NOW OUT! Heaven Can't Wait

Heaven Can't Wait

This novella was released in 2014 with Dreamspinner Press. It's been out of print for about six years. I've had a lot of requests for it, so I'm thrilled to be able to get it back on the market. This is an updated second edition with a new cover and edited content.

Truly, this is one of my favorite Eli Easton stories. I have a fascination with philosophy, the metaphysical, and NDEs (Near Death Experiences). This story hits all my favorite subjects! It is not at all 'heavy' but a lighter, comic romance.

BLURB:

This college romance is a match made in heaven. Literally.

When Brian dies at nineteen, his less-than-stellar performance here on Earth puts his soul in limbo. He has one chance to redeem himself at the pearly gates. All Brian has to do is save the life of Kevin Anderson, a guy he and his friends teased for being gay.

Kevin had big dreams about life at college--friends, parties, acceptance for who he really is, maybe even a nice boyfriend. But his dorm roommate, Chuck, and his stupid friends, prove him wrong on day one with their casual homophobia. Now he can only wait for another room to open up—and try to keep his eyes off sexy, uber-straight Chuck.

Chuck is struggling to keep up the tough-guy façade everyone expects from him. But being trapped in a dorm room with the prettiest twink he’s ever seen isn’t helping.

If Brian can untangle this mess, he’ll deserve his wings.

Heaven Can't Wait is a tongue-in-cheek romance featuring college roommates secretly crushing on each other, a meddling angel wannabe, mishaps, temptation, and the meaning of life. No biggie.

LINKS:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Goodreads

Thank you all a million times for continuing to read and support my work. Happy spring and blessings!

Eli

New Release: A Prairie Dog's Love Song

NEW RELEASE!

A PRAIRIE DOG’S LOVE SONG is a novella first published in 2013 as part of Dreamspinner’s Christmas Advent calendar that year. It’s been out of print for several years now. I’m releasing it as part of the Clyde’s Corner series.

When I first wrote A PRAIRIE DOG’S LOVE SONG, I intended it as a one-off. It’s set in Clyde’s Corner, Montana, a small ranching town, and has a folksy, Western sensibility. I enjoyed writing the book so much that a few years later, I decided to write another book set in Clyde’s Corner—THE STOLEN SUITOR. That book was published as part of the Dreamspinner Dreamspun Desires line.

Since I’m republishing both books, I decided to write a new third book in the series. ONE-TRICK PONY is a full-length novel featuring the town villain, Henry Atkins, and porn star Devon from book 1 (aka Micah).

THE STOLEN SUITOR will be out in June 2021 and ONE-TRICK PONY in July.

A PRAIRIE DOG’S LOVE SONG

Ben Rivers always was a showman. He won awards in 4-H and rodeo competitions from the time he could walk, and he’s happiest in the spotlight. So when he got the chance to be a star—in porn—he took it. He still loves Montana and everything about being a cowboy, but when news of his alternate identity leaks out, he figures he’s lost the town’s goodwill forever. Clyde’s Corner would never accept an openly gay cowboy, even a hometown boy born and bred.

Joshua Braintree always had the notion that he and his best friend’s kid brother, Ben, would end up together. Ben’s always been a diehard cowboy, just like him: they need the land and its freedom as much as they need air. So when Joshua learns Ben moved away from their small Montana town to be a porn star in Vegas, he can hardly believe it. He’s determined to finally declare himself and bring Ben home.

Despite his longtime crush on Joshua, Ben won’t be as easy to tame as Joshua’s “lost cause” horses. It will take a lot of heart and holiday spirit for Joshua to convince Ben that even old prairie dogs can learn new tricks in the name of love.

AMAZON US

AMAZON UK

AUDIBLE (Original audiobook)

You can read the first chapter here

SEX IN SEATTLE SERIES - RELEASE DAY!

I'm happy to announce the re-release of my Sex in Seattle series. This series was written in 2013-2014 and has been a reader favorite. It was published originally by Dreamspinner, but I got the rights back last Fall and am now republishing with new covers (by Anna Tif Sikorska) and new paperback editions.

THESE TITLES ARE NOW AVAILABLE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED FOR THE FIRST TIME.

Set in a sex therapy clinic in Seattle, the series features three romances with three different couples. Each book can be read as a stand-alone, though the clinic's main characters appear in all the books and you might prefer to read them in order.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐓𝐎𝐍𝐘 - Features Dr. Jack Halloran, an ex-military doctor whose PTSD and hand injury have made him unfit for surgery. He's now a sex therapist. When a P.I. suspects Halloran in a murder and pretends to be a patient, it gets very interesting!
AMAZON US - https://www.amazon.com/Trouble-Tony-Sex-Seattle-Book-ebook/dp/B0845TQ2M7/
AMAZON UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trouble-Tony-Sex-Seattle-Book-ebook/dp/B0845TQ2M7/

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐍𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐄𝐋 - Features Daniel Derenzo, a successful business man whose life has been focused on work until his father's terminal illness issues a wake-up call. He is startled to find himself having feelings for his business partner, Nick. Daniel goes to see Dr. Halloran at the clinic--can a man in his 30's suddenly realize he's gay or bi? Dr. Halloran, and the clinic's surrogate, Michael, give Daniel the clarity he needs to pursue Nick.
AMAZON US - https://www.amazon.com/Enlightenment-Daniel-Sex-Seattle-Book-ebook/dp/B08462KKYJ/
AMAZON UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Enlightenment-Daniel-Sex-Seattle-Book-ebook/dp/B08462KKYJ/

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐅 𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐄𝐋 - This is the reader's favorite in the series. Michael Lamont is the clinic's sex surrogate. He meets and falls for his author hero, J.C. Guise. But James is wheelchair bound after childhood polio, and has deep scars from abandonment. Will he ever let Michael close? This book features scenes of Michael working with his surrogacy clients, which was super interesting to research and write.
AMAZON US - https://www.amazon.com/Mating-Michael-Sex-Seattle-Book-ebook/dp/B0846BSMPG/
AMAZON UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mating-Michael-Sex-Seattle-Book-ebook/dp/B0846BSMPG/

If you haven’t read this series before, I hope you’ll give it a chance. Or if you read it way-back-when, catch up with old friends and give them a re-read.

Eli

"Heaven Can't Wait" - Eli goes Metaphysical

My backlist special for the rest of February and March is “Heaven Can’t Wait”. It is only 99c on the Dreamspinner site. You can find it here.

This novella was published in 2014 as part of Dreamspinner’s “Daily Dose”, their summer anthology series. I think for that reason, people who didn’t subscribe to the Daily Dose may not have seen it or read it. Which is a shame, because this is one of my favorite novellas that I’ve ever written.

I’ve always been a fan of metaphorical stories. I studied philosophy for a few semesters and loved it! I almost got a masters in it, except I talked myself out of it, thinking it wasn’t practical. But as a protestant minister’s daughter, and later an uber liberal who was interested in Buddishm, New Age ideas, near-death experiences, as well as the paranormal, I’ve always been interested in what lies beyond this world and various concepts of heaven, hell, judgement, God, etc.

I remember how delighted I was when I read Anne Rice’s “Memnoch the Devil” because in it, Lucifer goes into whole chapters of discussion about creation and why he rebelled and what was wrong with God’s whole scheme. I ate up that shiz. Years later, as a thriller writer writing under the name Jane Jensen, I wrote a huge novel about the meaning of good and evil and life after death called “Dante’s Equation”.

“Heaven Can’t Wait” is the Eli Easton, lightly-tapdancing-on-the-metaphyiscal expression of that interest. In this m/m romance, an intolerant young man wakes up to find himself dead. His soul is on the tipping point between heaven and hell, so in order to redeem himself, he has to go back to Earth as a ghost and save the life of a bullied young man (and maybe find the guy a boyfriend too).

If it sounds heavy, it’s not. This is a humorous take on the subject, with our intrepid ghost Brian screwing up at every turn, and his mentor in heaven, Peter, being rather impatient and sarcastic. But despite the humor, there are some interesting ideas in the story, I think. Peter explains to Brian why people are born gay, for example. And in the end, Brian realizes a lot of what he believed when he was human is just plain wrong.

But whether the ideas interest you, or you just read it for a fun romance lark, I think you’ll enjoy “Heaven Can’t Wait”. Check it out while the sale lasts!

HEAVEN CAN’T WAIT SALE.

Last few days for my Christmas books on KU!

My previous year’s Christmas books will come off KU and go back on wide distribution on Feb 10th. So if you want to read any of them on Kindle Unlimited, do it now!

Here’s the Amazon link: US UK

Also, my Christmas book for 2018, CHRISTMAS ANGEL, will go off KU and into wide distribution on March 1.

Here’s the Amazon link: US, UK

I hope you all had a good January. I’m working on a book called FAMILY CAMP and should be able to share a cover and blurb with you soon!

Eli

CHRISTMAS ANGEL - Series page and first chapter added

It’s getting closer to December 2, the release day for my 2018 Christmas book, CHRISTMAS ANGEL. The final draft was sent off to the formatter today.

I’ve also added a CHRISTMAS ANGEL SERIES PAGE, which has the info for all seven books in the series. This is a “shared universe” series. That means that all books can be read as stand-alones but they share something in common. In this case, it’s a Christmas angel ornament that appears in every story. The stories take place at different periods in history and were written by myself, Kim Fielding, L.A. Witt, Jordan L. Hawk, Anyta Sunday, N.R. Walker, and R.J. Soctt. Check out the series page for more deets.

I’ve also put up the first chapter of my book for those who want an early teaser. You can read it here.

Christmas is coming!

Eli

Cover Reveal: CHRISTMAS ANGEL

Checkout the official Cover Reveal post and giveaway on LOVE BYTES.

Looks what’s here! I’ve written a Christmas book every year since 2013 (BLAME IT ON THE MISTLETOE), and they’re always a highlight of my writing year. I love to write them and I’m also a glutton when it comes to reading other author’s Christmas stories.

This year I’m doing something new. I’m in a series with six other authors. RJ Scott, NR Walker, Anyta Sunday, LA Witt, Jordan L Hawk, and Kim Fielding. I love all of these authors, so I’m thrilled to be doing a project with them.

This is a shared universe series. What that means is that all the books share a common idea but can be read as a stand alone without any reference to the other books in the series. In fact, each book takes place in a different era and they share no characters—except for an angel tree ornament that travels down through time.

BLURB:

The Christmas Angel Series

In 1750, a master woodcarver poured all his unrequited love, passion, and longing into his masterpiece—a gorgeous Christmas angel for his beloved’s tree. When the man he loved tossed the angel away without a second thought, a miracle happened. The angel was found by another who brought the woodcarver True Love.

Since then, the angel has been passed down, sold, lost and found, but its magic remains. Read the romances inspired by (and perhaps nudges along by) the Christmas Angel through the years. Whether it’s the 1880’s New York (Kim Fielding), the turn-of-the-century (Jordan L. Hawk), World War II (L.A. Witt), Vietnam-era (N.R. Walker), the 1990’s (Anyta Sunday), or 2018 (RJ Scott), the Christmas Angel has a way of landing on the trees of lonely men who need it’s blessing for a very Merry Christmas and forever HEA.

Pretty cool, right? My book is the first one, chronologically. It’s set in 1750 London and is the origin story for the angel. Here’s the blurb:

CHRISTMAS ANGEL

THE CHRISTMAS ANGEL – BOOK ONE

1750’s LONDON, ENGLAND

When John Trent, a dedicated member of the new Bow Street Runners, finds an exquisite carved angel floating in the Thames, he can’t stop thinking about it. He tracks down its creator, a sad and quiet young sculptor. But neither the angel nor the sculptor is done with John just yet. The blasted angel refuses to leave him be, behaving not at all like an inanimate object should.

Alec Allston is resigned to the fact that his love will ever be a river that flows out and never flows in. All he wanted to do was create a special gift so that a small part of himself could be with his unattainable and noble beloved, always. But when the gift keeps showing back up at his shop in the hands of a windblown and rugged thief-taker, Alec will need to reconsider his conviction that love is destined to remain an ethereal ideal.

YES, ELI WRITES YET ANOTHER HISTORICAL:

I have a (bad? good?) habit of writing in various sub-genres. I’ve written a few historicals. THE LION AND THE CROW is set in medieval England. ROBBY RIVERTON: MAIL ORDER BRIDE is set in the old West. CHRISTMAS ANGEL is set in Georgian London. I love Georgian and Regency romances, and this is my first attempt at writing one. It’s been a lot of fun but also a ton of work with all the research. Hopefully it comes up to snuff!

RELEASE DATE:

All the books in the series will hit the market on the same day, December 2. More info on that to come!

ELI

April's Featured Book: THE TROUBLE WITH TONY

I'm starting a new feature here on the blog. Each month I'll focus on a backlist book and it'll be on sale.  For April the book is THE TROUBLE WITH TONY. All through April it's on sale for just .99c on Dreamspinner. HERE's THE LINK.  Keep reading for a little background on the story.

This was one of the first m/m romance stories I ever wrote, way back in 2012. It was published in 2013 by Dreamspinner.

Tony DeMarco is a private investigator in Seattle. He's looking into a young woman's death and he learns she went to a sex clinic the last few months before her murder. Did the sex clinic, or her therapist, Dr. Jack Halloran, have something to do with it?

To find out, Tony pretends to e a new patient of Jack's. At first Tony makes up a story about being a sex addict. But when Jack sees through that, Tony admits he does have a little problem. He can only have sex with specific men he's really attracted to. Only four in his life so far.

Things get complicated when Jack turns out to be #5.

This is a fun-set up that allows for a lot of humor in the book, especially since Tony is a big, wise-cracking, Italian tough-guy. There's also a mystery/investigation thread running through the book. It's fairly short at novella length, but it packs a lot in.

Eli's 3 Favorite Things about The Trouble With Tony:

1. The humor.

2. The stirrup scene (yes, OBGYN stirrups)

3. The appearances of sex surrogate Michael, who later gets his own book.

Hope you enjoy your time with Tony!  Here's the book page on this site.

Eli

Excerpt & Give away - Merry Christmas, Mr. Miggles

I'm hosting the Queer Romance Freebie Fan Club on Facebook this week. If you aren't already a member, you can join below. The group is manned by more than a dozen mm authors who regularly give stuff away: https://www.facebook.com/groups/queerromance/

This week I'll be giving away a few books, audiobooks, an ARC of my upcoming "Five Dares", and an Amazon gift certificate.

To kick off the week, I offered a chance to win any of my Christmas novellas in ebook or audiobook (includes "Blame it on the Mistletoe", "Unwrapping Hank", "Midwinter Night's Dream"  and "Merry Christmas Mr. Miggles"). To enter to win you just need to comment on that thread in the facebook group above.

Today's giveaway is for one copy of the audiobook of "Merry Christmas, Mr. Miggles".  To enter, comment on this post on the Facebook group. You can listen to a sample and check out reveiws here:

AUDIBLE: MERRY CHRISTMAS, MR. MIGGLES

Today's post is an excerpt from "Merry Christmas, Mr. Miggles".

Excerpt (from chapter 2):

The next day when I arrived at the library at 8 o'clock, Mr. Miggles was already there. He was in Santa's Headquarters. Christmas tunes played over the library's speaker system, and he was swathed in an apparently infinite strand of gold tinsel.

He fought against the tinsel's stranglehold harder when I walked into the room, embarrassed to be caught out. It was hilarious and precious at the same time, like a video of a kitten falling off a sofa, but I kept a straight face. I plopped my backpack down and helped him unwind. He was dressed in his usual gray suit pants and starched white button-down shirt. Today his tie was navy and yellow and had subtle smiley faces on it. The tinsel strand had gotten itself entwined on a button on his back suit pants pocket. I couldn't help noticing, as I freed it, that he had a decent ass.

Did I mention that I'm twenty-four?

"I was, um, trying to judge the length of the strand," he said with strained dignity.

"By pole dancing with it?"

"Don't be cheeky." He gave me a warning glare that looked amused at the same time. "I'm glad you're in. I wanted to discuss the Christmas Surprise Box before the library opens."

"Okay. But why are you here so early? You shouldn't come in early like this."

The library ran on a very tight budget. There were only two paid employees—Mr. Miggles and me. We had a few volunteers, but either he or I had to be there at all times. So I worked 8 to 5 and he worked 10 to 7.

He waved away my concern. "Needs must. Now. The Christmas Surprise Box." He picked up his pen and notebook from the table. "We'll have the traditional chocolates, of course, but I want something new. You're young. What latest trend might we be able to afford?"

I leaned against the table and crossed my arms. "What's the budget this year?"

"Same as every year. Fifty dollars."

I gave him an incredulous look and sighed. "Well, that leaves out a smart phone."

"What about a smart phone case? Or another accessory?"

I shook my head. "There are too many phone sizes to do a case. No way to know what the winner would have. Besides, they're expensive." I thought about it. "Earbuds?"

He hummed and wrote it down. "Possibly. You're sure most people would have a mobile communication device?"

I opened my mouth to accuse him of being a hopeless Luddite, but then I saw the suppressed smile on his face. He was yanking my chain. Of course he was. He had a cell phone, I reminded myself. I even had his number in case of emergencies.

"You're not the least bit funny," I grumbled.

His grin broadened. "Just making sure you're awake, Toby. What else might be an option?"

"iTunes Gift certificate?"

"Too impersonal."

"But flexible."

Clearly this was a teaching moment to Mr. Miggles. He gave me a serious look. "A gift says as much about the giver as the receiver. How much thought went into it? Does the giver truly know the recipient’s heart? Did the giver put time and care into the selection, or was it merely a chore to be ticked off?"

"Chore," I said decisively. "Oh… you meant hypothetically."

Mr. Miggles looked rueful. "Of course, if you're the sort of person who prefers to put the minimum amount of effort into a thing…."

I rolled my eyes. "We don't know who's going to win the surprise box, so how personal can it be?"

"We know the winner will be a human being with all the needs and frailties that implies. Also, it's someone who lives in Sandy Lake and comes into the library. There are scores of information in those few data alone."

"So no alien technology then. Or dog biscuits."

Mr. Miggles gave a “this is what I have to put up with” sigh. "Something about the town, perhaps. Something for a reader."

"What about a Sandy Lake bookmark? We might be able to get something custom done on Etsy fairly cheap. We could use a photo of the town clock."

"Excellent!" Mr. Miggles wrote it down. "Is there anything I might get at the mall? I'm planning on a hike near Columbus on Sunday, so I could make the dreaded mall run."

My face must have given me away, because Mr. Miggles blinked at me. "What is it?"

I tried to downplay my frustration. "Nothing. Justin and I were supposed to go to Columbus on Sunday, but now he has to work."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. I suppose you were quite looking forward to it. Do you…."

He trailed off, stopping himself. And I thought. Do I… what?

Mr. Miggles looked at me and I looked at him. In a flash, the room was full of this weird frizzle of… something. It was definitely tingly. And awkward. He clenched his jaw as if he wanted to say something. Was he going to invite me to go with him? That would be weird.

I suddenly wanted him to ask and… I didn't. The idea of having company for a trip to Columbus, not to mention going for a hike on a nice November day, sounded righteous. Why shouldn't I go out and have fun since Justin had bailed on me?

But Mr. Miggles was my boss. We didn't socialize. And there was the gay thing too. Would he think that, because I was a gay man, any invitation would be misconstrued as a come on? Mr. Miggles wasn't gay. At least, I didn't think so. Come to think of it, I had no idea what he was or even if he was anything at all. Possibly, he was asexual or he’d been kidnapped by white slavers during his formative years and castrated. That would explain his “tragic past” vibe. Hey, anything was possible.

"So, um, have fun, you know, with that," I stammered. "If I think of anything you could pick up at the mall, I'll let you know."

"Yes. Fine. Good." Mr. Miggles nodded adamantly.

I looked at the clock on the wall in desperation. The second hand edged toward 8:30, when the library officially opened. I had a few things to do to prep for that and a cup of coffee was definitely high on the list.

"I'd better…." I jerked my thumb at the door.

"By all means. Get to it."

See you tomorrow!

Eli

Two new releases for the holidays!

In November I'm releasing 2 books. I won't have another release until February. So check these out.

"Falling Down" is now available. I'll post a buy link in the comments below. It's a fall-themed, hurt-comfort story about a homeless youth who travels to New English to see the fall leaves and then end his life. Fate intervenes and he meets a troubled former Marine who saves them both.

"Merry Christmas, Mr. Miggles" is my Christmas story for the year (NOV 23). It's a feel-good holiday story about Toby, a small town junior librarian, who has to save his boss (Mr. Miggles) and the library's Christmas. It's a May-Dec contemporary romance with humor and a minor dollop of angst. Cover by Reese Dante. Isn't it pretty?

BUY LINKS:

FALLING DOWN:

Exclusively on Amazon for the first 90 days, then generally available.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, MR. MIGGLES:

Now available for pre-order (release Nov 23rd)

ON AMAZON

ON ALL ROMANCE EBOOKS

Eli

"The Stolen Suitor" now available for pre-order!

Big news! My novel "The Stolen Suitor" is set for release Feb 1, 2016 and is now available on the Dreamspinner "Coming Soon" page for pre-order!

This 70K novel is set in Clyde's Corner, Montana, where my Christmas novella "A Prairie Dog's Love Song" took place. It's part of the new Dreamspun Desires line from Dreamspinner. This new line features 2 new books a month, each with a traditional category romance trope respun for m/m. You can get a subscription or buy books separately. All books will be available in paperback. Cool, huh? Check it out here.

Here's the blurb for "The Stolen Suitor"

All of Clyde’s Corner, Montana, knows local dandy Chris Ramsey will marry Trix Stubben, young widow and heir to the richest ranch in the area. But one woman isn’t too keen on the idea. Mabe Crassen wants to get her hands on that ranch, so she sets her older son to court Trix, and her younger son, Jeremy, to distract Chris and lure him astray.

Jeremy Crassen thinks his mother’s scheme is crazy. But he wants desperately to go off to college, which Mabe will agree to—if he seduces Chris. How will shy, virginal, secretly gay Jeremy attract Chris, who seems determined to do the right thing and marry Trix? Jeremy can’t compete with a rich female widow. Or can he?

Eli

"Unwrapping Hank" now available on audiobook!

Yay! "Unwrapping Hank" is now live! The narrator is Tristan Wright, who read my "Superhero". I love his snarkiness for Sloane and deep growl for Hank. Check it out!  Just in time for Christmas. http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Unwrapping-Hank-Audiobook/B018ULDPF2/ref=a_search_c4_1_9_srTtl?qid=1449263629&sr=1-9

Interview with Micah on Gay Book Reviews

Today for the "Midwinter Night's Dream" blog tour, Gay Book Review interviews Micah. Check it out! http://gaybook.reviews/2015/12/03/a-midwinter-nights-dream-blog-tour/

Eli

My Favorite Christmas Romances - Sinfully Sexy Guest Post

I'm on Sinfully Sexy today talking about my favorite Christmas gay romances for my "Midwinter Night's Dream" blog tour. Lots of wonderful books and all highly recommended. http://sinfullymmbookreviews.blogspot.de/2015/12/featured-guest-author-eli-easton-on-her.html

Our Traditional Christmas Eve Meal - Midwinter Blog Tour

I'm visiting My Fiction Nook celebrating the release of "Midwinter Night's Dream" and discussing one of our family traditions. Check it out here.

"A Visit on the Springfield Farm" - guest post on Joyfully Jay

I'm visiting Joyfully Jay to talk about "Midwinter Night's Dream". In this post I'm sharing photos of the Springfield's farm - aka the farm I live on in Lancaster County, PA, which was the model for the books. Link below! http://joyfullyjay.com/2015/11/guest-post-midwinter-nights-dream-by-eli-easton/

Desktop: Midwinter Night's Dream

Nov 25, 2015 is release day for my Christmas novella "Midwinter Night's Dream". Here's my desktop of images that inspired me. MICAH SPRINGFIELD

First, of course, is Micah Springfield, one of the MCs in the story. Micah is Hank's brother from "Unwrapping Hank". He's a laid-back, hippy kind of guy with dreads. The images that inspired me for Micah are pictures of SAMUEL LARSON from Glee. (yes, before he cut his hair)

'

LEO DAYSON

Micah's love interest in "Midwinter Night's Dream" is Leo Dayson, a senior theater major, gay activist, and general OCD hard ass. For visuals, I found the picture below of a young Chris Hemsworth. The young part is key, because in the photo below, he's not the hugely muscled Thor version, but a thinner, more sensitive looking guy (but still intense).

MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM:

As might be apparent from the title, the plot of the story is inspired by the Shakespeare play, Midsummer Night's Dream.  Leo is producing a version of Midsummer Night's Dream (the play) and he's going to be holding it in the Springfield family's barn.

The story also mirrors the play a bit, with Micah crushing on Leo, a girl named Yasmine crushing on Micah, and Leo's bff, Helen, crushing on Yasmine.

(above: From the 1999 film version of "Midsummer Night's Dream")

Sloane and Grinch make up our story's "Puck".

And a lot of the action is set, once again, on the Springfield family farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It's a snowy Christmas in the story.

I hope you enjoy this holiday romance. Merry Christmas!

Eli

"Midwinter Night's Dream" - Cover reveal & give away!

 

Along with the upcoming "How to Walk Like a Man", I have another book coming at Thanksgiving. It's my 2015 Christmas novella, "Midwinter Night's Dream". The main character, Micah, is the brother of Hank from last year's "Unwrapping Hank", but this novella can be read as a stand-alone.

The cover reveal is going on today at Gay Book Reviews and there's a give away of a gift certificate too, so stop by and sign up for the give away. You can also read an excerpt there.

Eli

"Among the Dead" -- first excerpt

"Among the Dead" is my novella in "Spirit", gothika #4, which is due out Oct 19th. You can pre-order here.  I'm happy to be back in gothic land for Halloween, and to share this volume, once again, with the talented Kim Fielding, Jamie Fessenden, and BG Thomas.

This is the first part of the first chapter.

Excerpt:

1

The first time I saw the dead man in the bowler hat, I was on the Number 34 bus heading downtown.

It was the first Tuesday of the month, and I had to go into the office for my one-on-one with my boss, John Shaler. I hated first Tuesdays with the heat of a thousand pissed-off suns. But it was little enough forfeit to pay for having a steady job I could work from home the rest of the month. Thank God I’m the best dev Hora Systems has, or they would have kicked my agoraphobic ass to the curb a long time ago. I haven’t exactly been the ideal employee AC.

AC—After Concussion. My life is pretty much defined by Before Concussion and After Concussion.

That particular first Tuesday, I left my basement apartment on Capitol Hill with the usual vein-thrumming mix of nerves, terror, and utter dread. As soon as I got on the bus, I saw a dead woman. She was up front, in those seats that face the aisle. She’d probably gotten hit by a truck or some kind of machine. Her body was sliced into thirds like she’d been through a giant Veg-O-Matic. She sat close to the oblivious driver, a purse primly clutched in her lap, while blood pooled under her seat. I walked past, pretending I didn’t see her. My stomach threatened to toss up the Eggo and peanut butter I’d had for breakfast. I fucking hate blood. If I had my way, I’d never see it again.

A few stops later, an old couple got on and sat in the laps of two teenagers. Their lined faces were pinched into bitter, sour masks—the old couple, not the teenagers. They said nothing to each other, didn’t even look at each other, but their movements were perfectly in sync: scratch of the nose, shaking finger and mouthing something angrily, rock in their seat, gnash teeth, sigh. There they remained for three stops and then they hobbled off, each step perfectly mirrored.

Interlocked spirits liked that were particularly horrifying to me. The idea of spending eternity with someone you hated in life—it’s so unfair. You’d think you could escape the commitments you regretted in death. Right? I mean, what else is death for? It ends all corporeal pleasure and shit, so there should be an upside. Debts cancelled, enemies escaped, mistakes left behind, and all that. But that’s not how it is. I’ve seen a lot of spirits who were stuck together. And let me tell you, it’s rarely down to true love.

I’ll take my loneliness, thanks.

Despite my commitment to being single, I found myself craning my neck when we drove past Volunteer Park. But I didn’t see the beautiful boy in the red hoodie. I hadn’t seen him in a long time.

See, a few years ago, BC, I used to ride my bike to work, and my daily route went past the park. I often saw a young guy at the entrance on the corner of 15th and Galer. He was maybe eighteen, wore a red hoodie and jeans, and had blond hair, a pretty face, and sad blue eyes. His clothes were always the same, rumpled and dirty. I thought he might be a street kid, but he could have just been dedicated to the Seattle grunge thing. He was always alone. I called him Red Riding Hood in my head, and I always looked for him when I rode past.

I wished I’d had the nerve to stop and talk to him back then, but I never did. He was long gone now, maybe away at college somewhere. He could have ditched the grunge for a suit and tie for all I knew.

The bus passed Volunteer Park and then Broadway, the main shopping drag on Capitol Hill.

At the Swedish hospital stop, he got on. The man in the bowler hat.

To be honest, my first reaction was to check him out. He was handsome—dark-haired and slender, with an intelligent, soulful-looking face. Besides the bowler hat, he wore a three-piece tweed suit, looking very genteel for the bus and a bit old-fashioned. It took a second glance to realize he was also, unfortunately, not alive.

I stared down at my shoes. The floor of the bus was fairly clean, with it being just after seven in the morning. The slightly bubbled blue flooring looked bright around my scuffed brown leather shoes. It was a bit embarrassing, as if to say, Even I, the floor of a public transit vehicle, am better groomed than you.

I was about to tuck my neglected shoes under my seat in shame when a pair of pointed, black boots stepped in front of me. The legs were covered in dark brown tweed pants and almost completely solid, but the prickling hair on my arms and the back of my neck told me what I knew anyway. It was him.

I swallowed and raised my eyes. I expected him to be staring straight out the window or perhaps around the bus. But no, his warm brown eyes were looking into mine.

My heart pounded, and fear slicked through me in a black, oily tide. I closed my eyes and counted to ten. Oh, God. Oh, God. Please be gone.

When I opened my eyes, he’d moved. He was now across the bus, a few feet away, as if backing off. But he was still staring at me. Shit. I took calming breaths and pretended I didn’t see him.

I glanced at the old lady sitting next to me to see if she’d noticed my freak-out, but she just sat reading her book.

When I got off at First and Bell, Bowler Hat followed me. He walked five steps behind me for the three blocks it took me to get to the Hora Systems offices, a dead man reflected in shop windows and the shiny surface of a black limousine. And when I passed through the revolving door at our building and signed in at reception, I risked a casual glance around.

He was there. He stood against the glass front of the building, his eyes fixed on me. He opened his mouth as if trying to speak.

“Hi, Joe,” I blurted out to the security guard, just to act normal, like nothing was wrong.

Joe grunted, not looking at me.

I headed to the elevators.

"The Lion and the Crow" out on audio!

Dreamspinner Press has produced "The Lion and the Crow" on audiobook! It's now available on audible.com and will be showing up on Amazon shortly. I haven't heard the whole thing myself yet, but I loved the narrator's early audition. Should be awesome!

CLICK HERE FOR THE LINK