For Matt Wasko, February in Wisconsin is the best time of the year, and ice fishing on Lake Winnebago is his idea of heaven. With shanty villages cropping up, barbeques on the ice, monster sturgeon to spear, and plenty of booze to keep everybody warm, things couldn’t be better—until a surprise storm hits and an uninvited guest shows up at his frozen doorstep.Matt’s not happy to see John Lutz, a coworker who cracks lame gay jokes at Matt’s expense. But John’s flimsy new ice shelter got blown across the lake, and it wouldn’t be right to leave even a jerk outside to freeze. Would it?
In the close quarters of Matt’s fabulous ice shanty, between stripping off wet clothes, misadventures with bait, and a fighting trophy-sized walleye, the two men discover creative ways to keep the cold at bay. And when John confesses his long-running attraction, Matt must decide if he can believe in John’s change of heart—and crack the ice for a chance at finding love.
States of Love: Stories of romance that span every corner of the United States.
Buy links: Dreamspinner | Amazon
Cat gives this one 4 Meows with a 1 Purr heat index...
Breaking the Ice is a sweet story about Matt, a PR manager, and John, a co-worker that is constantly tossing gay jokes around along with his buddies. Matt is out and proud and has all sorts of pride posters and other tings tat scream gay in his office. His Ice Shack also has lots of bright pictures and he decorates over the top. Even his bowling balls are glittery and his shoelaces rainbows.
John is on the opposing bowling team and his friends told him Matt doesn't mind the gay jokes and slurs. That he plays along.When he finds out Matt is taking two weeks off to go ice fishing, John heads out on the ice not knowing how dangerous it can be.
I loved Tali's details and descriptions of the ice-fishing and everything that goes on the frozen lake. It was very informative but not in a boring way.I fell in love with the other families and how they bonded during this time, especially the Tipps.
If you lie a feel-good, sweet romance, learning about different states and cultures, ice-fishing, co-worker romance and an allover fun sweet romance this is for you.
Excerpt...
“YES!” MATT Wasko pumped his fist as his glittering, baby blue ball rocketed down the lane and demolished the seven pin. Only then did he rise from the crouch he’d been holding.
He took a gander at the overhead scorecard and grinned. If Rich and Jose did their jobs, the Spares could bury the Wire Cutters in the next frame. He walked back to his team’s bench and made sure to give an extra little ass wiggle before sitting down. Take that, John Lutz.
Matt took a swig of beer and snuck a glance at the opposing team. Lutz, the new guy on the Cutters, was wearing his usual smirk and trying to snag him with a stare. Because there was nothing to do about it but hope to hell they beat the Cutters, Matt answered by lifting his beer. The gesture looked friendly, but only because he had to be careful about appearances. He was management, for crying out loud. Just being on a bowling team with men from the factory floor broke all ten personnel rules he’d learned in business school. But then, he’d never bought into the whole nonfraternization thing.
Rich made his spare, and then Jose strode to the ball return. He stepped back after picking up his jet-black ball banded with Mexican colors. Lutz, the Cutter bowling ahead of Jose, took his stance on the approach area.
He’d be good-looking if he wasn’t such a jerk. Hell, who was Matt kidding? John Lutz was the sexiest man at Slinger Wire and Cable. The office staff, female and male, got moon-eyed whenever he walked past their cubicles for a management meeting. Lutz looked like he’d just stepped out of a locker room: tall, toned, and tan, with blond hair in need of a haircut. The crouch at the end of his approach displayed pure, focused masculine control. And a really nice ass.
Not surprisingly Lutz also threw a tornado of a hook. His ball scattered all ten pins into the next zip code. Strike. Matt sagged in dismay when Lutz did it again. And again. Fuck. Lutz hadn’t thrown a strike all game… and now in the final frame, he threw three?
Matt shot a look at the score and his stomach clenched. If Jose didn’t get a strike with his first ball, the Spares were done.
Do it, Jose, he willed. Cram it down their throats.
Jose’s throw was good. Real good. The ball scattered wood right and left… all but the headpin. The best Jose could get now was a spare and that wouldn’t be enough. Already the Cutters were high-fiving Lutz and heaping scorn upon their beaten foes.
“Hey, I figured it out. I know why you guys like bowling,” snickered Ed Meany. He was the largest Cutter and also owned the biggest mouth. He marked the final score in big bold strokes. “It’s because you always strike out with the girls. All except pretty boy Wasko there. He strikes out with boys, you know? He has gay balls.”
“Nah, nothing to do with balls.” Great. First Meany and now Tiny.
Naturally, a third Cutter joined in. “Yeah, Wasko strikes out with assholes.”
And sure enough, there was Lutz tagging along by giving Matt a ‘having fun yet?’ look and showing off his perfect teeth with a shit-eating grin.
When it came to assholes, these guys were the kings.
Tali Spencer is fascinated by swords, mythology and everything ancient and magical. Several years ago, after sipping fermented corn liquor with an Aymara shaman in the Andes, she received a charm guaranteed to bring her the love of a wonderful man. It worked. She and her true love reside in Pennsylvania, where she creates worlds through which her characters can roam, brawl, and find themselves in each other’s arms. Tali Spencer fell in love with writing at an early age and never stopped, though she took a lot of detours. It’s not unusual to find her daydreaming at a window or sitting in the corner of a busy room, people-watching and scribbling character tips in a notebook. Thanks to a restless father, Tali grew up as a bit of a nomad. You may have gone to school with her if you lived in Virginia, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Texas, or Wisconsin. It was during this time she developed her superpower sense of direction and love of diverse landscapes, people, and cultures. As a young adult she spent a lot of time in Bolivia and deeply loves the people and cultures of South America. Her longest stint in one place was Milwaukee where she went to college, enjoyed a series of interesting careers, and raised three surprisingly well-adjusted sons. She still loves to travel whenever she can. She married her second husband on a cruise ship and they love to cruise whenever they can, hoping one day to cruise around the world. Since marrying her true love, Tali has put down new roots in Philadelphia, where she lives in an ongoing Italian American family sitcom. At least she’s learned how to make her own gravy and pasta. When not writing, Tali reads everything from sweet goofy romances to medical research, manages her fantasy football team—go Gekkos!—and takes long walks with her loving, if slightly neurotic, poodle.
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Thanks for the excerpt & review!
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