Happiness is there for the taking, if he can embrace it before
it's ripped away.
Work,
sleep, work, repeat. Nero’s lonely life suits him just fine until his best
friend, Cass, asks him to take on a new apprentice—a beautiful young man who’s
never set foot in a professional kitchen. Despite his irritation and his
lifelong ability to shut the world out, Nero is mesmerised by the vibrant
stray, especially when he learns what drove him to seek sanctuary on Nero’s
battered old couch.
Lenny
Mitchell is living under a cloud of fear. Pursued by a stalker, he has nowhere
left to run until Nero offers him a port in a storm—a job at the hottest
restaurant in Shepherd's Bush. Kitchen life proves heady and addictive, and
it’s not long before he finds himself falling hard and fast for the man who has
taken him in.
Fast-forward
a month and neither man can imagine life without the other, but one thing
stands in their way: a lifetime of horrors Nero can’t bring himself to share
with Lenny. Or can he? For the first time ever, happiness is there for the
taking, and Nero must learn to embrace it before fate steps in and rips it
away.
Excerpt...
The policewoman slid a cup of grey tea across the interview table. “Tell me again, sir. How many times have you seen this man at your place of work?”
Lenny Mitchell sighed and dragged a hand through his electric-blue hair. “I told you. I don’t know exactly. He’s just there sometimes.”
“Standing across the road? At the bus stop?”
“Yes.”
“I see.” The policewoman made a note. “Have you considered the possibility that the man you’ve described is simply catching the bus?”
Lenny levelled the woman with an acid glare. Seriously? “Catching the bus to where? My flat? So he can loiter there too? Or the club where I used to work so he can tell everyone he’s my boyfriend like he did before?”
“Which club is that?”
“Shades, in Brent Cross.”
“The strip club?”
“No, the gay club.”
The policewoman jotted another note. “Okay, so you say this man has been present outside your home and your place of work, and that he’s written you letters, and contacted you on social media. Do you have evidence of this? Copies of the letters? Screen shots?”
I’m such a fucking idiot. Lenny shook his head. “I deleted my Facebook and Twitter when he started harassing me, and the letters were taken from my flat.”
“Taken?”
“Stolen, whatever.”
“Did you report it?”
“No.”
“And you haven’t received any since?”
“No.”
The policewoman’s left eyebrow twitched. “So you have no evidence to corroborate your story?”
Garrett
Leigh is an award-winning British writer and book designer, currently working
for Dreamspinner Press, Loose Id, Riptide Publishing, and Fox Love Press.
Garrett's
debut novel, Slide, won Best Bisexual Debut at the 2014 Rainbow Book Awards,
and her polyamorous novel, Misfits was a finalist in the 2016 LAMBDA awards.
When
not writing, Garrett can generally be found procrastinating on Twitter, cooking
up a storm, or sitting on her behind doing as little as possible, all the while
shouting at her menagerie of children and animals and attempting to tame her
unruly and wonderful FOX.
Garrett
is also an award winning cover artist, taking the silver medal at the Benjamin
Franklin Book Awards in 2016. She designs for various publishing houses and
independent authors at blackjazzdesign.com, and co-owns the specialist stock
site moonstockphotography.com with
renowned LGBTQA+ photographer Dan Burgess.
Social
media:
Website: http://garrettleigh.com
Cover art enquiries: blackjazzdesign@gmail.com
To
celebrate the release of Strays, one lucky winner will receive $25 in Riptide Publishing credit! Leave
a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at
midnight, Eastern time, on April 1, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S.
entries. Thanks for following the tour,
and don’t forget to leave your contact info!
Every comment will also be entered into the TTC monthly giftcard giveaway!
I have enjoyed following the blogs. I think I shall enjoy the book even more.
ReplyDeletedebby236 at gmail dot com
I like the excerpt!
ReplyDeletevitajex(at)Aol(Dot)com
Looks fantastic and I'm looking forward to giving it a read.
ReplyDeletehumhumbum AT yahoo DOT com
Congrats and thanks for the excerpt. Since reading Misfits, I've been anxiously waiting for this to come out. I'm sure it too will be another success. - Purple Reader
ReplyDeleteTheWrote [at] aol [dot] com
Garett clearly got to Lenny's nerves & "space". It's an excellent addition to Urban soul series. I hope that we could see more of them in the near future.
ReplyDeletemushyvince(at)gmail(dot)com
I loved Strays & hope there'll be more from the Urban Souls universe!
ReplyDeletelegacylandlisa(at)gmail(dot)com