Wasn’t this a lovely thing to wake up to this morning? ❤️💛💚💙💜
To Love and To Cherish has received an Honorable Mention in the 2017 Rainbow Awards.
WooHoo!
Category Archives: To Love and to Cherish
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The #Charity #Auction is LIVE! #ChechenRainbow #Chechnya
The Readers and Writers for LGBT Chechens online charity auction is now live! Here’s a link to the page listing all the auctions:
https://readersandwritersforlgbtchechens.wordpress.com/category/all-auctions/
You’ll need to scroll down and click “older posts” a few times to show all of them. Bid by clicking on the listing(s) that interest you and making a bid (in USD $) in the comments.
Here’s a handy link to my donation to the auction (a bundle of signed books including ’Til Death Do Us Part (print format includes From This Day Forward), To Love and To Cherish, and Snapshots):
HOW TO BID
1. Check current and upcoming auctions for items.
2. Click on the item and post your bid as a comment. (If you’re first, check the minimum bid.)
3. Come back and check on bidding. Bidding ends on 12 p.m. CDT (UTC-5) May 13th.
4. If you win, we’ll email you. You’ll have 24 hours to donate the winning bid to one of the four designated charities and send us the email receipt to claim your prize.
*Bids are in USD $ only.
WHERE TO DONATE
Russian LGBT Network — Works directly with LGBT Chechens.
ILGA-Europe — Provides funds to organizations in the Russian Federation who are helping LGBT Chechens get to safety.
Rainbow Railroad — Canadian organization working with the Russian LGBT Network to get fleeing Chechens to countries where they will be safer.
American Friends of Rainbow Railroad — Raises funds for Rainbow Railroad and is a registered nonprofit in the U.S.
Readers & Writers for LGBT Chechens
Have you heard about Dale Cameron Lowry and Olivia Helling’s project, Readers & Writers for LGBT Chechens yet? Here’s a quote from his page that summarizes it nicely:
“The writers & artists on this page have joined together to raise funds for the Russian LGBT Network, ILGA-Europe and Rainbow Railroad, which are helping LGBT Chechens escape to safety.”
I’m donating a bundle of signed paperbacks [’Til Death Do Us Part (print format includes From This Day Forward), To Love and To Cherish, and Snapshots] to the auction.
You can bid on items in the Readers & Writers for LGBT Chechens auction, May 5-13.
Follow these links for more information on this worthy cause, and to find out how you can help, too:
https://readersandwritersforlgbtchechens.wordpress.com
https://dalecameronlowry.com/lgbt-chechnya/
https://dalecameronlowry.com/lgbt-chechnya/writers-and-publishers-for-lgbt-chechnya/
Getting a little of Myles’ (Emmitt’s) POV – March 15, 2017
To Love and To Cherish is told entirely from Nash’s point of view, and although I stand by that decision for various reasons, I thought it would be fun to pick some scenes to redo from Myles’ (Emmitt’s) point of view. Here’s a link to the category including all of these alternate POV scenes. Links to other bonus scenes for To Love and To Cherish, as well as from some of my other published works, can be found in the “Bonus Scenes” category in the menu at the top of the page.
So far I’ve rewritten all of Chapter 1 to show it from Myles’/Emmitt’s perspective, as well as a random scene from Chapter 3. Today’s post is a bit longer, and is a scene from Chapter 9 that I thought would be good to see from Myles’/Emmitt’s POV:
Random Scene – Chapter 9
The regular chirping of the heart rate monitor soothed Emmitt’s nerves. Many people might not find it comforting, hating hospitals in general, but to Emmitt it meant Nash was doing well.
Emmitt’s mood had swung sharply from cheery, at the turn his life had recently taken, to alarmed when he’d received Harley’s panicked call using Nash’s phone. As much as he recognized Nash would be facing a difficult next couple of months, at least he now knew his fiancé could expect a full recovery.
Nash stirred on the bed as Clancy stood on the other side of it, checking the IV. Clancy looked down at Nash and smiled one of those jaunty smiles the nurses gave patients to boost their moods. “How are you feeling?”
Emmitt put his hands on the armrests ready to rise, but stilled again when Nash spoke.
“My fiancé,” he croaked. “Was he hurt? Is he okay?”
While it was heartwarming that Nash was concerned about him—all things considered—it was mildly concerning that he didn’t remember the accident enough to know Emmitt hadn’t been involved in it. Not entirely unusual, though.
Clancy glanced at Emmitt. “Oh, no. Don’t worry, Nash, you were the only one hurt. Dr. Burlingham wasn’t even in the car, and Harley and Oliver are both fine.” He paused. “What do you remember?”
Nash paused a moment and stared blankly at Clancy before replying. “No,” he rasped. “I don’t remember the accident.”
Emmitt stood and stepped to the other side of the bed. “You have a mild concussion in addition to your arm injury. Don’t worry. It’s not unusual for people to not be able to remember the accident.”
“Okay,” Nash slurred. He appeared to still be a bit dazed from the anesthetic.
Nash’s left arm was in a cast, so Emmitt picked up Nash’s right hand and held it between his palms. “I’ll go speak to Dr. Beltran. He performed your surgery, so he’ll come in and assess you. I can’t…obviously…but between the concussion and the infection risk from the compound fracture, you’ll probably be spending a night here in the hospital.”
Poor Nash appeared so pale, muddled, and in obvious pain, Emmitt wanted desperately to be able to ease all of it instantly. If only such a thing were possible. He raised Nash’s hand to his lips and kissed the back of it, then patted it gently and carefully laid it back on the bed.
Nash stared blankly, then gave a weak smile. Emmitt turned and left the room to find his partner, Dr. Jordan Beltran.
When they returned, Nash seemed more wakeful, but also seemed further distressed. Emmitt took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Jordan glanced at the Patient Controlled Anesthesia pump and asked, “How’s your pain level, Nash, on the comparative pain scale from one to ten?”
Nash opened his mouth, then paused, as if thinking before he replied, “Eight. At least. It’s pretty bad.”
Jordan nodded. “Use your PCA as needed. I’ll repeat all this tomorrow, after your anesthesia has completely worn off, but to ease your mind for now I’ll tell you that your prognosis is good. For an open fracture, this one was minor. The debridement and irrigation went smoothly, and internal fixation was successful. You’re all closed up.
“Antibiotics were started promptly in the ER, and we’ll continue an antibiotic regimen until you’re released, possibly tomorrow. You did require a transfusion in the ER…three units. This cast will come off in about three weeks so we can remove the stitches, then you’ll get a fresh cast for the remainder.”
He pulled out his mini light to check Nash’s eye dilation, then used an ophthalmoscope to look inside the fundi. He proceeded to check eye movement for a more thorough concussion check than he’d been able to accomplish when Nash was unconscious.
“I’d still call this concussion on the mild end of the scale. Myles said you don’t remember the accident, is that right?”
“Right,” Nash replied. “And Clancy said no one else was hurt?”
“Correct. It wasn’t a car accident, although you were in the backseat of a Jeep when it happened. Apparently you had your arms in the air enjoying the feel of the rushing air, and a large bird swooped down and slammed into your arm.”
“Huh. Well, leave it to me to find such a crazy was to end up in the ER.” Nash reached up to touch the bandage on his forehead.
“You’ve got some bruising and a few sutures there. Nothing major. Tell me about the last thing you do remember,” Jordan asked. “Do you remember what you did this morning?”
“Uh, had breakfast and went for a ride with Harley and Oliver.”
Emmitt narrowed his eyes. Did Nash not remember that they’d been transferring the last of his belongings to Emmitt’s apartment? “Where were you going?”
“I…uh…don’t remember that part.”
Emmitt stilled, and Nash’s panicked mein began to make sense. “What did you do yesterday?”
“It’s…a little fuzzy. I’m sure it’ll come back to me soon. That’s not a big deal, is it?”
It was a huge deal. Colossal. Emmitt’s heart sank. If Nash didn’t remember yesterday, there was a good chance he was missing a couple months, at least. “I think it might be.”
“What’s the last thing you do remember?” Jordan asked.
“Coming home from work. Hanging out before dinner.”
Emmitt willed himself not to fidget, and tried not to project the apprehension that flowed through him at Nash’s evasive words. “One more question.” He took a deep breath, fearing the reply, but he had to know. “When you woke up here a few minutes ago, you asked Clancy if your fiancé was okay. To whom were you referring?”
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Blurb: To Love and To Cherish
Will Nash find love again? Of course he will. Will he go about it in the usual manner? Now that’s another story entirely.
Jilted by his fiancé two weeks before their wedding, Nash Marino’s outlook on life in general, and love in particular, is jaded. After months of couch-surfing, Nash is fed up. He’s sick and tired of his living conditions, worn out by the demands of his nursing job, and despairs of ever finding love again. In fact, he doesn’t think he’s capable of true love. Monogamy, commitment, companionship, and regular sex…that’s all he wants, and the sooner, the better.
When Nash crosses paths with a like-minded man who’s also in need of a live-in nurse for a beloved relative, Nash figures all his problems are solved. Matters are complicated by a freak accident and amnesia. When Nash’s marriage of convenience scheme is muddied by notions of love after his memory reboot, will their plans go awry, or will Nash’s new outlook on life be just what the doctor ordered?
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Links: To Love and To Cherish
Excerpt/Info/Review Links | Goodreads
eBook Links
(Read it for FREE with your Kindle Unlimited subscription)
JMS Books, LLC | Kindle Universal
iBookStore | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | BookStrand | Blio
Print Links
JMS Books, LLC | Amazon Universal | Barnes & Noble
50% Off My Books at Smashwords!
It’s Read an E-Book Week, and my books are 50% off at Smashwords from March 5 through 11. You’ll need to use the code RAE50 at checkout to receive the discount.
Here’s a handy link to my books: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/AddisonAlbright?ref=jmsbooks
Flash Fiction Friday – To Love and To Cherish – Bonus Scene
This week I’m back to using 15 random prompt words for my Flash Fiction Friday story scene. I got one word (patriarchy) from the comments of last week’s post, and 14 words (level – clean – wait – crime – apparel – rock – testy – agreeable – unhealthy – hang – channel – back – rely – island) from a random word generator (got them in three batches, otherwise they’re blocked by ads—screenshots below).
I should get bonus points this week for getting the word “island” and not using it for a scene from ’Til Death Do Us Part. 😇
“Oh, please. Don’t even try to tell me patriarchy isn’t alive and well.” Nash’s head snapped up as Angela’s voice carried over to where he and Emmitt were arranging a tray of fruit and vegetables to offer their company. “Did you read that idiotic letter to the editor some fool politician in Utah wrote?”
“No need to get testy with me.” Harley put his hands up in surrender. “I didn’t say it wasn’t still a concern, only that my company doesn’t discriminate or pay women less. I run a clean business.”
“Misogyny should be a crime,” Angela grumbled. “And don’t get me started on the sexism rampant in children’s apparel, either.”
“Lock ’em all up,” Harley prodded. “Send ’em all to ‘The Rock.’ Lower level, in solitary.”
Angela’s eyes narrowed. “I can always rely on you to stir in a little hyperbole.”
“I don’t suppose,” Emmitt whispered, “that it would be a good idea to inform her the Utah guy resigned two days later due to the backlash, would it?”
“Go ahead,” Nash snickered. “I’ll hang back here and wait while you go over and point that out.”
Emmitt chuckled and picked up the tray. “Not on your life.”
Nash grabbed a bag of chips out of the pantry since Harley had requested “something unhealthy” to go along with the nutritious stuff he’d known Emmitt would select.
“Or better yet,” Harley said, “ship the offenders off to that little island where Nash’s—”
“How about we change the channel,” Angela’s husband, interjected, “to something more agreeable than the news?”
“Good plan.” Harley’s fiancé, Oliver, picked up the remote and switched to a music channel. “Get us in the right frame of mind before we head out to Winterfest.”
Nash sat next to Emmitt on a sofa, and snuggled up under his husband’s arm with a spontaneous smile on his lips.
Harley raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Honeymoon’s still not over?”
Emmitt’s body shook with restrained laughter. Nash said, “Never. Is yours?”
“We’re not even married yet!”
“But you live together.”
“Not for that long. Not alone, anyway.” Harley waggled his eyebrows at Oliver, then pointed his finger at Nash. “It’s only been a few months since you moved out.”
Nash shuddered. “That was a fateful day.” The injury he’d sustained during the drive to move the last of his belongings to Emmitt’s condo had affected his life in so many bizarre ways.
“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again,” Harley declared. “It’s the best thing that ever happened to you.”
Nash wouldn’t have accepted that statement while enduring the pain and confusion of his recovery, but as Emmitt’s arm tightened around his shoulders, pulling him in for a hug, that familiar warmth spread through his chest, and he knew Harley was right.
Leave a prompt word in the comments, below, and I’ll use it in next week’s Flash Fiction Friday post. One word per commenter, please, up to 15 total.
Click here for more information, review snips, and purchase-links for To Love and To Cherish. Information on all my publications can be found in the menu at the top of the page.
15 Random Prompt Words – Flash Fiction Friday – Vows Series
For this week’s 15 random words I’m using:
- 1 word that was left in the comments of my post from two weeks ago:
sudoku
- 1 word that was left in the comments of last week’s “not-flash-fiction-friday” post:
carrot
- 13 words from https://www.randomlists.com/random-words:
lighten – level – self – language – wistful – warn – precede – end – weak – stiff – simple – wobble – fine
Above are screen prints of the words it gave me (I got them in 3 batches because otherwise they were covered by ads).
New rule…up until now I’ve used the words exactly as they show up on the random word generator lists. Starting this week I will only promise to use a form of the word. One issue is I write in past tense, and the verbs on the list are always present tense. That can make for some awkward wording if I’m not allowed to modify the form of the word. 15 words is enough of a challenge…I want a little flexibility overall.
This week I went with a bonus missing scene that would be primarily from ’Til Death Do Us Part, but it could also arguably fit in with Nash’s flashback dreams from To Love and To Cherish. I’m going to include it in the bonus scenes links for both since it features an MC from each and is pertinent to both stories. This scene takes place right after Henry has arrived back home, Sam and Nash clash, and Henry and Buddy are leaving to go stay for a short while with Sam’s parents, so Sam and Nash can have their much-needed discussion in private.
I’d originally included a similar scene in ’Til Death Do Us Part, but ended up removing it in favor of keeping the readers in suspense (along with Henry) as to how things would resolve.
It’s told from Sam’s 3rd-person POV.
Sam would’ve rather been anywhere, doing anything, than staying where he was, watching Buddy precede Henry as they walked out the front door with Harley. He’d rather stand in front of a classroom full of incoming freshmen and use the words “epic fail” to describe his recent actions—or lack thereof. He’d rather have his career depend upon the outcome of his entry in a timed Sudoku contest against the math department professors. Hell, he’d rather get his balls waxed. In other words…anything.
If he needed a carrot on a stick to motivate him to turn around and face Nash, he supposed it could be the promise of getting Henry back after he’d suffered this long-overdue conversation.
Henry had been correct. Sam needed to do his level best to handle this properly. Much as he’d love to lighten the mood, to do so would be unfair to everyone involved. Sam straightened his shoulders and cast one more wistful glance out the window as Harley’s pickup backed out of the driveway, then turned to face his now-former fiancé.
Nash still stood with his arms stiff at his sides, his fists clenched as if he’d like nothing better than to unleash his admittedly righteous fury on Sam.
“I’m sorry,” Sam said, hoping a simple, sincere declaration would be a good start.
But, Nash’s face grew even redder. “Fuck you!” he shouted. Shrieked, really.
Sam wobbled on weak knees. Where the hell had that come from? Sure he’d known Nash was upset, as he should be, but they’d never raised their voices, let alone shouted at one another. That had come out of nowhere, with no warning. Language deserted Sam as his jaw dropped.
“First you couldn’t make a straightforward decision. Him or me? Do I stay or do I go? Then when you finally fucking did you couldn’t even pick up the goddamned phone and call me? Fuck! You!” At least Nash wasn’t yelling anymore, but his voice was cold and hard as he bit out the words.
What Nash said wasn’t entirely fair. Nash had contributed greatly to Sam’s indecision. He was the one who’d made the point that Henry would certainly have changed in five years and might not even want to get back together with Sam. It was almost as if Nash had seen the writing on the wall and actively lobbied to sway Sam’s decision.
But Sam didn’t want to make this about himself. This needed to be about helping Nash cope with the abrupt end to their engagement.
“I am sorry,” Sam whispered. Tears threated to fall as he ran a hand through his hair. “I do love you. Please remember that. You deserved better than a breakup over the phone, but I should have thought about how that reunion scene was being broadcast on TV.”
Nash stared at him for a moment, then his eyes became unfocused, and his gaze dropped.
“I didn’t want to hurt you,” Sam continued. “I would never have caused you pain deliberately.”
Nash sniffed loudly and lifted his gaze. The torment in Nash’s eyes ripped through Sam’s heart. Sam stepped forward instinctively to offer a hug, but Nash put up a hand, palm out. “No.” Nash shook his head. “That won’t help me anymore. It would hurt.”
Sam stilled, and his arms dropped. “What can I do to help.”
Rolling his shoulders and clearing his throat as if consciously trying to pull himself together, Nash looked around the room and said, “You know what? I’ll be fine. The sooner I clear out of here and move on with my life, the better off I’ll be. If you want to help, take a pass through the house and see if there’s anything I’ve missed packing.”
“Of course.” But Sam couldn’t bring himself to move his legs.
Nash wiped the back of his hand across his wet eyes. “I want to be ready to leave when Harley gets back.”
Stomach clenched, Sam nodded and stepped away. Nash might not want a hug, but Sam needed one desperately.
“Sam?”
Sam turned at the sound of the softly spoken word.
“I…I love you, too. That’s why…” Nash snuffled. “You know.”
“I know,” Sam murmured.
“Maybe…maybe one last hug for the road. I don’t want to end things like this.”
Sam’s hands trembled and one of the tears that had been threatening finally traced down his cheek. He opened his arms, and Nash stepped into them. “Thank you,” Sam whispered into Nash’s hair.
As always, because I can’t resist a good challenge, I’ll take the first 15 prompt words given to me in the comments, below, for next week’s Flash Fiction Friday post. One word per commenter, please. I’ll make up the difference using a random word generator site if I don’t get 15 here.
Quick links to my website pages with buy-links, blurbs, excerpts, review snippets/links:
I’m on Kindle Unlimited ❤️💛💚💙💜
Fair warning, I had way too much fun with PhotoScape X preparing for this promotion:
I’m thrilled to announce that my Vows Series books are all now available on KINDLE UNLIMITED!
Link to my Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/2fzO7l5
Link to ’Til Death Do Us Part: Amazon Kindle
Link to From This Day Forward: Amazon Kindle
Link to To Love and To Cherish: Amazon Kindle
Website Info Pages:
’Til Death Do Us Part
From This Day Forward
To Love and To Cherish
With their new ebook aggregator, everything at JMS Books is now available (or will be shortly) on Kindle Unlimited, as well as at their own site, and all the usual distributors. Future releases will be as well.
Getting a Little of Myles’ (Emmitt’s) POV – Jan. 25, 2017
To Love and To Cherish is told entirely from Nash’s point of view, and although I stand by that decision for various reasons, I thought it would be fun to pick some scenes to redo from Myles’ (Emmitt’s) point of view. Here’s a link to the category including all of these alternate POV scenes.
So far I’ve rewritten all of Chapter 1 to show it from Myles’/Emmitt’s perspective. Last week I started a random scene from Chapter 3 that I thought would be interesting from Emmitt’s POV. Here is the rest of that scene:
Random Scene – Chapter 3 – Part 2
“Wait. What?” Nash stood, blurting out the words, his usual veneer of professionalism apparently forgotten. “You’re Emmitt? I thought your first name was Myles?”
Emmitt nodded. Nash’s informality sent a pleasant shiver zipping over his skin, raising the hair on his arms, but he schooled his features to remain neutral. “Myles Italus Burlingham. First initial is ‘M,’ middle name starts with ‘It.’ Em-It. Emmitt.”
“Italus?” An adorable blush crept up from Nash’s neck as if he instantly regretted his impulsive reply.
“It means ‘of Italy’ in Latin.”
Grampy added, with a sly grin, “He was conceived there on his parents’ ten-year wedding anniversary trip.”
Emmitt winced at Grampy’s overshare, and Nash nodded distractedly. What was Grampy thinking to say something like that? Obviously he was still in matchmaker mode, maybe trying to get Nash to see him in a more personal light. Grampy’s motives were pure, but he clearly didn’t understand how unprofessional it would be for Emmitt to ask Nash out on a date.
Still, Grampy and Nash got along well. Very well. And that was as important to Emmitt as he searched for an aide to care of his grandfather as the candidate’s professional skills. Nash’s education and expertise far exceeded what would be needed, but Emmitt was willing to pay the right person what they were worth even if it surpassed what was required.
Grampy said, “So you’ll speak to him then, Nash?”
“Speak to whom?” Emmitt squinted at his grandfather. He knew the answer, but had to ask.
“To you, of course!” Grampy replied.
Emmitt bit back a groan but couldn’t repress the sigh. If Nash had missed it earlier, surely he’d realize now what Grampy was up to. He nodded and made a snap decision. “I wanted to have a talk with you anyway, Nash.”
Grampy’s happiness and well-being were too important. Emmitt had managed to conceal his feelings toward Nash for years, and he could continue to do so—assuming he could convince Nash to accept the position, of course. After listening to Nash pour out his heart to Angela in the cafeteria yesterday, that likelihood wasn’t as completely out of the realm of possibilities as he’d once thought.
Nash’s eyebrows shot up. “Sure. Uh, this’ll be a rather personal conversation, so where do you think we should do this, and when’s convenient for you?”
Personal? What nonsense had Grampy been feeding him?
“You’re finishing up your three twelves, aren’t you? So you’ll be off on Saturday?”
Nash nodded.
“It’s Dr. Beltran’s weekend for on-call and rounds, so I’ll be free, too. Would you be willing to meet me at the coffee shop that’s in the lobby at my condo? It’s about ten or fifteen minutes from the hospital and has seating that’s well suited for confidential discussions.”
Emmitt ignored the widening grin on Grampy’s face. It was probably too much to hope that Nash didn’t notice it, too.
“Okay,” Nash replied. “I can do that.”
Emmitt pulled a business card out of his pocket and scribbled his cell phone number on the back before handing it to Nash. “I’ve got more patients to check on. Call me, and we’ll work out the details.”
He leaned down to kiss Grampy’s cheek. “I’ll check on you again later, once you’re settled in your new place.” Then he swept out of the room before Grampy could find some fresh comment to embarrass him in front of Nash.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Blurb: To Love and To Cherish
Will Nash find love again? Of course he will. Will he go about it in the usual manner? Now that’s another story entirely.
Jilted by his fiancé two weeks before their wedding, Nash Marino’s outlook on life in general, and love in particular, is jaded. After months of couch-surfing, Nash is fed up. He’s sick and tired of his living conditions, worn out by the demands of his nursing job, and despairs of ever finding love again. In fact, he doesn’t think he’s capable of true love. Monogamy, commitment, companionship, and regular sex…that’s all he wants, and the sooner, the better.
When Nash crosses paths with a like-minded man who’s also in need of a live-in nurse for a beloved relative, Nash figures all his problems are solved. Matters are complicated by a freak accident and amnesia. When Nash’s marriage of convenience scheme is muddied by notions of love after his memory reboot, will their plans go awry, or will Nash’s new outlook on life be just what the doctor ordered?
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Links: To Love and To Cherish
Excerpt/Info/Review Links | Goodreads
eBook Links
JMS Books, LLC | Kindle US | Kindle UK
iBookStore | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | BookStrand | Blio
Print Links
Getting a Little of Myles’ (Emmitt’s) POV – Jan. 15, 2017
To Love and To Cherish is told entirely from Nash’s point of view, and although I stand by that decision for various reasons, I thought it would be fun to pick some scenes to redo from Myles’ (Emmitt’s) point of view. Here’s a link to the category including all of these alternate POV scenes.
So far I’ve rewritten all of Chapter 1 to show it from Myles’/Emmitt’s perspective. My plan was to show the first two chapters from this different perspective, but after taking another look at Chapter 2, I’ve decided that wouldn’t be the best way to go. Anyway, I’ve selected a random scene from Chapter 3 that I think would be interesting from Emmitt’s POV. Here is the first part of that scene:
Random Scene – Chapter 3 – Part 1
Grampy’s cackling laughter greeted Emmitt as he approached his grandfather’s hospital room. The first thing Emmitt noticed when he stepped into the room was Nash Marino looking up from where he squatted next to Grampy’s chair.
The two of them seemed to get along well but even so, unless Emmitt felt confident he could maintain his professionalism, he shouldn’t even consider the proposition that had invaded his mind ever since overhearing Nash’s conversation with Angela in the cafeteria yesterday.
Emmitt smiled and turned his focus to Grampy. “I’m glad to see you’ve cheered up.”
Grampy laughed even louder, pointed at Nash, and gasped, “He wants to have you talk to my grandson!”
Nash’s face turned red, and Emmitt’s brows drew together in confusion. He gazed at Nash. “Which one, and what about?”
“Emmitt,” Nash replied. “The one Bernie says he lives with.”
Emmitt raised an eyebrow. Nash hadn’t picked up on the fact that Bernie was his grandfather? He sat on the corner of the bed and turned his attention to his gleeful relative. “Grampy, you really need to quit calling me that.”
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Blurb: To Love and To Cherish
Will Nash find love again? Of course he will. Will he go about it in the usual manner? Now that’s another story entirely.
Jilted by his fiancé two weeks before their wedding, Nash Marino’s outlook on life in general, and love in particular, is jaded. After months of couch-surfing, Nash is fed up. He’s sick and tired of his living conditions, worn out by the demands of his nursing job, and despairs of ever finding love again. In fact, he doesn’t think he’s capable of true love. Monogamy, commitment, companionship, and regular sex…that’s all he wants, and the sooner, the better.
When Nash crosses paths with a like-minded man who’s also in need of a live-in nurse for a beloved relative, Nash figures all his problems are solved. Matters are complicated by a freak accident and amnesia. When Nash’s marriage of convenience scheme is muddied by notions of love after his memory reboot, will their plans go awry, or will Nash’s new outlook on life be just what the doctor ordered?
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Links: To Love and To Cherish
Excerpt/Info/Review Links | Goodreads
eBook Links
JMS Books, LLC | Kindle US | Kindle UK
iBookStore | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | BookStrand | Blio
Print Links
Easy-Peasy #Contest…win a signed copy of To Love and To Cherish
The contest is officially over, and the number is revealed.
Congratulations to Lorie, with a guess of 33, only a single digit off!
** This contest is open internationally **
If you’d like a chance to win an autographed copy of To Love and To Cherish… ==>>
…then all you have to do to enter this contest is pick a number from 1 to 100 and put that guess in the comments section of this blog post. (1 entry per person). The tie-breaker question is to guess the color of the image’s background, and the 2nd tie-breaker question is to guess the color of the number. So, your comment entry should include (a) a number from 1-100, (b) a background color, and (c) a number color.
The person coming closest to the number that I’ve already selected (using a random number generator) will win the book.
<<== This image contains the winning number. Right now the online image source is set to private, so you can’t see it (or at least you shouldn’t be able to, so if you can, the contest is off until I figure out what went wrong).
This contest will run through next Saturday (January 7, 2017) at noon US Central Standard Time. At that time I’ll end the contest and change the image’s setting to public.
I will do two things to attempt to contact the winner(s). I will reply to your winning comment, which may or may not alert you (depending upon your settings), and I will click on your name and see where it leads me and attempt to contact you that way as well (make sure the email address attached to your entry is up-to-date). The winner will have 48 hours to respond before I move on to the next closest guess.
Note: It might be a good idea to check your spam folder around that time, because emails touting how you are a contest winner are probably more likely than average to end up there. If you want to add my email address to your contacts to help prevent this, it’s addison.albright@gmail.com.
GOOD LUCK! 🙂
Click here for the blurb, review links, and a long excerpt from To Love and To Cherish.
#RainbowSnippets – December 31, 2016 – To Love and To Cherish
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!
I am closing out the year with a final snippet from To Love and To Cherish, a novel spinning off from ’Til Death Do Us Part. In the new year I think I’ll start sharing snippets from my overhaul projects.
This week’s snippet takes place a little earlier in the story than the thread I’ve been posting from lately, and it ends with the phrase I’ve been sharing in the teaser image the past few weeks. For context, Nash is in the hospital after being involved in an accident. He’s lost a few months of his memory and is just getting used to the idea that he’s engaged to Emmitt and not Sam. Here are six lines from Nash’s 3rd person POV:
Nash eased his aching head to the side and peered into Emmitt’s eyes. He saw sincerity and concern and…genuine caring.
Emmitt continued. “I know I don’t have to tell you how important eating well is to your recovery.”
Nash smiled at him. “I can see why I fell in love with you.”
#RainbowSnippets
Excerpt/Info/Review Links | Goodreads
eBook Links
JMS Books, LLC | Kindle US | Kindle UK
iBookStore | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | BookStrand | Blio
Print Links
JMS Books, LLC | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Blurb
Will Nash find love again? Of course he will. Will he go about it in the usual manner? Now that’s another story entirely.
Jilted by his fiancé two weeks before their wedding, Nash Marino’s outlook on life in general, and love in particular, is jaded. After months of couch-surfing, Nash is fed up. He’s sick and tired of his living conditions, worn out by the demands of his nursing job, and despairs of ever finding love again. In fact, he doesn’t think he’s capable of true love. Monogamy, commitment, companionship, and regular sex…that’s all he wants, and the sooner, the better.
When Nash crosses paths with a like-minded man who’s also in need of a live-in nurse for a beloved relative, Nash figures all his problems are solved. Matters are complicated by a freak accident and amnesia. When Nash’s marriage of convenience scheme is muddied by notions of love after his memory reboot, will their plans go awry, or will Nash’s new outlook on life be just what the doctor ordered?
Getting a Little of Myles’ (Emmitt’s) POV – Scene 4
To Love and To Cherish is told entirely from Nash’s point of view, and although I stand by that decision for various reasons, I thought it would be fun to pick some scenes to redo from Myles’ (Emmitt’s) point of view. Here’s a link to the category including all of these alternate POV scenes.
So far I’ve started at the beginning and gone in order from there. My plan is to show the first two chapters from this different perspective. Scene 4, below, completes chapter one, and follows the last post. In the book the corresponding scene had Nash at home, without Emmitt, so this is a fresh scene showing what Emmitt might have been up to at the same time:
Scene 04
It was later than Myles would have liked when he finally had the chance to walk into his grandfather’s hospital room for a visit before heading home.
“Emmitt!” Grampy’s voice was cheerful, as always. Nothing ever seemed to bring the man down.
Myles—or Emmitt, as Grampy always referred to him—leaned down to kiss the upturned weathered cheek. “How was your day, Grampy? I understand Dr. Beltran wants to get you up and walking the halls tomorrow.”
“Yeah, he told me. He had that new nurse I got get me up to start walking to the bathroom today, too.”
“Good, it’ll get you ready for physical therapy. Remember, you’ll be moving to a PT facility in a few more days. They’ll get you back into shape to come home again.”
Grampy nodded. “I know, I know.” Then he cocked his head to the side, grinned, and added, “My new nurse, he’s one of those funny boys, like you.”
Emmitt heaved a sigh. “Grampy, please don’t meddle.”
If Emmitt didn’t know his grandfather better, he might have found the man’s widened eyes and pearl clutching maneuver convincing. “Me? I don’t meddle!”
But the threat was real. Emmitt knew it, and he was sure Grampy knew that he knew it. “Seriously, Grampy. I work with Nash. It would be wrong of me to approach him.”
Grampy’s eyes lit up. “So you like him, then?”
“Grampy!”
“Oh, quit your worryin’, I’ll leave him be.”
“Thank you.” But Emmitt still wasn’t quite sure he could trust Grampy’s chagrined mien.
“Even though he is kinda good-lookin’ on top of being good company.”
“Grampy!”
“I didn’t say I’d leave you be!”
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Blurb: To Love and To Cherish
Will Nash find love again? Of course he will. Will he go about it in the usual manner? Now that’s another story entirely.
Jilted by his fiancé two weeks before their wedding, Nash Marino’s outlook on life in general, and love in particular, is jaded. After months of couch-surfing, Nash is fed up. He’s sick and tired of his living conditions, worn out by the demands of his nursing job, and despairs of ever finding love again. In fact, he doesn’t think he’s capable of true love. Monogamy, commitment, companionship, and regular sex…that’s all he wants, and the sooner, the better.
When Nash crosses paths with a like-minded man who’s also in need of a live-in nurse for a beloved relative, Nash figures all his problems are solved. Matters are complicated by a freak accident and amnesia. When Nash’s marriage of convenience scheme is muddied by notions of love after his memory reboot, will their plans go awry, or will Nash’s new outlook on life be just what the doctor ordered?
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Buy-Links: To Love and To Cherish
Excerpt/Info/Review Links | Goodreads
eBook Links
JMS Books, LLC | Kindle US | Kindle UK
iBookStore | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | BookStrand | Blio
Print Links
JMS Books, LLC | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
#RainbowSnippets Dec 24, 2016 – To Love and To Cherish
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!
Today’s snippet is from To Love and To Cherish, a novel spinning off from ’Til Death Do Us Part.
Picking up where I left off last week. Nash is still in the bathroom where he’d rushed to vomit due to the emotional strain at the thought of meeting Sam (his former fiancé) again. His dad has now joined him. I’m over the limit again, but several lines are really short. This is told from Nash’s 3rd-person POV:
“Sorry,” Nash slurred. Dad must think his youngest son was the most pathetic sort of prissy loser. Nash’s brother Aaron had grown up to be much like their father—large, muscular, stoic—although with a more expressive face. Nash must be such a disappointment.
Dad shook his head. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry for,” he whispered. “I do. I shouldn’t have pushed you to do this yet. It’s too soon.”
#RainbowSnippets
Excerpt/Info/Review Links | Goodreads
eBook Links
JMS Books, LLC | Kindle US | Kindle UK | All Romance | OmniLit
iBookStore | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | BookStrand | Blio
Print Links
JMS Books, LLC | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Blurb
Will Nash find love again? Of course he will. Will he go about it in the usual manner? Now that’s another story entirely.
Jilted by his fiancé two weeks before their wedding, Nash Marino’s outlook on life in general, and love in particular, is jaded. After months of couch-surfing, Nash is fed up. He’s sick and tired of his living conditions, worn out by the demands of his nursing job, and despairs of ever finding love again. In fact, he doesn’t think he’s capable of true love. Monogamy, commitment, companionship, and regular sex…that’s all he wants, and the sooner, the better.
When Nash crosses paths with a like-minded man who’s also in need of a live-in nurse for a beloved relative, Nash figures all his problems are solved. Matters are complicated by a freak accident and amnesia. When Nash’s marriage of convenience scheme is muddied by notions of love after his memory reboot, will their plans go awry, or will Nash’s new outlook on life be just what the doctor ordered?