Dipping my toe into Wattpad

My son has introduced me to Wattpad as a venue for my first attempt at fanfiction. If you want to know what might happen if Dracula met Frankenstein's monster in the middle of a zombie apocalypse then this might be for you.

Similarly, if you've pondered on what might happen if a zombie bit a vampire, or vice versa, or if a vampire but a human after they'd been bitten by a zombie.

K D Grace The Psychology of Dreams

Out Now--The Psychology of Dreams 101 by K D Grace (@kd_grace)

Blurb:

What if there was punishment when you didn’t dream the right dreams? That’s the dilemma Leah Kent, and her professor, Al Foster must face—dream right, or take the punishment. The Psychology of Dreams 101 is a wander into the sexy and dark unconscious as Leah takes a Psychology of Dreams adult education class, only to discover that the required dream journal leads to some seriously kinky night journeys. But not all dreams are pleasant ones, and some have far-reaching repercussions in the waking world.

Buy Links:

Amazon (universal link): http://mybook.to/psychofdreams

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2j3KOUv

iBooks: http://apple.co/2i5xBGu

Smashwords: http://bit.ly/2iDA7r6

*****

X Rated Excerpt:

“Now then, let’s see if we can’t ease the pain in you lovely little bottom before we get on with the spanking, ” Dr. Clyde said before Leah could ask what he meant by his remark about them never getting out of the dream. He rummaged and rattled through the surprising abundance of the desk drawers until he came up with a tube of something she couldn’t see in her bent-over position, but as he unscrewed the lid, she immediately smelled peaches. There was the sound of something squirting, and then she felt the doctor’s large palm spreading cool lotion against her burning butt. She sighed and clenched at the pleasure of it. “There now. That feels better, doesn’t it hon? Just what the doctor ordered. We don’t want that lovely ass of yours too wounded just yet. Your punishment has hardly begun, after all.”

“Peach? Seriously?” Al said, coming closer to observe and sniffing as he did so.

“Yup! And it’s edible too,” Dr. Clyde said. “Taste. Not like that, Dear God, Al, put the tube down, and use your imagination. You’re in a dream for fuck sake! And you,” he turned his attention back to Leah, “you lie still. You’re being punished. You don’t get to see what’s happening. You have to trust the dream, trust that what happens next is all a part of the experience.”

“Enough of the psycho-babble, already, Derrick. We get it,” Al protested. There was a shuffling of male bodies behind her, and Leah felt a different set of hands, clearly Al’s hands. They were not quite as large as Dr. Clyde’s, but they were slightly calloused. She wondered how someone who taught courses on dream psychology got calloused hands. He gently cupped her hips, careful not to touch her wounded left ass-cheek. Then she felt the humid heat of his breath just before his warm wet tongue pressed against the place where her thigh met her left buttock.

“Oh God!” she managed, as the unexpected, but delightful, sinuous lap of his tongue up the rounded contour of her ass cheek moved inward, closer to the cleft that she knew would taste nothing at all like peaches. Meanwhile the doctor droned on that though at one point in our evolution, we liked the scents and odors of the body, at present that was less the case, and scented and flavored lubricants and lotions for sex often made the partners more comfortable with their personal smells.

“I like her smell,” came Al’s muffled reply. “It’s her I want to taste, not fucking peaches.”

“Wait a minute, you can smell me? I mean I’m sure you can smell me now, but … before?”

“I ha’ a ‘en’ative nothe,” came the slurped reply against her ass, and she decided right then and there that she was just fine with that.

“I fail to see how eating her out is going to help ease the pain at all,” Dr. Clyde observed as Al licked and slurped and nibbled ever closer to the ache at the center that had nothing to do with the spanking.

“It’s my dream.” Leah protested, wriggling and squirming to open her legs against the restraint of the panties around her knees. “If I want him to do … that, then surely he should do that.”

“It’s hardly a punishment though, is it?” the doctor said, stepping back and folding his arms across his chest observing Al’s efforts from the edge of Leah’s peripheral vision.

“Who the fuck ca --  res?” she managed with a little gasp as Al fingered her open to make room for his very talented tongue.

She was just getting into it, just beginning to think that maybe Al’s tongue was prehensile when she heard a grunt and opened her eyes to discover the good doctor had moved closer, and he was now observing with his trousers open, his gaze locked on what Al was doing to her bottom and his fist locked around his heavy erection, which pointed accusingly at her ass as he shifted his hips to free his balls. Not that she wanted him to stop or anything, but she was just about to comment that she failed to see what his cock stroking had to do with her punishment when the sudden absence of a warm tongue from her nether region and the sound of a zipper opening told her that, in solidarity with his fellow male, Al had just freed Simba. She pressed her legs tightly together and wriggled just enough for the binding panties to drop to the floor. Then she kicked them aside and she was free too, opening her thighs anticipating more than Al’s tongue when the damn doctor called a halt to all activities.

“Now what?” Both she and Al growled at the same time.

“You’re not supposed to fuck her, Al. You’re supposed to spank her, punish her, make her repentant.”

“Oh I am,” she managed breathlessly. “I’m very repentant. I’ll never write down fake dreams again.”

Dr. Clyde ignored her. “Look, in the dreams, you’re both being punished. No one gets satisfaction until the punishment is complete.”

“Seriously?” Leah said, and Al cursed profusely. Under different circumstance to hear such foul language from the mouth of her mild-mannered instructor would have shocked her, but at the moment, she was inclined to agree with him completely.

“Well, I suppose I could have some satisfaction,” the doctor added with a little shrug of his broad shoulders, and the movement made his dick look like it shrugged too in its anxious agreement. “After all it’s not my dream and I’m not being punished.” Cock in hand, he insinuated himself between Al and Leah and with a quiver of anticipation, Leah wriggled against the table as he fingered her open.

“Wait a minute,” Al said. “This is Leah’s dream. What if she doesn’t want you to fuck her? What if she just wants to get on with it?”

“No, no! That’s all right. I’m good with it. I’m fine.” Leah just wanted someone to fuck her and soon! Since it was her dream, why not the good doctor? He was certainly ready.

“That doesn’t mean you can’t put your cock in her mouth if you want,” Dr. Clyde said to Al. “I suppose that could be considered punishment. It could certainly be considered humiliation in most BDSM circles, if done under the right circumstances, or so I’m told,” he added quickly.

“What if I put my cock up your ass instead,” Al said, shocking both Leah and Dr. Clyde as he yanked at the waistband of the man’s expensive trousers.

Before the doctor could protest, Leah added her own bit of profanity to the blue language hanging in the air. “It’s my dream, damn it! So just put your fucking cock in his fucking hole already! I don’t see how that can affect my punishment. And when you do, I want to see, so Doc, if you’ll just hand me the mirror.”

“Wait a minute, Al’s the Dom, not you.”

“Shut up, Doc!” both she and Al said at once.

“It’s my dream,” Leah repeated, “Besides,” she added quickly, “I’ve never seen a man fuck a man before.”

“Come to think of it, neither have I,” Dr. Clyde said. “Do you think you can angle the mirror so I can see too.”

*****

About K D Grace/Grace Marshall

Voted ETO Best Erotic Author of 2014, and a proud member of The Brit Babes, K D Grace believes Freud was right. In the end, it really IS all about sex, well sex and love. And nobody’s happier about that than she is, otherwise, what would she write about?

When she’s not writing, K D is veg gardening. When she’s not gardening, she’s walking. She walks her stories, and she’s serious about it. She and her husband have walked Coast to Coast across England, along with several other long-distance routes. For her, inspiration is directly proportionate to how quickly she wears out a pair of walking boots. She loves mythology. She enjoys spending time in the gym – right now she’s having a mad affair with a pair of kettle bells. She loves to read, watch birds and do anything that gets her outdoors.

KD has erotica published with Totally Bound, SourceBooks, Xcite Books, Harper Collins Mischief Books, Mammoth, Cleis Press, Black Lace, Sweetmeats Press and others.

K D Grace also writes hot romance as Grace Marshall. Find Grace’s novels here.

Find K D Here:   
                                                                
Websites: http://kdgrace.co.uk/         
               http://www.thebritbabes.co.uk       
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KDGraceAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KD_Grace         

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/kdgraceauthor/

Release blitz hosted by Writer Marketing Services.

Wednesday Briefs

It's been a crazy Christmas. I've had so much fun. We spent time with friends and family, ate well, didn't drink alcohol (apart from bucks fizz on Christmas day and a glass of Baileys at New Year), and reverted to our natural body cycle - play games until 4am then sleep until 12pm. It was one of he best Christmases I've had.

Now everything is back to normal. I haven't take the trimmings yet but that's because we literally haven't spent enough time in the house to do it :D That's happening tonight.

I haven't had time to write my flash this week, but Demon is back on the cards. In the meantime here's the other flashers this week. Go take a look

Johayan

Cia Nordwell

Carol Pedroso

Ravon Silvius

Jon Keys

Julie Lynn Hayes

New Year Roundup

I thought that with the beginning of the New Year I would try to bring some clarity to all the projects I'm working on and plans I have for this year. 2017 is an important year for me, because it might mark my last year as a writer. If I don't start making appreciable money this year I'll have to get another job and I probably won't have energy to write. I definitely won't have time or energy to publish. So, what do I have in my arsenal?

My first project is to publish some m/f in the mainstream. I have one book, Fallen Angel, and a series of paranormal romances that just need revision so my goal for January is to sub Fallen Angel and finish revising the first book of the "Fallen" series (no connection) to sub either at the end of the month or the beginning of February.

I have two books - "Angel's Heart" and "Pretty Little Thing" subbed with Wayward Ink Press, so I'm waiting for news on those. Both of them are squarely in the contemporary romance category and are Young/New Adult.

I've almost finished the sequel of "Pretty Little Thing", "Pretty Little Rockstar" which I hope to sub in the next couple of months.

The rights of Draven's Gate have recently reverted to me, so I need to get a move on subbing than one out again. There's a temptation to write in some steamy sex scenes and bump it up to an adult audience. I don't know. Maybe.

I'm working on Book II of a Contemporary/Fantasy series, which has a few romantic elements, both m/f and m/m.

I'm working on Book IV of Enigma and two other works that may/may not come to fruition but are quite exciting. At the moment, my passion is with a paranormal romance involving Frankenstein's monster (as you never pictured him before) and Dracula, with zombies thrown in. It seeks to answer questions such as "What happens when a zombie bites a vampire?" and "What happens when a human (kind of) is bitten by a zombie then turned into a vampire?"

I also have a year of reading and reviews, thanks to Simply, one of the most awesome review blogs out there. Thanks to them, I'm reading more than I have in years, and I must remember to post reviews here as well as out there on the web. I must also remember to post reviews of books I've read just for myself. There have been some wonderful ones recently.

So this is my writing plan for the year. Marketing, promotion and sales plans are notably absent. because I just don't know where to start. I'm thinking of using the last of my savings to employ someone to do it for me but it's a risk I'm scared to take at the moment.

I think that's about it for now. I hope I get somewhere and I wish the same for all of you. May 2017 bring us all closer to our hopes and dreams than ever before.

COVER REVEAL Regeneration by Louise Lyons

I have the very great pleasure of hosting Louise's cover reveal. I am a huge fan of Louise's work so it's a thrill for me to get involved, and the cover is amazing, don't you think?

Release date: January 15, 2017

Genre: Gay fiction, science fiction, MM romance

Length: 75,000 words

Cover design: Simon Searle
















Blurb

In the 23rd Century in the galaxy of Sigma Kappa, Kim Fortune was the first surviving experimental enhanced human—a regenerate. Aged fifteen, he escaped the lab and years later, his failings as a regenerate and the suspicion of regular humans, leave him lonely and lacking in self-worth. Stranded on an abandoned planet, the arrival of a stricken ship and its crew give him hope that he may finally find what he always longed for—love.

Christian Novak is a successful regenerate with all the intended attributes—including lack of human emotion. Despite their immediate attraction to each other, Kim's failing confidence, and Christian's inability to empathize are a recipe for disaster. But war, imprisonment, and danger throw them together, and after each saves the other's life, their feelings begin to change.

Can a seemingly unsuitable pair ever find love, or is a future together destined to fail?

Pre-Order Links

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NAL4NJ8

Amazon UK:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01NAL4NJ8

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/688822

Author Bio

Louise Lyons comes from a family of writers. Her mother has a number of poems published in poetry anthologies, her aunt wrote poems for the church, and her grandmother sparked her inspiration with tales of fantasy.

Louise first ventured into writing short stories at the grand old age of eight, mostly about little girls and ponies. She branched into romance in her teens, and MM romance a few years later, but none of her work saw the light of day until she discovered FanFiction in her late twenties. Posting stories based on some of her favourite movies, provoked a surprisingly positive response from readers. This gave Louise the confidence to submit some of her work to publishers, and made her take her writing "hobby" more seriously.

Louise lives in the UK, about an hour north of London, with a mad dog called Casper, collection of tropical fish and tarantulas. She works in the insurance industry by day, and spends every spare minute writing. She is a keen horse-rider, and loves to run long-distance. Some of her best writing inspiration comes to her, when her feet are pounding the open road. She often races home afterward, and grabs pen and paper to make notes.

Louise has always been a bit of a tomboy, and one of her other great loves is cars and motorcycles. Her car and bike are her pride and job, and she loves to exhibit the car at shows, and take off for long days out on the bike, with no one for company but herself.

Social Media

Facebook: www.facebook.com/louiselyonsauthor

Twitter: www.twitter.com/louiselyons013

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/louiselyons013

Instagram: www.instagram.com/louiselyons013

Blog: www.louiselyonsauthor.com

Email: louiselyons013@gmail.com

Review Too Close by R Phoenix

Blurb

Skylar Orion's life has been complicated ever since his mother abandoned him and his sister Evie. Making ends meet seemed impossible until Tate Chandler took them in -- his knight in shining armor who promised to make life about more than just surviving. But Tate is not the man he seemed to be, and even his whispered I love yous and generous gifts do little to soothe the pain he causes. Knowing he can't give his sister all that she deserves without Tate, Skylar stays with him, relying on bad puns and a worse sense of humor to keep up the charade. 

For his sister he will do anything, even if that means acting the responsible adult and going back to his old high school to meet Dexter Weston, the hot math teacher who can make even algebra interesting. Sparks fly between the two of them, but with his dependence on Tate, Skylar isn't free to follow his heart. He wants what is best for Evie, but can he pass up the chance to find love that heals instead of harms? 

Buy Link

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MU4RX9U/

Review

4,5 of 5 Stars

I had originally said I wouldn’t have time to read and review before Christmas. Then I read the blurb and thought…ooh that sounds like my kind of book. So I took it and intended to read it after I’d cleared the backlog of what I already had on my list. Then I took a peek. Big mistake. One peek drew me in and I couldn’t put it down until I’d finished

The last book I read was bloodthirsty paranormal/horror, but this couldn’t have been more different. I doubt, if I hadn’t read the other book first, I would have described it as a gentle love story because there is certainly plenty of angst, but that’s the way I perceived it when I read it in any event. It was an easy read and I finished it in a day. Okay, I stayed up until 2am to do so but it still counts. 

Technically, the book was tight, with only a few editing errors and a nice, smooth writing style. Although there was plenty of angst, it wasn’t as “in your face” as it could have been and I found myself wanting more, but I’m a big fan of torture and torment so there’s hardly ever enough of either. As I said, although I find this book to be sweet and gentle, others might have more difficulty with some of the abuse, which is mostly mental and emotional.

Skylar is such a sweet boy, doing everything he can, including allowing himself to be slowly unravelled, almost to the point of losing himself, just to keep his sister safe. At eighteen he’s all she has in the world after their mother abandoned them, and he never forgets that, shielding her from the reality of what he has to suffer to protect her.

Skylar’s only refuge is his garden – and his puns *groan* -  and one day he finds a tiny shoot that might be weed. For some reason he can’t bring himself to pull it out so he nurtures and cherishes it, even as his world falls apart around his ears. 

Things come to a head when Evie starts to fail maths. After meeting Dexter, the hot maths teacher, Skylar starts to want more from his life. After one ill-timed kiss Skylar’s carefully constructed walls start to crumble and when Evie finally leans the reality of what’s going on, she persuades him to run to Dex. 

Things don’t go well and Skylar’s world crashes around him, leaving him as destroyed as his precious garden where only that one little weed survives. Yet, like the weed, Skylar begins to grow under the tender care of Dex and Evie, and like the sapling, which turns out to be a baby birch tree, Skylar gets his new beginning. Not that it all goes entirely smoothly, nothing ever does.

If I have any complaints it that the very end of the book feels very rushed. I appreciate it would take a great deal of time to properly document Skylar’s recovery, because what he’s been through, and the injuries inflicted on his psyche are not something that can be easily healed and resolved. It would have taken time, care and a lot of words to do it service. I appreciate that. However, I think the sudden jumps from one week, to one month, to three months, to a year are too sudden and not developed enough. I did consider taking away a whole star because of this but the book as a whole is so sweet and funny it deserves the 4.5

There are some really bad puns (deliberately I hope) scattered through the book and the chapter headings are humorous, although I’m not entirely sure they all quite fitted. My favourite was “How do you keep warm in a cold room? Go to the corner, it’s always 90% there.”

Meet the Author

R. Phoenix has an unhealthy fascination with contrasts: light and dark, heroes and villains, order and chaos. She believes that love can corrupt and power can redeem. Her muse is a sadomasochistic slave driver who thinks it's terribly amusing to give her the best ideas when she just got comfortable and warm in bed, and she passes on that torture to her readers. She also tries entirely too hard to be funny, and she mercilessly inflicts her terrible sense of humor upon anyone who speaks to her. She'd love it if you'd say hello!

Website

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Facebook Profile

You can enter a Goodreads Book Giveaway for this book until 30 December

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/215539

Window Dressing by Lucy Felthouse

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Wednesday Briefs. After the Ball

I can't believe it's almost Christmas. Four more sleeps! I know some people say that Christmas doesn't have the same magic when you're an adult but I say to those people - bah humbug. Christmas is amazing. It's magical and enchanting and vibrant and joyous. Yeah, I've lost none of the magic and wonder of Christmas as I've got older

Anyway, I'm sorry to anyone who's following Demon, but I promise Tian and Castien will be back in the new year in more trouble than ever. However, I just couldn't miss the opportunity to write a Christmas story!

There was no denying the Christmas tree was beautiful. At least eight feet tall it still came nowhere near touching the ceiling of enormous ballroom. It wouldn’t even have touched the tip of the chandelier if it had been in the middle of the floor. Brady couldn’t see the middle of the floor, there were too many people; people he didn’t know, and to be honest, didn’t want to know. He should be circulating, and he would, but for a short, blissful while he tucked himself away behind the Christmas tree and pretended he wasn’t there.

One day he’d have a tree like this, smelling of pine and glittering with lights and baubles. Only his lights would be crooked and his ornaments mismatched, not perfect like this one. There was something about perfection that made him edgy. No, his tree would be a riot of colour, each bauble placed with love. It would probably lean to one side and the fairy would look drunk, but he wouldn’t care.

“What are you doing back here? I’ve been looking for you.”

Brady jumped, guilty about bringing his untidy thoughts into the carefully staged perfection of the Michaels family Christmas Ball. His racing heart didn’t slow much when he turned to gaze into the aquamarine eyes of the most beautiful man he’d ever laid eyes on. After six months, the first sight still hit him like the first time every time.

“Sorry, it was just getting a bit much.”

“I know what you mean. Just hang on a little longer. I have a surprise, then we’ll go, I promise.”

Brady nodded. As if he’d go anywhere without Alex; beautiful, perfect Alex. Alex laughed at him all the time, pointing out his imperfections, but to Brady even the alleged imperfections – such as his slight lisp, too-large ears and the birthmark on his neck - were perfect.

“My mother’s been asking where you are,” Alex said, wrapping his arms around Brady and burying his nose in the hair on Brady’s neck.

Brady shivered. “Your mother hates me.”

“She doesn’t hate you. Don’t be silly.”

“That’s why she’s been telling everyone we’re “school friends”? I didn’t even go to school with you. I went to the poor comprehensive in town, remember? You went to the posh prep school.”

Alex chuckled. “If only you knew how much I envied you.”

“Yeah yeah.” They’d been down that road, and Brady still didn’t believe him.

“Look, it’s not you she hates, it’s what you represent.”

“What? You mean the great unwashed?”

“Hardly.” Alex’s perpetual grin faded. “It’s us. Me and you. Our relationship.”

“I thought you said your parents were okay with you being gay.”

“My father’s fine, and my mother says she is, but what she also said was that she’s fine with it if it’s not “thrust into her face”.”

Brady’s jaw dropped. “She said that?”

“More than once. Sometime it feels as if she thinks I turned gay just to spite her and keep rubbing her nose in it.”

“Oh my God. I didn’t know.”

Alex grinned again. “That’s okay. My mother’s a cow. Being gay is just another thing to disapprove of. Trust me, there are many others. Come on. Talk to the old bag for a minute while I go set up your surprise.”

“It’s not going to be anything too…crazy, is it?” Brady asked, suddenly nervous.

“Me? Crazy? When have I ever done anything crazy?”

Brady was about to start counting them off when Alex jerked him to his feet and towed him through the crowd.

Mrs Michaels was holding court near the French doors, which were open to let in some of the frosty air. It was good after the heat of the ballroom.

“Here he is, Mother,” Alex said. “Try not to break him. I won’t be long,” he whispered to Brady, before slipping through the doors to be swallowed by the night.

“Ah, yes,” Mrs Michaels said. “This is…Brady, Alex’s friend…from school.”

“Delighted.” The elderly man who took his hand seemed, at first, as stuck up as Mrs Michaels but there was a twinkle in his eyes. His companion, and equally ancient woman wearing a lavender dress to match her hair, smiled at him.

“How long have you and Alexander been together?” she asked.

Brady opened her mouth to tell her, but Mrs Michaels intervened. “Brady and Alex have known each other since they were children. They’re inseparable. I’m sure they’d take each other on dates if they could, although I suppose the young ladies would tire of double-dating after a while.” She gave a polite and entirely false chuckle, glaringc at Brady as if it was somehow his fault someone had guessed.

“Young ladies, eh,” the old man said, stroking his rather impressive moustache. He winked at Brady.

“You went to school with Alex? Perhaps you know our grandson, Carlton; Carlton Greyling?”

“I…um…” Brady stuttered. Mrs Michaels who froze him with her glance.

“No, he doesn’t,” she snapped then recovered her composure. “Carlton is older.”

“Oh, of course.”

They were interrupted by a commotion in the garden. Lights suddenly flooded an area just beyond the patio. People drifted outside to see what was going on and moments later Brady almost had a heart attack.

The lights highlighted an honest-to-goodness sleigh, pulled by a prancing pony and covered with tiny Christmas lights.

“My lawns,” Mrs Michaels shrieked, but Brady ignored her. He had eyes only for the figure who jumped from the sleigh and advanced toward him. Alex wore nothing but skimpy red shorts and a Christmas hat, with a bright red ribbon in lieu of a belt. He had to have been freezing.

“I didn’t know what to get you for Christmas,” Alex said, gazing down at Brady from his two extra inches. “So I thought I’d give you me. You can unwrap me later.”

And then, in front of all the posh party goers, while his father dragged his complaining mother away, Alex kissed him

Now go check out the rest of the flashers.

Merry Christmas

Cia Nordwell

Ravon Silvius

Jon Keys

Julie Lynn Hayes

Disasterastic by Cia Nordwell with Review

Just $2.99!

Amazon  All Romance eBooks  Smashwords

Blurb: Sawyer is too busy to worry about something as frivolous as Christmas. College is hard, but he’s focused on getting into law school. Kable is studying to make the family business, Del Buon Gusto, into a successful chain restaurant. When a party debacle at the restaurant gives Kable a chance to get close to Sawyer, he’s shocked to learn Sawyer’s a Christmas Grinch. He's determined to change Sawyer’s mind, but their dates are one debacle after another. It might not be possible to make this into Sawyer's first Merry Christmas after all.

Excerpt:

What a waste of time. He could’ve been home starting his paper or even watching a movie if he wanted to slack off.

Fed up avoiding questions of family traditions and travel plans, Sawyer strolled away from the crowd in the dining room and headed toward the tree. He nodded and smiled at a few people but didn’t stop. Everyone else was enjoying the appetizers that had just come out, but he’d already had dinner before he left home, since he’d expected to work. He could pass more time pretending to examine the ornaments or watching the snow drift down now that the storm finally hit. He’d just have to wait a little longer until he could politely make his escape.

“You don’t like eggnog?”

“What?” Sawyer blinked and shrugged the hand off his shoulder. He took a step to the side. He’d been focused on the snow, watching the puffy flakes float down to coat the sidewalks and road. The grassy verge along the road was already completely white. He hadn’t even heard Kable approaching, which was odd because he was normally impossible to miss. He was just as loud and energetic as his dad.

“Your cup is still full.” Kable gestured toward the red cup in Sawyer’s hand. “Usually when you don’t drink something that means you don’t like it.”

“It smells gross, and I definitely don’t think a dairy product should be this thick and still be drinkable.” Sawyer’s filter was gone, just like it usually was around Kable. He got so nervous, he always ended up saying whatever came to him. It wasn’t like he was trying to hide that he was gay—everyone already knew that—but he hoped his crush wasn’t as obvious. He’d had enough embarrassment for the evening.

Kable laughed. “Then why’d you take it?”

“It seemed like the thing to do.” Sawyer rotated the cup between his palms, disgusted by the way the glop reacted. Surely it couldn’t be safe to drink the stuff.

“So, is it just dairy-based holiday drinks you don’t like? Or is it something more? You haven’t had a single thing to eat, and you’re not exactly dressed for the party.  There’s so much fun to be had from dressing up for Christmas parties.” Kable waved a hand in front his chest. “Like this.” He was wearing an awful sweater with reindeer prancing around a Christmas tree that had bedazzled ornaments decorating every puffy bough. Not even something that hideous could detract from his dark-haired, blue-eyed handsomeness... but really, Sawyer shouldn’t be noticing that at all.

Sawyer scoffed. “I’d rather be here in my underwear than wear something like that.”

“Or your uniform?” Kable gestured toward Sawyer’s black slacks and plain white shirt. “Is it just that you don’t have another outfit?”

“Of course I have other outfits! Why would you think that?” Sawyer snapped. His face was hot and prickly; no one else had mentioned his clothes, even if they noticed he was wearing his work uniform. It’s not like he was wearing something inappropriate, like shorts and a t-shirt.

Kable cocked his head to one side. “If you had something else, why didn’t you wear that?”

“You’re nosy, you know?” He was always asking questions and getting into everyone’s business. The others didn’t seem to mind. Kable was Mr. McArthur’s son, and he worked the occasional shift at the restaurant when they were short a waiter even though he was in school full-time to get a business degree. He was friendly, sometimes too friendly, and made Sawyer uncomfortable with his casual intimacy. Kable was always patting him on the back or arm when they spoke, and Sawyer liked it a little too much.

“Yep.” Kable grinned. “But wait, don’t tell me! You never come out for a drink with the rest of us, not even for coffee, and you’re always studying those books on your breaks. I’ve never heard you even talk about doing something like going to a party. You thought you were here to work tonight, didn’t you?”

Sawyer grit his teeth. “So what? Your dad just said he wanted us all here.”

“And you didn’t put two and two together?” Kable gestured toward the room.

“I did once I got here. He said he was throwing a party for friends and family. What else was I going to think?” Sawyer was getting tired of Kable’s questions. He lifted his before Kable could notice his scowl and figure out he was getting to him and made the stupid mistake of taking a drink.

“Oh, ew.” Sawyer desperately wanted to spit out the eggnog, but there was no polite way to do so. He forced the mouthful down, swallowing repeatedly in an attempt to get rid of the liquid still coating his tongue. It was as horrible as he thought it would be. He stared at the cup in disgust. “People actually drink this... on purpose?”

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Review

There is only one word to use to describe this book – adorable. The characters are adorable, the situations they get into are adorable and oh the lengths Kable goes to give Sawyer a good Christmas are utterly adorable. I absolutely adored the book.

The editing is flawless, apart from a few tiny mistakes that I, as a grammar nazi, spotted but no one else probably will. There is one small issue in that if you’re reading on a kindle app on PC the scene breaks seem to disappear.

The characterization is magnificent, as usual. This was one of the things that first drew me to Cia’s work and she has never disappointed. All Cia’s characters, including the supporting cast have individual and unique personalities from which she never deviates. It is quite clear from the start that Kable is bubbly and loving while Sawyer is repressed and bordering on OCD. The way these two interact is fascinating.

Sawyer has grown up with parents who do not celebrate Christmas, which they consider to be nothing more than crass commercialism. Neither do they – and therefore Sawyer – eat food that is not healthy and nutritional. Therefore *gasp* Sawyer has never tasted nougat or cracked caramel toffee, or cocoa. He doesn’t even drink coffee.

Through a series of surprise dates, all of which have at least one disaster involved – from baby spiders hatching in a Christmas tree to almost breaking an ankle on skates – Kable introduces Sawyer to the spirit of Christmas, one sweet thing at a time, although the toffee eating came at a price.

To see these two explore some Christmassy activities and find the magic even in a crowded shopping mall was truly magical and I held my breath to see what was coming next.

With every experience, Kable and Sawyer grew closer, their love growing gently and blossoming one petal at a time. The epilogue almost had me in tears.

This is a must-read for Christmas. If this doesn’t get you in the Christmas spirit then you need more help than Sawyer.

Author Bio:

The number one question folks ask Alicia when she shares she's a MM romance author: "Why gay fiction? Why write men when you're a woman?" and her answer is: "Why the hell not!" Alicia Nordwell is one of those not so rare creatures, a reader turned writer. Striving to find an interesting story one day, she decided to write what she wanted instead. Then the voices started... Yep, not only does she talk about herself in the third person for bios, she has voices in her head constantly clamoring to get out. Fortunately, with the encouragement of her family and friends, she decided for her own sanity to keep writing.

Now you can find her stories both free and e-published. When she’s not on the computer typing away, she's a wife and a mom of two in the dreary, yet ideal for her redhead complexion, Pacific Northwest. Except for when she disappears into one of the many worlds in her head, of course! She can also be found quite often at her blog, where she has a lot of free fiction for readers to enjoy or working hard, or maybe hardly working, as an admin on GayAuthors.org under her online nickname, Cia.

Social Media:

Cia’s Stories: http://www.ciasstories.blogspot.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alicia.nordwell

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AliciaNordwell

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4479520.Alicia_Nordwell