Thanks for having me here at Diverse Reader! Though I'm celebrating the release of Nobody's Hero, the third Superpowered Love book, all this blog hopping is also about the whole series. In that vein, I'm here with an excerpt from book 2, Riot Boy, that I think expresses the general spirit of the thing. Brady is in a punk band, and he's invited Etienne, our narrator, to hear him play as a kind of "first date" moment. This is what goes on after the show…
Brady went on, "Why'd you come to some dive bar to hear a possibly shitty local band?"
"Good question."
"Can I guess?" He pointed at me with his little glass. Definitely whisky, probably bourbon.
"Sure."
"Because you want to fuck me."
It
wasn't so much that his shock value had worn off, just that it was
true. "Well, yeah. But it's not uncommon to think of that a hundred
times a day. That's nothing new. You're interesting. Apart from that."
"No one's interesting apart from that."
"You are."
He laughed and leaned back. "You're unreal, Etienne. I like saying that name—Etienne. Really, where'd it come from?"
I hit up my new beer before replying, "My mom's French."
"Speak French?" he asked.
"Like a three-year-old."
"Say something."
I
ran through my stock of available phrases, most of which involved a lot
of swearing. Mom had meant to teach us to speak properly, but, as with
most first-generation kids, all we'd retained was the good stuff. "About
what?"
"About"—his gaze flickered around until it came to rest on the abandoned stage—"music."
"What about it?"
"How I sell it for drinks." He held his up and gave it a shake for emphasis.
Nothing really came to mind except what I'd been reading the night before: Rimbaud's Une Saison en Enfer. So I said, "À
qui me louer? Quelle bête faut-il adorer? Quelle sainte image
attaque-t-on? Quels cœurs briserai-je? Quel mensonge dois-je tenir? Dans
quel sang marcher?"
About
halfway through, he closed his eyes. He kept them closed when he asked,
"That's nice. What is it?" His lips remained parted after he'd spoken,
and for a moment I could only stare. That face, beautiful skin, high
cheekbones, like some kind of punk doll. His long, dark eyelashes, the
curve of his neck, his shell pink mouth slightly open in anticipation.
My earlier fantasy flooded back, bathing me in embarrassment and
adrenaline. An urge to take his face in my hands, back him against the
wall, and kiss him everywhere nearly overpowered me.
If he could do that to me without saying a word, then what could he do if he actually tried?
I licked my lips and forced a reply. "It's a famous Rimbaud quotation."
"I know that name." He opened his eyes. A pause and a smirk. "And no, I don't think you mean Sylvester Stallone."
"I didn't—"
He cut me off, grinning. "'Ghetto Defendant.' Clash song, off Combat Rock. Ginsberg's talking about Jean Arthur Rimbaud in it."
In my defense, the only Clash album I ever owned was London Calling—Suse never liked Combat Rock. "Oh."
"What's it mean?"
I
tried to come up with the best translation, the one that felt right.
"'To whom shall I hire myself out? What beast should I worship? What
holy image is to be attacked? What hearts shall I break? What lie must I
cling to? In what blood tread?'"
A sigh. "Fuck, that got me hard." He adjusted his package with one hand and knocked back half his drink with the other.
That
had been exactly my first reaction to it, years ago. Still was, if I
was thinking about it instead of reciting. Another urge to put him
against the wall tore through me, this time so hard I gripped the edge
of the table to keep from giving in.
I said, "Yeah. I know the feeling."
"Then what are we still sitting here for?"
Thanks again, and don't forget to enter the giveaway! <3
Superpowered Love: Re-loaded! Blog Tour
The Superpowered Love series (http://www.kateyhawthorne.com/p/superpowered-love.html) explores the mixed-up love lives of the “awakened”, humans with awakened thermal or electrical superpowers.
Tour Schedule
December 26 – Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
December 27 – Love Bytes
December 28 – My Fiction Nook
December 29 – Boy Meets Boy
January 1 – Joyfully Jay
January 4 – MM Midnight Café
January 7 – Bayou Book Junkie
January 9 – Diverse Reader
January 10 – Nerdy, Dirty, and Flirty
January 11 – Eroticaforall.co.uk
Superpowered Love 3: Nobody's Hero
Jamie
Monday lives in two different worlds. With his family, he's the golden
child of awakened superpowered society. He's meant to do great things
and pass on his powers—with the appropriate girl, hand-picked by his
mother. He's already failed at the first, so he can't bring himself to
tell her the wife and children aren't happening either.
With
his friends, he's the social director and life of the party. He's also
an out gay man with an appetite for quick and easy lays. It's tough to
have a relationship when you're hiding off-the-charts electrical powers,
but Jamie doesn't mind.
Not
until the prickly, paddy rocking, geeky-hot new guy at work shows him
what he's been missing. Kellan's singular combination of dirty mouth and
pure soul makes Jamie spark right from the beginning. But if he's going
to overcome Kelly's defensive front and reach the gentle heart inside,
Jamie will first have to come to terms with his own divided lives.
About The Author
About the Author: Katey Hawthorne is an avid reader and writer of
superpowered and paranormal romance, even though the only degree she
holds is in the history of art. (Or, possibly, because the only degree
she holds is in the history of art.) Originally from the Appalachian
foothills of West Virginia, she currently lives in Ohio with her family,
two cats, and one very large puppy. She lives at http://www.kateyhawthorne.com.
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This sounds very interesting! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteGeek and super powers! Awesome! Perfect combination!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to try it out
ReplyDeleteThis sounds great and I can't wait to get it.
ReplyDeletesounds great! congrats on the new release
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the release! Love the covers for the series.
ReplyDelete