Book Title: Hidden Blade: The Road to Rocktoberfest 2022
Author and Publisher: Kaje Harper
Cover Artist: Natasha Snow
Release Date: October 4, 2022
Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance
Tropes: First-time, clinical anxiety
Themes: Coming out, hurt-comfort
Heat Rating: 3 flames
Length: 86 000 words
It is a standalone story and does not end on a cliffhanger.
It is part of a shared-world series. This is the first release from this year’s set.
Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited
Sometimes willpower isn’t enough.
Blurb
Cam
Social anxiety’s been my constant companion for twenty-three years, sometimes in the background, sometimes silencing me and yanking my guts out in the nearest trash can. No matter how much I love playing music, I’m never going to get up on a stage and perform in front of a crowd. But since I met Erik, and was asked to join his band Hellsbane, that knowledge hurts worse.
No heart (even Erik’s) or dick (even Erik’s) is big enough to carry me past my limits, but God, I wish there was a way.
Erik
Life’s damned unfair when a guy with the voice of a hard-rock angel and a songwriting talent like Cam’s can only post anonymous videos online. But you can’t cure anxiety with wanting, or willpower. My drummer needs to quit trying to push Cam onstage with us before he breaks.
Rocktoberfest’s still our goal, and touring with Hellsbane was my only ambition, until I met Cam. Now I can’t have everything I love in one place, but dammit, I wish there was a way.
A first-times, life challenges, coming out, rockstar romance.
Hidden Blade is part of the multi-author The Road to Rocktoberfest 2022 series. Each book can be read as a standalone, but why not read them all and see who hits the stage next? Hot rockstars and the men who love them, what more could you ask for? Kick back, load up your kindle and enjoy the men of Rocktoberfest!
Cam
“You think you might go onstage again sometime?” Kyle asked me. “Now you’ve done it once?”
I huddled on the couch and stared at him on my phone, remembering the nausea that’d chased me out the back door of the cafe. “When ice hockey becomes the number one sport in hell.”
“What about more songwriting? If the big-chest guy likes the song you sent? I keep telling you, there’s a market for what you do.”
“Maybe.” I’d written a lot of songs in the last five years, and yeah, okay, I already had several with Erik of Hellsbane’s vocal range in mind. Until now, I’d never gotten up the nerve to offer them to anyone. Only the flash-memory of him on his feet applauding as I rushed off the stage had let me even think about sending him “Consequences.”
An incoming email notification pinged, and I swiped a quick look. I expected spam, but the ID said Erik Svenson. Trying to ignore the notice and switch back to FaceTime, I dropped the phone.
“Hey, Cam,” Kyle said from down by my foot. “Not your best angle.”
“Sorry. Sorry!” I fumbled to pick my phone up, and ended clutching the damned screen upside down. My palms had gone damp and my pulse thundered in my ears.
Kyle’s worried face squinted at me. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” I turned him around. “Fine. Just great. Clumsy, you know. Maybe still recovering. From last night. Not that there should be anything to recover from but you know me, I guess I still need to process that yeah, I did that thing, and it didn’t kill me but it wasn’t great…” And Erik Svenson heard me sing, and jumped to his feet, and gave me his card. Well, gave the card to my friend Andre who can talk to people without sounding like someone cut his tongue out. And Erik answered my email fast— “What if he doesn’t like it?”
“Who what?”
“Erik. Svenson. What if he hates my song? What if he thinks I have some kind of nerve suggesting they sing something of mine? Or what if he thinks I’m trying to trap them into using it and then sue him, even though I sent him a signed release so he wouldn’t, but what if—”
“Jesus, slow down.” Kyle ran a hand over his head. “Why don’t you wait and see if he even gets back to you?”
“He did,” I interrupted. “That was his email that just came.”
“So what did he say?”
“I didn’t open it.”
“Why not?”
In a small voice I said, “Because then I’ll know if he hates my work…”
Find out what Erik thinks of Cam’s work, and whether hell does ever freeze over, in Hidden Blade – The Road to Rocktoberfest 2022.
I get asked about my name a lot. It’s not something exotic, though. “Kaje” is pronounced just like “cage” – it’s an old nickname, and my pronouns are she/her/hers. I’ve been writing far longer than I care to admit (*whispers – forty-five years*), although mostly for my own entertainment. I write M/M romance, often with added mystery, fantasy, historical, SciFi, paranormal… I also have Young Adult short stories (some released under the pen name Kira Harp.)
After decades of writing just for fun, my husband convinced me I really should submit something, somewhere. My first professionally published book, Life Lessons, came out in May 2011. I now have a good-sized backlist in ebooks and print, both free and professionally published, including Amazon bestseller The Rebuilding Year and Rainbow Award Best Mystery-Thriller Tracefinder: Contact. A complete list with links can be found on my website “Books” page at https://kajeharper.com/books/.
Social Media Links
Audible Profile | Blog/Website | Newsletter Sign-up
Facebook | Facebook Group: Kaje’s Conversation Corner
Goodreads Author page | BookBub
Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway to win
a choice of one of 5 ebook copies from the author’s backlist
