Covert Deliveryby Draven St. JamesRelease Date: March 25thI...

Covert Delivery

by

Draven St. James

Release Date: March 25th

I took the chance to catch up with Draven St James, multi-published M/M author with Loose ID publishers. Here’s what she had to say!   

What genre do you write? Why erotica?

I write in the M/M contemporary and shifter genres in erotica. I write erotica because I enjoy writing a story that delves into the physical expression of an emotional connection.

What is it about M/M that gels with you as a writer? Have you tried M/F?

I could say I write M/M erotica for the fun research opportunities, or a fantastic excuse to find my inspiration through nudity.  However, the biggest reason I write M/M erotica is because the love between two men intrigues and delights me. I find raw passion there, not just sexually, but emotionally. The contrast between a strong male character and his vulnerability to the one he loves is powerful. I tried once to write a M/F book and found the female character become more and more butch.  It reached the point where I really could just add a cock and it’d be two men. It was then that I realized it was something that really didn’t appeal to my muse.

What inspires you to write the sex scenes?

I write the sex scenes because it flows with the story. It is the reality of that moment. I could write they climbed into bed while kissing then have a chapter break. With the next chapter starting off with them waking up, mostly clothed, but with fond memories of sex.  Yet, what fun would that be?  Sex scenes can reveal traits and qualities about a character.  Are they tender? Do they find humor in the gentle moments of lovemaking? Do they need to be in control?

How long have you been writing professionally for?  Has it been a long term dream? Or something you’ve been working toward forever?

I’ve been writing professionally for the last year. I had my first book published, Grey’s Hidden Fire, in July of last year. It has been a long term dream, but it wasn’t until recently that I was able to dedicate a good amount of time to making the dream a reality. Prior to that I had a career in performing psychological evaluations for profiling. While fascinating, I still love writing more.

Tell me about your latest release.

My latest release, Covert Delivery, is part of the Eostre’s Baskets Collection through Loose Id. It’s all about new beginnings.  The blurb is below:

Aspen Starr is in a bind and not in a good way. His father is trying to use him to sweeten a business deal and being a bought boy toy holds no appeal. Just when he thinks he has no options left Sundae’s Custom Easter Baskets knocks at his door. Soon he finds himself blindly following a trail right into the path of a sexy new boss and a whole new mess of carnal complications.



Garren Thomas has rules and one of those is to never get involved with an employee. Easy to say, harder to enforce when Aspen is hired on. With each passing day Garren’s control slips until all he wants to do is spend his days with Aspen in his bed.

When faced with giving into his desires, Garren sees his simple life being torn apart. Can he get Aspen out of his system without losing his heart? Aspen isn’t much better off. He is drawn to Garren, but he can’t help the fear that the secrets from his past will destroy it all. As Aspen begins to lose himself within the confusion of sex and love one question plagues him: who sent the basket?

Sounds thrilling! Of the two, Aspen or Garren, which is your favorite?

Actually, Aspen is one of my favorite characters. I love his strength mixed with his vulnerability.

You’re the heroine of the last book you read… who are you?

Umm….I don’t read M/F books. So, if it was from one of the most recent books, it would be Dirk from Crashing the Comicon by Charlie Richards. 

Excerpt

 

Garren pushed away from the wall and into the light of the lobby. “Looks like I missed out on a lot.”

Aspen ducked his head and went to his desk to dig around in a drawer. The first time Taylor had sent him shopping for office supplies, Aspen had bought random sheets of kids’ stickers. On the rare occasion Taylor performed child evaluations, a little bribery to bring out good behavior never hurt. Aspen came away with two sheets of fairy stickers.

“Not too much. We’re working on crowns and a new kingdom.” Aspen swerved around Garren, his eyes twinkling. “Do you want a crown?”

Garren narrowed his eyes on Aspen. He put his hands on Aspen’s shoulders to stop him and leaned in to whisper, “That was low. There’s no way I can refuse those pixies. I’m going to end up with a glittery, construction-paper crown glued to my head, aren’t I?”

Aspen looked over his shoulder. “Don’t worry there won’t be glitter on yours. I’ll be the queen,” he murmured with a grin. “So you’ll need to fill the role as king.”

Garren shook his head. “You’re trouble.”

Aspen shimmied to dislodge Garren’s hands. “You just figured that out?”

With a resigned sigh Garren followed him.

“Girls, I found someone else who needs a crown,” Aspen declared, gesturing at Garren.

The tykes jumped up and down. Garren fought the urge to reach out and hug Aspen for giving them this moment of levity even at Garren’s expense.

Aspen held out the stickers, and the enthusiasm magnified until the girls were dancing around the room. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” the girls chanted in a singsong fashion.

A softly murmured, “Oh my,” came from behind Garren.

Garren turned to yet again see the shimmer of tears in Mrs. Burgett’s eyes, but a smile accompanied the moisture.

Aspen grinned back at her. “I hope you don’t mind. The girls have been fantastic. We’ve managed to make crowns and bracelets.”

“Even for you, Mommy,” one of the twins piped up and ran over to Mrs. Burgett to carefully hand her the items as though they were made of glass.

Mrs. Burgett cradled them. “Thank you, Maryann.”

“Becca and Mr. Aspen helped,” Maryann replied.

“And we ate apples and cheese crackers,” Becca added.

Garren looked briefly at Aspen. He’d seen Aspen eating the same things earlier in the week.

“That was very nice of Mr. Aspen,” Mrs. Burgett said with a hitch in her voice. “But we have to go now, girls.”

“Oh,” the girls replied with exaggerated pouts on both their faces.

“Say thank-you to Mr. Aspen,” Mrs. Burgett directed.

Both girls ran over to Aspen and threw their arms around his waist. “Sorry we didn’t get a chance to make your crown,” Becca said.

“That’s fine, sweetheart. I’ll be sure to make a matching one when you leave,” Aspen assured her.

“You need to make two,” Maryann interjected. “One for the big king behind you. That way we’ll know you’re helping rule the kingdom even if we can’t see you.”

Garren wanted to pick the girl up and hug her. Tell her that everything would work itself out and she’d never be hurt again. While it was a possibility if Mrs. Burgett went through with the charges, he wouldn’t make promises he couldn’t keep.

“Thank you, Mr. Aspen,” Mrs. Burgett said. “You don’t know how much I appreciate you taking care of my girls.”

“You’re welcome,” Aspen responded.

Maryann and Becca skipped over to their mom, and grabbed hold of her hands as they exited the office.

Garren stared after their retreating backs. He grimaced at the tattered clothes and worn shoes. His jaw clenched, and he pivoted and stalked back to his office. The lump in his throat threatened to shatter his control of his emotions. He made it through the door, placed his hands on his desk, and breathed deeply. Mrs. Burgett reminded him of his mother.

Aspen lightly touched his back, and Garren jerked around to gaze at him.

“I know you’ll do all you can,” Aspen confided.

“And you?” Garren cracked and cupped Aspen’s face with one hand. “You gave those little girls your lunch and made them laugh. You took away their stress and let them be kids.”

Aspen glanced away. “I did what anyone else would do. They deserve to have as much joy as every other child.”

“You’re wrong. Not everyone would do what you did. I think most would have set them in the lobby and spent the time telling them to be quiet.” Garren had seen that reality time and time again.

Aspen shrugged.

Garren caved and leaned in until his lips were mere inches from Aspen’s. “You are so beautiful.”

Aspen didn’t back away. His breath came faster, and his eyes flashed with that same glow Garren had seen in the past.

“Garren,” Aspen whispered with a thread of uncertainty.

Garren brushed his thumb over Aspen’s full lower lip, and desire zinged through his body when Aspen’s tongue peeked out to trace the path. Garren’s brain screamed what a huge mistake kissing Aspen would be, but at that point he wasn’t being ruled by his head.

 

LINKS

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/draven.stjames

Blog: http://dravenstjames.wordpress.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DravenStJames

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Email: Dravenstjames@gmail.com

Loose Id: http://www.loose-id.com/eostre-s-baskets-covert-delivery.html