Guest Post, Excerpt and Giveaway: Bedside Manner by DJ Jamison

We’re so pleased to welcome author DJ Jamison today on the tour for her newest release, Bedside Manner. DJ’s chatting secondary characters with us and is also offering a great giveaway, so be sure to check out those details below.

Welcome, DJ!

The Curse–or Blessing–of the Secondary Character

As an author, you want your story to come to life for your readers. This often means putting work into developing not just your primary characters, but the secondary ones, as well. What I didn’t realize was how demanding those secondary characters could become.

I have fully fallen victim to the curse — or blessing — of the secondary character. I don’t even try to fight it anymore.

The two main characters in my new release, Bedside Manner, are both secondary characters from my earlier book, Heart Trouble. And one of the main characters in Heart Trouble, Ben, was a secondary character who made a brief appearance in Hard Press.

I never actually planned for Ben to have his own book or for Zane and Paul to meet, much less have their own romance. As you can see, my secondary characters are breeding new novels!

I can’t complain too much, however. They’ve made for some great stories and helped keep my wheels turning from one book to the next. My readers immediately let me know which secondary character they hope will star in the next book, and most of the time it lines up with my own plans.

Today, I’d like to hear about your favorite “secondary” character. What character have you read who totally stole the scene and made you crave more?

About the Book

Dr. Paul Johnston can’t get a set of dark, somber eyes out of his head, and the timing couldn’t be worse.

The last thing he needs is to fall for a patient. Not now, when he’s been put on paid leave pending review of a formal complaint. One that most likely accuses him of sexual harrassment or impropriety of some kind. It’s possible he let his newfound freedom as a divorced, out-of-the-closet gay man go to his head, but he’s certain — mostly — he didn’t do anything wrong. Now, he’s struggling to handle the reality that his job is in danger and the only guy he wants should be off-limits.

Zane Kavanaugh is floundering, and there’s only one man who soothes the storm inside him.

Reeling from an assault that landed him in the hospital and the painful estrangement from his family since coming out, Zane is trying to get his feet under him and find his independence. He moves in with a roommate and searches for a job, all while recovering from a fractured arm and cracked ribs. None of that hurts as much as the emotional damage he’s suffered. When he connects with Dr. Paul Johnston outside of the ER, he’s drawn to the man’s calm, collected manner. It doesn’t hurt that Paul’s lack of experience with men is sexy as hell, and so are his over-the-top responses when Zane gets his lips on him.

There’s no right time to fall in love.

Paul is afraid to start a relationship, and Zane can only handle so much more rejection. Will these two find their perfect moment, or will they realize you can’t choose when and how you fall in love? If Paul can’t take a risk, he may have to choose: the career he loves or the first man to capture his heart.

Bedside Manner is Book 1 of the Hearts & Health series. This is a spin-off series from the book Heart Trouble and includes characters from that novel, but it can be read as a standalone.

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Excerpt

Here’s my scene-stealing secondary character in Bedside Manner. Looks like Xavier signed up to be the star of my next novel.

Xavier returned with drinks and they all took a couple of shots. As the liquor moved through his bloodstream, Zane felt his tension ease. His irritation with Xavier was all but forgotten.

Xavier ordered a few more shots, and Zane took a pass. He watched as X got steadily drunker, taking his shot and Zane’s, before downing the rest of his beer.

“Come on, dance with me,” Xavier said, grinning like a loon.

His hair was styled to within an inch of its life, curly and tumbled across his forehead, and his dark eyes were already glassy.

“Nah man, go on,” Zane said.

Xavier bounced over, grabbing his arm and tugging him up from his chair. X might not hit the gym, but all the manual labor he did in his landscaping job and maintaining his grandmother’s house had put natural muscle on him, and Zane all but flew out of his chair.

“Whoa, man!”

“You know you want to get your hands all over this,” Xavier teased, sliding his hands over his torso in an exaggeratedly seductive manner.

Xavier was an interesting mix of contradictions. He could work the buff dude angle if he wanted. He had the build to pull it off. But he could also work the cute twink thing, adding a little extra sway to his hips and batting long eyelashes. Tonight, his clothes were understated and masculine, but his eye makeup and lip gloss softened his face.

About the Author

DJ Jamison worked in newsrooms for more than 10 years, which helped tremendously when she began her series centered on The Ashe Sentinel, a fictional small-town newspaper in Kansas. She lives in the Midwest with her husband, two sons and three glow-in-the-dark fish.

Facebook Author Page || FB group || Mailing list! || Follow me on Twitter || Find me on Goodreads || Check out my Book Bub profile!

The Giveaway

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