It isn’t easy to leave a family that hurts. But what if it’s the start of finding a love that heals?
High-school senior Sandy’s Catholic parents are furious to discover he’s had sex before marriage. But when he blurts out he’s bisexual, they go ballistic. To avoid conversion therapy, Sandy runs away from Rockford, Illinois to move in with his gay uncle in Portland and start a new life.
He leaves behind Jade, the fabulous out gay kid in their Catholic high school. They hooked up—once—to confirm Sandy’s bisexuality. Jade had never expected to get that far with star athlete and altar boy Sandy. But he was crushed when Sandy disappeared without even telling him.
A year later Jade and Sandy run into each other on the train going home to Rockford for Thanksgiving and form an alliance to help Sandy confront his parents. Will they keep building where they left off or will their spark turn to dust?
If you like coming of age stories, queer kids finding the courage to be themselves, and the comfort of found families, you’ll love Sand-Man’s Family.
Title: Sand-Man’s Family: An M/M Coming of Age Romance
Series: Wild and Precious Book 3
Author: CJane Elliott
Publisher: CJane Elliott
Release Date: 8/24/20
Heat Level: 3 – Some Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 36,800 words
Genre: Romance, New Adult, Young Adult, Coming of Age, coming out, family drama, bisexual, college, hurt-comfort
Amazon – Kindle Unlimited
Book 1, Wild and Precious, is on sale for just $0.99 for a limited time.
Find the entire series HERE.
Hello there! I’m CJane Elliott and happy to be on the Two Chicks Obsessed blog today to share Sand-Man’s Family, the third book in my Wild and Precious series.
Sand-Man’s Family differs from the first two stories in the Wild and Precious series in the age of the main characters. In the first two novellas, those ages ranged from mid-twenties to late thirties. In Sand-Man’s Family, Sandy and Jade (and Dare, who Sandy dated before Jade) are seniors in high school (for the flashback scenes) and most of the action takes place the following year, when they are at the most nineteen years old.
I enjoy writing New Adult characters who are teetering on the edge of adulthood. They’re often still sorting out who they are in relation to themselves, their gender/sexual identity, and their relationships. Family still plays a big role, positive or negative. This is the age when people start living away from home and begin to create their families of choice. Some of them are lucky in their families of origin but many are not.
I’ve brought you a short scene that happens after Sandy’s parents bring the parish priest and a conversion therapy expert to the home when Sandy returns for Thanksgiving to continue to pressure him to give up his “sinful” bisexuality. Needless to say, they don’t succeed. Sandy is rescued by the arrival of Uncle Phineas, his partner Cody, and Jade. After confronting Sandy’s parents, they all go the Phineas and Cody’s hotel, along with Sandy’s younger brother Connor. I love that Sandy has found a loving, accepting family with his uncle, his brother, and his budding love interest, Jade.
Sandy lay on the big hotel bed, his head on Uncle Phinney’s shoulder while Connor rested on Phinney’s other shoulder. Jade snuggled in against Sandy’s back. Cody had declined the puppy pile in favor of providing soft soothing music on his guitar.
“I love you both so much.” Uncle Phinney patted them tenderly. “I’m so proud of my nephews.”
“Thanks, Uncle Phinney.” Connor’s voice sounded muffled, like he’d stuck his face into Phinney’s armpit or something.
Sandy soothed the emotions swirling inside by concentrating on the safety of Uncle Phinney’s sturdy shoulder and the soft touch of Jade’s arm around him. He didn’t want to think about his parents or his former home or his brother and sisters stuck there. He wanted to be here, warm and loved, with Cody playing softly in the background.
Cody paused. “We can cut our trip short, you know. We can come home with you if you want, Sand-Man.”
“No. I’m cool.”
“You sure?” Uncle Phinney’s frown was full of concern. “It’s really okay. Cody and I already talked about it.”
“I’ll be fine, Uncle Phinney. I’ll be where I want to be, in Portland. Blaine and Gemma are around if I need anyone.”
“And I’m only a few hours up the road,” Jade said softly into Sandy’s ear.
Sandy grabbed his hand and squeezed. “I know.” Then he peered over at Connor.
“Connor’s the one we need to worry about.”
“I’ll be fine. I’m sticking around till I graduate, then I’m out of there. I don’t want to leave the girls until I have to.”
“Call us. Anytime, day or night.” Uncle Phinney made an anxious sound. “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I’m worried for you.”
Jade stirred and raised up on one elbow. “Papa’s aware of the situation. I sent him the video.”
When everyone looked at him funny, he added, “He’s got a lot of cop friends. He’ll keep an eye out. Connor, he said for you to call him if things get hinky.”
“Cool. Thanks.”
They all flopped back down, and Sandy relaxed completely. He found himself stroking Jade’s hand and wishing they had a room to themselves. As if reading his thoughts, Jade leaned up and nibbled his earlobe. Now Sandy really needed for them to get a room.
“Come to my house tonight?” Jade whispered.
“Um, Uncle Phinney?”
“Hmm?”
“Is it cool for me to go over to Jade’s? He’s gotta go to the airport tomorrow too, so I can get a ride to the shuttle with them. You guys could drop Connor off and be on your way.”
He saw Uncle Phinney smile and glance over at Cody, who smiled back. “Sure. As long as Connor is okay with his brother ditching him his last night here.”
“Whatever, man.” Connor yawned. “I’ll be here, cockblocking Cody and Uncle Phinney.”
After years of hearing characters chatting away in her head, award-winning author CJane Elliott finally decided to put them on paper and hasn’t looked back since. A psychotherapist by training, CJane writes sexy, passionate LGBTQ romances that explore the human psyche. CJane has traveled all over North America for work and her characters are travelers, too, traveling down into their own depths to find what they need to get to the happy ending.
CJane is bisexual and an ardent supporter of LGBTQ equality. In her spare time, CJane can be found dancing, listening to music, or watching old movies. Her family supports her writing habit by staying out of the way when they see her hunched over, staring intensely at her laptop.
CJane is the author of the award-winning Serpentine Series, New Adult contemporary novels set at the University of Virginia. Serpentine Walls was a 2014 Rainbow Awards finalist, Aidan’s Journey was a 2015 EPIC Awards finalist, and Sex, Love, and Videogames won first place in the New Adult category in the 2016 Swirl Awards and first place in Contemporary Fiction in the 2017 EPIC eBook Awards. Her contemporary novel All The Way To Shore was runner up for best bisexual fiction in the 2017 Rainbow Awards.
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