Bayou Book Junkie: Nights Like These by Chris Scully - Cover Reveal, Excerpt, Giveaway, & Author Interview

Friday, December 26, 2014

Nights Like These by Chris Scully - Cover Reveal, Excerpt, Giveaway, & Author Interview

Nights Like These

Author Name: Chris Scully

Author Bio:

CHRIS SCULLY lives in Toronto, Canada where she grew up spinning romantic stories in her head. When the tedium of a corporate day job grew too much, she took a chance and found her creative escape in writing. Always searching for something different, she has discovered a home in M/M romance and strives to give her characters the happy endings they deserve.

Author Contact:

https://www.facebook.com/chris.scully.author

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Cover Artist: Bree Archer

Blurb(s):

Starting over sucks. At forty, Miles Koprowski thought he had life all figured out. He had a nice car, a hot young lover, and a cushy job… and then he didn’t. Call it fate, or karma, or a downturn in the market, but this opinionated cynic is now forced to play rent-a-cop in a dying office building in the burbs just to make ends meet. Throw in an unhinged ex, a coworker who hates him, and a hot new boss, and suddenly everything is uncertain.

Miles doesn’t plan on liking the night shift or becoming embroiled in a mystery that reawakens old passions and puts him in danger. And he certainly doesn’t plan on falling for the overbearing head of security, Colton Decker, former soldier and doting dad. But nights like these can change a man, make him start to believe there’s more to life than a high paying job and a warm body in his bed. With a thief on the loose and his new job in jeopardy, Miles will have to decide what’s truly important. He might discover things he never knew he wanted… as long as he makes it through the night.

Categories: Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, Mystery

Excerpt:

“Why don’t you watch where you’re going, dumb—” I managed to sputter before my mouth stopped working entirely and dropped open. The ability to speak, to think, deserted me at the first sight of the hunky stranger standing in front of me, his face contorted with apology as he tried to mop up my sodden jacket with a handful of napkins. He was a few inches taller than me—closer to six feet—and on the stocky side. His broad shoulders filled out a nicely tailored suit, and he projected an air of confidence that I’d never be able to pull off in a million years. He was clean-shaven too, with a dark buzz cut that made me long to run a hand over his head simply to feel the texture. And gorgeous. Did I happen to mention that?

In short, he was the kind of guy you’d want to be stranded with on a deserted island; the kind you could count on to save you. If you were so inclined. Me? I didn’t need saving.

A pair of friendly, light-colored eyes now stared back at me, bemused. Odd that his lips were moving, but no sound was coming out.

“What?” I asked, blinking back to attention. I couldn’t remember the last time anyone had literally made me speechless. Me, Miles Koprowski, who never met a silence he didn’t want to fill.

Hell, I couldn’t recall the last time I’d been on the receiving end of a full-body pat-down either. At least not so quickly. His hands were still drifting over my chest, wiping up the last drips of coffee, and the simple touch was doing alarming things to my heart rate.

“Are you okay?” he demanded. “Did you get burned?” Before I could react, he seized my wrist and held my hand up for inspection. Strong, lightly calloused fingers, I added to my mental list. Working hands. Dumbly, I looked down. The skin on the back of my right hand was red and stung like a son of a bitch, but it wasn’t blistering. I did flinch slightly when he skimmed his thumb over the sensitive area, but not from pain, more from the touch itself. My entire body lit up, as though I’d stuck a finger in an electrical socket. “It doesn’t look too bad. I think you’ll live. Put some aloe on it when you get home.”

“Doctor?” I croaked, because really, that would be too perfect.

“Nope. Just seen a lot of injuries.” His lips twitched with barely contained amusement. “Sorry to disappoint you.” Sense of humor, check.

Words: 69,000

Author Interview:

List three books you have recently read and would recommend.

Unfortunately, I’ve hardly read any books this year because I’ve been so focused on writing and job searching. I had to go back and look at my Goodreads book list to see what had stood out to me. I read across all genres, so particular highlights for me in 2014 were Stephen King’s Mr. Mercedes (Stephen King’s take on a cop/ serial killer thriller), Christopher Reich’s The Runner (a police procedural set against the backdrop of post-WWII Europe) and in the M/M genre, John Inman’s Head-on (a moving story of forgiveness and redemption).

What did your parents want you to be when you grew up?
I have the best parents ever. There was never any pressure to do or be something. An education was important, but it didn’t have to be university—they would have been just as happy with community college or trade school. The emphasis was on trying and putting in the effort; not on what you did, but on how you did it. They were both teachers, and for about two seconds I considered that profession—until I realized how hard it actually was and how little patience I possessed.

What do you hope to accomplish in the next 12 months?

In 2015, I am starting a new job which I hope to enjoy. I also would like to finish my work-in-progress, Happy and get that submitted. With any luck I will sign a contract for my second novel, Until September, and get a release date. Depending on how the job goes, I may or may not start a new writing project from my list of waiting ideas. Stay tuned.

Tour Dates/Tour Stops: