Title: Mocha Kisses and Coffee

Author: Rawiya

Publisher: Thirteen Below Press

Release Date: April 1, 2016

Heat Level: 3

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 165 pages

Genre/Tags: Interracial, contemporary, multicultural, mm, gay romance

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Synopsis

Simple delicacies like donuts and coffee can bring two people together no matter what their differences; it can make for a very satisfying experience. But deceit can turn those experiences sour. In these two stories, Cupid shoots his arrows at four men, drawing them to one another through chance encounters that instantly grow into something more. Time To Make The Donuts Christopher Wettlon has inherited his grandfather’s Donuts to Go shop. He’s young, educated, and pretty well off, but still something is missing from his life. Enter Andre Bentley, who seems to have everything going for him. Little does Christopher know Andre is out for more than his fresh, strawberry creams. The two men are getting along well until Chris confronts Andre about his job. Can Andre ‘work’ himself back into Chris’s good graces? Smooth Like Latte Brendan Walsh is committed to working for his irrational, homophobic dad who has threatened to disown him if he comes out gay to the world. Pretending to be someone he isn’t weighs him down. This puts Brendan on edge and alert at all times, leaving little to no time for him to build a steady relationship with anyone. Davori “Latte” Jenkins is a happy go lucky barista working in the Walsh building. Born and raised in North Carolina, Latte possesses extremely good looks and charms the pants off anyone in his path using his Southern boy attitude. When Brendan visits the shop Latte works in, they’re immediately drawn to one another. Latte makes him a caramel latte with something extra. Because Brendan isn’t out of the closet, they keep their thoughts and flirtations private. Once they start dating, Brendan gets the courage to come out publicly and the relationship goes into overdrive. Still, Latte desires something more to define their relationship.

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Guest Post

Feeling the Characters

Sharita Lira

Greetings readers. When talking to an author, you might hear how excited they are about their stories. They tell you about what went into the creating plot, the inspiration behind the story, and then the fun part; how they came up with their characters. In a lot of instances, this character might be made up of someone they know or even an extension of themselves or, it may be a someone they want to know or dream about.

laughs

For me, a lot of my characters are all of the above. They’re personalities are a mix of someone I know or want to. If the character is somewhat of a jerk, it might’ve been a reaction to ex boyfriends. giggles Or some random jackass who me or my friends or family has come in contact with. In any event, those personalities and or traits are made up into one terrific fictional person.

The character.

He or she is the star of your book; the one that everyone can either identify with or hate. I try to come up with a variety of characters when I write my books so it will be exciting for me as well as the reader. I think I’ve successfully done this, but I can say I have a special place in my heart for the most challenging and/or difficult. Yes, I have an affinity for assholes. laughs Not in my real life, though, just in the books I read or write.

Since I write mostly gay romance, I like the guys that come off a little macho. Maybe they’re hotheads, narcissistic, and/or cocky. They may have quirky habits that put other people off such as swearing a lot or they’re quick to speak their minds, no matter how much it might offend the other person. I rarely write characters who are completely nice, but when I do, I find it especially challenging. I don’t know why because I consider myself a sweet person. Still, writing the co-called “angel” is hard for me. I have written some nice guys, but even they have a little badness in them. laughs My fave bad boys are Nicolai from The Wretched and if you can call him “bad”, Kajika from the N’awlins Exotica series. As far as the somewhat sweeties are Ryland from my twins series, Mon Frere and Jayden from Something About Jayden.

Then there are my females. When I write a het or now, with my f/f, I want to make her feminine and kick ass. I’m not sure I could write a woman who is waiting to be whisked away by her potential mate. The damsel in distress trope isn’t something I want to write. I’d rather do, she’ll kick and scream before she lets her man or woman take her. She’ll fight for her independence and bring up every excuse not to be with the person who is hot on her heels. She’s fierce and sometimes a little crazy. My fave characters I’ve written are Miranda Ashley from On the Run and Kenina Porter from the N’awlins Exotica series and they fit my descriptions to a tee.

There’s a lot that goes into putting together a character and until recently, I hadn’t realized all the steps, but even now, I’ll still let the character speak to me and most of the time, they go against the grain of what I wanted for them. That’s the beauty of writing a fictional person though. Coming up with a rough sketch and then allowing that person to come into his or her own. When I do this, it’s exciting to follow the character and what they do, and I seriously hope the reader enjoys it too.

So in closing, putting together the characters are just as enjoyable as the plot. In some cases I let both roam free until I feel it’s time to reel them in. And as you know, you can’t ask an author who is their favorite character. It’s like picking their favorite child. laughs However, I guess if someone demanded me to, I’d say Kenina and Ryland rank tops for me.

Shhh! Don’t tell the others!

Meet the Author

RAWIYA is the more sensual erotica writer in the BLRawiya duo. She loves multiracial characters who overcome obstacles other than race. Sweet, sassy, and spicy would be the best way to describe her work. Happily married mother of two, loves music, computers, and travel.