Ride Along (A States of Love story) by Meghan Maslow | Blog tour with Guest Post, Excerpt & #giveaway @Dreamspinners

Drew Nolan is a loud-and-proud mystery writer with a brutal case of writer’s block. He needs practical experience with the Baltimore police beat to get his latest manuscript to his publisher on time. When he wins a ride-along at a writer’s conference, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot… until he meets his partner.
Closeted cop Josh de Oliveira lost his family, his partner, and the respect of his unit—all for doing the right thing. Recently busted back down to patrol, he’s relieved to get a cushy assignment at the Author’s Police Institute where he’ll take one lucky writer on a ride-along. Unfortunately, his author looks like he belongs in the backseat of Josh’s squad car—long, ginger dreadlocks, piercings, and an “I would bottom you so hard” T-shirt. But there’s something about Drew Josh is having a hard time resisting. 
It’s going to be a long night and one hell of a ride as opposites attract and realize they share a lot in common beneath the surface. As animosity becomes desire, they realize they can help each other out—in more ways than one.

States of Love: Stories of romance that span every corner of the United States.

Buy links: Dreamspinner | Amazon US | Amazon UK | B&N

Guest post with Author Meghan Maslow...

Hello! I’m Meghan Maslow and I’m honored to be at Tammy’s Two Cents and to share with you an exclusive excerpt from my newest release, Ride Along, a novella in the Dreamspinner Press States of Love line. I’ve chosen to write about beautiful Maryland where I’ve lived for more than a dozen years now. It’s been said that Maryland’s unofficial state motto is If You Can Dream It, We Can Tax It, Hon.

“Hon,” as many of you may know, is a shortened version of “honey” and is a common term of endearment or address in certain parts of Maryland. That’s why I chose to include a small section of my story at HonFest, an annual street festival held in Baltimore’s Hampden neighborhood that celebrates all the amazing hons that made the city great.

During HonFest many attendees dress up like characters from the John Water’s classic, Hairspray. Bee hives, cat-eye glasses, housecoats are the norm. There’s an outdoor salon that will give you a beehive do for a few dollars, and there are lots of vendors that will sell you pink, blue, or other brightly colored beehive wigs. Leopard print, garish eye shadow, and feather boas are also common throughout the festival. There’s even a Baltimore’s Best Hon contest and three stages with different musical acts.

HonFest also serves up lots of delicious, iconic Maryland foods and drinks. Many vendors sell crab cakes and potato chips with Old Bay seasoning. There’s also a whole variety of flavored snowballs, and National Bohemian (Natty Boh) beer for those who wish to indulge. I’m hoping this year they’ll include Zeke’s coffee and I’d love to see some Smith Island Cake (ten layers of yummy goodness!) for sale.

I went to HonFest last summer with my family and we had a blast. We all came back wearing cat-eye sunglasses and we ate crab cakes until we thought we’d burst. We stopped by Café Hon (the originators of festival) for a snack and some ice cream. The life-sized statue of Elvis in the lobby and the leopard print booths just made it all that much better.

In Ride Along, I decided to send Drew and Josh to HonFest in part because it’s such a fun place—and so distinctly a Baltimore tradition—but also because it’s a place where they can both let their guard down a little.  

Exclusive Excerpt...

By the time Josh parked so they could walk through the festival to the Cafe Hon, Drew was practically vibrating in his seat.

“You plan to write about this or something?”

“You never know. I get a lot of my ideas in the oddest places.” Drew tucked the notebook back into his bag, then hopped out of the car and waited for Josh to join him. “Lead on.”

They cut through the Hampden neighborhood and were soon in the middle of a crowd. Drew’s face was priceless. He scanned everything and everyone. He approached people in crazy getups and asked if he could take their picture. He jumped in and did selfies with them, seeming oblivious to the sun’s harsh rays.

Josh shook his head. They couldn’t be that far apart in age, but Drew seemed so young. Not in a bad way, either. He laughed so easily.

“Hey, Josh, hop in here,” Drew called from the middle of a crowd of hons.

“Nah, but I can take the picture.”


“Come on! It’s not every day you get to pose with charming ladies.” The ladies trilled and waved him in. They were all pressed close to Drew, cooing over him like he was a stray kitten. They didn’t hesitate to catcall Josh, though.

“Come on, Officer Hot Stuff, hop in, hon,” one of the ladies shouted. The others laughed and followed suit.

“Yeah, come on, Officer Hot Stuff,” Drew called, his eyes twinkling. “Don’t be shy!”

“Fine.” Josh approached and the ladies opened a spot right next to Drew. Drew held up his camera.

“Everyone squeeze close. Strike a pose, ladies! You too, Officer Hot Stuff.” Drew snickered as he took photo after photo. Josh had to admit it was fun. Drew was just so... goofy.

“Thanks, hons,” he said as he and Josh broke away from the group.

“One of those hons goosed me.” Josh rubbed his ass.

Drew gripped his sides as he laughed. “Can you blame them, Officer Hot Stuff?”

Josh bumped his shoulder. “Shut up. You were the one jumping in the middle of it all, begging for attention.”

Drew smiled. “Yep. That’s me. Attention whore extraordinaire. Oooh, look, glasses!” Drew bounded off to look at a pair of cat-eye sunglasses for sale. After haggling with the retailer, he paid and set the bright blue frames on his nose. “What do you think?”

He looked ridiculous. And adorable. Josh smiled in spite of himself. “I think you’re ruining my reputation as a tough beat cop.”

Drew looked him up and down. “I like you better this way.”

“Well, you’re the only one, believe me.” Josh spun and strode toward the Cafe Hon. “Come on,” he called over his shoulder. “Let’s get something to eat.”

 Her initials say it all. . .

Meghan Maslow is truly a rare breed. No, not a unicorn (although that would be sooo cool). She’s a. . . gasp!. . . extroverted writer. It may seem counterintuitive that as someone who is energized by people, she spends most of her time alone. Yet, that’s the case. And she doesn’t mind.

Mostly.

If she gets writers block or starts to go a little stir crazy, she heads to a coffee shop, a restaurant, a friend’s place—anywhere to fill up her need for human contact. It also helps that she spends a lot of time with the voices in her head. Some of them are really quite opinionated.

She loves writing gay romance because she’s a sap for a happy ending, and she believes everyone—regardless of orientation—should be able to find books that have them.

She believes life is for living, kindness is contagious, and a good book makes the world a better place. She loves travel, reading, world music, Moscow Mules, awkward dancing, dreadlocks, her family, and um. . . writing.

Facebook | Website | Email: meghanmaslow@yahoo.com

There are two ways to win something fun! 

To celebrate the release of Ride Along, one lucky winner will receive a $10 Dreamspinner Press credit. Leave a comment with your contact info to be entered to win. Your comment will also enter you in the monthly giftcard giveaway. Remember to leave your contact info in your comment. Good luck everyone and thank you Meghan for stopping by today!!