Kade Boehme's Blog, page 3

Good Enough Re-Release is LIVE!

It's here! It's live! <3  
We dusted it off, revised, expanded by 8k words, and Ms Heidi Ryan (Amour the Line Editing) polished the hell out of it. For those who read the first edition, I hope you like the facelift it got. And to first time readers, I hope you enjoy Noah and Payton's story. [Warning: Cheating is seen in flashbacks.]



Good Enough by Kade BoehmeNOW AVAILABLE @ AMAZON!

The day Payton Grady returns home to Seattle after a few years away, he sees a gorgeous club kid who accidentally leaves an interesting scarf behind at the bus stop. In a silly attempt to locate the owner, Payton’s best friend places an ad on Craigslist. Two years later, Payton and his friend are shocked to receive a response from the erstwhile club kid. After balking, Payton’s stunned to find his missed opportunity was with someone from his past — his ex-boyfriend from college.

Noah Di Cicco has been wracked with guilt since college when he crushed Payton. His insecurities and betrayal destroyed their relationship, and eventually Noah's whole life. Six years and the experience of a rock bottom have changed Noah.

Now that Noah knows he’s good enough for love, both men remember what they had, while moving past the hurt they caused each other so long ago. Maybe they can be good enough together.


2nd Edition. Revised, heavily re-edited, and expanded.

[Click Here To Buy]

Kade's 2015 M/M Favorite Reads And Giveway

Hey guys!

Well. Now that 2015—and my youth—is drawing to a close, I thought I'd do a couple posts on my year. But before I go rambling on about my own year of writing etc I wanted to do a post on JUST my favorite reads of the year. Some of these were no brainers and I knew I'd list without even a second thought, but it was hard to narrow it to a top 15. There were so many great releases this year and it'd be impossible to list ALL the five star reads put out by the amazing authors in our genre that I I fanboy over.

I'm listing these in no truly particular order. But these were seriously some of my not only top-read but often reread books of the year. I'm listing links if you wanna go out and buy any you may not have read. But. I'm also, at the end of this post, doing a giveaway which ends on the 28th for ALL these books PLUS a free copy of my new/re-release novella Good Enough.







Unnatural by Joanna Chambers [Click Here to Buy]

I have no words for how much I love everything by Joanna. This book, though,
is her at her finest. You really should read EVERYTHING.

Victim of Love
by Darien Cox
[Click Here To Buy]One of my auto-buys. Darien always does great angst. And HOLY SHIT i LOVED
Beck. Probably one of my fave MCs of the year.

Crossroads by Riley Hart [Click Here to Buy]

Holy shit. Nobody writes hot mens like Riley Hart. This one really had everythingI love in a good M/M. These guys were starting over [in EVERY way haha] and
growing and so great together.




The Five Boroughs Series
by Santino Hassell[Click Here to Buy Sutphin Boulevard]
[Click Here to Buy Sunset Park]
Because JFC homie can write. From his characters to his vivid picture of
New York life for these guys, this series was SO much win.
(**I promise I'm not biased by the bromance.)



  The Right Words by Lane Hayes[Click Here to Buy]
This series was EVERYTHING I love about Lane Hayes, this book in particular.


The Bohemian And the Banker by Bonnie Dee and Summer Devon [Click Here to Buy]
I love these ladies. I love their books, together and separate. (seriously, Bonnie's fairy re-tellings and Summer's Lamplighter...)I could do a whole list with JUST their work. This one had SUCH a rich setting and characters that made my life. 



In Focus Seriesby Megan Erickson [Click Here to Buy Trust the Focus] [Click Here to Buy Focus On Me]
My new obsession. Megan could write a grocery list and I'd read it. This series was perfection. If I wasn't listing M/M only, I'd post her mostly M/F Gamer series, which
I LOVED.



The Kage Trilogyby Maris Black[Click Here to Buy]
This series was so fucking hot and angsty. 



One Glimpse by Lydia Gastrell [Click Here to Buy]
Holy shit. This book was regency fabulousness. I didn't think she couldoutdo herself, but Lydia is officially one of my favorites after this book.
You may want to read the first One Indulgence, but totally readable as astand alone. 



Memories of the Heart by Felice Stevens[Click Here to Buy]
Felice is my go to girl for sweet, romantic reads. This one wasone of her best, the story just so touching.(**promise no bias because she's my <3 )



The Darkest Flame by Christina Lee[Click Here to Buy]
Because Smoke and Vaughn. That is all.



Valor on the Move by Keira Andrews[Click Here to Buy]
Rafa and Shane pulled me in and wouldn't let me go. This was fabulous.



Blueberry Boys by Vanessa North[Click Here to Buy]
This was so beautifully written and I don't think I've just fallen in love witha character like I did for Jed in such a very long time.



A Fortunate Blizzard by L.C. Chase[Click Here to Buy]
Because GODDAMN. My heart. L.C. ruined me and put me back together.This was flawless.



Secrets From the Egde by S.c. Wynne[Click Here to Buy]
This was fun and fast paced and everything I've come to expect from S.c.I adored the story and want MORE MORE MORE.


YALL! This was hard! (heh.) But really. I started with a Top 10 but kept adding books. And ... Lord. Well, we ended up with a Top 15. 
And fuck it. Before I get to the giveaway, I'm gonna just do it anyways...

I REALLY don't often read M/F but when I do, it's Megan Erickson haha. Seriously, when I set out to write my own M/F I wanted an author I KNEW I liked who'd crossed over because I wanted to get a feel for sex and story lines and writing style, so I picked up Megan's Gamer series. And I loved it. It's EFFING sexy and fun. So if you like M/F, grab it. BUT she surprised me and said she was doing a "more adult M/M", as she'd previously been doing NA for the In Focus series. Then months later she sends me this ARC and IT WAS CHAD! I squealed, I won't lie. He's the brother of what of the earlier female MCs and it ties in with the series (oh the pun), but can be read as a stand alone so I'm giving you all these links.



The Gamer Series by Megan Erickson[Click Here to Buy Changing His Game]  (M/F)[Click Here to Buy Playing for Her Heart] (M/F)[Click Here to Pre-Order Tied to Trouble] (M/M)

OKAY! And NOW the giveaway!

The Giveaway: I'm giving away all 15(ish) books as well as my upcoming re-release Good Enough. If they're a series you get ALL the books in that series. You'll also win Megan's Gamer series. If you've already read the book, you can request something from their backlist OR give me the e-mail of a friend to gift a copy to.

So don't forget to hit up the rafflecopter below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Enough Cover, Blurb, & Excerpt

Heya!

So. I'm rereleasing a novella I put out forever ago, called Good Enough. It was only available for a few months before I ultimately pulled it because it was in pretty rough shape and I didn't give it ANY promo for its first release. It was a reader appreciation bonus kinda thing that I dropped because I didn't know what else to do with it haha. But I loved Payton and Noah SO much — particularly Noah, I won't lie. 

Well. I pulled them out, dusted them off, and have revised in pretty major ways, added word count, and sent off for some heavy re-edits. It grew by 10k words from its original draft, even after deleting several thousand in revision, so it's new in many ways, expanded in others, but still very similar if you read the first edition. I'm SO very proud of the new life these guys got. 

I know some of you read this, so I hope you'll give the new edition a chance because I think the new material makes it better. And those who hadn't, I hope you enjoy it. I WILL WARN HERE, because I'm not going to go around tagging it everywhere: there is an ON PAGE cheating scene in a flash back from "8 years ago". If cheating makes you squeamish, you've been forewarned. 

I plan to have this out for you guys right before Christmas.

So I give you this lovely Natasha Snow cover art. And damn, Noah's looking better than ever. Also, giving you the blurb and the first excerpt—which is still unedited.





Good Enough by Kade Boehme
The day Payton Grady returns home to Seattle after a few years away, he sees a gorgeous club kid who accidentally leaves an interesting scarf behind at the bus stop. In a silly attempt to locate the owner, Payton’s best friend places an ad on Craigslist. Two years later, Payton and his friend are shocked to receive a response from the erstwhile club kid. After balking, Payton’s stunned to find his missed opportunity was with someone from his past — his ex-boyfriend from college.

Noah Di Cicco has been wracked with guilt since college when he crushed Payton. His insecurities and betrayal destroyed their relationship, and eventually Noah's whole life. Six years and the experience of a rock bottom have changed Noah.

Now that Noah knows he’s good enough for love, both men remember what they had, while moving past the hurt they caused each other so long ago. Maybe they can be good enough together.


2nd Edition. Revised, heavily re-edited, and expanded.
WARNING: Not intended for readers under 18.


EXCERPT

Nothing made me antsier than sitting around for a long time so I was more than happy to stretch out my jumpy muscles after a five hour flight from Chicago and an hour on the Seattle Light Rail. I walked around 5th Ave breathing in the cool, fresh air and took in the familiar old sights of the city I’d left behind years ago. I’d been wary of the move back but as I looked around my old stomping grounds I was thankful I’d let my friend Adam talk me into applying for a job at the law firm where he worked as a junior associate.

After complaining about how dead end my job back in Chicago felt, Adam had started a full-fledged campaign to get me back to the West coast. It had taken a lot more work and I balked much more than I’d needed to. It’s not that Seattle had done anything to me. I loved the city, but when I finished college I’d been ready for a change, especially where my personal life was concerned so I'd applied for paralegal positions on the other side of the Mississippi. I was glad to have gone out into the world but damn it was nice to be home. Even if I would be working under my best friend who'd continued on with law school, unlike me who'd decided I much preferred research to actual litigating.

I walked, continuing around to Pine Street where I needed to grab my bus up to the University District, where I’d be crashing at Adam’s apartment until I found my own place. After I’d sidled up to the sign and checked that I was at the correct stop, I rolled my bag beside a bench but decided to continue standing. I’d had quite enough sitting, thank you. As I was digging through my messenger bag for my blasted cell phone, which I managed to lose more than the average person did, I noticed him.

Wow, but this guy was gorgeous, if not vaguely familiar, which I figured was more because of his style than his features. I wasn’t even stealth in my observation of him. I only saw his profile as he leaned against the bus stop shelter, set down a shopping bag and lit a cigarette. He was taller than me, long legs nicely muscled under his tight black jeans and his turquoise shirt made his olive complexion and his simple black tattoos stand out. Even his head was that perfect round shape with hair shaved to the skin all the way around, but medium length black hair on top that was flipped to one side. He was obviously wearing make-up, lips shining and eyes thick with more than just black eyeliner. It looked like he may be wearing a smoky eye shadow, but he was a walking wet dream from what I could tell.

When he shifted I could make out the perfect ass that was obviously firm because those jeans were tight and they were forced to stretch over the globes of his glutes. Goddamn was he hot for a club kid... well... club man. He looked closer to my twenty-six years.He started to turn my way which made me avert my eyes quickly, studiously glancing at my phone. Thankfully there were no street lights close to me so he probably wouldn’t have noticed if he looked my direction, anyway. The diversion of my phone was good, though. It stopped my foolishness. Why was I checking out a club kid, especially one old enough he should have retired the style by now?

I don’t do club kids. Ever. I don’t even go to clubs. It isn’t my thing—anymore. I, like any gay man in his earlier twenties definitely had had my days of too much booze and dancing. I’d also dated my club boy. But I’m well past that phase. It was no longer a novelty and I knew exactly what happened when you got involved with those boys.Okay, so I don’t want to be a dick and tar them all with the same brush. Just because my one experience was bad doesn’t mean every club-hopping, twenty-something gay man is a tool. But what would we have in common anymore? Well past my collegiate years and a couple years into my chosen profession, I definitely found myself spending more time with the young professionals crowd. I’d long-ago traded strobe lights and skinny jeans for chinos and sports bars.

That didn’t stop my eye from wandering once more to the man once more, noticing he’d moved on up by the sign where a bus was pulling up. I was sad to see it wasn’t the bus number I was waiting for, instead being a bus going up to Capitol Hill, but that was a good thing. I didn’t need to sit on a damn bus with him. Was I out of my mind? It was my first night—hell, first hour—back in Seattle. I wasn’t looking to start seeing someone and I couldn’t hook up in Adam’s one bedroom apartment.

Who was I kidding? I wouldn’t even speak to the guy. Sexy or not, he was but a throwback to one of the reasons I left Seattle behind and I sure didn’t want to revisit that. So I’m a little bitter and he is being judged because of one guy’s mistakes, sue me.

As I rolled that thought around in my head, I noticed the guy had left behind his shopping bag. I sprang into action before I really even thought it through, jumping to grab the bag. Before I could hop to the bus, though, the door had swung shut and the driver had accelerated. Not that city busses are fast, but you try talking a metro driver to slow his roll and see how fast you learn that it isn’t going to happen. I jogged a few steps in a futile attempt to maybe get the driver’s attention, but stopped exerting myself when, as I knew would happen, I got let in the proverbial dust.

I looked down at the paper bag, feeling I’d attempted my good deed for the year, but also more let down than I wanted to admit that I hadn’t at least gotten one last look at him. I wandered back over to where I’d carelessly abandoned my luggage and saw that the bus that was now pulling away from the curb beside me was the one I was supposed to be on.

*       *       *

“So you still have the bag?” Adam asked, snatching it from off the couch where I’d placed it and looking inside—something I’d yet to do. I’d had to explain to him I wasn’t later than I’d said because I was out shopping, but because I’d had to wait twenty more minutes after missing my bus trying to help out a stranger.

“I don’t know why I did. It’s not like I’ll see him again to return it.” I grabbed the bag from him, for some reason feeling it’d be tacky to trifle through it. “Stop being nosy. It just felt rude to throw it away.”

Adam flipped his blond bangs out of his eyes and smirked at me. “So you weren’t hoping to maybe run into the pretty boy again and play Knight in Shiny Chinos, gallantly returning his scarf. And that’s what’s in the bag, by the way. A very pink scarf.”

I frowned down at the bag. Yeah, the guy seemed the type to wear a fuchsia scarf. I bet it’d look stunning on that strong, olive-toned neck. I looked back at Adam with a scowl. “That wasn’t my motive at all. I don’t know what I was thinking, honestly. Guess I hope if I’d left something behind more important than a fuchsia scarf maybe someone would do the same with me.” I shrugged and dropped the bag back on the couch.

Adam snatched it up immediately and turned his back as I reached for it, digging through it and saying, “Maybe there’s a credit card receipt with his name and you can look him up on Facebook or something.”

I had to admit that was a sound plan but I sure wouldn’t admit that to Adam. He was still dancing and singing I told you so since I fucked up and said “It’s kind of nice to be back in Seattle” upon walking into the apartment. He needed no more encouragement.

“Damn,” he said. “No receipt.” He then pulled out the very fuschia scarf which had GONADS! knitted in black yarn in the middle. Adam snorted. “Very classy, this young man of yours.”

I grabbed the scarf, smiling at the word. “Interesting scarf” was my only commentary.

Adam let loose his signature obnoxious laugh that was probably the most infectious I’d ever heard. “He has a scarf that says GONADS!” Yeah, it was gonna be nice to have my friend around again.

“He had a scarf that says GONADS! Should I take it to a bus driver and give it to lost and found?” I handed Adam the scarf and he read it again, snickering.

“No way!” Adam looked at me with eyes wide. “Someone made this for him. It’ll just get tossed out after so long at lost and found. Maybe there’s somewhere we could advertise you found it and you’d hear from lover-boy.”

I scoffed. “He’s not—What the hell are you talking about? This is not a lost dog. Who puts up Lost Scarf Found signs?” I don’t know why I was dumb enough to even ask that because I could see the gears in his head start turning.

He flailed his arms, excitedly. “Oh, I know!” I didn’t even have a chance to respond before he practically skipped off to his room. Really? Twenty-six and the man still skips? Of course, that’s why I adore him. The guys got brains for days, but he’ll never grow up.

He came back from his room with his laptop in hand and plopped on the couch. I eyed him dubiously. “What exactly are you doing?”

He didn’t answer, ignored me. I rolled my eyes and decided I was probably better off not knowing. “Never mind. I’m going to take a shower.” He waved me off, mumbling that towels were in the cabinet under the sink.  

After a quick shower and changing into gym shorts and a t-shirt I felt a lot better. Nothing makes one feel quite as disgusting as six hours crammed next to strangers on planes, trains and city busses. I was not pleased to see how devious his grin was when I made it back into the living room.

“What did you do?”

“Oh, stop being such a grump.”

“In other words I’m going to hate it.”

“Probably,” he said, unable to contain his glee. Bastard. “I just figured, hey why not kill two birds with one stone. It’s a one in a million shot but…”

“Adam…”

He handed me the laptop and I looked, feeling my face grow tighter with each word I read. “Adam, shit! Are you kidding me?” Craigslist. No, not just Craigslist. He’d posted it on their Missed Connections.

Are you my bus stop boy?You were standing at the bus stop on Pine & 5th waiting for the 13 bus to Capitol Hill. You were wearing black jeans and a turquoise tank showing off your black tribal tattoos on your arms. I’m not even sure if you’re gay, but if you are and you see this, I’ve got something you left behind and would love to treat you to coffee. Send an e-mail, subject line should be the word on the thing you left behind. adamantsea@name.com

“Delete this!”

“Come on! Not likely he’ll actually see it but it’s worth a shot and I put my e-mail address. You won’t even have to weed through the weirdos. I’ll handle it all.”

“You’re too kind,” I drawled.

“Oh stop, Payton. Think how romantic it’d be!”

“He wasn’t even my type!”

“Honey, he sounds like every gay man’s type.”

“Not mine.”

“Oh yeah, the No Club Boys Allowed rule. Can you get over Noah’s shit already.”

I scowled at the mention of Noah. “Don’t—”

“Okay, okay. Breathe. Didn’t mean to bring up the shit head, but seriously…” I glared at him.

“I’ll take it down,” he grumbled.

“Good. Now can we drink some wine?”

“No, we can’t. We can drink vodka,” he sing-songed. Oh boy, it was going to be a long first day with a hangover. Fuck it, at least it’d get my mind off of bending Bus Stop Boy over and fucking that plump ass in the back of whatever club he’d been headed toward.

ADD ON GOODREADS [Click Here]
Coming Dec 21-30

It's Been 7 Years

Kade Boehme NoH8 photo from Tampa, FL, Summer 2013

Wow. Today marks 7 years of the NoH8 Campaign. This is surreal to me, because it was just seven years ago, in November 2008, when we both made the huge progress of electing our first African American President, and California took a step back by voting Proposition 8 into law. (For those those don't remember) Proposition 8 was a voter referendum that effectively blocked gay marriage in 2008, after California State Supreme Court had ruled that denying same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. It was such a huge upset.

It's been 7 years. In that time many other states joined in either their Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality, and in some instances, the voters approved the rights—which still gives me the willies but at least it got done.

And... Then Prop 8 fell in federal court because it denied due process so LGBT Californians could once again marry. Then DADT was ended by congress after a LONG, tedious, painful battle with legislators, so that our men and women in uniform no longer had to fear losing their job protecting our nation simply because they were LGB (still working on the T, unfortunately). Then the parts of DOMA that denied federal benefits to LGBT couples was struck down in the Supreme Court of the US which... Was a seminal moment. That moment. Because then we went back to court. And SCOTUS ruled that denying marriage equality was unconsitutional, thereby making marriage equality the law of all these United States of America.

It's been 7 years. And it's not over. There's still housing and job discrimination. Our trans* brothers and sisters and those in between are still struggling. There have been people making money off their hate, still, and who fight marriage equality as if the fight hasn't ultimately been decided.
And you know, I have to give respect to those who were fighting for even the most basic of our rights since long before I was born. This last decade has been a whirlwind, with ups and downs, and by no means is everything tied up.

But it's been 7 years. ONLY 7 years since Prop 8 and we said enough is enough. So we made 7 those years count.

It's been 7 years and we are Proud. ‪#‎NoH8‬

✰COVER ART CONTEST, YO!✰

Hey all!

I decided to do something new this time. I HOPE it's something people will be interested in participating in and not just a bunch of "whatever Kade" haha. I'm doing a cover art contest for my next book, Simple Things, which will be released in January. I'm SUPER excited about the book and about this contest. (Just so you don't stop reading if you're a pro, I'm NOT trying to get a free cover, I will be paying the winner's usual custom cover & ad pack fee as well as giving prizes to the winner)

After 17 books and a few shorts, I have been fortunate enough to work with some of the most FABULOUS fucking cover artists in our genre (and tried out some from outside the genre). I'm a cover whore and a shameless cover snob. The packaging of a book, IMHO, goes as far toward selling a book as my name, the blurb, and reviews. It's the first thing readers see and I'm so privileged to have had so many wonderful covers. Our cover artists in M/M are so ridiculously talented. It's always so hard because they're awesome and I see new awesome artists and I'm like "Can I just do 15 covers?" But that could get pricey... and confusing for readers haha. So I thought it'd be awesome to see their ideas as well as ideas from anyone else who wanted to throw their hats in. I don't care if you're just starting out and you're trying to get your name out, if it's your first cover, or if you've been doing it forever: I wanna see your mock-up.

If you're interested, keep reading. The contest is running over the next 2 weeks, until December 7th. I promise I'm not a diva so I really am not terribly fussy with this. Cover art is your forte so I don't have a shit-ton of notes. If you're interested, the story / character specs are posted below in a cover request form style.

So, these will be a little rambling but... here goes.

 here's what's up: 

1) There's no max on entries. Send 1, send 5. Up to you. 

2) I tend to favor at least one model on the cover, love 2, but I'll look at anything. If a "concept" cover blows me away I'm all over it. From standard 2 models over a cityscape to single model being sexy to a picture of a tattoo, or personal art (ie drawing, digital art, etc). I wanna see YOUR take and what YOU can do.  

3) I like neat covers that aren't SUPER busy. 

4) I will be choosing the cover myself. No one aside from me will see your mock ups or your cover until I've chosen you and paid you. 

5) Obviously, I don't expect you to spend money since it's not a sure thing, so I totally understand these may not be the final look b/c they may have watermarks, etc.  

5) I may do the book in paperback so it'll help if you can do full covers and maybe FB banners, though it's not a requirement. 

the winner: 

1) I pay you 100% of your usual fee, of course. (Anyone who does personal art or is good with teasers, I'd pay extra for those as well.) 

2) I will pimp the shit out of you on FB, twitter, cover reveals, blog tour stops, and your name will be listed as a contributor on Amazon and in the book copyright page. 

3) You get a $50 Amazon Gift Card from me, as well as an ARC of this book when they're ready, a print copy (if you want) and any other of my backlist books you'd like.

the cover request specs:
BOOK TITLE: Simple Things
AUTHOR NAME: Kade Boehme

THE STORY: The gist -- childhood friends come home to stay on one's family horse farm in Tennessee, each because life's gotten complicated—one because things with his band are a mess, the other hiding from the fall out of his politician parents' sex scandal. Both are still finding their way, suffering growing pains, amidst coming out and insecurities. Both have many decisions to make, and while the bad boy and the virgin decide to embark on a mutually beneficial friends-with-benefits situation, their friendship becomes more, making those decisions harder.  
TIME PERIOD: Contemporary
SETTING: New York City & Chattanooga, Tennessee (most of the story in TN)
MOOD/THEMES: Romantic, Coming of Age, Sexy, Angsty, but lower angst, Hopeful, addiction, happy ever after 
HERO I: Jeremy Beck: 24. Taking time off from his indie band because of personal issues amongst the members. Caught in a strange menage with male bandmate and his girlfriend. Was an addict as a teen, but now is clean. His parents disapprove of his wild child bullshit, which they consider typical rich boy angst.

Physical description from story: "He’d always had classic good looks, but now, at twenty-four, he was a walking wet dream. His shoulders and arms had filled out, as had his chest. His tight fitting white tee showed off a trim waistline and flat stomach. Carter was surprised, though, at the amount of visible ink the man sported now. Most every inch of visible skin had a tattoo. He had sleeves and knuckle tattoos. His neck was covered. He even had one swooping cursive word over his right eyebrow.Carter tried his best not to stare, but as Jeremy walked through the kitchen in his skin-tight black jeans it was hard not to notice the nice swell of the man’s ass and his shapely calves and thighs. He still walked with a certain swagger that was all his own, and fucking sexy. His jeans were rolled up a bit showing off bare ankles above his ratty old converse that had been signed and doodled on with sharpies in every white spot available. A dark James Dean with thick black hair and a rockabilly style, Jeremy was a trainwreck but he was one beautiful fucking hot mess."
HERO II: Carter Darling, 21. Politicians' son who took a bit of time off schooling in NYC and away from his parents' sex scandal to go spend time in his Tennessee hometown with friends. Amateur boxer, preppy, technical virgin who's JUST coming out. Because of parents' career is fairly goody-goody. His wild side is all in the ring, until Jeremy gets his hands on him.

Physical description from story: "Carter Darling had always been almost as precious as his last name with his soft face, marble smooth white skin that looked as if it never saw the sun, bright red hair in a short pompadour, and large, open blue eyes, and easy blush. Now, though, he seemed harder.Definitely in the literal sense Carter was harder. His jaw had squared and his muscles were cut, not an ounce of excess fat to his strong, athletic frame. Jeremy knew Carter had taken up boxing and his training had definitely paid off. He looked older, stronger, and even more lickable than Jeremy remembered. But he still had that shiny spark in his eye that was very Carter."

IMPORTANT ELEMENTS: Politics, Jeremy's black Fender FA-100 guitar, tattoos, amateur boxing, college 
picspiration:

Carter
Jeremy
**I obviously do not own rights to these photos,
but used these men loosely for description
in the story. No, it's not Canelo fanfic. Also, I
understand models won't look just like these.



The winner will be chosen ON December 7. Don't wait til the last minute, though, if possible. That's 2 weeks for you to get anything in you'd like, and as much as you'd like. Please e-mail your mockups (can be more than one e-mail) and your usual price points/fees. I've paid the gamut of fees for covers so you won't scare me off, though a warning if you used original work that costs more from you will keep me from being like WTF?!


E-MAIL ALL ENTRIES HERE: KADEBOEHMEWRITES@GMAIL.COM


Looking forward to see what y'all come up with—assuming anyone even enters haha. THAT could be embarrassing. Either way, thanks for taking the time to read all this.
Much Love,<3kaderade

The Best Of...

Hey guys!

If you've not read some of my backlist or wanna force a friend to join the princess party and gift them a set, my Best Of box set is now available in eBook on Amazon!




The Best Of Kade Boehme NOW AVAILABLE!

5 of Kade's Best Selling Books for only $4.99, including Proud Heart: a Chance & Bradley Pride Short for free!

Wide Awake: Attorney Tyler Marcus finds loves with an older man, coffee shop owner Mark Riley. Aside from their age difference, things are complicated by the fact Mark is the father of Tyler's best friend.

Keep Swimming: Cary Whitmore was left holding the ball with a new business and a pregnant surrogate when his ex walked out on him. He finds the possibility of a new future with sexy oil rig engineer and boat captain Heath Cummings. That is, if Heath finally comes out.

Chance Of the Heart: Chance Beckett always did what good boys in his town did, followed the path already taken. But when his girlfriend calls for a break so they can figure themselves out, the return of Chance's old friend from the horse show circuit leaves him twisted up... over a man. For the first time, Chance sees what his life could be if he's willing to take a chance of the heart.

Chasing the Rainbow: Bobby and Jody were both in long term relationships with women, both coming out later in their lives. But between family trouble and Bobby's unwillingness to commit, finding happiness at the end of the rainbow isn't easy.

Borrowing Trouble: When Jay Hill moves back to his rural hometown with his teenage kids in tow, his friendship with Landon Petty—his boss's son—was welcome. But eventually, Jay's feelings for Landon deepen and his life takes a turn he never expected.

[Click Here to Buy]  (also available free on KU)

We Found Love Honorable Mention

I'm so happy! My friend Allison Cassatta and I co-wrote a book based in the most bleak of places—a mental hospital—with some pretty broken boys, hoping y'all would love them as much as we did. And you did. The feeback and sales were fabulous and I just wanted to hug everyone haha. Now, more cause to hug. Hunter & Riley take home an honorable mention from the Rainbow Awards, which tickles me to fucking death. <3




"This book echoes of pain and torment yet it is beautifully written with a bright light of hope of days yet to come. Definiitely a fab read.

Fantastic and emotional story. Wonderful character development that really draws a reader into the story and makes them invested in the characters as well as the story. Once I started reading, I didn’t stop until the book was finished.

This is one of the two best books I've read this year. The characters they built were phenomenally real---I felt like I knew them personally. And the settings (especially inside the mental institution) were also astonishingly real, like I was there myself. This book brought me to tears five times. I was able to find a few niggling points in the areas of plot and writing style that allowed me to shave a point off each of those categories, but this is a very-nearly perfect book!

This was an intriguing story and well written. I like stories with broken characters that find and fix themselves through the motivation of love." -- From the Honorable Mention at Reviews & Ramblings

"Oh, You read romance?" *side eye*

You know, I think, more disappointing than disparaging authors of romance, lately (though it's always been a problem), is the shaming of the MILLIONS of romance readers. I get we're not up to some people's lofty literary standards. I won't apologize for not writing with a Pulitzer Prize for fiction in mind. I won't get mad at you for thinking your work is superior to mine because I prefer an HEA. I'm not bitter. I'll take my romance award from my peers any day, and still will be proud of you that your peers recognized you with your non-romantic fiction award. The art of writing fiction, like any art, is highly subjective and not every subject matter is something you may find joy in writing.

But I will take exception to you saying what MILLIONS OF READERS like to read is garbage and insinuating they're simple for enjoying it. I'm so disappointed and angry when a friend side-eyes a another for having a Harlequin in their purse. I'm pissed when I say I write M/M romance and they equate it with porn, or ask when I'm gonna write a "real book". I'm furious when a reader tells me they told a friend they read M/M and their friend hurt their feelings acting like they were a simpleton because "Really? You read romance?"

I understand, people think romance doesn't change the world, doesn't broaden society in any ways. In a similar post to this one FaceBook a reader responded "...I'm still looking for my HEA. At this stage, I could easily see it being me on a sun-warmed porch with a never ending supply of Tim Tams, grandkids and my Kindle. What you guys do is provide not only entertainment for this "stalled" woman, but also hope, companionship, laughter, tears and somewhere accepting of my your quirks and my current circumstances to escape to. It's also a reminder that you're never alone and you don't have to be what society deems "perfect" to find love and your own HEA. THANK YOU for what you give me. ❤" And you know what, that touched me so much. I hear that from readers, have said similar words to favorite authors in the past. So, maybe touching that one life, being a part of that one person's world for an hour and making them smile... Maybe that's the change I want to effect. I for one think that's worth a helluva lot.

In this electronic age, I'm so overjoyed to see anyone reading anything, whether it be Dickens or Rowling or fucking EL James. To the readers, my peeps, I say "you do you, boo."

A friend of mine said, "Remember when teachers and librarians always told you as a child that it didn't matter what you read so long as you read." Growing up, my mother—an educator—never limited my reading, whether it was Carolyn B Cooney, RL Stine, Louis L'amour. She was just happy I wasn't always plopped in front of a television. Isn't that what the ultimate goal is. Being well-read should never be considered a bad thing, regardless of taste.

While I cannot lay blame at her feet, because this HAS been a problem for years, I cringe every time I see a new article on an even bigger, more widely read blog or news site. I understand it's the direction the authors who were plagiarized decided, and had every right to go in to bring visibility to their problem and make sure Harner was taken to task. I, personally, don't need my pound of flesh—I didn't purchase or read her stuff, because reasons—and I don't need to "have my say". But I can lay the shitstorm of negative press at the feet of the Plagiarizer. I think that makes me more fucking livid about the whole situation than anything.

 I'm a proud writer of romance. I'm even more proud of being successful writing Male/Male romance and watching gay romance—one of few genres where LGBT protagonists are glorified and given positive stories—grow as a genre. I'm honored being a part of it. And finally, I find my biggest joy and have immense pride in being a reader of romance, and having a HUGE support system and group of people I've met through and because of it. So, respectfully, ‪#‎fuckoff‬.

YO! MAILING LIST SHENANIGANS!

Heya guys & dolls & everyone in between!

Well, I heard from a lot of peeps about wanting this here mailing list / newsletter thing and decided it sounded like a fun way to stay in touch with everyone who wanted to be a part of it. I'm horrible at daily blogging, but I am really good at staying in touch (yeah, I tend to yammer on) so I thought a bi-monthly e-mail newsletter was something we could have a good time with. So I bring you Kaderade Update. In which I'll update you on goings on, WIPs, and release dates. If you subscribe, you'll be the first to see cover reveals, there'll be exclusive teasers, and subscriber only giveaways. ALSO, there may be a serial or two for subscribers only and exclusive naughty scenes from some of your favorite characters!

Also, I'll use this for your feedback and you'll be able to be my big ass crew of beta readers on some projects. SO! Go sign up! I'll be doing a giveaway with random.org's help to pick out of the first subscribers for a few $10 Amazon & iTunes gift cards, as well as some back list ebooks so enter for a chance to win simply by subscribing between now and the first Kaderade Update which is coming at you November 6, 2015!

COME ON! Let's party. Get some Kaderade in your face twice a month! <3




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Friend Interview: Brigham Vaughn

1.      Have you ever used something, even a small funny moment with a friend, etc in one of your books? You know, I would swear I have, but for the life of me I can’t remember right now.  *laughs* I absolutely do use emotional memories to make a scene more authentic though.  Drawing from personal experiences of a similar situation can help deepen the emotion in a scene and I’ve done that a number of times.
2.      Do you have another genre or subgenre you read? If so, do you read that more than, the same as, or less frequently than M/M?
It’s fairly rare that I read anything but M/M these days, which has more to do with a lack of time and a wealth of so many amazing M/M books on my TBR list, but when I do have the time, historical fiction and mysteries are my favorites. 
The one author I will absolutely drop everything to read is Margaret Atwood.
3.      Was Evan, from Connection, a character that just came through the ether as Equals series (which I absolutely love, btw) evolved, or was he a planned secondary whose story you knew you’d spin-off from the beginning?Evan essentially appeared out of the ether and evolved from there. I had Partners basically written, but knew something was missing. The town of Putnam was coming across as much too flat and one-dimensional. If I remember right, I’d written this vague idea of a young guy who worked for the funeral home, but he hadn’t really coalesced into anything concrete and I had no real plan for him. Eventually, I realized his interaction with Russ could really fill that gap and his character began to evolve from there.  By the time Partners was written, my betas were clamoring for Evan to have his own book and I knew he had a huge story to tell. It took longer for me to put the pieces together and figure out that Jeremy would be his partner, but once I had the thought I knew it was what needed to happen, even though on paper, Evan and Jeremy are so different.4.      I have to ask—because it’s one of those things that I love when other writers do but is super daunting to me—was it difficult writing 2 characters through 4 different books? Or was it easier to stay in that world?It can be difficult writing the same characters through different books, but I found that on the whole I enjoyed it.  It gave me a chance to delve further into their psychology and get to know them better.  Stephen really evolved for me throughout the Equals series and I absolutely loved discovering where he came from and why he made the decisions he did.  Some of his backstory was there in Equals, the first book, but it really clicked for me in Partners and that continued to develop in Family and Husbands.  And then doing the spin-off of Connectionwhere we see Stephen through Jeremy’s eyes was really fascinating.  I guess I’d have to say that while it can be challenging, I enjoy that challenge a lot.5.      Did you have something that or someone who inspired any of your stories and/or characters as far as Russ, Stephen, Evan, or Jeremy go?The inspiration for Russ and Stephen’s dynamic came from this photo. 

I saw it and thought “Sexy older man, a little possessive of his younger partner” and bam, I had a story.  As the story developed I found face cast pictures that matched the image in my head of each character.  Ryan Guzman, an actor, and Michael Justin, a model, are very close to how I picture Russ and Stephen.
When I worked on Stephen’s history with his ex, Jeremy, I had a vague idea that I wanted Jeremy and Russ to be somewhat similar looking in that they both had dark hair, hazel eyes and were tall and fairly muscular.  Jeremy’s personality was set but his actual physical look was fairly vague in my head until I started to do some searching and ran across a photo of the actor Brandon Quinn and it kinda clicked for me.  Jeremy has some similarities to Russ, but overall has a more rugged look.  Russ is a bit more of a pretty boy.

I knew what Evan looked like from the beginning.  Tall, but very thin, very pale and someone who might get overlooked at first, but would grow into himself well and wind up attractive and interesting looking. The model, Andreas Sandby, took a long time to find, but he really was perfect for Evan. And those cheekbones are incredibly striking.



In the course of writing Connection I also ran across this photo which was absolutely perfect for Evan and Jeremy.  It shows the dynamic of them as partners so much.  They need each other more than any other couple I’ve written.  There’s just so much vulnerability and hurt in both of them, and being together offers them the kind of security and shelter from the outside world that they both need.


6.      What’s your writing process like?
Truthfully, it varies with every story. I often get a plot bunny long before I have time to write it, so I jot down whatever ideas pop into my head and stash the file away for a while as I work on something else.  Occasionally, another idea will appear and I’ll add that to the file and put it away again until I am ready to work on it. 
My process for writing a book has changed some in the last few years. I am trying to be less of a pantser and more of a plotter, so I try to make a rough outline of where I’m going and fill in scene ideas as they appear in my head.  Sometimes that changes quite a bit as I write, but at least it gives me somewhere to start.
7.      What’s the thing you find most challenging about being a writer?Time management is one of my biggest challenges.  When I was working full time, I would jam writing into every free second I had, but now that I have eight hours a day to write it’s taking a little bit of time to get used to the idea of having every single day free.  I don’t have the stamina to do it all day, so I am trying to break it up into chunks and slowly acclimate.  It’s something I know I can do better at, so I am constantly working to improve my organization and time management skills.
8.      Did something in particular inspire you to just GO FOR IT and go from “hobby” writing to “I want to publish”?I’d been flailing around most of my life trying to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up and the more I wrote the more I loved it.  So many people had been telling me I should publish and the more people told me that the more I wanted to, but my confidence wasn’t quite there yet.  I had been working at a hospital doing patient registration. I didn’t love the job, but it was relatively easy work and I had good pay, good benefits, and great co-workers.  I had several managers over the years, but in the summer of 2013 the one I had was awful. Truly, truly awful.  She turned the job from something that was relatively enjoyable into something soul-sucking. I came home from work one day in tears and said to my (now ex) husband, “I can’t do this anymore, I want to be a writer.”  I submitted a “Pain Management” to Dreamspinner Press a few months later, and it was published in the “Dr. Feelgood” anthology that next spring. In the meantime, I also began exploring self-publishing.It took a couple of years (and my divorce) to actually have the opportunity to focus on my writing full-time, but that horrid boss really did give me the kick in the pants to decide that I wanted to take my writing seriously.  I am grudgingly grateful to her for that. *laughs*
9.      When you put down the “pen” (so to say) and step back after typing The End, what is it you hope people take from your writing? That my characters are complex, flawed people. They (as am I as a writer) are works in progress. The interesting thing is not that they end up together as much as how they get there. And that love is always worth the journey, no matter how difficult it is to get there.
10.  What’s up next for you?
More Evan and Jeremy! I am finishing up the second half of their story, which will be called “Trust” and I am aiming to have that out in late November/early December if possible.  Here’s a little teaser.
Sweat trickled down the back of Evan’s neck as he shoved the covers away.  He shifted, his bare leg brushing rough, stiff fabric, which made him frown in confusion.  Reaching out, he blinked sleepily, trying to put the pieces together.  His hand met sold, warm flesh and his lips curled up in a smile, remembering Jeremy’s hand stroking him through an orgasm.  Jeremy had stayed.  That’s why he felt so warm.  -Jeremy was sprawled on his back, and when Evan squinted, he could see Jeremy’s face turned away. Carefully scooting closer, he wiggled until he was wedged between Jeremy’s arm and torso.  He gently rested his head on Jeremy’s shoulder, letting out a sigh of contentment.  Jeremy wasn’t hugely built, but his chest and shoulders were wide, his arms solidly muscled.  He made Evan feel safe.
A faint memory of falling asleep on Jeremy’s chest after his orgasm tickled through his mind, and he winced when he realized Jeremy hadn’t come.  He hadn’t meant to be a jerk and fall asleep but it had been the best orgasm of his life. The first one with another man. He felt so comfortable in Jeremy’s arms, so content and cared for. For the first time, he felt like he belonged somewhere. Like he mattered.
Evan untucked his hand from where it rested between their bodies and tentatively settled it on Jeremy’s chest, who stirred a little, letting out a quiet sigh, but settled immediately back into sleep.  The steady rise and fall of his breathing was comforting. 
Evan squirmed closer, his cheek rubbing again Jeremy’s shoulder, his fingertips wandering a little.  He explored the firm planes of Jeremy’s pecs, the warm, smooth skin tempting him to touch. When he’d asked Jeremy to take him to the club that night, he’d never imagined they’d end up in bed together. His plan had been to get over Jeremy, meet someone else and move on, but this was so much better.  This was what he’d wanted all along. He’d never wanted to be with anyone else, he’d just never dreamed Jeremy would give him a chance. But Jeremy had seemed different tonight, more relaxed and open.  And the way he’d looked at Evan? Oh, it took Evan’s breath away.  It made his heart pound and little shiver skitter up and down his spine.  And to have gone from thinking that nothing would ever happen between them to this? He hardly knew what to think.
The fact that Jeremy had stayed tonight said everything.  Evan rubbed his cheek against Jeremy’s shoulder again, breathing in his scent, wanting to imprint every moment onto his memory.  For so many years he’d felt alone and unwanted. Falling asleep in Jeremy’s arms two nights in a row softened the bad memories, replacing them with something new and wonderful. They filled up the hollow ache that had been inside him for as long as he could remember.
Sleepily, Evan continued to stroke Jeremy’s skin, thrilled with the opportunity to touch him. Last night they’d both been fully clothed but feeling their bare skin pressed together was so much better. He’d wake Jeremy in a while, maybe with a handjob if he was feeling brave. Evan bit his lip at the thought. He wanted Jeremy to feel as good as he’d made Evan feel earlier.  He explored lower on Jeremy’s abdomen, feeling the firm muscles under his fingertips.  He traced the shallow line down the center of Jeremy’s abdomen, dipping into his navel, the soft hair that began below tickling his fingertip.  Holding his breath, he traced it to the edge of Jeremy’s jeans.  Jeremy stirred, shifting on the bed, and Evan followed the edge of the fabric until he hit a strange spot where the texture of Jeremy’s skin changed. Evan explored it for a second, curious, trying to figure out what it was, too dozy and sleep-muddled to put the pieces together.  His thumb smoothed over the spot, and it had just registered that it was probably scar tissue when Jeremy sat upright, shoving him away.
“Don’t fucking touch me,” he roared.
Evan fell back on the bed as Jeremy scrambled off the mattress, swearing loudly. Stunned, Evan groped for the lamp beside the bed and turned it on just as Jeremy’s face twisted with pain. He skin went grey as he hobbled toward the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Bewildered, Evan sat there for a moment, his stomach churning with anxiety as he tried to understand what had happened.
All he wanted to do was touch Jeremy. Be close to him.
He froze as he finally put the pieces together. Jeremy was sensitive about his scars, hell, he’d told Evan that before. And Evan had touched them without asking. Dazed, Evan sat on the edge of the bed. Shit, he had fucked this up. Horribly.
He heard a retching sound from the bathroom and winced, anxiety twisting his own stomach in a sympathetic response. Jeremy had probably hurt himself in his hurry to get off the bed and get away from him. Shit. Double shit. How in the hell am I going to fix this? he wondered. 
I also plan to spend most of November writing the second book in the Midwest Series, which will follow Brent and Lowell, a totally mismatched pair who get set up by their friends to take a road trip together.  It’s definitely a hate/lust type of situation and getting them together is going to be FUN.  It won’t be super angsty, but it will be a lot of fun.
I also have a series I am collaborating with another author on.  It follows a couple of very wealthy men living in Manhattan who, over the course of about fifteen years, struggle with their sexuality and their feelings for each other and have to choose between their families/inheritances/social standing  and being together. I am really excited about it and we have been working on it for a couple of years.  It’s nearly done and we’re hoping to submit it to publishers in the near future. 
In January, my plan is to get started on a plot bunny that has been hanging out in my folders for a while now.  It’ll be a rather dark story and I am still working through the details of the plot.  The story begins with Chris, standing over the grave at his brother Cal’s funeral.  Across the casket, he sees Elliot, who he later learns is his (previously straight to his knowledge) brother’s boyfriend. Chris and Elliot develop this very complicated relationship as they mourn Cal’s death and there’s a lot of guilt they both have to work through in order to be together.

It’s going to be a busy and exciting couple of months!






Connection Brigham Vaughn
After a lifetime of being told he’s worthless, shy, sheltered Evan Harris is forced out of the closet and kicked out of his home. Friends in Atlanta give him a place to stay while he gets on his feet, but despite his eagerness to explore the city, it isn’t exactly what he expected. 

Physically and emotionally scarred from a devastating car accident, Jeremy Lewis struggles to reconcile the brash, outgoing man he used to be with the social recluse he’s become. Loneliness draws them to each other, but a strong mutual attraction isn’t enough to overcome their pasts. In order to be together, Evan must discover his own worth and Jeremy must trust someone to see past his scars.

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