HEART 2 HEART ANTHOLOGY
May Archer * Charlie Cochet *
Alison Hendricks * Sloane Kennedy *
Lucy Lennox * Ruthie Luhnow *
Lily Morton * Chris Owen *
Poppy Dennison * Hailey
Turner * A.E. Wasp
M/M ROMANCE
RELEASE DATE: 02.07.18
BLURB
Once upon a time, a bunch of authors wondered… What if a dating app that
guaranteed you a love match broke down just in time for Valentine’s Day?
What if you found yourself on a blind date with a random guy who might be your
opposite in every single way? It could be a disaster. Or… When the
code breaks down, fate just might take over.
Eleven of your
favorite gay romance authors have joined forces to light up your Valentine’s
Day with a collection of sweet, sexy, silly, and hot short
stories, featuring a wacky cast of characters chosen from your reader
suggestions! Morticians and magicians, superheroes and spies, lawyers and
lobstermen, will all learn that love has nothing to do with algorithms… and
sometimes you find it in the least-likely places.
And the best part? All proceeds from this collection will go to
the authors’ favorite LGBTQ charities, to ensure that love in all its
incarnations will be celebrated and protected every single day of the year!
It will only be
available for 90 days, so Tuesday, May 8th will be the last time you
can purchase this anthology.
Over 162k words
total, contemporary MM romance
Alison Hendricks
The Professional Gamer and
the Paranormal Photographer
Can you tell us a little bit about your
characters?
Sure! The
characters I chose are Lawrence and Allen. Lawrence is an out and proud
professional gaymer who competes in tournaments and makes his living
entertaining viewers on Twitch. Allen is a freelance photographer who's
absolutely enamored with the Victorian era and the ghost photography taken (and
fabricated) during that time.
In addition to
their very different professions and interests, Lawrence is more of a skeptic,
and Allen really isn't sure about the whole "playing games as a
career" thing.
But deep down
they're both sweet guys who are extremely passionate about the things (and
people) they love.
The characters you had to choose from were
readers’ submissions, correct? Were there any other characters you considered
writing about before you chose this couple?
Honestly, as soon
as I saw Lawrence and Allen, I knew I had to write their story.
How did you come to be involved in the
Heart2Heart Anthology?
I recently hired
Leslie Copeland as a beta reader, and she brought the project to my attention.
I knew immediately it was something I wanted to be a part of, and I'm so
honored to be able to contribute.
Have you ever been involved in a group
project like this before? What were some of the challenges you had to face?
I've been a part
of... I think four or five group projects so far? Ranging from a massive sale
and cross-promotion event to a bundled anthology like this. Working with so
many people can be challenging, but Leslie wrangled this project extremely well
and everyone was so excited to be a part of this that it honestly went pretty
flawlessly!
Is this something you'd like to be a part
of again in the future?
Absolutely! I had
a ton of fun and would love to explore more wacky prompts in the future.
You're donating the entire proceeds to
charity - can you tell us more about where the money is going?
All proceeds are
going to three LGBT charities: The Trevor Project, the Bisexual Resource
Center, and one-n-ten.
The Trevor Project
is a toll-free hotline that's available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to
provide a lifeline to young LGBT people who have nowhere else to turn.
The Bisexual
Resource Center is an education and awareness program designed to make
information about bisexuality more readily available in both queer and straight
spaces.
And one-n-ten
supports young queer people (ages 14-24) by helping to build up their
self-esteem and self-acceptance in a safe, encouraging space.
Have you ever set someone else up on a
blind date? If yes, how did it turn out?
I have not, and
I'm not sure I would. I'd much rather introduce two people under less stressful
terms and let them get to know each other before they decide if they want to
date. (Not the most romantic answer, I know!)
EXCERPT
After dinner Lawrence and I return to the
couch. He breaks out the newest Mario Kart and I'm pretty sure handicaps
himself with a driver he doesn't normally play, because I actually manage to do
okay. I don’t win, of course, but I at least finish the course and have a
surprisingly good time playing.
That's mostly due to Lawrence himself, though. He just gets so into it. His eyes take on this intense sort of focus, he adopts this rigid stance, and yet all through it there's a big smile on his face.
He must feel me staring at him one round, because he snaps out of his laser-like focus and his eyes lock with mine.
Being the object of that look makes my whole body flush, a shiver running up my spine. He leans in and I meet him halfway, my lips pressing to his, my hand sliding up to his neck.
It starts off as sweet as the first kiss we shared, but it doesn't take long for it to go further. His tongue sweeps across my lip and I open for him this time, a soft sound catching in my throat as he enters.
I can feel us drifting closer to one another, my fingers pressing against him, urging him to bridge that distance. In moments we're sitting right next to each other on the couch, thighs pressed together as we continue to kiss.
Our makeout session stays in a pretty low gear for a while, and I'm completely fine with that. The more I kiss him, the drunker I feel, his lips and tongue and hands the best sort of intoxicant. He touches me like I'm something precious--not some delicate flower, but someone who matters more than an opportunity to get off. The way my chest clenches is dangerous, and I can already feel my heart making more of this than it needs to, but right now, I don't care.
We continue our slow exploration, giving and taking and meeting each other somewhere in the middle, our mouths learning what makes the other's breath quicken, our hands mapping out those sensitive areas no one thinks to touch.
And then Lawrence sucks my tongue into his mouth, and I lose my mind.
It's not that forward of a move, but something about it is so erotic to me, so sensual that I can feel myself starting to lose control. I give in to it, and instead of just staying beside him, pressed to him on the couch, I climb into his lap, wrap my arms around his neck, and kiss him with a renewed level of fervor.
He groans into my mouth, sparking that desire even more in me, and my hips start to rock against him. I can feel his bulge pressing back against me, telling me exactly how into this he is, and the last thing I want to do right now is stop.
But just as I'm about to slide my hands underneath his shirt and feel his bare skin underneath my aching fingers, I hear a shrill, rapid beeping sound from clear across the room.
My EMF reader is going crazy.
CHARITIES
We are pleased to
be donating 100% of our proceeds to 3 wonderful charities:
We encourage all readers to learn more about these
groups and consider making a donation of your own. Every little bit helps.
BACKGROUND/TITLES
What began as a
random idea quickly turned into a collaborative and completely voluntary effort
from 11 authors, more than 130 readers, cover designer, 2 proofreaders, and one
cat herder to keep it all together.
Readers were asked
to submit ideas for characters, both typical and off-the-wall, and from that
list, each author picked 2 seemingly mismatched guys and helped them find love.
GIVEAWAY
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