Today we are very happy to have stopping by Love Bytes author Lane Hayes! . She is talking to us about her new release The Right Words, sharing an excerpt and offering a giveaway to our readers !!
A warm welcome Lane 🙂

 

 

“Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.”—Buddha

 

I began writing The Right Words before the Michael Sam story broke last year.  In fact, I believe the manuscript was already with the publisher when the courageous college football player kissed his boyfriend on national television after learning he’d been drafted in the NFL.  The clip was shown on a steady rotation for days if not weeks.  There was an outcry of support and unfortunately, outrage as well.  But the most important thing… it happened.  He did it.  It may be a chip in a ridiculously high brick wall, but a young man at the beginning of his career bravely told the world “I can play at the NFL level and yes, I’m gay”.  Many gay athletes wait until their careers are at an end before uttering those words, if they choose to do so at all.  To do so at the beginning was incredibly courageous.

 

In The Right Words, Michael Martinez is an elite soccer player. At thirty-three, his career is waning but his love of the game has not.  He is hell bent on making sure a torn ACL doesn’t set him back.  Unfortunately, something else just might.  Michael is also a Latino man who has the added pressure of a strict religious and cultural background.  As he says at one point in the story, homosexuality is looked as a weakness where he comes from.  He sees it as his duty to protect his family from what they can’t understand and don’t want to know.  Luke Preston is the opposite.  He has none of the same concerns and knows nothing about the soccer or any sport whatsoever.  However, he is recovering from his own recent setback.  When two very different people find themselves on the same path in their quest for personal healing.

 

I love that simple phrase, the right words.  It can mean so many different things.  It may refer to knowing what to say when faced with adversity, rather than keeping quiet and hoping someone else speaks up. The right words aren’t the easy words.  They are the ones that set the bravest among us apart from those who wish to remain in the dark.  They challenge us to be more than we thought possible and to create positive change for the future. They can be spoken in any language but the meaning does not falter in translation.  Whatever they may be in any given circumstance, they will be powerful because there is nothing more influential or persuasive at the end of the day than the right words.

 

Thank you so much for having me on Love Bytes, Dani!  I appreciate your support!

 

Happy Reading!  Lane Hayes xo

 

Excerpt from The Right Words by Lane Hayes:

 

 

“You think you are braver than any other people—whereas you’re just as brave, and no braver.”

 

“Quote?” His eyes sparked with humor.

 

“Yes. Mark Twain. Sorry. It’s a weird habit.”

 

“It’s not weird. It’s… refreshing. Different. I’m used to hanging out with a bunch of jocks who honestly might not know who Mark Twain is.”

 

“Please tell me you do,” I pleaded with mock gravity.

 

“I do. Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer.” He smirked.

 

“Well done.” I giggled when he pumped his fist in the air like an adolescent.

 

I held his gaze in silence and allowed myself to bask in the peaceful moment.

 

“I think it’s awesome you have something that gives you strength. And pardon me for saying so, but… it’s really fucking sexy that it’s bookish. Maybe a pair of librarian glas—”

 

“Shut up.” I felt an insta-blush at his suggestive words and was glad twilight had taken over.

 

Michael chuckled beside me. Not so long ago, I would have been sure he was laughing at me. My experience with jocks was limited to thuggish high school idiots who I carefully kept at a distance. They intimidated me with their size and musculature. I tried to intimidate with my brain. It didn’t always keep me from getting teased but certainly solidified the divide between us.

 

Michael wasn’t like those boys. I sensed an innate kindness in him, evident in his willingness to hold my hand while I shared my own war story with my ex. Instead of pissing me off, the mention of me wearing sexy librarian glasses went straight to my groin. I stood up and tried to clandestinely adjust my half-hard cock as I walked toward the edge of the terrace.

 

I heard the scratch of his crutches behind me and turned to find him standing a couple feet away.

 

“You know I was teasing, right?” His voice sounded deep and impossibly sexy. “I like you, Luke. I like that you’re different. You’re extraordinary.” He smiled softly and reached out to brush a stray hair away from my eyes. I was bewitched and in danger of being swept away by the moment. He was too charming for my good.

 

“You don’t know me. Not really. So please don’t be offended if I don’t—”

 

“Fine. Don’t believe me. But you’re a fighter. I can tell. And I see this colorful, rainbow aura around you I think is… sexy as hell.”

 

“Thank God! I was sure my rainbow glitter bag had a hole in it, and I’ve been desperately trying to gather the bit—”

 

“Stop it. Take the compliment. You’re going to have to work on believing the good things too, you know.”

 

I chuckled. He was right. “Thank you. I can tell I’m getting better, but I’m a work in progress.”

 

“Aren’t we all?”

 

We stood in the dusky evening staring at each other for a long moment. I licked my bottom lip and had moved to step aside when I felt his hand on my shoulder.

 

“Come here.”

 

I swallowed hard. “Why?”

 

He didn’t answer right away, but when he did, he pitched his voice low in an exaggerated whisper. “You have something in your hair. Let me get it.”

 

I knew he was up to something but I played along. “What is it?”

 

Michael set his forefinger on his lips, then reached out to caress my ear before running a lazy hand through my hair.

 

“Glitter. And there’s a lot of it. Red, purple, orange, gr—”

 

I giggled and swatted at his hand. He didn’t back away. Instead he gently moved his hand to my neck and pulled me forward so that our lips were inches apart.

 

“Can I kiss you?”

 

Links to Purchase The Right Words:

 

Amazon       Dreamspinner Press     Barnes & Noble

 

Blurb for The Right Words:

 

Escaping an abusive relationship left Luke Preston anxious and spouting panic-induced poetry. Desperate for a fresh start, Luke accepts a job remodeling a tired old beach house for a professional soccer player and his model girlfriend. While his passion is literature, not sports, focusing on the renovations eases his anxiety. Until the job he signed up for turns out to be more complicated than advertised.

 

 

Sidelined with a serious injury, soccer star Michael Martinez decides his beach house is the perfect place to recuperate. Remodeling might be the diversion he needs to keep his mind off his busted knee. Falling for the pretty designer with some quirky habits wasn’t on the drawing board. Unfortunately, Luke didn’t build a big enough closet for Michael to hide in. Having a star-powered sports career used to be all Michael lived for, but he’ll have to reevaluate his plans and find the right words if he wants to build more than a beach house with Luke.

 

 

 

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 a well-told love story with beautifully written characters. These days she prefers the leading roles both be men! Lane discovered the M/M genre a fews ago and was instantly hooked. Her first novel was a finalist in the 2013 Rainbow Awards and her third received an Honorable Mention in the 2014 Rainbow Awards. She loves travel, chocolate, and wine (in no particular order). Lane lives in Southern California with her amazing husband and the coolest yellow lab ever in an almost empty nest.

Contact the Author:

Lane’s Blog: http://lanehayes.wordpress.com

Twitter:  LaneHayes3

Facebook:  LaneHayesauthor or Lane Hayes

Email:  lanehayes@ymail.com or lanehayes3@gmail.com

 

Lane is giving away a copy of a backlist title incl “The Right Words”!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway