Jake C. Wallace's Blog, page 8

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Wednesday Brief #18 and 19 The Hollow: Soul Seekers

Copyright 2014 JC Wallace
Each week a group of authors participate weekly in Wednesday Briefs Flash Fiction. Each installment is 500-1000 words long and is posted to our blogs each week. After you read the latest in my story, click on the link at the end to visit the other flashers.

I didn't get to post last week so you are getting two for the price of one! Enjoy!~~~~~

“Wow, you clean up nice,” Noah joked.
Levi stopped in front of Noah then reached, lightly skimming a palm against the fair skin of Noah’s cheek. For a moment, Noah appeared confused, then playfully curled up one side of his lips. Deep inside, an unknown force fueled Levi’s desire. Each movement, each breath from Noah drove him crazy with wanton desire. Unable to control the voracious need, Levi hooked a finger on the waistband of Noah’s jeans and drew the man against his body. Lacing his fingers around Noah’s neck, Levi brought the taller man’s lips down onto his. Noah’s arms wrapped around Levi’s waist and he returned his kiss in earnest. Tongues dueled and teeth gnashed. Levi pushed his growing erection against Noah’s groin and a groan escape between their lips. Shit, he usually had to work hard to get an erection, to even come. Noah returned the pressure and Levi thought he’d cream his pants right there. Noah’s hard bulge pressed against Levi’s hip. Suddenly, Levi needed more even if somewhere deep down it all seemed wrong.
Noah’s hands worked their way under Levi’s shirt, running his nails across Levi’s back. His body shuddered. A fever rose within Levi that prickled across his skin. Sensations he’d never experienced before battled to be at the forefront—lust, want, need, desire. He had to have Noah, possess him totally. The man was his and could only be his.
Levi pushed his body harder against Noah, crushing him against the wall, the pressure undeniably exquisite. Frantically, Levi kissed Noah, harder faster, holding the back of Noah’s head with balled up fists entangled in Noah’s hair. When Noah tried to pull away, Levi held him with more force, using a hand to rake Noah’s shirt up and scratching  the warm skin of his back. Every muscle in Levi’s body tightened, straining to get more contact. Rutting against Noah, Levi felt the pressure growing in his balls. Within Levi’s gut, a frenzy burst forth and with it a crazed need to hurt Noah, cause him pain. It clenched at Levi’s jaw and curled his fingers, digging his nails hard into Noah’s skin. Levi’s teeth caught hold of Noah’s lip and it took all of his might to keep from biting clean through it.
Noah yanked his head back, his eyebrows furrowing. “Did you just bite me?”
Levi ignored his question and went back for Noah’s mouth, digging in his short nails harder.
Noah avoided his lips. “Levi…slow down,” he said, blocking Levi’s advances.
But Levi kept going at Noah with a ferocity he couldn’t control. He was chasing his orgasm while a screaming need to cause Noah harm, inflict pain, rode next to the pleasure. The rage he felt overtook any wrongness of hurting Noah away.
“Levi!” Noah yelled. “What the hell are you doing?”
Levi clenched his teeth tight and pummeled his fists into the hardness of Noah’s chest. Noah caught hold of Levi’s wrists and held him back. The shock of Levi’s actions covered Noah’s face. Levi struggled against his grip but Noah held tight.
“What...Are you okay?” Noah asked his tone doubtful, his disbelief shadowing his eyes.
No, he wasn’t okay. He wanted to kill Noah.
Levi ripped his wrists from Noah’s grip and took several steps back. The urge to hurt Noah raged like a thunderstorm inside of Levi. If Noah didn’t want Levi then no one would have the man. Levi’s heart raced, breaths rapid, fists clenched at his sides, the muscles in his legs ready to pounce on Noah as if he were Levi’s prey. The all-consuming rage ate up Levi’s humanity like an underfed lion.
Noah took a step forward his hand held out to Levi. That touch, the feeling of Noah’s skin on his, would propel Levi across a line from which he might never return. Levi drew back stopping Noah in his tracks. Noah straightened his back and his eyes narrowed. The action renewed Levi’s ire. A war of wills raged in his mind, a single voice winning out.
 Run. Run!
Levi bolted past Noah and ascended the stairs. Nothing stopped his escape. Not Noah yelling his name, not the crowd of bodies he pushed aside with a vengeance, not the burning in his ribs. Flinging the front door wide open, Levi ran into the cold afternoon without thought to where he was going. Fleeing the college was becoming an unsettling habit. At least last time, he’d had his car for the getaway.
The fury within him was dying away, the wrath of the monstrous entity releasing its fiery grip on Levi. He sprinted until he reached the Quick Stop two blocks from the college. The heat that had brought the flush of fever to his skin diminished. The chill of the unseasonably cold spring air raised the hair on his arms. His sweater gone, his jacket back at the college, Levi was freezing. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his new phone and chose a name from his contacts list.
“Logan, please answer,” he pleaded.
Levi wrapped an arm tight around himself trying to shield the coldness. After the fourth ring, he almost gave up hope then…
“Hey, Levi.”
A sigh of relief escaped his throat. “Logan, can you come and get me? I need a ride.”
“I thought you were with Gia? Where are you?”
“I’m at the Quick Stop on Main Street. Gia’s at the college. It’s a long story. Can you come and get me? Please?” His teeth chattered.
“Are you okay, Levi? You sound funny.”
“Yeah, I’m good,” he lied.
“I’ll be there in about twenty,” Logan assured him.
“Logan, wait. Please don’t say anything to Mom and Dad.” If he did, Levi was certain he’d face an interrogation when he arrived at home.
There was a short pause. “Okay.”
“Thanks,” Levi said, and hung up already trying to piece together a convincing explanation for when Logan showed up.
Levi texted Gia letting her know he’d left and that Logan had picked him up. Of course, she wanted to know “what the hell happened” but Levi said he’d explain later. God forbid if Noah told Gia about how unhinged he’d become. Probably would blab it to everyone. As if Levi wasn’t enough of an outsider already.
A cup of hot chocolate sounded good right about then so Levi entered the semi-warmth of the store. Fixing a cup and paying for it, he then wandered through the aisles pretending to look for something. Really, he was stalling to stay out of the cold until Logan arrived. Turning the corner at the end of an aisle, Levi almost plowed over an older woman. She dropped a box and a can she’d been carrying.
“I’m so sorry. My fault. I wasn’t looking where I was going,” Levi apologized, leaning down to get the box.
The tall, thin, gray-haired woman leaned down to retrieve the can as it rolled across the floor. “That’s quite alright dear.”
As the woman stood, terror washed across her face, filling her grayish eyes. Her hand grasped at the cross on her chest and she shuffled back a few steps. A gasping sound emerged from her throat.
“Are you okay? Do need help?” Levi asked. Please don’t die right here in front of me!
Leering back at Levi the woman muttered over or over,  “Mio Dio.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t understand. Is something wrong?” Her actions were freaking Levi out.
The woman pointed a finger at Levi. “Senz’anima. Stay away from me.”
“Excuse me,” Levi said, annoyed with the woman’s odd behavior.
The next words uttered from the woman sent an arctic blast through Levi and froze him where he stood. “I see you. You’re hollow, empty, unfeeling. Not even human,” the woman half-hissed, half-spat out.
The cup slid from Levi’s hand and hit the floor, the light chocolate-colored liquid covered the floor between them.
“What did you say?” The whispered words barely escaped from Levi’s throat.
“Senz’anima,” the woman hissed again.
“I…I’m s-sorry...” Levi backed away as the woman glowered at him. Keeping his head down, he quickly exited the store. Outside the air had grown colder but Levi was already numb from the woman’s prognostic ranting. Levi rushed forward when he spotted Logan standing near his truck.
When Logan finally spotted him, he smiled but that dropped off quickly. “Where’s your jacket?”
Levi looked over his shoulder toward the store then to the truck. “Can we just get out of here?” Levi jumped into the warm cab of the truck and slammed the door, locking it behind him. Logan climbed into the truck and reached behind the seat, pulling out a flannel shirt and handed it to Levi.
“Thanks,” Levi mumbled and pulled it on. It smelled like Logan and earthiness and helped Levi to calm down.
Logan started up the rumbling truck then turned to Levi. “Are you gonna tell me what happened? Like why you’re here,”—Logan said gesturing toward the store—“without your coat?” His voice had taken on that big brother tone.
“I’d rather not,” Levi said with a heavy sign.
Logan turned his head and stared out over the front of the truck. Levi rubbed at his temples with his fingertips. There was too much to tell, so much that made no sense, that any attempt to put it into words would sound like the ramblings of a soon to be madman.
Logan put the truck into drive and pulled out of the parking lot. Within the cab of the truck, the silence crept into every crack and crevice. Levi tried to focus on the sound of his breath, the hum of the oversized truck tires, anything to avoid the cascade of confusion and mystery of the past four days.
Logan’s voice startled Levi. “You know you can tell me anything, don’t you, Levi? I mean, haven’t I always let you know that?” Logan’s gaze stayed steadfastly on the road ahead. The tension showed around his eyes, his mouth and in his jaw. “But you keep me at arm’s length just like you do everyone else.”
Hearing the straining anguish in his voice, Levi winced. He wanted nothing more to let Logan and the rest of the world in, but he had no idea how. Nothing connected within his hollow body. The woman’s words still haunted Levi, wrapping invisible fingers around him and holding tight.
“I don’t mean to do it. Really. It’s just the way I am…all I seem to be able to be.” He was like the color white, absorbing all of the colors of the rainbow and reflecting none back.
“Yeah, I know,” Logan said in exasperation. “But lately you’re acting…”
“Stranger than usual?”
Logan actually let a slight ironic laugh escape. “That too, but I was going to say more distant. You used to tell me everything you did, everything you wanted, dragged me into the middle of your life. I mean it was nothing deep or anything, but you included me. At times, I had to take “Levi breaks” to recharge. And please, don’t take this the wrong way, but I used to wish for you to tone it down the drama a notch.” He shook his head slightly. “Now I wish you’d say anything at all to me.”
Levi could use a “Levi break”, too. “I’m sorry.” It was all he could think to say.
“I think it really got worse after you came back from college. It wasn’t a huge difference, but I noticed.” He glanced at Levi as if he needed to know that Levi understood, that Levi agreed. And yes, he did agree.
Going away to college had seemed such a simple step in the progression from teenager to adult. Applications were completed, the SAT taken, letters of recommendation acquired, and then acceptance letters and partial scholarships awarded, dorm room paid for and it had all become a large boulder rolling down a hill, unstoppable, sweeping Levi along with it. His parent’s expectations, in fact, the expectations of teachers, relatives, friends—even societal value on higher education—all pushed Levi into attending college. So when he went and within three short months—months that had seemed to stretch into years—it had all crumbled. Eventually, debilitating panic attacks kept him from classes, affected his ability to drive the hour home on weekends. Fear and anxiety filled most of his hours, spiraling out of control until he’d crashed head first into the ground. It had changed him. The entirety of the trauma, the failure, had drawn him further into himself than he’d ever been before.
“What do you want from me? I can’t just change who I am…what I’ve become.” Or what I’m in the middle of becoming.
Logan was silent, almost statue-like, and then spoke. “Can’t you?”
The question was a slap with words.

 
Chapter 10
Levi forced himself to ignore the panic rising within from Logan’s comment. That was the same attitude most people had unable to understand the relentless, raw fear, the aching yearning to bond on any level with another human, the longing to escape the loneliness of his existence. Dr. Ross had mentioned something about an attachment disorder or something, stemming from a failure to form a significant bond with his primary caregivers as a baby. Levi hadn’t been able to fathom how experiences from infancy could reach out and affect his life years later. Now anything seemed possible.
Despite the warmth of the truck, a cold chill crept into Levi. When he’d failed to answer, Logan became silent again, his eyes unwavering from the road. The silence stuck the entire way home, and Levi could feel a wall building between them brick by brick.
In their driveway, Levi jumped from the truck as it was still rolling to a stop. He entered through the mudroom to avoid questions about his lack of a jacket. Passing through the kitchen, his mother looked up from her food prep.
“Did you have a good time, Levi? How do you feel?”
“Had a great time. Feel good. Have homework to do,” he said, as he breezed past his mother to exit the kitchen.
“Levi.”
The deep tone of the voice stopped his. When he turned, Logan’s body filled the doorway to the mudroom. His keys dangled from his fingers at his side. A stern look of indignation hit Levi hard.
“Logan? I thought you were in your room?” A puzzled look crossed their mother’s face.
Logan’s gaze burned into Levi who fidgeted then crossed his arms. Was Logan going to turn him in, rat him out? Their mother looked between the two of them, regarding each other in silence.
A moment longer and his mother started to speak but Logan cut her off. “I was in my room, but I had to run out for a minute. Got some work to do so I’m heading up there now,” he said, stuffing his keys into his pocket.
“Okay,” their mother said tentatively, with a baffled expression. “Dinner’s at six.”
“Okay,” Logan muttered then passed Levi, leaving the kitchen.
“He’s acting strange,” his mother said, narrowing her eyes with an unspoken awareness that Levi knew what was up.
“He’s just strange anyway,” Levi said, deflecting his mother’s suspicions and backed out of the room.
Levi raced up the stairs in time to catch Logan opening the door to his room.
“Logan.”
Logan turned slightly, his hand on the doorknob of the partially opened door. He still wore the same expression of indignation.
“Thanks for not saying anything to Mom.” Levi smiled slightly but Logan didn’t reciprocate.
“Yeah, whatever,” he mumbled and turned from Levi and closed himself into his room.
That single act of turning away held a great significance for Levi. Logan was telling Levi without words that he’d had enough. Logan was leaving Levi’s game, no longer interested in playing along. Levi had never imagined a greater feeling of loneliness was possible but there it was. A closed door and the only person he’d ever felt the slightest connection to at all was hiding behind it.
Hiding from me.
Levi rested his palm against the cool wood. An aching sadness, a faint need to cry, resonated in his chest, but he couldn’t grasp it. He willed it forward, a deep need to react as any human being would in this situation. Squeezing his eyes tight, he was determined to shed tears. But nothing—just like the echo of nothingness that was his existence.  ## Catch the others authors flashing this week:http://wedbriefsfic.com/  


Welcome Jayson James with Pieces of Us!

I'd like to welcome Jayson James back to the blog

~~~~~~~~

Thank you for hosting me on my first ever blog tour!
Although I have put out five previous books and three short stories, I have never done a blog tour before where I am visiting a different blog every day. I am quite excited!  Be sure to follow me on social media to see where I will be each day!
 PIECES OF US My name is Dylan Sterling.  I am one of the main characters in Jayson James’ upcoming book Pieces of Us.  With a name like Dylan, you might be inclined to think that I’m a boy, but let me assure you that I am a true 100% girl.  It is also imperative that I share with you, the reader that I am only writing this so my best friend, Jesse will quit nagging me about doing a promo spot.

Let me share a little bit about myself.  I love books.  Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved to read.  I always have a few books with me at all times.  Nothing is worse than getting through a book and not having something else to read for me.  Books give me a chance to let my mind wander off to another place. I am trying to rub my love of reading off on Jesse.  Well so far, he’s just not that into it unless I read them to him.  Which leads me to my other favorite past time, hanging out at the lake.  The dock in particular.  Sanders Lake is beautiful.  Whether sitting or lying on the dock, dangling my feet it, it is mine and Jesse’s spot to be.  Three to four months out of the year we spend a lot of time at or in the lake. Set in the summer of 1988, pop culture is prevalent and life was different than it is today.  Pieces of Us is about two best friends, Jesse Stetson and myself and the summer when our lives both changed.  For me, after a series of dating I finally find a boyfriend, who is sweet, charming and an all-around nice guy.  Yes, and as Jesse wants me to include he has a hot body.  For Jesse, he is dealing with an internal turmoil that he is afraid to admit to himself and furthermore makes it impossible for him to share with anyone else. Lucky for him, he has me. I make sure to be there for him and try to help him as much as I can. We are like two peas in a pod. Being a teenager can suck a lot at times, but friends and boyfriends can make it a little easier. A few interesting facts about Pieces of Us… ·         All of the businesses named in the book were all quite popular and at their heyday during the time this book takes place, yet all of them are now out of business or were bought out by another company and the names changed.  The exception to this are the places of business that are used in most of Jayson James’ other books. ·         The font that is used on the front cover of the book is named Cooper.  The name of the font wasn’t noticed until after it was determined to be used. ·         All the movies and songs that are mentioned in this book were actual ones Jayson was interested in at the time.  They were also cross-referenced to make sure the timing, dates and popularity were remembered correctly. Be sure to keep a watch out for Pieces of Us, which will release on September20, 2014, which also happens to be Jayson James’ birthday! Pieces of Us is available for preorder now from: Amazon = http://amzn.com/B00MR1DCAA Smashwords = https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/470080   Finding Jayson James Online: Website:  http://jaysonjamesbooks.blogspot.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJaysonJames Twitter: @jaysonjamesbook Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6590610.Jayson_James “Into the lake?”
“Into the lake.” For Jesse Stetson, a boy who knows he is different and Dylan Sterling, Jesse’s best friend, Sander’s Lake has served as a sort of scrapbook for them with sentimental items being dropped into the lake from their dock after significant events in their lives. Life in 1988 was different from today.  A boy and a girl being best friends were uncommon.  Not that Jesse or Dylan cared, they had each other and that’s all that mattered.  Or so Jesse wished.  While Dylan has been meeting and dating guys, Jesse has yet to find the same connection with a girl.  The closest he’s come is Dylan, but she’s a girl and a friend not a girlfriend.   Jesse is struggling with his feelings and trying his hardest to be normal. Dylan and Jesse are growing up and possibly growing apart.  Dylan has a new boyfriend and is now splitting her time between him and Jesse.  To further complicate things, Jesse meets Orion, a new boy in town.  Jesse knows that his feelings towards Orion must be wrong, yet it feels so right.   Even if Orion feels about Jesse the same way that Jesse feels about him, should they act on their attraction? This story is a journey of friendship and discovery, finding out who you are as a person, and then being okay with who you are.   ARTWORK Over 100 drawings were created, modified, merged, cropped and manipulated to create the cover for Pieces of Us.  This by and far was the most labor-intensive cover on any of my books to date.  I feel with how it turned out, it made all the work worthwhile.   WHERE TO PURCHASE Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00MR1DCAA Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/jayson-james Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/470080   ABOUT THE AUTHOR My name is Jayson James.  I am an Indy author of several novels and novellas.  I was born and  have lived most of my life in Washington State.  My interests beyond writing include drawing, reading a variety of books, watching movies and hanging out with his friends, family and dog.  Besides an author, I am an artist.  The cover art on every one of my published works are one of my own drawings.  I take the drawing I do for each cover and then design the rest of the cover around it.   SOCIAL MEDIA Website: www.jaysonjamesbooks.blogspot.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/jaysonjamesbooks Google+ & email: jaysonjamesbooks@gmail.com Twitter: @jaysonjamesbook  1988 COMMENT QUESTION What is your favorite romance movie from 1988? I’d like to hear from you!  Please post your response in the comments below! Be sure to check out other stops on the tour for more questions.   MORE BY JAYSON JAMES   How It Was Supposed To Be Reese Kennicott and his family were living the carefree life of an upper middle class life.  That was until one day when his father arrives home from work and shares the company he has worked for since he was Reese’s age has gone out of business.  Adding to the stress of being out of work for the first time in the worst economic downturn the United States has ever faced.  Hope comes in the form of a new job for Reese’s father.  The downside is this job is across the country, forcing Reese to leave behind his friends and the life he’s always known. Releasing Fall 2014. T.E.D. Tim-Eric-Delsin   Tim is being bullied.  No one in high school wants to be known as a tattle-tale and to do so would only make things rougher for him.  The repercussions would most likely make him an outcast, and without any friends. Eric is frustrated with life.  His parents are overbearing and if they ever knew the person he really was, they would throw him out of their house.  His friends are not much better, they only like him when he is who they expect him to be. Delsin is gay and ready to come out.  Unfortunately, life at home is on the brink of falling apart with his parents constant fighting.  Admitting the truth could bring his whole world crashing down around him.   Each of these three needs to decide whether the risks of being honest about who they are outweighs the importance of being true to themselves.   This could mean ruining life as each of them knows it.  Maybe it is better to remain miserable in order to play it safe.  On the other hand, doing nothing doesn’t seem to working either.  
Finding Our Way Justin Parker and Derrick Wilson have been best friends since meeting back in middle school. Currently they are in their junior year at Chandler High School, and living the good life as teenagers. They have great girlfriends, plenty of close friends, their own cars, and parents who are well off. As nice as things might look to an outsider, something is missing from each of their lives. Justin has become the invisible son in the midst of his parents failing marriage. In an effort to get his parent’s attention, Justin keeps getting into trouble. So far he has been able to get away with anything without facing any repercussions, while Derrick is feeling distant and tired of what he feels is a too “perfect family”. He just wants to have a normal social life and spend time with his friends without the pressures from his family to spend time with them. With blurring the lines of friendship in the process to realizing what was missing and discovering who they really are. Justin and Derrick take turns narrating the story of their junior year in high school and all of the events that take place in their lives. Being a teenager can be tough. Being gay can be tougher. For Derrick and Justin they are both, and life cannot get any more complicated. What happens when two best friends cross the boundaries of friendship? Will they be able to be happy together? Will they keep their secret?   Tormented Discovery Justin and Derrick have a secret that they revealed only to their closest friends.  They are gay and are now a couple.  The story of Justin and Derrick continues as they learn more about being a gay couple in their senior year of high school and the complications that arise from it.  Some friends will have their backs while others simply stand on the sidelines.  Other friends will be accepting and others will ridicule them. Sometimes love is almost not enough to save a relationship and both Derrick and Justin begin to have their doubts as they watch relationships around them rise and fall.  Justin and Derrick both want to have new experiences, new choices and make new friends, which leads to them questioning their own relationship.  They soon discover that some of the people they consider friends have their own secrets, some darker than others.  The couple begins to see how people react towards homosexuality and just how people want to deal with it and them. Will Justin and Derrick be able to hold onto each other while their lives and secrets spiral around them?
Or will they decide to step back and give up on themselves and each other?   Drifting What happens when the person you love is having doubts? These two boyfriends have been through a lot. Best friends since childhood, fell in love in high school and thought they would be together forever. They stuck together even when their friends and family found out about their relationship. Struggling with challenge after challenge, they have finally made it to college and are living on their own. Living together is a whole new world and being open with their relationship is even more so. Spending every day together as a couple they begin to learn about their differences. Things that never bothered them are now annoying traits driving a wedge between them. Can their relationship survive their differences? Can it handle new friends and new romances? Will they find their way together or will they drift apart? 

Wednesday Briefs #17 The Hollow: Soul Seekers

Copyright 2014 JC Wallace


Holding his head, Levi focused on moving his feet and pushed to get by the masses of bodies on his left and tried to avoid being pounded into the wall to his right.
Bam!
He ran into a hard wall of chest. The collision pushed him back. Protecting his side, Levi was about to go around the large person until he saw it—a large red dragon in a sea of black—the black of a hooded sweatshirt.
Was this the man who’d been outside of his house? Was he some kind of a modern day Grim Reaper, exchanging the hooded cape for a hooded sweatshirt, a hipper, up to date version of Death. Looking up, a pair of dark eyes glared down at Levi. The man’s stern mouth was clamped shut and his jaw clenched so tight that the muscles bulged at the sides. Then, a ripping pain traveled straight to the center of Levi’s brain and doubled him over.
Levi cried out, his shout absorbed by the noise of the crowd.
When he stood up, the man towering over him reached out and laid a large hand on Levi’s shoulder. The contact brought on a swell of horrific pain, a ringing in Levi’s ears, and stinging tears to his eyes. Covering his ears, Levi tried to muffle the deafening rumble, but the sound increased. Within the pain, there emerged a distinct sensation, a pulsing energy licking at his brain with the intensity of a thousand suns—and it was coming from the large man. Memories coalesced—that man in the black hoodie had been there, outside of Levi’s classroom, in the school parking lot, as well as outside of Levi’s house and now was right in front of Levi—an assailant with an invisible weapon.
Was he trying to kill him?
Whatever his motive, Levi had to get far away from him. Yanking his shoulder from under the heavy hand, Levi turned and struggled to pass anyone in his way. Terrified, he refused to look back to see if he was being followed.
Levi heard his name called from within the crowd. Melissa waved frantically, but Levi continued weaving through bodies. Finally, at the end of the hall, Levi burst through the exit, into the stairwell and leaned against the railing. The pressure had subsided slightly, but then surged with a new intensity.
The door opened behind Levi. Whirling around, the dark-eyed man stood before Levi again. With a thunderous echoing roar, the door slammed behind the man, his stare fixed on Levi.
“Stop it!” Levi screamed through clenched teeth.
As hard as he tried, Levi couldn’t keep his gaze on the man. The pain forced his head down into his hands.
Boots scraped against the floor, echoing through the stairwell. As the man came closer, Levi backed up against the wall, scrambling to get away.
“Get away from me,” Levi cried, swinging a fist toward the dragon covered chest, but he only swiped the air.
Another sickening wave struck and a warm trickle seeped from Levi’s left nostril. Swiping it with the back of his hand, he saw it was bright red.
Blood.
“Y-You’re killing me!” The words came out as a guttural cry. “Go away!”
The footsteps stopped. Levi peered up expecting the menacing face to morph into a hideous monster. Instead, there was only a man bewildered and possibly even stunned as blood ran down Levi’s face and stained his gray sweater. The man’s mouth opened as if something to say something, but there was nothing but silence.
The burly man took a step back, his eyes unwavering. Levi grabbed his head again and closed his eyes for a second. In that moment, the man turned and bolted for the stairs.
The door opened again and Noah barreled through almost missing Levi, his face horror stricken when he saw the blood. He glimpsed down at the fleeing man then back at Levi.
“You okay?” he asked, his wide eyes darting back and forth from Levi to where the man had disappeared.
Levi nodded and Noah descended the stairs.
Levi slid down the wall and sat on the floor. The bleeding had slowed. His stomach churned, threatening to empty. He swallowed hard. The sickening force in his head subsided as rapidly as it had emerged, a ghost of its former self. A warm tickle in his chest was all that remained.
Rapid footsteps echoed on the stairs and Noah reappeared, hastening to Levi. On Noah’s face was enough anger to break someone in half.
“He’s gone. What did he do to you?” Noah growled, kneeling beside Levi.
What did he do? To Levi, it felt as if he’d tried to rip his brain out through his nose, but the man had only touched his shoulder. What could he say that wouldn’t sound totally insane?
“Did he hit you?” Noah roared when Levi didn’t answer.
Levi shook his head. “No. He didn’t touch me,” he lied.
Noah frowned with a puzzled look. “But you’re bleeding?”

 
Chapter 9
Levi glanced down at the obnoxious deep red stain on his gray sweater.
“A bloody nose.” He brushed at his nostril with his fingertips to make sure it had stopped. “I was in the hallway and my head really started to hurt and then I literally ran into that guy. When I came out here, he followed me. I guess I got a little freaked.”
That was putting it mildly.
“So he didn’t touch you?”
“No, really, he didn’t,”  he lied.
Yes, he’d touched Levi and then tried to kill him with some kind of freaky mind meld or something equally weird. “How did you know where to find me? Levi asked, surveying the blood staining his hands.
“Your brother’s girlfriend.  She mentioned you ran out here acting all strange. That was quite the bloody nose. How about we get you cleaned up?”
Noah reached for Levi’s arm to help him to his feet. Goosebumps covered Levi’s skin again and there was a foreign stirring of warmth in his chest. Noah’s green eyes had softened. Concern for Levi reflected in their deep richness. A slight smile and Levi melted a bit. Of course, Levi probably looked like a walking corpse.
They went down the stairs to avoid the crowded hall. Levi was weary, waiting for the man in black to jump out at him but he appeared to be long gone. What did he want? Was Levi manufacturing his paranoia that this man was following him? Maybe he hadn’t been around each time Levi had felt that skull-crushing pain? Maybe he was hallucinating?
Downstairs, the bathroom was vacant. In front of the mirror, Levi gaped at his reflection. Damn, he looked like the walking dead. The blood wasn’t the only horror. His skin had taken on a gray, waxy pallor, highlighting deep black circles beneath his eyes. The color had drained from his lips. Turning on the water, Levi scrubbed at the dried blood on his face and hands. For having just survived a near miss with a hipper version of Death, Levi was feeling surprisingly good.
Stripping off his gray sweater, Levi was relieved that the blood hadn’t soaked through the thick wool onto the white t-shirt he wore beneath. The sweater went into the garbage can. No way he’d be chucking that into the laundry at home for his mother to uncover. Her gloating about being right would never end. Kind of like Gia’s.
Again, Noah had come to his rescue. A surge of heat rushed from Levi’s chest and flushed his cheeks, bringing him back to life. A knot twisted in his stomach with the thought of Noah’s green eyes, his seductive smile, long dark lashes. And that hair, all wild and unruly. Levi imagined it would feel soft against his fingers as he ran them through the auburn curls. He imagined Noah’s arms wrapped tight around his waist, Noah’s hot breath on his neck, Noah’s lips pushing against his. A shudder raced down his spine. Fuck, that was hot.
Pushing open the bathroom door, Levi found Noah leaning his shoulder against the wall, arms folded across his chest. Like the day Noah had rescued Levi, just the sides of his hair were pulled back. When Noah smiled, the smallest amount of breath escaped Levi’s lips. He wiped his sweaty palms against his pants. Pangs of desire rose quickly and right then he knew he had to feel his hands on Noah.
##  Check out the other flashers this week:  MA Church Chris T. Kat Taylin ClavelliAvery NephylimJon KeysJohayan Cia Nordwell BL MorticiaJim Dunaway Elyzabeth VaLey Lily VeldenShelly Schulz Carol PedrosoTali SpencerKazy ReedJulie Lynn Hayes 

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Cover Reveal! Diventando: The Vessel

Here is another awesome cover by Trace Zaber at Amber Allure for my next release Diventando: The Vessel due out on Sept. 7th! This story is an expanded version of my weekly flash fiction featuring Owen and Turk.    
Twenty-five-year-old Owen McIntyre is no stranger to the Grim Reaper. Diagnosed with leukemia at the age of fifteen, he's spent the last ten years slowly dying. With only two weeks before his next checkup, Owen’s body is already warning him that he may no longer be in remission. He’s tired of the countless rounds of chemo and the way his family coddles and protects him. To live and die on his own terms, Owen makes the most difficult decision of all: he decides to forego treatment. When he meets a lively college professor named Turk, conquering the man becomes part of his bucket list. But as Owen gets to know Turk, he starts to see him as more than a fling. It’s a luxury a dying man doesn’t have.
 But what if suddenly everything Owen knew to be true was a web of lies and deceit—even his diagnosis of cancer? Suddenly taken hostage, tied to a bed and experimented on, Owen's nightmare of leukemia is a far cry from the horrors he will face. No longer able to trust anyone in his life, including Turk, Owen is alone and cut off from the world. He has to make the hard decision whether to trust those who have betrayed him, or die a lonely death. He must also decide if he can trust enough to love the man he’s come to care for deeply. With time running out, he’ll not only fight to live, but fight to want to live again, and even that might not be enough to save him from the evil that lurks inside.
 

Wednesday Briefs #15 and #16 The Hollow: Soul Seekers

Copyright 2014 JC Wallace Each week a group of authors participate weekly in Wednesday Briefs Flash Fiction. Each installment is 500-1000 words long and is posted to our blogs each week. After you read the latest in my story, click on the link at the end to visit the other flashers.

For some reason, my brief didn't post so this week you get two for one! Enjoy!~~~~~

Two days in bed and Levi truly believed he’d be losing his mind faster than he’d expected. When Gia called Sunday morning, Levi begged for a speedy rescue. Another day at home with his mother and Levi wouldn’t be responsible for his actions. After a brief argument with his mother, Levi was in Gia’s Honda and free from his prison and warden. “You’re a life saver!” Levi exclaimed. “If it wasn’t for my cousin’s wedding, I would have rescued you yesterday. Hey, do you know what you get when you put an ugly woman in a three-thousand dollar wedding dress? Yup, an ugly woman in a three-thousand dollar wedding dress. No amount of money was going to save that wreck of a woman. He’s definitely marrying her for the money,” Gia said, almost looking sad. Levi held his side as he laughed through the stab of pain, but it was so worth it. There first stop was Gia’s house. Her house was outside of Ticonderoga, on Lake Champlain, which bordered the east side of town. Since they’d become friends, Levi had spent so much time there that he’d taken over one of the many guest rooms as his own. Gia lived here with her father, Dario. but he often traveled for his business which had something to do with extraction and storage. Whatever that meant. Gia’s older sister, Claudia, was away at college in California and rarely came home. Gia’s mother had died before her father had moved them to Ticonderoga. The house was an amazing modern log cabin with all of the amenities. Huge cook’s kitchen, large family room with massive floor to ceiling windows, a deck overlooking the lake, walk-in showers and, to top it off, a heated pool if the lake was too cold for a swim. It was definitely posh and paled Levi’s house immensely. But despite all of that, Levi came to Gia’s for the quiet and solitude. Gia dragged Levi into the kitchen, which wasn’t necessary since his nose would have done the job for her. Homemade Italian spaghetti sauce simmered in a pot on the stove. The sauce took Gia’s dad three days to make and was enough to make Levi’s stomach sit up and beg. “Tell me it’s done,” Levi demanded. His mouth watered as he drifted closer to the large metal pot on the six burner stove. Gia gave Levi an evil smirk as she held a large spoon but remained silent. “So help me God Gia if you brought me here to torture me then I will never speak to you about—” “Gia, don’t tease Levi,” a deep voice said. Dario walked into the kitchen, his dark gray hair slicked back. He had the classic Italian looks—long thin nose with the bump in the bridge, olive skin, bushy eyebrows, almond-shaped brown eyes, thin well-defined lips. Levi had to admit to a boy crush on Gia’s Dad when he’d first met him but now Dario was like a second father. “Hey darling,” Dario said giving Gia a squeeze and kiss on her head. “Hi, Papa,” she said he smile wide. Their family was highly affectionate and touchy feely. At first, it had freaked Levi out given that no one even hugged each other in his family. Gia explained that it was an Italian thing, well at least in her large extended family. When they all came to visit, they were always, hugging and kissing cheeks and sitting close. Once Levi had gotten used to the handsy lot, he had become more comfortable and even a little jealous of their openness. Dario took the spoon from Gia. “Levi, how’re you doing? Gia tells me you hurt yourself when you fell into the lake? Did you realize it’s March?” He gave Levi the cursory what-the-hell-were-you-thinking look. Yeah, that was the standard look Levi had gotten from everyone. “Stupid accident. I’m doing much better.” He ducked his head to hide his embarrassment. “Well, if you’re injured, you must eat,” he said pulling out a plate for Levi  who snorted. Every occasion was a reason to feed people in this household. You pass a test, you eat. You stub your toe, you eat. If it’s a day ending in “y”, you eat. Dario piled the plate high with pasta and smothered it with thick, sauce laden with sausage, pork and chicken. Levi closed his mouth to stop any drool from escaping. He was damned sure that sauce could cure cancer. “Manga,” Dario said in his boisterous, tenor voice and affectionately ruffled Levi’s hair. Levi grinned around a mouth full of pasta and sauce and gave a muffled, “Thank you.” “How are your parents Levi?” Dario asked pouring himself a glass of red wine. Levi swallowed his mouthful. “Good. Dad’s busy with surveys. Logan’s still working with him. Mom’s busy too but everyone is good.” “Molto buono. That makes me happy to hear. And school? You studying hard?” Dario raised his eyebrows in that expectant look parent give their kids that says, “the answer better be yes.” “School is good,” he assured Dario. “Keep it that way. “I have some work to do in my office. Gia, give Levi some bread.” Gia rolled her eyes. After her father had left the kitchen she said, “Get your own fucking bread. I swear whenever you’re here you’re the prince of the house.” Levi grinned around another mouthful of pasta and sauce, some dripping out of the corner of his mouth. “Oh, a real prince,” she said and threw a towel at him and Levi wiped his chin. “Are you sure you have to go to this thing at the college? Couldn’t you just skip it and we could hang out here or something?” Levi asked “Nope, you will suffer the Annual Spring Icebreaker with me.” Gia had that stubborn set to her expression that told Levi no argument was going to change her mind. Levi moaned. The annual Spring Icebreaker was a sort of thank-god-spring-is-here themed fair. Different groups at the college were doing their own tribute to Spring. Levi had repeatedly refused to attend, adamant about continuing his avoidance of all things school until tomorrow.  “It’s going to be a blast. We can make fun of the theater geeks in their togas. They’re doing some crap from ancient Rome or something,” she said, scrunching her round face in disgust. “Ugh,” Levi moaned again and shovel more pasta goodness into his mouth. “Don’t whine. I’m going to get ready. Oh and when you’re done, would you go and see if my father has the envelope he wants me to drop off at the bank.” “You mean go into his office?” Levi had never been in that office. It was off-limits to everyone, kind of like the bat cave. “Yes, Levi, the scary office.” She shook her head and left the kitchen. She would have made an excellent older sister with that wit and sarcasm. Finishing up the pasta, Levi rinsed his plate and placed it in the dishwasher. Wandering down the hallway, he stopped at the thick, carved door to Dario’s office. Although he was always nice to Levi and had a smile for him, there was something commanding, formidable beneath the surface of Dario Alberici. He was a successful businessman, from Levi understood over the years from Gia. The way he held himself with confidence, controlled his environment, commanded others, Levi could see him crushing business opponents easily. Levi knocked, the sound absorbed by the hard wood. After a moment, he knocked again louder, his knuckles stinging. Shit, he couldn’t hear anything through the door. He should wait for Dario to answer, but what if he was telling Levi to come in and Levi couldn’t hear him. Shit. One more knock and no answer.  Levi sucked in a breath reached for the handle. Slowly, he turned the knob and pushed open the door. “Dario?” No answer so Levi peeked around the door. The office was large, decorated in the same light, modern style as the rest of the house. A large mahogany desk sat in the middle of the room facing the windows overlooking the lake. Best view in the house. The room was empty. Levi was about to leave and find Gia when a noise to the right startled him. Along one wall was a large bookcase. Levi’s mouth dropped open when one section of the bookcase swung open like a door and Dario stepped out. When he saw Levi his brow furrowed. “Levi?” The tone of his voice said he wanted an explanation. “S-sorry Dario. Gia sent me here to get something...you wanted her to drop off. I knocked a few times but you didn’t...I didn’t think...I mean, I thought you didn’t hear me.” Fuck he sounded guilty. Dario shut the bookcase and smiled slowly. “Alright.” He walked to the desk with a sideways glance at Levi. He picked up an envelope and slowly extended it across the desk. His expression was almost one daring Levi to come and get it. Levi stepped forward and reached for the envelope. When his fingers gripped the smooth paper and pulled, Dario didn’t release it. Levi raised his brows. “Now, Levi. What you’ve seen here today is our little secret. Can I count on you to keep this to yourself?” The set of Dario’s jaw and the hardness in his dark eyes was enough to make Levi agree to anything, even liking girls. “You mean the office?” Was it really that big of a secret? Dario cracked a smile. “The bookcase, Levi. I have a room there where I store important papers. Papers that my competitors would like to get their hands on. Information others would not think twice about hurting someone I love to get their hands on. Which is why it’s a secret from everyone.” He raised his brows again in that Dario way. Levi knew who he meant by “everyone”—Gia. Why did he feel like he was getting some kind of warning? Paranoid much, Levi? “Sure no problem, Dario.” Levi nodded vigorously. He just wanted out of the office.   Dario released the envelope and Levi nodded and slipped from the office. Shit he felt like he’d been caught doing something wrong. Envelope in hand he went to find Gia and head to the Spring Icebreaker. Suddenly, he couldn’t get away from the house soon enough. At the college, Levi followed Gia into the lounge where their usual group of friends had gathered. Actually, they were really Gia’s group of friends and Levi was merely a tag along. From an outsider’s perspective, Levi appeared a legitimate member however, he stayed on the fray and rarely hung out with the other members unless with Gia. The phrase, “alone in a crowded room,” was Levi’s anthem. Levi sank tentatively into a chair next to Gia and closed his eyes briefly, trying to calm his shakiness. His ribs and his head ached. He was still on edge about being caught in Dario’s office, which was stupid. Dario was a nice guy. Maybe, he should have stayed home but then, he’d have to admit that his mother had been right. That would mean hell had finally frozen over. Gia turned to Sarah Morgan and her boyfriend, Josh Finn who sat on a sofa and then frowned, “You know, Sarah, you will never meet anyone nice if you keep taking him out with you.” Josh gave Gia the finger then finally cracked a smile. Gia had a way with people, even if it was an evil way. Yeah, Levi was jealous. As they sat, the crowd streaming through the lounge toward the classrooms grew immensely. Levi’s claustrophobia and restlessness grew. The air was heavy and hot and hard to breathe. Levi rubbed his hands together in his lap. In his chest was a faint yet familiar tightening. Just breathe. Since the night he’d taken two of his pills, the anxiety had been on the low down. Now, he feared losing control in the crowd with no way to escape. Closing his eyes, he took several centering breaths, but the bandage around his torso constricted his lungs. When he opened his eyes, Levi spotted Noah making his way through the crowd toward him. Shit, Levi so couldn’t handle him right now. Levi told Gia he’d be right back and squeezed through the crowd toward the men’s room. The closest bathroom had a long line so Levi headed toward the bathroom located downstairs, which meant he had to get through the crowded hallway. Not even a quarter of the way down the hall, Levi regretted the decision. The hallway was filled to capacity with crushing forms. Elbows poked at Levi from all angles. A surge from the crowd trapped him within a wall of bodies. Unable to breathe, the panic rose. He had to get out. Someone pushing to pass him, knocked into Levi, stealing his breath away with a sharp pain. Levi worked his way to the side of the hall and hugged the wall. Sweat broke out on his forehead and blood rushed in his ears. The exit was back near the lounge. He had to escape or he was sure he’d die. Suddenly, pressure ripped into his skull killing off every bit of the fear. Grabbing at his head, Levi fought to keep from crumpling to the ground. Instead of slowly growing in intensity as in the past, his mind was slammed with a full on assault. Bodies continued to push past Levi sweeping him along with the crowd at their will. Fighting the crowd and the debilitating crushing of his brain, Levi turned to fight back in the opposite direction. Have to get out of here! ## Check out the other flashers this week:MA Church Jim Dunaway Sarah HayesJon KeysTali SpencerKazy ReedRob ColtonElyzabeth VaLey TC Collins Johayan Cia Nordwell Julie Lynn Hayes Nephylim      
   

Welcome Jayson James to the blog!

Thank you Jake for having me as a guest!
Today I would like to share with you something very exciting and been in the long time coming. At last, I finally have covers for the Finding Our Way Series books.  Sure, they have been out for almost three years now and they’ve all had covers on them.  Just not covers I have been all too thrilled about on them.
When I put out my first book the cover, itself seemed to be more daunting than the editing process was.  I had an image that I’d drawn and knew what I wanted the title to be and of course my name on it.  I used the paint program and messed around with the adding the image and the text until I had it all fitting on what I thought was a book cover.  Then I went to upload it and found the dimensions were wrong and a long story short, I went through several headaches and starting from scratch until I was able to come up with a halfway decent book cover.
I eventually found a template that I was able to put my cover image into and make it look all nice and professional. It worked and they looked rather good.  Being the protectionist I am they were not good enough for me.  Thus, I always wanted to change the covers.
What has always been clear is people love the artwork.  When I published, I was so nervous about sharing my artwork.  So much so, I almost did not put it onto the cover.  I have reviewed more emails praising, asking about and complimenting my cover art than anything from readers.  Even when I have talked about changing the covers, my friends, readers or anyone else has always made a plea for me to keep my artwork on the books.  I decided over a year ago that no matter what the images for each cover was going to stay the same. 
Although I have been busily painting the cover for my new book, Pieces of Us coming out at the end of summer, dealing with edits and a schedule so crazy my head is spinning some days, I had an idea for what I wanted to do with the covers of my series.  Without further ado, here are the new covers beside the old.
 
 
Finding Our Way
Justin Parker and Derrick Wilson have been best friends since meeting back in middle school. Currently they are in their junior year at Chandler High School, and living the good life as teenagers. They have great girlfriends, plenty of close friends, their own cars, and parents who are well off. As nice as things might look to an outsider, something is missing from each of their lives.

Justin has become the invisible son in the midst of his parents failing marriage. In an effort to get his parent’s attention, Justin keeps getting into trouble. So far he has been able to get away with anything without facing any repercussions, while Derrick is feeling distant and tired of what he feels is a too “perfect family”. He just wants to have a normal social life and spend time with his friends without the pressures from his family to spend time with them. With blurring the lines of friendship in the process to realizing what was missing and discovering who they really are.

Justin and Derrick take turns narrating the story of their junior year in high school and all of the events that take place in their lives. Being a teenager can be tough. Being gay can be tougher. For Derrick and Justin they are both, and life cannot get any more complicated.

What happens when two best friends cross the boundaries of friendship? Will they be able to be happy together? Will they keep their secret?
 
 
Tormented Discovery
Justin and Derrick have a secret that they revealed only to their closest friends. They are gay and are now a couple. The story of Justin and Derrick continues as they learn more about being a gay couple in their senior year of high school and the complications that arise from it. Some friends will have their backs while others simply stand on the sidelines. Other friends will be accepting and others will ridicule them.

Sometimes love is almost not enough to save a relationship and both Derrick and Justin begin to have their doubts as they watch relationships around them rise and fall. Justin and Derrick both want to have new experiences, new choices and make new friends, which leads to them questioning their own relationship. They soon discover that some of the people they consider friends have their own secrets, some darker than others. The couple begins to see how people react towards homosexuality and just how people want to deal with it and them.

Will Justin and Derrick be able to hold onto each other while their lives and secrets spiral around them?
Or will they decide to step back and give up on themselves and each other?
 
 
Drifting
What happens when the person you love is having doubts?

These two boyfriends have been through a lot. Best friends since childhood, fell in love in high school and thought they would be together forever. They stuck together even when their friends and family found out about their relationship. Struggling with challenge after challenge, they have finally made it to college and are living on their own. Living together is a whole new world and being open with their relationship is even more so.

Spending every day together as a couple they begin to learn about their differences. Things that never bothered them are now annoying traits driving a wedge between them. Can their relationship survive their differences? Can it handle new friends and new romances? Will they find their way together or will they drift apart?
 
I appreciate you taking the time to share in my excitement!  I hope you enjoy the new covers and more so, I hope you enjoy the books!
Thanks again, [Blogger] for having me as a guest today!
 
A Little About Me (Jayson James)
For as long as I can remember, I dreamt of becoming a published author someday.   Though I was not sure what genre I wanted to write, I knew I liked to write and tell stories.  Throughout the years, I have written various stories and shared them with my friends.  A novel I had an overwhelming urge to write exactly a year ago would make this dream come true.   When I am not writing, I enjoy drawing, reading, watching movies and socializing.
For more information about me, please visit my website: www.jaysonjamesbooks.blogspot.com
To purchase my books, please visit Amazon: http://amzn.com/e/B009FQAR44
 
 
 
  

Welcome Jon Keys with his new story, Showstring

Hi JC, thanks for letting me visit! This is Ben taking over the blog hop from Jon. Monday I had so much fun at Raine’s Hat party that I told Jon I would just take over. He was cool with that. He thought a young dude like me might do a better job than an old fart like Jon. Don’t tell him I said that though!
Anyway, Showstring is the story of how Jayden and I met and it’s pretty cool. It’s coming out as part of the Rode Hard anthology from Torquere Press. It’s about hot cowboys, like me. But there’s also a lot of drama that’s coming from Jayden. Since Jayden told the story to Jon, I thought I’d fill in a some on my side of the story and explain a little about showing cattle.
I thought I’d start by tell you a little about that first time Jayden and I ‘bumped’ into each other. I saw Jayden walk into the cattle barns and right away I thought he was smoking hot. Curly blond hair and tall-lanky body, he got my juices flowing. I was bringing Norman back from walking him. Norman is the champion bull that’s part of the showstring I’m showing at all the state fairs I can work in. But you’ll find out more about Norman in the story.
Anyway, I could have gone down a different walkway to get to my tie down spots, but I really wanted to meet this cute guy. It was adorable how he kept pushing his curls back. So, anyway, I take a detour so I can blame everything on Norman. I wasn’t really being sneaky or anything. Norman can be really stubborn when he wants to be. But I really wanted to get to meet the cute guy. So, anyway, that’s how we met.
 
~ Ben ~   Blurb
Jayden Laine has spent his life in the city, dreaming of cowboys and cattle ranches. He looks forward to each fall when his life is exchanged for his dreams when the state fair opens.
 
This year when he steps into the barns he’s greeted by the sights he’s come to see, and one additional sight of Ben Ramos fighting to move a two-thousand pound bull that’s decided he doesn’t want to move. What happens next starts a juggernaut of emotions in Jayden that turn his world upside down. Now all he has to do is reevaluate his entire life and decide who to believe. And he has only a few days to do it.
 
Excerptfrom Showstring.
Locking my guilt away, I moved down the aisle, determined to allow myself a few moments of peace. The neat rows of cattle lying contentedly on immaculately groomed beds of wood chips revived the world I lost myself in each time I could. While forming an important part of my fantasy life, the cattle intimidated me. They were huge, but I still dreamed of working with them.
“Sorry, excuse me.”
Startled I glanced up to find myself in the way of a guy who looked only a few years older than me, leading a massive black animal. Scrambling out of the, the heat of my clumsy embarrassment burned across my face. “Sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.”
The tanned cowboy gave me a bright smile. “If it wasn’t for old fat ass Norman here, it wouldn’t be a problem. But he doesn’t like to be led. So taking him out is a chore.”
He planted his worn boots against the walkway and heaved at the lead rope. The animal took one slow step and stopped again. Exasperation filled the guy’s face. “Holy crap! I’d so make you into hamburger if you weren’t the best bull we’ve had in a while.”
 
eBook Link: 
Amazon
Torquere Press
 
Bio:
Jon Keys’ earliest memories revolve around books; with the first ones he can recall reading himself being “The Warlord of Mars” and anything with Tarzan. (The local library wasn’t particularly up to date.) But as puberty set in he started sneaking his mother’s romance magazines and added the world of romance and erotica to his mix of science fiction, fantasy, and comic books.
A voracious reader for almost half a century, Jon has only recently begun creating his own flights of fiction for the entertainment of others. Born in the Southwest and now living in the Midwest, Jon has worked as a ranch hand, teacher, computer tech, roughneck, designer, retail clerk, welder, artist, and, yes, pool boy; with interests ranging from kayaking and hunting to painting and cooking, he draws from a wide range of life experiences to create written works that draw the reader in and wrap them in a good story.
Blog ~ Facebook ~ Twitter
 
 

Welcome MA Church to the Blog and her French Translation of Priceless!

                                            

Buy Link: French translation link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5340
Blurb:
Des étincelles jaillissent quand Cupidon vise deux mortels à Las Vegas : Randy Jones, un homme ordinaire, en voyage d’affaires, croise le regard de Garrett Shiffler à une table de craps et le temps s’arrête alors. Rejetant tout ce en quoi il croit, Randy se lance dans une aventure torride de deux nuits avec lui, avant de paniquer en réalisant qu’il est tombé amoureux. 

Le milliardaire cynique Garrett Shiffler a tout ce que l’argent peut acheter, et la plupart des hommes avec qui il sort, n’arrivent pas à voir plus loin que son portefeuille. La vie lui a appris que l’innocence et l’amour ne sont que le fruit d’une imagination collective. Mais quand Randy disparaît, emportant avec lui des sentiments que Garrett n’imaginait même pas avoir, il s’engage dans la bataille la plus importante de sa vie pour gagner son amour. Mais cette fois-ci, il se bat avec son cœur, et non son compte en banque. 

Pendant ce temps, Cupidon se demande ce qui s’est passé. Ses flèches dorées ne ratent jamais leur cible habituellement, sauf quand le Destin intervient. Si Garrett veut récupérer Randy, il va devoir le faire seul, car le Destin a d’autres plans en réserve pour Cupidon .
 
Excerpt:
APRÈS S’ÊTRE encore fait demander sa carte d’identité, l’homme à l’allure juvénile entra dans le casino. Ses yeux brillaient d’une lueur espiègle alors qu’il scrutait la foule de gens. Il écarta quelques mèches blondes et bouclées de son front, cherchant cette fois un certain type d’individu. Il avait maintenant juste besoin d’inspiration pour frapper, et ses flèches loyales étaient prêtes à l’emploi. Se déplaçant dans la foule, il regarda autour de lui. Il avait le choix parmi tant d'hommes solitaires qui avaient besoin d'amour dans leur vie.


Il était connu sous bien des noms, mais il préférait Cupidon, le nom que sa mère lui avait donné. Mythologie grecque, mythologie romaine… Il haussa les épaules. Les humains ne savaient pas à quel point ils avaient massacré le panthéon, non pas que cela importe de toute manière. Il connaissait la vérité, tout comme ceux de son espèce la connaissaient.


Ses yeux scrutèrent à nouveau le casino… là ! Il avait trouvé ce qu’il cherchait. Cet homme. Avec un large sourire, il se fraya un chemin à travers la foule.
 GARRETT REGARDAIT la foule du casino ‘Palms’ de Las Vegas d’un air ennuyé et nonchalant, ses yeux ne voyant rien de ce qui se passait autour de lui. Il était agité, et même l’excitation habituelle du jeu n’arrivait pas à piquer son intérêt. Il fit négligemment sauter le dé dans sa main, ne s’intéressant pas aux montants élevés des mises de la partie de craps qu’il était en train de jouer. La foule autour de lui eut le souffle coupé en voyant que sa chance avait tourné, et qu’il venait de perdre plus d’argent en un seul coup de dé que ce que certaines personnes gagnaient en un an. Mais même cela ne parvint pas à le tirer de son humeur morose. Soudain, la chance lui sourit de nouveau avec le coup de dés suivant.

Son corps fut parcouru d’un frisson et ses cheveux se dressèrent sur sa nuque. Quelque chose, un changement dans l’atmosphère peut-être, attira son attention. Une fois encore, il examina la foule autour de la table de craps, cherchant… quelque chose. Il plissa les yeux et se concentra sur l’homme en face de lui, de l’autre côté de la table. Le temps sembla ralentir, et se figer. Le brouhaha agaçant du casino devint un simple bruit de fond jusqu’à ce qu’il n’entende ni ne voie plus rien… à part, lui.
Le cœur de Garrett rata un battement et augmenta rapidement, accélérant soudain, puis prit une courte pause avant de battre à un rythme effréné. Son esprit imagina une série de scènes en Technicolor qui exigeait que l’homme en face de lui prenne la pose, se penche et s’étire dans un nombre de positions érotiques et explicites. Les yeux de Garrett le scrutèrent jusqu’à ce qu’ils rencontrent des prunelles surprises, de couleur gris acier, et un autre frisson traversa rapidement son corps.

Ces yeux brillaient d’une douce lueur innocente comme Garrett en avait rarement vue et qu’il ne croyait pas exister encore aujourd’hui. Son esprit restait incrédule. Personne ne pouvait être aussi innocent, personne. Mais une partie de son âme longuement réprimée chuchota… ‘Et si’ ? Et si cet homme n’était pas un simulateur et qu’il était réellement ce qu’il semblait être ? Surpris par la réaction de son corps, il décida d’en avoir le cœur net. Il fixa l’homme de l’autre côté de la table de son regard glacé. Un petit sourire en coin flotta sur les lèvres de Garrett alors qu’il faisait signe à l’homme de venir à ses côtés.
  M.A. Church
M.A. Church lives in the southern United States and spent many years in the elementary education sector. She is married to her high school sweetheart and they have two children. Her hobbies are gardening, walking, attending flea markets, watching professional football, racing, and spending time with her family on the lake.
But her most beloved hobby is reading. From an early age, she can remember hunting for books at the library. Later nonhuman and science fiction genres captured her attention and drew her into the worlds the authors had created. But always at the back of her mind was the thought that one day, when the kids were older and she had more time, she would write a book.
By sheer chance she stumbled across a gay male romance story on the web and was hooked. A new world opened up and she fell in love. Thus the journey started. When not writing or researching, she enjoys reading the latest erotic and mainstream romance novels.
 
My links:
Blog http://machurch00.blogspot.com
Twitter @nomoretears00
Facebook: http://goo.gl/k4SbBI
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5141393.M_A_Church