Blog Tour: Guestpost ( Short story part 5) & Giveaway: C.S Poe – The Mystery of the Curiosities

A warm welcome to author C.S Poe joining us today here at Love Bytes for her “The Mystery of the Curiosities” blog tour. C.S shares part 5 of her short story and there is also a giveaway to participate in!

Welcome C.S 🙂

Hi, everyone! I’m C.S. Poe, and I’m continuing the blog tour for The Mystery of the Curiosities, here at Love Bytes! I come with the gift of a short story that has been broken into six parts, which you can follow at each stop.

By the end of Nevermore, it’s heavily implied that Sebastian and Calvin are getting together. Curiosities begins nearly two months after they met, and they’re already dating. So I decided to write about the exact day they made it ‘official’ in between Books One and Two. Don’t forget to check out the giveaway at the end!

 

Part 1 is available at The Novel Approach.

Part 2 is available at Joyfully Jay.

Part 3 is available at Prism Book Alliance.

Part 4 is available at Boy Meets Boy.

 

 

When I’d made the decision to turn in early that night, I realized my bottle of NyQuil was empty.

A travesty if there ever was one.

So I had to get dressed and leave the house for the drug store. It was dark and cold and I was sassy as all hell about it. Plus, there were folks out who clearly were ready to have a night of fun, and I was salty that I wasn’t counting myself as one of them.

I wished I hadn’t mentioned wanting to be with Calvin tonight. Pop was right. I needed to stop pushing and shoving my way into his life when he was so clearly trying to just keep his head above water at this point. I’d come out to just my dad, Calvin had come out to both his parents and his siblings. I had been a kid, more or less, he was in his forties.

It sucked, this whole ordeal had been significantly rougher on him than myself.

I was head over heels about him. He knew it. And he felt the same.

So… I guess that’d just be good enough for now.

Let Calvin breathe a little.

I dragged my sorry ass down to the end of the block where the twenty-four hour drugstore was, and picked up a bottle of NyQuil. They had tacky New Year’s items on sale at checkout— you know, shit like plastic hats and clappers and horns with the new year stamped on the side that would be piled up in public trashcans by tomorrow morning.

I looked at the line of customers I was standing amongst. There was one mom trying to end a fight between three kids about a candy bar, a businessman holding an energy drink and a package of peanuts, and one woman with her basket full to the brim with hair products. The guy ahead of me was buying no less than seven cases of beer. It was the cheap crap that college kids drank, but hey— out of the lot of us, at least I knew who was having the party.

“Next,” one of the cashiers called.

In a feverish impulse, I grabbed a package of the New Year’s horns and went to the register. Maybe I’d set my alarm for midnight, wake up, blow one in celebration, and then zonk out again.

Jesus, I knew how I live.

“I.D. please.”

“What?” I asked.

She held up the NyQuil. “I need to see I.D.”

Did I look younger than eighteen? What’d she think I was going to do with it other than take the recommended dose and get some sleep? What’re kids doing these days that now I have to show identification for over-the-counter cold medicine?

“I… didn’t bring my wallet,” I answered, pushing my sunglasses up.

She pushed the medicine aside. “I can’t sell this without I.D., sir.”

Maybe if I coughed on her….

“Just this?” she asked, raising the plastic horns up.

I weighed how badly I wanted the medicine. Did I have the energy to go home, come back, wait in line again— I looked over my shoulder. A few more people had gotten in line, this time with what looked like bags of chips and party accessories. Also some drunk dude was arguing with a stock boy now.

No… I’d rather cough myself to sleep.

“Uh….” I looked at the candy in front of me, grabbed a package of taffy on sale because fuck it, and said, “Yeah, just these.”

Like how you shouldn’t go to the grocery store when you’re hungry, I don’t advise shopping in general when you’re feverish. I got back to my apartment building, sans medicine but one up on a plastic toy and candy, and dragged myself up the three flights of rickety stairs. I stopped at the landing, staring at a wrapped package leaning against my door.

I eyed it warily, slowly approaching. It was very thin, a bit smaller than a record sleeve, and wrapped in leftover Christmas paper. A note was taped to the front.

Bring this to the roof.

C

Calvin? Wait. Had I left the house for fifteen minutes with nothing to show for it, and missed him coming by?

Then I read the note again.

 

Part 6 will be available at Sinfully Gay Romance.

 

March 2: The Novel Approach

March 3: Joyfully Jay

March 6: Prism Book Alliance

March 7: Boy Meets Boy

March 8: Love Bytes

March 9: Sinfully Gay Romance

Blurb:

Life has been pretty great for Sebastian Snow. The Emporium is thriving and his relationship with NYPD homicide detective, Calvin Winter, is everything he’s ever wanted. With Valentine’s Day around the corner, Sebastian’s only cause for concern is whether Calvin should be taken on a romantic date. It’s only when an unknown assailant smashes the Emporium’s window and leaves a peculiar note behind, that all plans get pushed aside in favor of another mystery. Sebastian is quickly swept up in a series of grisly yet seemingly unrelated murders. The only connection tying the deaths together are curiosities from the lost museum of P.T. Barnum. Despite Calvin’s attempts to keep Sebastian out of the investigation, someone is forcing his hand, and it becomes apparent that the entire charade exists for Sebastian to solve. With each clue that’ll bring him closer to the killer, he’s led deeper into Calvin’s official cases.  It’s more than just Sebastian’s livelihood and relationship on the line—it’s his very life.

 

Purchase Links:

| DSP Publications | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Google Play | Goodreads |

 

C.S. Poe is an author of gay mystery, romance, and paranormal books.

She is a reluctant mover and has called many places home in her lifetime. C.S. has lived in New York City, Key West, and Ibaraki, Japan, to name a few. She misses the cleanliness, convenience, and limited edition gachapon of Japan, but she was never very good at riding bikes to get around.

She has an affinity for all things cute and colorful, and a major weakness for toys. C.S. is an avid fan of coffee, reading, and cats. She’s rescued three cats, including one found in a drain pipe in Japan who flew back to the States with her. Zak, Milo, and Kasper do their best on a daily basis to sidetrack her from work.

 

Social Media:

| Website | Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram | Blog | Goodreads | Newsletter |

 

Giveaway: The Mystery of Nevermore (Snow & Winter Book One) Paperback with Swag

U.S. Residents Only. Must provide mailing address.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

*I will reach out to the winner after (7) days.