Love Bytes would like to give a warm welcome to author C F White who is joining us today to talk about new release “Leap of Faith”.

Check out the guestpost from C F enjoy the excluive excerpt and make sure to enter the giveaway!

Huge thank you for Love Bytes for letting me come tell you all about my latest release. I’ve also got a giveaway, so stay tuned!

Leap of Faith is set within a travelling circus during its short stay on the island of Jersey, Channel Islands, and features an exceptionally grumpy trapeze artist and an elite gymnast who’s kinda lost his way in life, and a cast of overtly colourful characters that make up Godeaux’s Travelling Circus.

I came up with the idea when I visited a travelling circus myself, actually in Jersey, and fell in love with it. From the zany, musical clowns, to the talented contortionists, to the death-defying acrobatics. It took a while for the story to take shape, but once it did, I fell in love with Darius and Charlie as much as I did the real thing. I hope they catch your hearts too 😊

 

Music forms a huge part of many of my books, and this one is no different. Creating a playlist is the start of my writing process and I’ll often listen and relisten to it in order to get myself into the tone, the mood, and the characters. If you fancy a little listen as to what inspired Leap of Faith, you can check out the playlist here:

 

Leap of Faith

Sometimes all you need is a little push.

Running from his shattered gymnastics career, Charlie Avrill’s one hope for redemption is the strange and colourful world of the circus. His skills should make him a good fit for seasoned performer, Darius Lungo. But Darius won’t compromise his high stakes act for just anyone.

Still mourning the loss of his performance partner who unexpectedly abandoned the show, Darius’s heart can’t take another temporary filler. No matter how perfect Charlie might seem at first glance. But the circus is dying, and Darius owes his bosses a stellar act to sell.

Putting their differences aside to recreate the star attraction, Darius and Charlie grow closer with each rehearsal. But Charlie’s only in the ring for a one-night-only performance and the circus is due at its next stop—off the island and into Europe.

Can Charlie push aside his fears and take the leap of faith to change his entire life? And, if he does, will Darius still be there to catch him?

Leap of Faith is a standalone age-gap, enemies to lovers, mm romance where the twists and turns don’t only happen in the ring.

Buy links:

Universal

Amazon

Now for an exclusive excerpt to see where it all starts to take shape between Charlie and Darius…

 

Never one to admit his shortcomings, Darius pasted on his man-on-stage persona of nonchalance and marched forward into the ring, careful not to trip and fall since his legs had dissolved into mush. “You’re early,” he said. Stated. Barked.

Charlie readjusted his topknot. “I’m keen.” He smiled. Sweetly. Cute dimples formed in his cheeks and Darius had to look away. “And needed out of the house before Mum grilled me about where I took Millie last night.” He shrugged. “Plus, well, first day nerves, I guess.”

Darius glanced back, eyes narrowed. “Nerves? Why would you be nervous?” It was a serious question, but the way Charlie tilted his head suggested that Darius should be aware of the vibe he gave off. So he cleared his throat, “From what I saw yesterday, you have nothing to fear from being up there.” He pointed to the trapeze hanging from the rafters.

“It’s not so much the trapeze I’m worried about.”

“What then?”

Charlie took a deep breath and seemed to fight with himself before breathing out a resigned, “You. You’re a bit…”

“Scary?”

“Prickly.”

Darius laughed, his deep boom bouncing around the vacant tent. It was almost worthy of Benoit’s voice projection. Maybe when all else failed, Darius had a job as a Ringmaster.

Charlie waited for the echo of laughter to fade before asking the inevitable, “Any reason for the hostility?”

“Okay, Charlie, confession time.” Darius thought it best to be honest. Well, honest enough. “I’m not happy about this.”

“No shit.”

“This isn’t my idea.”

“Nor mine.”

“It takes years to create a unified act and I do not believe that a partnership that had twenty years of success can be replicated within a week by someone who only stepped inside a Big Top for the first time yesterday.”

“I’m sure—”

“Regardless of how talented a gymnast you are. Or how keen you are. That you look…” Darius skimmed down Charlie’s shorter but perfectly formed physique, then dragged his gaze back up and waved to cover his blatant ogling. “Like you do.”

Charlie arched one perfectly formed eyebrow.

Darius ignored him. “This won’t be the walk in the park you expect it will simply because of your expert professional training. Sorry to burst your little bubble, Charlie, but circus art takes dedication. Hard work. Skill. And, above all, a certain natural flair for the spectacle.” He twisted his hand in the air in dramatic emphasis. “Sadly, I think you lack the latter.”

Charlie folded his arms across his ever-so-defined chest and if he had meant to do it in petulance, it sadly lost that effect by the bulging biceps and cutting pectorals that made Darius see him as nothing more than testosterone.

“So why are you bothering?” Charlie asked.

It was a good, valid question. “Because I owe Francine.” Wasn’t that all truth, honesty, and heartfelt sharing? He was proud of himself. “And she, for some unfathomable reason, thinks you might be able to be taught the intrinsic nature of circus performance that is rarely seen outside those who have been born into it.” Darius sighed, feeling as though he should explain. “You have to love the circus, Charlie. You have to live, breathe, eat, sleep and dream it. You have to give your life to the Big Top. We spend nine months a year travelling and camping in various cities to showcase our art to those who love the spectacle. It’s not an easy job. It’s not a job at all, it’s a passion. So the real question here is: why are you bothering?”

Darius folded his arms, ensuring his own defined biceps were bulging at the effort so as not to be outdone by an elite honed physique. He was aware of his hostility. And knew it was unfettered. Yet he couldn’t snap free from it. Everything he’d said was truth. He couldn’t stomach an outsider walking into his world and making a mockery of it.

No matter how perfectly stunning he was.

With kissable lips that enticed, encouraged, engaged…

Charlie hesitated for a moment. Then, unfurling his arms, it was as though something snapped inside him. The rod that had kept him upright and poised loosened and his body drooped.

“Confession time,” he parroted and inhaled a sharp breath that rose his chest. “Right now, I should be heading to Rio. I’m not. I’m here. And my options for how to deal with that are limited. I didn’t mean to step on anyone’s toes. I didn’t expect to be here at all. You’re right, I hadn’t set foot inside a circus tent before yesterday. I had no idea what to expect. But what I saw…captured me.”

He licked his lips, those pink, plump, perfect lips, and Darius noticed the slight tremble. It almost made him back off. Almost. But not quite. He didn’t give in that easily. It was better to play the villain than the fool.

“It didn’t just capture me,” Charlie continued. “It captivated me. I’m willing to give it a go. To see if I can match up. To use what I’ve trained for most of my life for something else. Something different. Something…spectacular.”

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