A warm welcome to author Lane Swift joining us today to share an exclusive excerpt of her first m/m release “Dormant Heart”.

Lane also brought along a giveaway exclusive to our blog

Welcome Lane 🙂

Dormant Heart, by Lane Swift

Published by Dreamspinner Press

Cover designer: Anna Sikorska

Release date: February 10^th, 2016

Blurb:

Amateur photographer Josh Thornton is out but not so proud. He’s estranged from his family, his boyfriend dumped him, and his job at an estate agency is in jeopardy—especially after he crashes his boss’s car in the middle of nowhere on his way to Hartley Manor.

Callum Black works at the English country estate and lives there in an isolated cottage. Left mute by a childhood accident, he’s more comfortable in the company of animals than people. But when Josh—literally—crashes into his life with his camera and his friendship, Callum realizes his peaceful solitude has been more than a little lonely.

Josh’s affection for Callum deepens even as he’s consumed by doubts over Callum’s sexuality and whether Callum could ever love him. And Callum is haunted by the secret that stole his voice—a secret that keeps him tethered to Hartley Manor. When the past comes hurtling painfully back into the present, Josh and Callum have to overcome their fears and breathe life back into their dormant hearts in order to have a chance at their own picture-perfect future.

Buy Links:

Dreamspinner Press

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Kobo

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At ten thirty, I left the cottage and walked toward the road, with a view to meeting Josh’s car as it turned in to Parson’s Lane. As I got to the end of the track, I didn’t expect to see the car already parked farther down on the roadside, nor Josh sitting against the bonnet with his back to me.

He was early and hadn’t come directly to the cottage, so he must have wanted this time alone. I paused, unsure whether to proceed or head back. I didn’t mean to spy.

Josh tilted his head up, his shoulders heaved, and I thought I heard a sob. My heart thumped wildly. As much as I wanted to go to him, I knew I couldn’t. I wasn’t meant to see this. I wasn’t meant to see his possessions piled in the back of his car, or his solitary fight to hide his hurts and fears.

If only I could have told him that he didn’t have to hide anything from me. If only he already felt that he didn’t have to. I’d never missed my voice as much as I did when I met Josh, and never more profoundly than at that moment. I wanted to tell him I found his spirit inspiring and that I was confident he’d go from strength to strength no matter what life threw at him. I wanted to tell him I wished I had his heart.

I was trying—I was really trying.

Josh rubbed his eyes with the heel of his palm. I couldn’t hide any longer. I burst from the undergrowth, going directly to him. As he heard my footsteps, he stood and turned, too late to hide his reddened eyes. I pulled him into a tight hug.

“Hey, hey, I can’t breathe.” He laughed into my shoulder. But unlike our accidental collision the night we’d watched the badgers, he didn’t pull away. He clutched at the front of my shirt, his narrow body tight with tension. I eased my hold, fractionally, as at the same time he relaxed.

We both relaxed. Our bodies melded together and a sense of pure peace enveloped me. Holding Josh in my arms felt right.

A fragile calm surrounded us. My stomach coiled into an ever-tightening knot as it began to slip away. I should have tilted up Josh’s chin and gently kissed his mouth, but the moment passed too quickly for me to find the courage to seize it.

In one sudden movement, Josh heaved out a big breath and stepped back.

“I’m okay,” he said. “It’s just that this is a big step for me. I’ve never been on my own.”

I opened my arms wide, and he understood. This was a huge step. I motioned for us to walk.

“Just a sec. I’ve brought some photographs, and your book.” He reached into his glove box and pulled out the paperback and a thick envelope. “I really enjoyed the book. I mean, I wasn’t expecting it to turn into a romance, but that made it even better, actually.”

He’d read Father Frank in a week, with everything else he’d had to contend with. As we walked side by side back to my house, I wondered, not for the first time this week, what would have happened to me if the Grangers had seen fit to dismiss me after my father died. Or, worse, when he’d got ill and had been unable to work.

Would I have been able to make it on my own, not knowing if I’d have a job or a roof over my head one month to the next? It had been easy to make the offer to Gerry knowing he’d never agree to it. In truth, I probably wouldn’t have lasted a week.

The dappled sunlight shining through the trees shed a kinder light on Josh’s face, smoothing out his frown and softening his distressed flush. Since he’d been here last, five days ago, he’d acquired some freckles across his nose and the tops of his cheeks. I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

Lane Swift is a fiction writer, mainly of contemporary romance, sometimes featuring a mild dash of paranormal. She lives in Hampshire, England, between the sea and the South Downs, with her husband, two children, and two guinea pigs. She can often be found running the roads and trails in her local area, or at her beach hut, imbibing coffee and dreaming up happy-ever-afters for her heroes and heroines. Over the years, she’s worked as a waitress, a lab technician, a science teacher, and a telecommunications consultant. She’s also played rugby, climbed one mountain, and run one marathon (soon to be two), but has never managed to learn how to whistle.

Find Lane Swift at:

Website: http://laneswift.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8267203.Lane_Swift

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lane.swift.9

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LaneSwift

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