Dale Cameron Lowry
Terrestrial Press
233 pages/57,000 words
short stories, contemporary romance, paranormal romance, erotic romance
Falling Hard features nine of Dale Cameron Lowry’s best short romance stories, available for the first time in one book. Meet a sign language interpreter who finds unexpected love at middle-age, college students in their first relationships, a vampire who would rather be a vegan, and a proudly gay ex-Mormon atheist who sells Bibles for a living. From sweet to erotic, this collection exhibits the quirkiness, fun, and diversity Dale's writing is known for. Here are just a few of the stories in Falling Hard.
- Mi Alma — Ex-Mormon Alma Larsen doesn't know the first thing about alcohol, so he hires bartender Damian Banks to help out at his winter holiday party. They build a friendship that simmers with sexual tension—and possibly something much deeper. Will this Christmas bring them both a love that lasts?
- Loggerhead — Soon after they fall in love, Jake makes Eric a promise inspired by an old track uniform. But demanding work schedules at Jake’s four-star restaurant and Eric’s newspaper keep them from following through. Six years later, they take the honeymoon they never had, heading to the Florida coast in search of sea turtles—and rekindling their passion for each other in the process.
- Rough Love — Blake thinks new boyfriend Michael doesn't like French kissing. Michael thinks Blake doesn't like rough sex. Neither are virgins, except in the art of conversation. Can they set things straight before the honeymoon's over?
- Pacific Rimming — On Mike's fortieth birthday, his husband, Ken, takes him on vacation to Vancouver Island in Western Canada to celebrate. While Mike mourns his loss of youth, Ken encourages him to recapture it by bedding a gorgeous twenty-something man they encounter while hiking in Pacific Rim National Park. A night of no-holds-barred passion among the three men reveals a sizzling chemistry, and when Mike and Ken return home they find themselves longing to reconnect with the young Jason. Can what started as a one-night stand transform into a threesome that lasts?
Falling Hard is currently available through the secure
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You can read a preview and find sales outlets at: dalecameronlowry.com/books/falling-hard/
From Pacific Rimming:
(Pacific Rimming is also available as a standalone short story.)He was definitely younger than both of us. There was no salt in his pepper-dark hair, and his smooth skin barely wrinkled even when he smiled. I guessed he was ten years our junior, probably in his late twenties—which would actually make the age gap slightly more than ten years, considering I was turning forty the next day.Forty no longer seemed so old, with the way the stranger looked at me.He gave a small wave. “Good morning. Nice day, isn’t it?”“Sure is,” I answered.Ken turned toward me, hiding his hands from the stranger. “See the way he’s looking at us? Totally gay. Tell him he has a nice butt.”I rolled my eyes. “You tell him.”“Sorry, I didn’t realize…” the young man started, and then his hands began to move clumsily as if he really were a bird and trying to form shapes with the tips of his wings. “You Deaf? I know American Sign Language small.” He squeezed his palms too close together to emphasize the minuscule size of his knowledge, ignorant that his word choice and syntax had already clued us in.Ken’s expression was a mix of smitten and condescending, similar to what he gives one of our dogs when they learn a new trick. “I’m Deaf and my husband is a hearing child of Deaf parents. You sign very well. Where did you learn?” Ken articulated the words so slowly it looked like his arms were moving through molasses, but it was clear the hottie had never signed with an actual human being before. His suntanned face turned pink with exasperation and he looked ready to faint from dizziness.“Sorry, don’t understand.” Hottie frowned, his plump lower lip jutting out slightly. “Never sign. Learn from i-n-t-e-r-n-e-t.” He fingerspelled the last word with a dizzying bounce between each letter.Ken put a friendly hand on hottie’s forearm. My husband is both patient and an incorrigible flirt. “Don’t worry, I read lips too. And Mike”—Ken pointed at me—“is hearing and a certified interpreter. We’ll do okay. What were you looking at just now, anyway? We came here for birds, but all I’ve seen so far are robins.”“Which we can see at home,” I added.Hottie laughed. “Me too. My name’s Jason by the way.” He looked straight at Ken as he spoke to make the lip-reading easier, which I thought was sweet. I could tell Ken did too, the way his eyes melted a little.
Giveaway
About the Author
Dale Cameron Lowry lives in the Upper Midwest with a partner and three cats, one of whom enjoys eating dish towels, quilts, and wool socks. It’s up to you to guess whether the fabric eater is one of the cats or the partner. When not busy mending items destroyed by the aforementioned fabric eater, Dale is a writer and editor who enjoys wasting time on Tumblr, listening to podcasts, studying anatomy, getting annoyed at Duolingo, and reading fairy tales. Previous careers include sign language linguist, grocery store clerk, journalist, gardener, and camp counselor. Dale began writing for fun at the age of eight and has been making up stories ever since, from overly workshopped literary fiction to off-the-cuff fanfic. Queer Mormons have a way of popping up in Dale's work, whether it's romance or erotica, sci fi or fairy tales, slice-of-life contemporary fiction or spine-tingling horror. So do immigrants and emigrants, people with disabilities, multilingual folks, and others who live their lives navigating multiple cultures.
Thanks for having me on your blog, Nicki!
ReplyDeleteAnytime, Dale.
DeleteNice mix of stories in this anthology.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I hope you enjoy it.
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