Author Name: K. Vale
Book Name: Crossed Hearts Book one in the Hearts and Scars series
Release
Date: April 27, 2015
Blurb(s):
One heart’s been broken. The other is secondhand.
Kory Vansant doesn’t deserve to be alive.
As time sucks him dry of energy, sapping the final ounces of strength from his congenitally enlarged heart, he's forced to end his career as Kory Kent, porn star. Staring down death, he questions his life choices and prays for a miracle. For another chance at life, he vows to change who he is at his core.
His prayers are answered. A perfect heart now beats in his chest, but it comes at a heavy price. The donor is an innocent young man cut down far too prematurely.
Kory's blemished history and his donor's spotless past are far from ideal matches.
As his debts skyrocket, Kory can’t help but think his resolve to walk the high road is being tested. After he meets the adorable Will Squire at the gravesite they both visit, he’s doubly damned because there’s no way he can keep up his end of the bargain. What happens when a man breaks a deal with a higher power?
Will often prefers the company of the dead to that of the living. Following a bad breakup, he pours himself into his two jobs—funeral director at his uncle’s mortuary and part-time paramedic. He’s drawn ever closer to Kory, as if fate sticks her fickle hand in and pushes them together like two unlikely puzzle pieces. But sometimes history can’t be buried, and maybe divine intervention isn’t always right. Will discovers everyone is imperfect, no matter how pretty the outer package, and opening one’s heart is never easy, but can be oh, so worth the pain.
Pages or Words: 70,000 words
Categories: Contemporary, Fiction, Gay Fiction, M/M
Romance, Romance
Excerpt:
The man scratched the scrub
on his chin. “Heart recipient,” he said finally. “I’m Kory—umm…Kory Vansant.”
Holding out his hand, he took another step. Will’s fingers were swallowed in
warm skin and bone.
“Will Squire.” Again,
he couldn’t tear his gaze from the tease of scar tissue jutting from the crotch
of Kory’s shirt collar. The urge to reach out and trace a finger over the pink
relief of healed tissue was strong. Just
like I touched Brandon’s incision. The stark difference between the two—one
wound marking the end of a life and the other a salvation—was surreal. Will was
nothing but an outsider looking in on a miracle, but somehow he felt he’d come
around full circle.
“Want me to get naked
so you can see the whole thing?”
Will closed his eyes
for a moment and then looked up, his face flaming with a mix of embarrassment
and immediate, fierce arousal. “I’m sorry. Totally rude.”
Kory smiled
good-naturedly. “No worries. It’s a way to reclaim who I am, or was. Or some
crap. I’m not just my medical status, like they keep saying at my support
group.”
“No. Of course you’re
not.”
He laughed loud and
deep, and the warmth in Will’s face drifted down his body. “I’ve adopted it as
my little icebreaker whenever people stare,” Kory said.
“Well, ice broken.”
Will gulped. Hell, ice melted into a
rolling boil.
About the author:
K. Vale writes erotic romance of
all stripes, from hot hetero to mouthwatering manlove. Find her MF work
published under Kimber Vale. Come for the sex. Stay for the story. Stalk Kimber
on Facebook and Twitter @KimberVale, and check her site for updates, new
releases, and freebies at http://www.authorkimbervale.com.
Where
to find the author:
Publisher: Kimber Vale
Cover
Artist: Dana Priebe
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AND NOW FOR THE INTERVIEW!
If you could have one paranormal ability, what
would it be?
I’d love to be able to fly, but I suppose that isn’t terribly
practical. If I were the only person who could take to the skies, I’d likely be
gunned out of them in short order. Maybe something like telekinesis—it’s much
more subtle with the potential to do both good and evil. I’d be interested to
see whether I go supervillain or superhero.
Do you use a pen name? If so, how did you come up
with it?
I do. It’s a compilation of Kimber, which is a nickname my BF
in middle and high school gave me a la Gem and the Holograms, and Vicki Vale
from Batman (a coworker used to call me Kim Basinger once upon a time).
How do you keep your writing different from all
the others that write in this particular genre?
Well, I don’t know that I’m different from all the other MM authors out there… I guess I basically
write what I like to read (real-feeling characters, slower-building love, heavy
on the romance and humor, hot sex with an occasional kink, light on the angst)
and avoid the things I don’t care for (instalove, unrealistic characters and
dialog, vilified women, BDSM). I should clarify that I enjoy reading angst, but
I’m not great at writing it. I try, but judging by most reviews, my readers
wouldn’t consider my stuff angst-heavy.
What would we find under your bed?
I’m guessing dust and cat puke. Wait here, I’ll go look.
Okay. Definitely dust, a backpack, a long bow, and some sort
of Japanese sword because my husband is weird.
Favorite non-alcoholic drink?
Coffee in the morning and tangerine Mio in water after that.
What are your favorite TV shows?
The hubs and I watch Walking Dead and Talking Dead
religiously, Tosh, Amy Schumer, True Detective, Game of Thrones, Z Nation, and,
most recently, Turn: Washington’s Spies. Oh, and I lovelovelove Drunk History.
How do you personally distinguish between
pornography, erotica, and erotic romance?
Porn is visual, in my opinion. Erotica and erotic romance can
have the exact same sexual elements, but straight erotica is missing the
emotional connection of a romance. It’s difficult to write a short erotic
romance, but it can be done, usually with characters that have a history before
your story starts. In most cases, erotic romance ends up longer to allow time
for the characters to develop that intimate connection.
Do you hear from your readers much? What do they
say?
Not too often, so I’m thrilled when I do. Mostly I’m asked if
there will be more books in my Shooting Stars series. The answer is yes, I’m
working on a Shooting Stars 3.5 called Balancing Act, which involves Kyrie and
Greg having a few loose ends tied up, and the introduction of my MC for book 4
(Swedish supermodel, Anders). I also have two more books planned for my Hearts
& Scars series if anyone is curious (Mando and Jake’s book is next, and
Matt gets the third).
