusive Guest Post and Excerpt, and Release Day Review

May 30, 2019 by Denise

Seth Arnold learned at an early age that two things in life could make his soul soar—his violin and Kelly Cruz. In Seth’s uncertain childhood, the kindness of the Cruz family, especially Kelly and his brother, Matty, gave Seth the stability to make his violin sing with the purest sound and opened a world of possibility beyond his home in Sacramento.

Kelly Cruz has loved Seth forever, but he knows Seth’s talents shouldn’t be hidden, not when the world is waiting. Encouraging Seth to follow his music might break Kelly’s heart, but he is determined to see the violin set Seth’s soul free. When their world is devastated by a violent sexual assault and Matty’s prejudices turn him from a brother to an enemy, Seth and Kelly’s future becomes uncertain.

Seth can’t come home and Kelly can’t leave, but they are held together by a love that they clutch with both hands.

Seth and Kelly are young and the world is wide—the only thing they know for certain is they’ll follow their heartstrings to each other’s arms whenever time and fate allow. And pray that one day they can follow that string to forever… before it slices their hearts in two.

Title: String Boys
Author: Amy Lane
Release Date: May 28, 2019
Category: Contemporary, New Adult
Pages: 341

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

Perfectly Imperfect By Amy Lane

It’s no secret that much of my work revolves around family—and they say to write what you know.

One of the things I know—for absolutely positive—is that family is not perfect. Not even the best family can lay claim to perfection. Family is a mixed bag of dicks.

And I love capturing that moment, in which family is both the best and the worst thing to happen to us. Given that, I was particularly proud of this moment between a young Kelly on the verge of running away from home (although everyone knows where he’s going!) and his father, who’s only doing his best.

The next morning Kelly left a note—Going to see him. K. He wanted to say when he’d be back, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t help it. He just didn’t ever want to come back.

But the plan was to go spend the rest of his formative years on Seth’s floor, and it didn’t have a contingency plan for his father pulling up next to him in the family minivan, window rolled down.

“Get in.”

Kelly didn’t look up. “No habla English.” Of course the irony was, he didn’t habla Espanol either, because his father didn’t speak it in the house, and he’d taken French in school. All he knew was mijo.

His dad sputtered. “Look, you little dickhead, I’ll pay for your ticket there and back, just get in the damned car!”

Well, shit. On the one hand, it meant he had to come back. On the other, it meant he’d have more money for food if he went with the living-in-Seth’s-dorm option.

“Coffee on the way?” he bargained, and his dad laughed.

“Sure.”

He got in the car, and Dad threw him a hat—something his grandma had knit for… well, anyone in the family who would wear it. It was made with big chunky yarn and had flecks of something pink in it.

“Really?” Kelly asked, eyeing the hat.

“Did you bring one of your own?” Dad asked pointedly.

“No.”

“It’s cold outside. You forget your own hat, I provide. Also, are you insane?”

Kelly grunted. “Seth does it sometimes.”

“Yes. This is true. But Seth didn’t walk out the door one night and almost not come back!”

“He did too,” Kelly said. “He did too, and you know it. And this time, I needed to be somewhere with him where we can walk outside for a change. I….” He let out a little grunt. “It’s not fair.”

“I know.”

“I’ve been looking at JC’s, you know, near Northridge or San Francisco. So we can….” This sounded so grown-up. “So we can live together and go to school.”

“We’d miss you,” his dad said, sighing. “I’m not ready yet. Definitely not ready for Matty to be grown-up. Seriously not ready for you to grow up either. You’re only sixteen.”

“Well….” Kelly looked out the window into the foggy streets. “I’ll be seventeen when I graduate. If we were rich and shit, you’d be sending me away to a college, never to see me again.”

“Screw that,” his dad muttered. “There’s, like, no way!”

Kelly laughed then, with all his heart, because his dad sounded about sixteen himself.

So that was an epic love story. I wasn’t totally prepared for the length of the book and the length of time it covered, but it was worth it. Spanning close to 20 years, we follow Seth and Kelly from the third (Kelly) and fourth (Seth) grades when they were picked to learn violin in school. For Seth, that violin changed his life.

Kelly realizes way before Seth that he is gay and in love with Seth. So once they reach the teen years, Kelly kisses Seth- and they never look back. But Kelly’s older brother- Seth’s former best friend- turns on them with homophobic vitriol he learned at his new girlfriend’s church.

I love how the romantic relationship between Seth and Kelly started out bumbling and a bit awkward, because they were just kids, to knowing what they wanted from each other and asking for it

There is A LOT in this book. Seth’s dad, Kelly’s whole family of parents, several sisters and the brother who now hates him. But through it all is Kelly and Seth and Seth’s violin.

It seems as if everything in the universe is trying to keep them apart, but they muddle through. Basically having a long distance relationship for years and years, getting by with short, hidden visits, text, email and Skype.

There is quite a bit of tragedy in the book. Which just add to the forces keeping them apart. But what starts out as naivete of two teens determined to stay together turns into two men understanding their responsibilities but refusing to give up.

There were a few time line hiccups for me and a couple “but why?” moments, but I really enjoyed following this love story over such a long period of time.

If you are an Amy Lane fan or a fan of epic love stories, this one is for you.

4 pieces of eye candy

Amy Lane lives in a crumbling crapmansion with a couple of growing children, a passel of furbabies, and a bemused spouse. She’s been nominated for a RITA, has won honorable mention for an Indiefab, and has a couple of Rainbow Awards to her name. She also has too damned much yarn, a penchant for action-adventure movies, and a need to know that somewhere in all the pain is a story of Wuv, Twu Wuv, which she continues to believe in to this day! She writes fantasy, urban fantasy, and gay romance–and if you accidentally make eye contact, she’ll bore you to tears with why those three genres go together. She’ll also tell you that sacrifices, large and small, are worth the urge to write.

Homebird by Amy Lane: Exclusive Guest Post, Tour and Release Day Review

December 19, 2018 by Denise

TCO is so glad to have Amy Lane with us today with an exclusive author guest post, all about traveling with friends. I completely agree with Amy here. Going somewhere once in a while by yourself is fun, but if you don’t have someone to be snarky with, is it really worth going? 🙂 Check out what she has to see about her MC’s from Homebird, her most recent release. Thanks for joining the blog today Amy!

Crispin Henry isn’t an adventurer. He learned early on that the world is a frightening place and that home is rare and precious. If his friends didn’t drag him to sports games and ill-advised trips to Vegas, he wouldn’t get out at all—and his trip to Munich for Oktoberfest is no exception. But it’s there that he meets Luka Gabriel, and he learns to take a chance.

Luka is a free-spirited world traveler, working at Oktoberfest to feed his enchantment with new places and new people. His only possessions fit in his backpack, and he depends on the kindness of strangers for a place to sleep. Crispin should know better—but he takes Luka’s hand anyway, and together they turn three nights in Munich into the relationship neither of them has been brave enough to risk—and neither can let go of.

When Luka turns up on Crispin’s doorstep before the holiday season, Crispin takes him in on hope alone. Yes, he knows the odds are good Luka will flutter out of his life again and leave him bereft, but isn’t it worth it to see if Luka is a homebird after all?

Title: Homebird
Author: Amy Lane
Release Date: December 18, 2018
Category: Holiday
Pages: 188

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

A Little Hope from My Friends By Amy Lane

I’ll be honest here.

While I love a good romance, I’ve never really been big on the “lone tourist” scenario. I mean sure, I love to wander a place—but if someone’s not there to get my jokes about myself dorking about an unfamiliar location, I feel a little adrift.

It’s why I love traveling with my husband or my children. Even the salt flats of Utah are interesting if there’s someone there to go, “Oh my God, is that a SHARK that’s popping out of the salt flats?” And then watch avidly until the Loch Ness Monster appears.

Having a friend, a compadre, a buddy to explore with is, for me, really half the fun.

The inspiration of HomeBird came from my husband’s trip to Germany with his friends. They all sort of fell in love with their waiter—because he was beautiful and fun and single, and they were mostly married and settled and in their forties. So it was natural to put Crispin, our traveler into foreign lands, in the company of friends.

But more than that, the friends were his support system. They were the reason he felt comfortable traveling in the first place. I mean seriously, if this was about a homebody traveling to find an adventurer, there’s only a few ways to get him out of the house as it is. But beyond that, if that homebody is attracted to the adventurer, is he really going to act on that attraction if there’s even a possible nobody’s going to check on him when he disappears?

And besides the physical safety, there’s the emotional reinforcement. Even if your friends are uncertain—“Are you sure you want to spend a night with this virtual stranger?” if they really are your friends, you know they’ll be there in the morning to go, “Okay, do we hate him? Are we going to egg his house? Do we need a witch to curse him? I know someone!”

Or, even better, “I’m so glad you had a good time. Give me details. Not the gross ones. Just tell me why it was good.”

And of course, you need someone when you get home, to say, “Oh, hey, you’re still talking to that guy? That’s great!” and when you tell your friends and family at home that he’s visiting, they can say, “Don’t worry! He’s not a psycho killer, we met him!”

And of course, in a year, you need your friends to say, “Hey, do you want to go on another trip? I mean, you met the love of your life on the last one, right? Let’s see what else we can do!”

Although, you know, all of those scenarios are if you’re Crispin and get hauled away to Germany to meet the love of your life.

But even if you’re not Crispin and getting hauled to Germany to meet the love of your life, it’s still nice traveling with friends.

For one thing, the more people with you, the more likelihood someone’s phone will be working at the end of the day. The more options you have to find a suitcase to stow that last valuable that won’t fit in yours. The better chance you have of someone to talk you into buying that souvenir you really really want but aren’t sure you can afford.

The more people with you, the more conversation, the more appreciation, the more excitement.

So yes—I make a big deal out of Crispin’s friends when he goes traveling. Because his friends take care of him, and when he meets Luka he has a gold standard for which to judge a companion.

And isn’t he delighted when Luka exceeds that standard and brings some perks of his own!

This was a cute little story. Crispin (bravo on the unique name) and his friends go to Germany for a long weekend of Oktoberfest. Although Crispin works with these guys, hangs out with them and goes on vacation with them, he somehow thinks they don’t know he is gay. Mmmhmmm. So when they tell him that, ya, they know, go get laid, it’s kind of cute. You all want to have friends like that.

Crispin was adopted when he was 5 after his parents died. And then as a very young adult, his adopted parents died. Whoa. Besides needing the security of his house, he really isn’t that messed up. His adoptive parents had a daughter soon after he was adopted and they grew up as siblings. He calls her his sister, but never calls his parents his. They are always his sister’s parents. That was odd.

Anyway. Off the boys go on a long weekend to Germany. From California. I’m going to let that go. On their first night, Crispin catches the eye of a waiter in one of the beer tents. And after not having a relationship in forever, says he will go home with him for the night. And basically spends his vacation with Luka.

Luka is the opposite of Crispin though. His parents also died, but he needs to continually travel and not set down roots. He is originally from Fiji, but spent a lot of his childhood in New Zealand, but now travels with world with a backpack. But he does end up on Crispin’s doorstep a few months later.

Except for the sexy times- and they are dirty (not complaining)- this was very much like a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie. Sure the first half was Oktoberfest, but Luka shows up in California in time for Christmas.

Even with 3 sets of dead parents between them, there really isn’t much angst at all. Just a sweet book.

3 pieces of eye candy

Familiar Demon by Amy Lane: Exclusive Cover Reveal

November 29, 2018 by Denise

TCO is excited to have Amy Lane stopping by today with the cover reveal of her upcoming book, Familiar Demon, book 2 in the Familiar Love series. This amazing cover was done by the fabulous Reese Dante, and the book–like all of Amy’s books–looks great! Can’t wait!

For over a century, Edward Youngblood has been the logical one in a family of temperamental magical beings. But reason has not made him immune to passion, and Edward’s passion for Mullins, the family’s demon instructor, has only grown.

Mullins was lured into hell through desperation—and a fatal mistake. He’s done his best to hang onto his soul in the twisted realm of the underworld, and serving the Youngblood family when summoned has been his only joy. Edward concocts a plan to spring Mullins by collecting a series of items to perform an ancient ritual—an idea that terrifies Mullins. He can’t bear the thought of losing Edward and his brothers to a dangerous quest.

But every item in their collection is an adventure in brotherhood and magic, and as Mullins watches from the sidelines, he becomes more and more hopeful that they will succeed. When the time comes for Mullins to join the mission, can he find enough faith and hope to redeem himself and allow himself happiness in the arms of a man who would literally go to hell and back—and beyond—to have Mullins by his side?

Title: Familiar Demon
Series: Familiar Love: Book 2
Author: Amy Lane
Release Date: February 12, 2019
Category: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 248
Cover Artist: Reese Dante http://www.reesedante.com

Dreamspinner Press eBook
Dreamspinner Press Paperback

Amy Lane lives in a crumbling crapmansion with a couple of growing children, a passel of furbabies, and a bemused spouse. She’s been nominated for a RITA, has won honorable mention for an Indiefab, and has a couple of Rainbow Awards to her name. She also has too damned much yarn, a penchant for action-adventure movies, and a need to know that somewhere in all the pain is a story of Wuv, Twu Wuv, which she continues to believe in to this day! She writes fantasy, urban fantasy, and gay romance—and if you accidentally make eye contact, she’ll bore you to tears with why those three genres go together. She’ll also tell you that sacrifices, large and small, are worth the urge to write.
Website: www.greenshill.com
Blog: www.writerslane.blogspot.com
Email: amylane@greenshill.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/amy.lane.167
Twitter: @amymaclane