Another Blatantly Self-Serving Post!

[umlerian49]

I have another book coming out! It's going to be available on Devine Destinies on January 1st, and is titled Brainiac and the Yolo Bro. It's the first in a series prequal about Ryan Miyashi, before he met his muscle-stud boyfriend Alex Johnson, and covers his journey from shy, nerdy little wallflower to the the loveable rascal he is by the time he meets Alex. Along the way, Ryan learns some hard life lessons and experiences both joy and tragedy. I'm really excited about the series.

Although it doesn't involve freaky muscle growth like the stories here, it includes bodybuilding and muscular development. And, I hope, a lot of humor along the way.

As I said before, it'll be available Wednesday, the 1st at Devine Destinies on Wednesday, then at Amazon and All Romance in a few weeks. I'll post the link diectly to the book when it comes up.

In the meantime, here's a preview:


Log Line: Ryan really likes the new guy Tanner?except for when he wants to kill him.


Cover Blurb: High school sophomore Ryan Miyashi doesn?t know what to think?he?s completely taken with a handsome, strapping transfer student from Texas named Tanner. Ryan is a long way from the self-confidant adult we know from the Growing Lad series. His problem is that despite being a gifted student, he?s painfully shy and he hasn?t told anyone but his brother that he likes boys. Ryan is secretly crushing on Tanner big time, and watching the way Tanner effortlessly makes friends with everyone including gay students ties his heart up in knots. Ryan starts to hope that maybe they have something in common, but Tanner is erratic and moody and is driving Ryan crazy.

Excerpt:

Calc turned out okay. Mr. Wells made a couple of predictable cracks about how nice it was for me to finally show up and then continued with his lecture.

I?d been taking college level advanced-placement courses for a couple of years and this calculus class was one of them. Did I mention I was a certified genius? No? Turns out, it?s another great reason to get picked on. That?s why Nick called me Brainiac. That is, when he wasn?t calling me Geek, Nerd, Poindexter, and a few others that don?t belong in polite conversation. The tutu reference is left over from last year when I made the mistake of signing up for a modern dance unit in gym class, and it stuck.

This year, I?d resolved to choose manlier sports in gym. Sadly, I sucked at just about everything. About the only thing I was good at was doing laps around the track. While I didn?t have the strength or size for jumping or sprinting or throwing, I could keep going around that track all day. Other guys would have to give up and put their heads between their knees, but scrawny little me just kept plugging along. Coach Beatty asked me to go out for Cross Country, and for the first time in my life I found something non-academic that I was good at.

Lunch came right after Calc. I usually shared the geek table with my fellow AP students. We were all brown-baggers, so when the weather was nice, which is most of the time in Berkeley, we sat outside. We were sitting under one of the big ash trees near the Science Building and I was joined by Serge, Elaine and Thomas.

?What do you think, Ryan?? Elaine asked.

?Huh?? I looked up from my tuna sandwich. ?What??

?I swear,? she said, ?sometimes it?s like you?re from another planet.?

It?s true, I was distracted, but not by any deep thoughts. I?d spotted a new guy across the Quad, and he was hot. Really hot.

?I?m going to ask my dad for a car for my birthday,? she continued.

?Oh, um, good,? I said, finally tearing my eyes away from the new kid. ?And, what was the question??

Elaine looked over in the other direction.

?What are you looking at??

I?d been caught gawking, and my stomach did a little flip-flop.

?Oh, uh, did you notice the vending machines over there??

Elaine gave a little smile. I was in deep shit.

?What about them?? She glanced over in the direction of the machines against the administration building. Right where that new guy was standing.

?They have Flamin? Hot Cheetos now,? I said unconvincingly. ?The question, again??

Elaine?s smile became a smirk. She paused just long enough to make me really uncomfortable.

?I?m going to ask Daddy for a car when I turn sixteen next month, and wanted to know if I should hold out for something sportier than a Prius.?

?Ask him for a Ferrari!? Thomas blurted. I was grateful for outburst?it diverted Elaine?s attention from my discomfort.

Being a girl, Elaine was of course was the most mature among us. In the last couple of years, she?d developed a nice figure, and I thought she could snag a pretty nice boyfriend if she tried. She had red hair and freckles that I thought were kind of cute, too. When she was younger, she looked just like the character at Wendy?s. These days, she?d gotten contacts and stopped wearing her hair in pigtails and had morphed into an attractive young woman. It sometimes made me wonder why she still hung out with the likes of us. Make no mistake, I was grateful?but it still boggled my mind. It was a long time later I came to realize it was simply because she was kind and loving and didn?t give up on old friends because of new ones.

?Don?t be a dork,? Serge said. ?They?re not that rich.?

?Who said we were rich??

?Are you kidding?? Thomas asked earnestly. ?Look at the car her dad drives!?

If Elaine was the most mature, Thomas was the least?physically and emotionally. He was the only fourteen-year-old I knew that still wore pajamas with feet. He had his D&D action figures and he was good to go. His round little face and thick glasses completed the picture. He was always wound-up and interrupting.

?You?re an idiot,? Serge replied. Lanky and tall, at least when he stood up straight, Serge was already shaving every day and could probably pass for a senior. I guess it was his Armenian ancestry.

?I was thinking more like a Lexus,? Elaine said.

?See? What did I tell you?? Thomas retorted.

?Not a new one, stupid. Daddy wouldn?t go for that. Something a couple of years old. Gently used.?

As the discussion went on, my eye was irresistibly drawn back to the new hunk. He was tall and blond and perfect?at least six feet. He was wearing jeans and a plain red t-shirt that showed off his athletic build. He had a thick neck, broad shoulders and thick, vein-covered forearms with just the lightest dusting of blond hair.

And he had guns. The sleeves of his shirt rode up on the most beautifully shaped biceps I?d ever seen (up to that time?sorry, Alex). They were perfectly proportioned, with a broad, sweeping arc that peaked deliciously when he bent his arm. When it straightened out, the vein that ran its length popped dramatically into view.

Below the waist, he was no less beautiful. His slim-cut blue jeans clung to his muscular ass. His pant-legs seemed barely able to contain powerful thighs that were like tightly-wound springs, ready to instantly release massive energy on command. His calves likewise called out a ready willingness to serve their godly master.

Everything seemed to slow down as I beheld this angel incarnate. The chatter and chaos of the schoolyard receded from my consciousness as I watched those powerful, masculine hands put coins in the slot of the soda machine. He withdrew his purchase and straightened up and I drew in a sharp breath as he absent-mindedly reached down with his other hand and adjusted his crotch. Someone?I couldn?t be sure who, as my brain could no longer register the image of anything else?must have spoken to this vision of male beauty, because he turned his head. And then?

He smiled. The vision was suddenly too intense. Had I been standing, I would have fainted dead away. As it was, my head swam and my vision clouded. I was?I was?

?Ryan? Ryan!?

The sights and sounds of the school yard crashed down on me like an avalanche.

?Huh? What?? Elaine was shaking my shoulder. I snapped out of my trance and turned to look at her. I realized she still had that little smirk on her face and my heart skipped a beat. Did she know?

?You were a million miles away,? she said. ?What are you looking at??

I felt my face flush. ?Nothing,? I said feebly.

?Uh-huh,? Elaine said knowingly. Shit.

?Look at the time,? I blurted. ?Lunch is almost over.? I crammed the remainder of my sandwich in my mouth. Elaine went back to her conversation with Serge and Thomas, but I could feel her inquisitive eyes boring into me.

Almost against my will, my eyes were drawn back to the stud by the vending machines. I nearly choked when I realized who it was that had captured the young god?s attention. It was Marty Brewster?undoubtedly the gayest student at Sproule High, and the only guy on the Pep Squad. Well, he certainly didn?t waste any time. Even I could tell that Marty was hitting on him. What was less clear was how it was being received. Hunk-boy was being friendly and polite, but not too friendly and polite. I thought.

The bell rang for the end of lunch and I started gathering up my things. My Twinkie would just have to wait for later. Glancing back, I saw Marty gently place his hand on Studley?s shoulder before he turned to leave. The beautiful young man didn?t bat an eye, but as he turned to go, two girls joined him and started an animated conversation as he walked off.

When I stood up to go, I realized with a shock that I was very, very hard. I immediately sat back down and started to panic. Gym class was next, and I couldn?t walk into the locker room with a tent pole in my pants. I?d have to wait until I was more?uh?relaxed.