Torque by Charley Descoteaux Tour & Giveaway !!

Torque

Charley Descoteaux

Release Date: February 23, 2016
Pages or Words: 47,337 words
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Cover Artist: Kanaxa
Categories: Bisexual, Contemporary, Fiction,
Ménage/Poly, Romance, *Trans, Asexual, LGBTQ+ Fiction

Goodreads

Excerpt:
Copyright © 2016 Charley Descoteaux
All rights reserved — a Samhain Publishing, Ltd. publication

Mick slept on the couch for two weeks before Scott let him get dinner. Mick brought a pizza, hot wings and a six-pack. When he offered Scott a beer, Mick thought for a second he was about to get decked.
“No thanks, I don’t drink. But you go ahead.”
Mick put five bottles in the fridge and popped the top on the sixth. The long pull of rich beer felt like cool water after he’d been walking for weeks in the desert.
“Never?”
“Nope. I got enough of that before I was even born, I don’t need any more.”
It only took half a beer for Mick to get past the uncomfortable feeling he should’ve asked Scott to tell him more, or that he should’ve switched to Mountain Dew. Scott rented an On Demand movie, something forgettable with vampires, and they sat in their places on the couch and divided their attention between the movie and the pizza for the next two hours. Tom camped out in his usual spot between their thighs, graciously accepting all the chicken and pepperoni tributes offered to him.
After the movie was over they watched another one on HBO, but didn’t pay much attention to it. Mick had a nice buzz going and was happy to sit back and listen to Scott talk about his project—the VW Microbus he was converting into a flatbed. A warm, fuzzy feeling Mick almost didn’t recognize as happiness set up camp in his gut, and life was good.
He thought, more than once or twice, that Scott leaned toward him in a way that was a little more than friendly, but it had to be the beer.
Too bad.
Mick jerked in surprise when he realized he’d started to lean toward Scott. He had no right to be “more than friendly” to Scott. None at all.
Scott reached out to grasp his shoulder. “You okay, Mick?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Are you ready for bed?” Scott kneaded his shoulder, sending a current through his body.
“The movie isn’t over.”
“It’s not very good. If you don’t want to finish it, that’s okay with me.” Scott smiled and sat back against the couch, releasing Mick’s shoulder.
He couldn’t help himself, he leaned forward. Only a little bit. He didn’t want to lose Scott’s touch. In that moment, he couldn’t think of anything more important than Scott touching him, not even self-preservation.
Mick Randall wasn’t a stranger to self-medicating with alcohol but before he found Bell’s he hadn’t had a lot of money to spare, and lately he hadn’t had the time. Together, those circumstances had turned him into a lightweight. That had to be the explanation for why he saw a come-on in every glance and heard innuendo where surely Scott didn’t mean any. He’d have to be a lightweight to want so badly to respond to Scott’s touch with an embrace.
Maybe I should quit drinking.
Mick wasn’t capable of walking in a straight line by the time he hit the can, but it didn’t matter. Four beers was plenty and he’d take the other two out of Scott’s fridge the next day and remember not to bring more. If he wanted a drink, he wouldn’t have to drive far. When he left the bathroom his thoughts centered on that warm, happy feeling, and what he could get up to the next day. Before he knew what was happening, Scott had him backed against the wall, both hands spread across his chest.
All that fuzzy warm happiness disappeared, replaced by a tiny shiver of panic mixed with a side of relief. The relief tangled with a mix of “fucking finally” and “what the fuck” that made Mick dizzy. Or maybe that’s just the beer.
“Scott. Maybe I should sleep somewhere else tonight.”
“Yeah. Like in my bed with me.”
“I was thinking like my car, or a motel.”
Scott frowned and pushed him back against the wall harder, caressing his chest and shoulders as he did. The contrast of the unyielding wall against his shoulder blades and the man in front of him spun Mick’s head around once. “You don’t feel anything like Mercy. I knew you wouldn’t.”
“Don’t you think Mercy would—”
“She wouldn’t care. I’m not the only one she fools around with.” Scott leaned against him, chest to chest, close enough to kiss.
“Let me go.” Mick took hold of Scott’s shoulders and tried to push him back, but Scott was stronger than he looked.
“No. I don’t want to.”
“What am I supposed to do now?” Mick couldn’t see a clear path to the door. Panic reared up in the back of his mind—he had no game plan for this, no idea what his part should be.
“You can let me blow you. Or you can blow me. I don’t care who goes first. You want me, don’t you?”
Mick tried to speak but couldn’t. He couldn’t get a decent breath either, not with Scott’s hands on him. He nodded and tried to pull himself together.
“Haven’t you ever hooked up before?”
“Yeah.” Liar.
“Well, so have I. I’m not a little kid. You don’t have to—”
“I know you’re not.” Mick squeezed Scott’s shoulders, anxious to learn how his skin felt over those hard muscles, how those muscles looked when he moved. “I know.”
“So why—”
“I’ve hooked up before.”
“So why not with me?”
“Because it’s different with you. I mean, it would be— I can’t…”
“You think I’m an idiot? Too dumb to know what to—”
“No! No. That has nothing to do—” Mick saw something in Scott’s eyes that made the rest of that sentence turn to dust in his throat. He swallowed hard and was about to—no idea what he was about to do, but he couldn’t stand there forever—when he saw something else that stopped him. “You’re shaking.”
“Yeah.” Scott’s voice had a hard edge so when he surged forward, his erection pressing against Mick’s thigh, it was unexpected.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m trying to keep from punching you in the face.”
“Why do you want to punch me in the face?”
“Because you’re pushing me away. I thought you liked me.”
“I do like you. But—”
“Don’t say it’s not right. I’m dumb but I’m not—”
“I didn’t say you were dumb. You’re not dumb.” Mick could barely speak past his desire, so his last few words came out as breathless as he felt. He’d started panting and the sound filled the short hallway. “Please don’t punch me in the face.”
Scott frowned, but fear and pain was mixed up with the anger and desire showing in his light bottle-green eyes. Mick felt it all right along with him.
“Maybe I should go.”
When Scott didn’t respond Mick slid against the wall, sideways. In just a few steps, Mick wasn’t supporting all of Scott’s weight anymore, didn’t feel his tense muscles or his heat. Mick gingerly pushed off from the wall and walked backward, toward the living room.
“You don’t have to.”
“I think I do.” Mick sat on the sofa to pull on his boots and Scott dropped onto the cushion beside him. Mick straightened, one boot on and one off, and Scott grabbed him and kissed him.

Buy the book: Samhain ~ Amazon US ~ ARe

Meet the author:
Charley Descoteaux misspent a large chunk of her youth on the back of a Harley, meeting people and having adventures that sometimes pop up in her fiction. She grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area during a drought, and found her true home in the soggy Pacific Northwest. Charley has survived earthquakes, tornadoes and floods, but couldn’t make it through one day without stories
Facebook ~ FB Author Page ~ Twitter ~ Pinterest ~ Blog

Q and A with Charley Descoteaus 

1. Let’s start out by getting to know you. Tell us 4 things about yourself that are not in your bio.
I’ve laid cement foundations, and painted tanks and fenders on a Harley (back in the early 80s, with the equivalent of stone knives and bearskins ;)).
Okay, two more…I was a vegetarian for a long time in the 80s and 90s, and sprouted my own sprouts!

2. If you could go anywhere, all expenses paid, where would you go?
I would go to a big Romance Con, like GayRomLit or Romance Writers of America. Hey, since it’s all expenses paid—maybe i’d go to one in the UK, France or Germany instead. ;)

3. List three books you have recently read and would recommend
A Boy Called Cin by Cecil Wilde, a sweet (yet smokin’) Romance featuring two gender-nonconforming characters I fell in love with.
Summer Symphony by Brandon Shire, if you’re in the mood for bisexual fiction and angst (not a Romance).
Chaos Station by Kelly Jensen and Jenn Burke, a fun scifi adventure with action, intrigue, and a smoldering romance.

4. What do you always order in a favorite restaurant?
I love going out for breakfast and my favorite breakfast is biscuits and gravy. I don’t have it very often but love a thick, peppery sausage gravy. I’m looking forward to visiting the Biscuit Bitch in Seattle again this September when I go up for GRNW. Their Straight-Up Bitch is heavenly.

5. What do you hope to accomplish in the next 12 months? 

I have two deadlines so far this year, for a Christmas novella and a novel, both in my Buchanan House series. That takes me up to September 1st, but by then I’m sure I’ll have another lined up.
One thing I would really love to do this year is to find a home for another unconventional Romance like Torque—this one with a genderqueer main character. I think that’s enough for one year, but I’ll probably try and squeeze in another project or two.

6. What do you like to read? 

My nook is filled with books from many sub-genres—I love scifi and dystopian fiction, YA and mysteries, but always come back to contemporary. Most of what I read is Romance or horror, mainly because there seems to be more of that available with queer main characters than other sub-genres. Or I’m just not finding the books, which is possible. There are so many books coming out every day it can be a challenge to find the kind I want to read. They usually don’t make the bestseller lists or get recommended by Amazon. Even in contemporary I want to read something different, books that surprise me in some way.
If anyone can recommend a great scifi series, or if you have favorite authors who write AU, speculative fiction or magical realism (they don’t also have to be Romances) I’d love to hear about them!

7. What do you look for when choosing a book to read?
A blurb that tells me I’ll meet interesting, complex characters. I’m ecstatic when I find a book with a bisexual main character that doesn’t feed into negative stereotypes.

8. What do you need someone to invent right away? 

Something that lets me commute to work on public transit without listening to other people’s telephone conversations? Some kind of bubble or force field they could activate around themselves (or the rest of the passengers could activate for them) would be nice.

9. What does the word "romantic" mean to you?
That’s a hard one to put into words. To me, it means treating someone like they’re the most important part of your world: giving your full attention when they talk, giving little surprises when it’s not a holiday (like doing a chore they usually do without fanfare), or just a nice cuddle session.

10. Can you share something about your works in progress?

As I write this I’m working on a Christmas novella. Or it might be a novel, I can never tell until I see what the characters have to say. It’s the story of a guy who didn’t get his HEA in Tiny House (the sequel to Buchanan House, releasing from Dreamspinner at the end of April). I felt bad torturing him because he’s a really nice guy, he just wasn’t the right guy for… the man he wanted. :D The working title is Holiday House and it features some characters who have already been introduced, and some new faces. I’m happy to be able to set some of it at my fictional foundation with the mission to help LGBTQ+ youth get and stay off the streets, the Elliott Foundation. Ever since I started writing the first book in the series I’ve wanted to have an Elliott Foundation Weekend at Buchanan House and I expect that to happen in this story.

Thank you so much for having me, it was a blast!

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Tour Dates & Stops: 
23-Feb Boy Meets Boy Reviews, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Book Lovers 4Ever, Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves, Elisa - My Reviews and Ramblings, Posy Roberts
1-Mar The Novel Approach, Velvet Panic, Three Books Over The Rainbow, Hearts on Fire
8-Mar Louise Lyons, Foxylutely Book Reviews, My Fiction Nook, the Twins: Talon ps & Princess so, Inked Rainbow Reads
15-Mar Full Moon Dreaming, Elin Gregory, Alpha Book Club, Bayou Book Junkie
22-Mar Butterfly-O-Meter, Kirsty Loves Books, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Unquietly Me
29-Mar Jessie G. Books, QUEERcentric Books, Wicked Faerie's Tales and Reviews, BFD Book Blog, Love Bytes
5-Apr Book Reviews and More by Kathy, Divine Magazine, Prism Book Alliance, Molly Lolly
12-Apr Nephy Hart, Happily Ever Chapter, MM Good Book Reviews