Book Excerpt

One regular guy who happens to be a preacher…  

Reverend Dr. Gabe Samson doesn’t think he’s better than any of the people in his church, so please don’t put him on a pedestal. While he’s never hidden the fact that he identifies as bisexual, he’s never acted on it either. Gabe isn’t happy to learn that the sole reason he was hired to pastor the LGBT-friendly church was that the ruling elders wanted a safe poster child for inclusivity—in other words, they wanted the rainbow flag without letting it fly.

Plus one easygoing, new age kinda guy…

Seth Thomas owns Holistic Healing, a metaphysical shop and yoga studio. He’s never really been a relationship kinda guy, but only because he hasn’t met the right man yet. Seth is laid back and goes with the flow. When fate drops a hot preacher in his lap, why wouldn’t he accept the gift?

Equals a pair of men who click from the start.

The two men find it almost too easy to get together, especially Gabe, who is fully embracing his bi side for the first time. Nothing in life is simple though. While Gabe and Seth are busy falling in love, they face an anti-gay hate group, a divided church, and a ruling elder who is hell-bent on sowing discord. Between Gabe’s patient wisdom and Seth’s snark, the pair fight the growing drama with the strongest weapons in their arsenal: love and humor.

This is the third book in the LOVESTRONG series about finding love and being yourself in a small town, and the third in series. Intended only for 18+ readers, this is an mm romance full of all the fun, fluff, and feels you’d want from an S. Hawke book.

Note: This isn’t a trigger warning, but please be prepared for a few instances of ignorance and hate speech, and mentions of violence. This is a romance, not a sermon—but please keep in mind that the main character is a pastor dealing with real-life issues in his church and these truths are reflected in Gabe.

How Not To Sin

LOVESTRONG Series, Book 3

Susan Hawke

M/M Romance

Release Date: 02.20.19

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

“Come on, you know you want to try it.” Gabe’s eyes danced as he tried to get me to take a bite of his Rocky Mountain oysters. “Are you really going to sit there and pretend you’re not adventurous enough to take just one itsy bitsy taste?” His fork danced in front of my mouth, as if he were trying to tempt a baby into taking a bite.

“It’s not a matter of being adventurous so much as solidarity. A bro just doesn’t eat another dude’s balls—at least, not like this. Trust me, preach. There are far more fun and less gory ways to enjoy your ball-eating fetish.” I shuddered dramatically as I leaned my head back and to the side while I batted at his hand to push it away.

Gabe snorted then brought the fork to his mouth and made a big show of pulling the meat from the fork with his teeth. His moans were almost pornographic, especially when combined with the total sex face he was making—complete with his eyes rolling back into his head while his lashes fluttered like crazy.

“You do know that people are staring, right? You’re like that chick in that movie, you know the one… where that chick’s faking an orgasm in the middle of a crowded diner?” I thought for a second, trying to remember. Once I got Meg Ryan’s face in my mind, I was able to recall the movie. “When Harry Met Sally. Yeah, you’re totally pulling a Sally.”

He took a moment to casually blot his lips with a napkin before leaning forward with a raised brow. “Were they staring at me, though? Really? Or was it maybe the look on your face while you watched that caught their eyes, hmm?”

I shifted in my seat, trying to ignore the sudden tightness in my pants. “Definitely you. I guarantee you that I wasn’t looking turned on while I watched you nosh on testicles.” I pointed to the side of his mouth. “You’ve got a little sauce right there that your napkin missed.”

My pants grew a little tighter when that tongue darted from the side of his mouth to lick it away. I shook my head. “Nope, a little down and to the left.” I couldn’t help but grin at the facial contortions he was making as he tried to get rid of it. Shaking my head, I reached over the table with my own napkin and wiped his cheek.

Gabe caught my hand as I started to pull it away. Turning it over, he kissed the pulse point of my wrist while gazing up at me from under his ridiculously long lashes. When he spoke in a low rumble, I could swear that deep voice was liquid sex. “Will you promise to wipe me clean every time I get messy?” I blinked away a vision of me licking splatters of cum from his bare chest, then feeding it back to him as we kissed. Yeah, that imagery didn’t help the tight pants issue at all.

Note to self: don’t wear skinny jeans when going on a date with a sexy clergyman.

Pulling my hand back, I made a show of rolling my eyes. “I hope you enjoyed that, Pastor Babe. After watching you eat that foul food, I’m pretty sure that’s the only part of my body you’ll be kissing tonight.”

A corner of Gabe’s mouth twitched as his eyebrows shot up. “Are you really talking about kissing body parts in the middle of dinner? Shame, shame, Seth. I’m starting to think I can’t take you anywhere. Although, as first dates go? This is definitely one for the record books.”

Okay, I have to go get the first book in this series, because I was loving this one! I wasn’t sure how this one was going to work, a bisexual preacher? How unheard of, right?
Growing up Pentecost myself, literally every church I went to told me how wrong any of those letters were. My parents weren’t hateful like the Danvers in this story, but they believed very much the same thing, so I heard it a lot in lifetime. My father used to call me a “sympathizer” because I didn’t say the bad words against minority groups or people who believed differently than we were supposed to. He’d sneer as he said it, and often make fun of me for it, but, now, as a 33-year-old mom with a gay 13-year-old…. I only wish my family would’ve had a church to belong to like Gabe’s.

Other than being a love story, which it very much was between Pastor Babe and crystal healing, hippie, yoga instructor, Seth… I enjoyed everything else about it just as much. When Gabe was hired into a LGBT friendly church, they kind of thought he’d just represent the lgbt members but not actually practice it… stupid right?

So, when he meets and falls for Seth, he runs into some trouble from one man who is set to ruin the church and their love and acceptance of the LGBT community and church family. The guy will make you sick. His antics and all the hatefulness he spreads, it made me sick because I’ve seen it first hand, and I know it’s not just something I’m reading about in a book. It happens all the time, where people hide behind their religion to spew such ignorance. I mean, we see it way too often. Turn on the news at any given point in a day, and you’ll see something to do with this very topic. It’s sickening, and sad, and I was so glad to read a story where it was brought to light and had such a big impact on all involved. It was real and sometimes hard, but with love and strength and faith and friends…. love will always win. Period.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

I love love love that quote, and it sums this story up perfectly.

I cannot wait to go back and read Andy and Corbin’s story…. hello single dad, why haven’t I read about you yet? I love Gam’s, and Gray, and Dottie, and Shaw and his crazy love triangle, and Larry…. I want stories from them all!

And if you read any of my reviews, you’ll know that I love when the bad guy gets his dose of karmic justice. I am proud to say that Mr. Danvers gets his in this one, so fear not and keep reading!! I’ll admit that I almost gave up a time or two myself but I’m glad I didn’t.

And of course we get our HEA. Such an amazing story, I’m so glad I read it. Definitely recommend.

4 pieces of eye candy from me

As an avid reader and big romance fan myself, I love sharing the stories of the different people who live in my imagination. My stories are filled with humor, a few tears, and the underlying message to not give up hope, even in the darkest of times, because life can change on a dime when you least expect it. This theme comes from a lifetime of lessons learned on my own hard journey through the pains of poverty, the loss of more loved ones than I’d care to count, and the struggles of living through chronic illnesses. Life can be hard, but it can also be good! Through it all I’ve found that love, laughter, and family can make all the difference, and that’s what I try to bring to every tale I tell.

I’m a happily married mom with one snarky teenage boy, and three grown “kids of my heart.” I’m more widely known for my mpreg writings as Susi Hawke; this new name is a departure from that. Whether written by Susan or Susi, the books are filled with that all-important love, laughter, and family I mentioned; the only difference is that this name has no male pregnancy. I look forward to sharing my stories with you, and to bringing more romance and laughter into this world that needs it so very badly.

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