A Thought for Every Word

Posts tagged ‘Light and Shadow’

JesseWave Review of Light and Shadow

Hello All!

light-and-shadow4.25 out of 5 stars for Light and Shadow!  Linked here is a nice review from Feliz over at Reviews by JesseWave.  The story of Cody, Nick and Ray continues to be a recommended read!

An excerpt from the review by Guest Reviewer Feliz:

…well-written story of endings and new beginnings.

First of all, this is a quiet book. Architect Cody comes to a small town in Oregon to renovate an old lighthouse. He meets and gets to know artist Nick, who is here on vacation with his partner Ray. Over the course of the next couple of weeks, Nick and Cody come closer, realizing they are kindred spirits. But Ray can also see the attraction, and starts fighting for Nick the only way he knows how: by guilt-tripping Nick

This story isn’t about cheating, and Cody is no relationship wrecker. Still, I can clearly see why some might think so and despise this story for it. The “normal” m/m trope would’ve had Ray out of the picture already, and Nick, wounded and hurt, find solace with Cody. This isn’t the case here. Ray IS still there, very present, and all three men have to deal with the fact that people can fall IN love, but can fall out of it too. I thought the premise of this book realistic and well executed, and I (c)an recommend it.

Read the entire review here:

Reviews By JesseWave: Light and Shadow

Thank you Feliz!

5 Stars for Light and Shadow

 

A review from Amazon for Light and Shadow — Thanks Beach Bum!

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Beach Book, December 16, 2012
Amazon Verified Purchase(What’s this?)
This review is from: Light and Shadow (Kindle Edition)

Or anywhere else for that matter. The author does a wonderful job of capturing the essence of a small coastal town and weaving a cast of local and visiting characters into the fabric of a developing romance. Using the backdrop of a lighthouse being lovingly refurbished by the town’s new resident, the author brings several engaging characters into the story as both friendship and enmity develop…Romance gradually blooms but it’s complicated and fraught with hesitation and conflicting desire. This is a very enjoyable read filled with great imagery.

To see the entire review click here.

Light and Shadow Arrives


Available now at Seventh Window, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and All Romance Ebooks, Light and Shadow by GL Roberts.

Award winning architect Cody Andrews was in a relationship moving out of control. Although his partner loved the fast life in LA, Cody wanted to slow it down and try to enjoy life with his partner. After two years of fighting, Cody found that all he could do was leave the relationship to save his sanity and self respect. Moving out of LA seemed to be his best bet, so he bought an abandoned lighthouse in the Pacific Northwest and left his high powered life behind. Fixing up the lighthouse is enough to keep Cody’s mind occupied enough to forget everything he’d left behind, then he meets Nick Stanton.

Up-and-coming Chicago artist Nick Stanton and his partner Ray leave Chicago for a relaxed vacation on the Oregon coast. For Nick, it’s a time to reconnect with his partner and mend their ailing relationship; for Ray, it’s a tiresome getaway with little-to-no excitement. While Nick tries to enjoy the coastal surroundings, Ray begs to go someplace with a hopping club or a circuit party. And then they meet Cody.

When they meet, Cody finds Nick and Ray to be a reminder of his own failed relationship. But Cody misses interacting with gay men, and  finds Nick enjoyable and Ray to be tolerable. But the more time he spends with them, the more volatile Ray becomes. For Ray sees that Cody has everything Nick longs for, and everything Ray does not want. On a rain soaked and windswept highway a decision is made, and the lives of three men are tossed about like a tiny boat on an angry sea.

Writing, not just a passion for me, consumes my every waking thought. I see stories in everyday life, in the faces of strangers, on the backs of seagulls, and in every word uttered or not. The packaging on the oatmeal box, the bumper sticker on the car in front of me at the gas station. Even the soft voice of the old woman behind me in line at the post office. Consumed by stories can be a frightening thing. I find that I am always watching, wondering, observing, thinking, composing. Sometimes my mind drifts and I forget to eat, busily writing down the thoughts that crossed my mind at work and were jotted down on a small notebook I keep in my apron pocket. An addiction best acknowledged when alone.

Light and Shadow began as a story about two people, drawn to the light that fills the lantern room of a lighthouse. A light that meant safety to the man who once rode the swells in search of boats in distress. To the other, the light represented all the romance of the sea wrapped into one tall tower manned by a lone lighthouse keeper. The two crossed paths one day and began to discuss the old abandoned lighthouse they were both looking at that now sat quite alone out on the stark peninsula. From there, a story was born.

Light and Shadow ~ Update

Award winning architect Cody Andrews was in a relationship moving out of control. Although his partner loved the fast life in LA, Cody wanted to slow it down and try to enjoy life with his partner. After two years of fighting, Cody found that all he could do was leave the relationship to save his sanity and self respect. Moving out of LA seemed to be his best bet, so he bought an abandoned lighthouse in the Pacific Northwest and left his high powered life behind. Fixing up the lighthouse keeps Cody’s mind occupied enough to forget everything he’d left behind, then he meets Nick Stanton.

Up-and-coming Chicago artist Nick Stanton and his partner Ray leave Chicago for a relaxed vacation on the Oregon coast. For Nick, it’s a time to reconnect with his partner and mend their ailing relationship; for Ray, it’s a tiresome getaway with little-to-no excitement. While Nick tries to enjoy the coastal surroundings, Ray begs to go someplace with a hopping club or a circuit party. And then they meet Cody.

When they meet, Nick and Ray are a reminder of Cody’s failed relationship. But Cody misses interacting with gay men. He likes Nick’s company and he finds Ray to be tolerable, yet the more time he spends with them, the more volatile Ray becomes. For Ray sees that Cody has everything Nick longs for, and everything Ray does not want. On a rain soaked and windswept highway a decision is made, and the lives of three men are tossed about like a tiny boat on an angry sea.

Light and Shadow, my newest novella from Seventh Window Publications, is due out this November! Final edits nearing completion, cover set. The countdown begins!

My first novella, Scar Tissue, the story about DEA agent Bob Elkins, and rookie CIA agent Mike Wells, is still available at Seventh Window, Amazon.com, and allromanceebooks.com. You can also find my free read, A Pharaoh’s Promise, at allromanceebooks.com, or at Goodreads.com.

For my readers who are awaiting news about Shieldmaiden, the druid/dragon fantasy, the manuscript is out looking for a home and I hope to have news for you soon. Thank you to all of you that follow my blog and look forward to more…

GL

Light and Shadow and other things

For my readers who have checked out my m/m romance stories, both Scar Tissue ~

check out some cool stuff on Scar Tissue here:

and A Pharaoh’s Promise (find it here: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15703643-a-pharaoh-s-promise), a new novella is due out at the end of the year.  Light and Shadow will be out by the end of December, again published by Seventh Window Publications, Thanks! Ken!  It is my second novella with Seventh Window, and I am so excited to see it come to fruition.  It started out as a story about an abandoned lighthouse, then blossomed into a romance about the Lighthouse being renovated and the owner, a self described recluse, finding love of another kind, in the form of an artist visiting the small coastal town.  The Oregon coast, where this story takes place, is a part of the U.S. that is steeped in Coast Guard lore, lighthouse ghosts, and romantic wind swept beaches.  This story takes place in a small coastal village with an abandoned and neglected lighthouse.  The lighthouse is purchased by a slightly jaded, and disillusioned, architect from Los Angeles, looking for a new start.  He finds what he is looking for in the lighthouse ~ and in a tourist, who is also looking for a fresh perspective.

Fresh perspectives are something I have been looking for myself for a while now. This year I have written, A Pharaoh’s Promise, Target Acquired,  Light and Shadow, as well as a f/f fantasy, Shieldmaiden.  Shieldmaiden is the story about a young Lady in Waiting that discovers her true calling when she makes a pilgrimage to her ancestral home located in the Orkney Islands.  Her destiny, joined to the dragons that rule the skies over Scotland, finds her leading a small band of clansman to fight the invading Norsemen.  Her love for her Princess, tempts her to give up her true self and follow the Princess into a quite life of Keeps and inner court trivial pursuits.  Her decision ~ to stay and claim her birthright, or go home with the Princess ~ will affect the future of Briton. Love or Country?

I continue to write the Haiku that drives a sensual mind, and I hope that all my readers continue to enjoy, or otherwise feel moved by my work.  It is not always a happy or uplifting thought I wish to evoke.  Sometimes, the pain or angst that a piece evokes in a reader is more powerful than a pocketful of posies.

Until we meet again, be of sound mind and clear thought…

GL

Light and Shadow ~ Coming Soon

My manuscript, Light and Shadow, another M/M Romance novella, will be published by Seventh Window Publications later this year.  The contemporary story set on the rugged Oregon coast, in an abandoned lighthouse, takes in all the sea can deliver.  Fresh air, brilliant light, star filled nights, and…dangerous liaisons.  One man’s hope for finding solace, is turned into a pursuit for love, holding out for nothing less than another man’s partner.  Love’s call, like that of the sea, cannot be denied, and the lonely man gives his heart away.

Excerpt from Light and Shadow:

Working kept Cody’s mind from thinking about Nick, but only just barely.  He would stop to pick up another tool, or grab some more screws, then look out the window hoping to catch a glimpse of Nick walking up the path to the lighthouse.  He constantly had to stem the urge to run up to the lantern room, and watch Nick on the beach from one of the large windows.  He knew Nick was still down there because the rental car was still parked next to his truck.

Nick had come out to the lighthouse, after having found Ray still asleep, and had left him a note telling him where he had gone for the day. When he arrived at the lighthouse, Nick told Cody he wanted time alone to think, and immediately went down to the beach, leaving Cody to wish he had followed Nick down to the sand and surf.  Instead, Cody went inside and slowly worked on the finishing touches to the bathroom, installing the replica mast lights above the mirror over the sink.

The bathroom was finally finished, and Cody stepped back to look at his handiwork.  The porcelain tiles, laid in a brick pattern on the wall, gleamed a bright white with the dark cobalt blue border adding just the right amount of contrast, and the brass of the fixtures adding to the nautical feel of the room.  Cody had removed the square window someone had hastily installed after a particularly heavy wind took out the original, and installed a round port hole window that resembled the one in the pictures of the original lighthouse, from its dedication ceremony of 1870.  The first project of many was completed, and he smiled at the hard work it took and the feeling of accomplishment.  He was busy admiring his new bathroom and did not hear Nick enter through the open kitchen door.

“Nice job,” Nick said, as he slipped his arms around Cody’s waist and pulled him back against his chest.  Cody started at Nick’s voice, but Nick held him close.  “Just me.”

“Well, just me, what are you doing?” Cody asked, and sank back against Nick’s chest.  He placed his arms over Nick’s, and held on to him.

“Admiring the view,” Nick replied. “That really is good work.  I especially like the brass fixtures.  Very handsome and seaworthy.”  Nick moved his head to look around Cody at the bathroom.

Cody turned his head slightly, kissed Nick’s cheek, and heard Nick respond with a soft moan.  “You’ve been down on the sand for a long time,” Cody said.  “Want a glass of wine or something to eat?”  Cody felt Nick’s embrace tighten, then he felt Nick’s lips on his exposed neck; the soft warm kisses sending a shockwave through his body.  He grasped Nick’s arms and let himself be kissed.  Nick kissed the right side of Cody’s neck, then the back of his neck and around to the left side where he lingered.  Cody felt a thrill running through his body, the thrill of being in someone’s arms again, and the building excitement of an unspoken need.  He started to turn in Nick’s arms, wanting to kiss Nick’s lips, but was held firm by Nick.

“No,” Nick said in Cody’s ear.  “Let me enjoy you from here for now.  I only have a moment longer, then I need to get back to town.  You have no cell phone reception out here,” he said, and chuckled against Cody’s neck.

“Yeah, and right now, I’m really glad,” Cody replied, and settled back in Nick’s arms, content for the moment to be held.  He felt Nick’s kisses begin the traverse of his neck again, this time left to right.  When Nick stopped at Cody’s right side, Cody squeezed Nick’s arms.

“I made a decision,” Nick said, and released his hold on Cody.

“I gathered that,” Cody replied, then turned to look at Nick.  “You just kissed me to say hello or goodbye.  Which is it?”  Cody knew the answer before Nick spoke.  It had been coming since their first breakfast alone at Linda’s place, where he had heard it in Nick’s voice as they spoke about Chicago, and Nick’s need to get away from the city.  The only thing he did not know was if Nick’s plans included him.

“You already know,” Nick said, and smiled at Cody.

Nick took a step closer to Cody, and Cody felt the room fade out of view.  He felt Nick’s lips on his, Nick’s hand on his, Nick’s grip anchoring him in the kiss.  He placed his left hand at the back of Nick’s head, then pulled him close, and let the room, the wind, the sea, all disappear.  He took Nick’s tongue with his and slowly pulled it into his mouth, sucking it slowly and deliberately, revealing his need to Nick.  He felt Nick responding to the kiss and he reached for Nick’s belt with his right hand.  Nick’s hand reached for Cody’s waist.  The kiss deepened, and each of them gasped and moaned with the intense pleasure of their wet tongues and mouths, responding to each other’s need.  Nick took Cody’s hand from his belt and unzipped his jeans, then he guided Cody’s hand to his growing cock.  Cody responded and pushed his own body hard against Nick, and felt Nick unbutton his pants seeking Cody’s own burgeoning erection.  Nick found Cody hot and hard, and as his hands moved over Cody’s cock, it twitched in his hands.

The Zen of a Perfect Saturday Afternoon

You’ve experienced it. You’ve coveted it. You’ve used it as an excuse not to attend the house painting party, or the dog birthday party you were invited to, even though you are allergic to everything dog. It is the perfect Saturday afternoon.

Granted, not everyone has experienced the perfect Saturday afternoon. Planets must be aligned just right; in-laws, or outlaws, must be out of town; the weather must be mild enough for you not to break a sweat. Rare components all, but when they fall into place…OM.

This morning I woke after a good nights sleep, something that is in itself a bit of a miracle but that is another post. I dutifully did my sit-ups, pushups, and twenty minute aerobic routine before stepping into the shower. When I got out of the shower, freshly warmed by the hot water, I strode around my apartment in my towel,looking to see what was on my agenda for the day. Vacuum? Nope, did that during the week because of a little crumb incident. Dust? Nope, that followed the vacuuming (please no bickering over which comes first, the vacuum or the duster). Laundry? Not enough to justify the water use. No yard work (apartment living at it’s finest), no auto repair, no babysitting nieces, nephews, neighbors pets, or moving-van contents. Then it slowly dawned on me. I could do whatever I wanted to do. There was no agenda. No plan. I could watch the Stanley Cup finals, or a movie. I could grill a steak, or create something equally decadent in the kitchen. I could nap, I could read…I   COULD   WRITE!!!

If you are not new to my blog, you know that I am a writer/author of M/M Romance, and that I occasionally dabble in poetry. I am also writing a F/F Romance tentatively titled “Shieldmaiden” and I would like to give you an excerpt today. If you are new to my blog, please feel free to look around and read some of my other posts. I write whenever and wherever the muse strikes. When, that is, the muse is around and not over at Starbucks eyeing the cute barista. My muse is hedonistic and will spend hours drooling over a good looking person; or an incredible sunset photograph, without so much as a by your leave, until I am forced to beg and bribe to lure her away. Today, this perfect Saturday afternoon, my muse is sitting zen like next to me on the couch, cooing with each new poem I post or paragraph I type in Shieldmaiden. My muse it seems, has been waiting for this cosmic alignment with equal fervor. We are a couple today. OM

Now, back to the Perfect Saturday Afternoon.  Time for a glass of wine, a little fresh air on the deck, and if I am lucky, a kiss from my muse.

Shieldmaiden takes place on the Island of Breton, sometime after the erection of Hadrian’s Wall, and before Geoffrey of Monmouth penned “Leir of Britain” or contributed to the Arthurian Legend. In the story, the Shieldmaiden Bryn, the daughter of a Druid Elder, falls in love with the Princess Thalynder, the only daughter of the King of the Realm. Unbeknownst to Bryn, the dragon that companions the Princess, is really her own dragon; bonded with her at infancy and given to the King for his daughter in payment for protection of the druid clann from the raiders across the eastern sea.

From Shieldmaiden:

“I have no time for men,” Bryn said, her voice thick with renewed passion. She ran her free hand over Thalynder’s neck.  She moved her hand to Thalynder’s jaw, and when Thalynder did not pull away, Bryn placed a kiss on Thalynder’s throat.  Another kiss on her chin, then another on her mouth.  She felt Thalynder’s hand touch her breast and she moaned against Thalynder’s soft lips.  Bryn kissed those lips with desire and urgency, and was rewarded by a gentle squeeze of Thalynder’s hand, causing her nipples to come erect.  She felt Thalynder relaxing under the kiss, and she moved to part Thalynder’s lips with her tongue.  She felt Thalynder stiffen, then relax against her.  She let her tongue lay softly against Thalynder’s tongue, and then felt Thalynder respond by pushing her own tongue further into Bryn’s mouth. Bryn moved her hand to the back of Thalynder’s neck and took the kiss deeper.

The lush dance of two tongues eager for the touch of the other; asking for more and pushing hard against each other to take all the other would give.  Bryn felt Thalynder release her other hand, and then felt both hands on her tunic over her breasts.  She moaned deeply in Thalynder’s mouth.  With one hand on Thalynder’s neck, the other moved to touch the brocade tunic at Thalynder’s breast.  Bryn moved her hand in a circular motion over the brocade, feeling the shiver of Thalynder’s body against hers.  She moved to pin Thalynder against the tree, and then positioned her leg so that she could raise her knee and rub against Thalynder’s mound.  Thalynder shuddered, then abruptly stopped the kiss and pushed Bryn back.

“No,” she said breathlessly.  “A little at a time, my Bryn.  I am only now getting used to kissing you.”

Bryn, as breathless as the Princess, released Thalynder from her position against the tree.  She ran a hand over Thalynder’s cheek, then lay her forehead on Thalynder’s shoulder and sighed.  “What am I going to do if you marry?” she asked.

Shieldmaiden is my first attempt at a female/female romance. I hope you like the draft excerpt that follows at the end of this post. I would love your comments about the excerpt.

For those of you readers of M/M Romance, my short story A Pharaoh’s Promise will be available free to Goodreads members under the Love is Always Write event, posting is set for June 14th.   A second ebook, Light and Shadow,  a Seventh Window Publication, is due out later this summer.

My ebook Scar Tissue is available here:

http://www.seventhwindow.com/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&cPath=&products_id=41

G.L. Roberts’s books on Goodreads

For all of the readers of Scar Tissue…Bob and Mike will be back!  The second in the series takes them to the jungles of Honduras and into the path of rebel guerillas.