Today I am so pleased to welcome Charley Descoteaux to Joyfully Jay. Charley has come to share an exclusive cover reveal for her upcoming release, Always Forward! Never Straight. She has also brought along a great giveaway. Please join me in giving her a big welcome!
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Hello all & Happy Holidays! Iâm thrilled to be back at Joyfully Jay to reveal the cover of my next MM Romance! The new book isnât a holiday storyâin fact, it takes place in late spring and summerâso I hope youâll enjoy this short break from the cold (or the humidity, depending on where you live). Stick around after the excerpt for a chance to win an ebook copy of one of my indie titles.
Youâve heard this before, but itâs always difficult to decide what I want on a cover. Itâs extra tricky when itâs a self-published title, because I donât have the muscle (or the insight) of a publisher to back me up. That said, this cover was pretty easy. First, I hired a great designer, and then I got out of her way.
Okay, it wasnât quite that easy. Sheâs not a mind reader so I did have to tell her about the men who get their HEA, and stumble through describing a few concepts that might represent the story well. And I have to say Iâm in awe of all the amazing cover artists in Romancelandia, the skill and talent they have to make cover after cover and make each one gorgeous!
But back to my cover. The two heroes are both in their mid-40s and Bryan basically sits all day and doesnât work out for fun so he looks like a normal mid-40s guy. But Cay, his love interest, is an avid runner. Maybe itâs not surprising that we ended up with Cay on the cover! Itâs a challenge to find models for book covers who are over 30 and the ones that are out there are all fit and muscly. (Not that Iâm complaining!) Luckily, Cay is also fit and muscly, so we found a model who works for himâI hope you agree!
Since the cover is all about the love interest Iâm going to stick with that theme and share an excerpt. This is from the beginning of Chapter Two, the morning after the half-marathon when the two men meet for the first time.
Comment and tell us about your favorite âmorning afterâ breakfast or a show youâve re-watched and enjoyed as much or more than the first time. Two winners will receive their choice of any ebook from my self-published backlist (under either of my pen namesâany book except Always Forward! Never Straight!
Excerpt
I stopped the Buick in front of Valâs placeâtoo early, could easily have slept another half-dozen hoursâand stared through the dirty windshield. Not to look at the flowering plum trees lining the street or to check on whether Mac was on her way out of the building. Nope. I was reliving last night.
The more I thought about itâabout him, Bryanâthe harder it got to pretend I wasnât sitting in my truck getting all worked up like some horny teenager. Before I could relax against the headrest, though, a horrible thought sat me up straight.
Whoa. Now that I have a fifteen-year-old daughter itâs probably not a great idea to think about what teenaged guys are like.
But that thought wasnât what was making my heart race.
Okay, maybe a little.
Bryan, thoughâŠso sweetly awkward. And cute. And funny. My eyes started to fall closed, picturing his warm brown eyes and the way sunlight lit his hair with red highlights.
Nope. Stand up and go get Mac.
I checked the road and pushed the door open. Itâs not often I stay up past midnight with a hottie after running a half marathon. Probably would have fallen asleep if I stayed in there with my eyes closed too long. A groan forced its way out at the thought of what Mac and Val would say if they caught me like thatâIâd never live it down. At least they didnât have one of those drones I help my boss sell, the glorified remote-control toys that fly around taking pictures of anything that moves. Then Iâd be in real trouble.
The front door to their apartment stood open a crack, inviting me in. I closed it behind me and was about to call out for Mac when her mother appeared in the kitchen doorway.
âSheâs in the shower.â Valerie offered her cheek, and I pecked it automatically.
My standard greeting felt a little different that morning, after having wrapped my lips around Bryanâs cock the night before. âLate night?â
âYeah. We rewatched Sense8 after the party.â
âSeason one or season two?â
âWhy does that make you blush?â She leaned over the narrow bar separating the kitchen from the living room, spatula in hand, and her expression said she was trying to read my mind. âYou look tired. Donât tell me you went home with that guy from the race?â
âI didnât go home with the guy from the race. Got any coffee?â
She snorted. âGot any coffee. Where do you think you are? Of course I got coffee.â
âShe canât hear. I donât have to be a role model when sheâs not even in the room, do I?â I got a mug from the cupboard and hoped she wouldnât answer that.
âNo. And itâs a good thing. I donât want her to model her dating after yours.â She grinned and elbowed me and turned back to the eggs.
âGod. Me either.â
âHa! So you did go home with him.â
âI said I didnât.â I prettied-up my coffee with extra milk and some cinnamon sugar from the shaker Val kept stocked for cinnamon toast. Valâs kitchen always intrigued meâshe could just as easily have been making Japanese pancakes or something with seaweed as traditional American breakfast food. Despite knowing her since high school, she still surprised me once in a while.
Val turned off the stove and moved the eggs off the heat, tossed some grated cheese on top, and froze.
âOh. My. God. You took him to your place.â
My swallow of coffee didnât go down smoothly, but at least I didnât choke. I chose not to answer and took a seat at the little round table set with three plates.
âReally? You couldnât have blown each other in the menâs room and called it a night?â
âVal, thatâs gross.â
âLike you havenât done that before.â
âI didnât say doing it was gross. You talking about it is gross.â I grinned as much as I was able, which wasnât half bad, and sipped more carefully so the coffee would go down the correct pipe.
Blurb
Love isnât a sprint, itâs a marathon.
Baxter Bryan is the nerdy half of BaxCo, a start-up in Portlandâs Silicon Forest creating cutting-edge high-tech toys. Heâs also a hermit. When BaxCo sponsors the Portland Rock and Roll Half Marathon, Bryan decides to break out of his comfort zone and do more than listen to the music with a beer in hand. The race has barely started when he bumps into a fit, handsome man, causing sparks to fly. But the long hours needed to make BaxCo a success arenât the only reason Bryan spends most of his time alone in his apartment.
Cay Nissen runs every day to stay in shape. He would love to run away from his job in a Silicon Forest cube farm, but keeps returning to support his teenaged daughter. His true love is music. Cay writes songs for the band he helped form in high school but doesnât see any way to turn music into a career. The half marathon seemed like a decent way to pass a Saturday, make his boss happy, and catch a performance of his old band all at the same time. When he meets a man who sparks his interest, the safety of his cubicle isnât the only part of his life thatâs in jeopardy of changing.
Bio
Charley Descoteaux is the author of the Buchanan House Love Stories. Book One was a USA Today Must-Read Romance.
Charley has always heard voices. She was relieved to learn they were fictional characters, and started writing when they insisted daydreaming just wasnât good enough. In exchange, theyâve agreed to let her sleep once in a while. Charley has survived earthquakes, tornadoes, and floods, but couldnât make it through a single day without stories.
Giveaway
Charley has brought an ebook of their choice from her self-published backlist, under either pen name: Charley Descoteaux or Charli Coty, for two lucky winners. Just leave a comment at the end of the post to enter. The contest ends on Monday, December 31st at 11:59 pm ET.
- By entering the giveaway, youâre confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
- Winners will be selected by random number. No purchase necessary to win. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning.
- If you win, you must respond to my email within 48 hours or another winner may be chosen. Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from Joyfully Jay.
- Winners may be announced on the blog following the contest. By entering the contest you are agreeing to allow your name to be posted and promoted as the contest winner by Joyfully Jay.
- Prizes will be distributed following the giveaway either by Joyfully Jay or the person/organization donating the prize.
- All book prizes are in electronic format unless otherwise specified.
- By entering you are agreeing to hold Joyfully Jay harmless if the prize or giveaway in some way negatively impacts the winner.
- Readers may only enter once for each contest. Â Duplicate entries for the same giveaway will be ignored. In the event of technical problems with the blog during the contest, every effort will be made to extend the contest deadline to allow for additional entries.
- Void where prohibited by law.
Happy Holidays! Congrats on your new book! It looks interesting.
Happy New Year. I wish your new year is filled with best sellers. One set of shows I can watch over and over is the Harry Potter movies.
I like the colors on the cover. I haven’t seen them in a long time, but I’d like to watch Buffy again.
I understand how much you must go through choosing a cover as that is what first attracts people to a book. My thing for the morning after is Huevos Rancheros or anything spicey.
Been loving BARNEY MILLER lately, since I was too young the first time (Ron Glass was awesome, and I wish he and Eric Andre could have played relatives in some project). The glory years of NIGHT COURT remain fab, too…
I must recognise I’ve seen Buffy several times and enjoyed it every single time… LOL
Congrats on the release. The cover is great!
Welcome, Charley, and thanks for sharing your new cover and the excerpt. I like French toast and bacon as a morning after breakfast.
Seasonal Greetings and Happy New Year. Thank you for sharing your new cover, very nice. I normally drink hot water with lemon, honey and ginger as a pick me up or wake up drink