Author Interview

New and Debut: Hudson Lin

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Monday if the time to introduce new/debut authors on my blog. Please, welcome Hudson Lin, author of m/m romance. Her debut, Inside Darkness, m/m romance with ownvoices Asian rep comes on June 11. Come meet the author and learn more about her upcoming book.




Meet Hudson

1. Tell us about yourself and why did you decide to become a romance writer?
There’s something powerful about being seen, being accepted, finding someone who loves all your strengths and flaws. Especially if you don’t fall into the beautiful, popular, and charming categories. Especially if you’ve lived life on the fringes of society, if you’ve been rejected and told you’re not welcome.
Romance gives people a place to belong. Even if the rest of the world pushes you away, there is at least one person who wants you. I want that for people like me, so I write that for people like me. Be it LGBTQIA+ people, or people of color, or people who pass as “normal” but really aren’t (using whatever definition you’d like), I believe in the idea that every single person deserves the happily ever after they want.
Happily ever afters don’t always happen in real life. But they do in romance.

2. Can you share some of your favourite books and authors?
Finn Marlowe is one of the first m/m romance authors I encountered. I love her novel A THREAD OF DEEPEST BLACK; it’s one of the few books I’ve reread multiple times. It’s a paranormal, kinky romance about shifters, the battle between our responsibilities and our morals, and the dark places of our hearts. Angsty—totally up my alley. I also like NOT HIS KISS TO TAKE, a contemporary romance, also with some kinky elements, and a strong hurt/comfort theme.
Tanya Chris is another of my favorite authors. She writes contemporary romance, some more tame and feel good, others hardcore kinky—I love both types! DEEP UNDER is a hardcore kinky short story about a cop and the guy he pulls over for speeding. MERGE AHEAD is a contemporary romance about a call center manager and his new boss. Both stories had me hooked from the first sentences.
‘Nathan Burgoine writes paranormal contemporary romance and urban fantasy. I love his TRIAD series about supernatural beings forming triads to pool their powers and protect each other. He strikes the perfect balance of action, emotions, humor, and sexy that make his stories a joy to read.
Vanessa North is another one of those emotional, angsty storytellers who sprinkle a liberal amount of kink into her tales. (Are you beginning to see a pattern in my tastes here?) THE DARK COLLECTOR is a short story, contemporary, kinky, about someone who finds a second chance at love. I bawled my eyes out while reading it.
Lastly, but certainly not least, AJ Cousins writes contemporary romances featuring real people dealing with real life struggles. Her BEND OR BREAK series is full of characters who are flawed, make bad choices, learn from their mistakes, and try to be better the next time around. When I grow up, I want to write like AJ. 

3. Who/what do you consider your writing influence/inspiration?
A lot of my writing comes from my own life experiences, big philosophical questions I’ve wrestled with, places I’ve been to. Sometimes writing feels like therapy to me, a way for me to get down on the page stuff that is floating around in my head. If I can navigate the story to a happily ever after while I’m at it, all the better!

4. What kind of stories can the readers expect from you?
I write adult contemporary romances that feature:
· LGBTQIA+ characters
· Racially diverse characters
· Real life struggles that lead to…
· A significant amount of angst
· Food. Lots of food.

5. Please, introduce your latest/upcoming release.
My debut novel is INSIDE DARKNESS, which comes out June 11th! It’s about a humanitarian aid worker learning to cope with PTSD and an ambitious Asian American journalist struggling against systemic racism.

Blurb


He’s come in from the field, but the darkness has followed him home.

After a decade as an aid worker, Cameron Donnelly returns home jaded, tired, and with more than just a minor case of PTSD. Plagued by recurring nightmares but refusing to admit he has a problem, Cam quickly spirals into an alcohol-infused depression, and everyone around him is at a loss for how to help.

Journalist Tyler Ang met Cam on a reporting assignment in Kenya, and their first encounters were rife with hostility and sexual tension. Back in New York, their paths continually cross, and each time, Cam’s brokenness reminds Ty more and more of his own difficult childhood. Letting Cam in goes against Ty’s instinct to live life autonomously, but the damaged aid worker manages to sneak past his guard.

Their relationship is all sharp corners and rough edges, and just as they’re figuring out how to fit together, a life-threatening accident puts it all in jeopardy. If they want a future together, both will have to set aside their egos and learn to carry each other’s burdens.

Purchase Links: Publisher / Amazon / iBooks / B&N / Kobo


Author Bio and Links

Hudson Lin was raised by conservative immigrant parents and grew up straddling two cultures with ofttimes conflicting perspectives on life. Instead of conforming to either, she has sought to find a third way that brings together the positive elements of both.

Having spent much of her life on the outside looking in, Hudson likes to write stories about outsiders who fight to carve out their place in society, and overcome everyday challenges to find love and happily ever afters.

When not engrossed in a story, Hudson knits, drinks tea, and works the 9 to 5 in the beautiful city of Toronto, Canada.

Author Interview

New and Debut: Nem Rowan

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My guest in today's New and Debut is Nem Rowan, author of Witcheskin, trans m/m fantasy with a bit of horror thrown in, which was just released by LT3 press. Come meet the author and learn what books he likes to read and write.



Meet Nem

1. Tell us about yourself and why did you decide to become a romance writer?
My name’s Nem Rowan and I’m originally from Bristol in England, but I’ve lived in South Wales for nearly 6 years now, so my friends count me as an honorary Welshman! I was assigned female at birth and began to transition to male at the age of 23 after years of knowing something wasn’t right about my identity. I started writing romance when I was about 10 – 11 years old; I invented a whole host of fictional alien characters (largely because I watched a lot of anime, like Tenchi Muyo and Dragonball Z) and developed an enormous crush on the shape-sifting space-man who was the love interest in my stories. After that, the romance genre was the staple for all of my somewhat embarrassing early works, and I began to explore LGBT+ themes in my mid-teens after meeting my wife-to-be at school. My work now is a celebration of what it feels like to be in love and an acknowledgment of the fact that even the odd-balls and black sheep deserve love too.

2. Can you share some of your favourite books and authors?
I’m a really slow reader so my choice of favourites is quite small, but I am a huge fan of James Herbert and J.V. Jones. Although usually depicted in a negative capacity because of the era they were written, I always liked that James Herbert included gay and lesbian characters in his novels. My favourite book by him is The Ghosts of Sleath because I simply adore his character, David Ash. J.V. Jones’s currently incomplete book series, the Sword of Shadows, is my all-time most loved collection of novels, ones that I keep going back to time and time again because I find Jones’s writing style so accessible and so vivid. I also enjoy work by Dan Simmons, Juliet Marillier and Diana Wynne Jones.

3. Who/what do you consider your writing influence/inspiration?
My biggest influence is my wife, April-Jane Rowan, as we have been writing together since we met, almost 15 years ago now. Co-writing with her changed the way I wrote in quite a big way, and perhaps vice versa. Her work is highly descriptive, darkly sinister and flows like poetry, and I often feel quite plain when I compare my work to hers, but she always keeps me striving to be a better writer. My greatest inspiration is the sensation of falling in love, which may sound rather cheesy, but it’s a feeling that is like no other and that is very important to me. Writing enables me to fall in love over and over again and I think that’s what has kept the relationship with my wife so alive for all this time because that feeling never goes away.

4. What kind of stories can the readers expect from you (contemporary/historical/sci-fi, adult/NA/YA, etc)?
Adult romantic urban fantasy with a side order of horror, although I would like to branch out into high fantasy and other speculative fiction genres. Currently I am in the process of writing a contemporary romance, but it’s not something I’m used to so I’ve made it as unusual as I can, to keep myself interested!

5. Please, introduce your latest/upcoming release.
My upcoming release is called Witcheskin, and it is the first novel in an urban fantasy trilogy. It follows a young transgender man named Owen, who has been documenting a series of brutal cattle mutilations surrounding a tiny village on the South Wales coastline. He meets an older man named Maredudd, who is originally from Iran, and Maredudd gradually introduces him to the secret world of witchcraft, which eventually enables them to solve the mystery. Along the way, they fall madly in love with each other. It is a dark urban fantasy coupled with a sweet, fluffy M/M romance, and will be released on the 28th of February, published by Less Than Three Press.

Story blurb:

Following the disappearance of his father, Owen returns to the Welsh village where his parents grew up to live with his mother and her boyfriend. While pursuing the mystery of cattle mutilations in the area, he meets Maredudd, an old friend of his mother's, and learns something about his parents that they've never told him...

Purchase links: Publisher / Amazon

Author bio and links

Nem Rowan lives in Wales with his wife of 13 years and his two German Shepherds. He enjoys studying mythology, the occult and British folklore, and is an avid bird-watcher. He is also fascinated by psychology and the dynamics of diverse romantic relationships. Nem’s characters are facets of his own personality and he uses writing as a means of exploring his own psyche, sexuality and persona. However, he believes that a story with a sad ending isn’t worth writing!




Author Interview

New and Debut: Jezz de Silva

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Hi and welcome to the first New and Debut post for 2018. I'm very excited to have as my guest Australian romance author Jezz de Silva. The first book in his Outback Hearts series, Against All Odds, was released in September 2017. The next installment in the series, A Choice of Fate, comes out today. Read my interview with Jezz to learn how he got into writing romance and what you can expect from his books. 



Meet Jezz

1. Tell us about yourself and why did you decide to become a romance writer?
My First Reader and I live in the hills outside Melbourne, Australia, in a home overrun by geriatric rescued animals. A while back we escaped the corporate world and downsized our lives. I picked up a job as a test driver and started listening to audiobooks while driving. I study and teach personal protection so I listened to a lot of non-fiction about managing fear and violence. After getting tired of dealing with the darker side of human nature I searched for something uplifting and discovered the guaranteed HEA of romance. I listened to romance pretty much non-stop for months and was well and truly hooked when a scene popped into my head and just wouldn’t get out. The last time I wrote anything creative was back in high school a looong time ago. In desperation I wrote the scene down and found I couldn’t stop. A year later that same scene made it into my first book, ‘Home’. My life changed overnight when ‘Home’ was accepted for publishing. I received that magical email about three years ago and from that moment I’ve been a professional romance writer. My First Reader and I still look at each other and shake our heads. There is no way either of us could’ve expected I’d end up becoming a romance writer.

2. Can you share some of your favorite books and authors?
Sooooo many fav authors: Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Nora Roberts, J.R.Ward, Molly Harper, Robyn Carr, Jill Shalvis, Thea Harrison, Jennifer Crusie, Stephenie Meyer.
Fav books: Chicago All Stars series (Natural Born Charmer) by SEP, Chasing Fire & The Witness by NR, Twilight, The Host, The Chemist by SM, Kulti by Mariana Zapata, Elder Races series (1,2,3) by TH, Black Dagger Brotherhood series (1,2,4 & 10) by JRW.

3. Who/what do you consider your writing influence/inspiration?
My heroines. Everything I write in focused on giving my heroines the HEA’s they deserve.

4. What kind of stories can the readers expect from you (contemporary/historical/sci-fi, adult/NA/YA, etc.)?
Tough heroes, tougher heroines, and guaranteed HEA’s in contemporary romances that will hopefully make readers laugh, cry, and leave them with smiles on their faces.

5. Please, introduce your latest/upcoming release.
‘A Choice of Fate’ is the second book in the Outback Heart Series and follows Olivia and Jarrah’s HEA. It can be read as a stand alone but follows on a few months after the end of book one ‘Against All Odds.’


Los Angeles based Doctor Olivia Williams has everything she’s ever dreamed of—a healthy sister, the job of a lifetime, and more freedom than she knows what to do with. And she’s kicking off her new life with a month-long adventure Down Under to celebrate her sister’s wedding and meet the in-laws. But when the groom’s brother shows up to retrieve her from her hotel, the drop-dead gorgeous lawyer is everything and nothing she expected, and she'll have to make a choice she never anticipated.

Australian Jarrah Harper has an Aston Martin parked beneath his penthouse, an overflowing little black book, and an obscenely lucrative legal practice that ensures he’ll never have to wrangle cattle or wipe sweat from his forehead ever again. But he still feels empty. When he sees his family’s home through the eyes of the entrancing Olivia, suddenly he’s rethinking everything. Including the fact that the alluring Olivia spells nothing but trouble.

Purchase links: Amazon / Amazon Australia / Entangled Publishing inc. all other retailers

Author Bio and Links


Please don’t freak out. I’m just your average Aussie romance writer! :) My long suffering First Reader and I live in a tiny one wombat town in the hills outside Melbourne, Australia. And when I say one wombat town I really mean it. I see the little girl when walking Bear and Max, my plot and character consultants. Our little patch of heaven is overrun by a zoo of geriatric rescued animals who eat us out of house and home when not sleeping or guilting us into walks. And we wouldn’t have it any other way. When not tapping my fingers or banging my head on a keyboard creating happily ever afters, I love spending time with family and friends, cooking, EATING, gardening, renovating our castle, and teaching personal protection ;)
Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads



Author Interview

New and Debut: Kate Clayborn

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I'm so happy to welcome as my guest in New and Debut author spotlight the lovely Kate Clayborn. Her debut Beginner's Luck, mf contemporary romance, was just released on Oct 31. I've already reviewed it and can't praise it high enough. It's such a delightful story, complex and fun and realistic and in short, contemporary romance at its finest. Read on to learn more about the author and her book and don't miss the excerpt from Beginner's Luck at the end of this post.


Meet Kate 

1. Tell us about yourself and why did you decide to become a romance writer?
Probably like a lot of romance authors, I started writing because I really, really loved reading romance. I’ve always loved to write, and do some writing as part of my day job, but I don’t think I had a strong vision of myself as being a writer of novels. But when I started reading romance, I felt like I had found my “thing,” my people, if that makes sense? What I really loved most about romance was that much of it had a very strong sense of community - not just a partnership between the central couple, but friendships, family relationships, work relationships. In my own life, community is really important - it’s what gives my life a lot of its meaning. I’m from a close family and have many lovely, dear friends as well as a husband who is fun and funny and supportive. So as a writer, I wanted to write books that pay tribute to community like that. I love building those communities around a central romance pairing in a way that feels natural and realistic. 

2. Can you share some of your favourite books and authors?
How much time do you have? I have so many favorites, and I’m such a compulsive re-reader when I find books/authors I love. Some of my favorite contemporary authors are Sarah Mayberry, Ainslie Paton, Ruby Lang, and Alisha Rai (especially her new series, which I love so far). My favorite contemporary of the last year or so was probably Sally Thorne’s terrific The Hating Game. I love historicals, too, especially Courtney Milan and the new Alyssa Cole Loyal League series, as well as Tessa Dare and Sherry Thomas. 

3. Who/what do you consider your writing influence/inspiration?
The first romance I ever read was Jennifer Crusie’s Bet Me, and her heroines—who are smart and fierce and imperfect and complicated—were certainly an influence in how I went on to read romance. I look for heroines like that as a reader, and I gravitate toward writing heroines like that. But I also try to take inspiration from unexpected places—a beautifully written piece of journalism that makes me think differently about something I already knew, or that teaches me something entirely unexpected, a great movie or a TV show, even a passing interaction with a stranger. I’m inspired by character, always—so learning something interesting about someone’s job or hobby or history or habits will often inspire me to think of stories that supplement those characteristics. 

4. What kind of stories can the readers expect from you (contemporary/historical/sci-fi, adult/NA/YA, etc)?
I write contemporaries with a lot of a humor and heart, featuring strong, independent heroines who have to work hard to find a place for love in their complicated lives. I like to match these heroines with heroes who are complicated, too—competent at what they do, and emotionally mature and invested in friendships and family relationships.

5. Please, introduce your latest/upcoming release.
BEGINNER’S LUCK is the first book in the Chance of a Lifetime series, which features three best friends who win the lottery. For each of them, the lottery is a chance to go after a long-desired goal, and for the heroine of BEGINNER’S LUCK, Kit, that’s to buy a house in the city she’s come to think of as home. As a trusted research scientist at the local university, Kit’s feeling pretty stable for the first time in her life, but the arrival of a handsome corporate recruiter named Ben—who’s offering her a new job and some extra help on her newly-purchased home—threatens to upend her carefully constructed plans. But since Ben is as charming and kind as he is handsome, Kit starts to wonder whether it’s possible to have both stability and the man of her dreams.


Title: Beginner's Luck (Chance of a Lifetime #1)
Author: Kate Clayborn
Date of publication: 31 Oct 2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Add to Goodreads

Purchase links: Amazon • B&N • iTunes • Books-A-Million • Google Play • Kobo

My rating: 5 stars

Blurb

When three friends impulsively buy a lottery ticket, they never suspect the many ways their lives will change—or that for each of them, love will be the biggest win of all. 

Kit Averin is anything but a gambler. A scientist with a quiet, steady job at a university, Kit’s focus has always been maintaining the acceptable status quo. A sudden windfall doesn’t change that, with one exception: the fixer-upper she plans to buy, her first and only real home. It’s more than enough to keep her busy, until an unsettlingly handsome, charming, and determined corporate recruiter shows up in her lab—and manages to work his way into her heart . . .

Ben Tucker is surprised to find that the scientist he wants for Beaumont Materials is a young woman—and a beautiful, sharp-witted one at that. Talking her into a big-money position with his firm is harder than he expects, but he’s willing to put in the time, especially when sticking around for the summer gives him a chance to reconnect with his dad. But the longer he stays, the more questions he has about his own future—and who might be in it. 

What begins as a chilly rebuff soon heats up into an attraction neither Kit nor Ben can deny—and finding themselves lucky in love might just be priceless . . .

Author Bio and Links

KATE started writing stories on the extra wide-ruled notebook paper her first grade teacher passed out for handwriting practice, dreaming up everything from fairy princesses to secret agents, to fairy princesses who were also secret agents. She got gold stars for her handwriting, and side-eyes for the secret agent stuff.
Those stories were packed away in a memory box while Kate grew up and did lots of things—a master’s degree, a PhD, work, travel, home renovation, life in general—always with a book at her side.
A jolt in the form of a great romance novel reminded her to start writing stories again, but this time on a laptop (though she still has excellent handwriting).
These days Kate’s favorite stories to write are the ones that make people snort-laugh and happy-sigh—stories about smart, strong heroines who face the world alongside true friends, complicated families, and good men who recognize exactly how amazing the women they love are.
Kate is lucky enough to spend her days reading and talking about all kinds of great books. When she’s not doing that, she’s writing them, thinking about writing them, or remembering edits she needs to make in them. There’s also the thing where she takes long walks around her neighborhood and makes her handsome husband and sweet-faced dog listen to her talk about books and writing. They’re never bored and she’s not single-minded at all.



EXCERPT 

Here’s an excerpt from Kit and Ben’s very first meeting, when he comes to her research lab to make his first attempt at recruiting her: 

“Excuse me,” comes a deep voice from behind me, and it’s so unexpected that I jump a little, hitting my elbow on the creep frame I’ve just finished cleaning. 

“Ow,” I mutter, turning to meet—oh, only the most attractive person I have ever actually seen in real life, unless something is happening to my vision. I raise a hand immediately to my face, noting the lab goggles I am wearing—right, this is ideal—over my actual glasses. I pull them off, the rubbery strap getting a little stuck in my hair, and wince when a few strands come out. Once I’ve got my glasses straightened, I have another look. 

And, yeah. Still the most attractive person I’ve ever seen, tall and broad-shouldered with sandy-blond hair and a square, set jaw, eyes so blue I can see them even from several feet away, where he’s standing in the doorway. I don’t usually go for guys in suits, probably because most of the men in my line of work are more the rumpled-khakis or jeans type, but damn. This guy wears a suit like it’s his job. Which, it probably is his job, since it’s noon on a Friday. 

“I’m looking for E.R. Averin.” Excellent voice too—deep and smooth, and I had not really realized until this moment that I am so hard up if I am noticing this man’s voice so forcefully. Maybe there was something to Zoe’s constant haranguing about my nonexistent dating life. 

“Well, you found her,” I say, glad to hear that my own voice, at least, sounds normal. 

“I—” He paused, looked back over his shoulder. “I have?” 

“You have.” He blinks, unbuttons and then rebuttons his jacket. It is awkward to a high degree, and let me tell you what, you don’t spend your life around a bunch of experimental scientists without getting a real skewed sense of what’s awkward. This guy seems completely thrown. 

“You’re E.R. Averin?” he says, a little edge of doubt in his voice, and it’s at this point that I get almost relieved to know what I’m dealing with. Not for nothing am I the only female—not to mention the youngest—lab technician to ever work in this department, and in fact the only woman working in a lab tech role in the College of Engineering. I’ve dealt with a lot of dudes who have doubted me. 

“I think I’ve made that clear, Mr....?” 

He has the decency to look genuinely chastened. “My apologies, Professor Averin. I’m Ben Tucker.” 

He steps forward, holding out his—well, very nice, very large—hand, but I hold up the bottle of ethanol and my rag, shrugging in half-hearted apology. “Hello, Mr. Tucker. I’m not a professor.” 

“Right, yes. I apologize.” 

“That’s okay,” I say, and I almost feel sorry for him. There’s something about him, some weary feature behind his handsomeness, that gives me the sense I’m getting him on a bad day.

“Please, call me Ben.”

“Okay, Ben. Call me Ms. Averin.”

Author Interview

New and Debut: Nora Phoenix

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My guest today is debut author Nora Phoenix. Her first m/m romance, No Filter was just released and it's the first book in a series of three. Read a short interview introducing the author and her book. 


Meet Nora

1. Tell us about yourself and why did you decide to become a romance writer?
I grew up around books, since both my parents were voracious readers. There were books everywhere in our house, and that’s where my love for stories started. Plus, my mom was an amazing storyteller. I started writing stories as a teen. If I look back now on those stories, they’re adorable and filled with teen angst, but they brought me so much joy. After that, I never really stopped. It did take a long time for me to take my writing seriously, though. Last year, I decided that I wanted noting more than to pursue my dream to become a romance author, and I fully dedicated myself to writing. I’ve been many things in my life, and have had various jobs, but there’s nothing I love doing more than writing, especially romances. They make me so happy.

2. Can you share some of your favourite books and authors?
I write MM romances, and I got into that genre through the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R Ward. I loved that series, but one of the books (Lover at Last) was an MM )male-male romance, as opposed to MF, male-female), and I loved it so much, that I started looking for more MM romances. That’s when I discovered that whole genre, and something clicked. My favorite MM books have somewhat broken characters, a lot of emotion, steamy sex, and I do appreciate a little kink, haha. I read tons of MM romances, so it’s hard to pick one book or author, but some of my favorites are the Red Dirt Heart series by N.R. Walker and anything by Devon McCormack and Riley Hart. Some recent releases I really loved were Damage Control by Lynn van Dorn and The Rules by Jamie Fessenden.

3. Who/what do you consider your writing influence/inspiration?
Phew, that’s a tough one. My style is commercial, I’d say. I’m not a fan of a writing style that’s highly literary, though I can certainly appreciate the beauty of that writing. It’s just not my thing. I prefer simple, straight-forward writing that gets across what you want to say. My influences are whatever I read, which ranges from tons of MM romances to a lot of popular science/psychology, history, biographies, and more. Anything I read can inspire me for a plot, a character, or even a setting. My No Shame series is set near Albany, NY, where I live, but also in Boston, a city I’ve come to love from visiting a few times.


4. What kind of stories can the readers expect from you (contemporary/historical/sci-fi, adult/NA/YA, etc)?
My stories are steamy MM, as I call it, but with a strong emotional plot and characters. I absolutely love this genre, and I don’t see myself moving out of it anytime soon. Other than that, I like to flirt with different tropes, and turn them a bit upside down. I guess my stories are unconventional, different. That may not be to everyone’s liking, but I can live with that. It’s what the boys in my head come up with!

5. Please, introduce your latest/upcoming release.
My first MM romance was released on October 26th. It’s called No Filter, and it’s the story of Indy, a man on the run from his mobster ex. He’s determined to stay under the radar to prevent his ex from finding him, but then he meets Noah and his best-friend-with-benefits Josh, and then it’s not so easy for Indy to run anymore. It’s the first book in the No Shame series, which will consist of four books, all released a month apart, and it’s not a stand-alone novel. There’s a happy-for-now at the end, but Indy’s troubles are far from over, and won’t be fully solved until the last book. Every book in the series will feature a new couple, as well as continue Indy’s story. As I said, No Filter is a little different because it’s not a ménage, yet flirts with that trope, but everything will work towards a big happy ever after, I promise!

Book Title: No Filter (No Shame Series Book 1)

Author: Nora Phoenix

Release date: October 26, 2017

Cover Design: Sloan Johnson (Sloan J Design)



Blurb

Indy will do anything to prevent his mobster ex from finding him. Their last encounter left Indy recovering for months in the hospital, and ever since he’s become an expert at hiding in plain sight. Determined to stay under the radar, he takes on a new identity and moves from place to place. His life has no room for friendships, let alone love, so he keeps his heart firmly closed. After all, he has nothing to offer but a damaged body and a broken soul. Plus, he’s so done with men. Until he meets the man who breaks through all his defenses.

Former Army Medic Noah came back damaged from his last tour—in more than one way. Between supporting his best friend-with-benefits Josh who’s struggling with PTSD, dealing with his own issues, and the stress of his job as a physician assistant, rebuilding his life seems impossible. There's little time for what Noah needs, let alone for what he wants. When he meets Indy, Noah discovers what he wants more than anything: for Indy to stay. But how will a relationship with Indy work when Noah needs Josh as well?

Indy never expected the strong, confident Noah to be as damaged and broken as himself. But what will happen if he starts letting Noah in? Indy knows he should run to protect Noah and Josh. 

Noah needs Indy to stay more than anything. But will what little he has to offer be enough to make Indy trust him and stay? 


No Filter is a steamy M/M romance featuring an open relationship (no cheating!) that ends with a HFN, but with the promise of a HEA. It’s the first book in the No Shame Series, and is not a stand-alone novel. It contains hot sex, a hint of a ménage, lots of talk about hot sex, flashbacks of said hot sex, and…Oh well, you get the idea. Also: trigger warning for mentions of sexual abuse.


Author Bio and Links

When she was a little tot, Nora’s mom got a library subscription for her. That, as they say, was that, and a lifelong love for books was born. Nora never stopped reading and doesn’t exaggerate when she says she devours books, rather than plain reads them. She started writing stories as soon as she could hold a pen, and wrote her first full book as a teen (on a typewriter!). It took her waaaay too long to follow her dream to become a romance author. 

Nora writes M/M romance, because hello, sexy boys, and likes her men flawed, strong, and a tad broken. She appreciates a little kink, but insists on a happy ever after.

Come hang out with Nora in her Facebook group Nora’s Nook where she shares previews, sneak peeks, freebies, and much more: 

To stay up-to-date with new releases from Nora sign up for Nora’s newsletter here: http://www.noraphoenix.com/newsletter/

You can also stalk her on Twitter: @NoraFromBHR

You can contact Nora through nora@noraphoenix.com


Author Interview

New and Debut: Brianna Kienitz

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My guest today is Brianna Kienitz, debut author with Nine Star Press. Her f/f soccer romance Off Pitch came out last week. Learn more about Brianna in the following short interview and read an excerpt from the book at the end of this post. Enjoy!



Meet Brianna

1. Tell us about yourself and why did you decide to become a romance writer?
Haha! Oh boy! I started writing fiction a little over a year ago. My first project (which I'm still working on) is a young adult apocalyptic sci-fi series. Though I loved reading fluffy woman-loving-woman romances, I never thought I'd have kind of story in me. 

After several months of feverish writing, I was getting worn down and running out of juice. I needed a change, something completely different to cleanse my palette. I was writing on Wattpad at the time, and had prodded fellow authors to write more lesbian soccer stories. When NaNoWriMo came along last November I decided to take matters into my own hands, and Off Pitch was born. 

Turns out I had a romance story in me after all. It has opened the floodgates for a whole slew of sports romances I have planned for the future.

2. Can you share some of your favourite books and authors?
The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily Danforth is my favorite book of all time. It's young adult lesbian fiction coming of age story by a Montanan about a Montanan. Being a Montana native as well, the settings, characters, and story resonate down to my roots. 

Coming in a very close second place is the Starborn series by Maggie Derrick, currently in its beta stage on Wattpad and Maggie’s blog. Her magic realism stories are like living in a work of art, and are nearly impossible to put down. 

I also love the Waking Forever series by Heather McVea. It's hard to beat sexy vampires who happen to be women-loving-women with grew exceptions. It's thrilling, it's steamy, it's fluffy, and it hovers perpetually near the top of my recommendation list. 

3. Who/what do you consider your writing influence/inspiration?
Before I started writing, I was reading stories featuring women-loving-women voraciously. However, I'm pretty isolated in my little Hobbit hole, and I was starting to run out of things I wanted to read within my limited scope. (Twitter has opened up a whole new world for me, so now the problem is my lack of time, not my lack of reading material.)

I started writing the kinds of stories that I want to read. A lot of my inspiration comes from the characters and stories i love. If I didn't love to read what I was writing, I would never finish the story. 

A lot of my inspiration also comes from dreams, real life, the people around me, experiences I've had, and the things I'm passionate about. I love Ireland and classical music, and I can't seem you keep those two things from working their way into my stories. 

4. What kind of stories can the readers expect from you (contemporary/historical/sci-fi, adult/NA/YA, etc)?
Like I said, I started out in young adult sci-fi. Off Pitch is contemporary new adult. I have an unsettling amount of adorable romances planned. There are a couple of fantasy stories waiting in the wings. I can't imagine writing a story without some amount of ladies falling in love, but I like to keep an open mind. I'm a happy leaf floating wherever the wind takes me. 

5. Please, introduce your latest/upcoming release.
Off Pitch follows Adeline Fahey, an undergraduate student at Northwestern University. She’s a straight-A student, but that's nothing compared to what she can do on the soccer field. Her focus is razor sharp and she’s on course to become a highly sought after professional player. 

Razor sharp that is, until the teaching assistant walks into Addie’s Beginning Spanish class. A graduate student from Spain, she's already a world class cello player poised to become the darling of the symphony. 

Despite the university's fraternization rules and their drive towards their goals and passions, the two women can't help but gravitate towards one another. The road is rough, but sprinkle in a sarcastic best friend, homophobic parents, and a T-rex costume, and they just might have a shot at something more in life than they ever could have planned for. 

It's funny, it's steamy, it's adorable, and I hope you love it as much as I do.

Blurb

Soccer star Adeline Fahey has never taken an interest in the world outside of the pitch. The daughter of wealthy Irish immigrants, and a straight-A student, she sees nothing the the goal - finish her last two years of school and join a professional soccer team - no ifs, ands, or buts.

Then Gabriella Soto, a cello prodigy in her own right and the teaching assistant in Adeline’s dreaded Beginning Spanish class, walks onto her playing field.

After a drunken night in a T-rex costume boots their hearts onto a collision course, Adeline and Gabriella must tackle a field of school scandal, homophobic parents, and their own passionate career goals to have a shot at something more. In the face of so many obstacles, Adeline and Gabriella fear that their love may not be strong enough to score them the championship relationship they never knew they wanted.

Buy links: Publisher / Amazon / Add to Goodreads

Author Bio and Links

Brianna Kienitz (pronounced Kee-nits) started out as an avid reader of lesbian fiction. When reading no longer sated her appetite, she turned to writing the stories she craved. Brianna believes a good story should make you feel every moment deeply, whether it be laughing until it hurts, crying yourself dry, or screaming with unbridled rage. Her Wattpad works have been widely read and have received multiple awards from the Wattpad community. Her current project, Off Pitch, was named Wattpad LGBT Book of the Month in March 2017.

Brianna lives in Missoula, Montana, where she works as a slayer of transit demons, and a dance instructor. She spends most of her down time hiding in her Hobbit Hole with her wife and cat, curating T-rex costume GIF’s and pretending not to be socially awkward on the internet. 


Excerpt

It hadn’t even been two weeks, and already I was falling behind in my Spanish class. Much to my chagrin, I needed help if I was going to pass the class. And so it was that I found myself making my way to the place where Marcy had said she would be holding office hours. A few people threw casual greetings my way as I maneuvered through the narrow hallways.

“Heyyyy, Fahey,” a generic-looking bro said as he passed me by. I was too caught up in trying to remember if I knew the guy to respond. I was fairly certain I had never met him before.

Sometimes, being me was weird. A lot of people on campus knew who I was, not because I was a particularly social person, but simply because I was one of the top athletes in the school. I had received a full scholarship to come play soccer for Northwestern, and started every game during my freshman year. From the start, I was a force to be reckoned with. I’d been the school’s leading soccer star ever since. As such, my name had made it into the school newspaper after almost every game, often accompanied by pictures of me tearing it up on the field.

Suffice to say that I had achieved a moderate amount of celebrity on campus in the two years I had been here. It made me more than a little uncomfortable at times, but not enough to deter me from my passions. I played soccer because I loved the game, and nothing could change that.

I reached the office I had been seeking and stopped short outside the open door.

“Oh, hello. Adeline, right?” Gabriella sat at a nondescript desk in the cramped space beaming up at me more brightly than I felt the situation warranted. I hadn’t realized I was still standing in the doorway staring until Gabriella’s smile faded slightly and she cleared her throat. “Would you like to come in?” she asked, sounding concerned and confused by my behavior.

“Oh, right. Sorry. Just Addie is fine.” I snapped out of my stupor and took the seat at the end of the desk reserved for wayward students such as myself.

“What can I do for you, ‘Just Addie’?” she teased with a good-natured chuckle.

“Well, I’m hoping that you might help me pass this class. I’m terrible at Spanish.”

“Everyone is terrible at Spanish at first. That’s why they call it learning,” she replied with thinly veiled sarcasm. Gabriella may have seemed shy in the classroom, but clearly there was more to her than met the eye.

I had yet to be in such close proximity with her. Now that I was, I could see a spark burning behind her jewel-like hazel eyes that spoke of something fiery hidden beneath her reticent exterior. It created a persona of mystique that I was finding terribly distracting. It didn’t help that she was utterly gorgeous. Her chocolate-colored hair perfectly complemented her bronze skin. She was relatively small in stature compared to my five-foot-nine frame. I guessed she was a few inches shorter than me, and her curves were to-die-for.

“So, did you have something specific in mind to work on, or did you want me to teach you the whole of the Spanish language right now?” Gabriella’s snark caught my attention, and I looked down sheepishly to avoid staring at her any longer.

“Umm...I guess I don’t really understand the whole masculine/feminine thing.” Of course you don’t. You’re a lesbian. I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing at my poor choice of words.

Gabriella was the picture of patience as she explained the difference between the masculine and feminine word endings, and the mechanics that went along with them. I marveled at the complete lack of condescension in her explanations. I had been to office hours with other TA’s and professors that had left me feeling like a fool by the end of the session.

“Where are you from?” I asked several minutes later, once I felt that I was beginning to get a handle on the concepts we were discussing.

“España,” she replied without looking up from the diagram she was drawing to display different vocabulary words with feminine and masculine endings.

“Oh. That explains the accent.” Wow. Smooth, Fahey.

“What about you? You don’t sound wholly American, either.” I was glad Gabriella had chosen to ignore that dumb comment.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I said with a cocky half-grin. “I’m from Naperville, but my parents are Irish immigrants. I guess their accents rubbed off on me a bit.”

“Huh. That’s cute.” I didn’t know if she realized what she said, but the comment made me blush furiously. I was glad her attention was still focused on creating the endings table. “So, Naperville. Isn’t that pretty ritzy?”

“I guess so.” I shrugged, not wanting to delve into the details of my family or my upbringing. I was spared that uncomfortable conversation by a knock at the door. A young man I didn’t recognize stood in the doorway.



Author Interview

New and Debut: Leigh M. Lorien

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My guest today is Leigh M. Lorien, author of mm romance novella Jigs and Reels, released on Sept 16. Travelling Renaissance band meets closed off, introverted man and... if that sounds like your kind of story, read on to learn more about it and the author. Don't miss the excerpt in the end :)


Meet Leigh

1. Tell us about yourself and why did you decide to become a romance writer?

Well, I have a lot of pets, a lot of books, and a lot of plants. I like photography and the outdoors, music, rainy days, and cute animals. I never actually “decided” to become a romance writer. I was trying to write epic, serious sci-fi and fantasy, but my characters kept falling in love and doing naughty things instead of pursuing their quests. The first novel-length piece I ever finished was contemporary gay romance, but I didn’t realize I’d written a romance novel until someone pointed it out to me. That’s partly because I never thought about assigning a genre, but also partly because I didn’t think there was such a thing as gay romance except in fanfiction (and even then it’s not called “gay romance”). I have never been happier to find out I was wrong.

2. Can you share some of your favourite books and authors?

One book I recommend pretty often is Redshirts by John Scalzi. If you’re a Star Trek fan, or a sci-fi fan in general, read it. You will laugh.  I also love Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, and I have a penchant for children’s books  such as Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, Chronicles of Narnia, and A Wrinkle in Time.
Favorite not-children’s-books authors, in no particular order, include Jim Butcher, John Scalzi, C.S. Pacat, Josh Lanyon, Aleksandr Voinov, and Matthew J. Metzger.

3. Who/what do you consider your writing influence/inspiration?

Absolutely everything inspires me, even something as mundane as cooking a meal. Conversations overheard between strangers. A stray vine climbing up the side of a barn. Movies, books, and music are huge inspirations. Every book I read gives me some new idea. I have a tendency to pick up voices from things I read, no matter the genre or situation—if I just read a snarky character, I’ll want to write a snarky character. If I see a cool cucumber in a movie, I’ll want to write a cool cucumber. Music is a vastly important tool for how I shape characters. Listening to a lot of metal music will make me want to write an aggressive character. Listening to dubstep makes me want to write sci-fi. A passing phrase in the lyrics of a song might inspire the idea for a relationship dynamic, or an emotion worth exploring. There are stories in everything and everyone.

4. What kind of stories can the readers expect from you (contemporary/historical/sci-fi, adult/NA/YA, etc)?

I market myself as a queer romance author. The fun thing about romance is that it can happen anywhere! Space ships, castles, skyscrapers, you name it. I’m working on a contemporary novel and a sci-fi short story, and planning on an urban fantasy novel next. No matter the genre, my writing will feature characters from all colors of the rainbow. I have transgender, nonbinary, asexual, and bisexual characters in progress. My stories will almost definitely include dorkiness, pop culture references, music, humor, healthy relationships, and probably some kink.

5. Please, introduce your latest/upcoming release.

Jigs and Reels is my first release, and it came out September 16. It’s a cute, lighthearted story about musicians in an Irish band, and the important distinction between “being alive” and “living.” The romance is fun and passionate and sweet.

 Blurb


Elijah works in a cubicle, lives with his parents, and never goes on dates. It isn’t an exciting life, but it’s safe and easy and that’s good enough.
Then he meets Peter, a whirlwind of a man who leads a traveling renaissance band. Peter represents everything Eli usually avoids, but his boisterous enthusiasm is infectious… and his band needs a fiddle player.
When Eli agrees to fill in for a weekend, he awakens a part of himself he thought long gone. With Peter’s help, he shakes off the dust that has settled on his soul and remembers how to have fun.
But when the band asks him to join them permanently, is Eli’s newborn sense of adventure -- and insane crush on a man he barely knows -- enough to make him leave the safety of a life he’s clung to for years?

Purchase Links: Publisher / Amazon / Kobo

Author Bio and Links

Sometime back in the early 90’s, Leigh M. Lorien started writing and never stopped. Her anime fanfiction is still on the internet, but no amount of torture or bribery will convince her to reveal its location. While acquiring her Creative Writing degree, she tried to write what her professors called “literature,” but her male hero kept ending up in bed with the male villain, so she gave up and joined the queer writing community. She likes it there and has no intentions of ever leaving.
Leigh’s writing is character-driven and mostly contemporary for now, but she plans to write compelling, dorky, wonderfully human queer characters in every genre she can. Leigh supports mental health awareness and general human decency. If she’s not writing, she’s probably reading, gardening, petting cute animals, getting tattoos, or losing a battle against her social media addiction. She lives in a creepy old house in a creepy old town with her husband, four cats, four dogs, and probably some ghosts.

Twitter / Facebook / Blog / Goodreads

Exceprt

“Wait, what?” My heartrate spiked and I swallowed against a sudden wave of nausea.

No one had mentioned this before. Morrison’s? We hadn’t practiced Morrison’s. I knew the tune, but man, I was not prepared for this. The past few days were really pushing the limits of my spontaneity for the week. Month. Hell, I hadn’t been this spontaneous in years. Seeing my anxiety, Peter caught my shaky hand as I reached for a bottle of water. My eyes widened and I glanced around, but everyone else had better things to do than watch my every move.

“Hey,” he said softly, and brought my hand to his lips for a kiss, like an old-fashioned gentleman. “You’ll be great. You know these songs, you’ve been on stage before, nothing is different.”

“No?” I said in a choked whisper. He wasn’t letting go of my hand. His skin was soft, smooth as silk, warm, and dry. Well, it had been dry before he’d grabbed my sweaty mitt. “I don’t know you guys at all. I’m going to fuck up, I’m going to miss a cue or, or, play a song too fast or too slow or get up there and forget how to play everything I’ve ever learned. I’m going to be too stiff, people are going to look at me and think I’m a zombie or something, some kind of weird fiddle-playing corpse, an animatronic fiddler. I don’t move around much, that was something Toby always told me, too. My ex ... band leader. Toby. He got on my case, said if I was going to be so still I might as well just sit in a chair for all the more entertaining I was on stage. I have no stage presence. I just --”

Soft fingers touched my lips. He didn’t put any pressure on me, but the mere presence of the touch made me shut up. “Shh,” Peter cooed. He met my eyes and smiled, but it wasn’t an impish, teasing smile this time. It was gentle and earnest. “You’re not going to forget those songs.” The fingers brushed back along my cheek until he cupped my jaw in his palm, thumb coming to rest on my lower lip. Why was I just standing there like an idiot? Do something! Those bright eyes had me hypnotized. I couldn’t have pulled away if I’d wanted to.

And I didn’t want to. It had been way too long since I’d had affection. Hell, even if it had just been last week, I figured Peter would have been able to entrance me. He just had that energy about him, that insane, hell bent for leather, bright eyed confidence like he could go out the door one day intending to get the newspaper and end up taking over the world. Katie had a similar sort of energy. I was drawn to it like a stupid moth to a lamp. And, much like a stupid moth, I could not actually obtain that energy for myself. I just bounced around it until it became too much to handle and I dropped.

“We’ve had two fiddlers since we got together, and a couple other temp stand-in members” Peter said, still holding my hand, still caressing my lip with his thumb. “We’re used to adjusting to new members, but I don’t foresee it being an issue. You and I click, musically. You pick up on cues like a pro.”

“Well,” I said, my voice matching his soft timbre, “you’re not exactly subtle.”

Peter laughed. “No time in life for pussy-footing around.” He let go of my hand and brought his other hand up to cup my other cheek, holding my face. He was taller than me, I realized. Not much, but just enough that I noticed when he tipped my face up towards his. He didn’t lean in though, just kept smiling. “What kind of cues are you picking up on right now?”




Amara Lynn

New and Debut: Amara Lynn

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My guest today is Amara Lynn, author of paranormal novella Masks. Read on to learn more about her and her debut book. There is an excerpt for you to enjoy at the end of this post :)


Meet Amara
1. Tell us about yourself and why did you decide to become a romance writer?
Hi, I'm Amara Lynn. I was born and raised (and am still currently stuck in) the Midwest United States. I've always had a wild imagination with no outlet, taking inspiration from the things around me or in books and TV shows (mostly anime). I was very into art when I was in high school, and just sort of into writing, and now I am somehow the opposite. I've always been drawn to the concept of first loves (and true loves/soul mates!) and happily ever afters. I love writing and reading about that first spark!

2. Can you share some of your favourite books and authors?
My most recent favorite has to be Kay Berrisford and her Landlocked Heart series. The first in the series, The Lonely Merman, was so adorable and sweet with a light smattering of angst, which is the perfect combination in my opinion!

I'm also loving V.E. Schwab at the moment and am currently very, very slowly reading A Gathering of Shadows. My go-to faves are Jordan Castillo Price (Channeling Morpheus and Mnevermind are my most faves), Lynn Flewelling (The Nightrunner Series of course!) and Diana Wynne Jones (Howl's Moving Castle).

3. Who/what do you consider your writing influence/inspiration?
As far as who goes, Lynn Flewelling. She was the biggest influence on my early writing and I hope I can one day make something as amazing as that.

For what, a little bit of everything inspires me. Video games, anime, reading, and most of all music. Music is my biggest source of inspiration. I seem to get the best ideas or sparks of inspiration when I'm listening to new music (and probably somewhere I can't write, as that always seems to be how it works!).

Though I don't get to do much of it at all (next to none really), traveling is also inspiring to me. Getting out and going places I've never been always sparks my creativity.

4. What kind of stories can the readers expect from you (contemporary/historical/sci-fi, adult/NA/YA, etc)?
A little bit of everything! I like to write stories usually with fantasy elements, so some modern/urban fantasy, a little traditional fantasy, and some fairy tale retellings/reimaginings. All of my writing will also be either adult or new adult.

5. Please, introduce your latest/upcoming release.
My debut novella, Masks, was released August 23rd and is a story about not fitting in, learning to trust, and first love, with some supervillain/superhero action thrown in! Avari is an orphan and social outcast with superhuman abilities, trying to navigate college life while staying under the radar. Then he meets Chayton, who is intent on being friends with him. Avari's frustration leads him on a dangerous path, and not only is he balancing college and trying to figure out Chayton, but also a secret identity…


Blurb


Avari has always been a social outcast, which is just fine by him; he has superhuman abilities and hates people. But his lab partner Chayton keeps being so friendly, and Avari can't stop staring at his alluring smile.

When he loses control of his abilities, Avari is faced with a startling revelation about himself—one that's both thrilling and dangerous. As Avari seeks to understand Chayton, he finds himself coming out of his shell, and his connection with Chayton grows deeper.

Meanwhile, a mysterious adversary appears who may hold answers to who Avari really is. Fueled by his curiosity, Avari continues his path of destruction—but he can't help wonder if his secrets will tear apart his shaky new bond with Chayton.
Purchase links: Publisher / Amazon / B&N / Smashwords

Author Bio and Links

Amara Lynn has always been a quiet daydreamer, content getting lost in her own fantasies. From a young age, she was always coming up with characters and worlds with no idea what to do with them until she found an outlet in writing. She has admitted on more than one occasion that she could be left in a room alone with only a notebook and pen and be able to entertain herself all day.

When she isn’t thinking about her own characters, she is usually reading, listening to podcasts, playing video games, or taking way too many pictures of her two cats. She is addicted to writing and music, and gets most of her inspiration when listening to music and going for walks.

Amara loves anything to do with pirates, merpeople, magic, supervillains/superheroes, paranormal, and just about anything else that happens to strike her fancy.

Twitter / Facebook / Blog  

Excerpt

I flicked my fingers in and out of the Bunsen burner’s flame, flirting with the flickering orange and purple and grinning with amusement. I’ve always felt akin to fire. It was so beautiful and brilliant, yet destructive. Fire could give and it could take.

“You know you could burn yourself doing that,” said a voice, rudely jolting me out of my fire fueled reverie.

I looked up at the intruder. I’d seen him before in chemistry class. With that bronzed skin, that black hair, and those dark eyes, he was hard not to recognize. Not that it really mattered. He was still just another student. Aside from his few defining features, he was just like everyone else.

Narrowing my eyes at him, I hoped he would just go away. I turned my attention back to the flame and resumed what I was doing, a clear dismissal. Instead of going away, he took the seat beside me. How obnoxious. Nobody ever sat by me.

“I’m Chayton,” he said.

I turned my glare back on him and frowned. “Okay… And?” He was smiling, which made my scowl deepen.

“You’re Avari Terran, right? We’re lab partners.”

Sighing and rolling my eyes, I looked at the burner again. Why did I need a lab partner? I was perfectly capable of doing all of the labs by myself. A lab partner would just get in the way, and mess things up. Did the phrase “doesn’t work well with others” that high school teachers so loved to put on report cards mean nothing to these blockheaded university professors?

“Just stay out of my way and don’t screw things up,” I snapped at him. When I heard him chuckling, I looked up. “What are you laughing at?” I growled. Maybe if I concentrated hard, his shirt would catch fire. If I was mad enough, I could easily do that.

“Sorry, it’s just…” Chayton trailed off as he fought back a few more laughs. “You’re so serious.”

Because this was a very serious matter! I failed to see why it was so amusing for me to be serious about my schoolwork. “Is there a problem with that?” I asked, frowning deeply, and wishing he’d go away already.

“You need to loosen up a little,” he said, leaning back in his seat and putting his arms behind his head.

I snorted. “Why?” I really wanted to ask why in the hell he even cared, but I stopped myself short.

“It’s not good for you, being serious all the time,” he said, smiling at me.

“And who says I’m serious all the time?” I countered his smile with a scowl.

Chayton leaned closer, and I caught a whiff of campfire smoke and pine. “Are you?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No,” I blurted quickly, meeting his midnight eyes sternly.

“Oh? What do you do for fun, then?”

“None of your business,” I replied, tearing my gaze from him then. Who did he think he was, interrogating me like this? I owed him no explanations or assurances about my behavior or hobbies during my leisure time.


“Okay, okay.” Chayton raised his hands in surrender.

The lab started, forcing Chayton to drop his line of questioning and focus, for which I was grateful. Of course I did well on the assignment. I didn’t credit any of my success to Chayton, though I guess he did help a little, which was much better than him screwing something up.

As soon as class ended, I threw my stuff in my bag and walked out. Footsteps ran up behind me, and I looked back to see Chayton following me. What did he think he was doing? Couldn’t he just buzz off? Why was he trying to catch up with me?

I stopped walking and turned completely around, glaring at him and crossing my arms. “Can I help you with something?”

“So, since we’re lab partners, we need to be able to get in touch with each other. We should exchange numbers.”

Immediately I frowned. It wasn’t that I didn’t have a phone. I did, mostly out of necessity. Places like the school needed a phone number on file. I would just as soon not have one, because I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I really wasn’t too keen on the idea of giving my phone number so freely to him, but clearly there was no avoiding it. I sighed and took out my phone. “Fine. What’s your number?” I keyed in the digits as he said them and then called him so he’d get my number.

“Maybe we’ll see each other around the campus,” said Chayton with a smile.

“I hope not,” I mumbled.

I turned away and stared at my phone screen, pretending to look interested in something on it like most of the other students on campus often did. In reality, the only thing on my screen was Chayton’s phone number. I started to save it to my contacts. How was “Chayton” spelled? What kind of name was that anyway? I guess I would just save it as “C” for now and figure out how it was spelled later.
I returned to my dorm room. Locking the door behind me, I let out a heavy sigh.

Finally. Alone at last.

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