Title: When the Glow Lights the Woods
Author: Eule Grey
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: 11/22/2022
Heat Level: 1 – No Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 28200
Genre: Fantasy, LGBTQIA+, alternate universe/dystopia, winter/Christmas festivity, gay, YA, coming of age, first love, teacher, animals, conflicting societies, rich vs. poor, physical difference, family drama, friends to lovers
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Description
A snowy story of healing, birds, and the magic of connection.
The Wall? Who gives a snowman’s kiss about when the wars ended, or who built the divide that goes all the way around the planet? Whatever!
All anyone cares about is Christmas, when one lucky person gets to date someone from the other side. Who will it be this year?
Eighteen-year-old Kite Ripples loves birds, animals, and gazing at stars. He’s a good brother to leader, Mal. Mostly. As teacher, it’s Kite’s responsibility to dispel the rumours about people on the other side being robots—just a myth, right? Deep down, he understands no human is better, or worse, than any other. And, if he dreams of meeting a guy like him—who wants to kiss—it doesn’t mean Kite’s a rebel. Not he!
Manu Feathers, also eighteen, lives on the other side. Gets into trouble. Likes boys. Breaks laws and wants more. Like everyone, he’s fixated on those over the divide—simultaneously scared and excited by rumours of too much sex. It’s a lot to get your head round.
Kite is selected to climb under the Wall, and it’s the best Christmas present ever. But nothing goes to plan. Instead of picking the perfect boy, all he notices is the guy on the end, acting out. Who’d choose a nuisance like him?
Can the highest Wall prevent first love? Can a kiss heal a baby bird?
When the Glow Lights the Woods
Eule Grey © 2022
All Rights Reserved
Excerpt:
Manu bowed and led me inside the tent. The crowds cheered and punched the air. As we reached the entrance, they disappeared en masse into long, high buses.
I breathed the biggest sigh of my life. “That’s better. Outside is too much. I’m sorry she kept on elbowing you and is so foul. Do they torture you in jail?” I hadn’t meant to ask about punishments so soon.
The tent interior was impressive, and it stole my attention away from Manu. There were green cushions and a plush carpet, dimmed lamps, and a long sofa. As far as I could tell, nothing was weird or threatening. “Wow.”
Eyes lowered, Manu indicated a chair and table laden with food and drinks. He made no reference he’d heard my question. “I’m supposed to say sorry and beg forgiveness.”
“Never mind. Do they torture you?” I asked again.
He started and almost met my eye. “Depends what you mean. No physical force. Here—take one. You’ll like it; everyone does.” He handed across a pink fruit.
I bit. The juiciest, softest, most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted filled my mouth and soul. “Wow. What is it?”
Manu grinned shyly. Away from Kara and the crowds, he relaxed and seemed more whole than before, less strange and more real. After a while, he looked me up and down, and back up. “Peach. We don’t get this stuff in jail.”
“What are your crimes?”
He wouldn’t meet my eyes, and when I tried, hung his head lower and crossed his arms across his body “The ones I stood trial for, or the real crimes? In our world, nothing is as it appears.”
His answer was proof of what I’d already guessed. Manu was intelligent and a thinker, just like me. My chest burned with indignation. “Can we shake hands, like we’re meant to? I’m sorry about what she said. What she implied. If she spoke to me like that, I’d feel terrible.”
He reached for my hand and squeezed too hard. “Okay.”
We both reacted. Manu jumped and leapt back and once again clutched at his chest as if in self-defence. I ached to offer comfort and reassurance, and interlinked our fingers.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
With a sinking feeling, I guessed, maybe, he’d never held hands before. After a while, he let his hand drop to his side, with mine still holding on. He intermittently checked that my fingers were still wound through his, giving no more than a quick glance, yet it pierced my heart. Even after the poorest of introductions, the magic of connection seemed to have been ignited.
“Are you for real? Should I stop?” he asked gruffly.
I took his other hand and spoke softly. “It’s okay. I’m used to doing this. Hello, Manu. I’m really glad to meet you. I hope we can get to know each other. There’s no need to keep crossing your arms—I’m never going to harm you.”
It felt like the first meeting and the first time I’d properly seen him. He stopped squeezing and stroked my wrists, gliding his fingers across my skin like a new country he was visiting for the first time. Immersed in such a simple thing, light years away from the humiliation of earlier, he was way more interesting than Yan could ever be.
I was used to physical contact. My people were super touchy-feelie. We hugged and kissed and generally liked to be close. And yet, this was different. His thumbs asked a question I hadn’t known I’d asked. Manu’s unskilled, clumsy touch enveloped me, reached inside and waited. I didn’t know if he was magic or even if he was real. I was as affected as he. For the first time in my life, I felt seen as a guy. A viable guy who fantasised about kissing.
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Eule Grey has settled, for now, in the north UK. She’s worked in education, justice, youth work, and even tried her hand at butter-spreading in a sandwich factory. Sadly, she wasn’t much good at any of them!
She writes novels, novellas, poetry, and a messy combination of all three. Nothing about Eule is tidy but she rocks a boogie on a Saturday night!
For now, Eule is she/her or they/them. Eule has not yet arrived at a pronoun that feels right.
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