Title: Room for Recovery
Series: Hearts and Health #4
Self Published
Publication date: February 26, 2018
Length: 250 pages
Synopsis
Beau James isn't out, but
he's not fooling anyone. When he's cornered by two bullies, he's rescued by
none other than the broody Wade Ritter, who he's crushed on from afar. Despite
their family connection, Wade has resisted all of Beau's attempts at friendship
-- until now. His protective streak gives Beau an opportunity to get past
Wade's prickly exterior.
Wade considers Beau to be a
quasi-cousin. He's been careful to keep Beau in that box because he is too
tempting to a gay boy determined to remain in the closet after his coming out
went all wrong. But when Wade sees bullies harassing Beau, he offers to help.
Little does he know this small crack in the walls around his heart is the
opening Beau needs to move in and change Wade's life.
After years off the rails,
Wade realizes there's room for recovery. If he can face hard truths about his
sexuality and love himself, he might be able to love Beau too.
Room for Recovery is part
of the Hearts and Health series. It contains cameo appearances by other
characters in the series, but it can be read as a standalone. The book is
approximately 77,000 words long.
Guest Post
As a writer of m/m romance, I’ve written my
share of books about sexy men falling in love (and getting it on). But
sometimes, it’s important to take a step back and remember what it means to
write gay, bisexual or otherwise queer characters. The men who inspire our
books don’t always have happy endings -- or beginnings, for that matter.
Room for Recovery is my attempt to acknowledge
some of the challenges LGBTQIA individuals face. These issues aren’t always
sexy, but they can be romantic. There’s something inspiring about a love that
requires risk and sacrifice.
Reviewers have described the book as emotional
and poignant without ripping your heart out. Despite some serious themes, Room
for Recovery is still a love story. It is the journey of two young men who find
strength, compassion and a path to self-acceptance in one another. And while
the story doesn’t have a happy beginning, Wade and Beau do get the happy ending
they deserve.
Note:
While Room for Recovery has YA themes, both characters are over eighteen and
there are some explicit scenes in the story.
Excerpt
Today,
I’d like to share the Prologue of Room for Recovery with you. The rest of the
story jumps ahead four years, but this is the catalyst for why Wade struggles
with self-acceptance.
PROLOGUE
Wade opened the door to the man cave built
into the garage of his house. It was mostly a TV room with a bunch of “manly”
décor: an illuminated cigars sign, a series of framed football jerseys from
Kansas City Chiefs players, classic car posters and a liquor cabinet stocked
with the scotch his father liked. His dad went there to retreat — more and more
often in the past few months — behind an invisible “keep out” sign.
Wade hesitated on the threshold. He felt like
he was walking into a bear’s den and offering himself up for a meal.
Maybe neutral territory would be better, he
thought.
Wade had considered a lot of ways to come out.
Announce it at the dinner table. Send a text message or make a Facebook post.
Boom, it’s over. But he knew his father would hate that. Byron Ritter always
told Wade to confront his fears head-on. He’d want to hear the news
face-to-face, man-to-man.
And there was no reason to worry. Not when
Bryon’s close friend was an openly gay surgeon.
His pep talk propelled him through the
doorway.
“Hey, Dad?”
Byron blinked as sunlight bled into the
darkened room. “In or out, Wade, but shut the door.”
Wade latched the metal door and approached his
dad, who sat in front of a large flat-screen TV playing a show about catching
crab in arctic weather conditions. There was a lot of wind and water and
shouting on the screen.
Wade swiped sweaty palms on the thighs of his
jeans.
“Can I talk to you?”
“What is it?”
His father’s eyes remained on the screen. Wade
didn’t want to compete with television, but maybe it would be better if his
father was only partially absorbing his words. He could pretend he was talking
to himself.
“I think I’m gay.”
The sound of the television show dropped away
as Byron hit the mute button. He turned to Wade, eyes laser focused. “Say that
again?”
“I think ... I mean, I’m pretty sure. I’m
gay.” Unnerved by his father's intent look, he added, “Like Trent.”
Invoking Trent’s name didn’t offer him the
automatic acceptance he’d expected. His dad’s expression didn’t clear. No smile
of understanding appeared.
His father shook his head slowly. “You’re a
bit young to know something like that, Wade. You’ve got years of growing up to
do.”
Wade had thought about waiting to come out,
maybe until he was in college. Or after he was living on his own, settled in a
job. But if he did that, there’d be pressure. Pressure to date girls, to go to
prom. Already, as a high school freshman, his secret weighed on him. He wanted
everything out in the open — at least with his family and friends. The
homophobic assholes didn’t need to know.
He swallowed hard. “I’m fifteen, Dad. My
friends already have girlfriends, and I don’t want one.”
Byron smiled, looking relieved. “Is that what
this is about? You know your mother was a late bloomer too. Never dated until
college. Don’t worry if you’re not interested yet.”
Wade’s insides clenched. This wasn’t going how
he’d hoped. He’d imagined the outcome hundreds of times, everything from
acceptance to disgust. He hadn’t imagined his dad willfully misunderstanding
him.
“No, Dad. You don’t get it. I like boys.”
His father sighed, suddenly looking older than
his forty years. He rubbed his temples. Wade noticed a tumbler with a third of
amber liquid in the bottom, and now that he looked closer, his father’s eyes
were bloodshot. Was he tired or drunk? Wade wasn’t sure. His father wasn’t an
alcoholic or anything. He’d only started drinking more lately. Mom said he was
stressed about work and not to worry if he seemed a little rough around the
edges.
“Listen, Wade. I know you think you know
everything now that you’re a teenager, but life is complicated. It’s not easy.
And being gay ... it’ll make your life harder. So, I’m going to give you a
piece of advice. Take your time and really be sure before you start telling
people you’re gay. Give yourself time to grow up more, okay? You know that
Trent is my friend, but kiddo, I don’t want you ending up like him. That’s not
what anyone would want. Can you do that for me? Can you just take some time and
think about it?”
The lump in Wade’s throat prevented him from
answering. He nodded, eyes burning with tears that wanted to come. He
ruthlessly pushed them down, unwilling to cry because his father hadn’t offered
unconditional love and a warm hug. He’d been silly to imagine it could go that
way. He knew, deep down, that it might not. Plenty of worst-case scenarios had
danced in his head, and this wasn’t the worst of them by far. His father seemed
so reasonable … but it still hurt.
“Good man.”
Byron punched the volume button on the remote,
and the shouts of distressed fishermen filled the room once more. Wade walked
out in a daze, not sure how to feel. He was out, but he wasn’t. He was in
limbo.
But if his dad needed Wade to take time to
think about it — even though it seemed like all he’d done for months was think
about it — then he’d do that. He could wait to tell his mother and his friends,
let his father get used to the idea. He had probably been surprised by Wade’s
news, but he would come around.
Everything would be fine.
But it wasn’t fine. Could never be fine again.
Because Byron Ritter killed himself the next
day.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DJ Jamison is the
author of more than a dozen m/m romances, including the Ashe Sentinel series
and the Hearts and Health series. She writes a variety of queer characters,
from gay to bisexual to asexual, with a focus on telling love stories that are
more about common ground than lust at first sight. DJ grew up in the Midwest in
a working-class family, and those influences can be found in her writing
through characters coping with real-life problems: money troubles, workplace
drama, family conflicts and, of course, falling in love. DJ spent more than a
decade in the newspaper industry before chasing her first dream to write
fiction. She spent a lifetime reading before that, and continues to avidly
devour her fellow authors’ books each night. She lives in Kansas with her
husband, two sons, two fish and, regrettably, one snake. DJ is active on social
media under her pen name as well as her real name, Davina Jamison. She's a
member of the Queer Romance Freebie/Fan Club on Facebook with more than a dozen
other m/m romance authors and posts regularly in her own FB group DJ and
Company. She also offers exclusive giveaways and other bonuses through her
newsletter.
Twitter:
@Dj_Jamison_
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/DJ_Jamison
Book Bub:
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/dj-jamison
Newsletter:
www.tinyurl.com/djandcompany
Giveaway
DJ would like to offer one winner their choice of the first three books in her series: Heart Trouble, Bedside Manner or Urgent Care. To enter to win, answer this question by commenting on this post: What has been the most emotionally moving m/m romance you've read lately?
a Rafflecopter giveaway
