A warm welcome to author Rob Damon joining us today here at Love Bytes!
Rob shares his toughts on his motivation to write and to write Into the Team , shares an excerpt and there is a giveaway to participate in !
Welcome Rob 🙂

Title: INTO THE TEAM

Author: ROB DAMON

Publisher: COOLDUDES Publishing

Format: Epub, Kindle, Mobi, PDF

Price: ebook 4.99 and Print (TBA)

Pages: 363

Genre: Soccer, Bromance, LGBT, Bisexual

Publication Date: 15th September, 2015

Theme

Todd, the main character in the novel, has a lot of drive, is optimistic, and chases his dream of becoming a professional footballer with complete focus. Those are admirable qualities, and everyone is inspired by stories of personal achievement.

Into The Team blurs the lines between gay/straight, romance/bromance. And so the idea of a football team, where players must bond with each other, is perfect. Into The Team shows that when men hang up their aggression and turn on their affections, great things can be achieved.

Of course, achieving a dream cannot come without a price, and within the story there are tests the main character must face. How far would he go to not just achieve his dream, but also to maintain it?

The novel takes male bonding to an extreme, and the idea of bromance is pushed further to create something more like romance.

Are the characters in this story gay? Should any of us really care? Love can grow between any two people, male or female, gay or straight.

Blurb

To honour the memory of his dead father, young footballer Todd Mackerson commits to his goal of playing for a professional team. When, at the age of 20, he is offered a place to train with one of England’s biggest clubs, he leaves home convinced his dream is about to come true..

Being warned by his new team mates of the tough rules and hard training routines, Todd is undeterred. But when he discovers that the player’s way of bonding borders on the sexual, and that he must learn to accept the erotic affections that connect the team together, he wonders how far he can go for his dream.

But, after experiencing the care and attention men can give to each other, Todd feels awakened. Learning that each player has a special “partner” on the team, who they play and bond with as intimately as lovers, Todd becomes fascinated with the idea.

And when he develops feelings for one player in particular, he discovers how a stronger kind of romance – that between two men – can be pure and powerful enough to bring magic and success on the pitch.

Before I wrote Into The Team, I had spent several years creating stories with deeply flawed characters and grim plots – the kind of stories that a reader may like, but of which the tone was generally pessimistic. So I felt it was time to do the opposite and produce a story with an uplifting theme, and with a character that readers could warm to immediately. I also wanted to write something that blurred the lines between gay/straight, romance/bromance – not a typical MM romance where the characters find true love and this is more or less spelt out to the reader. I wanted to do something that challenged the idea of what a love story should be, and that love can exist between two people without there being any hardcore romance. So the idea of male bonding became central to this story.

But to explore the ideas of male bonding and bromance, I needed a scenario/setting where those things would likely occur, and the idea of a football team, where players must bond with each other, was perfect. I also wanted to show that when men hang up their aggression and turn on their affections, great things can be achieved, and that there is strength in male intimacy.

Todd, the main character, is young, and because he’s spent most of his teenage years nurturing his football skills, he hasn’t had much time to explore his sexuality. He has a girlfriend, who he sees on a more or less casual basis, and for him, that takes care of his private/personal life – he doesn’t need to think about his sexuality and so can focus on his ambitions to be a footballer. So he was a perfect choice for someone who was about to be exposed to a different kind of intimacy, and although at first he is confused and reluctant, he “wakes up” and begins to explore another side to his sexuality.

This story shows how close men can be with each other without the need to label themselves as gay/straight/bi, whatever. I get so tired of those terms and so I wanted to write something where the characters were just men who were keen to show some erotic affection to each other. And I aimed to show this in a natural way, creating a closely bonded team in which the players know each other more intimately than most of us ever get to know anyone.

I didn’t want to make it too explicit either, I wanted to retain some kind of innocence throughout the story, and I think that allows readers to add their own ideas of what is actually going on with the players on the team.

Of course, Todd meets a special someone – a player he bonds with on a very intimate level, and this leads him to greatness on the pitch.

 

On a personal level, I had spent several years learning the craft of writing. Reading like I’d never read before, reading a broad range of genres, practicing writing and rewriting, studying, then writing some more, throwing stuff away and rewriting again. So at the time I wrote this novel, I had come to a point where I felt I was getting somewhere, felt I was getting better at putting a story together. In Into The Team, Todd achieves his life’s dream of becoming a professional footballer, and this mirrored the achievement I felt I was making with my writing. So I guess there is a bit of what I was feeling at the time in this story, I had an optimistic sense that I was about to be rewarded for my efforts, and thanks to Cooldudes Publishing, that has happened.

…The locker room was quiet. It was nearly four PM and the rest of the first team had left after lunch. It felt good to be alone with Kieran, and Todd grew more confident about the guy becoming his partner.

But he was uncertain about what to do. Although he’d suggested the sauna, he wondered if Kieran took that to mean they were going to have some hand contact with each other. Perhaps he’d been through a similar experience with Jason or one of the other players when he first came to the club, and was now taking it for granted they were going to get intimate.

While they stripped out of their gear, they talked about Todd’s parents. He mentioned his father had passed away.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Kieran stopped half way through taking off his running pants.

“It happened years ago.” Todd smiled, hoping to ease Kieran.

Although it was a moment of sorrow for him, and he detected a pensive slant in Kieran’s voice, he felt positive about the knowledge he’d shared.

Once out of their underwear Todd placed a hand on Kieran’s neck and gave a delicate rub. “Let’s shower before the sauna.”

“You always need a shower after the session.” Kieran laughed. “Get all that sweat off you before you sweat some more.” He rubbed Todd’s back as they walked into the shower room.

Would he need to soap Kieran like he saw Josh doing for Leo? He didn’t know. Todd headed to the wall and decided to just wash himself. He needed to get this right, and making a move too soon could blow it.

Kieran showered next to him and they talked some more about what music they liked. Kieran liked the Irish bands like Coldplay and U2. Todd agreed, and added Ash to the list.

“What about American rock?” Kieran asked.

Todd soaped up his legs and tried to remember if he’d heard any recently. Music wasn’t his main interest but he tried to keep up to date. “I like that song which has a bloke screaming about money or something.” He frowned. “The video has him ransacking his bedroom, looking under floorboards and shit.”

Kieran stopped washing and glanced at him with a lost expression.

“You mean ‘No Cash No Hash’?” he asked. “Yeah, the video has him running around his bedroom searching through draws and coat pockets.”

Todd laughed. That was it. The bloke loses it at the end of the video and leaps from his tenth floor flat. “NO CASH NO HASH!” he screamed.

“GONNA SPLASH MY MASH!” Kieran continued. “I AIN’T SEEN NO GREEN! NO HASH NO CASH!” Kieran beamed while Todd laughed.

Seeing Kieran’s eyes in an almost adoring look, Todd felt suddenly out of place. Kieran was four years older and yet he seemed like a younger guy. He was the same height as Todd, but his body was slimmer, more athletic than Todd’s tougher frame. He wondered if this meant he had to take the lead in this budding pair process.

“I think we should spend more time training.” Kieran smiled. “We’ll both get each other hot for the game in two weeks and show the boss we’ve got something going.”

The positive tone in his voice lifted Todd’s stomach.

“Yeah, we should.” He nodded as his head filled with the two of the on the pitch for that charity game, passing the ball to each other as they ran to the opposite end, dodging every challenge. It could be just like that time when he’d gone to the tournament with his father and met that kid with whom he’d played so well.

“Tomorrow, yeah?” Kieran said. “We can work on our defense. If you can show the boss you’ve got good tackling skills, he’ll probably play you for longer.”

Todd liked that. It sounded like Kieran had been thinking about where his skills needed work.

As Kieran stuck his head under the jet, Todd took a deep breath. Looking down, he noticed his cock had swollen a touch. Although still limp, it had reached the pre stimulation stage, where it felt heavier and appeared bigger than usual. Casting his eyes to Kieran’s, he could see a slight increase in his groin too.

Heading to the sauna they grabbed a towel each. The sauna was a long room with the door at one end. Todd went in first and headed to the far corner. Even though the locker room was empty, and he had no worries about being disturbed, he felt it best to go to the furthest point away from the glass door.

He spread the towel on the bench and sat down. Kieran sat at an angle to him.

“Everyone’s glad you’re on the team,” he said. “We’ve been in need of a new pair of feet for years.”

Todd wondered if that piece of small talk was a sign of Kieran’s uncertainty. “Thanks.”

“I’m glad we talked at Sean’s party,” Kieran went on. “I didn’t get a chance to talk to you last week or the week before.” Looking over Todd’s body his face grew serious. “You should try to lose some weight.” His eyes widened. “Not that you’ve got any fat on you, I just mean that you should try to lose some of the muscle.”

“This is my natural shape. I’ve trained for years on the pitch, done loads of sprinting, and I’ve always been this weight.”

“Try to eat less protein and more carbs…I mean, I think you look good as you are but most players have an athletic build.” He shook his head and looked downcast. “Sorry man, I’m not having a go.”

Todd cast his eyes over Kieran’s body. “You’ve got a good build,” he said. “Do you lift weights?”

“I keep that to a minimum. I think the less weight you carry around the field, the more stamina you have and the better you are at using your body.”

Todd found himself wanting to rub him and wondered whether he should ask. Glancing at his cock he saw it was flaccid but still in that ready state. He decided to shift his butt towards him so their legs touched.

“I got a massage last week from Jason.” He felt a coy grin break on his face. “It was sort of, interesting.”

Kieran’s eyes narrowed for a second, making him look mischievous. “I once had one from him. I think he likes giving them.”

“Did you like it?”

Kieran laughed. “It was ok.” He looked at Todd with amused eyes. “We should just get it over with, yeah?”

Todd exhaled. Beads of sweat snaked their way down his forehead as he pushed his butt back on the bench and spread his thighs out.

Kieran placed his pert butt between Todd’s legs.

Feeling free to do what he wanted, Todd started on his lower back and gently rubbed with his thumbs. Kieran had smoother skin than Jason and Todd’s hands slipped easily over it. He rubbed slowly up his back towards his neck. Kieran’s head flopped down in front of him, and his breathing turned slow and even.

“You’ve got good skin,” Todd said as he rubbed below Kieran’s hairline.

“I eat lots of tomatoes and drink lots of water.”

“Do the rest of the guys on the team drink a lot of beer often?”

“No.” Kieran shook his head. “Saturday night was rare. Sean often has the lads round at his house, but we don’t go mad. Those Tequila shots were too much. I think they just went overboard to celebrate your arrival. You know, it’s really affected everyone.”

Having spent most of his time trying to deal with being the new boy, Todd had given little thought to how his arrival affected everyone else. They’d had a stable team for several years, and now suddenly he was amongst them. The notion that he’d had an effect made him feel confident.

The question of who Kieran woke up next to after that party crept into Todd’s mind again. But he kept quiet and rubbed delicately under his arms, and as he did, he felt Kieran’s hands on his thighs.

“You have got some muscle on those legs,” Kieran said.

Todd tensed them for him.

“Jesus,” Kieran hissed. “That is solid.”

Todd chuckled and worked his hands slowly around his chest just like Jason had with him. The guy seemed to like it and slid back a little further until his ass touched Todd’s slowly growing hard on.

When his butt found Todd’s cock, he gave it a soft squeeze with his cheeks. Todd saw that as the signal to go for it and dipped his hands down Kieran’s hot sweaty torso. They slid smoothly, as though coated in oil, and it wasn’t long until they brushed the hard tip of Kieran’s cock.

“Yeah, do it for me,” Kieran whispered.

Todd curled his fingers around the shaft. Kieran’s cock was a little smaller than his own, but it felt good in his grip. Like Jason had done for him, he worked it slowly, gripping delicately with each downward pull. Kieran’s back inflated and subsided against him, deeper and deeper with each jerk. With his free hand, Todd dipped lower and stroked Kieran’s soft balls. His lips brushed close to Kieran’s neck and the desire to gently kiss his skin, stick out his tongue and lick the sweat running down it, grew steadily with each heaving motion of the body in front of him.

Kieran reached a hand down to Todd’s cock and after lifting his butt up an inch, directed its length beneath him and sat back down.

Kieran’s tight ass cheeks rubbed along Todd’s cock. Todd was reminded of Sean Thompson, the night on his bed with Jason Collier. They didn’t fuck. Sean had done to Todd what Todd was now doing to Kieran, and that was just sliding his cock between his crack, pushing it forward until the tip hit the ball sack.

Relief lifted him. He pressed in harder.

Kieran let out a dull breathy sound and a warm trickle slipped over Todd’s fingers, making him look down over the defenders shoulder to watch.

Kieran thrust into his grip and fired.

A bachelor of science (Computing), Rob worked as a software developer for over 15 years before turning his full time attention to learning the craft of writing. His love of science drew him into science fiction, but his love of man drew him to the MM genre. With his strategy of thinking differently, he aims to bring something to the market that pushes the boundaries.

Rob was born and raised in Manchester, England. Spent seven years living in London, but now lives back in his home city. Interests include: reading, film, weight training, and learning all he can about people – what makes them tick, what motivates them.

Into the Team is his first published novel.

Links

https://www.facebook.com/rob.damon01

https://twitter.com/RobDemanc

https://uk.pinterest.com/damon1889/

robdamon@hotmail.com

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