Good morning world! Welcome to our first day of priming your pumps for the release of Peak and Thrust on Monday, November 28! Yes, the big date has been at least penciled in on stone, so we’ll aim our sites on being all ripe and ready for Joey Ballios and Laird Fox on the Monday after Thanksgiving.
Are we all excited?
*pause under the weight of complete and total silence… I’m not even hearing crickets here, folks*
Well, yeah, that’s kind of why we’re here. We’ll get those crickets warmed up and singing off their little toes in no time.
It’s sort of apropos really, starting off with the whole world is deathly quiet thing, I mean. That deafening silence of no response, no feedback, no hoots and hollers, no whines and moans from an eager audience, that’s what I, like any author, feel like when I sit down to write those crucial first lines of a novel.
A blank slate.
Scary.
We’re talking freaking out scary, the kind where that flight or fight response kicks in and all your nerve endings get all prickly and nauseous and you start re-thinking your purpose in life and if you’re really worthy of being considered a life form above a slug and even those mute little crickets outside your window are starting to look at you funny…
Ok. That may be just me.
But you get the picture.
Scary.
So how do you start? It’s the Dickens versus King Dilemma.
Do you roll like Dickens and weave and sow words and characters and settings into a world so tight and so real that the reader loses themselves completely within it after the first ten or twenty pages?
Or do you go for the shock value, mold your efforts after Stephen King and throw the reader into the deep end of the story before they have time to even grab one last breath?
For me, when writing a romance that will be vying with all those millions of other romances out there, I go for the Wham Bam Theory.
Right out of the box, I try to hit the reader in the face. Slap a storyline or an emotion on them so fast that they have no choice but to turn to page two.
Then, after a few pages, when they’re hooked but still squiggling on the line, I try to reel them in with a little Dickens. Make them want to stay beyond just having to stay to find out what happens next.
At least that’s plan.
Does it work or not? That’s up to you, the fishes that give life and reason, the beautiful creatures that give slugs like me the courage to string a little line into the literary waters and hope for the best, little lines like these…
Prologue: Detroit
Gunfire erupted from the darkened house.
An unmarked police car sat in the driveway, its blue lights whirling madly in the hot Detroit night
There were no screams, no shouts of fright or anger.
There were no mad rushes, no frantic footsteps fleeing the scene.
And there was only silence on the police radio.
Stillness strangled the night.
If this peek at the Prologue of Peak and Thrust works for you, entices you to come back tomorrow and get a peek at Chapter One, I lay its success entirely at the feet of the Wham Bam Theory… since without that first initial “Wham!” there would be never be the proverbial sweet “Bam! and Thank you, Ma’am!”
I do hope to see you tomorrow, even though I realize now that I have compared you to bugs and big mouth bass… Hmm, I guess there really is a reason why my social life is stunted.
Until tomorrow, tell your friends, family and all your best fishes to come on by and help us warm up a few cricket toes.
Sincerely,
Chloe Stowe, the slug in today’s little drama
Welcome one and all to the 12 day preview of Peak and Thrust! Over the next week and a half, we will explore how my eighth novel can bring you a more satisfying roll in the hay. Yes, by following these 12 steps you and your lover can experience more zing in the sack, more va-va-va-boom in that oft-shared shower, more “ooh” in your “ooh-la-la”…
Or this could all be some clever marketing scheme to “peak” (notice smart tie in, please) your interest in my upcoming release? Hmmm. Well, the truth of my motives I leave to you my dear friends. I can promise you that if you do follow along you will be entertained, enlightened and quite possibly emboldened in your day to day life.
How you might ask?
With every step will come not only a preview of the name of one of Peak and Thrust’s chapters but also a teasing little excerpt to tickle your romantic bone… or your smut bone, whichever you bring to the party.
Along the way, my wry sense of humor will make frequent appearances as I give you all a behind the scenes “peek” at the writing of P&T.
More importantly, however, (at least I hope) are the tiny insights I’ll give you into life with a chronic mental illness.
Whenever you pick up a Chloe Stowe original, you get a little piece of me with it. It may not always be pretty and shiny, but I do hope it is always enlightening. Shining my little penlight into the often over-looked shadows of mental illness may be my reason for being here on this planet. I hope it is and I hope you will all share a little of your light with those still lost in their mind’s dark.
Then, of course, there’s the sex… or the step to better sex, I should say. (Sorry but the budget didn’t really allow for passing out condoms to all comers, so there will be no author sanctioned penetration here. However, please feel free to bring your own though to share with the rest of the group. The more condoms the merrier, I always say.)
Anyhow, there will be fun. There will be teasers. There will be uncut gems of hope. All I ask for in return is your patience with my sometimes royally screwed up mind. It may be a bumpy ride folks, but when we’ve got hot guys hungry for some loving bumping along with us then it’s all good, right?
Tomorrow Step One will arrive in your social media outlets and with it a look at the Prologue for my eighth original novel. Until then and to thoroughly whet your appetite for more I give you today the world premiere of the official (at least until my publisher changes it) back-cover blurb for Peak and Thrust…
“Happily ever after’s” rarely came to men like these…
Joey Ballios was a cop. For ten years his life had been little more than long foot chases through the cold Detroit snow, piles of paperwork on perps who would never be caught, and forty hour shifts that were as thankless as they were heroic.
Laird Fox climbed mountains. His whole life had been dedicated to scaling the unreachable and bringing the unattainable into the novice’s reach. He was a mountain guide in Alaska, a man who spent his days taking strangers to the top of the world, fulfilling their dreams while ignoring his own.
The two men’s lives should never have touched, their worlds never have crossed.
But when three gunshots ring out in a sweltering summer night, some lives are cursed while others are saved…
Joey’s partner is dead, shot in a darkened house that bears a dangerous secret. Running from that night, Joey escapes to Alaska.
There he finds Laird, a man who offers him sweet, scorching sex, a fresh take on life and a heart as scarred and as neglected as Joey’s own.
For five weeks they live for and love each other. But when the long held secrets of the past won’t let Joey go, both men’s futures are put on the line.
Will they surrender to a litany of lies? Or will they rise above them and rescue each other?
Sometimes Fate is more than just a whisper in the hot Detroit wind, more than just a wish on a distant Alaskan star.
Sometimes Fate arrives on tragedy’s tail, a post-script that begins with “Once upon a time.”
I hope to see you all tomorrow for Step One. Please bring your friends and your condoms!
Until next time…
Thank you all for reading!
Chloe Stowe
As Day Five comes roaring into town on the back of a mid-September Monday, I think a nice rosy shot of romance is called for.
I’m usually very careful with my more blatant shots of romance. You know, a little goes a long way, especially in the m/m world. Too much of it and it overwhelms the literary stew. The flavors and the unique tastes of each of the other ingredients can’t be compromised by such a strong spice or everything becomes a gooey mish-mash of daisies and cupids and hearts drawn on foggy windows… Honestly, not one of my men would be caught dead in such a fluffy pink casserole.
Don’t get me wrong. Fluffy pink casseroles have their places… just not usually in the mouths of alpha males.
Personally, I like to imbibe my meal with romance in a more roundabout way. You know, in the staging. If we continue with the culinary allusions (and heck who doesn’t love a good culinary allusion?), I guess you’d say that I like to pick out a nice romantic pot for my men and their juices to stew in. I try to come up with situations that when two strong testosterone-filled characters are put in them they have no choice but to bubble up into delicious love. That way all their manliness is still there for us to nibble on, to swirl around in our mouths and massage with our tongues…
Sorry. Culinary allusion was quickly slipping into naughtiness. We wouldn’t want that, now would we?...
Chapter Five: Gentle Obscenity
“As one low, slow song bled away into the next, the men silently stared into each other’s eyes as if searching out and finding their place in the other’s soul.” (page 79)
Yes, I do believe the mid-September Monday is a little more digestible with a helping of pink fluffy casserole. See? Not even Chloe Stowe can resist the taste of pure romance every once in a while.
On your way out today, please grab a flute of chilled champagne. Enjoy those tiny bubbles everyone and make your Monday merry!
Until tomorrow…
Chloe Stowe
Day Four is here and it’s reflective.
On the anniversary of a day when so many “mere” mortals became heroes and so many loves were lost until heaven, I think I’ll just give you my daily teaser and let you get back to spending your day with your cherished ones be they family, friends, lovers or four-legged guardian angels….
Chapter Four: Sugar-Coated Damnation
“Mercer looked over his shoulder and grinned. “Personally, I think you rock the well and truly fucked look…”” (page 64)
Today, on your way out, please enjoy some beer in honor of the first Sunday of the NFL season!
Until tomorrow, God bless you…
Chloe Stowe
Day Three has arrived on the coattails of a beautiful dawn.
On gorgeous days like this, my muse soars. I spend the hours trying to catch up with her, trying to capture the world she sees into words born on nervous fingers…
In other words, I’m a bit shaky today. It happens… It happens a lot when I have family coming.
One of the weirdest things about my brain and all its crossed wires is that excitement equals panic. The same buttons are pushed in my mind. It’s a lot like if every time on a bitterly cold winter’s day that you turn on the furnace or stoke the fire, all the fire alarms begin to blare and scream at you. All the sprinklers erupt, sending their cold, cold water onto your head, stunning you. No matter how many times it happens, no matter how many times you know it’s going to happen, there is just nothing to shield you from the icy water and the screeches of panic…
Ok, apparently my muse has decided to fly into a hornet’s nest today. Pardon me if I choose not to follow her this time around.
Instead, let me give you the Hard Wood, Soft Heart tease of the day. I hope you enjoy this little morsel and will come back again for another taste….
Chapter Two: Ghost Runners
“Born in St. Louis on a wickedly hot July day, from the very beginning Mercer’s life had been about avoiding the things a man can’t change. Like the blazing hot weather that seemed to follow him around every summer of his childhood, he came to mutely accept the fact that his father only came to visit on the weekends and that his mother rarely smiled at anyone but her little boy…” (page 29)
Today, I offer all my wonderful guests cotton candy and lemonade. Please grab a kite on your way out and soar with your own muse through the endless skies.
Until tomorrow…
Chloe Stowe
Ahhh! Day Two breaks!
Before we all surrender to the moment and weep, let’s recap a bit, shall we?
Day One (yesterday) brought the beginning of the “Twelve Days of Hard Wood, Soft Heart Teasing Your Toes Off Event.” Following a brief overview of what fans, friends and family (I’d like to say hello to my poodle who’s reading over my shoulder) could expect out of each day’s tease, the much anticipated synopsis of my seventh novel for Ravenous Romance was revealed.
In case you missed it, I magnanimously grant you time travel and you can head back to Day One right now. It’s ok. We’ll wait and maybe have some doughnuts while you zip yourself through the Chloe Stowe Wormhole.
A cautionary statement on travel in the CSW: Be careful how far you go back. My eighth grade poem which began with the lines, “There once was a boy / who had no joy / in going to school each day,” might damage brain cells. Just saying.
Now that everyone has rejoined us, shall we get down to business? Yes, I believe I see one hand raised out there in…I think… Kentucky, so Chapter One Tease is a go!...
Chapter One: Driven to Extinction
“Saul Tidewater stood on the rooftop overlooking Las Vegas clinging to his heterosexuality by the skin of his teeth...” (page 1)
Once everyone get’s their breaths back, I’d like to point out that while my copy editor is still working fingers to the bone editing Hard Wood, Soft Heart there may in fact be some changes to the excerpts I’m sneaking to you. Take the page numbers with a grain of salt. They’re just there to give you some generalized marker as to where you are in the book. Wouldn’t want anyone getting lost.
In this case, however, I have it on good authority that this may very well be the opening line to the novel! I know, I can hardly restrain myself either.
While Day Three percolates and steeps in my brain for tomorrow, I’d like to thank all of you for stopping by. I hope I was able to give you a smile and just maybe a giggle. Please, enjoy some hot chocolate before you go and, heck, grab another doughnut or two. This is all about indulgence anyhow. Why not have a little powdered sugar and sprinkles with our escapism? I won’t tell if you won’t. *smiles*
Until tomorrow…
Chloe Stowe
Welcome one and all to the twelve day Hard Wood, Soft Heart Teasing Your Toes Off Event! For the first time ever not only will you be given sneak peeks at the chapter titles of my newest m/m romance with Ravenous Romance coming out in the next few weeks, but you will also be given actual tiny, daily excerpts from each chapter!
Yes, it does blow your mind, doesn’t it? Gets your blood cells all tingly and ready to head south for some naughty fun? Leaves you wondering “What kind of drama is that crazy woman going to put me and my heart through this time?” (Gets the English teachers out there chiding “That should be ‘my heart and I,” Ms. Stowe.”)
Well, this is no place to be shy. Step right up and prepare all your really good spots to be tickled and all your soft and mushy “ahhh!” places to be warmed… Besides, let’s be honest here, how many of my faithful readers out there are wondering if I’ve managed to slip another volcano into the story? Hands please. Yep, just what I thought.
I like to think that each of my novels lean a little in one direction. Be it heavy on the romance (Taken), or the sex (Hard Water), or the kink (Forever Bound) or the action/mystery/intrigue (Barbarian and The Hellesgate Series), I try to make each of my stories unique and memorable in their own way.
So without further adieu and with the promise of hard refreshments at the end, I proudly give you the synopsis to a novel that is all about love and the sex that leads you there.
I give you Hard Wood, Soft Heart…
This is a story of Las Vegas… of a one-night stand turned life-long love… of one man running so hard from his past that he runs headfirst into a man running just as hard away from his future.
A brilliant cardiologist scarred by a bitter divorce, Saul Tidewater has left the memories of his past behind and started a new life in Las Vegas. Dark and dashing, he must fight his surprising lack of self confidence when his long-held and hidden desire to make love to a man will no longer be denied.
Mercer Braun is the man everyone wants. Devilishly handsome with a blinding love for life, the former baseball player could have any man or woman that he wants… but Mercer only wants Saul. A bleak future awaits Mercer, however, and he must fight for his right to meet it on his own terms.
This is the story of two men who have lost their way and stumbled upon forever.
This is the story of a city that gives them the courage to vanquish a past while blazing a future.
This is a story of true love.
Tune in tomorrow, same blog, same post, for the official Chapter One tease!
Until then, ladies and gents, please help yourself some much deserved tequila… I’ll be in the back room puking my “Oh my God, they’re going to hate it!” nerves out through my nose. Yes, life for Chloe Stowe is rarely pretty. *grins*
Thank you all for reading and always (amazingly) wanting to read more.
Chloe Stowe
As the deadline for Hard Water looms (11 days and counting… yes, “Yikes!” does come to mind), I decided to pull back, take a deep breath and tease. While my best teasing talents usually require some fingers and tongue (sorry, couldn’t help it *sheepish grin*), I will restrain myself this time and restrict my dirty work today to words alone…
So, without further adieu, here is your Hard Water tease for the day…
Chapter Titles for the fifth Chloe Stowe original novel - Hard Water
Prologue… The Water is Hard and Deep
Chapter One… Fireworks over Warm Waters
Chapter Two… A Towel, a Spark and a Fist
Chapter Three… Windowpanes and Moonlight
Chapter Four… Jumping into the Deep End
Chapter Five… Jumping into the Right Deep End
Chapter Six… The Bittersweet Lapping of Candy
Chapter Seven… A Neanderthal and a Good Samaritan
Chapter Eight… A Slow Boat from South Africa
Chapter Nine… Drowning in the Shallows
Chapter Ten… Healing Waters
Chapter Eleven… Home Waters
Now, class, aren’t we all curious? Everyone feeling appropriately teased? Want some more? Check in tomorrow and I’ll give you a taste.
Love you all,
Chloe Stowe
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