An excerpt of The Merchant and the Clergyman is available to read thru Amazon’s Kindle Scout program. PLEASE click on the link which will take you to the campaign page, read and nominate it before Sept. 4. If our title receives high marks, it may be selected by Amazon for publication (earning the Thor’s Hammer of the Amazon Machine to back it). If not, we’ll be self publishing as usual. THANKS in advance for your support.

LINK TO EXCERPT AT AMAZON SCOUT PROGRAM

A village clergyman Curate James Fletcher is content shepherding his parishioners through the good and bad times of their lives. If he sometimes dreams of making a deeper connection with a man who truly knows everything about him, it is an impulse he ignores and sublimates.

A workaholic businessman Declan Shaw solves problems at his family’s far-flung business enterprises. Recently, he’s considered taking a break from traveling to settle in one place and pursue a few desires of his own. He’d love to explore his secret love of cooking, and perhaps have a relationship that lasts longer than a night.

The event that brings them together In town for his cousin’s wedding, Declan meets James just as he’s bested the annoying groom. Intrigued by the mild-mannered cleric’s surprising grit, Declan asks James to help him discover if his aunt is being mistreated by her spouse. As their paths repeatedly cross, the two men reach an intersection of attraction they can’t ignore. Will they take the forbidden trail of passion and perhaps continue to travel together into the future?

This particular story has been a very fun one for me with few stumbles over what should happen next and some GREAT input from several beta readers that helped strengthen the final conflict. Now The Tutor is live at everywhere. Links to all sellers are on the book page.
Here’s an early review from Heroes and Heartbreakers:

Heroes & Heartbreakers, Tanya LK
I was tearing through the pages, clutching my comforter for, well, comfort, waiting to see how it all unfolds. …a story about love. Love for one’s family, love from beyond, and letting oneself fall in love.

Thanks to all who helped with this book in any way and for the many readers who preordered, demonstrating their interest.

Elements of The Sound of Music, The Enchanted Garden, Jane Eyre, and “true” ghost hunting shows make this story feel familiar. Gay love makes it unique.

Seeing an ad for a position at a Yorkshire estate, typesetter Graham Cowrie decides to make an upward career move by passing himself off as a tutor. How hard can it be to teach a few subjects to a pair of nine-year-old boys? But on his arrival at the ancient house, he finds the staff creepy, the twins odd, and the widowed master temporarily absent.

His first meeting with brooding, stern, but oh-so-attractive, Sir Richard doesn’t go well, but with no other prospects vying for the teaching position, Graham manages to keep it. His mission soon becomes clear, break down the walls of reserve both father and sons have erected and attempt to bridge the gap between them.

But strange sounds, sights and experiences keep Graham on edge until he finally admits the Hall is haunted by two entities with very different agendas. Graham works to appease one and combat the other while protecting the broken family he’s grown to care for.

A long time ago, I wrote a book called Perfecting Amanda, about a woman who travels to Kansas to meet a fiancé she’s only met through correspondence. While waiting at the train depot, she tells her tale to the station agent and a roguish gambler passing by overhears. Since she’s never seen the man, and he more or less matches the description, Spencer takes a gamble on whether he can get this pretty lady into bed by posing as the man. Needless to say, his duplicity is discovered the next morning by the unwitting heroine, who must decide whether to come clean with her fiancé, Travis, when he finally shows up–or hide this terrible mistake and carry on with her original plan.

An outlandish premise, right? Yeah, I think so too. But I wrote it a long time ago. I probably wouldn’t today. What I did do with the story, after rights reverted to me, was give it a thorough polish for style (not content, there was really no changing the basic story) and prepare to self publish it.

Presenting now, Her Choice with a new cover and a facelift. You can purchase it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, All Romance Ebooks, Smashwords and more. All links are on the book page here. Click on the cover image of Her Choice to get to the book’s page.

I’m excited to share the brand-spankin’-new cover for The Tutor which should be available in July.

I’ve really enjoyed writing this gothic romance and playing with all the standard tropes but switching them up. I hope readers will enjoy it just as much as I have. I plan to post teasers over the next few weeks prior to release.

Glimmers of The Sound of Music, The Enchanted Garden, Jane Eyre, and every “true” ghost hunters show you’ve ever seen make this story feel familiar. Gay love makes it unique.

 Typesetter Graham Cowrie sees an ad for a position at a Yorshire estate and decides to make an upward career move by passing himself off as a tutor. How hard can it be to teach a few subjects to a pair of nine-year-old boys? But on his arrival at the ancient house on the moors, he finds the staff creepy, the twins odd, and the master of the house absent.

 His first meeting with brooding, stern, but oh-so-attractive, Sir Richard doesn’t go well, but with no other prospects vying for the teaching position, Graham manages to keep it. His mission becomes clear, break through the walls of reserve both father and sons have raised and attempt to bridge the gap between them.

 But strange sounds, sights and experiences keep Graham on edge until he finally admits Allinson Hall is haunted. The entities residing there have very different agendas and Graham works to appease them while figuring out a way to protect the broken family he’s grown to care for.

Here’s an opening excerpt:
“When I first saw Allinson Hall looming dark and foreboding in the distance, I feared I approached a lunatic asylum rather than a family home. The sprawling gray building appeared hewn from the great rocks that littered the moors, and as ominous as the threatening clouds overhead.

What a lovely place to raise children, I thought. Little did I know that an even bleaker darkness than the house possessed resided in the manor’s owner, Sir Richard Allinson.”

After fully intending to blog on a regular basis, I let almost a month slip past without a post. What can I say? It’s summer.  But I have been working. Summer and I have nearly completed our latest collaboration temporarily called James and Declan. We may title it The Cleric and the Businessman, or we may think of something better. Are people tired of our “… and the …” titles or does it let them know immediately it’s a Summer and Bonnie collaboration?

James Fletcher is content in his position of church curate in the village where he grew up. Shepherding the parishioners during times of joy, need, doubt, or sorrow suits his caring temperament. And if he sometimes dreams of having a deeper connection with a man who truly knows him—all of him—that is an impulse he must ignore and sublimate.

Declan Shaw, a hard-nosed businessman who solves problems at his family’s far-flung enterprises, is exhausted from his traveling life. For the first time, he wonders if he might ever settle down in a home to pursue a few desires of his own. Might he explore his secret love of cooking, or perhaps have a relationship that lasts longer than a night?

Declan arrives in town for his annoying cousin Kip’s wedding and first meets James standing over Kip after delivering a well-warranted knee to his balls. Intrigued by the mild-mannered country parson’s surprising grit, Declan enlists James’s aid in learning more about his aunt’s onset of mental illness and whether his uncle might be mistreating her.

After repeatedly crossing paths, the two men come to an intersection and must decide whether to take the forbidden trail of passion, and if they might continue to travel on the road of life in the future.

On my own I’ve been writing The Tutor, a gothic which has been so much fun. Cover to come soon and the book may be ready by July. Here’s the blurb for that one:

Gothic romance with a twist.

Glimmers of The Sound of Music, The Enchanted Garden, Jane Eyre, and every “true” ghost hunters show you’ve ever seen make this story feel familiar. Gay love makes it unique.

Typesetter Graham Cowrie sees an ad for a position at a Yorshire estate and decides to make an upward career move by passing himself off as a tutor. How hard can it be to teach a few subjects to a pair of nine-year-old boys? But on his arrival at the ancient house on the moors, he finds the staff creepy, the twins odd, and the master of the house absent.

His first meeting with brooding, stern, but oh-so-attractive, Sir Richard doesn’t go well, but with no other prospects vying for the teaching position, Graham manages to keep it. His mission becomes clear, break through the walls of reserve both father and sons have raised and attempt to bridge the gap between them.

But strange sounds, sights and experiences keep Graham on edge until he finally admits the Hall is haunted. The entities residing there have very different agendas and Graham works to appease them while figuring out a way to protect the broken family he’s grown to care for.