Doctor Scott Penney used to be a Paediatric Oncologist—until he burned out. Watching children suffer and die took its toll on his mental health. To cope, he used anonymous sex as an emotional crutch, thinking it was better than hitting the bottle. But that inevitably destroyed his relationship with the man he loved.
With his tail between his legs and a year’s worth of celibacy under his belt, Scott accepts a position as an Accident and Emergency consultant, leaving his career in oncology and London behind.
Ben Jenkins is a paediatric nurse who loves his seaside city, his job, and his faithful old Labrador, Happy. When he meets the new doctor, Ben falls for Scott’s kind-yet-reserved personality—not to mention his good looks. Scott is great with the children who come through the hospital, but Ben senses there’s more to Scott than meets the eye.
Scott tries to resist Ben’s sunny charm—Scott’s not boyfriend material, after all—but it’s impossible not to fall in love with the sad looking old dog and his charming owner. As Scott and Ben get closer and the weather heats up, tragedy strikes and Ben is left wondering how much of Scott’s history he actually knows.
For them to move forward, Ben must show Scott that no matter what happened in the past, a beautiful day can always start after the sun sets.
**This can be read as a standalone**
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This guest post was supposed to be what I’ve got coming up this year, but it’s not a lot.
After As the Sun Sets, I have a story set in Australia called Solid Rock that I plan to release in May, all things going well. It’s about a British boy, James, who has been left his estranged father’s ashes to scatter at Uluru. He thinks he can go to the middle of Australia, release his dad’s ashes, and then return to England within a few days. Little does he realise the magical lure of the rock. Cue Matt. An Aussie tour guide and Alice Springs native. Matt helps James and decides a distraction couldn’t hurt. After all, it’s not often Matt comes across another gay man in the middle of nowhere.
They build a friendship, learning about each other, and James discovers there’s more to Australia than just a hunk of rock and deadly animals. But James has to return home. You’ll have to wait and see what happens when it’s released, but this may be my favourite ever story I’ve written.
I don’t have much else in the works. I started writing a short ménage with very little plot, but that’s been sitting on the shelf for some time. I’ll probably finish it soon, though. Sex scenes are fun to write. 🙂
I don’t know if I’ll get anything else out this year. Potentially, there’s a big move on the horizon with my family moving to Portugal. This will mean very little time to write, but that may not be a bad thing. My mojo is starting to run out. Competition is fierce and if you don’t promote yourself constantly then you don’t get many sales. I get enough sales to keep going and readers seem to like what I write, so I can’t complain. But the pressure to promote and put myself out there is too great.
So, we’ll see. I’ll still write, but the pressure is starting to take the joy out of it, so I may not publish. You’ll have at least another full-length novel from me, but I can’t promise much past that at this stage. Who knows? I may start publishing everything for free to escape the pressure.
Thanks for having me. <3 RJ
Okay, I came in late in this series. Book 3, however, it must be okay to read as a standalone because I didn’t feel I missed anything at all by not starting from the beginning. I’m going to go back and read the others though, because I really enjoyed this one.
Scott Penney was a pediatric oncologist. Can you imagine how terrible of a job that would be? Rewarding, sure….absolutely, but, losing children? Caring for little kids and seeing them get sicker and eventually not being able to beat the cancer, ravaging their bodies? That takes a special kind of person to do and I wasn’t surprised that it was too hard for him. He felt each loss, it hurt him not to be able to save every one…
Getting burnt out on the job and running from the relationship he ruined by not being able to cope with everything; he decided to get out of the area and try something new…New beginnings and all that. He moved to Brighton and began working in an A&E service. That’s where he met Nurse Rainbow…
Ben is a pediatric nurse who works alongside his volunteer mother at a hospital. She’s a trip too, Glo. She’s everything that is a hippy mom and you cannot help but love her.
Ben starts out just meeting and having a couple lunches with Scott, but their attraction for one another is palpable. Ben is patient and kind and caring and he’s so understanding and willing to help Scott. He’s there for him when he needs him, just to listen. He doesn’t push and he’s such a genuine person, I loved that he was exactly what Scott needed, when he needed it. Scott had been beating himself for a long time over what happened in his last relationship and he just didn’t think that he deserved to be happy.
Ben and his puppy, Happy, wanted to prove to him that he did.
This story was heartbreaking in places and so hopeful in others. I adored the way Ben was with Scott and I loved when Scott finally started opening up and allowing himself something good….something happy. He truly deserved it. The way he grew up and family he had to tolerate…smh… it’s a wonder he turned out to be the kind of man he did at all. He has a good heart and like I said… it takes a special person to do the work that he done with such passion and blinding hope to make people better. I enjoyed that.
Overall, this was a really sweet read. The ending was just perfect as well. I’m looking forward to reading the others in this story.
4 pieces of eye candy from me!
Buy: As the Leaves Fall
Buy: As the Ice Melts
RJ started as a reader and eventually made the progression to reviewing. It wasn’t until two men popped into her thoughts, insisting on telling her their story that she started to write. It started with one scene. A hot and dirty one in the shower.
RJ’s initial thought was if she could write their scene then they’d shut up and allow her to concentrate on other aspects of the day. That shower scene was 3000 words long and three hours of work. But they didn’t shut up. They told her their entire story and she didn’t sleep for days. Sometimes she couldn’t keep up with what they were telling her and she had to keep a notebook by the bed.
Whilst RJ was writing their story a side character decided he needed his story told too. Then other characters followed suit.
You see the problem? If RJ ever wants to sleep again then she needs to write.
RJ is a wife and a mother to two boys. Even her dog is a boy.
She is surrounded by males.
RJ writes emotionally charged, character driven romances. Her guys will always get their HEA, but it will never be easy.
Where to find me
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/robyn.j.jones.1711
Twitter – https://twitter.com/rjjonesauthor
Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/rjjonesauthor/
Website – http://rjjonesauthor.com
Email – rjjonesauthor@gmail.com
I’m sorry to hear that you are experiencing burnout. Stress is not good so maybe stepping away for a while will help. True fans will still be around when you return. <3