Release Day Guest Post, Excerpt, and Giveaway: A Forced Silence by Cate Ashwood

We’re so pleased to welcome author Cate Ashwood today, on the tour for her new novel A Forced Silence. Enjoy the sneak peek from the book, and also be sure to click on the Rafflecopter widget below to enter for the chance to win an e-book from Cate’s backlist and a $25 Amazon Gift Card.

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I am so excited to be here at The Novel Approach today. Thank you so much for having me!

Today is release day and I want to tell you a story about my cousin (no, really, it was my cousin). When he was a kid, his family decided they were going to take him to Disneyland. For a kid, nothing is a bigger deal than Disneyland, right? So they drive to the park, and everyone is super excited to get inside. They park the car, everyone gets out, and my cousin is so excited, he promptly vomits in the parking lot (he’s now 40 and still hasn’t lived this down).

Release day is a little bit like that for me. I am not one of those authors who forgets they have a book coming out. It’s marked on my calendar (unnecessarily, because the dates are seared into my brain) and I have butterflies in my stomach the whole day. When it gets to be close to 9:00 (midnight on the east coast), I sit at my laptop and refresh the new releases page over and over until I see my book pop into view. And then I feel like I am going to puke.

It’s totally the best.

There’s really nothing like seeing my book released into the world. It’s terrifying and exhilarating, and I am addicted to the rush. I can’t imagine a time when it won’t be just as thrilling.

So here’s to celebrating release day for Adam and Sam! Happy Birthday, Boys!

Blurb: For paramedic Adam Carson, his world is lights and sirens and saving lives. Pressures at work keep him firmly in the closet, and life is too busy to contend with the complications that come with dating and relationships. When a familiar face from his past turns up where he least expects it, Adam starts to question whether or not there is room in his life for those complications.

The last person forensic pathologist Sam McKenna expects to see at pub night is Adam, the guy who made his life hell in high school. The attraction is instant, but Adam isn’t gay and Sam has no interest in pursuing him. Still, the leftover animosity from their teenage years isn’t enough to extinguish the lust growing between them. After both are called to the scene of a horrific murder, Adam admits he’s not as straight as he led Sam to believe and they seek comfort and distraction in each other’s arms. One night becomes many as the murder investigation intensifies, but when Adam is faced with losing Sam, he is forced to make a choice: to break his silence, or to give up everything for the job he loves.

Buy Links: Amazon || Dreamspinner Press || All Romance eBooks

Excerpt: “Adam, John, this is Sam. Sam, these are two of the city’s ugliest heroes, John and Adam.” Ford made the introductions as John slid into a chair across from him, lifting his head in greeting.

Sam swallowed hard, barely registering anything other than the man still standing in front of him. Adam Carson. He watched as recognition dawned in Adam’s eyes and a slow smirk appeared on his face. It was the same familiar cocky expression he wore when Sam knew him a billion years earlier.

“You sure have grown up, Dexter,” Adam said, exercising the nickname he had used for him all through school.

Sam lifted one eyebrow. “It seems you haven’t.”

“You two know each other?” Ford asked, eyebrows lifted in question.

“Oh, me and Dex go way back,” Adam supplied, never taking his eyes off Sam.

“Dex?”

Sam rolled his eyes. Ford was his friend, but that didn’t mean he wanted to rehash the shit that happened back in high school. That name was one that haunted him right through the twelfth grade. When he moved, he tucked it safely away, but tonight, it seemed, it had followed him.

“Long story,” Adam said. “It’s good to see you. It’s been a long time.”

Sam nodded politely and tried to turn his attention away. He’d known Adam a lifetime ago. Sam wasn’t the same person he had been in his fragile teen years. Long gone was the shell of brittle aloofness that covered the core of deep insecurity. He had learned to be proud of who he was, and he owned it in every way.

But he’d be fucked if the familiar feelings of self-doubt didn’t set in the moment he realized it was Adam Carson strutting across the room toward them. He was always good looking, but since Sam had seen him last—graduation day—he’d definitely matured, physically at least. The handsome teenager had transformed into the type of man who oozed masculinity, his laid-back confidence potent enough that Sam could practically taste it from where he was sitting. The jeans Adam wore fit low and snug around his hips, and his soft gray T-shirt was tight enough for him to make out the well-toned muscles beneath it. Sam’s stomach fluttered as he felt Adam’s gaze bore into him.

Agreeing to let Ford drag him out was quickly becoming the worst move he’d made in a very long time.

About the Author: Cate Ashwood wrote her very first story in a hot pink binder when she was in the second grade and found her passion for writing. Her first successful foray into romance writing came five years later when she wrote her best friend, who was experiencing a case of unrequited love, her own happily ever after.

Cate’s life has taken a number of different and adventurous roads. She now lives a stone’s throw from the ocean, just outside of Vancouver, British Columbia with her husband, son, and two cats. Her life is filled with family and friends, travel, and, of course, books.

Where you can find Cate: Website || Facebook || Twitter

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