Today I am so pleased to welcome Robert Winter to Joyfully Jay. Robert has come to talk to us about his latest release, Fangsgiving. He has also brought along a great giveaway. Please join me in giving him a big welcome!

Why are Taviano and Paul’s holidays never easy? First Paul was murdered at Christmas (but got better), and now he’s been kidnapped by some creepy vampires with capital-p Plans for him. If Paul and Taviano are going to make it to their first Thanksgiving together, they’ll need the help of a found family of humans, demons and vampires. Fangsgiving is part 2 of the HOLIDAYS SUCK! trilogy that began with Vampire Claus. Fated mates, a huge age gap (like, 150 years), ancient myths, a bit of gore — that’s what a holiday should be, right?

In this exclusive excerpt, Paul stops to visit his Italian nonna in Boston’s North End before heading home to greet Taviano as he emerges from his daytime lair. Nonna is one of my favorite characters I’ve written, and she has a surprising role to play in the book. This is her first introduction.

Exclusive Excerpt

Nonna waited for him at the open door, peering out into the hallway. Her cloud of white hair was carefully pulled back like it had been when she taught school. The thick blue housecoat she wore brought out her eyes, the same cornflower shade that people always said Paul inherited from her. At barely five-foot-two, she looked fragile and doll-like. If you didn’t know her, you’d never think she was tough enough to survive teaching in the inner city for thirty years.

“Paulie!” Nonna exclaimed when she spotted him on the landing. “I didn’t think I’d see you again so soon. You were just here Sunday.”

He bent way down to kiss her cheek. “I had a little time before Taviano gets home so I figured I’d see whether you have any of those cannolis still.”

She chuckled. “You’re worse than a bloodhound. I put one aside the other night before you arrived and I’ve been saving it. I should have known you’d be back to claim it.” She dragged him inside and kicked the door shut. “Go. Sit. I’ll bring some tea and we can share it.”

Paul ignored that, following her down the hall to the small kitchen. “Nonna, you didn’t ask who it was when I buzzed downstairs. It could have been anybody.”

She blew a raspberry at him. “I saw you coming up the street.”

Paul looked at her warningly. “Did you really, or are you just saying that?”

She shrugged. “Okay, I’ll be more careful. I’ve been in this neighborhood my entire life, though. I can’t imagine anything happening here.”

“And Taviano wonders why I’m so trusting. You’re a bad influence.”

“Nonsense. Who wants to spend their life afraid of saying hello to a stranger or opening a door? You never know who you’re going to meet.” She retrieved a white cardboard box from the fridge, then leveled a stare at Paul. “Besides, isn’t that what happened with your young man originally? You brought him back to your apartment, a stranger. Now look at you. All but married and settled in that mansion. Would that have happened if I’d made you afraid of your own shadow? I don’t think so.”

Paul laughed as he lit the burner under her tea kettle. He’d told her a partial version of what happened that night, including how Taviano had rescued him from a mugging. He left out a few details, of course, like the fact that Taviano was a vampire, that he’d used his weird powers to break into the homeless shelter to deliver Paul’s presents, that he’d battled a small horde of vampires after they tried to murder Paul, and defeated them to claim mastery of the North End. And he definitely couldn’t tell her Taviano used to hang around with her own grandfather, Calogero, in the Old Country.

Yeah, there wasn’t really a good way to bring any of that shit up.

Blurb

HOLIDAYS SUCK!, Book 2

Over the river and through the woods, to a vampire’s lair we go.…

Paul and Taviano approach their first Thanksgiving, happy together but wary. Paul frets he’ll one day die and leave Taviano alone, but the demon that shares Taviano’s body won’t even consider turning Paul into a vampire. On top of that, Paul is coming up on the third anniversary of the day his parents kicked him out for being gay. He’s planning a Friendsgiving to distract himself but, wouldn’t you know it, he gets kidnapped first by an unknown vampire.

Taviano frantically searches for his beloved human with the help of some unexpected allies: A newly-turned college student and a vampire doctor who works the graveyard shift at a hospital. Meanwhile, Paul is taunted by a creepy-ass vampire in a terrible track suit who hints he’s important to her mysterious plan. Oh, and the guy who kidnapped him in the first place? Spoiler alert: it’s Bronislav, the Russian vamp who turned Taviano over 170 years ago. What the hell is going on, and what is “the alchemist’s riddle” his captors keep nattering about?

The answer to those questions could change everything Paul and Taviano thought they knew about their love and their future together. Fated mates, a huge age gap (like, 150 years), ancient myths, a found family, a bit of gore — that’s what a holiday should be, right?

Fangsgiving is the second novella in the gay romance trilogy HOLIDAYS SUCK! that began with Vampire Claus. This book can stand alone but is better as part of the ongoing story of Paul and Taviano. It features a heartwarming, happy-for-now ending for a vampire, a young man with a surprising family tree, and the weirdest gathering for a Friendsgiving the world has ever seen.

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Bio

Robert Winter lives and writes in Provincetown. He is a recovering lawyer who prefers writing about hot men in love much more than drafting a legal brief. He left behind the (allegedly) glamorous world of an international law firm to sit in his home office and dream up ways to torment his characters until they realize they are perfect for each other.

Connect with Robert:

• Website: www.robertwinterauthor.com
• Facebook: facebook.com/robert.winter.921230
• Goodreads: goodreads.com/author/show/16068736.Robert_Winter
• Email: RobertWinterAuthor@comcast.net

Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Fangsgiving, Robert is giving away 3 x $10 Amazon Vouchers! Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for your chance to win!

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