From a Jack to a King by Scotty Cade: Exclusive Guest Post, Excerpt, Release Day Review and Giveaway

New York Times best-selling mystery writer Bay Whitman leads the life of a celebrity—at least on the surface. In public he’s self-assured and in control. Women hang on his every word, while men envy his confidence and swagger. But in reality, Bay is a loner. He’s shy and introverted, and his life consists of sitting in a dimly lit room writing his famous Jack Robbins mystery novels. His one vice—gambling. Winning an escort in a poker game will change Bay’s life in ways he never imagined.

Matthew “King” Slater is one of the hottest tickets in gay porn. He spends his days in front of the camera and his nights as a highly paid escort to the rich and famous. Deep down, he craves romance and a real connection, but his past makes it hard to separate the needs of his body from those of his heart. For now, it’s easier to think of sex as just a job. But while doing a shoot in Vegas, King is hired for a tryst at a famous hotel and casino, and his handsome client might blur the line between work and play.

Title: From a Jack to a King
Author: Scotty Cade
Release Date: July 3, 2018
Category: Contemporary
Pages: 194

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Happy July 3 to you and Happy Release Day to me!

Firstly, I’d like to thank Two Chicks Obsessed with Books and Eye Candy for having me stop in today. I truly appreciate your support.

I’m here to bring a little attention to my new release “From a Jack to a King.” The blurb pretty much gives you all the information you need, but I’ll add a little flavor to sweeten the pot. Here goes: Bay Whitman is a New York Times Best Selling mystery writer who loves nothing more than hiding away within the confines of his New York apartment writing his “Jack Robbins” mystery novels. He avoids the spotlight as much as he can, but the sudden success of his “Jack Robbins” series has thrown his life into a tailspin and he can no longer simply hide away. His one vice is gambling so when he has to go to Las Vegas for a book signing, he decides to make the best of it and sit in on a couple high stakes poker games. And lucky for him he wins big, including an escort for the evening.

King Slater is a strong but sensitive man with a past. He’s currently the hottest ticket in gay porn and while doing a shoot in Vegas gets a call for an escort job. When he knocks at the door to Bay’s room, he wasn’t the least bit prepared for the handsome man standing on the other side. But all is not as easy as it seems. Bay is practically asexual and although he’s fallen into a couple experiences with women, sex was never at the top of his list. For the record, nothing goes as planned that night and a story starts to unfold that will hopefully keep you very interested.

Now I’ll leave it here to avoid any spoilers and let you read an excerpt. But before I let you go, I’d like to know if you were a gambler would you accept an escort as part of your winnings at a poker game? I mean…I guess your personal circumstances would play a part in your answer but if you had no attachments and no significant other would you go for it? If you post, you’ll automatically be entered into a drawing for an e-book of “From a Jack to a King.”

Thanks for spending the time with me and I wish you and yours a wonderful and relaxed 4^th of July weekend.

Now here’s your excerpt and lot of other stuff about where to find me and my books, especially “From a Jack to a King.”

It was just before eleven and they’d been at it for almost six hours. Rich and Zeke had excused themselves a little while ago, and Bay and Paul had agreed to one more hand. The night had been mostly in Bay’s favor, and he had over a half-million dollars in chips in front of him. On the other hand, the night hadn’t been as kind to Paul. From Bay’s best calculations, the poor guy was in the red almost as much as Bay was in the black, and he was down to four one-thousand-dollar chips.

Bay and Paul were at the river stage of the last hand. There was $80,000 in the pot, and Bay knew Paul must have an impressive hand since he continued to bet when his funds were so depleted. But Bay had an impressive hand as well. Very impressive.

Bay locked eyes with Paul as the croupier removed the burn and prepared to flip the river card faceup and add it to the flop. Already on the table were a six of clubs, seven of spades, ten of clubs, and three of hearts. Bay saw the makings of a straight and figured that’s what Paul was working up to. The croupier flipped the card and laid it on the table. Three of clubs. Bay saw a definite twinkle in Paul’s eye and figured he had the straight.

This time it was up to Paul to raise, call, or fold. Bay felt certain there would be no folding since Paul had come this far, but in order to raise, he needed $5,000. He had only $4,000 on the table, and unless he had chips in his pocket, all he could do was call.

“I’ll raise,” Paul said.

The croupier looked at Paul. “Excuse me, Mr. Gilman, but you need $5,000 to raise.”

Paul slid the four chips to the center of the table and looked at Bay. “I have an escort worth a grand scheduled to join me at the hotel in an hour. Will you take that as collateral for the final thousand?”

Bay thought for a second. He had no use for an escort. He was pretty inexperienced in that department, but what the hell? He was in Las Vegas—and what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Right? Besides, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d had sex. He’d had offers, of course, but he’d turned them down all but a couple of times, never knowing if they were made because of his celebrity or, even worse, his Jack Robbins persona. An encounter with an escort should be pretty cut-and-dried. Wham, bam, thank you, ma’am.

“Sure,” Bay said before he could stop himself.

Since Paul was out of chips, Bay had no reason to raise again, so he called.

Paul flipped over his two cards. One was a nine of clubs and the other was an eight of spades. “Straight,” he said, smiling.

Bay smiled back and flipped his cards over. “Four threes.”

The blood drained out of Paul’s face, and he hung his head briefly. When he raised it again, he was smiling. “Definitely not my night,” he said, standing. “But hey. You win some. You lose some.”

He offered his hand to Bay. Bay accepted it and the two men shook. “It was a pleasure, Paul. I hope we get to do it again.”

“Likewise,” Paul said. “Oh! I almost forgot. What is your room number?”

“It’s 3001,” Bay said. “Why?”

“Because your escort will be there at midnight.”

Bay was about to protest when he changed his mind. He was still undecided, but he simply said, “Thanks.”

Paul turned and walked out of the game room without another word.

“Can you verify your winnings with me, Mr. Whitman, before I call the cashier to cut you a check? Or would you prefer a wire transfer?” the croupier asked.

“Certainly. And a check will be fine.”

Bay had just returned to his suite and put his rather large check in the safe when he heard a knock at his door. He walked through the foyer and then stopped dead in his tracks. Shit! The escort. He nervously smoothed the front of his jacket, then opened the door. When he saw the person standing on the other side, his mouth fell open and stayed there. He blinked twice to make sure he wasn’t imagining things. He wasn’t, and he could neither move nor speak.

One of the things that I enjoy most about any Scotty Cade book is that he writes characters and stories that are often vastly different than anything the reader might find in the m/m romance genre. The characters are multi-layered, and often in unique situations. His book Losing Faith, which I loved, is just one example of this. His newest release also hits all those buttons for me.

With From A Jack to a King, which interestingly is a very polar opposite to Losing Faith, Scotty finds a way to bring several layers to these two MC’s. This includes a layer that would seem to be very much at odds with the MC’s chosen line of work, but which the author somehow makes work on a level I would  not have expected. Both MC’s lead very different lives, and yet what drives them, behind their lives, their insecurities and day to day issues, come from very similar pasts.

I found myself questioning how King was able to separate himself so much from his work, but he made it work, and Bay made it work, as they moved forward with establishing a relationship. It did make me wonder if part of where Bay was coming from was a deep need to have that connection, and having only have found it with King, he was willing to do whatever he could to keep it. Yet, Bay’s character proved me wrong by continuing to become more self-confident, and able to deal with the outside world more. His connection with King made him stronger, not weaker.

There wasn’t much in the way of angst, and the book didn’t have a big blow up moment, but what it did have was two characters who found they were better together, than they ever were on their own, and how it was able to progress to that HEA, and bring their lives full circle. They became the strong independent men they wanted to be, once they were able to allow themselves to be with each other. A sweet, love story, with some small twists, and a perfect movie happy ending. 🙂

4 pieces of eye candy

Scotty Cade left Corporate America and twenty-five years of Marketing and Public Relations behind to buy an Inn & Restaurant on the island of Martha’s Vineyard with his partner of over twenty years. He started writing stories as soon as he could read, but just eight years ago for publication.  With the Inn and restaurant now sold, you can find him in Greenville South Carolina where he and his husband are restoring a hundred-year-old house or in Charleston South Carolina on their boat simply hanging out.  Being from the south and a lover of commitment and fidelity, all of his characters find their way to long healthy relationships, however long it takes them to get there.  He believes that in the end, the boy should always get the boy.

Here’s where you can find me:

www.scottycade.com

www.facebook.com/scotty.cade

www.twitter.com/ScottyCade

scottycade@gmail.com