I’ve joined the Rainbow Snippets group on Facebook. From their description: “Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers to gather once a week to share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation (no spoilers please!).” Pretty cool, eh? Don’t forget to “Like” my Facebook page and/or my Facebook profile while you’re over there checking out this fantastic group!
This week I’m snipping from ’Til Death Do Us Part.
My “Hot Flash” short story, Okay, Then will be coming out on February 9, and it’s essentially a prequel to ’Til Death. Technically, the action in Okay, Then takes place toward the beginning of the timeline of the flashback scenes in ’Til Death, detailing Sam & Henry’s first date. So this thread of snippets is from the flashback scenes leading up to the action in Okay, Then.
For a little extra context, Henry and his colleague, Sam, are together on a research trip in Honiara in the Solomon Islands. Henry has a crush on Sam, and the evening before he’d asked Sam back to his rooms for drinks, and Sam had politely declined the drink…and what had been implicitly implied in that invitation.
From Henry’s 3rd-person POV:
(Expand the spoiler for a quick and easy review of last week’s snippet from this thread.)
This week’s snippet:
Sam joined Henry at his breakfast table about five minutes after Henry sat down. Henry proceeded with his misdirect efforts by launching immediately into a discussion about the relative nutritional benefits of the different varieties of seaweed found in the waters around the Solomons. He followed it up with a question for Sam about the fruits he’d been studying the previous week.
Sam gaped at him with wide eyes as he nattered on, but when Henry finally gave Sam a chance to talk in reply to his kumquat inquiry, Sam ignored the question and undid all of Henry’s efforts with a single statement.
“I feel like I should explain…about last night.”
Blurbs & Links
’Til Death Do Us Part
Henry and Sam Miller-Greene are living the dream. They love their careers—which afford each of them opportunities to travel to exotic locations—they love their home, Sam’s caring family, and each other. They disagree on the subject of adoption, but are fully committed to each other in marriage… ’Til Death Do Us Part.
The dream is shattered when Henry’s plane crashes, and he’s presumed dead. But four people—Henry, two other men, and a child—survive undetected on a remote, small, and insignificant island. Will Sam and Henry’s love be able to survive as well?
Henry fights to endure in harsh conditions, never knowing when disaster will strike. Sam struggles with his loss, but with help moves on with his life. Will Sam be able to put aside his new love when he reunites with Henry?
Out Now!
Available on Kindle Unlimited and in the Audible Romance Package!
Publisher | Amazon | Books2Read | Audible
Okay, Then
Okay, then…that’s what Sam said after Henry convinced him he was interested in dating, not merely a fling while together on a research trip to the Solomon Islands. And so they embark on their first date, but the conditions are not ideal.
Henry is desperate to convince his crush of his sincerity but second guesses his every move. He’s thrilled to discover Sam is just as anxious to impress him. Can these two work through their first-date jitters or are they destined to drift apart?
Coming to JMS Books on February 9!
Publisher | Amazon | Books2Read
Note: Okay, Then has long been available to readers in several anthologies and collections (Love Is Proud, Snapshots, and Vows Box Set), but this upcoming release is the first time it’s been available as a single story.
#RainbowSnippets
‘in reply to his Kumquat enquiry’ – LOVE IT! 😀
😁 Thank you! Poor Henry is a nervous babbler. 💞
Lol “his Kumquat enquiry” lololol, brillant!
😄 Thank you! Some day Henry might even be glad of all his questioning here. 💖
Henry is certainly a master of awkward diversionary small talk!
He sure tries, anyway! 😁
Well, that threw a wrench into his plans. And just when he had resigned himself, too…
Hahaha…ah well, sometimes a wrench tossed into plans can turn out for the best, right? 😁
Nerves always make me babble like a brook! Cute snippet!
Hahaha…me, too! Thank you! 💞
Lol – dammit, Sam, respect Henry’s Herculean efforts to pretend nothing ever happened! ;D
Right? Certainly if it was RL I’d agree. 😁❤️
The analogy of the Gordian Knot comes to mind with Sam’s direct honesty in the face of Henry’s small talk…:)
Ha! Yes, we’ve probably all been trapped with a rambler before, wondering how to escape! 😁
This is a brilliant snippet!! 🙂
Thank you so much! 💞🥰
Avoid, avoid, avoid with kumquats… let’s talk. Oh dear, that was adorable. Well done.
😁 Thank you! 💖
I’m intrigued by the setting. this line made me giggle – his Kumquat enquiry
Thank you! 😄
“His kumquat inquiry” LOL
😁 Thanks! 💞