Author Karen Stivali is here today on the blog for her blog tour of Moment of Silence.
Welcome to Love Bytes, Karen!
Author Name: Karen Stivali
Book Name: Moment of Silence
Series: Moments In Time (This book is a ‘Moments in Time Novel’. It takes place in the same world, but can be read separately.)
Release Date: December 18, 2015
Pages or Words: 76,000 words
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Anna Sikorska
Blurb:
Growing up, Jason Stern led a charmed life complete with devoted sisters, a father who was one of Brooklyn’s most respected rabbis, and a mother who made the world’s best babka. He headed to NYU ready for anything—except falling for the wrong guy, coming out, and getting disowned by his once-loving family. In spite of that, Jason managed to graduate with honors. He’s got friends who treat him like family, and he’s proudly running the largest LGBTQ teen shelter in Manhattan. Life is good, but he’s still falling for the wrong men.
When charming, sexy Quinn Fitzpatrick begins work at the shelter, Jason falls hard and fast. Quinn is tall, blond, funny—damn near perfect. Only if Quinn’s gay, even he doesn’t seem to know it. If he does, he’s not telling anyone. And he’s about one ceremony away from becoming a Catholic priest.
Long hours of work turn to long nights of talking and laughter, and Jason dares to hope this time he’s falling for the right guy. But Quinn’s got a past to deal with and major decisions to make about his future. When Quinn leaves for a silent retreat, Jason knows the silence may change everything.
Categories: Contemporary, M/M Romance
What impression do you make on people when they first meet you? How about after they’ve known you for a while?
Jason: I think people tend to think I’m really shy, but once they get to know me they realize I rarely shut up.
Quinn(laughing): I’d agree with that.
Jason (knocks his shoulder into Quinn’s): Thanks a lot.
Quinn: You know I love that you never shut up. Besides, when most people meet me I think they assume I’m super serious.
Jason: You are pretty serious.
Quinn (frowns): But not in a morose way, right?
Jason (raises and eyebrow for a second then snorts): No. Not at all. You only give off the impression of being all school-teachery and strict. You’re not like that at all.
Quinn: School teachery? Oy.
Jason: You used “oy” right this time!
(they both laugh)
What’s your idea of a good marriage? Do you think that’ll happen in your life?
Jason (grinning): I do.
Quinn (snorts): That is the single most perfect answer to a marriage question that I can imagine.
(They link hands.)
Jason: My idea of a good marriage is two people who accept love each other even though they know the other person isn’t perfect. I think a marriage needs to be a balanced partnership. You have to love the person enough to keep loving them as they change and grow.
Quinn: And not take the other person for granted. I think it’s a miracle that I found someone as wonderful as Jason and I don’t intend to ever let myself forget how lucky I am that happened. Oh, and yeah, I do, too. (squeezes Jason’s hand)
Do you think you’ve turned out the way your parents expected?
*hysterical laughter from Quinn and Jason*
Jason: Uh, no. My parents definitely didn’t expect to have their only son be gay OR to have a future son-in-law who’s Catholic. But they’re learning to deal with it.
Quinn: Yeah, my mother’s quite a few steps behind in the ‘dealing with it’ arena. I don’t think she’ll ever get there, to be honest.
(Jason slips his hand into Quinn’s)
Jason: You’ve got a new family now.
Quinn: You’re all the family I need.
What’s the worst thing that’s happened in your life? What did you learn from it?
Jason: The worst thing that happened in my life was getting kicked out of my family. At least at the time, I thought it was the worst thing. I didn’t see it coming and it felt like my whole world was ending. But it made me learn that nothing can stop me. I’d never had to stand on my own before and then I didn’t have a choice.
Quinn: Most people wouldn’t have been as strong as you were.
Jason (throwing Quinn a small smile): Sure they would have.
Quinn: I wouldn’t. Not at nineteen.
Jason: What’s your worst thing?
Quinn (lip twitching into a grin as he stares at Jason): I don’t want to think about worst things, I want to think about best things. You’re the best thing that’s happened in my life. And you taught me that I can be who or whatever I want to be. Something you knew way before I did.
Jason: You think I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to you?
Quinn: I don’t think it. I know it.
Describe your ideal mate.
Jason: (stares at Quinn) Tall, blond, ridiculously blue eyes, long fingers, long c—
Quinn: My turn. Black hair, lean body, beautiful smooth skin covered in the sexiest array of tattoos.
Jason: Kind.
Quinn: Loving.
Jason: Smart.
Quinn: Funny.
Jason (grins) Stellar in bed.
Quinn: (flushes, but laughs) That too.
Pierogi were just what the evening required. We got two orders, potato with fried onions, and cheese doused in butter. To round things out, we added a gigantic link of kielbasa and finished it all off with blueberry blintzes. By the time we were done eating, I was so full I could barely move.
“This was awesome.” Quinn licked a purple streak of blueberry off his fork before setting it down and pushing his plate away.
I was too mesmerized by the sight of his tongue to speak right away.
The waitress stopped at our booth. “All set?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
She placed the paper check between us, and Quinn reached for it, but I grabbed it first. “I’ve got this one. Make up for the popcorn you gave away.”
“You don’t have to do that.” He pulled out his wallet and put a twenty on the table.
“You can’t let anyone do anything for you, can you?”
Quinn’s eyes bugged, then softened. “Yeah, I guess I do have a problem with that sometimes.”
“Sometimes?”
“Okay, most of the time.”
“You know what they say. The first step is admitting you have a problem. And the second is letting me pay for dinner.” I stuck the check and enough money for the meal and tip under the glass sugar shaker, then grabbed Quinn’s twenty, folded it in half, leaned over, and tucked it into his shirt pocket.
My fingers were in the pocket before I fully realized what I was doing. Then the whole universe condensed into the drag of my fingers on that two-inch-square area of his chest. His rock-solid chest that tightened the instant I made contact. My own chest froze, devoid of air. I’d forgotten how to breathe. All I could do was think about the fact that I had my hand on this man who’d consumed my waking and sleeping hours for weeks. And I had to let go. Literally.
I pulled my hand away, trying to turn the rush of breath that returned to my lungs into something resembling a laugh. “Ready to get out of here?”
Quinn nodded.
Shit. He’s silent again. Did he notice that moment of fantasy lust I just played out? What the fuck is wrong with me? Way to make him uncomfortable. Fuck—My monologue of self-criticism was interrupted by his hand on my shoulder.
His hand was probably a normal temperature, but given the heat it generated in my body, he might as well have been the Human Torch . Great. I’m not only in love with a straight priest, he’s also a superhero.
Quinn chuckled, and for a second I worried I’d said my crazy thoughts out loud. My face flushed to match the heat that coursed through the rest of me. “What?”
He handed me my keys. “You left these on the table.”
“Oh.” I took them, heat flaring through me in another rush when his fingers brushed mine as he placed the keyring in my hand. “Thanks. Geez. That would have sucked if I’d left those here.”
“Yeah.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I nearly tripped over the step as we left the restaurant. It was a text from Campbell. I laughed. “Apparently my roommate’s having an orange juice crisis, as in we’re out of orange juice. I need to stop at the bodega on the way home. I feel like we’re married sometimes. In a weird, sexless way.” Stop talking. Now.
“It’s good you get along so well.”
I gestured to the store on the next corner. “You need anything?”
“Nah. I’m too full to even think about eating or drinking anything.”
“The power of the pierogi.”
He grinned. “See you tomorrow?”
“Get some sleep. Tomorrow we’ll work on those shelves. Unless you think we need to run the math one more time.”
“Just triple-checking your skills.” The teasing sound in his voice made me want to stay on that corner and talk to him all night. Anything to keep hold of the pleasant hum that was vibrating through my body. But then he turned away, heading toward his place, hand in the air in a backward wave of sorts. “Good night.”
It was indeed. “Night.”
Buy the book:
Karen Stivali is a prolific writer, compulsive baker and chocoholic with a penchant for books, movies, and fictional British men. She’s also the multiple award-winning author of contemporary and erotic romances. She writes novels about love…like real life, only hotter.
Karen’s lifelong fascination with people has led her to careers ranging from hand-drawn animator, to party planner, to marriage and family counselor, but writing has always been her passion. Karen enjoys nothing more than following her characters on their journey toward love. Whether the couples are m/f or m/m, it’s guaranteed that Karen’s novels are filled with food, friendship, love, and smoking hot sex—all the best things in life.
When Karen isn’t writing (and often when she is), she can be found on Twitter attempting witty banter and detailing the antics of her fruit-loving cat, BadKitteh. She loves to hear from readers (and other writers), so don’t hesitate to contact/follow/like her at: [insert contact info here]
Where to find the author:
Tour Dates & Stops:
7-Jan: Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings
14-Jan: Hearts on Fire
15-Jan: My Fiction Nook
21-Jan: Love Bytes, Bonkers About Books
28-Jan: Alpha Book Club, MM Good Book Reviews
4-Feb: Bayou Book Junkie, Happily Ever Chapter, Kirsty Loves Books
11-Feb: KathyMac Reviews, Prism Book Alliance
18-Feb: Havan Fellows, Book Reviews and More by Kathy
25-Feb: BFD Book Blog, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words
Rafflecopter Prize: eBook copy of the Moments in Time series
after trying to get pregnant for so long and finding out i was
Thank you for the character interview and excerpt =)
Every moment has been a change for me – because I am always making choices. Some moments change things in a not very good way, some in an awesome way.