From
today, Scenes from Adelaide Road is available for early download on
Pride Publishing’s Website. It will go on general release on December 1st.
The early release gives me a wonderful opportunity to share all the details
with you J
The
blurb:
Can a young man
find the courage he never knew he had when faced with losing everything he
holds dear?
A few months before his final exams in secondary school,
nineteen-year-old Lennart Kelly discovers he’s inherited a house on Adelaide
Road in Dublin from a grandfather he never knew. Having been ignored, bullied
and abused for as long as he can remember, Lennart can’t wait to leave behind
his father and the small town he grew up in. Moving away as soon as he finishes
his exams doesn’t cure his deep-rooted insecurities though.
Meeting twenty-three-year-old Aidan Cassidy in a gay club on his
second night in Dublin, scares Lennart. Used to being ignored and ridiculed, he
doesn’t trust the attention he receives and can’t believe a man like Aidan
could possibly be interested in him. It takes infinite patience and
understanding from Aidan to slowly coax Lennart out of his shell.
But the past refuses to stay where it belongs and Lennart’s
father is determined to take the house in Dublin off his son by whatever means
necessary. Just when Lennart is learning to trust and embrace life, a violent
attack threatens everything he holds dear. Suddenly Lennart is in danger of
losing his house, the man he’s grown to love and maybe even his life. If
Lennart wants to protect Aidan and safeguard his future, he’ll have to find the
courage he never knew he had.
Book
Trailer:
The story in this book was inspired by a song written by my
daughter, Tara Kennedy. Talented as she is, she combined her song with my words
and wonderful pictures of Dublin to create the following book trailer. I hope
you’ll enjoy it. If you're curious, a full version of Tara's song - Anything - as well as many other songs, can be found here: Soundcloud
Excerpt:
The
scene I’m sharing in the excerpt below takes place shortly after Lennart first
meets Aidan in a nightclub in Dublin, as can be read in the first excerpt I
shared: here.
“You wanna dance?”
Every muscle in my body tensed at his
suggestion. Imagining myself on the dance floor was one thing. To actually get
up and move among the swaying crowd took far more confidence than I had.
Aidan didn’t give me a chance to say
no. He got out of his chair and held out his hand. When I grabbed it he pulled
me up and held on to my hand as he led the way to the middle of the floor.
The acoustics in the club were
phenomenal. The difference between the volume levels on the dance floor and
where we’d been sitting took me by surprise. Now, in the middle of the fray,
the rhythm took hold of my body. I felt the heavy bass vibrating in the floor
and travelling up my legs. I should have been too self-conscious to dance but I
couldn’t resist the combination of beat and moving bodies. Almost against my
will, my body swayed along with the rhythm. Pride filled me when a huge grin
spread across Aidan’s face as he watched me crawl out of my shell. His hand,
still holding mine, gave me the confidence to let go of my inhibitions for a
minute.
I stopped thinking as I lost myself in
the music. My usual shyness disappeared, the cynical voice in my head couldn’t
be heard over the beat. Even Aidan letting go of my hand and throwing himself
into the music couldn’t put a dent in my newfound confidence. This was what I’d
hoped for when I moved to Dublin ,
this sense of freedom, the permission to be myself, and the opportunity to stop
worrying about what impression I might be making on those around me.
“You move beautifully.”
Aidan’s voice only barely reached my
ears but his words made me glow. We circled each other as we danced. I almost
froze when Aidan got very close behind me and ground his crotch into my arse.
“Relax. It’s all good. Everybody here
is just like you and me. Look.”
I did look. Between the smoke machines
and the blinding lights, it wasn’t easy to see anybody in detail, which
reassured me. If I couldn’t see them, they couldn’t see me. But what I did see
showed me Aidan’s grinding was as innocent as interactions on this dance floor
got. A lot of couples might have been having full on sex if it weren’t for the
clothes they wore. Groins pressed into arses, hands explored the outlines of
cocks and tonsil tennis appeared to be the taste of the day. And that was just
the men. The female couples I spotted had no more inhibitions than their male
counterparts. It was an exhilarating experience and my body couldn’t help but
respond. The stirring in my pants as blood found its way to my cock felt both
delicious and uncomfortable. Part of me couldn’t help but be afraid people
might notice and make fun of me even while common sense told me I did not stand
out in this crowd.
Songs ended and others started and our
bodies moved. I’d never felt this good in my life. The sense of freedom was
intoxicating. I remembered how I’d wanted to walk away from this club and
Aidan. Gratitude for whatever it had been that had made me stay, filled me. My
new life was turning out much better than I could have hoped.
The music changed. The beat all but
disappeared as a much slower song started. I’d taken one step back towards
where we’d been sitting when Aidan grabbed my shoulder and pulled me close.
“Don’t walk away. This is where it gets real good.”
Not that I had much of a choice. With
one hand holding the back of my neck and another just above my arse, I couldn’t
have walked away without violently dislodging myself from his hold. No matter
how much the closeness scared me, I didn’t want it to end and lose the opportunity
to discover what it felt like to hold somebody’s body close to mine.
When he pulled me closer I went. A sigh
escaped me when our chests connected. With Aidan slightly taller than me, my
nose ended up against his neck, just below his ear and I inhaled his aroma.
Sweat combined with something earthy I couldn’t name, captivated me. I closed
my eyes and surrendered to the heady combination of music and Aidan. Our
crotches touched and the realisation my cock wasn’t the only one reacting to
our closeness sent a rush through me. He moved his hips and I followed his
movements. Our bodies rubbing off each other brought me pleasure and
frustration in equal measure.
“I told you it would be good.”
Even with the music as loud as it was I
could hear the heat in Aidan’s voice.
“I didn’t know.” The words escaped my
mouth before I could think about them.
“Didn’t know how it would feel to dance
with a man?”
I had no idea how to answer Aidan’s
question. I couldn’t tell him I didn’t know what it might be like to do anything
with a man, dancing, kissing, touching. I had no experience with any of it so I
just shook my head and kept quiet.
“Hey, look at me.” Aidan’s voice was so
soft I had to strain to hear him. “Enjoy. It doesn’t matter if it’s a first for
you. All of us had to start somewhere at some time.”
I didn’t know whether to be grateful or
scared he saw right through me. How could he possibly know my thoughts and
feelings? We’d only just met. He didn’t know me any better than I knew him and
yet he seemed to have a very clear picture of who and what I was. I looked at
him and saw something in his eyes that took my breath away. His heated gaze
flicked from my eyes to my mouth and back again before he moved closer and
pressed his lips against mine for a moment.
My body tensed and stopped moving. My
heart thundered in my chest and my breathing sped up. I pulled back with enough
force to break Aidan’s hold and stepped away. My gaze flew around the club
until I’d located the exit. I strode towards it without looking at anybody,
panic driving me forward. I vaguely heard my name and ignored it. I needed to
get outside, away from all these people, away from the new experiences and away
from all these feelings I didn’t know how to deal with.
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