Author Guest Post

TCO has been so excited to bring you 12 Days of Kissmas. We have had 12 of your favorite authors ahead over the last 12 days, bringing you beautiful pictures of men kissing that the authors have chosen themselves, along with exclusive posts, excerpts, and giveaways. The idea sprang from a conversation with an author that just turned into a “what if…”, and when I started asking a few authors, they immediately said they were in. Make sure you enter the giveaways, as there are lots of them! Thanks for stopping by, and a HUGE thank you to all the authors for their generosity, and loving spirit. Happy Holidays to everyone! We have already been asked to bring it back again next year! 🙂

For the final day of 12 Days of Kissmas, we have the wonderful Kindle Alexander. I have personally met these sweet (but fierce) Texas ladies, and they are a force to be reckoned with, but are also fiercely loyal. I asked them to stop by and give us a little taste of their upcoming book, Painted On My Heart, and they sent along this exclusive excerpt.

Painted On My Heart

By Kindle Alexander

Coming very soon.

I mean, really soon. 🙂

It had been exciting to see the Layne complex come to life. Watch the city name the streets after his father and uncle who had taken the risk and started their own business all those years ago. However, the area had lost some of its luster when the cows in the neighboring pasture next to their construction site had gotten loose, leaving big piles of cow shit decorating the middle of the road right after the dedication ceremony.

Not much had changed since that day.

“So how did it go today? Did you find a place?” Arik asked, sliding the cocktail glass across the bar and then taking Gage’s now empty glass and placing it in a plastic bus-tub nearby.

“Yeah, we put in an offer on a place in McKinney. Trent liked the house. He liked the schools there and the highway access. Hunter’s big into baseball and there’s a select program that fits his ability and age. Em’s starting tumbling, so Rhonny’s been on the lookout. She found a gym—a cheerleading gym that she’s got Emalynn all excited about. It’s Colt Michaels’s husband’s place, I think.”

Arik cut him off, laughing as he leaned back against the workspace counter behind him and swallowed a gulp of the drink he’d poured for himself. “It’s honestly hilarious listening to you talk about your kids like that.”

“Whatever. It’s a million times better than that pretty-boy you brought in here this morning. What the hell were you thinking, A?” Gage’s whole attitude and tone changed, like he remembered he wasn’t talking to a card-carrying member of the relationship brigade. He’d watched that same thing happen over and over with his married friends. Parenthood and marriage were clubs he didn’t fully understand.

“I wasn’t. Met him at a party in NYC. We screwed around a few times.” Arik chuckled at his choice of words as his glass touched his lips.

“And you brought him here?” Gage’s voice lifted in question.

“No! Absolutely not. He surprised me.”

Gage shook his head, swirling the ice inside his glass. “That sucks.”

“You have no idea. Why didn’t you plan to get a place on the back forty with our families? They have to be nuts about you being a father. You finally conformed.” Arik grinned at his cousin, changing the subject off him. Hopefully Gage wouldn’t press him about his surprise visitor any further.

The old Gage would have bit at his dig about conforming. They’d both been a bit rebellious, but they had true Layne blood flowing through their veins. They had a deep-seated desire to make it in the world on their own. Only in the last couple of years had Arik made the decision to move his real-estate conglomerate under the Layne, Incorporated umbrella. He’d placed so many stipulations on the deal, he had no doubt his father’s and uncle’s heads swam, but in the end, they were stronger together, and in such a competitive world market, they each needed the strength the other offered.

“I know the family thinks Trent and the kids will adapt well to country life, but I’m not so sure. Besides, I signed an extended contract with Wilder today. I’ll be closer to the airport Wilder uses.”

Arik’s grin widened. So Gage had proved successful for Wilder. They had considered it a short-term experiment, attempting to put relevant news stories at the fingertips of the tech-savvy consumer. Arik had watched every one of the feature stories and breaking news reports Gage had recorded as a hard-hitting, international photojournalist. His cousin always dug deeper than just headline news. His reputation had scored him huge interviews, and he did what Gage did best, got his hands dirty exploring facts. He had also scored a solid hit in his desire to snap pictures of everything, from behind-the-scenes camera footage all the way to taking pictures during an interview. He’d really done quite well.

Artist Kellus Hardin let love and loyalty cloud his past decisions, a mistake he definitely won’t make again. Now, lost and alone, he’s left to pick up the shattered pieces of his broken heart while facing the truth of his reality.  

Arik Layne exudes power, confidence, and determination. But when an encounter with the guarded artist shakes him to the core and alters all his future goals, he finds more than just his heart on the line.

For Kellus, opening himself to love isn’t an option.

All Arik wants is to make the artist his.

Can love create a masterpiece when it’s painted on your heart?

Best Selling Author Kindle Alexander is an innovative writer, and a genre-crosser who writes classic fantasy, romance, suspense, and erotica in both the male/male and male/female genres. It’s always a surprise to see what’s coming next!

I live in the suburbs of Dallas where it’s true, the only thing bigger than an over active imagination, may be women’s hair!

Usually, I try for funny. Humor is a major part of my life – I love to laugh, and it seems to be the thing I do in most situations – regardless of the situation, but jokes are a tricky deal… I don’t want to offend anyone and jokes tend to offend. So instead I’m going to tell you about Kindle.

I tragically lost my sixteen year old daughter to a drunk driver. She had just been at home, it was early in the night and I heard the accident happen. I’ll never forget that moment. The sirens were immediate and something inside me just knew. I left my house, drove straight to the accident on nothing more than instinct. I got to be there when my little girl died – weirdly, I consider that a true gift from above. She didn’t have to be alone.

That time in my life was terrible. It’s everything you think it would be times about a billion. I love that kid. I loved being her mother and I loved watching her grow into this incredibly beautiful person, both inside and out. She was such a gift to me. To have it all ripped away so suddenly broke me.

Her name was Kindle. Honest to goodness – it was her name and she died a few weeks before Amazon released their brand new Kindle ereader. She had no idea it was coming out and she would have finally gotten her name on something! Try finding a ruler with the name Kindle on it.. It never happened.

Through the course of that crippling event I was lucky enough to begin to write with a dear friend in the fan fiction world of Facebook. She got me through those dark days with her unwavering support and friendship. There wasn’t a time she wasn’t there for me. Sometimes together and sometimes by myself, we built a world where Kindle lives and stands for peace, love and harmony. It’s its own kind of support group. I know without question I wouldn’t be here today without her.

Find out more by visiting www.kindlealexander.com or email me at kindle@kindlealexander.com

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