‘Heat’ by @Rjscott_author and @Chris_writer #LGBT #NewRelease #Giveaway

A Note from RJ

Salisbury, where Heat is set, is an ancient city that has managed to retain many of its old medieval buildings. The Rose and Crown Inn, just across the Avon (and thus, technically, “outside” the original town), dates from the 14th century with a wattle-and-daub corridor, criss-crossed with dark timbers and absolutely no straight lines in the older section of the building! The Red Lion, just off the market square, is believed to be England’s oldest “purpose-built” hotel — i.e., a building that began life as a hotel (rather than a manor or abbey or oast) and remains one today. The building dates from 1230 and is yet another example of the old surviving to nestle alongside the new.

Tudor buildings sitting beside modern shops, and the stone-carved 13th-century market cross (a shady spot where butter was once sold) is just a short distance from the Tesco supermarket. Salisbury’s charter market is still held in this square and the markets appear in Heat.

Then there is Salisbury Cathedral in the heart of this town. Officially the “cathedral church of the Blessed Virgin Mary,” its Foundation Stone was laid by Bishop Poore in 1220, and the Early English Gothic cathedral was dedicated 38 years later. The only significant additions are the tower and spire, which was completed around 1330 and, at 404 feet (123 meters), is the tallest in Britain. (It is also the tallest surviving spire in the world dating from before 1400.)

It seems to me, every time I visit Salisbury that I find something else I hadn’t spotted before. I’ve seen the cathedral and the copy of the magna carta and the chained library, and the parks, the river, the swans, the markets, and the stunning architecture. Yet, the next time I visit, I bet I find another ancient secret that I never thought I would find.

Blurb:

Serving up passion, family, love and hate, with a side order of arson.

Lewis has lost nearly everything, and now it seems that Devon is here to take the last thing he has left – working in his beloved restaurant, Laurels. But when an arsonist threatens everything Lewis loves, he realizes sometimes everyone has their ghosts, and he discovers an unexpected ally who is prepared to risk everything for him.

* * * * *

Set in the small cathedral city of Salisbury, Master Chef Lewis Mandineau no longer owns the Laurels, the restaurant that had been in his family for generations. Betrayed and robbed by an ex-lover, he’s had to sell to Carnegie Enterprises, an American corporation. That isn’t all Lewis has to contend with. Rachel, his beloved younger sister has been left severely hurt by the car crash that killed their parents, and taking care of her has to be his priority.

Enter Devon Trelawney III, sent to assess the viability of the restaurant and its staff. Devon knows all about family tradition. But he also knows sentiment has no place in business matters, and the Laurels’ potential is swamped by the debts it has accrued. Devon is a hardheaded businessman, first and foremost, but Lewis and Rachel test his resolve in different ways. Soon Devon is forced to admit that what seems like an impossible love can sometimes become something very real.

Excerpt:

His dad chuckled. “Go back to sleep, else you’ll get one of your headaches.”

Too late for that, Devon thought, irritated.

“And do me a favour, son, listen to me and give this thing more than your week of doom approach. Look at the staff and the community. I have a good feeling about Laurels and Lewis Mandineau in particular.”

“I can’t promise that if their financials don’t…” Devon stopped. There was no point in arguing when he had residual pain in his temples and his dad was clearly working some weird agenda. “Okay,” he ended.

“Good, good,” Devon senior said with enthusiasm. “We’ll talk later. And do some tourist stuff, see Stonehenge and at least two other places, okay?”

“Stonehenge.”

“Yes.”

“Dad…”

“Bye, son.”

The call ended, and Devon dropped his cell to the bed. There was no way he was going to be able to sleep for the next few hours, not without help. At least this time he managed to swallow the tablets with water. After he clambered into bed, he attempted to clear his head of everything so he could relax back to sleep. He refused to think about Trelawney Enterprises, the board, or Laurels.

Except.

That chef. Lewis. He had the most amazingly clear blue eyes.

RJ Scott has been writing since age six, when she was made to stay in at lunchtime for an infraction involving cookies. She was told to write a story and two sides of paper about a trapped princess later, a lover of writing was born.

As an avid reader herself, she can be found reading anything from thrillers to sci-fi to horror. However, her first real true love will always be the world of romance where she takes cowboys, bodyguards, firemen and billionaires (to name a few) and writes dramatic and romantic stories of love and passion between these men.

With nearly seventy titles to her name and counting, she is the author of the award winning book, The Christmas Throwaway. She is also known for the Texas series charting the lives of Riley and Jack, and the Sanctuary series following the work of the Sanctuary Foundation and the people it protects.

Her goal is to write stories with a heart of romance, a troubled road to reach happiness, and most importantly, that hint of a happily ever after.

mailto:rj@rjscott.co.uk

http://www.rjscott.co.uk/

http://www.facebook.com/author.rjscott?ref=ts&fref=ts

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3432558.R_J_Scott

https://twitter.com/Rjscott_author

http://www.librarything.com/author/scottrj

Chris Quinton started creating stories not long after she mastered joined-up writing, somewhat to the bemusement of her parents and her English teachers. But she received plenty of encouragement. Her dad gave her an already old Everest typewriter when she was ten, and it was probably the best gift she’d ever received – until the inventions of the home-computer and the worldwide web.

Chris’s reading and writing interests range from historical, mystery, and paranormal, to science-fiction and fantasy, writing mostly in the male/male genre. She refuses to be pigeon-holed and intends to uphold the long and honourable tradition of the Eccentric Brit to the best of her ability. In her spare time [hah!] she reads, embroiders, quilts and knits. Over the years she has been a stable lad [briefly] in a local racing stable and stud, a part-time and unpaid amateur archaeologist, a civilian clerk at her local police station and a 15th century re-enactor.

She lives in a small and ancient city in the south-west of the United Kingdom, sharing her usually chaotic home with an extended family, three dogs, a frilled dragon [lizard] and sundry goldfish and tropicals.

mailto:chris.quintonwriter@ymail.com

http://chrisquintonwriter.blogspot.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/chris.quinton.14

https://twitter.com/Chris_writer

http://uk.pinterest.com/writerchris/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2952441.Chris_Quinton

http://www.librarything.com/author/quintonchris

Win a $15 gift card and free e-books, 24 October – 7 November

I want to give a big Thank You to RJ Scott and Chris Quinton for letting us take place in this blog tour.