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Gay Romance

Release Blitz: Footwork, by TA Moore @tamoorewrites #Giveaway #LGBTQ #GayRomance @GayBookPromos

September 14, 2023 by Adriana Kraft Leave a Comment

RELEASE BLITZ

Book Title: Footwork

Author: TA Moore

Publisher: Rogue Firebird Press

Cover Artist: Tammy Moore

Release Date: September 10, 2023

Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance

Tropes: First Love, Second Chance, Bad Boy, Grumpy One and Sunshine One

Themes: Forgiveness, second chances, family, redemption

Length: 57 000 words/ 90 pages

Heat Rating: 3 flames

It is a standalone book set in the same world/town as the Dirty Deeds series

It does not end on a cliffhanger

Goodreads

 

Buy Links

Universal Link

 

When your ex-boyfriend finally has the life he always wanted, it would take a real asshole to interfere with that…but not like Bode’s ever said he’s not an asshole.

 

Blurb

Bode Harlan has never claimed to be a good guy, but he’s trying to keep his nose clean and his head down these days.

After a year in prison for assault–and to be fair, he did it–he isn’t looking to go back. Admittedly, his pretty face being the star attraction in an illegal underground fighting ring seems to run counter to that goal, but he’s gotta pay the bills and there ain’t much else he’s good at.

And it keeps his parole officer off his back…since she runs the place.

Then his mom skips town and her boyfriend kicks Bode’s 14 year old brother out on the street. Bode grew up in and out of foster care, he doesn’t want that for Danny. It’s not like he can take the kid in, though. He’s an ex-con who gets beat up twice a month for money. That’s how he ends up on his good-natured ex-boyfriend’s doorstep. Sonny is a soft touch. At least he always was for Bode. All he wants is somewhere to crash for a couple of nights, nothing more. Sonny’s got his life together now–a home, a boyfriend, even a dog–and it would take a real asshole to want to blow that up.

…of course, Bode’s never said he wasn’t an asshole.

 

Excerpt

SONNY SLAMMED THE door. Or tried to. Before it closed, Bode shoved his boot into the gap, and the heavy wood bounced off leather and bone.

Bode winced and had the balls to look put out. The cooking show Sonny had been halfway through rattled on in the background. It wasn’t the soundtrack that Sonny had imagined for his first reunion with his sort-of ex. That had either been Driver’s License or Bad Guy, depending on his mood.

“Why do you assume I want something?” Bode asked. His hair was shorter than it used to be—making it look darker, more red than ginger—and a bruise had just started to bloom around one of his eyes. At some point, Sonny knew it would fade down to a marshy green that nearly matched Bode’s eyes. He’d seen that happen before.

Back when Bode’s bruises had been Sonny’s business. That had been a while ago.

“Why else would you be here?” Sonny asked. He could hear it in his voice—the dredged-up hurt, the once-broken heart—but he doubted Bode would notice. It wasn’t the sort of thing he cared about. Other people and how what he did affected them were not Bode’s area of expertise. Sonny checked the time. “At nearly midnight.”

Bode shrugged, one-sided and laconic. “Maybe I wanted to tell you I’m out.”

“You’ve been out for three months,” Sonny said.

“Keeping tabs?” Bode asked with a slow, smug smile. It probably hurt as it creased along the edges of the bruise, but he didn’t let that stop him. “I didn’t know you still cared.”

“I don’t,” Sonny said. It wasn’t true. He cared, but that didn’t have to mean anything. It didn’t mean anything. “Just pointing out you’ve had plenty of time to drop by, yet this is the first time I’ve seen you. What happened? We keep missing each other?”

“You always got up too early for me.”

Sonny was surprised at how angry that made him. He wasn’t stupid. Bode knew that. So why stick to his stupid lie when they both knew Bode wouldn’t cross the street to see Sonny, not unless he had an ulterior motive. His temper felt like a head cold, the pressure of it at the back of his eyes. Usually it took him a long, grudging time to get mad about something, but Bode had been an asshole for years, so that pump was about ready to blow.

Except Sonny didn’t like it when he lost his temper. He didn’t like being out of control. It never ended well. He bit the inside of his cheek, a knot of old scar tissue from the habit gritty between his teeth, and throttled the hot emotion back.

“Right, well,” he said. “Whatever. If that was the only reason you’re here, job done. Now I know. I’m glad for you.”

He opened the door. Bode had the balls to look smug, as if he’d known that Sonny would come round. More fool him. Sonny braced his hands flat against Bode’s chest and gave him a shove that made him stagger backward.

“You can still fuck off,” Sonny repeated and slammed the door.

He turned around and leaned back against the door while he waited. On the TV screen, a woman in a white chef’s coat was trying to do something to a side of beef with a coat hanger. The dog had taken the opportunity to crawl up onto the couch and bury her head under a cushion, as if there was no way Sonny would see her whole ass sticking out.

Five.

Four.

Three.

The idea that he might have gotten it wrong—that Bode might have actually fucked off—had just started to nibble at the back of Sonny’s mind. He hated—really, honestly hated—that it would bother him if Bode had.

It wasn’t that he deluded himself that Bode couldn’t leave things unsaid with him—that was how Bode preferred to leave things. It was just that they’d known each other since they were kids, and Bode didn’t easily give up on anything he wanted. It would be weird if that changed now. No, the reason Bode was here was because he wanted something.

And two…

“I need somewhere to crash,” Bode said through the door. “Just for a couple of nights, until I sort something out.”

 

About the Author

TA Moore is a Northern Irish writer of romantic suspense, urban fantasy, and contemporary romance novels. A childhood in a rural, seaside town fostered in her a suspicious nature, a love of mystery, and a streak of black humour a mile wide.

Coffee, Doc Marten boots, and good friends are the essential things in life. Spiders, mayo, and heels are to be avoided.

 

 

Author Links

Blog/Website | Facebook | Twitter

Instagram | Newsletter Sign-up | TikTok

 

Giveaway

Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win

a choice of backlist ebook (5 winners)

or

a $40 Amazon Gift Card (1 winner)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions



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Filed Under: Blog, Contests, Guest Bloggers, LGBT Tagged With: Contemporary, Gay Romance, LGBTQ, MM romance, Second Chance

On Tour ~ Out Now! Roustabout, by Morgan Brice #Giveaway #LGBTQ #Paranormal #GayRomance @GayBookPromos

September 11, 2023 by Adriana Kraft Leave a Comment

BLOG TOUR

Book Title: Roustabout: A Carnival of Mysteries book

Author: Morgan Brice

Publisher: Darkwind Press

Cover Artist: Dianne Thies

Release Date: August 23, 2023

Genre: Paranormal MM romance

Tropes: adversaries-to-lovers, hurt/comfort, forced proximity, rogue with a heart of gold, secret agent/con man, redemption arc

Themes: overcoming the past, settling old wrongs, second chances

Length: 230 pages

Heat Rating: 4 flames

It is a standalone book, but also part of the shared-world, multi-author Carnival of Mysteries series and is connected to Morgan’s Kings of the Mountain series.

It does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US | Amazon UK

 

A con man and a government agent walk into a carnival…

Blurb

Bartlett Gibson is a necromancer and an agent for the Tennessee Bureau of Supernatural Investigation. He’s hot on the trail of RJ Tucker, a psychic con man who has eluded him at every turn and led him on a merry chase. Pursuit leads to grudging respect in their game of cat and mouse, which becomes a high-stakes game of seduction. Bart chases RJ to the Carnival of Mysteries and realizes that nothing is as it seems. A dark witch’s curse ups the ante, creating a deadline for revenge and redemption, and the clock is ticking.

Falling in love breaks all the rules. Can Bart and RJ stop the witch, break the curse, and find a way around RJ’s spot on the “most wanted” list before time runs out?

Roustabout is a fast-paced MM paranormal romance filled with supernatural suspense, snarky humor, crafty carnival workers, sarcastic ghosts, midway magic, hurt/comfort angst, adversaries-to-lovers tension, and a very happy ending!

Part of the multi-author, shared-world Carnival of Mysteries series. Can be read as a stand-alone.

Excerpt

But first, reckless as it might be, RJ had a date.

He knew he was fussing too much over his hair—manicuring his stubble and manscaping— but it had been a long time since there’d been anyone to notice, and he was going to make the most of it.

RJ wore his best shirt, a russet one that complemented his hair and warmed his pale complexion. Together with a new pair of jeans and a pair of Timberlands that were a rare splurge, he knew he cleaned up well.

He drove to Rosco’s Barbecue and parked, then realized his palms were sweating as he gripped the steering wheel.

It’s just dinner, he told himself. But nobody had ever made him feel like Bart did.

He grew up fast on the circuit surrounded by roustabouts and wranglers who didn’t follow convention and largely lived outside the restrictions of polite society. RJ had plenty of boyfriends and lovers over the years. Those in the carnival life rarely expected permanence, and relationships seldom lasted more than a season.

Moving from place to place had been a necessary distraction in those years. He hadn’t wanted more than temporary connections since he still mourned the people he had loved and lost. The dream of vengeance had sustained him, and for a long time, that was enough.

But now, with the end of his quest in sight, RJ found himself wanting more. Maybe he could never tell a partner everything about his old life and the recompense he had dealt out, but perhaps he didn’t need to live in self-imposed solitude.

After all, people in WITSEC get married. This isn’t too much different.

God, I’ve got the cart before the horse. We haven’t even fucked properly, and I’m picking out china patterns. It’s just dinner. And maybe a blow job if I play my cards right.

He went inside and looked for Bart. When he didn’t see the tall man waiting, his stomach tightened, fearing he had been stood up.

Bart came in a moment later, looking harried. “Sorry. Work ran over. Have you been here long?” He looked like he really cared whether RJ had been worried.

RJ relaxed and gave a broad smile. “Just got here myself.” His stomach growled. “It smells so good in here, and I’m starving.”

They followed the hostess to a table. RJ saw Bart slip her a twenty to get a spot out of the thick of the fray. Rosco’s did a booming business, with food that deserved the buzz.

“Did you have a good day?” Bart asked after they had ordered. RJ thought it was charming that Bart seemed flustered.

Maybe he’s as out of practice as I am.

About the Author

Morgan Brice is the romance pen name of bestselling author Gail Z. Martin. Morgan writes urban fantasy MM paranormal romance, with plenty of action, adventure and supernatural thrills to go with the happily ever after. Gail writes epic and urban fantasy, with less romance, more explosions.

All of the modern-day Morgan Brice and Gail Z. Martin series crossover, so characters from one series appear in cameos and on page in important secondary roles in books from other series. Each book can be read as a standalone, but the more you read the more the expanded universe of friendships and connections becomes clear.

Morgan and Gail believe that paranormal elements make any story even better, and her worlds are full of ghosts, psychics, shifters, creatures, vampires, monster hunters, and magic.

She’s also a huge fan of the TV show Supernatural. (Chibi art by Kamidiox)

 

Author Links

Website | Audible Profile | Amazon profile

Facebook Group | Facebook Page

Pinterest (for Morgan and Gail) | Twitter

BookBub | Instagram

Sign up for my newsletter and never miss a new release

Read a copy of my Badlands short story Restless Nights here for free

 

 

Giveaway

Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win

a $10 Amazon gift card

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions


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Filed Under: Blog, Contests, Excerpts, Guest Bloggers, LGBT Tagged With: Contemproary, Gay Romance, LGBTQ, m/m, paranormal

Release Blitz: Inhale, by D.P. Denman #Contemporary #GayRomance #LGBTQ @GayBookPromo

July 22, 2023 by Adriana Kraft

RELEASE BLITZ

Book Title: Inhale

Author: D.P. Denman

Cover Artist: AJ Corza

Release Date: July 20, 2023

Genre: Contemporary Gay Romance

Tropes: damaged lead finds love, professional model, learning to love again, blackmail, voyeur, private investigator stories

Heat Rating: 3 flames

Length: 75 000 words/ 300 pages

It is a standalone book and does not end on a cliffhanger

Goodreads

 

Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US | Amazon UK

 

What can you do when love takes you by surprise? Just breathe.

 

Blurb

Cole Rinne is a model with an impossible problem. An invasion of his privacy ends up in the hands of a blackmailer and the details could go public any day. His only hope is to ditch the spotlight and hide in the shadows. Then he meets someone with a solution.

Gage Marx is a PI who specializes in impossible problems. He’s used to solving the unsolvable. The only thing he’s ever declared a lost cause is himself.

From the start, Cole’s case holds more surprises than Gage expects. The most shocking is that for the first time in over a year, Gage’s broken heart is showing signs of life.

Their plan to wade slowly into love comes apart when an unexpected opportunity threatens to turn it all into a long-distance relationship. Will occasional reunions be enough to keep them together or will their separate careers tear them apart?

 

Excerpt

Gage woke to the jostling of his mattress. The shadowed figure at the end of the bed had him up from his pillow in an instant. He fumbled for the light on the nightstand, his heart hammering. One hundred watts burst into the room and Gage dropped his head back, breathing to the ceiling.

Cole sat at the end of the bed, still in his rumpled clothes.

“You scared the shit out of me,” Gage told him.

“Sorry.” Cole slumped.

The misery on his face silenced the rest of Gage’s lecture. “It’s okay.”

“I couldn’t sleep. I keep thinking about everything. I feel so….” Cole’s face twisted into a smudge of anger and sadness.

“Violated?” Gage supplied when it was apparent Cole couldn’t come up with the words.

“That.” Cole nodded.

“Betrayed? Pissed?”

Cole kept nodding until the last word. “Oh, I passed pissed an hour ago. I’m whatever you are when you reach the molten lava stage. If I thought it would make me feel any better, I’d ask for a meeting so I could spit in his face.”

“I don’t blame you.” Gage leaned against the headboard.

“I also don’t want to be alone.” Cole looked at him, sad green eyes and crooked eyebrows asking permission.

Gage stared back, searching Cole’s face for a lust-inspired ploy to get into his bed. He didn’t find one.

“Why don’t you sleep in here?” Gage offered.

It was a mistake, and he knew it. There would be no way to maintain any kind of boundary after a night together, even if all they did was sleep. The alternative was to send Cole back to the couch alone, where he would sit in the dark, ruminating over the betrayal. Gage would stare at the ceiling over his bed, imagining him doing it. He’d end up back on the couch, holding Cole and watching infomercials until one of them fell asleep again.

“Thank you.” Cole climbed under the covers and nestled into the empty pillow.

Gage turned off the light and settled back where he’d been, pretending he could see Cole on the other half of the bed until his eyes adjusted and Cole returned to a shadowed form beside him.

They stared at each other for a moment.

“I know you have your rules,” Cole said quietly, “and I still want you working my case. I also think I want you as something more than that.”

“Are you sure it’s not because you’re feeling vulnerable? I don’t want to take advantage of you not having anyone else to talk to.”

Cole reached out and rested a hand on his arm. “I’m not sure of anything, but I know what I’m starting to feel, and I’m pretty sure I know why. It’s more than the case.”

Gage covered Cole’s hand, caressing his knuckles, using touch to mask the silence. It was more than the goal of maintaining a professional distance. He didn’t think he was ready for a physical relationship. Not yet. Not in that house with a room full of similar memories right across the hall.

“Is there a way to make that happen?” Cole asked. “Assuming you want to.”

The question wasn’t new. Gage had already wasted hours thinking about what he would do if Cole kissed him again, digging for loopholes he could bend his ethics around. His only solution was to hand the investigation off to someone who would let him stick his nose back in it at will. No one could fault him for keeping an eye on a situation that affected a man he was dating.

“I could let the law firm take over. They’ll be doing most of the work on it from now on, anyway.”

“I don’t want to take money away from you just so I can date you.”

“I have other clients.”

“People put lawyers on retainer, right? What if I do that with you?”

“I would hope you don’t have things like this happening often enough to be worth that.”

“This would be so much easier if you were a bodyguard or something.”

“They aren’t supposed to get involved with clients either.”

“FBI agent?”

“Nope.”

“Federal Marshall?”

“Sorry.”

“Bounty hunter?”

“Sure, if you didn’t mind me hauling you in for skipping bail anyway. Otherwise, I’d be aiding a fugitive.”

“This is much sexier in the movies.”

Gage smiled. “That’s why they call it fiction.”

 

About the Author

Award-winning author DP Denman wrote her first short story when she was eight and has been crafting fictional adventures ever since! You can usually find her with a cup of coffee in hand, contemplating her next story.

A covert romantic, she writes addictive, character-driven gay romance about damaged people who find the strength to put their lives back together. Her stories are gripping and dramatic — guaranteed to hold you hostage to the last word!

 

Social Media Links

Blog/Website | Facebook | Pinterest | Newsletter Sign-Up

Instagram | BookBub | Lemon8 | Amazon Page

 

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions



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Filed Under: Blog, Excerpts, Guest Bloggers Tagged With: Contemporary, gay, Gay Romance, LGBTQ, new release

Out Now! A Little More Hope, by Pauley J Ray #Giveaway #LGBTQ @GayBookPromo #GayRomance #excerpt

July 18, 2023 by Adriana Kraft

RELEASE BLITZ

 

Book Title: A Little More Hope (Hot Property, Book Two)

Author: Pauley J Ray

Publisher: NineStar Press

Cover Artist: Jaycee DeLorenzo

Release Date: July 18, 2023

Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance

Tropes: Bi awakening, Emotional scars

Themes: Overcoming adversity, loss, rejection

Heat Rating: 4 flames

Length: 87 900 words/525 pages

This is book two of a four-book series. Each book concentrates on a different main character from the four owners of a successful construction company. Successive books will include spoilers from the previous ones if the books are not read in order.

This story does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads – Book 1

 

Buy Links

NineStar Press | Amazon UK Author Page | Amazon US Author Page

 

Your heart must believe there is hope before you can believe there is love

 

Blurb

After a vicious assault leaves him a virtual recluse, businessman Mason Wilder escapes to his friend’s beach house in the small seaside town of Melrose Bay to heal and come to terms with the shadow of the man he has become.

When Ashton Michaels, wanderer, surfer, loner, unexpectedly inherits a rundown shack of a house, he must decide: keep running from his disastrous past relationships or return to the place he loves, finally put down some roots, and learn to live life with all its consequences.

After a chance encounter with his elusive next-door neighbor, Ash can see Mason is hurting and it releases his protective, caring side and he knows he’ll do anything he can to aid the handsome, broken man in such desperate need of help.

Mason initially resists the offer of help from Ash, but the guy is persistent and for reasons he can’t figure out, Mason feels drawn to him. When Ash decides to keep and renovate his new home, impulsively Mason joins him and in the process of rebuilding the house, Mason begins to rebuild his life and confront his fears.
He must also learn to come to terms with his unexpected attraction to a man for the first time in his life. Ash is a solid, comforting, and caring presence and offers Mason everything he’s been searching for since his brutal attack.

Ash is falling hard for the quiet and troubled man he’s spending all his time with but is worried the past will only repeat itself and Mason will leave him all alone like everyone else.

Can Mason finally put his demons to rest to move forward with his life and will Ash be able prevent his fear of being left behind from ruining his chance at love?

 

Excerpt

Mason

“It’s late. I should go, and you need to rest,” he stuttered, his eyes looking anywhere but at me.

I hastily stood, then gripped him around the upper arm. Not restrictive, but enough to keep him from moving. He stiffened but didn’t pull away. “Please don’t go.” I placed my other hand on the side of his neck. His eyelids fluttered briefly shut and a light tremor ran through his body under my palm.

“I’m sorry if I unsettled you. It’s just— I’ve— It’s—” I sighed, trying to explain. “I haven’t let anyone hold me since the attack. Not friends or family. I haven’t wanted to.” I waited until his eyes opened and stormy green focused on my own. “You’re the first I’ve allowed.”

He stared at me for the longest time before whispering, “Why?”

I thought about his question, trying to work the answer out in my head, why Ash’s touch and only his didn’t make my skin crawl. I’d attributed my repulsion to being touched to the associated feeling of terror when my assailants dragged me into the filthy dark alley. I knew the difference, obviously, but couldn’t get past the feeling whenever someone tried to put their hands on me.

I shrugged. “I’m not sure I understand why,” I admitted, “but your touch is different. It calms me, grounds me, makes everything okay, and I haven’t felt that way in a very long time.”

If ever.

I lowered my eyes at revealing that last piece of information, but I’d spoken the truth, nonetheless. “I don’t want you to stop.” I almost begged him, not wanting to relinquish this small piece of comfort I had in my life, the single ray of light in the never-ending darkness.

The shy grin crossing Ash’s face at my words lit me up inside like a beacon. Releasing himself from my hold, his hands moved to rest lightly on my waist as he stepped closer, making our bodies touch.

“This okay?” he asked, his voice gravelly.

Strong arms circled around my lower back to pull me closer, and a shudder shook my whole body as I reveled in the feel of him, of being in his embrace. My own arms mirrored his, sliding up and over his shoulder blades, his taut muscles rippling under my fingers.

“Yeah,” I managed, as he hugged me tighter, yet remaining careful of putting any pressure on my ribs.

He shifted slightly, and my crotch rubbed against his thigh, sending ripples of pleasure straight to my cock, now thickening rapidly in my shorts and shocking the hell out of me. I hadn’t been able to get hard once since the attack, and I was unprepared for the suddenness of getting an erection. Being so close to someone after all this time must be overloading my senses, as I couldn’t find any other explanation for what was happening to me.

Unable to stop, I pushed my hips against his leg, the pressure of his firm thigh on my hardening dick sending my pulse rocketing, bombarding me with sparks of desire.

 

About the Author

Pauley J Ray writes contemporary MM romantic fiction. His books contain sexy yet complicated and flawed characters searching for their own happily ever after.

When not writing, he can’t wait to get outdoors, and with his husband, go hiking, camping, and travel everywhere they can, as often as they can.

With his husband’s job taking them all over the world, he now gets to write all day, every day, and he’s never happier than when sat at his laptop creating new stories about gorgeous and sexy men.

Except when there’s coffee…ooh and chocolate…yes, he’s way happier when there’s coffee and chocolate!

 

Social Media Links

Blog/Website | Facebook

Twitter | Instagram

 

Giveaway

Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win

a $20 Amazon eGift Card

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions

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Filed Under: Blog, Excerpts, Guest Bloggers, LGBT Tagged With: Bi awakening, Emotional scars, excerpt, Gay Romance, Giveaway, LGBTQ, loss, Overcoming adversity, rejection

Cover Reveal: Inhale, by D.P. Denman #LGBTQ #GayRomance @gaybookpromo

June 20, 2023 by Adriana Kraft

COVER REVEAL

Book Title: Inhale

Author: D.P. Denman

Cover Artist: AJ Corza

Release Date: July 20, 2023

Genre: Contemporary Gay Romance

Tropes: damaged lead finds love, professional model, learning to love again, blackmail, voyeur, private investigator stories

Heat Rating: 3 flames

Length: 75 000 words/ 300 pages

It is a standalone book and does not end on a cliffhanger

Goodreads

 

Pre-Order Links

Temporary pre-release sale price of $3.99 USD until July 16

Amazon US | Amazon UK

 

What can you do when love takes you by surprise? Just breathe.

 

Blurb

Cole Rinne is a model with an impossible problem. An invasion of his privacy ends up in the hands of a blackmailer and the details could go public any day. His only hope is to ditch the spotlight and hide in the shadows. Then he meets someone with a solution.

Gage Marx is a PI who specializes in impossible problems. He’s used to solving the unsolvable. The only thing he’s ever declared a lost cause is himself.

From the start, Cole’s case holds more surprises than Gage expects. The most shocking is that for the first time in over a year, Gage’s broken heart is showing signs of life.

Their plan to wade slowly into love comes apart when an unexpected opportunity threatens to turn it all into a long-distance relationship. Will occasional reunions be enough to keep them together or will their separate careers tear them apart?

Excerpt

Gage woke to the jostling of his mattress. The shadowed figure at the end of the bed had him up from his pillow in an instant. He fumbled for the light on the nightstand, his heart hammering. One hundred watts burst into the room and Gage dropped his head back, breathing to the ceiling.

Cole sat at the end of the bed, still in his rumpled clothes.

“You scared the shit out of me,” Gage told him.

“Sorry.” Cole slumped.

The misery on his face silenced the rest of Gage’s lecture. “It’s okay.”

“I couldn’t sleep. I keep thinking about everything. I feel so….” Cole’s face twisted into a smudge of anger and sadness.

“Violated?” Gage supplied when it was apparent Cole couldn’t come up with the words.

“That.” Cole nodded.

“Betrayed? Pissed?”

Cole kept nodding until the last word. “Oh, I passed pissed an hour ago. I’m whatever you are when you reach the molten lava stage. If I thought it would make me feel any better, I’d ask for a meeting so I could spit in his face.”

“I don’t blame you.” Gage leaned against the headboard.

“I also don’t want to be alone.” Cole looked at him, sad green eyes and crooked eyebrows asking permission.

Gage stared back, searching Cole’s face for a lust-inspired ploy to get into his bed. He didn’t find one.

“Why don’t you sleep in here?” Gage offered.

It was a mistake, and he knew it. There would be no way to maintain any kind of boundary after a night together, even if all they did was sleep. The alternative was to send Cole back to the couch alone, where he would sit in the dark, ruminating over the betrayal. Gage would stare at the ceiling over his bed, imagining him doing it. He’d end up back on the couch, holding Cole and watching infomercials until one of them fell asleep again.

“Thank you.” Cole climbed under the covers and nestled into the empty pillow.

Gage turned off the light and settled back where he’d been, pretending he could see Cole on the other half of the bed until his eyes adjusted and Cole returned to a shadowed form beside him.

They stared at each other for a moment.

“I know you have your rules,” Cole said quietly, “and I still want you working my case. I also think I want you as something more than that.”

“Are you sure it’s not because you’re feeling vulnerable? I don’t want to take advantage of you not having anyone else to talk to.”

Cole reached out and rested a hand on his arm. “I’m not sure of anything, but I know what I’m starting to feel, and I’m pretty sure I know why. It’s more than the case.”

Gage covered Cole’s hand, caressing his knuckles, using touch to mask the silence. It was more than the goal of maintaining a professional distance. He didn’t think he was ready for a physical relationship. Not yet. Not in that house with a room full of similar memories right across the hall.

“Is there a way to make that happen?” Cole asked. “Assuming you want to.”

The question wasn’t new. Gage had already wasted hours thinking about what he would do if Cole kissed him again, digging for loopholes he could bend his ethics around. His only solution was to hand the investigation off to someone who would let him stick his nose back in it at will. No one could fault him for keeping an eye on a situation that affected a man he was dating.

“I could let the law firm take over. They’ll be doing most of the work on it from now on, anyway.”

“I don’t want to take money away from you just so I can date you.”

“I have other clients.”

“People put lawyers on retainer, right? What if I do that with you?”

“I would hope you don’t have things like this happening often enough to be worth that.”

“This would be so much easier if you were a bodyguard or something.”

“They aren’t supposed to get involved with clients either.”

“FBI agent?”

“Nope.”

“Federal Marshall?”

“Sorry.”

“Bounty hunter?”

“Sure, if you didn’t mind me hauling you in for skipping bail anyway. Otherwise, I’d be aiding a fugitive.”

“This is much sexier in the movies.”

Gage smiled. “That’s why they call it fiction.”

 

About the Author

Award-winning author DP Denman wrote her first short story when she was eight and has been crafting fictional adventures ever since! You can usually find her with a cup of coffee in hand, contemplating her next story.

A covert romantic, she writes addictive, character-driven gay romance about damaged people who find the strength to put their lives back together. Her stories are gripping and dramatic — guaranteed to hold you hostage to the last word!

 

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Filed Under: Blog, Excerpts, Guest Bloggers, LGBT Tagged With: blackmail, Contemporary Gay Romance, damaged lead finds love, Gay Romance, learning to love again, LFGBTQ, pride, private investigator stories, professional model, voyeur

Blog Tour: The Empath and the Soldier, by A. K. Holubek #Giveaway #LGBTQ #FantasyFiction

May 13, 2023 by Adriana Kraft

The Empath and the Soldier - A.K. Holubek
A.K. Holubek has a new MM Regency period fantasy book out, The Unconventionals book 1: The Empath and the Soldier. And there’s a giveaway.

The situation seemed hopeless. But Tyrran couldn’t pretend to be ignorant of the danger and just wait for his home to disintegrate around him.

As a Favored male, Tyrran belongs to a select group of men born with one of the Four Gifts, a blessing usually reserved for women. Quiet, introverted, and filled with self-doubt, Tyrran has always struggled with living up to the responsibilities that come with being Gifted. Still, he had managed to achieve the near impossible — admission to the prestigious Lyceum Institute in Corvit, the Coarian Sovereignty’s bustling capital city. With this success, Tyrran’s future seems clear: the best education, a position in a Temple, and, one day, marriage to a young man of good fortune.

That is, until sinister forces intervene to shove him down a much bleaker path. Tyrran’s plans are thrown into upheaval when a deadly attack reveals the existence of an insidious evil festering within the ranks of the Sovereignty’s elite.

Now, he must use the privileges afforded him as a Lyceum student to uncover the secrets of a corrupt government. Targeted by relentless assassins and trying to ignore his growing attachment to the handsome exchange student Adwin, Tyrran must gather trustworthy allies to face the dangers that threaten to tear apart his nation and his home.

Bridgerton meets The Magicians in this fantasy novel about the importance of confidence and the strength of friendship.

Get It On Amazon


Giveaway

A.K. is giving away a $20 Amazon gift card with this tour:

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Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d47280/


Excerpt

The Empath and The Soldier meme
At that moment they stopped suddenly, startled by someone crawling out of the pond almost directly in front of them. The someone turned out to be a man—an East Silacian, Tyrran noted right away, due to his black skin. He was shirtless, wearing only white tights, and he looked about Tyrran’s age. He was shorter than Tyrran and his chest, stomach, and arms were muscular—sculpted was the more appropriate term, his skin stretched tight over every muscle. His physique was compact rather than large, he had deep brown eyes, and his black hair was cut close to his head.

Tyrran had always suspected that the Silacian reputation for beauty was exaggerated, stemming from the inferiority complex Coarians held towards Silacians, whose empire was much larger, wealthier, and more advanced than the Sovereignty. But if Nyri and this man were any indication, then their reputed good looks were understated if anything.

“Good morning, soldier,” the man said, addressing Lena as he wiped water from his face with his hands. He spoke the Common Tongue with a sophisticated accent that sounded very similar to Nyri’s.

“Good morning, Adwin,” Lena replied, looking puzzled. “Did you, uh, fall in the pond?”

“Not at all. I was just going for a morning swim.” He smiled as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

“In public? In the middle of campus?”

“But of course. This appears to be the closest body of water to our college. However, by your expressions, I assume Coarian notions of decorum discourage public bathing. I did swim wearing my tights, since I know public nudity is frowned upon.”

He may as well have removed them, for what little use they were in covering his nudity. The material clung to his skin, revealing bulging leg muscles as well as other bulges that Tyrran was making a concerted effort not to stare at.

“We do tend to prefer bathing in secluded areas,” Lena said. “Spaces set aside for bathing. Like the bathhouse next to the Barracks House, for instance.”

“I did try the bathhouse, but the water is heated. Quite uncomfortable on a warm day like today. Do you suppose I shall be sent packing back to Silacia for this breach of conduct?” An impudent grin spread across his face.

“It’s early enough that I’m sure no one but us has seen you. Though I do suggest you put the rest of your clothes back on soon. Where are they, by the by?”

“My clothes? I left them further down the trail. In truth, I was swimming about the pond for exercise rather than for bathing, then I saw the two of you and thought to come greet you. And now I think I have finished with swimming. Would you mind accompanying me to fetch my clothes?”

Tyrran could see that Lena was annoyed by the request and had every intention of replying in the negative. But Tyrran didn’t want Adwin to be offended, so he quickly spoke up.

“We would be happy to.”

That earned him an evil look from Lena.

Adwin offered his arm to Tyrran. “Adwin Mekalbe, at your service.”

Tyrran grasped his forearm, “Tyrran Kens, at yours,” he replied, trying to keep his voice from squeaking.

“I assume you do not attend the Military College,” Adwin continued, as the three of them resumed walking along the trail.

“No, I’m at Roothe College. Lena and I are friends from Temple Academy.”

“Ah, yes. In Hifield City. I am truly sorry about the attacks. I do hope you were not directly affected.”

Guest Post

Thanks for the opportunity to talk a little about my new book. In this post, I’d like to discuss how I began writing my novel.

I started writing The Empath and the Soldier on my phone. My husband and I had just moved from Washington, DC to Baltimore, Maryland for his job. But I continued to work in DC, which meant my commute was now an hour trek each way. Fortunately, that journey was made mostly on a train, rather than sitting in my car on congested highways.

When I first began this commute, like many of my fellow train passengers I would put on headphones to block out the world around me, listening to music while scrolling through social media or catching up on the news. But at the time, both social media and the news were very bleak places. I would often arrive at work or at home completely despondent after an hour-long train ride subjecting myself to a litany of the world’s evils.

I finally decided I needed a break from the constant doom scrolling. Usually, I would escape from social media by diving into a good novel. But at that moment I was suffering from reader ennui—I just couldn’t find a novel that really captured my interest. So I figured it might be time to write down a story idea that had been bouncing around in my head for years.

Actually, “story idea” is a massive exaggeration. What I really had was an idea for the opening scene of a story. Two friends climbing a hill together in the early morning, before some sort of special school function (exciting, right?). I honestly had no idea where the story would go from there. I only knew that it would be fantasy and take place in a different world, rather than some alternative version of Earth. I really wanted to get completely away from our planet.

One morning I began to pen my opening scene on a notetaking app I had downloaded to my phone, using my thumb to “swype” the words of my first novel onto the screen. I couldn’t use my work computer for personal writing, and my home computer wasn’t all that portable. My phone was really the only option for writing on my way to work.

It didn’t take long to finish the one scene that I had been imagining. After that, I actually had to consider what the plot would be, the characters’ personalities, what the world they lived in was like, etc. Besides wanting the story to be an otherworldly fantasy tale, I also wanted the novel to focus on LGBTQ+ characters, reflecting my own life experience as a gay man. In addition, I decided that the book should take place in a college-like setting. I thought it would be interesting to revisit and explore that time in life when adolescence has just ended and for the first time you really start to discover what it means to be an adult.

I didn’t map out the entire plot and character arcs like some authors do. Instead, I wrote the novel scene by scene, figuring out the characters and story as I went along. And while this might sound like an imaginative and spontaneous process, it’s also super inefficient. I would constantly have to rewrite earlier portions of the novel when they conflicted with later events or when something I wanted to happen halfway through the book required an introductory scene at the beginning.

Eventually, though, a cohesive and consistent story began to take shape. A few years, and many, many rewrites later, The Empath and the Soldier was complete.

In those first few days of writing the book, as my thumb slid across the glass screen of my phone in a frenzied effort to keep up with my thoughts for what happened next in the story, I had the “brilliant” idea to write the entire novel via smartphone.

“Yes,” I imagined myself saying on The Kelly Clarkson Show, “I wrote everything on my Samsung Galaxy.” Kelly, and the world, would be astonished at how I took writing to the next level, technologically speaking.

Obviously, this was a ridiculous notion. Writing more than a few sentences at a time on a phone is extremely tedious. I gave up after a week and purchased a cheap laptop I could use on the train.

In short, The Empath and the Soldier began as a sort of doodling with words on my phone to pass the time on a long commute to work. I’m still not quite sure how I found the patience and persistence to turn these word doodles into a published novel, but it’s one of my proudest life accomplishments thus far.


Author Bio

A.K. Holubek
The moment A.K. Holubek stumbled across a ragged copy of The Fellowship of the Ring in his elementary school library, his life changed forever. The rest of his childhood, his adolescence, and even his college years were spent living only part time in the real world. He much preferred spending time in the fantasy lands of his imagination than in the reality of life as a closeted gay kid. As real life got better, he left his fantasy worlds behind. But a few years ago, those worlds called him to return, and to share his created worlds with others who might also need a place to escape. He now endeavors to carry out this mission from his home in Baltimore, supported by his husband and two ridiculous cats.

Author Website: http://theunconventionals.com

Author Facebook (Personal): https://www.facebook.com/andrew.holubeck

Author Facebook (Author Page): https://www.facebook.com/akholubek

Author Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theunconventionalsbooks/

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