I'm so excited to host two of my favorite friends and writers on my blog today! Eileen Griffin & Nikka Michaels have just released a phenomenal new book - In The Distance - and it's getting incredible reviews! Check out the blurb and an excerpt:
Because
sometimes it takes some distance to finally see what’s right in front of you…
Tyler Mitchell has worked
hard to rebuild his life after his family kicked him out. A culinary student
and sous chef who spends his spare time volunteering with kids, he’s happy
enough even though he has no time to consider a relationship.
Trevor Pratt is finally
getting over losing his best friend and the one person he wanted to spend the
rest of his life with, but it’s taken screwing every cute guy in Manhattan to
get there. He’s vowed to repair the friendship he endangered, but that’s hard
to do when his friend’s new employee catches his eye. Despite being warned to
stay away from Tyler, Trevor knows the sous chef is more than just a hookup.
Romance is a terrible idea. Trevor is ten years older and a relentless
playboy. Tyler is still unsure of his place in the world. Neither of them is
ready for life-changing love, but as things heat up, their chemistry in the
bedroom might just take that decision out of their hands.
Read
about Ethan and Jamie's romance in In the
Raw and In The Fire, Books 1 & 2 in the In The Kitchen Series, available
now!
Excerpt:
I threw him
a dirty look over my shoulder as we walked out of the diner. “Okay. So I might
have had my dad’s Platinum AmEx card to help me out, but I struggled just like
the rest of my classmates.”
Tyler’s
low, deep laugh hit me in all the right, and wrong, places. “Poor baby. I’m
sure it was hard to choose between the double shot extra whip latte and the
regular Joe Blow latte.”
God, it was
good to hear him laugh. “Hey now. Leave my double shot latte out of this,” I
shot back as I unlocked the doors to the Mercedes coupe I’d rented.
His
laughter slowly faded as I pulled out of the parking lot. I had only been to
Ethan’s old place a few times when Jamie had first moved back to Seattle and
before they had bought a new condo together. But Tyler made sure to keep me on
the right track with directions, his voice getting softer and softer the closer
we got to the apartment.
I pulled up
to the curb, letting the car idle instead of parking and walking him to his
door. As much as I found myself not wanting the night to end, it wouldn’t have
been smart to push whatever this was. Anyone else? We’d already be upstairs with
Tyler’s pants around his ankles and my mouth on him. But he wasn’t just anyone
else.
Tyler, who
had been staring out his window, slowly turned toward me. The soft lights of
the dash barely illuminated his face. God, he looked young, innocent and worth
every ounce of protectiveness he brought out in the people who cared about him.
“Thanks for
the ride. And dinner. It was nice.”
He turned
again and reached for the door handle.
“Hey,
Tyler. Wait up."
Want more? You know you do! Well, you're in luck, because Eileen and Nikka were awesome enough to give me a little something extra for my blog today! Below is a little note from the writer ladies themselves AND a deleted scene! Take it away girls!
Our
philosophy in writing is throw everything you have in there and then decide
what works and doesn’t work after it’s finished and we’ve sent it off for a first
editing pass from our editor. It was during this first pass (and second and
third, and the multiple rounds of edits with our editor at Carina) of our
novel, In The Distance, Book Three of
our In The Kitchen Series, that we
were reminded how rambly we can be. The following scene is a short one, and
even though we loved it, it didn’t really add anything extra to the story
except for Trevor showing his goofier side. It’s from Trevor’s POV while he’s
back in NYC, trying (and failing) to keep things simple and uncomplicated with
Tyler.
The
article that inspired this scene can be found HERE, if you’d like to see what your zodiac
sign says about your love life.
~Eileen
Griffin and Nikka Michaels
Trevor
Late
February - NYC, Grand Central Station
Bored
and out of sheer curiosity, I picked up the Glam
Style magazine someone had left on my table at the Grand Central Station
Cafe. Ten minutes later, my mind was reeling from the “Which Zodiac Lover Are
You?” quiz I’d just taken. Apparently Leos burned with fiery passion and took
charge in bed. Oh, and they loved it when their lovers played with their
luxurious hair. I snorted. I wasn’t sure about the luxurious locks part, but I
did love having my hair played with. Suddenly, an idea hit me, and I headed
back into the main lobby to scan the enormous green ceiling for a certain
zodiacal sign.
“Perfect.”
I snapped a picture and sent it to Tyler along with, “Wanna know why I’m the king of the jungle?”
A
few minutes went by before my phone pinged. “Grand
Central?”
“Mmmhmm.”
“Do I even want to know?”
“Probably not, but I might
be getting a subscription to Glam
Style magazine soon.”
“Should I be worried?”
I
chuckled and typed out, “Nah, but
according to the article I just read, I apparently have really great hair.”
“???”
“Gotta run to catch the
next subway. TTYL.”
I
tucked my phone back into my pocket, but before heading downstairs to catch the
next train, I swung back by the cafe and picked up the discarded magazine. By
the time I’d reached my platform, I was absorbed in an article about the top
ten best sexual positions for the winter. A subscription was looking better and
better with every page.
© Nikka Michaels and Eileen
Griffin
Jaycee's Review:
As I read the In The Kitchen series, I secretly fell in love
with Trevor. I know I wasn’t supposed
to. I know I was supposed to think he
was a big, fat jerk for what he did to come between Ethan and Jamie, but I
couldn’t help that my heart went out to him. I knew from practically the first
scene Trevor was in that he was in love with Jamie. I understood his motivation
and felt sorry for him, so when I heard that he was getting a story of his own,
I cheered – and what a story it is – and, just for the record, I wasn’t wrong
about him!
In The Distance is perhaps my favorite book of the
series. Ethan and Jamie are overly protective
of Tyler, who they’ve taken under their wings, almost as an adopted son. They warn love-em-and-leave-em Trevor to keep
his hands off.
I love the carefully orchestrated dance that Tyler and
Trevor perform on the knife-edge of friendship.
They both know that one misstep and they not only will bring down the wrath of Ethan and Jamie upon them, but they risk severing the beautiful,
fragile comfort zone they’ve created for themselves.
And therein lies the angst of the story (my favorite part).
They both crave the warmth and coziness of the mundane – watching TV together,
just hanging out, texting and sharing a laugh, but they both feel the pull of
something deeper, something more, and Trevor, especially, is terrified of it.
The text messages between the two are some of the most
deliciously angst-ridden parts of this story.
One exchange, in particular had me snot sobbing at 2 a.m.
#JustInCaseYouWereWondering.
You could read this as a standalone, but why would you want
to when the prior books are so wonderful? Fans of In The Raw and In The Fire will
love how often Ethan and Jamie (and even Claire and others) are in the
scenes. The vitriol between Ethan and
Trevor is heavy and dripping and culminates in an awesome scene at a hotel bar
when a tipsy Trevor calls on Jamie for support.
I haven’t said much about Tyler and that’s only because I
love Trevor so much, but Tyler is such a complex character that I almost think
you’re better off discovering all his layers and letting him develop in your
eyes right along with Trevor. It won’t take long before you are smitten with
him too.
In the Distance
By Eileen Griffin and Nikka Michaels
Genre: M/M, Foodie Romance
Length: 105,000 Words
Series: In the Kitchen, Book 3
Release Date: June 15, 2015
Publisher: Carina Press
BUY LINKS:
EILEEN GRIFFIN
Eileen Griffin lives in the southwest, but loves to travel and has spent many summers crossing Europe with nothing but a packpack on her back. She enjoys TexMex, lives for good wine, and has a certain penchant for purple unicorns. She loves reading all genres of books, but her current obsession is writing M/M romance.
NIKKA MICHAELS
Nikka Michaels lives in the rainy Pacific Northwest where she spends her time cooking, laughing and crafting romantic tales to satisfy her craving for HEAs with heat. A voracious reader, novice knitter and music lover she's been known to multitask without breaking a sweat. She loves to read and write M/M romance but believes everyone deserves a love story.
Thanks for hosting us (and Chef B & Tyler) on your blog today!
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure - thanks for behaving. ;o)
DeleteThanks again for having us on your blog today, writer lady!
ReplyDeleteAnytime - I shamelessly fangirl you guys. Haha.
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