Today I am so pleased to welcome Jaycee Edward and Helena Stone to Joyfully Jay. Jaycee and Helena has come to talk to us about their latest release, Strangers in the Night. They have also brought along a great giveaway! Please join me in giving Helena and Jaycee a big welcome!

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CITY MOUSE / COUNTRY MOUSE

Helena:

strangers 1In Strangers in the Night one of our characters, Callum, lives in the middle of nowhere. While I’m nowhere near as isolated as he is I do know what living miles away from any amenities is like from first experience. That wasn’t always the case though. I was born and raised in Amsterdam and am still convinced that city is one of the best places in the world to be a teenager or student. When my (Irish) husband brought our family to Ireland we first lived in Dublin. But, for the past 10 years or so we have been living in the Irish countryside with the nearest shop about four miles away.

Helena-Stone-Author-PhotoLiving away from a town and other people both has its advantages and complications. I love the peace and quiet and can’t imagine having to go to sleep listening to traffic anymore. I wouldn’t give up our beautiful view for any amount of money and cherish being able to walk out the door with the dog to go for a long walk without the need for a leash.

As for the downsides, I had to learn how to be efficient about my shopping. You don’t want to make an eight mile round trip just because you’ve run out of milk if you can possibly help it. But other than the lack of local shops I’m hard pressed to come up with disadvantages to my address for most of the year. Our life does get somewhat complicated whenever we experience a (relatively rare) cold and snowy winter. There is about a mile between our house and the first road busy enough to get treated, and we live on top of a rather steep hill. Once the snow or frost gets severe we are pretty much stranded. It’s no longer safe to take the car down the hill while driving it back up the hill is a near impossibility.

strangers 2

All in all I love living where we do and I can’t see myself ever moving back into a town or city again. I treasure the privacy, the beauty of our uninterrupted view and the stunning images it treats us to on an almost daily basis. As far as I’m concerned, Callum had the right idea when he moved away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Jaycee:

strangers 3I live in northeast Ohio. I guess I’m the City Mouse to Helena’s Country Mouse, although I’ve never lived in a big city. I’m more of a Suburban Mouse, I guess. I grew up saying I was going to move to Aspen, Colorado the day I turned eighteen. Why Aspen? No clue. I’ve never been there, but John Denver sang about Starwood in Aspen and to an adolescent girl, it sounded romantic. As it turned out, I’ve never left the town I was born in. The house I grew up in is five minutes from where I live now.

My husband’s always wanted a farm – or a log cabin in the woods. We’ve found a few places we almost bought, but when push came to shove, we always decided to stay put. First, because we had aging parents and wanted to be close. Now, because our kids and grandkids are here. Our city’s EMS boasts a response time of 3 minutes or less. My husband had a severe asthma attack several years ago. I’ve never been so scared – he wasn’t breathing. The paramedics were at my door in less than two minutes and, before I could get my shoes on, they had him loaded and on the way to the hospital. When someone you love can’t breathe, one or two minutes can make the difference between life and death. Suddenly, living ‘out’ somewhere lost its appeal.

strangers 4Am I jealous of the gorgeous view Helena has from her back door? Oh, yeah…. I even used Google Earth while I had her on Skype one day to take a virtual drive around her place. But I’m used to the convenience of being able to run to the store to grab an ingredient I’ve forgotten, and I adore my neighbors. In the summer, I hang over the fence and chat with them while they have dinner. In the fall, we help each other rake leaves.

Trick-or-Treat is a major event – a last chance to visit before winter has us all hibernating. Yesterday morning I found a package with two donuts hanging on my door with a card that said, “Thanks for being our neighbors. Enjoy these with your coffee this snowy morning!”  So, whenever I get the urge to live somewhere remote, like Callum, I think about what I’d have to give up and I realize I’m right where I’m meant to be.


Excerpt

The golden eyes stared into his. “Are you okay, lad?”

He wasn’t sure where his voice had gone, so he simply nodded his head. The skin around those beautiful eyes wrinkled as the big man tried not to smile. “You know better than that. I want to hear you say it.” The order was clear yet the voice was soft and compassionate.

“Yes, sir. I’m okay.”

“Good lad.” Callum wiped the tears from his cheeks, his fingers rough on Slade’s skin. Slade leaned into the touch. His breath stilled as Callum’s face came closer. He was afraid to move. He wanted this… needed it so badly.

Slade only released his breath when Callum’s lips touched his. The kiss was chaste and gentle, meant to comfort, not arouse. Callum sat on the bed and opened his arms. Slade hesitated.

“It’s a normal thing to do after a scene. We call it aftercare, but if you’re not comfortable with it, that’s okay.”

Slade considered it for about a second before sliding into those big, welcoming arms. As they wrapped around him, his tears came unbidden. Under any other circumstances, he’d have been mortified at his current situation—nude and sobbing in another man’s arms, a man he barely knew—but it had been so long since he’d been held by anyone. Callum pulled a blanket over him and stroked his back, whispering calming words to him in his now-familiar Scottish brogue.

When his sobs subsided, he lifted his head to be graced with Callum’s kind smile.

“Tell me how you’re feeling.”

“Better. Much better. Thank you, sir.”

Callum chuckled. “I thought you might. You can drop the ‘sir’ now.”

“Does it bother you? When I call you ‘sir’?”

Callum smiled. “Quite the opposite. It’s common practice for a submissive to call his Dominant ‘Sir.’ It shows respect.”

His Dominant.

Several minutes passed with neither man speaking. Slade lowered his head back to Callum’s chest. Callum continued to stroke and pet Slade’s back, and Slade had no intention of asking him to stop. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this inner peace. He wondered how long it would last, especially since he knew staying here wasn’t an option.


Blurb

Strangers in the NightWhen Army veteran, Slade, stumbles upon an isolated cottage on a cold, dark, night, the young man finds more than just the shelter he’s seeking.

Former club Dominant Callum is surprised to find a handsome stranger knocking at his door but invites him in despite his reservations. A nightmare reveals Slade’s deep-seated emotional issues, and Callum knows he needs to get creative if he’s going to help Slade leave the past behind.
Neither man is prepared for the feelings Slade’s introduction into the world of BDSM will unleash, and thirty-six hours will either be enough to bind them, or they will remain forever strangers in the night.

You can find Strangers in the Night on Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, All Romance eBooks, Barnes and Noble, or Goodreads.


Bio

Helena Stone can’t remember a life before words and reading. After growing up in a household where no holiday or festivity was complete without at least one new book, it’s hardly surprising she now owns more books than shelf space while her Kindle is about to explode.

The urge to write came as a surprise. The realisation that people might enjoy her words was a shock to say the least. Now that the writing bug has well and truly taken hold, Helena can no longer imagine not sharing the characters in her head and heart with the rest of the world.

Having left the hustle and bustle of Amsterdam for the peace and quiet of the Irish Country side she divides her time between reading, writing, long and often wet walks with the dog, her part-time job in a library, a grown-up daughter and her ever loving and patient husband.

Helena Stone can be found in the following places: Twitter, Facebook, Website, Pinterest, Goodreads, or by email.

 

Jaycee Edward Jaycee Edward is no longer seventeen years old but don’t tell her that. She’s actually a tad older and lives in northeast Ohio with her handsome husband and one, big gorgeous dog. She has two grown stepdaughters and is proud to be the ultra-cool Nana to two amazingly incredible grand-teens. Jaycee loves pistol shooting and is has earned her Bar 7 Sharpshooter status in the Winchester/NRA Marksmanship Qualification Program and hopes to someday reach the level of Expert Marksman. She is the token liberal and constant source of fascination to the other members at her gun range. Jaycee knows way too much about the inner workings of Walt Disney World and anything related to One Direction. She’d love to pull you into the rabbit hole with her. All you have to do is ask. Find her there or contact her through social media.

You can find Jaycee Edward in the following locations: her website, Facebook,  Twitter, or  Goodreads.


Giveaway

Jaycee and Helena have kindly donated a $25 Amazon gift card to one lucky winner! Enter through the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win.

Contest Begins: March 11, 2015
Contest Ends: March 21, 2015

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