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A gay romance novel from Torquere Press!
Summary:
Orphaned at eleven and bounced around the foster system, Tim learned young that the only thing he could control was himself. It was a lesson he took seriously, and it's the only thing that keeps him safe from more heartbreak. Conner doesn't understand this desire to control things, but he doesn't need to. He loves everything about his control-freak friend, even the way he quirks just one eyebrow. He has for years.
With Con's arrival, everything starts unraveling in Tim's life. He's questioning his sexual orientation, wrangling with emotions from his past, and fending off questions from Con's well-meaning family. Drowning in a world out of his control, his one hope is to let go and trust that love will save him. But after so many years of burying his feelings, he's not sure it's possible.
Great news! The sequel, In The Rough, has also been accepted and will be out later this summer!
Reviews!
Blondie over at Rainbow Reviews gave By Degrees 5/5 stars in this review!
These characters are very vivid in my mind. They are described very well and I could feel as if I were there in San Diego with them and watching them make love. I could even smell the smells the author was describing.
Hee. :D
From Elisa, on her review blog:
By Degrees is a very good novel, that mix romance, eroticism and a bit of drama, but that has also a funny core that always warms even the more angst scenes.
And from Lily at I love books:
All said, this was a very enjoyable book. It was more romance than erotic romance and really showcased the friendship and love between Tim and Con.
The review in full! (Many thanks to Addison Albright for pointing this one out! :D)
And finally, on Torquere's By Degrees sub-page, there's this review by Jane Davitt, author of Wild Raspberries:
'By Degrees' is a story I read in one sitting, too involved in the story to want to walk away. This is a book with strong compelling characters in the lead roles -- Tim, a doctor and his childhood friend, Con, a fireman -- and also has a host of fascinating secondary characters who make the story come alive. I loved Rick, Tim's Big Brother, especially.
Notes
There are excerpts all over, from the Torquere page to my blog. And here are some more!
Con straightened, looking down at the other man. "Please. It's nice that you can defend yourself and all, but there's no way--"
Tim did something. It was too quick for Con to see, just one moment the young man was there and the next he wasn't, and then the ground was there and Tim was kneeling over him, looking like, 'See?' Con's head rang.
"...Ow."
Tim snorted and stood. "Size isn't everything." No one could do supercilious like Tim could.
"No, it's the motion of the ocean." Con sat up and rubbed his throat. Then his head. Then he stood and rubbed his ass. "Man, you bruised my tailbone."
"Doubt it." Tim blithely settled on the beach towel he'd spread out.
"If you did I'm gonna make you doctor it," Con warned.
"Take two Aspirin and call me in the morning."
Con looked at him for a long moment, at the smug self-assurance the man radiated. Swim trunks hung nearly to Tim's knees, and a baggy T-shirt covered the rest. Tim looked immoveable, sitting there on his towel. With a snort, Con walked toward the water, threading through picnic blankets and giant umbrellas, nearly tripping over a small child. A Sunday at the beach was crowded, but he basked in the life.
At the ocean's edge a group of kids were digging in the salty mud, gleefully filling buckets with cold sea water and big shovelfuls of sand.
"Can I borrow this?" he asked one of the little boys, grinning impishly and pointing at a yellow, mud-filled bucket.
The boy eyed him, ascertaining honesty, then nodded once. "But bring it back!"
"Sure thing!" He picked the bucket up.
Tim was leaning back on his hands, blue eyes hidden behind dark glasses, the breeze lifting and tossing his black hair. Con walked right up to him and overturned the bucket of mud on that blue-black head.
"Jesus fucking Christ!" Tim bellowed, leaping to his feet.
Con wasted no time gloating; he'd seen the smaller man move just an instant before and wasn't going to end up flat on his ass again. He turned and bolted for the ocean, tossing the bucket to the kids as he raced past.
"God! Fuck! They're wriggling, you asshole!" Tim yelled, hot on his heels into the spray.
A small body pounded into his lower back, wiry arms locking around his waist as Tim dragged him down into the surf. Con got a mouthful of sea water, laughing too hard to hold his breath. They were waist-deep when he surfaced a moment later, wiping water off his face and out of his eyes, catching sight of Tim shaking his head furiously. Shiny hair flung more liquid, then clung to Tim's face and neck, wrapping around his fingers when he tried to drag it out of the way. The T-shirt was plastered against him, outlining pectoral muscles, twisting around his waist.
"You ass!" Tim pulled a small rock out from the neck of his shirt. "That was full of sand crabs."
"Sand-what?"
"Sand crabs!" Tim held out his hand, and the small rock began to twist and scuttle, tiny legs carrying it off the edge of his palm where it plopped back into the water.
Con grabbed for the critter, but it was already gone. "Oh, man. That's wild."
"Wild, yeah," Tim drawled. "You just threw a bucket of sand crabs on me. I should kick your ass."
Con laughed and splashed him. "Try."
***
Excerpt two!
"Do you know how to surf?" Con took a spot in the ice cream line and looked out over the ocean.
Tim followed Con's gaze, then shook his head. "Never interested me."
"Afraid of sharks?" Con asked curiously, but Tim only gave him a disdainful look. "Afraid of falling?" he hazarded next. "It's just water."
"You've obviously never been tumbled through the ocean." Tim looked at him wryly. "And no, not that either. Just..." He shrugged. "Not interested."
"I'm gonna learn." Con grinned. "Then I'll teach you."
"You can learn." Tim didn't even comment on the second part of Con's statement.
"Surfers are hot." Con leaned close to his boyfriend, getting a little thrill out of applying that label to Tim.
"You'll be deadly." The words were bland. "Firefighters are hot, too. You'll be doubly dangerous."
Con grinned, taking the compliment at face value despite the tone in which it was delivered, and pulled out his wallet as they neared the front of the line. "You want ice cream?"
"No, thanks."
Ten minutes later, Tim had apparently changed his mind. Con watched, amused, as his boyfriend took the stick and stole a careful bite, then handed it back. "You sure you don't want your own?"
Tim slid on the wraparound sunglasses he'd just bought. "No, I'm good."
Not only good, Con reflected, but oblivious to facetiousness.
A bicyclist passed them, a man wearing a helmet, bike shorts, and nothing else. They both turned to watch him go.
"So, if someone cheated on you--" Con began.
Tim didn't even let him finish. "I'd break both their legs and leave the rest for Rick."
Con laughed, more at Tim's matter-of-fact tone than the words. "Good to know. You're secretly bloodthirsty, aren't you?"
Tim smiled without answering. "You're sunburning."
Con frowned, glancing at his arms. "I put sunscreen on..." But only after a twenty-minute lecture on skin cancer from Tim.
"Missed your nose." Tim didn't even look over.
Con poked his nose. "It doesn't sting." His skin felt a little tight, but that was all.
Tim gave him a dubious look over the edge of his sunglasses. "It will."
"We've been out all afternoon. I guess I'm not surprised." The day was fading, and beside him Tim wandered, relaxed and moseying. "Ready to go home?"
Tim nodded and shrugged all in one motion. "I'm hungry."
"We could stop and get food." Con handed him the rest of his ice cream.
Tim took it wordlessly, nibbling the chocolate coating off with careful lips and tongue. A slide here, a taste there. Catching it with his teeth and drawing the coating into his mouth. Then Tim's tongue danced out, skimming over ice cream, licking it off the stick. Con watched, knowing Tim didn't have a clue that what he was doing was really damn erotic. Maybe, he pondered, the trick was to smear ice cream all over himself, and then Tim would nibble on him like that.
When Tim looked up questioningly, Con realized he'd made a noise at the image. He just smiled and shook his head. "C'mon. I still haven't had Indian."
***
I have to say, I love these boys. Writing the novel was just a hoot--and how can you get sexier than a doctor and a firefighter, am I right? ;)
My friend Stacy was kind enough to edit the whole MASSIVE thing, and it's possible I owe her my firstborn or somesuch, because it wasn't the easiest job in the world! But she persevered, and I owe all the good bits to her!
I was VERY excited when Torquere said they wanted to take it, because this brilliant story (I might be biased) needed a home! And sooner rather than later; I'm already halfway through the companion piece, though I put it down for the time being, until I had By Degrees sold. Now that it is, looks like I'll be picking the companion piece back up! Woo-hoo!
Edit 10/08: The companion piece is finished and ready for editing before it gets sent off! Woo-hoo x 2!
Edit 3/17: In The Rough has been accepted by Torquere, I get the same, lovely editor I had for By Degrees, and it should be out late this summer!