Andrew Q. Gordon

Thank you for hosting me today! I’m here to talk about Polyester Prince and the different areas of Albuquerque mentioned in the ABQ Heat series.

Benji from Paid Leave and Isaac from Polyester Prince are both with the Albuquerque Police Department, but they work different areas, different schedules, and Officer McGorgeous-Ass is a bicycle officer so the calls he takes in Polyester Prince are different from the ones Benji takes in Paid Leave. It makes sense in the real world, but I also wanted to avoid boring readers with frequent shoplifter arrests.

Isaac from Polyester Prince works the SE area of the city in a neighborhood named Nob Hill, and Benji’s beat is in the NW quadrant of Albuquerque known as the Westside. I spend a lot of time in both areas, and in some ways they can seem like different cities.

Central Ave runs through both officers’ beats, but Isaac works in the trendier district—Nob Hill. There are locally owned shops and restaurants in Nob Hill, and leisurely foot traffic and window shopping are encouraged by trees and awnings for much appreciated shade in the summer months.

It also has a night life the NW area doesn’t. Bars and clubs are grouped together in two locations of Albuquerque—one of which is Nob Hill. The other is downtown and just so happens to also be on Central Ave. (I swear Albuquerque has more than one street.)

I like the energy and atmosphere of Nob Hill. I would visit more often if lived closer and parking was always free. (I’m spoiled by ample, convenient free parking in much of Albuquerque.) Every winter Nob Hill gets dolled up and the road is closed for a shopping event to encourage buying locally. There are band performances in the street, hot chocolate vendors set up, and festive light displays. It’s a wonderful area all year round.

Is there a place or area in your hometown you enjoy visiting?

BLURB:

Kyle Edington built his life around clubs, alcohol, nameless sex, and turning a blind eye to his future, but having front row access to his best friend’s perfect relationship leaves him wanting something he doesn’t understand—the white picket fence. After an ankle injury hinders his plans for PrideFest and puts his day job selling furniture at risk, Kyle attends Pride anyway to cheer himself up. Leaving his crutches at home was a mistake, though, and he’s shoved off balance and hits his head.

A bike officer keeps him safe until the paramedics arrive. Kyle’s memory of the event is foggy. He doesn’t recall the name or face of his guardian angel, but he definitely remembers the finest polyester-covered ass in all of Albuquerque.

But when he goes in search of his polyester prince, Kyle realizes relationships take hard work. After he learns the name of that perfect ass, a lifetime of avoiding serious boyfriends leaves Kyle second-guessing himself and making difficult decisions about what he wants for his future

BUY LINKS:

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4633

Amazon Link will be sent out to you as soon as the book goes live there.

Excerpt:

The music was too loud, the drinks too expensive, and the dance floor too crowded. It was perfect. Kyle drank until he floated. The dance floor was his play area. Touching and bumping required loose or removed clothing. Kyle gave himself over to the feeling of roaming hands and a heavy bass vibrating from the floor.

He lost sight of Jace and J-Roe sometime after midnight but caught up with Gareth near the exit just after one in the morning. He stood alone when Kyle approached with his latest dance partner.

“Do you want to split a cab?” Gareth shouted over the clubhouse mix of the latest pop song.

“You’re going home? To your home?” Kyle squinted at Gareth’s button-up shirt that wasn’t buttoned up anymore. “You feeling sick?”

“I’m saving myself for Prince Charming.”

“Yeah, me too.” Kyle leaned back against… someone. Was his name Mark? It could have been Tyler. It hardly mattered. He was tall, had gorgeously sculpted muscles, and lived nearby. “Let’s go, Charming.” Kyle closed a fist around the stranger’s white tank shirt. He grinned and took hold of Kyle’s hips to guide him out of the club.

“Text me tomorrow,” Gareth called after, and Kyle acknowledged him with a wave.

Charming’s home was a short walk from the club in a gated condominium building. Kyle was almost certain if he wasn’t drunk he would be awed by the ownership of a unit in the newly converted complex. The prices were outrageous for the city and space. If someone could afford the six-hundred-square-foot box surrounded by others here, they had cash to spare.

“I expected an apartment,” Kyle said with perfect clarity. After many years of practice, he knew how to control his alcohol-soaked tongue.

“Please. Apartments are for children. I’m an adult, Kylie.”

“Kyle,” Kyle corrected. He had no right to fault Charming for calling him by a wrong name, since he had designated the intoxicated stranger with a nickname, but he really couldn’t help it.

“Okay.” Charming chuckled and led Kyle into his living room. “Do you want a drink?”

Kyle studied the vast living space. He recognized the Cartwright sofa from Drexel Heritage collection from the prior year and immediately hated himself for it. When had furniture become his second language? His gaze roamed over the large TV and landed on a peculiar piece in the corner.

“Is that a stripper pole?”

Charming rested his chin on Kyle’s shoulder. “Fitness pole. But it’s used more for dancing than working out.”

“I thought that dancer line was bullshit to impress me.”

“It was.” Charming put his arms around Kyle. “Were you impressed?”

“Yes. I still am, but not by anything you said.” Kyle pushed free from Charming’s arms, turned to face him, and lifted his shirt. “Well, hello there, washboard abs. You look even more delicious in private.”

“You’re so funny, Kylie.”

“Kyle.”

“What?”

Kyle inspected Charming’s flat stomach with his fingers. “Never mind.”

“Are we going to get more comfortable?” Charming removed his shirt and grinned. Kyle wasn’t amused by the cheesy line but was more than willing to have Charming in less clothing.

“You gonna show me how to work that?” Kyle nodded toward the pole.

“No. I like to watch.” Charming pressed his mouth against Kyle’s neck. The touch reignited the lust from the dance floor. Kyle moaned and leaned against him. “Are you going to stay dressed all night?”

Kyle chuckled when Charming pulled away. In his inebriated state, Kyle knew he could do anything if he tried. He had never used a stripper pole or been close to one, but that hardly meant he couldn’t impress Charming with skills he didn’t know he possessed. There was a possibility he was concealing a secret stripper identity beneath his clumsy exterior. It was more likely he wasn’t, but impulse was not something Kyle could control even when he was sober.

“Let me warm you up, then, baby.” Kyle slipped away from Charming and strutted across the room. Charming got the idea and flipped over the back of the couch and onto the cushions.

With his audience ready, Kyle stepped onto the four-inch stage, grabbed the pole with a hand, and did what he saw in movies—locked Charming’s gaze and swung around. When his rotation came to a stop, Kyle’s grip slipped and his balance was compromised. He tumbled off the stage and crashed into the side table before sprawling across the tile floor.

Charming rushed to his side. “Are you okay, Kylie baby?” His memory was terrible, but his manners suited his name—or at least the nickname Kyle had graced him with.

“Sorry.” Kyle sat up, too embarrassed to stop his constant repeating of the apology. Go home with a guy for sex, use his stripper pole as a seduction tool, and attempt to break his furniture. Real smooth, Kyle Edington.

Visit my website www.hayleybjames.com and like my Facebook page www.facebook.com/HayleyBJames for updates! I’ll also be chatting with readers on the Dreamspinner Press Facebook page on January 26 (11am mountain time): https://www.facebook.com/dreamspinnerpress

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Hayley B. James is a lifelong resident of New Mexico with no plans to pack up and leave just yet. Writing is her part-time job and full-time hobby. She works in a small office during the day and lives in her written worlds at night.

When she isn’t writing, Hayley is reading m/m romance, mystery, real-life crime, fantasy, and yaoi novels, and can be found cruising Tumblr and webcomics. She may or may not have an unhealthy obsession with police officers. It’s still up for debate.

AUTHOR LINKS:

Website: http://www.hayleybjames.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/HayleyBJames.author?fref=ts

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hayleyb_james

GIVEAWAY INFO:

Winner’s prize – A set of paperback copies of Paid Leave and Polyster Prince

A “Paid Leave” coffee mug

Runner Up will win – An ecopy of the book

 Click the link below for how to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

1/24 – Elisa Rolle – http://reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwidth.org/

1/25 – Andrew Q Gordon – http://andrewqgordon.com/

1/26 – MM Good Book Reviews – http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com/

1/27 – Prism Book Alliance – http://www.prismbookalliance.com/

1/28 – CupOPorn – http://cupoporn.blogspot.in/

1/29 – Fallen Angel Reviews – http://fallenangelreviews.com/

1/30 – Sid Love – http://sidlove.com/

1/31 – Live Life, Buy Books – http://liveyourlifebuythebook.wordpress.com/

2/1 – Book Reviews and More by Kathy – http://www.bookreviewsandmorebykathy.com/

2/2 – The Novel Approach – http://thenovelapproachreviews.com/