Boosting the Signal: In the Distance, by Eileen Griffin and Nikka Michaels

Y’all know I’m not normally a contemporary romance person, but there are times I’ll make exceptions here on Boosting the Signal and feature one anyway. Like when it’s written by Carina Press people. Or if it’s queer content, either M/M OR F/F. Or both! So today my first feature is In the Distance, by Eileen Griffin and Nikka Michaels, book 2 of their In the Kitchen series. If queer boys and cooking are relevant to your interests, check it out! Eileen and Nikka would like to introduce you to their character Trevor–whose goal is trying to get a certain gorgeous fellow out of his head. Since this is a contemporary romance, y’all know exactly how well that’s going to go, I’m sure.

In the Distance

Thanks for having us on Boosting the Signal, Angela! Trevor Pratt is a character our readers met in Book Two of our In The Kitchen Series, In The Fire. His nickname, Trustfund, is a pretty accurate description of how Trevor lives his life: “If it feels good and I can afford it, I’m all over it.” The problem is that Ethan and Jamie don’t want someone like Trevor around their sous chef and “little brother from another mother”, Tyler, forcing Trevor to man up and make some hard decisions that don’t, for once, affect only him.

*****

The Trouble With Trevor Pratt

Here’s the deal: I don’t do relationships. I tried once it once, and to say it ended badly is an understatement. I almost lost my best friend, and since I don’t have too many of those, losing Jamie’s friendship would have been catastrophic. Luckily, we worked it out and he’s still a part of my life. Unfortunately, his husband is part of the package deal that now encompasses that friendship, and it’s a true testament to Jamie’s and my friendship that I haven’t killed Ethan. Yet.

Look, I’ll be the first to admit that living the single life wasn’t ideal after things went to hell last year, but I was fine. There were times I was lonely and the thought of coming back to my empty condo, again, to spend the evening by myself instead of hitting the clubs, again, almost had me questioning my decision to remain single, but I was fine.

It’s not like I couldn’t find company when I wanted it. After JamieGate, I was happy to throw myself into the single scene, reveling in the warmth of the hot, sweaty body du jour pressed against me in between the sheets after a long day at work. But the thought of getting caught in anything even vaguely resembling an exclusive relationship was still so far off my agenda, it wasn’t even on the docket. Until last month. Until I took Tyler out for a quick bite to eat.

Let’s be honest, Tyler’s about as far from my usual type as you could get. My friends joke that my type is anything that breathes, has a nice package (both front and back), and has no problem doing the walk of shame the next morning. The truth is, that was pretty much my perfect guy until I made my way over to the West Coast last month to visit Jamie. You see, Tyler’s the type of guy you want more than one night with. In fact, Tyler’s the type of guy that makes you want things you were always too afraid to admit you wanted. Because the moment you admitted how much you craved waking up to the same person every morning and lying down next to them in bed every night, that’s the moment the shit hits the fan and they walk out of your life forever, leaving you with a huge gaping hole in the middle of what once resembled your heart.

And yet, even though I don’t do relationships and Tyler is so far off the menu of guys du jour it’s not even funny, I can’t seem to stop thinking about him. The slight smirk that crosses his face when he throws a zinger at me I wasn’t expecting. The shy exterior that only makes me want to peel back the layers to discover what he’s hiding from the rest of the world. And those eyes that still reflect the ghosts of living on the streets after his parents kicked him out, eyes that are a cross between light brown and hazel with tiny flecks of green and gold that makes it damn near impossible for me to look away from him.

Before I left, Jamie made me promise to stay away from Tyler. “He’s a good kid,” he said. “While you’re the love ’em and leave ’em type,” he added. Ouch. He wasn’t wrong, but it still stung like hell to hear my best friend say it. I promised him Tyler was safe from me. I’d keep my hands to myself and we could all go on living the perfect little lives we have. It shouldn’t be hard to keep my promise, right? He’s there and I’m here. He’s just starting out and deserves someone who thinks he’s their one and only, while I’m already jaded and the word commitment isn’t even in my vocabulary.

There’s only one catch. I haven’t been able to get those gorgeous hazel eyes or that soft, shy smirk out of my head since I got back home to New York. And I’m afraid the more time I spend on the West Coast, the harder it will be to keep my promise to Jamie.

But some promises were made to be broken. Right?

© Eileen Griffin and Nikka Michaels

Buy the Book: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Nook | Kobo | iBooks | Carina Press | All Romance eBooks

Follow the Authors On:

Eileen Griffin: Website and Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Nikka Michaels: Website and Blog | Twitter | Facebook (Personal) | Facebook (Author Page) | Goodreads

Mirrored from angelahighland.com.

Boosting the Signal: Deadly Strain, by Julie Rowe

It’s a Carina Press doubleheader today on Boosting the Signal! My second feature is Julie Rowe’s Deadly Strain–also technically contemporary romance, but also medical-flavored, military-flavored romantic suspense. This is Book 1 of her Biological Response Team series, and in this one, her characters are fighting a scary new strain of anthrax. To wit: yikes. And while her character piece is short, it’s very much to the point, giving a piercing look at the villain of her novel.

Deadly Strain

This interview response is from the villain of Deadly Strain. One question was asked: Who are you?

I was a good man once. I was married with children, two boys and a girl. She was just learning to walk the last time I saw her, my sons holding her hands and keeping her safe. I have a master’s degree in chemistry and worked for the Afghan government in a number of capacities. One of those was as liaison to the American military. That role wasn’t public knowledge; almost everyone thought I was nothing more than the deputy environment minister. All that changed the night my family was murdered by the very military I was helping.

“Collateral damage,” they said. “Civilian casualties are always tragic, and we’re very sorry, but what’s done is done.”

How dare they sweep the deaths of innocents aside as if they meant nothing? My family was everything to me, everything. The United States military took them away, so it’s only fair to do the same to them. Only when my dead are avenged will I follow them into death. Only when the whole world understands my pain will I put down my weapons, but by that time it will be too late. Death shall have come to the earth.

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Julie Rowe’s first career as a medical lab technologist in Canada took her to the North West Territories and northern Alberta, where she still resides. She loves to include medical details in her romance novels, but admits she’ll never be able to write about all her medical experiences because, “No one would believe them!”. Julie writes contemporary and historical medical romance, fun romantic suspense and military romance. She has short stories published in 7 anthologies. Her book SAVING THE RIFLEMAN (book #1 WAR GIRLS) won the novella category of the 2013 Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence. AIDING THE ENEMY (book #3 WAR GIRLS) won the novella category of the 2014 Colorado Romance Writer’s Award of Excellence.

Buy the Book: Carina Press | Amazon | Nook | Google Play | iBooks | Kobo

Follow the Author On: Official Site | Twitter | Facebook

Mirrored from angelahighland.com.