Welcome to author Jane Darius, who’s joining us to celebrate the release of her new novella, This Must Be the Place. We also have a little teaser from the book to tempt you with, so enjoy!
Hi, everyone! I’m Jane Darius, and This Must Be the Place is my first published novella! Obviously, I’m too excited since I just used two exclamation points in a row. But please try to ignore that.
I started writing about these characters in 2014 for Dreamspinner’s Advent Calendar, which they do every holiday season. They were looking for holiday stories that took place all over the world, and I decided to write a short story about a hotel reviewer (which is something I’ve always wanted to be) and a bartender (ditto) who were visiting an absolutely INSANE hotel on the Mozambican side of Lake Malawi. This hotel is actually based on a real place called the Nkwichi Lodge. I’ve never actually been there, but the photos I’ve seen are outrageous. (Definitely look it up!) The short story is called “Love Light,” and you can buy it or read a sample here.
I really liked writing about the locale, but I especially fell in love with Nick McDaniel and Ben Seaborn, which is why I wanted to write their origin story. In the short story, they’ve already been together for about two years, but in This Must Be the Place, you get to see them meet up, be awkward and fall in love (and all the craziness that happens in between). Nick and Ben have become a huge part of me since I started writing about them in 2014, so I’m really excited to show readers the story of how they met and got together.
Below you can find a short snippet from the book. It starts when Nick, working another night bartending at Shorty’s in New York City, meets Ben, who is drunk as a skunk (Nick’s words… and every Southern person’s if we’re being honest) after getting cheated on by his last crappy boyfriend.
About the Book
A Nick and Ben Story
Having explosive sex is easy for Nick and Ben—getting past their hang-ups and opening up to each other won’t be.
Handsome New York City bartender Nick might’ve left life—and his abusive, homophobic father—in West Virginia far behind, but even though he was a star quarterback in high school, he can’t outrun the effect those years had on him. He’s still not comfortable as a gay man, and he keeps his relationships short… as in a single night.
Hotel reviewer Ben is a hopeless romantic, but he can’t seem to find a guy who feels the same. After being cheated on again, he doesn’t expect to spend forever with Nick, but even their one-nighter doesn’t go off without a hitch. Ben falls asleep on Nick’s couch, and in the morning, they have to face their hookup that wasn’t…and the fact that there’s a connection between them whether they’re looking for one or not.
The Excerpt
It was when the little guy ambled over to the bar that things got interesting. Somehow his stumble-walk seemed almost classy in his well-chosen clothes (a dark dress shirt, gray slacks, and shiny shoes). Nick wasn’t the type who could tell Prada rom Payless, but the guy was what people in his hometown would’ve called “well put together.”
“Hey, how’s it going on that side?” the little guy asked.
“Okay,” said Nick, making sure to inject a little Southern-boy charm into his smile. “And on your side?”
“Like a day at the rodeo.” The guy rested his arms on the bar and grinned cheesily. Nick noticed he had perfect teeth. “Not that I’ve ever been. To one. Of those.”
“A rodeo?”
“A rodeo.” The guy shifted from foot to foot. He seemed like he wanted to have a real-life conversation, but Nick knew better.
“What can I get ya?”
The guy smiled. “Another one of those. S’good stuff. You make them exactly like my mom does.” Nick couldn’t tell if he was joking, so he gave a soft laugh. The guy beamed. “Seriously, though, it’s really good.”
“Thank you,” Nick murmured with a modest tilt of his head. He started making another Negroni.
“Ben.”
Nick looked up. Had he been looking at him with that cute smile the whole time? “Excuse me?”
“That’s me.”
“Oh.”
“And you?”
I’m the bartender. Those were the words that came to the tip of Nick’s tongue in that moment. They surprised him. That’s when he realized something: when all those guys didn’t give a shit about who he really was, it worked for him, a reassuring case of occupational anonymity, even while it pissed him off. He looked at the little guy, who was actually Ben, and forced his nerves down.
“Nick.”
Ben’s great big grin returned. Only now Nick noticed that, while Ben’s teeth were perfect, his smile was a little odd. It was its pace that was strange. It started on the left side of his mouth and spread across the rest of his face in this weird rush. It made Nick like him more. He finished making the drink and threw in a cherry, even though that wasn’t the standard garnish.
“Much obliged, Nick,” said Ben. “I haven’t had a Negroni this good in… ever.”
For a minute Nick stared after Ben, watching him return to his booth.
That’s all I can reveal for now! If you’re interested, you can purchase This Must Be the Place here on April 27, 2018 or pre-order it now. Also, you can follow me at janedarius.tumblr.com and/or @janedariuswrites on Instagram and send me a message any time you want to talk about books, writing, or anything cool like that. Thanks so much again for the opportunity to talk to you about my book. :)
About the Author
Jane Darius is a writer and dreamer who wants to travel the world. If you try to talk to Jane when she’s writing, she will probably get scared like you just snuck up on her, as she sometimes gets lost in the world of her characters. Someone once told her that writing is like being alone in a dark room. She understands the sentiment but prefers to think of it as sitting by a warm fire while her characters tell her their stories. When she’s not writing fiction, Jane blogs and writes featured articles for a number of websites. In her spare time, she loves to watch movies, drink various beverages, and yell at her favorite TV shows. Writing makes her smile like nothing else does.
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