We’re so pleased to have author CJane Elliott dropping by today to share an exclusive excerpt from her latest novel, The Kinsey Scale, from Dreamspinner Press. There’s also a giveaway up for grabs, so be sure to check out the Rafflecopter widget below for all the details.
Welcome, CJane!
Hello, all! CJane Elliott here to share my new release, The Kinsey Scale. Thanks to The Novel Approach for hosting me today. The Kinsey Scale is a college contemporary featuring forced roommates, fake boyfriends, and more. It’s a light, low-angst story that I hope will bring a smile to your face.
If you’ve been following along on The Kinsey Scale blog tour, you’ve seen our two heroes, Eric and Will, getting closer and closer, despite Eric believing Will is straight and Will believing Eric and Jerry are boyfriends. The exclusive excerpt I have for you today takes place during the opening night cast party for the college production of Wicked in which Eric plays a leading role. One obstacle to Eric’s and Will’s HEA is about to be torpedoed…
About the Book
Author: CJane Elliott
Title: The Kinsey Scale
Series: Campus Connection: Book One
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: 11/9/18
Heat Level: 3 – Some Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 89 pages
Genre: Romance, New Adult, contemporary, friends to lovers, college
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Buy Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes | Google
Blurb: Life is good for Eric Brown. He’s a senior theater major, an RA for a freshman dorm, and has a great circle of friends. Single since sophomore year, Eric isn’t looking for love. But then Will Butler—fellow senior, co-RA, and the cutest guy Eric’s ever seen—walks into his dorm. Will has a girlfriend he sees off campus—a minor disappointment that becomes a major problem when a housing shortage causes Will and Eric to become roommates, and Eric is forced to witness Will’s hotness day in and day out. For protection, Eric asks Jerry, his ex-boyfriend, to pretend they’re still together. Jerry warns him it’s a stupid idea, but he reluctantly agrees.
Too bad it won’t save Eric from losing his heart.
Will Butler has never believed in himself. His dysfunctional family saw to that. Although Will has loved music since childhood, he’s never seriously considered pursuing it, and the person he’s dating doesn’t encourage him. Then he and Eric Brown become roommates, and everything changes. Eric believes in Will and his talent. He’s also gorgeous and playful and fast becoming Will’s best friend. And that’s not good, because Will is hiding some big things, not only from Eric, but from himself.
The Excerpt
“Whooooo!” Eric pumped his fist and shook his butt to the music. Opening night had gone great, he was at his theater professor’s elegant home getting drunk on celebratory champagne, all of his friends were there dancing, and life was good.
Tyrone danced with him, laughing and whooping. “We did it, baby! And we were great.”
“Yes, we were,” Eric yelled.
When the song ended, he went in pursuit of another drink. As he got to the side of the room where the booze was lined up in shiny bottles, he saw Will standing there.
“Well, hey there, roomie, I didn’t see you come in. How’d you like the play?”
“Awesome. You were amazing.” But Will’s face didn’t match his words. He had a funny expression. “Um… Eric—”
“Have some champagne.” Eric filled a glass for Will and then saw Will’s friend Allison who had appeared behind him. He was in such a good mood he could even be gracious to her. “Oh hi. Allison, right? Want some bubbly?” He felt Will’s hand on his arm.
“Can we go somewhere for a second?” Will asked. He looked worried.
“Sure.” Eric set down his drink and followed Will into the den, which was empty at the moment. “What’s up?”
“Did you and Jerry—uh, did you guys, like, break up?”
“Break up? Not that I know of.”
Oh, shit. Eric remembered too late that Jerry had told him not to count on him being Eric’s pretend boyfriend for the cast party, because he had plans for Ted, one of the cast members who Jerry had been crushing on and who had finally gotten interested—none of which Eric had recalled when he invited Will to the party.
Will seemed miserable for him. “He uh…he’s um… no, forget I said—”
“Don’t tell me. Let me guess. You saw Jerry and Ted together in a corner somewhere?”
Will gaped at him. “You know?”
“Come here.” Eric pulled Will over to a sofa and thought quickly as they sat down. “Jerry and I… um… we decided a few weeks ago to date other people. So I’m not that surprised.”
A series of emotions crossed Will’s face. “Wow.”
“Yeah. Sorry I didn’t tell you before. It’s not that big a deal.” Damn. That made him sound like kind of an asshole. Eric cleared his throat and tried for a pained-yet-brave expression. “That’s what I try to tell myself.”
“Are you okay?” Will’s face had settled into a surprisingly cheerful expression despite his obvious concern for Eric.
“Oh sure. I mean, I will be. Eventually.”
“Sorry, man.” Will put his hand on Eric’s arm, and Eric watched, mesmerized, as Will leaned toward him, and his face got closer and closer and—
Tyrone burst into the room with Allison behind him.
“Come on, kiddies! One more dance and then we’re going out for pancakes.”
========
Wonder what would have happened if Tyrone hadn’t burst into the room right then? Never mind. What takes place next at the pancake house shatters all of Eric’s illusions about his “straight” roommate. You’ll have to read the story to find out how it all blows up and then gets sorted out. (I told you authors are mean, didn’t I? Oh yeah, that was on an earlier blog tour stop…)
For the last stop on The Kinsey Scale blog tour, check out Bayou Book Junkie tomorrow on 11/16. I’ll be talking about the Campus Connections series, of which The Kinsey Scale is the first story. I’ll interview Eric and his friends Jerry and Tyrone who each get a book, and ask them what romance means to them.
CJane ~
About the Author
After years of hearing characters chatting away in her head, CJane Elliott finally decided to put them on paper and hasn’t looked back since. A psychotherapist by training, CJane enjoys writing sexy, passionate stories that also explore the human psyche. CJane has traveled all over North America for work and her characters are travelers, too, traveling down into their own depths to find what they need to get to the happy ending.
CJane is an ardent supporter of LGBTQ equality and is particularly fond of coming-out stories. In her spare time, CJane can be found dancing, listening to music, or watching old movies. Her family supports her writing habit by staying out of the way when they see her hunched over, staring intensely at her laptop.
CJane is the author of the award-winning Serpentine Series, New Adult contemporary novels set at the University of Virginia. Serpentine Walls was a 2014 Rainbow Awards finalist, Aidan’s Journey was a 2015 EPIC Awards finalist, and Sex, Love, and Videogames won first place in the New Adult category in the 2016 Swirl Awards and first place in Contemporary Fiction in the 2017 EPIC eBook Awards.
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