Autumn is hands-down my favorite season. I love the element of change in the air from cooler temperatures to falling leaves and the anticipation of the upcoming holidays, without any major stress. Having a new release around the corner makes it even more exciting! Leaning Into Touch is coming October 5! Woohoo! This is the second full-length book in my newest series set in San Francisco and this one belongs to Finn and Josh. Leaning Into Touch is in part a second chance story, but more importantly, it about the long sometimes arduous journey of self-acceptance.

I’ll leave you with a short excerpt from Leaning Into Touch, but first I want to share a few words my son wrote about his first time participating in the Folsom Street Fair last weekend in San Francisco. The journey to self-acceptance for my son has been gratifying to see from a mother’s point of view. So, though most parents might not be overly enthused about their kid hanging out at a BDSM and leather pride fair, I’m thrilled that he’s found the courage to embrace who he is in an atmosphere that celebrates fearless expression. The italicized part below is his.This past Sunday gay men and cool women across San Francisco found themselves looking headlong into their mirrors asking the same question – “Am I wearing the right amount of nothing?” This was a question I found myself repeating as I undressed for the occasion at hand – Folsom Street Fair. I had spent the previous couple of weeks chatting with friends, comparing notes, and wringing hands as we discussed the expense of leather, the discomfort of latex, the appropriation of fetish, and whether or not we could look cute in any of it at all. It was only when I pulled up to the front entrance that I remembered how silly these lines of thinking really were.

There’s an incredible democracy to nudity, it strips you of your style and pretense and forces you to engage with yourself and the world around you as the human animal that you are. At Folsom that means there’s no place for vanity. Why worry about what you’re wearing when you can just be?

I spent the whole day watching people be. I drank with drag queens and partied with dominatrixes; I met porn stars and petted puppies. At one point I was asked to drink water and spit it all over a go-go dancer’s jockstrap; I so regret not having done so. Falling into bed with work in the morning, I replayed the day’s events in my head and all of the sexy, bizarre, and vaguely traumatizing things that came to pass, and thought, “I want the audacity to live that well.”

Proud mama moment. Yes, please find the audacity to live well and love well. Always.

Here’s a short excerpt from Leaning Into Touch. Mark your calendar for October 5! Also, I started a Lane Hayes group on Facebook called Lane’s Lovers. Come join us!

Happy Reading,

Lane Hayes xo

Leaning Into Touch by Lane Hayes (October 5):

I checked my reflection in the bathroom mirror. Not bad. I adjusted my collar and cocked my head. The navy gingham oxford shirt was a safe “meet the boyfriend” choice, and almost no one looked like a schmuck in dark blue. My hair was another issue. It was particularly wild this morning. I’d have to sneak some of Grant’s high-end gel to tame it so I didn’t look like I got stuck in an electric storm. I hurried into his master suite and grabbed an expensive-looking tube from his counter. I studied the script and tried to decipher the words but a few French classes hadn’t taught me anything more than “avec” meant “with.” I started to reach for another tube when a steady knock startled me. I took both tubes with me and rushed to answer the door.

Wow, he looked good. Finn was dressed like me in a blue checked oxford shirt and perfectly pressed khakis. Unlike me, he could have stepped out of one of those men’s magazines featuring rugged, muscular dudes. Field and Stream without the fish and mosquitoes.

“Hello.”

“Hi. Uh…come in.” I stepped backward to make room for him to enter then lamely added, “You look nice.”

“Thank you. So do you,” he replied with a lopsided grin. “We actually look a bit alike. They may think we went shopping together.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so.” I snickered as I led the way through the foyer to the great room.

“Are you ready to go? You did say ten o’clock, right?”

I glanced at my watch and nodded.

“I did, but I have a major emergency to take care of first.” I pointed to my mop of hair, forgetting I was still holding the gel. “I have to fix this mess.”

Finn knit his brow and then rolled his eyes. “You look fine. I like your hair the way it is.”

“Yeah right. This is no time to placate. I know what I’m dealing with here.” I shoved one of the tubes at him and gestured meaningfully. “All of Grant’s products are French. It must be a Canadian thing. What does that say?”

His eyes creased with instant humor as he turned the tube over. He cleared his throat theatrically and winked. “It says this is made with jojoba extract.”

“Okay. What else?”

“It’s a long-lasting, silicon-based lubricant.” He gave me a knowing look I couldn’t quite read.

“Go on. How much am I supposed to use?”

“I suppose that varies person to person, but you’ll be glad to know it’s condom compatible and…it was especially developed for the anal zone,” he finished with a smirk.

“What?”

“It’s lube, Josh.” This time he couldn’t contain himself. He burst into laughter, doubling over when the hilarity hit him in a fresh wave a few seconds later. “You were about to slather lube in your hair. That’s fucking priceless!”

“Yeah, yeah. Hysterical. What about this one?”

Finn’s shoulders shook with mirth. He fought to regain control of himself before reading the other bottle. “This one is body lotion, but you never know…it might do the trick. Actually, I bet the lube would work too. Which do you want to try?”

“Ha. Ha.” I shot him a dirty look then grabbed the lotion and motioned for him to follow me back to Grant’s room. “Help me out. I don’t want to be late and I can’t read the hieroglyphics on my own.”

Finn gamely complied. He perused Grant’s well-organized cache of guy products then chose a slim black bottle. “I’m not sure but I think this may be it. Take a look.”

He pointed at the words “hair gel” clearly marked along one side and chuckled. I gave him a dirty look and snatched the gel from him before popping the cap and pouring a liberal amount on my palm.

“That’s far too much. Here. Give me a bit of that.” Finn grasped my wrist and swiped his palm over mine, transferring some of the goop to his fingers. Then he motioned for me to face him.

“What are you going to do?” I asked warily.

“I’m going to put this in your ears and up your nose. What do you think I’m going to do?” he snipped. “Cooperate, please and stop asking twenty questions at a go or we will be late.”

I opened my mouth to argue but he looked kinda fierce and no-nonsense and yeah, it turned me on.

Lane Hayes is grateful to finally be doing what she loves best. Writing full-time! It’s no secret Lane loves a good romance novel. An avid reader from an early age, she has always been drawn to well-told love story with beautifully written characters. These days she prefers the leading roles to both be men. Lane discovered the M/M genre a few years ago and was instantly hooked. Her debut novel was a 2013 Rainbow Award finalist and subsequent books have received Honorable Mentions, and were winners in the 2016 Rainbow Awards. She loves red wine, chocolate and travel (in no particular order). Lane lives in Southern California with her amazing husband in a newly empty nest.

Books by Lane Hayes:

Better Than Good, Better Than Chance, Better Than Friends, Better Than Safe, The Right Words, The Wrong Man & The Right Time, A Kind Of Truth, A Kind of Romance, A Kind of Honesty, A Kind of Home, A Way with Words, Leaning Into Love, Leaning Into Always, Leaning Into the Fall,

Coming Soon: Leaning Into Touch

Contact Information:

Website: http://lanehayes.wordpress.com

Twitter:   @LaneHayes3

Facebook: LaneHayesauthor

Email:   lanehayes@ymail.com