We’re so pleased to welcome author Jeff Adams today on the tour for his latest release, Somewhere on Mackinac, a new novella in the States of Love series from Dreamspinner Press. Enjoy Jeff’s guest post and the teaser he’s sharing with us, and also be sure to check out the Rafflecopter widget below for details on how to enter his giveaway.
Welcome, Jeff!
I’m so happy to be back on The Novel Approach for the Somewhere on Mackinac blog tour. Many thanks to Lisa for hosting me today.
Somewhere on Mackinac is part of Dreamspinner Press’s States of Love series and I enjoyed writing a romance set in my home state of Michigan. If you know my books, you might be surprised that I didn’t set this story with hockey as it’s backdrop. The first place my mind went to for a setting, however, was tiny Mackinac Island, which in the Great Lakes between the upper and lower peninsulas. (And, yes, I did work a mention of hockey into the story).
Jordan and Miles are at the center of the story. Jordan planned a long weekend on the island to attend the Somewhere in Time fan weekend and to take in some of the island’s offerings before the tourist season ended. Somewhere in Time, a 1980 time travel/romance film starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour, is one of his favorites. Miles is a Mackinac native and runs his family’s stable. He’s also a huge fan of the film and during the weekend, among other things, he leads horseback tours of the locations that were used.
It doesn’t take long before these two find their attraction to each other growing. For Jordan, even though he didn’t come looking for a relationship, he finds Miles attractive from the very first time he saw him. There was something that captivated Jordan about the blonde, bearded man walking by with a horse while talking with a woman. At the time he didn’t know what their relationship was, but soon enough he discovered Miles was interested in him.
There are always crazy things we do to be around the people we might be falling for. For Jordan he’s willing to get on a horse. When Miles and Jordan are talking for the first time, Miles tells him that he’s leading a horseback tour, for beginners, the next morning and invites Jordan to join them. Jordan says yes before he can stop himself.
It’s not the last thing Jordan does outside of his comfort zone either. Even while he’s telling himself he shouldn’t pursue anything with Miles he does anyway. Eventually he uses the movie as a reason why he should be open to the possibility of a relationship. Miles could be the love he’s always looked for just like it turns out in the movie that Richard was the one for Elise.
In the exclusive excerpt below you can read as Jordan arrives for the horseback tour and how things go before they even leave the stable.
I hope you’ll also look further down the page for the Rafflecopter so you can register to win a free copy of Somewhere on Mackinac. If you pick up a copy (and my thanks to you if you do), I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. If you have any questions or comments about the book, please leave them and I’ll check back over the coming days to respond.
About the Book
How far would you go for the man of your dreams?
Now that he’s single, Chicago businessman Jordan Monroe can finally take his long-desired trip to Mackinac Island for the Somewhere In Time fan celebration weekend. On the first day, Jordan finds himself attracted to Miles Colter, a handsome local stable owner who is giving horseback tours of film locations.
Jordan is surprised and charmed that Miles pursues him. When Jordan learns the stable is in trouble, he wants to help despite Miles’s resistance. As their relationship grows personally and professionally, Jordan dreads the issues that face them—an ex who won’t let him go, the complications of a long-distance relationship, and a secret he knows he shouldn’t be keeping.
Can Jordan and Miles find a way to forge a love as timeless as the romance in their favorite film?
States of Love: Stories of romance that span every corner of the United States.
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The Excerpt
By the time I arrived at the stables, I’d had a lovely light breakfast of eggs, toast, and coffee and checked in for the weekend’s activities. There were some people already dressed for the occasion too. I wished I’d splurged on period outfits for the entire weekend, but that seemed extravagant.
Miles was a vision in khaki and green since the various shades worked so well with his eyes and hair. Not to mention how they hung off his working man’s physique. Especially the shirt and vest, which showed how pumped his chest was. The definition wasn’t visible, but the sheer size of him was well outlined. Again, I struggled not to stare. It was silly to get caught up. I was only on the island for a few days, and Miles had already been clear this was his home.
“You made it,” Miles said, smiling at me. “Good morning.”
I reached out to shake his hand, even though it wasn’t necessary. I wanted to see what kind of grip he had, and I wasn’t disappointed. We were about the same height at around five-ten, but he had muscular bulk compared to my workout-as-little-as-possible physique. I wasn’t fat per se, but I could stand to lose a few pounds. I felt the weight of all those pounds standing next to Miles’s perfection.
“It’s a great morning to ride,” he said. “Looks like it’ll be a group of about a dozen if everyone shows up. If you go on in, Caleb will set you up with Buttercup and show you through the basics.”
“Great.” I managed to hide my tinge of disappointment that Miles wasn’t my teacher. Of course, he was the leader and had to greet people, so I don’t know why I expected personal treatment.
Finding Caleb was easy since he was standing next to the stable marked with Buttercup’s name. Caleb had me walk the horse outside and then gave me a bunch of instructions for how to work with her—when riding and walking. He also showed me how to mount Buttercup. It wasn’t as easy as it looked, at least not for me.
“I swear I’m usually more coordinated.” I was embarrassed that I couldn’t do it. Caleb, who couldn’t have been older than seventeen or eighteen, made it look easy. Not to mention that some of the others in the group were already riding their horses around the enclosure.
“It’s okay.” His tone was encouraging. “Try to keep the momentum going so you get the one foot in and then keep going to swing the other up and over.”
Setting up to do it again, I willed myself that this would be the magic time I’d end up in the saddle. Making the push with my right foot, I suddenly felt hands on my butt giving me an extra push. The push came with the slightest of squeezes. Caleb hadn’t seemed the type.
“There we go.” Miles’s voice came from behind. “Now you’re up.” He came around where I could see him and stroked Buttercup’s mane. “Caleb, sometimes you just gotta give people the extra boost.”
He clapped Caleb on the shoulder and gave me a wink.
“Yes, sir,” Caleb said as Miles went off to check on the others in the party. “Okay, so now you can walk her around. Remember what I said about the….”
I paid half attention to Caleb because the wink and the squeeze I’d gotten from Miles drew my focus. He’d squeezed my ass, and I didn’t think that was an accident. He could’ve lifted me without that extra touch. I liked it because it was playful.
Luckily Buttercup seemed to know what to do more than I did. She gave me no trouble. I’d caught enough of what Caleb said that I seemed to know the basics, and Buttercup took it from there. We had a successful, albeit slow, trip around the paddock while others were getting ready for the trip.
Miles swung his powerful leg over Wildfire. How had I not noticed how Miles’s legs looked in those tight pants, not to mention his ass? If I wasn’t around so many people, I might’ve slapped myself for having those thoughts. I couldn’t let myself fall into lust with this man, despite the fact that his ass was giving me other things to consider.
“Okay.” Miles addressed the group. “We’re going to ride out. You’ll follow me as we ride on some trails and streets around the island. We’ll stop to look at locations as well as some spots that weren’t in the film, and there’ll be plenty of time to snap pictures. I’ll be up front, and we’ll have Caleb, Caitlyn, and Grant with you in case anyone needs help. Sound good?”
About the Author
Jeff’s written stories since he was in middle school and became a gay romance writer in 2009 when his first short stories were published.
Jeff lives in rural Northern California with his husband of twenty years, Will. Some of his favorite things include the musicals Rent and [title of show], the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins hockey teams, and the reality TV competition So You Think You Can Dance. If forced to pick his favorite book it would be a tie between Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay and David Levithan’s Every Day.
He also co-hosts the weekly show Jeff & Will’s Big Gay Fiction Podcast with his husband. You can learn more at BigGayFictionPodcast.com.
Links: Website || Facebook || Twitter
The Giveaway
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Follow the Tour
Thank you for the post and excerpt! I’m looking forward to giving this a read.