Romance First Publishing Anniversary

It's Romance First Publishing's one year anniversary and we're having a celebration.

Click here to find out more about the contest

http://www.romancefirstpublishing.blogspot.com/

Thanks

Wednesday's Brief

This week's pr

The holiday season can bring a mixed bag of things both good and bad.  Tom and Ben don't always have it rosy.  Here is a less than rosy situation for the two men.

Holiday Blues

“Ben? Where are you?”  Tom had been working on his car; he was mechanically inclined and had no problem working with machinery. If he hadn’t been a firefighter, he would have been a mechanic. Tom knew one of Ben’s favorite pastimes was watching his ass as he bent under the hood, working on the engine. 

“I’m in here.”

The tone in Ben’s voice didn’t match the happy-go-lucky man he’d left inside their home. Ben had been paying the bills while he was outside. Tom found him in their office reading his email. 

“What’s wrong, honey?” Tom leaned over and kissed Ben’s cheek. They’d just had a great Thanksgiving and an evening of fun with chocolate the other night. Now they looked forward to decorating for the holidays.

“Oh, Tom, I just got a letter from Brandon. You know, my friend from college? He told me Barry passed away.”  Barry Benton and Brandon McKenna were Ben’s friends. They’d known each other since high school.  Barry went to college with Ben and, when they graduated, Barry took a job offer in Texas as a civil engineer.

“What happened, Ben?”  Tom grabbed his office chair and pulled it beside Ben’s desk.  He took Ben’s hand in his and rubbed his thumb over his knuckles to try to comfort him.

“I got word from my friend Brandon that Barry was in an accident in Texas.   He was traveling on the interstate and some fog rolled in.  He ended up hitting a car in front of him that stopped short… another car hit him from behind.  He was taken to the hospital. He died a few hours later.” Ben sobbed after the last words were out of his mouth.

“The last time I saw Barry he was checking into the hotel I was staying at while I was attending a real estate conference in San Francisco.”

“I don’t remember a conference.”

“It was before I met you, about seven years ago. He and I kept in touch over the years, and then I hadn’t heard anything for a while.  I was thinking of contacting him, asking him to come out for the holidays. Now that can ever happen.”

“Aww, baby, I’m sorry.” Tom wrapped his arms around Ben and held him tight.

“He was a good guy, why did this have to happen to him?”

“I don’t know. I’ll never understand why this stuff has to happen.”

They held each other.

“Let’s bring the boxes with the holiday decorations up from the basement.”  Ben switched subjects.  Tom knew it was his way of coping with this tragedy.

“Are you sure you want to do the holiday thing now?”

“Yeah, you know this is one of my favorite times of the year, Tom. Barry and Brandon and the rest of our rag tag group used to love to decorate the dorm and go ice skating.  Then we’d end our evenings with hot cocoa.”

“Hey .Tom?”

“Yeah, Ben?” Tom had deposited the last of the boxes on the floor.

“Do you think we could do that sometime?”

“Do what?” Tom thought it would be nice to start up the gas fireplace.

“Go ice skating.”

“Honey, I’ve never been ice skating.”

“I could teach you.”

Tom felt Ben’s arms wrap around his waist and his chest press up against his back and lean his head on Tom’s shoulder. “I guess that could be fun.”

“We could go to the skating rink tomorrow. You’re not working, right?”

“Uh, no,” Tom said with trepidation.  He wasn’t looking forward to slipping and sliding on the ice, but he’d do anything for Ben.

“Well?”

Tom faced Ben and they kissed.

“Okay, honey, we can go skating.”

“Thanks, Tom. I need this after hearing about Barry. I’ll ask Brandon what’s going to happen with, well, you know, the arrangements.”

“It’s okay, honey, I’ll be with you.”

“Thanks, Tom.”

They set about opening the boxes and decorating their home, inside and out.  The last thing would be the tree. They’d go to a tree farm and pick out and cut down their own tree in about a week or so.   It was part of their family tradition.

 TBC

my fellow flashers

Victoria Adams m/f

Tali Spencer m/m

MC Houle m/m

Cia Nordwell m/m

Nephylim m/m

Elizabeth Morgan m/f

Julie Lynn Hayes m/m

Welcome guest author MA Church

I'd like to welcome MA Church as a guest on my blog today.    Let's find out more about her book "Nighttime Dreams"  (the idea of tentacles is already making me curious)

Hey everyone! I’m taking over Lily’s blog today, lol, to talk about my M/M sci-fi romance Nighttime Dreams.

Nighttime Dreams came about months ago when I wrote a short story for an anthology having to do with tentacles. That’s right, lol, tentacles. I wanted to do something different from what I’d read, and came up with an alien that has tentacles on his head. They almost look like dreads, but oh, they are so much more! These Ma’Rairan warriors have tentacles that are part of the alien’s sexual reproduction system. Oh yes, things get very interesting, lol, when those tentacles come into play.

Well, the short story quickly evolved into something else. Before I knew it, this story had taken on a life of its own, and 20K words wouldn’t be enough to do it justice. Thus, the series was born.

The first book is called Nighttime Wishes. https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-nighttimewishes-790160-143.html The second book is Nighttime Dreams, and there is one more book in the series coming soon: Nighttime Promises.

Smashwords buy link:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/253161

ARe buy link:

https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-nighttimedreams-994823-144.html

Amazon buy link:

http://www.amazon.com/Nighttime-Dreams-Wishes-ebook/dp/B00A4DKP3U/ref=sr_1_24?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1352488594&sr=1-24&keywords=nighttime+dreams

Blurb:

Bryan, a simple country sheriff, is ready to shoot someone and hide the body. One particular homophobic FBI agent is really pressing his buttons. Along with that he finds himself in the middle of an FBI investigation revolving around a recent UFO crash landing, is questioned about a missing friend targeted by the FBI, and makes first contact with the very alien the FBI is hunting.

Daroshi, a Ma’Rairan warrior, has fulfilled his obligation to his species, and is ready to mate. As second in command he monitored the rescue of his captain who crashed on Earth while collecting his mate, and witnessed the confrontation between a country sheriff name Bryan and his captain. Impressed by how courageously the brawny human male handled meeting a fully armed alien warrior, Daroshi asks permission to take Bryan as a mate.

Neither male is ready for the problems that come with Daroshi’s decision, nor the passion that explodes between them.

Excerpt:

Ziang and Daroshi transported down into Bryan’s backyard. The night was pitch black, the moon hid behind layers of fluffy clouds. Branches in the trees danced soothingly to gentle breezes. An abundance of shrubs moved silently in the quietly swirling wind. Bryan’s small house was set away from the main road and deep in the woods, alone and isolated. Much like the owner.

“Interesting set-up he has.” Daroshi looked around. “Bit cut off, though.”

“That’s good for us. The last thing we need is more attention, and that FBI agent showing up,” Ziang said. “I want this to go clean and fast.”

“True. Of course, if he did show up, we could give him to Haya.”

“I don’t like the human, but I wouldn’t do that to my worst enemy.” Ziang tapped the communications device on his wrist, loading in their landing coordinates. “Since Bryan is a law enforcement officer, set your weapon to low stun, just in case.”

“Ziang, I don’t want to stun him if it can be avoided.”

“Neither do I, but Shawn’s words keep replaying in my head. Most bullets won’t hurt us, but then, Bryan isn’t most humans. I’m sure he has other weapons in his house that could be dangerous.”

“But their weapons are so primitive.”

“That may be, but primitive can wound just as easily as advanced. Set your stunner to low, and use only if needed.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’ll distract him, and you unarm him, if necessary. I know you don’t want me touching him.”

“No more than you’d want my hands on Shawn.”

“Understood. And no, I wouldn’t.”

“Should we activate our invisibility?”

“No, it’s dark enough. If we just appear, we may scare him even more.”

They crept around the house, moving carefully though the darkness. Both activated their face shields for night vision. They blended with the night, silent hunters that became one with the darkness and shadows; predators with a mission. The prey was inside, unaware of what was closing in on him. Ziang opened his wrist weapon and pinpointed Bryan in the house by his body heat. He motioned for Daroshi to follow him to the back of the house. They’d enter through the back door in the kitchen. As they passed the open window, Daroshi came to a stop when he heard Bryan’s comment about his hand and a big red dildo.

His body came alive and his tentacles jerked against his back. A low growl of desire slipped out. Ziang immediately sliced his hand through the air, calling for silence. Daroshi couldn’t help himself; the very image of Bryan working a dildo up his ass inflamed him and sent his desire for the human spinning out of control. Daroshi respected this human’s bravery and his dedication to an often thankless job, but now there was more. He could scent Bryan’s arousal. The scent was unlike anything he’d ever smelled, sharp and musky. From the depths of his soul the word mine exploded in his head. He wanted Bryan with a passion he hadn’t felt, ever, and he’d do whatever it took to ease him into his new life.

In his excitement, he made a rookie mistake. As he passed the window, he didn’t bend down low enough to conceal himself.

* * * *

Bryan sat at the table, waiting for the cookies to bake, when he heard a low growl, quickly smothered, outside the window. He’d heard something very similar, and not long ago. It wasn’t a sound he’d ever forget. Every hair on his body stood up, adrenaline spiked, and his heart kicked into high gear. A cold flush spread though his body. From the corner of his eye, he caught the blurry shape of something moving under the window. He glanced at the back door and his stomach cramped. It was unlocked. There was no way he could lock it before the intruder busted through. And if he was right, and what was out there was what he thought it was, a wood door wasn’t going to stop it. Plus, the window was open.

Calmly he stood and reached for the drawer by the stove. His off-duty weapon was stored there. He grabbed the taser, too. Why was the alien back and sneaking around his house? If it was the alien that Shawn left with, why not just show itself? He’d seen it before, so why act like this? He’d seen lights in the nighttime sky shortly after Shawn left with his alien, but he assumed they were monitoring the situation, to make sure all was okay before they left. It never crossed his mind they were watching him. Why would they be watching him? Another unsettling thought hit Bryan. Had something bad happened to Shawn? If that was Shawn’s alien, and he wasn’t sure it was, had it returned to let him know? But that was silly; he couldn’t communicate with it like Shawn could.

What the hell was going on?

The handle on the back door turned slowly. Bryan tried to slow his breathing; he was sucking air and that wasn’t good. The door eased opened, an inch at a time. He held his ground as the door opened and he found himself staring at a seven and half foot alien… again.

Bio:

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.

Links:

Blog http://machurch00.blogspot.com

Twitter @nomoretears00

Facebook: M.A. Church http://www.facebook.com/pages/MA-Chur...

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5141393.M_A_Church

Dreamspinner page: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=55_650

Storm Moon Press page: http://www.stormmoonpress.com/authors/MA-Church.aspx

Romance First Press page: http://romancefirstpublishing.blogspot.com/p/author-ma-church.html

Changeling Press page: http://www.changelingpress.com/author.php?uid=177

I'm a guest on Shira Anthony's blog today

I am honored to be a guest on my friend's, Shira Anthony, Blog today.

Please stop by and check it out

http://www.shiraanthony.com/?p=1419

Happy Thanksgiving!

I want to wish all my readers and visitors a Happy Thanksgiving!     I am thankful for all the friends I have, health and for being able to still write (okay I have some writer's block here and there)

Don't eat too much  :D 

Weds Brief: Just Desserts

Well it's that time of the week.  Time to Flash.  This week I picked a photo prompt.  Something that pretty much everyone, or most everyone LOVES.....Chocolate!

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Tom and Ben are going to be celebrating Thanksgiving together with a few friends and family. This event happened this week, before Thanksgiving.

Just Desserts

“Mm, yummy.”  Tom looked at the Godiva website, at all the photos of the wonderful confections they sold; ones that his beloved husband would absolutely drool over.   He’d been at their shop at the mall and couldn’t resist picking up a box of chocolate truffles.  Ben had been working, showing houses to a few couples. He’d called and said he was just finishing up the final details on a contract and should be home in about an hour.  

Tom made dinner; just some meatloaf and potatoes for his hungry man.   The chocolates were going to be a surprise. 

He’d just taken the meatloaf out of the oven when he heard the door open.

“Tom?”

“In here, honey.”

“What smells so good?”

Tom got a kiss on the lips. “Meatloaf.”

“My favorite.  I knew there was a reason I rushed home…for food.”  Ben smiled mischievously.

“Nothing else?” Tom was letting the meat rest while he began mashing the potatoes he’d boiled.

“Hmmm, let me think.”  Ben leaned on the counter. “Nope.”

“Well, I guess I’ll just eat all this food myself.”

“Not if I kiss the cook again,”  Ben teased.

“You sure about that? I thought you’re only interested in the food?”

“The food is good, but I love the cook better.”

Tom felt arms wrap around his chest and kisses planted on the back of his neck.

“That’s better. Why don’t you change and I’ll finish dinner.”

Tom had the meatloaf and potatoes, string beans, and their favorite wine on the table when Ben joined him.

“Wow!” Tom felt his heart pitter patter when he saw his man dressed in a green sweater and jeans, the same sweater Tom had given Ben for his birthday.

“Hi, my sexy firefighter.”  Ben took a seat next to Tom and unfurled his napkin and put it on his lap.  “Let’s eat.”

“Have at it, sweetheart.”   Tom enjoyed watching his man eat.

“Oh boy, I’m stuffed.”  Ben said after he’d taken his last bite and pushed his seat back from the table.

“Really, too stuffed for these?”  Tom brought the special surprise out and put it on the table in front of Ben.

“No way, is this…”

“Godiva truffles, the ones you said you’d do anything to get your hands on.”

“Yeah, those.”

Tom picked up a sweet morsel and fed it to an eager Ben.

“Mm, delicious, your turn.” Ben slid a piece into Tom’s mouth. Tom couldn’t resist licking the chocolate off Ben’s fingers.

“Thank you, Tom. This is just fantastic. I can’t believe you did this for me.” 

“You’re worth it, I love you.” Tom leaned forward, their lips met.  “Let’s go to our bedroom.”

“Can we bring the box of goodies with us?”

“You bet.” Tom took the box of chocolate magic balls. 

                                                                       ****

The morning sunlight cast its light across the floor; in the spotlight was a trail of clothing on the floor and an empty box of chocolate lying next to the discarded apparel.   Two naked men lay in the bed, their limbs tangled in the bed sheets and each other.

TBC

My fellow flashers

Cia Nordwell     m/m

Tali    m/m 

MC Houle      m/m

Victoria Adams      m/f

Elizabeth Morgan    m/f

Nephylim     m/m

Julie Lynn Hayes m/m

Elyzabeth LaVey m/f

I'm a guest on MA Church's Blog today

I just thought I'd let you know that I am on the wonderful MA Church's blog today.  Please stop by and check out my blog spot

MA Church Blog Link

Winner of my contest

I'd like to congratulate Shirley Ann on winning my book "From the Depths"     I want to thank all who entered my contest (it was held at Rick Reed's Blog. Thank you for hosting me Rick)

I have e mailed you Shirley about your prize.

Thanks again everyone!

Six Sentence Sunday

In honor of my new book release I am doing my Six Sentences from my book 
"From the Depths"

Harry has a low self-esteem problem, a problem many people with depression have.   Here is six (I have so much problems picking just six sentences to share)

He still had some time before his date with Nicholas.

"Wait a minute, did I just call this a date?" he said aloud. He looked at himself in the mirror on his closet door. "This is not a date," he said to himself. "It's just coffee."

That was all it could be.

Buy Link 

My fellow six sentence authors 

six sentence sunday link 

Book Released AND I'm a guest on Rick Reed's Blog

Well today is the day.   My book "From the Depth's" has been released.   It's available from Silver Publishing.

BUY LINK

I am a guest on Rick Reed's blog today.  In honor of my new release I am giving away a free copy of my book.

http://rickrreedreality.blogspot.com/2012/11/new-and-notable-lily-sawyers-from-depths.html

I am so happy!

Wednesday Brief

Here is this week's Weds brief.

. Weds Brief Nov 14^th

This Week’s prompt is:  "I thought I'd seen everything, but..." or use the alternate prompts.

Use: napkin, philanderer, watch or "How many times can you..." or use: sun, Vaseline, spiral or "But I thought you said..." or "I would prompt is:  "I thought I'd seen everything, but..." or use the alternate prompts

Sunny Day

Ben never liked this time of year, turning the clocks back an hour. Hefelt like he’d just gotten used to the extra sunshine and now it was getting dark by five in the afternoon.   This was also the time of year he worried most about Tom being a firefighter, as it was a dangerous profession. With people accidently setting fires to their homes while being careless with candles or Christmas trees, it was hard for Ben not to think the worst. Otherwise he’d be worried sick every time Tom walked out the door.  He remembered in the beginning, when their relationship had gotten serious, he used to keep watch at the front door, just waiting for Tom to come home. How many times can you do that before it drives you insane?  He and Tom had serious talks and both agreed that they would try to take things one day at a time and not think about the worst case scenarios. 

He’d had a busy day today, showing homes to several clients. Some could be so picky he wanted to smack them. First-time homeowners were the worst; they expected him to work miracles in getting them ‘exactly’ what they wanted, even though they gave him a ridiculous budget to work with. Some days he wanted to throw his hands up.  But his workday was done and here he was in their home. He had a turkey in the oven, even though Thanksgiving was still over a week away.  It was just a turkey breast. He and Tom loved turkey any time of year.  Sometimes they’d just skip having turkey at Thanksgiving and order one of those spiral cut hams from one of the local farmer’s markets.

He couldn’t stop looking at his watch. The turkey would be done in half an hour and the space where Tom’s car would be parked was empty. It only served to remind him how much he missed his man.  Today was the last day of his three-day work schedule and Tom was supposed to have been here about half hour ago.  “It will be okay. He’s just a little late.”  Just then Ben’s cellphone chimed and he quickly retrieved it from the kitchen counter where he’d left it. A text message from Tom.  

‘Sorry, honey, we had a L8 cal,l turned out to be nothing. I’m on my way home. Can’t wait to C U. XO’

Ben was so relieved he felt like he was walking on air.  He took out their best tablecloth and china and set the dining room table. He finished things off by setting some flowers he’d bought earlier from the florist on the table. He put them in a vase Tom had given him for his birthday one year. 

The turkey was out of the oven; the mashed potatoes were all ready, as were the green beans. All that was missing was his man. As if on cue, he heard the front door open.

“Ben? Wow, what smells so good?”  

Ben rushed to the front door and threw his arms around Tom. He did one of the things he loved doing best, smothering him with kisses.  “Hey, don’t I even get to take my coat off?”

“Here, let me help you.”  Ben helped Tom off with his long black wool coat; he hung it in the closet then returned to hugging and kissing his man.

“I missed you too, honey.”  Tom wrapped his arms around him. 

“Just couldn’t wait for you to get home.  Come on ,you must be starved.”  Ben led him to the dining room table. “Now you just take a seat and let me get some food into you.”

Ben brought out two plates with turkey and brought a bowl of potatoes and beans and placed them all on the table.  He poured some merlot. He wasn’t sure if it went well with turkey, but it was one of their favorite wines so he didn’t care.

They sat next to each other and enjoyed a quiet dinner. At times they held hands, whispered sweet nothings at each other.   Later each knew that there would be more to dessert than the pumpkin pie Ben had baked earlier.

TBC

my fellow flashers

Nephylim     m/m

Cia Nordwell     m/m

Julie Lynn Hayes m/m

Tali Spencer     m/m

Next Big Thing: Find out what my next book is

Here is my latest release from Silver publishing.  I thought I'd give you a little peek into the inner workings of me,  author Lily Sawyer  (to order please click on the book cover on the right hand side)

The Next Big Thing

1- What is your working title of your book?

"From the Depths."

2-Where did the idea come from for the book?
Silver publishing had a submission request called a different kind of love.    It involved characters who have physical or mental challenges.   My story deals with something very personal to me, depression.

3-What genre does your book fall under?
it's a m/m contemporary story.

4- Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

There are two TV actors who I think would do a great job.  Stephen Amell (he plays the Green Arrow on "Arrow" )  and Josh Dallas (he plays Prince Charming on "Once Upon a Time.")

5- What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Can someone struggling with depression find a way to be happy?

6- Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
This book is published by Silver Publishing (all of my books are published by wonderful publishers)

7- How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
It took about a month to get this story together,  this had to be one of the hardest books to write because I put alot of my own feelings and some events into the story.

8-What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

"Falling into Place" by Tia Fielding (available at Dreamspinner Press)

9- Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I was inspired by my desire to address what can happen within the mind of a person with depression.  I want people to have a better understanding of what self image is like for someone with depression.

10-What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?

My main character is able to find someone who loves him warts and all.

Fellow authors I've tagged
Julie Hayes
http://julielynnhayes.blogspot.com/

M.A. Church
http://machurch00.blogspot.com/?zx=5be76e520c5f8447

Six Sentence Sunday

My six is coming from my new book, "From the Depths,"  which is going to be released next Sat Nov 17th from Silver Publishing.

Pre order link

Here is the synopsis
To the rest of the world Harry Goldberg appears to be a normal, happy go lucky man.  He has a great job working at Nosh Deli on Long Island, his co-workers and customers love him.   But Harry has a secret, he suffers from depression,  no one understands what it is like to live life on the edge most of the time and not to be able to let anyone know for fear of driving them away.  That is how Harry has led his life,  alone except for his faithful cat.   But things change when a new delivery man shows up at the deli, one that he finds himself attracted to.  But there is no one who can love someone who has so much emotional baggage like him,  or is there?

my six. It was SO hard to narrow this down to six.  I'll be posting more sneak peeks during the week.

This is a scene from a coffee shop Harry meets Nicholas, the delivery man, at.

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"I wasn't sure if you liked them but I took a chance and bought us both their healthy wraps. They both have grilled chicken, lite Italian dressing, tomatoes, onion, and mushrooms."

Harry stared at the wrapped sandwich sitting on the small table in front of him.

"Hey, if you don't like it, you can exchange it for something else."

Harry felt Nicholas's hand touch his own; the warm touch broke him from his shocked stupor. It had been ages since anyone did something nice like this for him.

my fellow six sentence authors
Six sentence authors

I'd like to welcome Rick Reed to my blog today

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Rent is now officially on sale at MLR Press, Amazon, All Romance Ebooks, and everywhere good books are sold.

Rent successfully combines my passion for love stories and tales with dark underpinnings. Ultimately, it's a slice-of-life that demonstrates how true love can triumph over even the worst adversity, including murder.

Readers of Tricks will find the world of Rent very familiar. Watch for cameo appearances of Sean and Arliss!

SYNOPSIS
On the worst day of his life, Wren Gallagher wants oblivion when he steps into Tricks for a drink. He's lost not only his job, but his wallet as well. When a mysterious stranger steps up to pay his tab, he also offers Wren the key to fulfilling his dreams of prosperity and true love. But appearances are not always what they seem....

His savior is the owner of the escort agency, A Louer---and he wants the young and handsome Wren to work for him. So down on his luck, Wren figures---why not? He can use the money. When he joins, though, he hadn't counted on meeting Rufus, another escort with whom he quickly falls hopelessly in love. But their love story will have to overcome the obstacles of not only trading love for money, but A Louer's dark---and deadly---secrets.

EXCERPT

It always amazed Wren that Tricks could be so busy, no matter what time of day he stopped in. Today, for example, it was three in the afternoon, a Friday, yes, but still, three in the afternoon. And yet the stripper bar was crowded, mostly with older guys, but some like Wren, too. Younger—wearing snarky ‘what am I doing here?’ expressions on their faces even as they cast furtive glances up at the two buff guys dancing in G-strings to the latest Lady Gaga anthem.

Outside, Chicago in summer was in full swing, but once you entered Tricks, you forgot all about the city and the season. The traffic sounds at the intersection of Belmont and Broadway, the rumble of the el a few blocks west, and the voices of many pedestrians mingling on the street, disappeared. Tricks was a world unto itself, a universe where nearly naked men, alcohol fumes, colored lights, dirty floors, the clinking of ice in glasses, the husky music of men propositioning men, and mirrored walls all conspired together, creating something that was one part sleaze, one part gay, and one part home (at least for many of the men who frequented Tricks).

Tricks was all about escapism. Its dancers allowed you to free yourself from the shackles of your own body issues. Too skinny? Too fat? In-between but nowhere near remarkably ripped? It was okay at Tricks because the dancers were beautiful and one could imagine they got their ripped and muscular physiques effortlessly, from hanging out in bars, consuming copious amounts of alcohol, and tricking athletically with a parade of handsome strangers. The magic might work for you one day, too.

Or at least that was the fantasy they were selling at Tricks.

And…if your self-esteem tank was running a little low, a wink or a smile from one of the dancers was enough to kick it up a notch. The hunky bartender calling you ‘Gorgeous’ or ‘Stud’ didn’t hurt either when he asked what he could get you. This kind of behavior from those who worked at Tricks was hard to swallow, yet easy to cling to, making you believe, if only for a second, you were hot. You were wanted.

It was all part of the make-believe. And sometimes, it was enough.

Wren Gallagher, all of twenty-three years old, today needed some of the escapism Tricks offered. Yes, he required it even at three in the afternoon. As the crowd jostled him, Wren kept his eye on the one open stool at the bar in front of him. It was like some sort of prize, an alcoholic holy grail, a place where he could park his skinny ass and maybe, just maybe, forget for a few hours what a crappy day he’d had.

Just as he elbowed his way through the laughing and chattering crowd of mostly middle-aged men and had managed to get within inches of the vacant stool, a heavy-set guy with a bottle of beer in one thick paw materialized out of nowhere to claim it. He was focused intently on the blond Adonis gyrating on the bar, so he did not see that there was a competition for the stool.

Wren stopped and regarded the man with his brown eyes, hoping his telepathy was in good enough working order that the man would feel the force of his gaze. At least one thing would go right on this shitty day, Wren thought, and that one thing—all I ask—is that this character makes eye contact with me.

Lo and behold, he did. Wren smiled prettily, trying to buoy up the older, balding man’s ego with the combined force of his slightly gap-toothed, turned-up-at-one-corner grin and his shock of red hair, his slender hips encased in denim, and the geek allure vibe he knew he gave off. He knew because he had been told he was a sexy nerd on more than one occasion.

The guy did a bit of a double take when he saw Wren trying to make eye contact, smiling. He looked up at the dancer and back at Wren, as if he had to decide between one or the other. As if he had a choice…

Wren winked.

That was all it took. The older man stepped back, away from the stool, and gestured with his hands, the perfect gentleman, that Wren should take it.

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Rick R. Reed Biography
Rick R. Reed is all about exploring the romantic entanglements of gay men in contemporary, realistic settings. While his stories often contain elements of suspense, mystery and the paranormal, his focus ultimately returns to the power of love. He is the author of dozens of published novels, novellas, and short stories. He is a two-time EPIC eBook Award winner (for Orientation and The Blue Moon Cafe). Lambda Literary Review has called him, "a writer that doesn't disappoint." Rick lives in Seattle with his partner and a very spoiled Boston terrier. He is forever "at work on another novel."

Visit Rick's website at http://www.rickrreed.com or follow his blog at http://rickrreedreality.blogspot.com/. You can also like Rick on Facebook at www.facebook.com/rickrreedbooks or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/rickrreed.

Rick and Lily