Audio Tour & Exclusive Excerpt:
Lonely Diner
Written & Narrated by Dann Hazel

Some Like It Haute! Book 3

Two conflicted military men. A longing for happiness. One Lonely Diner, where people often search for a recipe for love. (The food is good there, too.)

One man plays it straight. Another grieves over a lost best friend with benefits.

Everyone thought they were meant for each other. Lance, an Air Force computer engineer, and Ryan, a former submariner in the Navy and now a military college professor, are gay men blinded by the painful wounds of their past decisions. Both men are ready for love. But because of their pasts, they’ve slammed the brakes on their desires.

Now thirty years old, a younger Ryan Ball decides he can be happy only by conforming to social expectations. So what does he do? He decides he must have a wife and kids. Though he acknowledges that he can never be straight, he is convinced that with effort, determination, alcohol and erectile dysfunction meds, he can play the necessary roles.

Vikki, Ryan’s girlfriend in high school and now his wife, begs to differ.

At thirty-one, Lance Dingle falls for his best friend and roommate, Randy, a stunt pilot who agrees to a friends-with-benefits arrangement. From Lance’s perspective, there’s a spark in their arrangement that Randy denies. Then, tragedy strikes. Lance finds himself alone and lonely, living with memories of Randy and an ever-expanding list of “what-might-have-beens.” Finally forcing himself into the dating scene, Lance discovers that Mr. Right is more elusive than he ever imagined.

Then, Callie Yenti, transwoman, drag performer extraordinaire and entrepreneur, enters the picture. She owns the popular Lonely Diner and possesses an uncanny insight into the workings of the heart.

Even the complicated hearts of her two hard-headed friends, Lance and Ryan.

A HEA gay romance.

Trigger Warning: This novel includes scenes from a sexual assault and a PTSD episode.

Tropes: Military Romance, Coming Out, Overcoming Adversity, Second Chances.

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They spent the evening streaming a couple of movies on which the three of them finally agreed after almost fifteen minutes of back-and-forth discussion. Jewel used movie time to catch up on her beauty sleep. She lay at Diamond’s feet, tummy against the cold hardwood floor, snoozing while the movie played. ​

Suddenly, Diamond startled the men with a cackle. Jewel’s legs were emulating a running gait even while she was fast asleep. ​

“She must be dreaming,” Diamond said. Her voice was full of amused adoration.

​“Probably chasing a squirrel,” Ryan said. “She’s often very active when she’s sleeping.”

​By eleven-thirty, everyone was ready to hit the sack. As had become their routine this week, Jewel followed Diamond into the guestroom, then immediately jumped onto her bed.

​Diamond continued to rub the dog’s soft, warm tummy until she heard the deep, steady breathing of sleep.

​She leaned over and lovingly kissed Jewel’s forehead. Immediately, Jewel opened her eyes. She licked her ebony lips, as though blowing Diamond an air kiss. Right away, back to slumberland she returned.

​It’s so quiet in the country, Diamond thought. I never get a sleep this good. ​

Soon, Diamond followed Jewel into the realm of dreams—hers, a slumber full of shopping trips, ghost tours and zipline adventures. ​

That is, until four o’clock. ​

Before the sun rose. ​

Before anyone had awakened. ​

Before even Jewel, who often slept in sporadic intervals of time, began to stir.

​Even the cramp in Diamond’s leg did not wake her. ​

Nor did Jewel who, as though sensing something bad coming, ran out of Diamond’s room and into her human daddies’ bedroom, barking with the full power of her lungs. ​

Then, a scream. A heartrending, bloodcurdling scream that even the neighbors an acre away must be able to hear. ​

And yet, still, Diamond did not wake. ​

Not fully. ​

Ryan and Lance, clad only in boxers and tee-shirts, followed Jewel into the guestroom, where Diamond sat upright in her bed, still screaming. ​

 

About the Author:

Dann Hazel has been writing both fiction and nonfiction for more than twenty years.

Besides writing romance, he has taught high school English and journalism, college psychology and human sexuality, directed federal grants and worked as a therapist in a psychiatric hospital. His fiction genre interests include thrillers, horror, literary and gay romance. He has published the Some Like It Haute Gay Romance Series, including Room for Dessert, My Own Private Biscuit and Lonely Diner.

Nonfiction works include Witness: Gay and Lesbian Clergy Report from the Front and Moving On: The Gay Man’s Guide for Coping When a Relationship Ends.

Dann’s personal interests include reading and writing, cinema, jogging, Broadway, keeping abreast of current events and travel.

Currently, Dann lives in Central Florida with his husband, Josh, and their American Eskimo canine, Flurry.

Connect with Dann:
https://www.haut-gay-romance.com/
Facebook: Some Like It Haute (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089831902829)
Twitter: @DHRomance
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dann.hazel/