Hi! Thank you for having me on your blog. I hope you and your readers are going to enjoy what I have here. This short story was released previously as a part of an anthology, Just Desserts. When it was no longer out there, Evernight adopted it. I’m so thankful for them. This is an MM sweet short story with the stress on the sweet. ^_^
Strictly Professional
Published By: Evernight Publishing
Cover Artist: Jay Aheer
Word Count: 10,500
Heat Index
Blurb
As the only senior graphic designer at Downey Handbags, Zane Kotsky expected to become the head of the creative art department when the company planned to expand its business. His hope crashed when it turned out that the company wanted someone from outside to be the manager. Knowing that, Zane planned to leave the place at once, but that was before he met the man who would become his boss, Joachim Wessling.
This is a previously published work. It has been revised and edited for Evernight Publishing.
~~~~
Excerpt
“Downey must be very lucky to have you.”
The kid—because that was what he was to Joachim, a kid—stared at him a bit too long.
“Watch the road.”
Zane snickered, and switched his attention back to the traffic ahead. “Lucky. Yeah, I’d call it lucky they decided not to kick me out after denying me what should have been mine by right.”
Joachim hadn’t expected to hear those words. “I’m sorry. I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.”
Zane sucked in a harsh breath.
“God, I’m sorry. That was totally uncalled for. Forget what I said, okay? And enjoy your stay here. People at Downey are the best, or I wouldn’t have lasted this long.”
Joachim frowned. Honestly, he didn’t know this would be the case. When they’d invited him to join the company, there was no talk that someone else might be qualified to be the head of the art department. In fact, he was under the impression that there hadn’t been an art department before, only a small division under a larger unit.
“You know, I can always talk to Mr. Downey and set things straight.” Joachim had never before seen an expression change from slight panic to utter horror.
“No,” Zane practically shouted. “You can’t tell him that. You have to promise you’ll never talk to Mr. Downey about the things I said. I’ll be happy to work under you. Work together with you. It was just a spur-of-the-moment outburst. Promise me, please?”
Joachim tried to think past the words work under you, and Zane’s pleas didn’t help the matter. He took a deep breath and gazed ahead.
“Okay, I promise not to say anything, though I’d prefer it if we’re all open and honest and don’t hide things from each other.”
Released as a part of Forbidden Love line from Torquere Press, Where the Heart Belongs tells the story of two brothers Zach and Drew with their unnatural relationship. When something terrible happens to Zach, an African American FBI Agent, Eugene Harris comes into the picture adding more complications. This is #1 of the Triangle Series.
Where the Heart Belongs
By: Iyana Jenna
Published By: Torquere Press
Published: Feb 03, 2016
Word Count: 8,200
Heat Index
Blurb
His brother slash boyfriend, Drew is leaving him. It makes Zach unaware of his surrounding and a hate-crime psycho takes him off guard. He is kidnapped and tortured. Zach is saved by the FBI and as a surviving witness, he is brought to stay with FBI Agent Eugene Harris.
Gradually, Eugene gets to know Zach. He should have been disgusted, but instead, all he wants is comfort Zach.
Will Zach accept that Drew is not coming back? Will Eugene finally have the gut to tell Zach how he feels?
Snippet:
“Come with me, Zach.”
“Hush…” Zach whispered. He wanted to treasure the moment as much as he could but it was him who pulled back first. “Let’s go,” he said harshly. “You will miss your bus.” His heart bled at how Drew stared at him in confusion, hurt in his eyes. But he knew he had to let go now or he would never be able to.
He helped Drew with his bags and grasped Drew’s jacket sleeve, hugging him tight and kissing him again, not caring who might be watching. Drew clung onto him just like he used to during those cold nights whenever they were alone in a motel room, and squeezed him for the last time, pulling back. Their eyes met.
“I’ll come back for you.”
Long after the bus was gone, Zach was still standing at the bus station, his heart heavy. Drew was his brother and his lover. Zach realized the unnatural nature of their relationship, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. They only had each other in their lives.
Zach remembered one night. He had been nine at that time and Drew had been five. Rain had been pouring down the Earth for like hours now but there was no sign of stopping from the sound of it. Zach shot a wary gaze to the wide window and the thin lacey curtains covering it—a useless thing in his humble opinion—they could not stop him and Drew from staring right through the rain, let alone from the thunder and lightning that cracked almost every five minutes.
Alone only with little Drew in their small apartment—their father had yet to return, Zach did not dare shut his eyes even for a second. Not in this weather. Not when closing his eyes meant letting Drew out of his sight, although the kid was curled up right here with him, never far from his embrace.
Thank you so much for having me on your blog today. I visited with my re-released title, Character Obsession. It was published by my publisher, Breathless Press, but they were closed some time ago. I am so grateful that Evernight adopted this story. I was so happy with some additional parts suggested by my editor here in Evernight. I think they were a great idea!
Title: Character Obsession
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Genre: MM Contemporary Romance
Word count: 14,800
Heat Level: 3
Blurb:
Chase Riley, a Hollywood actor, is kidnapped. One of the abductors, Luke Nelson, is delusional and thinks that Chase is Elliot, the character Chase plays in his procedural cop series on TV. Luke plans to replay what happened to Elliot on the show with Chase. The worse thing is that Luke gets help from his father who seems to be as crazy as his son.
Chase’s boyfriend, co-actor Aidan Buffett, is on a trip with his sister when Chase is abducted. He grows worried when his call to Chase goes unanswered. Will he ever see his boyfriend again?
This is a previously published work. It has been edited for Evernight Publishing.
Be Warned: m/m sex
Excerpt:
Chase’s mind whirled and before he thought of anything else, he grabbed the door and threw himself out—or so he thought. The man was faster. A lot faster. He seized Chase by his jacket and just—stabbed him in his side. Chase caught his breath, and for some time he didn’t realize what happened. He sucked in a breath and whimpered when the guy yanked the knife out none too gently. Chase felt his world darken so he didn’t notice when the man slipped out of the car, came to be at the driver’s door, and wrenched him out from behind the steering wheel. As his breathing turned labored, Chase grappled at the source of the pain on his side and winced as he grasped it.
“Come on. Move.” The guy grabbed him by the shoulder and pushed Chase in front of him.
Chase swayed in the man’s clutches, but he pulled himself up as he controlled his breath.
Chase attempted to plant his feet as he was dragged up the stairs, but the pain had become too much and he could only comply. At one time the man rested him against the wall, took off his sunglasses, and pulled down his jacket hood, revealing himself. Chase gasped. The man was practically the mirror image of that Bob Nelson he met earlier at the diner, only rounder and much sturdier. And also a lot younger. What worried Chase was this man took off his disguise and didn’t seem too concerned he could recognize him. Not like Chase would be able to escape him and go to the cops, anyway. He was too sluggish to even move. They’d come in the back door, but not much attention was given to them by those at the front desk. Chase suspected that the man had stayed in the hotel long enough that he’d become just another familiar face.
The man’s grip tighten around his arm, but Chase kept his glare toward the receptionist in an attempt to get his attention—which failed totally—for the guy kept his head down. As his abductor dragged him toward the elevator, Chase palmed his side and lifted his hand with dread. It was damp and deep red with blood.
“Don’t do anything you’re going to regret,” the guy whispered to his ear as they got into the elevator, which, to Chase’s dismay, was empty. “I don’t want to have to kill you, Elliot. I love you.”
Chase turned cold at the mention of his character’s name. “I’m not Elliot,” he choked out. “I’m Chase.”
“Hush.” The man pulled Chase’s back against him, wrapping his long, muscled arm around Chase’s shoulders, waving the knife before Chase’s eyes.
Reading, watching movies, and being unable to find exactly the thing she wanted to read have led Iyana to write her own stories, mostly about man-on-man romance that has fascinated her since as early as the Starsky and Hutch era. Teaching and writing English course books during the day, Iyana spend her nights mostly dreaming of love stories between two men who are protective toward each other.
Audience: Adult 18+ – Genre: MM Romance Horror – Format: e-book – Publisher: JMS Books – Cover by: Written Ink Designs – Editor: Willem Schutte – Pages: (17, 172 words) – ISBN: 9781611527643 – Date Published: April 5, 2015
Lucian Salvatore returns to Clover East after his grandmother calls him home to take care of the family’s recording studio. This is a welcome trip after the tragic loss of his boyfriend.
Nate Lockwood is the man who practically runs the Salvatore studio. He suspects he’s going to be replaced once Lucian comes home to take over the business. But Nate doesn’t plan on leaving Clover East so soon, at least not before he solves the mystery that’s the real reason he came to the small town in the first place.
Will Nate be able to discover what happened to his aunt who disappeared in Clover East so many years ago? What does her disappearance have to do with Lucian’s family … and the haunted recording room in the studio where they both work?
“You have family here? Clover East is such a small town. I don’t visit often but I think I know who all the families are around here.”
Nate was tempted to ask if Lucian knew Janette Madison, Nate’s aunt, but he was afraid it would be too soon, too abrupt.
“Nah, I don’t have family here,” he said instead. “I had just thought one of my aunts stopped by this town, but I’m not so sure myself.” There, he had said it.
“You haven’t had any news from your aunt?”
“No.”
“You mean she’s missing or something?” Lucian frowned.
“Honestly, I don’t know if she’s missing or just doesn’t want to be found.”
“Did your family ask you to find her?”
Nate played with his bottle. He wouldn’t look at Lucian. “No one asked me to locate her because there’s no one else out there. She’s the only family I have left. That’s why I wanted to find her.”
Neither spoke after that. When Nate lifted his head, he found Lucian staring blankly at a spot on the table. He wanted to ask about him instead but Nate couldn’t bring himself to open his mouth. His mind was whirling with the thoughts that until now, years after he first came to this city, he still couldn’t find Aunt Janette.
Nate,
I’m sorry about your loss and I’m very sorry I didn’t come to the funeral. I was halfway around the continent and I was quite short of money. But don’t worry about me. I met someone and he asked me to go live with him. I don’t know if you’ve heard of Clover East, a small town in Illinois? I hadn’t, before this. But I have a good feeling about this place, Nate. If you ever want to come to stay with me, you’ll be more than welcome.
“She sent me a letter, literally inviting me to be with her.”
“What do you mean — be with you?”
“She met a man who asked her to come to Clover East. She understood I had just lost everyone so she wanted me to stay with her. She sounded so happy at that time. There were no signs that she wanted to hide. Something bad must have happened to her.”
“Did she mention any names?”
Nate shook his head, and practically jumped when Lucian clasped a hand over his. When did he get so close?
“You’re not alone anymore. We’ll search for your aunt and we’re going to find her. Together.”
Nate gawked, first at the hand that was warm against his skin and then up to Lucian’s soft green eyes. The man was nothing like the cold, arrogant one Nate had met earlier that morning. He was almost afraid at the sudden change.
“Uh, thank you, I guess?”
“Does my grandma know about this?”
“No, I never told her.”
“Why didn’t you?”
Nate had never thought about why it had not crossed his mind to talk to Helen about it. She had never asked him why he came to the town, thus, he didn’t feel the need to mention it.
“I don’t know,” he said simply to Lucian.
Lucian pursed his lips. “I just thought it might help, you know. She’s lived here all her life. She must notice when there’s a newcomer in town, especially when the person suddenly disappears.”
“I found it strange,” Nate said slowly, “that no one seemed to hear or see anything about her. It’s like she never set foot in this place.”
“Are you sure she was really here?”
Nate said nothing and took out his cell-phone. He opened the picture albums and scrolled down until he found what he was looking for. He showed the picture to Lucian, who scrutinized it like a doctor checking on a patient on an operation table. Nate could almost see through Lucian’s eyes his aunt smiling at the camera, her long black locks blown by the wind. She posed in Clover East’s city square in front of a group of tables belonging to a café there.
“She was alone.”
“Yeah.” Nate knew exactly what Lucian was thinking. If she’d been with someone, they might have been able to recognize them.
“I wonder who took the picture.”
“She could’ve simply asked a passerby to do it.”
“You’re right.” Lucian gave him back the cell phone. “She only sent you that?”
“Yes, unfortunately.”
“So she was really here but we have no idea for how long and whom she met.”
“I was worried about her.” Nate sighed, and when he looked up, Lucian’s eyes bored into his.
“We’ll tell my grandma when she’s home and start an extensive search.”
Nate didn’t know what to say. He felt as if he was drowning in Lucian’s gaze.
“O-okay,” he said finally, after he realized Lucian had cleared his throat several times, awaiting his response.
“Good.” Lucian heaved a deep breath and stretched out, pulling his arms high above his head, and Nate was unable to keep his eyes off the scrumptious sight. “So, will you stay for dinner?”
The Recording Room – Playlist
The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine – Four Tops
My Way – Frank Sinatra
Elegie – Secret Garden
Canzona – Secret Garden
Photograph – Ed Sheeran
Use Somebody – Kings of Leon
Take Me I’ll Follow – Bobby Caldwell
Run – Snow Patrol
Show Me the Way – STYX
Un Ricordo – Miriam Stockley and Alessandro Safina
Iyana writes M/M short stories and novellas. Her works have been published by Evernight Publishing, JMS Books, Books to Go Now, Torquere Press, Bitten Press, Leap of Faith Publishing, Breathless Press, and Alfie Dog Fiction.
Iyana lives in Jakarta, a city famous for its traffic jams, a lot of cars and motorcycles, and people selling stuff on the roads. You can spend two hours on the road going to a place you can reach in half an hour in a normal situation. Thanks to the traffic jams, though, Iyana can come up with a lot of stories, mostly shorties, as she prefers to spend the time during her trips writing into her cell phone rather than sleeping.
Another thing Iyana loves is kitties. Right now she has three of them. Their names are Cil, Horus, and Betsy, and one kitten. When she doesn’t write, she plays with them, or they would play with her when she writes.
First of all, I’d like to thank you for having me on your blog. It means a lot to me. I would like to share with you and your readers my main inspirations of this story.
One day, my dear friend Louis Stevens posted a video of a singer Gavin DeGraw on his Facebook account. It was lovely and I loved the singer’s song. Well, one of my favorite singers is Ed Sheeran and I told Louis it would be a dream come true if Ed sings together with Gavin. A moment later, voila! Louis posted a video of them both singing together! Long story short, How Long Will I Love You was born. The title of this story was from a song but it was another story altogether and it wasn’t sung by any of the men.
By the way, here is the video of Gavin and Ed performing together on stage. I totally fell in love with them. I got completely inspired. My story isn’t in any way a real story about them, though. Heh. I wish! 😀
Now if you watch the video until the end, it was their hug that completely melted my heart. *sighs* And here are the real life Ed and Gavin.
Blurb:
It might look weird for a musician to *fangirl* another musician, but Ed Finley didn’t give a damn. He adored and had a crush on singer and pianist, Gavin O’Malley—to the point of sticking O’Malley’s pin-ups all over the walls of his room. Ed thought his dream had come true when he was scheduled to perform together with his idol on stage.
Gavin O’Malley thought Ed was okay when they ended up being together that night. The night meant everything to Ed, while it was only another one-night stand for Gavin.
Ed decides to stay away while Gavin, after rejecting Ed, couldn’t stop thinking about the other man. Will Gavin get a chance to tell Ed his true feelings?
Excerpt:
As soon as he got to L.A., Ed realized the mistake he’d made. Everything reminded him of Gavin, especially the invites to small jam sessions and dinners with fellow artists. He’d tried to avoid them all, but Nina, his assistant, kept reminding him not to miss those occasions.
“Don’t you see that I’m a human being, too? I’m tired, okay?”
Instead of answering, Nina squinted at him before she thrust an envelope at him.
“What’s that?” Suspicion crept into his heart.
“A live awards ceremony. Music awards. Next week.”
“Oh.” He took the invitation and looked at the card. It was a national show and it was going to be aired live on a major channel. It was a big deal. He glanced back at Nina. “Am I a nominee or something?” That was impossible. He’d have found out right away if he was nominated in a category. “Or am I going to present an award? How did you get this invitation?” Nina knew very well this wasn’t his type of thing.
She chuckled softly. The traitor.
“Relax. I didn’t have to kiss someone’s ass or get down on my knees for this. You’re an online phenomenon, Ed. They knew they’d get more publicity if they had you at their show.”
Ed wasn’t particularly afraid of what Nina would do if she wanted something, though he did worry about her sometimes. She’d do anything to get the things she wanted. But this was going to be a huge event with hundreds of celebrities. It was harmless. Safe. Even if Ed saw him there, he could easily slip away and hide. He sighed.
“All right. I’ll go.”
“Yay. I’ll RSVP.”
Ed rolled his eyes as he turned his back on a delighted Nina, who was already on the phone.
The invitation ruined the plan he’d made. Without Nina’s knowledge, he’d made a reservation to rent a cabin on a vineyard resort he often went to in Northern California. He needed fresh air and a place to clear his head. He’d thought being in L.A. would help, but the feeling that he could run into Gavin in any corner of the city kept haunting him. The shame—Ed could not get rid of it. He was lucky Gavin hadn’t talked to a tabloid about how Ed Finley literally threw himself at him and thought he had a chance to be Gavin O’Malley’s boyfriend.
A week or so on the vineyard would do him good. Too bad Ed had to postpone it now. He took a shuddering breath and cooked up another plan. The minute he left the award show, he would be on his way to escape to Moonshine Valley.
****
Nina walked ahead of Ed on the red carpet. He smiled inwardly at the sight of her—a diminutive figure, yet looking confident and ready to take any action Ed needed her to. Tonight she was lit up in her small, bright red dress with her golden hair tied up into a small chignon. She was pretty, Ed would give her that. He wouldn’t mind having her as his girlfriend if he liked girls. As it was, Ed didn’t mind taking her as his date tonight, though she might have minded if he’d insisted on going in his shirt and jeans.
“Ed!”
Ed jerked his head up. “Yeah?” He had been unaware of zoning out for a second there.
Nina gestured at him impatiently, so he headed toward her. She was standing near the velvet railing with a man on the other side of it who had a microphone in his hand.
“Hi,” greeted Ed. “How’re you doing?”
“Can you believe it? Louis Montague from the blog Louis’ Notes, himself! He wants to talk to you, Ed.” Nina sounded too chirpy for his liking, and his eyes narrowed in suspicion because the girl knew him well. He turned back to the man and offered his hand. Louis accepted and shook it hard.
“Ed Finley. It’s so great to finally see you.”
“Hi, Louis. Glad to see you too. I hope you like my songs.”
“Like your songs? I love them. They’re brilliant, man.”
“Come on.” Ed felt positively embarrassed. After all this time, he still couldn’t believe people actually listened to his work. He looked around and cursed silently when he found that Nina had disappeared.
“I’m serious. They’re emotional and fans really relate to them. I can’t stop listening to them. What’s coming up next from you?”
“Um.” Ed scratched his head, then promptly removed his wandering fingers. He’d spent more time than was necessary trying to tame his red curls, and he knew Nina would scold him for ruining them. “I write songs every night or between shows. I can’t stop the ideas from coming into my head. They keep bugging me until I write them down.”
“Sounds so easy for you.”
“Oh no, not at all. They’re raw ideas and thoughts. Mostly I still have to find the right tune for them, not to mention the lyrics and the music arrangements. Half of the raw ideas I have had have ended up in the garbage bin. Only half became full songs and just one or two of them get to be produced.” Ed thought he heard Louis mutter something. “Excuse me?”
Louis shook his head. “Nah. Just—if I tried to write songs, they would all get dumped.”
Ed snickered. “You don’t know that. You should try writing someday if you get an interesting idea.”
“I’d rather listen to yours, thanks.” Louis smiled widely. “So are you going to present an award tonight?”
“No. I’ll just sit tight and sweet in the audience. My pretty Nina did a good job finding me a place in there. She—” Ed waved sideways and stopped short. He gaped and his breathing became erratic. He hadn’t expected anyone to be standing next to him, to be so close to him, like…like…
Iyana writes M/M short stories and novellas. Her works have been published by Evernight Publishing, JMS Books, Books to Go Now, Torquere Press, Bitten Press, Leap of Faith Publishing, Breathless Press, and Alfie Dog Fiction.
Iyana lives in Jakarta, a city famous for its traffic jams, a lot of cars and motorcycles, and people selling stuff on the roads. You can spend two hours on the road going to a place you can reach in half an hour in a normal situation. Thanks to the traffic jams, though, Iyana can come up with a lot of stories, mostly shorties, as she prefers to spend the time during her trips writing into her cell phone rather than sleeping.
Another thing Iyana loves is kitties. Right now she has three of them. Their names are Cil, Horus, and Betsy, and one kitten. When she doesn’t write, she plays with them, or they would play with her when she writes.
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