Friday, August 31, 2018

Friday Five...Let's Talk about WHEN LOVE SURPRISES


Basic information about the book in case you missed it...
Cover Designer: AM Design Studios
Photographer: Paul Henry Serres
Models: Nicholas and Leonardo Bayne (real-life husbands)
This is a standalone male/male romantic suspense novel, although it is part of the overall When the Mission Ends series.
Story Description
Raised in a religious household, being gay was never an option for Steven, but when an injury left him incapacitated, he was forced to face those urges that he’s been able to ignore for the last thirty-eight years of his life...
Lost...
Three months ago, Major Steven Hardesty’s life sat on the precipice of perfection. Now he’s trying to come back from a life-threatening injury and a devastating romantic loss all while trying to figure out what he’s going to do after separating from the Air Force.
Alone...
Billy Starr never planned on running his family ranch by himself. He was supposed to be doing it with his sister, Whitney. But when she died in a freak accident, it sent his life in a tailspin of despair and alcohol.
Healing...
Steven and Billy were friends. Billy offered the ranch as a good, private place where Steven could recover, but as their friendship deepened, so did other feelings. Is it possible that a love affair between the two of them could heal them both? Or break them even more?

Preorder Information
Releasing September 14th
(although the print book is already available...shh, don't tell anyone)
KOBO 


Who is Steven?

Both of these characters were introduced in When Love Comes Back. 

Steven was Felicia's (the heroine) very serious (about to propose serious) boyfriend in that book. Obviously, they didn't work out. For one thing, Felicia never got over her first love, but secondly because Steven has never been completely honest about exactly who he is.

See, Steven's dad is a VERY famous, VERY conservative, VERY outspoken evangelist who has made a platform of denouncing the LGBTQA community. As his only son, Steven never had a chance to explore his sexuality. He was raised with one option for his life, and one option only. Anything else was not acceptable for the son of Reverend Hardesty.

It's honestly a complicated mess and it's even more messed up in Steven's head. But Steven has a lot of other stuff going on besides his confused sexuality. He's also recovering from a life-threatening gunshot wound and is in the process of separating from the Air Force. There are lots of changes happening in his life and he needs a friend like Billy to help get him through.

Before anything else, these two guys are friends...good friends just there to support one another.


Who is Billy?
Billy was also introduced in When Love Comes Back. He was Felicia's best friend.

He owns and runs a ranch in Southwestern New Mexico that he inherited from his family. He's had a lot of losses in his life. First, he lost his first love in college and then his sister...both to separate car accidents. Those losses have left their marks on him and he didn't cope real well when they first happened. 

But now, he's a recovering alcoholic with more than a decade sober. He's learned not to get too close to people because it hurts too much when they disappear. But he's getting too old to play the constant hook-up game and is lonely running the ranch by himself. While he can't see himself ever falling in love again, he wants someone to spend his time with. 

When Steven needs a place to recover, Billy doesn't think twice about it. It would be nice to have his friend there...and I think you can probably see where this is going. It is a romance...

Why is this book m/m?
Quite simply...because that's where the characters took me. 

I readily admit that I don't have a whole lot of control over my characters and when Steven was introduced in When Love Comes Back, I had NO IDEA the secrets he hid. It wasn't until about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way through that book that he began to give me hints about his real story and where his book would go. 

And I get it. I realize that a lot of you read either m/f or m/m and don't like it when the two mix. I'm not a big fan of mixed series either (I know...can you believe that with as much as my series jump between the genres?), but the fact of the matter is...my characters feel as if they're real life and real life has a mix of all sexual orientations, so I go with it. 

But rest assured, I don't want you to ever feel like you're missing something by not reading one or the other. Of course, I'd like for you to want to read ALL of my books, but I get it. They aren't all going to be for everyone. As a result, I always try to write my books with enough explanation about previous events so that they stand alone. I never want you to be confused or lost. 

I get it. I'm a reader, too. And there is NOTHING worse than trying to remember or not know details from the last book in a series. With every book I write, I try to make sure that isn't an issue.

Regardless, I'm hoping you all will be intrigued enough with these two guys that you'll want to read their story. 

It's a true friends to lovers story and I absolutely adore those...easily my most favorite trope.

Excerpt...

Chapter One

Panic ripped through Steven’s chest. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t move. He was going to suffocate.
“Hang on, big guy. Help’s coming, but you have to calm down.”
Hands held him down. Couldn’t the man with the kind voice understand? Steven was going to die without air.
He arched his back, and blinding, searing pain tore through his chest.
“Shh. Oh, fuck. Listen to me, Steven. It’s Billy. You know me. You were shot. I know it has to hurt like fucking hell and you’re scared, but the more you thrash around, the worse you’re making it. Concentrate on my voice. You have a tube down your throat. That’s what’s scaring you, but trust the machine. Relax and you’ll realize it’s doing all the work for you.”
Steven tried. He tried to stop the panic. Tried to still his rioting body. Tried to listen to the voice talking him down.
“That’s right. You’re doing it. You’ve got this.” It was quiet for a moment as the weight holding him down shifted.
A callused hand caressed his face, soothing him. He tried to open his eyes. He needed to know what was going on, but with the pain and the weakness in his body...
“Where the hell is the fucking nurse?” the man asked. “What good are all these alarms if no one comes and checks them?”
He suddenly realized he knew that voice. Billy.
Yeah, he knew that voice. It was nice. He let the sound of it lull him, and he relaxed, letting the inky black suck him back under.



Preorder Information
Releasing September 14th
KOBO 

I hope everyone has a fun weekend planned. It's a three-day one here in the States...whoohoo, an extra day sleeping in with no alarm!
Enjoy it.
smiles,
Christi

Thursday, August 30, 2018

Throwback Thursday...When Love Intrudes

When I first wrote the When the Mission Ends series, it was supposed to just be the initial three books about the Robertson siblings, but as I wrote those books, other characters came forward and said they needed an HEA, too.

That's where the second three books come from. The When Love...part of the series. All the heroes in those books are also at the end of their careers, their mission. When Love Intrudes is the book that crossed over the two trilogies with Brian, the beleaguered police detective from the original three books. 


Excerpt

Brian bolted up out of bed at the cacophonous screech of the fire alarm. He flew out of his room to Toni’s. Empty.
Bounding down the stairs in the morning light, he grabbed the fire extinguisher out of the hall closet as he ran toward the plume of smoke billowing out of the kitchen. There he found mass chaos.
Sam bounced around below the fire alarm barking at it. Toni stood in front of the sink, fanning the smoke away from some sort of dish smoldering there. Nathan sat on a barstool overlooking the kitchen, rolling with laughter.
Since there didn’t appear to be any actual flames or danger of the house burning down around them, Brian grabbed the still-barking Sam by the collar and pulled him toward the door to put him out in the yard. That at least gave them one little tiny shred of sanity back in the kitchen.
Toni still hadn’t noticed him as she dealt with the pan, so he grabbed a chair to stand on to reach up to the alarm. Finally, he popped the battery out of it. Blessed silence. He ran his hand through his hair and looked down from his perch to find both Toni and Nathan openly gaping him. Instantly, he became self-conscious of the fact he had nothing on but a thin pair of knit sleep pants.
“Damn, Alpha,” Nathan’s eyes widened as he gulped. “You need to go without clothes more often. Who knew what was hiding under those tacky suits?”
Toni just nodded along with Nathan’s perusal.
Embarrassed, he’d never been subjected to this kind of blatant ogling. He resisted the urge to cover his chest with his hands as he jumped down from the chair. Yes, he worked out, but he wasn’t cover material. He rolled his eyes at both of them. “You both need to have your eyes checked.”
Toni cleared her throat. “No, I have to agree with Nathan on this one. You’re hot. Damn, look at your abs and wow,” she swallowed hard before continuing, her eyes roaming over his body, leaving pure heat in her wake. “When did you get the tattoo? I heartily approve.” Smiling at him like a cat with a mouse in its sights, her eyes traced the lines of his sleeve tattoo up his arm and across his chest. “Can we have a no clothes rule in the house?”
He choked in disbelief.


Toni Vincent’s last relationship ended with violence. Since then, she’s decided she’s better off without men. But when she finds her young seventeen year old neighbor, Nathan, unconscious and beaten, this is one man she can’t abandon. But helping Nathan means trusting Detective Brian Barnes, another man who hurt her in the past. It’s something she’s just not sure she can do.

Detective Brian Barnes has seen one too many criminals beat the system. He’s burned out and regretting a lot about his life. At the top of that list is how he dealt with Toni Vincent when he was wounded. At the time, he couldn't stand to look at himself, much less have someone he failed care for him. Now she needs his help and he refuses to fail her again. But keeping her alive requires keeping his heart out of it. Something not easy to do when trapped in a romantic mountain retreat, even if it is the safest place for Toni and her unexpected charge.

With danger around every corner, it’s hard to know who can be trusted, especially for three people who have been burned before. But they may just find the best family is the one not tied together by blood.

Friday, August 24, 2018

Cover Reveal...When Love Surprises



I am so in love with this cover. It captures Billy and Steven perfectly.
Cover Designer: AM Design Studios
Photographer: Paul Henry Serres
Models: Nicholas and Leonardo Bayne (real-life husbands)

This is a standalone male/male romantic suspense novel, although it is part of the overall When the Mission Ends series.
Story Description
Raised in a religious household, being gay was never an option for Steven, but when an injury left him incapacitated, he was forced to face those urges that he’s been able to ignore for the last thirty-eight years of his life...

Lost...

Three months ago, Major Steven Hardesty’s life sat on the precipice of perfection. Now he’s trying to come back from a life-threatening injury and a devastating romantic loss all while trying to figure out what he’s going to do after separating from the Air Force.

Alone...

Billy Starr never planned on running his family ranch by himself. He was supposed to be doing it with his sister, Whitney. But when she died in a freak accident, it sent his life in a tailspin of despair and alcohol.

Healing...

Steven and Billy were friends. Billy offered the ranch as a good, private place where Steven could recover, but as their friendship deepened, so did other feelings. Is it possible that a love affair between the two of them could heal them both? Or break them even more?


Preorder Information
Releasing September 14th
(This book will be available for preorder and I will update links here as they go live. They should all go live this weekend.)

Next week, I will share Five things about this book in my Friday Five, so stay tuned...

Have a great weekend, everyone!
smiles,
Christi