Title: Honey and Heat
Author: Rian Durant
Publisher: NineStar
Press
Release Date: September 4, 2017
Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 60400
Genre: Contemporary, romance,
contemporary, gay, first love, seasonal
Synopsis
Linden
has only one thing on his mind a few days away from Christmas—his pending
university exams. That is, until he meets his neighbors’ son who has returned
for the holidays. Brice Stevens is gorgeous, but he’s insufferable.
It’s
Linden’s first love, and he falls hard for Brice, despite Brice’s occasionally
aloof and cool behavior. It’s an emotional ride for both of them while Linden
takes a crash course in real love and Brice learns to trust in a relationship.
Excerpt
Honey
and Heat
Rian
Durant © 2017
All
Rights Reserved
Chapter
One
“Hey,
Lin, are you coming with us to grab some pizza and look at the notes for
tomorrow?”
Linden
raised his gaze from the phone after checking the three new messages received
in the past few hours and spoke with an absent-minded smile.
“Sorry,
what did you say?”
The
green-eyed boy walking next to him nudged him in the ribs and started chanting,
“Linden has a boyfriend, Linden has a boyfriend!”
“Jeez,
Rob, grow up. I don’t have anything like this. It’s for the stuff I made
yesterday.”
He
pushed his phone under Rob’s nose before shoving it in the pocket of his
switcher. He put on his new knit cap he loved to pieces not only because it was
an early Christmas present from Auntie Jane, but also because it was unique. He
liked the way the colors contrasted with his black hair and doubted if he’d
take it off earlier than March.
The
snow that had fallen during the night was in patches, mostly white where people
and cars hadn’t trampled it yet and mostly nonexistent on the street although
it was still cold. The chill wind was another reason he loved his cap, as it
made him so warm.
“Sweet
heavens, you’re merciless! Have you any idea how sweet you look with that thing
on you? You’re just asking for it, you know.”
Linden
turned to Jerry who had joined them out of nowhere and narrowed his eyes.
“Don’t
say that. It isn’t remotely funny, Jer. Nobody asks for it.”
“Please
don’t start him on the topic,” said Rob as he rolled his eyes. “I’m too
exhausted and terribly hungry to listen about non-con, global warming, or
discrimination. Which reminds me, Lin… you didn’t answer my question.”
“I
told you it’s not a boyfriend.”
Rob
laughed aloud and reached out to pinch Linden’s cheek, but he pulled back all
too quickly.
“I
know you don’t have one, gorgeous, despite my desperate attempts to become
such, but this was not what I asked you in the first place.”
Linden
knitted his eyebrows. It was true he wasn’t the most focused person in
existence. With his mind full of fresh ideas for quilling cards and plans for
the social activities plus the sword of the upcoming exam swaying over their
heads, there was little place left for anything. After giving it a brief
thought, though, Rob’s growling stomach helped him recall the question.
“Oh,
the pizza, yes! No, actually, I’m not coming today—I promised Auntie Jane I’d
buy some stuff from the supermarket and get back on time so she can cook for
the ladies coming to play bridge tonight.”
Jerry
nodded and there was a hint of reproach in his hungry hazel eyes. Hungry for
food, sex, and adrenaline rushes of all kinds. He was two years older than them
but still in his first year because… well, life. Because he had many things to
do before adjusting to the tracks, he said. Linden doubted he ever would.
“You
really think you can fix the world, little one? When do you get to live if you
help the grannies now?”
“Jer,
please, you’re turning him on.”
“I’ll
be damned if this is not the thing I long to do, Robbie.” He rubbed his hands
and licked his lips, both as unambiguously as possible.
“No,
I wasn’t referring to that on-turning. Look at him! He’s going to start quoting
the constitution in a minute.”
“Ha
ha ha! You’re so funny!”
Linden
looked at them and pouted. They weren’t doing it with bad intention and despite
the occasional joke, they’d agreed what he did was important. They were just
not so keen on wasting the time they had to relax or go on a date for charity
or anything like that. He had to face it—people his age had very different
stuff to worry about most of the time. Robbie had come with him once or twice
to the social kitchen, but Linden still had his doubts the boy’s motives were
clear all the way. He looked at his watch. “Have to go now. See you tomorrow.”
“Oh,
come on, sweet thing, come with us! They have a wonderful vegan pizza in there.
I’m sure you’ll lick the last of it off your fingers.”
Jerry’s
hazel stare tried to pull him in, but Linden was not the boy to fall easily for
a pair of shining eyes or a body right out of a magazine cover. It was obvious
rock climbing and swimming were doing miracles. However, there was something
else he was sure about, so he crossed his arms on his chest and looked at him
with an air of seriousness.
“First
of all, Jer, I’m vegetarian, not vegan. Second, if you think your pizza can
match the scones of Auntie Jane, you’re mistaken. And third, you two can go
ahead and have all the pizza you like, then spread some cheese on each other
and lick it off to cool down a bit so you don’t act like billy goats in heat
when I come to school tomorrow.”
Both
laughed so loud that the few people, who were deeply interested in the
performance of a singing Santa Claus in front of a music shop, turned to look
at them.
“’K
then,” said Jerry, “we’re letting you go but can’t promise anything about
tomorrow.”
“Mmhmm,”
said Linden, distracted by another message. “Have fun guys!”
He
stopped the jitney coming their way and hopped on it, greeting the driver. He
sat by the window since the journey would take him about twenty minutes,
granted that the gods of traffic were benevolent today. He wondered whether to
reply to some of the messages in his 10fingers account or listen to music but
decided on the latter. It was easier to write on his computer and most of the
pictures he had were there. He scrolled up and down the playlists and finally
chose one of the songs, abandoning himself to the melody and the words he
didn’t know the meaning of. The familiar buildings and parks on the route back
to the quarter he lived in chased each other outside. It was far from the
university, but not as far as the first hellhole he could afford when he’d
first come to Varna. That one was a run-down place an hour away from the university,
and his neighbors—(apart from looking suspicious)—were so noisy that he was
forced to spend half of his nights in the city library. It was open at night,
so after sleeping through the afternoon hours, he would grab a sandwich and
stay until four or five, then get back for some sleep.
It
was exciting at times until it became tiring, and then Rob had stepped in after
seeing the dark circles under his eyes. He didn’t leave him alone until he
confessed his midnight escapades. Rob gave him a good talking to and ordered
him to move into his place immediately. He was hesitant at first but then
accepted the deal, and that’s when he could finally sleep properly, study in
the comfort of his couch, and find a job to save some money. He had a good time
with Rob, who was easy to live with. He was also reasonable enough, and when he
showed signs of being up for something more than friendship, Linden managed to
knock some sense into him. Only the occasional flirty remark remained between
them. A few months later, Robbie fell for one of the basketball players from
another university and all his reasonability evaporated. Linden couldn’t
persuade him the guy was not the best match he could hope for. When the
presence of the other became constant, much like his jealousy, it was time to
find a place of his own.
The
train of thought accompanied him all the way until the jitney arrived in his
quarter. He took off his headphones and shoved the phone back in his pocket
before getting off at the stop. It was the end of December and it was still
chilly despite the sun being up, and he, and he was happy he was not going to
freeze or fall on his ass. He never failed to do it every winter. One icy day
sufficed for him to be involved in a hilarious pirouette and a hard fall. He just
hoped it wasn’t going to be in some public place like last year at the
Weihnachtsmarkt. Everybody thought he was dead drunk on mulled wine. He
chuckled at the memory, and then turned the corner to get to the shops. He
began reciting in his mind what he had to buy. Naturally, he’d forgotten some
of the stuff, so he gave up and took out the piece of paper he’d written
everything on and entered the big supermarket.
Purchase Links
NineStar Press: https://ninestarpress.com/product/honey-and-heat/
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/742632
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/honey-and-heat
How much research do
you do when writing a story and what are the best sources you’ve found for
giving an authentic voice to your characters?
I haven’t done a significant research for my writing so far
but I have some projects in mind that would require a lot of it, so ask me
later.
What’s harder, naming
your characters, creating the title for your book or the cover design process?
I usually come up easily with the names. The title is always
tougher because you want it to be catchy but not overused. As for the cover,
specifically for Honey and Heat it
was a breeze because Natasha Snow is a true artist.
How do you answer the
question “Oh, you're an author...what do you write?"
I don’t get asked much (yet) but if someone asks me, I’ll
improvise depending on my mood.
What does your family
think of your writing?
My partner is a big fan of mine and that’s all that matters.
Tell us about your
current work in process and what you’ve got planned for the future.
I wish I had only one work in process but now I’m being
pulled apart by three manuscripts in various stages of finalization and a bunch
of ideas. I’m halfway through another contemporary novel, which will probably
be somewhat controversial; at the end of the first part of a series which reads
like contemporary but hints of paranormal and I’m also expanding a previously
published short story which is quirky shifter stuff. As for the ideas, the one
that pesters me nonstop requires such extensive research that I’m doing my best
to resist it for the time being.
Meet the Author
Rian is one of those who are both
blessed and cursed by the insatiable desire to write. Short stories, sometimes
longer stories and yeah, primarily M/M (you can insert more Ms if you like)
romance stories.
Always having a plot in mind sometimes
proves being hard when having a day time job but Rian manages them both for the
time being, assisted by the
priceless support of her soul mate,
large amounts of coffee and pure obstinacy.
What makes Rian smile is a sunny day, a
beautiful flower, a piece of chocolate, a nice song, a good book and anything
that could be the reason for that spark in the eyes, accompanied by the
exclamation: “Oh my, I just saw something!”
Author Links
Website: https://riandurant.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rian.Durant
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rian_durant
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rian_me/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/riandurant/
Tour Schedule
9/4 Books,Dreams,Life http://booksdreamslife0829.blogspot.com
9/5 MillsyLovesBooks http://millsylovesbooks.blogspot.com
9/6 Wicked
Faerie's Tales and Reviews http://wickedfaeriesreviews.blogspot.com
9/6 Love
Bytes www.lovebytesreviews.com
9/6 Hoards
Jumble http://dtorini.wordpress.com
9/6 A
Book Lover's Dream Book Blog http://abookloversdreambookblog.com
9/6 Happily
Ever Chapter https://www.facebook.com/happilyeverchapter
9/7 Drops
of Ink http://annebarwell.wordpress.com
9/7 The
Novel Approach http://www.thenovelapproachreviews.com
9/7 Bayou
Book Junkie http://bayoubookjunkie.blogspot.com
9/8 Stories
That Make You Smile https://authoraddisonalbright.com
9/8 Erotica
For All http://eroticaforall.co.uk
9/8 Mikku-chan https://mikkuchan.wordpress.com/
Giveaway
One lucky winner will receive an ebook
of their choice from NineStar Press
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