A warm welcome to author Sue Brown joining us today just before Christmas to talk about her new release :””Last Place in the Chalet”, which is releasing today!
Welcome Sue 🙂
Hello there, friends old and new,
Much love to Dani and the team.
Happy Festive Season to you, whatever you celebrate. Are you starting to feel a little jaded or are you still excited about the tinsel, lights and presents? I’m less Bah Humbug and more too much eggnog this year. I’ve managed to get the decorations up well before Christmas Eve. This is an achievement, people!
I’m happy to have my son back from university, while my daughter is working silly hours as she’s in retail. The one day we are together is Christmas Day; the kids, my ex, me and a friend. Too much food, a little too much drink, and old movies. That sums up our Christmas Day. Even Faith the doggy gets Christmas dinner. She’s not so keen on wearing the silly hat. I’ve always wanted to go away for Christmas, like Noel does in Last Place in the Chalet, but my family like Christmas at home and I’m happy to be with them.
We might go for a dog walk in the afternoon before we flop on the sofas for the day. One year, we discovered a tree in the middle of nowhere covered in tinsel and baubles. Someone decided the common needed brightening up.
This year I managed to achieve one good thing. Last Place in the Chalet should have been last year’s Christmas story. Way too late, I did my usual plea for help on Facebook for a Christmas short, and the lovely K.C. Wells threw out this plot bunny. Of course, it took me ages to work out she gave me the Christmas story! I am so daft! I didn’t manage to write it for Christmas 2018 but one year on, I’m so grateful to her, because I’ve loved writing Noel and Angel’s story.
I looked extremely organised this year. My Christmas story was finished by May. I’ve learned by bitter experience the only way I write a Christmas story is to do it early. I have next year’s partly written already… yes, it was meant to be a bonus story for this year *sigh*.
I’m going to be cheeky and ask you for a Christmas present this year. I’d be really grateful if you could follow me on Bookbub. I have to reach a certain number of followers before I can do basic things like notify you of a new release.
For those of you who like a cocktail at Christmas, I attach a suggestion from the chalet’s host, Charlie.
Blurb:
Noel Garrett leaves for his Christmas vacation with an engagement ring in his pocket. But he boards the plane alone and with a broken heart when his boyfriend dumps him in the airport.
His seatmate, Angel Marinelli, takes care of him with gentle determination… whether Noel wants it or not, and Noel doesn’t expect to see Angel again. But when an overbooking leaves Angel without a room and Noel is asked to host him, one night turns into the whole vacation and they settle into the chalet and mix with an eclectic group of guests, including the Wise Guys and a pregnant woman. As they ski and spend every moment together, Noel finds himself falling for Angel, and though his feelings are returned, Noel worries it’s just a rebound romance. It’ll mean taking a leap of faith, but Noel has to make a decision before he hurts Angel, and Christmas is fast approaching.
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“Breakfast is nearly ready. Ten minutes. You need to get dressed, Noel. Nice T-shirt.” Don smirked at him.
“Okay.” Noel grasped Angel’s arm and tugged him into the bedroom as Don disappeared down the corridor.
He shut the door and turned to Angel who was flushed and angry, and obviously close to tears from the way his eyes were shining. “I’m sorry, Angel.”
Angel gave a huge sigh and rubbed at his temples. “What are you sorry for? I’m the one imposing on you.”
“You can stay here for the whole vacation,” Noel suggested. “You don’t have to go looking for another room.”
“I can’t do that.” Angel looked horrified at the idea.
“Why not?” Noel asked tentatively. They’d shared a bed last night. He hadn’t been that bad a sleeping companion, had he? Adam used to complain he hogged the duvet, but Noel thought that was just to deflect from the fact he invaded Noel’s side of the bed.
“You don’t want to share with a stranger,” Angel insisted.
Noel rolled his eyes. “I’ve cried on you. Got drunk on you. If you can cope, so can I.”
Angel pressed his lips together. “That’s not the point.”
“What is the point?” Noel was bewildered by Angel’s adamant refusal to consider the idea. “You look like it’s the worst idea you’ve ever heard.”
“I don’t sleep well. I might disturb you.”
Noel studied Angel and saw the anguish in his expression. “Are you worried about talking in your sleep?”
Angel looked away, refusing to meet Noel’s gaze. “Yeah.”
“Do you remember what you’re dreaming about?” Noel pressed.
Angel hesitated, then he nodded. “Most nights.”
“Does this happen every night?” Noel asked.
“Not all. Some. A lot.” Another sigh seemed to be dragged from the depths of Angel’s soul. “It’s one of the reasons I don’t share with people who don’t know me unless it’s an emergency.”
Noel had a sudden thought. “Do you go back to sleep afterward?”
Angel shook his head. “Not often.”
“Did you go back to sleep last night?” He’d not heard Angel get up so he must have been deeply asleep at the time, probably still in a whiskey-fueled haze.
“No,” Angel admitted.
“What did you do?”
Angel sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. “I waited until you were asleep. Then I got up and read in the great room.”
“Because you didn’t want to disturb me.”
“Yes.” The word was bitten off.
“You must be tired,” Noel said gently.
“I’m always tired,” Angel admitted.
He rubbed his hands through his hair, and the blond curls took on a manic quality. Noel had to hold back the urge to smooth down the wayward hair.
Noel went for practicality instead. “You need a shower and a shave and then maybe a nap. We might have to wait for the slopes to open after the storm.”
“We haven’t got time before breakfast, and I’m starving,” Angel said.
This time his smile reached his eyes. Noel decided to let it go. “Food is good. Breakfast first, shower later.”
Angel raised an eyebrow. “You’re going dressed like that?”
Noel looked down at himself, still dressed in sleep shorts and a T-shirt proclaiming his love for dick. No wonder Don had smiled. “Maybe not.”
“I mean, I don’t mind, and I’m sure Charlie and Don don’t, but Maria and the wise guys might take exception.”
“I’m pretty sure Maria likes dick or she wouldn’t be in the position she’s in now,” Noel muttered as he rummaged through his suitcase for clean underwear.
Cranky middle-aged author with an addiction for coffee, and a passion for romancing two guys. She loves her dog, she loves kids, and she loves coffee; in which order very much depends on the time of day.
Links:
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Email: sue@suebrownstories.com
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