Thursday, October 23, 2014

Now Available for Preorder

Hello! It has been a while. :) Burnt Reflections my new contemporary is now available for preorder. It will be available for regular purchase on November 19th. Enjoy!

For Scotty Riesen, hiding his sexuality in Ma's Trick, Louisiana hasn't been easy, given his secret relationship with his next-door neighbor, football star, and fellow closet case, Jean Lafitte. One night he decides that living in the closet is no way to go through life. He comes out, but he isn’t prepared for the backlash from his parents and friends.

 Scotty takes a bus to New Orleans to make a new life for himself. Playing janitor and dancing boy at the gay bar Burnt Reflections is a lot better than living on the street, but he can’t forget Jean Lafitte no matter how many men throw themselves at him.

 Despite everything, Jean Lafitte may yet prove just how far he’s willing to go to make a relationship with Scotty work. Traveling down to New Orleans to find Scotty is just the start of a courtship that won’t be stopped by anything less than a Louisiana hurricane.



Preorder Here


Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Christmas in July

Hello Everyone! I just wanted to let everyone know that Dreamspinner Press is doing a wonderful Christmas in July celebration over on their website. Heartless, the first in the keeping secrets series, is now on sale for .99. If you've been curious about the series today is the day to pick it up. :) There are a ton of other authors whose books are also on sale. I hope you take advantage of the discounts being offered. As always, I hope everyone is having a fabulous week!

For gay teens in the South, Erwin High School is as good as it gets. The prevailing liberalism means being gay doesn’t have to be the focus of your life—which frees up seventeen-year-old Jason Strummer to take on the role of bully. Jason understands his beauty and power and has a reputation to match his attitude. No one but his best friend suspects the cruelty Jason hides behind is a ruse to keep his hellish private life out of the public eye.

Jason has only loved one boy in his life, and that crush on Tommy Johnson ended so badly that they’re no longer on speaking terms. When an ex-lover threatens Jason and Tommy steps in to help, the heartless playboy can’t help but fall a little bit back in love with him—but Jason will have to choose between keeping Tommy or his secrets.

Buy Link

Friday, May 17, 2013

A tour of Asheville. :)


Heartless & Clueless: the Keeping Secrets Series
For gay teens in the South, Erwin High School is as good as it gets. The prevailing liberalism means being gay doesn’t have to be the focus of your life—which frees up seventeen-year-old Jason Strummer to take on the role of bully. Jason understands his beauty and power and has a reputation to match his attitude. No one but his best friend suspects the cruelty Jason hides behind is a ruse to keep his hellish private life out of the public eye.
Jason has only loved one boy in his life, and that crush on Tommy Johnson ended so badly that they’re no longer on speaking terms. When an ex-lover threatens Jason and Tommy steps in to help, the heartless playboy can’t help but fall a little bit back in love with him—but Jason will have to choose between keeping Tommy or his illusions.

Welcome to Asheville, North Carolina, home of the Erwin Warriors. I thought I’d pop over to give a brief tour of the city where the Keeping Secrets series takes place and to share some of Jason, Tommy, and the rest of the Erwin crew’s haunts. Asheville is located in the western part of North Carolina nestled between the hills of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. I grew up within a stone’s throw of the city. Needless to say, it’s near and dear to my heart. So it only made sense that Jason and Tommy would live in and around my old stomping grounds.

“Let me just say this as a disclaimer: We lived in Asheville, North Carolina. For those of you who have never been to Asheville let me explain to you why this is significant. Asheville may be located in the middle of redneck country but they call it the San Francisco of the South. It has an abundance of three things, great food, hippies, and gays. So when I say that going to Erwin High allowed for more liberal minded social norms such as Kevin having a gay best friend and my punk rocker friends to be on the football team I’m not kidding.”- Jason, Heartless

Jason isn’t kidding when he describes Asheville that way. A lot of my characters from Erwin wouldn’t have been able to be so open minded about their sexuality if they hadn’t grown up and been immersed in the accepting nature of the city. The Pride festival that Tommy and Jason attend in Fearless [Keeping Secrets 3] is one of my favorite scenes in the new book. The picture on the right shows the real deal from last year.

“When I said I was a social glutton, I wasn’t kidding and the drum circle that was put on every Friday night by the locals was like my heroine. There were always at least thirty to forty people there. During the summer the park would cram full of people, hundreds of them, and they would all drink and trip and drum the night away.
 The rhythm always got into my blood and it would never take long before my hips were swaying to the beat. I would inevitably find myself grinding and gyrating for the crowd. I loved it. I was an attention whore that way.” –Jason, Heartless

Another fun haunt that Jason is particularly fond of is the drum circle that takes place in the city center. As you can see, it can get quite crowded and Jason affectionately refers to it as his “Club” and it’s easy to understand why. The sounds of a dozen drummers working toward the same rhythm and song can get a lot louder than any sound system in a night club and the atmosphere can get just as rowdy. The mix of people and energy is something Jason uses to let loose and relax after a hard day and I promise that there will be more of the energetic event in future books.

““Take em’ down, baby!” I shouted, raising hell from the brown wooden benches above the chaos going on below. I was wearing Tommy’s letterman jacket and screaming my head off.”- Jason, Fearless

The boys go to Erwin High and the school colors are red and white. The mascot is the Erwin Warrior. Since Tommy is an athlete, school pride is par for the course. Though Jason is too cool to do the sport thing, Tommy is on the swim team and the wrestling team and is hoping for a scholarship in the former. You’ll find a lot of Erwin memorabilia in Tommy’s room including his prized letterman jacket and a few Erwin athletic tees.

“We pulled into his driveway in little under fifteen minutes. Biltmore forest was a section of town similar to how I’d imagined Beverly Hills was to L.A. It was an exclusive zip code which came complete with twenty-four hour security, extremely well maintained sidewalks, and absolutely no loitering whatsoever. Oh, and a friggin private lake.”- Jason, Heartless

And last but not least on our little tour of Asheville, Kevin’s house in Biltmore Forest. This exclusive neighborhood was definitely the inspiration for where my wealthier characters called home. The house on the left is Kevin’s. His wing of the house is upstairs, the left set of rooms. Jason and Tommy are all in a little bit of awe every time they go to hang out at Kevin’s place. It’s easy to understand why. The place is downright stately with its white columns and well-manicured lawn.  Houses like this are in abundance around the area.

And that is my tour of Asheville and the world of Keeping Secrets. I hope you’ve enjoyed it. Asheville is a little bit of fantasy, a little bit of reality, and a lot of fun. It’s definitely worth checking out if you ever get the urge to go somewhere off the beaten path.

Friday, May 3, 2013

Such an incredibly busy time!

Hello All!

I'm working on a few things of late and time has once more gotten away from me. :) Working on a few things right now, including a steampunk piece that I hope everyone will get to enjoy reasonably soon. More info to come. Trying to arrange a effective writing schedule is difficult.

Wishing you the best!
J.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Clueless Giveaway!

Hello All!

I'm over on the Boys on the Brink blog doing a giveaway of Clueless [Keeping Secrets 2]. I'm short on the announcements this week. So, good luck on the contest!

You can find a review about it HERE  and to enter to win follow this link: CONTEST.

Wishing you the best,

Monday, April 1, 2013

Contests, Giveaways, & Announcements

Hello All,

My apologies for not updating my blog sooner. I have been extremely busy with other interfering life
events. I wish the world would just leave me alone so I can write more.  :) I promise to leave some snippets from Fearless [Keeping Secrets 3] up this week to make up for it.

Also, I will be participating in several giveaways this month that I hope you will come out to comment for a chance to win.

I'll be a guest blogger on Lexi DeHalo's blog on April 4th and I'll be giving away a $5 giftcard to bookstrand.com as well as a copy of A Gentleman's Agreement. The link for her blog can be found Here.

On April 11th I'll be stopping by Gabrielle Evans' birthday bash. Comment for a chance to win Heartless and A Gentleman's Agreement. She's giving away a great list of other prizes from other authors as well. Each comment is a entry to win. For details on the whole birthday bash click the icon. My post will be available to view on this link the day of the contest: Gabrielle Evans' Blog.


Again, a big thank you for everyone who has read my books and good luck on the upcoming contests!

Best wishes,

J.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013


Hello all,

Here is an interesting review of Clueless [Keeping secrets2]. I apologize about the long absence. Time has rather gotten away from me. 

Wishing you the best!
Review

Keeping Secrets is the perfect title for this series following two very different boys in their discovery

that hiding the things that matter most has the power to harm not only themselves, but the people they care about. Heartless (reviewed here), the first of four parts, saw bully Jason Strummer telling the story as he and Tommy negotiated their stormy history to embark on a tentative romance. In Clueless, Tommy takes over the narrative, where upon it quickly becomes apparent that there exists far more to him than the reliable jock who is Jason’s anchor.

A few weeks have passed since Tommy helped Jason escape the years of sexual abuse he was forced to suffer at the hands of his stepdad. Since then, Jason has been living with him and his adoptive family, and, against the odds, the two have fallen into a comfortable routine. With the boy he loves under his protection, and both of them looking forward to a weekend camping trip to celebrate their one-month anniversary, Tommy has high hopes for the future. But Jason’s troubles won’t release their grip on him so easily. His past is about to catch up with him, bringing his and Tommy’s fragile happiness collapsing around them.

When his stepdad tracks him down in an attempt to lure him back under his destructive influence, Jason’s precarious handle on his life starts to slip. His behavior spirals increasingly out of control, and as the only one Jason has entrusted with the truth about his ordeal, Tommy believes the responsibility for holding him together rests solely on his shoulders. Yet, under the steady exterior, Tommy is fighting his own pain over the loss of his mother, choosing to bottle his feelings rather than let himself grieve. With both boys cracking under the pressure, something has to give, and that something may well be their relationship.

This is a powerful novella exploring the concept that strength doesn’t always mean coping alone. Sometimes, true courage requires admitting a burden is too heavy for one person to carry and accepting help. While the hard-hitting nature of this story often made for difficult reading, Tommy and Jason’s obvious love for each other lends optimism to even the grimmest scenes. Their relationship may never be an easy one, but what they have is an undeniable bond that will surely see them through the dark times.

Since this book is a direct continuation, readers ideally need to be familiar with the prequel to fully appreciate the conflict and emotional complexities. So, if you haven’t picked it up already, this is a series I can highly recommend.

 http://www.rainbowbookreviews.com/book-reviews/clueless-keeping-secrets-2-by-j-roman-at-harmony-ink-press