Guest Post, Excerpt, and Giveaway: The Vespertine Blog Tour with Leta Blake and Indra Vaughn

Please join us in welcoming authors Leta Blake and Indra Vaughn today on their Vespertine blog tour. They’ve brought along a little tease from the book for your reading pleasure, and are also giving one lucky reader the chance to win an e-copy of a book from either of their backlists (**EXCLUDES Vespertine**). Just click on the Rafflecopter widget to enter.

Good luck!

So, an out gay priest, huh? Isn’t that impossible? While it isn’t common, it definitely happens and the Pope himself has said “Who am I to judge?” For example, a Catholic priest in Ireland came out to his congregation to a standing ovation (Source: Huffington Post), and others are following his example. The key, apparently, to remaining a priest is, as with a heterosexual priest, celibacy.

Researching the limits of priestly celibacy for this book was interesting. We discovered that, due to the correlation between good prostate health and the male orgasm, some priests are prescribed masturbation by their physicians (up to three times a week), and thus by-pass the edicts against so-called self-abuse. They are able to orgasm in the name of health and not have to confess it as a sin.

This discovery inspired the following excerpt. We believed that our Catholic priest, Jasper, would not ascribe to ‘orgasms by prescription’ mainly because he would see it as a box of worms that, once opened, would be hard for him to close again. He’s maintained his celibacy mainly by cutting off his desire at the source. But the return of a certain Nicholas Blumfeld, childhood best friend and first love, has awakened parts of Jasper (*cough*) that have been asleep for a long time. 

Excerpt: “Jazz? You okay?” Nicky’s voice came from the other side of the guest bedroom door.

“Yes. No. I’m…I don’t know.”

He heard the rustle of fabric and he wondered what Nicky was wearing. Just boxer shorts? Or did he cover up his tattoos even when alone in bed? Jasper closed his eyes and breathed.

“Come on,” Nicky said softly. “Talk to me, Jazz.”

“Nicky, it’s…” He covered his eyes. “We’re friends, right? I can talk to you about this? I don’t know who else—”

“Of course you can. What’s going on? You’re freaking me out, man.”

“I’m having—ever since you showed up—I’m having trouble sleeping.”

A gentle swishy noise filled the silence and Jasper imagined Nicky rubbing at the door between them. When Nicky spoke his voice sounded different, more intimate. “I think that’s totally normal, Jazz. It’s like we were talking about earlier tonight. Being around me makes you think of things you haven’t had to think about in a long time. What we did back then, it’s not…I could never say it was wrong from my point of view, but I understand if you’re having trouble dealing with it. I’d like to help you. Even if it means keeping my distance. I’m…I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I know that, it’s not…that’s not the issue. I never felt what we did was wrong, Nicky. Not then and not now. But it’s like something woke up and it won’t go back to sleep.”

“Oh.” Nicky fell silent for a moment. “Oh!” He laughed softly and Jasper cringed, shoulders rounding as he hid his face in the cup of his hands.

“Don’t laugh at me.”

“I’m not. I’m not. I’m sorry. So what are we talking about here? Are you getting, you know, boners? That won’t go down?”

Jasper appreciated Nicky trying to keep the amusement out of his voice, but he could imagine all too easily how wide Nicky’s grin would be. “That,” he whispered. “And I woke up half an hour ago, and I’d…” He trailed off.

“Shit, man. Are you having wet dreams? About me?” Nicky’s grin was so smug that Jasper could hear it through the door. “I’m not laughing, I promise. Because that’s not funny.” He let out a strangled laugh. “I’m not laughing. Okay listen, hold on. There’s this article I remember reading. I mean it could be a drug-infused hallucination but lemme look.”

Jasper listened to Nicky walk away, and his shoulders relaxed a little. He glanced down. His cock had abated a little, but not enough.  He made a frustrated noise and pressed the towel down hard into his groin. Not that it helped. Quick footsteps approached, and part of Jasper wanted to throw open the door and just get it over with.

“Found it on my phone! See? I knew I’d read it. Okay, you listening?”

“Apprehensively,” Jasper said, and Nicky laughed.

“No, man, this is super-important and it will change your life. So, it says that men, especially as they get older, should orgasm one to three times a week as a preventative measure toward avoiding prostate cancer. So there you go. You and your hand should get seriously reacquainted, because otherwise you might die, and I’m sure that’s not what God intended.”

Jasper laughed even though he tried not to. “I don’t think that’s how that works, Nicky.” He sighed and softly said, “Why is this happening to me?”

Nicky was quiet for a minute. He moved around a little, the fabric of whatever he was wearing shifting against the door. “You horny right now, Jazz?”

Pure hot want zinged up Jasper’s spine, and he pressed his fingertips to the door until they went white. “Don’t, Nicky.”

Again, silence but for Nicky’s breath. “You are, aren’t you? I bet you’ve been standing there talking to me with a boner that won’t go down. How long?”

“I’m not talking about this.”

“Just tell me. How long have you been hard?”

“The cold shower didn’t help.”

“Shit, man. This won’t take you any time at all. Just do it, okay? Why are you standing there suffering? For what? Just get it over with. You heard what the article said. You can do it in the name of medical necessity.”

Jasper laughed again but his eyes stung. “I don’t think I can.”

“You want me to come in?” Nicky whispered. His voice trembled a little and Jasper swallowed hard.

“I’m not…It’d be too much. I can’t.”

“Okay. I understand. I’m gonna go, and you do what you need to do. But let me tell you, talking to you has given me the biggest fucking hard-on. And I’m going to go back to my room, stick my hands down my pants, and think of you.”

Blurb: Can a priest and a rock star obey love’s call?

Seventeen years ago, Jasper Hendricks and Nicholas Blumfeld’s childhood friendship turned into a secret, blissful love affair. They spent several idyllic months together until Jasper’s calling to the Catholic priesthood became impossible to ignore. Left floundering, Nicky followed his own trajectory into rock stardom, but he never stopped looking back.

Today, Jasper pushes boundaries as an out, gay priest, working hard to help vulnerable LGBTQ youth. He’s determined to bring change to the church and the world. Respected, admired, and settled in his skin, Jasper has long ignored his loneliness.

As Nico Blue, guitarist and songwriter for the band Vespertine, Nicky owns the hearts of millions. He and his bandmates have toured the world, lighting their fans on fire with their music. Numbed by drugs and fueled by simmering anger, Nicky feels completely alone. When Vespertine is forced to get sober, Nicky returns home to where it all started.

Jasper and Nicky’s careers have ruled their lives since they parted as teens. When they come face to face again, they must choose between the past’s lingering ghosts or the promise of a new future.

Available at Amazon and on Kindle Unlimited

About the Authors:

LETA BLAKE

Author of the bestselling book Smoky Mountain Dreams and the fan favorite Training Season, Leta Blake’s educational and professional background is in psychology and finance, respectively. However, her passion has always been for writing. She enjoys crafting romance stories and exploring the psyches of made up people. At home in the Southern U.S., Leta works hard at achieving balance between her day job, her writing, and her family.

You can find out more about her by following her online:

• On the web: http://letablake.wordpress.com/
• On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/letablake
• On Twitter: https://twitter.com/LetaBlake

INDRA VAUGHN

In 2008 Indra Vaughn packed up everything but the kitchen sink… no, that’s a lie. She left everything behind apart from her books and moved from Belgium to Michigan. Then in 2015 she packed up nothing but a toddler and left far too many of her books behind to move from Michigan back to Belgium. Indra’s professional background is in Nursing and Chinese Medicine, but in the midst of the madness, she prefers to spend time making up stories about mysterious men and their unrequited love.

You can find out more about her by following her online:

• On the web: http://www.indravaughn.com
• On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/indra.vaughn.7
• On Twitter: https://twitter.com/VaughnIndra

THE GIVEAWAY

Leta Blake’s Backlist || Indra Vaughn’s Backlist

The Fine Print:

*Entrants must be 18 years or older to qualify
*No residency restrictions apply
*All comments must be relevant to the author’s prompt to be eligible (when applicable)
*The Novel Approach will not be held liable for prize delivery unless otherwise specified