A warm welcome back to author  Francis Gideon who stops by today to talk about his new release “The Boyfriend Rule” which released on 12/11/2015.

Francis talk about this new story , shares an excerpt and also brought a wonderful giveaway for our readers!

Welcome Francis 🙂

Hello again!  I’m Francis Gideon and I’m back to talk about one of my holiday releases from MLR Press. This one, called The Boyfriend Rule, acts as a secondary story to my first m/m contemporary romance novel entitled How To Make A Carrot Cake.

In The Boyfriend Rule, the already established relationship between Nate Reid and Billy Lawson starts to grow more complicated as Christmas approaches. Billy’s ill father may end up missing the holiday since he’s in the hospital, and Nate’s friends (all of whom seem to be married, or engaged, or having babies) want to meet Billy during a large social gathering. Billy feels completely unprepared for his personal life as well as the holiday itself. When a co-worker reminds Billy that he must attend all holiday function since it’s “the boyfriend rule” Billy thinks he may want to quit this whole Christmas thing–or relationship thing–altogether. Luckily, that doesn’t happen. But what does happen I’ll leave as a mystery for now, and talk about food instead.

One of the main reasons why Billy has a hard time with Christmas is the fact that he’s vegan. How To Make A Carrot Cake revolves around this issue in several ways, since Nate wants to take Billy out to eat for their dates, but he has a hard time finding places. This leads them to cook most of their meals in Billy’s cramped apartment and having fun afterwards when things get too messy. Billy’s not vegan for political reasons; when his father got sick, the only foods he could eat were those without animal products. So as a way to become closer, Billy mimics his father’s eating habits.

This is the definition of “comfort food”–mimicking our family’s eating habits when we’re down or sad. So in a twist on the typical idea of meatloaf or brownies being comfort foods, now egg-free gingerbread cookies and coconut curry become Billy’s staple meals. Since we’re all probably in the middle of our own baking for the holiday season, I want to share one of my favourite cookie recipes. This is from Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s Post Punk Kitchen, which can be accessed for free here

Because my partner has a nephew with an egg allergy, and a niece with a milk allergy, I end up baking these cookies a lot. It’s nearly impossible to find a cookie that works without eggs (since eggs are binders) so I wanted to pass this along. These work. Kid tested, and boyfriend approved. 🙂

Book Blurb:

Billy Lawson hates Christmas. The carols, the gaudy decorations, and the crowds seem to be even worse this year. To make matters worse, it looks like Billy’s father, Jimmy, will be stuck in the hospital over the holiday season due to his illness. Billy thinks he’s fine, but when Nate wants to go to yet another holiday party, Billy ditches the cookies he’s making and the party. Just when Billy thinks he’ll be alone on Christmas, Nate reminds him that there are certain rules boyfriends must abide by.

“So what’s your story?”

“What do you mean?”

“If John’s a legend for waking up in Ohio, what have you done?”

“Nothing, nothing,” Nate says too quickly.

Billy laughs. “You can’t lie to me.”

Nate’s cheeks turn redder than Billy expects. He feels his love for this man swell and grow suddenly. He’s so obvious and transparent. And yet, a legend among his friends. “Tell me. You have to tell me. That’s the rule, or so I’ve heard,” Billy pleads.

“And what rule is that?”

“The Boyfriend Rule. I come to your friends’ parties, and you come to see my dad on Christmas. But you also have to tell me your deepest darkest secrets.”

“Oh. I see. Where did you hear about this rule?”

“Nowhere special. It’s just…common knowledge, actually,” Billy says, his smirk far too wide. “I mean, Gary told me.”

“Oh no,” Nate says, shaking his head. “That’s how you know it’s true?”

“Shh.” Billy puts a finger to Nate’s mouth, lingering there. “You gonna tell me your secrets or not?”

“Maybe. I think I’ve heard another version of that rule, but I’ll humor you. Of course. Now let me think…” Nate strokes his chin overdramatically. “Okay. I’ll tell you my legend, if you offer up something for me as well.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Your best Christmas story.”

Billy groans. “Why?”

“Because as much as I tease you about being Ebenezer, I know you have some good stories. Deal?” Nate leans forward, extending his hand. Billy groans again, but also feels joy—genuine joy—rise up in his chest.

“Okay, fine. Deal.”

They shake hands, and Nate’s smile splits his face in two. The alcohol has still colored his cheeks red, and Billy offers him water or coffee before they move on.

“Better take both,” Nate says. “Especially if I’m gonna drive us to the party tonight. No more wine.”

“Good point.” Billy hands out water glasses, then prepares the coffee. He narrows his eyes at Nate. “Go on.”

Nate sighs, toys with his watch, and then finally starts.

Buy Links:

How To Make A Carrot Cake & The Boyfriend Rule on MLR’s site

Amazon Link How To Make A Carrot Cake

Amazon Link The BoyFriend Rule

Francis Gideon is a writer of m/m romance, but he also dabbles in mystery, fantasy, historical, and paranormal fiction. He has appeared in Gay Flash Fiction, Chelsea Station Poetry, and the Martinus Press anthology To Hell With Dante.  He lives in Canada with his partner, reads too many comics books, and drinks too much coffee. Feel free to contact him, especially if you want to talk about horror movies, LGBT poetry, or NBC’s Hannibal. Find him at francisgideon.wordpress.com.

Share your favourite holiday treat, along with your email in a comment for a chance to win ebook copies of The Boyfriend Rule and How to Make A Carrot Cake. I’ll pick two random winners before The New Year.

Good luck!