I have Kayelle Allen honoring me with being a guest today. I got to know her through Marketing for Romance Writers and appreciate everything she has done through that group. I've learned a lot! I'm excited she's giving us a little look at her release due out February 13th, Fifty Gays of Shade. Love the title. So enough about the introduction, take it away Kayelle . . .
Why does getting something new make a grown woman act like a
little kid? You should have seen me when I got the cover to my newest book. Good
thing I was sitting down, otherwise I might have knocked things over doing the happy
dance around the room. The new Torquere Press anthology Fifty Gays of Shade is starting
to grab attention simply for its title. Throw in a hot cover and you have an instant
winner.
The book came about as a response to the Fifty Shades of Grey
phenomenon. Who hasn't heard of that? The market is glutted with Fifty Shades of
Fill-in-the-blank books. There are also ten shades, twenty shades, ad infinitum.
What's different about this title is it flips the sound of the words in reverse,
and that catches the imagination. I know when I heard it, I immediately wanted to
be a part of creating the story.
Here's the set up. Shady Business is a gay BDSM club owned by
Grey Shade, and the club's motto is "No good deed goes unpunished." Authors
in the anthology were given a nightclub layout, an image to use as a guide for describing
Grey Shade, and carte blanche for the story. We were to use Grey if possible, but
not have him too deeply involved with our characters.
From there, it was up to our fertile imaginations to take the
reader on a fun and sensual journey. My story is "Bill Me." When an old member of the Shady Business BDSM club returns from a hiatus,
he meets a new member searching for a proper identity -- and a master who'll help
him find it.
Excerpt
"Is that you, Erik?"
I turned to see who had used my name
so freely in one of the country's premier BDSM clubs, and found the club's owner
walking toward me. "Hello, Shade." I accepted his firm handshake. "Long
time no see. You look fit as always." The man wore a black leather hat, black
zipped leather shorts, boots, and had a chain wrapped around one wrist.
"I could say the same."
He raked his gaze down me. "Damn, man. Where the hell have you been? I heard
you relocated again."
I shrugged. "You know me. Never
could settle anywhere."
"Let's grab a drink." Shade
led me deeper into the club, away from the noisy stage and DJ.
We passed the elevator, and sidestepped
around a laughing couple exiting the bathroom. From their tousled appearance, it
took little imagination to guess what they'd been doing in there. Had house rules
changed? Shade rubbed a spot between his brows and pretended not to notice. He continued
through reception, and used a keycard to open a passageway to his office and the
play room area.
Gesturing between the two, he quirked
his brows, giving me a choice of location. I opted for the privacy of his office,
and he opened the door.
Little had changed here, other than
a few additional awards on the wall. I sat in the leather chair opposite his desk.
He flipped open a cabinet and withdrew a bottle of whiskey and two glasses, handing
me one. Shade surprised me by dropping into the chair next to mine. He poured generously,
set down the bottle, and leaned back.
"You want to tell me what's up?"
He gazed at me over the rim of the glass while he sipped.
I swirled the whiskey, gave it a sniff,
and smiled over at him. "What do you mean?"
He pulled a face. "We going to
play a head game or are you going to tell me what brings you here -- wearing a three
piece suit-- after fifteen months away?"
"Fifteen months? What, were you
counting the days?"
"You were here for my birthday
party for the past five years, and then missed it last year. I happen to know yours
is in three days. We always celebrated together when you were in town. So yeah,
I fuckin' know the number of days." He downed the rest of his drink, set aside
the glass, and folded his arms across his beefy chest. "What's with the suit?"
"In town on business." I
hesitated, but remembered this was Shade I was talking to, and sighed. "Corey
moved out six weeks ago."
"No shit? You okay?"
"Yeah. Now."
Shade shook his head. "I'm sorry,
Erik. You here to get back in the saddle?"
I took a slug of the whiskey, wiped
my mouth with the back of my hand, and then finished it. "Figured it's time."
He sat forward. "Looking for
the same type?"
"Hell, no. Older. He was twenty
when we met. I need someone a little less..." While I struggled for the best
description, Shade supplied an apt one.
"Full of shit?"
We both laughed. He poured me another
drink. The sound of the liquid sloshing into the glass filled the silence in my
head.
"Yeah. That'd work." I sipped.
"We've got some new talent. You
walk in wearing that suit, and they'll be licking your shoes."
I polished off the drink, and refused
another. "Not really what I want licked tonight."
Buy links:
Coming February 13, 2013 from Torquere Press
Author website http://kayelleallen.com/exc-fifty.html
Edited by Kiernan Kelly author of Weapon of
Choice, and dozens of other gay romance stories. The book includes
stories by Amelia June, CB Conwy, CC Bridges, DC Juris, Emily Moreton, Kayelle Allen,
KC Burn, KC Wells, Kiernan Kelly, Lydian Harker, PT Walden, Sascha Illyvich, Sean
Michaels, Wade Kelly, Winnie Jerome, and Wt Prater.
About the Author
Multipublished author Kayelle Allen runs Marketing for Romance
Writers, the Romance Lives Forever blog, and a graphics company called The Author's
Secret. She swears she also sleeps, eats, and writes, and not at the same time.
Usually.
Website http://kayelleallen.com
Twitter http://twitter.com/kayelleallen
Pinterest http://pinterest.com/kayelleallen/
Marketing for Romance Writers http://marketingforromancewriters.org
Romance Lives Forever http://romancelivesforever.blogspot.com/
The Author's Secret http://theauthorssecret.com
Wow! That was great Kayelle! I appreciate you stopping by and sharing. I hope you stop by again. Please don't forget to give Kayelle some love and leave her a comment.
Until then . . . be naughty, my pets!
Gray
Thank you Gray. How could you pass up info on a book with a character whose name is so close to yours? ;) I appreciate you letting me hang out here today. I will do my best to take your advice to heart, too. I intend to be very very naughty! ^_^
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