Hi everyone–
I’m delighted to say that my new MM paranormal romance, Brush with Catastrophe, keeps bounding back onto the gay romance bestseller list at Amazon a month after its release. Of course, it’s already been a bestseller at ARe and Fictionwise. If you haven’t read it yet, allow me to tempt you! Here is a reminder nibble from Brush with Catastrophe. : )
Excerpt: Brush with Catastrophe by Tara Lain; MM Paranormal with Witches!
College art student Sammy Raphael is a crappy witch. And he can’t get a boyfriend. Sammy’s had a passion for his BFF, Ryder McMasters, for years, but Ryder is straight and human. Talk about hopeless causes! And where other supernaturals can bring down lightning and manifest wealth, all Sammy can do is paint. True, the “prophetic” paintings he does at night always come true, but they never predict anything important — until he paints a picture of a gorgeous man who turns out to be Ryder but so changed he’s barely recognizable. Then Sammy paints an angel –who turns out to be a devil that threatens Sammy’s community and the man he loves. With the black cat familiar, Aloysius, at his side Sammy steps up to save the world–with a paint brush.
Every particle of energy, every spark of volition poured from Sammy. Darkness filled his head and oozed down his body like old oil.
“Merwwaaaaaoooowwwwrrrrrr.”
Darkness.
Fire. Like a brand on his chest. He must have blacked out. He opened his eyes. Couldn’t move. A heap against the wall. But…
Was he alone?
Had to take stock. Check the ass? Not violated. Surely he’d know. No pain there. But he felt like a blazing poker pressed against his neck. He tried to raise a hand to soothe the burn. No luck.
And where the hells was Lucien?
“Merwaor. Merwaor.” A soft feline whining came from behind the door. So Lucien had been able to keep Aloysius locked up but not quiet. Interesting. His powers weren’t quite all that.
What had the guy done to Sammy while he was out?
He raised his head, and pain stabbed through it until his sight vanished in a flash of white. He dropped back to the floor. “I have to get up. Somehow.” He tested scooting his feet a few inches. Nausea washed over him like a sick fog. He heaved twice, but witches couldn’t vomit. Why did he feel so bad? It didn’t seem like Lucien had forced him while he was passed out. And Al had to be the cause. That last shriek would have wakened the dead, literally. But gods, how could Lucien have caged Aloysius? Sammy thought he knew, and the facts made him more exhausted. Aloysius was a familiar. Beyond some basic power over his own form, he could only magnify the powers of the witch who held him. Sammy had little power, so Al had nothing to magnify. A tear slid down Sammy’s cheek. Useless.
He stared at his phone, a lifetime away on top of his dresser. He summoned power and tried to lift it. Shit, nothing. Not a quiver. Even less power than he usually had. Besides, who would he call if he could get the damned phone? His mom and dad didn’t need this grief. And he didn’t really want to tell them what had happened. Chen couldn’t get out of his house easily at night. He could call Killian, but it was his anniversary. Plus, it would get Lucien in tons of trouble. Shit, it should! But maybe Lucien really had thought Sammy wanted this. Maybe Sammy had wanted it and sent the wrong signals? His skin burned like fire around his neck.
Sammy cried in earnest.
Suddenly he heard the door fly open. Shit. Was Lucien back?
“Sammy? Sammy, where are you?”
Ryder rushed around the screen that separated the sleeping space from the rest of the apartment, and Sammy cried harder.
“Sammy. God, what’s wrong?” Ryder squatted down on the floor and reached for Sammy.
“N-no. Can’t move. Too sick.”
“What can I do? I’ll call an ambulance.”
Sammy shook his head and regretted it instantly. “No, please. I don’t think I need a doctor.”
“You sure look like you do.” Ryder grabbed a cover off the bed and tucked it around Sammy’s naked body.
Sammy murmured, “Would you let Aloysius out of the bathroom?”
Ryder frowned. “How the hell did he get in there?”
Should he tell him? He had to tell someone. But he didn’t want Ryder to think less of him. “Long story.”
Ryder got up and opened the bathroom door. Like a furry missile, Al leaped out, landed beside Sammy’s collapsed body, and immediately padded up to his head and started licking him on the forehead. “Hey, that feels good.” Like that warm oil when he painted.
Ryder sat back down beside Sammy. He reached out one long-fingered hand and brushed Sammy’s hair off his face. Then he began to gently caress Sammy’s cheek. Between Al and Ryder, light and warmth shone through Sam’s body. The burning on his chest and neck lessened. “That’s so nice.” His eyes closed.
“Tell me what happened, Sam.”
“I can’t.”
“Please. It has something to do with Lucien, doesn’t it?”
Sammy nodded. Wow. It didn’t even hurt so much to nod. Ryder’s hand kept up its gentle stroking.
“I actually came here to warn you about him.”
“I should have listened to you before.”
“This is a bigger warning. I found out that he’s having sex with both Maybelle and Bilden. There may be others. I came to beg you not to sleep with him. People who have had sex with him seem weird. Did you notice how strange Maybelle and Bilden have been acting? I don’t know if the two facts are related, but I don’t think you should take the chance.”
Sammy started to cry.
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Hope you enjoyed it! There will be at least one more book in this series and i think it’s a doozy. Coming sometime next year. Thank you for coming by. I love blog followers! : )