08/03/2024

New Audiobook - Lonely Diner by Dann Hazel

AUDIOBOOK RELEASE

Book Title: Lonely Diner

Author and Narrator: Dann Hazel

 Release Date: February 9, 2024

Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance

Tropes: Military Romance, Coming Out, Overcoming Adversity, Second Chances

Themes: Dealing with Trauma, Gay in a New City, Forgiveness

Heat Rating:  4 flames   

Length:  11 hours and 5 minutes

It is part of a series, but each novel can be read as a standalone. 

It does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

 Buy Links 

Audible US  |  Audible UK

Amazon US  |   Amazon UK 


Blurb

Two conflicted military men. A longing for happiness. One Lonely Diner, where people often search for a recipe for love. (The food is good there, too.)

One man plays it straight. Another grieves over a lost best friend with benefits.

Everyone thought they were meant for each other. Lance, an Air Force computer engineer, and Ryan, a former submariner in the Navy and now a military college professor, are gay men blinded by the painful wounds of their past decisions. Both men are ready for love. But because of their pasts, they’ve slammed the brakes on their desires.

Now thirty years old, a younger Ryan Ball decides he can be happy only by conforming to social expectations. So what does he do? He decides he must have a wife and kids. Though he acknowledges that he can never be straight, he is convinced that with effort, determination, alcohol and erectile dysfunction meds, he can play the necessary roles.

Vikki, Ryan’s girlfriend in high school and now his wife, begs to differ.

At thirty-one, Lance Dingle falls for his best friend and roommate, Randy, a stunt pilot who agrees to a friends-with-benefits arrangement. From Lance’s perspective, there’s a spark in their arrangement that Randy denies. Then, tragedy strikes. Lance finds himself alone and lonely, living with memories of Randy and an ever-expanding list of “what-might-have-beens.” Finally forcing himself into the dating scene, Lance discovers that Mr. Right is more elusive than he ever imagined.

Then, Callie Yenti, transwoman, drag performer extraordinaire and entrepreneur, enters the picture. She owns the popular Lonely Diner and possesses an uncanny insight into the workings of the heart.

Even the complicated hearts of her two hard-headed friends, Lance and Ryan.

An HEA gay romance.

Trigger Warning: This novel includes scenes from a sexual assault and a PTSD episode.

Excerpt 

It was at this point—this question—that Ryan slammed both hands flat against the table. He heard Diamond’s short scream and grimaced. He lowered his voice. “Okay. Fine. The two of you want the truth? The whole truth? You’ll have it, then.” 

​He could imagine what Vikki would say. She would never have advised handling his parents the way he intended now. ​

Ryan inhaled deeply. “For years now, I have denied a big part of who I am. In my denial, I asked Vikki to make a sacrifice—a sacrifice of which she was unaware for years—while I sorted my shit out. A fool’s way of avoiding the truth. It took a stint in the Navy but finally, I did. I sorted everything out and realized I am gay. There. I said it. And I said it without fear or shame.” ​

“Oh, dear God!” Mr. Ball’s voice boomed, echoing against the walls of the dining room. “What kind of farce do you have in store for us next? That you’ve fallen in love with a sailor, and with him, you intend to live happily ever after?” A pause. Then: “Gay!” He spat out the word. “Another fad. Another trend. It’s not real. I’ve known men who thought they were homosexuals, then after years of lying to themselves passed, I discovered they were happily married with children.” 

​“How many people have you told?” Mrs. Ball demanded. “To what degree have you brought shame to this family?” And then, after a thought: “And what about Vikki? Can you say with certainty that you’re really Diamond’s father? After all, you’ve been at sea for months at a time.”

 ​“Wait just a minute!” Ryan’s voice exploded. “First, I must say that your assertion is offensive—both to me and, I’m sure, to Vikki. Just because I’m gay doesn’t mean I can’t perform sexually with a woman.” He turned to his father. “Which probably is part of the reason why your gay acquaintances were able to pull the wool over your eyes so successfully. Being gay is more than just sex, you know.” 

​Mr. Ball glared at his son. “I am so fearful of what will happen to this country when your generation takes the reins.” 

​“Just—stop it! Just shut the fuck up! Both of you. I’m tired of it. Tired of the bullshit.” 

​The expression on both parents’ faces confirmed the fact that their son had never spoken to them using this tone, these words. ​

Ryan lowered his voice to a subtle whisper. “What Vikki and I are dealing with? Well, it’s our concern. No one else’s.” 

​Then, a voice. Vikki’s voice. Coming from the doorway. Diamond, still absorbed in her coloring activity in the family room. 

​“Please understand. Both of you. I was able to handle your son’s honesty. Was I deeply hurt when I discovered the truth? Yes. Of course. And I’m sure you bear some hurt of your own. But you should not weaponize that hurt into anger against your son. It’s important that you try to do what Ryan and I did. It took some effort, but it was worth it. With open communication and a willingness to be accessible to one another, we began to work things out. I know there are still challenges ahead of us, especially with our little girl. That’s uncharted territory, to be sure. But Diamond is loved. By both of us. We will still be a family, even when Ryan is in Florida and I’m here, in Virginia. We want both of you to be a part of our family. But that’s not going to happen if the two of you can‘t see your way forward to cultivate a little understanding.” 

​To avoid escalating the situation even more, what Vikki and Ryan did not say was that Mr. and Mrs. Ball would never see their grandchild again if they could not surmount their anger, doubt and resentment.

About the Author

Dann Hazel has been writing both fiction and nonfiction for more than twenty years. 

Besides writing romance, he has taught high school English and journalism, college psychology and human sexuality, directed federal grants and worked as a therapist in a psychiatric hospital. His fiction genre interests include thrillers, horror, literary and gay romance. He has published the Some Like It Haute Gay Romance Series, including Room for DessertMy Own Private Biscuit and Lonely Diner.

Nonfiction works include Witness: Gay and Lesbian Clergy Report from the Front and Moving On: The Gay Man’s Guide for Coping When a Relationship Ends.

Dann’s personal interests include reading and writing, cinema, jogging, Broadway, keeping abreast of current events and travel.

Currently, Dann lives in Central Florida with his husband, Josh, and their American Eskimo canine, Flurry.

Social Media Links

Blog/Website  |  Facebook  |  Instagram

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions

27/02/2024

New Release - Bleed In The Night by S. J. Coles

SERIES TOUR

NEW RELEASE

Book Title: Bleed In The Night (Blood and Bonds #2)

Author: S. J. Coles

Publisher: Pride Publishing

Release Date: February 27, 2024

Genre:  Paranormal/Vampire/Contemporary M/M Romance

Tropes: Enemies to Lovers/BDSM

Themes: Overcoming demons/identity

Length: 55 711 words/223 pages

Heat Rating:  4 flames

It is Book 2 in the ‘Blood and Bonds’ series.

This book ends on a series cliffhanger, but with a HFN for the couple in the story.

Goodreads

Buy Links 

Universal Link

It’s not just fear keeping Tyler up at night…and that’s what frightens him.

Blurb

Tyler Lomax met Lucien, supposedly the oldest haemophile in existence, on a dark night in the depths of winter. Tyler was protesting against Baron Emory Von Magnusson taking possession of a human child. He thought he’d been doing the right thing—fighting against evil, against fear.

Lucien had almost killed him for it. Now it’s months later, and Tyler hasn’t slept since. Tyler wants Lucien found. When the authorities fail him, he feels forced to take matters into his own hands.

Tyler’s contact ‘Damon’ doesn’t call himself a ‘vampire hunter’, but that is exactly what Tyler intends to pay him to be. What Tyler doesn’t bank on is having Lucien at his mercy, forcing him to confront what’s really consuming him.

Tyler will not only have to face what he is feeling but finally open his mind to a perspective other than his own. He just has to pray that opening up to Lucien won’t bleed him dry before he realizes the truth.

Excerpt 

Summer was at its height. York hadn’t felt a breath of wind or a drop of rain in weeks. Even at night, the air was still and heavy, like it was choked by a storm waiting to break.

But the weather wasn’t the reason Tyler couldn’t sleep.

It had been the same every night for weeks. As soon as he switched the light off, he was back on Askham Moor. Hands stronger than iron crushed his body. Adrenaline coursed through his veins like venom. The smell of his own urine was sharp in his nostrils.

He could hear his own voice bleeding out of him, freezing and dying in the cold night air: “Let me fucking go,” he cried. “Let me go now, or I swear I’ll…”

The grip on him tightened. Fingernails sharp as glass shards pricked his flesh.

“Be still.” The voice was as smooth as an oil spill. It poured into his ear and down his nerves, stretching them to the point of snapping. The hot, fragrant breath against his skin made his traitorous body shake.

“This is assault. I’ll have you arrested, I swear.”

“This is what happens when weak men pretend they are strong.” The creature tightened his grip in Tyler’s hair and pulled his head back, exposing his neck. “Do you still think you are strong?”

Tyler fought air into his lungs, staring at the stars that had started to wheel overhead. “Who…who are you?”

“I am Lucien,” murmured the voice. “Whether you live another fifty seconds or another fifty years, you will never forget that name.”

Tyler threw his pillow across the room. It knocked a hi-fi speaker flying. It crashed to the floor with the sickening sound of splintering wood. He sat on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands, breathing hard, until the red mist swirling before his eyes faded.

He checked his phone. Three-o-one a.m. He threw it at the wall, shoved back the sheets and paced the flat until, finally, the sun began to rise, and he dared open the curtains.

By the time he was nearing Fulford Road Police Station an hour later, he was finishing his fourth coffee, and his body felt like it was strung through with hot wire. There was a bitter, metallic taste in his mouth. His heart skittered in his chest.

He swore and swerved to avoid an ambulance bombing the other way down the narrow street…then another. He pulled over and climbed out of the car, shaking as the sirens faded away. Silence descended. He took a steadying breath and made for the police station on foot.

It wasn’t yet six a.m., but when he arrived, the entrance was swarming with activity. Another ambulance was pulled up onto the curb. Paramedics were hoisting up a stretcher on which sprawled an unconscious form. There was blood everywhere—on the man’s face, clothes, matting his hair. The ambulance screamed off after the others.

Tyler stood staring for a moment before shaking himself and striding into the police station.

“DI Walker,” he barked at the harried-looking desk officer. She held up a finger and continued her conversation on the phone. “Oi, lady. I said I want to see Walker. Now.”

“One sec,” she said into the phone then gave Tyler a hard look. “Please, sir. Take a seat.”

“I won’t take a bloody seat. Get Walker out here. Now.”

The woman’s face tightened. “DI Walker is engaged. If you want to leave your number, I will be sure he contacts you. Yes, I’m still here,” she spoke again into the phone. “We need extra techs to go over the CCTV as soon as possible. Yes. Scene photographers, too—”

Tyler reached over and cut the woman’s call. “I said I want Walker…now.”

She held his glare without blinking. “And I said he’s busy, sir.”

“Mr. Lomax.” Tyler turned. A tall man stood in the doorway. His brown hair was disheveled, like he’d been running his hands through it, but the hard amber of his eyes was as unyielding as stone. “You’re up early.”

“Finally,” Tyler said, folding his arms. “I came for an update on my case.”

The detective studied him for a moment. “This way, Mr. Lomax,” he said, stepping back and holding open the door.

Tyler strode through, muttering under his breath. Walker took them to an interview room and shutting them in.

“You’re avoiding me,” Tyler said.

“Why would I avoid such pleasant company as yours?” Walker replied, standing with his hands in his pockets. There were shadows under his eyes and spots of blood on his collar.

“I’m serious,” Tyler said, lifting his gaze from the stain. “You don’t think I’m serious? Because I can show you just how serious I am, if that’s what you want.”

BOOK 1

Book Title: Touch in the Night

Author: S. J. Coles

Publisher: Pride Publishing

Release Date: November 7, 2023

Genre:  Paranormal M/M Romance

Tropes: Vampire, BDSM, Single Dad, Billionaire 

Themes: Self-worth, self-acceptance, overcoming prejudice 

Heat Rating: 4 flames

Length:  85 673 words/344 pages

It is Book 1 in the ‘Blood and Bonds’ Series. Books 2 & 3 due for release in 2024

This book does not end on a cliffhanger

Goodreads


Buy Links - Available in Kindle Unlimited

Publisher  |  Universal Link

Jesse Truelove never felt a part of his own family. But can a vampire really give him a new one?

Blurb

With a criminal record, no steady job and a penchant for kink, Jesse Truelove has spent most of his life feeling like an outsider. He tells himself it doesn’t bother him, that he never needed human connections anyway.

Now the Undying Baron, Emory Von Magnusson, a vampire—or, to use the modern term, ‘haemophile’—has reclaimed his ancestral home north of Jesse’s hometown, and the human population isn’t sure how to react. Jesse knows a thing or two about what it’s like to be misjudged, so he keeps an open mind. But when a bungled break-in at Emory’s home brings them face-to-face, Jesse finds it’s much more than his mind that’s stimulated.

However, building a relationship with an undead blood-drinker was never going to be straightforward, especially when that undead blood-drinker reveals he wants a family.

About the Author

S.J. Coles is a Romance writer originally from Shropshire, UK. She has been writing stories for as long as she has been able to read them. Her biggest passion is exploring narratives through character relationships.

She finds writing LGBT/paranormal romance provides many unique and fulfilling opportunities to explore many (often neglected or under-represented) aspects of human experience, expectation, emotion and sexuality.

Among her biggest influences are LGBT Romance authors K J Charles and Josh Lanyon and Vampire Chronicles author Anne Rice.

Author Links

Blog/Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter 

Instagram  |   Pride Publishing

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions

26/02/2024

Peacemaker (Sharps & Springfield #1) by Morgan Brice

AUDIOBOOK TOUR

Book Title: Peacemaker (Sharps & Springfield #1)

Author: Morgan Brice

Narrator: John Solo

Release Date: February 20, 2024

Genre: Steampunk MM romance

Tropes:  Secret agents, co-workers to lovers, forced proximity, hurt/comfort, mistaken identity

Themes: Learning to love again, taking a chance on love

Heat Rating:  4 flames     

Length: 7 hours and 22 mins

It is a standalone book and the first in a new series. It does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

Buy Links

Audible US  |   Audible UK  |  Audiobooks.com

Amazon US  |  Amazon UK  |  Nook  |  Kobo 

Blurb 

Supernatural Secret Service agents Owen Sharps and Calvin Springfield meet on the train to their new assignment in St. Louis, and sparks fly between them. But it's 1897, and they need to be very careful—falling in love can be dangerous for men like them.

It's their first case together, investigating mysterious disappearances—including the two agents who preceded them. Grim evidence leads them to look for a darker purpose. Old ghosts haunt the railroad line, zombie rise, signs point to ritual sacrifice, and they suspect someone is trying to open the gates of hell.

Can Calvin and Owen stop the mayhem, thwart the vampires, and find true love, or will everything go up in smoke?

Peacemaker is a high-stakes steampunk MM romance thrill ride filled with found family, paranormal Pinkertons, intrepid reporters, mysterious disappearances, nefarious land brokers, hellhounds, zombies, vengeful spirits, dark spells, absinthe magic, a ruthless vampire railroad baron and a love that won't be denied.

Before Colt and Winchester, there was Sharps & Springfield!

About the Author

Morgan Brice is the romance pen name of bestselling author Gail Z. Martin. Morgan writes urban fantasy male/male paranormal romance, with plenty of action, adventure and supernatural thrills to go with the happily ever after. Gail writes epic fantasy and urban fantasy, and together with co-author hubby Larry N. Martin, steampunk and comedic horror, all of which have less romance, more explosions. Characters from her Gail books make frequent appearances in secondary roles in her Morgan books, and vice versa.

On the rare occasions Morgan isn’t writing, she’s either reading, cooking, or spoiling two very pampered dogs.

Series include Witchbane, Badlands, Treasure Trail, Kings of the Mountain and Fox Hollow. Watch for more in these series, plus new series coming soon!

Author Links

Website  |  Audible Profile  |  Amazon profile

Facebook Group  |   Facebook Page

  Pinterest (for Morgan and Gail)  |  Twitter    

 BookBub  |  Instagram

Sign up for my newsletter and never miss a new release

Read a copy of my Badlands short story Restless Nights here for free

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions

22/02/2024

The Long Journey to You by Vincent Traughber Meis #giveaway

NEW RELEASE

Book Title: The Long Journey to You

Author: Vincent Traughber Meis

Publisher: Spectrum Books

Cover Artist: Vincent Meis and Andrew May

Release Date: February 17, 2024

Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance, Literary Fiction

Tropes: Age-gap relationship, friends to lovers

Themes: Survival, overcoming tragedy

Heat Rating: 3 flames       

Length:  97 000 words/350 pages

It can be read as a standalone, but the protagonist also appears in my novel, The Mayor of Oak Street (ages 12-21). The main story of this book takes place 40 years later and we find out what happened to him in flashbacks. 

It does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

Buy Links - Available in Kindle Unlimited

Universal Link  |  Amazon US  |  Amazon UK

Nathan’s traumatic past challenges but cannot stop the arc that brings him to Mateo.

Blurb

Nathan doesn’t know how to stop dwelling on the failures and tragedies that have plagued him since he was a twenty-one-year-old happily in the arms of the handsome young doctor he had pined for since he was twelve. Many years later after the latest tragedy, who could mend Nathan’s heart? If not a handsome young doctor, would an ER nurse do? After a chance meeting with Mateo, a lot of Nathan’s reminiscing is now devoted to how that encounter made him feel. Will he seize the day or continue wallowing in the past, having lunch with his best girlfriend from high school, and writing poetry?

Excerpt 

“Are you okay?” he asked in a slight Spanish accent. His questioning eyes moved directly to the stain on my T-shirt where the juicy tomato from my lunch had squirted. Looking like blood?

I became acutely aware of my attire: baggy sweats that may have had other stains, a baseball cap with a tattered rim, and faded crocs. He wore neat magenta scrubs that matched the color of his full shiny lips. His nametag said Mateo.

The scenario must have been embarrassingly clear to him. I had wandered off from one of the many senior facilities that dotted the landscape of the neighborhood. If I exaggerated the confusion that I, in fact, frequently felt, he might take my arm, walk me back to the facility, put me in a bath, gently wash my back, and tuck me into bed. The more I looked into his onyx eyes, the more I wanted him to do just that.

“I mean, you looked a little lost…and sad.”

“Don’t worry, Mateo.” His eyebrows separated and bounced at the sound of his name. Then he smiled and touched his nametag, realizing how I knew it. “I’m lost in a memory is all.” I chuckled. “I suppose I do fit a profile.”

“You’re okay, then?”

“Yep.”

“My bad. I didn’t mean to profile you. I have experience with that, and it’s no fun.”

I imagined that he was doubly profiled, first for the color of his skin and then a second time when people caught a hint of his accent. 

“No harm done. I appreciate your concern.”

“It’s kind of my job. Sometimes it is difficult to switch out of that mode when I leave work.” He lowered his eyes, making me realize I must have been staring intently. How could I have not? He was an amalgam of all the men I had been attracted to my entire life: Mediterranean, Black, Latino, shorter than me, rectangular solid frame, soulful eyes, thick hair. But with an added twist. A dusting of freckles graced his cheekbones and the bridge of his nose. 

In a thoughtful gesture, he stared at the sidewalk and raised his hand to his chin, rubbing his index finger over his left cheek, revealing another physical trait that rang my buzzer: little tufts of black hair between his major and minor knuckles, a tiny forest to let my tongue wander through. 

Thank God, he couldn’t read my thoughts. Or could he?

“I should let you get on your way,” he mumbled, still not looking at me. He stared at the smashed apricots on the ground with, I imagined, quite a different take than mine.

I wasn’t ready to let him go just yet. 

“Do you work in one of these facilities I might have escaped from?”

“Now, look, I didn’t mean…” He took a step back in what appeared to be a desire to flee.

“I’m teasing. I haven’t seen you around the neighborhood.”

He tapped his nametag and twisted his neck to look at it. “Kaiser. It says right here. Kaiser Permanente.”

“I have trouble reading fine print.” I let out a small laugh, but he didn’t join me. 

He took another step back. “Just moved here less than a year ago.”

I guessed he was mid-thirties, and with his Spanish accent and African features, maybe Puerto Rican? Cuban? I imagined he lived with a wife and multiple niños. They spent Saturdays having barbecues in the park and Sundays from dawn to dusk at church events. He looked far too sweet to be anything but a family man. Now I was profiling.

“From?” I asked.

He let out a protracted sigh, as if the conversation had gotten way more involved than he had intended. His forehead crinkled again, hesitating to give me an answer. 

“The city. Getting too crazy over there.” 

Then he raised his head and his eyes met mine with the twinkle of a forest elf. Perhaps he wasn’t annoyed with me after all. Perhaps I had been wrong about sizing him up, though my conclusion that he was a family man was much easier to handle. Yet, he wore no ring.

About the Author

Vincent Traughber Meis is a fiction writer, a world traveler, and a former ESL community college teacher. When he’s not traveling, he divides his time between writing and working in the garden. Most of the characters in his novels and short stories come from across the LGBTQ+ spectrum and are racially and ethnically diverse. He has published eight novels: Eddie’s Desert RoseTio JorgeDown in CubaDelugeFour Calling Burds and The Mayor of Oak Street, First Born Sons, and Colton’s Terrible Wonderful YearTio Jorge, Down in Cuba, and Deluge have all won Rainbow Awards. The Mayor of Oak Street and First Born Sons have won Reader Views Reviewer’s Choice Awards. His short stories have appeared in several collections both in print and online, and have reached finalist status in several short story contests. A collection of short stories, Far from Home, was published in October 2021. He lives with his husband in San Leandro, California and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Social Media Links

Blog/Website  |   Facebook  |  Instagram

Giveaway 

Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win

one of four 4 ebook copies of The Mayor of Oak Street.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions

21/02/2024

The Locket’s Tale by RJ Peterson #kindleunlimited

NEW RELEASE 

Book Title: The Locket’s Tale

Author and Publisher: RJ Peterson

Cover Artist: Ron Perry Graphic Design

Release Date: February 21, 2024

Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance

Tropes: Older guys, small town

Themes: Just a hint of magic

Heat Rating: 3.5 flames (there are only a couple of sex scenes, but they are quite detailed)

Length: 22 600 words

It is a standalone story and does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

Buy Links Available in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US  |   Amazon UK

Sometimes love is just lying there, waiting to be found.

Blurb

When Miles Wickford happens upon a locket one day during his morning walk, little did he realize how his life would change.

Elias Grafton is frantic when his beloved locket is taken from his antique shop. He fears it may be lost forever.

Miles is intrigued by the power the locket possesses but can’t in good conscience keep what doesn’t belong to him. Although it can’t hurt to try it once or twice, can it?

A locket brings these two men together. And fate, or the locket’s magic, leads to so much more.

Sometimes love is just lying there, waiting to be found.

A Locket’s Tale is a small town MM romance featuring older guys, a lost locket, and just a hint of magic.

Excerpt

It was an ordinary day, much like every other in my life. I awoke at seven without an alarm, my body tuned to the rhythms of my life. After a quick shower, followed by coffee and a bagel, I set off on my morning ritual five-mile walk through my neighborhood and around Milford Pond before returning home. 

I was a freelance editor, and this was how I started each day. It helped clear my mind. A brain reset, if you will, before delving into the next manuscript.

I sometimes varied my route slightly, just for a bit of variety in my otherwise oh-so-similar days, and this Friday was such a day. On my return home, I turned right on Folsom Street, which would take me by a small park, complete with a playground for the neighborhood children. 

The park was empty at this hour, children already in school this sunny but cool October morning. As I ambled down the sidewalk, I heard a dog barking in the distance as something caught my eye on the pavement ahead of me. A ray of sunlight reflected on its surface. A coin perhaps.

But as I approached, its form became more distinct. Is that something on a chain? I stopped mere inches away and bent to retrieve it. A silver locket in the shape of a book. And yes, a matching chain. Curious. I looked around but saw no one who might have dropped it.

I examined the locket, noting the fine filigree work on the front surrounding an oval gem—lapis lazuli was my first thought—where one might expect to find a photo. Instead, the oval contained a cabochon of what appeared to be lapis lazuli. I opened it, hoping to find something that might help to identify it or the owner and was surprised to see words delicately engraved upon what looked like pages.

Despite my squinting, I couldn’t quite make out the words, so I closed the locket and placed it in the front pocket of my jeans. I’d employ the help of a magnifying glass to decipher the message once I returned home. And so I set off to complete my journey, wondering what secrets this jewelry might hold.

* * * 

Entering the back door of my Craftsman home, I shrugged off my jacket and hung it on the peg just inside the kitchen entry. I filled my favorite Yeti tumbler with ice and water, then proceeded to my office to begin the day’s work. But first, a closer look at the locket.

Pulling it from my pocket, I placed it on the desk blotter and grabbed a magnifying glass from the top drawer. I examined the front and back, but again, found no distinguishing marks, so I opened it to study the message engraved inside.

Place this locket about your neck,

Then close your eyes and think

Upon a book that you adore

And let the story sink

Into your brain. Now make a wish

And you will find, indeed,

You’re in said story for a day

Or more or less. Take heed!

“Hmmm, that’s interesting,” I said aloud to the empty room. “But it still doesn’t tell me who this trinket may belong to.” I shrugged, glancing at the small digital clock on my desk only to see it was later than I realized. “I’ll give this more thought later.” I opened the project management app on my iMac. “But now I really need to get to work.”

About the Author 

R.J. Peterson is a retired graphic designer. An avid reader—preferably while sipping a vodka martini or bourbon on the rocks—he's had a long and varied career, including library page, car wash attendant, travel agent, and graphic designer in the marijuana industry. In addition, he worked in the banking industry for twenty-five years. He loves to travel and has been on 55+ cruises. When not on a cruise, he and his husband live in New England.

He never planned to be a writer, but a fateful day in January, 2021 changed it all. He woke with a story stuck in his head and started typing. The more he types, the more ideas he gets.

Social Media Links

Blog/Website  |  Facebook Group  |  Newsletter Sign-up  |  Linktree 

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions