Guest Post and Giveaway: Knobs by Scotty Cade

Please join us in welcoming author Scotty Cade today to chat a bit about his new book, Knobs, and be sure to check out the giveaway details below.

Now, here’s Scotty. Enjoy and good luck!

Hi All,

Scotty Cade here. First I’d like to thank The Novel Approach for allowing me to tell you about my newest release, Knobs. Later in the posts you can read an excerpt and I will be telling you how you can win a book from my backlist.

So when I was asked to write these blog spots, I posted on Facebook and asked my friends there what in particular they would like to know about Knobs, besides the premise, of course. The answers came in fast and furious and included a history of the Citadel and what all this “Hell Week” stuff is all about, the inspiration for the book, character interviews with each main character, as well as a little about cadet life. I have six blog posts to do so I can cover all these requests easily. So here goes. I hope you enjoy.

Like the tagline says: Two cadets from very different worlds. One forbidden love.

Stewart Adam Morley (Sam) grew up in a suburb of Detroit Michigan with his mostly single mother and his two younger siblings. But when his father and step father left, Sam took on the role of parent and caregiver. So, when his dream came true and he received a scholarship to play football at the Citadel, he turned it down.  He couldn’t imagine leaving his mother and his siblings to fend for themselves, just like the two other men in their lives had previously done. So he opted for community college near home. His logic was wrong. He knew it and his mother knew it, but it took her a full year to convince him to let go of his self-imposed responsibilities and follow his dreams. Luckily the Citadel still wanted him.

But even after accepting, Sam still had doubts. He’d never been away from home before, and that was unnerving enough, but attending the Citadel was not going to be easy. Especially for a gay man. There was no place for homosexuality at the Citadel. Don’t ask. Don’t tell. is very much alive and well. But he could put his sexuality out of his mind for four years. Couldn’t he? He was certain of it. Until he met Gus McRae, that is.

Angus Conrad McRae III (Gus) grew up in a privileged Charleston family, the only son to an attorney and a social climbing, charity chair do-gooder of a mother whose only goal in life was to make sure her family was considered to be among Charleston’s finest.

But Gus was different. He’d known he was different from a very young age and what he was would never fit into his parents’ plan for him or into Charleston’s high society. But that didn’t matter to him because he’d never wanted to be a member of that club, or an attorney like his mother and father had insisted. His dream was of a life in the military.  What he and his parents did agree on was his education. Gus was all in favor of following in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps and attending the Citadel, but that’s where the agreeing stopped. He was not majoring in law and it had been a bone of contention between them and the cause of many long winded, hot and heavy, disagreements.

Gus was gay. He’d never acted on it, but he was still gay. No doubt. And he knew the Citadel was no place for a gay man, but he’d kept that part of himself hidden all of his life, so he could do it for four more years. Right?

He’d thought so. Until he locked eyes with one very handsome cadet on matriculation day. And then when that same cadet walked through his dorm room door a week later, all bets were off.

Fortunately, the two hadn’t hit it off right away, which made staying under control a little easier, but the attraction they shared still loomed heavy between them. They fought it as long as they could and then it became a battle neither of them were willing fight. Loving the other was the easy part. Keeping that love hidden for four years was going to be the tough part.

I hope this gives you a good understanding of Gus and Sam’s background and how they were able to find unexpected love in such a demanding environment. And how making it work under such circumstances shows the depth and reality of their commitment.

If you’ve ever had to hide a relationship from the world, I’d like to hear about it. Please post and each entry will be eligible for a free copy of The Royal Street Heist, book one in the Bissonet & Cruz Investigations series.

(**contest deadline: 11:59pm Pacific time on Friday, April 29, 2016**)

Here’s where you can find me and Knobs, as well as my other stories

Angus Conrad (Gus) McRae is a privileged Charlestonian following family tradition and attending the Citadel, harboring big dreams of a military career. With the infamous hell week behind him, he quickly realizes being a Knob (a freshman cadet) is just as tough—especially for a man like Gus who must keep his sexuality a secret. Then a sudden dorm reassignment places him in a room with one of the football team’s top players: working-class jock Stewart Adam (Sam) Morley—and life gets increasingly complicated.

Gus can’t imagine a man like Sam as gay, yet there’s something between them—exchanged glances, the occasional innuendo. Sexual tensions rise, leaving them more than friends but less than lovers. Gus and Sam know there’s too much to lose and they must keep their attraction hidden. If they fail, they risk destroying their hopes and dreams for a prosperous future in a military world that’s not yet ready to accommodate masculine gay men.

Purchase Link: Dreamspinner Press

Excerpt

For all Gus’s talk about having plenty of time, the next couple of months seemed to go by in a flash. The days were filled with more PT, academic classes, parades, drills, study time, and for Sam, the extra element of football practice and football games.

Football was a big deal at the Citadel, and Sam was an exceptional player. Gus loved going to the games and watching Sam play, but what he most treasured were the moments he and Sam continued to steal whenever they could. And with each day, the desire between them seemed to grow stronger and stronger. Over the last two months, they’d spent more time against the back of their door than they had any other place on campus. It was their only semisafe spot, and they took advantage of it every chance they got. As the days passed, the surprise visits by the Cadre lessened, and things settled down dramatically, which gave them a little more freedom—or at least the illusion of it.

The Friday before Thanksgiving, Gus woke long before dawn and lay waiting for the alarm clock to go off. He listened to the sweet sounds of Sam’s light whimpers coming from the bunk below, a sound he’d happily grown accustomed to over the last couple of months.

As of 1500 hours, it would officially be Thanksgiving break. Gus’s heart raced and goose bumps covered his body when he thought about their long-awaited alone time together. They hadn’t made a conscious decision to go through with it, but they both knew it was inevitable.

A full thirty-plus hours completely on their own. Gus closed his eyes and thought about what he wanted to do to Sam during those hours. Although he hadn’t actually done any of it yet, he’d seen enough Internet porn to know exactly what went where, and he was more than ready to put it all to the test. His cock jumped from just thinking about Sam that way, and his morning erection grew in size and intensity. He wrapped his long fingers around his length and squeezed. Closing his eyes, he pictured Sam riding him, feeling the heat of Sam’s tight ass surrounding him.

Two months ago he couldn’t even have imagined thinking along these lines, but his comfort level with Sam had certainly grown over that time, and as nervous as he was, the nervousness was now mixed with anticipation and excitement.

“I hear you up there,” a sleepy voice said from the bunk below. “Are you whipping your pud?” Sam asked.

“No!” Gus said without thinking.

“Are you sure?”

“Well, maybe just a little.”

Sam chuckled. “At least please tell me you’re thinking about me.”

“On the flesh,” Gus said.

“Don’t you mean ‘in the flesh’?”

Gus was feeling a little daring with his hand wrapped around his cock, enjoying Sam’s imaginary ride. “Nope. Right about now you’re on the flesh. My flesh, that is. And you’re riding it nicely.”

“Oh, man, I like where this is headed,” Sam whispered.

Within seconds Sam’s head popped above the bunk. He looked at Gus’s tented sheet with an expression of pure desire, and then he glanced at the door.

“Don’t even think about it,” Gus said in a soft voice. “We’ve come too far to get expelled the day Thanksgiving vacation starts.”

Sam grabbed Gus by the hand and tugged. “Out of bed. Now.”

Gus smiled, climbed out of his bunk, and headed for their spot. He put his ear to the door, but it was still early. He heard no activity in the hall.

Sam turned Gus around and plastered him against the back of the door, buried his head in Gus’s neck, and ground his own erection against Gus’s. “Damn, you feel good. I don’t know if I can wait until Sunday.”

“I guess that unease and burden of responsibility you had a couple of months ago have both faded away,” Gus whispered sarcastically.

“At times like this,” Sam whispered against Gus’s neck, “I couldn’t give a fuck about responsibility.”

In a flash Sam licked his way down Gus’s torso and wrapped his mouth around Gus’s cotton-clad cock.

Gus hissed and threw his head back so hard, the thud echoed through their tiny room, as well as the hall outside their door. He slipped both his hands into Sam’s armpits and pulled him back up to him.

“Fuck, Sam. You’re gonna get us expelled.”

“But what a way to go, huh?”

Sam covered Gus’s lips in a crushing kiss. When the kiss ended, Sam’s beautiful hazel eyes were staring into his. “That will have to hold you.”

And with that Sam grabbed his dopp kit from his locker, pulled the door open, and slipped out of the room, leaving Gus breathless and horny as hell. Fucker!

Right after they’d started this little lust affair, they’d showered together a couple of times and were both badly bruised from pinching themselves over and over again to keep their erections at bay. So it was either stay black and blue or not shower together, and they had decided on not showering at the same time to avoid calling any attention to themselves.

Gus was still standing against the back of the door—experiencing severe afterglow and remembering the feel of Sam’s warm, moist lips surrounding his length—when the alarm clock sounded, scaring the shit out of him. Annoyed, he walked over, slapped the top, and climbed into Sam’s bed. He still had thirty minutes, and he wasn’t quite ready to let go of what had just happened. He buried his face in Sam’s pillow and inhaled Sam’s unique scent, which made his cock jump with excitement again.

Gus reached behind him and removed the small bottle of lube he knew Sam kept in his bedside table. He stretched out on his back, tucked the waistband of his underwear under his balls, squeezed a little lube into his palm, and took himself in hand. He closed his eyes and pictured Sam riding him like a bronco. He imagined Sam’s warm, wet heat moving up and down, surrounding his cock while their lips were pressed together tightly.

Gus held on as long as he could, but he was only a few strokes away from losing it all. He stopped for a second to regain some kind of control, but then he remembered the sight of the top of Sam’s head when he’d taken Gus into his mouth earlier. That was all he needed to fall over the edge.

Gus made it through two more strokes, and then the battle was lost. The first shot sent his load up and almost over his left bicep. The second and third covered his abs, and he milked the last of his release until his fingers were covered. Now sated, Gus opened his eyes and gasped when he saw Sam standing alongside their bunk.

“That was beautiful,” Sam said, running two fingers over Gus’s chest and scooping up the remains of his seed. He brought his fingers to his lips and licked them clean. “And also delicious,” he added.

Gus could feel heat once again creeping up his face, but he fought the urge to bolt. He even did his best to give Sam a seductive smile since Sam seemed to be enjoying the show.

Sam sucked on his fingers and then turned to his desk, pulled a few tissues out of the box, and handed them to Gus. “You better get cleaned up before you head to the showers. That place is a zoo.”

“Thanks,” Gus said, climbing out of Sam’s bunk and tossing the soiled tissue in the trash can by the bed. He turned and headed to his locker, doing the walk of shame right past Sam without stopping. Gus jumped when Sam grabbed him by the arm and spun him around. He cupped the back of Gus’s neck and brought their lips together in a sloppy, wet kiss.

When the kiss ended, Sam whispered, “That was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.” He slapped Gus on the ass. “Now hit the showers, cadet.”

About the Author

Scotty Cade left Corporate America and twenty-five years of Marketing and Public Relations behind to buy an Inn & Restaurant on the island of Martha’s Vineyard with his partner of over twenty years.   He started writing stories as soon as he could read, but just five years ago for publication.  When not at the Inn, you can find him on the bow of his boat writing gay romance novels with his Shetland sheepdog Mavis at his side.  Being from the south and a lover of commitment and fidelity, most of his characters find their way to long healthy relationships, however long it takes them to get there.  He believes that in the end, the boy should always get the boy.

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