I’m attending Gay Lit Rom this year for the first time ever! As everyone gears up, some of the registered authors are participating in a giveaway at Prolific Works so grab your free stories from now through the end of October. Discover new authors, new books, and new series, and find new favorites!
For a full list of GRL 2019 authors, check www.gayromlit.com.
Today, Joyfully Jay kicks off the 5th Annual Reading Challenge Month and there are three BIG prize packages that will be awarded at the end of the month (with what look like a metric ton of books each).
Are you already participating? If not, full details about how to participate at Joyfully Jay.
Good luck and happy reading!
If you’ve read the Tidal and Speakeasy books, you already know our characters Carter Hamilton and Riley Porter-Wright.
Their books, Wake and Calm, were published in the summer of 2017 and Brigham Vaughn and I put together Southampton Sea Breeze, a FREE short story to mark that anniversary.
This short story can be read on its own, but it certainly has ties to the Tidal books, “Behind the Stick,” and the other Speakeasy books, so we suggest you enjoy them all 😉
❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤
Download Southampton Sea Breeze FREE from:
Brigham Vaughn and I are truly excited that Behind the Stick, the third book in the Speakeasy, is live.
I’ve always liked Kyle McKee –he’s a stand up kind of guy who, while unassuming, is absolutely confident in his abilities. I fell in love with Kyle and his firefighter, Luka, while writing Behind the Stick and I think you will, too.
Blog Tour:
Be sure to follow the blog tour from August 19- 28. There will be exclusive excerpts, interviews, blog posts, and you’ll have a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card.
Love, served behind the stick.
Summary
Kyle McKee lives a charmed life. He co-owns Under, an uptown speakeasy, where he is chief mixologist. Friends poke fun at Kyle’s tiny one-bed apartment in Chelsea, but they’re the best support system a man could ask for. Unfortunately, Kyle’s lackluster love life has led him to take a break from dating.
Harlem resident Luka Clarke is a lieutenant with Engine 47, the Pride of Morningside, where he carries on his father’s legacy with the FDNY. Luka, who is mixed race and bisexual, has his eye on Kyle, whom he met at a local burger joint and he just needs to make time to visit Kyle’s bar.
Before work one evening, Kyle is trapped inside the luncheonette when a fire breaks out. Luka’s firehouse answers the call and he connects with Kyle again under the most unexpected of circumstances. When Kyle gratefully invites Luka and the firehouse squad to Under, the flirting between the two men leads to a date.
Kyle and Luka quickly grow close, but Luka’s mother and sister distrust Kyle for being both white and gay. Luka believes his family will come around and accept Kyle in the end, but Kyle is not optimistic and hides his disquiet as attraction blossoms into love.
Kyle and Luka’s near-idyllic bubble is shattered one evening after a hate crime leaves them scarred, inside and out. Shaken, they put on a strong front but struggle inwardly against fear and personal demons. As the emotions seething beneath the surface finally come to a head, both men must decide if they have the strength to find love enough to conquer hate.
General Release Date: 20th August 2019
Buy Behind The Stick from your favorite retailer:
Or from Pride Publishing:
Add on Goodreads
Add on BookBub
I speak often about how much I enjoy writing The Speakeasy books with Brigham Vaughn; the characters and their world have come to mean a lot to me. Behind the Stick, the third book in the series, is no exception.
Kyle McKee first showed up in my head while we were writing Calm, the second Tidal book. A skilled mixologist, Kyle befriended Carter Hamilton and, by extension, Jesse Murtagh, with whom he got on like ‘a house on fire.’ Kyle was charming, funny, and sincere, and a Yin of sorts to Jesse’s Yang. Like Jesse, Kyle asserted himself so much, he practically asked us to give him his own story and we were more than happy to oblige. We were also thrilled to get to know Luka Clarke, a Lieutenant with the FDNY who catches Kyle’s fancy and threatens to run away with his heart.
Behind The Stick is available for pre-order and will go into general release on August 20. There’s a delicious excerpt on the book’s page here on my blog.
Love, served behind the stick.
Summary
Kyle McKee lives a charmed life. He co-owns Under, an uptown speakeasy, where he is chief mixologist. Friends poke fun at Kyle’s tiny one-bed apartment in Chelsea, but they’re the best support system a man could ask for. Unfortunately, Kyle’s lackluster love life has led him to take a break from dating.
Harlem resident Luka Clarke is a lieutenant with Engine 47, the Pride of Morningside, where he carries on his father’s legacy with the FDNY. Luka, who is mixed race and bisexual, has his eye on Kyle, whom he met at a local burger joint and he just needs to make time to visit Kyle’s bar.
Before work one evening, Kyle is trapped inside the luncheonette when a fire breaks out. Luka’s firehouse answers the call and he connects with Kyle again under the most unexpected of circumstances. When Kyle gratefully invites Luka and the firehouse squad to Under, the flirting between the two men leads to a date.
Kyle and Luka quickly grow close, but Luka’s mother and sister distrust Kyle for being both white and gay. Luka believes his family will come around and accept Kyle in the end, but Kyle is not optimistic and hides his disquiet as attraction blossoms into love.
Kyle and Luka’s near-idyllic bubble is shattered one evening after a hate crime leaves them scarred, inside and out. Shaken, they put on a strong front but struggle inwardly against fear and personal demons. As the emotions seething beneath the surface finally come to a head, both men must decide if they have the strength to find love enough to conquer hate.
General Release Date: 20th August 2019
Buy Behind The Stick from your favorite retailer:
Or from Pride Publishing:
Add on Goodreads
Add on BookBub
I am super excited to be able to say that Third Time’s the Charm is live and available for purchase.
I frequently fall in love with the characters I write and that was absolutely the case with Luke and Finn. They became very special to me and I hope you love them as much as I did.
Blog Tour:
Be sure to follow the blog tour from May 28-June. There will be exclusive excerpts, interviews, blog posts, and a giveaway! You’ll have a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card. Schedule at the bottom of this post.
Summary:
Sometimes you have to start over to get love right.
Luke Ryan’s life is too chaotic for romance, what with running his business and being the legal guardian to his ten-year-old niece, but he’s hopeful he’ll find the right man.
Trauma surgeon Finn Thomason recently relocated from Chicago to Boston, where his focus on medicine leaves him little space for a personal life. Making a commitment to find a better work-life balance, Finn hopes he’ll also find a relationship.
Caught in an evening rainstorm, Luke shelters under a sidewalk awning…and encounters a handsome stranger. The two strike up a conversation and Finn offers to walk Luke under his oversized umbrella. Charmed, Luke accepts and asks Finn out for coffee in thanks.
Luke and Finn quickly grow close, but, as the summer draws to an end, Luke struggles to keep his connection with Finn while Finn tries to come to terms with caring for a man whose attention is pulled in many directions. Both men are scrambling to get it right, but only time will tell if they’ll learn there is more than enough room in their hearts to go around.
Purchase from your favorite retailer:
or from Pride Publishing:
Add on Goodreads:
Add on BookBub:
Blog Tour Info
Be sure to follow the blog tour from May 28-June. There will be exclusive excerpts, interviews, blog posts, and a giveaway! You’ll have a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card.
In 2017, I wrote a short story for submission in an anthology. I’ve never been great with word limits and wasn’t surprised when the story wasn’t accepted–it didn’t feel quite right, even to me. However, my editors at Pride liked the characters and encouraged me to consider extending the short to a longer work.
I let the story sit while I worked on The Speakeasy series, and by the time I picked it back up again, I was ready to flesh it out into a novel-length work called Third Time’s The Charm.
I’m thrilled that Third Time’s The Charm is now available for pre-order and will go into general release on May 28.
Summary:
Sometimes you have to start over to get love right.
Luke Ryan’s life is too chaotic for romance, what with running his business and being the legal guardian to his ten-year-old niece, but he’s hopeful he’ll find the right man.
Trauma surgeon Finn Thomason recently relocated from Chicago to Boston, where his focus on medicine leaves him little space for a personal life. Making a commitment to find a better work-life balance, Finn hopes he’ll also find a relationship.
Caught in an evening rainstorm, Luke shelters under a sidewalk awning…and encounters a handsome stranger. The two strike up a conversation and Finn offers to walk Luke under his oversized umbrella. Charmed, Luke accepts and asks Finn out for coffee in thanks.
Luke and Finn quickly grow close, but, as the summer draws to an end, Luke struggles to keep his connection with Finn while Finn tries to come to terms with caring for a man whose attention is pulled in many directions. Both men are scrambling to get it right, but only time will tell if they’ll learn there is more than enough room in their hearts to go around.
Purchase from your favorite retailer:
or from Pride Publishing:
Add on Goodreads:
Add on BookBub:
