Blog Tour

Notes from Home by Dirk Greyson: Exclusive Excerpt, Blog Tour and New Release Review

December 10, 2019 by Denise

While deployed on a covert mercenary assignment, Johnny doesn’t have much in the way of holiday cheer. But the mysterious notes from Dex that somehow appear in his bunk—reminding him of the gifts, cookies, celebrations, and most of all, love, waiting for him back in Wisconsin—help him get through the long, hot days. Will they be enough to keep his spirits up when the rest of his unit goes home to their families and he’s left alone?

Title: Notes From Home

Author: Dirk Greyson

Series: Stand Alone

Genre: M/M, Contemporary, Holiday Romance

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Release Date: Dec 1 2019

Edition/Formats: eBook & Print

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I set the letter aside and closed my eyes, thinking I could almost reach out and touch him. Dex seemed so close for a moment, but he wasn’t here, and I was spending another holiday away from the people I knew, just like I had for the last eight years. Outside, it was hot enough to fry eggs on the vehicle hoods, and yet for a few seconds, the bracing cold and covering of white back home had carried me away.

I stood up, put the letter back in the envelope, and set it next to the other three on the board just above my bed, the carefully crafted construction-paper snowman joining a Christmas tree, an ornament, and a Santa. I stilled, looking at all four of them, and sighed for just a second. Then the door to our quarters opened and thunked closed, popping the bubble of imagination and longing. I turned away from the letters and gathered my things before heading toward the bathroom and a much-needed shower. I stepped out of my cubicle, and Henry Cavit waved from the far side, stopping me.

This was a very short little story, but it was so heartwarming. It didn’t need to have a lot of background to really get the feel of the story.

Dex made mystery happen for Johnny who never really had a chance to have a happy holiday at home. So, Dex made it as happy as he could away from home. I won’t give away much, but I will say, the puppy on the cover does come into play 😉 and there is a happy ending. 🙂

4 pieces of eye candy for this short but sweet holiday story

Dirk is very much an outside kind of man. He loves travel and seeing new things. Dirk worked in corporate America for way too long and now spends his days writing, gardening, and taking care of the home he shares with his partner of more than two decades. He has a Master’s Degree and all the other accessories that go with a corporate job. But he is most proud of the stories he tells and the life he’s built. Dirk lives in Pennsylvania in a century old home and is blessed with an amazing circle of friends.

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We Still Live by Sara Dobie Bauer: Blog Tour with Exclusive Guest Post, Excerpt

December 10, 2019 by Denise

Today we have the author of We Still Live, a book so relevant to today’s society. We asked Sara Dobie Bauer to tell us a little about Writing Realistic Characters with Mental Illness, and she has a very personal take on the situation. Take a peek, and then read the excerpt. You will want to grab this book!

To escape the past, accept it.

Running from a scandal that ruined his life, Isaac Twain accepts a teaching position at Hambden University where, three months prior, Professor John Conlon stopped a campus nightmare by stepping in front of an active shooter.

When John and Isaac become faculty advisors for the school’s literary magazine, their professional relationship evolves. Despite the strict code of conduct forbidding faculty fraternization, they delve into a secret affair—until Simon arrives.

Isaac’s violent ex threatens not only their careers, but also John’s life. His PTSD triggered, John must come to terms with that bloody day on College Green while Isaac must accept the heartbreak his secrets have wrought.

***WE STILL LIVE is a standalone M/M friends-to-lovers romance featuring detailed adult content, graphic violence, hurt/comfort, and mental illness.***

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Book Title: We Still Live

Author: Sara Dobie Bauer

Publisher: NineStar Press

Cover Artist: Natasha Snow

Release Date: December 9, 2019

Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance

Tropes: Friends to lovers, hurt/comfort

Themes: Coming out, depression, anxiety, PTSD/post-traumatic stress, mental illness

Heat Rating: 4 flames

Length: 62 000 words

It is a standalone book.

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Writing Realistic Characters with Mental Illness By Sara Dobie Bauer

My new novel We Still Live deals with some heavy stuff. Not only are the characters haunted by a college shooting, but they also must now survive the ramifications of that shooting—most notably, their destroyed mental health.

At the forefront of the story is romantic interest John Conlon, the hero professor who stepped in front of an active shooter. John is passionate and kind and gorgeous (of course), loved by his students and friends alike. However, since the shooting, John is different. He now suffers from depression, extreme anxiety, PTSD, and night terrors.

Who could blame him? He saw students and friends murdered. He felt their blood on his hands, and he survived—but has yet to heal. Newly hired professor Isaac Twain falls for John, considering it’s difficult to not be charmed by this charismatic, beautiful man who seems so strong when he’s absolutely shattered inside.

So where did John come from? How did I develop this complicated character whose mental illness is as much a part of him as his fabulous hair?

I admit, I did some research. I read up on college shootings (which is not fun, let me tell you). I live in a small Ohio town that was shaken by a high school shooting a few years before I moved there. I’ve watched the news and seen the horrors of Paris, Atlanta, insert yet another tragedy here. But the honest to God truth?

John’s mental illness is realistic because I live it every day.

I’m thirty-seven now, but I’ve been suffering from depression and nightmares since puberty. The anxiety and PTSD showed up due to a high pressure hell job that threw my life off-balance. I’m now medicated to deal with all these issues. I revisit therapy when things get really bad. I stopped watching the news, and a lot of that had to do with the myriad shootings that seem to occur daily.

I wrote We Still Live for selfish reasons. It is an exorcism. I took all my fear, pain, and rage and channeled it into John and the other survivors of the fictional Hambden University shooting. Writer, heal thyself, within the safe cocoon of your imagination.

You’ve heard the adage, “Write what you know.” I don’t agree with that in most cases, but I agree with that statement here. Writing fiction has always been a comfort to me. It’s an escape from reality when reality becomes too hard. It’s a hell of a lot healthier than drinking and drugs.

Maybe you suffer from mental illness, too. Maybe there’s an issue that scares you or gets your heart pumping. Maybe you start writing. Iadmit, penning We Still Live wasn’t easy. Putting John and Isaac through the wringer wasn’t fun, and I had days when I would type through my tears. But I kept going, because their story is important to me and hopefully will be to other people, too.

How did I write a realistic character with mental illness? I looked inside myself. What ghouls are in your closet begging to be set free? You never know who you might help by being open about your issues. You might help some troubled reader out there realize they aren’t alone. Like John, you might even save a life.

Close as they were to the foyer, Isaac was the first to notice the front door opening. A student walked inside. The kid dragged a heavy-looking suitcase behind him. Dressed as he was in a slim-fitting button-down, Isaac immediately assumed preppy, although that assumption altered and changed when taking into account the tight black jeans, Converse sneakers, and shaggy hair the color of caramel and chocolate—a mass of waves and curls that fell down the back of his neck but not quite to his shoulders.

The kid pushed his hair out of the way and looked up, eyes finding Isaac and flashing a moment of panicked nonrecognition before seeing Tommy.

“Um.” Isaac pointed toward the new arrival.

Tommy turned and shouted, “John! My man!”

Not a student, then.

Tommy wrapped John in a hug that actually lifted his feet off the ground. Isaac imagined it wouldn’t be difficult. The new guy might have been average height, but he was gangly, skin and bones.

Tommy ruffled his hair. “Have you lost weight?”

John grumbled and scratched his face with his middle finger. “What are you freeloaders doing in my house?” His voice was surprisingly resonant for someone Isaac considered “pretty.” At John’s pronouncement, crows of approval rang from every direction.

“Come meet Isaac,” Tommy said.

John wiped his palms on his jeans before reaching out to shake, and Isaac’s large hand dwarfed his.

“Isaac Twain is the newest addition to our special corner of Hambden hell. Isaac, this is John Conlon.”

John brushed more hair out of his face. “Nice to—”

“John Conlon?”

John and Tommy froze.

Isaac jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “The books on the shelf. Those are yours?”

John’s face, immobile in what looked like dread a moment before, melted into relief, tinged with a bit of blush. “Oh, yeah. You’ve read?”

“No, but I should. You’ve published a lot of books. You must be good.”

John’s nose wrinkled, and he looked away.

Tommy shook him by the shoulders. “John is an amazing writer. He had a story published in The New Yorker when he was, like, five. Are you working on anything right now?”

John glanced at the bookshelf. “Not lately.”

“You need a drink,” Tommy said.

John’s eyes widened on a big breath. “God, yes, I do.”

“Nice to meet you,” Isaac said, but John just nodded quickly, smile thin, before allowing himself to be herded farther into the house toward the sound of quiet laughter and clinking bottles.

Isaac felt it then—an outsider’s emptiness. He became a nervous-looking coat rack in the corner, a terrified tree waiting for the ax. As the party doubled in auditory volume, he bemoaned his spilled wine. Was it okay for him to leave? It wasn’t like he was supposed to make a speech. He was only there because he figured it was the easiest way to meet everyone before the first official faculty meeting, but he’d been standing around too long. He wanted to run.

Out of curiosity, he reopened John’s book from earlier and read the front flap. It was a coming-of-age story about a gay kid in the Midwest. He flipped to the back, and a picture of John stared back at him. He’d assumed the guy was tired when they first met, but no; apparently, John had perpetual bedroom eyes, and his hair was always an artful mess. He skimmed…creative writing professor at Hambden University…gay rights activist…Converse-wearer and “old-people music” enthusiast.

All arrows pointed to John’s probable sexual preference for men. A spark of interest flickered but quickly went out. True, John Conlon was what most people would consider beautiful, but he wasn’t Isaac’s type. John was the kind of man butch guys fought over in gay clubs, but he was too small for Isaac, too fragile-looking, girly. After all he’d been through, the last thing Isaac wanted was someone feminine.

A thin figure ducked into the library and literally hid against the doorframe. He took a long drink of something brown and leaned his head back. “It’s not good when you want to hide in your own house.”

“Library is the best place for it,” Isaac said.

John kicked away from the wall. “Tommy mentioned you just moved here? I’ve been in Lothos forever, so if you need anything…” He examined Isaac from his brown boat shoes to the top of his blond head. John’s large eyes, dark green, seemed bottomless—drowning pools of intellect and soul—only slightly overshadowed by his thick eyebrows.

Sara Dobie Bauer is a bestselling author, model, and mental health / LGBTQ advocate with a creative writing degree from Ohio University. She lives with her hottie husband and two precious pups in Northeast Ohio, although she’d really like to live in a Tim Burton film. She is author of the paranormal rom-com Bite Somebody series and Escape Trilogy.

Photo credit: Bill Thornhill

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Anyone But You by Brien Michaels: Spotlight Tour with Giveaway

December 9, 2019 by Denise

Murder is one hell of a drag.

Jack Kieza has a problem. He’s deeply attracted to men, but his homophobic family has left him too afraid to act on it. With his thirtieth birthday around the corner, his curiosity gets the best of him, and he finds himself at a gay club. After spending a fiery night with drag queen Sheila Saltue, everything changes. Especially when he discovers her alter ego: his boss, Ryan Swift.

Ryan knew he should’ve said no the second Jack approached him. Now he can’t stop himself from texting Jack every chance he gets. But Jack won’t let him take the wig off during sex, and being Sheila off-stage is wearing thin.

The more time they spend together, the more intense their feelings get, but Jack isn’t ready to date a man yet. When drag queens start turning up murdered, it forces Jack to reexamine his feelings, because what if Ryan is next? While Jack wants their burgeoning relationship to work, it would mean having to admit who he is to the world. And that’s an idea as frightening as death.

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Riptide Publishing

Brien Michaels was hatched shortly before the turn of the century. He grew up in the DMV area and has been creating characters for as long as he can remember, starting with an imaginary friend named Farquad Beaverhausen. Before turning his considerably wicked imagination to writing, he was an actor, aspiring film student, movie theater concessionist, and the first human to enter the seventy-second dimension. Though it is unclear whether he made it back or if Farquad’s evil twin, Brad, has taken control of his body. He’s currently on the run from the Secret Police, who want to bring him in for questioning regarding the whereabouts of erotica authors L.A. Witt and Lauren Gallagher. If you encounter him, please contact his publishers immediately, as he likely should be chained to a desk writing and not out walking children in nature.

Twitter: @BrienMichaels

To celebrate this release, one lucky person will win a $10 gift card to Riptide. Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on December 14, 2019. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following along, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

The Christmas Oaks (Laurel Holidays #1) by V.L. Locey: Blog Tour, New Release Review and Giveaway

December 4, 2019 by Denise

Bryn Graham is shocked to find he’s inherited a hunting cabin in north central Pennsylvania. From his grandfather of all people; a stubborn man who went out of his way to make Bryn’s childhood miserable. He’d vowed never to go back to the small, rural community of Kutter’s Summit, not that he didn’t have fond memories of the place. It’s just that he’d rather be celebrating a quiet Christmas back in Nashville with his cat and his contracts.

A couple weeks of hunting, cleaning, and handyman work and he can hopefully put the place up for sale and move on with his life. He never expected to find his childhood friend Parson Greer living in the cabin. Parson is no longer a boy, but a handsome, wary man consumed by the demons of a faraway desert war. When a rekindled friendship shifts into something deeper, Bryn finds himself lost in emotions that a workaholic like him has never made time to experience before.

Can the magic of Christmas, and the soft voice of a man who has seen too much, show him a future where anything is possible?

Cover Design: Designs By Sloan

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Bryan is on his way back to his little conservative town for the reading of his homophobic gandpa’s will, the same grandpa that kicked him out of his life when he found out he was gay… Once really close with the old man and the town that turned their back on him upon his coming out, it was the last place Bryan wanted to go now that he’d made a name for himself in Nashville.

Now, I’m not gonna lie, I like blue-collar guys doing blue collar things, so when I read he was an agent to country stars, I balked a little bit… I figured he’d be hoity toity and up his own a.s.s., but he wasn’t. A little self-important, but I mean, he was an important guy, he was proud of his accomplishments, especially when people didn’t think he’d be much but the gay kid from Kutter Summit.

Planning to get to town, see what his granddad didn’t leave him and he’d be on his way back home in time… what he didn’t expect was for his granddad to leave him the old hunting cabin that he used to take Bryan to when he was younger and they’d do things together…. All before he turned his back on him.

So, this story is set in Bryan’s POV and I liked it, though I would’ve liked to have seen Parson’s… Parson was the only who had Bryan’s back when everyone but his sister turned against him. It was too bad they lost touch because Bryan had missed Parson and his friendship. That ship had long since sailed though, Parson went away to the military and Bryan learned he was back in town, but his sister said he’d come back all messed up…as ones so often do.

He surely wasn’t expecting to go up to the cabin to get it ready to sell and find Parson holed up in there like Paul Bunyan, living off the land, but sure enough, that’s what happened. The Parson he knew was long gone though and in his place was a sexy as sin adult with more than a little demons that he brought back from his time overseas. I loved Parson though, he was impossible not to fall for… having always had a thing for Bryan, he was standoffish with him at first, but, he needed Bryan so badly. Used to being alone because he made it that way, hidden up at the cabin away from the noise and stares… he needed someone to help him work things out in his head…. Now that Bryan was there, he wanted to be that guy….

Of course, with the real world only a phone call away, while Bryan and Parson are falling for each other, Bryan’s life is demanding he come back to Nashville and fix the mess he’d left behind with his career and the spoiled rich people he represented. Ugh… I was glad we didn’t see much of that.

Though my heart broke for Parson, I knew Bryan wouldn’t be able to live without him, and it took him a minute to realize it too, but, well, I won’t spoil the ending, but if you like the sappy happily ever afters, then don’t skip past this one. I adored Parson and Bryan grew on me and I’m also glad he found a little bit of closure from the hurt he’d left behind so long ago. I wouldn’t mind reading more about these two anytime.

5 pieces of eye candy

USA Today Bestselling Author V.L. Locey – Penning LGBT hockey romance that skates into sinful pleasures.

V.L. Locey loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, walking, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, Torchwood and Dr. Who, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.) She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, a pair of geese, far too many chickens, and two steers.

When not writing spicy romances, she enjoys spending her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in one hand and a steamy romance novel in the other.

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The Captain & the Best Man by Eleanor Harkstead & Catherine Curzon (Captivating Captains Book 4): Exclusive Guest Post, New Release Review

December 4, 2019 by Denise

When Josh meets handsome airline pilot Captain Guy Collingwood on a sun-kissed island, he finds out what flying first class really means!

When Josh leaves the rainy shore of England for the sun-drenched tropical island of St Sebastian, his biggest worry is remembering his best man’s speech. But a chance meeting with handsome airline pilot Captain Guy Collingwood leads to a hot and raunchy holiday romance.

Guy’s everything Josh is looking for in his ideal man. Mature, dashing and confident, he’s also single and more than happy to show Josh the pleasures of St Sebastian. Yet Guy’s unruffled demeanor hides a past regret. Is the wedding of Josh’s best friend about to reopen a painful chapter that has never fully closed?

As a fearsome tropical storm threatens the island paradise and a broken family threatens Josh and Guy’s happiness, the stakes have never been higher. Can St Sebastian work its magic to heal past wounds and will Josh and Guy’s holiday fling take flight?

General Release Date: 3rd December 2019

Genre:

CONTEMPORARY
EROTIC ROMANCE
GAY
GLBTQ

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The pros and cons of co-writing

We’ve been writing together for nearly three years and in that time we’ve been writing our Captivating Captains m/m romances, as well as the de Chastelaine Chronicles paranormal romances. Our latest Captivating Captains novel, The Captain and the Best Man, is out on 3^rd December. Readers and other writers are often curious about how we do it, so here’s an insight into what we get up to!

Pros

Different co-writing authors approach co-writing differently. Some write alternate chapters to accommodate different points-of-view, others divide up the work so one writes plot and the other writes the narrative, and others have one writer produce the first draft while the second comes in and adds embellishments. Because we write in the same document (thank you, Google Docs!) we divide up characters and write together that way. One of the pros to this approach is that our dialogue really does sound like different characters talking because in reality, it really is the voices of two different people! And bear in mind, writing together isn’t at all unusual in the world of television, but it is when it comes to fiction.
Brainstorming ideas works really well when writing as a team because you can bounce ideas of each other and can look at suggestions from different angles. I might put forward an idea and Catherine will go, “I like that. And what about…?” And it’s those “and what about” questions that help to develop and shape the plot and the characters.
We have two people’s experiences to inspire our stories. For instance, there’s a woman I see on the way to work each morning who puts her make-up on on the bus, and I sent Catherine a message from the bus saying “She’s like the heroine of a romcom. Imagine if a man – who turns out to be the hero – sits next to her and she manages to tip blusher into his lap!” And Catherine replied, saying,“Yes! And what if she’s going to a job interview, and she walks into the room and it’s the man from the bus on the interview panel!” The ideas kept on coming and like rolling a snowball across the garden that eventually grows big enough to turn into a snowman, we came up with a novel.
We share out the jobs. So while the writing is shared down the middle anyway, there’s other tasks that writers have to do, such as going through edits from the editor, talking to the publisher about cover art, doing promo, etc. This way, we share the load.
It’s fun! The best way to explain what co-writing is like – at least, the way we do it – is that it’s like when you were little and your friend came round after school to play with Sindy dolls or Sylvanians. Writing can be a lonely process so it’s good to write with someone else. Also, it’s frustrating when a story comes to a stop as you’re writing, so when this happens, we at least have each other to talk about in order to find a solution. And commiserate if we realise we need to either do major unpicking or abandon ship. Luckily we have a lot of ideas knocking about, so if something does prove unworkable, we have other projects we can move onto. And eventually, one of us will have an idea that’ll fix the stalled project and bring it back to life.

Cons

Compromise is essential. Imagine if, when I suggested the “woman doing her make-up on the bus” idea, Catherine had said, “I’m not seeing it. What about a woman who eats toast and drinks tea on the bus for breakfast instead?” Then we’d have to have a chat about what’s more compelling, what’s more realistic, and in a romcom, what’s funniest. It can be difficult if you’re wedded to an idea, but the point of thrashing the ideas out is to make sure the stories are as good as can be. You might have to compromise on a detail, but if it means the story works better overall, then that’s the main thing. Authors writing solo will have experienced something similar when their editor returns a manuscript querying what the characters are up to! So at least we will have spotted anomalies or things that might work better with a tweak before our editor reads the story.
It’s the old chestnut that crops up in job interviews when you get a question about teamwork, but really, communication is incredibly important when co-writing. And sometimes communicating ideas can be difficult – we live about two and half hours apart so can’t meet up very often and we rely on communicating online which isn’t always easy. Messenger is okay most of the time, but there’s some things you just can’t discuss that way so we use Skype.
Leading on from communication – you can’t see inside someone else’s head so you need to be clear about how you’re seeing the world you’re creating. Sometimes this is resolved easily by sending each other photos of what we see – this is the character’s house, and he looks a bit like this guy, and he wears these shoes and drives this car. Sometimes you might need to check – so when they walk out of that door you see them in a corridor? I thought they were in another room! But obviously for consistency you’ve got to see the same room layout!
Plot required! I’ve put this under cons because there’s certain stories where a plot is essential, like when you’ve got a mystery for your characters to unravel (although some authors write stories with a mystery element without one!). And if you don’t want to go the whole hog with a tightly laid out, chapter-by-chapter plot, you need at least a roadmap or an outline of ideas when co-writing so you both know where you’re going. If you think of it as a convoy, it’s sensible that you both know where the destination is and what the main routes are on the way there so everyone knows the route to drive. But saying that, as important as the plot is, it can feel quite tyrannous! I don’t think either of us are natural “pantsers” ie writers who plunge into a story without knowing where it’s going and with no plot in mind, but still, a plot can feel like a yoke sometimes, so we try even to avoid referring to the “plotting document” and call it “the ideas page” instead!
We’re different people. It’s a con in that it would be much easier if we were exactly the same and agreed all the time with the same ideas, the same perception of the characters and their world, etc. But then again, if we were the same, then there would be no point in co-writing. Being two different people means we bring different, although sometimes similar, things to the table. And that’s why co-writing works.

Oh my gosh, I enjoyed this book so much! It was fun and flirty. It had just the right dash of island fun, great characters and some definite sexiness.

These characters started as a holiday romance, for sure, with even a few bumblings to begin with…the soaked napkin was awesome to me. I felt Josh’s disappointment, and then his joy when he was given a second chance. The two MC’s were a great match, with Guy teaching Josh a little about being adventurous, and Josh willing to jump head-first into the fun.

I’m not sure if the island of St. Sebastian is real (and I refuse to look it up, because I don’t want to be disappointed), but I definitely want to head there for a little fun in the sun, and basking in the glow of all the characters.

4 pieces of eye candy

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Becoming Us by Becca Seymour: Exclusive Guest Post, New Release Review and Giveaway

December 3, 2019 by Denise

In two years, it’s clear love can last, just as it can grow.

Davis’s business remains successful, Scott’s clinic is going strong, and Libby is happy and content.

But that doesn’t mean real life is always perfect, nor does it mean fatherhood isn’t as exhausting as it is wonderful.

Needing a break from their daily routines, Davis and Scott head away for a weekend of uninhibited fun. With lots of laughter and dancing, Davis has never seen Scott so relaxed and comfortable in public.

And he’s not quite sure how to handle that.

Worried that life in Kirkby is holding Scott back, Davis nearly makes the biggest mistake of his life.

But Scott has other ideas. He doesn’t need saving. What he needs is his man to step up and fight for their family and their future.

And he has just the plan to do it.

A True-Blue novella. I’ve Got You MUST be read prior to reading this story.

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Small-Town Romance Love

outback

NOUN

the outback

The remote and usually uninhabited inland districts of Australia.

‘a two-week tour of the outback’

1.1 Any remote or sparsely populated inland region.

Having spent three years living in the gateway to the Queensland outback, approximately a six-hour drive from true civilisation, and now settling on acreage in the Queensland hinterland, it’s no wonder I’m drawn to all-things small town.

There’s a whole lot of fun in the dynamics of locals in a small town. The gossip, the acceptance, the rallying, the crazy stories, together they help to inspire so many possibilities for story fodder.

It’s all of the above that I’ve encountered over the past eight years. And sitting along the sidelines bearing witness to brewing romances, watching reactions to gossip as well as individuals’ journeys has been an eyeopener.

It’s my love of living in a small town and the connections it’s possible to make that allows Kirkby, my fictious American small town, to be a place I wish everyone could visit. That doesn’t mean it comes without its pitfalls. It’s both the wonderful and isolating that we see in my True-Blue series. It’s also especially relevant in Becoming Us (True-Blue #3) when the characters consider how restricting living in a small town can be for the LGBTQ community.

Simple tasks of a same-sex couple walking down the street hand in hand, and giving a sweet kiss hello or goodbye come with their own level of uncertainty and fear. It’s this concept of being true to yourself and the challenges of fitting in (and definitely feeling comfortable) that is lightly tackled in Becoming Us.

While my town of Kirkby has growing LGBTQ representation, it’s imperative to enjoy the positives while challenging the more negative aspects of small-town life. And I hope to continue to do so in my True-Blue series.

A cute little novella about Davis, Scott and baby Libby.

I love getting a look into Scott’s life a few years later. Because I initially hated him so much and then fell in love with him and wanted him to have everything he never thought he deserved, it was nice to get a glimpse into his ongoing happily ever after.

So, in this one, Scott and Davis are well established and have a good routine going with both of their jobs and raising Davis’s daughter Libby, together. She’s three now and as fun as she is exhausting, which any parent can tell you is true, and while juggling all their day-to-day’s, Davis gets asked to join a younger employee/friend on a night out to a gay club in a neighboring city with Scott. It would be nice to get Scott away from the small town and let him experience a gay club and all it’s glory.

If you remember from either of the other two books in this series, you should remember how hard it was for Scott to come to accept his sexuality and to live openly and truth be told, he still has some reservations and it’s not as easy as it is with some, but he’s happy and content and after a week with a sick and fussy Libby, both men jump at the chance for a night away.
Letting their hair down, so to speak, the guys have a fun night and meet a new younger friend (who I hoooope is coming up next). The guys are happy that they got a night to recharge and have fun but it’s ruined by some old hag in a diner and it has Davis wondering if life in a small town is what Scott needs. When he questions him, it comes out wrong and it has both men on edge and thinking the worst.

With any relationship though, there are bumps in the road and times that are tougher than others… this is just a small blip and a misunderstanding and because they’re grown ups who communicate and respect each other enough to work things out, of course, it does and in the sweetest way.

I love a hot dad story and it’s made even better when when it turns into two hot dads. I love Scott’s relationship with Libby and the way she just knows him as her other daddy. It was very cute and I cannot wait to read more about all of them and any new addition (Jasper and Ian) that may be next.

4 Pieces of Eye Candy

Becca Seymour lives and breathes all things book related. Usually with at least three books being read and two WiPs being written at the same time, life is merrily hectic. She tends to do nothing by halves so happily seeks the craziness and busyness life offers.

Living on her small property in Queensland with her human family as well as her animal family of cows, chooks, and dogs, Becca appreciates the beauty of the world around her and is a believer that love truly is love.

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