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As my mother's 24/7 caregiver, November being National Family Caregivers Month has always been important to me. Not because I want personal recognition for what I do but to help show people that caregiving is more than just medical assistance, it can also be emotional, physical, psychological, that it effects every aspects of a person's life, it can be temporary, short term, long term, chronic,. I would give anything to make it so my mother did not need the assistance but that isn't possible so I do this so she can have the best quality of life and still live in her own home. So I realized that there are stories out there that have caregivers and whether it's a big or small part of the plot doesn't matter, they help show people what caregivers provide all within very entertaining romances and reading experiences.
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Summary:
There are worse things than being stranded in a blizzard.
Artist Trevor Morrison has always appreciated the little things in life, treating each day as a gift. And with good reason: he’s been on the transplant-recipient list for too long now. When he learns just how numbered his days truly are, he resolves not to take them for granted. But he won’t be unrealistic, either—which means romantic commitments are off the table.
Marcus Roberts seems to have it all. He’s handsome, financially sound, and on the fast track to partnership at a prestigious law firm. In reality, though, his drive for success has meant no time for friends or relationships. Add in the fact that his family discarded him long ago, and he’s facing yet another holiday season alone.
When the biggest snowstorm to hit Colorado in decades leaves Marc and Trevor stranded at the same hotel, a chance encounter and a night of passion leads to more than either of them expected. Finding comfort in each other is a welcome surprise, but time is not on their side. Either they find a way to beat the odds, or they lose each other forever.
2015 Foreword Reviews IndieFab Awards Finalist, LGBT
2015 Foreword Reviews IndieFab Awards Finalist, Romance
2016 Rainbow Awards, Runner Up, Best Gay Book
2016 Rainbow Awards, Runner Up, Best Gay Contemporary Romance
Original Audiobook Review November 2023:
How in the world has it been nearly 8 years since I read A Fortunate Blizzard? 8 YEARS?!?!?!?! And yet, even after 8 years there is so much about this story that I remember as if it had been yesterday. Perhaps its the weather factor that brings the 2 MCs together, perhaps its the health issues Trevor faces, perhaps the caregiving element that wakens Marc's heart, or maybe it's all the above and so much more that can't be labeled. Whatever part of the story it might be, I can safely say it's the writing and storytelling LC Chase provides.
As for the audio version, not only did Nick J Russo's narration bring the characters to life so deeply it was as if I was watching the story unfold in my front yard it has given me the opportunity to enjoy the story over and over, as often as I want. Whether you are new to this story or ready for a re-visit as I was, you won't regret it. A Fortunate Blizzard may be a holiday story but it's a heartwarming tale of never giving up, living life to the fullest, and finding happiness and that is the kind of tale that can and should be enjoyed all year long.
Original Review December 2015:
I don't even know where to begin. Trevor's decision whether or not to continue dialysis is not an easy choice. I have no experience with dialysis, however, I do have lots of experience with hospitals and illness being the center of one's existence and it is tiring, so I completely understand Trevor's desire for it to end on his own terms, or at least the best he can do. Marc is the quintessential workaholic but once the two meet, suddenly not everything is as cut and dry as it was hours before. Watching Marc's heart open up is breathtaking. Maybe on the surface Marc is the holiday cliche that has been done to death in Hollywood but what LC Chase gives us is so much better than your typical holiday fare. When I reached the last page, I didn't want to let this duo go which in my personal dictionary is the ultimate definition of a great read.
A MILLION LIKES vs. ONE TRUE LOVE
Bryce Bauman is one half of a famous influencer couple…until his boyfriend dumps him and puts the whole ugly scene online.
Several months later, Bryce is at the end of his rope—he’s lost all his endorsements, along with his so-called friends. Licking his wounds, he escapes to the tiny town of Serenity, Pennsylvania, where he’s surrounded by too much nature and quiet. And…the hot as hell owner of the bed-and-breakfast who makes him think there might be life beyond what’s on a screen.
Matty Wilcox has no time for spoiled brats or social media. He must keep the business running, his grumpy grandfather healthy, and himself deep in the closet. In his little town, there’s no way to come out to his friends and family and have things stay the same, so he’s better off alone.
Except life is complicated now that Bryce is staying at the bed and breakfast—he’s entirely too tempting and not as silly and shallow as Matty first thought. Giving in to his desire could only muddy the waters of the life he’s so carefully built. Any slipup would be dangerous for his business, his friendships, and most importantly, his heart. Besides, there’s no place for small-town Matty in Bryce’s big-city life. The two of them, together, don’t make sense.
Then again, since when does anything make sense when it comes to love—the greatest influencer of all?
From Lambda Literary Award-winning author Felice Stevens comes a sexy, slow burn small-town romance full of heat and heart. And a few groundhogs. And maybe a snake. But it's a little one...really.
A Fortunate Blizzard by LC Chase
Chapter One
“I know this is hard, Trevor,” Dr. Wheyvan said. She gave him a tight smile, then turned to rummage through a cabinet drawer behind her desk.
Trevor took a deep breath and stared up at the human anatomy poster on the wall. How many times had he sat right here, studying that poster while waiting for Dr. Wheyvan to come into her office? Every time hoping she had good news for him. Every time leaving with an increased sense of time running out as the fringes of his optimism grew a little darker.
“We can’t give up hope yet,” she said, spinning back in her chair, a sad smile on her lined face. She held out a pamphlet. “But the reality is such that you should be prepared.”
He took it from her and sighed. Gold letters on a blue background read, Deciding to Stop Dialysis. What You Can Expect. His throat tightened and the letters began to blur. He inhaled the stale, sterile air that seemed universal to doctors’ offices and held his breath, fighting back tears that no longer had the right to run down his cheeks.
It was always going to come to this, wasn’t it? He’d already used more than his fair share of life’s allotted good luck.
Seven years he’d been on dialysis waiting for a kidney transplant. Seven years he’d been trying to keep hope alive and shiny. Seven years he’d been fighting something he could only slow down.
He nodded. “You told me from the beginning that it would be a long shot because of my blood type.”
“A long shot is still a shot,” she said.
But long shots were finite, and ready or not, he could feel his coming to an end.
“If I decide to go off dialysis . . .” He swallowed with difficulty. “How much time am I looking at?”
“It depends on several factors—age, lifestyle, ESRD complications that arise, et cetera. You’ve always taken very good care of yourself, so you may have more time than others.” She studied him for a second, and he knew he wasn’t going to like what she was about to say. “Generally anywhere from four days to, at most, two weeks.”
Four to fourteen days? His throat closed, vision narrowing in on the pamphlet in his hand, yet he couldn’t see it.
He didn’t look up. “And if I stay on it?”
“If a transplant doesn’t come through in the next six months . . . Maybe a year.”
The gut punch stole his breath, and a cold chill spread over his skin. If Dr. Wheyvan was still speaking, he couldn’t hear it over the ticktock of mortality’s stopwatch, booming like thunder in his ears.
“Trevor . . .” Her warm, comforting hand on his shoulder drew him back from the edge of panic. He forced himself to look up, focus on the compassionate eyes that told him he wasn’t alone.
Dr. Wheyvan had been with him since day one. Through all the tests, all the treatments, all the hopes and letdowns of desperately trying to find a match that would save his life. She’d be with him at the end, too.
“Nothing needs to be decided now,” she said, her voice soothing. “You’re still so young, and you’re as healthy as you can be, and medicine keeps advancing.”
“Thirty-nine is not that young. That’s pretty much midlife.”
“Since when are you a glass-half-empty kind of man?” Her smile didn’t reach her eyes, but he appreciated the gesture. Even so, he could only shake his head in response.
Dr. Wheyvan frowned. “You’ve got time, Trevor.”
“Not much,” he said, the words tight and threatening to choke him.
Her smile faded, and her eyes began to shine. He looked away. If she started crying, there was no way he’d be able to hold back his tears. This wasn’t new or unexpected, only a reality he’d been hoping would go away if he ignored it long enough. That if he prayed hard enough, his match in shining armor would appear, save his life, and he’d live happily ever after.
He snorted. Everyone else was out looking for his or her prince, and here he was searching for the prince’s kidney.
“None of us know how much time we have left—a week, a year, ten years. All we can do is make the most of what we’ve got right now,” she said quietly. “And right now, I want you to go home and enjoy the holidays with your family and friends.”
With a nod, Trevor stood and pulled her into a brief hug. “Merry Christmas,” he choked out, and then spun on his heel, exiting her office without looking back.
Five minutes later, he stood outside the doctor’s office, zipped up his jacket, and turned his face to the pale-gray Boulder skies. Light snowflakes brushed over his exposed skin like feathers, falling in a lazy dance until they came to rest, quiet and gentle, at his feet. Would this be his last winter? His last Christmas?
This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. He wasn’t supposed to be thinking about “putting his affairs in order” before he reached forty. He should be sharing his life with a handsome, charming man and thinking about settling down now that marriage equality had finally become the law of the land, not contemplating how he wanted to die.
A familiar chime drew his thoughts from the mental wishing well, and he pulled his cell phone from his pocket. Closing his eyes, he took a second to gather himself before swiping his thumb over the screen to accept the call.
“Hey, Mom,” he said, grateful he’d managed a cheerful tone. Shoving his free hand in his pocket, he turned and began walking to the parking lot, puffy clouds formed by his breath leading the way.
“Mi cariño. How did things go with your doctor today?” The subtle lift of hope in her voice poked at his heart. She’d stopped asking if they’d found a donor a couple of years before, but she couldn’t completely tamp down her unwavering hope. He’d lost track of how many times they’d held each other while she’d cried, helpless and angry that she couldn’t save her son from this. But very few people could, and of those, even fewer were willing.
“Good,” he said, hoping to blame the tightness in his voice on the cold air pricking at his skin and freezing his eyelashes. “Nothing new. Nothing that can’t wait to tell you in person.”
Nothing he wanted to voice over the phone right now—or could voice. The news was banging around inside his head in such a chaotic fashion that he couldn’t even begin to articulate it.
Her brief pause told him she was fighting the urge to demand he tell her right now. She usually pressed when she knew he—or anyone in his family, really—was holding something back, but she also knew when to let things go.
“I saw on the news that there’s a blizzard warning there,” she said instead, and he sent a silent thank-you to the universe. “They’ve already started canceling some flights into Denver. I want you to catch an earlier flight before they shut the airport down.”
“Okay, but I need to get to my treatment right now. I’ll call and check right after.” Reaching his car, he pulled the keys from his pocket, unlocked the door, and climbed inside, immediately turning over the engine and cranking the heat. “But you know we’re built for snow here. It’ll be fine.”
She huffed. “Nothing is built to withstand Mother Nature in a snit. Call me when you have your new arrival time, and we’ll see you at the airport.”
Trevor had to smile. His mom refused to take no for answer, no matter who or what dared to stand in her way. “I will.”
“Do it now, right after you hang up.”
“Yes, Mom.”
She laughed, and he surprised himself by joining in, halfhearted as it felt to him. But as long as she didn’t pick up on it, he could get through the rest of the long day ahead. He was going to have to talk to her and the rest of his family about what options he had, limited as they were, but that conversation could wait until after the holidays. Maybe if he put it off long enough, it would just go away. He could stick his head in the sand and pretend he was perfectly healthy, pretend his kidneys were miraculously getting better rather than worse. That he had years and years ahead of him, that he’d see his nieces and nephews grow up, that he’d find his soul mate . . . that he wasn’t facing the decision of dying comfortably on his own terms now, having lived a good life, or dying later, after his body deteriorated to the point that he simply existed in painful misery until his inevitable end.
“I love you, mijo,” his mom cut in to his thoughts, as if knowing he’d slipped down the path to Maudlinville.
“All we have is today,” she’d told him time and again. “Live it.”
He still had now, he reminded himself. Tomorrow he could think about how many “nows” were left.
“I love you, too. See you tonight.”
He put his phone away, grabbed his snow scraper, and got back out to clear off the windshield. Only then did he notice how much snow had accumulated during the hour of his appointment. Quarter-sized flakes were falling at a steady pace, the sky a solid off-white slate, and a good four inches of fresh powder already covered the roof of his car. If it kept up, he might not make it to the airport at all, let alone have to worry about canceled flights. Luckily, he’d already packed, so he wouldn’t have to run back home up the mountain after his treatment. At least there was one good thing about this day.
“Come on, Prince Charming,” he said aloud, his breath bursting into the air on tiny white clouds. “All I need is one of your kidneys. Just one.”
Influenced by Felice Stevens
“Matty, help!”
Blinking awake, he found Bryce pressed to his side, eyes wild, clutching his arm, not in a passionate embrace, but from sheer terror. “Wha—”
“Don’t move.” Hard fingers dug into his arm. “Snake,” Bryce croaked out. “Help me.” He shook with fear and burrowed his face into Matty’s neck.
Over in the corner of the blanket, a long brown snake with yellow stripes lay across Bryce’s bare ankles. Beady eyes stared back at him while a small tongue darted in and out.
“Bryce. It’s okay.”
“N-no. It’s not. It’s going to bite me, and I’m going to die.”
“Shh. It’s okay. I’ll take care of it. But you have to let go of me.” Was it wrong of him to enjoy Bryce’s chest pressed up against him even though the man was shaking with fear?
“I don’t want you to get bitten.”
His arm was going numb, so Matty slipped out of his grasp. “I’ll be okay. You’ll see. Watch.”
He wriggled away from Bryce’s side and circled the blanket, peering at the ground until he found what he was searching for. With careful steps, he approached the snake from the rear, and with a quick flick of his wrist, slid the broken-off tree branch under its belly and flipped it up and off Bryce.
“Ahh, get me out of here.” Moving faster than anyone he’d ever seen, Bryce sprang off the blanket and ran to the shelter of trees. “Where did it go?” As if expecting the snake to jump on him, Bryce climbed into the hammock and clutched the sides.
“I’m sure it’s in the bushes now. It’s gone.”
“I can’t believe a snake was on me.” He shuddered. “You’re so brave. It could’ve bitten you. Thanks for risking your life.”
Much as he’d love to have Bryce continue to puff him up, Matty also wanted to set Bryce at ease. “It was a harmless garter snake. They might bite if threatened, but there’s no poison or anything like that.”
“Still…” Bryce gazed around, doubt written all over his face. “I need a full-body scrub after that. I can still feel its cold, slimy body on my ankles. This is way too much nature for me. Would you mind if we went back to the house? I’m not in the mood to explore anymore.”
Disappointed but not surprised, Matty tossed the branch aside. “Nope. It’s fine. I’ve got things to do anyway.” He sat on the blanket, rolled down his jeans, and put on his socks and sneakers. There was no use trying to explain to Bryce that the snake wasn’t a threat and they could continue on. “I’ll walk you to the house so you don’t lose your way.”
Bryce slid his fingers through that sun-streaked mop of hair. “Thanks. You must think I’m an idiot, but I grew up in the city. I never had a dog or a cat, and the most nature I’ve ever seen was at the zoo.”
“That’s a shame. I hope you won’t let this keep you from enjoying the rest of your time here.”
“I won’t.”
Matty gathered their things, and they started toward the house.
When they rounded the path and the wide veranda of the B and B came into view, Bryce huffed out a sigh. “Is it funny that I’m incredibly relieved to see the house, considering I didn’t know it existed until two days ago?”
The flowers Matty planted every year as a tribute to his mother bloomed brightly, a riot of color, and his heart squeezed tight. “My mother used to say that if you couldn’t find happiness here, it didn’t exist.”
“Except for the snakes.”
Matty chuckled. “Okay, except for the snakes.”
“I think maybe your mother was right.” Bryce grinned, and Matty couldn’t help returning the smile.
Cover artist by day, author by night, L.C. Chase is a two-time Lambda Literary Award finalist, an EPIC eBook Awards winner, and a Foreword Reviews IndieFab finalist. She is also a nine-time Ariana eBook Cover Art Awards winner.
A hopeless romantic and free spirit, L.C. loves hitting the open road just to see where it takes her. When not writing sensual tales of men falling in love, she can be found designing romance novel covers, capturing the world in photos, drawing, horseback riding, or hiking the trails with her goofy four-legged roommate.
Keep up with works in progress, new releases, newsletter exclusives, and more by joining L.C.’s totally sporadic newsletter on her website at lcchase dot com.
"...Chase has a real gift for visual writing, which makes the descriptive passages come to life, from the explosion of colour as dawn breaks on the horizon to the play of light on a muscular frame, it's all just breathtaking." -- Aurora, Bittersweet Reviews
Felice Stevens writes romance because what is better than people falling in love? Her favorite part of a romance novel is that first kiss…sigh. She loves creating stories of hopes and dreams and happily ever afters. Her stories are character-driven, rich with the sights, sounds and flavors of New York City and filled with men who are sometimes deeply flawed but always real.
Felice writes M/M romance because she believes that everyone deserves a happily ever after. Having traveled all over the world, she can safely say that the universal language that unites people is love. Felice has written in a variety of sub-genres, including contemporary, paranormal and has a mystery series as well.
Felice is a two-time Lambda Literary award nominee, and Lambda award winner for Best Gay Romance for her book, The Ghost and Charlie Muir.
LC Chase
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A Fortunate Blizzard by LC Chase
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Influenced by Felice Stevens
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