Join us in welcoming author Helena Stone to our blog today to talk about latest release “Double Dutch Courage”.
Helena talks to us about Amsterdam! and shares an excerpt of her new release!
Welcome Helena 🙂
Title: Double Dutch Courage
Author: Helena Stone
Word count: 63k (approx)
Release Date: May 12, 2018
Blurb:
Ronan Collins has spent most of his life in Dublin hiding who he really is. Coming out would hurt his mother, and Ronan isn’t going to be the second gay man to do that. When he receives news the father he has never known has died, leaving him both a house and a business in Amsterdam, he jumps on the opportunity to get to know the man who fathered him and to discover what he’s been denying himself for years.
Lucas Brandt thought he had it all when Paul Kelly offered him a job and rooms to live in. With Paul deceased he fears he may be about to lose both. He didn’t even know Paul had a son, and now this stranger is on his way from Dublin to pull the rug out from under Lucas’s feet.
The two men don’t expect to like each other, never mind feel attraction. With numerous reasons why hooking up would be a bad idea, why does giving in feel so much better? And is Ronan’s back story really as he’s always imagined it to be?
Sudden changes require great bravery. Can both men find the courage to be true to themselves and each other?
Buy link:
Amsterdam
If you’ve read any of my previous books, you will know they were all set in Dublin. I moved to Ireland 21 years ago and love both the capital city and the country so much that I’m pretty sure I’ve settled here for life. Having said that, when it comes to favourite cities, my first love is, and will always be, Amsterdam.
What’s so special about Amsterdam, you ask?
I’ll try to explain, using images and quotes from the chapter where Lucas shows Ronan the city-centre for the first time.
For starters, in how many other cities would you find a church surrounded by houses in which prostitutes await customers in the windows?
In Ronan’s words:
“This is somewhat surreal,” Ronan said as they approached the old church in the middle of a small square. There was nothing remarkable about the structure itself, but many of the ground floor windows in the houses forming the square, had semi-naked women in them.
“I can’t imagine this ever happening at home.” Ronan chuckled and shook his head. “The clergy would be apoplectic having so much sin so close to a house of worship.”
A bit further along their walk they encounter a museum unlike anything Ronan has ever seen before and a shop selling a — how shall I put this — imaginative array of ornaments.
“They stopped walking to stare in wonder at a shop window displaying a wide variety of fantastical ornaments including a large selection of pipes and bongs, not to mention various dick-shaped items.
Ronan said little, but appeared to be trying to take everything in at once when he came to an abrupt standstill. “Did we just pass a sign for something called ‘Cannabis College’?”
“We did.” Lucas knew where this was going.
“And that there,” Ronan pointed to a building on their right. “That’s a Hash Museum? This place is mad.” But when he turned to Lucas his hazel eyes shone.”
And that’s not the end of the weird and wonderful; what would you make of a fast food place where the hot snacks can be purchased from small, glass-fronted pigeon holes?
I could go on. There is so much I love about Amsterdam. I haven’t even mentioned the Waterlooplein Flea Market yet, or Rembrandt Plein. No mention has been made of bicycles (thousands of them), or the vast array of Dutch specialties Ronan gets to sample.
I was born in Amsterdam and lived in or very close to that city for the first 34 years of my life. So maybe it’s hardly surprising that the place holds such special place in my heart. I associate Amsterdam with tolerance, a city where it is possible to embrace who you are, and live to your full potential.
And that is the reason Double Dutch Courage had to be set in Amsterdam. If anybody needs a place where he can slowly discover who he is and carefully unfold his wings until he discovers all that he is — all that he never allowed himself to be — it is Ronan. I hope you’ll join him on his journey. Who knows, you may find yourself moving Amsterdam to the top of your ‘want to visit’ list.
As for me; the months between two visits always feel too long, and I’m counting the days until I’ll get on a plane to go back for my next visit. In the meantime:
Ronan seemed to search Lucas’s face for something, then lowered his gaze until Lucas was convinced he was staring at his lips. He mused that the sunshine had to be getting to him as the afternoon took on a dreamlike quality. Ronan licked his lips, the tip of his tongue tempting Lucas, teasing him. When Ronan leant forward Lucas wondered what was happening, whether he was imagining things. Surely Ronan wasn’t about to —
The soft press of Ronan’s lips against his elicited a sigh from Lucas. He would have been embarrassed about his reaction if he hadn’t been lost in the moment. It was the second time Ronan had taken him by surprise in this manner, except on this occasion he didn’t appear to have any intention of pulling back.
With so many reasons why this was the worst idea ever, it didn’t make any sense that the overriding thought running through his mind was more.
He cupped Ronan’s neck, keeping the pressure light, barely there. Ronan reacted as if Lucas had used force and pressed his lips firmer against his, parting them in the process.
Lucas was helpless against the onslaught. It had taken him days to stop obsessing about Ronan’s mouth after that quick, shy kiss a week earlier. There would be no coming back from this. He had no doubt he would end up hurt. Even as he had the thought, Lucas parted his own lips, slipped his tongue through the gap and tentatively caressed Ronan’s mouth.
“Oh.” Ronan’s soft exclamation meant his lips parted farther and Lucas took advantage. Fuck being sensible. Fuck worrying about tomorrow, or next week, or six months from today. He was here, now, and the tongue hesitantly exploring his was nothing like what he’d expected and everything he wanted it to be.
The kiss transported him back to his teenage years, to the first boy he’d ever kissed. Clumsy and with clashing teeth, it had been as awkward as it had been exciting. Pretty much as it was now, except this time it didn’t make sense.
He pulled back until the tips of their noses were the only parts of them still touching. Ronan’s lashes fluttered before he opened his eyes. They widened and he lowered his gaze.
“That bad, eh?” Ronan directed his words at the grass beneath their knees.
“Not bad.” Lucas tried to figure out what to say. Not sure what he was reacting to, he didn’t know which words to use either, so the truth would have to do. “It just brought back a memory of something I hadn’t thought about in ages.”
“Oh?”
Ronan still wouldn’t look at him and Lucas didn’t like it. He lifted Ronan’s chin with his index finger. “It reminded me of when I was fourteen and me and Hans, my best friend back then, decided to find out what the big deal about kissing was.”
“It was like your first kiss?” Ronan still tried to avoid meeting Lucas’s gaze.
“Yes.” Lucas smiled. He couldn’t believe Hans had slipped his mind. They’d done a lot of exploring together before Hans decided he was interested in girls after all. He got so lost in his reminiscence he almost missed the words Ronan muttered.
“Makes sense.”
It hit Lucas like a ton of bricks. Here was yet another reason why getting involved with Ronan was the worst idea ever. If he was right, he would be Ronan’s first in everything. The thought that Ronan’s inexperience might include kissing hadn’t crossed his mind until this moment. He wasn’t sure he could make that journey with Ronan without getting emotionally involved. He had to know for sure.
“I’m your first?”
The combination of shame and defeat Lucas read in Ronan’s expression tore at him. He didn’t need an answer. He also didn’t need to think about what to do next. Yes, he would end up getting hurt, but he’d deal with it. It wouldn’t be the first time or, in all likelihood, the last. He could be Ronan’s first and make it a good, a memorable, experience.
“I want to be your second, too.” He didn’t wait and pressed his lips back against Ronan’s before he could respond.
Helena Stone can’t remember a life before words and reading. After growing up in a household where no holiday or festivity was complete without at least one new book, it’s hardly surprising she now owns more books than shelf space while her Kindle is about to explode. The urge to write came as a surprise. The realisation that people might enjoy her words was a shock to say the least. Now that the writing bug has well and truly taken hold, Helena can no longer imagine not sharing the characters in her head and heart with the rest of the world. Having left the hustle and bustle of Amsterdam for the peace and quiet of the Irish Country side she divides her time between reading, writing, long and often wet walks with the dog, her part-time job in a library, a grown-up daughter and her ever loving and patient husband.
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This is such a great post!
1. I’ve never heard of Helena Stone and now I have a slew of books by her I want to read.
2. Amsterdam looks beautiful and since I’m looking at going to Europe for the first time in a couple years, it will definitely make my list of places to see.
3. I loved the excerpt and blurb about the book. I’m looking for a HEA!
4. What are those delicacies in the photo? Not crepes. Not pancakes.
Thanks for hosting me, Dani!
16forward, thank you so very much. I’m so happy you enjoyed the post and are curious about my books. I would most definitely recommend Amsterdam as one of the stops on your European tour, you won’t be disappointed. Also, this book does come with a HEA and the delicacies in the photo are called poffertjes and are basically very yummy mini pancakes.