Saturday, December 30, 2017

6th Day of Christmas Author Spotlight: Jay Northcote


Author Bio:
Jay lives just outside Bristol in the West of England. He comes from a family of writers, but always used to believe that the gene for fiction writing had passed him by. He spent years only ever writing emails, articles, or website content.

One day, Jay decided to try and write a short story—just to see if he could—and found it rather addictive. He hasn’t stopped writing since.

Jay writes contemporary romance about men who fall in love with other men. He has five books published by Dreamspinner Press, and also self-publishes under the imprint Jaybird Press. Many of his books are now available as audiobooks.

Jay is transgender and was formerly known as she/her.


FACEBOOK  /  TWITTER  /  FB FRIEND
WEBSITE  /  NEWSLETTER  /  KOBO
iTUNES  / AUDIBLE  /  TUMBLR
B&N  /  AMAZON  /  GOODREADS
EMAIL: jaynorthcote@gmail.com



A Family for Christmas by Jay Northcote
Summary:
Zac never had a family of his own, but Rudy has enough to share.

Shy, inexperienced Rudy has a crush on Zac from the moment his new colleague walks through the door. On an office night out before Christmas, Rudy finds the courage to make a move, and they form a tentative bond. When he discovers Zac will be alone at Christmas, he invites Zac to come home with him.

Zac prefers to keep people at arm’s length. Yet when Rudy offers him a family Christmas it’s impossible to resist. With no parents of his own, Zac is pleasantly surprised to be welcomed by Rudy’s. The only drawback is that everyone assumes they’re a couple. Unwilling to disappoint Rudy’s mum and make Christmas awkward, they decide not to deny it.

It’s not a chore for Zac to pose as Rudy’s boyfriend, but the pretence makes him want things that scare him—things like a real relationship with Rudy. Zac’s suffered enough rejection in his life already and is afraid to risk his heart. If he can get over his past rejection and let Rudy inside his armour, he might get more for Christmas than he ever imagined.

The Law of Attraction
Summary:
When a professional relationship turns personal, it’s impossible to resist the law of attraction.

Alec Rowland is a high-flying lawyer in a London firm whose career is his life. He doesn’t have time for relationships and his sexuality is a closely guarded secret. After picking up a cute guy on a Friday night, Alec’s world is rocked to its foundations when his one night stand shows up in the office on Monday morning—as the new temp on his team.

Ed Piper is desperate to prove himself in his new job. The last thing he needs is to be distracted by a crush on his boss. It’s hard to ignore the attraction he feels, even though Alec’s a difficult bastard to work for.

Both men strive to maintain a professional relationship, but tempers fray, passions ignite, and soon they’re both falling hard and fast. If they’re ever going to find a way to be together, Alec needs to be honest about who he really is because Ed won’t go back in the closet for anyone.




The Half Wolf by Jay Northcote
Summary:
Mate, family, pack, home… can Quinn and Kellan have it all?

Quinn grew up feeling out of place in the small town he calls home. Yearning for something he can’t name, he’s always felt different but never known why.

Kellan is part of a nomadic shifter pack. When they set up camp in the woods near Quinn’s town, the humans are unwelcoming and suspicious of the newcomers. The moment Kellan catches sight—and scent—of Quinn, he knows Quinn is special. But for the first time in his life, Kellan can’t trust his instincts. Quinn is human, and Kellan is a wolf shifter, so how can they ever be mates?

Their bond is instant and exhilarating. It breaks Quinn’s heart to know their relationship can only be temporary. Love isn’t enough when pack law forbids shifters to mate with humans. Tension explodes between pack and humans, and when Quinn discovers a shocking truth about himself that changes everything, he fears he’ll have to choose between the only life he’s ever known and the man he loves.

Tops Down Bottoms Up
Summary:
Will Rowan’s festival fling with sexy dancer Seth lead to something more permanent?

Rowan is stuck at a folk festival helping out a mate, and it really isn’t his scene. The yoga and singing workshops are bad enough, but morris dancing is the final straw. Bearded men with beer guts prancing around wearing bells—who wants to watch that?

All Rowan’s preconceptions are shattered when he meets Seth—a morris dancer, and the stuff Rowan’s fantasies are made of. Seth persuades Rowan to come to a dancing workshop, and Rowan’s willing to do whatever it takes to get to know Seth better. The attraction is mutual, and a lesson filled with innuendo and flirting leads to an incredible night together.

When Rowan arrives home, he’s gutted to find that Seth has given him the wrong phone number. Assuming Seth did it on purpose, Rowan resolves to forget about him. But fate—and friends—conspire to get them back together. Will they manage to stay in step this time around?

A much shorter version of this story was originally published in the Not Quite Shakespeare Anthology by Dreamspinner Press. This version has been revised and extended. Almost half of it is new content.

Original Review September 2017:
When Rowan agreed to help his mate out with his stand at a weekend festival he wasn't aware there would be Morris dancing.  He isn't exactly quiet when he makes his feelings known but when Seth walks in and hears him, Rowan had no idea he was looking at one of the dreaded Morris dancers.  Will Rowan learn what Morris dancing is really all about just to have a weekend fling with the buff Seth? And could it lead to more than just a hot weekend fling?

I think we have all at one time or another(okay more than one time) know what its like to experience foot-in-mouth disease so it was pretty easy to sympathize with Rowan.  I have to admit I probably would have had the same feelings that he has but I doubt I would have had the same luck he has when he meets Seth.  Tops Down Bottoms Up is simply put: fun, enjoyable, and absolutely lovely.  That's not to say it is all smooth sailing for the pair but sometimes dumb luck or simple mistakes can lead us on a path that is even better than we imagined.  This is a tale where assumptions play a big part and as the saying goes, "when you assume, you make an ass out of you and me".

Having grown up watching British sitcoms and mysteries on our local PBS station and now with digital television, internet live streaming services, DVDs, Blu-Rays, etc, I actually find myself watching more United Kingdom produced television than American.  As proud as I am to be an American, I find that 98% of what we put on television is . . . well lets just leave it at I prefer the material the UK provide.  Anywho, the reason I put that out there was because I knew what Morris dancing was, I may not know all the traditions and history behind it but I knew what to expect and Jay presents it wonderfully.  However, I realize that many might not and that's okay, you don't need to know before reading Tops Down, it will be a new experience for you and I think you will enjoy the discovery and who knows maybe you will learn to love it too.

Having said all that about the Morris dancers, I can safely and honestly say that they are the reason Tops Down got the full 5 bookmark rating from me.  I love the story, loved Rowan and Seth, especially loved how Rowan discovers that sometimes foot-in-mouth disease can actually lead to amazing goodness.  But I rarely find a novella that I love enough to not knock off at least 1/2 a bookmark just because I wasn't ready for the story to end and wanted more.  However, the Morris dancing scenes put such a huge smile on my face that I just could not justify not giving the full 5 bookmarks.

RATING: 

The Little Things
Summary:
There are lots of things that brighten Joel’s life. His three-year-old daughter, Evie, is one. His close relationship with her mother, his best friend from university, is another. Joel’s boyfriend, Dan, adds spice to his child-free nights, and Joel is pretty happy with how things are.

Then one cold and rainy night, everything changes. Joel's life is turned upside down when he becomes a full-time dad to Evie, and his previously carefree relationship with Dan cracks under the strain.

Meeting Liam, who acts as if getting hurt isn’t a foregone conclusion, shakes Joel to the core. Their attraction is mutual, and Liam makes no secret of how serious he is about Joel. But Joel is wary. He tells himself he’s keeping Liam at a distance for Evie’s sake, when really he’s protecting his own heart. Taking a chance on this new relationship with Liam may seem a small step—a little thing—but is it one Joel can take after losing so much already?

Nothing Serious
Summary:
Mark O’Brien is finally being honest with himself. His relationship with Rachel is over and he’s moving out of the home they've shared for six years. They get along, but he can’t fix a relationship when the person he's with is the wrong gender.

Jamie Robertson, one of the removal men, is huge and ridiculously gorgeous, and Mark is smitten at first sight. When a cardboard box splits, revealing items of a personal nature that Mark never wanted anybody to see, he's mortified. But it sparks the start of a beautiful friendship with benefits.

As Jamie initiates Mark into the joys of gay sex, the two men get increasingly close and “nothing serious” turns into something rather important to both of them. But communication isn’t their strong point. Will either man ever find the courage to be honest about his feelings?


A Family for Christmas
AMAZON US  /  AMAZON UK  /  B&N
KOBO  /  AUDIBLE  /  iTUNES  /  iTUNES AUDIO

The Law of Attraction
AMAZON US  /  AMAZON UK  /  B&N
KOBO  /  AUDIBLE  /  iTUNES  /  iTUNES AUDIO

The Half Wolf

Tops Down Bottoms Up
B&N  /  KOBO  /  SMASHWORDS

The Little Things
AMAZON US  /  AMAZON UK  /  B&N
KOBO  /  AUDIBLE  /  iTUNES  /  iTUNES AUDIO

Nothing Serious

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