Today I am so pleased to welcome R.J. Peterson to Joyfully Jay. R.J. has come to talk to us about his latest release, Love for the Holidays. He has also brought along a great giveaway. Please join me in giving R.J. a big welcome!

Excerpt

“Last year when we were on the cruise,” Ben began, looking at Rob, “you said you would tell me a story about a time that you and Sam tried to drink at all the bars on the ship in one day. I think it’s time you shared, sweetheart.”

“Oh no,” Sam groaned. “We’re never gonna live that down.”

“Yes!” Kyle exclaimed, rubbing his hands together in excitement. “I definitely want to hear about this.”

“Fine,” said Rob. “Here’s what happened. We were on a cruise together in the Caribbean about four or five years ago. It was me, Alan, Sam, and our friend Audrey. Early on in our trip, Sam mentioned that the cruise line limited you to fifteen drinks per day if you had an all-inclusive beverage package. She thought it would be fun to try and have the maximum number of drinks. I foolishly agreed to go along with it, although Audrey and Alan both showed excellent judgement and refrained.”

“Clearly not the best idea I’ve ever had,” Sam admitted, shaking her head and smiling.

“We agreed to do it the following day, when we’d be at sea. Starting with Bloody Marys at breakfast, it actually began okay. Yes, we bar-hopped but it was more about how many drinks we were consuming than being on a mission to hit every bar; early on, we did a good job of pacing ourselves.”

“But then we went to the aft bar on the pool deck,” Sam added. “That’s when all hell broke loose.”

“Why?” Ben asked. “What happened?”

“I went and opened my big mouth and told the bartender what we were doing,” Sam said, shaking her head. “That was our undoing.”

“It sure was,” Rob continued. “He decided to make us a different shot for each round and some of them were just awful. It went downhill fast.”

“So fucking fast,” Sam said with a groan. “It wasn’t pretty. Audrey had to help me back to our cabin and, true friend that she is, she may have had to hold my hair up for me while I got sick. Several times.”

“I think it was six-thirty when I crashed, and I slept through the night. But at least <em>I</em> didn’t get sick,” Rob said, proudly. “I didn’t even have a hangover the next day.”

“Don’t remind me.” Sam stuck her tongue out at Rob, but then she smiled and said proudly, “But we made it to fifteen drinks.”

“That we did. But never again.”

Ben and Kyle laughed, then Ben said, “I can’t imagine doing something like that. Well, maybe when I was young and foolish, but not just a few years ago.”

“Let’s just all agree that it wasn’t the best decision we ever made,” Sam declared. “And let’s never speak of this again.”

“Okay,” Ben said. “Now to change the subject. Kyle, do you have any plans for Christmas yet?”

“No. Why?”

“Rob and I were talking earlier this week and we thought it might be a good idea to have a family holiday in England this year. Would you be up for that? That goes for you as well, Sam. Wanna come to England with us for Christmas?”

Kyle looked thoughtful. “Yeah, I’d love to do that. It’s been a few years since I got to spend any time there. I do have some vacation time left; let me check with my manager on Monday to see if I can take a week or so off.”

“I’d love to go!” Sam exclaimed. “I haven’t really taken any time off since the cruise last year. I deserve to treat myself.”

* * *

Purchase Love For The Holidays here: https://books2read.com/holidayJoy

Blurb

Ben and Rob are in love. They met in Barcelona a year ago and fell for each other on a Mediterranean cruise. Since then, they’ve spent as much time as possible together, and that’s no easy task since they live on opposites sides of the country.

After celebrating Thanksgiving together and deciding to spend Christmas at Ben’s family home in England, Ben and Rob start rethinking their long-distance love story. But what’s a family holiday without drama?<span class=”Apple-converted-space”> </span>

When Ben’s brother brings an important issue to light, the result may be the next step Ben and Rob are waiting for. And what better way to celebrate the Christmas season than with family, good friends, special gifts, and a decision that could change Ben and Rob’s lives.

Bio

R.J. Peterson is a retired graphic designer.

He is an avid reader, preferably while sipping a vodka martini or some bourbon on the rocks. RJ’s had a long and varied career, including library page, car wash attendant, customer service representative, interpreter for the deaf, travel agent, and graphic designer in the marijuana industry. He also worked in banking for twenty-five years. In addition to starting up a writing career, he still works as a freelance designer, creating book covers and other items for several authors.

RJ loves to travel and has been on 40+ cruises. When not on a cruise, he and his husband live in New England.

RJ writes sweet-with-heat M/M romance featuring older guys. He incorporates his love of travel in his stories whenever he can, RJ published his first book, Love On The Horizon, in May 2021. Love For the Holidays is his second book.

Where to find RJ:

• Website: www.rjpeterson.net
• Email: rjp@rjpeterson.net
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/138818084707307
• Twitter: @RJPeterson4
• Sign up for his monthly newsletter: https://rjpeterson.net/newsletter

Giveaway

One lucky winner will receive an ebook copy of either Love On The Horizon or Love For The Holidays. Just leave a comment at the end of the post to enter. The contest ends on Sunday, November 21st at 11:59 pm ET.

• By entering the giveaway, you’re 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.  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.