Release Week Wowness

Wow.
Just wow.
When you've waited so long for the release of your book and it finally arrives it's like OMFG IDK if I'm as ready for this as I thought... Haha. But here it is and no I'm not ready. Way too many feels about people finally getting to know Tucker and Jesse. But I worked long and hard on their story and it was a really personal thing for me. It was my first attempt at a full length novel that I finished long ago but sat on it fearfully. I did what one does when venturing into writing something like this for the first time and I wrote what I know. Guys, it's bleak a couple of times but don't doubt that it came from something genuine, even if it's not your cup of tea. So with that...I drop you just a few more lines to tease...

God, but Tucker could have used his mama in the last couple of years. He wondered if she would have accepted his sexuality or if she would have thrown him away like his father had. He doubted it. In fact, he imagined part of the reason his dad had been so unaccepting was because he did not have Tucker’s mother around. She would have made him understand. That was one conviction Tucker really had in this life.

He hated to think of the things she would have disapproved of. It was why he could not stand the disappointment in Alison’s face sometimes. He knew his mother would have given him that same look.

She certainly would have been disappointed in his scars. He pulled up the sleeves on his sweatshirt and looked at the mess of horizontal lines on his forearms. The world tilted a little as he truly studied them for the first time. He still felt ashamed, but he felt stronger than he had then. He knew he would not hurt himself anymore.

I hope.

He sighed. As if his mother decided to lift his spirits in that moment, snow flurries began to softly fall from the heavens. The first snow. And he was in his place. Now that was how it should be. He held out his hands and enjoyed the cold flakes landing on his skin, feeling much like his mother kissing the boo-boos.

He smiled wistfully.

What a nice thought.

 

So don't forget to check out some of the DTtC Blog tour stops. Joyfully Jay has an excerpt from #DontTrustTheCut & I gave her a copy for a giveaway! So follow the link below and get yourself entered for a chance.
http://joyfullyjay.com/2013/07/excerpt-and-giveaway-dont-trust-the-cut-by-kade-boehme.html

On a final note, I'd like to thank everyone for their support and the response to my post about what it meant to me to have Article 3 of the Defense of Marriage act stricken down. It was awesome to hear from all of you and a huge heartfelt thanks from me to you.

So, happy reading. Hope you all go forth and read Don't Trust the Cut tomorrow (July 2). I'll post buy links as they become available in the morning.

<3kaderade

  GoodReads       LooseId

Busted: A Don't Trust the Cut Teaser

Hey guys! We're only a week away from the release of Don't Trust the Cut and I'm so excited that I wanted to do a little more teasing. I thought I'd drop one of the lighter moments in the book that's er... awkward in the end. DTtC was listed as "surprisingly light despite the subject matter" so I figured I'd show one of those moments. Like Seven Sentence Sunday this won't be a very long excerpt. I mean... it is a teaser after all. So... yall enjoy!

Tucker placed the plates at the table. Jesse and Alison gave him entertained looks.

“What?” He was confused.

“Oh, nothing.” With a laugh, Jesse shook his head dramatically.

“You’ve only been sitting there laughing at the roast for ten minutes.” Leave it to Alison to always make sure he blushed every shade he could. He sat down in his chair as far away from the two of them as possible, hunching his shoulders in embarrassment, wishing he was a turtle so he could sink his head into his shell.

“Oh, come on, Tuck. It was cute.” The doorbell rang just as Jesse reached a conciliatory hand across the table to Tucker.

Alison wagged her finger at Jesse as she stood to answer the door. “Big burly men should never use the word cute.” The doorbell rang again. “I’m coming!” she screamed through the house.

Tucker took Jesse’s offered hand shyly. Jesse made it clear he would have none of that. He grabbed Tucker’s hand firmly and pulled Tucker to meet him in the middle of the table as he leaned over to give him a sweet kiss. They didn’t use their tongues, but tongues weren’t necessary. This was a hello.

Like coming home.

Oh no. That was not a good thought.

“Uh, boys.” Alison broke up their kiss, but they still lingered on each other for a moment. “Don’t let us be a bother or anything, but I was just telling Miranda here that she and Marmaduke seem to have a talent for stopping by on the same day.”

Both men snapped their heads at Miranda’s face. Alison’s face was trying to conceal laughter. Jesse seemed to tense, and Tucker’s gaze dropped at the unreadable look on Miranda’s face. There had definitely been that same hidden fire in them that he had seen at their last meeting.

“Nice to see you, Tucker, Jesse.” Her words were cordial enough.

“Nice to see you too, Miranda.” Tucker never took his gaze off the table. Why did he feel guilty?

“Guess complaining about exes is off the table as a topic,” Miranda said drily.

 Hehehe, I laugh at the image of this scene in my head. Miranda and Jesse have a few awkward moments like this. It's pretty amazeballs while painfully awkward. So don't miss that and more of Alison's...er...wit when Don't Trust the Cut releases at LooseId on July 2nd. I will be providing buy links when available.

<3kaderade

GoodReads    LooseId

DTtC Cover Art & Excerpt!

I'm. In. Love. 

(Don'\t Trust the Cut out 7/2)

Goodreads  LooseId

Dar Albert nailed it! Feels so real now! Only 3 more wks! Now I give you...

Excerpt:

Prologue

“It’s cold. That’s exactly what I was hoping for.” And it was cold. One of those days where the cold made the smog hang in the air, giving the foggy morning a light tint of brown. Such a simple thing made Tucker Grey feel so free. He knew it was silly to look out the car window and be pleased to see polluted winter air, but who could judge after the last few weeks?

Everyone. He sighed at the thought.

“You country boys don’t even know what cold is,” Alison griped as she sniffed arrogantly, throwing her chestnut hair over her shoulder with two fingers. She was still in a short-sleeved shirt, Tucker noticed. Being raised by an Irish family in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she was all hard talk and attitude, but she had soft features and fair skin, so she looked more like a modern porcelain doll.

“Well, you just answered many Southern boys’ questions about why you Yankees are so damn cold inside.”

Alison cut her eyes to him. It was a lame one, but he was trying to lighten the mood. It obviously worked, because her eyes sparkled with fondness while she tried to make an annoyed expression. She failed miserably.

They rode a few miles in complete silence. Tucker loved watching the neighborhoods change as Alison drove them closer and closer to their town house in one of the hippie neighborhoods of Baltimore. Occasionally, Tucker noticed a shifty glance coming from Alison. Here we go, he thought.

“Go ahead and ask your damn questions, woman.” He couldn’t stop himself from rolling his eyes at her. She at least had the decency to look abashed, earning another sideways glance from Tucker, who had otherwise kept his stare out his window as they passed the world around them. This was the world he had missed and feared so much, and he was still clueless what to do with it.

“All I need to know is that you’re okay,” she stated softly. Soft was not something Alison did very often, so Tucker knew she was more worried than she was letting on. He put a comforting hand over hers, which she had reached out to place beside him.

“Well, I got you, don’t I?”

Alison had been in his life long enough to understand it was just as awkward for him to express what he felt as it was for her to be soft and nurturing, but he knew he had to at least show he appreciated her concern. Good friends are all you’ve got, Grey. He patted her hand and returned his stare out the passenger window.

“That’s not exactly an answer, Mr. Emotionally Impaired. We live together, and your friends are counting on you. We all love you. I need to know this has stopped and that you think you’ll be okay. Last time you came back, you said you were better, I kept your secret, and two weeks later you were in that place again. Now, no bullshit! Are you feeling better or just biding your time?” Alison’s voice held some heat, but there it was again, that eerie softness that got under his skin and filled him with a different kind of guilt than he’d ever known.

He kept his eyes on the outside world as he spoke. He didn’t want to see any reaction to his answer. “This program was different. I feel different. Stable. That’s something I haven’t had in a long time. It’s not gonna be easy, but I can tell I’m different.” He snapped his head to give her a fierce glare. The steel he put into his gaze served as a warning they would never speak of this again one he’d said his peace. “I’m gonna make it different, dammit. I’m scared of myself, but in time I’ll be better than fine.” He smiled warmly for the first time in nearly two months.

Alison nodded with resignation and returned his smile.

Tucker sighed in contentment as she pulled up to their town house. It wasn’t anything special, but it was theirs. They’d lived there for four years. Four years of bad boyfriends, drunk horror movie marathons, crying over lost loved ones, parties that got the cops called… Tucker couldn’t help but think that he’d ruined that. He’d somehow ruined the good energy or karma—or whatever you wanted to call it—of this shitty little piece of heaven.

They walked into the apartment, Alison first, and he looked around awkwardly at four years of photographed memories on the walls and furniture collected impulsively at consignment stores. None of it matched, but they always were proud of their eccentric taste.

Tucker made for the stairs but didn’t take a step before Alison tugged his hand carefully. “Um. I had a hard time trying to convince everyone not to throw a welcome-home party for your ‘trip to Canada.’ They wouldn’t listen. So tomorrow night they are combining your homecoming with Nate’s birthday. It’s also going to be a celebration for some marine buddy of his who’s recently been discharged, so you best prepare some stories about trekking in the wilderness and wrestling with polar bears.” She smirked at what he would not call a very witty comment, but she didn’t really care that her jokes were dumd. Then she prodded, as usual. “Unless you want to just tell the truth.”

He schooled his face into a blank expression, which made Alison shudder visibly. “We’ll go.” He turned to go up the stairs, emotionless mask still firmly in place. He felt bad giving her the all too common facade, but it wasn’t in his best interest for all of his friends to know how defective he was. No. Tucker and Alison go to the party and be happy.

He threw his bag on the floor and fell into his bed, reveling in the softness of it and the smell of his own space. He really did feel content. This was a new day. I’m gonna make it different this time, dammit.

***

I hope y'all love it! I'm so stoked. I'll be announcing giveaways and blog tour dates soon so stay tuned!

<3k

Blurb Time!

Alright. I've been working long and hard on this latest project. This novel has been my baby so I hope yall are gonna like it :)

Don't Trust the Cut by Kade Boehme

(releasing July 2, 2013, LooseId)

             Life hasn’t always been easy for Tucker Grey and his way of dealing is less than desirable. He’s trusted in the wrong people and things for too long, but this time he’s determined to stand on his own and make things better. And he is. Until Jesse Bauer enters his life.

             Jesse is a good son, a good Marine, and a doting boyfriend. For years he’s managed to keep his truth buried and the people in his life happy. But that all changes when he’s medically discharged and meets Tucker at a welcome home party.

             The draw between them is strong from the first moment, but they’ll never find happiness together unless Jesse can prove himself and Tucker can learn to trust more than the cut. 

<3k

Shenanigans and Such

Well it's been quite a few weeks. I'm not sure where to start, really. Hrm...

You Can Still See the Stars in Seattle made it to bestseller (Yes, i was #1 in the UK again. Yay!) And i'm super happy for all of the positive feedback I've gotten from Andy's story. I've been hearing from so fucking awesome readers who really make putting my work out there worth it. That's probably the coolest part of all of this: the readers. You guys make me swoon.

I contracted Trust the Cut with LooseId and so far have been told it will receive a June release. I'm super stoked to let you guys read it because it's my biggest project by far and it's my baby. I really REALLY worked hard on Jesse and Tucker's story so I'm super stoked as we start the editing process.

Working on some SOOPER SEKRIT projects that may be announced soon with a ballin' ass friend of mine. So many good things lined up, i just don't know what to do with myself. I'll be at the Grabby's in Chicago in May and GRL as a supporting author in October so i'm having a red letter year, so far.

My girls Piper Vaughn and Sue N came in for the week and we did tons of Seattle things as well as a trip to the beach and getting lost where the highway ends and finding THE INTERNET. Shit you not. It's in a box in Taholah, WA being protected by a pack of shifter mutts. CREEEEEPY. Also got a hellaciously awesome outline done for my big WIP at the moment so I'm super excited to get it under way. So... I'm just stoked and excited about life all the way around these days and I owe it all to yall, readers. I'm so grateful for this and everything that's been happening in the last few months. Hope I keep giving you things you want to read. You have my undying gratitude. *fangirls all over your face*

<3k