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Free Me (Love in the Pacific Northwest Series, Book 4) by Beck Grey: RB, Exclusive Author Interview, Excerpt and Giveaway

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A gender-fluid cutie, a workaholic hottie, and a hookup gone right.

Blake
No romantic relationship could ever compete with my dream job. Sure, it gets lonely, but that’s what occasional hookups are for. Work-life balance? Who cares? I certainly don’t. Until chest pains bring me to my knees and land me in the emergency room.

It’s a wake-up call I can’t afford to ignore.

When my well-meaning family encourages me to make some major life changes, like hiring a meditation and physiotherapist, whatever that is, I’m worried enough to agree.

Imagine my surprise when my practitioner turns out to be the hookup I haven’t been able to forget.

Stef
What’s a fabulously vivacious genderfluid beauty to do when stress is high and Prince Charmings aren’t lined up at their door? Head to the club to recharge my sparkle on the dance floor. I have no intention of hooking up with anyone. Hookups are not my thing.

I may be sassy, but I keep it classy. Usually.

Then I see the slightly older hottie in the Tom Ford suit, and all my self-restraint goes up in a blast of glitter.
When it turns out he’s my new meditation client and my friend’s older brother, I’m sure the universe is messing with me.

Because mixing business with pleasure is a huge no-no.
So why does my heart keep shouting yes?
Free Me is a low-angst, opposites attract, worlds collide, LGBTQ romance about a genderfluid cutie, a slightly older hottie, and a hookup gone right. It contains no cheating, and a guaranteed HEA.

Title: Free Me
Authors: Beck Grey
Length: 75k
Series: Love in the Pacific Northwest Series, Book 4
Genre: Contemporary, Low Angst.
Tropes: low-angst, opposites attract, worlds collide.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

Goodreads

Book 1: Save Me: Love in the Pacific Northwest

Book 2: Embrace Me: Love in the Pacific Northwest

Book 3:  Choose Me: Love in the Pacific Northwest

Book 5: Heal Me: Love in the Pacific Northwest (Out Jan. ’24)

  • If you could sit down with one other writer, living or dead, who would you choose, and what would you ask them?

Neil Gaiman. And what wouldn’t I ask him? The guy is absolutely a wealth of information on about a billion subjects and he’s married to another fascinating person, Amanda Palmer. I’d ask him book related questions and questions about writing, and characters, but I’d also ask him about trips he’s taken and life experiences he’s had. He’s incredibly interesting and listening to interviews he’s given, his life-views are thoughtful and humane.

  • Tell us more about your forthcoming release? What’s this book about?

Free Me is the story of Stef Evans, an out and proud genderqueer physiotherapist and meditation coach, and Blake McCarthy, a workaholic book publisher. It’s a low-angst, opposites attract, worlds collide, LGBTQ romance about a genderfluid cutie, a slightly older hottie, and a hookup gone right. It contains no cheating, and a guaranteed HEA.

It’s book four in my Love in the Pacific Northwest series. All of my books can be read as standalones, but most of the characters make appearances in other books. So we’ve met Stef before in their brother Jules’ book, Choose Me, and in their friend Quinn’s book, Embrace Me. But in the time between books three and four, they learned they were genderfluid.

I would like to take credit for making Stef genderfluid, but they told me that bit of information as I was writing the first chapter of Free Me. They were very insistent, so what could I do? But I love it, because having representation matters. I’m non-binary and it’s nice to put some of that representation in my books. Especially with what’s going on in the world right now with people’s civil rights.

  • What inspired you to write this particular story? What were the challenges in bringing it to life?

Representation of all kinds is what inspires me to write. My series follows a group of LGBTQ friends as they find their people and their happily ever afters. They all have their challenges—social anxiety, Deafness, long distances—but the characters never question who they are. I won’t write main characters who are questioning their sexuality or identity. There are a ton of incredibly powerful, well-written books that address these issues. I love writing situations where being part of the LGBTQ community is just another aspect of someone’s life, like having brown eyes, or being a certain height. It’s something that is, and can’t be changed. So, all of my characters will always be accepting of who they are in and out of the LGBTQ community.

Stef’s book was always going to be next in my series, and I had initially intended it to be more of an age-gap kind of focus, but neither character really seemed overly bothered by the age difference between them. It’s nine years, and while Blake considers it, he doesn’t dwell on it. And then once Stef revealed they’re gender-fluid that really became the focus of the book. So the trick was to walk the line between having this new revelation in Stef’s life be part of their new identity without making it “an issue” for them. Stef does worry it will impact Blake’s career, but Stef never questions who they are, or considers changing, or hiding it.

  • Where can readers find out more about you and your work?

I’m on FB, Discord, TikTok, Instagram, BookBub and Goodreads. All of those links can be found on my Langtry: https://linktr.ee/beck_grey

Check out my website if you’d like sneak peeks of upcoming releases and lots of other stuff! https://www.beckgrey.com/

My Newsletter signup: https://www.subscribepage.com/beckgrey

I walk out to the bedroom balcony and look down at the patio. Blake is lounging by the pool in swim trunks and sunglasses, reading a book. He looks incredibly relaxed, and it makes my heart happy. “Hey, handsome.” He glances up and his face breaks into a wide grin. Okay, yes, we’ve been together for a few months, but his smile still makes my insides all melty and warm. “You want to come in and eat, or should I bring the food out?”

“Put on a suit and come down. This is my big plan for the day.” He gestures to the pool area and waves his book.

I lean my elbows on the railing and grin down at him. “If you’re trying to seduce me, it’s working.”

“Excellent. Step one in my evil plan is complete. Now come down here. I missed you.”

“Be down in a sec!” I hurry inside, strip out of my work clothes, then lather myself in the sunscreen that smells like coconut. Blake loves the scent, and I love how he nuzzles my neck when I use it. I pull on my tiniest black and white print swim briefs, grab a beach towel from the closet and the food bags from the kitchen counter, and hurry down to the game room and out to the patio. “Should we eat at the table or on the loungers like heathens?”

Blake glances up from his book and his eyes lock on my tiny swimsuit. I do a slow spin, giving him a good view of my ass. “Like?”

He pulls his sunglasses to the end of his nose and peers over them. “That’s new.” His voice is thick with lust. Oh, yeah. Mission accomplished.

“It is! And it’s so adorable!”

Blake licks his lips. “And so tiny.”

“I had a feeling you might like it.” I skip past him to the table and deposit the bags.

Blake practically growls and grabs my hips the moment I put the bags down. “Come here.”

I laugh as he manhandles me, hauling me close and inhaling my skin. He drags his nose across my abdomen and my cock stirs, eager to join in the fun, but my stomach growls with hunger. “Mmm. I’m fully on board with whatever you’re planning here, Darling, but we should eat before the food gets cold.”

Blake bites my hip. “We can heat it up.”

My laugh quickly turns to a gasp as his tongue teases above the edge of my suit. It’s all I can do not to press his head a few inches lower. “Blake, Darling, I have souvlaki and Greek salad.”

He hums and sits back, waggling his eyebrows at me. “You know I love Greek.”

I snort at his double entendre. “As do I, my darling. So let’s eat.” I wink at him. “Then we can eat.”

His chuckle warms every part of me. He pushes to his feet with a sigh. “If we must, we must.”

“We must.” I press up on my tiptoes and pucker up.

He obliges me, but turns my expected quick press of lips into a lingering kiss that curls my toes and has me second-guessing my stance on eating first. As I’m about to give in, he lets me go and pats my backside. “C’mon. Let’s feed you so we can move on to other enjoyable things.”

Beck is a non-binary writer of sweet, sexy, LGBTQ happily ever afters. They live in the Northeastern United States with their two adorable dogs. Weekdays are spent working their day job, but nights and weekends are devoted to writing stories involving hot characters, favorite tropes, and happy endings. Any additional time includes reading, laughing with friends, drinking red wine, and playing D&D. If there’s cake involved at any point it’s a win!

Connect with Beck:
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Bad Crowd by Chloe B. Young: RB, Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

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Sometimes, safety and danger can be the same person.

Gideon Orchard has enough baggage to fill a cargo ship. Two years ago, he left his abusive family, but the urges he’s always tried to suppress won’t be ignored any longer. Desperate to submit, he stumbles into a notorious fetish club…and right into the lap of its captivating manager.

Mal Brannon can’t believe his luck when sweet, scared, and determined Gideon falls into his arms, completely uneducated in BDSM culture and begging for proper instruction. Their romance intensifies more quickly than either of them expects, but an unsavory figure from Mal’s past threatens their relationship and their lives.

Running from the past may be tough, but escaping with their future will be harder.

Title:  Bad Crowd

Series: Bad Crowd, Book One

Author: Chloe B. Young

Publisher:  NineStar Press

Release Date: 04/04/2023

Heat Level: 3 – Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 80900

Genre: Contemporary, contemporary, gay, romance, BDSM, clubs, new submissive/experienced Dom, age difference, sex toys, bondage, pain tolerance, family issues

Amazon

NineStar Press

Books2Read

Goodreads

Pink light dripped over the speckled sidewalk like a tongue, alive and coiling with the flickering of the sign. Gideon Orchard’s eyes had the letters burned into them, but he couldn’t look away, despite having read them every day for the past year.

They were brighter on this side of the street. The lurid neon tubes were weeping. Salivating.

He shivered, his skin buzzing. And buzzing again. And again—

“Hello?” The phone was cold against his ear, soothing the strange evening heat of the desert. “Evan?”

“Yeah, hi, sorry. We can’t come. Beth got too drunk, and she yacked everywhere.”

“Oh. That’s fine. Is she okay?”

On the other end of the line, something rubbed over the microphone, and then Gideon heard a pitiful moan and a hacking cough.

“Yeeeeeah, she’ll be good. She just has to sleep it off. Have a good time, though!”

Terror ripped through him. “No, I can’t—”

“Bye!”

The beep in his ear signaled Evan’s exit, leaving Gideon alone on a street that wasn’t quite abandoned. At the traffic light, someone got off the bus Gideon took to and from work every day. They disappeared around the corner before he could think to hide in shame.

Gideon squeezed his eyes shut, his phone biting into his hand. That pain he could handle. It was familiar, useful for clearing his head. The ache in his chest was harder to shake.

Tonight was supposed to be fun. The culmination of weeks of teasing after he’d mentioned this place—Bad Co.—in passing in the lunchroom. His palms got sweaty when he remembered their mirth at his naivete.

“A bar,” Beth had crowed. “How cute are you?”

Beth and Evan were supposed to be here with him, laughing together like they always did, not letting Gideon in on the joke. He still wasn’t sure they’d ever intended to come here with him. He’d replay the sound of Beth’s retching in his head later, trying to discern if it was real or if they’d purposefully abandoned him outside a den of sin.

The light up at the intersection changed, and a little car with wings on the back buzzed past, buffeting Gideon with warm wind even as he reeled from the return of old habits.

There were no dens of sin. And if there were, they wouldn’t be located ten minutes from Gideon’s apartment, on a not-quite main street in Tucson.

Someone laughed, high-pitched and attention-seeking. Gideon turned around, stumbling over his feet in his haste not to be standing outside a place like that.

It was only when the laugh echoed away that Gideon stopped himself.

This couldn’t go on. The wondering. For months, it had built up in his gut every time he walked past, ever since Beth had told him it wasn’t a “normal” bar, but a place for freaks and perverts. On the way here, he’d stopped a dozen times and nearly turned around.

The sign was different in this light. Usually, it was off when he went by or dimmed by the morning light when he came home from the night shift.

He’d turned around to face it, he realized, without noticing. A moth to a lantern.

He couldn’t go on like this. Maybe—hopefully—it would be awful, and he wouldn’t get the release he worried he’d find, but at least he’d know.

The door swung open smoothly, then fell heavily behind him as he walked into a wall of sound. His eyes, sore from staring at the sign, watered at the change in light. There was none now that the haze of pink was gone, only a dim purple glow that grew brighter the longer he blinked.

“Good evening.”

A shape materialized from the darkness, and he almost went right back out the door he’d come in. But he stopped himself at the last moment, standing straight and unmoving except for the shaking of his tightly clenched fists.

Idle hands, his mother’s voice hissed in his ear. Two years out of her reach, and he still couldn’t break the habit of keeping them still. He’d considered trying, just to prove he could, but the risk was too great that he’d become addicted to the ridges of his scars passing under his fingertips. No. His hands would stay still at his sides as long as he could stand it.

“Hello,” he said, his voice steadier than he felt.

The bouncer’s voice rumbled through the blackness. “One?”

“Please.”

Their clothing matched. Gideon had to suppress a manic laugh as he yanked some bills out of his wallet. Their black T-shirts and jeans could have been purchased from the same store, if in very different sizes.

That was where the similarities ended.

Tall and short, dark skin and light, short-buzzed and stubbornly wavy hair, they were as different as they could be, but they’d both ended up here.

Probably for very different reasons.

“Through there,” the bouncer said, handing back a few bills.

Gideon would count them later when he could see the number and had time to worry about his budget. For now, he was too busy worrying about where there would lead him.

A curtain separated the dark-walled, boxy front area he’d been in, and the source of the purple light emanated from behind it.

Sumptuous was the word that first came to mind when he drew the drape back, revealing a foyer that belonged in a mansion, but an abandoned one without the warmth of a crackling fire in the next room.

Sinful was the next, but he swept it away, leaving it—and the person he’d been before this very moment—on the other side of the curtain.

The music was clearer here but still too loud and throbbing to be distinct.

Two women stood by a long, elegant bureau, a study in contrasts just like Gideon and the door man.

One was tall and rail thin, dressed for an office job. Splotches of blue and pink from the lights bounced off her dark, smooth cheekbones.

The other woman…

She was exactly what Gideon had pictured when Beth and Evan had described the place in detail, thinking to shock and educate the naive country boy. This woman was small, and she wore next to nothing except strips of black and so many spikes.

His tongue was thick in his mouth, and he nearly choked on it when those spikes glinted as she glided toward him.

“Hello,” she purred. “First time?”

Only the courtesy beaten into him allowed him to answer. “Yes.”

“Fun! What are you here for? It’s an open play night. No formal demos, just free reign on the floor equipment. The private rooms are all booked, but you can always hang around and see if someone wants to invite you in.”

Her lips glistened as if freshly moistened with something unspeakable, pursing as she waited for an answer he couldn’t give.

A clipboard appeared in her hand from somewhere, the edge flashing sharper than the shards of metal on her shoulders, and she tapped it with the daggers of her fingers. “So? It’s a bit of a maze back there, so I should really show you where you’re going. What are you looking for?”

“I need—”

His throat closed up, keeping the secrets inside. They were comfortable there, had made a home for themselves in a lonely, sunless part of his soul. Buried too deep, even here, where the promise of warmed skin and aching release was so close.

Need was too soft a word for how he yearned.

“I’ve got this one.”

It was the other woman, the tall one in a slim pencil skirt that wouldn’t look out of place at the old church. It fell obediently over her knees as she crossed the space.

“Whatever you say, Lenore.” The spiked woman went back to her clipboard.

“Welcome,” Lenore greeted him, coming to a stop milliseconds before Gideon would have backed up out of her reaching presence. From an invisible pocket in her blazer, she pulled three slim bands. “Which one do you want?”

He stared at them, draped over her hand innocuously. They all looked the same to him, except for their bright colors. He looked and looked, trying to interpret the right answer from her silent insistence, but had to admit, “I don’t know.”

She nodded as if he’d passed some kind of test he hadn’t studied for. “They let other people know what you’re looking for. Like a stoplight, see?” She flattened them out on her palm, pointing at each one. “Green, if you want to play. Yellow, if you’re not sure but wouldn’t mind being asked. Red, if you’re not interested in playing.”

He searched her face for humor, a joke he was missing to explain the repeated use of the word “play.” The spiky woman had used it too.

He’d seen pictures. He’d never been able to make himself read the words that went along with them—typing in keywords letter by letter had been hard enough with shaking hands—but nothing he’d ever seen was close to “playing.”

“Plaything,” maybe. A toy to be used and discarded. Not fun for anyone other than the capricious player. Something to be endured.

Dreadful want shuddered down his back, and he used its momentum to take the green bracelet from Lenore’s hand. He’d come this far. He wasn’t leaving until he’d been cleansed of the demons that kept him up at night.

Lenore watched him struggle with the piece of plastic for a few moments before seeming to take pity on him and fastening it around his wrist while he held still like a child.

“You can change your mind.”

Gideon’s fingers, already still and silent on the edge of the plastic, went tense. He looked to Lenore, who’d tilted her head, studying him.

“At any time, if you’d like a different wristband,” she said. “Just ask someone with a name tag.”

Surprise made his eyebrows furrow. It sounded so…clinical. He hadn’t expected the shadowy world he was entering to have name tags. It didn’t matter. They could dress it up, but this was still a place of sordid pleasure and pain inflicted on those who couldn’t stop craving it.

Lenore’s heels clicked as she stepped away, leaving room for her next question. “Are you ready?”

I read another of this author’s books, Worth It, back when it was released, and enjoyed it, so wanted to try a new series from this author. It was a much different book than that series.

Gideon and Mal had a insta-lust/insta-love happen when meeting in the kink club Mal was running. Gideon, coming from an extremely religious and abusive home finally has the courage to enter it, then has a scene with Mal almost immediately. I struggled with this a bit, because although they talked through some stuff, there were pieces that I felt would have been better served by having deeper discussions. They kept advancing their scenes, and even with a setback or two, moved onward. Their relationship became serious very quickly.

Mal, having lost both is parents, found a father of sorts in someone who was a mob boss. Somehow he was able to keep the business he ran for Nick clean? That seemed improbable to me. Especially with all the other “businesses” Nick ran, it just didn’t ring as realistic. I also struggled with Nick suddenly having issues with Mal, someone he had raised from a teenager to the man he was.

Gideon and Mal, once they found their rhythm became very much in sync, in their private lives, and put the other man first when things became untenable with Nick. They were able to make decisions together as a couple, even as Gideon learned about his submissive side.

The book was somewhat disjointed with their relationship being a big portion in the middle, then the issues with Nick on either end, and lightly sprinkled elsewhere. It didn’t help that the timeline felt a bit off in places, as well. Overall, the book was okay, but not something I would go back to re-read.

3.5 pieces of eye candy

Writing is just one of the many ways Chloe gets her storytelling fix. In her other life, she sings and acts to fulfil the urge, and is never far from a stage.

When not writing, Chloe cooks with too much garlic, sharpens her eyeliner to a deadly point, and tries to accept that she’s turning into one of those people who only wears one color. (Pink.)

Author Links

Website: http://www.chloebyoung.carrd.co/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cbyauthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cbyauthor

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

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Rescue Me, Daddy by Michael Robert: RB, Exclusive Excerpt, and Giveaway

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TIM MILLER
My life in Valentine, Nebraska, wasn’t easy. At just nineteen, I found myself homeless and jobless with no prospects on the horizon. A life of abuse crushed people, but I still had space in my heart for love. With the support and guidance of an elderly widower, my life finally began to turn around.

Being young and gay in a small town brought challenges but I had goals for my life, one of which was to be loved. The arrival of a world famous author to our small community turned my world upside down. What did I have to offer a man like Davis? I have nothing but my heart. I hope it’s enough.

DAVIS HILL
After the end of my five-year relationship in Malibu, I was desperate for change. Even though my career was successful, I could still use an infusion of ideas for my next book. So I did the unthinkable and decided to randomly stick a pin in a map and relocate. My friends may have labeled me insane, but I couldn’t resist the temptation. A fresh start in a new town offered the chance to distract myself while I heal from the pain of a failed relationship.

Coming to the rescue of Tim on the very first day we met, was the beginning of one story I hadn’t expected. I had relocated to find a great story, but hadn’t expected to discover my own love story. Could a small town in the middle of nowhere offer a new beginning for both my heart and my career? Little did I know that small towns could have dark secrets that could threaten to shatter my heart.

Title: Rescue Me, Daddy
Author: Michael Robert
Length: 360 pages
Genre: Contemporary, Kink

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

Goodreads

The idea of the striking stranger being right here in my town after rescuing me, caused a stirring inside I didn’t recognize. I was nervous, excited, tingly, and my mind conjured up all sorts of scenes where he protected me and held me close. Maybe he’d kiss me?

“Nobody knows why he’s here, but trust me, the single ladies are all a flutter,” she said. “He can expect a load of welcome-wagon casseroles coming his way.”

I curled my index finger asking her to come closer.

“He is very, very, very, good looking,” I whispered.

“So do you mean very ?” she joked.

I exaggeratingly nodded my head.

“I have an idea,” she began. “Let’s drive by old lady Bolling’s place and check him out.”

“Tonight?” I asked.

“Hell yeah, tonight, dude,” she stated. “Do you wanna be late to the parade of casseroles?”

I knew with every fiber in my body I did not want to miss any parade our town’s newest resident was involved in.

Michael Robert is an author residing in Seattle, Washington. The Crow Flies Free is his debut novel. Michael enjoys traveling and he aspires to visit the locations of his upcoming novels so as to provide vivid and accurate descriptions of them. He enjoys tennis, road trips and fast cars. Please look for his future projects, the next story coming soon.

Connect with Michael:
https://linktr.ee/AuthorMichaelRobert
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Adverse Conditions (Reclaimed Hearts, Book 1) by Elle Keaton: RB, Exclusive Excerpt, and Giveaway

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Xavier swore he’d never move back to the flyspeck of a town he’d grown up in and he kept that promise for over twenty years. Now he’s back for good.

Vincent never left. After earning his teaching certificate, he stayed in town to be close to his elderly parents. These days he’s the single dad of a fifteen-year-old daughter and working two jobs to make ends meet. He’s perfectly happy with his life.

Xavier’s mission is to save Cooper Springs. But his efforts are being hindered by his stodgy, straight-laced, rule-following neighbor, Vincent Barone. Dark-eyed, broad-shouldered, and muscly Vincent, who Xav stealthily ogles when he toils in his yard sans shirt. For a high school shop teacher, Vincent is too sexy. And he has a kid. And he infuriates Xavier. And anyway, love is for suckers.

Vincent doesn’t have time to date. And he certainly wouldn’t date his flashy, arrogant, neighbor who he absolutely did not have a crush on in high school. Who did Xavier think he was, moving back to town and throwing his weight around, causing butterflies in Vincent’s stomach, and making his stupid heart beat faster every time he saw him?

Cooper Springs has changed since they were kids, and maybe two guys can move from hate to love. But are they ready? Will Vincent bend a few of his rules? Will Xavier reign in his chaotic tendencies? Is love in the air?

Then there’s the matter of the grisly discovery in the woods, murder is bad for business.

Welcome to Cooper Springs, home to UFO chasers, Sasquatch believers, conspiracy theorists, chainsaw artists, and regular folk just trying to make a living. And, quite possibly, a killer.

Adverse Conditions is the first in the Reclaimed Hearts series, set in the wilds of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, it is an opposites-attract, older lovers. enemies to lovers, small-town romance, with a little murder.

Title: Adverse Conditions
Author: Elle Keaton
Series: Reclaimed Hearts, Book 1
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

Goodreads

If Vincent had any luck at all, Romy would never know that he had fallen asleep at Xavier’s until oh-dark-thirty, when he’d woken in a panic, jumped out of bed, and dashed across their street, barefoot, clutching his sweatshirt to his chest like the last remaining heroine in a slasher movie.

He was not that lucky.

A sleeping Xavier had mumbled something that hopefully wasn’t him being mad that Vincent was leaving. After school was out, he planned to track Xavier down and they could talk. Or not.

“Hey, Dad. Where were you last night?” Romy asked as she came into the kitchen a few hours later.

He’d had two hours to come up with something and he’d come up with absolutely nothing. Vincent was a terrible liar. It was as if he had some kind of internal sensor that started going off when he tried. He stuttered, his cheeks heated, and his skin twitched—apparently no one could see him blush, but Carly had probably lied about that too.

“Oh, um, just hanging out with a friend. Lost track of time.” Smooth. He choked back a curse when he realized his fingertips were tapping restlessly against the tabletop and quickly jammed his hand into his pocket.

Grabbing a bowl from the cupboard, Romy began pouring cereal into it. Vincent let out a noiseless sigh of relief.  After she’d topped the bowl off with milk, she turned his direction, staring at him as she set her breakfast on the table.

Crap. He’d let his guard down too soon.

Eyeing him, Romy drew her dark eyebrows together— his daughter had a high-quality bull-crap detector and it was on full alert. He managed to resist shifting in his seat like a ten-year-old.

“On a Monday night? When it’s not a holiday?” Her eyes narrowed. “What happened to that early-to-bed thing you nag me about all the time?”

Lifting his coffee mug to his lips, Vincent shrugged as he took a big sip so he wouldn’t have to answer right away. He also resisted the urge to point out she was his daughter, not his mother.

Her eyes narrowed further as her gaze moved to… his neck? He squirmed, standing up so whatever she thought she saw wasn’t visible. His kid could be as—er, informed as she wanted to be about sex, but Vincent was a private guy and not about to share his extra-private life with his almost sixteen-year-old. Not ever.

Turning his back to his inquisitor, Vincent fished his lunch bag out of the fridge and then busied himself transferring fresh coffee into his Cooper Springs is for Lovers travel mug. Probably left over from the 1990s, it had a tacky graphic of two hairy Sasquatches kissing with little hearts floating above their heads. He’d picked it up at the thrift store last summer for a dollar, thinking it was hilarious. Romy had just given him a disdainful look when he’d proudly showed it to her.

“Do you need a ride in today?” Please god, not today. A car ride would inevitably lead to more questions. Vincent crossed his fingers out of Romy’s sight; Romy’s friend Violet had her license and a car.

“No, Vi’s picking me up in a few minutes.”

Vincent breathed a sigh of relief.

“Well, finish your breakfast before you leave, and don’t forget your club stuff. I am not coming home to get your things for you.”

“Yes, Father.”

Romy shoved the last spoonful of cereal into her mouth, continuing to eye him with suspicion.

“And lock the door on your way out. I’ve got a meeting with Jensen this morning, so I gotta get going.”

Grabbing his backpack, coffee, and lunch bag, he headed toward the door, but had a feeling he hadn’t escaped quite as easily as he hoped. Romy wouldn’t forget this.

“Don’t forget there’s a game Friday!” she called after him as he twisted the door handle.

How could he forget with his daughter, the high school, and most of the population of Cooper Springs spending the week reminding him?

“I’ll be there. I promised I would be.”

“And bring a friend!”

A friend? Like who? Most of the town would be there anyway. This was Cooper Spring High’s chance to beat Elma High, their closest rivals. Did she mean Xavier? No way, Xavier was not a Friday-night-high-school-football-game kind of man. Vincent chuckled, imagining Xavier wrapped up in a parka and rooting for the Cooper Springs Fighting Sasquatch [SB1] football team in the pouring rain.

Yeah, nope.

Outside, the weather was cloudy, but no rain—not yet anyway. However, the weather report promised more was on the way. It was that weird time in late fall, when most of the deciduous trees were bare and the rest looked depressed, just waiting for that last leaf to drop. Vincent couldn’t stop himself from glancing across the street, but Xavier’s house was still dark.

If only Romy hadn’t already been suspicious. And he hadn’t been running late. And he hadn’t made sure Xavier’s front door was locked before leaving. If all that hadn’t happened this morning, Vincent might have snuck back over and left him a note. But Romy was probably watching him through the front window and Stuart Jensen, head of the eleventh and twelfth grade teaching staff, did not like it when his staff was late.

.                                      .

Elle Keaton writes MM romantic suspense set in the Pacific Northwest with some contemporary romance thrown in. She’s passionate about writing inclusive romances with complex characters and a unique sense of place. Her characters start out broken, and maybe they’re still banged up by the end, but they find the other half of their hearts and ALWAYS get their happily ever after. In 2017 Elle hit the publish button for the first time and hasn’t looked back. Being an author is the best job Elle has ever had and now she has over thirty books available for you to read or listen to! She loves cats and dogs, Star Wars and Star Trek, pineapple on pizza, and has a cribbage habit her husband encourages.

Connect with Elle:
https://ellekeaton.com/
https://ellekeaton.com/join-the-highway-to-elle-newsletter/
https://www.facebook.com/ellekeatonauthor (my page)
https://www.instagram.com/ellekeatonauthor/
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Elle-Keaton/author/B06XJWJRLK
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/elle-keaton
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Room for Dessert by Dann Hazel: Blog Tour, Excerpt and Giveaway

by

.                                           .

In this “tasteful” HEA gay romance, not all of the action occurs in the best restaurants!

For almost ten years, Sebastian and Matt lived happily together as romantic partners.

Then, Bobby enters the picture and Matt’s infidelity tears Sebastian’s world apart. For a long time, Sebastian has no appetite for a second course of romance.

That is, until Aladdin casts his unexpected spell during drinks at a tapas and cocktails bar.

Sebastian hadn’t bargained for how sweet a second round of love could be!

Then, something happens. A tragedy which sends Matt back into Sebastian’s life, begging for a second chance.

Hungry for love, Sebastian faces an impossible choice. Should he pick Matt, the man who betrayed him?

Or Aladdin, the troubled man whose family roils in a scathing public scandal?

Tropes: Second Chance Romance, Coming Out, Foodies and Chefs

Trigger Warning: One chapter in this novel focuses on a parent’s suicide.

Title: Room for Dessert
Authors: Dann Hazel
Length: 62k
Series: Some Like It Haute, Book 1
Genre: Contemporary.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

Goodreads

The handsome, erudite Sebastian Crudite was passionate about his work as an ad designer for the Orlando office of the Lakeview Public Relations and Marketing Group. But today had been an unusually taxing one. First of all, he’d been assigned an uncharacteristically heavy workload due to a higher-than-usual attrition rate. Additionally, each and every one of his clients had concerns, issues or questions about their campaign that had to be handled now.

​So, when his best friend, Andrew Salisbury, asked Sebastian to meet him for dinner at the Twirling Fork Authentic Italian Trattoria, he jumped at the chance.

​Now that his workday had taken a sharp turn south? He wondered whether it would have been a better idea to take a raincheck. Because Andrew sounded down in the dumps—which probably meant that he needed Sebastian to be a sounding board. His armchair shrink. After work, he wasn’t sure he would be down with the role of either.

​As Sebastian drove to Celebration, the once-controversial Disney-inspired community where the restaurant was located, he felt remorseful for entertaining second thoughts about dinner. Being a professor at a prestigious university—Andrew’s profession—was no cakewalk, either. And yet, when Sebastian broke up with the impulsive, nonconventional Matt after a committed relationship lasting ten years, Andrew always showed up for him. He was always ready to help with Sebastian’s problems. During the two hours separating his last two classes of the day, Andrew dried Sebastian’s tears and soothed his broken heart. Andrew said all the right things. Listened without judgment, even though Sebastian was sure his best friend graciously concealed many observations about Matt, whom he never particularly cared for anyway.

​“He’s cocky,” Andrew once said, after Sebastian first introduced them. “A know-it-all. I bristle in the presence of people like that. Are you sure he’s the man you want?”

​Then, when Matt moved in with Sebastian, Andrew tried his best to be amiable. He wasn’t always successful, but Sebastian appreciated the effort.

All the while, self-absorbed Matt remained blindly oblivious to Andrew’s disdain for him. That’s how naïve and out-of-touch he was. Or perhaps it was evidence of Andrew’s acting chops.

​Sebastian admired Andrew’s best qualities, one of which was his ability to read people accurately. His insights into personality and character were uncanny, even after chatting with new acquaintances for only a few minutes. Andrew, polished and intellectually inquisitive, had a wonderful sense of humor (though occasionally, he came across as a bit haughty, which Sebastian knew to be a defense mechanism), and was a dedicated friend. There were times when Sebastian wished they could be a couple. Their values matched. They enjoyed similar music, movies and books. But despite their similarities, Andrew just didn’t have the physical attributes that turned Sebastian on. It wasn’t that Andrew was unattractive. He wasn’t. But his good looks trended toward a studious, bookworm-ish kind of handsome. Which made sense, since he was a Humanities professor at the University of Central Florida, known locally as UCF. Andrew wore stylish clothes, kept himself well-groomed and well-coiffed—a contrast to his impoverished childhood with blue collar parents who worked much too hard and spent too little time with their son. Thin with well-defined muscles, he worked out daily at the university gym. He sported a friendly face, wore glasses with wildly colored frames, and at least once a week, showed up to his classes wearing a gaudy bowtie—just to keep my students amused.

​He relished the image of the quintessential quirky college professor.

​There must be many men who found his type attractive. Based on the number of women who came on to him, surely that must be true. Though he was hardly a slut, he never had a problem finding a date (though, in truth, Andrew enjoyed playing the game of “hard to get” more than the actual conquest).

​Sebastian took the busy exit from the Interstate toward Celebration’s Town Center. Maybe his evening was looking up, as he quickly found a parking space in a high-demand area.

My lucky day! Unsuccessfully, Sebastian resisted the smug, self-satisfied smile stretching across his face as he pulled into the one remaining space before the Tesla could.

​He entered Twirling Fork just as his stomach growled on cue. Like many Italian restaurants, the place was noisy, exuberant. After a short wait for the busy hostess, he informed her that he was meeting a friend. He’d barely finished his sentence when he spotted Andrew, waving vigorously to get his attention.

“Never mind,” he told the hostess. “I see my friend now.”

​Sebastian and Andrew greeted one another with an embrace.

Dann Hazel has been writing both fiction and nonfiction for more than twenty years. Besides writing, he has taught English on the high school level and psychology on the college level. He has also directed grants and worked as a therapist in a psychiatric hospital. His fiction genre interests include thrillers, horror and gay romance.

Personal interests include reading and writing, cinema, running, Broadway, keeping up with current events and travel.

Dann lives in Central Florida with his husband, Josh, and their American Eskimo dog, Flurry.

Connect with Dann:
www.dannhazel.com
https://www.facebook.com/OriginalPressPublishing/
https://www.instagram.com/dann.hazel/

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Fairy Cakes in Winter by Lane Hayes: Release Blitz , Exclusive Excerpt, New Release Review and Giveaway

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A grumpy baker, a quirky ad man, and a recipe for forever…

Scott

So this cute guy sits next to me on the plane and proceeds to talk my ear off for hours. Not good. I don’t like talking and I don’t like strangers. But Theo’s sweet, smart, and sexy—the perfect distraction from business woes and personal worries.

Okay, things get overly friendly, but we’re adults who know the score. I’m too old, he’s too nice, and we live on different continents.

Then, out of the blue, he shows up at my bakery with that pretty smile and a list of wacky marketing ideas—like how to make fairy cakes a thing.

I don’t like fairy cakes.

But I do like Theo, so…maybe?

Theo

The new me takes risks. The new me is brave and confident. The new me flirts with hunky, imposing bears on planes while traveling to a foreign country.

It’s going well, thank you.

However, my plans to sight-see, drink tea, and eat my weight in biscuits every day are derailed when I realize there might be a way to help Scott and prove a few things to myself.

Don’t worry. I won’t fall for the grumpy baker. No way. He’s complicated and broody and—

Uh oh…it might be too late. Help!

Fairy Cakes in Winter is a bisexual, age-gap, grumpy/sunshine MM romance featuring a sexy baker, a sunny tourist, and a few dozen fairy cakes.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions

“You’re here.” Scott shot a scrutinizing glance at me before moving to the urinals.

I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t have to pee and I certainly wasn’t going to stand next to him with his dick out after what I’d said, so…I washed my hands again, my gaze fixed on Scott’s broad shoulders in the mirror.

He joined me at the sink a minute later and gave me a sideways once-over. “What was that all about?”

“What?” I squeaked.

“The code.”

“Uh…” I licked my lips nervously and shrugged. “Nothing. I didn’t, um—”

“Yeah, you did.” He straightened and moved to the dryer.

“You shouldn’t use that. Germs and bacteria,” I blurted, citing my findings regarding health and sanitation concerns.

Scott arched a brow, ignoring my lame attempt at a subject change. “Thanks for the info. I’m going to guess you wanted me to follow you in here.”

“Yes.”

“And then…what?”

“I hadn’t worked that part out,” I admitted.

He chuckled, low and deep. “Really? ’Cause I think you did, and if it’s what I think it was…you need a tactical lesson or two.”

“Excuse me,” a young man with a lilting British accent and wet hands gestured at the hand dryer.

“Sorry about that.” Scott stepped aside, pulling me with him. “Number one, you can’t just say ‘code,’ and number two…you gotta watch out. There are a lot of shitheads in the world who—”

“Shh!” I smacked his biceps and glanced frantically around the empty-for-now restroom. “We can’t talk about this here.”

“Relax. He’s gone.” He waited a beat. “And you started this. That was your code, Theo.”

I bit the inside of my cheek and winced. “I know. Bad idea.”

“A reckless one, for sure.”

“Now what?” I whispered, following Scott to the sink when someone walked in.

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing. N-never mind.”

He raised his brow and hiked his thumb toward the stalls. “You want—really?”

“Sure, or…I’m open to suggestions,” I choked out.

Scott’s slow, pirate’s smile scared and thrilled me at the same time. “Suggestions. Right. Well, you’re the one calling the shots now. Tell me what you want, Theo.”

This was a cute, fun, no angst romp.

I don’t often read blurbs of authors I like. I just jump in. So I honestly was thinking that Theo was the baker and Scott was a stuffy businessman when they first met on a flight from Seattle to London. Nope. Scott is grumpy, a bit, but he is a baker. And Theo is sort of between jobs. He left a marketing job to become a CPA. In the interim he is off for a month long vacation to see his mother.

His month long vacation turns into vacation fling and some of his previous marketing experience to help Scott’s bakery become more successful.

Theo does spend time with his mother. Seeing the sights in her town. It just so happens that Scott has a pop up shop one town over. How convenient.

Yes, the story is very sweet, but also spicy. But the sexy times are well placed and not used to simply take up page space.

There was a brief thing at the beginning with a friend maybe flirting with Scott by text, but it’s never mentioned again.

This is a quick, fun, happy read for the winter blahs. Grab a fairy cake and a cup of tea and jump in.

4 pieces of eye candy

Lane Hayes loves a good romance! An avid reader from an early age, she has always been drawn to well-told love story with beautifully written characters. Her debut novel was a 2013 Rainbow Award finalist and subsequent books have received Honorable Mentions, and were winners in the 2016, 2017, 2018-2019, 2020-2021 Rainbow Awards. She loves wine, chocolate and travel (in no particular order). Lane lives in Southern California with her amazing husband in a newly empty nest.

Connect with Lane:
My Readers’ Group, Lane’s Lovers: https://bit.ly/3aIbMYg
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Blog: www.lane-hayes.com
Twitter: twitter.com/LaneHayes3
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Amazon Author Page: amazon.com/author/lanehayes
BookBub: bookbub.com/authors/lane-hayes
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