Hi Imogene, thank you for
having me at your blog today!
Hollywood Bound, Book One in the Gin &
Jazz series was just released, and is available for about a buck right now –
yowza! This M/M series is set in the decadent era of the 1920’s when it was all
about cool gin and hot jazz. I love that time period - I come from a music and
theatre background. The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite books, and I love
classic film. To say that this book was a labor of love is an understatement. I
had to do scads of research, but that was a blast as well. Is there a time
period that you love, or have an affinity for?
While you mull that over, I’ve included an
excerpt from Hollywood Bound where the older, more streetwise Nick is working
late with Jack, his younger buddy, as well as one of the other theatre hands. As
they work, Nick contemplates what his never-ending thoughts about Jack might
mean.
Nick wiped the sweat off
his brow for what felt like the hundredth time. It was after midnight, and
they’d been working under the hot stage lights for several hours. They had to
get everything just right before they could leave, otherwise their boss Pearson
would have a fit and use that as yet another excuse not to give them their past
due wages. He was down to his last Chesterfield. They weren’t his favourite
brand of cigarette, but at five cents for ten sticks, he couldn’t complain.
When they got to Hollywood and were making the big bucks, he would only smoke
Luckys from then on.
He checked his pocket.
Thirty cents left. They were going to be in real trouble if Pearson didn’t come
through the next day. He had to wash his and Jack’s shirts, and he’d have to
feed the kid tomorrow. He’d only had coffee and a cheese sandwich all day. Nick
still felt guilty about getting the hamburger. That had been another fifteen
cents they could have saved, but Jack had insisted.
“You have to do all of
the heavy stuff at the theatre. You need to eat something good.”
I
could always dip into the Hollywood money. There’s close to fifty dollars in
there.
Nick winced. It was so
tempting when his belly was grumbling and their clothes smelled like an old
hobo in Central Park, but they had to stay strong. Once they got to Hollywood
they would be okay. Things would be different.
“Hey, Nicky, whaddya
think?” Oscar yelled from the front of the stage. “I think it looks great and
that we should get the fuck outta here.”
Nick went around the
curtains that were pulled open to the side of the stage and hopped off the
front into the orchestra pit. He surveyed the backdrop and the other sliding
set pieces that had been arranged for Act One. Jack came down the aisle and
stopped next to him.
“I think it’s okay.
Whaddya say Nick?”
Nick looked down at
Jack’s innocent smiling face. Nick was about a half a foot taller than the
blond-haired, blue-eyed kid, and sometimes he felt so protective of him that he
thought it would crush his heart. No one should ever be abused the way Jack had
been. He was such a sweet guy, and he didn’t even have any family. No one to
care for him. No one except Nick.
At times it felt like a
burden—like Nick had taken on a responsibility that wasn’t his. But they had
always looked out for each other, and it was great not to have to be alone in
the city, to have someone he could rely on.
And there was the other
thing. At first, Nick had thought it was just sympathy that made him feel so
soft about Jack. Like the same way he might feel if a little puppy was lost and
left in the cold. He’d want to take it in and feed it and hold it close. But
lately he’d been wrestling with the idea that it might be something more than
that.
I
ain’t no queer. I’m engaged and everything.
He and Penelope had only
ever kissed and done a little petting. It hadn’t particularly excited him, so
he thought maybe he was just one of those guys who wasn’t that much into sex.
Or maybe when he was a little older he’d like it more.
So
maybe it’s just that I’m older now and Penelope’s not here, but Jack is. Maybe
that’s all it is.
He wasn’t so sure that
was it either. Because when he thought about Penelope he had a sinking feeling
in his stomach that seemed more like feeling trapped that he had to marry her.
To get your copy of
Hollywood Bound:
Totally Bound: https://www.totallybound.com/hollywood-bound
Find Morticia here:
or
@morticiaknight on twitter, and Morticia Knight on Facebook.https://www.facebook.com/morticia.knight
