Sand-Man’s Family
Author: CJane Elliott
Genre: M/M Contemporary Romance, New Adult, Bisexual
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Length: 105 pages
Book 3 of the Wild and Precious Series.
(Book 1: Wild and Precious. Book 2: There You Are.)
Can be read as a standalone.
Synopsis
When Sandy Nixon's conservative Catholic parents discover
he's had sex before marriage, they are furious. But when he blurts out he's
bisexual, they go ballistic. After they threaten him with conversion therapy, Sandy does what many
queer kids long to do—leaves his homophobic parents in the dust. He moves
in with his Uncle Phineas and Phineas’s partner Cody in Portland, Oregon,
and is finally safe to be himself. Sandy misses
his siblings, though, and decides to visit his former home in Rockford for Thanksgiving. On the train, he
runs into Jade Byrne.
As the only out gay kid in their Catholic high school, Jade
had stared down homophobes while being fabulous in the school musicals. He’s
crushed on Sandy
for years. But he’s made sure never to show it, even after they had a one-time
hookup, because Sandy’s
the good Catholic kid, the altar boy, and the apparently straight athlete—all
the things Jade isn’t. Traveling back to Rockford
together sees the start of a month of adventures, a blossoming attraction, and
a chance for Sandy
to learn what it means to have a family that hurts and to choose a family that
heals.
Having A Family That Hurts, Choosing A Family
That Heals
Sandy
followed Cody and Phinney down the aisle and into the dining car for breakfast.
They were being escorted to their table when someone called, “Sandy? What the ever-loving fuck?”
Sandy
whirled around. “Jade?”
Jade jumped up from a table. He looked amazing—like a very
pretty gender-fluid goth knight. Clad in an all-black ensemble, with his
jet-black hair sporting bright pink streaks, he wore the requisite eyeliner
that made his dark eyes pop, and his nails sparkled with gold polish. Sandy drank him in—how
could he have forgotten how gorgeous Jade was? So fierce and fabulous. Oops—and
also mad as hell.
“Oh my God! Sandy
Nixon! I am so pissed at you! You
just disappeared, like, poof!”
“Jade, wow! What’re you doing on this train?” What a stupid thing to say. Seeing Jade
again had him in a muddle—happiness and desire battled with guilt and
confusion.
“What am I…? The same thing you are, obviously. Going back
to Rockford for
Thanksgiving. But the point is, where did you disappear to? Why didn’t you—oh,
hello.” Jade nodded over Sandy’s
head. “I’m Jade Byrne.”
Sandy
felt a hand on his shoulder. Uncle Phinney said, “Hi there. I’m Phineas
MacDonald, Sandy’s
uncle, and this is my partner, Cody Bellstrom.”
Cody’s easygoing voice followed. “Hey there. Nice to meet
you, Jade. Why don’t we all grab a table together so we’re not clogging up the
aisle?”
“How come I didn’t see you in Seattle?” Jade demanded after they were
seated. “Were you on the Portland
train?”
“Yeah. I live in Portland
now with Uncle Phinney.”
“You do? But we’re so close! I can’t believe this! Have you
been in Portland
all this time?”
“Yeah.”
Jade huffed, and Sandy
braced himself for a tirade. He was glad when Cody spoke up instead.
“What are you doing in Seattle?”
“Going to a performing arts school, majoring in musical
theater. I love it.”
“He’s really good too,” Sandy blurted. “He was the star of St.
Ignatius High.”
Jade nodded with only a tinge of modesty. “What can I say? When
you’ve got it, you’ve got it.” Then he frowned. “That was sweet to say, and it
almost makes up for you leaving with no warning.”
Before Sandy
could think of a reply, Uncle Phinney leaned forward. “I love the performing
arts. I’m a drag queen, and Cody here is a great guitarist and all-around
musician, so we feel you.”
“A drag queen?” Jade clasped his hands together with a look
of sheer delight.
“And an amazing one,” Cody drawled, while Phinney blushed.
“You’ll have to see him if you ever come to Portland. A Phanny Hill performance is not to
be missed.”
“Phanny Hill? Oh my God, that’s fantastic!” Jade turned
dancing eyes to Sandy.
“Sandy, you
have such cool relatives! I would’ve never guessed… I mean, given your
parents.”
“Yeah. I lucked out with Uncle Phinney.”
Phinney’s face got even pinker. “Aw, Sand-Man. I’m so happy
you came to live with me. I feel like the lucky one.”
Sandy
squirmed under his praise, and Cody defused his embarrassment by jumping in.
“Hey, what about me? I’m the luckiest one in the bunch!”
Sandy
turned to Jade. “Cody came out West to be in a funk band. He and I were on the
same train when I ran away, and that’s how everyone met.”
Jade’s eyes grew round. “No! That’s so epic! So when you ran
away, you met the very guy who Fate had destined for your uncle to be with.” He
sighed as the rest of them laughed.
Buy Links
This is novella number three is CJane Elliott’s Wild &
Precious series. Now, I didn’t read the first 2 books and I was told this was a
standalone and I want to let everyone know that it is in fact a standalone. There
are mention of characters from the other books and you see them but at no time
are you lost. The author fills in gaps where you might wonder.
Something I found cute was the title of this novella. Sand
Man’s family. I didn’t really get it off the bat but then I met the MC Sandy.
And it all came together. He has horrific parents. They are the worst of the
worst. Bigots, uncaring, unloving. Waste of space if you ask me. But Sandy
doesn’t need them. He has built such and amazing support system.
This support system is the ensemble to this novella. There’s his boyfriend, partner Cody, his
Uncle, the band… I go on and on. There’s a strength behind him and it makes up
for all his parents lack… and it’s a lot.
Sandy is an adorable character. Genuine and lovely. I can’t
imagine not loving him.
This ensemble in the story really brought so much to Sandy’s
tale. I loved them. An ensemble can make or break a book and this one was
golden!
While a little angsty, it’s romantic, sweet, sometimes sexy,
and a lot of fun.
After years of hearing characters chatting away in her head,
CJane Elliott finally decided to put them on paper and hasn’t looked back
since. A psychotherapist by training, CJane enjoys writing sexy, passionate
stories that also explore the human psyche. CJane has traveled all over North America for work and her characters are travelers,
too, traveling down into their own depths to find what they need to get to the
happy ending.
CJane is an ardent supporter of LGBTQ equality and is
particularly fond of coming out stories.
In her spare time, CJane can be found dancing, listening to
music, or watching old movies. Her husband and son support her writing habit by
staying out of the way when they see her hunched over, staring intensely at her
laptop.
E-mail: cjaneelliott@gmail.com
Website: http://www.cjaneelliott.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CJaneElliott
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cjane.elliott
CJane Elliott is offering any ebook from her backlist!
Enter the rafflecopter below.
Contest ends on May 19th
Winner will be contacted via email so please check your spam.
Thank you!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I chose parts of my husbands family and parts of my family. I have several friends that are family and would also do anything for them!
ReplyDeletei have my family of course and some truly close friends i consider family
ReplyDeleteMy family consists of my hubby, kids and grandkids, as well as a few inlaws. But, I also have quite a few friends that I consider family too, some even closer to me than my actual family.
ReplyDeleteReal time family, virtual family (including close friends) and fur babies :)
ReplyDelete