Guest Post, Excerpt, and Giveaway: Holiday Weekend by Charley Descoteaux

We’re so pleased to welcome author Charley Descoteaux today, on the tour for her new romance, Holiday Weekend, book five in the Buchanan House series. Charley’s sharing some insider info about the book, as well as an excerpt and giveaway, so be sure to check out the Rafflecopter below for details.

Welcome, Charley!

Five things you won’t learn about Glenn Hernandez by reading Holiday Weekend

I’m thrilled to be visiting The Novel Approach to talk about my Christmas story Holiday Weekend, Buchanan House: Book Five. Thanks for having me!

Glenn Hernandez made his first appearance in the Buchanan House series in Tiny House. He worked for Paulie at the restaurant, Puddle Jumper, but aside from the facts that he’s cute and sometimes came to work hung over I didn’t know him very well. I had no idea he would show up as the love interest in another story.

I tend to fall harder for the love interests in my stories than the main characters, and Holiday Weekend didn’t break with that tradition. Glenn is my favorite kind of hero—he’s a blend of contradictions that make him feel real to me: sweet and tough, cocky and charming, but also a little insecure.

My original plan was to make Holiday Weekend novel length but real life intervened, forcing me to choose between writing a novel or keeping my Christmastime release date. So I left out the sub-plots and focused on Ryan and Glenn. Hopefully their love story is still a satisfying read even if I did have to leave a few details out.

Here are a few things you won’t learn about Glenn Hernandez by reading Holiday Weekend, and an exclusive excerpt.

1. Glenn’s real father died when he was barely six years old. John Hernandez was the son of Mexican immigrants and worked in construction.
2. His mom and stepdad were married within a year of his father’s death. Stepdad was in real estate and Mom got her license shortly thereafter, which is why Glenn notices things like the style of homes in a neighborhood and renovations to the Elliott Foundation House.
3. Glenn went through school using his stepfather’s name. His friends all knew him as Glenn Brooks. His stepdad—Blaine Brooks—was kind and supportive and they got along well until the incident that defines Glenn’s backstory. After that incident is when Glenn went back to using his real father’s name, Hernandez.
4. He earned straight As in Advanced Placement classes in high school and had planned on becoming an architect. He had never been wild about the idea but it was something to do, an acceptable occupation that paid well.
5. Even though he would have described himself as happy and well-adjusted, Glenn had seen himself as lacking direction because he didn’t have a dream in life. He’d been a little envious of people he knew with passion and drive but also didn’t think he needed to worry about it much. He expected it to happen someday.

This excerpt is from Ryan’s point of view, but I chose it for this post because it shows more than one side of Glenn. In this scene, they’re at Buchanan House for Christmas and a light snow starts to fall.

Excerpt

“Is that snow?” I hoped it was just rain that somehow looked more substantial, but I didn’t think there was such a thing, even in Oregon. Winters in northern Idaho were horrible—I wouldn’t be sad if I never saw snow again. Even the dusting Portland got one or two days a year during “bad” winters was too much.

“Looks like snow to me.” Glenn laughed, but it didn’t sound happy. Is he afraid we’ll get stuck here? “Cool. Instead of volleyball, we can build snowmen.” As he went for the back door, we heard the thundering of a dozen pairs of feet running down the back staircase. “Come on.”

Powerless to resist, I followed him outside. He bounded into the backyard and turned in a circle, looking up into the falling snow. Flakes landed in his hair and caught in his eyelashes. Without warning, he ran for the beach. I tried to catch him, but even with my longer legs I struggled in the soft sand. It didn’t take long before I had no chance of ever catching him. He’s faster than he looks.

Just when I thought Glenn would keep running into the water, he stopped. A bunch of the Elliott House folks had followed us out onto the sand, but the snow was already easing off, so they didn’t stay out there long. I wasn’t sure why, but my heart was pounding more than it should have, considering how far I’d just run. It didn’t settle down until Glenn came back to where I’d stopped. His face was red from the cold, and his hair hung in strings, but I could’ve looked at him for days without stopping.

“Guess nobody will want to play volleyball today.” Glenn laughed again, but he wasn’t any happier than he’d been inside.

“Yeah. Those clouds look like more rain’s coming.”

He turned and looked, and I wanted to hug him, to do anything I could to make him feel better—which was probably impossible, since I had no idea what was bothering him. Unless he hadn’t really wanted me to come in the first place.

But I didn’t want to be the needy guy I’d been with Paulie, that guy who was always asking “What are you thinking?” or “Are you feeling okay?” when he sighed or looked tired or stressed out. Not that I thought that had anything to do with being dumped. Unless it did have something to do with it….

Unless you’re going to talk about it, to ask him, just stop it.

“So how do you feel about bacon?”

Glenn frowned and turned his head slightly away, giving me the hottest side-eye I’d ever seen. “Bacon? Is that some kind of innuendo?”

“No. Paulie invited me to take the lead on a meal over the weekend, so I thought I might take him up on it.”

“Ah, that kind of bacon.” Glenn grinned and licked his lips.

Shit. I didn’t know blood could rush from my head so fast.

“Yeah, I like it. What are you going to make?”

I turned back toward the camp, just enough to be an invitation, and Glenn jogged a few steps to catch up with me. We walked side by side, but not close enough to touch without being obvious. He didn’t come any closer. “I found this recipe for meatballs, and I thought I’d see how it works for burgers.”

“Bacon burgers?”

“Burgers in onion jackets and wrapped in bacon.”

“Sounds good. Cheese?”

“If you want cheese, there will be cheese. I’ve got you covered.” He looked up at me and grinned, and I wondered if he’d slept at all the night before. The skin under his eyes was a little purple—not quite bruised looking, but close. “Probably won’t happen until tomorrow, if it does at all. I’m sure they have plans for tonight.”

It didn’t make sense, but I was embarrassed. About what, I couldn’t say, and it started raining harder, so I didn’t have to try to figure it out. We made it inside the back door before getting completely soaked, and stepped into a game that sounded a lot like the youth-group version of I Never. Evan stood near the bare-naked Christmas tree asking questions that all started with “Would you rather?” and a few of the younger kids were giving silly answers and cracking everyone up. A couple of older boys were sitting in the dining room playing cards and whispering, and it was almost a relief when the redheaded guy who owned the place, Eric, came out and waved to us. I hoped he wanted some work done that only needed two hands, so I could gently suggest Glenn do something easy for a while. Like maybe take a nap.

“Hi, Ryan. Paulie said you were interested in helping out in the kitchen. Since everyone is occupied, how does now sound?”

“Um… sounds good. Thanks.” I looked to Glenn, and he smiled.

“See you later. Don’t forget the cheese.” He winked and strolled toward the end of the dining room where the Christmas tree stood.

About the Book

Ryan Orchard moved from small-town Idaho to Portland almost two years ago and still feels like a hick. When Paulie Nesbitt dumped him, he wasn’t even surprised. Despite losing twenty-five pounds since then, Ryan’s confidence is nonexistent and his life has stalled. Not only is he convinced the career he wants is beyond his reach, he’s given up on relationships. A new job at a familiar restaurant—and his gorgeous coworker—could be just what Ryan needs to believe in himself again.

Glenn Hernandez might be the only nineteen-year-old in Portland who dreads his days off. Between his horrible housing situation and the ever-present temptation to crawl back into the bottle, Glenn prefers to keep busy. He volunteers at the Elliott Foundation House, a homeless shelter helping LGBTQ sex workers. As an alum of the shelter, Glenn finds it hard to leave his past behind. But when the new server at the trendy restaurant where he works catches Glenn’s eye and works his way into his heart, Glenn finally has a reason to start a new life.

Buy Links: Dreamspinner Press || Amazon US || All Romance eBooks || Dreamspinner Press Buchanan House series page

About the Author

Charley Descoteaux has always heard voices. She was relieved to learn they were fictional characters, and started writing when they insisted daydreaming just wasn’t good enough. In exchange, they’ve agreed to let her sleep once in a while. Charley grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area during a drought, and found her true home in the soggy Pacific Northwest. She has survived earthquakes, tornadoes, and floods, but couldn’t make it through one day without stories.

Rattle Charley’s Cages: Newsletter || Blog || Facebook || Rainbow Snippets Facebook Group || @QueerBlogWed on Twitter || Twitter || Pinterest

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