Series Blog Tour & Exclusive Excerpt:
More Heat Than The Sun Series
By John Wiltshire
Book 5: The Bruise-Black Sky
Out Now
Released February 5th
It’s either a brave or a stupid person who threatens anything Nikolas Mikkelsen loves.
Ben usually overlooks Nikolas’s occasionally jarring dissonance. Not this time. A deep rift, a terrible lie, separates them. Eleven thousand miles from Nikolas, in New Zealand, it’s bitter winter as Ben films the tragic story of a post-apocalyptic gladiator, a victim of his own personal darkness. But on receiving a death threat, Ben suspects the truth of actor Oliver Whitestone’s suicide. Someone doesn’t want this movie made. It’s fortunate for Ben, therefore, that dissonance is a state of unrest, a longing for completion. As if Nikolas would stay at home in disgrace while Ben Rider-Mikkelsen becomes the target of a crazed stalker…
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Exclusive Excerpt
“The Bruise-Black Sky”
(More Heat Than The Sun #5)
by John Wiltshire
Ben actually had no intention of dancing at the ball. That, as far as he was concerned, was for pussies, a judgment he also gave to art, classical music, black and white films, and any books without serial killers, or explosions, or zombies. The only times he’d done so had been at mess functions when he’d been so drunk that all he remembered was an eerie sort of tribalism that stirred the blood, until the rhythmic movements had resembled a battle fought not with weapons, but with bodies and the beat of overloud sound systems. And, of course, men didn’t cavort publicly with other men—however gay they were now willing to concede they might be. Which wasn’t all that much, as, although they’d both admitted it, both come out to a room full of men (well, seven, not including Squeezy, who probably hadn’t been listening anyway), that didn’t mean they talked about it or actually wanted to consider it as affecting their day-to-day interactions at all. They were both quite happy to live together and have sex and still not give voice to the G word. So dancing was out of the question.
They hadn’t even held hands in public yet.
However, he had no intention of telling Nikolas that they weren’t going to enjoy the ball.
There was, consequently, a little edge to the atmosphere during the meal. Ben could tell. Nikolas was being overly polite. He was speaking exclusively to Ulyana Ivanovna in Russian, excluding him, whilst at the same time being exceedingly civil to him. It was a neat trick. Nikolas had depths, Ben had to give him that.
Ulyana Ivanovna, of course, was delighted to discover that she didn’t have to travel to her granddaughter’s end of year on her own. She particularly liked the idea of driving, as she told Ben. Ben’s Russian was now quite decent enough for that simple conversation, but once she told him that and he replied, “Good,” she turned back to Nikolas, and the rest of the conversation passed him by. He concentrated on the farfalle with creamy wild mushroom sauce, tapping Nikolas’s plate a little when he realised, as usual, that Nikolas wasn’t eating.
Nikolas picked up his fork and moved the little bows around for a while. Eventually, he muttered in Danish, “It might be awkward, Ben. That’s why I was hesitating about attending.” He took a large swallow of wine, laying down his utensil, unused, once more.
“Awkward? How?”
Nikolas looked a little pained. “For Emilia. If we come to her school. Who will she say we are?”
“Her friends?”
“Don’t be naive, Ben, please. You know what I’m saying.”
Ben regarded him for a moment then nudged him under the table with his foot. Nikolas quirked his lip a fraction at the private communication. “Maybe you should trust Emilia. Let go, have a little faith that you don’t have to decide everything all the time.” There was far more being admitted here than a comment on a thirteen-year-old girl’s ability to understand the nuances of human relations. It was why Ben had softened his remark with the foot touch. Nikolas leant back in his chair, his dark gaze holding Ben for an unusually long time.
His only reply, as he resumed playing with his pasta was, “But we will fly. It is too far to drive.”
****
Book 6: Death’s Ink-Black Shadow
Releasing February 12th
“Learn to love death’s ink-black shadow as much as you love the light of dawn.” Yeah? Well, Nikolas doesn’t do early mornings.
It takes a certain kind of courage to live as if favoured by the Gods, ignoring the ever-present ghosts of your past–or perhaps not bravery, but arrogance. And maybe not even that. Ben genuinely believes that the past is behind them—that they deserve to enjoy the life they have created. So it’s not hubris that leads him to overlook the signs that Nikolas does not share his faith, it’s love. But Nikolas knows something is coming. He can’t stop it; he can only decide how he will choose to face it. And without Ben’s support, he is entirely alone.
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Book 7: Enduring Night
Releasing February 19th
The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. Nikolas has always liked art. You’d have thought that Ben and Nikolas would have learnt that their romantic holidays inevitably end up as disasters. A short break on the polar ice sees them trapped in a nightmare of murder and deceit. Neither of them, however, foresees the long-term impact that endless winter has on their relationship. They return with a metaphorical darkness that threatens everything they have created together. Desperate and fearing for Nikolas’s life, Ben makes a bargain with a surprising ally. For the first time, Nikolas meets an enemy more powerful than he is. But fortunately, not as sneaky…
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Book 8: His Fateful Heap of Days
Releasing February 26th
“Into his fateful heap of days the soul of man is cast.”
Only a few months from his fiftieth year, Nikolas is feeling a distinct wobble in his formidable certainties. Aleksey Primakov appears to have become irrelevant. All he needs, therefore, is to be dragged into an adventure with Devon’s answer to the three musketeers. How many times can he tell Ben and his moronic friends that a mutilated body buried on Dartmoor has nothing to do with them? But not only does this desecration slowly become their business, it cuts to the heart of the life they have created together. It’s just as well, perhaps, that generals never do actually retire…
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More Heat Than The Sun Series
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About John:
John Wiltshire is the pen name. The author was born in England, but she travelled widely whilst serving in the British Army, living in the States and Canada and Europe. She retired at the rank of Major, and finally settled in New Zealand.
To date the author has written 14 novels.
Connect with John:
http://johnwiltshire.co.nz
https://www.facebook.com/johnwiltshire.nz
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