Title: Tricks and Bids
Series: Suit of Harte’s, Book One
Author: Jacqueline Grey
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: February 17, 2020
Length: 20300
Genre: Contemporary, LGBTQIA+, BDSM, romance, contemporary, gay, sex industry, prostitution
Add to Goodreads
Synopsis
When Michael Nole propositions Dillon Spade outside a BDSM club one evening, all he is looking for is a potential client and a little kink. He gets much more than he bargained for. As a prostitute, Michael enjoys sex but keeps an emotional distance between himself and the men he sleeps with. His priority is to keep himself safe, but after a night in Dillon’s bed, he finds the line between enjoyment and occupation blurring.
Dillon hasn’t taken another man home since his previous lover passed away six years ago, but there is something about Michael that calls to his inner Dominant in a way he cannot resist. His instincts want to claim the boy even as he reminds himself that he is only paying Michael for temporary company.
Their relationship may have started as a business transaction, but it’s difficult to remain professional when breaking all the rules.
“I am so happy to be here. Thank you for having me.”
Q: Where did the desire to write LGBT romance come from?
I never set out to write LGBT romance. My dream has always been to be a writer, but my focus was on fantasy. My first attempt at writing a romance story was done as a writing exercise because I was feeling a little stagnant with my current project at the time.
The fact that I immediately imagined gay romance was not a surprise at that point though. Over the course of high school and college I noticed that many of the books, movies, and tv shows I loved best all had gay characters in them. Even if they weren’t the main characters, they tended to be my favorite or the focus of my favorite storylines. Yet, even though I was reading Japanese shounen-ai and yaoi (gay romance and erotica) manga I never thought that I was reading romance. It wasn’t until I discovered Chris Owen and the Deviations series and started to devour any kinky romance novel I could find that I realized that I had fully fallen into the romance genre. So when I tried to write a romance, it was inevitable that it was going to be gay.
Q: Where did the inspiration for this story come from?
At the time I wrote Tricks and Bids I was in the midst of gobbling up any kinky romance I could get my hands on. The main authors I read at the time were Chris Owen and Kim Dare. With all the kink going on in my head my imagination was running on overdrive. I wanted more and reading wasn’t enough, so I decided to try writing a kink series of my own.
I decided to have the series center around a kink club, but it wasn’t until I “met” the owner of the club that things really got going. Jesse Harte wanted to create a space where he and his closest friends could feel safe exploring their kink lifestyles. These were friends he’d made in high school, but the ones he knew he’d keep for life.
As Jesse’s backstory came to me, I realized that the series wasn’t about the club and the people in it. It was about four friends, a tragedy they had experienced and how they were going to finally move on from it, find love, and live again. Tricks and Bids is the first part of that series.
Q: What are you working on now?
I’m sure I’m not the only author with a ton of ideas floating in their head. I used to group the stories I had in mind into back burner and front burner groups, but at this point I think the “back burner” ones are in the fridge keeping fresh while I cook the front burner ones. My stove at home has five burners and that’s about how many series I am currently toying with. At this point I can’t say which will come first, but I can give you an overview. In no particular order:
The first is a fantasy series in a modern-day setting. There is magic, shapeshifting mythological creatures, two pairs of ridiculous underwear, five couples that will eventually get happy endings all the while the fate of the world is at stake.
The second is another contemporary kink series. I have become very curious about pup play so that’s the main theme for book one.
Third is a book I have been working on cowriting with another author for a while now. This one I’ll keep secret. 😊
Number four is the sequel to Ghost House. I originally planned to make that book a standalone with related stories about the victims of Caius’ past, but I was given inspiration for a sequel and so I’d like to write it.
Last, but definitely not least, is a dragon shifter book. This one will technically span about two to three thousand years, include heartbreak, longing, reincarnation, a jade sculpture, golden eyes, and a happy ending. Eventually.
Q: Are you coming to any conventions I can see you at?
I will be at GRL this year as an author. If you want to meet me in person that’s the place to be. I look forward to meeting you!
Q: What are you reading now? Any recommendations?
Where do I begin??? I recently finished the audiobook Where Death Meets the Devil by L.J. Hayward and am now devouring the rest of the series as if it’s the oxygen I need to live. Love it. I’ve been craving a suspense/mystery series for a while now and this hit the spot. A sexy ex-military spy and a kick-ass yet also vulnerable and innocent assassin. Yum.
The other books I have recently read are from China. The authors MXTX (Mo Xiang Tong Xiu) and Priest create wonderful fantasy worlds. Some of you may have heard of MXTX’s work Mo Dao Zu Shi. Also known as The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation. It’s been animated under its original title and adapted into a live action show (easily found on Netflix) called the Untamed. The adaptation is beautiful and very well done. Another of MXTX’s series, Heaven’s Official Blessing, was an incredible read as well. Book four almost killed me. It’s my favorite.
As for Priest, her writing is incredible. Guardian (Zhen Hun) was the first book I read by her. You could call this series urban fantasy as it has a modern-day setting, but incorporates mythology, ghosts and the supernatural. It’s a bit procedural with one of the main characters being the chief of the Special Investigations Unit which deals with unusual cases, but wait until you meet Shen Wei…
After finishing Guardian, I am now diving into Mo Du (Silent Reading) by Priest which is about a cop and a playboy. Who doesn’t love that? Priest has a bunch of stories in different genres like cultivation fantasy and steampunk too. I can’t wait to read them all.
Tricks and Bids
Jacqueline Grey © 2020
All Rights Reserved
“Hey. Wanna play?”
Dillon glanced up to find a young man leaning against the hood of his car. At Dillon’s pointed look, he took a step back, so he no longer touched the automobile.
“What gave you the impression I want company?”
“You obviously didn’t find what you were looking for in there” came the reply with a nod back at Harte, the BDSM club Dillon had just exited. “If you had, you wouldn’t be leaving this early.”
“And you think you’re what I want?”
The boy shrugged.
Dillon peered at him. He appeared to be in his midtwenties, fit and tight in the way Dillon remembered being before he’d hit thirty-three. He was shorter than Dillon with dark-brown hair long enough to grip: two things Dillon liked in a submissive. There was something familiar about him as well. If Dillon wasn’t mistaken, he’d seen him heading into a nearby motel a few times and never with the same “date.”
“Are you a prostitute?” Dillon asked.
The blunt question evoked an expression of surprise, but it rapidly morphed into a smooth smile. “‘Prostitute’ sounds like a job. It’s more of a hobby.”
“One you get paid for.”
“It’s a good hobby.”
Dillon cracked a smile. “How much do you charge?”
“Depends on what you want to do.”
That was reasonable enough, and if he’d been waiting outside Harte, he must know to expect kink and charge for it accordingly. “Are you clean?”
“Yes, and condoms are necessary and at your expense.”
“Expense? That sounds like a job term to me,” Dillon teased.
He considered his options. The boy was right. He hadn’t found what he was searching for in the club, and he held no illusions he ever would. Even after six years, he couldn’t help comparing every submissive he came across to the lover he’d lost. Harte called him a stubborn old goat, but the thought of building a relationship from scratch exhausted him. It was so hard to find someone whose rhythms and tastes fit with his own. Granted, the club was designed for negotiation and mutually desired play, but that was for the scenes that took place there. What about the rest of the time?
Dillon didn’t want a casual play partner. That did nothing more for him than scratch an itch that would return in no time. He wanted someone he could build a life with. He wasn’t going to find that with a prostitute, but something about the stranger brought forth yearnings Dillon hadn’t felt in years. He could take the boy home with him, indulge in what he wanted in his own territory and under his own rules. It would be a purchased illusion, but it beat going home alone and sleeping in an empty bed.
“Come on,” he said, pulling his car door open and unlocking the other side. “We’ll talk details when we get to my place.”
“Your place? Don’t you mean a hotel?”
“My place,” repeated Dillon. “I don’t do quick fucks.”
Purchase
NineStar Press | Amazon | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
Jacqueline Grey currently lives on an island on the east coast of the United States. She spends her time outside her day job juggling her many interests which include reading, writing and drinking tea. She loves M/M romance, usually focusing on stories that include BDSM themes to one degree or another.
Jacqueline has always been driven by characters. She loves a good plot, but it’s the characters that pull her into a story. She loves romance and believes everyone has a right to be happy. She enjoys seeing her characters find that happiness for themselves.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest
2/24 MM Good Book Reviews
2/25 The Blogger Girls
2/26 Love Bytes
2/27 Two Chicks Obsessed
2/28 BFD Book Blog
