A warm Love Bytes welcome to author Lou Sylvre visiting us today on the A Shot of J & B blog tour.
Lou kindly answered some questions for us with some great answers I might say 🙂 , shares and excerpt and there is a giveaway to enter !
Welcome Lou 🙂
Book Name: A Shot of J & B
Series: Vasquez Security: The Next Generation Book 1
Release Date: March 16, 2015
Author Name: Lou Sylvre
Lou Sylvre lives and writes on the rainy side of Washington State, penning mostly suspense/romance novels because she can’t resist giving her characters hard times but good love. Her personal assistant is Boudreau, a large cat who never outgrew his kitten meow, and he makes a point of letting her know when she’s taken a plot tangent too far. He (Boudreau) invites readers to give their feedback as well!
Where to find the author:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LouSylvre
Author Page: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorLouSylvre
Twitter: http://twitter.com/sylvre
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Reese Dante
Pages or Words: 76,000 words, 194 pages
Categories: Contemporary, Crime Fiction, Fiction, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance, BDSM (light), Suspense, Romance
Blurb:
Six years ago, Brian Harrison helped save the life of Jackie Vasquez, and he’s never really forgotten him. After the rescue, Brian ended his employment with Jackie’s uncle Luki and left the US for England, aiming to distance himself from the confused feelings—not lust, but not brotherly—that then sixteen-year-old Jackie engendered. Now Jackie has become a man, and when they meet again by chance, lust with a dose of D/s rope kink is definitely on the list of possibilities. As they get to know each other, though, lust shows every sign of growing into love, deep and true.
When Jackie moves to London for graduate studies in criminal psychology, he and Brian hope they’ll be able to enjoy each other’s frequent company. But they haven’t factored in the claim Brian’s police job with Scotland Yard will make on his time, especially when the “Gaslighter crimes” sap investigative resources. An abandoned aide dog named Soldier leads to a breakthrough clue, and a chain of discoveries fall like dominoes. As Brian rushes to beat the criminal’s game before it escalates to true terror, he comes to an undeniable conclusion: Jackie Vasquez, the man he loves, is in mortal danger.
Buy Links:
Where you planning to write a book about Jackie when you introduced him?
No, not at all. He appeared in the Vasquez and James Universe in the very first book. And he did have an important role, which increased in significance. But the third book, Finding Jackie actually centered on his abduction, and included a few scenes written in his point of view. After that, the most wonderful thing happened! Readers, one after the other, asked for Jackie and Brian’s story. I had to figure out how to present that as a love story, so I did some thinking about it for quite a while. When I realized that all I had to do was let some time pass after Finding Jackie, I knew it was time to write it.
Are you planning any more books in the Sonny and Luki “world”?
Well, A Shot of J&B is the first book in a new series in the Vasquez and James universe, or world. In the next book, the guys will be back in the states, and Brian will be working for Luki, running his small Los Angeles branch of Vasquez Security, so the connection continues. The series title is Vasquez Security, Then Next Generation. J (Yes I love Star Trek and TNG is my favorite, and I’m also a bit of a joker and couldn’t resist the pun. There are probably people rolling their eyes over it right now, but hopefully they’ll shake their heads and read it anyway.) There will be more books in this spinoff series at the least, and the possibility exists that I’ll be led to more at some point.
There won’t likely be any more books with Luki and Sonny as the main characters. After Because of Jade, I felt like they’d struggled enough (understatement), and there they were at peace with their little girl, a family. I’m going to let them keep their happy ending. But, it should be noted, that the new series actually occurs well before Because of Jade in the story chronology, though it’s after all the other Vasquez and James series books. I did that in order to keep myself confused… Good thing readers are usually smarter than me, and probably won’t have trouble. J
Do you miss writing about Sonny and Luki or are you tired of them?
Oh, the joyful thing is I haven’t stopped! They appear as secondary characters in A Shot of J&B, and will continue to do so. That’s fun. Also, they (Luki, especially, but also Sonny) have decided to be my advisers for the new series, and have no qualms about telling me I’ve got something wrong! Between them looking over my shoulder and at least one cat on my keyboard, it’s a wonder I get anything written at all.
We see you had a birthday recently… How did you celebrate?
Jeez, that was a month ago! I can hardly remember. Let me think… Actually the night before my birthday my youngest daughter brought me sushi for dinner. I only eat California roll, cucumber role, and things made with cooked crab. I try not to look at the little lumps of raw fish she eats, that way we’re both happy. For desert, yummilicious chocolate dipped strawberries. Oh my!
Then on my birthday, around 9:00 pm (I was in street clothes still, thank goodness) my family came over to surprise me. They said they couldn’t wrap their presents so they wrapped themselves—each of them had on some bow or streamers or whatever. Very cute. The grandsons, ages 16, 13, and 11 gave me things they knew I’d like: A bug-eyed, light green, stuffed frog; a purple rubber ducky, and little yellow plush worm toy—when you pull the almost invisible string it vibrates like a guitar string. The high point was this little thing that they put on the cake, with a central thing that looks like a tiny Sterno can (but a nice blue color). When they lit it, it lit all the candles that were on the ‘petals,’ and it opened like a flower rather quickly. None of us expected it, we jumped. The darn thing also played “Happy Birthday,” and didn’t have a way to shut it off. It went on for a while, so the next day I hid in my daughter’s bedroom, then she put it in mine. I tried putting it in the garage, but I could still hear it in my bedroom. Finally I put it in the refrigerator, which totally blocked the sound, but every time we opened the fridge, there it was playing the music. It didn’t stop for more than three weeks. It’s still in there, and sometimes when the fridge opens it still sounds off a couple of gnarly notes.
Finally, on the Saturday after, my oldest daughter had a big dinner over at her house, with all the family and a couple of extras. My ex-husband and good friend made me a picture box, sort of, with pictures of our girls when they were young, and the legend, “My children are my flowers. They give me peace in quiet hours.” That’s almost a quote from Steven Stills song “Johnny’s Garden,” about John Lennon. I was really touched that he did that.
All in all, it was more fuss than my birthday usually garners, but it was my 60th, so I guess that was fine.
What are you working on next?
Anne Barwell and I are co-authoring a Scottish historical M/M romance with a touch of magic, called The Harp and the Sea. Then, the next book in the VSTNG series, working title A Cup of Kindness. The events of the story will occur around the December Holidays, and I plan to have the book end on the (fictional) New Year’s Eve.
Thank you very much, Love Bytes, for letting me stop by on the tour and asking me questions, especially the one about my birthday! Bet you didn’t expect all that, did you? 🙂
(From Chapter Two: December 26th, after a day with Luki and Sonny)
Brian had trouble keeping up with conversations and events for the rest of the evening. The only element he remained fully aware of was Jackie. Every time Jackie moved, Brian marveled at some little thing he hadn’t noticed before: the way a golden-red shine off his hair formed almost a halo when the light was behind him; the way thick, loose curls tumbled over his shoulders when he stripped the leather tie out and brushed his hands through the loosened locks; the way his pale eyes seemed more silver than gray when he laughed; the pattern of the freckles on his cheeks; the richness of his voice—slightly lower in tone and smoother in timbre than seemed expected.
In the few hours he’d studied the young man—not entirely on purpose—he’d become familiar with Jackie’s habits. Jackie bit his bottom lip when thinking just like Luki. He canted his head to the side and squinted slightly when listening. His laugh seemed always sudden and sincere—as if it took Jackie by surprise. When he spoke, intelligent words came readily to his tongue, without hesitation, but he only spoke with true purpose. And he was kind, watching for other’s needs—refilling a coffee cup, turning off a light that shone too bright in someone’s eyes, giving Bear a generous scratch behind the ears.
When it came time to leave and Jackie left the room to gather his things, Brian at last turned his full attention to his hosts. He thanked them and quite sincerely said he’d been very happy to see them again. He added, “And the food was fabulous, Luki!”
Luki chuckled, and said. “Thank you, Brian. But as preoccupied as you were, I think if I asked you tomorrow what you ate for dinner tonight, you wouldn’t even remember!”
Brian couldn’t pretend surprise that Luki had noticed. Before he could think of a reasonable response, Luki squelched any possibility of a speech with the biggest hug Brian had ever seen his former boss give anyone besides his husband, and then a giggling Sonny circled his long arms around them both and joined the squeeze. Brian’s ribs hurt a little by the time it was over.
When Jackie came from the back of the house with two suitcases and a backpack, Brian took the luggage from him and went to put it in the rental car while Jackie made his farewells to his uncles. He put the backpack in the backseat, thinking Jackie might want that available, and then laid the suitcases in the trunk. They seemed to fit perfectly in there with his own bags, but when Brian had that thought, he realized what a strange thought it was, and tried to talk himself back into his usual, more sensible perspective.
Don’t be ridiculous, Brian. Even if there was a God and that God made one person to perfectly match one other person in the entire world, luggage fitting in the trunk wouldn’t likely be a sign they’d found each other. He was able to laugh at himself a little, then, and it did help him take a mental and emotional step back. Not too far, though. Now that he and Jackie had crossed paths again, he had no desire to step back too far.
He admitted in a moment of clarity that the prospects for any future development were a bit disheartening. He lived in London, had a career and a flat and a club and a cat there. Jackie lived in Nebraska—at least Brian thought he still did—was in college, still and had years of study ahead of him pursuing the education he needed to pursue his field of interest. And who knew where in the world that would take him?
Just then, Jackie turned toward him, smile clear and lovely in the glow of the porch light, but somehow more reminiscent of the boy of six years ago than he had been at any earlier time that night. It reminded Brian who Jackie was, what he’d been through, and he thought, if ever there was a sub that required a cautious approach, Jackie is it. Brian had enough savvy to know Jackie had become interested in him, but he decided that, though he wouldn’t discourage Jackie’s interest, he also wouldn’t do anything to deliberately foster it. For the time being, he’d let Jackie take the reins, solo.
Rain had begun to fall heavily just as they’d pulled out onto the main road, which would take them back to Port Clifton. Visibility on the road was poor at the best of times, but on a moonless night in heavy rain, Jackie thought the chances that Brian would be able to pass the slow-moving, overloaded-looking log truck ahead of them seemed slim at best. He sighed, but not unhappily, only settling in. The ride would be longer than expected, but they’d left early so they’d likely make their flights in plenty of time.
The sound of the rain and the way it dripped down the windows seemed to close them in, to make the car’s interior seem cozy, its dash lights comforting. And Brian… he seemed steady behind the wheel, relaxed, perhaps even a masterful driver, reminding Jackie of Sonny. With the heat on low, Brian’s scent permeated the air—something with a touch of incense like quality soap, and slightly sexed, and a faint tang of end-of-a-long day man-smell. And….
“I smell leather,” Jackie said.
“Oh!” Brian flashed a smile at him. “My brother gave me a jacket for Christmas. It’s on the backseat. Still new enough to have a pretty noticeable smell. I admit I like the smell, but most of the time I hardly notice it, and I know there are people who don’t like it.”
“I like it!” Jackie laughed at his own enthusiastic answer. He knew he wasn’t being subtle, but then subtlety was not a quality he’d ever been known for. “Quite a lot, in fact. It’s one of the reasons I took up leatherwork.”
“Like tooling?”
“Tooling, burning, sewing. I like to work with soft, lighter weight leathers. I think the tooling and painting people do on heavy leather is fabulous—some of its museum quality. But I like the feel of the softer stuff, the way it responds if I treat it right, the way it looks when the right people wear it.”
“You?”
“No. Well, heh. Yes I have a few things I wear from time to time, in certain… situations.” Jackie hesitated, knew he was taking the conversation somewhere unexpected. “I had some leather that matched the color of the darkest streaks in my hair, and I made myself a harness—but that one I’ve never worn.”
“No? Why?”
“Well,” Jackie said, drawing the syllable out slightly, “the occasion just never seemed right for it, yet.”
Brian glanced at Jackie, turned his eyes back on the road, and said in a husky voice that had to be one of the sexiest sounds Jackie had ever heard. Finally, he sort of smacked his lips, chuckled once, and then said, “I’d bet good money you’ll wear it well when you decide to do so.”
Jackie said only, quietly, “Thank you, Brian.”
They didn’t speak for a while, but Jackie had no sense of awkward silence. After a time, Brian seemed to notice the classical music station playing on the radio, and said, “Oh, hey, you can change the station or turn it off if you want. I’m so used to it I forget sometimes not everyone listens to music by long-dead composers.” He laughed, a pleasant, understated sound.
Jackie answered, “No, I like it! Especially this Renaissance music—that’s Palestrina if I’m not mistaken.”
“Yes, I think you’re right.”
“Genius.”
“Probably,” Brian said, and for a few minutes they fell back into silence. They were passing through Port Clifton, but most of the town’s lights were off, and the streets deserted. Somehow, the lonely darkness inside made the inside of the car even more intimate. Jackie turned toward Brian and asked, “So, you don’t have a boyfriend, but you have a club.”
“Right,” Brian said, though he seemed to be hesitating. “I go there maybe once a week or so. I’m not going to pretend you don’t know what kind of club I’m talking about, so I’ll just say, sometimes I have a scene, occasionally I watch one. Sometimes I only have a shot of J&B and a good-natured argument with the bartender, Jamie. Sometimes I have lunch. And…,” Brian started but paused for some time before finishing his sentence. “And, when I do have a scene, it’s most likely to involve ropes or leather, and someone submitting to me.”
Jackie thought that held promise, and he felt something like a flutter of butterflies stretching their wings somewhere under his navel. He wanted to laugh, but he bit his lip and limited himself to a smile. He tried to picture what kind of place might appeal to Brian. Of the few BDSM clubs Jackie had been in, one could only be described as sleazy, one quite swank, and the others landed somewhere in-between on the classiness scale. Jackie was betting Brian’s club would be on the classy side, and he decided to test the theory.
“So,” he said, “what’s the club like? The place itself, I mean.”
“Very pleasant—very British, to my American sensibilities. Things are all polished wood and brass and subdued colors up front—understated and elegant. In the back, brick walls, tile and marble floors with lots of thick carpets, steel equipment, lots of leather. Expensive, unfortunately, but other than yarn and my cat, I don’t spend my money on much else.” He glanced at Jackie, smiling.
Jackie smiled back. “Sounds classy.” He thought for a moment, imagining, then added, “And I can see you in that environment, right at home. What about the people.”
“Variety. No one I heartily dislike, though there are only a few I really know. Tommy—he’s the man who has taught me what skills I have, and he’s still my mentor. Sponsored me into the club. Jamie, the bartender.”
“What about subs?”
“Well… I meet them because someone told them to contact me, or told me I might like to contact them, generally. I don’t go to the club to find them. I don’t see anyone repeatedly; for the most part once is good.”
Jackie nodded. He knew Brian might not have seen the motion, but he wanted to think before speaking. Before he was ready, Brian spoke up again.
“Does… does that make me sound like a cold mofo?” He chuckled, but it sounded to Jackie like his answer would matter to the other man.
He answered honestly, quietly. “No. At least, there’s too many other possibilities for me to make that assumption.”
“Never assume?”
“Right. Never assume. But, do you mind if I ask you something even more personal?”
“Shoot.”
“Um… I’m just wondering if you… think things will always be like that for you. I mean, do you think, someday—”
“Do I think I might find someone special? Would I want to?”
“Right.”
“Short answer: yes. Yes, I’d like to have a… have more with… the right person, someday.”
Jackie nodded again. He didn’t have anything more to ask, and thought it would be okay to just be quiet and let peace settle as the car rumbled over the noisy steel bridge deck crossing the Narrows. But Brian apparently felt differently.
“What about you, Jackie? No boyfriend now, right?”
“No,” Jackie said, not sure why the question should take him by surprise. “No, I’ve never really had a boyfriend since high school, before my brother and I left home.”
“You’re busy with school and everything, but…. Well, I told you my ‘someday’ answer. What about yours? Hopes, dreams, maybes?”
“All of the above.” Jackie hadn’t hesitated—he knew his own mind well. He added, “As you said, with the right guy.”
They did fall silent then, as Brian maneuvered the rather tricky interchange onto I-5 Northbound, then dealt with a heavy downpour, water on the road, and spray from truck tires drowning the Sonata’s windshield. Jackie had never become used to Puget Sound driving conditions, and the slap of water cutting off all visibility startled him. He drew in a breath and stiffened, but Brian, while keeping the wheel firm in the grip of one strong hand, reached over with the other and laid a hand on his shoulder.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.” Jackie let the word out on a sigh of relief. “Thanks.”
Brian said nothing but squeezed his shoulder before taking his hand away. Jackie missed it, oddly.
Fifteen minutes later, Brian followed signs off one freeway onto another, and then onto the airport access. “If you want I can drop you at the entrance for your airline, but I think we have plenty of time. If we stay together, we can get coffee or something.”
“Yeah,” Jackie said. “Coffee would be lovely.”
Tour Dates: March 16 – 27, 2015
Tour Stops:
16-Mar
17-Mar
18-Mar
19-Mar
20-Mar
23-Mar
24-Mar
25-Mar
26-Mar
27-Mar
Rafflecopter Prize: E-copy of ‘A Shot of J & B’, plus a $10 Dreamspinner gift card
I’m new to this world but look forward to meeting all the guys.
I need to read this series.
Luki, there’s just something about him.
I am not sure as I have not read the series yet. I have put the series on my must read list. As soon as I have enough money to by the books I will in the mean time. I am looking forward to adding the series to my Must Read List.
Huge fan of this series!! Thanks for the chance!!