RELEASE TOUR incl Exclusive Excerp: The App Trap by Dan Calley
Length: 212 pages, 5 hours (audio) Series: standalone Genre: comedy romance Tropes: Friends to lovers, Slow burn, Comedy of errors, Dating disasters, Messy heartfelt romance, HEA Trigger/Content Warnings: There are a few mentions of BDSM and a light BDSM scene in it with a comedic vibe, plus a mention of drug taking, but no actual drug taking.
Designer: www.mavilez.art Narrator: Dan Calley
Universal Link
Amazon
When Danny’s mother is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, he finds himself in a race against time to fulfil her wish for him… to find a soul mate.
Danny’s quest for love soon steers him into unfamiliar territory, and before long he’s introduced to a powerful new addiction:
Online dating.
But has he taken a wrong turn? Because neither serial dater Harry, nor fetish scene enthusiast Ben, seem like the type one brings home to mother, and time is quickly running out.
Will Danny find the love of his life, or is his chance of meeting the perfect man slipping away one date at a time?
The App Trap is a bittersweet journey into the world of modern dating. You will laugh, you will cry, and you may never swipe again.
Author’s note: This is not your typical one-couple, one-love romance. Our main character takes a few scenic detours on the road to happily ever after, exploring multiple relationships (and plenty of comic mishaps) before finding “the one.” If you’re expecting instant soulmates or a straight shot to coupledom, buckle up—this ride is messier, funnier, and a little more adventurous than that. But rest assured, there is a final love story waiting for you at the end.Contains some uniquely British humour!
I met Rob in the most ludicrously named pub that I could find––The Leg of Mutton and Cauliflower, in Croydon. The real reason that I chose that pub was because it was far enough away from everyone I knew, but not too far away to be too inconvenient for me to get to. It had nothing to do with the fact that the pub was in Rob’s neighbourhood, so if things got frisky, I could be invited back to his. Nothing to do with that whatsoever. Despite me officially being early, in my eyes I was still late. Although I hadn’t had one for a while, I remembered that dates were stressful. I’ve always liked to settle in before a date arrives so that I can get my head together. Unfortunately, I had been in such a rush to get here that my heat-absorbing cotton shirt had started clinging to my now sweating upper body like a cheap shower curtain. I paced up and down the car park of the Leg of Mutton, fanning my shirt in a futile attempt to cool myself down. Fortunately, I had the foresight to buy a travel-size deodorant can, which helped a tiny bit. I scratched around in my pocket for a last-minute chewing gum to combat any last-minute bad breath that may have been caused by my exceptionally dry mouth and the handful of garlic and herb olives I scoffed down just before I came out, but could only find a stray pellet that had been kicking around in there for God knows how long. Oh well, when in Croydon. After a couple of chews, predictably the taste of the gum faded and I strolled into the pub as if casually meeting a friend, being careful not to look around appearing as if I was looking for someone that I’d have difficulty recognising. This was so I didn’t arouse suspicion amongst the clientele that I was here on a first date. My main reason for arriving early was so that I could buy the drinks without having to make that tricky decision of whether to get a bit of painfully formulaic small talk going at the bar, or divert my attention to the bar staff whilst gawking awkwardly at my potential love interest. Also, the barman wouldn’t get to listen in on that excruciating but juicy first bit of initial awkward contact. I was still stressed out, though. Combined with the shower-curtain shirt, the ‘not knowing what he was really going to look like’, and the ‘not knowing whether he was going to be socially compatible’ thoughts, I was almost in meltdown mode. The level of stress this all caused was sucking every ounce of joy out of this experience. To add to my anxiety, everybody in the pub suddenly seemed to look like a potential ‘Rob’, like some kind of duff version of Being John Malkovich.
Dan Calley has been enjoying a tremendously enjoyable career as an audiobook narrator and voiceover artist for many years. Under different guises he has also been an actor, stand-up comedian and an award-winning podcaster. After years of narrating hundreds of wonderful audiobooks, Dan carved out a niche in the romance genre, particularly in M/M romance. After working closely with many of the greatest authors in the genre, he decided to write his debut novel The Player’s Lounge in 2023.
